Alex had dinner with her family regularly since she'd been back in the city. It took a while for them to adjust to the fact that they'd buried their daughter only to find out that she'd been alive the whole time. It wasn't something they talked about too often—it was always too painful. They'd forgiven her because they knew it took courage for her to do what she'd done. They understood that it was just as much for their safety as it was for hers.
Alex was the youngest of two. Her older brother, Josh, had a family of his own. He and his wife, Madeleine, had one daughter, Grace. Grace was 3, having been born the year before Alex went into WPP. Grace was a lot more like her aunt than anyone could have imagined. She was spunky, talkative, smart, and had very strong convictions already. Alex could see a lot of herself in Grace Cabot's small, chubby face.
One thing to know about Alex's family was that they'd always been accepting. No matter what their children did, they loved them beyond reason and unconditionally. So when Alex came out in her late teens, there had been no judgment. Alex's mother vowed not to treat any of Alex's girlfriends any different than she did Josh's and Alex's father vowed to treat them the same as he would if they were men—grill them about how special his little girl was.
It didn't take much of a drive to get to the Hamptons and to her parents' home. She saw Josh's car parked along the street and her parents' vehicles in the driveway. Alex wondered what it would be like to own a home like this. The yard was large enough for kids, maybe a pet. She imagined coming home to Olivia and their kid…
God, I have to stop thinking like this. She isn't even my girlfriend yet. Alex shook herself out of her train of thought to see the small little girl running towards her.
"Awex!" Grace flew into Alex's arms in one leap, giving Alex a five second window to catch her.
"Hey, Gracie. How'd you get out of the house so fast?"
"Mommy saw your car and I wanted to catch you before you go'd away again."
Alex was startled by how much Grace seemed to remember about Alex's stay in witness protection. At one point, Alex was hurt by it, knowing that her absence affected her niece so much so that the toddler was afraid she'd leave again. At the other end, she had been afraid that Grace would forget her because she was gone so long.
"Oh, darling, I'm not going anywhere. You know that, don't you?" Alex sat Grace on the ground and kneeled to eye level, "I'm always one phone call away, Grace."
"Pwomise?"
"Pinky promise." Alex held out a pinky and the little girl took it with her own.
Walking into the impressive home, Alex could already smell her mother's cooking. Unlike many of the people Alex grew up with, Alex's mother actually cooked, took care of her children, and still managed to hold a full-time position at a Fortune 500 company. Beth and Alexander Cabot were equally important to their family—financially, emotionally, and otherwise.
Alex let her nose carry her to the kitchen, where her mother and Madeleine stood over a stove trying to decide if there was enough salt in the mashed potatoes.
"Oh, Alex, thank God. Please, tell your mother this is perfect the way it is." Madeleine flipped her red hair, exasperated. Alex took the spoon from her mother and tasted the mashed potatoes and contemplated.
"Mom, I think she might be right this time. Normally, I'd be on your side. Not today though."
"Fine. I give up. Anyway, Alex, give me a hug. I feel like I haven't seen you in so long." Alex enveloped her mother in a tight hug.
"It's only been a week." Alex admonished her mother, "But I missed you too." She said, more softly this time, "Where's Dad?"
"In the den. He's vowing to work right up until dinner. Where did you think you got your attitude?"
Alex smirked. She'd been told all her life how much like her father she really was.
"So, are you going to help us cook, or just stand there?" Madeleine smiled at her sister-in-law. Luckily, Madeleine and Alex got along well. She'd known her since high school and thought she was a good match for her brother—mature, funny, and cute.
"Um…I think I'll just stand here. This is woman's work." Alex joked.
"I never took you for the 'barefoot-and-pregnant' type."
Alex sighed at just the mention of pregnancy, "Uh oh." Beth sat her spoon down and turned to her daughter, who was now leaning against the sink, "What's going on?"
"Do you remember Olivia?"
"How could I forget?" Beth smiled, "You couldn't stop talking about her after you started with SVU. 'Olivia this, Olivia that.'"
"'Oh, you should've seen Olivia today. She wrestled a suspect to the ground.'" Madeleine piped in.
"'Olivia's so good with the victims.'" Beth finished.
"Okay, enough." Alex blushed, "Was I that obvious?"
"Yes, you were." Beth smiled, "We all knew that 'Olivia's so good with victims' really meant, 'Olivia would be so good for me.'"
"She um…" Madeleine started, "She read your eulogy. At the funeral."
Alex looked shocked, "She did?"
Madeleine nodded, "It was beautiful. She…it was obvious you meant a lot to her."
"She's pregnant." Alex blurted. At the statement, Madeleine dropped a dishrag, glad she wasn't carrying something more important.
"She's seeing someone?"
"No. She went to a sperm bank, doing it on her own. We went to lunch earlier and it was nice. She's not really showing yet, but she's glowing and she looks so happy."
"And you want to be in her life?" Beth asked.
"More than anything."
"What's stopping you?"
"Nothing. I just…have you ever seen me as a mother? I mean, really?"
"You're so good with Grace, Alex. You'd make a great mom." Madeleine put a hand on Alex's shoulder, "And you'll do fine once you convince her you're here to stay."
"Did I hear someone's gonna be a mom?" Josh walked into the kitchen, snatching a dinner roll off of a baking pan, just like he'd been doing since he was tall enough to reach the counter, "It's not you, is it?" he pointed to his wife, "I love you, and kids, but Gracie's too young." He looked at his mother, "And I know it's not you. So, it must be baby sister. You're pregnant?"
"Do I look pregnant, Josh?" Alex rolled her eyes, "Olivia's pregnant."
"Ooooh…." Josh wiggled his eyebrows, "She was cute. She's not with the father, is she?"
"No, she did it on her own."
Josh noticed the gleam in Alex's eye. It was a gleam he'd seen before—when Alex fell for a girl when she was in high school. But this gleam was different. Stronger, more vivid. Alex had a shot at real, true love and a real family. It was something he knew she'd always wanted.
"And you're going to be her baby daddy." He said, laughing at his own joke.
"Josh, stop…." Alex playfully punched his chest, "Seriously, I…want to be there for her. I want to be with her."
Josh smiled, "Duh." Josh shoved the dinner roll into his mouth and began talking again, this time with a mouth full of bread, "Soooo…what's stoppin' ya?"