Fourth of July

Alex and Olivia decided to take their children to Prospect Park to celebrate the holiday. They wanted to show the twins the fireworks and there would be a lot of families outside, enjoying the gorgeous weather and colorful show.

Ollie, however, was in his I don't want to wear clothes phase, and he was running around the house butt-naked.

"Mommy!" he pointed and laughed before running away.

Lorelai didn't mind wearing her clothes. She was too busy snooping through her Mama's purse to think about running around. Her Mama often had candies in her purse and Lorelai liked to have first dibs.

"Olivia, get your son to put on his clothes."

"He's only my son when he's acting up," Olivia retorted.

The detective had just gotten out of the shower. Earlier, she had been making good use of the weights downstairs and it showed. Her waist was narrower now and her abs was starting to become visible. It would not last long if the pregnancy took, but the brunette wanted to get as fit as she could before she got relegated to bed rest.

Olivia threw on a robe and then went to catch her son. "Ollie, come to Mommy!"

She found him in the game room trying to climb on the seat and scooped him up. "Don't you have a cute little bottom?" She got him into another diaper and put on his Fourth of July outfit: blue shorts with a white shirt and red suspenders.

Lorelai was already wearing her red, white, and blue dress, but her face was covered in chocolate.

"You messy girl," Alex got her cleaned up and then they were ready to go.

"Do you have the food?"

Alex had made sandwiches, grilled pork shoulder with hoisin sauce and pineapple salsa. She also made a sweet potato salad and fruit cups. "It's all in my basket."

Olivia had the other bag, which had their sunscreen, diapers, baby powder, water bottles, and an umbrella for some shade. "Let's go."

They got the twins in the back seat and buckled them in their car seats.

"They're so cute," Alex loved their little outfits. She took a picture of them to send to her mother.

Olivia kissed her wife. They turned forward and Olivia put the car in reverse.

"Zoom zoom!" Lorelai called out. She liked it when Mommy drove fast.

Ten minutes later, they were getting the twins out of the car and looking for a spot to have dinner.

There were plenty of families running around in the park, young adults drinking beer out of coolers, and couples canoodling on benches.

Olivia found the perfect spot. It was a flat section near the top of a hill, which would give them a good view of the fireworks.

They set down their blanket and got the twins settled.

"Mama, hungry!" Ollie knew who had the goods.

"We'll eat soon."

She got the napkins out and tucked one into each twin's collar to serve as a bib. She knew how they ate.

The sandwiches were cut in half to make them easier for the twins to hold and eat.

"These look amazing, Al." Olivia was salivating internally at the sight of the sandwiches. Alex had grilled the bread and then melted some butter on top. It all looked scrumptious.

"The pork is pastured and the bread is whole wheat potato bread." Alex had seen a documentary on factory farming the month before. It was so disturbing that Alex donated a sizable amount to the local Humane Society, and resolved to have only have meat and animal products from humane sources: pastured pork, free range and organic eggs, milk form grass fed cows, etc. In addition, the food was healthier when the animals that produced it were well cared for, more omega 3s, less saturated fat. Alex wanted to keep her family healthy and happy.

"YUM!" Lorelai shoved the sandwich right into her face. Ollie followed suit and the Cabots enjoyed their meal together.

Abbie and Serena were enjoying the fourth on the roof of their apartment building. There was a pool and a grill on the rooftop that everyone wanted to make use of. Abbie had grilled their steaks on the grill downstairs and then brought them up to the roof.

"We avoided that miserable line," Serena commented as they saw four people trying to use the grill at once and ten more people waiting for a turn.

They had grilled ribeye steaks, garlic mashed potatoes and a bottle of Cabernet to share. Serena set up a table and they started to eat.

"Now this is what I call Fourth of July," Abbie's family would always grill steaks for the Fourth. You can take a Carmichael out of Texas, but you'll never get the Texas out of Abbie.

Serena took out her cell phone to take a picture of her and Abbie. The two lovers grinned before Serena snapped the picture.

"It's going to be my background now."

Abbie kissed her. "I love you."

They stayed to watch the fireworks show and then headed to bed (but not to sleep)

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The twins squealed at the noise from the fireworks, but they loved the colors.

Fireworks of all colors went off, making different shapes and patterns in the sky. Alex pointed out to colors to them.

"Lorelai, it's red, white, and blue, like your dress."

"Boom!"

After the show, the twins were ready to sleep. They were up past their bedtime, and they spent the evening playing ball with their moms.

