Disclaimer: I own nothing
Hi all, sorry it took so long but my muse has seriously been dead. After weeks of trying to come up with any ideas on how to continue this one popped up, hope you like the first instalment.
TWO WEEKS LATER
Alex sat back on the couch of her apartment in New York and put her feet up on the table, something she never would have thought of doing a few weeks ago, while she took a sip of wine. Leaning forward she picked up her laptop where she had left it on her coffee table and placed it in her lap as she scrolled through her emails.
She sighed, it felt so good to relax after the hustle of the last couple of weeks. As Olivia had predicted she had used her money to talk, as the old saying went. Within days she had planning permission and Montana's best builders crawling over the ranch within 4 days to build the new outdoor kitchen and the cover over the fire pit.
Both would be matching stone and wood constructions with high ceilings. The outdoor kitchen was going to be at least twice as large as the old one, better designed to have the kitchen down one end, complete with all the latest mod cons, accessories and equipment. Like the old kitchen it would utilise a wall with the mess hall. The other three walls would be 3 foot stone combined with clear cafe blinds which could be rolled up during summer or closed during winter. A large fireplace would keep the area warmer.
A covered walkway would lead the twenty yards to the fire pit area which had been expanded. A stone and glass permanent wall was added to the North side for wind protection during winter, and driving rain in summer. A wood and stone bench seat would be added to the south side for seating and the rest would be standing room only. It was extravagant, Alex knew that, and it had taken a lot of talking to convince the gates family to let her do it but she hadn't been a successful ADA for nothing.
Once she had the family approval on the designs, things had started moving. Alex had taken a step back and let Judy take over, the older woman was thriving bossing the crew about. She had turned her attention to Tate and trying to convince her they needed to add an office for her and a spare room onto the back of the house. Tate was procrastinating, she loved her cabin as it was, but Alex had recently added a sweetener of an enclosed back patio with Hot tub. Tate was doing a lot of grumbling but hadn't said no yet.
Alex smiled to herself as she checked over another boring email. The stuff people sent her. As if she would go to a State Lawyers convention. Groaning she clicked the red cross to delete and moved onto the next. She really needed to check her emails more often. Maybe if she had the last couple of days wouldn't have been so hectic and she could have planned this trip better.
She smiled to herself, she had managed to pull off an outstanding result as it was, but maybe the trip could have been longer if she'd had more time. As it was it was a flying visit but at least the ranch hands wouldn't hate her too much.
She looked up when she heard a noise and smiled as Olivia walked into the room carrying a beer and plopped down beside her.
"Hey you, enjoy your nap?" she asked and Olivia sighed and closed her eyes
"Yeah, wasn't long enough though. All the noise" Olivia grumbled and Alex had to laugh
"Wasn't that long ago you couldn't sleep unless it was noisy" Alex chuckled and Olivia shot her a mock glare
"Never thought I would say it but I find the country much more peaceful and conducive to sleep"
"Not to mention the activity with country chicks that helps relax you in the first place" Alex added with a smirk, watching as one fine dark eyebrow arched upwards
"Hello Pot"
"Yeah yeah" Alex gave a beaming smile and closing the lid of her computer stretched out and placed it back on the coffee table before sitting back to sip her wine.
"Where's Tate? Still feeling under the weather?"
"She really does hate flying" Alex sighed still a bit worried with how pale Tate had been once they got off the plane. "It didn't help that New York was in the middle of a storm at the time"
Olivia shuddered, flying wasn't her greatest love either and although she was nowhere near as terrified as Tate the severe turbulence they had experienced coming in to land had scared the shit out of her.
"I totally understand where she is coming from" Olivia shuddered again and took a gulp of her beer at the memory. Alex reached across and gave a comforting squeeze of her hand.
"We're safe"
"Yup, until the flight home" Olivia chuckled derisively "Not sure how we are going to get Tate on the plane"
Alex didn't have a clue either, she would have to come up with one hell of an incentive between now and Sunday. They sat in companionable silence for long minutes, just enjoying the quiet, the drinks and the company before Olivia stretched and turned to Alex.
"Heard anything from Abbie?" she asked and Alex sighed and shook her head.
Although she had kept busy over the last 2 weeks Wentworth and the case had never been far from her mind. Abbie, Elliot and the Feds had stayed one more day at the ranch before all transferring to Helena. Elliot had come back to new York shortly after that but Abbie was still in Helena fighting for extradition back to New York where Wentworth had committed the more serious natured crimes.
Wentworth was fighting tooth and nail, wanting to avoid the needle. It was going to be a long drawn out process. It could take days, weeks, months or years. Alex wasn't really up to date on Montana State laws but surely 4 attempted murders, possession and firing of illegal firearms and anything else traffic wise they could throw at him would earn him a long stint in a Montana prison. She didn't care where, as long as he was behind bars and couldn't get to her she would be happy.
There was an upside of it playing out in Montana. It was Montana, not New York. She wasn't exactly a nobody in Montana but she wasn't Alexandra Cabot, the Alexandra Cabot either. She could barely sneeze in new York without some paparazzi knowing about it, in Montana she was an unknown and thanks to Abbie everything about the case was being kept out of the press. Alex didn't have to worry about a thing unless she needed to testify.
