A/N: This has been a productive weekend for me writing. I hope that you enjoy the next installment. Part of this is for Lovesfanfic and part is for Jbcjazz...like I've said before, if you want to see something and I can find a way to put it in there, I will. Review and let me know what you think. Hopefully, there will be more tomorrow. ~JET

Chapter Thirty-Seven - Alters

Liv led Alex into the house. It was lavishly decorated. The exterior belied the interior completely. Alex had to admit she was impressed what Mara had done with the space. If Mara had survived, Alex would have asked her to redecorate her apartment back in New York.

"This way," Liv stated taking Alex's hand.

Alex followed her. The entire time her mind was searching for a reason that Liv would have a reason to know where Mara lived. She decided that she didn't want to know. It was the past and it didn't matter. She just needed to worry about the case and making her life with Liv.

"I know what you are thinking."

"What?" Alex questioned, coming back to the here and now.

"You're wondering why I was ever here."

"I am not going to lie. It crossed my mind, but I know that you had to do a lot of things while you were undercover, Liv. I know that I might get jealous, but I know it was for the case. I'm learning to get past that and not let it get me. It doesn't really matter," Alex told her.

"I almost broke cover."

"What?"

"That is why I was here," Liv told her.

"You broke cover?"

"No, I almost broke cover. I came to Montgomery on a run and delivery. I made the stop and went to the brothel to exchange my cash like I would normally do. It seemed like a normal drop. There wasn't anything unusual that I could see until I got to the brothel," Liv stated.

"What happened?"

"It was full. The whole brothel was full of girls. I didn't know what that meant. I didn't find out until later. Frankie was in Atlanta. I called her and let her know that I wouldn't be back on time. It was late and I was going to stay in Montgomery for the night. It wasn't that unusual that I would stay over for the night. She knew what runs were like. She knew that I wasn't cheating on her. I wasn't in it for that and she knew it."

Alex watched Liv went into a back room. It was the only room in the house that she saw was painted white. The trim was all a royal blue and all the accenting furniture in the room was the same color. It was as she glanced around the room that she saw that the windows were in accenting the massive computer that was against the wall.

"What is that?"

"Mara's real business."

"Her real business?" Alex questioned.

"Yeah, she was using the brothel as alternative lifestyle. She wanted some excitement. I think she didn't know what she was getting herself into, but she could leave all this behind. She needed something to keep herself grounded."

"What did she do?" Alex asked, studying the major hardware of the massive computer.

"She ran numbers for stocks. She was a computer trader. She majored in finance in school. She was notoriously good at it. She could move money faster than the feds could keep up, that is why D. J. sought her out. He had heard about her skills while he was setting up drops in town. She fell for the dangerous boy and then couldn't get out."

"But, he never knew her real name?" Alex questioned.

"She was smart. She never gave him her real name. She told that her name was Moira which he mispronounced. When he called her Mara, she kept it. She didn't know what he was into at the time but she knew that he was dangerous. It was the girl seeks bad boy complex. She realized that she found the ultimate bad boy a little too late and there was no way to break free without her dying or her family. She figured that she would document everything that she could from her end and hide it. It would be her protection if the Feds came down on her."

"She told you this," Alex stated.

"In around about way, yeah, she did. She could tell that I wasn't on the up and up when it came to the operation. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she told me that she wouldn't turn on me. She came me some insurance to that effect as well. I gave some stuff to Ike. It helped us leak some of the runs to other towns. Everything that she gave me was corroborated and investigated. It was information that we didn't have. She brought more lines into the mix. Runs and warehouses that we didn't know about."

"So what was she doing here?" Alex asked.

"Following the money."

"I don't understand."

"She started tracking the shipments and the movements of the drugs. Where they came in the States, where they were distributed, where they were passed along to local gangs, and where the money moved around, it is all there. She was very thorough with it," Liv told her.

"How did you find out about this?"

"She called me at the brothel. She told Rebecca to give me another number to call. She needed record my arrival and delivery. She was a logistics genius. She gave a dump cell number. I had Ike run it later. She told me to meet her at the Riverwalk. We would talk there and she would me a place to stay for the night, since I couldn't hole up at the brothel."

"None of this in the report that I was given by Dana," Alex stated.

"Of course it isn't. Do you think that the Bureau wants the rest of the government to know that one person did most of their investigation for them? No, they don't. If they had figured it out and gotten to Mara in the first place, then they could have ended the investigation years ago. The problem was that no one knew that she was doing the research. No one knew how much she knew and D. J. kept her on edge. She was kept unhinge and moving by D. J. He never gave her enough time to do anything for herself."

