A/N: Thank you for your feedback. It is greatly appreciated. Here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 6: Uptown Girl
Olivia strolled into the 1-6 the following morning with an infectious smile, a box of fresh doughnuts, and a carrier holding five piping hot coffees. Fin was the first to look up and see her.
"Good morning guys. I brought breakfast." Olivia tried her best to keep her voice even, but she couldn't help thinking that she sounded… chipper.
Munch leaned back in his chair and stared at her like she was an alien. Rollins stopped while she was in the middle of using the stapler. Olivia was sure it had landed on the blonde's foot even though Rollins hadn't moved an inch. Fin was in an equally stunned position while Nick was grinning at her like the cat that had eaten the canary.
"Umm… guys? It's just breakfast."
"What's wrong with your face?" Fin asked bluntly.
Olivia immediately touched her face. "What? What is it?"
Fin narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You're smiling. What's up with you?"
Olivia tried to laugh it off and turned away from Fin only to come face to face with Munch. She rolled her eyes. "What is it, John?"
John looked deeply into her eyes. It was like he was looking for something. "What have you done with the real Olivia?"
Olivia rolled her eyes again and pushed him out-of-the-way to get to her desk. She saw Rollins and Amaro watching her too.
"What is wrong with you people?" She asked loudly holding her hands out.
"Nothing. You just seem…" Amanda shrugged her shoulders. "… different this morning."
Amanda Rollins hadn't been in the unit all that long, but she'd gotten to know Olivia Benson well enough to know that she was acting differently.
"It's just doughnuts and coffee guys. Trust me, I'll think twice next time I decide to do something nice." Olivia said becoming annoyed by the weirdness of her colleagues.
She sat down and started pulling out her files. There was a chorus of 'sorry' and 'thank you' coming from around the room before everyone had settled back into the regular routine. There was only one exception. She could feel Nick Amaro's eyes on her.
A few minutes later, Amanda and Fin got called out to a scene and John was in a meeting with Cragen leaving Olivia alone with her partner. Most of the morning passed by like any ordinary day; that is until something out of the ordinary happened.
"Umm, excuse me." The detectives stopped for a moment to see a young delivery guy standing in the entryway. He was wearing headphones and chewing gum. "I gotta delivery for a… Detective… Olivia Benson."
Olivia suddenly wished the earth would open up and swallow her whole. She felt everyone's eyes on her and she tried not to blush when she heard a few cat calls and whistles. She held her hand up and gestured to the delivery guy. He walked over and placed a medium-sized bouquet in a glass vase on her desk. It was perfect, not too big not too small. There were several yellow primroses mixed in with pink camellias. They were a stunning combination.
Olivia signed for the flowers and prepared to tip the guy when he held up a hand.
"The tip has already been included. Oh, this is yours too." He handed over a small ivory envelope before walking out bobbing his head to his music.
Olivia sat there for a second before opening the envelope. She found a small note inside with the letters A.G.C embossed in gold across the top. Her heart fluttered.
'O,
Thank you for a lovely evening. I will count the minutes until I am able to see you again.
Love,
A'
Olivia pulled out her phone and sent out a quick text message.
'A,
Got the flowers. Gonna catch hell from the guys but I don't care. Thank u. They're almost as beautiful as u.
Love,
O'
Olivia could feel her partner's eyes on her as she put her phone away. Several minutes passed by before she finally gave in and looked at him. She knew she was going to have to face him eventually. At least it was just him at the moment and not the entire gang.
"You have something to say Amaro?"
"You're not going to tell me?"
"Tell you what?"
"About the date? I'm guessing by that grin you can't seem to wipe off of your face that dinner with the 'friend' went well."
Olivia blushed slightly which only made Nick grin more.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She pretended to start working on her paperwork.
"Alright, if that's how you wanna play it. You know Rollins is gonna follow you around like a puppy until she finds out. I just thought you might want to practice on me first so you'd be ready." He shook his head and went back to work.
She groaned and resisted the urge to bang her head on the desk. "Okay. So, I went on the date and… it was good."
Nick smirked and raised his brow. "Just good? Judging by the expensive flowers, I'd say it was great… or at least 'she' thought it was great."
Olivia finally just gave up and dropped her head into her hands. When she looked up she was smiling radiantly. He wouldn't have believed it if he had not witnessed it himself. His tough as nails partner was sitting at her desk blushing like a schoolgirl with a crush.
"It was great. I mean… we had to talk about some things first and clear the air, but after that…" Her voice became wistful. "… everything else was… perfect. She was perfect. It was everything I'd ever imagined it would be and more."
"Yeah?"
She nodded. "Yeah. She cooked, we danced, we talked, laughed and kis… umm…" She coughed as she remembered who she was talking to. "… then she drove me home and walked me to my door."
