A/N: Thanks for all of the great feedback from my last chapter. I thought you might enjoy a little bit of Olivia's point of view after everything has been pretty buttoned up from her since both incidents. I like to call this chapter 'the calm before the storm.' I will admit that a year ago when I started writing this story, I knew the general arc and thought I knew exactly where I was going with it. How wrong could I have been? HA! The next chapter will definitely be filled with a lot of emotion, and some unexpected actions as things come to a head for a lot of people, and especially for our favorite ADA and detective. This story twist was definitely in my original plans, and I'm happy to see that I've stuck with it long enough to put everything in place for it to happen. I've written the next three or so chapters, but I've had a little bit of problem getting through this one. Thank you all so much for continuing to stick with this and favorite—you really are my inspiration for keeping this story up. Sometimes, as I write, I fear that I am not living up to your expectations, but I am still greeted with the nicest of comments as soon as I post. Thank you all so much! I had to split this chapter into 2 uploads for some reason-it might have been too long.

Chapter 45

Monday

It was around 11 when Alex heard a knock on her closed door. Hoping it was Olivia, she glanced in the mirror on her desk, combing her fingers through her hair and straightening her lipstick with one finger. "Come in." She didn't want to sound too excited, but she feared that she had given it away with the octave jump in her voice. However, her hopefulness disappeared in the same breath when Liz Donnelley walked through the door. She couldn't help but feel her face fall a little, but, never wanting to disappoint her boss, she tried to shrug off the letdown and go on with business.

"Judge Donnelley. Hi!" She stood up and walked toward the older blonde as Donnelley waved her off with her hand.

"Mostly non-work related visit. You don't have to kiss my ass right now." Donnelley had her normal grin on her face as she sat in the chair opposite Alex. She had just closed the door and lowered her voice to a whisper to utter this sarcastic remark. Alex sat back in her chair and laughed silently, her gaze focused on her boss. She noticed that Donnelley held a manila file folder in her hand, and silently Alex wondered if she had decided to just come sign the relationship disclosure and pass it along to Cragen later.

Liz must have noticed the blue eyes dart to the folder in her hand because she began speaking, displaying the contents of the folder. "So," she flipped the folder open on the attorney's desk, paging through countless sheets of printed paper with a few signatures dotted at the bottom of each. "This is for your next case. Nothing about what I came in here for—I just saw Casey and she asked me to bring this if I was coming over here." Alex's heart sank once again in disappointment, as it seemed like she would have to wait until later that week for the only thing that she wanted to make sure got done.

"Thanks." Alex closed the folder on her desk and placed it delicately atop three other identical ones that Casey had dropped by the week before. She turned her attention back to Liz, who had already started speaking.

"The reason I came up here is because I want to know what happened to Benson. Someone beat the shit out of her, it looks like…?" Alex wasn't expecting the judge to want to sit and talk about Olivia, but they were especially close and Alex decided to humor her.

"Well, pretty much, yeah. She was in pursuit and the guy hid and hit her in the face."

Donnelley shifted in her chair and began to speak. "Assault of a police officer and resisting arrest. Go on."

Alex knew Donnelley was adding up the charges already, preparing for when she saw this perp in court. Cautiously, Alex continued, "but Olivia was able to subdue him, so they got him in the end."

"I hope by subdue you mean gave it right back…?" Alex nodded her head and smiled a little bit. It wasn't funny, but it was just typical Olivia. "Well, I hope she gave him enough to make up for her injuries…I'm sure IAB will be sniffing around on this." With this comment, Donnelley's eyes shifted upwards to meet Alex's, prying for information.

"Yeaaah," Alex drew out this word before taking a breath and continuing, grumbling to herself, "apparently that's the wrong thing to say to the detective who had to deal with the situation." Alex cringed a bit remembering how mad Olivia got when she raised that point.

"Well, all they have to do is look at her and see that there was a clear need for some force. I'm sure they'll try to claim it was excessive." She rolled her eyes as she said this, continuing on to her next question. "How badly is she injured?"

"Her nose is broken and she has to have surgery on her finger. So, not horribly bad, but enough to need some medical attention." Alex watched as Donnelley nodded her head.

"Yeah, if IAB has a problem, I'm sure we will all have Olivia's back." She paused for a few minutes and watched as Alex nodded in agreement. "Well, that's the majority of what I came up here for. I didn't want to stop her and ask because I didn't want her knowing that I thought she looked like hell."

They both laughed as Alex asked curiously, "the majority?" Donnelley leaned forward in her chair and took out one more folder, laying it on Alex's desk. There was a moment of silence when neither of them said anything. Donnelley looked from the folder on the edge of the attorney's desk to the blue eyes across from her. Alex's gaze also dropped to the singular, mysterious folder, her eyes darting from the folder to Donnelley.

"So about this press conference tomorrow…" Donnelley started the conversation very slowly. It was unlike her, and it made Alex nervous. She was reminded of the press conference the week before, but had forgotten about it again until Donnelley had mentioned it. She knew, of course, that she would have remembered later because of the glaring red pen on her calendar tomorrow, but she silently reprimanded herself for forgetting about it again. Before she could blame herself too much, though, Donnelley continued. "The tone has changed—It's taken a little bit of a turn from focusing on the victim to asking about the detectives involved." Donnelley spoke this sentence with caution, and with a bit of a forewarning in her voice, Alex noticed.

"What do you mean?" Alex wasn't embarrassed to admit when she didn't follow—especially with Liz. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on her desk, crossing her arms, patiently waiting for Donnelley to answer.

"Well, obviously the girl, uh," she waved her hand in the air as she tried to recall the victim's name, "Kaley, has been home for over a month now, and she's—understandably—seeing a therapist. But, she's doing well in school, she's back in her circle of friends, and she seems to be adjusting back to life fairly seamlessly when you look at the big picture." Donnelley took a breath and continued. "The 16th precinct did everything correctly, but the media is questioning their tactics—as if journalists know anything about police procedure, but I digress. I know a guy that works for The Times, and he got his hands on some of the questions that their team formed for tomorrow." She scooted the folder closer to Alex and motioned with her eyes for the ADA to open it and reveal its contents. "I can't tell you what it took for him to give this to me."

On one, single piece of notebook paper, there were three questions scrawled out in doctor-like handwriting.

1) "Stabler and Benson-lot of leniency in unit". A small arrow pointed to the left and numerous situations were written on the other side of the arrow. "Officer involved shootings, hostage situations without proper negotiators, searches without warrants, stakeouts independent from rest of unit."

"What the fu—." Donnelley stopped her with a wave of her hand, and Alex knew that she wanted her to continue reading before making any conclusions.

2) "Victim states she was outside alone when cops showed. Why shootout if victim wasn't captive or hostage?"

3) "Benson fight with suspect Central Park last week—aftermath? Excessive Force—suspect hospitalized for 24+ hours."

"Ok." Alex took a breath and let the paper fall onto the desk. "Now I can say it: What. The. Fuck." With each word, Donnelley heard the disgust and repulsion grow.

"I know." Liz Donnelley rubbed her head and shrugged her shoulders with a hint of a smile on her face. "The first point is one we hear all the time—you should be fine with that. The second one I wanted to talk to you about, because you were there. Is it true? I trust that they all did the correct thing. Even if they didn't, Cragen would have to answer for it, not them, and not me, for that matter—but, I am just curious."

Alex took a second to think back to that night. There were so many things that she remembered, and she wanted to collect her thoughts in the proper order. "Yes, the girl did come outside by herself, but by the time she saw everyone I think she was too scared to do anything. She immediately went back inside and alerted Carlson, it seemed. I'm sure that she thought she had to tell him—he had complete control over her by that point."

Donnelley must have thought that was an acceptable answer, so she moved on with a nod of her head. "And the third point—I wasn't really sure what this was referring to until a few minutes ago, but I think this is the one you might have a little trouble with. I thought they were talking about Carlson, but Elliot shot him, and he died right there, correct?"

