Much to Olivia's relief, she and the squad didn't hear the name Garrett Rhys again for the rest of the shift. As for the rest of the day, after Zacharias' visit, they all did some much-needed housekeeping, and once five o' clock rolled around, they were all out of the squad room in less than fifteen minutes.

Olivia was extra motivated get home in due fashion today, not only because and Alex were going to an invitation-only Christmas party, but also because it was their first kid-free night since adopting Serena. She and Alex loved their family, but they were also desperate to spend time with adults in a setting that weren't either of their offices, the squad room, or a courtroom. They'd even bought new outfits for the occasion.


"How do I look, Olivia?"

She grinned at her and kissed her wife-to-be on her cheek. "Alexandra, you look beautiful. How do you feel?"

Alex beamed, even as she felt the baby try to turn a somersault inside her. "I feel great now. Diana does, too."

"Outstanding."

"And Olivia?"

"Yes?"

Alex returned the kiss. "You look beautiful, too."

Olivia took Alex's hand in hers and smiled more. "Thank you. Let's go have some fun."

"Sounds like a good idea to me."

And together, the couple left the hotel lobby for the main banquet room, where the party was in full swing.

After getting dressed up, and dropping Noah and Serena off at Amanda's and Carisi's place, Olivia drove herself and Alex to the hotel where the party was happening. She did most of the talking, but by the time they'd seen the car off with one of the valet people, Olivia noticed that Alex appeared to have a case of the jitters.

As it turned out, although Alex had still been practicing law during her time away from the SVU, it had still been far too long since she'd come to this fancy of a work event. She was also feeling self-conscious about the size of her baby bump because Diana was shaping out to be a big baby already, and Alex was really feeling it these days.

One pep talk from Olivia later, though, she was feeling much better, and ready to go in to the party.

On the other side of the room, Casey and Sophia had already arrived. After introducing Sophia to a lawyer, and then two separate judges she knew, Casey grew concerned when the younger woman suddenly wrinkled her nose for a second and stepped to the side.

"Hey, are you okay, Starshine?" she asked her.

Sophia gave Casey a reassuring smile. "I'm fantastic. It's just that Agnes and Esme woke up from a nap, and they're bouncing around; I think it's the music."

In keeping with an upscale theme, there was a full, dapper live band playing in one corner of the room, complete with a lounge singer. A moment ago, they'd been playing a slow song, but when it ended, they'd started a more lively song. This had awoken the twins from a deep sleep, and they were now treating the recesses of their confined space like a bounce house. But Sophia had gotten in front of her daughters' chaos quickly enough to keep having a conversation.

"How is Henry?"

Casey shuffled her feet, and spoke in a tone that was most sheepish. "Baby boy fell asleep."

"Of course he did. He'll be the one of the three who will sleep like a log." Sophia felt dejected, but only for a moment because a smile was back on her face, just as quickly. "Hopefully, the next kid won't be as melodramatic as Agnes and Esme are currently being."

"Wait." Casey said quickly as she processed the other woman's words. "Did you say 'next kid'?"

"Yes. Yes, I did."

"But we already have three daughters, and one son! Do you really want to add kid number five to the mix?"

"Not any time soon—maybe when kids two through four are out of nursery school—but yes, I would love to add in kid number five at some point."

Casey opened her mouth, and then closed it because she didn't know how to respond. She wasn't unopposed to the idea of a big family because the grand total of people in the Fifth Avenue Novaks amounted to ten, but Sophia had blindsided her.

Noticing this pause in Casey's train of thought, Sophia seized the moment to drive her point home.

"You don't have to anything you don't want to, darling, but I would love to be pregnant one more time after this. For all the griping I do about Agnes' and Esme's behavior, I really do enjoy feeling all of those kicks, nudges, and stretches, because it all reminds me that I'm creating two new people for you and I to love and enjoy, and be mothers to."

Sophia touched one hand to her middle, and the other to Casey's.

"On top of that, Henry needs a brother."

Casey opened her mouth to actually respond, but was cut off by a new voice.

"Are we interrupting?"

Olivia and Alex had found them.

"Nope." Sophia chirped, moving her hand.

"Oh, thank God." Casey finally said.

Alex gave a chortle. "Are you guys okay?"

"Peachy." they said in unison.

Olivia shook her head in amusement. "You two are weird."

"Look!" Sophia said suddenly, motioning to two people behind her parents. "More familiar faces!"

To the surprise of the two couples, they were approached by Harper and Trevor. He was looking suave in his outfit, and as far as Olivia could recall, this was the first time she'd ever seen him in a full tuxedo ensemble. She'd seen him dressed to impress for court, but this was the first time she'd seen him dressed to this level of perfection and impressiveness.