Nick shook his head and laughed. "You mean you didn't…umm?" He wiggled his brows.
"Nope." Olivia blushed and sipped her coffee. "It was our first date, you know? She said she wants to court me."
"Court you?" Nick raised a brow.
Olivia nodded and he smiled. Not many things impressed Nick Amaro, but he had to admit whoever this chick Olivia was digging was impressive.
"She sounds pretty classy."
"Oh, you have no idea."
Just then, Olivia heard her cell ringing. She immediately recognized the ringtone. It was "Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel. Fin was always stealing her phone putting ridiculous ringtones on them. She picked it up and answered it as professionally as possible. She was glad to see her partner get up to refill his coffee.
"Benson."
"Are the guys giving you a hard time about the flowers? I didn't really think about the position I was putting you in until just now. I'm sorry."
Alex was rambling so fast, Olivia nearly laughed. She was touched and she felt that familiar fluttering in her stomach again.
"Please don't be." She lowered her voice a little as she eyed her partner across the room. "It's fine. It's just me and Nick right now. I'm sure the others will hound me later. They flowers really are gorgeous. Thank you again."
"You're gorgeous. You're all I can think about… and I know it sounds incredibly sappy but I really don't want to do anything else."
Olivia felt herself blush again and groaned. "You're killing me, sweetheart. I haven't blushed this much since I was in grade school."
Alex's melodious laughed floated across the line. "I told you that I was going to court you properly, Detective. You should know by now that I will always back up what I say."
Olivia swallowed as she saw Nick returning to his desk. "Well, I will definitely look forward… umm… into that, ma'am."
Again, Alex laughed softly. She could tell Olivia was no longer able to talk openly to her. "Call me when you finish up tonight. I'd love to see you again."
"Will do."
"Goodbye, Olivia."
"Bye."
Olivia placed her phone back in the desk and went back to work.
"So, how's Cabot?" Nick asked with a smirk on his face.
Olivia froze and tried to be casual. "What?"
'There goes that damn grin again.' Olivia thought. 'Fuck'
"You know your phone isn't the only one Fin steals. He said he put the exact same ringtones on my phone. Can you imagine that? I kinda think 'Uptown Girl' fits Cabot perfectly." Nick gave her a knowing look.
Olivia closed her eyes and groaned. She really, really wanted to bang her head against her desk now.
"So… Alex Cabot is the 'friend'? Wow. Really?" He looked almost amazed.
'Time to bite the bullet, Benson. It's bound to come out sooner or later.'
"Yeah, so what?" She threw back in a huff. She was on cloud nine about Alex and wasn't about to take any flack about her from anybody.
Nick held up his hands and laughed. "Hey. Nothing! I swear. Cabot is cool with me. You know that. I'm just… I mean…"
"What?"
"Damn, chica! You caught a dame like Cabot? How in the hell did you pull that off?"
She paused for a moment then found herself laughing with him. She threw a pad of sticky notes at him.
"Shut up! So she's a little out of my league… but what am I, chopped liver or something?"
"No way!" He held up his hands in defense. "Come on. That's not what I meant! It's just… you know Cabot is…very hot." He licked his lips and whistled.
Olivia glared at him and he laughed. "I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Calm down. I'm not trying to hit on your woman. I'm just saying… damn."
"Nick, shut up while you still have teeth."
"Right. Shutting up." He was quiet for a few minutes before he looked back up. "I'm happy for you, Benson… seriously. I won't say anything."
"Thanks, Nick."
"No problem partner."
They fell back into their normal routine and Olivia had almost forgotten all about that morning's activities, until…
"Hey, who sent you the flowers, Olivia?" Amanda asked as she and Fin came back.
Before she could even get a word out, Munch was going on and on about the language of flowers, the meaning, and colors; something about them meaning can't live without you and longing for you. That only seemed to fuel the fire and now Amanda wanted to gab like school girls about her new boyfriend. Fin was puffing his chest out and talking about meeting the guy so he could make sure he was 'legit' and good enough for his home-girl. All three conversations were going on at the same time and making Olivia dizzy.
Olivia looked over at her partner and gave him a wounded look. To his credit, Nick was trying his best not to laugh. And just like that, the overwhelming urge to bang her head against her desk was back in full effect.
"It's going to be a long day."
Nick laughed. "Oh, they're just getting started."
Luck seemed to be on Olivia Benson's side for a change. For the first time in what seemed like years, she'd completed all of her paperwork and was actually going to be able to leave work on time for a change. The first thing she did was call Alex as the attorney had requested. Genuinely happy to hear from her favorite detective, Alex had boldly asked if they could have dinner again. Olivia jumped at the chance, and offered to meet Alex at her apartment later.
