A/N: Thank you for the kind reviews. I love hearing what you all think. Here is another chapter. I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 22: Moving Day
"Hey Olivia, we got all the office furniture from upstairs moved downstairs. We just need to know where you want it." Nick said as he appeared in the doorway of the master bedroom.
Olivia and Amanda were unpacking Olivia's clothes from the boxes and hanging them in the closet. Olivia felt a little guilty about not helping more, but hanging clothes was the only part of the moving process Alex was allowing her to do. She had already been caught trying to lift a small box causing Alex to go all 'Zena Warrior Princess' on her. It didn't matter that the box was nearly empty. Alex had sent her up to the bedroom with Amanda as a chaperone.
Olivia placed the shirts she was folding aside and looked at her partner with a smirk. He looked like a kid in his torn jeans and baseball cap on backwards.
"All the office furniture needs to go in the guest room. Alex is supposed to be down there. That's going to be her new office so you'll have to ask her how she wants it arranged."
Nick gave a quick nod before disappearing around the corner.
Amanda came out of the large walk-in closet to retrieve another batch of clothing to hang. "You know what's sad? I honestly think that closet is bigger than my living room."
Olivia chuckled. "Would you expect Alexandra Cabot to have anything less? There are enough suits and shoes in there to clothe all the women of Manhattan."
"I know! I think she has an entire line of Jimmy Choo's in there." Amanda said dreamily. "It's like being in a mall."
"Would you like to have some time alone with the closet, Amanda?" Olivia teased.
Amanda playfully pushed Olivia's shoulder. "Hey, there is nothing wrong with appreciating beautiful clothes and shoes. I am very much a 'Southern Bell'. My job just doesn't let me display it very often. Besides, I saw that you have quite a few girly things in there too."
Olivia shrugged her shoulders. "I like to dress up for Alex now and then just to remind her that I am a female."
Amanda chuckled with a nod. "I do that too, only it's just for my sake."
"You mean you don't dress up for your boyfriend?"
"I would if I had one."
Olivia raised a brow. "Who was that guy you brought to Cragen's dinner a few weeks ago? He was pretty cute."
"That was Craig. He's just a friend."
"He seemed really into you."
Amanda shrugged. "He's a nice guy but he's really not my type. He wants a stay at home wife kinda girl. That's not me."
Olivia nodded. "I can understand that. I don't know if I could ever be the stay at home wife."
"Not even for Cabot?" Amanda asked before she could stop herself. Everyone knew that Alex came from a family with plenty of political ties. She had assumed that Alex would follow in those footsteps.
Olivia thought for a moment. "I would be willing to do anything for Alex. If she decided to run for DA or even Governor, I'd stand beside her and do whatever I could to support her in whatever capacity required because I know she'd do the same for me if the positions were reversed." Olivia said before she hesitated.
"If feel a but coming on." Amanda said.
"But… I don't think she'd ever ask me to be something I'm not. That's just not Alex. I know that if it came down to it, she'd choose our life and happiness over any of that now. She's changed a lot since we first met. Ten years ago, I'm not sure I would have been able to say that."
"You know, I didn't know much about Alex when I joined the squad. I had heard the stories about her taking on the drug cartel and going into Witness Protection. People talked about her as if she was this larger than life legend. Then I met her. I can sort of see why people would say that about her. She walked into the squad room spouting legal jargon and giving orders like she owned the place."
They both laughed and nodded. There was nothing like seeing an arrogant and confident Alexandra Cabot in her element.
"I had never seen anything like it. You hear about how some people can walk into a room and own it; well she actually does it. I gotta say, she can be a little scary."
"Yeah. Alex can have that effect on some people." Olivia laughed. "Don't you dare tell her, but she used to scare me a little too… still does every now and then."
Amanda laughed too. "I've seen a different side of her since you two hooked up though. Don't get me wrong… she's still scary as hell but you seem to make her softer… more approachable."
Olivia shook her head. "That's not my doing. It's just who she is. Once you get to know her, you can see past the designer suits and the icy façade. That's Alex Cabot in work mode. My Alex is something totally different."
Olivia grew quiet and Amanda watched her for a minute. "Hey, where did you go off to just now?"
Olivia instantly smiled. "Sorry."
"Hey, don't apologize. Wherever you were, you seemed very happy to be there." Amanda smirked at the blush growing up the veteran detective's neck.
"It's nothing. I was just thinking that… I can't believe I'm moving in with Alex Cabot and building a new life with her. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think this would be happening to me."
Amanda smiled softly. "You look so in love right now."
"I've loved that woman for a long time. I loved her even when I didn't want to."
"You two are ridiculously cute. You know that right?" Amanda teased.
Olivia rolled her eyes and went back to unpacking. "Whatever. Let's get this done before Alex comes up here and tears us a new one. I can't afford to get into more trouble with her today. It would be so tragic if I ended up being banished to the guest room on my first official night here."
The two detectives laughed and returned to packing; neither noticing the topic of their conversation standing just outside the door. Alex leaned against the wall and smiled to herself. After hearing those tender words, there was no way Olivia would be sleeping anywhere but in their bed tonight. She shook her head and headed back downstairs.
"There you are. I was wondering where you wandered off to." Serena said placing Alex's law books back on the bookshelves.
Alex glanced around. She was really going to have to thank Nick, Fin, and John for helping. They had taken care of all the heavy lifting. They even moved her entire office downstairs to the spare room since her old study would become the nursery soon.
"Hey… earth to Alex. Are you still with me?" Serena said snapping her fingers in front of her best friend's eyes.
