[MANY thanks for all the lovely reviews!]
"I wish you'd go home," Alex looked at Olivia, trying to settle herself in the high-backed armchair in her room. "You need your sleep."
Olivia took Alex's hand and stroked her fingers softly. "Yeah," she teased. "Tell me, counselor. If you were in my position right now, would you want to go home?"
Alex smiled weakly. "You got me," she said. She was so tired, and she hurt all over. The past day had been horribly traumatic for them all, but she didn't care about any of that any more. She looked over at the plastic crib by the bed, and saw her baby – their baby – move her little fists in her sleep as she adjusted to life in the real world. She glanced at Olivia, and saw that her gaze was also on the tiny child. Little Maisie was even smaller than Lily had been at birth, but they were fortunate and she had no health problems related to her early birth. "She's all ours," Alex whispered.
Olivia looked over, tears in her eyes. "She was worth waiting for. I know you've had a hell of a time, honey."
"I'd do it all again, ten times," Alex said. "I can't wait for Lily to see her. You said you talked to her?"
Olivia nodded, thinking back to her conversation with their first-born. "She's so excited. I'm gonna go home tomorrow morning, so that I can bring her in, is that okay Alexandra? I don't want to leave you, but I want Lily to be as much a part of this as possible. Carolyn said she'd drop her back at the apartment with Amy and then, if you're feeling up to it, she'll come visit you while I go get Lily and bring her in."
"I think that's a great idea," Alex agreed. She couldn't wait to see Lily, and hated to be away from her for even one night. In the last few months of her pregnancy, she had been able to spend much more time than usual with the toddler, and she had relished every moment. So she was just as keen as Olivia to make sure that Lily knew how important she was at this precious time.
"You got much pain?" Olivia could see Alex grimacing.
"A bit," Alex admitted. "It's hard to get comfortable."
"What can I do?"
"You can kiss me," Alex smiled.
Olivia took Alex's face softly in both hands; she tried not to wince at the bruising and cuts that marred her perfect skin, and to just remember how lucky they all were to have come out of it as well as they did. She kissed her very softly, whimpering with pleasure at the sensation. "I love you so much," she told her wife. "And I've never been more proud of you. Try and sleep for a little bit. I expect somebody will be wanting a top-up before the night is out," she looked over lovingly at the baby.
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Olivia tried to sleep in her chair, but found sleep to be an elusive commodity. So after a couple of hours, she gave up, and happily sat there, snuggled in a scratchy hospital blanket, keeping vigil over her family. Alex's sleep was disturbed too; periodically, she would jerk awake for a few seconds, a look of panic on her face before she realized she was safe. Olivia was happy to be awake for those moments, and she only needed to squeeze Alex's fingers, or stroke her face and offer a few comforting sounds, and Alex drifted off to sleep again.
Shortly before 3am, little Maisie started to fuss. Olivia was almost grateful for an excuse to pick her up, which she did so very carefully. "Hey, baby girl," she whispered. "I'm guessing you're peckish, huh? Let's see if we can do this then, shall we?" Very carefully, she adjusted Alex's scrubs top, and positioned the hungry baby in place.
Alex woke with a small weight on her chest, and realized that their baby was suckling enthusiastically. "Help me up," she said, her voice rough with sleep.
Olivia helped her to a half-sitting position, without disrupting Maisie's meal. Alex looked down at their tiny child and smiled. "There's nothing wrong with her appetite," she gave a small laugh.
"Are you okay there?" Olivia asked her.
"I don't think I've ever been better."
Olivia smiled. She knew how Alex felt. Even with multiple contusions, a fractured leg, and her operation wound – to say nothing of all the usual pains related to childbirth – she was euphoric. It had been touch and go, though, and both Alex and Olivia had enough experience to know that the trauma of the day would resurface from time to time. But they had each other, and they would cope.
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"Come and meet our daughter," Olivia ushered Carolyn into Alex's room at 7.30am the next day. "She and mommy are awake. In fact, she's just having her breakfast."
Carolyn looked over at Alex, and tried not to gasp. The bruising was really starting to come out on her face, and she looked like she had been in a fight. But Carolyn also spotted the serene expression on her sister's face as she held her baby. Carolyn kissed Alex gently on the cheek, blinking back her own tears. She looked at little Maisie, and touched her head very softly. "She's beautiful," she whispered. "She looks just like you did as a baby, Lexie. She's perfect."
Alex smiled as Maisie finally released her nipple, and was almost instantly asleep. "You wanna hold her?" she offered.
"Can I?" Carolyn's emotions were bubbling over.
"She needs burping, you can do that," Alex held her out. "She seems to like being over the shoulder."
"I'm gonna go get Lily," Olivia smiled at the scene in front of her. "We'll be back in an hour. Are you okay to stay?" she asked Carolyn.
