Author's Note: Holy balls and bats, moving is the worst! It's always stressful and anything that can go wrong always does. At least for me. I also still don't have home internet, because transferring service is like rocket science or something. Hopefully this will be resolved soon so I can update in a more timely manner.

OK, enough "poor me". Let's shift to "poor Olivia". Again, thanks for the reviews and follows! It really means a lot to me that you all like this story :) You've been really supportive and encouraging! There's a lot more to this story, and I'm excited to tell it.

Alex watched Olivia stumble down the hall. Olivia used the wall as support and laboriously made her way to Alex's door. Once she was there, Alex took her hand and led her to the living room couch.

"Have a seat, Liv. I'll get you some water."

"Good old H2O. The stuff dreams are made of," Olivia replied.

Alex ignored that remark, mainly because she had no idea what Olivia was talking about. She poured a glass of water and took a bottle of ibuprofen from the cabinet.

Alex returned to the living room and handed the glass and two pills to Olivia. "Here, take these."

"I'm not sick, Alex. I feel great!"

"Take them for me. Consider it a gift to your future self," Alex said.

"These aren't roofies, are they? I'm just kidding. I know you would never do that. Although, if you think about it, you have the perfect cover. Attorney working for the city...no one would ever suspect you. On the other hand, plenty of govern-"

"Please just take the pills!" Alex interrupted. Olivia's drunken rambling was giving Alex a headache.

"Yes ma'am. Anything for you, Al." Olivia swallowed the pills and finished the glass of water. "Now what?"

"Well, it's late, and you and I both have work tomorrow. So now, we're going to get you ready for bed. Go to the bathroom and wash up. I'll bring you a change of clothes."

"That's like, the opposite of fun. Can't we do something else? Let's play hooky tomorrow. We can go to...the zoo. Or maybe Coney Island."

Alex could feel her blood pressure rising. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "No, Liv," she calmly said. "We are not playing hooky. I have a ton of work to finish up tomorrow, and I'm sure that the squad expects you to be in."

"I don't want to work tomorrow," Olivia stated matter-of-factly.

"Well, you're a big girl and can make your own decisions. But I strongly suggest that you call it a night. Cragen will ream you out if you don't show up." Alex knew that she couldn't really reason with Olivia while she was in this state. She hoped that the threat of negative consequences would motivate Olivia to get ready to go to sleep.

Olivia frowned. "Yeah, Cap'n wouldn't like that. You're so smart."

"I like to think so. Now, I want you to get ready for bed."

Olivia nodded and went into the bathroom. Alex got her a pair of gray sweatpants and a t-shirt. She knocked on the bathroom door.

"Hey Liv, I have some PJ's for you. I'll leave them by the door."

"Ok," Olivia acknowledged.

Alex put a blanket and two pillows on the couch for Olivia. She wanted to have a serious conversation with Olivia about her actions tonight, but Alex couldn't talk to Olivia now. She was completely wasted. Nothing would sink in, and Alex would just get frustrated. However, Olivia would have to face Alex in the morning - Alex was not going to let her off that easily.

Olivia came back into the living room and laid on the couch. She pulled the blanket up to her neck and positioned her head comfortably on the pillows. She looked expectantly at Alex.

"Do I get a goodnight kiss? It will help me sleep better."

Alex was still irritated at the whole situation, but she wasn't going to deprive Olivia. Besides, she hadn't been with Olivia all week, and she missed her lips.

"Sure, Liv," Alex leaned down and kissed her.

Olivia smiled and closed her eyes. "Perfect. Goodnight, Alex."

"Goodnight, Liv."

Alex stood by the couch and watched as Olivia drifted off to sleep. She observed the steady rhythm of Olivia's chest as she breathed in and out. Once Alex was sure that Olivia was settled, she went back to her bedroom. She set her alarm extra early, because she and Olivia were going to have a talk in the morning.

Olivia felt a hand gently shaking her shoulder.

"Hey," Alex whispered. "Time to get up"

Olivia opened her eyes and found herself staring at Alex. Confused, she looked around. She realized she was in Alex's apartment, laying on the sofa.

"Oh, no. No, no, no! What the hell happened last night?" Olivia thought to herself. She had no clue why she was at Alex's apartment. The last thing she remembered was waiting for a taxi outside the bar with Elliot. Olivia could see the sun streaming through the blinds, so clearly, she was busy last night.

Olivia sat up and held her head in her hands. "Alex...I" Suddenly a wave of nausea hit her. She lept up and ran to the bathroom. Once Olivia was done throwing up, she brushed her teeth and walked slowly back to the living room.

