A/N: Sorry all – I've been having a bad case of writer's block. Please let me know if you have ideas for where you would like this to go next! I'm following the general timing of canon but all of that is flexible!

Rating: K+/T

Moving

"Are you sure you guys don't need anything? I really don't mind staying," Nick offered from across the kitchen where he stood in the door frame.

Alex turned around, full glass of water in her hands. She gave the male detective an appreciative smile. "I think we'll be fine from here," she confirmed. "Thank you again for all of your help, Nick. We both appreciate it."

Earlier that afternoon, Olivia had finally been released from the hospital after a few days stay. The brunette had been growing immensely restless since she woke up, itching to get home and back to the comfort of her bed, but the doctors had wanted to keep her for rest and observation – a decision that both they and Alex were intent on, much to Olivia's dismay.

In the days that followed, the detective ultimately wound up spending most of her time sleeping, exhausted physically and mentally from what had happened. While driven to continue helping with the case, a mix of her injuries and morphine left her out-of-commission with no strength to debate, much to Alex's solemn relief. Olivia had already almost lost her life for this case, and while the attorney wished different circumstances were hindering her involvement, she would give most anything to have her girlfriend safe and out of harm's way, especially with the investigation revealing more and more corruption. Olivia and Cassidy's interviews with 1-PP led to the discovery that the patrol officer had been encouraged by her superior to take out the female detective, who he told her was a "dirty cop dangerously armed," and the commanding officer had later been tied to Ganzel. Now the detectives were looking into Cassidy's former "boss" and his relationship to Carissa's murder. Alex had told Olivia bits and pieces of the on-going investigation as she herself was apprised; however she tried to limit those conversations, knowing that the woman needed rest more than anything else and that their colleagues could handle things.

In the meanwhile, Olivia had been examined that morning and given the clear by Dr. Livingston to continue to heal at home. Nick and Fin had helped Alex bring the brunette back to her apartment, carrying the weakly protesting woman to her bed, where she had almost immediately fallen asleep, high-levels of painkillers still coursing through her body. Fin had gotten called out almost immediately after – something to do Public Integrity Unit Bureau Chief Paula Foster – but Nick had remained to the couple settle back in. While Alex had stopped at both hers and Olivia's apartments over the past several days, they had mostly been brief trips. A quick shower. Grabbing clothes. Cleaning up after dinner from the other night. Nick ran out to the grocery store and pharmacy for her while Alex kept an eye on a sleeping Olivia and tidied up around the apartment. With that all settled, however, the blonde was ready to get some rest in private, having not had any time alone since Olivia was admitted to the hospital, constantly surrounded by a flurry of nurses, doctors, and police officers. Freshly showered, right now the blonde just wanted to curl up in bed next to her detective and to hold her close, away from benevolently on-looking eyes.

"Well, I'm just a phone call away if you need anything. Food. Meds. Just let me know," Nick replied, pulling on his coat.

"Thank you, Nick, really," Alex replied gratefully, walking the younger detective to the door. Once alone, she headed straight down the hallway to Olivia's bedroom, peeking through the door to find the detective blinking confusedly, trying to orient herself to waking up in a new, albeit familiar, place. "Hi sweetheart," Alex greeted softly, walking across the room with a glass of water in hand. In route, she picked up a pill container with the detective's evening medication. "How are you feeling?" she asked with concern, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Like I was shot… twice," the brunette said with a wry grin, looking up at her girlfriend.

Alex shook her head, chuckling. "I'm not sure if I'm ready to joke about it yet," she replied, placing the objects in her hands on the bedside table. "Here, let me help you up so you can take your meds."

"I can do it –" Olivia began to protest before meeting her girlfriend's stern eyes. "Okayyyyy," she drawled, wincing as she lifted her arms to allow Alex to gently guide her forward, placing another fluffy pillow behind her back to prop her into a slightly reclined position. The attorney then grabbed the medication and water glass, handing them to the brunette.

"Nick went to the grocery store and picked up some stuff for us before he headed out. Do you want some yogurt maybe? Or apple sauce? Something light…"

"Some pudding sounds good," Olivia confirmed, wetting her chapped lips with some of the water. "Do we have any Chapstick?" she asked. "I don't want you to feel like you're kissing sandpaper."

Alex quirked an eyebrow. "Who said anything about kissing, Detective?" she teased before leaning over and giving the older woman a tender kiss. "I should have some in my purse. I'll go get it and the pudding."

The blonde returned a few minutes later, handing Olivia the requested objects and crawling up into bed next to her, allowing the brunette to curl up against her. Alex placed a gentle kiss to the crown of her head. "How are you feeling?"

"Are you going to keep asking me that?"

"Yes."

"I'm fine," Olivia lied unconvincingly. "Okay, sore, but otherwise fine."

