-34-
Saturday, October 19, 2013
The sergeant's exam was long and exhausting. Olivia finished shortly after 2 pm, and she was by no means the last one. The room was still half-full when she left and headed home. She had no idea how she'd done, really. It didn't seem as bad as expected, and Munch had reassured her that she would be fine, but a few other cops she knew didn't seem as confident in her abilities.
She walked into the apartment to a beautiful scene. The autumn sun gave the place a warm glow in the afternoon, and there was music playing. The dining room table held a huge square vase full of five dozen orange carnations and a bottle of champagne on ice. Alex was just coming out of the kitchen with two crystal flutes in her right hand.
"Perfect timing, sweetheart," she smiled. "How did it go?" She walked over to Olivia and wrapped her arms around the detective's shoulders, still favoring the left wrist with its soft cast. Olivia heard the stemware clink behind her head as Alex leaned in for a kiss.
"What's all of this, babe?"
"Well, it's sort of congratulations. The carnations symbolize pride, according to the guy at the florist. He talked me into it, or you'd have surely gotten something a little prettier," she laughed.
"I love them," Olivia said quietly.
"They do make an impact," Alex said, nodding at the huge arrangement.
"Thank you. But I won't get the results for weeks. Are you trying to jinx me, Ms. Cabot?"
"No," Alex said. She handed the bottle of champagne to Olivia to open, and then poured two glasses and handed one over. "I'm proud of you every day, whether you pass that exam, or fail it, or never even want to take it." She clinked her glass to Liv's, and they each took a drink.
"You're sweet," Olivia said. "What are we celebrating?"
"Happy endings," Alex said. "I've been so foolish, Liv. I've let things go that are more important to me than any of the insanity that I was so worried about. That stops now. You've been very patient, and I appreciate it more than you'll ever know."
"You always find your way back," Olivia said. "This is home, and the light is always on for you."
Alex took both glasses and set them on the table, then kissed Olivia-a slow, soft kiss that felt like more of a connection than they'd had in quite some time. "There's something I've been meaning to take care of," the blonde said.
Suddenly she was kneeling on the floor and had a ring in her hand. "Olivia Benson, will you marry me?" she asked. "I love you, and nothing means anything without you."
"Of course, baby," Olivia said, and rather than risking any pain to Alex's healing wrist by pulling her up, she knelt down so that they were face to face. "Of course I'll marry you."
Alex slid the ring on to Liv's finger. It was stunning, with channel-set diamonds encircling a platinum band. "I promised you a ring, and I hope it's better late than never."
"It's perfect," Olivia said, staring at it. The diamonds sparkled even more through a prism of tears. "I'll meet you at Astra four weeks from today. I'll be the one down front who can't take her eyes off of you."
"Next Saturday," Alex said. "I don't want to wait any longer."
"The restaurant could reschedule us?" Olivia asked. "I mean, again?"
"Not exactly," Alex said. "We're locked in to that date. But I think we should just have a reception that day. Let's get married next week, baby. Please?"
"Of course. But where, sweetie? It's such short notice."
"Petrovsky's courtroom." Alex's reply was so immediate that Olivia laughed out loud.
"The scene of so many comeuppances, Ms. Cabot?"
"I've already talked to her about it, Liv. It's a Saturday, she said she'd love to. And she did mention that, if we keep the ceremony relatively short, I could probably get through it without any contempt charges," Alex joked. "Besides, Barry Moredock is out of town."
"It meant a lot to you to have him perform the ceremony, sweetheart. I feel like we're getting further and further from your ideal wedding. You really want to do this, Alex?" Olivia asked.
The answer was quick and sure. "This is what I want, Liv. I've called Uncle Bill, and Kate. They're both free. If Elliot can make it, we're all set."
"We're all set either way, honey. I'll call Elliot, but we're doing this with or without him."
"You'll both be disappointed if he can't make it," Alex said.
"A little, yeah," Olivia agreed. "But if he finds out I passed up one more chance to close this deal with you, he'll kill me, so a little disappointment is a small price to pay."
"Close this deal?" Alex feigned incredulity. She stood and walked off, leaving Olivia there kneeling on the floor.
"Hey, where are you going?" Olivia called after her.
"I'm going to the bedroom. If you want to close any deals with me, you'd better be up here in the next two minutes," she called back over her shoulder as she climbed the stairs.
Olivia was scrambling to join her. "But your wrist," she teased. "Thought you weren't supposed to be doing any heavy lifting."
Alex stopped at the top of the steps and turned around. When Olivia reached the step below, she gave her a slow, lingering kiss, and leaned close to her ear. "Oh, Detective Benson, I'm not planning to do any lifting at all," she said in a provocative whisper. "You'll be doing all the work. Do I make myself clear?"
Words on Feeling Safe
by George Elliot
Oh the comfort of feeling safe
with a person;
having neither to weigh thoughts,
nor measure words,
but to pour them all out
just as chaff and grain together,
knowing that a faithful hand
will take and sift them,
keeping what is worth keeping
and with a breath of kindness,
blow the rest away.