A/N: Thank you all for sticking with this story! This chapter is a little slow, but I think it lays the groundwork for things down the road. Also, I mention a book in this chapter that really is wonderful-if you haven't read it, I recommend it highly. Obviously, I don't own any part of SVU or East of Eden, but am just referencing it for purely fictional purposes. Again, I hope you enjoy. I like seeing Olivia being a little more vulnerable, and we will see them both grow into this relationship while in Martha's Vineyard.
Chapter 21
Relax
Olivia sat on the couch, watching Alex pack her own clothes, along with Olivia's in the same suitcase.
"You're cute, packing our stuff together," the detective said as Alex stood up and smiled, leaning over the suitcase and looking at Olivia.
"Thanks, baby…I packed all of your stuff that I think you'll need, but I can't find your bathing suit-do you know where it is?"
"Oh. Yeah. I don't have one here."
"Well, that's ok. We can pick one up on our way. I thought you were a swimmer?"
"Yeah, I was, but my one piece stays in my gym bag and that's at the precinct, so if you want to swing by there before we go, we can."
"Oh. No way. You're not wearing a one piece this week." Alex traced Olivia's body with her eyes, smiling. Olivia grinned back at her, blushing as she drank her water and placed it back down on the table.
"Well shit," Alex threw her hands in the air and took a deep breath. Olivia always liked when Alex threw profanities around. It was such a drastic change from the normally well-spoken, refined lawyer, and Olivia couldn't get enough of it.
"What's wrong?" The detective asked as she got up from the couch, hugging Alex and looking over the suitcase.
"Oh nothing. It's just that I've gone through pretty much all of my clothes and I know I need to get a few more things…I'm sorry Liv, but we're going to have to stop by my apartment before we head out."
"That's ok—you're driving, right? We have to go there to get your car anyway, so it's ok babe. No problem."
"God, you're laid back when you're not working…" Olivia looked up at Alex with a questioning look. "Well, I didn't mean to imply that you weren't laid back when you are working, but…"
"Alex, it's fine. Let's get outta this city." Olivia gently pulled the attorney's hand into her own, slinking in front of her, swaying her ass just a little more than usual.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
A half an hour later, Olivia was helping Alex gather some clothes, packing them away in the suitcase.
"This place is nice, Al," Olivia said as she was looking around, noticing Alex's stylistic touch on almost every piece. "It's weird that I haven't been here yet…But, I guess the last time I was over here we were both still sort of trying to avoid each other."
"Um, excuse me, detective? I wasn't trying to avoid you. I was told you didn't want to be around me."
"I know, Al. I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking."
"It's ok Liv. We all make silly decisions sometimes…anyways, Yeah, I guess this place is nice. But I've really grown to like your apartment, to be honest."
Olivia let this settle in her head. It would have been a perfect time to say what she had been thinking. "Oh, well then, you should just move in with me." Say it, Olivia. Before she could open her mouth, Alex began speaking.
"So, I think that's it. You ready baby?"
They finished packing, and Olivia couldn't help but notice Alex's slinky green bikini lying atop the rest of their clothes. She raised her eyebrows at Alex and the blonde smiled as she zipped the suitcase shut and placed her arms around Olivia.
"Ok. Whaddaya say we get out of here?" She placed a soft kiss on Olivia's lips and unexpectedly felt the detective's grip tighten around her hips, pulling her closer. Alex broke the kiss and rolled her head backward, exposing her neck to the detective who greedily took the delicate flesh into her mouth, sucking it lightly. Alex allowed this to happen for a few minutes, before putting a stop to it.
"Liv, we should go—you need to rest, especially after your therapy this morning."
"Wow, did Mark actually scare you? I'm surprised."
"No! He didn't scare me, but I'd like to get to the house before nightfall. Then we can resume this make out session, if you want."
Alex rolled the suitcase behind her as they exited the apartment and locked the door. They made their way down to the garage, as Alex led the way. She stopped at a sleek, black Mercedes SUV and opened the back hatch, tossing the suitcase and shutting the door. Alex helped Olivia into the car, opened the driver's side door, started the car, and exited the garage.
"When did you get this car? All I ever remember you driving is that silver porche." Olivia looked around the car noticing every rich detail; the hand stitched leather, monstrous LCD display with GPS, and wood inlay that was exquisite.