Alex, however, had other plans. She had her secretary call Olivia to make a few bogus requests. If Olivia hadn't been so distracted by the thought of seeing Alex, she would have realized that she was being stalled. Love really did have a way of distracting a person.
Maggie, Alex's longtime dutiful secretary, managed to keep the detective occupied for nearly fifteen minutes without raising the brunette's suspicions. Maggie had definitely earned something special for her birthday this year.
Twenty minutes later, Olivia had ended the call and finally stepped out of the 1-6. She immediately grinned and shook her head at what she saw. There was a familiar black Mercedes sitting idly in front of the steps. The passenger window rolled down and Alex grinned.
"Need a lift, Detective?"
Olivia slipped inside, leaning over and kissing the blonde immediately. "Christ, Cabot. You're going to spoil me."
"Oh, we haven't even gotten to the good part yet, Detective."
Dinner turned out to be take-out from Alex's favorite Italian restaurant a few blocks away. They settled on the sofa afterwards and discussed the course of their day.
"So Nick found out I was the woman you were dating because my ringtone is "Uptown Girl" courtesy of Detective Tutuola?"
Alex was lying back in Olivia's arms as they lay on the sofa. She was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes. "And John now thinks that you're a pod person?"
Olivia laughed and wiped at her own tears. "He swears that you were a pod person when you came home from Witsec so…" She shrugged her shoulders. "… he said the government targeted me because of my connection to you. The man really needs another wife. He has way too much time on his hands."
Alex thought she was going to hyperventilate. Olivia had her in stitches telling her about how her day had gone starting with the gang's weird reaction to her bringing them breakfast to their curiosity over the flower delivery from Olivia's apparent new mystery man."
Alex finally collected herself and took a deep breath. "And Fin wants to meet me to make sure that I'm 'legit' and good enough for his home-girl? Does that mean he's going to rough me up?"
That set her off into another fit of giggles. Olivia could only sit back and laugh along with her. It had been a long hellish day being under the watchful eyes of three nosy detectives, but this more than made up for it.
"It was a crazy day, but Nick was really cool about everything."
Alex turned her head and looked at her. "How is that going by the way… with having a new partner and all? We never really talked about Elliot leaving."
Olivia grew very quiet then shrugged her shoulders. "I understand why he needed to leave. If I had been the one who pulled that trigger, I don't know if I would have been able to strap on a gun again either. Shooter or not, she was still just a child. Taking the life of a kid does something to a person."
Alex nodded. "You and Elliot were partners a very long time. It must be quite the adjustment not having him with you every day."
Olivia sighed and nodded. "Yeah. I guess I'll always miss Elliot a little. It would be strange not to, but Nick's a solid guy. He's good at his job. He's trustworthy, easy-going and he knows that I can do my job. We don't question each other and we have each other's back. I think that's why things are so easy with him. We don't have all the… baggage there between us."
"You mean he's not in love with you so the tension isn't there." Alex stated evenly.
Olivia was very quiet for a long moment. Leave it to Alex to cut right to the chase. "Do you really think he was?"
"I do." Alex smiled softly. "Although I can't really blame him for that, you are very easy to love."
Olivia bit her lip and thought for a moment. Alex's eyes twinkled at the look of intense concentration. She thought it made the brunette look absolutely adorable. She had seen Olivia do it a thousand times. She wondered if the detective was even aware of it.
"You know, we never talked about it, but I guess it was always there. I know Kathy had issues with me in the very beginning before she got to know me. I never really understood why because I never saw Elliot that way. I guess she saw something that I didn't. Do you think it was obvious to anyone else?"
Alex sat up and turned to face her. She shrugged her shoulders. "There were times in the early days that I would look at you two and I would wonder if you were sleeping together." She saw Olivia about to speak but placed a hand on her arm calming her. "But I barely knew you then. I didn't understand how two people, especially a man and a woman, could be so close and not be together intimately. Then, I finally figured out that the closeness was because you were partners. You were responsible for each other's life every single day. If that doesn't bond two people together, nothing will. It also helped that the same thing happened with us. There were rumors about us too, you know?" Alex smiled.
"That was different. I loved you back." Olivia said without thinking.
Alex smiled softly and kissed her. "Have you heard from him?"
Olivia shook her head. A sad and wounded look crossed the detective's face and Alex suddenly felt the urge to drive over to Queens to kick Elliot Stabler's ass. 'Selfish bastard!'
"Kathy calls me every couple of weeks. She emails me pictures of Eli and the twins, lets me know how they're all doing. She tries to invite me over for things, but it doesn't really feel right… not coming from him. You know what I mean?"
Alex nodded. "I'm sorry, Liv. I know he was like family to you."