"Ch'yeah," Alex scoffed. "As far as they're concerned, they don't need to worry about a low-life child molester who tried to beat up a cop." Alex was furious that anyone would even ask these questions. She was used to the old 'Elliot and Olivia get away with everything,' routine—she could field those questions in her sleep. But, the audacity of the press to assume they know the right way to do everything was extremely frustrating. Donnelley must have felt her irritation, so she backed off a bit, becoming more supportive than inquisitive.

"Alex, you've always been good with these kinds of things. You'll do great. Just remember that we need to keep a certain decorum in the DA's office." At this comment, Alex cocked her head to the side and she could feel her eyes narrow a bit, trying to understand Donnelley's point.

"What?"

"What I mean is…well, you were an English major…don't 'protest' too much." She watched as Alex's cynical face morphed into one of understanding. "I know you're worried about IAB finding out about you and Olivia, and I don't want you to jump down someone's throat because they're shit talking about something that your girlfriend may or may not have done properly in their eyes."

Alex leaned back in her chair before she responded. She took a breath and began speaking. "Thank you for bringing me this." She signaled to the paper inside the folder. "And, I appreciate you helping me think this through. Because, honestly, I probably would have lost my mind if someone had asked me these questions without any preparation."

Donnelley nodded in understanding and took the folder as she stood up and collected her belongings. "I'm going to take this. Don't get too involved in this, Alex. You'll do a great job tomorrow. The whole conference is only an hour long and they won't open it up for questions until at least 45 minutes in. You'll do great." Donnelley patted Alex's hand as she threw her bag over her shoulder and turned to leave.

Alex looked down to her desk and began to scribble nonsense on her calendar when she heard the door open and Judge Donnelley exclaim in surprise. "Oh! Detective Benson, you scared me." Just the mention of Olivia's name lightened Alex's mood, and the muffled sound of Olivia's voice on the other side of the door made her heart jump.

"I'm sorry, Judge. I didn't know you were—I mean, I can come back if you're busy…?"

"Oh, no, I'm just leaving. I'll see you later, detective."

Olivia walked into Alex's office, leaving the door ajar as she strolled in. Her voice was barely above a whisper, but conveyed all the emotion of the emotionally drained detective. "Wow. You're a sight for sore ey—."

Quietly, slowly, Alex whispered, "Close the door." She pointed to the door as she got up and walked around her desk. As soon as the latch closed, she tugged on the collar of Olivia's polo shirt, pulling her close for a passionate kiss. Alex moaned quietly into the detective's mouth as she clenched Olivia's shirt in her hands. A surprised Olivia latched her hands onto Alex's waist, pulling her ever closer, melding their bodies together in the middle of the ADA's office. Tongues wrestled for dominance as Alex wound her hands up Olivia's shoulders and clasped them around the back of her neck, grasping through her short hair. The kisses grew less intense and Olivia felt Alex's grip loosen, running her hands delicately through the detective's scalp.

"That was a nice 'hello.'" Olivia's smile dazzled Alex before the blonde's even opened her eyes—Alex could hear that smile through Olivia's words and she had never felt warmer, and more loved than she did when she heard Olivia speak through that trademark, genuine smile. Alex opened her eyes and watched their golden counterparts twinkle as the detective spoke. "How's your day been?"

For the first time in a little while, Alex felt Olivia's biceps flex around her, holding her tightly around her waist. She felt in that moment that she could fall completely and still be supported by Olivia's strength. It was times like this that Alex wanted to revel in the moment—just stay like that forever. It seemed like Olivia had gotten stronger, and Alex thought that, perhaps, that was a sign that she had fully healed from her shoulder injury. She was lost in thought when she remembered that Olivia had asked a question. She moved her hands from the back of Olivia's neck to her chest: she rested her hands on Olivia's pectoral muscles, right under her collarbone. "It's been," she thought for a second—she didn't want to give Olivia anything to worry about, "alright. Just busy." It was hard for Alex: she felt like she was lying to the detective, but she didn't want Olivia to worry about something that she couldn't control, especially since she was probably already worried about coming back to work, and her upcoming surgery.

Olivia didn't seem to notice, and they separated with a quick kiss, Alex returning to her desk and Olivia resuming her normal position in the chair across from her. The blonde turned all of her attention to her girlfriend sitting across from her. "How's your day been?"