"I traded the porche in about 2 months ago. I just wanted something bigger. I will admit to being susceptible to advertising with this car—I saw the ad on tv and drove to Jersey immediately to trade my porche in. Do you like it?"
"Yeah, it's great." The silence was comfortable between the two women, and once they reached the edge of the city, Alex entered the highway and settled into a comfortable cruising speed, reaching her hand over to place it on Olivia's thigh. "So how long does it take to get there from here?" Olivia asked this question, as she didn't ever really take vacation, and the only places she ever drove outside of the city were usually work related.
"Well, it takes about 5 hours. But, I can usually make it in a little over 4." Olivia smiled. She had forgotten that Alex had a loving relationship with the fast lane. She felt safe with Alex, and leaned the chair back to relax a little, placing her feet up on the dashboard. Olivia took Alex's hand in her own, lacing their fingers together over her leg. She took out her phone and saw that Elliot had texted her.
Hey. How are things? Missing you around here.
She smiled as she told Alex that Elliot was missing her. Quickly she responded.
I'm good. I miss being there, but I'm taking a small vacation, so I'm excited about that. Tell everyone I said hi. I'll be back before you know it—and hopefully not on the desk.
He didn't text her back immediately, and Olivia knew he was probably out in the field with Munch or Fin. Alex looked over at Olivia and smiled, squeezing her hand a little as she spoke.
"Everything ok?"
"Yeah. I just told him we're taking a little vacation, and that hopefully by the time I get back to work I won't have to be on the desk very long."
"I hope so too baby. But, you need to make sure you take care of yourself—I don't want you getting hurt." Alex thought about what she had said. "Well, I mean I don't want you getting hurt ever, but I especially don't want you reinjuring that shoulder."
"I know what you mean, Al. You just don't worry about me—I'll be fine. I always am."
"Liv, I always worry about you. And it totally distracts me from my job." She chuckled lightly as she continued. "I should have known I was in love with you a long, long time ago, from how much I worried about you. I didn't ever think about Elliot or the others, but I always caught myself having to reread paragraphs in depositions because I was focused on how you were and what you were doing."
Olivia turned to look at Alex and reached her left arm up, caressing the back of Alex's neck. "Well, counselor, that's very sweet…but, if I'm going to be completely honest…my first thought of you wasn't exactly love."
They both laughed when Alex asked, "well, what was it exactly?"
"To be perfectly honest, it was lust…I knew I shouldn't have been looking at you that way, hell, I didn't even know how old you were, or if you were gay, or anything. But, I know that I didn't hear anything you said to me within the first ten minutes that I met you."
"Wow. I think…yep, I'm speechless."
"Ha ha. I've rendered that Harvard mouth speechless? Nice."
Olivia smiled as she saw Alex looking her over, from her breasts down to her toes. "Eyes on the road, counselor. There'll be plenty of time for that later."
Alex rolled her eyes and focused on the road. She knew it would be a bit of a drive, but was just happy to be there with Olivia.
"I'm not tired—I'm sorry, Al. I know you want me to rest, but I just don't want to sleep. I'm tired of sitting around and not doing anything."
"Ok baby. You don't have to sleep; I just want you to relax. We can talk."
"Ok. What do you want to talk about?"
"I don't know." Alex looked around and saw the corner of Olivia's book sticking out from a tote she carried downstairs. "Ok. What's up with that book?" Alex nodded her head backwards and looked toward Olivia as she asked the question.
"What do you mean what's up with it? It's a book. You think because I'm a cop I don't read?" Olivia's tone was lighthearted, knowing that Alex was just curious, and didn't want to offend Olivia.
"Of course not. I know you love to read…where did that come from anyway?"
"Well, my mother was an English professor. I don't know if you knew that or not. She taught mostly English Literature, but as she got older, she moved towards American Literature. So, just from that I think I was drawn to reading…and, she named me after two characters from Shakespeare, so I think that curiosity was automatic."
"Really? Do you like Shakespeare?"
"No, not really. I mean, there are some sonnets that are beautiful, and some of his plays are entertaining, but the others aren't anything I'd read over and over."
"Wait…are you telling me you've read every Shakespeare play?"
"I don't think every one. But, my mom had the anthology—which I have now. I used to read it when she was reviewing plays with her students and she would ask me questions, explaining the plays to me as I read them aloud. We would each be different characters, and she always made it fun—I think that's why I still like to read so much. It was one of my favorite things about my mom."
