Chapter Seven

Alex looked around the hotel room. Olivia's hotel room. She could smell Olivia's rosemary shampoo in the bathroom. She saw some of Olivia's favorite shirts in the open suitcase on the chair. She then scolded herself. She should not be here. She came up to this room to talk to Olivia. Olivia clearly was not here, so she did not have any more business in being here.

Wait. She knew where Olivia was. Her girlfriend, Casey, had mentioned it. The gym? No, that wasn't it. The pool. Alex peeked outside. The weather was nice. It was still very warm outside, so the chances were pretty good that Olivia was at the outdoor pool.

Alex left the room and closed the door promptly behind her. She knew that Casey was mad at her. She had every reason to be. She was just worried about how Olivia felt. She could not live with herself if Olivia was mad at her. She had to make this right.

The sun shone down on her pale skin as she walked outside to the pool. There was a small gate separating the pool and its deck from the rest of the patio. Alex opened the gate and walked inside. There were only a few children actually in the pool, so she would be looking at the people around it. She smiled as she caught sight of Olivia.

Her girlfriend was in the far left corner of the pool where the sun was shining the brightest. She was dressed in a red bikini. It was not too skimpy, and Alex loved it. Olivia was absolutely adorable. Of course, Alex thought. She had to make this harder.

"Hey," Alex said as she approached Olivia. She sat down in a pool chair next to Olivia's.

Olivia opened her eyes and turned to face Alex. Alex did not have to say anything. Olivia knew the reason for her visit. "When did she leave?" she asked.

"About fifteen minutes ago," Alex responded honestly.

Olivia nodded once. "That's great," she said as she felt tears welling in her eyes. She turned to Alex. "I don't know what to do. I don't know if she'll even talk to me again."

"She will," Alex assured her. "I could see it in her eyes. She's in love with you."

"And I love her," Olivia stated. "I mean, I didn't think I would, at first. At first, she pissed me off. At first, I honestly wanted to kill her. She's so not like you. But, for whatever reason, I fell in love with her. And now, I see you and things get so messed up. I don't get it."

Alex took Olivia's hand. "Love never makes any sense," she said. "I think about you all the time. I can't help myself."

Olivia smiled weakly at Alex. "I do, too, but telling me this isn't exactly making the situation any better," she stated. "I just don't know what to do."

"Go back to her," Alex answered simply. Before Olivia could say anything, Alex continued. "She obviously loves you. I know this weekend was not easy for anyone, but you've got a future with her. Most people in Witness Protection never get out." She sighed. "I'd like to believe that I will, but the reality is that I probably won't. I don't want you to suffer because of me. You should move on. You have Casey. Be grateful for that," she said. She leaned over and kissed Olivia's forehead. "And remember that I'll always love you."

Olivia hugged Alex tightly. "And I will always love you, Alex," she stated. "I promise." She kissed her. "Thank you," she whispered.

Casey got a bus quick enough. Luckily, the traffic was not too bad. She was back at the District Attorney's office in four hours. She needed to do work. She needed a distraction from the day she had just had. Rapists. That could distract her for hours…until she thought about how she got the evidence.

Someone was standing in front of her office door. Casey gasped as she grabbed her key and opened it. "Elliot, what are you doing here?" she asked. "It's a Saturday night."

Elliot nodded. "Yea, I know, but Kathy's got the kids, so I was looking at some old case files and…Hey," he said after a pause. "Why aren't you with Liv? Something happen?"

Casey nodded as she pushed her door open. "Yes," she complained loudly. "Something happened. Of course something happened. She showed up."

"She?" Elliot asked as he followed Casey inside. He wondered how much Casey was willing to talk about this. Whatever the amount, he would listen. He cared about Casey.

"I know I'm going to sound crazy, but believe me it's the truth," Casey started. She had not intended to talk about it- or even think about it- but Elliot was there. He was actually listening to her. She felt safe with him. She could trust him. She grabbed a softball from her top drawer and tossed it to Elliot. "Alex Cabot's alive. Witness Protection, and she's working at the hotel Liv took me to."

Elliot's mouth dropped open. "Wow, that close to the city," he said in shock as he tossed the ball back to Casey.

Casey's face flustered with anger at Elliot's statement. "Wait, you knew, too," she stated angrily as she aimed the ball at his crotch and threw it harder.

"Woah, easy there," Elliot said as he moved out of the way. He let the ball hit the floor and bounce once before he caught it. "Casey, just take a deep breath." Casey glared at him, but she did as he commanded. "Only Liv and I knew. I swear. We weren't even supposed to know, but Alex was too stubborn. No one else knows. Not even Cragen or Branch."

Casey exhaled. "I know. It's fair," she stated. "It's for her own safety. But still…She and Liv…They were…and now I don't know what to do."

Elliot moved over closer to Casey. He hugged her. In many ways, he viewed her as his sister. Her and Olivia. He hated seeing either one of them like this. "It's going to work out. I know Liv loves you," he said soothingly.

Casey frowned. "Her lips said otherwise," she responded. "And before you say anything, it looked pretty romantic to me."

Elliot sighed as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Come on," he said. "I'll drive you home. You're tired. You've had a long, hellish day. You deserve a nice hot bath or something. In the morning, this will all be clearer. It'll work out."

Casey smiled weakly at Elliot. "Thank you."