Sideways

by K. Walsh

'Sideways' is the sequel to a story I wrote called 'Scent'. While you don't need to have read 'Scent' in order to enjoy 'Sideways' it will clear up a lot of confusion you may have and explain the short blonde running around.

12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve: Honour

Residence of Detective Elliot Stabler

Glen Oaks, Queens

Wednesday August 26th, 21:41

Elliot knocked on Dick's bedroom door. "Come in," came from inside the room. The detective opened the door and walked in. His son was sitting at his desk, in front of his computer. He turned and faced his father. "Hey Dad"

"Hey Dickie"

The younger man sighed. "Dad, I start NYU in less than a week…its Richard now, okay?"

"Okay," Elliot nodded and smiled slightly. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Yeah"

The detective moved into the room and sat on the edge of the bed closest to his son. "Are you ever going to tell me or your mother where you were for two days?"

Richard's face was emotionless. "I told you, I was with friends. I know I live in your house and I have to live by your rules. So punish me and we can all move on."

"Why do you think you haven't been punished yet?"

He shrugged.

"Dick…sorry, Richard, we want to know the truth. You were with Jess in that warehouse weren't you?"

His face remained the same as he spoke. "I told you as much as I am going to about where I was. I knew it was wrong but I had to be away. Just punish me and be done with it."

Elliot held his hands up, palms out. "Okay, I need to talk to you man to man." He sighed. "Pretend I'm not your dad; pretend I'm not a cop. I'm just some guy and we're just talking."

"Have you lost your mind?" Richard asked, squinting his eyes at his father.

He shook his head. "No. Come on, just try it."

Richard shrugged. "Fine, ask me whatever you are going to ask me."

"How do you feel about Jess?"

"Are you kidding me? Dad, what the hell is this?"

Elliot sighed. "I'm not your Dad, I'm just some guy. You must talk to your friends about your girlfriend…so talk to me."

"Oh, so, now we're friends?" Richard said sarcastically with a raised brow. "What if you don't like my answers? Are you still going to be my friend or will you be my father or a cop?"

"Right here, right now…whatever is said between us stays between us. It's your one 'get out of jail free' card. No punishment, no lectures…just two friends talking."

Richard rolled his eyes. "I like Jess."

"Do you love her?"

"Dad…"

Elliot held up his hands. "Not your Dad."

"Okay, yeah I love her."

"How do you know its love?"

Richard squinted his eyes and shook his head slightly. "Who the fuck are you, Oprah?"

The detective chuckled. "Come on, man. How do you know you love her?"

"Most girls make you jump through hoops just to hang out with them. You call them, text them, email them, smile at them and they still act like you should be honoured to be in their presence. Jess is different. She doesn't come with that kind of bullshit. She tells me what she wants. There are no hoops, at least not like most girls." He shrugged and looked at the man sitting before him. "I look at her and I can't figure out why she wants to be with me. She is incredible and I bring very little to the table." He said smirking. "I'm just happy to be near her. One day she'll see how much better she can do and dump my ass."

Elliot chuckled. "I thought the same thing about your…my wife. It came to a point where she did see the light and knew she could do better. I had to base up, change, become a better man and she helped me. A good woman will make you feel like a king, kid."

He had never heard his Dad talk like that before. "How did you keep mo…your wife?"

"It was a lot of things. I had to quit hurting her, disappointing her. I needed to be here, in her life more. In my kid's lives more. I never meant to be away so much. I tell her I love her. I know she wants to hear it, but I really do. I can't imagine life without her."

Richard nodded. "I tell Jess I love her all the time. I just pray she won't leave me."

"I don't think she'll leave you, man. That girl loves you. You would do anything for her wouldn't you?"

He nodded.

Elliot pursed his lips. "You would protect her wouldn't you? If she was in danger."

Richard's face became softer. He knew what his father was asking him. He wasn't sure why but he nodded, confirming that he had been with Jess the two days he was missing.

"I'm proud of you, Richard." Elliot held out his hand and his son shook it. "Take care of your girl. She's very brave, acts tough but she is still very young."

The young man nodded in response. "I will never let anything bad happen to her again."

They let go of each others hands and Elliot stood up and walked to the doorway of his son's room. He turned back and looked at Richard. He smiled. "One more thing"

"Yeah"

"Wear a condom."

"Is that a friend talking?"

Elliot smiled and cocked his head to the right. "No, this is your father talking. I could stand here and tell you not to have sex, but it might be too late. Is it too late?"

A disgusted look flashed across Richard's face. "Dad!"

He held out his hands. "Okay, okay…just wear a condom." Elliot turned and left his son's room. Maybe he wouldn't win any father of the year awards, maybe his kids disliked him sometimes, and maybe he embarrassed them. He didn't care. His son had ditched work and curfew for two days to keep the girl he loved safe. Somewhere, at some point, he and Kathy had instilled honour in their son. That was what fatherhood should be about.

