A/N at the end! Thanks for reading!

Chapter Thirty-Eight:

Dissonant and Concordant Voices

AAA

"It's nauseatingly hideous in here, Al…" Olivia commented as they lay in bed, in the downstairs guestroom, a week later. "Laura Ashley meets Queen Victoria, with a splash of grandma's house…"

But there was no jest in her wife's tone. The brunette was absolutely serious.

The past few days had been difficult for Olivia—surgery only having occurred seven days prior—but she had gone to her fourth appointment for physical therapy and each time they returned after the grueling two-hour torture session, as she called it, she was in pain, cranky, and not in the mood for much of anything else except laying the sofa and watching more daytime TV. Judge Judy had become one of her favorites, the blonde cringing every time the acerbic judge was on the screen.

From the visits that the blonde had gone to, faithfully, for the past four days, the physical therapist had her wife on the treadmill with ankle weights, had her using quad weight machines and circuit training, and other exercises that she witnessed, and they had had the brunette almost in tears with each session in order to get her knee back to its full strength, and Alex knew that it had been arduous for her wife.

Alex turned her head and looked at Olivia, who was staring at the ceiling now, motionless. "Do you want to change the motif in here, Liv?" Alex looked around the lower-level space that they had decided was the better option for, at least, a few weeks. "Maybe simpler and less frilly?"

The blonde was trying. But Olivia had been more than difficult to be around these days. She had stopped taking the pain medication and Alex knew that she was hurting. Her four-day-a-week therapy caused her knee to swell slightly daily, become warm to the touch, and make the brunette feel helpless all over again—not to mention the exhaustion that came after the sessions.

"Maybe…" Olivia said softly. "…IKEA has some cute duvet covers…in more muted tones…"

Alex sat up now and propped herself on her left elbow, their places now switched from their typical spots that they slept in upstairs. "Olivia…"

Olivia continued to stare at the white ceiling fan above them.

"Liv…" Alex tried even more softly now.

Her wife finally looked at her, a stoic expression on that beautiful caramel complexion. Her hair was splayed out on the pillow, black, silk pajamas on. Even without make-up her almond-shaped eyes were entrancing, still, that full, naturally pink mouth ever inviting.

"Don't, Alex…" Olivia licked her lips, "…don't look at me like that…I told you…no poor Liv…"

Alex took a small breath and then rolled over and placed her feet on the floor.

It was Saturday morning and the kids had just started their second semester at school, all three doing well. Things were going great except for the looming tension that surrounded the ladies.

Olivia just wasn't expressing herself to the blonde. Alex knew that Olivia didn't like to complain, but the brunette definitely had something to complain about—she just wasn't sharing it with her wife. And the blonde wanted to listen, wanted her wife to talk with her about anything and everything that she was feeling, emotionally and physically.

But, on the other hand, Alex had topics of discussion that she hadn't been sharing either.

"Al…don't go…"

"I'm gonna get coffee and breakfast started…" Alex stood and moved to the hook on the back of the door and took her beige robe, feeling her wife's eyes on her as she slipped it on.

But Olivia didn't stop her—didn't say anything more. Alex turned the handle and opened the door and stepped out, not once looking back.

OOO

Olivia let out a breath, feeling her eyes water. She swallowed hard, her mouth dry from sleep, and then closed her eyes, bringing her hand to her eyes and squeezing them with her thumb and forefinger as they filled with more tears. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

She didn't want to be this way—didn't want to act like a moping, moody bitch. But, she was definitely feeling the fatigue, the throbbing pain, especially in the mornings. She had opted to go off of the codeine for many reasons. She had just gotten function back in her lower stomach region and also didn't like the way her mind felt on the narcotics.

But, what could she say to her wife that the blonde didn't already know? Complaining wasn't in her being and she wouldn't gripe to Alex about something that they both knew was inevitably going to happen. It seemed futile to the brunette.

The pain, the tightness, the exhaustion were things they both knew would occur and the brunette didn't want to be a burden to her loving wife.

However, Olivia was aware of the affect she was having on Alex. She saw it in her face. But when the blonde looked at her with those sympathetic, morose eyes, it made the once-strong detective's façade weaken. It caused her to be angry—angry because she felt weak. She felt like her body was betraying her with this surgery, weakening her resolve, her character, and her being.

She knew that she would get better eventually. But this road to recovery was kicking her ass in more ways than one—emotionally, as well as, physically.

