I lied in the last chapter. After writing the story out, it's going to take one more to bring everything to a close. So (and yes I'm sure about this as the next chapter is pretty much finished), one more chapter after this one and then it's over. Then it's sequel time. :)

They ended up at Alex's house after Casey expressed her desire to try out Alex's jacuzzi bathtub. They swung by Casey's apartment to pick up a few things for her for the night, then headed over to Alex's.

As soon as they walked inside the house, Alex's eyes opened wide and her jaw nearly hit the floor. Everything from the previous day had been cleaned up. The house was immaculate. "Casey, how...where'd all the candles go?"

"In your linen closet."

"When?"

"Last night after you fell asleep."

Alex shook her head. She knew Casey's note had said not to worry about cleaning anything up, but she hadn't expected it to happen so soon. "You're incredible, do you know that?"

Casey wrapped an arm around her as they started walking to the bathroom. "How many jets does this thing have?" she asked when they saw the tub.

"Eight," Alex said as she started the water. She opened the linen closet and pulled out the vanilla bath gel, which she used for bubbles. "There's bath oils in there as well as towels and whatever else you want. Holler if you need anything."

Casey hesitated for a moment and grabbed Alex's hand before the woman could leave the bathroom. "Any chance you'd like to join me? Bubbles and oil sound really nice, but they'd be a lot nicer if I had someone in there with me. If you want to, of course."

Alex turned around slowly. "Are you sure?" she asked, carefully studying Casey's face.

Casey took Alex's other hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I am. I just have one favor to ask you."

"Anything."

Casey swallowed nervously and took a deep breath. She was more than ready to get in the bathtub, especially considering how gentle Alex was being with her. She was actually a bit excited about taking this next step. She knew how relaxing it was going to be in the jacuzzi. There was no doubt in her mind that she was safe and that Alex would never do anything to hurt her. Taking a deep breath, she looked up and met Alex's eyes. "I have a few scars on my back. I don't want to talk about them right now. I will, but later."

"Done," Alex said simply. She reached over and cupped Casey's cheek, gently tracing her cheekbone with her thumb. "Do you want to get in first or do you want me to?"

Casey looked over to the bathtub, which was now almost full of water and bubbles. "I'll get in first. I'd really like to give you a back massage." She smiled as she reached into the closet and searched through Alex's oils. Besides, if I get in first, I can hide my back from you. She grabbed a bottle and turned to Alex. "Lavender?"

"My favorite."

"I know," she said quietly, setting the oil bottle on the side of the tub. She slowly undressed, trying to reassure herself that she was okay and that nothing was going to happen. She was relieved that Alex was also undressing, with her back to her. Getting into the tub, she looked over and smiled when she saw that Alex was still taking off her clothes.

Alex took off her underwear and turned around, surprised that Casey was already in the tub. She figured the woman had wanted to get in quickly. This clearly wasn't easy for her. Then she noticed that Casey was staring at her. "What?"

"I like you like this."

"Like what?"

Casey bit her lower lip and grinned. "Naked. You know you're beautiful, right?"

"So you always say."

"Because it's true. Now are you going to join me in here or not?"

Alex laughed as she climbed into the tub, leaning back as Casey pulled her close. She sighed happily and rested her head back on Casey's shoulder. Today was the best day she could ever remember having. It meant the world to her that Casey trusted her this much. There was no way what they were doing right now was easy for Casey, and Alex was amazed at the amount of strength the woman had. She knew how lucky she was to be here with her. "I love you."

Casey dipped the loofah into the water and squeezed it over Alex's chest. "I love you too." Those three words had never been more true. The woman in her arms meant more to her than she could express in words. And she'd never felt safer in her entire life. "Thank you," she whispered, resting her chin on Alex's shoulder.

"For what?"

"Coming over yesterday evening. Being patient with me. I know it's been six months and this is as far as we've gone."

Alex reached up and held Casey's arms, which were wrapped around her. "You never have to thank me for an of that."

"Yes I do," Casey said firmly. She kissed Alex's head and held her a little tighter. "Most relationships don't last very long when a person realizes the other doesn't want to have sex within a reasonable amount of time. Six months doesn't usually count as a reasonable amount of time. You have no idea how much it means to me that you're willing to wait."

"And you have no idea how much it means to me that you've never pressured me to eat, you always tell me I'm beautiful, and you've even told me that I'm part of your family."

