Once the food had been ordered the two women made themselves comfortable on the couch, each with a glass of wine. Amanda curled her legs up with her knees to her chest and sighed out loud.

"Man am I glad to be home. I don't think I've ever been so happy to sit this couch, and it's a terrible couch." She laughed.

"Oh I don't think it's that bad, but I think I would be comfortable on a slab of concrete right now so what do I know?" Olivia said, loving the sound of Amanda's laugh. It was a sound she didn't hear often but loved. "How long does it usually take for food to be delivered? I'm afraid I might doze off before it gets here."

"It'll probably be another twenty minutes. Get comfortable Liv, if you fall asleep I'll wake you up." Amanda said as she tried to cover up a yawn.

"Yeah right, we will both fall asleep and miss the food." Olivia laughed as she let out a yawn of her own. "Tell me something about yourself I don't know yet."

Amanda thought hard. There was allot that Olivia didn't know about her, she had worked hard to keep it that way. Most things she could say were painful, they were things she rarely thought about herself. She had a whole library fill of memories she would rather not share with the world. But, Olivia was not the world. She was someone who was looking her, truly wanting to know things she kept to herself, wanted to know the things she kept so close to herself and hidden away. At least that's what it felt like when she looked into Olivia's eyes as she asked her that question. It was as if she was searching Amanda's soul through her eyes.

"You don't have to tell me anything, I'm just trying to find a way to keep us both awake." Olivia said, trying to give Amanda an out from answering, when she saw the floundering look on Amanda's face. She truly did want to know everything about Amanda, even if she was only given tiny bits of information at a time. She had come to greatly admire the small blonde woman sitting next to her. That feeling was in striking contrast to Amanda's first arriving in New York. While Amanda was eager to get to know Olivia, a woman she had admired from afar, Olivia wasn't at all interested. Amanda's arrival to the unit coincided with the departure of Olivia's long time partner and she didn't deal with it well. She was rude at times and downright disrespectful at others.

Things changed though, somewhere along the way she noticed Amanda. She saw Amanda for who she was, a great detective and a wonderful person. She cared so much for victims, so much so that it got her in trouble at times, and she loved fiercely.

"I'm afraid of the dark." Amanda said quickly.

"What?" Olivia asked, not quite sure what she had heard because it had been said so quickly.

"I said I'm afraid of the dark. I sleep with the hallway light on." She replied, embarrassed of her childish fear. She looked up and saw a small smile spreading across Olivia's face. "Are you laughing at me?!"

"No, no not at all. I just think it's kind of, I don't know, adorable." Olivia replied, slightly tilting her head to the side watching Amanda.

"Okay so my fear is adorable. It's your turn, what are you afraid of?" Amanda asked, challenging Olivia now.

"Oh I don't know. Obviously the normal things like someone I care about getting hurt or killed. But I think there is one that no one knows about, except maybe Fin." She said, not really wanting to tell Amanda her secret fear, but felt obligated now that Amanda had shared hers. "I have a great fear of clowns."

"Clowns? Sure they're kind of creepy, but you're actually afraid of them?" Amanda chuckled.

"Hey, I didn't laugh at you, be nice." Olivia said, swatting Amanda on the arm lightly.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry I laughed. It's just that everyone sees you as this bad ass cop and you're afraid of clowns. It's nice to see you have a human side." Amanda said, immediately feeling bad for her last statement and quickly tried to recover from it. "That sounded worse than I meant it. I mean I always see you in cop mode you know? You're always dealing with either a victim or a perp, and you're so great with the victims Liv, you're amazing. And with the perps, you're so bad ass it's crazy. All of that is great, it's just nice to know that you're also a regular person. I always knew you were, but now I have confirmation."

"I knew what you meant Amanda, and I agree. I have trouble showing my human side, I think we all do when we work crimes like we do. I think it's gotten worse for me though since I became Lieutenant. I don't really have any semblance of a personal life, so it's almost as if I'm only a cop now. I'm just always so worried about dealing with the brass that I'm constantly making sure everything is running as smoothly as possible." Olivia finished with a sigh. She knew how people saw her and she hated it. "I used to be fun, you know."