One Hogan Place

Office of A.D.A. Alexandra Cabot

Thursday August 27th, 19:11

Alex's case against Ronald Blaze was going well. She had signed arrest warrants for Markus Stanley, Markus Pharaoh's real name. Once the police had his fingerprints it had been easy to identify him, he had a previous record. His bail hearing had gone as she had planned, he was held without bail. The A.D.A. still had a long road ahead of her when it came to the case though. Two of the victims were still too distraught to even be fully interviewed by the detectives. Chances were they would not be able to testify in court. Alex was going through paperwork when there was a light knock on the door to her office. She was slightly annoyed, she figured most of her co-workers were gone and the ones that were still around knew her better. "Come in," she said without looking up.

The door opened and closed. Alex could feel someone's presence in the room but they had not spoken, annoying her further. She looked up finally and her expression changed instantly. "Hi," she said quietly.

"Hi," was said back in an equally quiet tone.

The blonde put down her pen and pushed her glasses up on her nose as she sat straighter in her chair. "How are you?"

The person shrugged. "Fine."

Alex wanted to say so much but she didn't want to fight. "Do you want to sit down?" She motioned to the two chairs directly in front of her desk.

"Actually, can I just sit on your couch and play with my laptop? You can keep working."

The A.D.A. nodded and motioned to the couch beside the door. The guest took off her DC shoes, sat cross-legged on the couch, pulled out her laptop from the bag and started to work. Alex watched her for a long time, forgetting they were in her office. Maybe one day Jess would forgive her, but at this point the taller blonde would take what she could get. Having the shorter blonde sitting in her office brought tears to her eyes, but it made her smile. She eventually picked up her pen and went back to the paperwork on her desk.

488 Amsterdam Ave

Residence of Detective Olivia Benson

Saturday August 29th, 07:10

"What are you doing while I'm at work today?" Olivia asked as she shoveled in a fork full of eggs, she and Elliot were on-call that weekend.

"I have a lunch date and then I'm going out with Stabler." Jess looked up from the paper.

Olivia narrowed her eyes, "Who is the lunch date with?"

The blonde looked back down at the paper. "No one"

She knew Jess was seeing Alex for lunch. The A.D.A. had called her the second their daughter and her had parted ways outside One Hogan Place two days earlier. Jess hadn't told Olivia she had gone to see Alex that day, or the day following. The kid always seemed to know when the A.D.A. was alone in her office. Lunch today would be the first time they would see each other outside of the office. Olivia smiled. "Liar" she coaxed.

Jess looked up and raised her right eyebrow. "Quid pro quo?"

The detective was still smiling as she cocked her head to the right, indicated she would play the game. Jess sucked in some air. "Fine, the jig is up…I'm meeting Alex for lunch today."

Olivia wanted to scream with joy. She wanted to jump up and hug Jess, but she stopped herself. Jess and Alex would be fine; it would just take some time. The detective reeled herself in, "Good, I'm glad."

It was Jess's turn. "Is Alex still coming with us next weekend?"

The brunette was blanking. Where the hell were they going next weekend? She couldn't think fast enough and had to admit she didn't know what Jess was talking about. "Where are we going next weekend?"

"Wow...really?" Jess said sarcastically, with her brow raised. "We rented a cabin on the lake beside the one the Stabler's rented…ringing a bell yet?"

Mental head slap. The detective had totally forgotten about the cabins. The reservation for their cabin was in Alex's name and neither she nor Elliot had mentioned the weekend away since June when the plans had initially been made. Fuck! "Ummmm…Jessie, I don't know if Alex's is coming. I totally forgot about next weekend, and our reservation was in her name…"

"Are you telling me we're not going?" Jess asked, her voice riddled with disappointment.

"I'm telling you I'm not sure what's happening. Is Elliot…the Stabler's still going?"

A slight panic had crept into the younger woman's voice; she and the other 'kids' had been planning things for next weekend for two months. "Yes they are still going! Livie, we've made plans…I've made plans with Stabler and his sisters."

Olivia couldn't believe this. Not only had she forgotten about the weekend away but it appeared as though it was unbelievably important to Jess. "Okay, hold on. Let me talk to Alex and Elliot. We will work something out. Her cell rang and "Pretty Fly for a White Guy" emanated from the phone. It was the ringtone Jess had set up for Elliot. Olivia answered the phone. "Benson" she paused. "Yeah…okay…where?" Her eyes met the blonde's as she listened to her partner on the other end of the phone. "Okay, I'll be right there." The detective snapped her phone shut. She didn't know what to say…and Jess knew it.

The teen sighed. "Go"

"I swear I will talk to them. I'll make this right, Jess." She got up from the table and ran to her room and dressed. She rolled back into the kitchen before she left. Jess handed her a bag with food in it. "Eat everything that is in the bag. Don't let El steal any of the good stuff."

Olivia kissed Jess on the forehead. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

The detective disappeared out the door. Jess cleaned up, showered dressed and headed out for the day.

7th Ave and West 27th Street

'Tony's Diner'

Saturday August 29th, 12:15

The breakfast rush had been in full swing when Jess had arrived almost four hours earlier. Tony was relieved to see the blonde roll into the kitchen and tie an apron around her waist. They cooked together as if no time had past. It felt good to Jess to be there, cooking and laughing with Tony, and some of the regulars. Alex had arrived for lunch and Jess had abandoned the kitchen for the last booth by the window. She sat down and smiled. "Order will be up soon."