Olivia took a breath and exhaled slowly as she spoke. "Well, I saw Dr. Huang, so that was…uhh…" Olivia searched for the right word, as she traced the splint on her injured hand, "interesting."

"Interesting?" Alex questioned Olivia with a concerned look.

"Yeah. He wants to," she used air quotes for the next phrase, "keep an open line of communication with me." She leaned back in the chair, "whatever that means." She smiled a bit and shook her head quickly. "I just…I don't know, Al. We were talking and he even agreed that I was pretty much fucked no matter what I did in that situation with Conrad. You know, I got in a fight; I mean that's just what happened. But if I wouldn't have done that, he said that people would probably be questioning if getting shot has made me apprehensive, or if I've lost a step."

"What are you saying, babe?" Alex leaned forward on her desk and tilted her head, looking into Olivia's eyes. Her speech was soft, supportive.

"I don't really know." She smiled, reluctantly looking back at Alex. "I just don't know why me seeing George…I don't know how often—every week? Once a month? I don't know why me seeing him is going to help if even he admits that what I didn't wasn't necessarily wrong."

"Liv, since when have you cared about what people think?" Olivia started to speak, but Alex stopped her. "You," she reached out and grabbed Olivia's hand. "Are a great cop. You're an even better detective. You don't need to worry about anything, except what you're trained to worry about. That's what you did. And, because you did that, you saved a little girl's life, and probably saved a few more women from being raped by Conrad."

There were a few moments of silence as they held hands and looked at each other across the desk. Olivia's face softened a bit and she smiled as she stood up and walked around the desk towards Alex. "You are the most beautiful, wonderful, intelligent," she lowered her voice as Alex stood up and wrapped her arms around the detective's neck, "sexiest woman I know." She kissed Alex through a smile that radiated light across the room. "And that smile is great too." Alex blushed and kissed Olivia on the cheek.

"Not as great as yours." They stood like that for a moment, Alex a little taller than Olivia, thanks to her heels. "I love you, Liv. Don't worry about a thing." Alex kissed Olivia on the cheek as the detective backed away.

"I should get back up to the precinct. Have you eaten lunch yet?"

"No, but I've gotta be in court at 2." She frowned as she sat back down and pointed at her piled folders on her desk. "Sorry, honey."

"No problem. Dinner tonight?"

"You know it." The blonde smiled and watched as Olivia left her office, closing the door silently behind her. It was hard for Alex to wipe the smile off her face. She spent the next few minutes deciding what she was going to wear tonight for dinner—she was sure they wouldn't go anywhere fancy, but it just felt like everything was coming together for them. The blonde stared down at her left hand for a minute, envisioning that mysterious ring Olivia had in her tote adorning her own hand. Before long, though, Alex realized it was 1:30, and she began to prepare herself for court.

A half hour later, Alex watched from the gallery as Samuel Conrad walked into court and pled not guilty. Casey Novak recommended remand as Judge Donnelley asked her to expand.

"Your honor, this man is accused of brutally raping four women. On top of that, he assaulted a police office while resisting arrest and that officer now requires surgery and is out of the line of duty for the foreseeable future."

"Thank you Ms. Novak. Remand is granted." Donnelley pounded the gavel and the defense attorney began speaking.

"Your honor, seriously."

"You're out of line, Ms. Pond."

"Approach, your honor?" Miranda Pond's British accent rang out in the courtroom, requesting a quick meeting with Donnelley and Casey.

Judge Donnelley allowed both Miranda Pond and Casey Novak to approach the bench with a beckoning of her hand. "What's the problem, here?"

Pond opened her mouth immediately. "I think remand is a little outrageous, your honor. My client—" she was cut off immediately by Casey.

"Your client is a multi-millionaire with unlimited financial means and a valid passport. Your client raped at least 4 women and furthermore, your client assaulted a polic—."

"Casey." Donnelley held up her hand and began speaking. "Ms. Pond, your client is under suspicion for very serious crimes, the least of which is assaulting an otherwise capable police officer. I think remand is warranted. Step back."

"But your honor—."

"Step. Back."

"Defendant is remanded without bail until his next trial date. Next case."