After a fitful night of sleep, Olivia finally got out of bed when her alarm sounded. Noticing her slightly shaking hands, she took a deep breath to calm herself down. It took several more slow inhales until she could completely compose herself.

"Must be the medication," she mumbled to herself.

Going about her usual ritual of getting ready for work, her mind floated back to yesterday's events. What had drawn her to go to Alex's apartment, she didn't know. But it was like a silent calling, and her legs, together with her willing heart, had answered the call.

Dazed and confused. That was the condition she had found herself in when she arrived at the blonde's apartment. Her conscious mind had been blurred by the visions of Alex at the park earlier and all she could think of was the person that always appeared on the other side of that apartment door. Olivia had raised her hand, ready to knock on the familiar entryway, but fear held her back. What if she's not there? What if she's not living here anymore? An idea had come to her then, and she hurriedly put it into action. Ten minutes later, she had left Alex's apartment building, hoping that the note that she had slipped underneath the door was enough to let her lover know that she had spotted her at the park.

A sudden jerk brought her back to the present.

The cab that she was in had stopped and Olivia now stood in front of the stationhouse, taking in a deep, calming breath before she stepped into the place she had gotten to know so well. After exchanging a few courtesy hellos, she headed toward her locker and left her belongings in there.

Eyeing the swirling dark liquid sitting in the nearly empty coffee pot, she briefly wondered when somebody had made it. A closer inspection and she decided it would be safer if the mysterious concoction flowed in the drains of New York instead. Heaven forbid somebody actually drinks it. She quickly cleaned out the pot and measure an ample amount of fresh grounds into the filter. While waiting for the coffee to brew, Olivia could not help but notice the oddity of that morning. The squad room would usually be buzzing with people at that hour, yet today the room was eerily scant with people. Phones would usually be ringing, the four detectives would usually be sipping coffee while they catch up with gossips and the captain would usually be in his office. The Cap. Maybe I should go check in with him. Just as she turned toward the office door, a voice caught her attention.

"Liv? What are you doing here?" Olivia did a quick turn and came to face Elliot.

"Well hello to you too, Elliot. I'm fine, thanks for asking."

"Morning Liv. Bed bugs chased you out of your apartment?" Elliot couldn't help but grin. He had missed his partner ever since she was put on medical leave. Careful to avoid her left arm, he embraced her in a hug while he whispered into her ear, "Good to have you back, partner."

"Yeah well don't expect me to do a coffee run anytime soon," Olivia said while she moved away from Elliot and poured herself a cup of the steaming coffee. "Where's Batman and Robin?"

"Please, Liv. I don't want to have nightmares of Skeletons here in tights." Fin joined in the fun as he walked in with his partner.

"Har dee har har. Bruce Wayne never looked this good in a suit, anyway," Munch shot right back as he sat down at his desk. "Good to see you back, Olivia. These two bozos were trying to brainwash me while you were gone."

"Ok who are you and what have you done to our Munch?" Olivia said in her best detective voice, only to burst out in giggles.

Just as Munch was about to speak, Cragen stepped out of his office.

"All right, fun's over," Cragen said, turning to look at Munch. "Don't you two have to be in court?"

"Yeah, it's at 10," Munch replied.

"I suggest you go a little earlier then. Novak wants to see you before the hearing begins."

With that, both detectives left the squad room they had so recently entered and began their trek to the courthouse.

"How are you feeling, Olivia?" Cragen stood next to her desk while he sipped on a cup of coffee.

"Worse for the wear, but glad to be back," Olivia said.

"Good, 'cause Stabler here needs all the help he can get with the backlog of paperwork. Wouldn't want IAB to come sniffing around again."

"Yeah Liv, you know how fast I type," Elliot added. "Two fingers."

"All right then, let's get cracking. I'll take the first pile while you take the other pile." Olivia grinned, immediately snapping into organizing mode.

-----

You don't have a case. It blew up with Tim Donovan.

"No!"

Alex woke up, startled by the same dream that had haunted her even before she went into hiding. Hammond's voice still ringing in her ears, she sat up on her bed, drawing her legs up to her chest. Her body rocked back and forth gently, her arms hugging her legs even closer.

It was the blast that finally made her realize just what she had gotten herself, and even the rest of the SVU squad into. The events of that night had played on like a broken record in her mind. Walking out of the building after the meeting, Donovan assuring her that he would go to the judge, Olivia telling her to stay over at her place instead, Elliot saying something about a drive-by. That's when it happened. Donovan's car blew up, sending shards of glass and debris flying everywhere. The force from the blast threw both her and Olivia to the ground, but she was too stunned to notice anything else. Alex's focus was on the ball of flame engulfing the agent's car.

"I'm sorry," Alex muttered to the darkness.

Just as soon as she fell asleep, Alex woke up again. This time, there was no nightmares, no intruding sounds that woke her up. Her body willed itself out of slumber, and was aching from the previous day's encounter. Momentarily considering her options, she decided to go jogging again, only this time she would take a different path. If I see her again...

A crisp October breeze was steadily blowing through the streets of New York City that morning when Alex started her jog. For the next 45 minutes, Olivia and the haunting images of the car blast was out of her conscious mind. She focused on the children getting ready to go to school, adults getting ready to go to work. Life was normal again. No more federal agents watching her every move, no more motion sensors and spy cameras around the house.

Mentally making notes on what she had to do that day, she didn't notice that she wasn't back in her neighborhood until she slowed down from her run. What the hell? She looked around, only to feel her stomach flip at the sight. She was standing a few doors away from Olivia's apartment building. Before she could do anything, a lean figure commandeered all her attention.

"Oh shit!"

As if on cue, the figure turned around and was looking at her direction. Alex froze, unsure of what to do. But just as soon, Olivia turned away and climbed into a cab. Letting a sigh of relief, Alex took a few deep breaths before she hailed a cab home. What is it with me?

Throughout the cab ride home, she couldn't help but think back. She was so close. Too close. What if she had seen me, again? Her heart was racing. Every nerve ending in her body was tingling, in some sort of adrenaline induced overdrive. Get a hold of yourself, Alex. You don't want her to get hurt, do you? Then stay away. It's better this way.

A shower and a light breakfast later, Alex was ready to face the world. She was to meet with the dean of NYU's School of Law later that day and talk about her new job at the school. The job was arranged by the DEA as part of the agreement they made when she was released from the witness protection program.

"Here goes nothing," Alex muttered under her breath as she stepped into the dean's office.