A/N: Sorry the update took a little longer. We're rolling forward to the confrontation with Robert!
CHAPTER 25
Alex walked into the 16th Precinct the following day around lunch time, bringing Olivia a salad and sandwich from a nearby deli. The squad room was usually quiet, and Alex noticed nearly everyone was gone or working on paperwork. When she knocked on Olivia's door, she noticed the brunette was doing the same.
"Alex, I wasn't expecting to see you," Olivia smiled when she looked up to see her girlfriend.
"Who else is going to make sure you eat lunch?" Alex replied. She gave Olivia a cute smirk and tilted her head while holding up their food.
"Have I told you how much I love you?" Olivia said before getting out of her seat and placing a kiss on Alex's cheek.
"Not since this morning," Alex blushed. In addition to last night's activities, they had both woke before Noah this morning, which was rare, and made good use of their time before Olivia had to go to work.
Olivia and Alex began to dig into their meals. Olivia didn't bother to eat breakfast this morning, instead opting for coffee only, so Alex bringing food was a godsend for her.
"So, anything new?" Alex finally asked.
"No," Olivia said. "I texted El earlier, and he told me he'd check in with me this evening. They have a plan in place, and we decided that the less we knew about it, the better."
"Are you serious?" Alex asked.
"Yes, Alex," Olivia said. "I've learned that sometimes you just have to trust."
"Really? Olivia Benson is stepping aside and trusting someone else to take care of something for her?" Alex asked.
"When it's my family at stake, and it's the best plan, yes," Olivia said. "Besides, change can be good sometimes."
"If you say so," Alex said.
The two women sat in silence as they finished their food. The conversation was hard for both of them right now as Robert had taken over both their thoughts and they hadn't spent that much time being able to enjoy anything else.
"I was thinking," Olivia said.
"Don't hurt yourself, Lieutenant," Alex said and gave Olivia a smile.
"Okay, smarty, maybe I won't tell you what I was thinking," Olivia said. Alex shot her a look that told her she better spill. "I thought that after this is all over, we should go away for a few days. At least for a weekend."
"You mean run away in case I can't ever show my face in New York City again?" Alex said and rolled her eyes.
"Alex, that isn't going to happen," Olivia said. "I told you, we have to trust that all of this will work out."
Alex nodded. "I know. And yes, I think getting away for a weekend when this is all over is a fantastic idea. We'll all need it."
Just then, Rollins knocked on Olivia's office door and popped her head in.
"L.T., I have that update on the Hansen case you asked for," Rollins said. "Should I come back?"
Alex got up. She knew that was her cue to leave seeing as how she already had more of Olivia's time than she expected.
"I was just leaving, Amanda," Alex said. "Olivia, I'll see you when you get home."
Olivia nodded and watched Alex leave her office, trying not to stare too hard since Amanda was standing right there. She knew not being able to do anything was weighing on Alex; it was on hers, too, but she was trying to stay as strong as possible for Alex. Part of that meant giving up control and letting Elliot take care of it.
"Liv?" Olivia suddenly realized Amanda was talking. She hadn't heard a word she said about the Hansen case.
"I said the DNA confirms he's our rapist. Do you want us to pick him up?" Amanda asked again.
"Oh, yes, sorry," Olivia said. "Why don't you and Fin do that now."
"Okay, we will," Rollins said and started to leave before stopping at the door. "Liv, this is going to be okay, you know?"
"Yeah, I know, I just wish Alex knew that," Olivia said.
Rollins nodded and gave Olivia a soft smile before leaving her office.
#
Olivia arrived home that evening and still hadn't heard from Elliot. She figured he would call or text soon. She had partially succeeded in not obsessing over the case all day, and was looking forward to a relaxing night with Alex and Noah.
"Heard anything from Elliot yet?" Alex asked after they finished dinner.
"Nothing yet," Olivia said. "But he'll call as soon as he has something."
Olivia watched as Alex tried not to roll her eyes. She was quiet all through dinner and was still quiet as she loaded the dishwasher while Olivia got Noah ready for a bath. Olivia figured her best bet would just be to let it go. Alex was understandably worried and had every right to feel that way.
Alex retreated to the living room while Olivia was giving Noah his bath. Olivia's phone buzzed with a text message and Alex, allowing her instinct to take over about Robert, picked up the phone to see what it was.
Liv - We have something. I'll call in about half an hour. But you can't tell anyone yet - the squad, Barba, and especially Alex. - Stabler
Alex tossed the phone back down. Olivia hadn't kept any more secrets from her that she knew of, but the possibility of her doing it upset her. She knew it was crazy since Olivia hadn't even talked to Elliot to keep anything from her yet, but she was still upset.
Olivia finished getting Noah ready for bed and made her way back to the living room to find Alex staring off at nothing.
"Alex, you're worrying again," Olivia said.
"Yeah, well, what the hell am I supposed to do, Olivia?" Alex said. "I mean, I can't do anything. I can't investigate. I can't talk to Robert. I can't even trust that you're telling me everything."
"Alex, what are you talking about?" Olivia said. "You know I have."
"Yeah, well apparently Stabler doesn't think that," Alex said. She got up and handed her the phone before walking back to the bedroom.
Olivia looked down and saw the last text message from Elliot. Crap, she thought. Even if she hadn't kept anything from Alex, or even intended to, Elliot certainly didn't help. She took off to the bedroom when her phone started ringing. It as Elliot.
"Benson."
"Liv, I have some information for you, but you need to sit on it until we can confirm it," Elliot said.
"Actually, El, can you hang on for a second," Olivia said and walked into the bedroom where Alex was. She turned the phone on speaker. "Okay, Elliot, I'm here with Alex..."
Alex's eyes widened in surprise.
"Olivia, I don't think...," Elliot said.
"Elliot, I'm not keeping anything from Alex," Olivia said, her eyes staring at Alex. "She's strong enough to handle it."
"Uh, okay, then," he said. "We were able to track down some other ex-girlfriends of Robert. He has a knack for uh, homemade videos."
"Oh, God," Alex said in the background.
"Not just that, but an extra-friendly old woman who Munch charmed while he was attempting to sell her life insurance, told us Bailey and Hill also had a thing for the 'young girls' when the two were in college," he said.
"You mean underage?" Olivia clarified.
"Exactly," he said. "And one of those underage girls was our murder victim that we think teenage Robert and James were involved in. Also, if they're videoing now..."
"They may have been doing it then, which means they could have child porn," Olivia finished. "This is all good, Elliot, but how are we going to prove it?"
"We're still working on that, but we're getting somewhere. Just hang on until I can update you tomorrow before you tell anyone else," Elliot said. "You two can sleep a little better tonight, though, hopefully."
"Thank you, Elliot," Olivia said.
"You don't need to thank me, Liv," he said. "You know we'd do anything for you and Alex."
Olivia smiled before hanging up the phone up, and Elliot was right, she was going to sleep a little easier tonight.
"So, I guess I owe you an apology, huh?" Alex said.
Olivia smiled. "Of course not, Alex. You're stressed, and I understand why. But if you'd like to make it up to me?" Olivia smirked at Alex
"Wow, two nights in a row, Benson?" Alex said.
"Two nights in a row is a record for us now?" Olivia laughed. "Either we're getting old or have been working entirely too much."
"I think just working too much, because the way you look, you're definitely not getting older," Alex said.
Olivia laid down next to Alex and kissed her. Re-connecting physically with Alex the past two nights had helped take her mind off the case, and while her plan may have been to distract and tire Alex so she would sleep, she knew that it certainly wasn't hurting them. They needed each other more than ever right now.