A/N – Second part up as promised, wont be very long, maybe 4 chapters, hope you enjoy and hope you had a great Christmas!

Same disclaimers apply …

At some point in the middle of the night, after being asleep for only a few hours, Olivia woke with the faint understanding that she was far too hot. As she pulled herself from sleep she began to register that the reason for this was the presence of Alex's body draped over hers, legs and arms entangled as she lay with her face buried in the detective's shoulder, a distinct rebuff to the feather-down pillow provided by their luxurious hotel. Liv paused for a couple of seconds, relishing in the feel of soft silken strands of sun-kissed blonde hair tickling her face, when she slept – Alex looked breathtakingly beautiful.

"Alex …?"

Forever afterwards, Olivia would wonder why, in that moment, she thought to wake the sleeping blonde? Perhaps out of fear or discomfort? All she knew for certain, was that the second Alex's name tumbled breathily from her lips she regretted it and wished she could take it back, so sudden was the realization that she could have stayed that way forever.

Alex stirred in sleep at the sound of her name, mumbling something incoherent into the side of Olivia's chest, Liv strained to hear and thought it might have been 'what time is it?'

"Alex … sweetie …" Her bladder raged at her, too full from so many bottles of stronger-than-she-had-thought Hawaiian beer. She'd needed to run to the bathroom the second she woke but there was long-legged blonde limpet lying across her.

After the second attempt Alex began to take stock of her own surroundings, acutely aware of the curves of a person beneath her hands. Even after a countless amount of blue Hawaiian cocktails she was still able to feel the way that stomach muscles, which weren't her own, tensed beneath her hand as she felt around for something to anchor herself on, and how legs that were wrapped up with her own began to flee to the opposite edge of the bed the minute they were set free.

"Liv?"

Her voice was laced with sleep and thick with something else Olivia's ears weren't quite able to place, she'd heard it once or twice before, and still it stumped her.

Before entering the world of full consciousness, Alex took a second to let her palm flow freely over the bare skin of the detective's belly, knowing that in about thirty seconds she would blame it on the confusion of sleep. Without giving her a chance to explain her actions, Liv hopped from the bed and sprinted her way to the bathroom, using the minutes it took to relieve herself to also take deep settling breaths and not let herself focus on the feel of Alex's warm hand as it gently caressed the skin beneath her t-shirt.

Alex lay facing the wall away from her as she returned, she drew back the covers and slid into bed, wondering how to position herself or whether to say anything.

"You can move Liv …" Alex said, after a few moments of feeling the detective lying uncomfortably rigid with her arms tightly at her sides. "I'll keep to my side … you don't need to lie as if you're dead …"

Liv took a deep breath and let out a sigh, the sadness in the blonde's voice was so plain to hear. She always hated the way Alex got like this, a bit too much alcohol and she'd wind up 'handsy' (as Elliot called it), getting touchy-feely with Olivia in whatever bar they were at before getting so drunk-off-her-ass the detective had to take her home and put her to bed. It happened rarely, and over the course of their long friendship Liv could probably count all the occasions on just two hands. As she would help the drunken attorney in to her plush bed she would find herself contemplating the nature of their relationship and why Alex always felt the need to be inebriated in order to lay a hand on her. Unfortunately, any conversation on the subject matter would be wasted air, and the following morning Alex would always act as if nothing had happened when she woke to the sight of Olivia crashed out on her couch beneath a blanket, keeping watch over her.

Well tonight they were in the same bed, on the same island for that matter, and Olivia was finally sure that Alex had nowhere to run to.

She turned on her side, facing the back of hunched shoulders and blonde hair covering the pillow. Alex was feigning sleep but not doing a very convincing job of it. Olivia paused a moment to acknowledge that even without seeing her face, she knew what Alex looked like when she was really sleeping, it stirred something within her, something good. She shuffled her body closer, wrapping the blonde's body up in her arms and feeling, more than hearing, the soft sigh that escaped Alex's lips as her body fell into the weight of Olivia's arms, without actually moving an inch.

"Everything's fine Alex …" Liv reassured, not being too specific. She held the blonde tightly against her body. "I'm having a lovely time here with you, I had a fantastic evening … and," She paused, snuggling her nose against the back of Alex's neck, "I have a feeling that this is going to be the best Christmas ever …?"

In her arms Alex simply nodded and held her breath, worried that if she moved or spoke Liv might pull back her arms and then she would be sadder than she'd ever felt. Knowing in that moment that the sensation of Olivia's arms wrapped around her as she drifted off to sleep was the most perfect gift anyone could ever have given her.

Come morning, Liv woke to find herself alone in the bed again. For a second she strained her head, listening to see if Alex was sick in the bathroom and in need of her. Finding out that she wasn't, she got up and made her way to the front of the lodge, a little sad to see sheets of rain coming down outside through the open shutters at the windows.

As she opened the door to step out onto the porch she saw Alex sprinting up the path towards her, carrying what looked like a huge parcel in her arms. Her legs were bare and she wore flip flops on her feet but had twinned the outfit with a bright yellow raincoat she'd purchased at the airport after checking the forecast, buying Olivia a matching one – only in blue.

She burst through the doorway, bringing with her a good deal of rainwater and a beaming smile.

Liv laughed at her as she shook herself dry upon the mat. "Raining?"

"Like you've never known!" She turned and handed Liv the package. "Breakfast."