Casey gently stroked Alex's arms and occasionally squeezed the loofah over her chest. As many times as the thoughts kept entering her mind, Casey couldn't help but smile each time they did. I really am safe here. She really does love me. She brought her hands up to Alex's shoulders and pushed them gently. "Sit up. Massage time."

Alex sat up and closed her eyes as Casey's hands, covered in lavender oil, ran up and down her back. They were gentle at first, just making sure her back was good and coated. She'd never felt anything like it before. Thinking back to all her previous relationships, she realized that the intimacy she and Casey were experiencing at this moment was more than anything she'd ever known. She was starting to feel whole, complete. It was amazing that one woman could do that for her. "Ahhh!" she yelled, flinching a bit.

"A little tight there, Alex?" Casey asked, digging into the spot below Alex's right shoulder blade.

"Yeah, a little," Alex answered, her voice much higher in pitch than usual.

Casey eased up a bit, but not much. She could tell Alex needed the massage. "What's got you so tense?"

"Oh, you know. Life."

"Ah, yes. That I do know."

Alex turned as much as she could and looked at Casey. "That was really nice. Thank you." It was amazing how Casey's gentle touch could melt away every care she had in her world. It scared her that Casey had that much power over her. She'd never let anyone have that kind of power before. She smiled into Casey's eyes and took her hand. "If you want, I'd love to return the favor."

"You want to give me a back massage?"

"If you want one, I would really like to give it to you."

"You haven't seen my back before."

Alex shook her head. "That doesn't matter to me. No matter what your scars look like, if you want a back massage, I want to give you one."

Casey leaned forward and rested her head on Alex's shoulder. Getting into the bathtub with Alex had been a huge step for her and while she was completely relaxed right now, she didn't think she could go any further. "I don't know if I'm up for that tonight," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

Alex pulled the plug out of the drain and climbed out of the bathtub. She grabbed a towel and pulled Casey out of the tub. She grabbed a towel out of the warmer and gently wrapped it around Casey. "Don't," she whispered, leading Casey into the bedroom and sitting her down on the bed. "You never have to apologize for any of this. You hear me?"

Casey allowed Alex to lead her to the bedroom and sat down on the bed. She wasn't aware of what was happening until she felt Alex putting a sweatshirt on her. Why wasn't Alex angry? Alex had expressed desire to have access to her body, and Casey had declined her that access. Alex had every right to be angry. Yet here she was, helping her get dressed, her touches amazingly gentle and soft. There was no anger in her. "Maybe another night?"

"I love you," Alex told her. She sat down next to Casey and tried to judge whether or not Casey wanted any physical contact. She was relieved when that decision was made for her. She felt Casey give her a gentle squeeze and a small smile. She brushed a few strands of hair behind Casey's ear and took a deep breath. "I'm really glad you told me you didn't want to go any further tonight. I want you to always tell me to stop if I ever do anything you don't want me to do."

Casey looked down to her lap and frowned. "That word never works."

"What word?"

"Stop," Casey whispered. She fiddled with her fingers for several seconds before continuing. "In that basement...I-I...I used it a lot. It never worked, so I just never bothered to use it again."

Alex rubbed small, gentle circles along Casey's back. The hell that this woman had gone though was unimaginable. She hated to imagine Casey being hurt like that. She swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to keep her voice level. "Then we'll come up with a different word." She gently nudged Casey's shoulder and smiled when their eyes met. "How does pumpernickel sound?"

Casey couldn't help but laugh. No matter how many times Alex promised it, she still had a hard time believing that the woman really was this understanding and patient. "Pumpernickel?"

"It's my favorite kind of bread. And the first word that came to my mind."

Casey felt a single tear fall down her cheek and she didn't bother to wipe it away. She laid down on the bed and patted the space next to her, inviting Alex to join her. When Alex was lying down facing her, Casey pulled the covers over them and snuggled close to her. She laid her head in the crook of Alex's neck and gently traced the scar left on Alex's chest by the bullet. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Alex."

"I'd do it a hundred times over if the end result was where I am now: lying in bed and holding the woman I love." She combed her fingers through Casey's hair and gave her a light kiss.

"It still can't have been easy."

"No, it wasn't. The entire time I was in that program all I could think about was coming home so I could be Alex Cabot again. Still, I wouldn't change anything about it."

Casey looked up, confusion written all over her face. "Why not?"

"Because if I had never gotten shot, I would be in my old job here. And if I were in my old job here, you would be somewhere else. If you were somewhere else, odds are we probably never would have met. I don't want to...I can't imagine my life without you in it."