Alex smiled back. "You ordered me the usual?"

She nodded back, still smiling. "Can I ask you something?"

The A.D.A. was slightly taken back. The first evening Jess had come to see her she had been very quiet. The second evening she spoke more, smiled, even hugged Alex and held her hand as they walked to the elevator as they left the building together. This was their third encounter and the kid acted as if nothing had ever happened between them. Alex wasn't sure what to think. "Sure…" she said, slightly guarded.

"Chillax, Ally, I just wanted to know if you wanted to have dinner on Sunday night?"

Alex smiled. It was the first time Jess had called her Ally in over a week. "Yeah, sure."

"Niiice"

"Can I ask you something?"

Jess shrugged, still grinning. "Sure"

"What is going on here?"

The grin on Jess's face faded. She looked away from Alex and out the window beside them. "Do we have to talk about this?" She looked back at the blonde. "Can't we just pretend nothing ever happened? Go back to the way things were?"

Alex shook her head. "No. Jessie, it'll never be the way it was. Whether it's better or worse is up to us…but it will be different."

She looked out the window again. "'Member when we went to that cabin upstate?" Jess looked back into the sky blue eyes. "I fell asleep in the hammock with you?"

"Yes, I do." Alex's face softened at the memory.

Jess looked longingly across the table. "I remember not wanting to be anywhere else but in that hammock, with you. I didn't want to be with Livie, I just wanted to be with you. It was really the first time I remember feeling that. A pull to you…to anyone other than Liv." The teen shook her head. "That never went away, that feeling. I was so angry with you for lying to me, for pretending to be Liv in the text…but I missed you."

"I am so sorry I did that to you. I never meant to hurt you…"

The shorter blonde put her hands up. "Ally…I know. I know you didn't mean to. I know you did what you did to protect me." She looked down at the table for a minute and then back into the blonde's blue eyes. "It just hurt so much to know that I trusted you…that I got so close to you and weren't honest with me." She sighed. "I miss you, Ally, I'm not completely over what happened but I do want to be with you…I need to be with you."

Alex's eyes had turned a dark blue as tears formed. "I need you too, Jessie."

186 Prince Street

'The Big Ragu'

Sunday August 30th, 18:25

Richard and Jess stood across the street from one of the young woman's favorite Italian restaurants in the city. She had made a reservation on Saturday after both Olivia and Alex had agreed to meet her for dinner. Neither knew the other woman was coming. They also didn't know that Jess would not be attending the dinner. She had gone in ten minutes earlier and given a note to the hostess to give to Alex and Olivia once both were seated at the same table.

"You think you're funny don't you?" Richard said as he looked slyly at his girlfriend.

Jess gave a half-smile as she looked at him and shrugged. "Kindda"

"Think you'll be punished?"

She shrugged again as she answered. "Maybe. Totally worth it though if my plan works."

Richard shook his head. "Why is it always some half-cocked scheme with you?"

"I don't know." She smiled. "I like them." She looked across the street and saw Alex walk into the restaurant.

"Why can't you just let them come back to each other on their own?"

Jess looked at her boyfriend. "I broke them up in the first place. At the very least, I owe them a dinner together. Beyond that I am going to try not to meddle with them."

Richard snickered. "I'll believe that when I see it, O'Malley."

She rolled her eyes at him and looked across the street. Olivia went into the restaurant. "Showtime."

"How long are we going to wait out here?"

Jess gave him a sideways glance. "Until I know for sure they are staying."

The hostess sat Olivia at the table for the O'Malley reservation and handed the blonde already sitting at the table a note. "This is from Ms. O'Malley."

Alex took the note and smiled at Olivia. "I did not see this coming."

The detective smiled and raised her right eyebrow. "And usually I can smell a set-up at 20 paces."

The A.D.A. opened the note and read it out loud. "I had to do it this way and you both know why. Part of the reason the two of you broke up was because you were obsessed with making sure one of you was with me at all times. I think I have proven that I can pretty much take care of myself. I want you both in my life, but I don't need you hovering over me. Stop worrying about me and take care of yourselves. Please stay and have dinner." Alex looked across the table. "It's signed 'your daughter.'"

Olivia looked into the sky-blue eyes behind the thin black frames. "Do you have work to do?"

"Yes…but I would rather have dinner with you."

The detective smiled. "Dinner it is."

Jess and Richard waited for 20 minutes and neither woman came out of the restaurant. He looked at his girlfriend. "I think it's safe to say they stayed for dinner. Now…can we get on with our date…please?"

She grinned at him. "Yesss." The blonde stood on the tips of her toes and leaned into Richard as she kissed him. After the kiss she looked up at him. "Where are we going?"

He smiled at her. "Dinner and then out to a club."

"A club? Stabler, neither one of us is even close to being 21."

Richard raised his right eyebrow as he looked at his girlfriend. She was wearing a black skirt that stopped above her knees, a skin-tight dark purple long-sleeved blouse and three-inch heels. "I know, I have a plan. You're not the only one who can scheme."

