A/N: I know I say this all the time, but you guys are seriously awesome. I love writing a chapter one night and being able to read reviews and comments the next day when I wake up—it always starts my day off on a great note. We are getting closer to the conversation with Alex's dad, but even closer, the meeting with the reporter! Enjoy!

Chapter 78

Donnelley

Alex looked toward Olivia as the detective collapsed into the passenger seat. "You look tired." Her voice was caring, compassionate. Olivia smiled and rubbed her eyes: it was only 10:15, but she felt like it was 3AM.

"I'm tired. But, I'm just happy all of this is over." She glanced toward the restaurant as they passed it on the right. "You know? I mean, I'm happy its back open. And I know Max is too…just ready for things to be back to normal."

Alex nodded and laced her fingers in between Olivia's, resting her hand on the detective's strong thigh. The ride was quiet, peaceful. Olivia examined Alex's hand, stroking her thumb over the dainty alabaster skin. Alex smiled as she focused on the road: feeling Olivia's hand caressing her own was one of her favorite sensations, and if it were possible, she would be happy to feel it every second of every day. She wasn't expecting to hear Olivia's voice, so when she did, it startled her.

"Well you—," Olivia felt Alex jump. "You ok?" She laughed.

"Yeah, I just wasn't expecting you to say anything." Alex pushed out this thought through her laughter. "Sorry, Liv. What were you going to say?"

"I was just going to say you obviously have an admirer in the Stabler family."

"Yeah! And who would have thought that it would be Elliot Stabler Junior!" They both laughed as Olivia started speaking.

"Well, technically, I'll let you in on a little secret." Olivia lowered her voice. "Elliot is Elliot's middle name. So, officially, Dickie is Richard Elliot Stabler Jr." She took a breath. "But, Elliot will kill me if he knew I told you that. So keep that on the low." Alex laughed and nodded, squeezing Olivia's hand.

"Kids normally don't bother with me—I never really understood why. I think it's because I just exude…what's Munch call me? The Ice Queen? Maybe it's the iciness." Alex jokingly wiggled her fingers in a bewitching sort of way.

"No way. Elliot's kids love you. Hell, Eli probably would have come home with us if you asked him." Olivia chuckled and Alex shrugged toward her, agreeing that maybe she was right.

Well, I guess everyone can't be as great with kids as the Olivia Benson." Olivia rolled her eyes as Alex continued. "But really, how do you get kids to love you so much? I've never seen a kid that doesn't have a soft spot for you."

Olivia blushed a little and tucked her head down toward her chest, gazing at Alex's hand intertwined with her own. "You know, I've been doing my job a long time. You just have to treat kids like they want to be treated—that's the one thing I've learned. You know, 12 year olds don't want you to coddle them, and you can't expect a 4 year old to do everything on their own." She took a breath, and thought silently. "I've been lucky." Olivia paused. "But, I'm sure that there are some kids that don't like me…trust me."

"That's crap. They love you." Alex watched a smile spread across Olivia's face, and she couldn't think of a better time than now to approach this topic. "So, have you ever thought about having a family of your own one day or…?"

"Well, I guess that depends on who it was with." She smiled at Alex and the blonde felt familiar butterflies stir in her stomach. "But, I've been back and forth. I haven't really thought much about it much. What about you?"

"I'm kind of in the same place. I used to think I didn't want kids, but I'm coming around on the idea. I guess I'm undecided." Alex paused. "But, I've got to admit, seeing you with Elliot's kids makes me feel very…" as Alex searched for the right word, she eyed the detective's slight cheekbones and her defined jaw. Olivia jumped in, curious as to what Alex was thinking.

"Verryyy…? What?"

"Maternal." Alex glanced over to Olivia, who donned a content smile as she looked out the window, watching the familiar scenery pass by.

"Well, I'll tell you one thing, Ms. Cabot…" Olivia leaned over and kissed Alex's cheek, working her way down towards her neck as she whispered the rest of her thought in the blonde's ear. "If you ever did decide to have any kids…you'd definitely be a milf." Alex's mouth fell open as both of them chuckled.

"Oh really?" Alex pulled into the parking garage and locked the black SUV as Olivia reached for her hand. They walked toward the elevator and waited for the doors to open. The attorney turned to Olivia as they watched the descending floors light up. "Well?"

Olivia had forgotten what Alex had asked, but quickly remembered when the blonde looked at her the way she did. "Oh! Definitely a milf. Trust me."

"You into milfs, detective?"

Olivia didn't know how to lie her way out of this one, but quickly a thought sprang to her mind. "I'm into you."

