A/N: I know it has been a while since I've updated this story and I am so sorry about that. I had hit a brick wall with this story and didn't know where to take it or what the next chapter should be. Not to mention work has been a little wild and busy at the moment. After many false starts and deleted attempts I was able to write this chapter. Now that I have it flowing again hopefully I won't hit anymore cases of writer's block. Again my deepest apologies for taking so long on updating this story.

Olivia looked up from the book she was reading when she heard her bedroom door open. After their discussion earlier, they had a quiet dinner and spent the rest of the evening watching TV. It wasn't until Alex had yawned for about the tenth time in as many minutes that Olivia had suggested that they gone on to bed.

Alex had been eager to go to bed and jumped from the couch when Olivia suggested it and held her hand out for the brunette. She maintained contact with Olivia during their short walk upstairs until they had reached her bedroom door. She stopped and turned around to face Olivia; she really wanted to go curl up with Olivia again, but she wasn't sure if that was what the brunette wanted. After everything she had gone through with Jess, she didn't want to ask or seem too needy so instead she kissed Olivia gently on the lips and quietly made her way into her bedroom shutting the door behind her.

Olivia was hurt when Alex kissed her goodnight and closed the door behind her. She had thought with all they had shared over the last twenty four hours that Alex would be curling up with her, if not in her bed then, in Alex's. She had wanted to knock on the door, but decided that it would be best to just go and stretch out in her room. Maybe Alex needed some time alone to work through some of the things they had gone through so, with a defeated look on her face, she had slowly made her way into her room and opted to occupy her thoughts and time with a book she had been trying to finish for the last month.

"Alex, are you okay?" Olivia asked as studied the blonde standing at the door looking scared.

"Yeah, I, uhh, thought I would sleep in here," Alex said, looking anywhere but at the brunette, "That is, if you don't mind. I mean, if you prefer, I can sleep in my room."

"Come on," Olivia said with a smile as she flipped the covers back on the other side of the bed.

Alex sighed with relief as she quickly made her onto the bed thankful that Olivia hadn't turned her away.

"Give me just a minute and I will turn the light off," Olivia said as she reached for her book mark.

"No," Alex whispered as she rolled over to face Olivia and placed an arm around her waist, "Please keep reading for as long as you want."

"Alex, I don't mind."

"I know, but I need this normalcy," Alex answered her as she looked up at her with pleading eyes, "I need to know that this can exist."

"Okay," Olivia whispered as she leaned down and gently kissed Alex on the lips, "You got it."

"Thank you," Alex said as Olivia wrapped her arm around her and held her tight against her. She closed her eyes and slowly exhaled a breath that she didn't realize she was holding and felt her heart calm down to a normal beat. "I didn't mean for it to seem like I didn't care earlier."

"I thought you wanted some time to yourself," Olivia said as she ran her hand up and down Alex's arm, "I'm not going to push you any further than you are ready for."

"You know, sometimes, people need a push," Alex said, smiling as she drew imaginary designs on Olivia's toned stomach.

"Sometimes, they do, and sometimes that push will set them back."

"But that push may be all they need to know everything will be okay."

Olivia lowered her book and looked down at the blonde and studied her for a minute before finally smiling, "In that case, I wouldn't mind you in my bed every night, but only if you want to be here. If you want time alone and sleep by yourself, all you have to do is let me know."

"I can work with that," Alex whispered as she leaned up and kissed Olivia on the lips, "Thank you, now, finish your reading."

"Yes, boss," Olivia said, laughing as she picked her book back up and picked up where she left off as Alex pulled the covers up around her and laid her head on Olivia's chest.

"I need you to remember that line the next time you decide to argue with me over a warrant," Alex said with laughter in her voice, "That will make our work environment so much better."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't push your luck."

"Girl's gotta try," Alex said, laughing, "So, what book are you reading?"

"It's called The Bone Bed by Patricia Cornwell."

"The Bone Bed?"

"Yeah, the book centers around Kay Scarpetta who, in her earlier books, was the chief medical examiner of Virginia, and is now just a medical examiner in Boston. A woman has come up missing while digging for bones in a place nicknamed "The Bone Bed" in Canada. The only piece of evidence of her missing person case has wound up being sent to her in an email. As time goes on, the woman's disappearance is linked to a series of crimes much closer to home. The more she investigates,, the more the danger and suspicion surrounds those close to her."

"It sounds good and like a book I would like to read."

"It is, and you're more than welcome to read it when I'm done, if you want. Actually, I have the rest of her books at my apartment; I can have Elliot swing by and grab one of them for you."

"How many in this series is there?"

"This is the twentieth book, and the next one in the series is due out in November called Dust. Luckily, this is one of those series where you can pick it up mid series and won't be lost."

"I think I'll like to start with the first one and go from there."

"Okay, I'll have Elliot stop by my place and grab the first novel and bring it to you," Olivia said as she closed her book and set it on the nightstand, "And if you like these, you will probably like all the novels by Kathy Reichs. They are along the same lines, but a little more difficult to follow at times."

"I've heard that name before, but not from books."

"She's the one that the show "Bones" is based off of."

"So, you're a cop that has to deal with this gruesomeness on a daily basis, but still reads books about it as well."

"In the books, the good guys always win and justice is served. It's a nice change of pace. If you don't like those, I recommend the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. They are about a woman who falls into bounty hunting by accident, and every possible thing that can go wrong does go wrong, but she still manages to catch her guys. Those books are the ones that you sit around reading and laugh out loud at."

"Then those are the ones that I would want to read."

"You're in luck; I have the complete series of those as well. I'll just have Elliot bring those over instead."

"Or," Alex said with a sly smile on her face, "You could just let my movers bring everything over and we wouldn't have to make Elliot run back and forth to get the stuff, everything would be right here."

"We could, but we've already discussed this," Olivia said as she kissed Alex, "But I will give you props on how you snuck that back in there."

"I'm not a top notch attorney for nothing."

"No, you're not, and if we don't get to sleep you're going to be an exhausted attorney tomorrow," Olivia said as she wrapped her arms around Alex and pulled her to her.

"But tomorrow's Sunday, so it doesn't matter."

"I know, but I need the sleep."

"I know you do," Alex said as she entwined their fingers and closed her eyes for what she hoped would be the first of many peaceful nights for her.