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Alex was sharing a cuddle with Tate, enjoying the last few moments of peace when she registered angry raised voices outside the Mess, in the outside kitchen. She shared a worried look with Tate which turned into surprise when she realised one of the voices was Olivia's. What was her hot headed friend up to now? Hopefully not fighting with Tyler. So much for their peace. She lay her head against her partner's chest, hearing the rhythmic thump of her heart as they shared one last hug.
The door flew open, crashing against the wall as Olivia stormed in, Tyler hot on her heels and Alex's jaw dropped in surprise. Elliot? Abbie? WTF?
"You two might want to separate before homophobe over there starts on you too" Olivia growled heading for the coffee machine.
"I am not a homophobe" Elliot growled back "I was shocked dammit, you said it was serious, you never said you'd met a woman"
"It's none of your damn business who I met, certainly not after months of the cold shoulder" Olivia yelled back
"I've been your partner for 12 years, you've never ever looked at a woman before, I'm allowed to be shocked" Elliot threw up his hands before turning to see Alex cuddled up to another woman, a much younger woman. He shook his head, he didn't want to know "Cabot"
"Detective" Alex nodded coolly then turned to press a quick kiss on Tate's chin "I better go save the coffee machine" she whispered and Tate grinned and pecked her nose
"I better go organise the soup and get the hot dogs on" she grinned "I'm sure I'll hear all about things later" she chuckled and let Alex go, shooting a look at this Elliot character, ignoring his stare and heading over to the pot where the soup was bubbling away.
She spared a look for the coffee machine and saw another beautiful woman standing there. She rose a surprised brow when Alex hugged her warmly and heard a decided twang in her husky voice as they exchanged pleasantries. Must be an old friend of Alex's, she would find out eventually.
She turned her attention to the soup and ladling the thick chunky liquid into bowls as the door opening let in more people. Ah the FBI Agents, followed shortly by some ranch hands. Placing 6 bowls on a tray at a time she carried them over to where trays of buttered sliced bread waited.
"Dig in" she told the suited men "Cutlery is over near the coffee machine, sit where you want."
"We've all eaten" one told her while staring at the food
"Service Station food I'd guess" and he nodded. This meant a packet of crisps or a candy bar or stale sandwiches.
"Plenty to go round, hotdogs for later" she chuckled as they practically fought each other to get to the soup and she went back to collect more.
Although the rain had stopped to intermittent showers it was still overcast and cold and the workers were happy to have something warm in their stomachs. Tate ate her cup of soup while keeping an eye on Alex who sat with Olivia, Tyler, the dark haired woman, Judy and Hank. Olivia's partner was sitting with the FBI Agents. The Hot dog sausages were bubbling away nicely so she went to the fridge to collect the sauce and mustard.
5 minutes later people were lined up through her kitchen, bread rolls at the ready while she handed out the sausages. When Alex came up she introduced the dark haired lady as Abbie Carmichael and Tate exchanged pleasantries, remembering Alex telling her about Abbie.
"Hello handsome, the picture Alex sent didn't do you justice" Abbie stirred and Tate felt her cheeks turning red, much to the amusement of many. Alex gave her friend a nudge and told her to shush before giving Tate one of those smiles which fried her brain cells and they moved on.
Olivia had to give her a little nudge to bring her back to earth and Tate growled at her when noticing her grin. Slapping a sausage into Olivia's bun she shot her a look then called
"Next"
Olivia just laughed and sauntered off towards the sauces before heading back to her seat.
Lunch over, Tate returned to the kitchen to organise their roast for that night and to ready the potatoes to stuff with bacon, cheese and onion. She didn't do it often, only when she could get her hands on the giant potatoes.
Everyone had left the mess except for those who needed to speak to Alex. Olivia had stayed for moral support for Alex. One of the suits seemed a bit gruff. He was older than the others, probably well past retirement. Back in his day was probably when they treated the victim as suspects.
She kept an eye on Alex in case she got upset but knew Alex could handle her own and would resent her stepping in, in any way. So she organised dinner with one eye and ear on what was going on. So far the voices hadn't been raised but she could see the tense set of Alex's and Olivia's shoulders. Probably wouldn't be long.
Eventually she couldn't put off going outside to light the charcoal grill any longer and with one last look at Alex she left.
Alex knew the second that Tate had stepped outside and turned to the arrogant piece of shit in front of her.
