A/N: Hi! This chapter just sort of came to me today at work and I picked up a pen (gasp) and it all just kind of flowed out of me. Then I had to come home and type it all out—ha! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I think it is a little glimpse inside Olivia's insecurities regarding family and her concerns with some things that she and Alex don't really know about each other. It's somewhat heavy, but has a feel-good resolution, which I love with these two. Enjoy!

Chapter 80

Family

"Hey." It was a soft, but alert greeting that Alex was happy to hear. She looked up from one of her law books and saw Olivia, leaning on the doorframe, a candy bar in her hand. The strong brunette took a few steps and extended her hand, lightly tossing the candy on Alex's desk. "Thought I'd bring you this."

Alex started to unwrap the candy bar, and she watched as Olivia sat down in the chair across from her desk. "So," she took a bite, "need to sweeten me up for some reason?" Alex smiled and Olivia chuckled.

"No, just saw it upstairs in the machine and knew it was your favorite." Olivia winked at Alex, who pointed toward her shirt as she was chewing.

"I meant to ask you about that earlier." Alex paused and Olivia looked down at her shirt. "Doesn't seem very 'business casual.'"

"Yeah…that's kind of why I came down here. Elliot texted me late last night and told me that he had two tickets to the game tonight." She drew out this sentence, hesitantly thinking that Alex would be reluctant about her going to the game. "I'm sorry we can't have dinner togeth—."

"Liv, please." She waved her hand with the half eaten candy bar wrapper wagging at her. "That'll be fun. I'm sure it'll be good for you and Elliot to spend some time together."

Olivia nodded and made her way over to Alex's side of the desk. "Yeah, it'll be good. And, if the Yankees win, it'll be really fun." The blonde smiled and offered Olivia a bite of her chocolate, raising it up to the detective's mouth.

"Oh, no." Olivia waved her hand toward Alex.

"Common, just take a bite." Alex raised her eyebrows and pushed the candy back up towards the detective.

"I've gotta lose some weight, Al." Olivia placed her hand over her stomach. "These injuries haven't helped me, trust me."

"Oh, come on, Olivia!" Alex stood up and glanced at the door. Noticing that it was closed, she smiled and reached her hand underneath Olivia's t-shirt, untucking her camisole from her jeans. Olivia groaned as she felt Alex's cool, soft hand glide over her abs. Quickly, Olivia pulled her shirt down, moving Alex's hand away from her midsection.

"Common' Alex, seriously." The blonde smiled and sat back down. She watched as Olivia tucked her undershirt back in and leaned on Alex's desk, looking down on the attorney.

"You know, Olivia, I've got to tell you…," Alex paused as her eyes took in the sight next to her. "Sometimes when you're swimming, or working out, or if you just wear a sports bra, your boobs…I mean, they look good, don't get me wrong." She paused and stood up, pulling Olivia close. "But, there's something about the way they look in a push up, and in this tight shirt." Alex's eyes wandered across her chest, taking in the sight of Olivia's breasts under her dark blue V-neck shirt with the Yankees logo over her chest.

"Alex!" Olivia's eyes widened and a smile spread across her face as her cheeks became flushed. She turned around and pulled herself away from Alex's grasp, walking around and sitting back down in the chair across from the desk, a sly grin on her face.

"I feel like I should be a little jealous of Elliot tonight." Alex sat back down in her chair and rested her elbows on her desk.

"What? Why?" Olivia scoffed and crossed her legs, listening intently.

"Well, I mean, look at you." Alex took in the sight: Olivia looked more feminine than she normally did, but it was a carefree look, not like she was trying too hard. Alex's eyes noted her low cut white Chuck Taylor shoes and her light blue jeans that were just the right size. Her brown belt peeked out below her Yankees shirt, and as her eyes moved up, Alex noticed her make up. She wore the same minimal amount, but there was just something about her eyes. The golden brown orbs stared back at her, accentuated by black eyeliner and a little bit of mascara.

"What does that mean?" Olivia was smiling as she asked this question—she knew Alex was examining her, and she could admit that she put a little extra effort into her outfit today, hoping to make a good impression on Alex's dad later that night.

"You just…you look really good." Alex smiled as Olivia thanked her. The attorney noticed that Olivia didn't get up, and as much as she would love for Olivia to stay there all day, she knew the detective usually just spent a few moments in her office. "You ok baby?"

Olivia noticed the inquisitive look on Alex's face. She didn't know how to approach the topic, but it was important that Alex know everything—she wanted Alex to be her wife, and she needed to know about this part of her life. She leaned forward in her chair and repositioned her body, uncrossing her legs as she looked toward Alex. "So, I don't really know how to start this conversation, but…" her voice trailed off.

Alex reached her hand out onto her desk and took Olivia's into her own. "You can tell me anything, Liv." She watched as the detective smiled sadly, and she couldn't help but think that whatever was coming was heavy.

"So do you remember when we both finally admitted that we loved each other and we started talking about everything? You know, after I got shot." Alex nodded, and Olivia looked into her cool blue eyes, sympathetically prying her for information. "You asked me shortly after that about what happened while you were gone, or about what was new with me—things that you didn't know." Alex nodded again, worried about what she was going to hear. The last thing that she wanted to hear was that Olivia had been in a long-term relationship or something like that, but she was hanging on.

"This is kind of a long story, but I'll give you the short versio—."

"Give me the long one." Alex stood up and extended her hand to Olivia, who took it, and allowed herself to be led to the couch. They both sat down, facing each other, and Alex took Olivia's hands into her own, encouraging her to continue.

