Alex groaned and gingerly stretched her stiff neck. The morning sun streamed through the window, already high in the sky, and Alex saw red through her closed eyelids. She adjusted her cheek against Olivia's comfortingly warm skin and sighed; thank God for Saturday mornings, she mused serenely to herself. Sleepily, she slid her palm up to curl around the curve of Olivia's neck to toy with leather collar still buckled around the brunette's neck. She smiled. They had had a wonderful evening.
As she nuzzled against Olivia's rising and falling chest, Alex felt her girlfriend's arms tighten around her body. Olivia's soft moaning sigh of contentment vibrated loudly in Alex's ear and she lifted her head to look up at her lover. Slowly, the brunette's dark eyes fluttered open, squinting against the bright light and immediately locating Alex's blue gaze. She smiled at the blonde with an air of gentle comfort. "Good morning, ma'am," she murmured.
Alex grinned and craned her neck to press a tender kiss to the corner of her girlfriend's lips. "Morning, Liv. Sleep well?" Olivia merely hummed in response, shifting her body under the covers. Alex's grin widened and she hooked a finger playfully under the brunette's collar and tugged. "Liv…" she growled gently.
Olivia curled onto her side in order to lie closer to Alex's and, eyes demurely long-lidded, replied, "Yes, ma'am."
Kissing the brunette again, Alex rewarded Olivia with a lingering caress and almost reluctantly edged from the bed. Leaning back down, she tugged the sheets from Olivia's groaning grasp and tossed them to the bottom of the mattress. "Come on, darling," she coaxed. "I'm starving and you're going to make breakfast." Chuckling at Olivia's paper-thin efforts at resistance, Alex hooked her fingers under the collar and tugged more insistently. "If you want to know what I've got planned for today, Liv, you're going to have to get up." Finally, groaning with mock irritation, curiosity got the best of the brunette and Olivia crawled from the bed.
Laughing happily, Alex swatted her girlfriend on the backside to propel her towards the kitchen. "Eggs please, darling. And toast." Alex's voice was rich with amusement and the promise of something nice to come. She followed Olivia, slinging her warm robe around her body, and took a leisurely seat at the dinette table. Leering exaggeratedly, she teased her naked lover with roving, appreciative ogling and ignored Olivia's irritated gestures. Restraining her urge to laugh out loud, Alex let out a shrill wolf whistle as Olivia bent to retrieve a skillet from under the stove. "Now be careful when you turn the burner on, Olivia. I don't want anything … important … getting burnt." She laid her emphasis carefully, suggestively waggling her eyebrows when Olivia threw her an exasperated glance. Smiling smartly, Alex let her lover be and stretched luxuriously in her seat, reaching for the coffee mug the brunette had thumped onto the table.
Ignoring blaring horns, Alex squeezed her sedan into a small spot just along Central Park West. She briskly turned the engine off and pocketed the keys before turning, an almost wicked grin crinkling her expression, to her curious girlfriend. Olivia's eyebrow was cocked wryly at Alex's smile. "Alex, Central Park? What are you planning?"
"Shhhh…" Alex soothed playfully. "Now, darling, I want you to put this on." Alex held up a brightly colored scarf, the corners bunched in her hands, and gestured towards Olivia's eyes.
"A blindfold? Really, Alex, I don't think…"
"Humor me, Liv." She gestured again, smiling encouragingly, and Olivia reluctantly agreed to comply; she could never refuse her tricky blonde anything. Expression bright with excitement, Alex tied the scarf around her girlfriend's eyes snugly and carefully adjusted the edges so that Olivia could see nothing. "Now, just stay there and I'll come around and help you out." Olivia sighed with humorous frustration but obediently unbuckled her seatbelt and waited patiently for Alex.
Watching her step and stifling uncharacteristic giggles, Alex walked slowly backwards down a path through the heart of Central Park. She held one of Olivia's hands in both of her own, allowing the brunette to lean both on her and on a cane as she was guided blindly towards her surprise. Though she couldn't see her surroundings, Olivia could sense the blonde's surprising excitement and wracked her thoughts for any clue as to what Alex was up to. However, her attention was soon diverted by the unsettling sensation of being watched. She heard the whisper of voices around her and felt eyes burning through her clothing and the blindfold. Uncertainly, she drew closer to her girlfriend for security and her skin prickled as she began to flush.