Olivia shook her head, trying to release some of the pity that she was feeling for herself and then pulled herself to a sitting position, dragging her legs as she went. She looked down at her knee, now uncovered and without gauze for the healing as she let it air out, noting that the four small areas of sutures were healing rather nicely, but there was bruising all around from the poking and probing and prodding that had occurred during the procedure. She smiled to herself, knowing that her surgeon had done an excellent job, silently thanking him inside of her mind.

Taking another deep breath, she carefully moved her feet to the floor. She would try to be more positive, try and keep her spirits high. If not for herself and her recovery, then definitely for her wife and her family.

AAA

From her peripheral, Alex saw her wife enter the kitchen, now just feet from their bedroom. She had started the bacon and was currently scrambling eggs with a little parmesan, a little garlic powder, and a little oregano, the way the family liked them. A thick whole grain toast was in the toaster, making enough for the entire family as Theo sat at the piano that morning, playing a Schubert piece, Piano Sonata No. 20 in D Major, that he hadn't played in a couple of months.

It was beautiful and Alex had been enjoying it immensely, the sound calming her nerves, settling her heart, even if only slightly. It was an incredibly morose song, but the way her son played was so full of feeling, his talent able to make it seem not quite as dreary as it actually was.

"Sounds good, Theo…" Alex offered from across the living room, their son moving along the keys effortlessly, his body swaying, and she went to the toaster to retrieve two more pieces of toast and place them in the cloth napkin-covered basket.

She moved back to the island and continued to scramble, her wife crutching over to the table. Olivia leaned the crutches against the wall of windows next to the table and then hopped back, seating herself to face the living area and watch their son.

With her wife transfixed on their son, Alex watched Olivia. The brunette was smiling, reaching for the mug of coffee that Alex had already set out for her and bringing the steaming brew to her mouth. The brunette looked up at Alex now, still a vacant expression on her face, and then back at Theo.

Isabel entered now, sliding her slippered feet as though on ice, in black leggings and a long gray sweatshirt with a bulldog on it. It was Olivia's sweatshirt, but Alex knew the brunette didn't mind, at all. Their teen began dancing around to the music her brother was playing, arms up, twirling gracefully.

Alex smiled at their daughter, "Good morning, Iz…"

"Morning, Mom…" she moved into the kitchen and around the island and hugged and kissed Alex tightly. "How are you today?" Her smile was contagious as she looked at her mother with adoration.

She was now as tall as Theo, brother and sisters now all at the same height. If Alex didn't know better, and she was correct in her predictions, the girls might surpass their brother in the height department.

Alex kissed her forehead gently. "Good, baby…how are you?"

"Good…"

"Did you sleep well?"

Isabel nodded, still smiling and clutching her mother tightly. She then pulled away and went up to Olivia, moving in carefully.

"Mama?"

"Yeah, Baby…" Olivia reached her arms out to their daughter and Isabel fell into the embrace. "How's my Izzie?"

Isabel didn't say anything, only held her brunette mother tightly.

The last note on the sonata sounded and Theo stood, moving into the kitchen, eyeing Alex and then Olivia and Alex again before he moved into the kitchen next to the blonde.

The kids had been well aware of the friction in the house over the past week—it was difficult to miss—and so it seemed they were all stepping carefully, trying to avoid the live mines, around their mothers. The mood, the tone, had never been like this before and it had been rough on the three Benson-Cabot children, as well.

"Can I help?" Theo came up next to Alex and bumped shoulders with her, looking at the frothy eggs.

"Eggs just need cooking, then we're all set…" Alex offered as she placed the bacon on a paper towel-lined plate.

"I can do it," Theo smiled. "Can you play Fantasy in A Major, Opus 15? It's already on the stand…" He looked at his blonde mother. "It's an upbeat one and I wanna hear you play it. I can get the eggs…"

Alex smiled at their son and cupped his cheek before kissing it softly, "Of course, Theo…anything for my boy…" Alex wiped her hands on a dishtowel and then moved to the piano in the living room, noting that the sheet music was all set up for her song.

OOO

Olivia watched as Alex tucked her robe beneath her and then sat at the piano, just as Grace entered the kitchen. The brunette smiled at their daughter, their brown-eyed girl moving directly to her dark-haired mother and wrapping her arms around her shoulders from behind.

Olivia clenched her forearms and the two just watched as Isabel moved into the living area and stood next to her mother, hands on her shoulders before moving and sitting next to her to watch her mother's hands, as she had been known to do.

Alex smiled at their blue-eyed daughter and then wiggled her fingers and looked up at the sheets of paper in front of her only briefly, apparently already knowing the music, because she closed her eyes and then placed her slender fingers delicately on the keys before beginning to play.