Alex opened her mouth to tell Olivia, again, how wonderful and merciful she was. Olivia spoke so lovingly when she talked about her mother, and it was extremely gracious. Alex couldn't help but open her mouth to say something when the detective continued.
"But yeah, I think naturally I was a little curious because I was named after two characters in literature, so I think I just wanted to read because I saw the effect it had on my mom. She picked 'Olivia' because her character was comedic…and romantic. I think those were two things that my mom hoped for me to be, because she didn't have that in her life. And, she picked 'Rosaline' from 'Romeo and Juliet' because, as I'm sure you know, she was beautiful and somewhat of a mystery, but even more than that, she was the motivation behind that whole story. You know, if Rosaline hadn't left Romeo, he wouldn't have tried to find Juliet. So I think she wanted me to have a little bit of that too—you know, pave my own way."
"I don't want you to take this the wrong way, detective, but, you are completely captivating me right now. I've never heard you talk about anything academic, and it's a total turn on. You may know more about literature than I do, and I majored in English!"
"No, I don't know a lot—I just read. It's as simple as that. And, back to your original question, that specific book…" she nodded her head back towards her tote. "Have you read it?"
Alex shook her head, as Olivia reached behind her and grabbed 'East of Eden.' "Well, it's my favorite book, for one thing. But, I picked it up about two weeks before I saw you in Alphabet City and started reading…you know how the job is, Alex. I would come home and think about these victims and nothing could ease that burden…so I'd open a book and read. I would come home and read passages upon passages, and they would just reinforce my shitty mood. But, I think I like this book so much because it helped me understand that it was you that I was missing. I would read different parts, and slowly the message would turn from how I see it, to how the book wanted me to see it—and that's why I love reading so much. It's all in your own perspective…until one day, it's not. You think you know what the book is trying to tell you, until you see something else and realize it's a different message." She reopened the book and read some more.
"A man so painfully in love is capable of self-torture beyond belief."
"I think I realized that I needed you after I read this book again. I finished it while we were waiting for the warrant on Carlson. Sort of interesting, huh? That I finished it just hours before I told you I loved you for the first time?"
Alex turned toward Olivia with tears in her eyes. She knew the detective was smart, and on many occasions, she had seen Olivia work out a case by herself and come to the right conclusion, but she never saw Olivia as this profound. This was a whole new side of the detective that Alex had never seen, but was charmed by, and it made her fall even harder.
"Liv, I love you so much."
"I love you too Al. Now don't get all sappy on me. You know I'm not as well educated as you, Mrs. Harvard, but I pick up a thing or two here and there."
"Olivia Benson—don't ever assume you're not smart just because you didn't go to Harvard. You're good at your job, and you're brilliant. You notice the small things, you're compassionate, trustworthy…and, if I say so myself, extremely sexy."
Olivia smiled and closed the book, rolling her head to look out the passenger side window. "Ok. Now you—why'd you major in English? Didn't you know you wanted to be a lawyer?"
"Yes. I knew I wanted to be a lawyer—I think it was engrained in me from a young age. Of course, you know my uncle Bill…"
"Testified in his court many times," Olivia said with a smile. She always thought it was funny how snobby everyone thought Alex was, and she could see why, but knowing Alex as she knew her now, she didn't think that at all.
"Well he's a judge and my cousins are all lawyers, except one—who is a law professor. I guess it's just something you do in the Cabot house. So, I went to Dartmouth and was a Political Science major for a while, but honestly, I was getting tired of it. Then, I read an article about the LSAT and it said that English majors tend to do pretty well on it, so I switched. Pretty silly, I know. But, I liked to read, and I figured I could do it. So, I majored in English and minored in Political Science."
"So did you do well on the test? Obviously, I guess. You got into Harvard."
"Yeah I did ok," Alex nodded and kept her eyes on the road. Olivia knew she was lying, and wouldn't be surprised if Alex had gotten a perfect score. She knew that Alex was a perfectionist and Olivia silently let it go. She sat back and looked out of the windshield, watching as they passed slower cars, zipping down the road. Before she knew it, her eyes were heavy and she leaned back, closing her brown eyes and squeezing Alex's hand. The attorney looked over in time to see Olivia's breathing even out, her head fall to the side, and her chest fall slightly; she was sleeping soundly, and Alex thought she had never seen anything more beautiful.