"I don't need babysitting," Alex teased gently.
"I know. I just didn't want you to be alone. I know you hate hospitals."
"Hurry back," Alex prompted. "I need to see Lily."
"Okay," Carolyn said, after she had put Maisie down for a lap. She rifled through her large purse, and brought out her make-up bag. "Let's try and tone this down a bit, shall we?" she indicated Alex's face. "For Lily. Can I do that? Just hide a little of the bruising."
"That'd be great," Alex said. "I don't want her to be scared. I want her to remember today as a good day."
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"Can you find where this piece goes?" Amy held out a piece of jigsaw to Lily, who took it from her, a look of fierce concentration on her face. Amy thought she heard a key in the lock. "I'll be right back," she promised Lily.
As she approached the door, she saw it open to reveal Olivia. She flung her arms around her and gave her a warm hug. "Are you okay?" Amy whispered. She didn't want to alert Amy to Olivia's presence.
"We're all great," Olivia whispered back. She got out her phone and passed it to Amy. "There's a few pictures in there," she said, "have a look through." She entered the living room, pausing for a brief second to just observe Lily, who was still looking for the right place for the jigsaw piece. Olivia saw her expression change to one of delight as she found it and slotted the piece in.
"I did it! Amy, I..." Lily looked round to tell Amy, and saw Olivia. "Mama!" she yelled, hurling herself toward her mother.
Olivia swept her up in her arms and held her tight. "My baby girl," she said. "We missed you so much."
Lily snuggled into her mother's front, delighted and relieved to have her home again. "Missed you Mama. And Mommy. Where's Mommy?"
Olivia sat on the couch, and set Lily on her knee. She reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "Your hair's getting long, peanut," she said.
"Is Mommy okay?" Lily looked perturbed.
"Mommy's fine, baby, I swear to you. Well, she's a little bruised, but she's fine, and she can't wait to see you."
"What happened, Mama?" Lily was still a little confused.
Olivia took a deep breath. She had discussed this with Alex, and they had both agreed that they should tell Lily the truth, as much as possible. She would be bound to find out about the car wreck, and it would hurt her more to find out that her mothers had lied to her.
"Things were a little difficult yesterday," Olivia told Lily. "A silly man wasn't driving properly, and his car bumped into mine just as I was taking your Mommy to the doctor. So your poor Mommy got a bit bruised in the accident, and she has a very sore leg. But it's all going to be fine. But you know what else happened, don't you?"
"Mommy had the baby?" Lily couldn't quite work out how the car wreck and the baby were connected.
"She did sweetie. And she very nearly had it in the car! I think the bump from the accident woke the baby up, and she decided that she wanted to come out right away, she didn't want to wait any longer. So, baby girl, you have a little sister, who is just dying to meet you. Shall we go see her and Mommy?"
"In the hospital?"
"Yes, sweetie, they're still there. We spoke to the doctors this morning, and they want your Mommy to stay for another few days, just while all her boo boos start to heal. But she's okay sweetie, really she is. And she'll feel even better when she sees you."
"Can we go now, Mama?" Lily wriggled off her knee, and pulled at her hand. "Please?"
Olivia smiled. "Of course we can. C'mon," she lifted her up again, "let's go see Mommy."
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Alex looked up as she heard a gentle tap at the door, and gave a huge smile when she saw Lily, who was holding on to Olivia's hand a little shyly. Carefully, she passed the baby to Carolyn. She put out both her arms. "Get your little butt over here and give your Mommy a big hug," she grinned.
Olivia lifted her on to the bed. "Stay on this side, Mommy's other leg is real sore," Olivia told her.
Alex wrapped her arms around their daughter, and held her close, inhaling the scent that was so essentially Lily. "Oh I missed you so much," Alex told her. "Are you okay? Have you been having fun?"
Lily nodded. "Auntie Caro took me and Josh to the park, where we did play baseball. And today I did a jigsaw with Amy. Mommy, did you have a baby?"
"I did, Lily. She's over there, with Auntie Caro. Do you want to meet her?"
Lily nodded, so Carolyn got up from her chair and passed Maisie to Alex.
"Here she is," Alex kept her voice quiet. "She's having a snooze at the moment."
Lily peered into the blankets, and smiled. "Your baby, Mommy?"
"Our baby," Alex clarified. "Do you want to hold her, Lily?"
"Can I?"
"You can, but you have to be real careful with babies when they're tiny. You have to hold their heads very carefully. Why don't you sit right next to me, and we'll do this together. That's it," Alex passed over the child very carefully, touched by the care that Lily took.
"She's real small Mommy," Lily peered at her in wonder.
"She is. But she'll get bigger, and stronger. And she's a very lucky little girl. Do you know why that is?"
Lily shook her head.
"Because she has the best big sister in the world. She's going to learn so much from you, and she'll have you to love her and protect her and keep her safe. And she is going to love you so much. And when she's older, she'll keep you safe too."
