Author's Note: You readers are the best, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I have a short but important chapter for you today. Next chapter will be a biggie (both contentwise and lengthwise)!

Elliot was sitting at his desk, researching a suspect's social media activity, when he felt his phone vibrate. He took it out of his pocket and saw a text message notification from Alex.

"Hey Elliot. Don't tell anyone that I texted you."

Elliot raised his eyebrows. "Ok. What's going on?" he typed back.

"I have kind of weird request. Can you stop by my office as soon as possible?"

"Sure. But that doesn't sound so weird."

"I need you to come alone and don't let anyone know where you're going. Especially Olivia."

That message did not sound good, and Elliot began to worry. "Alex, are you OK? You're not in danger or anything?"

"No, I'm fine, but I really need to talk to you about something."

"I'll be there in a half hour," Elliot confirmed.

"Thanks!"

Elliot stood up from his desk. Olivia looked up from her reports."What's up?" she asked.

"Nothing. An old friend texted me and asked if I could meet up. It's pretty quiet right now, so I thought I'd take an early lunch. Call me if anything," Elliot replied.

Olivia nodded. "Ok. Have fun."

"Yep." Elliot left the station and headed over to Alex's office.

Alex's door was open when Elliot arrived. He popped his head in and knocked on the doorframe.

"Elliot, great. Thanks for coming. Can you please close the door?"

He did as he was asked and took a seat across from Alex.

"Alex, are you sure you're alright? You're usually not this paranoid," Elliot remarked.

"Elliot, I promise I'm perfectly fine. This...this is about Olivia."

Elliot leaned forward at the mention of his partner's name. "What about Olivia?"

Alex took a deep breath. "I don't really know how to say this, so I'm just going to come right out with it. I think Olivia has a drinking problem."

Elliot's first instinct was to immediately jump to his partner's defense. But he restrained himself. Alex wouldn't make an accusation like this without a damn good reason. "What makes you say that?" he asked.

"We went out to dinner last Friday and she got completely obliterated. The next morning, she admitted to me that she noticed her alcohol consumption increasing. Olivia promised to avoid alcohol, but she couldn't even last a week. I imagine you know how drunk she was last night. So do I, because she showed up at my apartment and could barely walk straight."

"You're not serious," Elliot said, but he could tell from Alex's expression that this was no joke. "I took her home last night and she was completely out of her mind. She must have went to your place after I left. I'm amazed that she even got there."

"Elliot, have you noticed Olivia drinking more than usual?"

Elliot sighed. "Last week when she had 'food poisoning'...it wasn't food poisoning. But I figured it was a one time thing. I had no idea she was doing it on a regular basis."

"Do you think she has a real problem? She seems to fit a lot of the criteria for alcoholism. But maybe it's just a phase...maybe I'm overreacting?"

"I don't know, Alex. After what you just told me, I'm concerned. I mean, her mother was a drunk, and she went through a lot because of it. She's never really been the type of person who drinks to excess. But it seems like a pattern may be emerging."

"I talked to her this morning about getting help. You can imagine how well that conversation went," Alex said. "She promised that if she slipped again, she'd go see someone. But I really don't want it to get to that point."

"She's as stubborn and pig headed as I am," Elliot replied with a smirk. "What I can do is keep a close eye on her. I'm with her every day, so if something is off, I'll notice. Especially now that you've brought this up to me."

"Thanks Elliot. I don't want anything to happen to her."

"Honestly, Alex. This doesn't sound good. I hope she's not heading down that path. But I'll help in any way I can, and I'm sure you'll do the same."

Elliot stood up and walked towards the door. Before he opened it, he turned around. "So, you two went out to dinner last week, spent the weekend together, and she showed up at your place last night...something I should know, Cabot?"

Alex could feel herself blushing. "You'd find out sooner or later, but yes. Olivia and I have started dating. However, we're taking it slow and are trying to keep it quiet right now. Especially in light of Olivia's issues."

Elliot smiled. "My lips are sealed. For what it's worth, I've thought you two would make a perfect couple for years. I'm happy for you. And don't worry...Olivia will be fine. We'll make sure of it."

"Thanks again, Elliot. That really means a lot."

"You're welcome. See you soon, Alex."

"I can't believe Olivia is doing this," Elliot thought as he walked to the elevator. "I know that alcoholism can be hereditary, but her mother put her through so much BS that I never thought she would develop a drinking problem. Maybe Alex is overreacting. But she's not really the type to do that. I'll keep a closer watch on Liv, just in case."

At 5:30, Alex arrived at the precinct. To her surprise, she found Olivia was waiting for her outside, ready to go.

"Wow, Liv. We usually have to use excessive force to get you out of here," Alex remarked.

"Well, I have something much better planned for tonight than hanging out with the scum of New York," Olivia answered

"Great. Let's get this party started."

"And what a party it will be," Olivia grinned.