"Maybe it's time to be fun again." Amanda said plainly, as if it was as simple as that.

"That would be great, but at this point I wouldn't have the first clue how to do that. Maybe I'm just old and set in my ways." She laughed, finishing her glass of wine.

"You are not old Liv!"

"I'm much older than you are, and trust me, I feel it more and more every day."

"Listen, you can still wrestle down the bad guys and give chase just as well as the rest of us. Besides, you're gorgeous so your age really doesn't even matter." Amanda said, curious about how her last statement would play out.

"Gorgeous huh? Well you're not too bad yourself there Amanda." Olivia replied, watching a blush spread across the blondes face, her embarrassment evident. She couldn't take her eyes off of her. Slowly she reached her hand out and placed it on Amanda's thigh.

Amanda's whole body was hot, but the place where Olivia's hand had rested was on fire. She looked up into the dark eyes watching her and felt her breath hitch.

"Don't be embarrassed when someone tells you how beautiful you are Amanda. You are absolutely gorgeous and you should be proud of that, but the fact that you don't even seem to realize it makes it even more true." She wasn't sure if it was the wine, the lack of sleep or a mix of the two that was making her so bold but at that moment she leaned and pressed her lips to Amanda's. The kiss was immediately returned with slow and gentle movements. It didn't last long, but for both women it was amazing. "I can't tell you how long I've been waiting to do that." Olivia said with a slight chuckle, she ran her hand through her hair and took a deep breath. Then suddenly they both jumped at the knocking on the door.

"Oh! I bet that's the food. I forgot all about it for a second." Amanda exclaimed as she went to the door to answer it.

Once the food had been plated and glasses had been refilled they settled back onto the couch, considerably closer to the other, with a blanket draped over their legs. They ate mostly in silence, not uncomfortable silence though, they were both content in the moment to be sitting next to one another watching sitcoms on TV and eating. Once the two finished their meals, they snuggled closer together under the blanket they shared, both women needing the physical closeness of the other. Nothing was expected at that moment of either one of them, they were both simply existing. Of course, things had changed, they weren't sure what it meant, but both knew it had been a long time coming. They both also had a feeling that the simple kiss they had just started was only the beginning. Tonight though, they were too exhausted to take things further, and they were okay with that.

After both women had been silent now for several minutes, Amanda looked at Olivia who was now fast asleep. Her expression was completely relaxed, and she looked peaceful, Amanda smiled, finally Olivia was resting. For a moment she considered shutting off the television and going to sleep herself right there on the couch snuggled into Olivia's chest, but realized they were both still in their work clothes.

"Liv, Liv wake up." She whispered, trying not to startle her boss. All she got in return was a groan followed by a loud sigh. "Liv come on and change into something more comfortable, you're still wearing slacks, and I don't want to sleep on the couch when I've got a bed just in the other room."

"I think I'd like to be in a bed too." Olivia muttered, still somewhat asleep. She allowed Amanda to pull her up from the couch by the hand and lead her to the bedroom.

"I'm sure I've got something you can wear in here somewhere." Amanda said, looking through her drawers for something that would fit Olivia. "Do you want shorts or sweat pants?" she asked, looking back at Olivia and laughing loudly when she saw that she had already taken off her clothes, leaving herself in underwear and a bra and nothing more, and was now climbing into the bed. "I guess neither." She chose a t shirt for herself and decided against pants. Worried about making Olivia uncomfortable she had originally decided to at least wear shorts, but now seeing that Olivia hadn't given a thought to modesty, she figured she was in the clear. Being careful not to disturb Olivia, as she looked to have already been asleep by the time her head hit the pillow, she carefully climbed under the blanket and faced her boss. She looked so peaceful, so comfortable, it had been a long time since she had seen Olivia this way. As tired as she was, she didn't want to close her eyes and didn't want to miss anything.

"You're staring Amanda." Olivia said quietly, still causing Amanda to jump though.

