A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews or, as I like to call it, fic love. Sorry if this chapter is a little fluffy, but I figured the girls deserve some happiness every now and then.

"One pair of candy lips and your bubble gum tongue."

It had been five days since Alex had kissed Olivia for the first time. She wished those five days would have been straight out of a romantic comedy, complete with picnics, long walks in the park, and plenty of kisses. Unfortunately, that was far from her reality. Olivia still kept to herself at lunch and she still went to the abandoned basketball court after school instead of spending time with Alex. Alex followed her there all five days, but each day Olivia would become upset and tell her she should leave. They had kissed once during the week, but Alex wondered if it was only because Olivia wanted to shut her up. She didn't smile after the kiss or even make a comment and when Alex tried kissing her again she pulled away.

It was a little before midnight on Friday and Alex was having a hard time falling asleep. She could have done something productive but her homework for the weekend had already been finished and all ofthe boxes in her room had already been unpacked. She decided to go online and see if any of her friends were on AIM. Sarah had given her Olivia's screen name and she was surprised to see that the two of them were online.

BBaller03: Alex, what are you doing up?

SnickerDucky85: Hey Sarah. I can't sleep. Ugh. You?

BBaller03: Just talking to Olivia. Her bday is in 5 minutes.

Ohlivveeyah: Don't remind me.

SnickerDucky85: What's with your screen name, Olivia?

Ohlivveeyah: Some girl on my basketball team in 7th grade didn't know how to say my name, so I spelled it like that and it kinda stuck.

SnickerDucky85: You're so cute.

Ohlivveeyah: Not really. I have to go now. Goodnight.

Ohlivveeyah has signed off.

BBaller03: At least you got her to say something to you.

SnickerDucky85: Why is she like that? I care about her so much,

BBaller03: Problems at home. That's all she'll tell me.

SnickerDucky85: I want to be there for her. I want to help her.

BBaller03: I know something you don't know.

SnickerDucky85: That's mature.

BBaller03: It's after midnight now, which means it's Olivia's birthday. Her mom is at some conference in Connecticut and she isn't going to be home until Monday. Olivia is going to have the whole apartment to herself until then.

SnickerDucky85: So?

BBaller03: She's home alone right now and I know she isn't sleeping. Leave your parents a note saying that you're spending the night with me. I'll cover for you.

SnickerDucky85: No. Too risky.

BBaller03: You'll score major points for taking a risk and you'll definitely get more kisses. Don't you want to kiss Olivia?

SnickerDucky85: As crazy as it sounds, I'd do anything to kiss Olivia.

Sarah gave Alex Olivia's address and she immediately started to pack. She thought an overnight bag would be too obvious. Besides, what if Olivia didn't let her spend the night? Instead, she packed some sweats and a sweatshirt that she could wear as pajamas, but double as clothes for when she came back. She grabbed Olivia's beanie from next to her pillow and put it on. Alex would never admit it to Olivia, but she had slept with her olive green beanie every night since she had given it to her. It was a way for her to feel close to Olivia, but tonight she would be even closer to her. Instead of dreaming about Olivia and clutching her beanie, she'd actually be able to fall asleep next to her. With that in mind, she quickly wrote a note to her parents about staying at Sarah's and slipped it under their bedroom door.

It was after one in the morning when she had finally gotten to Olivia's apartment. She would have gotten there sooner had she not gotten lost on the subway and then taken an alternative route because she felt like she was being followed by some sketchy guy.

Alex stood outside of Olivia's door for a few minutes before finally having the nerve to start knocking. She contemplated going home, but she figured she might as well stay since she had come so far. Besides, Alex wasn't in the mood to endure that semi-long journey again.

Olivia answered the door in blue pajama pants and a white tank top and Alex's eyes started to bulge when she noticed that Olivia wasn't wearing a bra.

Instead of saying hello or asking what she was doing there, Olivia pulled Alex inside and started to kiss her. Alex dropped her tote bag on the floor so she could wrap her arms around Olivia. She didn't know how long Olivia was going to be in the mood to kiss, so she was going to enjoy it for as long as she could.