"I can't even wait." She said smiling at him.

488 Amsterdam Ave

Residence of Detective Olivia Benson

Monday August 31st, 09:45

Olivia got out of bed and padded barefoot out to the door of her apartment to get the paper. On the way by the living room she found something odd on the couch…Richard Stabler. The detective turned on her left heel and walked back down the hall and opened Jess's bedroom door. She walked in and nudged the sleeping teen. "Jess, wake up," she whispered.

"What? What's wrong?" Jess opened her eyes and saw Olivia's face. She was freaked out. "Livie, I'm sorry about last night. I know I tricked you and Ally, but it was the only way…"

The brunette shook her head. "We will talk about that stunt later today. What is Dick Stabler doing on my couch?"

Jess sat up slightly, woke up her phone and looked at the time. 9:46AM. "He's probably sleeping."

The detective shook her head. "Now is not a good time to be a smartass. I know he's sleeping. What is he doing here?"

"I texted you and told you we were going to be out late. By the time he walked me back here it was really late. I didn't want him to take the subway back to Queens at that hour so I told him to come up. BTW…he wants to be called Richard now…not Dick."

Olivia's eyes widened. "Did you have sex with him in this room last night?"

The blonde sat up straight in bed and narrowed her eyes at Olivia. "No, I did not have sex with him in this room last night. Not that it is any of your business."

"Are you kidding me?" The detective leveled a surprised look at Jess. "It is my business what you do. Did you have sex with him at all last night?"

Jess threw the covers off herself and got out of bed, on the opposite side from Olivia. "Did you and Ally have sex last night?"

"My personal life is not up for discussion, Jess. I am your guardian. Your personal life is what we are talking about now. I have a right to know what you are doing. Where were you last night?"

The blonde narrowed her eyes. "Stabler took me out for dinner, I had pasta he had chicken. We went out dancing and he walked me home. We had sex in the living room. We didn't do it in here because your room and mine share a wall and I have heard you and Ally before. I didn't want to wake you."

Olivia was speechless. It was a lot to take in all at once. "You can't come home at 2:30 in the morning again. And you can't have sex in the living room."

"Would you rather I have it in here?" Jess asked sarcastically.

"Lose the attitude. You can't have sex at all."

The young woman lost it. "What!? Are you kidding me?! You can't tell me what I can and can not do!"

"Oh, yes I can! You are 16 years old. That's not old enough to have sex."

Jess shook her head as she argued. "I've been having sex since I was 14! Stabler wasn't my first, you know that. I love him, he's a good guy. He takes care of me, he protects me. He listens to and respects me. I want to have sex with him. He is my boyfriend. Why are you being so unreasonable?"

"I'm not being unreasonable. I'm being responsible. No parent in their right mind advocates their kid having sex."

The blonde threw her arms out in front of herself. "That's why no kid tells their parents they are having sex! I told you because I didn't want to lie to you. I want to have an honest relationship with you, but I can't do that if you are going to punish me for living my life."

Olivia thought about this. Jess had been living on her own before the two had met. The detective could see how difficult it would be for her to start explaining herself and living by a new set of rules. Olivia sighed. "Okay look…maybe you're right. I want to have an honest relationship with you, too." The brunette sat on the bed. "This whole parenting thing is really hard for me. It's especially hard because sometimes you act much older than you are and have been for so long that you don't need me. Other times you act your age and you do need me."

"How do you think I feel?" Jess sat down on the bed and sighed. "Sometimes I feel fine. I even forget about what Brian Nudds did to me. Other times it's all I can think about it. Or I relive the attack or I'm scared that everyone around me is judging me."

The detective cocked her head to the right as she spoke softly. "Jessie, no one is judging you."

"I know that. I mean when I think about it rationally I know." She shook her head. "But then sometimes…"

"You're not thinking rationally."

Jess nodded. "Stabler helps me with that. Not the way that you or even Ally does. It's different. He accepts me despite everything that has happened to me. I don't know why but he wants to be with me. I'm comfortable with him. He never pressured me to have sex…not once. He never does anything I don't want him to do." The blonde looked down at her bed and then back at Olivia. "I know I'm only 16. I know Stabler is almost 18. You have to admit that we are both capable of being adults about sex…amongst other things."

"I want to go on record as saying I am not happy about you having sex. It isn't that I don't think Richard is the right guy for you…I just don't think you are ready." The detective looked down and then back into the hazel eyes of the young woman. "I am the first to admit I don't know much about parenting. I've never done it before. I want an honest relationship with you. I trust you and if you say you are ready to have sex then I have to trust that."

The blonde crawled across the bed and hugged the detective. "Thank you."

Olivia smiled. "You're welcome. Just…maybe I don't need all the details of your sex life."

"Probably for the best," Jess said as she let go and smiled at the brunette. "So did you?"

"Did I what?"

Jess rolled her eyes. "Did you have sex with Ally?"

The detective shook her head with a half-smile. "None of your business, Jess."

"Good set-up though, huh?"

"Honestly," Olivia sighed, "Yes."

The teen gave a shit-eating smile. "Will you be seeing her again?"