Alex blinked and shook her head. "Sorry. What were you saying?"
"I was asking where you had been, but I think I already know. You always have this goofy lovesick expression on her face after you've been around Olivia." Serena said pretending to gag.
Alex laughed and shoved her shoulder. "Shut up. It isn't like I haven't had to watch you fawn all over Abbie for years."
Serena suddenly tensed up and went back to placing items on the shelves. Alex immediately knew something was wrong. She allowed Serena to work in silence until she couldn't stand it anymore.
"Serena, what's going on? I wasn't going to say anything, but I can tell you haven't been yourself lately. You've been really quiet today too. Are you alright? I mean… are you ill or…"
Serena smiled sadly at her friends concern. She shook her head. "I'm fine… really."
"Then what's wrong? And don't tell me that it's nothing because I know you." Alex said placing a hand on Serena's arm stopping her movements.
Serena sighed and turned to face her friend. "Abbie and I are having some… issues."
"Issues? What do you mean? Did Abbie cheat on you? Because if she did, I'll kick her ass all the way back to…"
Serena shook her head and stopped Alex before she went on a tirade. "No. No. Abbie didn't, nor would she ever cheat on me."
"Then what is it?"
Alex's heart ached as she saw Serena's eyes water. She stepped away and closed the door, giving them privacy. Taking Serena by the hand, she pulled them over to the sofa and sat down.
"Talk to me."
"Alex, this can wait. This is supposed to be a happy day for you and Olivia."
Alex took Serena's hand and made Serena meet her eyes.
"Serena, you've been my best friend since we were ten years old. I'm closer to you than most of my family. You are my family. If something is wrong, I want to know it. Talk to me…please." Alex pleaded.
Serena sighed. "I think Abbie and I want different things."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning… what I want isn't what she wants anymore."
"You're going to have to help me out a little bit here, Rena."
"I'm at a place in my life… where I want something more than just my work. I want a stable home with a woman who is in the same city with me for more than a few days at a time. I want someone to come home to and know they will be there in the morning." Serena looked at Alex with sad eyes. "I want what you're about to have with Olivia."
"You want Abbie to move back to the city permanently?" Alex asked even though she knew it was much more.
"I want her to at least want to consider the option. I want her to want to be with me."
"She does, Serena. You know Abbie loves you."
"That's not what this is about. I know Abbie loves me. I love her too, but we are in two different places in our lives now." Serena leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "Seeing you with Olivia these past few weeks got me to thinking about my own life. I'm not getting any younger, Alex. If having a family is in my future, I have to start at least thinking about it now. I can't keep putting it off."
Alex bit her lip. "What does Abbie say about all of this?"
"She keeps saying that we'll discuss it; just not right now. There is always another promotion or another case that takes precedence."
"Well, Abbie has never hidden the fact that she didn't want to have a baby. She's never made that a secret, Serena." Alex said.
Serena nodded. "Yes, but she was always open to the possibility of having a child with me one day… at least she always said she was."
"You think she's changed her mind; that she doesn't want kids at all?"
"I think Abbie loves being the hotshot Federal Prosecutor. She likes not having anything holding her down. I don't know if she'll ever be ready for that kind of life."
"So where does that leave you two?"
"Right now… exactly where we've always been. We've decided to table the discussion until after the New Year. We both have so much on our plates right now it wouldn't be a good time to really make any decisions anyway. Once everything calms down, Abbie promised that we would sit down and have a serious discussion and make some decisions about our future."
Serena just hoped their future would be together. She wasn't so sure about that.
Alex looked at her friend and her heart ached for her. She had been there from the beginning. She'd watched the two women yell, scream, and eventually fall madly in love with one another. Alex had always assumed they would be together forever."
"Is there anything I can do?"
Serena shook her head. "You're doing it. I just needed someone to listen. I didn't mean to put a damper on your day though."
Alex pulled Serena into a tight hug. "You hush! You're my best friend. You wiped more tears than I can remember over the years while I was pining over a certain detective."
Serena laughed as she pulled away. "I did didn't I? You really did have it bad for her."
Alex shrugged her shoulders sheepishly; glad to see Serena smiling again. "I hope you know that I'm here if you need me."
"I do. Thank you… for listening."
"Any time."
A sharp knock came from the door followed by a familiar voice. "Southerlyn, you better not be putting the moves on my girl in there!"
Alex and Serena giggled.
"Quick! Put your shirt back on, Alex! It's Olivia!" Serena said in a loud breathy voice.
Alex fell back on the sofa in laughter. "Oh God, Serena, but it feels so good!"
Olivia opened the door. She stood with her hands on her hips glaring at them both. "Very funny you two. If you're finished with your comedy act, lunch is ready."
"Great! I'm starving. Alex really worked me out." She smirked and winked at Olivia as she passed by.
Olivia shook her head and laughed as she turned back to a still giggling Alex. "She really is a handful isn't she? The innocent face could really fool you."
Alex draped her arms over Olivia's shoulders as Olivia pulled her close. "It came in handy when we were kids. Her sweet face and my skillful tongue got us out of a lot of jams."
Olivia rested her forehead against Alex's and groaned. "How about we go feed these people and get them out of here and maybe you could show me some of those skills?"
"In a hurry to be alone, Detective?"
Olivia leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Alex's lips. "You have no idea."
"Well, let's go then. After they leave, we can take all day to see if my skills are still up to par."
Olivia trailed behind with a wide grin on her face. "Moving day rocks!"
TBC...
Coming Soon... Nothing is perfect forever.