A/N: I borrowed Jessica Pearson and Harvey Spector from the show "Suits". The characters belong to Aaron Korsh and the USA Network. I own nothing. Like always, your opinion and ideas are welcome.

Chapter 28: Timing Is Everything

"I can't believe he is pulling this shit!" Alex said slamming her briefcase down on her desk. "Son of a bitch!"

Olivia jumped slightly in her seat on the sofa. She and Alex had made plans to have lunch together since Alex had been working late all week.

Olivia watched as Maggie followed Alex inside the office and scolded her. "Alexandra, you're going to upset Olivia. Calm down this instant."

Alex immediately looked across the room and her features softened. "Oh, I'm sorry, Olivia. I didn't see you there."

"I'm guessing you forgot about our lunch date?"

"I'm sorry." Alex ran a hand through her hair in obvious frustration. "Just let me grab my things and we can go."

Olivia slowly got to her feet and waddled over to the desk. She could see Alex nearly shaking with anger. The blonde was fuming. It had been a long time since she had seen Alex this furious. Olivia gave Maggie a discrete nod and the older woman turned and left the office.

Once they were alone, Olivia stilled Alex's hands as she reached for her keys and pulled her into a hug. She held her until she felt some of the tension leave Alex's body. She pulled back and gave the blonde a soft smile.

"Forget about lunch for now. Can you at least tell me what has you so upset?"

Alex pulled off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Jack is sending me to a conference."

Olivia frowned. "O…kay. So… I'm guessing that lawyer conferences are even more tedious as cop conferences if you're this upset about it."

"The conference is in Albany and it's for an entire week." Alex practically growled.

Olivia was still a little lost. "But that still doesn't explain why this is this making you so upset. Alex, you've attended dozens of conferences like this before. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that you could have our baby any day now. I can't be away for a week!" Alex said throwing her hands up.

Olivia bit her cheek to keep from smiling. She knew that smiling would not go over well with Alex being this angry.

"Honey, my due date is well after Christmas. That's over four and a half weeks away."

"You don't know that, Liv. What if something happens? What if you go into labor early? What if…"

Olivia placed a finger over Alex's mouth. "Shhh. Hey. Nothing is going to happen. Dr. Powell says that I'm the picture of health. It's fine."

Alex shook her head. "I'm not going. Jack can just fire me if he wants to."

"Alex, you can't not go. This is your job and your responsibility. Alexandra Cabot does not cut out on her responsibilities. That's not who you are. Besides, it will be weeks before Sprout makes an appearance. You can go to the conference, make McCoy happy, and be back before you know it."

Alex flopped down in her chair. She pulled Olivia to stand between her legs, placing her hands on the detective's protruding stomach. She bit her lip, looking up at Olivia with sad blue eyes. "But I don't want to be away from you and I really don't like the idea of leaving you alone."

Olivia could tell that this wasn't just Alex being over protective. The blonde was truly worried. "Okay. How about this? What if we ask your Aunt Julia to come over and stay with me or I can go to her and Bill's for the week? That way, I'm not alone. You can still go do your job and not worry so much."

Alex chewed her lip and thought about it. "I still don't like it."

Olivia smirked. "I don't like it either, but it's our best option."

Alex let a long sigh before relenting. "Alright, but let the record show that I'm still against it."

Olivia chuckled. "Of course… the record is duly noted, Counselor." She pulled Alex to her feet then kissed her lips. "Come on. You promised to take your woman to lunch and she's hungry."

"What's new about that?" Alex smirked.

Olivia gave her a mock glare before smiling evilly. "Maggie!" She called loudly. "Alex is being mean to me! She called me fat!"

Alex's mouth dropped open. "I… I…didn't…" Before she could say another word, Maggie Malone was standing in her office doorway, arms on her hips looking very displeased.

Alex's shoulders slumped. Today just wasn't her day.

Travel arrangements for the conference were finalized and Alex was scheduled to leave the following Monday. She and Olivia decided to go shopping for last-minute gifts and a Christmas tree. This would be the couple's first Christmas together and they wanted to make sure they had decorations and presents before it was unsafe for Olivia to be out and about so much.

