AN: Thank you so much for the reviews! I would be silly to say that it didn't motivate me to immediately get on here again and post more chapters. This is a story that I have been working on solely on my computer-I said I wouldn't post, but have been encouraged by your kind words. Thank you again! I have about 14 chapters written, just waiting to edit and make sure they are good enough to be up here. :)

Chapter 2

Contact

The next morning came quicker than Olivia had anticipated. She lazily opened her eyes, searching for her service weapon and badge, locating them on her nightstand. She slid her badge and gun into the drawer in the nightstand and closed it without a sound. Surely, if Sarah hadn't seen it last night, she wouldn't now.

Her eyes glanced over the top of the outlet above her nightstand where she remembered plugging in her phone earlier that morning. She entered her unlock code and was greeting with that same silly picture of herself and Elliot. It was a selfie they had taken almost a year ago. They were both holding donuts and grinning, with their thumbs up-it always made her laugh, especially considering the picture was taken in response to a text from Kathy Stabler asking how their day was going.

Twelve new messages.

Her phone glared at her in the dark room. She had forgotten that she was involved in a group text with Fin, Elliot, Munch, and Casey Novak. All twelve messages were from Elliot and Fin asking about 'the waitress,' as they called her. The last message was sent at 4:43AM. Obviously not everyone was sleeping well either. Olivia shifted slightly in her bed; she propped herself up on her elbows, and started typing.

Guys, she has a name. And it was good. Will fill you in later—or maybe not. Ladies really shouldn't kiss and tell.

She didn't expect a prompt response from any of them-after all, it was 6AM. Olivia hadn't slept well for the past few years, and she just assumed it was because the job and her age had finally caught up with her. Maybe it was for another reason, but she wouldn't let that slip into her mind at the moment.

It had been about 4 hours since she and Sarah had collapsed into the bed, sweaty and breathing heavily. Her chest heaved with deep breaths as perspiration ran from her forehead to her temple. Sarah cradled into the nook of Olivia's neck, lightly kissing and licking the sweat beads from her jawline. The brunette laid back and extended her arm out around the younger woman and placed her hand on her lower back, beginning to trace circles. Sarah was warm, close, and smelled like a mix of beer and her clean cotton shirt. She seemed to crave Olivia, and Olivia willingly obliged. Just as the detective was reliving last night's/this morning's sexual excursions, she jumped as her phone vibrated on the table.

I call bullshit.

Well fellas, at least we know there was kissing.

You guys kill me. I don't even want to know.

The first text message was, of course, Elliot, followed by Munch and then Casey. Olivia just smiled as she responded.

See you guys later. Casey, I'll fill you in, but I'm sure you can figure it out. You're a lawyer after all. Try to enjoy your day off, El. And John, it seems like Fin is doing most of the catching! Get to work!

She smiled, knowing that Munch was probably laughing his ass off at the precinct. Just as she was thinking about Munch, she thought about Elliot and her other co-workers at the bar last night. And, unfortunately, she had not forgotten the one person she wanted to wash from her memory.

Alex. Olivia knew that it was her, almost before she turned around and looked out of the window, if that's even possible. Olivia was always able to sense Alex's presence, even when she didn't see her, and she thought that was what had transpired last night. And, of course, she did what Olivia does best: find someone to forget about it with.

Sarah was great. 'Well, she was great in bed,' Olivia thought. But was she a great person? Did Olivia even know the half-naked woman laying inches from her? The detective knew that answer was no. Her beautiful black hair cascaded down her back and partially onto her resting face. She was laying on her stomach, facing Olivia, her arms stretched and folded over each other, with her head lying on top of her forearms. Her small, bare breasts were pushed against the mattress and the black thong she was wearing was barely covered by the sheet pulled over her legs and backside. The swell of her buttocks under the sheet made Olivia's breath hitch. She had a small, yet voluptuous body, especially her legs and butt. Standing at a mere 5'1'', her small frame sported wide hips and a thick, strong ass.

She started to stir and open her eyes. Olivia quickly averted her gaze and then looked back to make sure that Sarah didn't think she was ogling her. Sarah blinked open her eyes and smiled at Olivia.

"Hey there," Sarah muttered and gave a weak smile.

"Morning."

"Last night was…." a slow smile crept over Sarah's face, while her one eyebrow rose up towards her hairline. She ran her fingers through the front of her hair and swept it to the side with a long, satisfied sigh.

