Alex stretched luxuriously before turning to her side and tugging the thick comforter up over her shoulders. With cat-like movements, she snuggled the length of her slender body against her lover's warm, still form, nuzzling her nose tenderly into Olivia's dark hair. The room was bright with sunlight, but Alex ignored the morning's call to spend a little extra time reveling in the comfort of their shared bed.
Inhaling the scent of Olivia's tan skin, Alex let her thoughts drift to the night before. Her mother's actions had been predictably cruel but the pain she had inflicted on her daughter paled in Alex's mind to the love she felt for her fiancé. She would do nearly anything for the brunette who slept peacefully in her arms. The thought that she had been so near to losing Olivia was a constant source of sorrow for Alex. The knowledge that life was so fragile inspired Alex's actions; she never wanted to miss another opportunity to express her love to Olivia lest the unthinkable happen.
And she could see the same earnestness in the brunette's eyes. When Olivia held her, when the detective made love to her, Alex could sense that Olivia felt equally strongly. The previous night had been special. It was the first physical expression of love that Olivia had offered since she had been taken from Alex. It was a night that Alex was loathe to forget and even more reluctant to bring to a close by beginning a new day. So she eased her arm over Olivia's waist and held her tightly as she closed her eyes against the intruding sunbeams.
Awakening sometime later, Alex noted the change in the quality of the light streaming into the bright room. Yawning, she peered over Olivia's shoulder to check the time before sighing in regret. Her parents would arrive in a little over an hour and they expected to be entertained. It was Christmas Day after all. Alex rubbed her eyes violently with the back of her hand and slipped from under the covers. She wanted to take a quick run before facing her mother but Olivia could have a few more minutes of peace.
As she tugged on her warm leggings, soft sounds from the bed informed Alex that her efforts to let Olivia sleep had failed. Slipping on her tennis shoes, Alex bent to tenderly kiss her sleepy girlfriend. "Merry Christmas, honey. I'm going for a run before my parents get here. I'll be back in a little while." Olivia rubbed her eyes and sighed in pleasure, smiling at Alex as the blonde pulled on a sweatshirt.
"Alright, Alex. Merry Christmas," Olivia whispered as she buried her face back in the pillows.
Olivia stood under the shower's steamy spray. After Alex had left for her run, Olivia had tried to go back to sleep but wound up only staring at the clock. A few minutes of lying in bed without Alex's cuddling quickly became dull and so she had dragged herself from under the covers. If she couldn't sleep, she could at least begin the day in earnest and maybe even have some breakfast ready for her girlfriend.
Twisting the tap shut, Olivia stepped out of the shower and quickly dried herself. She walked to the bedroom and perched on the edge of the mattress. Dropping the towel onto the floor, Olivia squeezed a generous amount of lotion into the palm of her hand and began to rub it onto her legs. Over the past several days, this action had become something of a ritual for Olivia. It was the one time during the day when she forced herself to confront her changed body.
As she smoothed the lotion onto her skin, Olivia traced the scars which stood out raised and angry red against her tan. Her touch lingered on her knees, rubbing the ugly seams left by the emergency operations performed her first night in the hospital, and paused even longer on her breasts. As she massaged, she tried to remember the silken texture of the skin covering her breasts before her attack. Olivia recalled with a mixture of love and sadness how Alex had delighted in lavishing attention to the brunette's full breasts and dark nipples. And though Alex tried to convince the detective that she was still beautiful, Olivia could always perceive a hint of regret in her blue eyes.
Olivia jumped as a light voice startled her from her lonely thoughts. "Hello!" She continued to rub the lotion onto her scarred shoulder as she answered eagerly, glad that Alex had returned so soon.
"In here!" she called as she slipped the bottle of lotion back into the nightstand drawer. She picked up the towel and stood to greet Alex before getting dressed to cook breakfast. Eggs and toast sound nice, she thought to herself, before her thoughts were choked off by a horrifying sight.
Alex's mother stood stiffly in the bedroom doorway, an expression of horror and disgust contorting her elegant face. Olivia froze, her mind suddenly blank from shock and distress. The two women stared at each other. As Olivia looked into Nancy's eyes, she saw that her future mother-in-law's gaze was wandering over her naked body. Jerkily, she fought to stretch the suddenly too small towel over her body as she turned away. On unsteady legs, Olivia stumbled towards the security of the bathroom, desperate to escape the painful scrutiny. Finally, she reached its safety and quickly slammed the door closed. Once out of sight, she collapsed and slid down the cool door to sit on the tile. She drew her knees to her chest and curled in on herself, her breath coming in shaky, tearful gasps.
Alex paused for a moment on the front steps of her cottage in order to stretch her tight calf muscles. Breezing through the front door, she toed off her shoes and clapped her hands briskly together. "I'm back, darling," she called as she padded toward the bedroom in her stocking feet. "I hope you're…"
She stopped in surprise, her mouth open as she cut off her words at the sight of her mother standing in the kitchen. Taking in her mother's pale face and trembling jaw, Alex took a step back. "Mom? I thought…"
"Alex, what is going on? I saw … She's …" Her mother's voice shook in mixed fury and nausea.
"What are you talking about?" Alex started before realization contracted her confused expression. "You… Where is she?" Alex's voice was breathless with anxiety and before her mother could even gesture Alex launched herself toward the bedroom. The closed bathroom door told Alex the story she had been afraid to hear and she took a calming breath before knocking softly.
"Hey, Olivia, it's me," she murmured just loudly enough to be heard. "I'm coming in, ok?"
The only response she received was a muffled sob and soft shuffling sounds. Moving slowly, Alex eased the door open and slipped in, carefully closing the door behind her. She could deal with her mother later. Now her priority was Olivia.