After an hour of arguing over choices, they finally agreed on a tree and had it delivered. Although she originally thought it was too big, Olivia had to admit the ten foot tree Alex insisted on getting looked beautiful once it was decorated and lit up by the window. Alex had just finished hanging their stockings on the fireplace. Olivia thought it was cute that there was a tiny stocking for Sprout.

"You know, we really should settle on a name for him." Olivia said with a chuckle as she stared at the tiny stocking. "He'll be here in less than a month and we can't keep calling him Sprout."

Alex came over and sat down next to her and took her hand. They stared at the blinking lights for a moment. "Did you have any names in mind?" Alex finally asked.

Olivia nodded. "I have one name in particular in mind. I don't know how you will feel about it."

"If you want to name him after Brian, that's understandable Olivia." Alex said evenly.

Olivia leaned over and kissed Alex on the cheek.

Alex gave her an odd look. "What was that for?"

Olivia shrugged. "For always being so unselfish."

"Liv, I'm not being unselfish. Like I said, naming him after his father is completely normal. People do it all the time. I was named after my father, remember?"

"I hadn't really thought about naming him after Brian." Olivia said quietly.

"O…kay. What did you have in mind then?"

"What do you think of…Alexander?"

Alex froze and sat in silence for a long moment.

"I thought it would be… nice for him to share the name of his grandfather… and his other mother." Olivia said nervously.

Alex took a moment to blink away the moisture in her eyes. "You want to name him after me?"

Olivia nodded.

"Are you sure you want…"

Olivia placed her fingers over Alex's lips stopping her words. "I'm sure."

Alex smiled in awe. She was a bit overwhelmed. "I umm…I don't know what to say."

Olivia smirked. "Well that's a first."

Alex narrowed her eyes but gave way to laughter. "Thank you."

"Thank you for loving us."

"It's the easiest thing I've ever done."

Olivia had to look away from the intense gaze Alex was giving her. She took a deep breath trying to reign in her libido. "So… what about you? Did you have any names in mind? I was thinking we could use Alexander as the middle name. It might be a little confusing having two Alex's in the house." Olivia said with a chuckle.

Alex nodded. "That's one of the reasons my mother started calling my father Xander."

"Xander is cute. We could call this little one Xander too."

"We'll see. He still needs another name… Something strong, perhaps like his other mother?"

Olivia shook her head. "We are not naming this kid Oliver. He will get his ass kicked every day of his life, Alex."

Alex laughed out loud. "Hey, I like Oliver. It's very distinguished."

"Alex." Olivia warned.

"Okay. I was only kidding. I didn't actually mean Oliver."

"Well we can't name him Jayne either. That would be even worse than Oliver." Olivia joked.

"No, but he'd have Benson in his last name and I happen to know that his father's name is actually James Brian Cassidy. James also happens to be very close to Jayne."

Olivia looked intrigued. "How did you know that?"

"He signed his full legal name on the forms, remember?"

Olivia nodded and thought it over for a moment. "James Alexander. It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" She looked down placing her hand on her stomach. "What do you think, little guy?"

She laughed when she felt several rapid kicks.

"I think he likes it." Olivia said before stealing a quick kiss.

Alex smiled. "I like it too."

Several minutes passed while they snuggled together on the sofa. Alex tightened her arms around Olivia and let out a sigh of pure contentment. She looked around at her home… "their" home and couldn't help but smile. Across the room was a beautiful tree with dozens of presents waiting to be opened underneath. The woman of her dreams was resting securely in her arms. There was a beautiful blue and yellow 'Winnie the Poo' nursery waiting upstairs for their baby boy to arrive. In that moment, Alex understood what true happiness was. She realized that she had nearly everything that she'd ever wanted. There was only one other thing that could make her life even more perfect.

"Marry me."

Olivia blinked. She wasn't sure she had heard Alex correctly. Surely she hadn't. "What?" She sat up and faced the blonde.