"I guess we weren't as close as I thought, but its okay. Elliot will come around in his own time… or he won't. It's not my job to worry about him anymore." She leaned in trailing kisses along the blonde's neck. "You, on the other hand, are a different story. I've been thinking about being with you all day."
Olivia gently pushed Alex back until they were both lying on the sofa. Alex immediately opened her legs and welcomed the hard body against her own. Olivia took her time nibbling and peppered gentle kisses from the sensitive spot below Alex's ear down to her chest. Olivia grinned when she felt Alex arch into the sensations and firmly grip her hair.
"Liv…" Alex hissed.
Olivia felt her own pulse quicken and focus between her legs as she felt Alex slip a hand under her tee to meet skin. She had to take a deep breath and will herself to calm down; a few kisses and she was already close to losing it. Pulling back, she looked down at Alex. She saw her own arousal mirrored in now dark sapphire eyes.
"Delicious." Olivia breathed as she nipped at her earlobe causing the blonde to hiss and pull her closer. "You always smell… so good."
"Liv…" Alex moaned and pulled her closer.
Olivia ran her tongue along the exposed skin of Alex's button down shirt while her fingers cleverly worked open the buttons.
"Christ, Liv… I…" Alex's breaths were becoming fast and shallow as her hands clutched the strong shoulders above her. "Olivia, maybe we should uh…. maybe…."
Olivia's hand caressed the creamy well toned stomach now on display. "Maybe… what?"
Alex whimpered and shuttered as one of Olivia's roaming hands brushed an erect nipple through her silk bra.
"Liv… wait… wait… I'm… I'm supposed to be… courting you."
Olivia pulled back and stared at the gorgeous sight before her. Perfect ivory breast encased in black silk and lace. "Alex, that's really sweet, but fuck the courting. I want you."
Alex could only nod. "I want you..."
'Bad Boys, Bad Boys,
whatcha gonna do
whatcha gonna do when they come for you.
Bad Boys, Bad Boys…'
The loud melodious song rang out into the air accompanied by the sound of buzzing caused by vibrations of the cell phone. Instantly, the mood was broken. Olivia groaned burying her face into Alex's neck. She suddenly felt extremely guilty about leaving so many guys high and dry over the years. 'Blue balls indeed'
The attorney let out a breathless laugh. They both knew what the disruption meant.
Alex tugged gently at the detective's hair bringing her beautiful face out of hiding. She raised a brow. "Bad Boys, Olivia? Really?"
"Fucking Fin." She mumbled and rolled her eyes. "It's Nick's ringtone."
Alex quickly kissed pouty lips. "You have to answer that."
Olivia knew she'd never ignore her partner's call, but that didn't mean she couldn't pout about it. "I know. I know."
Leaning over, she snatched up the ringing phone with one hand while holding Alex in place with the other.
"Benson."
Alex continued to run her fingers through Olivia's hair as she watched the changing emotions move across the detective's face.
"Yeah. Okay. I got it. No, I'm actually close by. I'll just meet you there."
Olivia sighed and gave Alex an apologetic look that said it all. She was about to explain when Alex's fingers stilled her lips. "It's okay. I know you have to go."
Olivia was pouting again. "I want to stay with you."
Alex's heart melted and she couldn't stop herself from kissing the pouty lips again. "You are so adorable."
Olivia frowned as she got up. "And you're crazy."
Alex just smiled as she watched Olivia quickly gather her phone and jacket. It was interesting to watch the complete change in her demeanor. Gone was the woman who had been ravishing her on the sofa moments before. This was the serious, single-minded detective ready to face the cruel crime scene awaiting her.
Alex quickly picked up the phone and dialed the desk downstairs. "James, this is Alex Cabot on the top floor. I need you to have a cab waiting for Detective Benson. She's on her way down right now…. Thank you, James."
She hung up the phone to see Olivia watching her. "You didn't have to do that, but thank you."
Alex just shrugged her shoulders suddenly unsure what to do with her hands. Olivia pulled her close and kissed her so passionately, Alex swooned.
"I really hate to leave."
"I know."
"I'll call you later if it's not too late." Olivia said walking away.
A few moments passed before Alex suddenly stopped her at the front door. "Wait. Actually…" She reached into a drawer of the small table by the door. She pulled out a square electronic key and placed it in Olivia's hand.
"Actually, there was something I really needed to talk to you about tonight. You said it wasn't far so…" Alex rolled her eyes at her own nervousness. "Come back here tonight. It doesn't matter how late...please?"
Olivia watched her closely for a moment before she nodded. She kissed her one last time before slipping out the door.
Suddenly alone, Alex fell back against the door hoping what she had to tell Olivia wouldn't change what was now growing between them.
TBC...
Songs Mentioned:
"Bad Boys" by Inner Circle
"Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel