A/N: First, I want to apologize for taking so long to get this up-the summer is the busiest season for me and now everything is starting to slow down, so thank you for your patience. Secondly, I know, I know! This sucks. It is what it is, unfortunately, and now they need to work back from it. Thanks again for all of your follows and reviews—it really helps validate my writing, and I'll never be able to thank you all enough for that. The next few chapters may be a little rough, but won't be without some AO moments. Hang in there, gang!

Chapter 49
Surgery

Olivia awoke at 7:30, following a soft knock on the door. "Liv, I let you sleep in long enough. We gotta be at the hospital in a half hour." Fins calming voice was a nice way to wake up, Olivia thought. Begrudgingly she rolled out of the bed and searched for her outfit for the day. Quickly, she realized that she was fully clothed and thought it was the weirdest sensation—since she and Alex had been together, she rarely woke up clothed. Whether it was because they had exhausted themselves making love the night before or just because it was a rough day and they wanted to feel each other's bodies close, unrestricted. She shrugged off her gifted statue of liberty shirt and stepped out of some blue and grey flannel pants.

As she was dressing, her phone buzzed. Before she could check it, though, she heard Fin knock on the door again. "Come in." He entered and immediately turned around.

"Liv, common now!" The detective looked around in confusion and then realized why he was acting how he was. She was standing facing him clad in a black thong and a camisole, no bra underneath.

"Fin, really?" She chuckled as she pulled on her NYPD sweatpants and a tshirt. "It's not like you haven't seen this shit before." They both laughed as Fin turned back around cautiously, checking to see if she was dressed.

"True." He paused. "But, I'm just tryna, you know…protect your modesty." At this, they both laughed hard. Elliot, Fin, and Olivia had all seen each other next to naked at one point or another. One time, in particular, Fin was undercover when the drug ring he was infiltrating busted in on him, knowing Olivia was inside. Quickly, they both jumped in bed and undressed before anyone saw them, pretending Olivia was a prostitute. Unfortunately, however, they both were forced to get out of bed naked in front of the drug runners. It was a little awkward, but it was what they had to do. They both laughed at this memory. "You ready?" Fin asked as he walked out of the room, gathering items in his kitchen.

"Yeah, just gotta brush my teeth." Olivia walked over to the bed and picked up her phone, remembering that it had vibrated earlier. She took it into the bathroom with her as she dug her toothbrush out of her bag and found her toothpaste. She had just started brushing her teeth with one hand when she unlocked her phone with the other, noticing a text message Alex had sent her.

Thinking about you.

Olivia sighed and locked her phone as she rinsed her toothbrush off. She turned, grabbed her phone, and turned out the light before heading down the hall and exiting Fin's apartment.

Fifteen minutes later Fin sat behind the wheel of his Audi coupe. "You good?" He asked this with a certain hesitation, almost as if he was asking about her entire life, and every detail and person in it. Fin stayed focused on the traffic ahead as his eyes moved curiously behind his trademark sunglasses.

He got a quiet, mumbled 'yeah' from Olivia, and he dropped the subject. He knew that she wasn't focused on the upcoming surgery, but rather on Alex and their situation, or predicament, for lack of a better word. He wasn't sure if things would work out or not, but he could only hope: he remembered how Olivia was without Alex, and it was rough. Olivia twirled her phone in her good hand nervously. Every few rotations, she would stop, unlock her phone and open her messages app. After a second or two, she would close the app and relock her phone. She went through this pattern about three times before he pulled into the parking garage.

They arrived just in time, and Olivia was in the process of filling out the necessary paperwork when Fin heard the first words to escape her since the meek 'yeah' in the car. "Hey Fin, I'm just gonna put you as my emergency contact-is that ok?"

She had a quiet vulnerability about her and Fin couldn't help but say yes. He wouldn't have cared anyway, but just the way she asked made Fin's heart ache. He watched as she scribbled out all of the left over information and turned the sheet into the receptionist at the front desk. Slowly, she turned around to walk back when he saw a flash in her eye. Quickly, she high-tailed it back to the seat next to him, partially covering her face with her hands, shielding it from the right side of the room. She could feel Fin looking at her, and she was sure she looked crazy at the moment, but she couldn't risk uttering a word and being recognized, so she waved Fin's look off with a wave of her hand.

A few minutes later Olivia poked her head up and over the people in the waiting room, stealthily searching for the woman she had recognized earlier. With no sign of her, she turned toward Fin. "Ok, I know I probably looked like an idiot, but Hope was here-I guess she works here too. I keep forgetting that she works at all these places for physical therapy." Fin's eyes widened in understanding and a smile crept across his face. At that moment, though, Olivia wondered if it actually would have been a bad thing for Hope to have seen her. Quietly, she sat back in the chair and waited for her name to be called.

"I always thought she was pretty good looking," Fin grinned and stuck his head higher above everyone in the waiting room, lightheartedly looking for her for himself as a joke. Olivia smirked and turned her eyes toward him.

"Good looking?" Olivia scoffed at Fin.