The sounds that began to come out of the baby grand was as it always was—mesmerizingly graceful and full of life. The blonde let her body move left and right as her strokes on the keys were delicate, yet intentional, each note played perfectly, each crescendo and decrescendo resonating throughout the space of the lower level of the house. Left hand moving in a slower pattern, right in a quick, light-hearted melody, both hands working in tandem with the complicated tune.

Grace sat next to Olivia and poured herself a glass of orange juice from the glass pitcher already there and then began to sip, just watching her mother from afar.

Adele's Hello began to chime from the cell phone on the kitchen island, her soulful crooning barely heard over the gusto of the piano, but Theo caught the ringtone and Olivia did, as well. Their son, having just transferred the cooked eggs onto a platter, lifted the phone and moved into the living area, handing it to his blonde mother, who stopped playing to take it.

She slid her finger over the screen and put it to her ear, "Benson-Cabot…"

Olivia watched Alex as Isabel came to the table now and hugged her brunette mother again briefly and kissed her cheek before taking her seat across from her.

"OK…" Alex continued, eyeing Olivia. She then closed her eyes, "Has he finished the antibiotics?" Alex waited. "And he's still sick?"

Olivia took a piece of bread from the basket and then opted against it, putting it back. If she was going to maintain her weight through this recovery, breads and pastas had to be out for the time being. Being inactive would cause that unsightly weight gain in her, especially with the sedentariness that would happen over the next few weeks.

"But how did it turn into that?" Alex questioned, now standing and eyeing the brunette once more before moving through the living room, down the hallway and out of sight, her beige silk robe flowing behind her.

Alex was keeping something from her, once again, and it hurt the brunette to no end.

But it went both ways, right?

Theo served the eggs for the four women in the family and then for himself before placing the platter on the island and returning to join them at the table.

"What's going on, Mama?" he asked.

Olivia tried a smile, "Nothing, Baby…just—" The brunette didn't know what to say. "Sounds like it might be grandma…"

"No, I mean between you and Mom…"

Olivia forked some eggs, "Just a little low we're going through…we'll get through it…" She smiled. "Eat before it gets cold." She reached for a couple of slices of bacon and put them on her plate next to the eggs.

"You two haven't been talking like you always do." Isabel's face was distressed. "You and Mom always talk to each other."

"You seem sad and Mom seems…stressed out…" Grace pushed her glasses up.

"Well, my little psychologists…you are correct in your diagnosis…" Olivia wanted to be truthful with her kids. She and her wife were definitely acting differently towards each other and the kids had picked up on it. How could they not?

"I think you two should talk about it." Isabel took a bite of bacon.

"That would be ideal, Iz…" Olivia offered, now reaching behind her for Alex's beige cardigan on the back of her chair and slipping it on. It was chilly this morning in the townhouse and the temperature seemed to have decreased a couple of degrees in the past few moments—if not technically, then definitely figuratively.

"Why do you two have to be so stubborn about it?" Theo questioned, his expression almost incensed.

"Theo—" Olivia tried.

"I mean…just talk…that's all you have to do…just talk, Mama…"

Olivia took a small breath, trying to control her own emotions. There was no doubt now that the kids were feeling the strain. They had voiced their opinions and they were spot-on with their assessments.

Alex entered from the hallway now, her eyes avoiding her family altogether as she placed her iPhone back on the island and then joined them at the table.

She sat, placing her napkin in her lap, "This looks great Theo…the eggs look so fluffy and moist…good job…" She smiled at their brunette boy, all the while still avoiding eye contact.

"Was that grandma?" Isabel asked.

"Eat, Izzie…" Alex said firmly, reaching for her coffee. "Don't worry about it."

But Olivia saw her wife's eyes, even though she was looking down at her plate, trying not to give anything away. Those blue orbs were undeniably tearing.

"Mom?" Theo's face was empathetic as he chewed.

Alex then looked up at her wife, the two holding each other's gaze for a few moments, neither saying anything.

"What are you doing, Liv?" Alex stood in the doorway of the utility room now, leaning against the frame, arms folded.

Olivia poured liquid detergent over the clothing and then turned it on before closing the lid. "Laundry." She shut off the light and grabbed her crutches from the wall before maneuvering past her wife, brushing against her as the blonde virtually blocked the doorway. But Olivia made it past her, inching by wordlessly.

The brunette hobbled back into the guest room across from the laundry room and then began to try and make the bed on crutches, the task almost comical as the height of the sticks beneath her arms prevented her from reaching the blue and white quilt and sheets.

"OK…this is ridiculous…" Alex said firmly, still watching her.

"Well, it's kind of hard for me, Alex…but the bed needs to be made."