Finally, Alex released Olivia's hand and moved to stand behind the brunette, pressing their bodies close. She raised her hands to the blindfold and whispered, "Ready, sweetie?"
"Alex…" Olivia's voice trailed off in shock as Alex tugged the blindfold away. Alex's family was there and Elliot's. Fin, Munch and Cragen grinned from the edge of the large group and, as Olivia gaped in surprise, they began to clap enthusiastically. Alex's father strode toward the two women, chuckling pleasantly at Olivia's stunned expression, and wrapped a warm arm around each woman's shoulders.
"Congratulations, girls," he boasted. "Nancy and I thought that you two deserved a proper engagement party." He leaned slyly to whisper to Olivia, his voice exaggerated and clearly audible to everyone. "Olivia, dear, the blindfold was Alex's idea." A slightly bewildered smile softening her expression, Olivia whipped around to face her girlfriend.
"Alex," she scolded playfully, her shy delight belying her irritated tone.
The blonde shushed her quickly and gestured to the crowd. "Come on, Liv. Our guests are waiting." Blushing an even deeper shade of pink, Olivia followed her girlfriend into the warm fold of their friends and family. Elliot was the first to greet her, punching her gently in the shoulder and smiling widely.
"I assume we're invited to the wedding," he joked. "Now, let's see the rock Cabot bought you. It had better be big." Before she could even offer, he snatched her hand and bent to study it closely before holding it up to show the crowd. "Damn, Alex. You're going to make Kathy jealous!"
Rolling her eyes, Olivia tugged her hand back to return Elliot's familiar greeting in kind. She winked to the Stabler family and retorted, "El, I hate to tell you this but, Alex is a better man than you." Elliot guffawed and turned to his family in mock hurt, allowing his friend a chance to greet the rest of the gathered guests.
They crowded around the two women, planting kisses on their cheeks, squeezing them in warm embraces and vocally admiring the ring on Olivia's finger. After bending down to greet Alex's niece and nephew, Olivia straightened and found herself directly in the path of Nancy's blue gaze. For a short moment, Olivia and Alex's mother looked at each other, hints of uncertainty creasing their eyes. Nancy was the first to break the silence. She took Olivia's hand and folded it firmly between both of her own. "Olivia, I'm glad you're joining our family. I know I don't always show it very clearly, but I truly am happy for you and my daughter." She paused for a moment, as if to continue, before impulsively gathering the brunette in her arms. She held her daughter's fiancé tightly, wordlessly praying to pass on the support and good wishes she couldn't seem to articulate.
Alex had told her parents of Rosenfeld's horrific return but had begged them not to come, not to say anything to Olivia. Nancy had regretfully complied with her daughter's pleading requests. She wanted to be there for Alex, wanted to explain to Olivia her changing feelings, but she settled for an embrace instead. It would have to do for now.
Finally, Nancy released her future daughter-in-law and smiled up at the tall brunette. "Now, Olivia, you're looking far too thin for your own good. Let's have some lunch and get you off your feet. Nicole and Aaron have put out quite a spread and we've all been positively dying to have a taste of everything." She tucked Olivia's free arm in hers and led her through the gathering towards a cluster of folding chairs and a heavily laden table. As she followed, Olivia craned to meet Alex's eyes and smiled with relaxation.
Alex returned her fiance's smile with a playful wave and watched serenely as her mother led the way towards the lunch table. She felt her heart was about to burst with happiness. Her mother had finally accepted her daughter for who she was and Olivia … Alex felt a tear of joy pricking at her eye. Olivia had once confided in Alex that her one wish was to be surrounded by family. Watching her own family enfolding Olivia into their midst, Alex knew that this was the best gift she could have given her dear girlfriend: a real family.