"Let's get the little ones home," Olivia said as she felt Ollie nodding off on her.

Alex had a twinkle in her eye. "Why don't we make our own fireworks tonight?"

The summer flew right by. Suddenly, it was August, and Olivia was trying her fourth IUI treatment.

They had assumed it would take 6-8 for it to work, but Olivia was already anxious. "We won't run out will we?" she asked her wife.

Alex laughed. "No, Trey saved enough for three kids, and if we do get low, we can consider IVF."

"Okay. Maybe the fourth time's a charm."

They had their fourth round with pogo and then they went home.

"What do you want to do now?" Alex asked Olivia.

"Read to the twins."

They were 15 months old and just getting interested in picture books. Olivia would read them Dr. Seuss. Alex would read them a French book, like Un Deux Trois.

"You're going to confuse them."

"Little kids adapt better to foreign languages than adults."

"But they don't even know English."

Alex thought they would rise to the challenge well. "Maybe they'll like immersion school."

"Those still exist?" Olivia thought those phased out after World War 2 when foreign languages became "dirty" particularly German, Italian, and Japanese.

"I went to one for two years."

"You did?"

"Fourth and fifth grade."

"There's still so much for me to learn about you."

"And I need to know more about you." The two lovers shared a kiss.

Three weeks later, they took another pregnancy test. They had five minutes to wait and Olivia had the shakes.

Alex curled behind her, letting her wife be little spoon. "No matter what happens, we still have each other and an amazing family."

"I know, and I feel selfish since so many people..."

Alex kissed her. "There's nothing selfish about wanting another baby," Alex promised her.

The women shared a series of kisses and were about to get horizontal on the couch when the buzzer went off. Olivia went up to check and let out a yelp. Alex knew that yelp. She had made it almost two years before. She did not have to check. "We're having a baby!"

Olivia nodded with a big smile on her face. She was going to give her wife a baby.

Alex hugged her wife, pressing them together. "I love you so much."

"I love you more."

Three weeks later, the morning sickness began. Olivia was about to say "smells good," when Alex made breakfast but instead, she had to run into the bathroom and puke.

"And here it is," Alex said. She put the eggs away and made a fruit smoothie for her wife.

Olivia hated being sick. "This is going to suck, isn't it?" she looked at herself in the mirror. Poor thing had no idea.

Alex packed ginger ale, crackers, tea, and a banana for her wife for lunch. "I take it your symptoms started today."

Olivia nodded as she came into the kitchen. "You were smart to put a toothbrush for me in every bathroom."

"I should also give you one to bring to work." Alex came out with a mini toothbrush and toothpaste.

The detective wanted to talk to Cragen first thing in the morning, but she had to rush to the bathroom first.

Damn! She brushed her teeth for the third time this morning before going to see the Captain.

"Can I have a minute?"

"Always Olivia."

She was never one to beat around the bush, so she just said it. "I'm pregnant."

He looked shocked, and then he smiled. "Congratulations."

"My doctor told me not to be out in the field after the first trimester, but I think I'll lose it doing DD5s for six months."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I'd like to transfer to Computer Crimes after my first trimester and then stay there until the baby's born."

He nodded. "Whatever you need. When do I need to replace you by?"

"Seven weeks."

"I'll get to looking. You're not easy to replace Liv."

Olivia saw Elliot and wondered if she should tell him before she told the others. He got mad when he "was the last to know" last time, but he was a bit of a party pooper when it came to her and Alex.

Focus on work. Deal with this drama later.

After six months of physical therapy, Trevor could finally walk on his own. He still didn't feel like he had before the coma, but it was quite a relief not to need his walker like he was an 80-year-old man.

He still needed physical therapy, but he no longer needed an in house nurse.

"I'm glad that you're starting at the clinic."

Elsa found a job at a clinic that treats indigent families.

"Eager to get rid of me," she teased before kissing him.

"No, it just felt like you couldn't really be my girlfriend because I was your patient."

"Trevor …"

"Just let me finish. You've been nothing but amazing Elsa, and all I wanted was to spoil you, but I couldn't because I needed you to help me get to the bathroom or to bring me lunch.

Now, it's different. I can be the one you vent to when you have a rough day at work. I can wine you and dine you like I wanted to the first day we met. This is a fresh start for us."

Elsa gave him a big kiss. "I never minded taking care of you."

"I know, but now I can take care of you too."