"What is she called?"
"She's called Maisie," Olivia told her, her heart falling a little at the remembrance of the conversation she was going to have to have with Alex.
"Hi Maisie," Lily looked at her sister, who was starting to wake. "I'll take real good care of you."
Maisie's eyes opened, and though Alex knew that she couldn't yet focus, she could have sworn that she was staring right at Lily.
"She's looking at me Mommy," Lily said. "Does she know I'm her sister?"
"I'm sure she does," Olivia touched Lily's arm lovingly. "And I think she's real happy about it."
After a while, Olivia took Maisie from Lily, and just sat quietly in the chair with her, watching the interaction between Lily and Alex. She knew Alex was exhausted, but could see what an effort she was making to make Lily feel like she was the most important person in the room.
"So, what do you think of your little sister?" Alex asked.
Lily looked up at Alex and smiled. "Will she come home with us?"
"She will soon, she'll come home when I do."
"Today?" Lily looked hopeful.
"Not today, peanut," Alex told her. "The doctors say I have to stay here a few days, because I have a poorly leg. They want to make sure everything's healing. But in a few days, Maisie and I will be home with you."
"Okay," Lily nodded. Olivia had already explained everything to you. "Can I come see you tomorrow?"
"Of course you can, Lily. I'll be very sad if you don't. I want to see you every day, and I can't wait until I'm home with you," Alex tried to stifle a yawn.
"You tired Mommy?"
"A little. Just like little Maisie. Look, Lily, she's fallen asleep in Mama's arms."
Very tenderly, Olivia placed the baby carefully in the plastic crib by Alex's bedside. "Give your Mommy a big hug," she told Lily.
"You're not leaving?" Alex tried to hide another yawn.
"I'm taking Lily downstairs. Sarah and Jay are waiting in the parking lot, they're going to take her swimming. I'll be right back."
"Don't they want to come up?" Alex tried not to look hurt.
"Of course they do, but they don't want to tire you out," Olivia explained.
"Give me that phone," Alex's assertive streak kicked in. She scrolled down and selected Sarah's number, smiling to herself when her niece answered. "Get your butts up here right now," she instructed, laughing at Sarah's screech of delight at the sound of her voice. "I don't care what Olivia told you. If you're not up here in five minutes, I'll make damned sure you regret it. Maternity wing, fourth floor, room 406." She cut off the call before Sarah had a chance to reply, and grinned smugly at Olivia. "What?" she protested innocence. "They're our family. They have to meet the latest addition."
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Olivia arrived on the fourth morning of Alex's hospital stay feeling cheerful and relaxed. She had just learned that she would be able to take her wife and daughter home with her the following day, and she couldn't wait to share the news with Alex. So she had stopped off en route to buy a large bunch of flowers, which she knew Alex would tell her was a waste of money as soon as she learned she would be escaping soon. But Olivia couldn't resist it, and the white roses were full and beautiful, and made her think of Alex.
She stuck her head round the door, half-expecting Alex to be sleeping. Instead, her wife was on the phone, a notepad in front of her, and she was furiously taking notes. "No," Alex said into the phone. "Don't worry. She is the one in the wrong. She can't do that. Are you sure she's been watching you? Well, then you're going to have to stay somewhere else, at least until they pick her up. Can you do that?" she looked up, and saw Olivia enter the room, and her face split into a wide smile. "That's great. You'll have to keep Freddie out of school, at least until we sort this out. Don't worry, Kevin. No, it's fine, you can call me any time. I'll speak to you this afternoon." She hung up the phone, and sneaked a look at Olivia, expecting to see thunder in her eyes. Instead, she saw only amusement.
"You just can't help yourself, can you?" Olivia said smiling, as she leant forward to kiss Alex deeply. "Even now, with a broken leg..."
"Fractured leg," Alex amended, with a sheepish smile.
"Fractured leg," Olivia agreed. "Even now, you're thinking about your cases."
"Tell me you don't think about yours?" Alex challenged. "When you're at home?"
Olivia smiled. "I know. Busted."
"So you're not pissed I was on the phone?"
"You're a 31-year-old woman. You have every right to be on the phone. If I thought for one minute you were hurting yourself by being on the phone, I'd be pissed. But you're doing what you have to do. And if it gets too much, I trust you to get help. Or at least to talk to me about it. Am I right?"
"You're so right," Alex said. "Liv, I think you may need to help him. His wife's harassing him again, and he's worried for their son."
"I'll do what I can. Tell me the details," Olivia peered down at the cot, and saw that their daughter was just waking. "May I?" she asked Alex.
Alex chuckled. "Of course. She loves being with her Mama. She'll want to cuddle for ten minutes, and then she'll want a snack."
"Your boobs not too sore?" Olivia lifted Maisie tenderly.