Alex almost laughed at the look on Olivia's face. They must have looked like quite the pair; Olivia shocked and Alex completely calm and sure.

"I said… marry me."

Olivia's mouth opened and closed several times with no sound escaping. "I… You… What?"

Alex untangled herself from Olivia's limbs and quickly slipped down the hall to her study. A few moments later, she returned holding something behind her back. She kneeled in front of Olivia and took her hand, then held out what looked like a blue Tiffany box.

"This isn't how I originally planned to do this. I want you to know that this is not a spur of the moment idea or something I haven't thought about a great deal. I had a whole lavish set up for New Years' Eve and I'm sure it would have been wonderful, but… it occurred to me that lavish really isn't us." She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. "This quiet moment… right now feels right. It feels like the perfect time."

"Alex…" Olivia's voice was so breathless, it could hardly be heard.

"I was just sitting here thinking about how wonderful my life is now. I have never been this happy before and it's all because of you. You make me so incredibly happy. You make me want to get up every day and be better… do better. I love you so much Olivia Benson. I've loved you for so long, I can hardly remember a time when I didn't love you. I've never been much of a religious person, but I know without a doubt that there is a god. I know this because… god made you perfectly for me. And I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you and the family we're building together. Falling in love with you is the best thing I've ever done. If loving you and our son is all I do for the rest of my life, it would be more than enough." She opened the box and presented a gleaming diamond out to a completely stunned Olivia. "So… will you please make me the happiest woman in the world? Will you marry me?"

By the time Alex had finished, Olivia was nearly sobbing. She had to nod several times before she could managed to say the word yes. Alex slipped the ring on her finger and pulled her into a deep kiss. They were both a mess of tears after all was said and done.

"I love you so much, Baby." Olivia said between kisses.

Alex grinned to herself as she reveled in those kisses. The proposal hadn't been a huge production like she'd originally planned; it was much better. It was tender, intimate, and sincere. It was everything they were.

"I love you too, Liv."

Olivia looked down at the address Alex had texted to her phone then back up at the tall high-rise. Shrugging her shoulders, she went inside and up to the office on the top floor. She glanced around the spacious offices and read the names on the wall behind the front desk. "Pearson-Hardman & Associates."

A pleasant young woman seated behind the desk smiled at her. "Can I help you, Miss?"

"Yes. I was supposed to meet Alexandra Cabot here."

The woman's smile brightened. "Of course. You must be Miss Benson. I was asked to have you wait in the main conference room. If you will follow me, I'll show you where it is."

"Thanks."

The woman led Olivia into a large room with glass walls. The side wall was a window that overlooked the city. It was impressive to say the least.

"Can I offer you a beverage while you wait; water or tea maybe?"

"No thank you. I'm fine."

"Very well. Mrs. Pearson will be here momentarily and I was to let you know that Miss Cabot was on her way as well. If you need anything at all, just press the intercom button and I'll be right with you."

Olivia gave her a small smile. "Thank you again."

Finally alone, Olivia took a moment to take in her surroundings again and whistled. Judging by the looks of things, this was a very high-end law firm. This even made Trevor Langon's firm look cheap. She was suddenly glad that she made the effort to dress up today.

"Hey sweetie, thanks for meeting me on such short notice." Alex said walking in. It was obvious she had come directly from the arraignment she had that morning. She was still wearing the blue suit Olivia loved.

Olivia snorted. "It's not like I have a lot on my schedule these days."

"I would have been here earlier, but I got caught in traffic. You haven't been waiting long have you?"

Olivia smiled and accepted the kiss from her fiancé. "No. I just got here a few minutes ago."

Alex allows her eyes to roam over her fiancé for the first time since she had arrived. "You look beautiful."

Olivia blushed slightly. "Thanks. I'm glad I opted not to wear my usual lounge sweats. By the looks of this place, I think I would have been woefully under-dressed. So, you want to tell me why you had me meet you here?"

Alex took a seat at the conference table next to Olivia. "This firm represents me personally as well as the company and the Cabot Foundation. You and I have a few legal matters to take care of today."

