A/N: As always, thanks so much for sticking with this fic still. This story is one of those things that grows on me and then fades away. However, I know that once I connect the various pieces I have, I think I will feel a little better about it. Olivia and Alex make me so happy, and imagining them as they are here just makes this story so much more gratifying for me to write. Thank you to various reviewers, but specifically thank you to Lizzy43—you especially have made this experience so enjoyable! I look forward to reading your reviews after adding each chapter, so thank you so much.

Over the next few chapters I just want to let you guys know that it won't be all sunshine and rainbows. They are back to the 'real world,' so we can expect some real problems to arise. Don't worry though-Alex and Olivia can last through anything, right?

Chapter 37

Mentality

Olivia turned in her bed and stretched her legs, pointing her toes so that they peeked out in the chilly apartment air. It took a minute, but she smiled as she felt Alex's gaze on her from above. Olivia opened her eyes and saw the blonde hair cascading down around Alex's shoulders, hovering inches from Olivia's head.

"Hi." The way Alex said that one world always made Olivia's stomach do somersaults, and she couldn't help when a shy smile slid over her own face.

"Hi." It was a simple response, but it seemed as if every emotion was conveyed through that same one word. Olivia inhaled and smelled Alex's sweet fragrance and knew, without even looking at the clock, that she was probably going to be late to her appointment—after all, Alex was already ready for work. "Ugh, Mark is going to kill me if I'm late." Olivia felt Alex reach down and tousle her short hair. She heard the heartwarming chuckle that so often accompanied Alex's dazzling smile and felt some pressure on her back as Alex began speaking lovingly to her.

"You really should get up, baby. I've gotta go soon. I'm gonna make some coffee and I'll wait for you—if you hurry, I'll drive you to your appointment and then you can just take a cab to the 1-6." She leaned down and kissed Olivia on the cheek, before playfully pulling the covers all the way off the bed, exposing Olivia's entire body to the cold air.

"SO. MEAN." Olivia protested a bit, but smiled as she got up and ambled over to the bathroom. She began to brush her teeth and looked into the mirror. The two scars near her collarbone were a stark contrast on her skin, but she couldn't help but notice that they had just started to soften into a pinker color. It had only been about a month ago that Carlson had shot her, and Olivia thought that, if it hadn't been for Alex, she probably would be having a pretty hard time with the whole situation. She touched the scars on her shoulder lightly as she dried off the water on her face, shaking the memory and the quick flash of Alex's face above her and the feeling of cool grass under her head. She had many flashbacks about that day, but now that Alex was hers, they didn't bother her—she knew that whatever she needed, Alex would provide; whether it was a shoulder to cry on, or just her face in reality to pull Olivia back into the present.

Quickly, she noticed Alex's reflection in the mirror behind her and felt her slender hands sneak around her back and rest firmly on her hips. They looked at one another in the mirror for a few minutes before Alex gave Olivia's tight abs a rub.

"You ready to get back to work?" Olivia smiled and tilted her head over towards Alex's, resting her head against her girlfriend's while she answered her question.

"Yeah. I think I am." She turned and faced Alex, resting her hands on the blonde's neck. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment before Alex's phone rang in her pocket. She placed a quick kiss on Olivia's lips and put a hand in her black suit pants to fetch her phone.

"Alex Cabot." As the person on the other end of the line was speaking, Alex motioned for Olivia to hurry up with a jingle of her keys and a nod towards the front door. The brunette stripped her clothes off and realized she wouldn't have time for a shower, so she reached into her medicine cabinet and grabbed the fragrance she bought at Bloomingdales a few weeks before. She applied deodorant and sprayed her body with the fragrance before putting on a sports bra and t-shirt.

Olivia left the bathroom and searched in the closet for some clothes to wear to work. She was folding them and was ready to put them in her tote when she looked down and saw the blue velvet ring box in the bottom of the bag. Olivia picked up the box and opened it and smiled when she saw the brilliance of the diamond and the design of the ring; it had been a while since she looked at it and couldn't wait to put it on Alex's finger. As Alex was coming down the hallway, Olivia snapped the box shut, tossing it into the tote, quickly covering it with her folded work clothes.

"Ready?" Olivia turned and pulled her bag over her shoulder, tailing Alex down the hallway. She grabbed Alex's coffee mug as the attorney shouldered all of her other belongings. They exited the apartment and were off to Mark's office in less than five minutes.

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"Ok, so I'll see you for lunch?" Olivia asked as she patted Alex's hand over the gearshift on her Mercedes.

Alex turned to her with a questioning look. "Well, Liv, I'm going in with you…? Did you think I was just going to leave you?" She looked at Olivia over her glasses as she backed the SUV into a parking spot.