She sat back on the couch and avoided Alex's gaze by staring at the floor. "Alex...I...I don't even know what to say. I screwed up. Big time. I went out with the guys and obviously took it too far. I don't even know how I got here."

This statement alarmed Alex. She remembered reading that blacking out was a huge red flag for full-blown alcoholism. "I can't answer that. All I know is that you called me when you were downstairs. You woke me up. I had you spend the night because you were too drunk to safely make it back home."

Olivia was mortified. "I am so sorry, Alex. I honestly don't remember any of this. I remember Elliot hailing a taxi for us, but he wouldn't have taken me here. And if he did, you would have known. He must have taken me home, and then I decided to come here."

Alex took Olivia's hand. "Liv, this scares me. The fact that you have no recollection of what happened last night is terrifying. You could have gotten into serious trouble...you know better than anyone about the dangers lurking in this city."

"You're right, Alex. What I did was stupid and irresponsible. There's no excuse for my behavior. I thought I would just have one drink and call it a night. But as soon as I started drinking, I couldn't stop," Olivia admitted.

"I'm worried about you, Olivia. I care about you so much...I don't want to lose you to alcohol."

"I don't want to lose myself either. I obviously cannot drink anymore. I'm done."

"Liv, you told me that a few days ago. But you couldn't even last a week without drinking. Maybe you need to see someone-"

"No!" Olivia interrupted. "I can control this on my own. I don't need some shrink to tell me what I already know. Been there, done that, didn't help."

Alex kneeled next to Olivia. "Liv, this is different. I'm talking about seeing an addiction counselor. A person who is specially trained to help patients with substance abuse issues. I think it could really benefit you."

"I'm not a substance abuser!" Olivia cried. "I may have been hitting the bottle a bit too much these days, but I'm nowhere near the point of needing professional help."

"No, of course you're not!" Alex sarcastically shot back. She stood up and started pacing. "You got blackout drunk and showed up at my door in the middle of the night! This is after we agreed that you would call me if you felt like drinking. You went to a bar, which is the absolute worst environment you could put yourself in if you're trying not to drink. You wanted only one drink, but you ended up having God knows how many. You even admitted to me last week that you were concerned about your alcohol consumption. But hey, it's silly to nip this in the bud before it becomes a real problem!"

Olivia stood up and walked over to Alex. She leaned in to give Alex a hug, but Alex stepped back and held up her hand.

"I'm not finished yet. Liv, I know that you'll try your best to stay sober. But addiction is a beast. It's not rational or logical. It takes more than willpower to fight it. A professional can help give you strategies to cope when the urge to drink comes up. Because it will come up. It's nice to believe that you can will yourself to not drink. But reality doesn't work like that. You know this...you lived this with your mother."

Olivia looked deeply into Alex's eyes. "Alex, I'm not that bad off. I don't need counseling."

"Olivia-"

"Wait. Now it's my turn to finish. I'm going to make you a promise. If I slip up again, which I won't, but if it does happen, I'll see a counselor. I'll even go to rehab. Whatever it takes. But I'm not going to drink anymore. So, I don't need counseling right now."

Alex felt strongly that counseling was the best option. But she was in a precarious position with Olivia. If Alex pushed too hard, Olivia would shut her out. And if Olivia was left to her own devices, there was no telling what might happen. At least at this point, she could watch Olivia and support her.

Alex sighed. "Ok, Liv. Against my better judgment, I'll agree to those terms. But this is it. One more slip-up and you're getting treatment. And I will use any means necessary to make that happen, including getting Cragen involved. So keep that in the forefront of your mind."

Olivia grabbed Alex into a tight hug. "Thank you. I'm not going to screw this up."

"I hope not," Alex replied. She broke off the embrace. "Now, here's the game plan. I'm going to meet you at the station after work. We'll go to your house to get some clothes and necessities, because you'll be spending the weekend with me."

"That sounds awesome! I'd love that."

"Good, because I'm going to watch you like a hawk. There will be zero drinking on my watch. Now, we really need to get ready for work. You can borrow a shirt so that no one will know that anything happened last night. Do you need anything else?" Alex asked.

"A Tylenol, maybe? My head is killing me."

"You shouldn't take anything with acetaminophen during or after drinking. It taxes your liver and can cause serious damage. I'll get you ibuprofen instead," Alex offered.

"That's fine. Just as long as it helps with this massive headache," Olivia said.

Alex got her the medicine. "You can take a shower after me. I'll be quick."

Alex went into the bathroom and turned on a steaming hot shower. As the water flowed, she tried to figure out how else she could help Olivia. She decided to talk to Elliot and get his take on the situation. No one knew Olivia as well as he did, and Alex could trust him to keep quiet about Olivia's issues.