Three minutes seemed to drag into three hours, but finally Olivia removed the bar of soap from Alex's mouth and kissed her forehead.
"There, you are all forgiven, little one. Rinse, baby." Olivia stepped aside to allow Alex access to the sink.
Alex didn't wait to be told twice, she jumped up and spent several minutes rinsing her mouth with water until the awful soapy taste was about as diluted as it was going to get. She threw herself into Olivia's open arms and apologized profusely through her heavy sobbing.
"I know, sweetheart. I know you're sorry. There, there, my good girl, it's all over now. All done and forgiven. Such a good girl, you were so brave, baby." Olivia soothed as she gently led Alex back into the bedroom and sat with her back against the headboard. Alex climbed practically on top of her to be cuddled, sobbing on Olivia's shoulder, clinging to her beloved Mistress for dear life. Olivia cuddled Alex close to her heart, being careful to keep Alex's spanked bottom off the rough material of her jeans while she comforted and soothed the sobbing blonde with tender kisses and gentle words.
"That's my good girl." Olivia cooed as Alex slowly began to calm in her arms, and if Alex wasn't still sobbing she'd beam.
Alex didn't remember falling asleep in Olivia's arms, and she woke up tucked into bed on her belly with a light sheet covering her. Alex winced and gently rubbed her bottom, despite knowing it was against the rules. She went in search of her panties and then crawled out of the bedroom in search of Olivia, craving the love and forgiveness she knew she would find in her beloved Mistress's arms. Olivia was sitting on the couch and looked up when she heard a noise, smiling lovingly when she saw Alex crawling toward her. With tears in her baby blue eyes, Alex kissed Olivia's feet and then laid her head in Olivia's lap.
"Is it a sore bottom, little one?" Olivia gently stroked Alex's long blonde hair.
"Yes, Ma'am." Alex sniffled.
"Good. We'll say no more about this, then. It's all forgiven. While you were sleeping I ordered pizza, it should be here in about forty five minutes. Would you like another cuddle, baby?" Olivia opened her arms.
Alex eagerly snuggled on Olivia's lap and laid her head on Olivia's shoulder.
"That's my good girl." Olivia praised, gently kissing Alex's forehead.
"Ma'am?" Alex's voice pierced the peaceful silence.
"Yes, baby?" Olivia gently stroked Alex's long blonde hair.
"I'm afraid to go outside. Please don't make me." Alex pleaded as Olivia gave her another kiss.
"I know you're scared, baby, and it's okay to be scared. It doesn't make me happy to force you to do anything, but the trial will start in two weeks and you have to go outside to get to the courthouse. We'll start with tiny baby steps; this evening we'll go out and just sit on the fire escape, we'll set our goal for just thirty minutes. I will be with you the whole time. How does that sound?"
"Will you hold my hand?" Alex asked fearfully.
"Until the end of time, my love."
"What if someone wants to hurt me?"
"If someone wants to hurt you, they're going to have to go through me. I don't fight fair, I have a taser and a gun." Olivia smiled, and Alex giggled.
"Yes, Ma'am. I'll try." Alex agreed.
"That's my good girl."
That evening, Olivia set a timer for thirty minutes and they went out to sit on the fire escape. Alex held on tightly to Olivia's hand and Olivia could practically feel Alex's anxiety radiating off of her. Olivia put her arm around Alex and kissed her temple.
"It's okay, little one. I'm right here, you just hold my hand as tight as you need to. I'm so proud of you. You're such a good girl." Olivia praised.
Alex beamed at Olivia's praise and leaned into her affection.
"Ellen!" Somebody shouted.
"Get your damn beer yourself, Joe!" somebody else shouted back.
"Sounds like the Calhouns haven't killed each other yet." Olivia chuckled.
"Do you think she'll ever convince him to get his own beer?" Alex giggled.
"Considering that she's been yelling at him to get his own beer since they moved in the building fifteen years ago, not a chance." Olivia grinned.
When the timer went off, they went back inside and Olivia showered Alex with praise and they curled up on the couch to watch TV for a while. When it was time, the dominant brunette sent the blonde submissive to the bedroom to get changed for bed with a gentle spank to her bottom. Alex obediently changed into her pajamas and knelt down on her mattress on the floor to wait for her Mistress. Olivia walked into the bedroom, changed into her own pajamas, and squatted down next to Alex.
"Such a good girl. Are you going to be okay down here just for tonight?" Olivia asked kindly, gently stroking the side of Alex's face.
"Yes, Ma'am, I can handle it. I got a spanking today, so this is where I belong tonight." Alex replied.
"That's my good girl. Lie down properly, baby. If you get scared during the night, you wake me up, do you understand?" Olivia gently covered Alex with her blanket.
"Yes, Ma'am. Can… uh…" Alex blushed lightly.
"You can ask me for anything, little one. What is it?" Olivia asked kindly.
"Can we leave the bathroom light on, just for tonight?" Alex asked shyly, and received a tender kiss to her forehead.
"Yes, my angel, we can definitely do that. What do you do if you get scared tonight?"
"Wake you up."
"Good girl. Go to sleep now, princess."