"Happy birthday," Alex told her shyly.

"You're the best birthday gift anyone could ever give me," Olivia said and kissed her one more time.

Alex wanted to know who this girl was and what she had done with the Olivia that she was used to.

"What are you doing here?" Olivia asked and Alex was relieved to see that she was still smiling.

"I was in the neighborhood," Alex shrugged. Olivia then grabbed her by the hand and led her to the couch. Once Alex had taken off her jacket, Olivia laid down and urged Alex to cuddle up to her. The trip to Olivia's apartment had seemed like an eternity and Alex was relieved that Olivia was letting her rest her head on her chest.

"Nobody has ever treated me the way you do," Olivia admitted.

"I find that hard to believe," Alex said.

"People usually just give up on me," Olivia told her. "But you don't."

"Of course I don't," Alex said and started smiling.. "I just realized something right now. On this day in 1985, the world became a better place because you were born."

"Try telling that to my mom," Olivia said. She averted her eyes and Alex knew there was more to that statement than Olivia wanted to let her believe.

"Why?" Alex asked.

"She doesn't love me," Olivia admitted. Alex saw the tears start to pool in the corner of Olivia's eyes. She was afraid to say anything to Olivia for fear that she would say something wrong like she always did. She had already come so far with Olivia and she didn't want to upset her again. Instead, she started kissing her now tear-stained cheeks.

"You're wearing the beanie," Olivia said and attempted to smile.

"I'm going to wear it every time I see you," Alex told her.

"Except during the summer?"

"Even in the summer." Alex admitted. She was thrilled that Olivia had even asked about her wearing it in the summer. She assumed that must have meant something significant. Olivia Benson actually wanted her around for that long.

"Can I tell you a story?" Alex asked and Olivia nodded. "Once upon a time, there was a girl in Framingham, Massachusetts who was content with her life. Then, her parents forced her to move to New York. She hated it at first because it was so big and nothing like her beloved Framingham or even Boston. Then something happened that changed her life forever; she saw Olivia Benson and, for the first time in her life, she knew what it was like to have a crush on someone."

"You can't stop there," Olivia said. "How does the story end?"

"It never does," Alex told her. "We're going to keep adding to it."

"I'm adding to it now," Olivia insisted. "When Olivia saw Alex for the first time, she had no idea how to react. Once when Olivia was 14, she went to the beach and was taken aback by the size of the ocean and how significant it was. She felt her heart start to race and for the first time she felt connected to everything; to the earth, the universe, other people, just everything. It was the most beautiful and overwhelming feeling she had ever felt until she kissed Alex. And that's how she feels every time she kisses Alex. She feels so connected to things like songs on the radio and romantic comedies and boys at school who kiss their girlfriends after scoring the winning touchdown or shooting the winning free throw. Olivia had never wanted to feel that before and now that she does, it feels great but at the same time it scares her. She's afraid of what she'll feel next and that's why she pushes Alex away sometimes."

Alex sensed that Olivia was afraid of saying something more and she wanted to tell her that whatever intense emotions Olivia was feeling, she was feeling them too. There was something about Olivia that made Alex abandon the girl that her friends and family had known for the past 16 years. She was out of her shell and she enjoyed it. Alex was afraid of how big the city was, but she snuck out in the middle of the night and braved the confusing subway system just so Olivia wouldn't be alone. It was going to take a while to break down all of the walls around Olivia's heart, but she knew she was getting closer each time.

"I wish it was St. Patrick's Day," Olivia said out of the blue.

"Why?" Alex asked.

"You'll be 17 and I'll be able to make you mine."

That was all the confirmation Alex needed. She really was getting closer and she was willing to take as many risks as she had to if it meant she'd be Olivia's girlfriend.

Alex and Olivia shared a few more chaste kisses before falling asleep right there on the couch. Alex's head was still resting on Olivia's chest and Olivia's arms were still wrapped around Alex. They had the whole apartment to themselves and they could have given in to other urges, but that was the last thing on their mind. All Alex wanted was to fall asleep to the sound of Olivia's heartbeat and all Olivia wanted was to know that someone was there for her.