It was finally the day that Alex and Olivia had been looking forward to as the IV was removed from Alex's arm and Olivia helped her change from her hospital gown into a comfortable pair of track pants and a matching long-sleeve shirt. Alex sat on the edge of her hospital bed holding Justice in her arms and watching Olivia pack the few belongings Alex had with her in a duffle bag while they waited for Alex to be discharged from the hospital. Alex couldn't wait to be back in the safety of her apartment and resume some form of normalcy with her beloved Mistress. Alex's mind and body were still healing, any form of training was specifically off the table for the time being, but Alex could still figure out some way to make herself useful and be of service. Even now, Alex felt guilty that Olivia was packing her things for her instead of doing it herself, even though Olivia had specifically told her to sit on the bed and rest after Alex tried to go to the bathroom by herself, lost her footing, and nearly knocked herself silly on the bathroom wall. Alex looked up when Olivia's cell phone alerted her that she had a text message.
"Well, baby girl, Elliot is here to take us home as soon as the doctor gets here with your paperwork, which should be any minute now. Can I tell him to come up?" Olivia asked with a smile.
"Yes." Alex agreed with a nod. She had been wary of all of the hospital's male staff members, but she had known Elliot for years and trusted that he wouldn't hurt her.
"Hey, Liv. Car's waiting. Hey, Alex. How are you today?" Elliot walked into the room with a smile.
"Good." Alex gave him a thumb's up.
"I think we're both ready to get out of this room. I mean, seriously, could they have picked a more boring wallpaper?" Olivia said, making Alex giggle.
"Just don't ask me to help them pick out new wallpaper. Kathy wants to change the wallpaper in our bathroom and she's been showing me so many samples, I see wallpaper in my sleep and last night I dreamt I was being chased by an army of wallpaper. What is it with women and decorating? Just pick two colors and go with it, it's not that hard." Elliot shrugged.
"You are such a guy." Olivia rolled her eyes good-naturedly.
They arrived at the apartment building to find the elevator broken, and Olivia sighed.
"I'm sorry, love, I haven't been home since you disappeared and I had no idea the elevator was broken." Olivia apologized, making a mental note to light a fire under the landlord to get the elevator fixed as soon as possible.
Elliot carried the duffel bag while Olivia put her arm around Alex and assisted her in slowly climbing the stairs up to the fourth floor. By the time they arrived on their floor, Alex had tears in her eyes and was whimpering in pain and exhaustion.
"Ow." Alex whimpered.
"That's my good girl. I know it hurts, little one. Just a few more steps then we'll be home and you can relax on the couch. Take your time, easy does it." Olivia encouraged lovingly.
They entered the apartment and Olivia guided Alex over to the couch and settled her to take her shoes off and sit comfortably while Elliot dropped the duffel bag on the floor by the coffee table and went to the kitchen to make both women a cup of tea.
"Okay, you two have absolutely no food in this house." Elliot observed, poking around the mostly empty kitchen.
"They invented this great thing, it's called delivery. Stop snooping." Olivia scolded.
"Ow." Alex winced.
"I'm sorry, baby, I know it hurts. As soon as Elliot leaves, it'll be time for more ointment, then we'll snuggle on the couch and have a movie marathon." Olivia said, chuckling at the expression Alex screwed her face into upon hearing that it was time for more ointment.
"No!" Alex whined.
"Hey, no whining, little one." Olivia scolded lightly.
"NO!" Alex shouted.
"Don't you shout at me, little girl," Olivia scolded more sternly, "you need to stand in this corner and calm down for ten minutes. Put your hands on the wall." Olivia guided Alex over to the corner and guided Alex into the proper position with her hands on the wall supporting herself so she didn't fall over. Olivia could see from the look in Alex's baby blue eyes that she was testing Olivia, and the brunette dominant re-established her authority right from the very beginning.
Olivia went to join Elliot in the kitchen and let out a sigh when Alex started to cry in the corner.
"Stay strong, Liv, stay strong." Olivia scolded herself as she got out two cups to pour the tea.
"I'll let myself out now. By the way, Cragen was able to get Murphy to cover for you after all, and he says your job will be waiting for you whenever you come back." Elliot said.
"Thanks. I'll text you in a few days to check in." Olivia replied.
The ten minutes passed by very slowly, and then Olivia went to coax her crying submissive out of the corner.
"Alex, I have a cup of tea for you, baby. Time-out is over, you were such a good girl to listen so well. Do you want a hug?" Olivia offered lovingly.
Alex burst into a fresh sobs and buried her face in the corner, seemingly fearful to leave the corner.
"It's okay, sweetie, you can come to me. I would love to hold you right now." Olivia coaxed, sitting down on the couch.
Alex slowly turned from the corner and fearfully draped herself across Olivia's lap in the familiar position she had assumed countless times over the years.
"Oh, sweetie, do you remember what I said? You're still healing. You had a time-out which you were a very good girl for, that's all that's going to happen, you don't need a spanking." Olivia said, gently stroking Alex's long blonde hair.
"Ointment." Alex sniffled.