"Oh, I'm sorry Al. I thought you had to get to the office. Of course, I want you to stay. Thanks, beautiful." The smile that spread across Olivia's face was more than Alex could bear.

As they walked across the lot, Alex couldn't help but take Olivia's hand. Feeling Olivia's soft yet tough hands in her own made her feel whole. She thought about getting back to 'normal' life with Olivia—this is what it would be: appointments, work, dinner, etc. Alex couldn't have been happier when Olivia opened the door for her to walk through and kissed her on the cheek as she did so.

"I'm sorry, I just thought that you meant that you were going to drop me off when you said I could get a cab." Olivia spoke quietly to Alex as they waited in the lobby for Mark, continuing their conversation from the car.

"Well, you're not entirely wrong. I just want to make sure everything is ok with you," she placed her hand atop Olivia's, lightly caressing her knuckles, "but then I do have to get to the office. Casey wants me to sit in on a deposition at 10:15."

"No problem." Olivia smiled at Alex. "I'll take the subway. Or, I can get a cab. Whatever, babe. It's not a problem."

That fucking wink. She probably didn't even realize she did it. Alex couldn't help but stare at Olivia out of the corner of her eye—she wasn't even ashamed anymore about how often she looked at the gorgeous brunette sitting next to her. She thought about the last time that they were sitting in this lobby, waiting for Mark. It was just a few weeks ago, before she asked Olivia to go to Martha's Vineyard with her, and she couldn't help but remember how scared she was: scared that Olivia's shoulder wouldn't heal as quickly as she had wanted, scared about where their relationship would go, and scared that the Carlson affair would affect Olivia in ways that Alex wouldn't be able to help her. But, it seemed to Alex that everything had worked out: Olivia's shoulder was still, understandably, injured, but Alex knew she would be back to good in no time, their relationship seemed to be zooming off in every right direction, and although she wondered sometimes about where Olivia's head was, it seemed that she was doing ok with the whole Carlson situation.

"Al, are you coming back?" Olivia stood in front of her, her hand outstretched. Alex realized that during the whole time that she had spent thinking about Olivia, Mark had called her name to come back. She quickly stood and took Olivia's hand, walking towards the back with her.

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"So, how was the Vineyard?" Mark asked both of them as he stretched Olivia's arm above her head, holding it in this position for a minute or so. "My aunt has a house there—it's always been one of my favorite places to take my son."

"It was good…really good." Olivia looked at Alex and smiled as she answered, holding eye contact with her. The detective couldn't remember a time when she was happier than she had been for the past few weeks—besides recovering from a potentially life-threatening injury, she had found the one, and she knew it. She watched as Alex sat in a chair in the corner, her legs crossed as one of her Jimmy Choo's dangled from her foot. God, she's sexy.

Over the next few minutes, Mark went through a series of stretches with Olivia, measuring her flexibility and strength with a radial instrument that he held in his hand. Alex, knowing she was going to have to leave soon, began her interrogation of Mark, knowing that she wouldn't get the full story from Olivia if she asked later. Rising from her chair, she began to ask her practiced questions.

"Ok, Mark, I have to leave in a few minutes, so I want to get the story from you before I go. What's up with her? Did she progress as much as you thought or is there more we need to do? Or what?" She flailed her hands as she spoke, and Olivia couldn't help but notice that a bit of her New York attitude had rubbed off on the blonde. She liked it.

Mark smiled as he let go of Olivia's arm and turned so he faced the both of them. "Well, honestly…" he paused and looked at Olivia before continuing, "she looks great. I'm actually very surprised." A smile spread across his face. "I know she said that she'd be ready to go back to work on this exact day," he pointed his finger to the ground emphatically, "but, I wouldn't have believed it in a thousand years. I underestimated you, detective."

"Happy?" Olivia shrugged toward Alex as the sarcasm poured out.

"Not so fast." Mark smiled as he pulled out a pamphlet from Olivia's folder. "I know you're in a physical line of work and I'm sure you work out regularly, but I have to give you this so you know your options here." He handed Olivia the brochure that read 'Staying healthy after injury: Your guide to helpful exercise.'

Olivia scoffed and folded the paper into her tote bag. "Mark, I swam in college and David got me to swim a little bit in the ocean and I feel great. I think I'm just going to keep doing it. They put a lap pool in the basement of the precinct so I should be good."

"Ok. No weights though, until we do them here. Good?" Olivia nodded as he continued. "But, you only need to see me once a week this month. And, then if everything is good, I will release you. But, things look good, Olivia. Good job." He nodded towards Alex. "And, I should probably say good job to you too. She looks great."

