A/N: This one-shot takes place right before chapter 23 in Part IV, before they went to The Grand Canyon. Grace's interest in the cello had been sparked by a concert the family had attended and this is the day the cello was first brought into the Benson-Cabot house.

Mention had been made, a long time ago, of Alex playing the cello, along with the long list of her other activities, but the piano had been the instrument she had been most passionate about.

But the cello, as we will see in this missing scene, was a very close second.

Enjoy!

Turned on by a Little Varnished Wood and Horse Tail Hair

OOO

"Be careful, Liv!" Alex squealed as the neck of the plastic case of the cello scraped the wall of the hallway just shy of the kitchen.

The kids entered behind them and Alex closed the garage door once all had come in.

"Jeez, Alex…" Olivia huffed as she now entered the juncture between the living room and the kitchen. "I think the case might be heavier than the cello." She set it down, upright, and held the neck with her left hand, right hand on her hip. "Where would Her Majesty like it?"

Alex narrowed her eyes and smirked. "We need to take it out of the case and pull the pin out. We'll lean it in the corner behind the piano."

"How did I know that you'd have specific instructions for me, Babe?" Olivia moved to set the plastic-covered monstrosity on the sofa. She motioned, with both hands, in the direction of the instrument. "Have at it." Olivia moved into the kitchen now and got a glass from the upper cabinet. "I'm surprised you let me touch it at all." Olivia turned on the filter of the faucet and began to let her glass fill.

"Of course you can touch it, Liv. It just has to be treated with kindness and respect, just like a baby."

Olivia tried not to make a disgusted face but she knew it was spread across her expression from the way Alex was looking at her. "I'll leave the touching to you and Gracie." Olivia turned to the kids now. "OK, guys. Take the shopping bags upstairs and take the tags off of your new clothes for the trip. Remember, for every new item, we give one to charity. All three of you."

The kids turned to leave but Olivia stopped them. "Theo, go on up…"

Theo nodded and jogged down the hallway, two, handled bags with him.

"And, girls…make sure your closet is clean. When I came in there this morning the fact that you just threw things in there, to get them out of the way, was more than evident."

"Those piles aren't mine!" Grace whined. "My stuff is on my side—neat!"

"You saw that?" Isabel questioned sheepishly, eyebrows raised.

Olivia moved to Isabel and squeezed her chin in her hand. "I'm a detective with the NYPD. I see everything, Baby." She kissed her forehead. "Now, up! Go!"

Grace slowly moved to the now-opened case on the sofa, eyeing it longingly. "It's so beautiful." She let her fingertips trail along the smooth, glossy body, plucking a string lightly as she did so. "Can I try it again but in my special chair?" Grace's big eyes looked up at Alex.

They had designated a Grace's Cello Chair over a week ago—a garage sale purchase that had been painted and decorated especially for their brown-eyed daughter—and they both knew that she was more than eager to sit in it with her new cello, fervently anticipating her first lesson with her mother. The glimmer was in her eyes and the enthusiasm had been in her mannerisms and in her talk all morning and afternoon.

Olivia leaned both of her elbows on the kitchen island now and sipped, watching the interaction between Alex and Grace.

"Not right now, Gracie. But we have an appointment for our first practice after dinner tonight. OK? And Mama says we're making homemade pizzas. Right, Liv?" The blonde smiled at her.

"Only if I see some donations sitting in the hallway upstairs…folded and stacked." Olivia directed.

"Yes, Ma'am!" they both cheered before scampering down the hallway and thundering up the steps.

Alex moved up to the island, smiling and folding her arms. "Did you see her face, Liv? She's so excited."

Olivia nodded and swallowed. "I know. And she looked so natural in the store when she had it in position. Like a true musician."

Alex moved closer now and then wrapped both arms around her neck, still smiling. "I think she's really gonna enjoy playing it."

Olivia set her glass down and slithered her own arms around her wife's waist, clasping her hands behind her. "I think so, Al. Just like Theo and the piano."

"Yeah…" Alex's eyes glazed over momentarily.

"Babe?" Olivia furrowed her brow.

Alex shook her head slightly and smiled, refocusing on the brunette in front of her. "It's just that…I don't feel as comfortable teaching Gracie the cello as I do Theo and the piano, you know? I'm not as familiar."

Olivia only nodded.

"So, I thought I'd teach her the basics until she starts playing in school and then she can learn from someone more equipped than I am…" Alex cocked her head. "What do you think?"

