A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who has stuck with this story! I love you all! In the spirit of full disclosure, I will tell you that over the past week or so I was afraid that I may have lost the passion for this story. I have about 3 chapters written for later chapters, but am finding a hard time connecting them. But, I think I may have gotten back into the swing of things. Again, I'm sorry it has taken so long between chapters, but I hope you enjoy. I would love some feedback about this chapter-I feel it may be getting a bit redundant? Boring? Please let me know. I have figured out how to connect the next few chapters, so now I just have to write them. Again, thank you all so much!

Chapter 31

Days

The next few days passed just as the last few had: David visited every other day, working with Olivia, making her stronger every day. The two women passed the time lying on the beach, shopping at the small family-owned shops in town, and relaxing into each other on the couch with a movie.

Alex watched each day as David came and worked with Olivia. She sat back in her chair in the backyard and peered over her sunglasses, trying not to make it obvious that she was staring at her beautiful girlfriend. She eyed Olivia's work out clothes: her pair of small yoga pants was cut right below her knees, and under her bright green sports bra, Alex watched as her abs contracted and her six pack showed through her tanned skin. The blonde knew that she was probably a little too obsessed with Olivia's body, but she was too far gone to care.

It had been about 10 days since they had arrived at the beach house, and Alex couldn't have been happier. She really felt like she and Olivia were in a great place in their relationship. Although she had expected to see that ring emerge at some point, she was just happy to be at the point she was with Olivia, and Alex knew, at this moment, that if Olivia Benson ever wanted to be her wife, it would be the best day of Alex's life.

Olivia had a hard time focusing on David today for some reason. Who was she kidding? Some reason? It was Alex, and it was no secret. She was grateful to David—the progress they had made in just over a week was remarkable. She could pretty much do anything she could have done before, but now she needed to work on her strength. She knew that she had work to do, but, there was something about watching Alex watch her that drove Olivia crazy.

Over the past week or so, Olivia noticed so many things that she loved about Alex: from the way she flipped her hair or smiled as she explained something, Olivia was crazy about her, and there was no denying it. She watched as Alex lowered her sunglasses and peered over at her—teasing her with a look. Olivia worked on her shoulder with David as he began speaking.

"Ok Olivia, I think you're ready to do some more strenuous activity. Do you swim?" Both Olivia and Alex laughed as David looked back and forth between the two of them. "What?"

The blonde piped up first, lowering her magazine and nodding at Olivia. "She swam in college." Alex was proud to know this information, as she had learned it over the past few days when they were involved in one of their long-overdue talks. She felt like this was something that only few people knew, and it would be something that someone who spent their life with Olivia knew. It felt good to be part of that inner-circle again.

Olivia smiled and winked at Alex as David spoke. "Oh, really? That's cool. Well good then. We've got all this ocean to use!" He laughed as they walked towards the beach. Olivia wasn't expecting to be swimming in her current attire, but she was ready for a challenge. Alex walked towards the beach behind them, listening to their friendly banter. Once they reached the shore, David instructed Olivia to wade in and swim freestyle a bit, meeting him about 50 yards down the shore. Of course, she did so without a problem. A few minutes later, he got in the water for a playful bet.

"Ok, Olivia. It's gonna be from here to that buoy. Any style. Alex will be the judge. You ready?" Olivia nodded, and with a word, they were both off. Having seen Olivia swim before her injury, Alex knew exactly what to expect, although she thought Olivia may be a little slower from the injury. How wrong she was—from the word 'go,' David was in Olivia's waves. She cut through the water gracefully, slicing the surface with her hand and pulling herself seamlessly through the surf.

When Olivia reached the buoy, she stood up and turned around to see David still about 15 yards back, when she smiled and looked toward Alex. She waited for him to catch up and walked back toward the beach with him. Alex tried to keep her cool, but could feel her heart racing as Olivia walked toward her. Olivia's body reflected the sunlight and her bronze skin dripped with water. Alex watched as Olivia took both of her hands to her head, running them through her hair, pushing it back out of her face. She surveyed Olivia's body as the beads of saltwater traveled over her ripped abs and onto her pants—the detective was breathing heavily but smiling as she approached Alex.

"So, the winner gets a kiss right?" She smiled and said this to David, who complied and waved his hand toward Alex, allowing her to go in front of him. Olivia walked to the blonde and wrapped her arms around her waist, pressing her hands against the small of Alex's back. The attorney obliged, placing her hands on Olivia's face, smiling into the kiss. David laughed as they broke apart, and watched Alex lace her fingers through Olivia's.

"Ok. Now, I think you proved yourself there. So, I'm gonna let you take it easy for the next day or two. When are you guys leaving?"