"Nice." Alex knew Olivia had a thing for moms, but it was funny how she tried to avoid the question. "Well, it's a good thing you're not a man, because I'm sure I'd be pregnant by now." Olivia laughed out loud as they entered the elevator, agreeing to her point, as Alex smiled. "Anyways, enough of the milf talk…although I'm happy to know you'd still love me after I gained twenty pounds." Alex dug in her purse, looking for the apartment keys when she felt Olivia's hands on her.

"Alexandra," Olivia took the blonde's face into her hands, "I will love you no matter what—20 pounds, 200 pounds, who cares." She kissed Alex deliberately on her lips, pushing her against the wall of the elevator. The blonde relaxed back into the wall and caught her breath when Olivia pulled away. "And besides, the fact that you'd want to carry our kids…" Olivia paused. "Well…how could you love me more?"

The elevator doors opened and Alex cleared the lump that had gathered in her throat as she flipped through the keys to their apartment. She found the plain silver key and unlocked the door, feeling an irrepressible feeling arise in her chest. Olivia walked in behind her and as soon as she heard the door shut, Alex turned and pulled the detective into her arms. Her hands immediately found Olivia's shoulder blades as she curled her arms around the strong detective, kissing her emphatically. Olivia's hands encircled the blonde's slender neck, her thumbs resting down the middle, feeling the vibration when Alex moaned approvingly through their kiss. Olivia felt the heat radiate into her heart when she sensed the emotion through Alex's lips. A moment after they parted, Alex wore a wide smile.

"What?" Olivia couldn't help but catch the contagious smirk.

"Nothing. I just love you, that's all." Olivia smirk turned to a full-on smile, as she felt her face redden.

"I love you too, Al."

A half hour later Olivia walked out of the shower and towel dried her hair before she stepped into her Sienna sweatpants and a t-shirt. She examined her face in the mirror: almost all of the yellowing was gone underneath her eye and over her nose. Serena's was finally open, her finger was fixed, and her injuries were mostly healed—she knew it was time to take the next step with Alex, and she couldn't wait until she met Roger to talk with him.

Olivia put her glasses on and ran a quick hand through her hair as she exited the bathroom. "Wow." Alex looked up from her iPad. "You are just…" Olivia searched for the proper word, "so beautiful, Alex." The blonde sat up in bed, her hair in a ponytail, as she leaned over her iPad, scrolling through Instagram. Alex wasn't big on social media, but she loved photography, and indulged in this addiction most nights before she went to sleep.

She locked her iPad and took her glasses off, placing them delicately on her nightstand. Olivia smiled as she slinked into bed, noticing Alex was wearing one of her shirts. "So," the detective started the conversation as she pulled Alex close. "What do you think about this reporter?"

Alex rolled her eyes. "Ugh, Liv. I honestly don't know. Obviously I'm mad about the press conference, but…" her voice trailed off.

"There was just something about her." Alex raised her eyebrow at Olivia's comment. "No, not like that. I just mean—for some reason—I believed her."

"I know what you mean." They locked eyes and Olivia kissed Alex as the attorney pulled Olivia's glasses off. "But, I don't want to think about that now. We'll figure it out tomorrow." They snuggled into each other, Alex pulled closely into Olivia's chest. After a few moments of silence, Alex's ears perked up when she heard Olivia's raspy sleep-laden voice speaking softly above her.

"I uh, I know that we were kind of just talking—," she reexamined her words, "well, discussing our ideas earlier…about the future, but I just want you to know…" Alex pulled away from Olivia, looking into her eyes as the detective finished her thought. "If you decide one day that you do want to have kids, I want you to know that I think having a family with you would make my life better than I could have ever believed." Alex began to say something, but Olivia started again. "And, if you decide that you just want it to be the two of us, I know that you will make me happier than I could ever imagine…because you already have."

Alex smiled and pulled Olivia close, kissing her neck. She spoke as she wrapped her arms around the detective's strong body, shimmying her body ever closer. "God, how did I get so lucky?" Olivia smiled and kissed the side of her head.

"Trust me, I'm the lucky one. Goodnight. I love you."

"I love you too. Goodnight, sweetheart."

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Olivia walked back in the precinct with Elliot around 11, having just visited a rape victim in her apartment. She made her way around her desk and sat down, noticing a small note under a coffee cup.

Liv,

I thought you might want some coffee that tasted better than the precinct coffee.

XOXO

Alex

There was a small heart drawn at the end of Alex's name, and Olivia smiled at the doodle. She took a sip of her drink as she took out her phone.