"So, you know about my mom, and about the circumstances surrounding my birth…" Olivia never liked to elaborate on this, and Alex knew that. The blonde nodded. "Well, while you were gone, Elliot and I were working on a case, and I ran my DNA through a kinship analysis test." Alex felt her heart drop. Olivia paused and looked toward Alex.

"Alex I don't…" she took a breath. "I'm not…I didn't—." She felt Alex's hand on hers.

"Liv, just tell me. You can tell me anything, baby."

Olivia look a deep breath and let it out, calming herself. "I don't want to let you down." Alex returned a questioning look. "You always talk about how proud you are of me, that I'm a good detective…"

"And you are, Olivia." Alex's hand cupped Olivia's knee, rubbing reassuring circles.

"Ok. I've just got to get it out." Olivia took a breath and Alex braced herself. "I skated around some legalities and ran my DNA through the system and found out that my biological father had another child. A son. I have a half-brother." Alex didn't know what to say, but she didn't have to think too long before Olivia continued. "He was a suspect in a rape—he didn't do it, but he skipped on bail. And, I guess I want to tell you all of this because I want you to know that while you were gone I was investigated because of my role in the whole thing."

Alex was confused. "What do you mean 'your role?' Did you help him skip bail?"

"No!" She paused. "I mean, I didn't mean to help him… I gave him some money to help him out, but I didn't know that he was skipping out on his bail. I should have known." Alex nodded. She understood where Olivia was coming from, as much as she wanted to scold her for doing what she did—this was the only family Olivia had.

"So, he was eventually found not guilty, and thankfully, I didn't get in much trouble." Alex waited for her to finish—she felt like there was more coming. "So, after that, he moved in with his fiancée and her son, and they had a baby girl together. They named her Olivia." A small smile tugged at the detective's lips and Alex's heart melted. "But, then he got in some more trouble because of some racist cop that pulled them over. His fiancée is black and this cop made a traffic stop and saw a white guy with a black woman with two mixed-race kids and wanted to give them some trouble."

Alex didn't like the sound of where this was going—not because of Olivia's brother, but because she knew, all too well, that some cops could do whatever they want without many repercussions. "Her son had a bruise on his face so the cop called CPS and ordered them to investigate. So, they did a home visit and took the kids away." Olivia's voice cracked, and Alex's heart broke for her as she watched the normally strong detective try to finish the story. "I hired Ellis and he made a case for them. Everything was going well until…"

Alex took Olivia's hands into her own, encouraging her to continue. "Until what, sweetheart?"

The sincerity in Alex's voice pulled at Olivia's heart. She took a breath and continued. "He came to me and kept asking if I could help get the kids out of foster care—if there was anything I could do. Alex, I had done everything I could. There wasn't anything else. He just had to wait a few more days until everything went through with the paperwork, and they would have gotten them back."

"What happened?"

"They found out where the kids were and took them." Alex shook her head. "So, long story short, I have a half-brother, and a niece. But, he's been in a lot of trouble—mostly undeserved."

"So, I assume the kids are still in foster care?" Alex was sympathetic.

"Well, no. The kids are with his fiancée. But, he's on probation and not allowed to see them for three years. We are in year two of three. And…" Olivia paused. "I guess he uhh…I guess he doesn't need anything from me anymore because I haven't heard from him." Alex could see the pain in her eyes, and before she could say anything, Olivia started speaking again. "I know this was kind of out of the blue, but," she turned completely toward Alex, holding both of the attorney's hands in her own, "I want to be with you forever, Alex. And, I know that there's still small things that we might not know about each other from when you were in WITSEC or whatever, but I wanted you to know that."

There was a noticeable pause before Olivia squeezed Alex's hands.

"I want to be with you, Alexandra. I want to wake up to you every morning, and hopefully, one day, I want to be able to call you my wife." Alex smiled and looked down at their conjoined hands. "And, I didn't want this to be something that just sprung up—because, that seems to be what Simon is best at…just popping out of nowhere." Olivia stopped abruptly and tucked a stray hair behind Alex's ear. "I uh, I'm not very good at the 'family' thing. But, I wanted you to know about Simon, and about what I've done in the past for him."

Alex sat silently for a moment before she reached up to Olivia's face, cupping her cheeks in her hands. "Olivia Benson, listen to me very carefully. There are very few things that you could say to me that would cause me to have any doubt whatsoever about you, or about the fact that I want to be with you. And, to be honest, even those few things might be able to be explained." She smiled a bit as she brushed a small piece of hair over Olivia's eyebrow with her hand. "I know you, Olivia. You seem to forget that sometimes." They exchanged smiles. "And, I know how you are. I don't want you to worry about family. Because, at the end of the day, Liv, I'm your family…Elliot is your family, and my family will be your family too. I love you." She leaned forward and placed a small, delicate kiss on Olivia's lips, smiling at the detective as she pulled away.

"I love you too. Thank you for hearing all of this, and for being so understanding." They got up and walked back toward Alex's desk, the attorney taking her seat behind it, and Olivia standing next to her. "I really don't deserve you."

Alex held up the last square of her chocolate, placing it near Olivia's mouth. The detective smiled and took it between her teeth, breaking off a small piece through a smile. She shook her head and swallowed the chocolate, commenting as she was leaving. "You're killing me, Alex." She turned when she reached for the doorknob, opening the door. "I'm really going to miss you tonight."

"I'm going to miss you too. But have fun. And, go Yankees!" Alex laughed but then raised her voice to catch Olivia's attention as she was leaving her office. "Hey! Don't ever tell my dad I said that!" Olivia smiled as she heard this exclamation as she walked down the hall—if only Alex knew she'd be seeing Roger in a few hours.