Various Cabot cousins were in the back drinking gin cocktails while the children ran around in the yard kicking a soccer ball
"Why don't you go play?" Olivia took Cassie to meet the others. There were three boys and two girls outside.
"Now we're even," a girl called out.
Alex scanned the yard to see which cousins had arrived. Before she could decide which one she wanted to approach first, she found herself in a huge bear hug.
"TYLER!" She knew it was her big, flamboyant cousin without having to turn around.
"It has been too long Alley Cat."
"I hear you got married."
"I did, and I see you brought your lovely lady." Olivia got the next giant hug from Tyler.
Tyler had always been fond of Olivia. The last time they came to MA, he and Alex took Olivia to Lucenzo's store, giving her a makeover/shopping spree just because, she looked so fabulous.
"Welcome home Olivia."
"Thank you Tyler."
"Lucenzo's finishing up at the store, but he should be here soon. I hear you have a little girl now?"
Alex pointed to Cassie. "She's my foster daughter. After a year, I can apply to adopt her."
"She's a foster. Well, I'll be damned; she looks like a Cabot." She was indistinguishable from the other kids.
The three adults staked out a bench and got some drinks.
"I want to hear all about your wedding," Alex wanted a play by play.
Olivia's arm slipped around Alex's waist. It would be nice to marry her, make it official. She kissed Alex's neck. I love you.
Tyler told them all about what they were wearing and who said what. They were just getting to the beginning of the reception when Lucenzo appeared.
"Sis, it's been too long," he kissed both of Alex's cheeks and both of Olivia's cheeks.
"Lucenzo, you look better than ever." He had recently shaved and had on a blue vest and white shorts. He had striking features, dark hair and eyes. Tyler called him the Italian Stallion.
"You must bring you girls to the store tomorrow, so we can spoil them."
"You have children's clothes?" he hadn't last time.
"We've expanded our market. Apparently, our customers all want to put their boys and girls in Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton."
Olivia was reminded yet again; this is society.
Alex rubbed small circles on Olivia's back to calm her. Just think of me.
"We could come by after the beach. This way we can get some rays before it's too hot."
"We wouldn't want you to burn," Lucenzo said. "I'm sure you two will be bikini clad."
"Us never," Olivia told him.
They all laughed.
At 3:05, Graham Phillip Cabot came outside to give the opening remarks.
"Would he just shut up?" Tyler grumbled as Grant talked about the foundation and how much work he had to do to keep it running and something about family, togetherness, and crap.
"If no one has anything else to say," not that Graham had asked, "I think we should …"
"I have something to say," Tyler yelled out.
"Yes Tyler," he said begrudgingly.
"I think we should welcome Alex back. It's been quite some time since we've seen her, and we have her luscious girlfriend and her beautiful daughter joining us."
People started to do a makeshift toast for the renegade Cabot and everyone was looking to see the newest rugrat in the bunch.
"Speech!" a drunk cousin called out.
"Speech! Speech! Speech!"
Alex eventually gave in. "Hi everyone. I know everyone has some questions about where I've been and why, so I'll explain it now to clear the air. Over three years ago, I chose to prosecute a man who worked for a drug cartel.
The cartel's leader put out death threats, but I wouldn't back down. He hired a hitman to kill me, and I was shot, but I survived. To keep me alive, the FBI told everyone that I didn't make it, and I was flown away to a new state with a new name and occupation.
I wasn't allowed to contact anyone to make sure that the cartel didn't figure out that I was still alive. I couldn't tell anyone about who I was or why I had really moved to Kansas and then to New Mexico.
I'm sorry that people came to my funeral and mourned me even though I was in fact alive, and I wouldn't have done this if I had another choice, but I would have put you in danger by telling you the truth. It was safer for everyone if I stayed hidden until the cartel was taken care of.
In March, a military team took out the cartel, and I was able to come back to my life. It looks like I have a lot of catching up to do and some new cousins to meet. I'm looking forward to it."
Alex made up the speech on the spot, but she sounded flawless. Everyone awed when Ace ran up to her.
"Hi Auntie!"
Alex scooped her up. "How's my little star?"
