AN Ok, so adding to the list of things that annoy me. 1. Moving 1300 miles south 2. 21 hour car rides 3. Laptop batteries that only last a half and hour and 4. Formatting fanfiction in Spanish. Ok, I'm done. Here's the next chapter!
The Next Morning
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Olivia was awoken by the sunlight, straining through the windows. She smiled as she looked down at the blonde.
Alex had curled away from her during the night, she had kicked off the heavy blanket and a sheet was idly covering her lower half, tastefully exposing her beautiful breasts, wrapped securely in a silken bra. Olivia chuckled as she remembered that she never did get around to taking it off. The brunette lay on her side, trying to memorize every inch of her lover's body; the way her profile and the long curve of her neck mirrored her hand and arm, placed delicately next to her face. Her hair was splayed in a halo around her head; the endings almost seemed animated, like the flicker of blonde flames.
Olivia placed a chaste kiss to her girlfriend's head. The brunette's inner child jumped inside her singing, You have a girlfriend, You have a girlfriend. She didn't try to keep the grin off her face as she looked around the room she was in.
Olivia suddenly realized where her clothing disappeared to the night before. Her bra was on the floor, near the door; her shirt was clinging to a chair in the corner of the room. As her detective's eyes took in the rest of the room she spotted her pants, on the opposite side of the room, next to the door for the master bath. She could see her shoes and socks just over the edge of the bed. Finally, her panties ended up on the bureau, thought the brunette couldn't possible figure the trajectory on that one. She looked back down at the angelic figure.
I've fallen hard for you, Alexandra Cabot.
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Three Months Later
The next few months went smoothly for the new couple. They kept job and relationship separate. It was a comfortable, passionate bond that got the women through tough days and long, cold nights. Alex had firmly entrenched herself in Olivia's apartment. There were no U-hauls as of yet, but a good amount of business suits had amassed themselves in Olivia's closet.
Alex lay with her head in her lover's lap. Olivia softly stroked the blonde strands as she lazily took in the end of the movie they were watching. Most often, they lounged at Olivia's apartment. The guys at work may have suspected, but no one had told them outright. They weren't hiding their non-single status. They just never get brought up. The brunette wondered at Alex's thoughts on the subject.
"Do you think we should tell the guys about us?"
Alex jumped on the defense. "Do you think we should?"
"I'm not saying we should or shouldn't, I'm just saying that…well, you're an important part of my life now and frankly, so are they. I don't think that the two should be separate. Our three-month is in two days.
The blonde had to ask, "Do you think they'll freak because it's me?"
"I hope not. It's really up to you. Maybe we shouldn't tell them."
Alex got up, leaning on her hands and the back of the couch, "Really, Olivia. Would it change anything?"
"Of course it wouldn't change anything between us."
"Our work and our relationship are separate. If they know or not will not change our demeanor at work. But if Elliot ever throws a barbeque again, I hope I can come as more than your friend."
Olivia remembered the day. The couple had conveniently 'carpooled' even though their apartments were nowhere near each other. She always wondered why no one had called her on that point. They were detectives after all. "Maybe I'm thinking too much." She conceited.
Alex smiled and put her head back down onto Olivia's lap. She patted the toned leg, "You tend to do that."
After a pause, "It's ok with me, if they know that we are together."
Olivia couldn't let go. "But what if they start to treat you differently?"
"Then they are pigs and should be shot." Alex blurted, successfully eliciting a chuckle from the brunette. "Come on, Liv, now you are really thinking too much. It's perfectly alright with me if the Elliot, John, Fin and the Captain know that we're together, but you don't have to hit them on the head with it. If they ask, tell them, if they don't, well then it's not important to our relationship that they know." It seemed the end of the discussion. The blonde's voice dropped suddenly worried, "Just as long as I don't end up in the tabloids."
Olivia looked down at her lover. They had this talk one night about a month ago. It was pretty much vital to Alex's job that they keep their relationship hidden from the public. Olivia knew that from the beginning. What she didn't realize was how deeply it affected Alex.
Flashback
They were eating in that night. Alex hadn't eaten much and her worried expression was noticeable.
"What going on, Al?"
The blonde seemed to come to a decision and reached over the table and grabbed Olivia's hand. "I need to talk to you. Seriously now."
Olivia felt the trepidation in her lover's voice. "What is it, Alex?"
"We need to talk about 'us'. I mean; the real nature of our relationship."
"Ok." Olivia's guard went up, but decided to take it slow, feel out where this was going.
"Look, I love you and I want to be with you, please don't get me wrong. But…I have…wow this sounds so stupid. I have career goals that I want to achieve…things I need to live up to."
Olivia nodded, but waited.