"Sorry, I thought you were asleep."

"That makes it creepier ." She said, a slight smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. She reached out and pulled Amanda close to her chest. "Goodnight Amanda."

"Night Liv."

The morning sun shone through bedroom curtains, creating a soft glow in the room. Olivia was the first to wake, and she was surprised to see that neither of them had moved during the night. They were still wrapped in each other's embrace. It took her a moment though to realize she was half naked, wearing only a bra and underwear. Her heart started pounding, she didn't even remember taking her clothes off the previous night.

When Amanda began walking up, she stretched her arms, pausing when she realized her hands were sliding over exposed skin. She opened her eyes and found Olivia watching her. "Good morning." She said sheepishly.

"It is a good morning." Olivia replied with a bright smile. Once again she found herself in adoration our the blondes unnecessary embarrassment. "Do you think anyone would notice if I got on a plane and left the country?"

"I would." Amanda said. "Why are you leaving the country?"

"I'm not looking forward to the ass chewing I'm going to get from 1PP this morning." She said, rolling onto her back and huffing loudly.

"I'm sure it'll be okay Liv, it wouldn't be the first time the brass came down on the squad." Amanda tried to reassure her boss, she scooted closer and rested her chin on Olivia's chest.

"Yeah, but this time the squad isn't going to be the one in trouble." Olivia countered, looking down at the bright blue eyes staring back at her.

"If you're in trouble, we're in trouble Liv. We've got your back, always." She lightly ran her fingers over the exposed skin of Olivia's chest, causing her to shiver.

"I appreciate that Amanda, I really do." They lay that way for a while longer, just looking at the other, hands slowly and softly making patterns on exposed skin. After a while though, Olivia decided they needed to get up and get ready for work, she needed go to her own apartment to get a fresh set of clothes and take a shower.

"What time do you want me at work?" Amanda asked as she watched Olivia redress in last night's discarded clothes.

"Around ten would be fine. You guys deserve a few extra hours off." She smiled, buttoning up her shirt and ticking it into her slacks.

"So do you Liv." Amanda pointed out.

"Well I'm sure I'll have visitors waiting for me no matter what time I get to the office, I think it would be best to not keep them waiting." She sat in a chair in the living room to put on the boots she had left by the door.

"Do you want me to come in with you? You know, so you're not alone." Amanda asked hugging herself, as she was only in a t shirt and the apartment was quite chilly.

"I'll be okay Amanda, but I can't stop you from coming in when you decide to." She really did want Amanda to go with her, she didn't want to be alone. She could take whatever the brass throw at her, but she would need someone to vent to when it was all over.

"Alright, duly noted." Amanda said, finishing with a wink. She would start getting ready when Olivia left and hopefully beat her into the office.

"Well I guess I'll see you in a few hours?" Olivia asked, wishing it would be earlier. She stood by the front door, hovering just in front it, wishing she could just stay.

"Of course. I'll be there." Amanda walked closer, until she was standing right in front of her, their bodies nearly touching. She could feel her pulse quickening and she extended up onto the tips of her toes, placing her hands softly at Olivia's waist.

Olivia, in turn, put a hand gently on the back of Amanda's neck and the other snaking around her waist to hold her close. She pressed her lips to Amanda's. It was much like their first kiss, soft and gentle, but there was something more there this time. There was a need there, a growing passion, it had always been there really, but now it had a chance to make itself known. When they pulled away from each other they both understood what the other was feeling.

"Alright, well, I better get going then." Olivia said as she opened the door and stepped into the hall way. She turned for one more look, she took in Amanda as a whole picture, from the tips of her toes, to her exposed legs, the hem of her t shirt landing just at the top of her thighs, one hand twisting at the hem of the t shirt lifting it just enough to see that her panties were black and lacy, and her hair falling across her shoulders and down her back in messy golden strands, and her face was a mix of happiness and concern. Those blue eyes. They were fixed on Olivia's brown ones as if she was trying to read something there. Reluctantly she pulled the door closed behind her and made her way downstairs and back to her car.