"You're right, you're right," he paused for a second. "She's sexy as hell." They both laughed as a nurse emerged from the surgery area and called her name. Olivia stood up and Fin followed closely behind, reassuringly rubbing her shoulders from behind.

Two hours later Olivia awoke from a groggy sleep. A vision appeared before her, and she reached for her glasses when she felt her hand weighed down by a large cast. She heard Fin's distinctive voice, "Liv, I got it," and felt the gentle touch of Fin placing her glasses on her face. Slowly, the blobs became clearer and figures formed into people: Dr. Foster stood in front of the chair Olivia was sitting in, a small smile adorning her face. To her right, Fin sat in a chair anxiously awaiting her awakening, it seemed. And, to her left was Hope. Olivia's stomach turned but her head was not completely focused-the drugs from the surgery had not worn off and she found it hard to focus on one singular thing.

"Well, Olivia, the surgery went well. We were able to place the pin exactly where we needed to and it seems like the bone will heal properly." Olivia made out Dr. Foster and noticed that she was speaking slower than usual, and was directing her conversation more towards Fin. That was probably a good thing, she thought. Olivia knew she wouldn't be able to remember half of what was being said right now. Fin nodded in understanding when Olivia felt a warm hand touch her uninjured one, and looked down to see Hope entwining her fingers with Olivia's.

As soon as this happened, Olivia sensed Fin's movement. Olivia knew what was happening, but it seemed like she couldn't register it and speak fast enough to tell Hope that it was inappropriate-she just stared down at their joined hands and readied herself to say something. For what seemed like hours, she stared at her hand, latched onto someone else's before Fin approached Hope. "Excuse me." Hope looked up at Fin, a bit bewildered, as Fin turned toward Dr. Foster. "I hope your physical therapists don't treat everyone this inappropriately." He gestured toward Olivia and Hope's intertwined hands and Dr. Foster immediately responded.

"Hope, you can leave now, thanks. Have Craig send in another assistant. Please don't come back. That was extremely inappropriate." Her tone was hushed, so not everyone heard it, but it was clear to Hope. Dr. Foster turned back towards Olivia with an embarrassed look on her face. "I'm so sorry detective. She hasn't ever done anything like that before."

Olivia rolled her eyes and dismissed the rest of Dr. Foster's apology quickly, by loudly interrupting her. "We have a history. Don't worry about it. Just keep her out of here." She, Dr. Foster, and Fin all smiled as she relaxed back into the chair. She felt sleep overtake her again and she heard Fin speaking as she nodded off.

What seemed like hours later Olivia awoke to a familiar voice. She slowly shifted her head but couldn't seem to open her eyes quite yet. Melinda Warner's friendly voice rang out throughout the room.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize she was sleeping," Melinda was catching up with Dr. Foster. "Everything went well?"

"She just fell asleep a few minutes ago. Surgery was great: bone was aligned and the pin was placed securely. So easy you probably could have handled it." They both laughed as they continued to catch up for the next few minutes.

After a few moments, Olivia turned her head and opened her eyes to see the two women talking, and Fin sitting in the corner chair listening to the whole conversation.

"Well there she is!" Melinda strode over to the chair and rubbed Olivia's arm tenderly.

"Hey Mel," Olivia croaked out as she slowly blinked her eyes open.

"How are you feeling? Foster here says it was a pretty simple fix."

"Good. I'm all right. Just tired." She could feel a small smile creep across her face as she felt warmth that only close friends can provide. "Thanks for coming down...you didn't have to do that."

ME Warner chuckled as she responded, "Liv, of course. And-" she paused, not sure how to continue. Fin and Olivia looked at her with questioning eyes. "I'm not the only one that came down." She opened the door to the hallway and Olivia heard the familiar clacking of heels that could only belong to Alex Cabot.

She was a sight: the first thing Olivia noticed was her eyes. It seemed like they had gained more depth, if it was possible. Her black eyeliner accented the deep cerulean color that swam around her pupil, and it was difficult for the detective to look away. She wore a pair of long, high waisted bell-bottomed pants secured with a large navy blue belt and a Yankees 3/4-sleeve shirt that was sheer and clung to her body in all the right places. Her blonde hair flowed past her shoulders as she swept it to one side of her face after she adjusted her glasses. Olivia thought she had never seen anything more beautiful.

Quickly, though, she shook the sight from her mind. She was still affected by the drugs, however, and she could feel them taking effect again. Yes, she wanted to remain upset with Alex, but the fact that she came to see her and looking like that, no less, made it seem like everything was ok. At least while Olivia was on the drugs everything was ok.

Alex made her way over to the chair and stood next to it. She seemed scared to touch Olivia. The room was quiet, as everyone was eager to see the interaction between the two women after the altercation of the previous few days. Fin responded first, with a quick suggestion. "Mel, let me buy you a coffee." He stood up from his chair and wrapped his arm around Warner's shoulder, playfully jostling her out of the room. He turned around and pointed to Dr. Foster. "Foster, I'll pick you up one too!" As the two left, Alex grabbed Fin's chair and pulled it over towards Olivia. Apprehensively, she sat down and crossed her legs, folding her hands over her knees. Dr. Foster watched from the corner of the room.