Olivia grinned more broadly now as she witnessed her wife's wheels turning. "I think it sounds perfect, Al. Our little musical family." Olivia began giggling now. "Except for me, that is…"

Alex only shook her head. "You sing, you dance, you rap in the car..." Alex smirked, "...and you have more rhythm than anyone I know…only you can shake your ass to the beat like you do…" Alex wiggled her eyebrows before leaning in and kissing her gently, "…only you…"

"Mmmmm…I'll take that, Al. I'll take that." Olivia kissed her quickly once more and then patted her hips. "Work tomorrow and next weekend is our trip. I put the information on the desk upstairs, if you're interested."

"My case load is so heavy this week, Liv. I hope all wraps up on Friday and I can just relax on our vacation." Alex took her glasses off now and held them up to the kitchen light, inspecting them, before beginning to wipe them with the hem of her long-sleeved, teal tunic. She was wearing black yoga pants beneath and a pair of gray running shoes, her hair in a ponytail, and looked casually adorable. They had been running errands all day and were finally home to spend a relaxing evening together.

Olivia couldn't help but smile at her oblivious wife. She couldn't help but unabashedly watch her wife lately. They had both been so busy with work and the kids, but things were going well. She was still so in awe of their lives together and every moment that the detective could find to spend with her wife and family was cherished, gladly taken, and almost worshiped—as it should be.

They had developed this family together. Their marriage had strengthened, grown, flourished in the past ten-plus years, and the brunette was more in love with Alex than she had ever been and that only continued to grow day to day, week to week, year to year—and always would.

She eyed the blonde as she took a used tea bag from a cup that had been sitting there since that morning and then stepped on the garbage can lever and dropped it in. She then leaned over to retrieve the bottle of spray cleaner from underneath the sink and Olivia outwardly appreciated her round backside in that tight, black spandex. She could scarcely make out the curve of her waist in that loose shirt, but the brunette knew what she looked light beneath—milky and smooth and lithe—as she had always been. The back of her neck had been a focal point by Olivia that day as well. She couldn't help but salivate slightly when she saw the creaminess, those fine, soft blonde hairs at the nape of her neck, the way it was lifted away from her skin in that high ponytail, just calling to be kissed, just asking to be explored by her tongue.

God, I'm wound up, Olivia thought to herself.

"What, Liv? What are you thinking? You have a lot of work before tomorrow?"

"What, Babe?" Olivia closed her mouth and licked her lips, her mouth suddenly filled with more moisture than she realized. "No…just...," she smirked as she attempted to snap herself from her waking dream, "...thinking about you." She leaned on the island once more, gauging her wife's reaction.

"Yeah, right. Nice try, though."

Olivia, realizing she must have been staring, blinked a few times and shook her head. "No, Al…normally a new week at Haven House means a long list of people that need to be evaluated and checked in, but I talked to Sydney earlier this morning and she said so far, so good. Only a couple of DV cases to process tomorrow." Olivia untucked her dark green, silk blouse from her blue jeans and unbuttoned the top button casually as she moved to take ingredients from the refrigerator—premade crusts, veggies, and various meats to put on them.

"And, by the way, I was, Alex. I was thinking about you and only you…"

Alex snorted. "The way I look right now—run-down and make-up free—I'm sure the fantasy was pretty tame. Take the poor, pathetic housewife in the canned corn aisle, right?" Blue eyes blazed into her own and, although the brunette knew her wife was joking, there was a glimmer of seriousness there.

"Exactly right, Al. I'll take you anywhere you want, Babe. You know that…" Olivia winked. "I'm gonna go upstairs and change..."

"And then we can get dinner started before this flirtation goes any further…" Alex smirked.

"Good idea, Al…"


AAA

Alex rubbed her hands together, cello resting on her left inner knee, and blew on them. She took the bow from the top of the piano lid and tightened it, watching as the flaccid hairs became taut and pulled and arched against the wooden frame.

She had not played in over thirty-five years but, somehow, she felt the nostalgia coming back to her—the smell of the wood, the powdery flight the rosin took as she rubbed the horse hairs along the brick of the whiskey-colored solid. Setting the rosin on the top of the lid, as well, she used her left hand to pluck the strings lightly with her middle finger—C, G, D, A. All sounded good to her trained ear and she was satisfied.

They had tuned it in the store but the orneriness of the stringed instrument family was always unpredictable. So many factors went into it becoming out of tune—humidity, the pegs being loose, and even slight movement or jostling of the instrument during a move.

Like bringing it home.

Alex smiled to herself, remembering her wife huffing and puffing as she carried it inside and also smiling from the giddiness of their daughter to be able to finally have something, her very own instrument, to call her own.

She closed her eyes now and placed the bow on the open G string and took a deep breath, the piece, the feel of the instrument, the musical notes all coming back to her in a rush, a flood that took over her body as she began to play.

OOO

Olivia figured that she should begin preheating the ovens and get the salad started and have the kids put the toppings on the pizza. It was after six and they all had work and school on the following day.

