"What have we got so far?" Cragen asked the four detectives as he stepped out of his office with ADA Novak and psychologist Dr. Huang in tow.
"ME's report says the cause of death was manual strangulation. Time of death was approximately 4 am. No signs of trauma but bruises on her wrists and she uh..." Olivia's voice trailed off as she skimmed through the rest of the report.
"What?" Elliot asked his partner.
Swallowing hard, she found her voice once again. "She was having sex when she died."
An uneasy silence fell over the group, and Cragen cleared his throat to get their attention. "Anything from her body that will lead us to the killer? Surely she must've put up a struggle before she died."
"Yup. Underneath her fingernails. Warner says if we can get a sample she should be able to match it." Olivia handed the ME's report over to the captain. Before the group dispersed, Huang spoke up.
"I would suggest that Olivia talk to her. The girl seems to react negatively to men."
"That explains the glares," Munch told Huang.
Huang nodded, then continued on. "I'm not sure what her background is like, so just tread carefully, Olivia."
"I'll go with you, Detective," Casey offered.
"All right, here's what you're gonna do. Olivia, you and Casey interview the woman. Elliot, you and Huang are gonna watch in the observation room. Casey, get a search warrant for her place and another warrant just in case she refuses to give us a DNA sample. Fin, Munch, stand by to do the searches. Report back immediately if you find anything."
As the group dispersed, Casey stepped away to make a phone call. Minutes later, she returned to the detectives, informing them to go ahead with the search as planned.
It was already mid-morning the next day when the detectives could finally wrap up the case. It took them a pile of mountain-high evidence and a lot of patience to finally fish a confession out of Jessie.
"That has got to be the shortest time we've taken to solve a case so far," Elliot told his partner as they got out of the station.
Taking in the morning sun, Olivia barely caught on to what he had said. "Must be."
"Something bothering you?" Elliot could sense her discomfort.
Olivia thought for a moment before she spoke up. "I don't get it. She made it sound as though it was just a sex game gone wrong. She didn't even flinch when I showed her the photos of the vic's dead body!"
"Listen, Huang said that she has issues with her past. Maybe that's where it came about."
"Yeah but it still doesn't make sense. Why would she kill her girlfriend then?"
"Liv, there are a lot of things that can't be explained. This, unfortunately, is one of them. Who knows, maybe that shrink Jackson can pry something out of her." Elliot hated leaving his partner like this, but he was tired, and he hadn't seen his family in two days. "Look, Cragen gave us the rest of the day off, so go home, relax, and try not to think about this case, ok?"
Knowing her partner was eager to go home, she just nodded. "Don't worry, I'm fine. I guess I just needed to vent. See you tomorrow."
Arriving home fifteen minutes later, Olivia still couldn't shake the questions out of her head. But there was something else, or rather someone else, occupying her mind as well. Ever since the impromptu meeting in Alex's office, she couldn't help but think of the blonde. The longing in her eyes, the awkward silence, the tension in the air.
Stripping off the two-day-old clothes, Olivia headed toward her bathroom for a shower. Warm droplets showered her body as she stood under the spray, feeling the stress and dust from the previous days being washed away. As she worked the body wash into a lather all over her body, she couldn't help but remember the scent she had encountered the previous morning in Alex's office. Vanilla and jasmine. Definitely Alex Cabot, no doubt about it. Mentally forcing herself to stop thinking of the blonde, she quickly finished off the shower and toweled off. Finding a pair of faded jeans and sweater, she padded to her kitchen to get her caffeine fix.
Soft music was playing in the background when the shrill of the phone startled the detective. She had fallen asleep on her couch listening to her favorite CD. Momentarily disoriented, she scrambled to look for her cell phone.
"Benson," she answered groggily.
"Did I wake you up?" It was Elliot.
"Yeah you did. What do you want?"
"Just thought I'd check in on you. Casey tried calling you earlier. Jessie's attorney is pleading insanity."
"What?"
"Apparently the shrink agrees." Elliot's voice was laced with irritation. He didn't have a good impression of the psychologist. He couldn't forget what her psychological evaluation report had put him through a few years back. It was also the same time that one of the SVU detectives was tranferred to another department.
"Thanks for the heads up, El."
Looking out of the window, she realized it was getting dark. Checking her clock, she noticed it was well past seven. i I've been asleep for five hours? /i Rolling her neck back and forth as she walked to the bathroom, she caught her reflection on the mirror, and a moment of clarity struck her.
Thankful that she had driven the sedan home, Olivia quickly grabbed her keys and cell phone before she headed out. Navigating the sedan through evening traffic, she set out for the one place that she had once called home.
Getting into the cab, Alex gave her address to the driver and sat back. The day had started out gloomy, and it looked as though it wasn't getting any better. News of Jessie's arrest had reached the department, and everyone was shocked to hear about it.
A jerk broke her chain of thoughts, and upon realizing that she had arrived at her apartment, she quickly paid the driver and climbed out of the cab. Taking the few steps to her apartment building, Alex felt someone was following her. Heart pounding against her chest, she slowly reached for her cell phone.
As if on cue, a hand rested on her shoulder, and she instantly reacted. Twisting the intruding hand, she turned around and faced her attacker.
"Alex!"
