Wow, the response to this story was overwhelming! You guys are the best, you got me so excited :) So because you're so awesome, you get a quick update-maybe I'll even get another one out tomorrow! )
The 1-6 was eerily quiet today. Elliot and Olivia were slightly moody, each twiddling their thumbs at their respective desks. They'd spent the last five days chasing a serial rapist gone killer, and even the most gruesome pictures and striking evidence they provided for Hardwicke wasn't enough to make her win the case. No, they didn't mind her, but every time she lost they couldn't help but wonder, What if Alex or Casey were here?
Munch walked over from the coffeemaker, holding a mug in front of Olivia's nose.
"Earth to Benson," he said, waving the mug around.
"I see you Munch, I just hate your coffee," she spat.
"Well sorry, just looks like you could use the caffeine. Any for you, Elliot?"
Elliot scoffed. "I'd sooner inject it straight into my veins than put it in my mouth."
"Ahem," Cragen cleared his throat, walking in and raising an eyebrow at Stabler.
"Munch's sludge coffee, that is, Cap," he explained, smirking.
"Ah. In that case, you're probably right. No case guys, so it's DD5s for everyone today," Cragen announced, to the groans of four detectives. "Oh stop complaining and have a donut, you lazy cops."
"Not lazy, bored!" Olivia replied, leaning back in her chair.
"Not me. I've been surfing the Internet. Seeing what other crap happens in the world besides what we get in here," Fin said. "Huh. Did you guys see that Alexander Cabot died?"
"What?" Olivia said shooting up, her heart racing a million miles an hour.
Fin chuckled. "Relax, Liv, I said Alexander, not Alexandra. It's her father, some big Wall Street stock broker." Olivia calmed slightly, but her chest was still rising rapidly.
"Can I get you a paper bag, Liv?" Elliot joked.
"Ha, ha," she sulked. Truthfully, for all she knew, Alex could be dead. When she had first left for the Congo, they emailed at least twice a week. Somewhere around the third month, however, the emails stopped. She sent one, and the reply never came. She sent a second, but still nothing from Alex. She started wondering if maybe Alex would call, but she never did that either. Unless Olivia had said something to royally piss Alex off, which was possible but she couldn't remember anything, Alex had stopped the emails just out of nowhere. But she didn't want to think about anything happening to Alex. Not again.
"I wonder if Cabot will come back for the funeral," Munch mused, breaking Olivia out of her reverie.
"She might not even know about it," Olivia replied. "I haven't been able to contact her for a long time."
"Well I hope someone told her. It'd be a damn shame, given what happened with her mother when she was in Wisconsin," Elliot said. They all nodded in agreement.
"Hey Fin, does it say when the funeral is?" Olivia asked.
"Yeah, Friday at 10 in the morning at the New Montefiore Cemetery. You're goin?"
"I think so. Just to pay my respects."
"Right. You're just hoping Alex will show up," Munch teased.
"Shut up, you sicko," Fin scoffed slapping his partner on the arm.
"What? I just meant Olivia misses her friend!"
"Yeah, that's what you meant."
Olivia was ignoring them.
Alex turned the key in the lock of her apartment. She couldn't wait to surround herself with the familiarity of her old things, her old furniture, even the pale tan color of her walls that were so much more comforting than the bright white of the station. It reminded her of a hospital.
She sighed comfortably as she entered her foyer, hanging her jacket on a hook. She walked over to the couch and collapsed into the cushions, fingers tracing the old familiar fabric. The apartment smelled kind of dusty and unused, but she'd take care of that later. Right now, she just needed to sleep for a little while. She dialed the number for Chinese takeout, and planned to nap for thirty minutes until the delivery person knocked at her door.
For the fourth time, Olivia reread the last email she had sent to Alex. It was pretty average: ranting about a case, laughing about something stupid Munch came up with, and asking about Alex's adventures and occasional misadventures. Nothing overly personal, no bad news, nothing she could see that would make Alex just stop talking to her.
Olivia closed her laptop and lay back on her bed. She hated to think about how much she really missed Alex. Yes, she considered Alex a good friend. They'd been out for drinks plenty of times, and they'd enjoyed each other's company on a lunch break every now and then. But she did that with so many people. She missed Alex more than she should.
Alex ran her fingers through her newly trimmed hair, falling just past her shoulders. She smiled; she no longer looked like the girl from Blue Lagoon. Out of practice, she awkwardly brushed mascara onto her dark blonde lashes and painted red lipstick onto her mouth. Half of her thought that at something like a funeral, no one really cared how she looked, but the other half wanted to look her best for her reentrance to civilization.
Who was going to be there anyway? She didn't actually know anyone who knew her father. She didn't even know if they knew he had a child. True, she was a fairly well known person in New York, but she wasn't sure if anyone made the connection between the two Alex Cabots.
There would probably be colleagues from the firm. Extended family she hadn't seen in years. There would probably be some people from the mayor's office. Maybe some from the NYPD.
Somehow, she got to thinking about her old precinct. She wondered if they ever missed her as the ADA. Olivia had told her in some of the emails about their new one. She seemed competent based on her credentials, but Olivia never seemed to speak too highly of her. Until the emails stopped coming altogether. Alex figured Olivia had just been too busy, and forgotten about her. Olivia had always been very focused on her work…
But she had to admit she thought about Olivia a lot. What she was doing, the cases she was working on, and sometimes, who she was with. She didn't know what she cared so much, but she couldn't help wondering what she did to make Olivia forget her.
"Ms. Cabot?" A voice registered through the intercom.
"Yes?"
"Your ride has arrived, ma'am."
"Thank you, Eddie."
She pulled on her black cardigan and left.
Olivia did her best to mesh with the large crowd. She had considered wearing her dress uniform, but instead opted to dress in a simple casual suit in an attempt to blend in as best as possible. She never actually meant the man, so the fewer questions she was asked the better.
She heard the priest ask for quiet, and begin reading a psalm. Never having been to church on a regular basis, she didn't recognize it, but listened to it and tried to absorb its meaning.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…
Alex searched the crowd for anyone she knew. There were a few faces that looked somewhat familiar, but no one she could place a name to.
He restores my soul…
Olivia leaned back and forth.
I will fear no evil…
And then she saw a familiar leather jacket. And a face that had smiled at her on numerous occasions. Olivia. She was here.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life…
The priest finished the psalm.
"Now, ladies and gentleman, I ask to the front to deliver the eulogy, Mr. Cabot's only daughter, Alexandra."
Olivia looked up and smiled. There she was.
"Thank you all for being here today," Alex began. "I have always known, and the crowd today proves, that my father was one popular man." The crowd laughed. "My father was born on September 16th, 1944…"
After the closing reading, the crowd began to dissipate quickly. Alex forcibly smiled as dozens of people she'd never seen in her life approached her to express their condolences. She wanted so badly to find Olivia, but as she scanned the crowd, she no longer saw her. She frowned, as someone else tapped her shoulder. She sighed and whipped around.
"Alex."
Alex grinned. "Liv."