Alex chuckled and leaned to kiss her girlfriend, just barely using her tongue to taste the wine on Olivia's lips. The party dispersed, the two women were alone in the park except for the blanket beneath them, two plastic cups and a bottle of wine with a few glasses missing. The spring sun was beginning to dip in the sky but the air was still warm and Alex wanted to enjoy the last few hours of light. She propped herself up on her elbow to lie above the brunette and, using her free hand, she combed her fingers through Olivia's short hair until it stood out at all angles. Laughing again, she eased herself back to lie looking up at the oak leaves and blue sky, her head pillowed on Olivia's shoulder.
The party had been wonderful; Alex reminded herself to thank her mother again for the idea. It was so unusual, having her mother welcome Olivia into her family. From the time Alex had admitted to her sexual preferences, Nancy had refused to acknowledge her daughter's occasional girlfriends as being anything more than roommates or friends, transitory and short-lived. And Christmas with Olivia hadn't gotten off to a smooth beginning either. Nancy's change of heart – or at least her change in tactics – had only come after her catching a glimpse of Olivia's scarred body. Though she desperately hoped her mother's actions were genuine, a tiny voice in her heart whispered that maybe Nancy simply hoped Alex would grow tired of the brunette. Snarling in her thoughts, Alex shoved those thoughts aside; her mother was innocent until proven otherwise.
Olivia's deep sigh roused Alex from her musings and she craned her neck to peer up at her girlfriend. Her eyes creased with concern. "Are you alright, darling?" she asked gently.
"Yes, Alex. I'm just … happy." Olivia's voice was soft and slow and as she spoke, Alex began to smile contentedly. Those were words she had waited to hear for long months. Despite all of her progress healing emotionally and physically, Alex had constantly perceived the note of deep sadness behind Olivia's eyes and it worried her. But Olivia's simple statement represented a long step towards putting her girlfriend at ease.
In her dreams, Alex constantly saw Harold Rosenfeld's face, first twisted in sickening satisfaction and then contorted with pain as the bullets ripped through his body. The blood always sprayed across the pale tiles of the bathroom, always gushed into Alex's hands in her nightmares. They were so vivid. Sometimes she simply stared at her hands, red and sticky and disgustingly hot. Other times, she looked up and, with horror, saw Olivia's face instead. She watched as her girlfriend clutched the wounds in her belly and fell to her knees. But always, by the time Alex reached her side, the brunette was dead, her cheek cold.
Again, Alex jerked herself back to reality and banished such thoughts from her mind. She would talk to George about her plaguing dreams later. Now, she was in Olivia's arms under a shade tree at the beginning of spring. She just wanted to enjoy their moment together and relish the last moments of a long and pleasant afternoon. Slowly, she scooted upward so she lay at eye level with her girlfriend. Again, she propped herself up onto her elbow, took a long sip of wine from her cup and bent to kiss the brunette. "I'm glad to hear that, darling," she murmured as she pulled away.
Olivia smiled serenely up at her and Alex grinned as she took in the brunette's still spiky hair. Wordlessly, she used her fingers to comb and pat it back into place before placing her palm on Olivia's temple and beginning to stroke gently. They lay like that for a long time, enjoying the cooling air and the warm hues cast by the setting sun and each other's presence. Finally, Alex pushed herself into a sitting position, groaning exaggeratedly and rubbing her numb arm. Hefting the half-full bottle, she raised her cup to Olivia. "Come on, Liv. Let's finish this and go home." Smiling softly, Olivia joined her girlfriend, handing over her cup and moving to lean against the wide tree trunk. Alex poured the wine into both cups, emptying the bottle, and scooted to rest against Olivia's body. She took a long sip and sighed with pleasure. As she exhaled, she felt Olivia's arm snake around her shoulders and tighten until the Alex was held securely against her girlfriend.
"Alex," Olivia murmured. Alex hummed questioningly in response. "Did you put your parents up to this?"
"Me?" Alex asked, her innocence exaggerated. After a moment of Olivia's suspicious sidelong gaze, Alex relented. "Well, it was their idea. I just went along." Olivia laughed softly and raised her glass to her lips.
"Well, whoever thought it up… I want to say thank you."