A/N: Hi everyone. Thank you for hanging on—I've been in a bit of a rut lately, so I apologize in advance. I'm working through (what I think will be) the last 10-20 chapters of this story, and I'm excited about getting to write it for you all. Again, thank you all so much for still reading. You guys are awesome. Enjoy!

Chapter 88

Walker

Alex awoke at once, and laid still for a moment, quietly trying to decipher what had awoken her so suddenly. She didn't feel the normal weight on the bed that signaled Olivia next to her, so she quietly grabbed her glasses on the nightstand and sat up, placing them on her face. She rubbed her eyes and squinted through the darkness before her vision straightened out, allowing her to see Olivia's silhouette standing at the end of the bed. A little frightened, she called out anxiously.

"Liv?" The detective didn't turn around, so Alex approached her slowly, unsure of what was going on. "Olivia? Are you ok?" She reached out and touched her arm, and got no response from her fiancée. Alex wasn't sure what to do, and she didn't think Olivia was a sleepwalker, but approached her again with caution.

Alex heard faint mumbling and Olivia began to lazily wave her arms, as if she was speaking to someone. The attorney leaned in closer, trying to decipher what Olivia was saying, but to no avail. The mumblings were growing a little louder, and sounded a bit more hostile, but Alex noticed a soft touch of her hand calmed Olivia down. Her one-sided conversation grew quieter, and Alex pulled her into a soft hug.

"Come on, baby." Alex took Olivia's hand and pulled her gently toward her side of the bed. She smoothed out a wrinkle in Olivia's t-shirt and kissed her on the cheek before softly putting her back in bed. Olivia laid back down in the bed and stopped her murmuring by the time Alex made her way back around to her side. She slowly slid into the bed next to Olivia and wrapped her arms around the detective, hoping to ease her restless mind.

Just as Alex was nodding off, she felt Olivia turn in her arms and heard her familiar, raspy voice. "Hey." They locked eyes and the detective smiled at the blonde. "You uh, you left your glasses on, sweetheart." Alex smiled shyly and leaned in to kiss Olivia.

"Guess I forgot." She took them off and placed them on the nightstand, worried that her suspicions about Olivia's sleepwalking were confirmed. The detective didn't seem to have any memory of the past ten minutes.

"I love you, Al." By the time Alex had turned back over in bed, Olivia was already asleep again, breathing deeply. Unfortunately, after twenty minutes of tossing and turning, Alex resigned herself to the idea that she would probably be up for the rest of the night, worried about the beautiful sleeping brunette next to her.

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"Don't you want to tell your dad? Or your aunt Charlotte?" Alex and Olivia were sitting together on the small couch in their hotel room, the TV playing a morning show in the background. Olivia held Alex's hand, paying special attention to her ring finger, as she smiled at the attorney.

"Well, yeah. I probably should tell them." Alex glanced down at her hand. "But, maybe tomorrow…For right now, I just want it to be between us." She leaned forward and kissed Olivia, caressing her face as the large diamond sparkled and refracted light around the room. Little did Alex know that Olivia had planned a surprise dinner with her whole family for that night, but she let it go, agreeing that if Alex wanted to keep it between them for right now, that was ok with her.

Olivia stood up and walked into the small kitchen area and started the hotel coffee pot. As she stood waiting for the coffee to brew, she reveled in the thought that Alex was going to be her wife, and a shy smile came over her face.

Alex felt guilty—like she was hiding something from Olivia—when she picked up her phone to see if George had responded. She had texted Dr. Wong earlier in the morning when she couldn't get back to sleep. As she looked, she saw she had an unread message. She quickly unlocked her phone and read, first her message to George, then his response.

Hi George, sorry to bother you so late, but I'm worried about Olivia. I just woke up and I'm pretty sure she was sleepwalking. Nothing crazy, but she was standing up mumbling like she was speaking to someone. Should I be worried?

Alex, I'm sorry to hear you're so worried. Olivia and I have made good progress, but we've still got a ways to go. She may be trying to work through some emotions still, and sometimes sleepwalking does occur in adults if they are subconsciously having some troubles or issues. If you feel comfortable enough, talk to her about it. Let me know how it goes.

Alex locked her phone and thought it over for a few minutes. Surely after how vulnerable they were with each other last night, there really wasn't anything they couldn't say to one another. She watched as Olivia approached with two cups of coffee, and took one when the detective handed it to her.

"Mmm, this is good." Alex sipped the coffee and sat it down on the table next to the couch, before taking Olivia's free hand into her own. She looked down and felt the swollen edge of the detective's pinky. The stitches had dissolved about a week ago, but where they were left a rough, almost crooked swelling on the outside of Olivia's pinky. "Is your finger ok? Looks a little weird."

Olivia scoffed out a laugh. "Well thanks!"

