August 2007

The Greenfield trial was set for October. Walsh had already pleaded guilty to felony kidnapping, and would not faces charges for conspiracy to commit kidnapping or accessory after the fact to murder.

He would be getting a 10-year sentence in a medium security prison. Taking good behavior into account, he'd probably serve around 7 years, a decent while but a far cry from the life sentence he could have gotten.

In exchange for the deal, he would testify that his brother had committed the murders for hire, Stuckey had been the go between, and that his brother had promised him 50,000 to try and kidnap Cassie. None of this pointed to Margaret directly, but it corroborated Stuckey's story, which was necessary for the charges to hold.

Stuckey was getting around 30 years for his role in the plot. He was pleading guilty to two counts of murder 2 to be served concurrently. It wasn't life, but he'd be in his late 60s when he got out of jail. They needed him to make the connection to Margaret, and to corroborate why Marsh hired his brother to kidnap Cassie.

They had Margaret's stipulation that she had stolen from the estate. Evidence from the estate lawyer that the money she stole had belonged to Jessica, and Jessica's friends to testify that the two sisters had been estranged for years, giving further motive for the killings.

It was hardly a slam-dunk case, but it was enough to hopefully get her to cop to a deal.

Steele got a call from Marsh's lawyers. He wanted to talk.

"You better not be wasting my time," Steele growled from Rikers.

"I have information that can help you in the Greenfield case."

"Like what?"

"Like I heard Stuckey on the phone with her."

"Can you recognize her voice?"

"I wouldn't have called you here if I couldn't."

"And what do you want in return?"

"25 years, medium security prison."

So he can try to break out and kill those who put him away.

"My boss will never go for it."

"Make her go for it."

Steele brought the terms back to Cabot.

"How do we know he can recognize her voice? He might not remember it after so many months."

"What do you suggest we do?"

"See if he can pick out the voice from a lineup, and then we talk."

Marsh got taken out of Rikers to the 2-7, where he was given five other voices.

He correctly picked Greenfield's.

"This doesn't get in unless he testifies," Kessler pointed out.

"I didn't pass the bar yesterday," Steele snapped.

Now the question was what to do.

Alex told Steele to talk to Jack. "Find out what he thinks."

"He wants 25 years for two murders for hire, felony kidnapping, and attempting to kidnap a child."

"Yes, and all he is adding is one more piece of evidence. Granted our case on Greenfield could be tighter."

"What did Alex say?"

"To ask you."

McCoy called her to ask why she would even consider such a deal.

"Well, we could require him to plead guilty to each offense, suggest a lowball sentence for cooperation, and hope that he either disgusts the judge so much that she rejects the deal or sentences him to life using the persistent offender's law.

We could also offer him the deal so that he can backstab us like we know he will since Greenfield is paying him off."

"What?"

"The 2-7 went through his calls from Rikers. He's been calling an intern of Kessler's once a week since Greenfield got arrested."

"Let me guess, cell phone."

"You know it."

"I get it."

McCoy had some strategizing to do. "What's the best way to get this bastard?"

Dr. Olivet suggested that Alex take a much-needed vacation. "You and Cassie have both been through so much. It would be good for you two to take off and get away from the trial and everything."

"My sister in law invited us to a family vacation. They're all meeting at Cape Cod."

"I think you should go. It would be good for Cassie to play with kids close to her own age."

She would be starting kindergarten in the fall. She would a bit young for it. She didn't turn five until November, but she was a smart girl and Alex was sure that she'd have fun.

Alex made the necessary phone calls to get the time off work. She only needed two days since it was a four-day affair, Friday to Monday. She figured she could leave on Sunday and give herself Monday to recover before work.

At lunch, she called Olivia to confirm with her.

"Benson."

"How would you feel about going up to the Cape for a long weekend?"

"Cape Cod?"

"Yes."

"What's the special occasion?"

"Cabot family reunion. I want to introduce Cassie to her new cousins, and she'll want to play with Ace again."

Olivia cringed. "I don't know if I can get off work."

"You have more vacation days than anyone I know. Cragen is always demanding that you use them."

"I know but …"

"You don't want to go."

"No, I would love to spend four days with you and Cassie, just not with everyone. I like Lisa and Ace but …"

"And Tyler and Lucenzo. I know that my family has some less than savory people, but I haven't seen most of them in years, and I don't want to be without you."

Olivia knew she should go. Lisa did help them get back together, and Alex did whatever Olivia asked of her no questions asked.

"I'll go, but can we have a day of this vacation just us."

"I reserved Monday just for us and I figured we could stay in the beach house and visit the family at the main house for more privacy."

Olivia remembered how daunting the main house felt at the time. "I'd like that."