Harper was beside him, wearing a lovely green evening dress that Olivia wasn't sure she'd seen before. Her sister's shoes looked new, too, and it even looked like her nails, hair, and makeup had been done professionally, as well. Olivia suddenly tried to remember the last time she'd seen her eight-months-pregnant sister. After all, she was due any day with Junior and Zoelle, and she should have been at home, resting.

"Harp, how are you here?" Olivia blurted.

Harper winked casually at her sister. "I do have a life, Olivia, even if it's just now getting back on track."

Before Olivia could roll her eyes at her, Alex looked to Trevor. "Care to fill in the blanks before Olivia and Harper cancel each other out?"

Trevor laughed. "Maisie couldn't make it tonight, so she suggested I bring Harper tonight, as my plus-one."

"I said yes," Harper chimed in. "And here we are. I also went shopping this morning, and treated myself to a makeover. All of you look really great, by the way."

Sophia stepped to the side to observe everyone. She, herself, was wearing a red and green dress, while Casey had gone for a white and gold one. Harper looked like a living doll with what she was wearing, and Trevor wouldn't have been out of place in a spy movie. When it came to Olivia and Alex, however, she was definitely dazzled: while they weren't matching exclusively, they were still both wearing party dresses in the same red-and-gold color scheme.

"You two," she said them. "Look downright adorable. By the way, Olivia, I didn't know that you owned any dresses."

"Hey—"

Alex couldn't help herself as she added, "All of these years of knowing your mother, Sophia, and I can still count on one hand how many times I've seen her in a dress at all."

While Sophia, Alex, Casey, and Harper had a quick chuckle at Olivia's expense, Trevor, meanwhile, just sighed. These were some of his closest friends now, and he was just going to have to get used to it.

To get the train back on the right track, he looped his arm in Harper's before speaking to Olivia.

"Since your sister will officially be working for me when she comes back from her maternity leave," he explained. "We're taking this opportunity to introduce her to some people she'll encounter around the office."

Harper spoke again. "I've been to these kinds events before—Corps things with Xander, and work parties, when I was at Briggs & Raglan—but I'm also treating this as one last hurrah before Junior and Zoelle get here."

Olivia felt her 'protective big sister' mode kicking into high gear, so as she spoke, she always did her best to not let it get the best of her. "Well, have fun, Harper, and pace yourself. Be careful about how you get home."

"I will definitely pace myself, but," she pointed at the ceiling. "For my own sanity, and because my children are big and heavy, I booked a room upstairs for the night."

"Good call."

Olivia turned to Trevor, who had to refrain from taking a step backwards, upon correctly interpreting the stern look on his friend's face.

"I know—take care of your sister tonight, otherwise you'll kick my ass."

"Bingo." Olivia made a shooing motion at them. "Now, really—go on and go."

They bowed themselves out of the conversation, and just as quickly, Alex and Olivia had also departed. Sophia and Casey were the last two left standing.

The attorney laughed nervously and turned to her future intended. "Ever feel as though your world is extremely small?"

"Oh, yes. Often."


Sophia and Casey proceeded to have a good time after that, although after departing the dance floor at once point, Casey spotted someone she definitely wasn't keen on seeing, ever, much less at a party.

"What's wrong, Red?" protested Sophia as she was nearly frogmarched away. "I can't move so fast."

Realizing they were almost trapped, Casey let go of her and only had time to mutter, "Be cool," before the new person arrived.

He was dressed in a sharp outfit, from head to toe, but his shoes were over-polished and his hair was too slicked back. He put Sophia in mind of a used car salesman.

"Casey Novak," he said a surprisingly genital tone. "Fancy seeing you at one of these shindigs."

Casey rolled her eyes in irritation. "Just because you beat me for valedictorian in high school and college, that doesn't mean you still have to lord it over me… especially since I beat you in graduate school and law school, Harry. There's also the part where I have a higher closing rate than you do."

"To that end," Harry said as if he hadn't just been slighted. "It's nice to see you at a party, since you're usually busy, or beg off."

"I, unlike you, didn't sail through life or school, you know, plus I happen to hang out with an elite sector of the NYPD, and they keep me on my toes all the time. I also have younger siblings whose lives I'm actively involved in."

Harry sneered at her. "That's right—you grew up over a florist with your eleven brothers and sisters."

"Idiot." Casey hissed. "You know perfectly well that there are eight of us. But at least I wasn't caught in the fifth grade by Sister Mary Margaret, stealing an altar boy gown, on a dare! Need I bring up high school graduation?"