"I know," the brunette said with a smile and a quick wink. Olivia knew that Sarah was only looking for the same thing she was: a fling. There was some sort of unspoken understanding between them, that they didn't expect each other to call or even mention meeting again. That's just how it was, and that's why Olivia felt so comfortable still having Sarah in her bed. Usually there was an awkward exchange the next morning, normally making some excuse about catching a case or having to go into work early, but she didn't feel that need with Sarah.

The two women talked for a few minutes and Sarah excused herself, saying she had to get back to her apartment to walk her dog. Olivia watched as Sarah slinked out of the bed, put her short crop top back on, and wriggled into her too tight jeans. She walked around in a circle, looking down at the floor, searching for her shoes. After finding them and putting her hair up into a low ponytail, she walked over to Olivia and kissed her on the cheek.

"See you later, Detective."

"Bye Sarah." She watched as the young woman walked down her hallway and unlocked her apartment door. She passed through the door and disappeared from sight. Olivia couldn't help but to think about how much she would love to be that dog right about now.

It was 10:15AM on that Saturday and Olivia was walking into the 1-6. After Sarah left, she tried to go back to sleep, but was pained by constant reminders of Alex. Why was she back in New York? How long had she been here? Where was she coming from looking like that? None of these questions needed to be answered, but she would have liked to have known, at least, when Alex came back into town. Nevertheless, Olivia got up and showered, ate breakfast, and decided she needed to be at work. She knew that the more people that were there, the less likely it would be that Cragen would call Elliot in, and Olivia knew her partner needed time with his family after the Collins case. After all, she didn't have any 'family' to speak of, so she didn't want to take Elliot away from his.

"Whoa, Casanova. Bit early, after your late night, dontcha' think? Although I do have to hand it to you…she's a 10."

Olivia heard Munch, but decided to ignore him, except for a smug smile pointed in his direction, and a shake of her head. Fin was on the phone, but noticed the exchange. He smiled at Olivia and waved a good morning greeting her way. It was true, Olivia hadn't felt 100% put together this morning, but the precinct was more her home than her apartment, and it was where her adoptive family was.

She sat down at her desk, facing away from Cragen's office. She propped her feet up on the edge of the desk and started going through her phone—she had 3 voicemails related to past cases and needed to catch up. With a pad and pen, she was listening intently and scribbling information down before she heard a voice that ran ice through her veins.

"Casanova, huh?"

The voice dripped with sarcasm and intrigue. Olivia's mouth fell open. Her heart stopped beating for what seemed like 5 seconds. She dropped her phone on her desk, the pen falling out of her hand onto the pad and further down onto her lap. She instinctively had to remember how to breathe through her suddenly dry mouth. A shiver rattled her spine and worked its way down each leg and through her very core.

She didn't turn around right away, because she knew what she would see. After what seemed like hours, Olivia's blank stare fell on Fin who lifted his eyebrows at her and nodded towards her with a "snap-out-of-it-girl" look on his face.

"Uh. Um. Ch'yeah. Uh, new nickname I guess," Olivia said with, what she tried to make a chuckle. She cleared her throat and swiveled around in her chair, her feet placed firmly on the ground with her elbows resting on her knees. She intentionally avoided Alex's gaze, although she knew the blonde attorney was staring down at her. After a few seconds, she stood to meet Alex, those ice blue eyes as beautiful as ever.

Olivia was pissed. Alex had been in New York and Olivia had known that. She saw her last night in Alphabet City, walking down the street as if nothing was different. Olivia knew she had to steel herself against Alex. She didn't even have to try—alarmingly Olivia's heart seemed to ice over when she made eye contact with Alex. There was just too much history there. Olivia could feel her eyes narrow and her breath become more regular. She could do this.

'Holy shit,' was all Alex could think. In the 3 years that she had been gone in WITSEC she had thought about Olivia almost every day, but never did she think that she would look like this when Alex got back to New York. She never imagined that the brunette detective could look even better than she did when she left. Olivia had always been solid and muscular, but as she stood, Alex noticed that her normally hip-hugging jeans were limp and almost a bit baggy around her waist and thighs. Was that a V muscle pattern she saw leading from her hips into her jeans? Stop Alex. Quit looking, she told herself.

Olivia was wearing a familiar t-shirt that read 'NYPD Softball Tournament May 2001,' and Alex was surprised the shirt actually fit her now, although it fit a little more snugly around the arms, as her biceps and triceps were noticeably more defined. 'How was she still so feminine, though? Ugh. This paradox that was Olivia Benson never got any easier, although it was so easy to watch her.' When Alex left for WITSEC, the detective's hair was short and cropped, but now it flowed past her shoulders as she raised her arms up to put it in a low ponytail.