Alex smiled as she gathered her belongings and kissed Olivia on the cheek. "Ok well thank you Mark. I'll see you for lunch, Liv?" She lingered a minute after she kissed Olivia to look into her eyes as she spoke, "I love you."

"Love you too." Olivia smiled and surveyed Alex—watching her leave never got old.

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An hour later, Olivia stepped out of the cab and climbed the stairs into the 1-6. She had changed into a pair of dark jeans and a long sleeve grey shirt. Her gun and badge felt so good back on her belt, and she couldn't help but smile when she turned the corner to walk into the squad room.

"So, you see where my problem is: I've only got a familial match on the DNA." Olivia heard Dr. Warner explaining something to the other detectives and Cragen, so she snuck quietly behind them and sat at her desk, listening to Melinda. "And, he's got 5 brothers, so now it's pretty much just narrowing down the who's who in the Kelvin family." Warner took a long breath and let out a small sigh when Olivia heard her name unexpectedly. "So, Detective Benson, what do you think?"

Cragen, Elliot, Munch and Fin turned around on the spot to see Olivia quietly sitting over a small stack of papers on her desk, as if she had been there the whole time. Before Olivia could react, Elliot was on her. She stood up and felt his strong arms wrap around her and she reciprocated as the other detectives smiled as they looked on. "Liv, you look great! Are you back for good? How's the shoulder? Are you on the desk? What—"

"El! Elliot! Calm down, man. To answer your questions…" the rest of the detectives formed a semicircle around her desk as she sat down, listening to her answers. "I'm good, guys. My shoulder is good—healing, but good. I don't know if I'm on the desk, I guess that's up to the Captain." She nodded towards Cragen, who was just happy to see her and returned her nod with a smile and a shrug.

"We will figure it out." Cragen smiled as he left the group, heading towards his office.

"Good? Everything is good?" Munch was asking Liv through sarcasm about her return, baiting her to divulge a little more.

"Well, some things are great." She couldn't help but smile as she glanced towards Elliot and felt her face flush. Not wanting to linger on the subject too long, she continued, "but my shoulder is ok, and, I just want to get back to work." They all dispersed back to their desks and she watched Melinda come closer to her desk.

"You look good, Liv." She smiled sympathetically at Olivia. They had known each other for years, almost as long as she had known Elliot, and Melinda had helped her through many a hard time. "How's the shoulder? I kind of freaked when they told me what happened."

"You? Freak out? That doesn't sound like you." Olivia was being completely honest but Melinda couldn't help but scoff. The detective knew that the nature of their jobs made them all a little closer, and she knew that Melinda wouldn't have 'freaked out' if it was just another cop. "My shoulder is ok. I'm feeling better every day, so that's good. I just need to keep working it."

"Good. If you need any help, just let me know." Warner started walking out of the precinct when she turned back toward Olivia's desk. "Oh, and Olivia, you should probably see George. I was debating about saying anything to you, but we've spoken and we both think it might be a good thing for you."

Olivia didn't immediately respond, but turned the idea over in her head. This really wasn't as bad as her time at Sealview, even though she was much more physically scarred. However, Olivia knew that her flashbacks weren't normal. "I'll think about it. Thanks, Mel."

The next few hours passed quickly: Olivia got back into the swing of things and finally finished off enough paperwork to be able to open her email and start fresh. She went through about 19 emails when she saw the only one that mattered.

Liv,

I know it's crazy to say this, but I miss you already. I hope things are going well for you on your first day back—I know how much you've wanted to get back to work.

I can't wait to see you for lunch. I'm thinking 1:30, Carlo's?

PS-I left you a little gift in your center desk drawer.

ILY

Alexandra K. Cabot

ADA 16th Precinct

Special Victims Unit

(646) 555-3928

Cabot.A

She smiled shyly under her hand that rested on her face. Olivia knew that Elliot was aware of their relationship, but she didn't want to stir that pot on the day that she came back, even though Elliot was baiting her at every turn. She quietly opened the drawer in her desk, revealing her favorite candy (a Hershey's Cookies & Cream chocolate bar) and read a small handwritten note attached to it with a piece of tape.

'I'll never be able to tell you exactly how sweet you are, but hopefully this will help convey the message. Love, Alex.'

"Yo! Gimme a piece!" Elliot yelled at Olivia as he got up and walked around to her desk, hand outstretched. She broke off a segment of three blocks and gave it to him, smiling up at him. "Liv, seriously though, I'm happy to have you back."

"Happy to be back." She smiled back up at him, and although she couldn't deny how content she had been for the past few weeks, there was a different kind of warm feeling surging through her body now: she was back at the 1-6, and couldn't be any happier than to be back with Elliot.