Well, this is definitely better than the coffee John made this morning. Thank you!

She sat back and took another drink, looking towards Elliot. He displayed a scone in his hand, a smile beaming across his face. Olivia's attention was torn away from her partner by her phone vibrating.

You're welcome. I'm glad you like it!

Elliot says thanks too.

Olivia added a smiley face and downstairs, Alex laughed—the blonde knew that Elliot had a soft spot for any kind of pastry, because every time Olivia had one, she always ate half and gave him the other half. Alex opened her phone to respond as she saw Liz Donnelley open her office door. She hurriedly finished her text message and welcomed her boss into her office.

Hey, could you come down here really quickly?

"Judge Donnelley, how are you?"

The older blonde sat down in the chair across from Alex, placing her briefcase on the floor next to her. "I'm alright. Busy. What's going on? What did you need?" Alex had emailed her earlier that day, and knew that her boss was in a hurry, but she needed to stall her for just a few moments.

"So, I wanted to talk to you for a second, but I need to wait for Oliv—." Before she could finish, Olivia walked through the door, a questioning look on her face. "Hey, Liv, close the door for a second if you wouldn't mind." She did so and took the seat next to Liz Donnelley, looking across at the familiar blue eyes staring back at her.

"So, Liz, I wanted to talk to you about…" Alex dug in her filing cabinet, and pulled out a single sheet of paper, "this." She slid the agreement over to Donnelley, as the judge looked from Olivia back to Alex. She took the paper into her hand and scanned it over quickly before she placed it back down on the desk.

"What about it?" She didn't seem to notice anything.

"Well, I was looking over the documents for Conrad's hearing, and noticed that the date on this seems to be a little…off." Alex tilted her head, making quick eye contact with Olivia before turning her attention completely to Donnelley.

"Alright, listen." She turned toward Olivia, lowering her voice significantly. "I like both of you, very much. Alex, I've known you for forever, and Olivia, we've worked together throughout the years, and I know you both do things by the book." She paused, rethinking her words—over the years there had been a few times when both of the women next to her had scooted around the rules for their own benefit, but she was ignoring that at the current moment. "When the press conference debacle happened, I thought it would just be easier for you two if I pulled a few strings and helped you out here."

Olivia took the opportunity to jump in. "Judge Donnelley, you didn't have to do—."

"Olivia, it's done!" She wasn't frustrated, but Olivia knew not to push the point.

"Well, I just want to thank you…and, between the three of us, I want to say that you have made things much easier." Alex smiled toward Donnelley and the judge nodded toward her, a small smile pulling at her tough façade.

"You're welcome. It's the least I could do. Even if it was a little," she gathered her belongings as she headed toward the door, "unethical. Have a good day, you two." She opened the door and left, letting it shut loudly as she made her way down the hall. Olivia sat back and crossed her legs.

"Well, seems like falsifying legal documentation isn't too big of a deal to ole' girl!" They both laughed and Alex watched the way Olivia's smile lit up her face, her eyes glowing that familiar golden hue. Alex sat back and observed the detective: she was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans secured to her waist with a black leather belt. On her belt her gun and badge stuck out, her white long sleeve blouse tucked behind both items. Alex could trace the outline of her bra underneath her shirt, and noticed the small pink scar that adorned her olive skin just above her collarbone. Olivia's voice pulled Alex out of her daze.

"Not funny? I must have lost it."

Alex chuckled. "No, it was funny Liv. I was just…" her voice trailed off, as Olivia's questioning face found hers. "Sorry, I was just," she took a breath, "you are so..." Alex stopped again, taking a breath, "sexy." It was a sigh, mixed with a moan, and Alex smiled as soon as it left her lips.

Olivia wasn't expecting that. She tucked her head down and twiddled her thumbs over each other, smiling a bit. She stood up and walked over to Alex, pulling her into her arms. "You, Alexandra, are beautiful." Olivia kissed Alex softly, smiling as they parted. "Busy day?"

"I've got a few things to do, but no, not too busy. You?"

"Elliot and I just finished interviewing someone, so unless something else comes up, probably not." Alex smiled and pulled Olivia close, placing a kiss on the detective's cheek. "Maybe we can have a meeting of our own at home before we go to Serena's?" Her eyebrow danced as Alex's face reddened.

"Play your cards right, detective, and maybe we can do that." Olivia released Alex and headed toward the door.

"I love you." She pulled the door open and walked through it, hearing Alex reply as it closed completely.

"Love you too, Benson."