"Oh, I see. Well, in that case, thank you for giving me your bottom like a good girl. Sit up and have your tea first, it will help you relax. After we have our tea, I'll give you your ointment, and then we'll have a movie marathon like I promised."
"Forgive?" Alex whimpered as she obediently sat up and crawled into Olivia's lap, wanting to be cuddled. Olivia welcomed her with open arms and cuddled Alex close to her heart, kissing Alex's forehead.
"Of course I forgive you, my angel. I will always forgive you and you'll always be my good girl." Olivia cooed, gently rocking Alex in her arms and stroking Alex's long blonde hair.
Alex sobbed while Olivia was giving her the ointment, and then crawled back into Olivia's lap to be soothed until her eyes were dry and they spent the next several hours relaxing on the couch and watching movies.
The next morning, Olivia opened her eyes and found Alex's side of the bed empty. She panicked momentarily until she heard noise coming from the kitchen and smelled coffee brewing and she realized that Alex had gotten up early to cook breakfast like she always had. Olivia got out of bed, showered, dressed, and went to the kitchen. Alex was busy preparing breakfast and Olivia smiled at the familiar scene, overjoyed that Alex was home safe. Alex knew that her hands were still weak so she carefully concentrated on not dropping anything. Olivia was careful not to startle Alex as she walked into the kitchen.
"Good morning, my angel." Olivia smiled.
"Morning." Alex beamed and started to kneel at Olivia's feet.
"Hold on, baby. You can kneel, but remember you need your special cushion to protect your knees." Olivia explained, going to retrieve the cushion Monique had given them at the hospital. It was technically for exercising, but Alex could also use it to kneel at Olivia's feet. Monique had also added with a wink that she could testify from personal experience that the cushion felt wonderful on a recently spanked bottom.
Alex carefully knelt on her cushion and kissed the back of Olivia's hand in greeting. Olivia guided Alex to her feet and Alex leaned into the affection as she received a tender kiss to her forehead, nose, and lips and snuggled into Olivia's arms. After breakfast, Alex insisted on cleaning the kitchen by herself without Olivia's help. Cleaning the kitchen after meals had always been one of her chores before her disappearance and Alex was anxious to resume her normal chores and prove to her Mistress that she was worth keeping. Olivia relented and let Alex clean the kitchen by herself, but stayed nearby to watch over her. Alex was a little unsteady on her feet and moved a little slower than she would have liked, but she managed to complete her task. Alex smiled, huffing tiredly, but she couldn't quite manage to feel proud of herself. Six weeks of captivity had taken its toll on her psyche and she felt like no matter how much she accomplished, it would never be enough to convince Olivia to keep her.
"Good girl." Olivia praised with a smile, kissing Alex's forehead.
A few hours later, Olivia had settled Alex at the kitchen table and Alex was fiddling with her wad of silly putty when suddenly there was a knock on the door. Olivia went to open it and was greeted by Abbie Carmichael accompanied by two people that Olivia recognized as SPS Coordinators.
"Liv, I'm really sorry about this. I'm just doing my job." Abbie said apologetically.
"What's going on?" Olivia asked in confusion.
"Captain Benson, I'm Agent Hammond from SPS, this is Agent Lewis. There's been two complaints made against you and we're here to take Alexandra Cabot to SPS until this matter is resolved in court." one of the agents said.
"What the hell?!" Olivia practically shrieked.
"Ms. Cabot, my name is Agent Lewis, we're here to take you somewhere safe." Agent Lewis looked at Alex.
I'm safe HERE, Alex wanted to scream, but she couldn't make her mouth form the words.
"Wait, wait, wait. This is a huge mistake. Alex has been missing for six weeks, she just got out of the hospital a few days ago." Olivia said.
"We're aware she was missing. We're also aware that she disappeared under your watch and based on the complaint we got, we have grave concerns about whether or not your home is the safest place for Alexandra." Agent Lewis said.
"Wait, this doesn't make any sense. Who complained? Legally, I have a right to know." Olivia demanded.
"A man by the name of Dave Kloss and a woman named Michaela Brightman."
Olivia's brain practically exploded with this information. At that moment, Monique showed up for Alex's scheduled therapy session. As soon as she caught wind of what was happening, she jumped in.
"Agents, this is one of my top priority patients. Her body has been put through extreme trauma and she needs to see me every other day to heal properly." Monique said seriously.
"You'll have to come see her down at SPS. Captain, Alexandra needs a few clothes packed in a bag and only a few small personal belongings. Everything else will be provided for her." Agent Hammond said.
Alex burst into hysterical sobs as Olivia led her down the hall to the bedroom. This was it; she was so damaged and broken and had even misbehaved on her first day home, and now Olivia didn't want her anymore. Olivia took Alex in her arms and whispered in her ear.
"Listen to me, baby. I am going to get Daddy on the phone immediately and I am going to come get you out of there as soon as I can. You'll be back home with me before you know it. While you're at SPS, you keep your head down, you do as they tell you, and I am going to come get you as soon as I can. Do you understand?"
Alex nodded, shaking with sobs, not truly believing what she was being told.
"That's my good girl. I love you so much, baby." Olivia kissed Alex's temple with tears of her own streaming down her face.