From knowing Olivia for years, Alex knew that she had strictly worn that specific shirt to bed because of how tightly it fit her. She didn't like to wear the shirt out in public because it usually rode up and exposed the small of her back. Alex sighed at the memory. Olivia's breasts were trapped under the stretched shirt and her hip bones poked out from the bottom seam of the fabric. Her pajama pants slid over the lowest part of her torso, barely covering the top of her ivory lace panties. She was basking in the sunlight, leaning her forehead on her arm on walls of the floor-to-ceiling windows in Alex's apartment. She had spent the night at Alex's after a long case had consumed most of the squad, and they went over trial procedure all night. Alex watched Olivia's muscular frame as she walked along the windows and stared down at the street, knowing the detective had no clue she was watching her. Although nothing came of it, the memory was a frequent scene in Alex's head, especially on lonely nights.

Alex fought her temptation to continue daydreaming and looked back at Olivia before addressing the squad room as a whole. She peeled her eyes away from Olivia's body and raised her voice a bit.

"Hey everyone, I know not all of the detectives are here now, but I might as well tell you while I'm here. I have been back from WITSEC for about 3 months and I was ordered to lay low for a while once I got back to New York." She paused, not knowing how to continue. "However, I have always thought of SVU—more importantly, this SVU squad, at the 1-6—as my home." She cleared her throat and fought a break in her voice. "Under Judge Donnelly, and with Captain Cragen's approval, I will be returning to SVU, and working along with Novak, starting immediately. I'll see you all Monday!"

With that, she walked over to Olivia's desk and resumed her spot she had not sat in for close to 4 years, at the end of the desk, like no time had passed. She leaned her tight buttocks against the edge of the desk, bearing all of her 115-pound frame on one leg, crossing the other leg over it. She looked at Olivia, searching for a familiar sight in her face.

"So, um…Casanova, was it?" She smiled down at the beautiful honey brown eyes. "Wanna grab some brunch? It was my understanding that you aren't even supposed to be here today. What do you say?"

"No. Thanks. I came here to work out and catch up on some DD5's."

Alex hadn't expected such a cold response. "Work out? Really? Don't you go to the gym anymore?" Alex said this with a laugh, obviously a sarcastic tone in her voice.

"No. I cancelled my membership. "And, on top of that, the precinct got rehabbed and there's a gym upstairs. It's free for NYPD."

"Oh." Alex leaned up off of the desk and stood further away from Olivia, sensing that the detective wasn't feeling very warm and fuzzy towards her. "Well, Detective Benson, it seems like you've been working out enough for everyone in the squad room. You look great." She hoped that Olivia didn't hear the want in her voice, but she was sure it came through.

"Thanks," said Olivia. "Bad guys don't just catch themselves."

"Yeah right Benson! Munch, remember when Irwin tried to run from her last month?" Fin yelled across the scarcely populated room.

"HA! Now that was some funny shit. He was…what...50 yards ahead of her when she started chasing him? Liv, you caught him in about 8 seconds. Don't act like you have to work out because you're so out of shape. If there's one thing I know for sure it's this: I'm getting old, Fin is getting fat, and Elliot is losing a step. You, sugar, are only getting younger. You keep all of us looking good." Munch laughed as he said these words, although he knew he was right with everything he was saying.

"Thanks, Johnny!" She teased with an annoyingly bratty smile and bob of her head. Slowly, her attention turned back to Alex, who was smiling in awe and was transfixed on Olivia's legs. Leaning her head down to meet the ADA's eyes, Olivia cleared her throat. "Counselor, I really do have to finish these," Olivia said shortly, signaling to a stack of papers on her desk.

"Ok. Well, you know where to find me if you need anything," Alex said nodding goodbye and displaying her phone in her hand. She watched as the brunette detective nodded and continued her work.

'Was this a mistake? What have I done, thinking I could just waltz back in here and make everything magically how it was before…Wow, Olivia had looked so good, so sexy, so desirable. Those legs, those lips, those hips. And, who could deny that rack? Even in a sports bra, Olivia's breasts were something to see. Why did she always look so good?' All of these thoughts circled in Alexandra Cabot's head as she exited the precinct. Looks like this would be another lonely night for the ADA, but she didn't mind. She was just happy to be back in New York, happy to be back at the 1-6, and soon, hopefully, she would be happy to even be friends with Olivia Benson again.