She flipped the light off in the master bedroom and took her hair band out of her hair, placing it in her teeth as she walked toward the stairs, and shook her hair out before she refastened her thick locks into another ponytail.

Olivia could hear the Yo-Yo Ma CD playing downstairs—the one she had given Alex on their first Christmas together—playing in the living room. It was so beautiful and the song that was playing had always been one of her favorites—Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major.

She made her way down the stairs as she listened, stopping to call to the kids to come down in ten minutes, and then proceeded, adjusting her bra beneath her gray V-neck t-shirt. She also pulled at the waistband of her gray sweat bottoms, looking down at her charcoal gray painted toenails, her feet bare for the evening.

She was relaxed, she was comfortable, and she was ready to spend a relaxing Sunday evening with her family.

The sound was like silk, the timbre rich and mellow. That Yo-Yo Ma really knew his instrument. But the stereo system sounded different today. If it was possible, it sounded clearer, more acoustic, and had a reverberating feel to it.

The music stopped briefly and a sneeze was heard and Olivia knew that tiny, cute, squeaky sneeze anywhere. It was her wife. She folded her arms as she entered the kitchen, heading toward the refrigerator.

"That CD is one of my favorites, Al. I've always loved Bach's cello suites." Olivia took the pre-chopped, pre-washed bag of lettuce from the refrigerator and set it on the counter next to it. "Why'd you turn the music off?"

Then the music began again, right where it had left off. The part in the piece where the scale went up as it built to its climax, its finale, the repeated chorus at the height of the piece, the crescendo loud and bold and—

She turned now, sensing something that she couldn't quite place was happening, and saw her wife with the cello in between her thighs, arms moving, body rocking side to side, eyes closed, fingers pressing and releasing firmly on the strings.

"Jesus Christ…" Olivia whispered, mouth open, eyes fixed on her enraptured wife. Olivia brought her right hand to her mouth and began walking closer, crossing the wooden divider between the kitchen and den and then placing her feet on the carpeted area and just standing there, in awe.

She simply watched her wife who was, as always, in a trance-like state, feeling every note, every aspect of the music that seemed to inhabit and possess her every bone, her every muscle, her every thought and emotion.

AAA

Alex let the stringed instrument's last note resonate throughout the room, listening as the tiny vibrations softened and then stopped altogether. She opened her eyes and smiled. It was an amazing feeling to be able to do that—pick up something that was learned so long ago and be able to do it again, as if it was ingrained in your being, your brain processing the mathematics of it, synapses firing as it remembered notes, finger placements, up and down bow movements—much like the piano that her wife had purchased for her before Theo was even born.

"Wow, Alex…"

Alex jumped slightly and looked up to find Olivia standing there, an expression on that tanned face that the blonde had seen so many times before—awe, lust, and admiration—all rolled into one.

"Hey, Liv…I was just checking—"

But Olivia was suddenly in front of her, kneeling by her feet, hands on her right knee, those dark orbs somehow even darker at that moment in the dim room.

"That was…" Olivia shook her head, "…amazing, Alex." Her voice was soft and the blonde knew that other sound, as well. Her wife was turned on.

Alex took a slow, deep breath and smiled down at the brunette. "You liked it, huh?"

Olivia nodded and Alex watched as those chocolate pools scanned her face, eyed her mouth, let her gaze dip to her breasts through her yellow tank top. Then, the voice that came from her wife sent shivers up her spine. "God, Alex…I want you so ba—"

"I thought you said to come down in ten minutes…" Isabel's voice observed.

Olivia kept her gaze on her wife, eyes penetrating her own, not saying a word as they simply watched each other. "Later, Al…" Olivia stood now and leaned over her wife, letting her mouth hover next to her right ear, and declared softly, seductively, "…later I'm gonna show you what that just did to me…" She pulled away, stood erect, and looked at her. "You have no idea, Al…"

Alex closed her mouth and swallowed now, watching as her wife moved into the kitchen, her mind now not able to keep her eyes from Olivia's ample backside, nor the thoughts of how the brunette was going to show her exactly how her cello playing had affected her.


Dinner eaten, Grace's first cello lesson achieved, bathing and homework also completed, and Alex was just finishing her nightly ritual with her dental hygiene regimen. She had already showered and was wondering if Olivia was going to remember her promise of showing her how much she had been turned on.

Alex smiled now as she continued to brush, watching in the reflection of the mirror as her wife came up behind her and slithered her arms around her, placing the flats of her palms on her lower belly and burying her face in the side of her neck—the blonde's most sensitive part. Alex quickly spit and rinsed and wiped her mouth, her wife never moving from behind her, and then stood upright once more. She watched as the brunette moved into her again.

