I know this is a relatively short one, but I wanted to leave you with an evil cliffie. Mwahaha!

Alex falls asleep in my arms. I let her stay like that, thinking she needs the comfort right now. Then I take a moment to fully appreciate our position. Even though we've been brought together by the worst of circumstances, this is what I've wanted for so long. I've hardly dared to hope that someday Alex would be here, spending the night with me. Maybe it's time for me to admit it to myself – I love her. And I would do anything to prevent her from bearing any more pain.

I feel her start to stir and gently brush a few strands of hair away from her face. "You okay?"

She nods, sitting up straight again. The vulnerability that I'd glimpsed mere hours before has once again been replaced with her mask of indifference. The ice queen is back. Which is a shame, because much as I love the ice queen, I love Alex Cabot more. "I should go," she says quietly.

My heart starts to race as I wonder what I did wrong. I don't want her to leave. I want her to stay here with me – preferably forever, but the next few hours will suffice. "Stay," I whisper back, the words sounding more like a desperate plea than I would have liked.

The mask slips for a moment and I see something flash in her eyes, but she replaces it almost immediately. "I need to prepare for the case."

"Are you sure?" I don't know if I'm asking whether she's sure she has to go or whether she's sure she wants to prosecute the case. Maybe a little of both.

There's a split second of hesitation, but then she nods. "I'll see you later, okay?"

I watch as she gets up, folds up my blanket, and slips on her shoes. I wonder if she remembers the events of the past few hours or if she's just choosing to disregard them.

As she opens the door to leave, she glances back over her shoulder. "Liv?"

My heart skips a beat. "Yeah?"

Her eyes soften and she says quietly, "Thank you."

Oh.


Now that I know the truth, I'm wondering if I wanted it after all. It was too late to transport George Cabot to Rikers yesterday, so he's still at the precinct, and I have a good mind to kill him with my bare hands before anyone else arrives. I could do it. Easily. Because when Liv gets pissed, the adrenaline pumps, and she's unstoppable.

Not exactly sure of my motives, I throw on jeans and a sweater, get into my car, and drive down the precinct, unmindful of the fact that it's 6:30 in the morning. I love driving this early because there isn't any traffic – or slightly less than during the day, anyway.

Parking the car, I drop my keys in my pocket and jog inside the precinct. Adrenaline coursing through my veins, I start for the interrogation room.

But I stop at the sound of voices. Vaguely, I wonder if Elliot's gotten here before me and he's back at it with George Cabot. But glancing through the one-way glass, I see that it isn't Elliot sitting across from George. It's Alex.

So what is Alex doing there? Do you want to find out? Review if you do!