The brunette leaned against the side of the bathtub, her knees clutched tightly to her chest. Alex moved to kneel on the bathmat near her lover, a pale smile softening her features. "Darling, what happened?" she asked quietly.
At Alex's touch, Olivia uncurled from her tense pose in order to lean close to her girlfriend. "I'm sorry, Alex," she whispered. "I didn't know…"
"Shhhh," Alex crooned. "What's done is done. My mom must have decided to come early. Let's get dressed and get this over with." She stood and extended her hands to her girlfriend.
Olivia sighed and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. She accepted Alex's hand and stood, still grasping the edge of the towel with white-knuckles. She allowed Alex to lead her into the bedroom, silently thanking the blonde for having shut the bedroom door. With trembling hands, she accepted the clothes Alex handed to her and turned to get dressed. Understanding Olivia's silent plea for privacy, Alex slipped out to join her mother.
Nancy had moved to perch stiffly on the edge of the living room sofa. Hearing Alex's soft footsteps in the hall, she turned to confront her daughter. Her eyes flashed in anger as she laid eyes on Alex's exhausted expression.
"Alexandra, I want an explanation right now. I came a little early and the door was open so I let myself in. She… I… What is wrong with her, Alexandra?" Nancy spoke with determination, her lips pressed into a thin line between words.
Alex didn't answer as she sank onto the armchair and buried her face in her hands. They sat in silence for a long moment before Nancy once again broke the silence.
"I'm…" she began but was silenced by Alex's raised hand. Sitting up a little straighter, Alex swallowed her tears and looked her mother directly in the eye.
"Mom, we didn't want to tell you. She… Olivia was attacked a few months ago. They did … horrible things to her. I almost lost her. Do you understand now? I came so close to losing her." Alex stopped as a sob threatened to choke her and she covered her face with her hands.
Nancy stared at her daughter for a moment before her accusing expression softened. She waited with uncharacteristic patience until Alex composed herself once more and looked back up at her mother. The young woman started at her mother's expression. The look of gentle tenderness she found there was both unfamiliar and comforting and Alex quickly moved to join her mother on the sofa. Silently, she leaned into her mother's embrace and let herself be briefly comforted.
The shuffling and thump of Olivia's cane roused Alex and her mother. The brunette was pale and shy, silently acknowledging Alex's mother without looking at her. She sat uncertainly on the armchair and folded her arms protectively over her belly. A moment of uncomfortable quiet passed before Alex gathered herself with a start and stood. "I'll make us some tea," she murmured quietly and padded towards the kitchen.
Somehow, the muffled sounds of Alex putting the kettle onto the stove made the silence easier and the thought of speech less intimidating. Clearing her throat softly, Nancy began. "Olivia, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. Alex told me that something happened." She paused.
Still shyly avoiding the older woman's gaze, Olivia accepted her apology. "Mrs. Cabot, it's alright. It wasn't your fault." As Olivia spoke, Nancy moved to sit on the opposite end of the sofa so that she was close to the sad brunette.
"Olivia, please call me Nancy. You know, I haven't been very kind to Alexandra since she announced her preferences. I do regret that. And I regret the way I treated you. This hasn't been easy for me. I always just wanted the best for my daughter and I thought I knew what that was. I… Please forgive me Olivia. I hope we can start over." As she finished, she leaned towards her daughter's fiancé. She laid a gentle hand on Olivia's arm and felt a twinge of sorrow as the brunette flinched at the contact. Slowly, she withdrew her hand, unwilling to make Olivia any more uncomfortable than she already had. But, to her gratification, Olivia lifted her eyes and looked at the older woman, a pale smile on her face.
Alex rattled the teacups on the tray she held as she was overwhelmed with emotion. She had finished making the tea and was in the entrance to the living room as her mother spoke to Olivia. With disbelief and joy, she had listened to her mother's heartfelt speech, each word tugging at the tears she held in check. Finally, as Olivia smiled, the intense relief had become too much for Alex to bear in silence and she struggled to maintain her grip on the tea tray.
She nearly dropped the forgotten tray onto the coffee table as she walked shakily to join her mother on the sofa. Aware of the two women's gazes, Alex sank onto the sofa and impulsively wrapped her arms around her mother's shoulders. As Alex squeezed the older woman, Nancy returned the gesture with more feeling than she had in years. Alex's thin shoulders shook as she sobbed once into her mother's shoulder, but she gathered herself enough to speak.
"Mom," she murmured shakily. "Thank you so much."
Alex's mother finished her tea and stood to go. As Alex and Olivia rose to escort her to the door, Nancy looked anxiously at her folded hands for a brief moment before suddenly gazing with surprising intensity at her shy future daughter-in-law. Lacking a fraction of her customary grace, Nancy impulsively gathered the brunette into a tight embrace. Olivia stiffly stood in Nancy's arms for a moment before slowly bringing her arms up to return the gesture.
Pulling away, Nancy squeezed Olivia hands in her own and smiled with a hint of uncertainty. "I hope you'll still come to our place for Christmas dinner tonight. All of our family will be there and I'm sure they would like to meet you and hear your and Alex's news." She released Olivia's hands and turned to her daughter.
"Alexandra, I want to apologize again. I really am very glad you came back to celebrate with us this year." She hugged her tall daughter warmly and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I'll see you tonight, sweetheart." With a more certain smile, Nancy went to the door to gather her winter clothes and depart.
Once the door clicked shut behind her mother, Alex turned to wrap her arms around her fiancé. She worked her hands over Olivia's tense shoulders and buried them in her tousled hair, leaning down to lingeringly kiss the brunette. "I love you, Liv. I love you."