"Hey baby girl," Alex smiled as she collected Lily from pre-school.
"Mommy! Did you finish early today? Mama said Auntie Carolyn was gonna come get me today."
Alex knelt and buttoned up her daughter's coat. "One of my cases has been postponed, so I decided to sneak out and come see you. Did you have a good day?"
Lily nodded. "Elsa helped me to color in my picture. I've got it here," she held up her bag. "D'you wanna see it?"
"I do, very much. Leave it in there now, we don't want it to get wet, it's started snowing outside. You can show it to me when we get home. Shall we go pick up Maisie and Wiggle from Jay now?"
Lily nodded excitedly. It had been almost two weeks since she had been given the dog, and she loved to spend time with him.
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Jay answered the door, Maisie in her arms. She loved that her job meant that she got to spend so much time with Alex and Olivia's children. Maisie was the most delightful child. She was similar in some ways to Lily, but completely different in others. She was quieter, more pensive but, like Lily – and both Olivia and Alex – she had a keen sense of humor, and always enjoyed any outing or activity that was on offer.
Jay smiled as she ushered Alex and Lily into the apartment. "Snowing, huh?" she laughed, as she brushed some flakes off Alex's shoulder.
"Mommy says it's too wet to make a snowman," Lily looked sad.
"Oh I'm sure we'll get a chance before the snow season is over," Jay told her. "Won't we Maisie?" she passed the smiling child over to Alex, who took her and held her close.
"Wiggle!" Lily cried, as the young dog came scampering into the hallway, wagging his tail wildly. She picked him up and was just settling him in her arms when Alex called "towel!".
Jay smiled, and passed the old towel from the back of the armchair to Lily, who slid it under the dog. "He's been real good today," she said. "Just one little accident in the kitchen, and that was my fault for not taking him out right after lunch. But he's been such a good boy," she fondled his ears.
"You look tired," Alex peered into Jay's face. "Are you okay?"
Jay smiled. "I'm fine. Didn't sleep too well, is all."
"Missing Sarah, I'll bet?" Alex was sympathetic. She hated it whenever she and Olivia were separated. This was the first time that Jay and Sarah had spent more than a night or two apart since they had gotten together. "How long is it now?"
"She'll be back Friday evening," Jay was morose. "Two more nights. The worst is that I'm not working until Monday, so it seems even longer without her."
"The conference is in Pittsburgh, right?" Alex asked, her brain whirring.
"Hmm," Jay agreed grumpily.
Alex grinned, and passed Maisie back to Jay. She got out her laptop. A few minutes later, she looked up at a confused Jay and smiled again. "So what's stopping you going out to join her? According to this," she pointed at the screen, "there's a flight leaving JFK at 7.30pm, lands just after 9pm. You can explore the city tomorrow while she's at the conference, but at least you'll be in the same city. And I'm betting she'll be thrilled to see you."
Jay looked at her watch.
"You have plenty of time. You go and pack, I'll book the flight and then we'll take you to the airport. I'll even buy you a cup of coffee when we get to the airport while you wait for the flight."
"What about the girls?" Jay could barely think straight.
"They'll come with us. Though we should probably drop Wiggle off with Rosie on our way. Hey, Lily," Alex called over to her elder daughter. "Wanna come to the airport with us? Jay's going to go get Sarah and bring her back."
Lily's face split into a huge grin. She loved the airport. "Can we watch the planes?"
"Sure we can," Alex smiled as she sat back contentedly. "Well, go pack!" she instructed Jay.
"Am I really doing this?" Jay started to realize what was happening.
"You are," Alex instructed. "Now get your bony ass in that bedroom and pack a bag!"
Jay smiled. She dropped a quick kiss on Alex's cheek. "You're a genius," she said.
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"We'll see you in a few days," Alex smiled as she hugged Jay goodbye in the airport lounge.
Jay had a sudden thought. "What about Maisie?" she looked at the baby in her stroller. "She's supposed to be spending tomorrow with me, Wiggle too," she remembered.
"I'll fix something up," Alex said. "We can make it work. Lily, come give Jay-Jay a hug."
Lily wrapped her arms round Jay's legs. "Bye, Jay-Jay," she said.
Jay knelt at her level, and gave her a proper hug. "We'll both come and see you when we get back, is that okay?"
Lily nodded and smiled.
Jay touched Maisie's head affectionately. "You too, sprout," she said. "You be good for your Mommy and your Mama."
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Sarah sat in the corner chair in her hotel room. She had had dinner with her boss, who she liked very much. But, much as Eleanor was pleasant company, it had now been four days since she had seen her wife. She desperately wanted to see Jay's face, and had hoped that they would be able to Skype that night but, for some reason, Jay wasn't picking up her phone.
Sarah wasn't overly worried. She knew that Jay could have been called in to work, or her phone could have run out of battery, or she could be out, maybe visiting with Alex and Olivia. She hoped she was out having fun. She deserved to enjoy herself and Sarah knew that she hated their separation as much as she did. Sarah always knew from the tone of Jay's voice how she was feeling, and she had been tense the previous evening, even though she had denied it. She looked at her watch. In 48 hours, Jay would be in her arms.
Sarah was tempted to help herself to a drink from the minibar, not because she particularly wanted something to drink, but because it would help pass the time. But she knew that minibar prices were ridiculous – plus she didn't really like drinking alone. She picked up her book, but found she couldn't concentrate. She looked glumly at her phone. 9.46pm. The phone seemed to be taunting her with the early hour – she was 26 years old, she reminded herself. She couldn't possibly go to bed yet. She peered at the phone again, pissed that there was no message from her wife.
