A/N: My deepest apologies, it has been a very busy time of year. I hope you all enjoyed the holiday season. I hope to now get back to more regular updating. So glad you enjoyed the last update. Alex definitely isn't going to allow anyone, Elliott included, to upset Olivia. Let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 55
The feeling of something repeatedly tapping against her leg caused Alex to open her eyes. She glanced down and sighed when she saw Charlie sitting on the bed between her and Olivia, his tail happily wagging as he looked at his owners. She was about to dose back off when she noticed Olivia staring at her, smiling.
"Mmm…morning." Alex sighed.
"Good morning to you too." Olivia leaned in for a kiss. "I've already had Charlie out to do his business, but I'm guessing he wants us to get up."
"Well, I'm warm and comfy so he's just gonna have to wait a while." Alex shifted a bit, pulling the covers up higher. She smiled as she felt Olivia's foot lightly brushing against her leg. She opened her eyes but her smile faltered when she saw the crumpled piece of paper Olivia was holding up.
"Care to explain this?"
Alex looked at the note she'd left when she went to see Elliott. Upon returning she'd thrown it in the trash. "Umm…" she was unsure how the brunette had found it. At least, for the moment, there was no hint of anger in her voice and she didn't see it in Olivia's eyes.
Olivia propped herself up on her arm "I wake up in the middle of the night, alone. I assumed you were in the bathroom but when I saw the light off I figured Charlie had needed to go out. He was asleep in his bed so I knew it wasn't that. I started to worry then, especially when I saw the balcony door closed so I knew you weren't just awake and sitting out there. So, imagine my surprise when I saw this note on your pillow. I mean, I was grateful there was a note, but I was also a little worried where you might have gone." She raised an eyebrow in question as she waited a response.
Alex sighed as she rolled onto her back and threw her arm over her eyes. There was no way she'd lie about where she'd been, but their argument from the day they found out one another was in the program echoed in her mind 'no more secrets'. "I went to see Elliott."
"Alex." Olivia sighed. She dropped the paper and slid her hand under the covers to rest on Alex's stomach. "You didn't need to do that."
Alex cautiously uncovered her eyes, Olivia still didn't sound angry. "I know, but you were so upset when you came back."
"Alex, I can handle Elliott on my own. I have years of experience handling him."
"But you shouldn't have to handle him on your own."
Olivia smiled at Alex's protectiveness "I'm thankful for you being in my life, and that I no longer have to handle everything on my own." she gave Alex a light kiss. "When it comes to Elliott though, it's something he and I need to work through. He's just being Elliott right now, petulant and grouchy until he gets his way."
"And if he doesn't get his way?" the silent question relating to their future hanging in the air.
"Then he's going to have to learn to deal with it. Even if he doesn't accept that I may not come back, that's something he needs to come to terms with himself. I don't want him thinking he was forced into accepting it."
Alex rose up a bit "I didn't tell him he needed to accept anything." Her voice taking on a slightly defensive tone. "All I told him was whatever he did, he'd better never do it again."
"Whoa." Olivia held her hands out as she sat up "I'm not accusing you of anything Alex. I'm not even mad you went there, I promise. I just need for him to accept it on his own; no influence from others. He's my friend, my partner, and he has to come to terms with this on his own."
"And if he doesn't?"
"Then that's his problem." Olivia sighed as she lay back down, the couple once again facing one another. She reached out and took Alex's hand in her own "Alex, my life, my future, my everything is with you. Would I like to remain friends and stay in touch with Elliott, regardless of where we live? Yes. However, he is not what is most important in my life. You are."
Alex couldn't help the tears that had welled in her eyes. "I love you so much."
Olivia was about to respond but her ringing phone stopped her. "It's the Captain." She said slightly surprised.
Alex reached down and began stroking Charlie's head while listening to Olivia's side of the conversation. Based on what she was hearing she was slightly confused, but the smile on Olivia's face made it clear it wasn't bad.
"Sure thing Cap, we'd love to. No, no, Alex and I can take care of all of it. Okay, see you tomorrow."
"What can we take care of?" Alex asked with a raised eyebrow.
Olivia smiled sweetly "Well…"
"Oh God, what have you gotten us into?" Alex smiled.
"Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and we don't have any plans, Captain thought we could all get together tomorrow evening."
"That sounds nice, but what are we taking care of?" realization beginning to dawn on her what Olivia had agreed to.
"That we'd cook dinner at the Captain's house while they work."
"You and I are cooking Thanksgiving dinner for several people?"
"Yes." seeing the look of uneasiness in Alex's eyes she reassured "We can do it, we've cooked our own holiday dinners."
"Yes, for us, not for multiple people. What if it's no good?"
Olivia laughed "Alex, I know what Fin and Captain's diet is like; trust me, anything we come up with will be a marked improvement."
