Author's Note: Thank you so much for the follows and reviews! You are awesome! I plan on updating this story a few times per week, depending on my schedule. The first few chapters are already in draft form, and I have several more ideas that haven't been fully fleshed out. Now, on with our show...

For most of the day, Olivia alternated between thrashing around on her bed and hovering over the toilet.

"Ugh, please make it stop," she prayed, hoping that some merciful diety might be listening. "I swear I'm never gonna drink again!"

Olivia's mind drifted back to her childhood. She had heard that exact phrase come out of her mother's mouth countless times. Along with a few more of Serena Benson's greatest hits:

"I can quit anytime I want!"

"I'm only having one tonight!"

"It's a special occasion!"

She wondered if she was heading down that same path. Olivia had to admit that her alcohol consumption had noticeably increased over the past several weeks. Lately, she found herself drinking after every shift.

"Maybe that's normal," she thought. "I know plenty of people who have a drink or two after work each day."

Despite her mother's alcoholism, Olivia had never avoided drinking. She was usually very careful about her consumption though, and she generally only drank with friends. The few occasions where she did go overboard had led to massive regrets. Until recently, she had never indulged on consecutive days.

"Come on...I'm nothing like her. I've held a steady job for years and I'm damn good at it. When do I ever miss work? It was one mistake. Things have just been hard lately and I've needed to take the edge off. So I took it too far last night...it happens."

Satisfied with her rationalization, Olivia rolled over and tried to will herself to sleep. After a few minutes of restlessness, she got out of bed and plopped down on the couch. She then noticed the bottle on the table and the glass on the floor.

Olivia shook her head. "Not like mom, huh?"

She picked up the glass and grabbed the bottle. Olivia dragged herself into the kitchen, put the glass in the sink, and debated about what to do with the vodka.

"Maybe I should dump it," she thought. "Maybe keeping liquor in the house isn't a great idea right now."

Then she countered herself. "I'm not a drunk! Why would I need to get rid of it? Unlike mom, I can completely control my actions."

Olivia decided that the vodka would go back in the refrigerator. As she stepped towards the refrigerator, her sock stuck to the tile. She looked down and saw the spill that she'd neglected to clean yesterday.

"On second thought, Liv, you're done," she scolded herself. Olivia quickly poured the vodka down the drain before she could change her mind again. "Better safe than sorry."

Sighing, she then grabbed some paper towels and cleaner and quickly wiped up the floor.

Olivia returned to the couch and looked at her phone. She deleted the missed messages from that morning and double checked to make sure that her alarm was set and that her phone was plugged in. She turned on the TV and found a brainless comedy movie that wouldn't require her to think too much. It soon made her drowsy, and for yet another night, she fell asleep on the couch.

Olivia arrived at work the next day without incident. It was a slow morning, so she decided to catch up on some paperwork. Elliot had taken the day off, and Munch and Fin were up in Harlem following up on a lead. Since there were no distractions, Olivia quickly became absorbed in her work. She didn't even notice Alex walk into Cragen's office.

After meeting with Cragen, Alex went over to the detective's desk. "Hey, Liv," she said. Olivia jumped at her voice.

"Whoa, Alex, you startled me," Olivia exclaimed.

"Sorry about that. Those reports must be really engrossing," Alex laughed. "Anyway, how are you feeling? I heard you were sick yesterday."

"Yeah, I had some bad Chinese food," Olivia replied, sticking with her story. "I'm still not 100%, but I'm much better today."

"Good to hear. Hey listen, if you're feeling up to it on Friday, would you like to have dinner? We haven't really seen each other outside of work in a while, and I thought it would be fun to get together"

"I'm sure I'll be just fine, and I would love to hang out," Olivia assured her.

"Excellent! A nice Italian place recently opened in my neighborhood. It's called Salvatore's Cucina. I've been there a couple of times and the food has been phenomenal. I'll make a reservation for 8:00."

"Sounds perfect," Olivia said.

"I'm looking forward to it." Alex glanced at her watch. "I hate to run, but I have to get to the courthouse. I'll text you the address later."

"Ok. See you soon, Alex."

Alex smiled at Olivia and then quickly rushed out the door.

Olivia had been ecstatic when Alex returned to SVU. She'd harbored a not-so-secret crush on Alex for years and she had a sense that Alex felt the same way. They had started getting very close right before Alex was shot, but Witness Protection killed any chance of the relationship progressing to another level. Regardless of whether a potential romance was in the air, Olivia was just happy to have Alex back in her life. She counted Alex as one of her closest friends and was thrilled that they would soon be spending some one-on-one time together.

Alex's invitation had put Olivia in a great mood. She decided to treat herself to a rare leisurely lunch at a local burger joint. She sat at the bar since she was dining solo.

The server greeted her. "Good afternoon ma'am. My name is Paul and I'll be taking care of you today. May I offer you something to drink? We have some fantastic new flavors from Brooklyn Brewery on tap." He couldn't see Olivia's badge and gun from behind the bar and didn't realize that she was an on-duty police officer.

"A beer sounds wonderful...but right now I'm on the clock, so I'll have to stick to caffeine. I'll have a diet soda," Olivia replied.

Paul nodded. "I completely understand. One diet soda coming right up." He walked to the other side of the bar to get Olivia's soda.

"See...I'm completely in control," she reassured herself as she looked over the menu. "I would never risk my badge for a drink."