"Hopefully the pain medication will kick in soon," Alex began, brow furrowed with concern. "Maybe I should call Dr. Livingston – "

"Al," Olivia interrupted gently, taking the younger woman's hand in hers. "I'm okay. I promise." Alex exhaled heavily, surprising even herself when it came out in a tired sob. The past few days she had been trying to be strong – to keep things together and organized, to take care of her girlfriend. She hadn't had much time since Olivia woke up to sit back and contemplate what she had almost lost. But now, in the comfort of their bed, she was distinctly aware of just how close she had been to never being in this situation– of never holding her girlfriend in her arms again.

"Hey baby," Olivia soothed. "What's wrong, sweetheart."

"I just – I almost lost you, Olivia."

"Oh Alex," the brunette sighed, squeezing the woman's hand. She winced to turn so that she could cup her girlfriend's face. "You didn't though. I'm right here, baby."

"I know, and I'm sorry. I guess it just is all hitting me." And it was. Certainly Alex had lost Olivia before. But that had been different. In those cases, she was being taken away. Or she chose to leave. It was never anything close to this. When Munch and Fin had showed up on her porch a few days earlier, she had never been so terrified in her life. And it made her think. Given the circumstances, the couple had been trying to take things slowly… to not jump into any new steps all too soon. On the one hand, it was smart. They had too much history, too many things to work through, to just completely u-haul their relationship. That said, the underlying assumption was always that they'd assuredly have more time, and Olivia's dangerous injury had served as a reminder that such things could never be insured. That didn't mean Alex wanted to jump and go elope with the brunette (although the thought of marrying Olivia brought her an immense amount of joy), but it did mean that Alex didn't want to take any of their time together for granted.

"I love you, Olivia," the blonde managed simply.

"I love you, too, Alex. So, so much," the brunette said, leaning over to kiss the younger woman tenderly.

*SVU*SVU*SVU*SVU**SVU*SVU*SVU*SVU*SVU*SVU*

Soon after, the couple dozed off into a content sleep, Alex's head rested against Olivia's uninjured shoulder. When the attorney woke up the next morning, she found that her girlfriend was already awake, watching her with a soft smile on her face.

"Hey there, Sleeping Beauty," Olivia teased when she noticed Alex was looking back at her. The blonde gave her a wry grin, wiping the spittle of drool that she could feel on the corner of her mouth. Olivia loved Alex like that – completely natural and unguarded, blonde hair tussled and bright blue eyes foggy with sleep. The younger woman reached over to the bedside table and grabbed her glasses, slipping them on.

"Good morning," she replied with a tired smile. "How are you fe –"

"I'm good, baby. Best nights sleep in days," Olivia interrupted to finish. "Perhaps it was my pillow," she added with a smirk.

Alex laughed. "It seems like you were more of my pillow," she amended, gesturing towards the tiny stain of drool on Olivia's pajama shirt. "Sorry about that."

"It's not a problem. My whole body feels gross anyway. I would give anything for a shower."

"The doctor said just a couple more days until it's safe for your stitches. Until then, you're stuck with sponge baths." Olivia groaned, pressing back against her pillow. "Hey now, it might not be so bad considering that I'm your nurse from here on out," the blonde added, a playful glimmer in her eyes.

Olivia swallowed heavily. In spite of her injuries, she could feel her body responding to Alex's suggestive tone, heat settling between her thighs. She doubted Alex would actually give into any suggestive promises, too concerned that the detective might be injured by it, but the older woman couldn't help but have the image of the blonde as a candy stripper flash through her mind.

"Okay, Nurse Cabot," Olivia confirmed, voice still husky with sleep. "I relinquish myself to your care."

"Excellent," Alex said with a smug grin, stretching her full body slowly as she felt Olivia's eyes watching her every move. "I'll go get your pain meds and some new dressings for your side. We don't want you getting all pussy and infected"

Olivia groaned once more, rolling her eyes. "Super sexy, babe," she called out as the attorney padded off towards the bathroom. "Hey Al?" The younger woman turned. "I was thinking… I know that I'm going to need you as a home nurse for a while, but maybe – maybe this would be a good time to make that a permanent arrangement…"

Alex furrowed her brow before the meaning of Olivia's words hit her. The detective was asking if she wanted to move in together. The attorney smiled broadly, walking back over to the detective's side of the bed. "Are you sure?" she asked, excitement undoubtedly in her voice.

Olivia nodded. "I would really, really like it," she affirmed.

"Okay then," Alex said with a grinned, leaning over and giving her girlfriend a kiss. She pulled away with a teasing glimmer in her eyes. "But don't get used to these sponge baths. They're only for when you're an invalid," she joked.

Olivia chuckled, eyes devious. "Don't worry, I can think of much better ways for you to get me wet."