The blonde fidgeted, "I am in the public eye…all of the time. If my father ever found out I'm not straight, he'd disown me. Not to mention he'd use every string and connection he could to stop me from getting the only thing I've been working towards since college."
Olivia nodded again, "The DA's office."
"Look," Alex faltered. "I'm a Cabot. Cabot's make the grade no matter what the sacrifice; its what's expected, and I don't think I'm strong enough to break away from that…not like this, not because of something so trivia as to the gender of the person I love." The blonde started biting her lip and covered her face with her hands, hating how shallow she sounded and hating that she brought this up.
Olivia swallowed. "Alex? Alex, please look at me." She continued when the blonde met her eyes. "I get it, Alex. New York is probably not ready for an openly lesbian DA yet. Though I don't like hiding, I think what is between us is a little more special than me being able to grab your hand in public. I know you have career goals and these goals were in place far before you and I ever met. I get it, Alex."
The surprise in the blonde's voice was evident, "Are you serious?"
Olivia kept her face focused, "Yes, and I'm still here, Al. And as for your father, well, he needs to get a clue, but unless he's coming to live with you, I'm not going to worry about him yet."
Alex sat in shock. The biggest obstacle in every relationship, the thing that sent every other woman running for the hills was gone…neatly swept away by those beautiful lips. "How do you always know what to say?"
The brunette smiled, "I've been through it all, Star."
They smiled at the nickname. It had come about when Olivia had come to watch Alex in court on her day off. Even after six hours of sitting in a courtroom, Olivia still couldn't take her eyes off the blonde. Energy and passion radiated from her as it would the sun. It was all the detective could think about. The more she thought about it, the more the name fit. Lucky for her, it stuck.
End Flashback
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The Next Day
Munch watched as Olivia hurriedly left the office. He looked over at Cragen, who was leaning over Elliot's desk. "Not that I think you're playing favorites, Boss, but how come she gets to leave early?"
Cragen met his inferior's permanent sarcastic glare. "She asked to get out early today."
Elliot looked out past the Captain. "He's lying, she's his favorite."
Cragen rolled with the punch, "You got me…Elliot, you and this other second-rate detective go check out the boyfriend."
Munch and Elliot grabbed their coats and headed out the door with grins on their faces.
Elliot jumped in the driver's seat. And Munch started the conversation. "So, what's up with Olivia?"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm old, I'm not blind." Munch pointed out sarcastically, "Olivia's got someone. The question is, who is the guy?"
"Actually, the question is, 'who is the girl.'"
"Really? Guess I should have known. So do you have any idea?"
"None. I asked about a month ago. She told me that she wanted to see if it would last before she started introductions."
"Bet you in two months a leggy blonde is going to walk in the precinct."
"Brunette, you're on."
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Two Months Later
"Come on, Olivia! It's been…months!" Munch whined.
"Yeah, when do we get to meet her?" Elliot poked.
"What? Is she ugly?" Fin guessed wickedly.
"No!" Olivia jumped, "She's gorgeous." A far-off look covered her face. "Amazing, intelligent."
"Then why can't we meet her?"
Olivia rolled her eyes. This had been going on for twenty minutes now. "Alright, alright, what if I ask her to come down to the precinct?
Munch let out a very childish, "Yes!" As Olivia picked up the phone and dialed. "Hi, sweetheart, are you busy? Yeah, I am. The guys want to meet you…Ok. See you soon." She hung up and addressed her friends. "She can be here in fifteen minutes."
Munch fixed her with a glare, as if debating if she was lying.
Olivia played it up, "Why do you guys want to meet her so badly?"
Fin answered, "We just want to make sure our girl's being taken care of."
Olivia knew the compliment when she heard one. "Thanks, Fin. That means a lot."
"You've been so happy these last few months; we just want to know who's got that kind of power." Elliot teased.
About ten minutes later, Cragen emerged from his office, "What are we all doing, standing around?"
"We're waiting for Olivia's girlfriend to show up." Elliot piped in.
Cragen looked from one person to the next; then abruptly sat on the edge of Munch's desk. "Ok. When's she going to get here? I want to meet her."
Olivia shook her head, unbelievingly, "Why do you want to meet her, Captain?"
"I don't know…you guys are like my kids. I order you around and I kick your asses when you get out of line. I might as well know who you're dating too." He smiled.
"So, tell us about her."
Olivia grinned, "Well, when she walks in the room, all heads turn to her." She looked past her friends, compelling all their eyes to look to the door.
Alex Cabot walked purposefully into the 1-6th precinct. She met Olivia's grin with one of her own. Before anyone could say a word, the blonde walked up to her lover and planted a short, but steamy kiss. She pulled away and sat on Olivia's desk. "Hi guys."
