This chapter is definitely longer that the previous one, as promised. Enjoy.
As they stood in the elevator of Alex's building, her cell phone rang. She fished it out of her pocket and answered, "Cabot….hey Nathan…Tonight?…um…hold on a second." She pulled the phone away from her ear, "My brother want to know if I can baby sit for him tonight."
Olivia raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Can you?"
Alex smiled, "I mean that will it bother you to have a few kids running around for a couple hours?"
"No," Olivia shook her head, "I wouldn't mind at all."
Alex put the phone back up to her ear, "Yeah, I can watch them…okay…see you." Alex hung up as the elevator doors opened. "He's going to drop them off at seven."
"Great," Olivia smiled.
Alex looked at her watch while they walked down the hall, "That's in twenty minutes." Alex unlocked the door and let Olivia in.
"Thanks again," Olivia leaned on the couch, watching Alex lock the door, "I had fun."
Alex turned around, smiling, "It was my pleasure."
Their eyes locked and they stood for a moment studying each other before Olivia's phone rang. She silently sighed and answered, "Benson."
"Hey, how's it going?" Elliot asked, cheerfully.
"It's going great," Olivia answered while watching Alex disappear into the kitchen, "But you do have the worst timing in history."
"Really?" Elliot prompted, "What did you two do today?"
"We went to Coney Island," Olivia replied.
"So have you two…." Elliot trailed off.
"That's none of your business," Olivia replied, appalled.
"So that's a no?" Elliot asked.
"Why do you want to know?" Olivia asked back.
"Um," Elliot paused, "I'm just curious."
"Okay well go be curious somewhere else," Olivia replied, "Bye Elliot."
"Bye," Elliot added before Olivia hung up.
Alex emerged from the kitchen right on time. "Is pizza okay with you?"
Olivia nodded.
"Good," Alex smiled and picked up the purple gorilla sitting by the front door, "I'm going to go put Oliver in my room. I wouldn't want anyone else playing with my toys."
Olivia watched Alex walk down the hallway before sitting on the arm of the couch and falling backwards into the cushions. She stretched wondering what Cabot kids were like. If they were anything like Alex, they'd be a handful.
"Liv!" Alex called.
"Yeah?!" Olivia called back.
"Where's your gun?"
Olivia slowly got up and walked down the hallway. She met Alex in the doorway of her room. "It's on the nightstand."
"Why don't we put it in the safe for tonight?" Alex asked.
Olivia nodded and went to get her gun after kicking her bag under the bed. She carefully carried it into Alex's room and found Alex's closet door open and the blonde, standing inside. Alex was opening a small safe hidden behind some clothes hanging around it.
Once it was open, Olivia set the gun inside, next to a stack of jewelry boxes and file folders. Alex closed the safe, locked it, and walked out behind Olivia.
As they walked into the living room someone rapidly knocked on the door. Alex walked over and opened it.
"Aunt Alex!" four little kids squealed in unison.
Olivia watched from next to the couch as two little girls and two little boys hugged their Aunt.
They all started to run off into the apartment, but they were stopped by their father's voice. "Stop." Nathan Cabot was a few inches taller than Alex and his hair was a few shades darker, but there was no mistaking that he was Alex's brother.
"Hey Nathan," Alex smiled.
Nathan gave Alex a bear hug, "Hey Sis."
When they separated, Nathan stepped in and saw Olivia. "Hi," he extended his hand to her, "I'm Nathan Cabot."
"Olivia Benson," she shook his hand.
"Oh," Nathan smirked, then looked at Alex, who slugged him in the arm.
Nathan leaned down to his kids, "Be good for Aunt Alex and Miss Olivia okay?"
They all nodded and muttered, "Yes sir."
"Liv this is," Alex looked down the line, "Paige, she's five. Logan and Spencer are twins six, and Blake is two."
Olivia smiled, "Nice to meet you."
The twins had blonde hair like Alex's, but the other two children had brown hair. They all smiled back at Olivia and watched her with blue eyes.
"Alex, I have to go," Nathan added, "I'm going to be late." He waved at Olivia, "Nice to meet you." He kissed each of his kids on the head and left.
"Aunt Alex?" the youngest boy looked up at her, "Can we go?"
Alex smiled and nodded.
All the children ran off toward the guest room.
"He's two?" Olivia asked.
Alex nodded.
"He's well spoken," Olivia added, looking after them.
Alex smirked, "What can I say? He's a Cabot,"
Olivia chuckled as the twins emerged from the bedroom and walked to them.
"Where's our guns?" Spencer asked, playing with her hair.
"Oh," Alex chuckled, "They're in my room."
"Why are they in your room?" Logan asked.
"We were playing with them," Alex smiled.
Spencer smiled, "Did you win?"
"Don't I always?" Alex looked at Olivia who laughed. Alex held out her hand to the children, "C'mon let's go get them."
Each one took a hand and Alex led them into her room to retrieve the guns.
Paige came running out of the bedroom with Blake on her tail. She jumped up onto the couch and Blake crawled up next to her. Paige looked at Olivia, "Can we play games now?"
Olivia looked down the hallway to find Alex walking out with the twins, "Can we play games now?"
Alex nodded, "What are we playing?"
"Mario Kart!" they all squealed.
Alex opened the cabinet next to the TV. She turned on the game console and set the controllers on the coffee table. Alex then sat on an armchair and watched. Paige, Logan and Spencer all grabbed controllers and Blake crawled into Alex's lap.
Spencer looked up at Olivia and offered her a controller. "Do you wanna play?"
Olivia looked at Alex who was beaming. She nodded, "Thank you." She took the controller and sat on the couch next to the twins.