Abbie had been waiting all week to learn about the surprise Casey had for her.

"Tell me!"

"You'll see!" Casey told her.

They got to Casey's apartment and Abbie looked all around. "It looks normal to me."

"It's not out here."

Casey took Abbie to the bedroom.

"Ohh, is it a kinky surprise?"

"No."

Abbie frowned slightly. "What am I looking for?"

Casey went and opened a drawer.

It was empty.

"Um, there's nothing in that drawer."

"That's the point."

"What?"

"It's your drawer. This way, you don't have to keep lugging an overnight bag each time you come here. I want you to be able to keep your stuff here all the time."

"Aw thanks," Abbie still didn't get why this was a big deal, but Casey seemed so happy about it.

"You were expecting a better surprise," Casey realized.

"No," Abbie fibbed. "I was just expecting a more tangible surprise." She kissed her. "It's great."

The next day, Serena had called Abbie to see if she and Casey wanted to double next weekend.

"Let me check with Casey, but it sounds like fun."

"So how's your weekend going?"

"It's good. We had a lazy morning before brunch. Casey got me a drawer."

"CASEY GAVE YOU A DRAWER!"

"What's the big deal?"

"After a month of dating, it's a huge deal."

"It is?"

"This is her way of saying she might like to live with you someday."

"It is?"

"First step, allow her to keep a toothbrush over. Second step give her a drawer. Third step take a trial weekend getaway. Fourth step start talking about relocating."

"We started at step two?"

"She skipped step one. This is big."

"I had no idea."

"Get yourself together Abbie!"

After she got off the phone with Serena, Abbie gave Casey a passionate kiss.

"What was that for?" Casey murmured happily.

"Serena just explained to me the significance of a drawer."

"You didn't know?"

"I had never had one before."

"Not even with Serena."

She shook her head.

Casey kissed her. "I want to be the only one giving you a drawer."

"Yes, Ma'am."

They started tousling on the couch.

Stuckey pleaded guilty to two counts of murder two. He would be sentenced to two concurrent terms 30 to life and would be on lifetime probation after that.

In court, they had him allocate to the facts of the case and give details about Margaret Greenfield. He would still need to appear in trial, but they wanted as much on the record now in case he tried to change his story later. They could also use it to corroborate his testimony if the defense tried to impeach him as a witness.

Marsh was still holding out on a deal. McCoy wanted to learn more about what the relationship between him and Greenfield's counsel before deciding on a final strategy.

Also, he didn't want Marsh to plead guilty until after he gave good testimony against Greenfield. This way, if he bailed out, then they could revoke the deal before he was sentenced. There would be fewer ways of keeping him honest if he already got favorable sentencing before the Greenfield trial.

McCoy was preparing for another meeting with Steele when his secretary called him.

"Alex is here to see you."

"Send her in."

Alex took the seat directly across from him. "Hi Uncle Jack."

"Are you here as my ADA or as my goddaughter?"

"A little bit of both."

"Don't leave me hanging. What's going on?"

She decided to come right out with it. "Olivia and I are back together."

He paused before answering. "I see. Are you happy?"

"Yes, very much so."

"Good. You two don't work together anymore. You didn't need to report to your boss."

"I know, but I thought it might impact the litigation if Kessler got ahold of it. I am a witness and she was my protective detail."

"When did you start seeing her again?"

"About a week and a half after Greenfield was arrested."

"After she was no longer your guard."

"Yes."

"I don't see why that's relevant. She probably won't testify anyway."

"I was concerned that Kessler might target me in the case, argue that the investigation was unduly influenced by me and perhaps my desire to adopt Cassie. He might try to use anything."

"I'm sure he will, but we can handle the objections. Do you expect him to find out?"

"I wasn't going to call him up and tell him, but I am taking Olivia to the Cabot family reunion. Word might get out."

"Ah, the trial vacation. Are you going to ask her to move in with you?"

"I don't know. She's been great with Cassie and with me, but …"

"You want to make sure she won't run again."

Alex nodded. "For some reason, she's scared of my brother. I don't know why. He's a putz."

McCoy smiled at her. "Your world is foreign to her. It's only natural that she would find it intimidating."

Alex knew she had to talk to Olivia. Unfortunately, her girlfriend kept avoiding her.

"I have to stay late tonight," Olivia told her.

Alex knew Olivia was at work, but she didn't believe for five seconds that she had to be there.

"Are you avoiding me?"

"Why would I be avoiding you?"

"Because you are dreading our trip to Cape Cod, and you think that if you avoid me you can get out of it."

Hit the nail right on the head.

"Babe, I …"

"Liv, I love you. Cassie loves you. We're a family now and nothing that happens this weekend could change how I feel about you. You are my world. I belong wherever you do, and if my family treats you badly, then I'll sell all the vacation properties and they can pitch tents in the dirt."

