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Alex went home with Olivia after work. She couldn't believe how good it felt to be back in her apartment. "Josh, I brought you a birthday present!" called Olivia, shrugging off her coat and taking Alex's; an odd gesture, Alex thought, considering this used to be her apartment too. It still was.

"Thank you," he called back dully, his voice devoid of any true happiness.

"Come see it!" Olivia prodded.

She heard him sigh, but he obediently plodded toward the front hall.

His face broke into a wide grin when he saw Alex and he immediately burst into tears and ran to her, jumping into her outstretched arms. She held him – her son – and covered him with kisses, and soon their tears intermingled.

She tried a joke. "My goodness, Joshy, you're getting heavy!"

That set him off again and he clung more tightly to her. "I thought you were dead!"

"Oh, Joshua." She didn't know what to say to that. She didn't know what Olivia had told him. All she knew was that they tried not to involve Joshua in their work lives.

He looked up at her through shiny blue eyes. "Are you – are you a ghost?"

She hugged him tightly. "No, baby."

"You're really here?"

She nodded, offering him a watery smile. "I'm really here."

He burst into a fresh round of sobbing. "Don't ever leave me!"

"I won't," she promised, kissing his hair. "Never. I love you, baby. More than anything in the whole wide world."

"Except me," cut in Olivia, grinning.

"You're the only worthy competitor," said Alex, holding Joshua even tighter, then balancing him on her hip and kissing his forehead. "Happy birthday, sweetie. I'm sorry I didn't get you a gift."

He wrapped his arms around her neck. "You're my gift."

She melted. That was what her son did to her. "You're getting to be such a big boy! Are you still the undefeated checkers champion?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "Will you play with me?"

She nodded and shifted him on her hip. Even though he was heavy, and she'd lost weight while in Witness Protection, she wanted – needed – to be close to her son right now.

They played four games of chess, then Elliot called to ask if the party was still on for Joshua's birthday. Olivia asked Joshua if he still wanted it, and he deferred to Alex, who smiled and said, "Honey, it's your birthday. It's your choice."

He looked at her longingly, then said with a maturity beyond his years, "If you just want to be with us, that's okay."

"I'm here to stay now, Joshy. You can have your birthday party if you still want to."

He smiled shyly. "Yes, please."

Olivia told Elliot that they were still on, and within half an hour, the doorbell rang and John arrived. "Whoa, aren't you supposed to be – dead?" he asked when he saw Alex, scratching his head. Then his eyes widened. "They stashed you away in Witness Protection, didn't they?"

Alex managed a wry smile. "This really was a conspiracy."

Joshua ran to the front door and grinned up at John. "Hey, Josh," said John, holding out his hand for a high five and handing the little boy a wrapped box. "Happy birthday!"

"Thank you," said Joshua politely, but he couldn't contain his grin when he turned back to Alex. "But I already have the best birthday present in the world!"

Fin and Elliot arrived, along with Kathy and the Stabler kids, minus Maureen because she was away at university. Abbie and Serena arrived shortly after.

Casey arrived last, a bit uncertain as she stood awkwardly in the doorway, holding a gift for Joshua. But he gave her a smile and a hug. "Thank you for coming, Casey," he said politely, handing his gift to Olivia.

She smiled back and knelt down so they were eye level. "Happy birthday, Joshua."

"Guess what? Alex is back! She wasn't dead. She's my birthday gift."

Alex knew that Joshua hadn't meant to be rude, he was a just a child and well . . . tactless. But the sadness that flashed in Casey's eyes made her feel bad. "Come in, Casey," she said, taking Joshua's hand and leading him back inside. "Thank you for coming."

Casey still looked uneasy, but she perched on the edge of the couch between Serena and Fin. Alex sat down beside Olivia and pulled Joshua onto her lap, kissing the crown of his head. "I love you, honey," she murmured in his ear. She could still hardly believe that she was back, with her little boy.

He clung to her all night and insisted that she help him blow out the candles on his birthday cake.

Alex read to him and tucked him into bed that night, and she stayed with him until he fell asleep. Then she went to her own bedroom and lay down beside Olivia. "You cannot imagine how good this feels."

"Mm." Olivia pulled Alex close and gently stroked her hair. "I actually can." She smiled wanly. "So how was Witness Protection?"

"Mm." Alex snuggled closer to Olivia. "Let's not talk about that. Tell me how Joshua's been doing."

She sighed. "You missed a lot. He went through this phase where he refused to call anyone by their full names and he called me Liv and Elliot El and so on. It was cute, actually." She was careful to omit how he'd cried for her every night for weeks after her "death," how he'd insisted on visiting her grave at least twice a week, how hostile he'd been toward Casey at first because he'd thought she was trying to replace Alex, how he'd worn her sweatshirts around the house because they smelled like her. The conversations he'd had with Alex at her grave, the ones he believed she was participating in. The nightmares. The fear.

"What about school?" asked Alex, eager for information about her son.

Olivia shrugged. "He's going into grade three in September. He loves school, actually. He has friends there. His favorite subject is math."

Alex shook her head in wonderment. "No idea where he gets that from."

Olivia smiled ruefully. "He's his own kid."

"What else?"

"He has this crush on a little girl named Arianna. She's just adorable. You'll probably get to meet her in a few days; she comes over pretty much every Saturday. I signed him up for swimming lessons starting in September, and t-ball, because Arianna's doing it too. It's the littlest version of Little League. He's reading chapter books by himself now. He's a smart kid. He still loves Transformers and dinosaurs and Lego, and his new thing is Bionicles. He also likes Pokémon, and Yu-Gi-Oh, and B-daman."

"Oh, God. I missed him." Alex tried to smile, because she feared she would cry if she didn't. "I love him so much, Liv."

Olivia kissed the crown of her head. "I love you so much, Alex."

And that night, she fell asleep and slept through the night for the first time in over a year, safe in Olivia's arms.

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