Chapter Eleven- Fate

Thanks to Lucy, JennBenn3148, Whatsername007, angel1986, Hkitty9013, idinakristinfan, AllAboutMe123, onetreefan, and obsessedwithstabler for their reviews!

Thanks Sergeant Happy Bunny…did I ever tell you that you are soo loved?

Disclaimer: I own no one and nothing. Fine, make me feel bad.

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Casey expected to feel pain shoot through her body, but she felt nothing. In panic she opened her eyes to see if Richard had changed his mind and shot Alex. Alex was fine, but staring widely at the doorway of her house. Richard sank to his knees and threw up blood on the floor. He twitched for a moment before moving no more.

Olivia stood in the doorway with her gun leveled and her face white. She was shaking slightly, but her hands were firm and steady. Elliot also had his gun drawn, but he reacted to Olivia's shot. He moved quickly past her and toward Richard, kicking the gun away from him.

"You guys okay?" he asked, helping Alex to her feet and then Casey.

"Yeah, just a little bruised." Alex replied.

Olivia got over the shock she always felt after killing someone and walked toward them.

"Did he hurt you guys? Did he do anything?" Olivia demanded, her voice quivering slightly.

Alex put her good hand on Olivia's shoulder. "We're fine." She said firmly. "You got here just in time."

Casey smiled at Olivia. "You just saved our lives, Liv."

Olivia gave the redhead a small smile. "That's my job isn't it?"

Alex laughed and then winced. "Busted wrist." She muttered once she saw Elliot and Olivia's eyes cloud with worry.

A baby's wail broke into their conversation.

"Shit!" Alex cried, racing up the stairs two at a time.

"Alex!" Elliot and Olivia yelled after her, running after her.

They did not want her out of their sights, not since Richard had just narrowly killed her and Casey.

"Alex!" Olivia cried again, bursting through the nursery door.

She froze when she saw Alex cradling a baby in one arm, cooing to it in a voice that the detective never even knew she was capable of. Alex, the toughest DA in the state of New York, the one that showed no mercy in court and made even the toughest convicts tremble at the sight of the hardness in her eyes, was baby- talking and making an infant gurgle and coo. Olivia couldn't believe it.

Elliot came up behind his wife with a small smile. Seeing Alex with the child reminded him of how Olivia was with their daughter. The way she had sang Emily to sleep at night and then comforted her when she cried. It was completely unlike the cop, but it suited her as much as it contrasted her. He put a hand on her shoulder. Olivia turned to face him and he kissed her gently on the cheek.

"I'll get the paramedics for Al." He murmured.

"Hurry." She answered just as softly with her face still nuzzled in his neck.

He turned and left, but left Olivia breathless and with the tingling feeling on her fingertips the way he always left her.

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Ten minutes later, Alex was getting her wrist quickly splinted before she had to go to the hospital to get it properly taken care of. Olivia had Alex's twins in her arms and was trying her best to soothe them. Casey was arguing with some paramedics about how she was. They wanted to check her over. She didn't think it was necessary.

Elliot and Cragen watched from the sidelines.

"We got lucky." Cragen said. "If you two had been stuck on the Washington Bridge or in traffic, both of them would be dead."

"Yeah I know. I can't get over how fate plays with our lives." Elliot replied a little bitterly.

"It does what it wants without asking us that's for sure." Cragen sighed.

"I just wished it had a little more concern for our peace of mind." Elliot voiced gruffly, before walking away to help lighten the burden of the twins for Olivia.

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In the hospital, Olivia was thinking something along the lines of. I've been here too many times this week.

Elliot was thinking the same thing. Emily was doing much better and was to the point of driving her nagging and fussing parents out of the room. The little girl was actually quite demanding when she was annoyed. Elliot smiled to himself. That part of Emily was certainly most like Olivia.

Casey was being chased by doctors. She had come to the hospital to check up on Alex, but now was being hounded by medical people in lab coats that were getting on her nerves.

"People seriously…I'm FINE!" she yelled at them.

"Just let us…"

"NO! One more word and I'm jumping out of the fire escape."

Her words were followed by silence and a satisfied smile on her face. Elliot rolled his eyes. Casey was just too damn stubborn to listen to anyone. He flashed her a smile and earned on in return.

"How are our residential mothers doing?" Casey asked, watching Olivia and Alex talk quietly in Alex's room.

