Alex and Olivia tried to avoid the boys of the 1-6 for the rest of the day, but Cragen called Olivia into her office.

"We need to talk about this Olivia."

"I know," she looked down. "I know I should have said something earlier but …"

"There are rules for a reason."

"I know, and if I have to transfer I'll …"

"I'm not kicking you off the squad, but we need some ground rules, so that this doesn't complicate our cases. When you need a warrant, Elliot will ask for them. We don't want any smarmy attorneys accusing her of favoritism, and when you need to testify in her cases, she'll need a second chair to question you."

Olivia nodded.

"That's not all. She still needs to talk to Donnelly."

Olivia made a face. "I'll tell her Captain."

"And one more thing, she better be taking good care of you."

"She's the best."

Meanwhile, Alex was getting the big brother lecture. She tried to sneak out of the precinct, but she found herself surrounded by Stabler, Fin, and Munch.

"So how long have you been with Liv?" Fin started the interrogation.

"Our first date (was it a date?) was at the DA's Halloween Party."

Alex had gone as the Snow Queen and Olivia was Calamity Jane. The detective's old-fashioned frontier outfit clung to her body perfectly, and Alex couldn't help but smile. A few drinks later, the two women were dancing and after that, they decided to leave for a more private venue. Alex was giddy thinking about that night and almost forgot about the interrogation, until Stabler coughed.

"Oh as I was saying, we were casually seeing each other from then until right before Christmas when we exchanged Christmas presents. We decided at that time to become official."

Olivia just managed to catch Alex before she left for her parent's house.

"Can I help you, Detective?"

"I couldn't let you leave without giving you my Christmas present. What kind of girlfriend would that make me?"

"Girlfriend?"

"Yeah, if you'll have me."

They shared a passionate kiss.

"Of course!"

"And what happened last night?" Stabler wanted to know.

"Well as Brian already revealed, we enjoyed each other quite thoroughly. I know it's a shock to you all, and honestly, I would have rather kept things between us for a bit longer, but I love Olivia, and I'm proud to say it. I know it hasn't been four months yet, but I've wanted this for a long time."

"And what is it that you want?"

"Everything, marriage, kids, a dog. I want to give her the world."

She won over Olivia's brothers.

The two women couldn't wait to get out of the precinct.

"I ought to just kill Brian," Olivia muttered when she learned his role in all of this.

"It's easier, not having to hide." Alex kissed her.

"You have to tell Donnelly."

"She already knew."

"What?"

"She saw you leave my office last Thursday."

Olivia blushed when she remembered what they did in her office last Thursday.

"We already have a protocol in place, and I've been following it."

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I was going to, but you caught a case right after I talked to her and it slipped my mind."