"A pre-nupt is fine with me, Alex." Olivia said noticing Alex's nervousness. She knew how much Alex was worth. It would be a smart move for someone in the blonde's position.

Alex frowned. "What would make you think I wanted a pre-nupt?"

Olivia shrugged her shoulders. "Why wouldn't you? Isn't that why we're here?"

"Liv, we're not here to sign a pre-nupt and I have no intentions of having one in the future." Alex said unequivocally. "My intent was to have our POAs drawn up for starters. There are some other things we have to sign off on as well."

Olivia was about to question her farther when a stunning African-American woman walked in followed by a very sleek-looking gentleman. They were both impeccably dressed. Olivia wondered if everyone at the firm looked like models.

"Hello Alexandra. It's good to see you again." The woman said shaking Alex's hand.

"Jessica." Alex greeted her with a warm smile. "You look lovely as always."

"Well I did get my fashion tips from the best. Now if I could just get you to join my firm, I'd have you with me every day and my life would be perfect. You are a Harvard graduate after all." Jessica said flashing a perfect smile.

"When are you going to stop asking me that?"

"When you finally accept my proposal."

Alex rolled her eyes playfully. "Speaking of accepted proposals, I'd like you to meet my fiancé, Olivia Benson. Olivia this is a very dear friend of mine from college as well as my attorney, Jessica Pearson."

Jessica held out her hand to Olivia while offering her a warm smile. She saw the sparkling diamond on Olivia's hand and winked in Alex's direction. "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Benson. I've heard quite a bit about you."

"You can call me Olivia." She said shaking his hand. "And all good I hope?"

"Of course. Alex hasn't stopped singing your praises." Jessica turned and waved the gentleman over. "This is my Senior Associate, Harvey Specter. Alex I believe you two have met."

Alex gave Harvey the trademark Cabot smirk. "We went up against one another a few times back in the day."

Harvey chuckled and shook his head. "What she means is she kicked my ass a time or two."

"Whose ass hasn't Alex kicked at least once?" Jessica said.

"Alright, enough stroking my ego; we have legal matters that need attending."

"Of course. Let's get started shall we." Jessica said taking a seat at the head of the table. Harvey took the seat across from them.

"I had everything you requested drawn up and I went through it with a fine tooth comb to make sure it was exactly as you wanted it." She passed Alex a thick leather-bound folder. "Those are your power of attorney. We took the liberty of drawing up your fiancé's papers as well. It gives you full rights as spouses and the power to make any decisions regarding one another medically and in any other capacity."

Alex flipped through the forms and nodded. She turned to Olivia. "Is this alright with you?"

Olivia nodded. "Of course."

"You can take your time and read this if you'd like, Olivia." Jessica said without preamble. "Alex pays us very well to sit and wait."

Olivia chuckled. "That's alright. I trust Alex. If she thinks we need to sign these, I will."

"Alright." Alex took the pen Harvey was holding out to her and quickly signed her name on the marked lines. She then passed Olivia her forms and guided her through it them all.

Olivia thought that was it, but Jessica started pulling out more leather-bound folders. "These two are your Living Will and Last Will and Testament. I personally made the changes that you requested. I had copies sent over by messenger to your office this morning."

"I received them. They looked perfect." Alex said glancing at Olivia. "I think now would be a good time for you to explain the changes to Olivia."

Olivia perked up a little. "You changed your Will?"

"Olivia, Alex felt it was necessary to make a few alterations due to your recent engagement. As her fiancé, you are now the sole beneficiary. By signing, should anything happen to Alex, you will of course be the collector of her estate. Alex's fifty-five percent of Cabot Enterprises would automatically go to you, making you the majority stockholder."

Olivia's eyes widened. "Wait… What?"