"They're fine, but they're talking about something that they don't' want me around for." Elliot said with a slightly hurt tone in his voice.

Casey glanced at him and then into the room. Olivia was speaking to Alex in a very hushed tone and Alex looked like she was about to cry. She took a step in and Olivia whirled around after Alex's eyes lifted to meet Casey's.

"Casey, I need to talk to Alex alone for a moment." Olivia said a little bluntly.

Casey wasn't used to being butted out by Olivia, not since they had becomes friends after a rocky start.

"Uh…Okay." She said a little hesitantly.

Alex didn't say anything, just stared off into space with big blue eyes full of wet tears.

"Let's get coffee. This hospital coffee sucks." Elliot said, seeing Casey's hurt look.

It had been a long time since she was cut out of a girl talk kind of conversation. Elliot on the other hand was used to it. Casey didn't argue and followed Elliot out obediently, beating a few more doctors away from her.

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Alex and Olivia's Conversation

Olivia had walked into Alex's room, meaning to try and tell Alex a secret. Something big…something that could potentially ruin their friendship as well as Alex's peace of mind. Olivia had not wanted to tell her, but found the truth nagging at the back of her mind ever since finding that Alex had been almost killed by Richard White.

"Alex we need to talk." She had said.

Elliot had stared at her curiously with a look that mirrored Alex's.

"Alone." She had then emphasized.

Elliot had sulked out of the room and Alex had looked more confused than ever.

"You know that day when you were shot in court?" Olivia asked once Elliot was out of earshot.

Alex was thoroughly confused. "Yeah, I remember." The seriousness coming from Olivia was unnerving her. "How could I forget?" she joked a little awkwardly.

Olivia sighed. "Alex, promise me that you won't be mad that I kept this from you."

Alex stared at her. She was a little scared of what Olivia would say next, but she wanted to promise. She hesitated. To Alex, a promise was golden and she wouldn't break it for anything.

Olivia noticed her hesitation and realized how much she was asking of the lawyer. "Okay don't promise but I'm gonna tell you anyway."

She took a deep breath. Even as a cop, she had never experienced something this hard, knowing that the next words that came out of her mouth, could potentially ruin one of the best friendships she had ever made. She felt nervous.

"On that day that you were shot, you were supposed to die. Elliot along with you. You shouldn't have even survived long enough to hit the ground; Elliot died in the hospital. Afterward Jackson and I were hurting so we did something we never thought we would do."

At this, Olivia pulled a worn piece of paper from her pocket. It had some old words written on it and seemed to radiate with a feeling of power. Alex was about to say something, but Olivia held up a hand.

"So we resorted to magic. Jackson had read about it somewhere and he was covering a story about it. It was out of desperation. Jackson was hurting without you and I couldn't live without Elliot. So here we were at the front of the courthouse when we performed magic for the first time. What do you know? It worked. You still got shot, but you survived. Elliot wasn't even scratched."

Alex gaped at her. She believed Olivia in spite of herself. Olivia would never lie to her about something like this, and she wouldn't lie with that serious expression on her face either.

"Oh my gosh…" Alex said softly. "You mean, I'm supposed to be dead."

Olivia nodded, waiting for an outburst.

It never came.

Alex just started to cry. "Oh my gosh…" Alex believed in fate and if you messed with it- it would find ways to mess back.

"Alex…"

Alex said through tears. "Is this the reason why I lost Jackson?"

Olivia looked away. "I don't know Alex. I know what you believe about fate, but I don't know if it had anything to do with it."

Alex remembered the way Jackson had dove to save her in the crash. "He knew. He knew what was going to happen didn't he?" she asked.

"Maybe Alex, no one will ever know." Olivia replied gently.

Alex stared at the parchment in her hands. "Why did you give this to me?" she asked.

"Because I think you need to decide what you want to do from here. Jackson and I made our decisions. Now it's your turn." Olivia said softly. "Just remember what you've gained in the place of what you've lost before you decide."

With that she quietly slipped out of the room, leaving Alex staring at the piece of worn paper. She glanced at her children sleeping in the corner and then at the picture of her husband that she kept with her at all times in her pocket. The decision was hers, if only she knew which to make.

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For those of you who haven't read my other fanfic, If Only, then you will be confused by the last part. Read that and you will get it. Hope you enjoyed that!