"Then how did she manage to accomplish all this?" Alex inquired.

"She was good. She was very good. Every spare moment she spent cataloging and making spreadsheets for the shipments and breakdowns. She had so much information that she had to figure out how to break it all down in a more understandable fashion. I think that she was working on a packet to send in to the police."

"She was going to turn herself in?"

"I think she would have. She would have made a deal and I am sure that any DA in their right mind would take it. As soon as she turned State's evidence, the FBI would have swooped in and taken over. She knew that it was a global and country wide operation. She was just a cog but she knew the main ins and outs of the entire operation."

"Yes, they would have. But, that still doesn't explain how you ended up here? How did you find out about her house and this life?" Alex asked.

"I am getting to that," Liv stated as she sat down to the computer.

Alex just watched her as she turned her attention to the computer. Liv continued through the boot process and started to pull up some of the files that Mara had compiled and created. She reached over with a practiced ease and turned the printer on as she began the task of printing them all to take back to Rock for processing.

"Mara wasn't a fool," Liv stated turning around in the chair and looking at Alex with darkening eyes. There was something in her voice that Alex noticed but chose not to acknowledge. Alex knew when it came to the case that Liv got a little emotional and over-bearing.

"Alex, she knew what she was doing. She didn't know the outcome, but she knew that she had to do what she was doing. It was like a Catch 22. She didn't care about the outcome or what would happen to her. She was doing it for justice. She was doing it for her own conscience."

"Liv, you've told me that she hid her name. You've told me about her sister and her want for justice for her. But, now, you're telling me that she wanted to bring the whole gang down. I don't understand how a finance wiz became involved so deeply with a criminal organization. It just doesn't make sense," Alex stated.

"I know that. She knew that. I don't know what else to tell you, but that she brought me out here once we left the Riverwalk. It didn't make sense to me then and it still doesn't make sense to me now. All, I know is what we need what's on this computer."

"You are going to give this information to Rock so they can come search this place?"

"Yeah, I guess I will. But, this," Liv stated, holding the stack of papers, "This is going straight to Abbie. She'll need this. She'll need a good forensic accountant to make sense of it all, but I am sure that Abbie will be able to make it happen. I am tired of this place. I want to go home."

"What about Mara?" Alex asked.

"We've gotten what we need. Abbie will do the rest. I need to let it go."

"Olivia Benson, why are you lying to me?"

"I am not."

"I know that you want to go back to the other scene."

"I do, but not today."

"We don't have to go back today, but we do need to go back. We'll drop this off and head back to the hotel. I know that you need to vent. But, you need to do it outside of this place," Alex told her.

"That sounds good, but I need to make a stop on the way back to hotel. There is something that I need to pick up. It is just something small," Liv stated.

"Does it have to do with the case?"

"No, not at all," Liv answered.

"Wanna tell me where you need to go to get it?" Alex asked.

"No, I'll drive. It'll only take a second. Besides, it's on the way back."

"If you need, then make the stop. I'm not going to stop you, Liv. It's your choice. Let's just get out of here so we can back to Quantico soon. I am finding Montgomery lacking in so called Southern Charm. I am tired of searching for clues and dealing in with cases. I just want to come home and start our lives together," Alex explained.

"Sounds like a good idea. Come on let's go. I'm ready to go."

Liv pulled her into their hotel room. Alex wasn't prepared for the want and the need in Liv's eyes. It was different than before. It was different than when they were at Quantico. Alex watched her. There was something in the way that Liv was looking at Alex that was almost unsettling. The carnal look in Liv's eyes didn't frighten her, but it was unnerving.

Olivia threw the bag she'd picked up on the way back to the hotel on the bed. She still held Alex's hand, like it was an anchor to the world she so desperately wanted to keep inside. She stared into the deep recesses of Alex's eyes. She pulled Alex into her.

Slowly and methodically, she pulled Alex's glasses off her face and set them on the desk. Next, she took out the hair tie that held Alex's hair back. Liv buried her hands in it as she fanned it out across Alex's shoulders. Alex just watched as Liv's eyes got darker and darker until they were black. She reached up to touch Liv's face, but Liv stopped her hand.

She took Alex's hand, gently, and she kissed it. She didn't release it. She used Alex's hand to push her onto the bed. Alex wasn't ready for it. She hit the bed and pulled herself up somewhat. Olivia was on top of her before she knew what to do.

"Liv?"

"Shh."

"Liv," Alex tried again.

"Alex, for once don't think about it and let me do this."

Alex wasn't sure who was talking to her at the moment, but Liv wasn't going to give her enough time to try and figure it out. She descended upon Alex's neck, nipping and kissing. When she hit the sensitive spot at Alex's pulse point, Alex lost all reason and grabbed ahold of Liv's body.