Olivia looked toward Alex as the blonde answered. "Well, we need to be back in the city on Sunday. Monday Mark wants to see Olivia before she gets officially cleared to go back to work."

"Ok. No problem. So, today is Thursday, which means that I'm going to give you off until you see Mark on Monday. But, you need to at least stretch and do something active each day." After he said this he saw Alex squeeze Olivia's hand and a sly smile spread across the detective's face. "Really, guys? How old are you? I mean something other than that." They all smiled as he started packing his exercise equipment.

Olivia approached him and helped gather his things. "Hey David, thanks for coming out here, really. I think it's really helped me to be out here and get everything back together before I go back to the city."

"It's no problem. Now, just be careful when you go back to work. I'll call Mark on my way home and let him know that he'll see you on Monday." He put his backpack on and walked back to the house with both women. When they reached the front of the house, he put his things into his car and walked back toward Alex. He hugged both women and made sure to yell to Alex as he walked away. "Keep an eye on this one!" He pointed to Olivia and smiled as he got into his car and drove away.

Olivia reached up and brushed her hair back with her hand—it was drying, and a few stray pieces were caught in the wind. "God, you're sexy." She smiled as she felt Alex watching her, and felt the blonde's hand on the small of her back. "Let's get those clothes in the washer."

They walked inside and Alex was on Olivia in a second. She peeled her wet pants off and dropped them to the floor along with her grey lace thong. Olivia stepped out of the pants and pulled her tight sports bra off, leaving her completely naked in front of Alex. She pulled Alex's shirt, effectively moving the attorney close to her, as she wrapped her arms around her lover. Olivia stripped Alex of her shirt and began to unbutton her shorts when the attorney took over.

Alex quickly undressed herself, wanting to be naked with Olivia as soon as possible. But, once she pulled their bodies together she shivered as Olivia's cold skin touched hers. "Oh my god, Olivia, you're freezing!"

"I'm sorry. It's the water." She smiled as Alex pulled her hand down towards the bedroom. Once they reached the threshold, Olivia jumped into bed and pulled the covers to her chin.

"I'll warm you up baby." Alex's voice was playful as she reached under the covers and rubbed Olivia's stomach quickly, creating some friction to warm the detective up. Olivia wrapped her arm around Alex's body, pulling her close as she felt Alex kiss her cheek softly.

"You know I love you, right?" Olivia spoke softly to Alex as she twirled her finger in the long, blonde hair.

"Yes. Do you know I love you?" Alex gazed into the brown eyes and felt herself fall a little more in love with Olivia than she had been a few minutes before.

"Yeah." Olivia's voice faded a bit as she looked into Alex's eyes. She reached up and removed Alex's glasses, sweeping her hair behind her ears. Olivia placed the glasses on her nightstand and resumed her position back on the pillow. She laid on her back with her arm around her lover, tracing small circles on her back as Alex rubbed her stomach.

The attorney traced lower and lower until she was at the cusp of Olivia's pelvic bone. She smiled slyly as she moved her hand lower to cup Olivia's core. "Seems like you're a little warmer now." Olivia smiled and nodded, pulling Alex close for a kiss. It quickly intensified as tongues battled against each other. Soon, Alex climbed atop the detective, straddling her strong thighs. She leaned down and kissed her body, tasting the remnants of saltwater on her skin, lightly licking her neck and nibbling on her earlobe.

It was so amazing, Alex thought, how quickly they both learned so much about each other's bodies in the short time they had been making love. Alex always appreciated how she could read Olivia's body: she came to understand the spots that made her moan, shiver, and grip Alex a bit tighter. She loved when she traced her hand down Olivia's body and saw her hips and legs subconsciously rise off the bed. Olivia's brown eyes would dilate when Alex talked to her a little dirtier than she normally did, and Alex loved that. Overall, not only was it fun, but Alex started to realize what genuinely 'making love' to someone really was. It seemed like one of those things that you don't really know until you get it right—and she knew she had it right with Olivia.

Olivia watched as Alex moved down her body, kissing each inch. She loved how Alex would kiss her hipbones, lightly biting the flesh around her hips. As hard as she tried, she always found herself bucking her hips off the bed, beckoning Alex to come closer to her core. She was truly a sight: Alex liked to be in control in the bedroom, but had told Olivia that she wanted the detective to take charge sometimes, and honestly, Olivia had a hard time not taking control of Alex between the sheets.

Alex scooted down and separated Olivia's legs, tracing a singular finger through her wet center. Olivia shivered and moaned lightly as she traced her hand down the top of Alex's shoulder. The blonde relaxed on her side onto the pillow, sliding her free arm under Olivia's back. She kept her right hand on Olivia, gently rubbing circles on her clit, causing the detective to moan incessantly. It felt good to be by Alex, her arm supporting the detective behind her back.