"That is only in the event of Alex's death. However, once you marry and you become her legal spouse, you will be given fifteen percent of your own stock within the company. Alex has also designated that ten percent will go to your son when he is born…congratulations by the way. You will be your son's proxy until he reaches twenty-one years of age. All of this will take effect as soon as you sign the domestic partnership and spousal agreement today. I should warn you that you're going to have to sign quite a few forms, but you will have the same rights and privileges as any other married couple and most importantly be completely covered in the eyes of the law. "

Olivia's eyes widened when she looked at the number of zeros staring back at her from the pages Jessica was showing her. She was feeling very overwhelmed and apparently it showed in her expression.

"Alex, I can't…I can't sign these. This is too much!" Olivia said still in a state of shock.

"Jessica, Harvey I'm going to need the room for a moment?" Alex said with a hint of authority.

Jessica and Harvey glanced at one another and stood. "Certainly. Just let us know when you're ready."

Alex waited until the door closed behind the two attorneys.

"Liv… "

"What in the hell do you think you're doing, Alex?"

"I'm trying to take care of my future wife and son." Alex said calmly. She had expected resistance from the stubborn detective when she started the process.

"Stocks and talk about wills and your estate. It's all a little too much." Olivia stood and walked over to the window. She looked out over the city trying to regain her center.

Alex stayed silent for a while allowing the brunette to have a moment. She stood and slowly made her way over to her fiancé.

"I need to know that you will be taken care of if something was to happen to me, Olivia."

"Stop saying that! Nothing is going to happen to you." Olivia said shaking her head against the thought. She'd lived through that nightmare before.

Alex took a calming breath and gently turned Olivia to face her. "I hope you are right, but you and I both know how unpredictable life can be. After what happened with Velez, I promised myself that I would never leave anything to chance again. I need to be prepared. I also need to know that should something ever happen to you that I would be allowed to make decisions concerning your care. This is important, Olivia."

"I get that. I have no problem with the medical decisions, but Alex… you changed your Will. You can't leave your entire estate to me. What will your family say about that?"

"First of all, you are my family; you and our son. Secondly, as my wife you will be legally entitled to certain privileges whether you accept it or not. My extended family will understand that."

"Alex, I… can't offer you the same. I have my savings; that's basically it."

Alex took Olivia's hands. "We've been through this, Olivia. I'm not asking you to offer me the same. I don't need you to give me anything. You're giving me a family. That's enough."

Olivia groaned and pulled away. "I just don't feel comfortable taking your money."

Alex crossed her arms and stared at the detective. "Olivia, if I were a man... your husband would this matter so much to you?"

"Alex, don't start cross-examining me."

"What if the tables were reversed? What if you were very wealthy, would you want to make sure I was taken care of if something happened to you?"

Again Olivia groaned. "That's not fair."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. It just feels unfair. You're a lawyer. I can never win arguments with you." Olivia pouted.

Alex moved closer and took Olivia by the hands again. She pulled her into a loose embrace.

"Olivia, it is just money. I know that if something happened to either of us, no amount of money would ever make that alright. I would, however, feel much better knowing that if I couldn't be here for you or our son that I could at least take comfort in knowing that you wouldn't have finances as another worry added to the burden of grief."

Olivia paused and stared at the floor for a long time before looking up into earnest blue eyes. "Do you think you could have your fancy lawyers draw up a few things for me? I may not be a multi-millionaire like you, but what I have is yours."

"I'm sure that won't be a problem." Alex smiled warmly before softly kissing her lips. "I promise I'm not trying to buy you or control you. Nothing is more important to me than you and our son. I just want to make sure you're taken care of, Liv. I can sign all of these papers without having a single doubt because I know that you're it for me."

Olivia snorted. "How is it possible for you to make a talk about Wills and legal matters so romantic?"

Alex shrugged. "Fin says I've got skills."

Olivia laughed and hugged her tightly. "I love you, Alex. Are you sure you don't want a pre-nupt?"

Alex shook her head. "Absolutely not."

Olivia leaned in and kissed Alex softly. "Alright Counselor, we'll do it your way. Go get your lawyers so we can get this over with. I'm hungry and you're taking me to dinner."

"Yes dear." Alex said obediently.

"I'm really beginning to like that." Olivia said with a smirk.

