When Olivia walked in the front door, the delicious aroma of banana bread wafted toward her. She inhaled deeply and smiled. The last time Alex had made her banana bread was for her birthday nearly five years ago, and it had been delicious. "I'm home!" she called out. "Where are my princess and my queen?"

"Here!" Lily barrelled into the front hall and jumped into Olivia's arms. "Momma, I made banana bread with Mommy! And I helped her with a salad and we made ravioli! And when I was at school today, I kissed Jackson. He's my boyfriend. He made me a flower and –"

"Whoa, slow down, Lil. You kissed a boy?"

"On his cheek."

Olivia smiled. "That's nice. If you want to invite him over sometime, that would probably be okay."

"Yeah! But Lyddie's coming over this weekend. We're going to the zoo, 'member?"

"That's right." Olivia kissed Lily's forehead. "Where's Mommy?"

"In the kitchen."

Olivia shifted Lily on her hip and carried her to the kitchen, where Alex was setting the table. "Hey, baby. How are you doing?" she asked quietly, leaning forward to kiss Alex's cheek.

Alex's face lit up when she saw Olivia and she wrapped her arms around the detective. Olivia set Lily on the ground and just held Alex for several long moments. Alex rested her head on Olivia's shoulder and leaned into her embrace, enjoying the warmth emanating from her presence as she struggled to hold in her tears. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed Olivia today.

"I love you," she whispered, holding tightly to Olivia.

Olivia kissed the crown of Alex's head. "I love you, too, baby."

"I missed you."

"I missed you, too."

Alex clung more tightly to her girlfriend as Olivia started to pull away. "No . . ."

"It's okay, Alex. I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere."

"Until tomorrow," Alex said weakly, but she let go of Olivia. "You locked up my Motrin."

"Yeah." Olivia held her gaze. "Are you mad at me?"

"No. I know why – and I know I haven't been very trustworthy –"

"It's not about trust, Alex. It's about your safety. I wouldn't be able to handle it if anything happened to you, ever."

"I know."

She looked so sad, so resigned, that Olivia wrapped her arms around her again. "Did you have an okay day, baby?"

Alex melted against her and whispered, "I was all right."

"That's good. I'm proud of you." Olivia gave Alex a kiss and attempted to lighten the mood. "And I see you made me banana bread!"

"It's not just for you, my greedy one," Alex said, smiling slightly. "Lily never had it before."

"So she gets the first piece. Got it."

"That's right." Alex tried to smile. "Did Lily tell you about her wedding?"

"She got married? She's four!"

"No. The wedding's next week."

"Well, I think it wouldn't be such a good thing if our daughter got married before us."

Insecurity ghosted across Alex's features. "Really?"

"Really what?"

"Really, you want to marry me still, someday?"

Olivia's expression softened. "Of course. I thought that was the logical step after living together with a child."

Alex smiled weakly and leaned into Olivia. "I think that's usually the logical step before living together with a child."

"Oh, yeah."

Alex stepped back and took a deep breath to compose herself. "Dinner?"

Olivia smiled. "Definitely. It smells delicious."

Alex regarded her suspiciously. "What do you want?"

Olivia raised her hands in mock surrender. "Hey, that was a compliment! But I'll take it back if that makes you feel better."

"Go get Lily for dinner."

"Yes, boss."


As the days went by, Alex's anxiety about staying by herself decreased. She still clung to Olivia every day when she got home and didn't want to leave her side, but she had gotten to the point where she didn't need the television on to feel safe, and she could handle doing small tasks in the morning instead of just staring at the door and pacing. On Thursday, she'd asked Olivia to pick up some brightly coloured fabric on her way home from work, and on Friday morning, she set to work sewing a dress for Lily's doll. Lily had had a really good week and Alex thought that it might be a nice surprise for her. As if that doll didn't have way too many clothes already.

Three hours, multiple pinpricks, and eight Band-Aids later, Alex had finished. The light blue dress she'd sewed was . . . passable. Not perfect, but Lily wouldn't notice anyway.

Sure enough, when she got home from school and Alex handed her the doll outfit, Lily's eyes widened in amazement. "Mommy, you made Sara a dress!"

"Yes, sweetie, I did. Do you like it?"

"I love it! Thank you, Mommy!" Lily gave Alex a hug, then raced toward her bedroom, calling over her shoulder, "I'm gonna dress Sara up in it!"

Alex smiled. "Okay. Do you want Wacky Mac for lunch?"

"Yay! Wacky Mac!"

"Does Sara want some too?"

"Yeah. Sara likes Wacky Mac."

"Okay, sweetheart. It'll be ready when the clock says 12:30."

"Okay, Mommy. Thank you very much for making Sara her dress."

"My pleasure, Lily."

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