There was stunned silence that permeated the room.
Until Munch jumped up, pointing at Elliot, he cried out, "I told you Olivia was dating a leggy blonde!"
Alex and Olivia burst into laughter. Fin walked over to Cragen and tapped the back of his hand on his superior's shoulder, "You owe me twenty bucks."
Before anyone could react to the statement, a hysterical Hispanic woman flew into the precinct, "¡Mi bebé¡Alguien tomó a mi bebé!" she screamed.
The atmosphere completely changed. Olivia was on her feet, "She's said someone took her baby."
Fin caught the out of control mother in his arms as Olivia tried to talk her down, "Ma'am, ma'm," she dodged arms. "Senora, buena calma, por favor. Nosotros le podemos ayudar pero usted tiene que calmar." She spoke rapidly.
The woman's screams subsided, her tear-stained face now evident. Fin release his hold and the two detectives led her to the backroom.
Alex had gone into ADA mode. She followed, situated herself off to the side, leaning against the wall.
Olivia sat beside the shaking woman and Elliot sat on the table next to the woman.
Olivia spoke, "Ok, ma'am. ¿Hágale habla cualquier inglés?"
The woman glanced from one partner to another and locked eyes with Alex, and shook her head nervously.
She's terrified. Alex saw.
The detective moved on, "¿Que es su nombre?"
"Elena Pedroza." The Latina shook.
"¿Y que es su nombre de bebe, Senorita Pedroza?"
The woman took a breath to calm herself, "Rebekah, Rebekah Louisa Pedroza."
"¿Que edad es ella?"
"Ocho. ¡Oh…mi bebe!"
Alex phased out the Spanish, cursing the fact that she never got around to learning the language. She instead watched the mother's movements. She was an exotic Latina woman, young. Her wavy black hair complimented her large black eyes, which darted between Elliot and Olivia. As Olivia questioned her, she stopped acting like a frantic parent and more like a rape victim, subdued and barely making eye contact.
Suddenly, something Olivia said set her off. She was on her feet, hands waving aggressively as she yelled at the brunette detective. Alex watched as her girlfriend tried to talk the woman down again.
Cragen poked his head in and cryptically motioned to Alex and Elliot. The two followed him out, leaving Olivia to console the woman.
The detective, Captain and ADA were met with a sight. Fin and Munch were holding off a Hispanic man and things were getting out of control.
"I know she's here!" He cried through a thick Latin accent. "Elena! ELENA!"
Cragen addressed the man, "Calm down a second. Now, who are you?"
The man regarded him for a moment before answering, "Lukas Pedroza."
"Elena's brother." Alex guessed.
He claimed the affirmative with a swift upward motion of his jaw. "Where is she?"
Olivia and Elena chose this moment to walk out, the brunette's arm wrapped comfortingly around the Latina.
As the siblings saw each other, a flurry of foreign language ensued. They ran at each other, circling like cocks in the ring. Hands flew, accenting accusing yells, Elena had started crying anew. Alex glanced at Olivia who was staring intently at the pair, trying to decipher at breakneck speed.
Fin and Cragen, being the boys they were, couldn't help but jump into it. They grabbed Lukas as he stepped threateningly closer to the shorter woman. He sobered immediately. "Vuelva a casa, Elena. Permita que nosotros lo ayudemos a encontrar Rebekah, por favor. El padre está preocupado." He coaxed his sister to come home with him.
"Papa, puede besar mi asno para todo cuido." She muttered.
"Elena!" Exclaimed her brother.
Olivia cut in, "Now, wait a minute, hold up." She motioned to an officer that had just walked in, "This is Sergeant Rodriguez; she is a Spanish interpreter from Missing Persons who will handle your niece's kidnapping." She quickly translated the information into Spanish.
The siblings followed the officer out of the precinct, Lukas' arm held protectively around his sister. Olivia leaned against her desk and sighed as her extra adrenaline made her light-headed. Alex walked up to her, "I didn't know you spoke Spanish."
The brunette shrugged, "Spanish, Russian, German, Italian and I can mirandize in three others."
Alex's phone rang as Elliot's did the same across the room. "Cabot." "Stabler."
Olivia watched the blonde listen to the other end intently and then say, "I'll get right on it. Of course. Perfect."
Alex flipped the phone shut. "I've got to get back."
"Sure, I've got to go too." Olivia commented as she saw Elliot waving to her, grabbing both their coats.
The blonde reached out and gently grabbed the detective's hand, "I'll see you tonight?"
"Sure."
