A/N: This chapter kind of just came to me this morning and I wanted to get it down as quickly as I could. I think it shows some of Olivia's insecurities regarding her lack of a family and how she views Alex's family. I also think it's kind of a good set up for the actual wedding and for further chapters. Thanks again for your kind words in your reviews. Enjoy!

Chapter 63

Elitism

"I can drive if you want." Olivia jingled her keys at Alex as she threw their overnight bag over her shoulder. The attorney shivered-she knew how sexy Olivia was going to look in the outfit, but never considered how she'd look in the outfit driving her own car. As she imagined this, Olivia continued. "Actually, we should probably take your car...This is a Cabot wedding after all, so we don't want to stick out too much, right?" They stepped into the elevator when a hand reached in and stopped the doors as they began to close. Olivia reached to help open the doors and saw her neighbor, Kevin, with his bike.

"Thanks Olivia!" She smiled and moved to make room for his bike. When the doors closed, Olivia turned toward Alex.

"Kev, this is Alex. Not sure you guys have ever actually met before." They shook hands and Kevin smiled, please to finally meet Alex formally.

"Nice to meet you, Alex. It's nice to put a face with a voice." They all looked at each other and laughed, sure that he was referring to the numerous sounds Alex had made when they were in bed. "Hey, Liv, I was wondering if you could take Bandit out with you on your runs this week. I've gotta work a ton and I know he will be antsy."

"Yeah, no problem. I haven't been running much, but I need to get back into it, so yeah I can do it. If I don't run, I'll take him with me wherever I go on a walk or whatever."

"You're a lifesaver. Monday and Tuesday he'll definitely need it and I'll keep you posted on the rest." He paused and noted Olivia's outfit. "Going somewhere fancy? You both look great."

The elevator doors opened and Alex responded. "My cousin is getting married tonight, so we're headed to White Plains."

"Well, have fun! Thanks again Liv for helping me with Bandit."

"No problem. Text me if you need anything else." Olivia extended her hand out towards Alex and the attorney took it, happy that they could be out in public now. If they wanted, they could have walked into the precinct hand in hand and except for the few weird looks and gossip around the water cooler, no one could really say anything about it.

They walked to Alex's car and Olivia lifted the hatch to put their bag inside. When she closed it, the attorney was still standing there, waiting for Olivia to look up. When she did, Alex pulled her close. "Liv, this necklace. It's...it's more than I ever could have ever asked for."

Olivia took Alex's hand into her own. "I'm glad you like it. And, you don't have to thank me for it. I wanted to get it for you."

"Well, I want to thank you for it." Her eyes darkened a bit. "Maybe I can do that tonight." Olivia let go of Alex as the blonde handed her the car keys. She was surprised that Alex wanted her to drive, but she settled into the driver's seat and pulled out of the garage.

Olivia was quiet: she was more comfortable around Alex than she had been with anyone else, ever. But, she had never met anyone in her family except Judge Hermann, and that was only when she testified in his courtroom. Alex noticed that Olivia seemed preoccupied, so she reached over and squeezed the detective's leg, garnering a meek smile.

"Liv, what's up? Are you ok?"

"Yeah." She took a breath. "I just…I'm kind of nervous to meet your family." Alex laughed aloud, throwing her head back on the headrest.

"Why? They'll love you!"

"Well, I hope so…" her voice trailed off.

"Ok. I'll give you the run down." Alex turned toward Olivia, smiling and speaking in a reassuring tone that made Olivia feel a little more relaxed. "So!" She folded her hands in her lap and braced herself for the explanation she was getting ready to start.

"My cousin, Ames, is the one getting married. He met his fiancé, Summer, at Columbia when they were both there for their undergrad. Ames continued on to Yale and Summer took a job in the city—my family met up with her a few times for dinner or whatnot, just to make her feel like she had someone while he was in law school. She's in fashion and, of course, Ames is an attorney. He works mostly in contracts, and has somehow weaseled his way into becoming a sports agent." Olivia's eyebrows twitched. "Yeah, I thought you'd be interested in that." Alex smiled and continued.

"He's a nice guy. And Summer is sweet. You'll like them." She rubbed Olivia's hand reassuringly.

"I'm assuming that we will probably be at a table with my dad, my uncle Bill and aunt Charlotte and their son, Alden. So I'll fill you in on all of them."

"I'll start with my dad, Roger. He, of course, was a practicing attorney for 35 years in the vineyard."

"You grew up in Martha's vineyard?" Alex nodded.

"Yeah. Believe it or not…lot of white collar crime there." She laughed and continued. "So, he's retired now, and he still has the house I grew up in, but he serves on a few committees in the city, so he's got a loft in Tribeca where he spends most of his time." She thought for a few minutes about what else she could say about her father. "Umm…he loves to sail…oh, and he's a Red Sox fan." Olivia had remembered the hat that hung in the kitchen in Alex's house in the vineyard.

Olivia curled her lip a bit and sighed. "Well, I'll have to get over that." They both smiled and Alex continued.

"You know my uncle Bill. Of course, he's a judge. His wife, Charlotte was," she paused, "is my mom's sister." Olivia squeezed Alex's hand tightly: she knew that Caroline Cabot's death affected Alex deeply, but the blonde just squeezed Olivia's hand, smiling gently back at her. "They still live in midtown, and their son, Alden, is a junior at Trinity Prep. He's a good kid. A swimmer, too." Olivia nodded.

