A/N: Fun fact – this story is now over 100,000 words, my longest fic ever. Additional fun fact – this story has 279 reviews, the most I've ever gotten for a story so far! Thank you to everyone who has been reading and to those who have left reviews, including nursenxn, MuffinRamsey, Guest, Akalittlred2, dlfngrl05, trace619, Chely99, Darkclocks, nileyjiley, myantiquewinter, RachelBarbraBerry, and carmdian. You all inspire me to keep on writing!
Rating: T
Chapter 37: New Years Eve
"Auntie Alex! Auntie Alex! 'Livia!" Willie and Charlotte shouted as the couple stepped through the door of the loft apartment, discarding their toys before jumping to their feet and scampering across the living room to greet them.
Olivia smiled. They had just arrived at Will and Tiffany's New Year's Eve Party on the Upper East Side. The past few months had been hectic, and she and Alex hadn't seen most of the Harrimans in person since the Fourth of July. Back in August, the pair had seen one of Brandon's shows and had dinner afterwards with he and Peter, and Alex had gone out for brunch with her aunt and uncle for Bill's birthday in the Fall. For the latter get-together, however, Olivia had been absent, stuck working a case. She hadn't seen Jane and Bill until just after Thanksgiving, a trip she made without Alex. Lacking her own extended family, the holidays had historically been a lonely time for the detective, and even though she didn't feel the exact same sense of belonging with the Harrimans that she might should they have been her own aunts, uncles, and cousins, she was struck by the warmth with which the group always welcomed her with as though she was their own.
The brunette smiled as she watched Alex's niece and nephew jump into her arms as she crouched down, laughing as they almost knocked her over. She handed Will, who had opened the door, the bottle of wine that she was carrying just in case, and he carried it off to the kitchen. "Hey guys, how are my favorite niece and nephew?"
Willie gave the blonde a skeptical look. "Auntie Alex, we're your only nephew and niece," he countered, causing the adults to laugh.
"Looks like we might have another attorney on our hands," Bill kidded, walking across the room with Jane to greet the pair. "Olivia, great to see you again, dear!" Bill greeted with a grin, pulling the woman into a hug before doing the same with Alex. "I trust you've been well?"
The detective nodded, receiving a hug from Jane as well. "The precinct has been busy, but it was nice to get a few days away for the holidays."
"That's right – how could I forget! You two were in the Bahamas. Old Bahama Bay, correct? Forgive me, this brain of mine isn't what it used to be," he kidded, knocking lightly on his skull.
Jane chuckled. "Come on out of the doorway, you two" she said, leading them into the living area, Willie and Charlotte clinging to Alex's dress. "You must tell us all about your trip."
"Auntie Alex, who are the presents for?" Willie interjected, pointing at the two wrapped boxes that Olivia was carrying.
"Those are for you and Charlotte," the blonde answered, scooping up the little boy. "Come on into the living room and you can open them." Willie let out a cheer, Charlotte mimicking her older brother's excitement as they were shepherded back towards the other guests.
Before sitting down, the couple said their hellos to everyone else in attendance. Samuel and Elaine were still upstate, and Emily and Tuck were also absent, celebrating the holiday with friends this year. Peter and Brandon had come over, however, as well as Grey. The latter greeted his cousin and her girlfriend with an excited grin, eager to introduce them both to his new girlfriend, a kind brunette named Marianna who he had met while volunteering with his office at a community center in Morningside Heights. Marianna was a librarian, and having immigrated to the U.S. herself as a child, worked ardently to support families in the neighborhood who were new to NYC, with everything from ESL classes to Latin culture nights for the largely Hispanic population. As the woman discussed her work, both Olivia and Alex noticed just how proud and content Greyson seemed, the red-head having himself become more active in volunteering since their relationship began. The couple was glad to see that Grey was with someone much kinder than Hailey – someone who allowed and encouraged him to grow as a person.
With Willie growing eager to open his presents in spite of Tiffany's encouragement to be polite, the detective took a seat on one of the couches next to Liz as Alex handed he and Charlotte their gifts, which they immediately began to unwrapped.
"So COOL!" Willie shouted when his present was revealed – a Monsters University Scare Factory playset. "Daddy, look!" he said enthusiastically, holding the box up for Will to see.
"That's awesome, Champ!" Will said with a grin. "Your favorite movie. What do you say to Auntie Alex and Olivia?"