Olivia shot Jess her crooked smile. "Again…none of your business. Although I will tell you this: Alex and I had a lot of time to talk and we decided that we aren't going to tell you anything about us right now."

The blonde's jaw dropped in an over-dramatic fake look of shock. "Why? What did I do?"

"Enough…you have done enough. No more meddling. If Alex and I get back together then we do, if we don't, then we don't. Are you going to be able to live with that?"

Jess smiled sweetly and nodded. "Yeah."

"Good. Now, on to other business. School starts tomorrow. Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"You are going to stay at the Stabler's on Wednesday night, is that okay?"

The corners of Jess mouth edged up in the beginning of a smile but she didn't ask why she was being shipped out of her home for the night. She has her sources…she'll get that intell from One Hogan Place. "That's fine. Are we going to the cabin on the lake on Friday with the Stabler's?"

"I'm working on that, I haven't forgotten. I will let you know." The blonde nodded and Olivia continued. "Now…wake Richard up and I'm going to take a shower."

A full on grin appeared on Jess's face. "Breakfast will be ready when you get out."

The detective nodded as she got up. "Thanks."

Tuesday September 1st, 18:47

Jess unwound herself from her boyfriend's arms, put on an oversized Jets' t-shirt and padded out to the front hall. It was the first time in a week she had been naked in front of anyone. When she and Richard had sex the other night Jess had kept her long-sleeved blouse on. He had un-buttoned it, but she had kept it on. The cuts on her forearm had healed nicely. Upon her return she had her laptop in one hand and Olivia's iPod in the other. She sat at the head of the bed. Richard looked up at her. "What are you doing?"

"Building a playlist for Livie," she answered as she waited for the laptop to warm up.

He leveraged himself on an elbow. "What's the playlist for?"

The blonde gave him a sideways look. "You really wanna know?"

Richard rolled his eyes. "Really? I mean REALLY…what are you up to now?"

She plugged one end of the iPod cord into the laptop and the other into the iPod. "Wow…easy there, quick-draw. It's just a playlist of music for her and Ally to dance to."

"And why would they need that? Are they back together?"

Jess shrugged. "Not sure. Livie said they are not going to tell me anything about their relationship anymore. Apparently they don't want me meddling in it."

Richard laughed out loud. In fact, he rolled over slightly in hysterics before looking back up at his girlfriend. "What a burn!"

She pushed him with her right hand. "Fuck off! I don't need them to keep me in the loop…I have my sources."

With a smile on his face, still chuckling, Richard looked at Jess. "What sources do you have?"

"I'm sorry, that's classified. I do know that Alex is coming over here for dinner and then she and Livie are going to 904 on Wednesday night," she said as she loaded iTunes and typed the title of the playlist.

He shook his head. "You only think that cause you are sleeping over at my house that night."

Jess shot him a half-smile. "We'll see."

"Wait a minute…if they are going out to 904 why are you making them a playlist to dance to?"

The smile remained on the young woman's face. "Soooo….maybe it isn't just for them to dance to…"

Richard's face morphed into disgust. "Oh my God…you're making them a fuck soundtrack aren't you?!"

The blonde laughed out loud. "Sort of…look." Jess turned the laptop so her boyfriend could see.

"The Strip Side…you're making a playlist of songs that your legal guardian and her quasi girlfriend can strip to?"

Jess turned to him. "Stabler, you are just going to have to roll with this. Livie and Ally having sex or stripping doesn't weird me out." She shrugged. "When they don't do these things it weird's me out. I just want them to be together."

He nodded. "I know you do. Make your Strip Side…I'm rolling with it."

She smiled and went back to the playlist.

Wednesday September 2nd, 17:21

Olivia burst through the door of her apartment, ran down the hall and into the bathroom, leaving a trail of clothing behind her. She shaved and showered, then left the bathroom for her own room to find an outfit. She and Alex hadn't been out on a date in months. Olivia's stomach flipped. That's when she realized…she was nervous. She left her bedroom for the kitchen. She opened the fridge in search of beer when she saw the bottle of white wine lying on its side. The detective hadn't put it in there. She closed the fridge and looked around the kitchen. There was a note on the table. Olivia picked it up and read it. "The wine, pork in the slow cooker and the new playlist on your iPod are for you and Ally. Make pulled-pork sandwiches and salad for dinner. Everything is in the fridge or on the counter…have fun…" The brunette smiled and grabbed her iPod off the table just inside the front door. She brought it to her room, put it in the dock, found the new playlist, hit play and went through her closet.

After six songs not only did Olivia hate all of her clothing she didn't want to wear anything anyway…the songs on the playlist were very hot. She finally decided on a silky little black dress that did up like a halter top around her neck. It was the only way she could get away with not wearing a bra. The dress confined her chest…mostly. She went to the kitchen and prepared the rest of dinner.

Alex buzzed up to the apartment at 7:00 sharp and the detective let her in. When she got there she was greeted with a glass of wine. "Why'd you buzz?"

The blonde shrugged as she took the glass. "I ummm…I wasn't sure I should use my key."