Alex laughed lightly, "Not that, Olivia…and you know it…"

Olivia looked up from tossing the second pillow on her wife's side. "What is? What was the call, Alex? Your mother? Are you gonna tell me what's happening? Or are we gonna keep tip-toeing around each other?"

Alex went to the opposite side now. "You stand, I'll fix." She began to fix the bed as she spoke, "My father…his cold has gotten worse…" She looked up with misty eyes, "…it's pneumonia now…"

"Oh, Al…" Olivia began to head toward her wife, but the blonde was moving away, avoiding being close, gliding to the other side of the bed to smooth and fix it.

Alex then stood upright and waved her off, holding her hand up to stop her wife as she collected herself, staring into space. "I can't…just…give me a second…"

Olivia watched as her wife's body weakened and began shaking, the blonde putting both hands to her face and sobbing behind them. The brunette just watched her. Alex didn't want to be consoled. Didn't want to be touched. Didn't want to be comforted.

Then, trying to regain her composure, the blonde took a deep breath, sniffed heartily and then proceeded to fluff the pillows and place them at the head.

"Alex…come on…we can't do this anymore…"

"We?" Alex laughed lightly, once again, "I'm not the one that has been unbearable to be around…"

"I know…" Olivia said softly. "Can we talk? I mean…really talk? I need that from you, Al…"

Alex looked up at her and then moved toward her, standing close. She reached up and held the brunette's face in her hands and nodded, leaning in to kiss her gently.

The softness, the sweetness of it, had Olivia's emotions spilling forth, once again. "Oh, Alex…" the brunette whispered, "…please, Baby…let's communicate again…"

Alex nodded, looking deeply into her wife's eyes.

"I hate staying in that room, Al…I want to be back in our bedroom so badly…I feel like I'm at a horrible bed and breakfast in a horror movie and it's Groundhog Day and it just keeps repeating."

Alex smiled, "Jeez…tell me how you really feel…" She smirked. "Sweep up your sand, lights out by nine?" Alex giggled.

"Yeah…and recipes for corned beef and turnips and long stories about days in World War II…" Olivia smiled.

They had taken to the sofa, coffees in hand, the kids doing various Saturday morning activities. Theo was at his friend Marcus' house, he and a group of four others attempting a small band, and their son's guitar lesson had been cancelled by her brother-in-law that day, Jonathan having to work in the ER, as they were short-staffed. Isabel and Grace had been picked up and taken to a birthday party for one of their friend's from school—an ice skating party at Rockefeller Center—and the ladies now had time to themselves to talk.

"Olivia…"

Olivia swallowed a sip of coffee and then looked at her wife, whose legs were tucked beneath her as they sat.

"You realize we haven't really fought since your dance showdown in that bar…"

Olivia nodded, caressing the sides of her mug with her thumbs, "I do realize that…and I also realize how much I hate being at odds with you, Babe…"

"How is it?" Alex reached for the jersey material covering her knee.

Olivia lifted the fabric, pulling the wide leg of her gray lounge pants upward to reveal the healing wound. "It looks good, but it still hurts, Alex. Right now, since it's had a day to rest, it's better. But during and after therapy, it hurts like a mother…"

Alex nodded, "I know, Liv…and you won't take the pain pills?"

Olivia shook her head, "I really don't want to…"

The brunette looked at her wife now. Even at her age, she was so beautiful to Olivia. The fine lines around her eyes only enhanced her beauty, showing the life they had lived, time having been good to the blonde.

"Your father…tell me, Al…"

"He's probably gonna go to the hospital if he's not better by tomorrow. My mother says that his coughing is terrible, rattling, and he's pretty weak. The antibiotics for his bronchitis didn't help and now he's worse." Alex's eyes began to water, her lower lip trembling.

Olivia reached out and placed her hand on her shoulder before moving it to the back of her neck. "Come here, Babe…"

Alex moved in now, setting her cup on the coffee table before resting her head on her wife's lap and curling herself into a ball, Olivia beginning to stroke her hair.

"I'm gonna have to go there…but I can't leave you…"

"I'll be fine, Al…Theo can take me where I need to go. You need to be there with your mother. If I know her, she's a wreck."

Alex nodded, clenching her wife's left thigh firmly. "She sounded terrible on the phone…couldn't stop crying…"

"So go to her…our kids and I will be fine for a couple or a few days. Go, Babe…"

Alex nodded again and then rolled over onto her back, looking up at the brunette.