"Oh, come on. You know I'm just worried about you." Alex kissed Olivia on the cheek and summoned up some courage before continuing. "But really, its ok?" Olivia nodded and waited for her to continue, as she could tell there was something else she was going to say. Alex caressed the detective's hands and watched as Olivia sat her coffee cup down between her legs.

"What's up Al? I can tell there's something you want to say…" Olivia seemed curious, but worried about what her fiancée would say.

"You know, Liv, I love you more than I've ever loved anyone, or anything for that matter." Olivia nodded, and furrowed her brow a bit, confused as to where this could be going. "I just worry about you baby, that's all."

"What do you mean?" Olivia sat up a little straighter and smiled a soft smile at Alex. "I'm good, Alex. I have everything I could ever want. What are you worried about?"

The attorney took a breath and exhaled slowly. She didn't know why she was so nervous to talk to Olivia about this, but something pulled at her to just leave it alone. She disregarded her feeling and started speaking. "Liv, are you feeling ok babe?"

A questioning look came over the detective's face. "Yeah…?" Olivia paused and searched Alex's face. "Alex come on, what's wrong?" Her voice became more serious and she leaned closer to the blonde next to her.

"You ever have any trouble sleeping?" Olivia leaned backward a bit, confused by the question, or why it was something Alex was this worried about.

"I mean, I'd be lying if I said no…I'm a cop, babe. Of course I have trouble sleeping. Not all the time, but I mean, it happens. Why are you asking?"

"Liv, you were sleepwalking last night." There was an imperceptible shift in Olivia's golden eyes that no one would have noticed—no one except Alex. She knew she had to continue, to get some more information. "Has that ever happened before?"

Olivia reached back and scratched the back of her neck with a small groan. "Uhh, I don't think so. I mean, not that I know of." Alex wasn't completely sure, but she had a feeling Olivia wasn't being entirely truthful. She decided to drop it, and try to forget about it. After all, they had just gotten engaged, and it was her birthday. And, Olivia was the love of her life, and she wouldn't ever give up on her no matter what. In the grand scheme of things, this was surely a small matter.

"Ok. I just worry about you, Liv…you know?" She smiled at the detective and everything in the world seemed right again when Olivia returned the smile.

"God, you're beautiful" Olivia leaned over and kissed Alex, a shared smile interrupting the couple's kiss.

"So uh, last night…" Alex smiled and looked mischievously toward Olivia.

"Yeah…what about it?" The detective played her excitement off casually, awaiting Alex's response.

"It was…I mean…" Alex threw her hands up and continued, a bold grin adorning her face. "I'm speechless."

"Really?" Olivia was surprised, but happy. "So, it played out how you've thought about it all this time?" The detective thought about it as she fell asleep last night, and hoped that she had done everything Alex wanted.

"Oh yeah! Seriously Liv…that was…wow." They smiled quietly at each other when the familiar ring of Olivia's phone startled both of them and quickly shook the thought of another round with Alex out of Olivia's head.

"God damn it!" She got up off the couch and walked toward the bed, picking up her phone, exasperated. "Benson."

Alex always loved how Olivia answered her phone—her tone of voice, her demeanor. She never told the detective, but it turned her on just hearing it. Alex listened closely to Olivia's side of the conversation.

"Yeah, sure… And Cragen told you to call me?...Yeah….Yeah…Just seal it up till I get there…Central park?...Yeah." She locked her phone and dropped it down on the bed.

"That didn't sound good." Alex stood up and walked toward Olivia, wrapping her in a hug.

"Yeah…" Olivia's voice trailed off. "It's weird because Elliot and I aren't on call this weekend…" she looked over to Alex and kissed her on the cheek. "I'm sorry, Al. I've got to go. But, I've got an idea." Her fiancé's eyebrow did a little dance and Olivia laughed. "You can come with me if you want…I'm not taking this case, just covering the scene for Munch, so I shouldn't be out long." Alex thought over that option. "Or, you could stay here—I got the room for two nights." They both shared a knowing smile. "Or, you could go buy yourself something nice for your birthday…you know, since you wouldn't really let me buy you anything."

Olivia walked toward her side of the hotel bed and found her bag with her clothes in it. She pulled out her dark wash jeans, and her green long sleeve shirt, along with her favorite brown leather jacket. Alex watched as she stepped into a black thong and light blue push up bra, and couldn't help but notice the wiggle in her ass when she slid her jeans up her muscular thighs. Alex only snapped out of her trance when she heard the familiar loading of Olivia's gun and watched her place it on her belt, next to her badge.

"Well, what do you think, sweetheart?"

Alex quickly pulled on her work clothes from the day before and gave Olivia her answer. "I don't want to be away from you today, detective Benson." They both smiled and walked toward the door.

"I promise it won't be long. And then, we will do whatever you want for your birthday, beautiful."