Alex grinned wryly. "They've been better," she admitted. "But I've been putting the ointment on, and everyone says I'll get used to it."
"It does get better," Olivia promised her.
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"The nurse is going to come in and sign you out," Olivia told Alex, as she scooped up baby Maisie. "I'm just taking her down to the car, Carolyn's got it all warmed up. And then I'll come get you, and we'll go home."
"Thank God," Alex breathed. Five days in the hospital had been more than enough for her, even if Olivia had been at her side for much of the time. She was tired, and sore, and getting antsy. She could think of nothing nicer than getting back to their own apartment, where there would be no strange noises, no doctors coming in, no nurses disturbing her every few minutes. And Olivia was going to be home with her for the next two weeks. She sighed with relief at the prospect of snuggling up to her wife in bed that night; she had missed her more than she had ever imagined she could.
"Alexandra Benson?" a female voice called out from the door.
Alex looked up from her seat in the wheelchair. "That's me," she smiled. "Have you come to spring me?" she was surprised that the woman was not in uniform, and guessed that she must be some type of administrator. So she was off her guard, when she saw the woman enter and shut the door quietly behind her.
"You interfering bitch," the woman's voice was low and dangerous. "Who the fuck do you think you are, keeping me from my son?"
Before Alex realized what was going on, the woman was in her face, screaming obscenities. Alex didn't have time to put out her hands to defend herself as the woman punched her violently in the face. The pain was indescribable. Instinct took over, and Alex reached out blindly, hugely disadvantaged by her position in the wheelchair. But Olivia had taught her well, and she managed to grab her assailant by her hair, and brought up her knee, crashing it into her face.
The woman screamed and fell back, clutching her nose which was pouring with blood. "You fucking bitch!" she yelled. "You'll pay for that!"
Alex flinched, knowing that she had lost her brief advantage as the woman advanced on her. She covered her head in anticipation of the blow, but … nothing. And then the sweetest sound she had ever heard, Olivia's voice. "One more move, and I swear I'll take you out the game."
She looked up, and saw her assailant lying on the ground, with Olivia kneeling on her, twisting her arm painfully up behind her. The woman tried to struggle. "I wouldn't do that," Olivia's voice was unnaturally calm. "I'll happily break your arm." She twisted it further, causing the woman to cry out in pain.
Olivia looked over at Alex. "Alex, are you okay?"
Alex hadn't noticed the blood streaming from her face. She touched her hairline gently. "Bitch got me," she said shakily. "I'm fine," she tried to give a small laugh, but convinced nobody.
In seconds, hospital security was swarming the room, and Alex's attacker was dragged off. Olivia knelt by Alex's side. "We'll get that looked at," she touched Alex's cheek very gently.
"I just want to go home," Alex whispered. "Thank God Maisie wasn't in here."
Olivia chafed her hands between her own, realizing that she was shaking. "It was Kevin's wife, huh?"
Alex nodded. "Must have been."
Olivia smiled. "You know you broke her nose," she said. "Kick-ass Cabot."
"Benson," Alex corrected her.
"Even from a wheelchair, she should have known not to argue with you." Olivia tried to keep the conversation light. "Nobody messes with my wife."
"Mrs Benson?" there was a light tap at the door.
Alex's head shot up sharply, and Olivia could see the anxiety in her eyes. They both relaxed as they saw a familiar nurse.
"I just need to bring you downstairs for an x-ray, and then we'll put a stitch in there," she probed gently at Alex's face. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay," Alex insisted.
"Any headache? Nausea?" the nurse pushed.
"Nothing." Alex was desperate to get out of the hospital.
"Just shaken up," Olivia said gently.
"Let's just get this x-ray out of the way. You'll be on your way in an hour."
"But the baby's in the car!" Alex protested.
"I'll call Carolyn. She can take her home for us, we'll get a cab. She's sound asleep, she'll be fine."
"I wanted to be the one to bring her home," Alex felt a rising fury at the woman who had attacked her.
"I know, honey, I know. We can ask Carolyn to bring her back up here?"
Alex shook her head. "No. That might wake her up. Get her to take her."
Olivia took her hand. "We'll have all the time in the world with her when we get home."
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An hour later, Alex was back in her hospital room, signing her release papers. Olivia looked up as she head a tap on the door.
"Cab for Benson?" a familiar voice called.
"Jay!" Olivia smiled, as Jay stepped in the room, wrapping her in a warm hug. "How did you know?"
"A little bird told me," she glanced over at Alex, seeing the blooming bruise on her cheek. "Wow, I hope the other guy looks worse," she said gently, knowing that Alex would respond better to humor than mawkishness.
"Broken nose and fractured cheekbone," Olivia said proudly. "My wife is a force to be reckoned with."
Jay grinned. "Tell me something I don't know," she laughed.