lachach: Hello Kitty is still rad! haha. And I agree, you can't spell AO with veggies. Even if you could, what child would want to eat that? :D litafan82: Thank you for the 'touchdown' suggestion. haha. I just had to find a way to throw it in there. Sara and betterthanbefore: Thank you so much! Cuteness makes me extremely happy. :)

February 14, 1982

Eight-year-old Olivia Benson laced up her cleats and double-checked to make sure all of her softball equipment was in her bag. She had been playing the sport since she was five, but she was still as excited as ever even if this was already her fourth season. She normally wasn't nervous about playing, but today she was extra jittery because Alex was going to watch her play for the first time.

"Mommy, let's go through the list," Olivia said as she handed her mom the checklist she had made before every game.

"Bat," Serena read.

"Got it," Olivia said confidently.

"Glove."

"Check," Olivia told her when she was finished searching her bag for her glove.

"Shirt tucked in."

"Uh oh," Olivia said as she noticed her shirt wasn't tucked in. After quickly tucking it in, she urged her mom to read the next item on the list.

"Cap."

Olivia patted the top of her cap-less little head. "My cap! Mommy, where's my cap?"

"It's on your bed, Olivia," Serena told her. She couldn't help smiling as her little girl frantically ran over to her bed and returned with her cap.

"What's next?" Olivia asked once her cap was securely on her head.

"Hugs from mommy," Serena read.

"That's the best part of the list," Olivia said and hugged her mom. Serena knew it was only a matter of time before her daughter was a teenager so she cherished all of the hugs and sweet gestures from her little girl. Not all teenage girls hated spending time with their moms, but Serena knew she still shouldn't take Olivia's childhood years for granted just in case.

"There's more on the list, my little all-star," Serena told her after giving Olivia a kiss on the forehead. "Like, picking up Alex, perhaps?"

"Time to pick up Alex!" Olivia said excitedly as she jumped up and down. "Alex! Alex! Alex!"

Within twenty minutes, Olivia was warming up with her team before the game and occasionally glancing at the bleachers to see if Alex was watching her. Knowing that Olivia was looking her way, Alex started waving at her and had her doll wave at her too. For Valentine's Day, Mr. and Mrs. Cabot had bought Alex a new doll that looked like Alex. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, glasses, and the exact same red dress and white shoes that Alex was wearing. Although Olivia didn't like to play with dolls, she liked the way Alex looked with her doll. She knew she was a tomboy and she was proud of herself for excelling in sports, but there was something about Alex's femininity that Olivia was drawn to even at eight-years-old.

As the game went on, Olivia's nervousness increased. She had always tried to do her best, but she wanted to do even better now that Alex was in the bleachers. She had struck out the first time at bat and walked the second time, but she had a feeling her third time was going to be different. Olivia was on deck and preparing herself to bat when her teammate hit into a double play and ended the inning. She breathed a sigh of relief now that she had a few more minutes to mentally prepare herself.

That half of the inning went by faster than Olivia had hoped and she soon found herself running into the dugout. She grabbed her bat, put on her batting gloves, and secured her little helmet on her head.

"You can do it, Liv," her coach told her as she went out. The score was tied in the final inning of the game and Olivia felt as if all the pressure was on her. She flashed her coach a nervous, albeit somewhat toothless smile now that her two front teeth were missing.

"Come on, Champ!" her mom shouted out once Olivia was in the batter's box.

Olivia watched the first pitch go by and the umpire called ball one.

"Good eye, Livvy. Wait for your pitch, sweetheart," Serena shouted, well aware that she had officially become a typical softball mom.

"Touchdown!" Alex shouted and Olivia gave her a confused look as the first strike breezed right past her.

Alex, Alex, Olivia thought as she shook her head.

The next pitch was right in Olivia's strike zone and little Olivia swung her bat with all of the strength she had. Her bat made contact with the ball and sent it flying past the left-fielder. Olivia took off running and had every intention of stopping at second when the ball was overthrown and in the outfield yet again. The moment she saw that the ball was still in play, Olivia took off running past second and rounded third base. She knew it would be risky, but Olivia felt as if she had to be the hero so she headed towards home. It wasn't necessary to slide, but Olivia was disappointed that her uniform wasn't dirty yet so she slid head-first into home plate and barely missed being tagged.

"That's my girl!" she heard her mom brag to some of the other moms in the bleachers.

Olivia was given high-fives from all of her teammates and, when the game was over, her coach had her stand up in front of everyone during their post-game huddle. All of her teammates and their parents were watching as Olivia was handed the game ball, the very one she hit into the outfield.

"Thank you!" Olivia said excitedly and gave her coach a hug.

When everyone left, Olivia ran over to her mom and showed off the game ball. "Look!" she said. "It has a black scuff mark from where my bat hit it."

"We need to buy a display case for this," Serena told her. "We'll put it with all of your trophies and medals."

"No," Olivia said and shook her head. "I have a better idea." Olivia turned to the girl of her dreams and handed her the ball. It was her first moment of glory and she was grateful that Alex was there to share it with her.

"For me?" Alex asked in awe.

"I want you to have it," Olivia told her once her mom was busy talking to the other parents.

"But, Olivia, you should keep it to remind you how good you did today."

"You're the reason I did good," Olivia assured her. "I've never hit a homerun until today. I think that means you're my good luck charm."

"I have an idea," Alex said. She gingerly sat her doll down as she looked for a pen in her purse. Once she found one, she handed the ball and a pen to Olivia.

"What's this for?" Olivia asked.

"I want you to sign it," Alex informed her. "When you're in the Olympics, I'm going to tell everyone that I have an official game ball signed by Olivia Benson, the greatest softball player in the whole world and the girl I'm going to marry when I'm all grown up."