"Junior" Cabot. Alex reread those words at least a dozen times just to be certain they weren't a figment of her imagination. This is real, she had to tell herself. The baby is mine. Olivia is mine. I'm going to have a family—Olivia and I are going to have a family. Alex was trying not to overanalyze what was written on the card, but new questions came to mind each time she read it. She looked at the name "Olivia Benson" and started to wonder if Olivia was going to keep Benson as her name or change her name to Cabot once the baby was born. Alex would have been happy either way, but she couldn't help preferring the name Olivia Cabot.

Alex sat down with the coffee and muffins Olivia brought right in front of her. She picked at one of the blueberries in the muffin and daintily lifted it to her mouth. Alex wasn't the least bit hungry although she hadn't eaten yet. She knew she should at least try to eat something, but all she could focus on was the baby and what she had experienced with Olivia. If she closed her eyes, she could swear she still felt the skin-to-skin contact with Olivia and the supple warmth of the body she loved—the body carrying her son. Alex slightly licked her lips and tasted a combination of Olivia's lips and the blueberry she had just eaten. She could also smell Olivia's scent on her skin. Hours had passed since she had made love to Olivia and, as faint as the scent had become, it still served as proof that last night actually happened. She had not only made love to Olivia, but she had seen her at her most vulnerable. Olivia had risked so much by baring herself to Alex, although Alex couldn't fathom rejecting Olivia. Not in a million years would she have said no to the brunette. For the first time, their roles were reversed. Olivia was used to being the protector, but now that role had been relinquished to Alex, whether or not Olivia realized it. They were a family-to-be and Alex would do anything she could to make sure both of her loves were safe at all times.

As she finally began to nibble on her muffin, Alex realized the best way to ensure the safety of her family-to-be was to have Olivia in her arms every night. Asking Olivia to bring her belongings over every night would have been too much of a hassle for the pregnant detective, so Alex came to the conclusion that she was going to ask Olivia to live with her. The more she thought about it, the more worried she became. Neither of them had ever had a live-in girlfriend before, but with a baby on the way, living together couldn't be entirely out of the question.

It wasn't like Alex to become lost in a fantasy world, but without realizing it, her mind became consumed with thoughts of their future son. With months left until Olivia's due date, Alex was already thinking about what their son was going to be like. Will he look like Olivia? Will he be smart? Will he be athletic? What will his favorite subject be in school? What about his favorite book and favorite movie? Will he be popular or will he have a select group of friends? Will he get in trouble in school or will he make the honor roll? What about college? Will he go to an Ivy League school? Will he follow in her footsteps or Olivia's or would he rebel against the two of them? Our future son has only been in Olivia's womb for sixteen weeks and I'm already thinking about his career path. She forced herself to think about something else—anything else—but her thoughts remained with their baby. A nursery. He's going to need a nursery. And toys. He'll have so many toys that Olivia and I can use to interact with him. Maybe we should hold off on a nursery and keep his crib in our bedroom until he's older. But Olivia will need a place to nurse him. She can do that in our room. The thought of watching Olivia nurse their baby was almost overwhelming for Alex. Our baby is going to be getting his nourishment from her body—the body of the woman I love. Alex felt the tears start to pool in her eyes. Get it together, Alex. This isn't like you. What if this is all in your head? What if Olivia is just trying to be cute by saying the baby's last name will be Cabot. There's only one way to find out…

Alex felt bad for bothering Olivia at work, but the constant thinking was going to drive her crazy, so she grabbed her cell phone from on top of her nightstand and called Olivia.

"Alex?"

"Liv?"

"Is everything okay?" Olivia asked worriedly.

I should have just sent her a text message or talked to her about this in person, not calling her cell phone while she's at work.

"I was just thinking about the baby."

"What about the baby?"

Alex took a deep breath and prepared herself for the question she was about to ask Olivia, but the words wouldn't come out. Alex Cabot froze. She actually froze. Judging by her inability to get the words out, she was grateful that this conversation wasn't happening in person.

"Alex?" Olivia asked, wondering if her phone was losing its signal.

"I'm here, babe," Alex said nervously. "Junior is mine?" The question had come out completely wrong and Alex was grateful that Olivia couldn't see her gently smack her hand to her forehead.

Her nervousness was put at ease when she sensed Olivia was smiling. Olivia didn't even have to use any words for Alex to know she was smiling at her over the phone. "Alex, what's this about?"

"The card you wrote me said Olivia Benson and Junior Cabot," Alex pointed out. "Were you just trying to be cute when you when wrote that? I noticed you didn't change your last name."

"Junior is yours, Alex," Olivia insisted. "He told me."

Now she was really being playful with her, but Alex couldn't help finding comfort in her words. "Junior told you?"

"I talk to him all the time, Alex. He knows so much about you already. He knows how smart his mommy is and how brave she is. He knows how much his mommy loves him." Olivia began whispering into her phone, so nobody else could eavesdrop on what she wanted to be a private conversation. "He told me he loves you just as much as I do. He also told me he doesn't like the name Junior."

"I'll see you tonight," Alex responded, finally feeling at ease. "You and Junior."

Before Olivia could argue with her about the baby's nickname, Alex hung up the phone and started to think about dinner. She had an important night with Olivia ahead of her and she wanted to everything to be perfect.

Alex had put off asking the question until the end of the night. During dinner, the two of them talked about Olivia's day and the baby. After dinner, they watched a movie. It wasn't a particularly good movie or even an interesting movie, but it still served as a distraction, which is all Alex wanted at the moment. Olivia kept drifting off to sleep during the movie and all Alex could do was think about how she was going to ask her to move in and how Olivia would respond to such a question.

Olivia woke up to Alex placing delicate kisses on her baby bump. Never did she imagine being shown such affections from the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. This was a side of Alex only Olivia was familiar with. Most people knew her as the Ice Queen, but Olivia knew that nickname didn't fit the woman she was cuddling with at that moment. The Alex Cabot she knew was so loving and affectionate and what made Olivia smile in that moment was realizing Alex's love and affection was only for her—or, her and their baby. Alex was going to be a great mother and Olivia couldn't imagine raising a child with anyone else.

"Liv?" Alex asked once she took her lips off of Olivia's baby bump.

"Yes, my love?"

"I know it goes without saying, but taking care of you and Junior makes me feel so at peace," Alex began. "It's when you two are away from me that I start to worry. Will you do me a favor and move in with me?"

"Alex," Olivia said softly. She got up to sit next to the woman she loved. She was still able to move, but she was starting to feel a bit more of a struggle.

"Let me keep the two of you safe," Alex pleaded. "You've given me all I've ever wanted, Olivia. Let me give you something in return."

Alex expected a yes or no answer from Olivia, or any type of verbal response, but instead she felt her woman's soft lips against hers. I'm going to have my family with me every night.