Olivia took in the unbelievably gorgeous woman standing before her. "You look stunning." She turned away and led the blonde into the kitchen. She turned back slightly and spoke over her shoulder. "Oh…and you should always use your key." The detective didn't want to pressure Alex back into a relationship on their first date…but she did want the A.D.A. to know she was always welcome in her apartment.

Dinner was delicious and Olivia admitted that Jess had prepped the whole thing. She also told Alex about the playlist. The blonde smiled. "Why didn't we listen to 'The Strip Side' during dinner?"

The detective raised her right eyebrow. "If we had…I would have eaten you for dinner."

Alex grinned slyly. "Well…dinner is over…we could listen to it now."

"No way! We are going to 904, Counselor. You ready?" Olivia shot her a devious grin.

"Detective…I have been waiting for a very long time to dance with you."

The pair got up, got ready and left for 904. Once inside, although the club was packed it was as if Olivia and Alex were the only two women there. They danced and grinded to the Latin beats the DJ was playing. The brunette stood behind Alex as they danced. She snaking her right hand down the front of the sapphire coloured dress; down the perfectly flat stomach and thin upper thigh. Olivia ran her hand under the hem of the dress and up the blonde's inner thigh. She rested her hand there and tickled the tender skin with her fingers. Alex's breath caught in her throat as the sensation of her detective touching her washed over her. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, so it rested on Olivia's shoulder. They did this to each other well into the night. The women came up for air a couple of times to get drinks at the bar, where they caught up with Becca; the owner of 904.

In the cab on the way home from the club, Olivia and Alex touched each other and giggled but managed to contain themselves until the detective closed the door to her apartment. The blonde pushed her up against the door and pinned her using all of her body weight. She ravished Olivia's lips and neck in kisses. The brunette's head dropped back when Alex bit down on her neck. "My room…now," she said, out of breath. The blonde kissed the shorter woman again.

They moved down the hall, into the bedroom and ended up on the bed before they broke the kiss. Olivia looked down. "Stay right here…don't move." She got up, reset 'The Strip Side' to the first song, hit play, went to the end of the bed and crawled up to Alex. She spread her legs and the detective knelt between them. Olivia licked a line with her tongue up the blonde's torso as she slid the silky blue dress up and rested it on her chest. The A.D.A. lifted her body slightly and the brunette took the dress completely off of her. She rested her body back onto the bed and smiled at her detective. She smiled back and licked a line down Alex's neck all the way to her navel, leaving a trail of goose bumps behind. The A.D.A. hadn't worn a bra either. The detective rid her lover of her thong. She pushed her knees up and Alex rested her feet flat on the bed. Olivia positioned herself differently between her lover's legs and licked softly at her sex. The blonde moaned slightly. She licked again and it garnered the same response. The detective used her fingers to part the already slick folds and licked again. A whimper came from Alex, the sound made the brunette grin. Olivia used her tongue to make tiny circles across the younger woman's clit. The whimpers turned into labored breathing as she twisted under the sensation. Eventually the detective stopped and looked up at Alex as the playlist continued to play the song Lighting Crashes by LIVE:

(Lightning crashes, a new mother cries
this moment she's been waiting for
the angel opens her eyes
pale blue coloured iris,
presents the circle
and puts the glory out to hide, hide)

Alex opened her eyes and met Olivia's gaze. The brunette looked into the pale blue coloured eyes behind the black frames. She would stop at nothing to get the blonde back in her life…for good. They smiled at each other as the detective slid two fingers inside her. The A.D.A.'s head feel back against the pillow and Olivia quickened the pace to the beat of the song.

(Oh now feel it comin' back again
like a rollin' thunder chasing the wind
forces pullin' from the center of the earth again
I can feel it.)

As the chorus repeated itself the brunette made circles with her thumb on Alex clit while she curled her fingers up inside her. She could feel small contractions start within the taller woman.

(Oh now feel it comin' back again
like a rollin' thunder chasing the wind
forces pullin' from the center of the earth again
I can feel it.)

It didn't take much longer; the blonde's orgasm took over as she squealed with pleasure. Olivia let her ride it out and even started licking Alex's clit as she gently removed her fingers. The blonde's legs straightened and fell on to the bed. The detective shimmied up her body and straddled her torso. Alex opened her eyes lazily. "I've missed you, Detective."

Olivia bent down and kissed the woman beneath her. When the kiss ended they locked eyes. "I've missed you, too," Olivia said as she removed the A.D.A.'s glasses. Several songs played as the women took turns kissing, licking, sucking and nibbling each other. They reveled each other. Alex slipped the brunette's dress off to find she, too, was not wearing a bra. The A.D.A. smirked at her detective. "How did you keep them in one place all night without a bra?"

The other woman grinned back. "Did you see that dress? I'm just glad the threads held cause nothing else was fitting in the top of that dress but my breasts."

Alex cupped them and sucked the nipple of the right breast. She bit down gently, causing the other woman to inhale quickly. The blonde pushed Olivia down onto the bed. She let the breast fall out of her mouth and ran her hands along the detective's sides, along her thighs and pushed her knees up as a new song started, Drive by Melissa Ferrick.