All of the kids wanted to hear about Alex's adventures. Who doesn't want to hear from the girl who came back from the dead?
"She's going to be miss popular this year," Lucenzo teased.
"Hell, she will be every year if she makes the introductions instead of Graham," Tyler retorted.
"She should. She owns just as much of the foundation as he does."
"But she doesn't actively participate," Tyler said in an exaggerated tone.
"I wouldn't either. Graham's a buttface." It was easier to leave it to the lawyers.
"I take it he's not your favorite cousin," Olivia said.
"Far from it." He's not evil or anything. "He's just so uptight and about all of the wrong things."
Graham Cabot sipped away at his Scotch as he made small chat with some of his cousins. He was never one for getting too close to the family. He had never been able to connect with them as readily as Alex could or their parents could. He spent much of his childhood feeling like the black sheep.
Instead of forging his own path, he chose to work for the foundation, hoping that by taking it over, he would get his family's respect. It was not the same as their love, but it was better than nothing at all.
For a brief moment, it seemed like he was the foundation. Alex had been murdered; mother died of cancer and then he had the controlling interest, just to get the shock of his life when he learned his mother had not left him her entire share but only half.
It was months before he learned Alexandra was still alive and her share had been saved for her. Instead of being the controller of the foundation, he had to share the role with his MIA sister, which meant he had to deal with her lawyers as she did whatever she wanted.
Jealous didn't even begin to describe how he felt about the situation. He looked over and saw Olivia laughing with his cousins. They accepted her like she was family right away, which irked Graham further. The family had not taken to Lisa well right away, and if it weren't for Alex's intervention, they wouldn't have at all.
He resented Olivia because they took to her so easily and she hardly knew anything about society or the Cabots. At least Lisa had tried to impress them, but then again, Alex could have shown up with a homeless woman and would have made it work somehow.
Dinner was a raucous affair. The Cabots had been drinking for hours and they were ready to eat. They had squab, creamed spinach, roasted potatoes, rolls, and a mixed green salad.
"What is a squab?" Olivia whispered to Alex.
"A baby pigeon."
"We're eating pigeon?" she said loudly. Gross!
"They aren't city pigeons," Graham told her, as if she should have known. "They're cleaner than other poultry."
"It's like a dark chicken," Alex offered, ignoring her brother. "Just more pretentious and four times the cost."
Tyler started laughing. "You should have been here last year when they covered everything in caviar. It was expensive and squishy."
People around the table started recalling their favorite or least favorite dishes served from the Cabot kitchen."
"They served alligator this one time. It was so weird."
Olivia was relieved to be able to sink into the conversation. Alex squeezed her thigh affectionately.
I'm fine Boo Olivia's look told her.
The kids had two sleepovers: one for boys and one for girls. It was easier to keep track of the children if they were all together and they had fun this way.
Cassie was sharing a room with Ace, Priscilla, and Jamie.
Olivia came to tuck all of the girls into bed and read them a story. Lisa had come to see how the girls were doing and she caught the tail end of The Emperor's New Clothes.
Ace was already asleep. Cassie was falling asleep, and the two older girls were listening eagerly.
"You're a natural," Lisa told Olivia as she left the room.
The detective smiled. "I've always loved kids."
The two women started talking. "Have you and Alex thought about increasing your brood?"
Olivia blushed. "I think we still have a ways to go. I haven't even moved in yet."
"What are you waiting for?"
"It's only been a month."
"And by a month you mean five years, seven if you count the two years you two pined for each other beforehand."
Olivia had loved Alex for seven years. The fiery blonde had her at hello. "We had it and then it got taken away and then I fucked up and threw it away and …"
"Love doesn't leave. It may have been clouded by other crap, but it was there all along. You two mean too damn much to each other to drag your feet."
When Olivia didn't come back right away, Alex went looking for her. She was headed for the kitchen when she saw Graham.
"Have you seen Lisa?"
"No, but I've been in my room."
"She said she was going to tuck in the girls, but then she didn't come back."
"Liv went to tuck them in and read them a story." They probably ran into each other there.
Before Graham could comment, Alex started going towards the study. She heard laughter and knocked on the door.
