All right guys, sorry for the long wait, but I have virtually no time to write, never mind type this story up. But its here now, so I hope ya'll like it.

SVU Chicky

Once back at the house, the Cabot's' true colors shone brighter than the sun. Neither of them had let a second of silence pass for the three and a half hours since they were reunited. They were like a couple of thirteen-year olds at a slumber party. It was actually pretty funny to watch.

Olivia got up and pulled down another bottle of wine. It was amazing just how fast four women could drain a whole bottle. But that wasn't the reason she was in the kitchen. She felt out of place among the conversation in the living room. The minute they all walked through the threshold, Alex and Mackenzie made a beeline for the loveseat by the TV, and Serena and Abbie headed straight for the one in front of the fireplace. It seemed that the latter two had rekindled old law school feelings while out at the club. Abbie never could resist a girl who could sing…or throw a three hundred pound drug dealing son of a bitch in prison without batting an eye.

So, on one side of the room were the mother and daughter and on the other were the lovebirds, with no place left for Olivia. Which was why she had spent most of the evening in the confines of the kitchen? Deciding that it was probably best not to let any more alcohol circulate around the room, Olivia left the bottle and went outside to get some air. She wondered off the porch and down to her favorite spot on the beach.

It was only a matter of two minutes until Alex noticed the lack of her girlfriend's presence.

Mackenzie answered her mother's unvoiced question. "She's probably in the kitchen. She's been spending a lot of time in there tonight."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Haven't you noticed that your wine glass was never less than a quarter full?"

Alex looked at the wine glass sitting on the end table next to her. "No." She replied almost sorrowfully. This was why she wasn't a detective. She was none too observant.

Mackenzie nodded toward the door. "She went that way."

Alex stood up and stretched out her legs. She didn't think that they had been sitting there talking for long, but judging by the cramping in her lower extremities they had. A glance at the clock on the other side of the room confirmed her muscles suspicions. Ignoring the screaming coming from her legs, she made her way across the room and through the large oak swinging door and into the kitchen.

"Hey Liv, why have you been hiding . . ." She trailed off at seeing, or rather not seeing Olivia in the room. She checked the bathroom, but it too was empty.

Just as she was starting to get worried, Abbie came into the kitchen laughing. "Hey, where's Olivia? She was supposed to be getting a new bottle of wine out." Abbie figured that she had just forgotten or gotten side tracked with something else. Spotting the unopened bottle sitting on the counter, she went right over to it and attempted to open it, but the cork wouldn't budge. "Alex, do you guys have a corkscrew around here?" Receiving no response, she started opening drawers in search of the missing abject.

A few moments later and Abbie luck had not yet changed. "Come on Alex, are you going to help me out or what?" Alex slowly turned around, her tear-stained face being the last to come into Abbie's line of sight.

"Al what's wrong?" She was at her friend's side in only a few short strides.

Alex wrapped her arms around herself. "I can't find her."

"Oh sweetie . . . I'm sure she's around here somewhere/"

Alex wiped her tears away. "She's not. Mackenzie said she would be in here and she's not."

"As much as I like that kid, she doesn't know everything." Despite her efforts, Alex was not able to hold back a small laugh. "There ya go." Abbie went over to the back door and looked out. "Problem solved."

Down at the Beach

Sitting down by the water, her detective senses weren't on high right then. In actuality, she wasn't even sure if they were even operational. Given that it was almost pitch black out, save for the light emanating from the moon and stars and their reflections across the ocean, her senses should have been at their highest possible point. But they weren't, so it wasn't until Alex was practically on top of her that she heard the sand picking up with running footsteps behind her.

The detective turned around just in time to get a quick look at the woman running toward her before she jumped down into Olivia's arms and latched on.

"Alex! . . . Sweetie what's wrong?" She wasn't sure if it was detective mode or concerned lover mode, but something had just kicked in.

Alex shook her hear and wrapped her arms tighter around her lover's neck. Despite her best efforts, she could no longer hold anymore tears back.

Olivia heard the sobs and felt her girlfriend's body shaking and shuddering with every breath. She knew that there was nothing more she could do for her, but that didn't stop her from wanting to.

It wasn't until Alex was significantly calmer a few minutes later that Olivia dared speak again. "So . . ." She began, unconsciously rubbing a supportive hand up and down her partner's back. " . . you wanna tell me what this is all about or do I have to beat it out of you?"

Alex just sighed. "Not really."

"Do it anyway."

She reluctantly pulled away, but still remained on Olivia's lap. She seemed to have suddenly have found her own fingers very amusing and refused to look anywhere else. "I'd rather not."

Olivia lifted Alex's chin so that deep sapphire met dark mahogany. "What's wrong?"

The young attorney shook her head at her own silliness. "Liv its stupid, really."

"Not to me."

If at all possible, Alex fell even more in love with the older woman at that moment. This was Alex's favorite side of Olivia. Her unconditionally loving side. The side that, up until Mackenzie had come to be known, had only been shown to her. She shook her head. "Never mind."

Olivia gave her that look and Alex just melted inside. She sighed and looked over her shoulder. "I couldn't find you." She focused all of her attention back on her hands that were now entwined with Olivia's and tried to think of what to say next. "Its just . . . I don't know. I went from seeing you practically every morning, noon and night to not at all and now . . ." She abandoned the contact of Olivia's hands for a second to wipe her eyes. But it was almost as if the lack of contact was painful, so she returned her hands a split-second later.

"I felt like I had lost you again. Like it never happened. Like I never came back, like I was still all alone in Wisconsin." She wrapped her arms back around Olivia's neck and drew her close. "I felt like it was all just another dream, and . . . and I can't handle another dream Liv, I just can't."

Olivia pulled Alex close. "I know baby, I know."

-Later-

With Abbie and Serena taking Mackenzie for the night, Olivia and Alex were left with the whole house to themselves. Curled up with a bottle of wine, a fire roaring in the fireplace and music softly playing in the background, neither could remember ever feeling more at peace.

Despite their lengthy separation, neither woman was in any hurry to do anything. Olivia's arm wrapped protectively around Alex's slender frame, Alex's head on Olivia's chest, listening to the strong beat coming from within, neither knew where to start. There was so much that needed to be said and so much that needed to be heard. But neither Olivia nor Alex wanted to be the one to break the moment, and neither knew where to begin.

It was as though simply talking about it made it seem all too real. It was as if their silence was preserving this fantasy. But deep down inside, they both knew that they were postponing the inevitable, whether they choose to admit it or not.

Olivia moved her left leg in an attempt to return its circulation, but only succeeded disturbing Alex. "Oh, sorry baby, I didn't realize that you had fallen asleep."

Alex scooted herself up in Olivia's arms. "No, its fine . . . I shouldn't have fallen asleep anyway. How long was I out for?"

Olivia started playing with Alex's hair. "About forty-five, fifty minutes."

"What! And you didn't wake me up?"

"What can I say?" Olivia shrugged. "You're cute when you sleep."

Alex sat up and swung one leg over Olivia's abdomen so that she was straddling her. "Suddenly," She seductively tucked a lock of her hair behind her right ear. "I'm not so tired anymore."

Olivia laughed as Alex leaned in. "It would seem not."