He returned back to his chair and continued his paperwork as Olivia picked up her phone.

Got your email. Lunch sounds great—almost that time now. I'll meet you there in a few.

Oh, and thanks for the candy. You know me so well.

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"So she was happy to see you? I thought she would be—Melinda loves you." Alex eyed Olivia over her club sandwich, eager to hear what her girlfriend had to say about her first day back in the squad room.

"Yeah." The answer was elusive, and not like Olivia. She stirred her straw around in her iced tea, making a clockwise turn for every three counter clockwise. She only stopped when she felt Alex's hand on hers. They had agreed to limit the PDA until they disclosed their relationship, so Olivia knew that Alex must have really wanted her attention. She looked up to see Alex's cerulean eyes examining her.

"Olivia, what is it? I know something is bothering you. You've barely touched your lunch." The detective's salad sat in front of her, all of the ingredients still separated as the waiter had given it to her—she hadn't even stirred them together or added her dressing yet. She put her spoon down on the table and collapsed her hands in her lap, looking downward.

"I just…I don't know. Melinda said her and George had talked and they think I should see him." Alex didn't know how to respond to this, but thought that honesty was probably the best policy.

"Well, what do you think?" Alex asked this question confidently, knowing that they could speak to each other about these things. There were still some topics that they stayed away from, but Alex knew that even if she asked about those unsaid topics, Olivia would be honest: if she didn't want to talk about it, she wouldn't.

Olivia sank back in her chair and crossed her legs as she looked across to Alex. "I think," Alex watched as Olivia's eyes trailed over her body as the detective leaned far in towards the table and lowered her voice, "that you've never looked sexier."

That fucking wink. Think, Alex. Think. The attorney cleared her voice through a smile and tried to get back to the topic at hand. "Very cute, detective. But I meant what do you think about seeing George?"

"Damn. Thought I could get that by you." She smiled a low smile and fidgeted with her hands. "I don't know, Alex. I just…I don't think…"

"What? You don't think it'll help? Well, you won't know Liv until you try. Plus, it's not like you're going into some shrink you don't know. It's George, after all. You see him and Seth all the time, you know? It could just be like talking to a friend."

"Yeah, but it's not the same. I just don't want him shrinking me." Olivia took a long pause and looked up at Alex. She knew the attorney was going to say something, and just prepared herself for whatever she thought was coming.

"Ok, babe. Whatever you say. It might just be good to know that the option is there, though. Ok?" She waited for a minute and saw Olivia's head nod before she continued. "Eat your lunch. We gotta get back soon."

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"So, Liv, what's up with Serena's?" Elliot had most of his paperwork done for the day and, at 4:50, was just killing time until he could meet Kathy for dinner.

"Well, the good news is that there wasn't too much damage, structurally speaking."

"And the bad news?"

"Bad? No. No bad news." Olivia paused and got up from her desk, slowly walking over to Elliot's, grabbing him on the shoulders. "But don't you remember how fun it was to rehab Serena's all that time ago?" Elliot laughed wholeheartedly as his body shook. Olivia could feel him stand up and he turned toward her.

"No problem Liv. Dickie can help too. When do you need us?"

"Thanks El. Not sure yet, but I'll let you know. Probably Wednesday or Thursday to start. I don't think it'll take longer than two weeks if we work three or four times a week on it."

Elliot's phone rang and he left minutes later to meet Kathy uptown for dinner. Olivia had put in good time today, considering it was her first day back. Just as she was cleaning up she heard the unmistakable sound of stilettos clacking on the precinct floor. She turned in time to see Alex's flawless body entering the 1-6, greeted by Cragen.

"Good to see you, Alex. How are you?"

"I'm good Don. Thanks. Hey, listen, I need to have a meeting with you and Judge Donnelley within the next week or two. I know that you know, but it's a formality that we can't overlook."

"No problem, Alex. But, for now, take her home and get some rest. Enjoy your night, ladies."

Olivia approached Alex cautiously, trying not to eye her too hungrily while they were still in the precinct. "You ready?" She tried to keep her voice level, but as soon as they were in the elevator Olivia looked squarely at Alex and pulled her into a tight hug.

"God, you're a sight for sore eyes." The detective placed a soft kiss on Alex's lips before letting her go, parting for fear of one of their bosses entering the elevator.

"You just saw me a few hours ago, detective." Alex shot her a playful look as they separated, letting her hand linger around Olivia's arm a little longer than she probably should have.

"I know, but I just can't wait to get you home." Alex knew that whatever was waiting for her at home, she was just as ready as Olivia. Today had been too long without Olivia by her side every second.