("If you want this
if you want this
if you want this, you're gonna have to ask
nicely please
yeah if you want this
you're gonna have to ask me
you're gonna have to ask me)

The A.D.A. smiled slyly down at the woman before her. "What do you want?"

"You…I want you…"

She ran her hands down the brunette's inner thighs and gently rubbed her clit with the thumb of her right hand. Olivia's head fell back and her eyes shuddered closed.

(Whatever you want
I'll give it to you
I'll give it to you slowly
'till you're just begging me to hold you
ya whatever you want
whatever you want
but you're gonna have to ask me)

"What do you want?" Alex asked again.

"More…" was all the detective could get out.

The blonde sunk two fingers inside Olivia's sex and she arched her back at the sensation.

(Your mouth waters
stretched out on my bed
your fingers are trembling
and your heart is heavy and red
and your head is bent back
and your back is arched
my hand is under there
holding you up

I'll hold you up
and drive you all night
I'll hold you up
and drive you baby 'till you feel the daylight
I'll hold you up
and drive you all night
I'll hold you up
and drive you 'till you feel the daylight
that's right
that's right)

Alex worked a third finger inside her lover and gently twisted all of them into the spot she knew her detective wanted them to be. The brunette's breathing was heavy. "Uh, uh, uhhhhh…" came from her mouth as the A.D.A. worked her over, rubbing the thumb of her left hand over Olivia's clit.

(In the kitchen
in the shower
and in the back seat of my car
I'll hold you up
in your office
preferably during business hours
'cause you know how I like it when there's people around
and I know how you like it
yeah I know how you like it
I know how you like it when I tease you for hours

Your mouth waters
stretched out on my bed
your fingers are trembling
and your heart is heavy and red
and your head is bent back
and your back is arched
and my hand is under there
holding you up)

As Alex quickened the pace she felt the older woman start to contract. She was whimpering and moaning but the blonde wanted to hear more. She wanted to show Olivia just how much she loved her. She started to lick her detective's clit as she slid a fourth finger inside her sex. The brunette bucked her hips and spread her legs wider to accommodate all the fingers.

(I'll hold you up
and drive you all night
I'll hold you up
and drive you baby 'till you feel the daylight
I'll hold you up
and drive you all night
I'll hold you up
and drive you 'till you feel the daylight
oh and this has just begun

Yeah this has just begun
because we haven't even gotten started yet
I haven't even
I haven't even tied you up
I haven't even turned you over
this is where I want to live
right here between your hips
where all the love you hold and hide
it's where it lives
right here between your hips
this is where I want to live
it's where all the love you give exists)

Olivia was not going to be able to hold out much longer…and the blonde could feel it. She stopped licking her detective and moved her left hand over her abdomen. This was it. Alex couldn't wait. She placed her thumb on Olivia's clit and rubbed as she pushed the heel of her palm down below her navel, applying pressure to the detective's lower belly. The brunette howled with pleasure as she came…hard. The A.D.A. grinned at the sound as she watched her detective wither by her hands.

(Your mouth waters
stretched out on my bed
your fingers are trembling
and your heart is heavy and red
your head is bent back
your back is arched
my hand is under there
holding you up)

Alex rubbed her lover's clit gently as she removed her fingers. She left love bites up Olivia's abdomen, torso, chest and neck. The blonde kissed her detective lovingly as the song ended.

(I'll hold you up
and drive you all night
I'll hold you up
and drive you baby 'till you feel the daylight
I'll hold you up
and drive you all night
I'll hold you up
and drive you baby ''till you feel the daylight
that's right
yeah
that's right
that's right
that's right
I'll hold you up
that's right
that's right
I'll drive you all night")

A few more songs played and the women laid together, just taking in the scent of the room. Neither wanted to move, and they didn't for quite some time, they just talked as the taller woman spooned the shorter one.

Olivia ran the index finger of her right hand over the blonde's forearm and held her hand in hers. "You think we can make this work?"

"I hope so. I really need it to work, Liv." She said as she dovetailed their fingers.

The brunette closed her eyes and pushed her backside into Alex's abdomen. "I'm not sure what I will do if it doesn't."

Manhattan's SVU Squad Room

Thursday September 3rd, 08:01

Olivia strolled into the bullpen with a box of doughnuts. She tossed them down by the coffeemaker as she grabbed a mug and poured herself a cup of coffee. The men in the squad looked at each other and Elliot nodded. "I got this," he whispered. He got up and walked over to his partner. "Soooo…how was last night?"

Her breath caught in her throat as she recalled the night before.

"Liv?" he gave her a questioning look.

She snapped out of her thoughts. "It was great."

"Just great?" her partner coaxed.

The detective took a sip of her coffee and swallowed it; she hadn't looked at Elliot yet. "You want all the horny details?"

His jaw dropped. "I uhhh…I mean if you….uhhh…if you…"

Olivia turned and looked at him with a shit-eating grin on her face. "Thought so. You're all talk and no action, El."

The partners walked back to their desks and sat down. The brunette looked over her mug and across their desks. "Did you drop Jess off at school?"

"Yes…I am capable of being a responsible father…" he stopped dead in his tracks.