They shared one more kiss before she had to go to work. Trevor was ridiculously in love. He never thought he would feel so fucking mushy. "I know it's not even 9AM, but I want a beer," he grumbled.

He was set to go back to the office in two weeks. He had a feeling; he'd need all the beer.

Abbie and Serena each got a party before they got married. The guys from the 1-6 and Casey took out Abbie. Alex, Kathy, Aunt Margo, and Liz Donnelly took out Serena.

"I don't care if you see any strippers," Serena told her girlfriend, "but if you …"

Abbie gave her a big kiss. "The only woman who gets to touch me is you. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Just remember that after you've had 10 drinks."

"I won't forget, plus Liv and Casey won't let me forget."

"I know. I'm just jealous."

"You have nothing to be jealous of, Love."

The guys took Abbie to Hill Country Barbeque, which did 2-dollar well shots on Friday nights.

When they got there, Olivia was surprised to see Trevor Langan waiting for them.

"The first rounds on me," he said trying to break the ice.

"Look who the cat dragged in," Abbie teased.

"Okay, my girlfriend is at Serena's party, and she banned me from the penthouse. She said I watch too much tv."

Fin started laughing at him.

"Where are your firm friends?"

"They're not my friends," Trevor told them. "They make me money. I don't have to like them."

"You're a real charmer," Abbie retorted.

He shrugged. "If you met my partner, you would probably throw a drink at him within five minutes. I signed with him because he's good at making deals, not because I wanted him to be my best man."

"It's only been two minutes. I might throw a drink at you yet."

While Trevor was trying to find his way into this close-knit group, Elsa fit into her group charmingly.

She was normally reserved when it came to social situations, but she liked Alex and had a good feeling she would like Alex's friends.

The ladies went to a sushi restaurant where you eat off the ladies.

Kathy blushed when she saw the place. "It's always an interesting experience when I go out with you all."

"I wonder if Trevor and his old boys club come to places like this."

"No, but they do like going to Hooters," Alex told her.

"Really? Hooters."

"They could afford somewhere classier, but they're not classier."

Elsa rolled her eyes.

"I like her," Liz decided.

"So tell us your story," Margo said as she sipped on her drink.

"Not too much to tell. I'm from a small no name town in Pennsylvania. I wanted to work in healthcare since I was a little girl. The best offer I got out of nursing school was at Mercy, so I moved to New York by myself, and hopefully, this year at Christmas, my mother will finally stop asking me when am I going to slow down work and find a boyfriend."

"How long have you been in New York?"

"Four years."

"And how do you like working at the hospital?"

"I don't work there anymore. I quit to take care of Trevor after I ran out of vacation days, and now that he's up and running, I found a new job at the Grayson Clinic."

"They work with families in the lower east side?"

"Yes. It isn't as fancy as Mercy, but it's nice to be able to give more attention to the patients and their families. It's a lot smaller."

While John and Abbie threw miscellaneous insults at each other, the rest of the table wanted to know more about Trevor Langan.

"So what's your story?" Elliot questioned.

"I grew up in Dover, and like most society children, I was expected to take over the family business. My family is a corporate lawyer, and I was supposed to go to law school and come back to join his firm, but I got into a tiff with my father before I graduated and went into criminal defense instead, starting a different firm."

"What was the tiff about?"

He chugged the rest of his beer. "My father and Walter Cabot were contemplating merging their firms, and my father wanted Alex and I to get married and for us to eventually take over this new super firm.

At the time, I wasn't terribly opposed to the idea of marry Alex, but I didn't want it to be a business transaction. I don't even think Walter mentioned it to her because if he tried to barter her for a firm, and she knew about it, she would have burned the firm to the ground."

Fin started cracking up. "Oh, I would pay to see that."

Olivia had no reason to hate Trevor but she did. Her father practically tried to sell her to Trevor like she was chattel, which made her mad, but at least he was good enough to not try and buy.

"So you've known Alex for a long time."

"Her whole life. Her brother was my best friend. We did everything together. Our beach houses were across the street."

"What was Alex like as a kid?" Abbie wanted to know.

"She was a cocky little shit, but she had the resume to back it up: perfect grades, good at sports, had boys falling over themselves, then had girls falling over themselves. She took after Trey."

Trevor started telling them a story about this one girl who was bullying a nerdy kid at their school and when Alex stood up for her, she started bullying Alex too. "So Alex put itching powder in her shampoo, so the more she washed her hair, the itchier it got. The girl's mother took her into school and reported her as having lice, and then everyone teased her for it."