So she had been totally relaxed until Wednesday night when she checked her emails and had a reminder from her boss that she was due to give a speech at a fundraiser on Saturday night to put forward the plight of women in the Congo and to hopefully get the big city businessmen and entrepreneurs to open their wallets for the cause.
She'd been pissed to say the least, mainly at herself for forgetting. If she thought it had taken fast talking to get the Gates family to agree to the outside kitchen, it had taken everything to get Tate to agree to come with her, eventually dobbing in Olivia and Tyler as well. It had taken even more fancy talking to convince them to come to the black tie event. Once she had the organisers had been pathetically easy to persuade to add three names to the list, mostly because it was cocktails and not a sit down dinner.
"No nothing, she said she'd let me know once she had anything to report" Alex sighed and noticing her glass was empty and that Olivia's beer was nearly gone she stood "I'll get us a top up if you order the pizza" she chuckled as Liv practically dove off the lounge in a hurry to get to the phone. Liv was a sucker for pizza. "No anchovies" Alex reiterated and Olivia shuddered, not likely.
An hour later the four of them were sitting cross legged on the lounge room floor around the coffee table enjoying a Meat lovers and cheese pizzas. Tate had gotten over her bout of air sickness enough to participate in the cheese pizza at least, not at all happy that she hadn't been asked to cook. Alex had rolled her eyes and told her she was on a weekend off and to just enjoy, then promised to make it up to her later.
Tyler had merely grinned and hoed in. She had been in New York a couple of times and nothing in the world tasted as good as a New York pizza.
"So what are the plans for tomorrow?" Tyler asked as she swallowed her pizza and took a guzzle of beer to wash it down with.
"Olivia and I need some dresses for tomorrow night so we will be hitting the shops early" Alex informed and shot a look at Olivia who was pulling a face. She plastered on a fake smile which in no way fooled Alex before Alex turned to her lover
"You two have a 9am appointment for sizing of your suits"
"Suits?" Tate choked on her drink and looked horrified at Tyler.
"Sweetheart it's black tie" Alex looked at her quizzically "What did you expect to be wearing?"
"Black tie?" Tate looked horrified "You happen to mention that before or after I realised I would have to get on a plane?"
Tyler laughed and clapped her on the back before giving her ever present hat a flick
"You'll have to lose the hat too" she teased and Tate's hands shot to her hat while she turned to Alex. Alex sighed and glared at Tyler, she wasn't going to tell Tate that until tomorrow. She swore the thing was attached to Tate's head, she even had a job getting it off her in bed.
"Dammit Tyler" she growled.
"Geez Alex, one would thing Tate loves that hat more than you" Olivia chuckled before leaning back against the couch with a groan and patting her still flat stomach "I'm stuffed, I think I should have stopped after the second slice"
"I can understand why you didn't babe, New York pizzas are the best" Tyler leant back beside her and took a sip of beer, before wrapping an arm around Olivia's shoulders. She wasn't at all surprised as the slow burn started at the press of their bodies as her lover snuggled closer to her. She wondered how early they could get to bed without seeming rude, as she pulled Olivia in closer and pressed a kiss to her brow.
Her leg jumped as a gentle hand came to rest upon her thigh, the skin beneath the jeans where Olivia's palm lay tingled and shot sparks to her groin. God the things the woman could do to her with a touch. She nuzzled her lover's ear and growled quietly causing her beautiful lover to smile knowingly.
Alex rolled her eyes at the loved up pair and turned to Tate who was still playing with her hat on her head while she nibbled on a slice of pizza. Sighing Alex shuffled closer and leant up against her lover, reaching up to pull down the hand that was fiddling with the hat. Tate sighed but gave up her hand easily.
"You know it's not true don't you" she whispered and then got lost in those beautiful sparkling blue eyes that looked up at her adoringly. Her heart flipped at the sight.
"Hmmm what's not true?"
"I love you more than the hat" Tate told her with a smile and Alex gave a soft chuckle
"You better cowgirl" she swept the hat from her lovers head and plopped it on hers "I don't let just anyone slide between my sheets sweetheart"
Tate's mouth fell open but she was truly speechless for a moment while her body raged with hormones. Shooting a look over at the other couple who seemed to be in a world of their own she grabbed Alex around her slim waist and pulled her onto her lap.
"When can we sneak off to bed without seeming rude?" she asked and glancing at the clock groaned when she saw it was only 7.30.
"Well now darling" Alex drawled wrapping her arms around Tate's neck "I don't know about bed but I want to introduce you to my bath which is plenty big enough for the both of us" she finished on a squeak and tightened her grip as Tate surged to her feet and swiftly made for the back of the apartment.
She caught a look at the surprise on her best friends face as well as the smirk on Tyler's over her lovers shoulder and buried her face against Tate's neck. Oh boy, she doubted she'd live this down for a while. She inhaled deeply, drinking in that unique blend of sandalwood and Tate that she loved so much and snuggled closer. Right now she didn't care, it was sure to be worth it.