While Olivia and Elliot were rekindling their friendship, Sophia and Alex were strengthening theirs.
After putting Melissa and Noah to bed, Sophia and Alex could be found sitting on the couch together in the living room, knitting. The TV was on, but just for background noise.
"I've ordered my bracelet, and it should be here in the next two days, and I've got all of Melissa's things ready to go, so she'll be ready to roll with Lucy and Noah while I host the Novaks as we pack my things up." Sophia said with an air of patting herself on the back. "And I still have a few days to go before I start at The Watering Can."
"Feeling accomplished?" Alex asked, amused.
"Totally. Now, I'm just ready to work on this hat," she indicated her project. "And hang out with you."
Alex beamed. "Well, then—is there anything you want to know about me?"
Sophia thought about it. "Are you from here?"
"Uh-huh. I was born here in the Upper West Side, and I lived with my parents until I went to law school."
"Where was that?"
"Stanford, actually."
Impressed, Sophia said, "Are your mom and dad still around?"
"No, but they would have been so proud of me for having a family of my own now. They would loved you and Melissa, and Olivia and Noah. Casey, too."
Sophia felt a burst of pride. "What were your parents' names?"
"Travis and Anna Cabot. We come from old money, but they were both lawyers, too."
"In what areas?"
"My dad did corporate law, and my mom did real estate law."
Sophia quickly counted the stitches on the row of yarn she was working on and corrected a mistake before continuing again.
"So you followed in your parents' footsteps?" she asked.
"I did, but I originally chose to represent homicide cases because I wanted to feel like I was making a difference in people's lives, like how Olivia feels when she's helping abuse victims. How I got to the SVU is a story for another night." Alex explained. "I have an uncle—my dad's brother—in The Bronx, and he does family law."
"What's his name?"
"Bill, and he and his wife, Molly, have five kids. I grew up with my cousins because I don't have any brothers or sisters."
Already, Sophia was fascinated. "What are your cousins' names?"
"Dashiell, Berkley, Fitzgerald, and Emelia. Now that I think about it, Emelia is your age, and she still lives in town."
Sophia grinned. "Dashiell, Berkley, Fitzgerald, and Emelia… those aren't names you hear every day."
"Their parents wanted them to have sophisticated names, and Dashiell, Berkley, and Fitzgerald are family names." Alex said. "How did you pick Melissa's name?"
"I didn't have one picked when she was born, so I tried a few out on her when I was holding her for the first time."
"What did she do when you called her Melissa?"
"Well, by that time, she'd fallen asleep on my chest, but I just called to her, using that name, and I kid you not—she started giggling at me in her sleep."
Alex's mouth dropped open. "Really?"
"Yep. She wasn't even five hours old yet, and she was laughing like I'd just told her a joke. Her full name is Melissa Joy because of that."
"That's a cute story, especially since she lives up to being joyful every day." Alex glided a hand over her baby bump, a smile flitting across her face when she felt the baby move. "I really hope we can pick a good name for this one."
"You have plenty of time." Sophia reassured her. "I just wish I knew why Olivia chose my name."
Suddenly, Alex was flooded with memories of that rainy fall night in 2000 when she'd opened her front door to find a soaked, weepy, and drunk Olivia, just wanting company. Alex took her in without a second thought and helped her get all of the alcohol out of her system. She even helped Olivia through her hangover the following morning. Amongst other things that night, though, Alex learned exactly how Sophia had been named.
"I know how you got your name. I know what time you were born, too."
"I beg your pardon?" squawked Sophia. "How? You didn't meet Olivia until I was at least nine."
"She and I tell each other everything. We've had fights over the years, but we always made up."
"So she knows your secrets?"
Alex nodded. "And I know hers. One of the many conversations I've had with her involved me learning about you and why she called you Sophia Rose."
"Will you tell me?"
"No. Olivia should."
"Well, okay, then." Sophia sighed. "Then if I'm remembering the timeline correctly, nobody but you knew about me for all those years?"
"Correct. Olivia asked me not to tell, and I kept her secret for sixteen years until you showed up at my office."
"Wow." Sophia said in awe. "How come you're so loyal to her? Casey said that you and Olivia are extremely close."
"I don't know how to put a name on the amount of love I have for your mother, Sophia," said Alex in a serious tone. "But I would die for her, and I know she would for me."
"That's intense."
Alex put her knitting aside and pulled down a corner of her shirt, exposing her collarbone and pointing at a faded white scar.
"See that?"