"I love you too Honey. I'm just nervous."

"It's okay to be nervous, but I need you to tell me if you are, not playing hideaway with Elliot."

"How did you know he was hiding from Kathy?"

"She called, asking if you two had a case."

"You two do intel behind our backs?"

"We have to with you two troublemakers."

"I'll be home by 8PM."

Elliot made a whipping motion with his hand. Olivia threw a pen at his head.

When the detective did get home, Alex had a pork chop with glazed carrots waiting for her.

"This smells good."

"I hope it tastes good too."

After they got Cassie in bed, Alex and Olivia went to the couch to talk about their impending trip.

"The party officially starts Friday at 3PM. I thought we could leave early Friday morning and take a break half way through, have a snack, stretch our legs."

"That sounds good."

Alex went over what she put on the packing list, what she still needed to get, and what route she thought they should take. Olivia just kept saying that sounds good.

"I thought we could sell Cassie on the black market and buy a dog instead."

"That sounds … hey!"

"I was wondering when you'd pay attention."

"I'm sorry it's just …"

"What is it about my family that has you running scared? My mother loved you."

"What?" Olivia would not have gone that far.

"You are the only girlfriend she ever approved of."

"But you dated that doctor and …"

"She didn't care what your job was. She cared about who you were. My mother was stern, I'll give you that, and she felt that people should act with a sense of decorum, but above propriety she placed genuineness.

She told me that you had a pure heart, and that's what mattered to her most of all. She just wanted me to find someone who loved me, and I did. Stop thinking you aren't enough. You're more than enough. You're everything."

Olivia lunged at Alex, almost knocking the ADA onto the floor. Instead, Olivia caught them with her legs and then pinned Alex to the couch, kissing her with all of her being. Alex instinctively locked her legs around Olivia's hips.

Eventually, the detective broke the kiss to speak. "Sometimes, it feels too good to be true, the amount of love that we share so vast that it overwhelms the senses."

"I'll gladly live my life in a dream if I can share that dream with you."

Olivia grabbed her by the hips and carried her to bed where they spent the night slowly making love, exploring every inch of each other's bodies, studying ever new scar and mark that had happened since they had been apart.

Olivia tenderly kissed Alex where she had been shot years before. Alex ran her fingertips across a scar on Olivia's shoulder she had gotten fighting a suspect who was resisting arrest.

Every battle along the way was worth it to get to here and now.

Friday Morning

After an early breakfast, Alex, Olivia, and Cassie hit the road to Cape Cod. Cassie and Olivia both fell asleep in the car, leaving Alex to her own musings as she drove.

"Great, I can play whatever I want."

Cassie always wanted show tunes, particularly Disney show tunes. Olivia liked listening to female rockers, Janis Joplin or Joan Jett to name a few.

The old Alexandra had listened to a lot of jazz music. It was her way of rebelling against the classical influence of her childhood but still remaining cultured.

She forced herself to branch out, however, during her time in the program.

Listening to new music was something she could do without drawing much attention to herself.

She got into indie pop and post-rock, listening to bands like the Shins or Explosions in the Sky.

She put The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place on in the car. This was her chance to listen to music with no words, something that Cassie and Olivia didn't enjoy very much.

Olivia could almost hear the music while she dreamt. It gave her a serene feeling although she could not consciously appreciate it.

When she woke up. Olivia saw Alex's hand on the armrest and grabbed it. Alex smirked.

"What has you so happy?"

This song is called "Your Hand in Mine."

"Coincidence?"

"Nope. When I hear this song, it's exactly what I think about."

"But there aren't even words. How could this describe holding hands?"

"Just close your eyes and feel."

Olivia didn't admit it out loud, but the song did evoke a warm, fuzzy feeling that seemed to radiate from her soul.

When the album was over, their hands were still clutching.

"So do you fold?" Alex teased.

"Can't you just put on some Joan Jett?" Olivia retorted before she winked.

"I'll get you yet."

Olivia's music only lasted for so long. Once Cassie was up, it was time for more show tunes.

"Who put the glad in gladiator, Hercules!"

They were trapped in the wonderful world of Disney until Cassie fell back asleep.

Olivia drove the second half of the trip, so it was mostly her music while Alex whistled along.

By 2PM, they were pulling into the Cabot Estate. A man came out to valet the car.

Olivia couldn't believe it. This would be more over the top than the last time she was here. At least Caroline let people park their own cars.

Before Alex saw another Cabot, they were greeted by the butler, had their bags taken upstairs for them, and had been led out to the backyard as if it was her first time at the estate.

Here goes nothing!