"Hi." It was small, soft. Olivia looked at her, but couldn't bring herself to look into Alex's eyes. Suddenly her casted hand was very interesting, and she began to finger the edges of the bandage with her other hand. Quickly, though, she felt the familiar coolness of Alex's soft hand touching her own, stopping her from playing with her bandage. The blonde caressed Olivia's hand before she let go, and sat back in her chair. She paused, took a breath. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright." Olivia laid her head back on the chair and let out a breath. "I'm tired, I guess." Her eyes tried to focus on anything besides Alex, but she was having a difficult time. She could feel the drugs still lingering in her system and all of her inhibitions were significantly lowered as her eyes traced the outline of Alex's bra. The blonde must have noticed, as a small smile traced her lips.

"Olivia, listen." Alex began to speak, but Olivia tuned her out. She turned her head away from the attorney and towards the doctor, tracing the boards and papers on the wall around Dr. Foster.

A minute later, Olivia heard Dr. Foster begin to speak to Alex. "Ms. Cabot, is it?" The blonde nodded. "I'm sorry, I think the anesthesia is taking a serious toll on her." She signaled toward Olivia and the detective felt Alex place her hand on her own, suspecting she was asleep.

"Yeah, she has a problem with anesthesia, I think. At least she did last time." Alex's voice trailed off as she thought about the drive back from Rochester in the ambulance. Slowly visions of Olivia bloodied and hooked up to machines reentered her brain and her heart ached. She watched as Olivia's chest rose and fell with deep breaths. Alex felt her grip tighten around Olivia's hand, as small tears welled in her eyes. Dr. Foster noticed and stepped in.

"Don't worry, she will be just fine. She should be going home in the next few hours. I just want to make sure she doesn't have an adverse reaction—she told me about what happened during her collarbone surgery." Alex heard her and nodded in understanding. If only Dr. Foster understood her reason for getting emotional: it wasn't about Olivia's current condition, or the fact that she had to have surgery. It was just that the last time that she was like this was when they were able to be honest and fall in love with each other. Alex thought about how long ago that felt, but how recently it was—and now she was scared it wouldn't happen again: that she blew her chance.

Alex sniffled and tried to stifle her irregular breath when she swore she felt Olivia's hand squeeze her own, which immediately calmed her. Whether it was voluntary or not, the reciprocation from Olivia is something she hadn't felt in what seemed like forever. She heard Fin and Melinda approaching and quickly let go of Olivia's hand, stood up, and collected her things. They walked in and were greeted by Alex standing near Dr. Foster. "She's sleeping," the attorney whispered as she pulled her tote onto her shoulder.

Melinda turned to Alex and signaled that they should leave. "Thank you," Alex turned to Fin and gave him a hug. She then made her way to Olivia's chair and noticed that she was, indeed, sleeping. She kissed her lightly on the forehead and whispered a quiet, emotional, ''I love you."

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By 3PM Olivia was back at Fin's apartment lying on the couch, in and out of sleep, as Fin played his Xbox. She faced the back of the couch and stirred a bit when she heard people talking. Olivia recognized the first voice as Fin, and the second as Elliot. She would normally turn around and engage in conversation, but the subject was interesting, and Olivia was interested to hear what they were talking about without being detected.

"So Cabot came up? I saw her leave this morning and she was definitely not in courtroom attire."

"Yeah. It would have been awkward if Liv wasn't so fucked up from the meds. But I got out of there and took Melinda down and bought her some coffee to give them some time—You! Really Elliot!?" Olivia heard the familiar sound of gunfire and army commands and realized they must have been playing Call of Duty together. She silently laughed to herself.

"Gotta keep up Fin!" He laughed at Fin's annoyance before continuing. "So, has she said anything?"

"About the conference? No. I haven't really asked, though. Kind of laying low. You know how she is."

"Oh, trust me. I know how she is." Elliot paused. If anyone knew how she was, it was he. "But, I just feel like this is different." After he said this, Olivia heard the familiar bing of her text message notification. Elliot paused the game and leaned over to the table, peeking at her phone. "Cabot."

"What'd she say?"

"She's sent like 3 messages. Not sure what she said—I forgot her unlock code."

"Damn. I know what you mean though, about this being different…what do you think about the whole situation?"

"Well, it's messed up. It's hard because I can see why Cabot thought she needed to cover it. But, she just said the totally wrong thing. I mean, I'm not a lawyer, and I could have thought of better things to say. I can see why Liv feels slighted."

"Yeah. It just sucks. I know how happy Alex makes her…for some reason." They both laughed and she could almost hear Elliot's head turn.

"Really? Common Fin."

"I know, I know." Fin paused and took a breath. "They're perfect for each other." Reluctantly, a small smile crept over Olivia's face. She tucked her head back down a little and shifted her hand away from the back of the couch. She closed her eyes slowly and quickly images of a certain blonde crept into her mind.