Sophia nodded. "It looks like a surgical from a bullet getting taken out."
"That's because that's exactly what it is. A long time ago, when I was working with the SVU, we got involved with a case during which we uncovered a very illegal drug ring." Alex began as she fixed her shirt. "We all got in over our heads, but especially me. One of the guys we were trying to put away took a hit out on me, and one night, when I was out walking with Olivia and Elliot, I was shot in a drive-by shooting."
"What happened?" Sophia put her knitting down on the coffee table between the couch and the TV and moved closer to Alex. "Were Olivia and Elliot hurt?"
"No, but they could have been, if they were standing any closer. They stayed with me as long as they could, staunching my wound, and then they kept one of the biggest secrets of my entire life."
"What was it?"
"They and their old captain cooperated with the doctors and other authorities in telling everyone that I hadn't made it out of surgery."
"Where were you, really? Witness Protection?"
"Yes."
"What?" Alex's candidness gave Sophia quite a turn because she'd been joking. "Really?"
"Really. I came back for the trial, but things were still out of hand, even after the trail, so I took a few years away from the SVU to find myself."
Sophia held her hands in a time-out position. "Is this when Casey showed up?"
"You got it." Alex confirmed. "I'm still alive because Olivia helped keep my secret."
"And it was after that you knew that you and Olivia would do anything for each other?"
"Mhm, and it was the day the trial ended that I fell in love with her even more."
"When was the first time?"
"The night I found out about you." Alex winked.
Sophia let out a gusty sigh. "Well, now that you've shared all that with me—thank you, by the way—I have to show you something."
"Oh?"
Sophia rolled up her shirt sleeve and pointed to her tattoo. "That's Melissa's name, yes, but it's covering up one of my most significant scars."
Alex looked at her curiously. "What happened to you?"
"A lot of things, honestly, but in this instance, I was shot, too. In the arm."
"What?" Alex gasped. "Does anyone else know?"
"Just Amanda—we were talking about old wounds and things when I sat with her in the hospital this afternoon."
"You know, if you tell me any more, you have to tell Olivia."
"I know, and I will. Do you want to hear the rest?"
Alex nodded. "Yes. When were you shot?"
"It was by my last foster care parents, and it was just after my eighteenth birthday. It was even an accident, too."
"Tell me what you told Amanda."
And Sophia did.
"I met Gunner just after I was completely rehabilitated," she said when she finished. "And I married him at a courthouse a year later."
"And Melissa happened a few years after that?"
Sophia nodded. "She's always been my joy, but she's also been my grace and my hope, too."
"That's really sweet." Alex put her hands on her middle, tracking the baby's movements. "This little guy or girl has been my hope: I got pregnant while I was in Witness Protection because I had an affair—which I am not proud of—and I really wanted that baby."
Sophia held a hand over her heart. "What happened?"
"I miscarried in the middle of the night. This time, when I underwent the IVF, the doctors told me that this is my very last chance to have a baby. Every day since I found out the procedure took, I've been hoping every day that this baby is happy and healthy."
"I hope it will be healthy, too, but I already know that he or she will be happy."
"And what makes you say that?"
"Our family is a little unconventional, but I already know it's a very happy one, because you and Olivia found each other after all these years apart."
"We found each other because of you."
Sophia blushed. "I guess so."
"And then you found me, and I made sure Olivia found you."
"Exactly."
There was a beat of silence between the two, and then Sophia said something else.
"Alex, can I ask you something?"
"Sweetheart, you can ask me anything. You feel more like my kid than ever."
Sophia laughed. "You just stole half my thunder, but I was wondering, if it didn't weird you out, I could maybe call you mom?"
Alex felt her heart melt immediately, and she pulled Sophia into a warm hug, giving her a back rub. "Of course you can! I would love that!"
Sophia deepened the hug, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "Oh, thank you, mom."
"You are quite welcome." Alex got to her feet and kissed her new daughter on the top of her head. "This is cause for celebration. You like chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, right?"
"Oh, yes."
"Good." Alex approved as she headed towards the kitchen. "So do I, and right now, your little brother or sister is wanting some, so I'm going to make us both bowls. You just find something for us to watch."
"Will do."
Sophia picked up the remote and began flipping through the channels, looking for something that both she and Alex would like.
Briefly, she wondered how things were going for Olivia and Elliot, but before she knew it, Alex had returned and was handing her a bowl of ice cream.
So she thought of other things. Like how happy she was to have two parents now, both of whom loved her and adored her.
This was all she'd ever wanted.