Olivia turned on the bathroom light and closed the bathroom door, leaving it slightly ajar so a sliver of light shone through. Olivia climbed into bed and laid awake for a while until she heard Alex's breathing even out, indicating that the blonde had fallen asleep.
A blood-curdling scream woke Olivia up a few hours later. Olivia bolted out of bed and was by Alex's side in a flash. Alex was sitting upright on her mattress sobbing heavily.
"It's okay, baby girl. I'm right here. You're safe, my love."
"NO! NO MORE! PLEASE!" Alex screamed, still trapped in her nightmare.
"You're safe right here in my arms, little one. No one is going to hurt you, I promise. You just had a nightmare. I am right here holding you." Olivia cooed lovingly, holding Alex in her arms.
"Please, Ma'am, not the whip! Please not the whip! Please! I'll be a good slut!" Alex sobbed.
"There, there. No whipping for my sweet girl, I promise. You just had a nightmare, baby. You're safe, and you are definitely not a slut. Come here, let's get you in bed and see if we can get you calmed down a bit."
Olivia sat in bed with her back against the headboard. Alex was still sobbing as she draped herself across Olivia's lap. Olivia reached underneath Alex's tank top to gently rub her heaving back.
"You aren't in any trouble, sweetheart. Not even the least little bit. You didn't do anything wrong, you just had a nightmare."
"I'm not allowed to scream." Alex sobbed.
"If you need to scream, you are absolutely allowed to scream, my love. I will never punish you for crying or screaming. Come here, little one." Olivia turned Alex face up on her lap and cuddled the sobbing blonde close to her heart.
It took a while, but Alex finally stopped sobbing so hard and was just whimpering quietly as Olivia rocked her.
"That's my good girl. My sweet angel." Olivia cooed lovingly, rhythmically patting Alex's pajama-clad bottom to soothe her until Alex fell asleep in her arms.
The next day, Olivia sat on the couch making several phone calls. When she hung up the phone, she called out to Alex who was in the kitchen.
"Honey, finish what you're doing then come here to me."
"Yes, Ma'am." Alex called back almost instantly.
Alex completed the chore she was working on, then she went over to where Olivia sat and dropped to her knees at Olivia's feet.
"Baby, I've made a few calls and I got you an appointment this afternoon with a Dr. Lindstrom. Since you aren't living at the Transition Station anymore, you can't see any of their therapists, so we'll have to find one of our own. Would you be willing to go just once and talk to him?" Olivia asked, praying that she wouldn't have to force the issue. Alex bit her lip nervously.
"Will you go with me?"
"Of course I will. I don't have to sit in your session with you if you don't want me to, I can sit in the waiting room, but I will take you there and bring you home."
"Yes, Ma'am, if it will please you I will go."
"That's my good girl. We don't have to leave for a few hours. Until then, I have paperwork to do and you have chores to do. Back to it." Olivia sent Alex back to her work with an affectionate spank.
Alex didn't want to admit that she was utterly terrified of going to Dr. Lindstrom's office. Olivia had been very proud of her for sitting outside on the fire escape for thirty minutes, and Alex had to admit that she was proud of herself as well. But sitting outside on the fire escape for thirty minutes and going all the way down to Dr. Lindstrom's office were two very different things. Still, if her Mistress required it of her, then Alex would obey and fight through the fear. When it was time, Olivia got Alex dressed and led her through the halls of the building. They rode the elevator down to the lobby and Alex gripped Olivia's hand fearfully as they walked to the front doors and stepped out into the world.
"Good girl. You made it outside." Olivia praised with a smile, gently stroking the side of Alex's face.
"I'm scared, Ma'am." Alex whimpered.
"I know you are, little one. I can tell. I am right here with you. We only have to go four blocks. Do you want to walk or should we catch a cab?"
"Let's walk, please." Alex replied. There was no way she was going to get into a cab with a stranger, whether Olivia was with her or not.
When they arrived at Dr. Lindstrom's office, they didn't have to wait long before the door opened and Dr. Lindstrom smiled at them.
"Captain Benson, I'd like you to please join us for the first half of Alex's session. During the second half of the session, she can decide if she would like to have you stay or leave."
"Can I sit on my Mistress's lap?" Alex asked fearfully when they walked into the office and the door closed behind them.
"As long as you are still able to communicate with me, you can do whatever you need to do to be comfortable." Dr. Lindstrom nodded.
Olivia sat on the couch and cuddled Alex on her lap so that Alex felt secure in her arms but could still communicate with Dr. Lindstrom properly.
"Well, since this is just a preliminary appointment, let's get some boring paperwork out of the way first and then we'll spend some time getting to know each other."
The more Dr. Lindstrom talked, the more he put Alex at ease and Alex found it easy to open up to the kind man. With tears in her eyes she expressed that as long as she was at home where she felt safe, she could function but out and about in the world as she was now, she felt out of control and was utterly terrified that she was going to be taken away from Olivia again.
"That is a very valid fear, Alex. From what I understand, you were taken away not only once, but twice. The good news is that I have no intention of taking you away from Olivia. As far as I can tell, you have a very loving home. Olivia wouldn't have called me if she didn't love you and want so much to help you."