"Oh Alex. Mmm." Olivia moaned in pleasure as the words dripped slowly from her mouth. The blonde captured the words in a kiss as she entered Olivia, causing her to open her mouth in a silent exclamation. She wrapped her hand around Alex's neck, pulling her close as she kept Alex's rhythm.

Alex kept her right hand busy, using three fingers to enter Olivia as she felt the detective's gaze on her. She leaned up and kissed Olivia softly as the brunette whispered to her, "slow, baby." Alex kept eye contact and obeyed, slowing her pace significantly. With each slow thrust, Olivia moaned loudly, feeling her muscles tighten around Alex's fingers. After a minute, Alex could hear Olivia's breath quicken and feel her tighten so much that she wasn't sure she could continue. "I'm gonna come, Alex. Oh my god."

Alex replied, rubbing Olivia's back as she spoke. "Ok, come for me baby. Come on, Liv." And, with one more thrust inside, Olivia came undone with a whisper, wrapping her arms around Alex's neck. She pulled the blonde close and kissed her through her climax, feeling every pull inside of her. After a few seconds, Alex removed her fingers as Olivia half-moaned, half-sighed in pleasure. She turned and tangled her hands in Alex's hair, shoving her tongue into the attorney's mouth.

They laid on their sides, facing one another as Olivia began pulling Alex's body toward her. She felt her hands immediately find Alex's ass, kneading it in her strong grasp. The blonde felt herself thrusting towards Olivia, wanting her hands all over her own body. Olivia bent her leg and put it in between Alex's, feeling her wet core grinding on her strong thigh. Quickly, she removed her leg and hooked her hand around Alex's neck, placing her other hand on her hip, when she heard Alex speak. "Liv, baby, please. I need you."

Olivia couldn't resist—she felt Alex's body responding to her touch and it was hard to keep herself from touching her yearning core. Alex stayed on her side, raising her leg and wrapping it around Olivia's hip, leaving just enough room for the brunette to slip her hand down between them. Alex captivated all of Olivia's attention as she held her hands on both sides of Olivia's neck, gazing into the brown eyes. Olivia watched as Alex's black pupils engulfed the blue hue when she entered her.

Olivia watched as Alex's skin flushed a hot pink from her neck to her chest. It was one of those little things that Olivia loved about the attorney's body—over the past week or so she had noticed so many little things that she hadn't realized before, and she couldn't get enough. They maintained eye contact until Olivia watched Alex's eyes roll back and close—she was getting close. Olivia felt Alex's heel digging into her back, beckoning her closer and deeper. The blue eyes reopened and connected with brown. "God, you feel so good." Olivia quickened the pace until Alex was panting into her shoulder, wrapping her arms around Olivia's body, meeting each thrust from the strong arm beneath the covers. Soon, Olivia felt the familiar shudder of Alex's body and heard her moan in her ear. The sheer amount of liquid that had covered her fingers was enough to tell Olivia that Alex came hard, her body collapsing against the strong detective.

"I love you, Olivia." Her voice was still a little shaky, but she smiled as Olivia wrapped her in her arms.

"I love you too Alex." There was no doubt—they were both sublimely happy. "You are probably the best thing that's ever happened to me, you know?" As she said this, Olivia backed up a bit and tucked a piece of hair behind Alex's ear. "I just feel like I'm always waiting for some seemingly inevitable event to happen, and it hasn't. I'm just afraid you'll figure out I'm not as great as you thought I was." Olivia tucked her head a bit and became interested in a stray thread on the sheets.

Alex tipped Olivia's chin up with her fingers, allowing the detective to focus on her. "Olivia. I'm not going anywhere. I know, for a fact, that you are just as great as I thought you were—as I've known you have been for the past 10 years. I am so in love with you Olivia. I'm just so happy we are where we are."

"Me too." There was a pause as Olivia winked at Alex, the attorney still feeling butterflies from that damn wink she saw in her dreams.

"Also, I know it's our last few nights here so I want to take you out tonight—somewhere different. I know you like to dance, and I think I can keep up with you. After all, David said we should do something physical." They both smiled as Olivia thought about it.

"Whatever you want to do honey. I'm up for whatever. I just need a nap and a shower."

"Honey?"

"Yeah…you don't like it?"

"I love it. Sounds like an old pet name. Like we've been together for a long time."

The detective smiled and kissed Alex, pulling her close so they lay together. Alex nuzzled into Olivia's shoulder as she kissed her strong neck, wrapping her arms around Olivia's waist. Quickly Alex felt Olivia's breathing even out and allowed herself to fall asleep in her lover's arms, happier than she could ever remember.