"Of course not, no."

Harry took a moment to gather himself, brushing imaginary dust off his clothes, but as he did, he finally noticed Sophia.

"How do you do?" they shook hands. "I'm Harry Walsh, and I'm a defense attorney. Casey and I go back."

"I'm Sophia Benson," was all Sophia could think of to say.

"Huh. I thought you were Georgia."

"I think you mean Savannah: she's my age, but has natural bright red hair, and I'm clearly a brunette. She's also the sibling directly after Casey, so you might want to make a note of that."

Sophia was growing to dislike Harry Walsh, but was yet doing her best to be polite.

"Are you here with anyone?"

"I am not… and I'm very much a bachelor." Harry immediately sounded like he'd been knocked down a few rungs. "Are you a friend of Casey's?"

"More like fiancée." Sophia showed him her engagement ring.

"Fiancée?" Harry echoed, as though he'd never heard the word before. "You two are h—"

Casey cut across him in a tone of warning. "Don't you dare use the 'h' word, and technically, I'm a lesbian, and Sophia is bisexual. We're parents, too."

"Be that as it may, at least I get romantic with people my own age!"

These words visibly bothered Sophia, and seeing this, Casey felt her blood boil.

"Go to hell," she said to him. "And don't ever talk to us again."

Harry Walsh said nothing, and stalked off towards the open bar on the far side of the room.

Casey whisked Sophia off to a corner, where they were afforded a little bit of privacy. They were both upset by what Harry had said to them, but Sophia looked like she could start crying at the drop of a hat.

"I know he said some bad things, but he's just an old rival. I've actually known him since nursery school."

"Casey," Sophia said after a moment of practiced breathing. "Bigots are one thing, and I've been dealing with them since I came out, but that, with Harry, was the first time someone has made an open jibe about our age difference."

This wasn't lost on Casey at all. "I know it's almost fifteen years, and that down the road, I'll hit retirement age before you do, but other than that, I've never given the age gap too deep a thought."

Sophia wiped her tears. "Really?"

"Really." Casey pointed to her own engagement ring, and then Sophia's. "We haven't tied the knot yet, but these mean together forever, for better or for worse. Bigots are definitely one thing, but guys like Harry Walsh—we can always come out on top of those kinds of encounters."

"Because we take the high road, and we don't stoop that low." Sophia sighed. "We're going to teach the kids that."

"The one we have, the ones on the way, and the one we'll have a few years down the road, to round things out." Casey squeezed Sophia's hand gently. "We'll teach them about love and peace and happiness, and that something like age is just a number."

"It's just a number..."

"That's right."

They hugged, and just held each other for a few moments. One of the many things that Sophia adored about her wife-to-be was that she gave amazing hugs. They always made Sophia feel safe, warm, and quite relaxed.

When Casey let her go, Sophia was feeling blissful.

"Feel better, Soph? I know I do."

"I do feel better, actually, Casey. Thank you." Sophia replied. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Casey put an arm around her shoulders. "Now let's go freshen up, and then see if we can find some fun people?"

Sophia was down for that.


Later, when the band changed lanes to quiet songs again, Olivia found herself on the dance floor with Alex, but that was no surprise, though, because they loved to dance at any party they went to.

They were in the middle of the full dance floor, but Olivia was pleasantly surprised to see Sophia and Casey also dancing together, a few feet away, and then impressed against her will when she even spotted Harper and Trevor. Despite Harper's big middle, she and Trevor were dancing together. They were closer to the edge of the dance floor, but it still counted. Olivia also found herself deciding that she would check on Harper before she went upstairs to call it a night.

And yet, Olivia also felt herself remembering Zacharias McFadden's warning for Alex to watch her back. She'd had no choice but to call Alex to tell her about it, but in turn, Alex was very calm and assured Olivia that though this was cause for concern, she had complete confidence in the squad that should Garrett Rhys try anything shifty, they would all catch him before he went too far.

Olivia was brought back to the present when she felt Alex gently rake the back on her head with her nails. The lieutenant almost went weak in the knees with desire, but still did her best to pay attention as Alex addressed her.

"You're thinking about work, aren't you?"

"I am."

"Well, don't." Alex murmured in her ear. "You can worry about it tomorrow."

"I can."

"Just be here with me. With Diana."

Their youngest daughter was wide awake, but because Alex and Olivia were holding each other close, they could both feel her moving.

"Just be here in the moment with us," Alex told her. "And just keep dancing."

"I can do that, Alex. For you, I will."