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Alex followed closely behind Olivia as the brunette flashed her badge arriving on the scene. It had been so long since Alex tagged along to a crime scene that she had almost forgotten all of the unspoken rules, and she didn't want to cause any trouble so her plan was to stick as close as she could to Olivia.

"Detective Benson," Olivia signaled to Alex, "this is ADA Cabot. What've we got?"

The responding officer was probably about 25, but didn't look a day older than 17. He was as white as a sheet, and Alex could tell that Olivia noticed. "Uh, unidentified female," the officer swallowed hard, "we've got a witness who said…who said um…"

Olivia reached over and put her hand on his shoulder. She quickly scanned his uniform before she began speaking. "Officer Kendrick, is it?"

The young officer nodded. "Tony, yes, detective." He was out of breath, but not because he had been running. Olivia knew his demeanor all too well.

"This your first body?" He nodded. "Ok. Listen, I want you to just go sit down over there and take a breather. Trust me, I know it's hard. We can talk after I'm done, ok?"

Olivia approached Alex and whispered in her ear. "Would you mind sitting with him? I'm not sure I want you seeing this, either." Alex nodded and immediately felt the same way she did when she watched Olivia put on her bulletproof vest before they stormed Carlson's compound. She so easily forgot that this was Olivia's job every day: bodies, rape, and bulletproof vests.

"No problem." Alex tried to smile, and walked toward the bench that officer Kendrick was headed toward. As Olivia turned around, she hoped that Alex didn't keep her in her sight, but she knew she probably did. She quietly prayed that Alex couldn't see anything that she was about to see.

It had gotten old, seeing dead bodies. Most times, on the way to a crime scene, Olivia wondered if this would be the same run of the mill shooting, or if it would be something far worse. She walked toward the yellow crime scene tape and approached the white blood stained sheet on the ground. Her mind quickly flashed back to the worst crime scene she had ever seen, and hoped the body lying under the sheet wouldn't be anything like what she remembered. She took a pair of latex gloves from the crime scene team and took a deep breath before kneeling down and lifting the sheet.

Alex watched: although she couldn't see the body, she could see Olivia's face, and it told her all she needed to know—this one was bad. Not wanting to look any longer, she tried to maintain a pleasant, distracting conversation with the young officer sitting next to her.

"I don't know how these detectives do it, you know?" He had watched Olivia too, Alex noticed. She nodded, and responded with the only thing she knew to say.

"Yeah. It's horrible to say, but unfortunately, once you see so many bodies, I think you sort of get desensitized to it."

"Does that happen to you too?" He seemed genuinely interested, and it appeared to be taking his mind off his current ill feelings, so Alex tried to hold the conversation.

"Well, by the time things like crime scene photos get to me, I usually know everything that happened, so I get time to prepare myself….I know I could never do their job…I mean, I never have to see it in real life." They both looked over toward Olivia as she peered under the sheet, speaking with the crime scene unit the whole time.

"Yeah. It's different seeing it in real life." He paused. "Hey, is that Olivia Benson?" Alex nodded. "Wow." The attorney had to hide her smile. "She just got a bunch of awards for saving that little girl, right?"

"Yep. That's her."

Five minutes later Olivia stood up and pulled off her latex gloves, which, Alex noticed, were covered in blood. She took a deep breath and turned toward the crime scene team and said a few final words. By the time she got back over to the bench, Alex and officer Kendrick were standing waiting for her.

"Ok, officer, you alright?"

"Yes ma'am, thank you."

"Make sure to keep the scene secure until our ME can get here. We weren't able to get an ID, so if you hear anything, please text me or my partner, Elliot Stabler." She pulled out both of their cards and handed them to the officer. "If you need anything else, please let me know."

He nodded and took the cards. "Yes ma'am, thank you."

"And get some water, Kendrick. The first body is always the worst." Alex followed closely behind Olivia as they walked out of the park clearing.

"Poor guy." Alex smiled and looked toward Olivia. She stared straight ahead and clenched her jaw together tightly. Quickly she snapped out of her daze and replied.

"Yeah. That's tough. Everyone remembers their first." Alex wanted to ask what Olivia thought about the scene, but something was telling her that the normally strong, stoic detective wasn't keen on discussing it right now, so she remained quiet.

"So, birthday girl, what do you want to do today?" The detective got in the car and turned toward Alex, eager to hear her answer. The attorney noticed that her demeanor had just switched off, and she knew detectives had to be like this, as unnatural as it was.

"Well, I'm hungry. So, let's get some lunch. And then…after that…" she thought for a moment. "Honestly, Liv, I just want to be with you, to spend some time with you today."

Olivia smiled shyly and took Alex's hand over the gearshift. "As you wish." And with that, the blonde knew her birthday was truly going to be something special.