CHAPTER 21

SEPTEMBER 2005 (ALEX POV)

Alex had been back in New York for a few weeks. Everything happened so quickly with her return. Velez had died in prison, and Liam Connors was extradited. The threat against her life was gone, and she was free to return to her life.

The first few weeks she kept a low profile, reconnecting with family and figuring out how to be Alexandra Cabot again. She finally called Jack McCoy thinking that the best way for her to move forward was to dive back into work at the DA's office.

She didn't call Olivia right away because she knew she had screwed up by not telling her goodbye. She also didn't know if Olivia would have waited for her. She didn't expect that from her; they had never even talked about if there was a them.

Today was the day, though. Alex had a meeting with Jack about an upcoming opening as the Homicide Bureau Chief, and he told her if she wanted it, the job was hers. She would have to supervise a handful of very young ADAs, but she looked forward to the challenge. It would be a move up and would put her in a position to advance her career.

After her meeting with Jack, Alex planned to stop by Casey's office and then the 16th Precinct. A phone call just wouldn't do. She wanted to see Olivia. When she arrived at Casey's office, she let Casey's assistant know she was there to see her and who she was, the assistant advised her she to wait in the office. Walking into her old office, Casey's office now, was a bit overwhelming. It had been overwhelming when she came back for the Connors trial, but she had a purpose then. Today, she was just back as Alex Cabot, and she wanted to thank Casey for her help during the Connors trial.

While waiting on Casey, Alex began to browse the office. It looked a lot like most ADA's offices. Bookshelves of legal books. Degrees on the wall. Lady of Justice memorabilia. And a few personal effects. While Alex was browsing, a photo on Casey's desk caught her attention. It was of Casey and Olivia ice skating in Central Park. Alex smiled remembering the times she and Olivia had gone skating. Neither were very good, but it always fun and almost always felt like a date when they went. She was happy Olivia had a friend in Casey.

Still waiting, Alex continued moving around the office. She was trying not to snoop, but she was also bored and nervous. That's when she saw them - wildflowers on the bookshelf that were fresh. She stepped forward to look at the attached card.

Casey, I'm so glad to have you in my life. I'm looking forward to tonight. Love, Liv

Alex's stomach dropped. Could it be that Olivia and Casey were dating? Alex thought back to when she came back for Connors trial. Olivia didn't mention it, but Casey didn't seem pleased about her presence, at least at first. Alex remembered walking into Casey's office that first day. After the initial shock from Olivia and Elliot, Casey shot a glare toward Olivia and walked out of the office saying something about everyone getting reacquainted. At the time, Alex thought it was because Olivia and Elliot hadn't told Casey that Alex was alive and charged Connors with murder in open court anyway. Alex could understand why that would upset Casey. She would have been angry.

However, looking at it now, she thought maybe it could have been something else. Maybe Casey was jealous. And then, of course, Olivia had spent the night with Alex that night. Oh, God, if I'm right, Casey must hate me, Alex thought.

Suddenly, Alex became uncomfortable sitting in Casey's office and wanted to get out of there. She didn't know if her suspicions were correct or not, but she knew she didn't want to find out right now, not like this. On her way out of Casey's office, Alex told the assistant she had to go and not to mention her stopping by. She wanted to surprise Casey, she told her.

Alex started down the stairs instead of taking the elevator. She figured it would be less crowded, and she was no longer in the mood to see old friends. As she came down the last flight of stairs she and came through the door, she spotted Olivia and Casey near the elevators. They were dressed up. They were dressed up very nicely. Alex held back so she could hear the conversation.

"Are you ready for our date tonight?" Olivia asked giving Casey her classic Benson smile and head cock.

"Ugh, I'd rather just go back to your place and get out of this dress already," Casey replied.

"Oh, stop it. It'll be fun." Olivia said. "When was the last time we were out? I have to run by the precinct, but I'll meet you soon."

Alex took a deep breath realizing she hadn't been breathing during the entire conversation. She heard more than she should have heard, more than she wanted to hear, but it confirmed her suspicions. Olivia was dating Casey and had moved on. Alex had waited too long. She left Olivia and Olivia had moved on.

PRESENT DAY

Alex finished sharing her story with Olivia. How she had came to see her, to see both of them, saw the flowers, the photo, and overheard their date plans. She wanted Olivia to be happy, and it was Casey that made her happy, she wasn't going to complicate it.

No, she would just accept the job, get her life back, and try to move on from Olivia.

"Alex, I can't believe you never told me this?" Olivia said.

"I didn't see the point," Alex said. "I mean, you never told me about Casey, so I just assumed you didn't want me to know."

"I didn't tell you about Casey because there wasn't anything to tell," Olivia said. "Alex, Casey and I were never together, in any way."

"So, you're telling me what I saw was wrong?" Alex said. She was confused and didn't understand why Olivia would lie about this now.

"Alex, Casey and I were friends. That's all," Olivia said. "The date was a double date. I had been trying to convince her for weeks to meet a friend of a guy I had just started seeing. She was hesitant, so when she finally agreed, I was thrilled. That's why I sent her the flowers."

"What about the two of you going back to your place and getting out of your dress then?" Alex said. Her eyes narrowed on Olivia like she didn't quite believe her.

"Her apartment was being fumigated. She stayed with me for like a week," Olivia said. "Also, that date never happened anyway. As we were getting in the SUV, Cragen called me back in, and I spent hours on a 911 call with a young girl that night."

"So, you never dated Casey? And she wasn't jealous when I came back for the Connors trial?" Alex clarified.

"No, Alex," Olivia said. "I mean, Casey always was probably a little jealous of you professionally. She had a lot of live up to, and she was really upset about us not telling her you were alive before arresting Connors."

"Yeah, I don't blame her," Alex said. "I would have kicked your ass."

"Don't we know it," Olivia smiled.

The two women sat in silence for a moment before Olivia broke out in laughter.

"What's so funny?" Alex asked.

"Our timing," Olivia said. "I mean, I was so angry with you, for years and here you thought I was dating your replacement."

"Yeah, it's a little ironic," Alex said. "I thought I had lost my chance with you, so I moved on, doing anything I could to get over you. That's how things started with Jim Steele and then Robert. Robert was a career move. I wanted to separate myself from my past life and focus on my political career. What an idiot I was."

"You're not an idiot," Olivia said. "Listen, we're here now, and we may have taken the long and complicated road, but here we are. We arrived. And in a few months, you'll be the new District Attorney, and you'll have your dream career without giving up who you are."

"Yeah, and what do you get?" Alex asked.

"Well, I already have my dream job, I have Noah, and now I have you," Olivia said. "There isn't much more I could ask for at this point in my life, except maybe getting taken hostage a little less." Olivia laughed at some of her career misfortunes, but she had to admit, life had turned out pretty good for her.

"Come on," Olivia said. "Noah will be home soon, and I'd like to engage in some mildly strenuous activity on the couch before that happens." She got up and pulled Alex over to the couch with her, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend and leaning in for a slow, long kiss.

A/N: Not everything is what it seems :) There will be another chapter or so, but we'll skip forward and find out if Alex wins the election. After this, I want to do some one-shots before getting back into the long multi-chapter fics. As always, thanks for reading.