"Listen carefully I will only explain this one more time. Get it through your thick skull or you can fuck off to whatever rock you crawled out from under. I met Wentworth at a Fundraiser, I was introduced by my uncle. I'd never heard of the guy before, he seemed charming and we spent the evening talking and I agreed to dinner with him. That was a mistake" Alex reached across under the table and linked her hand with Olivia's who squeezed it in support
"Afterwards he tried to tell me he was just being gentlemanly, he apologised but I don't need someone telling me what I should eat or drink and he was a rude arrogant prick to the waiter. He asked for another chance, claimed he'd been nervous and I stupidly gave it to him. This time he took it in his head to criticize what I was wearing the second I turned up. I thanked him politely but told him the date was over and to lose my number and headed outside for a taxi." She paused and looked at Olivia who had heard it before
"He grabbed me by the arm and for a second there was a real look of uncontrolled anger on his face. He attempted to apologise again but I brushed him off, told him again to lose my number and got into the taxi. He tried to get in with me but I slammed the door and locked it. Thankfully the driver was kind and took off. I spent the next month avoiding his calls and ignoring my uncles pleading to give him another chance before I left for Africa"
She paused and took a sip of her coffee before looking at Olivia and offering a tense smile
"He emailed while I was away, I never gave him my email. Probably my uncle. I never replied and he stopped about 6 months ago. I thought he had given up but the second I walked out of the airport last week he started again. I ignored every call until I had enough and text him to say further harassment would bring charges. I called my lawyer and she drew up an order in preparation. When he called and told my partner he was my fiancé it was the final straw and I had him served"
She turned to Abbie then and rose a brow
"Think that is clear enough this time counsellor?" and Abbie had to fight a grin
"I think it is very clear and I think the Agents need to stop harassing you and actually go work this case" she stated and looked pointedly at the older agent who had been giving her friend a hard time "Remember this is our complainant gentlemen, not the perp. If you have issues with Miss Cabot I suggest you let me know so I can remove you from the case"
Once again she looked pointedly at the older agent who returned her stare. The door to the kitchen opened and Tate walked back in. If Abbie hadn't been watching she would have missed the slight sneer and narrowing of the eyes. Ah, a homophobe
"I suggest for your sake Agent Pyke that you keep your obvious bigotry out of the case or I will advise your superiors." He turned to her with a startled glance which he quickly smoothed over
"I have no problem"
"Then you won't mind if I keep a close eye on you" Abbie grinned "Now" she turned to Tyler "Where do you suggest we set up a bit of a temporary office?"
"Depends what you need" Tyler relaxed back in her chair, feet stretched out
"Access to phone lines, internet, some office space" Abbie shrugged "The usual"
"Hmm I'll give a call to the mayor. Town hall or Library would be your best bet" she stood in one slow easy motion before bending to press a kiss on Olivia's cheek "See you later babe"
Olivia offered up a smile while the Agents and Elliot stood. Elliot kept shooting her glances but she wasn't ready to deal with him yet. He was probably wondering why she wasn't begging to be involved with the case. To her own surprise she had no inkling to get involved, other than to keep Alex safe. It was unusual, even up to six months ago she would have wanted, needed to get involved, even though she was on leave. Now she just wanted to make sure Alex was alright and safe with Tate then go off and see if Beau needed a hand. Wasn't that a real kick up the ass.
She waited for everyone to leave, telling Abbie goodbye and that the three of them would catch up later. Abbie chuckled but did not comment then she strode off, calling "Seeya handsome" to a blushing Tate as she did. Olivia and Alex just laughed before Alex turned to her
"I'm surprised you aren't chomping at the bit to get involved" she stated and squeezed the hand she still held
"Surprisingly no. I'd rather stay here, keep you safe and work with Beau" Olivia shrugged "Guess I am still burnt out"
"Or maybe your priorities have changed. You're a great cop Liv, but you were slowly killing yourself doing it, you gave so much of yourself. It's time you gave yourself some more attention, your friends, family and your lover"
"Believe me, my lover gets plenty of attention" Olivia smirked and Alex rolled her eyes
"You know what I mean" she scolded
"I do. I don't know what the future holds at the moment except I would like Tyler to be in it. You too. I think Elliot is going to make me chose though" she sighed sadly
"Then he needs to be prepared to lose" Alex stated and Olivia shot her a stunned look "He may be like a brother to you Liv but I know you and if you aren't in love with Tyler already you will be soon. I hope you are not stupid enough to throw that away"
"Lex" Olivia breathed, overwhelmed and blinked to keep her tears at bay
"I know" Alex smiled and shot Tate a pointed look "Don't you think I know?"
"Really?" Olivia shot a quick look at Tate who seemed more relaxed now the agents were gone "We're quite a pair aren't we"
"We are sisters after all" Alex smiled and opened her arms, Olivia falling into them easily.
Tate turned and found her partner and her friend in a hug. Must have been one heavy conversation. She waited and watched, her heart aching at the tender scene. Alex had confided in her that she considered Liv as a sister and Olivia felt the same. She was glad for both of them. Both had little family and some of what Olivia had weren't worth claiming.
She watched as Olivia drew back, placed a kiss on Alex's cheek and stated she was going to go find Beau and to be careful. Alex nodded and with a last quick hug Olivia left. Tate waved to her as she walked out before turning her attention to Alex who had walked up to stand next to her.
"You Ok?" she asked as she pulled her woman in for a hug. Alex snuggled even closer
"I am now" she murmured causing Tate to grin
"Good" Tate whispered and waited for Alex to look up at her before she leant down to offer a bit more comfort with her lips.