"How did you know it was Alex?" Casey questioned.

"On the last day of school, she made a point of telling her, in front of all her friends."

Trevor went onto another story this one was about him and Trey when Olivia started to turn green.

About a minute later, she ran into the bathroom.

Trevor finished his story and said he was going to the bathroom, but he really ordered a ginger ale from the bar and had it ready when Olivia got out.

"What's this?" she grumbled at him.

"Ginger ale. That's what you drink for morning sickness, right?"

She took the cup. "How did you?"

"You're drinking nonalcoholic beer, and you looked ready to puke every time the waitress brought fish around you."

"Alex and I haven't …"

"I'm not going to say anything. I know she'd kill me if I did."

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Because Alex loves you. She's my friend, and you make her happier than I've ever seen her."

"You're not mad about …"

He shook his head. "There was a time I wanted to marry her, but I wasn't in love with her. Trey and I were pretty much brothers, and he was depressed when he went to Harvard. I don't know if it was a suicide or not, but he knew that he was barely hanging on.

About two weeks before he OD'D, he called me sounding hysterical, and he made me promise that if anything happened to him that I would protect Alex at all costs, and when he died, a part of her died. I know because it happened to me too. I wanted to marry her because we understood each other, and I thought that since Alex and I were friends, we could at least make each other happier more so than most of the parents we knew growing up.

She was right to say no. Most of the people in society don't marry for love. They marry for financial stability or need of an heir or insert any other reason, and Alex wouldn't settle. She wouldn't have married you unless you were everything that she wanted and needed, and I want the twins to be raised thinking that is normal. If it isn't, it should be."

Olivia still had her jealousy, but she didn't hate him anymore. "You're not so bad, Langan."

"I try. Now let's see if we can get Abbie too drunk to stand up."

"Now you're talking."

The ladies went to the same club they had taken Alex to for her bachelorette party, but this time, they were doing a fire spinning show outside, semi-clad women wielding poi, firebreathing, or using fire staffs as they danced around.

"This is hot, and I don't mean to make a bad pun," Elsa told them.

"Olivia would love this," Alex commented.

"Where are the others?" Maggie asked.

"They're at Her Melons again," Kathy grumbled.

"That's a real place?" Elsa questioned.

"Abbie better not let their melons anywhere near her."

"I don't know why they bought Olivia a dance there. She was never going to accept it."

"What?" Serena questioned. "We didn't buy her anything."

"Then why did that slutty cheerleader try to climb on top of her?"

Serena shrugged. "I don't know who bought her, but Abbie and I didn't."

Alex assumed Stabler did it on his own, dirty little liar.

The grill was nice and hot. Olivia put the corn down. She usually just grilled it plain, but Alex gave her a spice blend to brush on it first.

Her Melons did the same show every Friday. Their patrons were usually too drunk to complain.

"This place is nasty," Olivia complained.

"I feel like I might have gotten an STD walking through the door," Trevor retorted.

"I need some Hennessy!" Abbie insisted.

Five dancers and many shots later, Abbie was blind drunk.

"Now who's gonna show me her tits. Olivia, take off that shirt."

The guys were all laughing at her.

Olivia gave her a look. "Girl, I'm gonna let that slide because you're too drunk to know your own name right now, but don't do anything to make Serena and Alex kill you."

"You're no fun. Casey, what are you hiding in there?"

"Nothing, for you."

"Aw, do you even like girls? If you don't, you should."

Casey was bi-curious but she didn't advertise it, especially not to Abbie.

The naughty nurse stripper came over and thought Abbie was easy money. Abbie was so drunk that she puked on her instead, getting them all kicked out the club.

"I can't believe you got banned from Her Melons," Trevor told her.

"Shut up Langan! I need some water."

Munch laughed at her, but then he threw up too.

"Fucking amateurs," Olivia teased.

By the time Olivia got home, Alex was waiting for her with a bottle of ginger ale and a pint of Ben and Jerry's.

"You really do love me!"

Alex kissed her forehead. "Bet your sweet ass I do."

"Even when I'm fat and wobble like a whale?"

"I'll get you a wheelchair and will push you around."

Olivia pouted and Alex laughed.

"You jerk! You're supposed to say I won't get fat."

"Fishing for complements," Alex teased. "You know you're gorgeous."

The two women converged onto the ice cream and together, they killed it.