As Alex walked out, Olivia didn't bother to hide the fact that she watched those long legs sway back and forth to the sophisticated click of two inch heels. She sighed and pushed herself off the desk, moving over to her partner.
Elliot held out her coat, "You are so in for it." He said nonchalantly.
"What?" she asked, already knowing what was coming.
"What? You ask me 'what'!" he teased as they walked out to the car. "You are with the ADA and you didn't tell me!" How long has this been going on?"
Olivia shrugged, glad at her partner's reaction to the whole situation. "Early May…a couple of weeks after she started with SVU."
Elliot paused for a moment, "So that's why you took to her so fast. I should have known!"
"So you're ok with this?" She needed to hear it.
"Why wouldn't I be? I can finally stop trying to convince Kathy that you are just fine at finding women on your own."
"What about the other guys?"
"They're fine! What is it about lesbians and their insecurities? We all told you that it doesn't matter to us." He mused as they got into the car.
"I don't know." Olivia confessed. "It's kind of a built in paranoia. There is always that chance that you are going to turn on us, I suppose. You know, make our 'unaccepted lifestyle' a huge, friendship altering deal."
Elliot smiled, "Nah, I'd never turn on you. It would take to long to break in a new partner."
Olivia slapped his shoulder with the back of her hand. "Ow!" he faked.
"Baby." She returned, "So, partner, are you going to tell me where we are going?"
"Captain wants us to do a follow up on that college girl. DNA wasn't her boyfriend's."
"Any hits on the teachers?"
"Not yet, but I'm sure a little digging will give us some answers."
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Alex let herself into Olivia's apartment. Feeling at home, she draped her jacket over the couch and threw her briefcase on the chair. She spotted Olivia leaning on the counter, lost in thought. The blonde came up behind her girlfriend and wrapped her arms around the shorter frame, planting a kiss on Olivia's cheekbone. "Hi, sweetie."
Olivia smiled slightly, "Hey yourself"
Alex moved away to get herself a glass of water. She sensed her companion was not out of her thought trance and asked, "What are you thinking about?
"Elena." Olivia said simply.
"What about her?"
The brunette sighed, "I'm not sure. Something is bugging me about it."
Alex approached the subject cautiously. "Do you think that you're just upset that Rebekah's kidnapping doesn't fall under your jurisdiction?"
"Maybe" Olivia admitted.
"I know you want to save every child, but the officers in Missing Children can and will find Elena's daughter."
"I know."
The blonde took a sip of her glass, "Give it a couple of days. I know a Roger Palms who works the computers there. I'm sure he could tell you if they're made any headway on the case."
Olivia smiled wider. "I think I will. It will make me feel better."
Alex put down her drink and made her way over to the brunette. "You know." She said as she wrapped her arms around the frame. "I think the fact that you can speak four languages is super sexy."
The brunette turned in the embrace to face her partner. "I'm just good at them."
The blonde rolled her eyes, "Just take the compliment, sweetie."
Olivia reached her hand up to drift along Alex's jaw line, "I love you." she said sincerely.
"I love you too." Alex returned.
They leaned in close savoring the electricity between their lips as it seemed to pull them ever so gently together. Memorizing soft skin and languid forms, hands began to roam. They pressed against each other, soothing and needy.
The phone rang.
They sighed and chuckled at the broken connection between them. Alex didn't bother to move so Olivia twisted in the embrace to grab her cell phone off the counter. "Benson."
Alex watched the transformation of her lover from a sparkling display of womanhood to a veteran sex crimes detective.
Olivia was oblivious to the observation and spoke into the phone, "Sure. I can be there in twenty minutes."
The blonde tried not to let her face fall too much. There was nothing either of them could do; such was the nature of the job. "Is there anything I can do?" she asked.
The brunette shook her head and extracted herself from her lover's hold to grab her coat, "You just stay here…and stay beautiful."
Alex blushed at the compliment as Olivia kissed her cheek. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
Suddenly left in an empty apartment, Alex sighed as the place almost seemed too big for one person. She wrapped her arms around herself and decided to make herself a cup of tea.
Alone with her thoughts as she sipped from the mug, Alex swooned at the lightheaded-ness that enveloped her at the idea of Olivia. She grinned like an idiot and didn't bother to stop. She was head over heels, undeniably, unequivocally and absolutely hopelessly in love with Olivia Benson. It didn't matter that their jobs kept stealing them away, all she knew was when Olivia was in the room, her happiness skyrocketed and she felt like she was wrapped in a thick impenetrable blanket of bliss and security.
So this is Cloud Nine…I could get used to it here.
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AN Hooray! Did you like it? Did you not like it? Review! I'm sorry if the formatting was weird, but doesn't like upsidedown question marks. Review please! Please! Please? Please!