Olivia leaned over her, moving her face closer and smiling, "Let's not do that no talking thing anymore…I'm sorry I have been the way I've been but I'm gonna start seeing the glass as half full…"

Alex smiled, "That's my girl…"

Olivia leaned in now and kissed her wife, lips moving along lips slowly, tasting, relishing in the closeness. "Mmmm…" Olivia pulled away, "…so nice…"

AAA

Pizzas ordered, movies ready, it was movie night at the Benson-Cabot's house.

Olivia sat on the sofa, leg propped once again, watching the evening news. The kids had gotten home and were upstairs. But something was going on with them. When they had entered the house, they had all come together through the front door. Unusual.

Theo entered from the hallway, his sisters behind him. Grace had her cello in her hand, bow in the other and they were all grinning like Cheshire cats.

"We have a surprise for you…" Isabel offered as the three moved into the living room.

"Mom, sit next to Mama…" Grace smiled.

"OK…" Alex moved into the living room, towards the sofa, and sat next to her wife, thigh pressed against thigh.

Olivia put her arm around her wife, pulling her closer still.

The kids stood in front of the TV, Isabel reaching for the remote and muting it before Grace moved her cello chair to the front and center stage, Theo took his seat at the piano and Isabel stood next to her sister.

"We wanted to do a song for you…together…to cheer you up…" Isabel claimed.

"Our little Partridge family…" Olivia smiled as Alex moved closer to her wife and wrapped her arm around her.

"This is 'Get Here', by Oleta Adams…one of your favorite songs…" Theo declared from the piano.

The piano started and Grace sat poised with her cello, waiting.

"You can reach me by railway…" Isabel began. "You can reach me by trail way…you can reach me on an airplane…you can reach me with your mind…"

Olivia looked at her wife, smiling. The brunette leaned in and kissed the blonde gently, pulling away and smiling. "Our talented babies…"

Isabel's voice was beautiful, mastering the notes, her voice having a silky smooth quality as the singing continued.

Then Grace came in with the cello, only adding to the richness of the song, Theo continuing to play on the piano.

It was a beautiful moment, their kids wanting to show their love for their mothers, display a reconnection of devotion, not only for them, but for the inescabable sibling unity that they had for each other.

The song ended and the ladies clapped wildly, both with tears in their eyes.

"That was amazing…" Alex offered as the kids came up to them and all sat, holding each other tightly, kisses and warm embraces of love and adoration all around.

"Jesus Christ!" Alex spouted as she entered from the hallway. "That was Isabel's principal…"

It was Sunday morning and the kids were still in bed at this early hour of seven-thirty. Olivia was sitting in a kitchen chair, performing the stretches that the doctor said that she needed to do daily, a resistance band cradling her foot.

"What Al?" Olivia continued her stretches, bending her knee and wincing slightly.

"Isabel has been suspended…"

"What? Why?"

"Apparently, she punched another girl, Alison…"

"Punched her?"

"Yes, Liv…punched her. Punched her when she got the lead in Annie and Izzie only got a supporting part as Pepper…"

Olivia set the band on the kitchen table. "What the hell…?"

"They had to investigate, talk to Alison, but…it turns out our daughter hit her…suspended for three days."

Olivia shook her head, "Isabel…I can't believe it…"

"Well, believe it, Babe…"

Just then, Isabel entered from the staircase, smiling and virtually skipping with her typical joyous nature.

The ladies looked at her, Alex's arms now folded. "Happy, Iz?"

Isabel nodded, "Yep! What's for breakfast?"

"How about cold mush?" Alex offered. "Oh, but first…I want this place to shine like the top of the Chrysler Building. Ring a bell, Isabel? Sound familiar?"

Olivia looked at their daughter whose expression was that of realization. The brunette shook her head, "Isabel…you hit her?"

Isabel's face reddened as her eyes filled with tears and she nodded. "She took my part! I wanted Annie!"

"Not OK, Isabel…not OK…go upstairs. Your mother and I need to talk."

"But—" Isabel pleaded.

"Go! Now!" Alex pointed toward the staircase.

Olivia looked at her wife, the blonde's cheeks flushed with anger as her arm remained horizontal and Isabel crept toward the hallway, her cries heard as she ascended the stairs.

A/N: OK…so…dissonance at the Benson-Cabot household, then nice-nice, then ending with dissonance again.

I would love to hear what you thought of Alex and Olivia's "discord". They haven't fought in a while (not that we've seen) and the frustration from the circumstances came out full-force. The lack of communication is never a good thing for any relationship. But, they finally talked. Then, the kid's song for their mothers. Then Izzie's revealing secret that she, apparently, thought her mothers wouldn't find out about.

More drama from this situation in the next chapter! I hope you enjoyed it and, as always, I would love to hear what you thought. Your reviews make me stronger and keep me going;)

Patricia