Olivia and Julia were sitting on the sofa watching "A Wonderful Life" when the phone rang. Olivia absently picked the receiver up without checking the ID.

"Hello?"

"I'm looking for my red-hot fiancé. She's about 5'9, unbelievable brown eyes, gorgeous smile, and a body men go to war over." Said the smooth mezzo voice on the other end.

Olivia laughed and her face lit up. Julia smiled knowingly as she got up and headed to the kitchen to give Olivia privacy. She knew by that smile that it was her niece on the phone.

"I seriously doubt anyone would go to war over this body. I look like a beached whale." Olivia snorted.

"You do not. My fiancé happens to look amazing."

"Who would have guessed that Alexandra Cabot the 'Ice Princess' was such a romantic?"

Alex's laughter floated through the phone. "Only for you sweetheart. How are you by the way?"

"The same as I was this morning when you called." Olivia said rolling her eyes even though she secretly loved Alex fussing over her. "Feet are still swollen and I have to pee every five minutes, which means you have about four minutes before I have to put the phone down to go again."

"Are you letting Aunt Julia look after you?"

"Yes dear." Olivia chuckled. "I can't wait for you to come home though. I miss you already."

Alex's heart ached. She was missing Olivia as well. She had only been away for two and a half days and the conference wouldn't be over for another three. She was about to come out of her skin with worry over Olivia.

"I miss you too, Liv."

"How is the conference going?"

"Still boring as hell. I'm beginning to think that I might have unknowingly pissed Jack off and this is my punishment. What have you been up to today?"

"Nothing much. Your aunt is a lot like you. She won't let me do anything other than sit, eat, and sleep. She's pretty generous with the pee breaks though."

"I heard that, dear." Came a smooth mezzo voice from the kitchen. It was eerily similar to Alex's which Olivia thought was a little scary.

Olivia giggled. "Oops. I think I might be in a timeout soon."

Alex laughed. "On that note, I should probably let you go before Aunt Julia breaks out the wooden spoon. I have another session to attend in half an hour anyway. I just needed to hear your voice."

"Feel free to call anytime, Counselor."

"I'll keep that in mind. I love you, Liv."

"I love you too, Babe."

Olivia placed the phone back on the dock and sighed. Julia had returned with a sandwich and juice. She saw the gloomy look on the brunette's face and smiled sadly.

"You really do miss Alexandra don't you?"

Olivia nodded. "I know it's silly. She's only been gone a few days and I'm the one that insisted that she go in the first place."

"But you still miss her." Julia supplied.

"Yeah. She drives me nuts fussing over me when she's here but… it's like a piece of me is missing. It's crazy because I've spent most of my life alone but now… I feel a so unsettled without her."

Julia patted her hand gently and grinned at the gleaming diamond there. "That's perfectly normal dear. That's what happens when you truly love someone. They become a part of you."

"I guess you're right."

"Trust me dear. After nearly forty years of marriage, I know true love when I see it." Julia winked.

The following day Olivia and Julia ventured out of the apartment for a while. Julia had an appointment and a few errands to run. Not wanting to leave Olivia alone, Julia took her to the 1-6 to have lunch with her friends while she took care of her business about town. When Olivia walked through the doors, she was greeted with a few whistles and cheers which caused her to blush. Sometimes the guys she worked with could be so sweet.

After a leisurely lunch, Nick and Amanda were called out to a scene and Fin was out chasing a lead. Olivia sat with John trading barbs and discussing his latest conspiracy theories. While he was in the middle of one of his more outlandish stories, Olivia felt the beginnings of another bout of heartburn. Out of nowhere, she felt several sharp pains and then there was wetness between her legs. She swallowed hard and looked at John who was still chatting away about something of no importance.

"John." She said calmly.

"And I don't know why people don't take these things more seriously."

"John."

"It really is a trap set up by the government."

"John!"

"What?"

"John, I don't want you to panic… but I think my water just broke."

For the first time in history, John Munch was speechless.

TBC...

Coming Soon: Where's Alex?