Recognizing that voice as Olivia's, she loosened her grip, though still holding on to the other woman's hand. "Liv?"
"Yeah."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you," Alex apologized to her. Unknowingly she started massaging the detective's hand, her thumb rubbing the other woman's wrist.
"It's ok. I'm fine." Olivia winced slightly when Alex's thumb had hit a particularly sore spot. "Put on an ice pack and it'll be good as new."
Summoning all her courage, Alex let go of Olivia's hand. She could hear the slight groan of protest from Olivia, but she chose to ignore it. i Let go before it gets too hard, Alex. /i
"In that case, have a good night, Detective." As she turned around to leave, she felt a hand on her arm.
"Don't, Alex," Olivia pleaded with her. "Not like that."
Knowing that she could never resist the detective, Alex let her guard down. "Fine."
Both walked side by side in silence. Neither was sure how to breach the subject. Before, they had all the time in the world to figure things out. Now, as they were thrust together by fate, both were unsure as to how to proceed or what to do.
"Just give me a minute while I get the ice pack for you," Alex told Olivia as they stepped into her apartment. "Do you need a painkiller?"
"No, not now. I'm fine."
A few minutes later, Alex appeared from the kitchen with an ice pack and a small towel in hand. "Here, put this on. I'm gonna go change."
Olivia muttered her thanks, but Alex was already in her bedroom. As she changed into something more comfortable, she couldn't stop the random thoughts going through her mind. Every one of them was of Olivia. Truth be told, she had enjoyed the detective's company even before they were together. Somehow she felt that tonight the detective needed her company, and Alex was torn between helping a friend and facing her own fears.
When she got back to the living room, the battle was lost. Sitting on her couch was one frustrated detective. At that moment Alex knew she was wrong in avoiding Olivia. For the first time, in a long time, she was filled with warmth that had long eluded her. Slowly walking toward the couch, she flashed Olivia a smile when the detective turned around to face her.
"Hey," Alex said as she sat down next to the brunette. "How's your hand?"
"A few more minutes on the ice pack and it'll be good again."
"And I'm really sorry..." Before Alex could finish the sentence, a finger on her lips stopped her.
"Shh, it's ok. I'm fine, Alex."
Hearing Olivia said those words to her, she did not miss the double entendre in it. She moved closer to the detective, tugging her in for a hug. Olivia wasn't sure what she should do, so she held on with her good hand. As the moment stretched on, neither made an attempt to break the hug. Only a fierce growl from Alex's stomach forced them to break the embrace.
"Have you had dinner yet?" Olivia shook her head no, so Alex got up and headed to the kitchen and picked up the phone. "Italian?"
"Sounds good to me."
A strange yet familiar sensation coursed through Olivia's body when she woke up the next morning. She felt at ease, almost blissful, something she had not experienced for a long time. A body, soft, yet strong, curled up against her. Smooth limbs wrapped around her like a grapevine. She remembered the sensation. i Alex. /i
The detective smiled at that thought. Then last night's events came back to her. She remembered the ice pack, the dinner, but everything else after that was a blur. Looking down at the figure sleeping next to her, Olivia decided it didn't matter. She had everything she needed in her arms at that moment. Her arms tightened her hold on the blonde, unexpectedly waking the woman up at the same time.
"Morning." Olivia smiled at the sleepy blonde.
"Mmm what time is it?" She asked as she snuggled closer to Olivia.
"Time for me to go to work, I'm afraid," the detective said apologetically. "Alex, last night..."
Her words were cut off when Alex leaned in to capture her lips. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach, but just as soon as it started, Alex pulled away just as quickly.
"Nothing happened last night. We had dinner, had a couple of drinks, you fell asleep, I helped you to bed, we slept. That's all," she said, reading Olivia's thoughts. "Look, I know we need to talk, but for now let's just enjoy the moment, ok?"
Hearing the pleading tone in Alex's voice, she simply nodded. Content with just holding the other woman in her arms, Olivia's mind drifted. It felt like a dream to her, and she was half expecting to wake up anytime soon. As if sensing Olivia's doubts, the blonde leaned in closer to her, planting kisses along the way before eventually capturing her still swollen lips from their earlier's kiss.
Tongues dwelled, and lips clashed as both were reluctant to break the kiss, but knew they had to come up for air. Panting slightly out of breath, Alex rested on top of the detective. Olivia welcomed the weight. It reminded her that Alex was alive and safe in her arms once again. Just like always.
"Look, I hate to kiss and run, but I really gotta go." She felt Alex flinch, but she didn't make an effort to move. "I need to go home to change before I get back to the station. Dinner tonight?"
Moving to her side, Alex still held on to Olivia. "Actually I was thinking of dropping by the station after work today to see the guys. We can leave for dinner after that. What do you think?"
"Are you sure?" Olivia wasn't asking about Alex meeting the rest of the squad.
"They're gonna find out sooner or later, might as well tell them now, kill two birds with one stone." Seeing Olivia's expression, she clarified, "Look, we've had our ups and downs, and we've been apart for a long time, but there's no one else for me, Liv. You're the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. If you still want me, that is."
Olivia's heart soared at the truth in the blonde's words. It mirrored what she felt, has been feeling, since the first day she met the determined ADA.
"There's no one else for me, either."