She wasted no time in stripping Alex down. Somewhere in the sheading of their clothes, Liv managed to get them under the covers. It was a small favor as they both shivered in delight of each other's body. Alex didn't know how far and what Olivia wanted, but she was willing to let Liv dictate their session.

Liv continued to worship Alex's pale body, enjoying the way their skin contrasted against each other in the sunlight. She sucked and bit. She kissed and touched. Alex was ready to explode if she didn't get some attention lower soon. Liv seemed bent on avoiding direct stimulation to anything below Alex's waist or anything above her knees. It was starting to hurt, the need was becoming painful, and Alex moaned.

"Do you trust me?" Liv asked her, breathlessly.

Alex opened her sapphire eyes to stare into Liv's coal black. She bit her lip in anticipation. Liv stared down at Alex and smiled. She finally had everything she wanted. She'd found her justice. She'd found her emotional side and embraced it. She'd finally gotten Alex and she wasn't going to let go. She even got a child in the mix. Olivia was happy. Alex made her happy. She loved her so much. Alex watched the war in Liv's eyes.

Alex saw her eyes lighten to their usual caramel color when she was happy. She saw the raw chocolate brown of the edgy, angry, or fixated Liv. Then it progressed darker to an ebony color that Alex had only witnessed in Quantico. She knew that Liv was fighting to keep Julie at bay and then they merged into one. Alex didn't resist her. She loved her and she knew that Julie was part of Liv, so in her own way she loved Julie, too.

Liv saw the surrender in Alex's eyes. She saw the depth of love in Alex's eyes. She still waited for Alex to answer her.

"Do you trust me, Alex?" she asked, again.

"Yes," Alex whispered.

It was all that Liv needed to hear. She felt a rush and she had to have Alex. The passion that they felt was just too much not to share with one another. She needed Alex to know how much she loved her. She could see the way that Alex loved her, but now it was her time to show.

She pulled Alex's hand up above her head and had her grip the head board. She gave Alex a look that told her to not let go. She then slowly reached over into the bag on the bed, that somehow hadn't met the floor yet. She pulled out a blindfold and put it on Alex's face. Alex blinked in fear for just a second but she didn't move as Liv seated it over her eyes.

"Can you see?"

"No."

"Do you still trust me?"

"Yes."

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Olivia."

Alex could hear her rustling around. She felt the weight on the bed shift on and off again. She didn't let go of the headboard. She felt Liv get between her legs again. She felt Liv stroke her thighs. She heard every movement. She felt every breath. She could smell the desire they were both evoking, but there was something else in the air.

"Alex, if you want me to stop, tell me. I don't want to scare you or hurt you. You'll tell me?"

"Yes."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

She felt Liv's body merge with hers. There was something between them. She could feel it, but she didn't know what it was at first. She felt Liv's hand skim down her chest, her stomach, and her mound. She felt Liv's fingers plunge into her core finding the silky wetness that Liv had created. She felt Liv pull out and she whimpered in need. She heard Liv's slight chuckle and then she felt Liv's hands again. She was opening her, spreading her, preparing her.

She felt Liv's hip move forward. She felt Liv's hands move to her hips as Liv filled her. It was different. It was cold at first, unyielding, but thick and full. It uncomfortable at first until her body got used to size of it. When she realized that both of Liv's hands were on hips, holding them to the bed, and she was still being fulfilled, she realized what Liv had done.

"Baby?" Liv asked.

"Yes."

"Do you like this?"

"Yes."

"Do you want more?" Liv asked, rocking her hips slightly.

"Yes."

Liv began to thrust inside her in earnest. The whimpers and moans falling from Alex's mouth urged her on. She could feel herself falling toward oblivion. She couldn't believe how close she felt to Alex in that moment. She couldn't believe how good it felt to be inside her, to be pleasuring her in that way. It was such a rush, such an intimate closeness that they had never shared. Alex came first and for once was speechless as she did.

Liv reached up and tore the blindfold from Alex's head. She burned her gaze in the Alex's as she neared her own release. Her eyes were still dark as coal and her body was taught like a bow string. She was on the edge and Alex could see it.

"Just let go, Liv."

"Say you love me."

"I love you."

"Say my name."

"I love you, Olivia."

"Say my other name."

Alex stiffened. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to do.

"Say my name, Alexandra," Julie begged, the need evident in her voice.

"Julie…"

And, with that, Julie came, hard. Alex remained stiff and ridged. She didn't know what to do. She knew that Julie and Liv were one, but this time that thought didn't make it better.