Liv frowned questioningly.

"It's pouring down out there …" Alex began to explain, shedding her wet clothes so that she was down to the orange and yellow bikini she'd put on first thing beneath her shorts and top. Liv tried to follow the conversation with her ears but was too busy following the skimpily dressed attorney with her eyes. "I figured since I woke up early I'd go across to the restaurant and get us breakfast to go … that way we didn't both have to get wet." She added, roughly drying her hair with a towel.

Liv smiled and approached her, setting the parcel down upon the small wood table that matched the simplicity of the two-seater beside it. "You look very cute in that stupid raincoat." She said, downright deadpan.

Alex's eyes whipped up to meet hers, finding that Olivia was busy engrossing herself in unpacking the contents of the large cardboard box, pleased to find an assortment of goodies from fruit to pastries and also some coffee too.

Alex blinked, trying to work out if she'd heard what she thought she'd heard. She wandered over to the chest beside the bed to pull out some fresh clothes.

"You'd better hurry …" Liv teased. "This all looks 'so' good!"

The bad weather hung around for most of the day, but luckily it was warm and with raincoats donned they decided to go exploring some of the island, taking in the local culture. Neither one was prepared to mention Alex's wandering hands in the middle of the night and the blonde was just relived it hadn't seemed to affect Olivia's mood, if anything she was sprightlier than usual – given the downpour.

After returning, drenched, in the middle of the afternoon, Alex hit the shower first, leaving Liv to decide where they would go for their Christmas Eve dinner meal. As she came out of the shower, Alex saw Liv arranging a couple of small packages on the table beside some bits of green shrubbery. She stood still for a minute or two, simply watching the detective at work.

"What ya doing Liv?"

Liv spun around, cheeks flushed in embarrassment. She stepped away from her creation, waiting for Alex to come and stand beside her.

"I thought I'd fix us a makeshift Christmas tree …" She explained, all of a sudden feeling silly about it. She turned to the blonde and shrugged.

Alex slid her arm inside Olivia's and stepped tight against her side. "It's lovely Liv, I love it …"

The rain finally stopped in the early evening so they wandered down to a nice restaurant Liv had spotted on their touristy excursion earlier in the day, slipping in to make a last-minute reservation whilst Alex was looking at shoes. After a simple supper of delicious salmon and fragrant rice they washed it down with a bottle of champagne and Liv noticed that Alex was deliberately holding back.

"What's wrong?"

Alex glanced up at her and put on a smile. "Nothing," She paused. "I'm in Hawaii, for Christmas, with my best friend … what could possibly be wrong?"

"Well …" Liv hummed her evidence quietly, "You've barely touched your champagne for starters."

They sat in silence until the waiter arrived with a slice of mud pie and two spoons. Yet again Alex was reserved, acting out of character and allowing Olivia to clear her half and then begin to encroach upon hers – where it was usually the other way round.

"Is that what we are?" Liv asked, finally setting down her spoon even though Alex's half of the dessert lay practically untouched. "Best friends?"

Her question seemed to cause a height of unease in the blonde attorney, which she found both baffling and intriguing. She began to see herself much like these trips to foreign lands that Alex so loved to take, she adored them when she was there but she had to be off her tits to get to them …

She plowed on in spite of Alex's silence. "I only ask because …" Her hand slid across the table, briefly cupping Alex's inside her own.

The feel of Alex's skin beneath her fingertips had always felt right, those soft touches and illicit glances even back when they were both relatively new to the job. She always put it down to the bond they shared after all those years of working together but in truth she'd known for a while now that it had grown into something more.

"Why aren't you drinking Alex?"

Alex brought her gaze up to meet her, softly studying the brunette's face. She couldn't remember when exactly it was that she'd realised that she was in love with Olivia, but it probably happened during a mundane, innocent encounter at her own apartment, since the brunette had taken to hanging out there so often she practically ought rent the second bedroom.

She recalled looking over one day, and instead of it being her 'friend' and 'co-worker' Olivia Benson looking back at her, what she actually saw was everything beneath the surface; the woman who knew when she was upset before she did, who called her at night after a rough case, or if things were just starting to pile on top of her. Liv knew where she kept a secret stash of chocolate in her apartment, which shirt was her favourite one to sleep in and which books were on her all time top-ten list. She knew how she liked her coffee in the mornings – different from how she drank it in the evening, and without thinking or asking Liv would do the tiniest little things for her, like build her a makeshift Christmas tree that made her heart sing with glee.

"I'm trying not to get too drunk." Alex replied honestly. "I don't want to make the same mistake as I did last night."

Liv's eyes saddened and she drew her hand away, stopped by the swift action of Alex grabbing hold and placing hers over Olivia's this time.

"That's not what I meant," The blonde assured, suddenly emboldened. She took a fierce deep breath prior to a long pause. "I don't have any issue with 'that' …" She didn't really expand, "Only that I wouldn't want to make you feel embarrassed …"

"You didn't."

"Good." Alex ran her thumb softly over the back of the detective's hand. She sipped the rest of her glass, for courage, before calling the waiter over with the cheque. "Would you mind if we left? It's just … there's a break in the rain and, when we get back to the lodge there's kind of something I wanted to talk to you about?"

Liv really felt the sincerity in her voice. "Of course," Then she paused, "On one condition?"

"What?"

"It's Christmas Eve so we get to each open one of our presents first."

TBC