"Thank you!" Willie shouted again, launching himself into Alex's arms as she sat cross-legged nearby.
Chuckling, the blonde gave her nephew a kiss on the brown mop of his hair. "You're welcome. Although you should really be thanking Olivia," she added. "She was the one who picked it out."
Willie's blue eyes widened at the new information, and he quickly scrambled out of his aunt's arms, moving instead to jump on Olivia's lap. "Thank you!" he repeated, wrapping his arms tightly around her neck, still bouncing with excitement causing the group to laugh. Alex felt her heart warm at the sight, grinning as she watched her girlfriend help Willie open up his new toy. She had seen the brunette interact with children over the years, mostly through work and occasionally at Stabler family gatherings. When they were younger, Alex thought Olivia's maternal side was cute; however she was at a place in her life and her career where she wasn't really thinking about becoming a mother herself. She knew at the time she would eventually have to have a more serious conversation about it with the detective, but she had figured that they were both young and had time before those decisions had to be made.
But now? So much had happened. In their individual lives and their life as a couple. While it might have shocked the younger version of herself, more and more Alex found herself wondering – wanting – to have a family of her own, a family with Olivia. They were both older now, more settled. Her experiences over the past decade hadn't made Alex's career unimportant to her, but they had made her reevaluate her priorities. And right now, watching Olivia enthuse over Willie's new toy with him as she held Charlotte and helped her brush her new baby doll's hair – well, right now Alex could only imagine the detective with their own children.
"Alexandra? Alexandra?" A voice interrupted the blonde's thoughts, and she looked up to see Jane calling her attention, a somewhat knowing smile on her face as she followed her niece's line of sight. "How about you come help me and Tiffany in the kitchen while you tell me about your trip?"
The attorney was not oblivious to the slightly mischievous look on her aunt's face, so she wasn't surprised when it became clear that Jane was eager to discuss more than the Bahamas with the blonde. Alex and Tiffany were chopping some more vegetables, having just finished chatting about the tour of Old Bahama Bay, when Jane turned around from placing some small quiches in the oven. "Olivia seems wonderful with children, Alexandra…" the older woman started, spurring Will's wife to smile.
"Willie and Charlotte absolutely love her," the younger woman added, slicing a couple of carrots. "They were so excited to hear that she was coming tonight with you."
Alex could feel her skin flushing as she continued to slice a cucumber, careful to not slip up with her nervousness and slice her finger. "She's great with kids," the blonde agreed simply, trying to appear nonchalant.
Her Aunt Jane quirked an eyebrow. "Have you thought of having children together?" Blue eyes wide, Alex spun around and gave her aunt a surprised look. "We Harrimans are nothing if not blunt," she responded with an amused smirk.
"Aunt Jane, technically you're an Edwards," the attorney countered, referring to the older woman's maiden name.
"Oh stop deflecting, Alexandra," Jane sighed, causing Tiffany to release the chuckle that she was trying to hold back. When her mother-in-law was intent on getting information, that information she would get, and the dark-haired woman was just glad that for once she wasn't on the receiving end of questioning. She also was very interested in Alex's response, having wondered the same herself back on the Fourth.
Alex shrugged. "Olivia and I aren't married yet. We're not even engaged…"
"Yet?" Jane asked with a smirk, her green-eyes inquiring.
The attorney rolled her eyes at her aunt's antics, blushing once more. She knew at this point she was caught. "I – well, hopefully things are heading that direction," she tried casually, shrugging and turning back to the vegetables.
On their parts, Jane and Tiffany grinned widely. Eventually, the older woman spoke again. "And then there will be children?"
Alex sighed. "And then maybe there will be children," she relented, causing both Jane and Tiffany to grin. The latter grabbed the tray of quiches from the oven, exiting to the living room, and Alex followed quickly behind with the tray of vegetables, eager to avoid any more of an interrogation.
Olivia couldn't help but notice that the three women were in the kitchen longer than might be expected, and when Alex returned with a happy smile but small blush, she couldn't help but wonder what the two women had been discussing. That said, she was a bit too anxious herself to wonder too long. She tried to distract herself, joining a conversation between Bill, Grey, and Marianna, picking up some of the hors d-oeuvres that had just been placed on the coffee table in hopes that it would settle her nervous stomach. That and some wine.