Sure enough, Lisa and Olivia were chatting over some scotch.
"Graham is looking for you. I can tell him you're not here."
"Nice, Alexandra," Graham grumbled from the hallway.
"Oh sorry Honey. I lost track of time," Lisa told her husband.
Alex sat on Olivia's lap. "Snuggle time?"
"Sure. Goodnight Lisa … Graham." Olivia carried Alex to bed bridal style.
Alex gave her a kiss before they left the room. It was her way of flipping off her brother.
"What was that for?"
"Do I need a reason?"
"Nope."
"Good."
By the time they made it to their bedroom, Alex had forgotten all about her brother. "Take me!"
Olivia didn't have to be told twice. She reached under Alex's sundress and yanked it off, only to find she had been wearing nothing underneath.
"You haven't been going commando all day," Olivia questioned.
Alex grinned. "I got rid of everything else after dinner. Didn't want to waste time."
Olivia pounced on her lover, pinning her to the bed before taking over the lawyer's mouth.
Alex struggled to get free, so she could undress her detective, but Olivia did not want to relinquish control. She started groping Alex's tender flesh, pinching and pulling all over.
"OH LIV!"
Olivia had one nipple in her mouth and the other one in her fingertips. Her lover tasted like candy, spicy candy.
The flustered ADA didn't even think to hide her moans as Olivia ravished her body. They weren't the only couple enjoying themselves, but they did so without any inhibitions and they were quite noisy.
Once Alex could break free, she flipped Olivia on her back and began to undress her. The lawyer had a feral look in her eyes as she stared down Olivia's toned abs. She gave a devilish grin before dragging her teeth down her lover's torso and making it down to her hips.
Sharp bites covered Olivia's thighs and calves. Alex left her mark all over Olivia's tan legs before she rolled onto her back.
"Straddle me."
Olivia knew exactly what Alex wanted and she carefully kneeled on either side of Alex's head. Two soft hands grabbed Olivia's firm behind and squeezed as Alex moved her tongue into her lover's wetness.
Olivia's knuckles were white from gripping the headboard as she tried to refrain from smothering Alex's face. Suddenly two fingers found their way into her wetness, and they started plunging in and out very quickly.
"OH FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!"
The nearby Cabots could all hear Olivia's pleasured cries and found it amusing.
"Alex really is back from the dead," Tyler teased.
Loud moans rang through the hallway as Alex used her patented tongue twister.
"No fair … FUCK!"
Alex was greedy. She wanted to guzzle as much of Olivia as possible and she kept bringing her over the edge just to deny her and bring her back up again.
"Stop teasing!"
Alex found Olivia's clit and sucked it hard. It only took seconds before Olivia shrieked "AAAALLLLEEEEEXXX!" and came all over Alex's face. The Cabot heiress kept licking and sucking, forcing orgasm after orgasm before Olivia rolled away spent.
Olivia just got out a deep breath when a round of applause burst through the hallway.
"Oops!" Alex said, but she wasn't sorry.
Olivia rolled her eyes. "I just made a great impression."
"You really did," Alex told her.
"A-LEX! A-LEX!"
The ruckus made by Alex's family was enough to get Graham out of bed.
"Would you fools shut up?"
"Come on G-Daddy we're just having fun," one of the cousins told him.
"Did you know Olivia's a scream queen?"
Eventually, the Cabots went to bed.
Alex and Olivia tried to be quieter for the rest of the night, but they continued to ravish each other.
Alex had no idea if anyone heard them after Graham's outburst until the following morning. She and Olivia came downstairs to hear slow clapping. It was her cousins and some of her uncles.
"WOO HOO!"
Olivia hid behind Alex who had a bit of a strut.
"Good morning gentlemen."
"How was your sleep?" Tyler asked loudly.
"Quite refreshing. The bed was very comfortable." Alex winked at Olivia.
Their pointed banter continued. Olivia just shook her head.
Of course, Grant was the party pooper. "Need I remind you all that these walls are not soundproof and there are children sleeping in the house?"
"Back in my day, we had all the children sleep outside in the shed," an elder teased.