Alex laughed too, remembering how her guys lived off food from the vending machines, hot dog carts and greasy diners. After their laughter died down she turned serious "Will Elliott be there?"
"I'm sure he'll be spending part of the day with his kids, but he is invited." She eyed the blonde carefully "Is that going to be a problem?"
Alex sighed "No. I can be civil because I want you to be able to spend the holiday with your friends, but if he starts on you about our future I can't guarantee I'll hold back."
"Don't worry, if he starts acting like he did last night I make no promises either."
Over breakfast they planned their dinner for the next day and begrudgingly headed to a supermarket in the hopes they wouldn't be wiped out being the day before Thanksgiving. After a couple hours shopping, hitting two different stores, and Alex giving her 'Cabot' stare to several fellow shoppers, they had taken all the food to Cragen's to wait till the next day.
It was now early evening and they were preparing to go out to dinner with Casey and Cora. The attorney had text Olivia to see if they were free for the evening. While Alex was a little nervous about meeting 'the ex' she was also excited to meet one of Olivia's friends. Olivia on the other hand was nothing but excited for Casey to meet Alex, she loved being able to introduce the love of her life to her friends. She was also very excited to meet Cora, and if she was being honest she wanted to make sure she was worthy of the attorney.
"So where are we going?" Alex asked as they climbed into the Mustang.
"A little Greek place in Venice Beach Casey and I went to."
"Oh." Alex feigned offence "Taking me to dinner with your ex where you two used to go on dates, huh? Classy Benson."
Olivia rolled her eyes but grinned at the blonde "No, it's not where we went on dates. Technically there were barely any dates. Yes we've been there but it was before we even entertained the idea of dating, it was while we were friends."
As Olivia drove Alex took the opportunity to enjoy the view of the sunset, but she found it difficult to focus on anything more than the brunette sitting next to her. Olivia had chosen to wear the little black dress she'd brought along. While it wasn't Alex's favorite little black dress, the one that was cut extremely low in the back. This one was more conservative but classy none the less. Not to mention she was more than enjoying the way the dress showed off Olivia's legs as she worked the pedals of the car.
"I know you're staring."
"How's that?"
Olivia smiled as she stopped at a light "Because I always know when you're watching me. I just feel it."
Alex leaned over, her lips hovering close to Olivia's ear "I can't help you're so devastatingly beautiful that I can't keep my eyes off you." she chuckled while pulling back, watching Olivia shiver at her words.
As she drove Olivia decided a little turnabout was fair play, tilting the mirror just enough to allow her a peak down Alex's blue, cap-sleeve dress. Although now that they had parked Olivia realized her plan was beginning to backfire on her. Alex had made a point to shift in her seat allowing the hem to ride up further, while being sure to adjust the neckline to give Olivia a better view.
"I know what you're up to." Olivia took a steadying breath as she prepared to get out.
"What?" Alex asked innocently.
"Trying to work me up just before we go inside."
Alex leaned over for a quick peck on the lips "Gives you something to look forward to later." She smirked and climbed from the car.
Olivia shook her head "She's gonna be the death of me."
"Here she comes." Olivia saw Casey approach while she and Alex waited at the entrance. She watched her friend and began to smile as she could immediately see how happy the attorney was. Casey was arm in arm with her girlfriend, her head thrown back in laughter at something the other woman had just said. As they got closer Olivia waved drawing their attention.
"Sorry I'm still in work clothes." She said while hugging Olivia "I got caught in chambers."
"What'd you do now?" the brunette chuckled.
"Surprisingly nothing. It was the defense this time." she turned now to her girlfriend and nodded to Olivia "This is Olivia Benson. Olivia, my girlfriend Cora Young."
"It's such a pleasure to meet you." Cora said, her Scottish accent evident but not heavy. "I've heard so much about you recently."
"All good I hope." Olivia laughed. She wrapped her arm around Alex's waist and pulled her close "This is Alexandra Cabot." She smiled "My Alex."
While they exchanged greetings Casey eyed the brunette. She'd seen Olivia happy before, she'd seen her laugh and have a good time, but never had she seen her this happy. She had never seen Olivia's eyes sparkle like they did when she introduced Alex, her eyes lit up like Casey had never seen…on anyone. No doubt in her mind this was the love of Olivia's life.
Once inside and seated, orders placed, the couples began getting to know one another better. As dinner progressed, and the wine flowed, the conversation grew livelier, even with Cora abstaining due to being on-call and Olivia limiting herself to one glass because of driving. In an unfortunate turn for both Casey and Olivia their respective girlfriends were doing all they could to get embarrassing stories out of the pair. Casey, having loosened up after several glasses of wine, began to spill a story about the brunette. However Olivia quickly reminded her that she had stories that were twice as embarrassing she could share.
"Please Olivia, I'm begging, just one story?" Cora pleaded.
"Well…it's not so much something she's done, but it's still funny. A few of the judges at the courthouse have a weekly poker game. Casey has a recurring dream about showing up at one of these games to ask for a warrant…and she's naked."
"You swore you'd never tell!" Casey huffed while Cora and Alex laughed.
"Oh my God! Is that why when you're trying a case in front of certain judges you always dress more conservatively?" Cora laughed.
"You know what? Paybacks. So Alex," Casey turned to the blonde "This was before we began dating, Liv and I were working on trial prep one night in my office. Elliott had already called her multiple times about some nonsense, I can't even remember now what it was. Anyway, she'd had it with the constant calls and the next time the phone rang she didn't bother to see who it was. She flipped it open and said 'what the fuck do you want now?'." By now Casey could barely contain her laughter "It wasn't Elliott, it was Cragen."
Olivia rolled her eyes at the memory.
"I'm sure that went over well!" Alex said as she tried to regain her composure.
"Oh it went great. Especially the next morning when I had to see him face to face."
"Were you in trouble?"
"No, he just informed me I needed to work on my manners and phone answering skills."
After two stories Casey and Olivia decided it would be in their favor to change the subject, much to Cora and Alex's dismay. Casey and Alex discussed the similarities and differences of prosecuting in New York City vs Los Angeles. They talked about the places Alex and Olivia lived while in the program, their likes and dislikes of both areas. Over dessert the conversation turned to Cora, her Scottish home and what brought her to the US.
"I went to College at St Andrews. For medical school I was accepted into Cambridge as well as Harvard, but I decided to continue my education at St Andrews. After my internship was completed I was offered a spot in a fellowship program at Cedars-Sinai. Once it was finished I enjoyed LA so much I applied to extend my visa to stay, and eventually applied for US residency."
"Any thoughts on becoming a US Citizen?" Alex asked.
Cora nodded her head, looking at Casey from the corner of her eye "Who knows, I guess we'll see what the future holds."
Olivia chuckled a bit and rolled her eyes "I've always been very proud of my degree from UCLA, but I'm feeling a little inferior having dinner with two Harvard grads and one from St Andrews."
Alex rested her hand on the back of Olivia's neck "You are one of the most intelligent persons I've ever met." She smiled as Olivia gave her a quick peck on the cheek "Even if you only went to UCLA." She joked, earning her a playful smack on the leg.
"So Cora," Olivia started as their dinner was winding down. "Do you ever miss home?"
"Trying to split us up Benson?" Casey joked.
"No, no. It's obvious how happy you two are. I just meant, you're so far from home. Do you ever get homesick?"
While Casey and Cora took it as a legitimate question, Alex could tell, whether it was done consciously or subconsciously, Olivia was wondering about where their future would lead. And honestly she was glad she asked, it gave her a chance to get perspective on possibly not returning home.
"I do, from time to time. Believe it or not, sometimes I miss the rainy weather." She laughed. "Seriously though, I do miss home and especially my friends and family, but it's gotten easier. At first it was difficult," she reached out and took Casey's hand "But then I met and fell in love with this wonderful woman…and I realized I'm home as long as I'm with her."
A blush quickly spread from Casey's neck across her face as Cora pulled her hand to her lips to kiss it. Alex and Olivia took one another's hands as well, both dabbing at tears that were threatening.
Outside the restaurant their conversations continued as they prepared to leave "So Cragen called me earlier and said something about dinner tomorrow evening?"
"Yeah." Olivia answered excitedly "We're all getting together for Thanksgiving tomorrow evening, can you two come?"
Casey looked to Cora who nodded "We're having dinner with my family tomorrow afternoon, but yeah we'd love to come." She waited while Olivia wrote Cragen's address "Can we bring anything?"
"No, Alex and I are cooking."
Casey's eyes went wide and her mouth hung open "You? You're cooking?"
"I know, shocking right? Alex nor myself could barely cook when we entered the program, but after a lot of trial and error we've become quite good if I say so myself."
After a round of hugs and goodbyes the couples went their separate ways into the night.
"I really liked them." Alex said as they were changing out of their dresses.
"Cora seems like a great person, and I'm so glad you like Casey."
"Although, I will admit I'm slightly jealous Casey used to kiss you." her tone and expression teasing.
Olivia wrapped her arms around the barely dressed blonde "She got to kiss me a handful of times, you can kiss me anytime you want."
"Like now?" Alex whispered as her lips lightly brushed Olivia's lips.
"Uh huh."
Her hands now firmly on Olivia's waist as she leaned in for another, slightly longer kiss "And in a few minutes when I've got you in bed?"
"Mmm hmm."
"I do believe I promised you something to look forward to." She pressed her lips fully to Olivia's.
Olivia reached back and hastily pushed the covers down. "Cover your eyes, Charlie." She said to the sleeping dog in the corner, as she and Alex laughingly fell backward onto the bed.