A more copious amount of wine had been enjoyed by Liz, who in her intoxication had taken to performing a puppet show for Willie and Charlotte in their playroom. When they went with Will to find the children, Olivia and Alex struggled to stifle her laughter at the sight, the judge fully enmeshed in her task, animatedly performing some sort of puppet Hamlet from what they could gather. Looking up at her girlfriend, shook her head. "Remind me to tell my aunt and uncle to keep the booze away from Liz for a bit," she joked as Will reluctantly interrupted the festivities to take Charlotte to bed. While they had allowed the tiny blonde to stay up far later than her bedtime, both parents knew that she would be terribly cranky if she stayed up all of the way until midnight. Willie, on the other hand, was intent on staying awake until the New Year for the first time ever, and Alex beckoned for him to come with them back to the main room to watch some of the Time's Square festivities with them on the tv.
"Liz, are you coming?" Olivia asked, trying not to laugh as the older woman discarded her sock puppets.
"I'm going to bed," the older blonde relayed. "Tell Will that I took the guest room," she added before ambling down the hall, nearly knocking over a vase on her way.
"I'll help her get settled," Alex said with a chuckle. "Willie, you go with Olivia, okay?" she asked.
The little brunette nodded. "Livia, will you carry me?" he asked, subsequently allowing her to pick him up. Alex smiled as she watched them continue down the hallway, Willie's head snuggled into the crook of the detective's neck.
She didn't notice that she herself was being watched and was startled when she turned around and almost bumped right into Will. "Jesus!"
"Careful there, Alex," the man teased, bracing his cousin. "People might think you're as drunk as Aunt Liz." The attorney rolled her eyes. "You distracted or something?" he asked with a smirk.
"Just making sure Willie was okay with Olivia," she replied. "I'm going to make sure Liz gets to bed okay. She said that she's taking the guest room."
"That's fine," the older blonde nodded. "Soooo… should Willie and Charlotte be expecting a new playmate soon?" he asked with a mischievous grin.
Alex sighed heavily. "Jesus, not you too," she grumbled, earning a laugh from her cousin. "Is everyone in this family concerned about my biological clock or something?"
"Well you are getting old…" Will teased.
"Shut the fuck up, Harriman. Besides, you're older"
Will chuckled and placed a hand on Alex's shoulder. "Just let me know when I get to be an uncle," he said, looking like a cat who caught a canary, before leaving Alex shaking her head and chuckling in the hall.
*SVU*SVU*SVU* SVU*SVU*SVU* SVU*SVU*SVU* SVU*SVU*SVU*
With midnight imminent, the Harriman family was preparing for celebratory festivities, Bill having popped open a bottle of champagne that he was separating into glasses as the rest of the family watched Ryan Seacrest and Jenny McCarthy on the plasma screen television. Olivia was still holding Willie, who had dozed off in her arms not too long ago, unable to stay awake for the big countdown.
"Hey, who wants to head up to the balcony?" Will asked a few minutes before the ball was to begin its fall, his father having prodded him with an elbow. "There's always a great view of the fireworks."
"Olivia, you can put Willie down on the couch," Tiffany offered. "I'll put him to bed and then join you."
"Are you sure? I don't mind – "
"Really, please. It's an incredible view. You and Alex should head up there."
"I'll be up in a second as well. Jane and I are just going to grab some poppers," Bill replied.
"You two coming?" Alex asked Peter and Brandon, who were curled up on the couch.
"Nah, it's nice and warm in here."
"Go on, Alex," Will encouraged with a grin, handing both women a champagne flute. "You take Olivia on up. I'm just going to check on Charlotte.
"Okay," Alex replied skeptically, noting that her family was being a bit strange. Then again, what else was new. She made a mental note to prepare herself for Will sneaking up behind her with a confetti popper or something to scare her. Intertwining her hand with Olivia's, she smiled at her girlfriend before leading her upstairs.
The couple walked out onto the apartment's balcony, which looked directly towards Midtown. "Wow, this is incredible," Olivia said awestruck as they stepped out, taking in the vast view of NYC from the high-rise.
"Absolutely incredible," Alex replied, looking at the brunette, who flushed when she felt Alex's gaze. "I'm so glad to share this with you, Liv. All of this," she said softly, squeezing the detective's cold fingers. She led her girlfriend to the railing, smiling when she felt Olivia stand behind her, the brunette placing both of their glasses of champagne on the sizeable ledge before wrapping her arms around the younger woman.