"Ok, so next would be Ames' mom and dad. I think there's some sort of unwritten rule in my family that everyone only has one kid. I don't know why, but none of us have any brothers or sisters, just the cousins. So my dad has one brother, Ames' dad, my uncle Russell. And, my mom had—has, one sister, Charlotte—."

"Bill's wife." Olivia chimed in.

"Exactly. So both of my parents had one sibling, but after that, none of them has had more than one kid. My parents had me, Russell and Linda had Ames, and Bill and Charlotte had Alden. So, really it's just the three of us."

Olivia nodded in understanding. "So you have a pretty small family."

"Well, technically, yes. But, my dad and uncle Bill really put themselves out in the public eye, lobbying for issues and putting a democratic slant on things when it wasn't really that popular. They made a lot of enemies, but they also made a lot of friends."

"There are a few people that will probably be there that are considered family. That's really who I count on top of my cousins—there are two women, Sarah and Ava, both attorneys, one is a law professor at Brown and the other practices in Boston, and I've known them since I was probably 3. Our families vacationed together and we were inseparable for the first 13 or 14 years of our lives. After that, you know, you go to high school, grow apart, etc. But, we always stay in touch."

Olivia took a breath and readied herself, trying to recall the information that Alex just relayed to her. "Ok. So, it's you, obviously. Your dad is Roger, your mom, Caroline. Her sister, Charlotte, is Bill's wife and they have one son…uh, the swimmer. Alton? Albert?" Her voice trailed off.

"Close! Alden."

"Alden. Alden Hermann. Got it." Olivia went through the list again. "Caroline and Roger Cabot, Alex Cabot." She nodded at her girlfriend. "Charlotte is married to Judge Herman, son's name is Alden, and he's a junior in high school." Alex nodded. "Russell is your dad's brother. He's married to Linda and Ames is their son who's getting married. Ames Cabot. Marrying Summer. Got it."

"See? Just that easy baby."

"And Ava and Sarah." Olivia added, forgetting the family friends.

"Right."

"What's up with all the A names?"

"You know, I'm not sure. I'm the oldest by like a second, then Ames, then Alden, obviously. I don't know. I'm named after my dad, Roger Alexander. If I remember correctly, my grandfather's middle name was Ames, so there's that. Alden, I don't know about. I don't think it was all intentional."

Olivia nodded. "Not too difficult…and, the oldest by a second?" Olivia laughed, acknowledging that Alex may not have wanted to admit that she was indeed the oldest of her 3 cousins.

"Seriously!" Alex was shocked, laughing aloud. "Ok maybe not a literal second, but precisely one day. Ames was born on October 1st." Olivia conceded, bowing her head a bit after Alex's explanation. The blonde noticed Olivia seemed a little more relaxed, but there was still something bothering her.

"Liv, honey, what's wrong? I know you're nervous meeting my family, but there's no reason for you to be."

"No reason? Alex they're all lawyers." Olivia sounded defeated, almost as if she couldn't win in the situation.

"Ok…so…? I'm a lawyer, so what…?"

"I mean, I'm just…" she took a breath. As she sighed, she ran her hand through her hair. "I'm just a cop, Al. I don't want—."

"Olivia! Stop. Seriously." Alex was angry, and it made Olivia nervous. She hadn't ever seen Alex snap like that before. Olivia sat back and cruised down the highway, knowing they were probably only about 20 minutes out. She turned on the radio and tuned it to a familiar station, turning it up a little louder than usual, just in case Alex was thinking about saying anything else.

Olivia knew Alex wasn't embarrassed about her job, but in a family full of Ivy League educated attorneys, she was nervous that they wouldn't think Olivia was good enough for Alex. She sat back and thought about how it would be to propose to Alex and not have the support form her family—she'd be devastated.

About ten minutes passed in complete silence, until Alex turned the volume down on the radio and looked toward Olivia. "Liv." She waited for the detective to acknowledge that she heard her. "I am," she searched for the right words, "ridiculously proud of the work that you do. And, to be honest, I'm a little offended that you think my family is so elitist that they would look down on you for being a detective. You think that because we all went to law school we think that we're better than everyone?"

Olivia thought for a minute—she hadn't even considered how her comment would make Alex feel. She exited the highway and listened to the GPS as it guided them to the wedding venue. They stopped at a red light and Olivia turned to Alex.

"No, of course I don't think that. I'm sorry, Alex. I didn't mean for it to sound like that. I was just…" Her voice trailed off.

"It's ok, Liv. Listen, I know you. And, I know that you have this 'I'm not good enough,' complex." She paused for a minute. "But, Olivia, you are. You always have been, and you always will be."

Olivia took Alex's hand in hers as she turned the wheel onto a private drive. A large rustic white barn came into view and Alex's Mercedes rolled onward, pulling into a defined parking spot in the grass. She turned toward Alex.

"I'm sorry. I love you Alex. I just want to make a good impression."

"I know baby. They'll love you. Just be yourself. And trust me…" she paused, pulling the lapel on Olivia's blazer, "you've already made a good impression. On me, at least." Her eyes traced Olivia's outfit, down to her boots. "You ready?"

Olivia took a breath and got out of the car, walking around to the passenger side to open the door for Alex. She watched as the blonde's black heels balanced on the gravel drive, as she extended her elbow for Alex to hook around. "As ready as I'll ever be." She took a deep breath and Alex's took her hand, lacing their fingers together. She rubbed her other arm up and down Olivia's elbow as they walked, hand in hand, toward the barn.