After a couple races, the buzzer went off. Alex got up and answered it, carrying Blake with her.
A man's voice replied, "You're pizza's here Miss Cabot."
"Pizza!" the kids jumped up.
"Go set the table," Alex told them, "I'll be right back." She set Blake down and he joined his siblings, running into the kitchen.
"Can you hold down the fort?" Alex asked Olivia.
Olivia nodded.
Alex smiled, "Thanks." She closed the door behind her. Olivia walked to the kitchen and saw all the children getting something different. Blake carried paper plates to the table next to the window in the kitchen. Paige was getting silverware. Logan was getting sodas out of the pantry and Spencer was walked to the table with ranch dressing in one hand and parmesan cheese in the other.
"Wow," Olivia smiled at the group when they were done and sitting in their places at the table, "You guys are good at that. Where am I supposed to sit?"
They all pointed to the chair next to another vacant chair.
Olivia sat in it and suddenly felt like she under a microscope. It was worse than testifying in court. There were four pairs of piercing blue eyes watching her. It was like having four mini-Alexs stare her down.
"Are you married?" Paige asked.
Olivia shook her head.
"Do you have a pig's head?" Spencer asked.
Olivia raised an eyebrow, but shook her head.
"Our mom said that Aunt Alex isn't married because she has a pig's head," Logan added.
"She didn't say she had a pig's head," Paige corrected, "She said she was pig-headed." Paige looked at Olivia, "What does that mean?"
Olivia couldn't help, but smile, "It means stubborn."
"Oh," they all nodded.
"Oh what?" Alex asked from the door.
"Nothing," Olivia covered for them.
Alex raised an eyebrow, but didn't probe any farther. She passed out the pizza and then sat down in her spot.
After dinner, three older children decided that they waned to play with the foam dart guns so they all picked one out.
"What are the rules?" Alex asked them.
"No shooting in the face," Paige recited, loading her gun.
"No shooting someone without a gun," Logan added.
"Good," Alex smiled, "Have fun."
Blake put his arms up and Alex picked him up, "What do you want to do?"
"Will you read to me?" Blake asked.
Alex smiled and nodded, "Okay, let's go pick out a book."
Olivia couldn't help, but smile as she watched Alex read to Blake. Blake was sitting in Alex's lap, leaning back on her chest as he listened to Alex read Green Eggs and Ham. It looked so natural.
A dart in the back, brought Olivia back to her own game.
Blake was drifting to sleep in her arms so Alex looked around. Paige was tiptoeing down the hallway and then ran behind the couch.
Olivia silently followed her, but walked right past the couch. Paige shot her in the shoulder. Olivia quietly laughed and turned around.
"Paige," Alex called.
Paige walked around the couch and stood in front of Alex.
"It's time for bed," Alex stated.
Paige thought for a moment, "Ten more minutes?"
"Five," Alex added.
"Seven?" Paige put on her best charming smile.
Alex smiled, "Six."
Paige smiled and ran down the hallway.
Olivia chuckled, "I never thought I'd see you negotiate with a five year old."
Alex smiled up at Olivia, "She drives a hard bargain."
Seven minutes, later Alex had all the children assembled in from of her.
"Why don't you guys go to bed?" Alex asked the kids.
The twins trudged down the hall and into the guest room. Alex followed them and laid Blake down with the twins. Paige crawled up onto the couch and laid down. When Alex came back she asked, "When's daddy going to get back?"
"Any minute now," Alex smiled and kissed the girl's forehead, "Go to sleep."
Paige curled up against the back of the couch and drifted off.
Alex and Olivia cleaned up the darts, the video games, and then the kitchen.
"You look tired," Alex leaned on the couch, watching Olivia who stood in front of her, "We've had a long day. Why don't you go lay down in my bed? Nathan will be here any time now."
Olivia was about to argue, but a yawn came out instead, "Alright." Olivia still stood there in front of Alex, a strange urge threatening to take her over. She gave into it and pulled Alex into her arms. "Thank you so much Alex."
Alex seemed to sink into Olivia and wrap her arms around Olivia's waist, "Anytime."
Olivia smiled at the warmth that came off of Alex. Not something she expected from the Ice Princess. With one last, gentle squeeze Olivia let go of Alex. And with a quick smile, Olivia was off to bed.
Alex smiled at the back of Olivia until she disappeared in the darkness of her room. Then Alex closed her eyes and blissfully took off to the favorite recess of her mind, Olivialand.
About twenty minutes later, Alex walked into her dark bedroom to see Olivia laying on her side facing away from the door. Alex changed into a t-shirt and boxers before climbing into bed next to Olivia.
Alex watched Olivia for a few minutes. She was so peacefully looking. So beautiful. Alex reached up and swept some stray hairs from Olivia's face.
At the touch, Olivia reached out and pulled Alex close. Alex smiled and snuggled into Olivia.
A small smiled graced Olivia's lips, she slowly opened her eyes and was face to face with Alex. She noticed her arm around Alex's waist and their legs tangled together. The hand that wasn't on Alex's waist intertwined with Alex's hand.
Olivia noted the smile on Alex's face. She wasn't freaking out. She was smiling.
Once again, Alex leaned in and kissed Olivia's forehead, "Goodnight Liv."
Olivia absorbed the kiss as much as possible, but felt that she needed more. Again the feeling was slowly taking over.
Olivia leaned forward and tentatively touched her lips to Alex's. She was greeted by an eager kiss from the blonde. The kiss was short and sweet. Olivia slowly pulled away and looked at Alex. "Sweet dreams."
Alex smiled and snuggled deeper into Olivia. Olivia kissed Alex forehead and held her closer. This is how it was supposed to be. Here with Alex.