A/N: Finally chapter of this. Just want to finish it up before finishing up Benson-Cabot Romance. Forgot I hadn't completed this one. Not adding more to it, but am definitely planning to explore another A/O story re-connecting in later years. So sit tight.

CHAPTER 3

It was mostly all a blur for Olivia. The gunshots. Alex bleeding on the sidewalk. The "I'm very sorry for your loss" from the doctor at the hospital.

Then Agent Hammond drags them out to the middle of nowhere, as far as NYC is concerned.

"A real pain in the ass, this one," he said, leading her and Elliot to a black SUV.

Olivia was speechless. Alex was alive, but something still wasn't right; it didn't sink in right away when Alex started talking. "Why is she apologizing?" Olivia thought before Elliot caught on.

"Witness Protection," her partner said.

"Until Velez is dealt with," the once-dead woman replied.

Alex was leaving. "How long?" Olivia managed to whisper through her tears.

A shrug. They didn't know. Weeks. Months. Forever?

The look between Liv and Alex said everything they had wanted to say since they "broke up" but hadn't gotten the courage to say. Had they made the wrong choice putting their careers before love? Was it even love? It sure as hell was something because Liv stood there, heart hurting and wondering why it hurt so much, why she couldn't hold back tears – she was a professional, after all.

And the hardest part was, she knew. If she ever doubted Alex felt as strongly about her – and she often did doubt – it was erased in that single moment.

And now…it was all gone. Alex was gone.

"Liv…Liv…Liv!"

Olivia snapped her head up at her partner's voice.

"You going to drink that or just keep turning the glass?" Elliot said, nodding at the beer mug in front of him.

Olivia picked it up and took a big gulp. "I think I want to go home."

"I don't think you should be alone right now," he said.

"And why's that?" she snapped back.

Elliot knew. Sure, Olivia never told him, neither did Alex, but he knew pretty much from the start of it – and he knew when it suddenly ended.

"It's been a long few days," he said. "Maybe we should talk about what just happened and what we're going to do."

"What do you mean what we're going to do?" she said.

"Do we tell the others?" he asked.

"No! We keep Alex's secret – what, are you trying to get her killed?" Olivia said. She couldn't believe he was thinking of telling anyone.

"Not even Cragen?" he said. "Liv, you know Cragen would do anything to protect … her."

Olivia shook her head. "It's not our call. And it's one less person for Velez to get to."

Elliot nodded. He agreed with her logic. But he was worried.

"Ok, well, if you want to go home, at least let me walk you," he said.

#

"So, what happened with Tucker?" Alex asked over dinner one night a few weeks after she and Olivia had reconnected.

Olivia hadn't even been aware Alex knew about her and Tucker. The question surprised her, to say the least.

"Oh, well, you know," Olivia said, hoping to avoid the conversation.

"No, I don't know," Alex said, grinning. "I mean, I can't fathom how that even happened to start, but I understand he's changed a lot over the year."

"Haven't we all?" Olivia said, sipping her glass of wine.

"Touché."

"I guess it just got to be too much with work and Noah and a relationship," Olivia said. "Even though I've made a point to prioritize my personal life in recent years, I guess … I just got scared. It seemed to be hard to find even a few minutes during the day sometimes to squeeze him for him. At least that's what I told myself. To be honest, I probably could have tried harder. I mean, really, lots of people figure it out. We probably could have."

Alex nodded. "Do you wish you would have? Tried harder, that is."

"I mean…I don't know," Olivia said. "Hindsight is always 20/20. But I really have moved on from it. That ship has sailed and hopefully someday I'll meet someone that will make me try a little harder."

She smiled to let Alex know it wasn't that painful of a memory. Of course, there were the "what ifs" but she could say the same thing about a lot of people and situations.

"What about you?" Olivia said. "Seeing anyone?"

Alex tensed up a little, taking a sip of her wine and twisting her wine glass.

"No, not in a while," Alex said. "Like you, work always seems to get in the way, but it would be nice to have someone to find that balance with, you know? Someone that makes me want to put work second or third on my list of priorities. I just hope I don't spend the rest of my life being married to my job."

"I can drink to that," Olivia said, raising her glass for a toast, which Alex went along with.

Alex went back to twisting her glass and grew quiet. Olivia took a few bites of her food and watched as Alex sat looking at her barely touched meal.

"What's wrong?" Olivia said.

"What?" Alex said, startled.

"You're nervous," Olivia said. "Twisting your glass just like I do."

They both smiled.

"No … Nothing is wrong … I'm just…" Alex struggled to find the words. "I mean…I know it's been a really long time, but…do you think we should have…"

"Should have?"

"Do you wish we would have tried harder?" Alex finally spit out.

Olivia took a deep breath then a bite of her food to buy some time.

"I've thought about it before…a lot," she said.

"You have?" Alex sounded surprised. "When?"

"Pretty much every single time you come plowing back into my life," Olivia said with a big grin. "Showing up on one of my crime scenes like you own the place."

Alex gave her a cocky shrug and a smile.

Olivia continued. "And, as I said, hindsight is 20/20, but … yes, I do wish we would have. I've always known that … I just realized it too late."

"That night … when I went into Witness Protection…" Alex said.

Olivia nodded yes.

"Me too," Alex said, quietly. "I forced Hammond to let me tell you – and Elliot so it didn't seem weird. But, God, Liv, how I wish I would have said more."

They both sat quietly for a moment with that knowledge, their admission.

Olivia finally spoke. "Do you think…"

"Yes," Alex said before Liv even finished.

Olivia grinned. "You don't even know what I was going to say?"

"Do I think we should give it another chance … now that our priorities are straight and we've grown up?" Alex said for Olivia. "Was that it?"

"Well, yeah, something like that," Olivia said. "I mean, we still have a lot of catching up to do, but…this…being with you is nice. I'd like to do more of it, see if that same … spark … is still there."

"Then we should," Alex said, reaching out to take Olivia's hand. "Let's see if we can find that balance together."

Olivia smiled and squeezed Alex's hand. "And let's try harder this time," she said.