After a Cabot family breakfast, which consisted of pancakes with bacon or eggs benedict and lots of mimosas (or bloody Marys), the clan got ready to go to the beach. It was five-minute drive or a 15-minute walk to the beach.
There was a lifeguard watching from above, but parents were encouraged to stay in the water with their children just in case.
Alex had planned on reading but Cassie and Olivia pouted until she joined them in the water.
At first, the lawyer was cold, but she quickly heated up when Olivia touched her stomach. The tanned vixen was wearing that dark green bikini that made her look like 1M dollars, and everyone had taken notice, the other Cabots whistling and complimenting her.
"She looks like a centerfold," Graham said insultingly.
"I wish I looked like a centerfold," Lisa retorted.
Alex quickly kissed Olivia between her breasts.
"That's why you joined us in the water."
"Didn't hurt."
"Mama!" Cassie broke their concentration.
Alex and Olivia returned to the little girl. "Can we build a sandcastle?"
The trio got buckets of wet sand and started to build. They could hear the others playing and yelling in the background, but their presence mostly slipped from Olivia's consciousness. She could only focus on Alex and Cassie. They were safe and happy right in front of her. Nothing else mattered, well until Tyler attacked with a water gun.
"You're gonna get it!" Alex started to chase. Cassie laughed as she followed her mom and they all ran into the ocean to get one more round of playing in before they freshened up and headed into Lucenzo's store.
It was noon when they got there, and Lucenzo didn't open until one on Saturdays, so it was just for them.
"I have some adorable school clothes for Cassie to try on and we will need a fresh fall look for my two favorite ladies."
Alex was known for her grey power suits. Lucenzo wanted to get some different colors into her fall look. He had navy blue, red, and yellow to work with. "I want something that says fall. Come back with a new color scheme and you will get heads turning."
Tyler had brown, different shades of green, yellow, and orange as the colors he thought would suit Olivia best.
For Cassie, they started with dresses and skirts: classic pink, periwinkle blue and purple.
"The red is so striking on you," Lucenzo told the ADA, "but black makes you look fierce. Clearly you should get them both."
Alex could see how he got his customers to spend so much money here. She was running up quite a bill, even with the Cabot family discount.
By the time the store was ready to open, Alex, Olivia, and Cassie were leaving with bags and bags of clothes.
"Do come back before winter," Tyler told them. "You'll get first dibs on our new coats."
"Maybe we'll be back for Thanksgiving."
They all got in the car. The Cabot family barbeque started in an hour and Cassie would need a nap before spending the afternoon with her cousins.
Once their little princess was tucked in, Alex and Olivia headed back to their room.
Alex took Olivia's hand and kissed it. "Thank you for coming."
"I'm glad I did." The detective needed to face her fear of the Cabots, and she didn't ever want to let Alex down again.
"I need you with me, always."
They slipped into an embrace and shared a short but tender kiss.
"Liv." Alex stroked her short hair.
"Yes Baby."
Alex's face showed that she wanted to ask something, something big. "Move in with me."
"Yes."
Alex had been ready to sell it. "It makes no sense for you to pay for your apartment when you're …"
Olivia silenced her with a kiss. "Babe, I already said yes."
"You did?" Alex couldn't hear her over the beating of her own heart.
Olivia laughed and then she smiled. "How could I resist a chance to move in with my girls?"
They fell into bed, kissing deeply and savoring every second they could have with each other.
Thirty minutes later, they were still kissing in bed, sharing the longest make out session they had since the couch incident.
Cassie woke up from her nap and came looking for them.
She opened the door and peered inside. Olivia and Alex hadn't noticed her arrival yet. "Mama, Livia?"
They broke their kiss to see a confused Cassie.
"What is it Honey?"
"I woke up from my nap and I couldn't find you."
Alex scooped her up. "Sorry Honey. I meant to get you, but I lost track of time."
Cassie accepted her explanation.
"I'm hungry."
"Why don't we go down and get some food?" Olivia suggested.
Before they did, Alex wanted to tell Cassie, "Olivia and I have some news."
"Good news."
"Very good."
"We're getting a puppy?"
Alex laughed before shaking her head. "Olivia is moving in with us."