She could feel the warm steam from Olivia's mouth, hear the slow, heavy breathing that she was emitting, and as she felt those soft, plush lips on her own heated skin, they felt divine.

"I thought…" she kissed her jaw line, "…we could…" she kissed her neck gently once more, "…make our own…" Olivia pulled down the lapel of Alex's baby blue robe and placed her lips on her collarbone, "…music tonight, Al…"

Alex began giggling but Olivia stopped her by brusquely turning her around now and suddenly backing her into the bathroom wall. The blonde attorney gasped as Olivia pressed her entire front to her, her senses instantly heightened with arousal at the feel of her wife's breasts against her, her hip bones pressed firmly, her hands pulling her even closer by her backside.

"I'm serious, Alex…" Olivia husked. "No joking right now. I want you so badly…" Olivia shook her head now. "Seeing you playing that instrument like you do…so mesmerized…" Olivia leaned in closer, eyeing the blonde's lips, "…turned me on so much…I couldn't think of anything else after that moment…"

Alex's grin began small and grew by the second, "Is that so?"

"You're amazing, Alex…" Olivia began kissing her neck now, pushing her robe off of her shoulders and then her arms as she did so and before Alex knew it she was naked in the bathroom, her wife having kissed her way down her body. "I'm so lucky to have you…" Olivia's mouth now hovered over her exposed mound.

"Here?" Alex tried, her voice a breathy whisper.

"Wherever you want, Alex…" Olivia looked up at her, her pupils almost overtaking the richness of her brown eyes.

"The bed, Babe…so I can—" Alex didn't have to finish her sentence, though.

Olivia was up, extending her hand, Alex taking it, as they moved to the bed, the brunette backing the blonde toward the foot.

Alex felt her breathing coming out in bursts now as Olivia knelt in front of her and pulled her quickly by the backs of her thighs to move her closer to the edge.

And then complete Heaven as that plush, silky mouth touched her.

"This is a quickie…" Olivia began, her mouth continuing to work as she spoke, "…and then I'll take my time in bed…"

Alex panted now, "OK, Liv…" she tried, sliding her arms upward on the bed before clenching the white, Matelassé bedspread.

And then ecstasy now, the brunette's skilled tongue making its entrance, her top lip beginning to hit her clit just right. Deeper and deeper her adept muscle moved, silkiness gliding along silkiness. Then she stopped briefly, and Alex felt the pull, the drawing in of her taut bud, into her wife's mouth, a forceful yet gentle tug and Alex's body jumped, her hips bucking, a squeal escaping. Then skilled fingers began—quickly, yet deliberately—and Alex felt her walls begin to tighten around the brunette's magical fingers.

Her knees were bent and she realized that her legs needed to rest. They were quavering so wildly at this point that Olivia had to hold them with both of her strong hands. "Let them go, Liv…" Alex breathed.

The only sounds in the room now were Olivia's mouth on her and the slick sensations of her accomplished motions, a cricket somewhere in the near distance, and the sounds of Alex's soft whimpers of approval.

"I need…I'm…Liv…" Alex moaned, feeling her eyes scrunch and her face tighten now, along with the exquisite building in her core, as the warm euphoria began from deep inside and radiated throughout her lower torso, her body jumping with every spasm as her orgasm flowed throughout her body.

Olivia continued her motions and Alex could feel the brunette continue to milk every last sensation from her wife, every last pulsation, the brunette always knowing what to do, how to treat and pleasure her body, as she always had known.

Alex panted, letting the afterglow completely subside and her pulse return to a somewhat normal pace before she smiled. "So…" Alex began giggling now, "…I think, if I had to choose…the cello might turn you on more than the piano…"

Olivia moved onto the bed now, and placed her body to lay curled up on her side next to her, facing her. She placed her hand on the blonde's belly and began stroking it gently with her thumb. "Mmmm, it's a toss-up, Babe…they both do it for me…but…" Olivia propped herself up on her right elbow and looked down at her, "…the only reason I get so…sexed up…" Olivia began giggling now, "…is because it's you that's playing, Al…my sexy wife... Olivia reached forward and took a few stray hairs into her thumb and forefinger and moved them off of the blonde's cheek lovingly.

"Mmmmm…" Alex smiled now and closed her eyes, "…now I know what both do to you…"

Alex felt her wife's delicate warm lips on her own now and smiled again before reciprocating the kiss. Olivia let her tender mouth linger and Alex was able to taste herself on her wife's warm, soft lips, before the brunette pulled away excruciatingly slowly.

"Yes…now you do…" Olivia declared softly.


A/N: I'd love to hear what you think. As always, your feedback and reviews feed the muse. Thank you to all who always do. It has always meant so much!