They remained in silence, for a minute before Alex craned her neck around, uninterested in moving out of Olivia's embrace. "I wonder where everyone is. They're going to miss it."
"Do you want me to go get them?" Olivia asked.
"No, you stay right here," Alex replied resolutely, smiling when Olivia kissed her cheek. A few moments later, they heard the popping of fireworks and loud cheers coming from Times Square, and the attorney turned to give her love a New Year's kiss before gasping in shock.
Olivia, kneeling down holding out a familiar velvet box. The detective gave the blonde a sheepish smile, face nervous. "Alex, I've been trying to figure out something to say that would best capture my feelings for you, but everything just comes up short. You are truly the most kind, brilliant, stunning person that I have ever met. And I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I am so incredibly thankful that you came into my life," she continued, unable to conceal the emotion in her voice. "That we had a second chance," she added, taking one of the blonde's hands into her own. At this point, both women were crying. "I fell for you the moment you walked into the precinct, and I will love you until the day that I die. And I want all of the years that I have left to be with you."
Olivia looked up, meeting Alex's cerulean blue eyes – those same eyes that she saw during countless fights, on nights in the bar after a tough case, the first time they made love, on that night they said goodbye in a field in NJ. Those eyes that she got to see almost every morning now, never ceasing to feel lucky each time regardless of how stressed or angry either of them were. She loved Alex through it all.
"You are my home, Alex. Will you marry me?"
Alex grinned widely, finally hearing the words that she had been waiting for for over a decade fall out of Olivia's mouth. "Yes," she answered immediately, shaking from the cold and excitement. "God, yes," she confirmed. Both women laughed, happiness overwhelming them, as Olivia slipped the ring onto the blonde's finger before standing up and capturing her lips in a passionate kiss.
As they headed back inside a few minutes later, Alex suddenly remembered they were still at her cousin's apartment. "Wait, did you plan all of this with them?" she asked as they entered the warm hallway.
"Not exactly," the detective replied with a bashful smile. "I went to your aunt and uncle to talk to them about it back in November. You know, to get this blessing…"
Alex swallowed back tears at the admission, the gesture behind it meaning a great deal to her. "So traditional," she teased, squeezing Olivia's hand to make sure she knew her sincere appreciation.
"The whole balcony thing was a surprise for me too though," the detective admitted. "I had the ring with me all night waiting for the perfect moment. Your uncle must have sensed it or something. Your family is a bunch of schemers, Cabot."
"You know I had to get it from somewhere," the blonde replied playful, giving Olivia another kiss. She was kissing her fiancée, she thought happily, knowing that feeling would never grow old.
"Do you want to go tell them?"
"Let's go future Mrs. Cabenson."
Olivia laughed. "We'll talk about the last name situation later."
When the couple arrived back downstairs, the Harriman family tried to play coy, looking at the couple with anticipant smiles but remaining quiet. It was Willie, who had woken up in their absence, who broke the silence. "Did you say yes, Auntie Alex?" he burst out.
Both women laughing, Alex held up her free left hand to reveal the ring, the group breaking out into roars and applause before rushing over to wish their congratulations. Olivia grinned widely as she hugged Alex's various relatives, before moving to wrap her arms around Alex as Bill toasted their engagement.
Eager to spend the rest of the evening with her fiancée in private, shortly after, Alex started to say goodbye, offering the excuse that they wanted to head home before the subway got too crowded. Her family, of course, saw right through that.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay here tonight?" Will asked mischievously. "Curl up in the guest room next to Liz?"
"You can stay in my room!" Willie offered excitedly, the jest of the situation.
Alex chuckled at her nephew's suggestion. "Olivia and I actually have to be somewhere early tomorrow," she lied. "But how about we have a sleepover some other time?"
"An early morning, Alexandra? That sure will be difficult after the all-nighter you're about to pull."
"Uncle Bill!" Alex exclaimed, both she and Olivia immediately flushing.
"Okay everyone, let's leave Alexandra and Olivia alone. They just got engaged after all," Jane interjected, guiding the appreciative women towards the door. "Have fun breaking in the New Year's," she said with a wink.
Both women blushed again, laughing as the door closed. "You've got quite the family."
"They're yours now too," Alex replied with a smile that Olivia returned.
"I wouldn't have it any other way."