She lowered her mug and smiled sweetly at her partner. "I know you are."

"I ummm….Liv, that's not what I meant. I just meant that I can take care of Jess…that you can trust me with her," he flushed slightly as he spoke.

"El, relax." She lowered her mug completely and set it on her desk. "You are the closet thing she is ever going to have to a father. She calls you 'old man' for God's sakes. She loves you…you know that right?"

Elliot grinned. "Yeah, I know," he shrugged. "I love her, too. Are you okay with it? I mean with me being so close to your daughter."

The brunette's eyes lit up as her trademark crooked smiled hijacked her face. It was really the first time she had heard Elliot say Jess was her daughter like that. "Yes…I'm actually very okay with it. Jess and Richard are very fond of each other. I'm glad she has the relationship she does with your whole family."

He looked down at his desk, slightly embarrassed. Elliot looked back at his partner. "We really do like having her around. She's a great kid. You girls still coming to the cabins this weekend?"

Olivia nodded.

"All three of you are coming?" he asked with his right eyebrow raised.

His partner was still smiling. "Yes…and El, no more questions."

Elliot grinned. He put his hands behind his head, laced them and leaned back in his chair. "Awww…come on…"

Cragen came out of his office and addressed his squad. "Listen up; I just got a call from the first responders in Little Italy. They caught a fatal MVA, auto verses pedestrian."

Olivia's heart skipped a beat and then almost stopped completely. All she could think of was Jess. There was no reason for her to be there but it was the detectives first thought, her only thought. Had Jess been hit? Was she gone? Cragen looked at her as he spoke. "The victim is Kyle Ryan." Olivia could barely hear her Captain over her own thoughts, but she was pretty sure he hadn't said Jess's name.

The Captain turned to everyone else. "I want everyone down there. We need to find out what happened."

Everyone stood and got ready to leave. Olivia was still sitting in her chair. Elliot looked at her. "Liv, you don't have to go. You spent a lot of time with Kyle Ryan. Maybe you should stay here?"

Hearing the name for the first time shocked the detective. She realized he was one of Markus Stanley's, A.K.A. Markus Pharaoh, victims. "I'm going with you." Olivia got up and followed her co-workers out of the squad.

206 Grant Street

"Little Italy"

Thursday September 3rd, 09:15

Munch and Fin rolled up first. The parked their sedan around the corner and walked to the crime scene. They showed their badges to a pair of uniformed officers who were keeping people out. They let them under the crime scene tape and one of the officers took them to the victim.

Once they got there Fin looked down at Melinda Warner, the medical examiner, who was keeling beside the victim. "Whatta we got, Doc?"

Warner looked up at him. "The victim is Kyle Ryan, age six." She stood and was greeted with Stabler and Benson's presents as well. "Although I suspect you already knew who the victim was."

Benson looked at the medical examiner. "What happened to him? How did he end up in the middle of the street?"

"You'll have to talk to the uniforms that where the first responders. Although it sounds as if he was walking with his mother, on Grant Street, he let go of her hand and walked out into traffic," Melinda said.

Olivia's jaw dropped. "She just let him go?"

Warner shook her head. "I'm not sure. The mother was hysterical and in shock. I think she thought he was going to look in the window of that pet store." She nodded her head towards the store. "But he walked out in front of the minivan. They took the mother to Beth Abraham Hospital to be treated."

Munch looked at her disbelievingly. "Are you saying this was a suicide?"

"I'm not saying anything officially, yet. I'll call you when my report is complete. You'll have to talk to the patrol officers to get their take on what happened," Melinda said.

Stabler looked around at each of them. "Suicide is extremely rare in children this young."

Warner nodded. "Very rare. I read a statistic recently that had the count at four in 500,000 deaths. The stat is juked though."

Fin looked at her. "How so?"

"A lot of the time the cause of death will be ruled 'accidental' when it's really suicide. Most families can't live with the trauma or stigma of having such a young child commit suicide. So some M.E.'s rig the C.O.D and rule it accidental," Melinda explained.

The detectives spoke to the uniformed officers and their take on the scene was that it was in fact a suicide. The boy had run out in front of the minivan on purpose. There were no skid marks until after the point of impact, the driver hadn't even had time to try to avoid the child.

They went back to their precinct and tried to move on with other cases. Olivia called Alex to tell her about Kyle Ryan. The A.D.A. had some news for the detective as well.

"How did Stanley know who I was?"

This had the attention of Stabler. It was hard not to hear each other's phone conversations given that their desks faced each other in the squad room. None of the detectives had ever been able to figure out how Olivia's cover was blown in the park the day of the meet and greet with Markus Stanley.

Alex sat back in her leather chair behind her desk as she spoke on the phone with Olivia. "Apparently, Ronald Blaze's one phone call was to Markus Stanley. Blaze was still reeling from his conversation with you and Elliot. He couldn't say enough about your breasts, amongst other things. Stanley hired an attorney for Blaze. He knew we had Blaze's computers the whole time. He played us from the beginning."

Olivia met her partner's eyes as she spoke to Alex. "Thanks for letting me know. I'll tell the rest of the squad."