"Are you two getting married?" Cassie questioned.
"Not yet," Olivia told her as she squeezed Alex's hand for confirmation.
"We are committed to each other," Alex told her, "And to you."
"Will you be my Papa?" Cassie asked excitedly. The concept of two mothers at the same time was beyond her reach, although lesbianism was not.
Alex smiled and Olivia nodded. "I'm here to stay Cassie."
"YAY!"
They shared a group hug. The moment couldn't get any better … until Cassie asked, "if you two get married, can we get a dog?"
The two women laughed as they took Cassie to get some food.
Two hours later, Cassie was running around with cousins while Olivia was stretched out, draped over Alex. "Why did you let me eat so much?" Olivia was overfull from pulled pork, smoked wings, potato salad, bratwurst, everything but the green salad.
Alex glared. "I told you to stop eating three plates before you did."
"It was the last plate that did me in," Olivia complained. "You should have insisted before then."
Alex rolled her eyes. "You're incorrigible."
"And you want me to move in with you anyway."
"I do, what's wrong with me?"
"You know what they say about lesbians and their u-hauls."
Alex grabbed Olivia by the belt and pulled her into a kiss. "We're moving in together."
"Oh yeah." They kept talking about it in between kisses.
Eventually, loud coughing interrupted their make out session.
"There are children present," Graham chastised.
"I know. My daughter's right there," Alex leaned on Olivia's shoulder and held her arm. She had no qualms about kissing her lover. If you didn't like it, don't watch.
"I don't care about what you subject your daughter to, but my daughter is too young to learn about …"
He couldn't even say it.
"What, kissing? Unless you want to raise Ace in a bubble, she's going to see all kinds of couples in the world. What you want to say to her about them is her business, but at some point, she's going to realize that although most men kiss women, some men kiss other men and some women kiss other women. It's only a big deal if you make it to be a big deal."
Alex defiantly stared down her brother. She refused to hide her relationship or apologize for it. Her brother could be just as stubborn.
"Your actions don't reflect just you anymore," he seethed. "They reflect on this family and the foundation, whether or not you actually want to be apart of it."
"Is this about your scandalized child or is this about the foundation?" Alex retorted. "I don't see how either of them are harmed by my relationship with Olivia, so why don't you, oh wise one, enlighten me?"
Now they were both bright red and standing face to face. Olivia guided Alex behind her, separating them, so this didn't turn into a fistfight.
"Do you have any idea how much of the foundation relies on outside donors? Did it ever occur to you that they might not be so receptive to this?" he pointed at them and waved his hands.
Alex didn't buy that for a second. "Our donors give money to look good. They don't care about what I'm doing in bed. If they did, they would have stopped donating years ago. I didn't hide my relationship with Olivia before, and I'm not going to hide it now. We're moving in together, and when we're ready, we'll get married, and after that we're going to have little Bensons and little Cabots running around, and we're going to grow old and grey together and have a happy ever after and if you don't like that, you can go fuck yourself."
And on that note, Alex took Cassie and Olivia and they went to her beach house for the night.
Olivia's only response was, "did you mean that, having little Bensons running around?" She had been afraid to reproduce given her genes.
"Absolutely, I love you, and I want us to have a family, a big one."
They shared a passionate kiss before they got into the car. 20 minutes later, they were at the beach house. Unlike the huge estate, this was a simple, three-bedroom home. It was comfortable, and it was just theirs.
"Why don't we put on a movie for Cassie and then we can talk?"
They put on Dumbo for her and went into the kitchen.
"It feels too good to be true," Olivia told Alex. "I always wanted to be a mother, but with my job and with my family history, I never thought it would actually happen, but here we are and …"
Alex kissed her. "I always wanted you. I wasn't sure how we'd handle our jobs and children before, but now I know how wonderful it feels to have a family, and I won't give it up. If the job becomes too much, then we'll figure something out."
"Let's get married," Olivia told her. "I'm sick of waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm sick of making excuses because I think you'll wake up one morning and find someone better. I love you, and I love Cassie, and I want all three of us to be a family, nothing in our way."
Alex kissed her nose. "Yes."