She was just about to try Jay's number again, when she heard a tap on the door. She looked around the room for her robe, embarrassed by already being in her pajamas so early. She hoped it was just the maid, she didn't want her boss to catch her in her nightclothes. "Coming," she called.
She shrugged on her robe, and peered through the peephole in the door, and saw her grinning wife. She flung the door open, enveloping Jay in a huge hug.
Jay was relieved to have found Sarah in her room; she could easily have been out socializing with the others. She hugged her tight, reveling in Sarah's warm presence.
Neither of them spoke for over a minute, just holding tight to each other. Eventually, Jay pulled back a little, and tenderly tucked a strand of blonde hair behind Sarah's ear. "You gonna invite me in then?" she asked teasingly.
Sarah laughed, and pulled Jay into the room, shutting the door. She kissed her deeply, finding herself unaccountably emotional at the sight of her wife. "So whatcha doing here?" she asked when they finally broke apart.
Jay shrugged. "Got lonely," she admitted. "Alex got fed up with my bitching, so she put me on a plane," she smiled. "Let me look at you." She touched her cheek very softly. "So why aren't you out, drinking with all the guys?"
"I got lonely too," Sarah said.
"So you decided to be alone?" Jay teased.
Sarah nodded. "It was less lonely that way. God, Jay, it's so good to see you. Have you eaten?"
Jay screwed up her face. "I had something on the plane. Just don't ask me to tell you what it was."
Sarah laughed. She saw the bags beneath Jays eyes, but didn't say anything. She knew that her wife sometimes had trouble sleeping. "I've been trying to call you. I was so disappointed when you didn't answer. I just wanted to see your face on Skype. And now," she smiled, "now here you are. In the flesh. So, Mrs Kazinsky, I know you need to sleep. But," she toyed with her top button on her shirt, "are you in the mood for anything else first?"
Jay's mouth went dry. "Oh God yes. Yes please. I've been dreaming about you."
"Naughty dreams, I hope?" Sarah's voice dropped, as she helped Jay out of her jacket. She dropped it over the back of the chair.
Jay nodded, seemingly stunned into silence. "I should shower," she said eventually, trying not to let her voice shake. "Those planes, I never feel clean when I get off a plane."
"Want some company?"
Jay nodded, her eyes widening as Sarah un-self-consciously took off her robe, followed by her pajamas. Sarah took Jay's hand and pulled it to her own breast. "C'mon then," she smiled, and led her to the bathroom.
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It was nearly 3am when Olivia finally slid into bed next to Alex that night. She was trying not to disturb her, but a big part of her was delighted when he wife turned and wrapped her in her arms.
"You're all cold," Alex whispered.
"It's snowing out," Olivia said softly. "Go to sleep, baby, I'm sorry to wake you."
Alex opened her eyes and looked at her carefully. "Rough day?"
Olivia nodded.
"Wanna talk?"
"Not really," Olivia's chin quivered.
"Another time?"
"Yeah," Olivia said, gratefully. She remembered the earlier text exchange with Alex. "Jay get off alright?" she smiled at the thought of Alex playing Cupid with their favorite niece.
"Yeah," Alex kissed her softly. "And Wheels is going to take Wiggle after her art class tomorrow. So," she laughed, "Maisie is gonna go to daycare tomorrow, and Wiggle's going to spend a couple of hours in the office with me. No," she said before Olivia could get a word in. "It's okay. Liz isn't in until after lunch, and Casey's going to sit with him if I have to step out of the office. It's fine."
Olivia laughed. "I wouldn't want to be in your shoes when Liz finds out. And she will find out, you know what office gossip is like."
Alex smiled, and shrugged. "She'll meet him one day, then she'll fall in love with him too."
"You'd better hope she does," Olivia yawned and snuggled up to Alex.
"What time do you have to be in, in the morning?"
"8.30am," Olivia was hoping Alex wouldn't scold her for working too hard.
Alex nodded. She had heard some of the details about the case Olivia was working on, and she knew her wife wouldn't rest until the perpetrator was caught. She tightened her grip on her, and kissed her on the top of her head. "Sleep now," she said softly.
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Casey skidded round Alex's office door, a panicked look on her face. "Donnelly!" she hissed.
Alex paled and looked at her watch. It wasn't yet 10am. "She's not due in until after lunch!" She looked round vainly, to see if there was somewhere she could hide Wiggle.
Liz Donnelly strode into the office, an amused smile on her face. She looked down at the dog bed, and saw the happy puppy look up at her. "So," she said drily. "This must be the new intern," she watched Alex's face with amusement. She knelt at the dog's bed. "I don't know what you're smiling at, Wiggle Benson," she fondled his ears. "I suppose you're wondering how I knew you were in here? Well, luckily for you, and for ADA Benson," she fixed Alex with a mock glare, "I happen to be a big dog lover. And I'm betting you wanna come with me and have a look around. So," she lifted the silky puppy into her arms, "let's show you what life is like in a nice big office. You don't want to be stuck in this poky little place all day."
"He's being picked up in an hour," Alex said, weakly, relieved that she wasn't getting an ass-chewing.
Donnelly nodded, as she headed for the door.
"Liz?" Alex called, her voice more nervous than Casey had ever heard. She held out Wiggle's towel. "You might want to … under him. Just in case. He's nearly trained, but sometimes ..."
Donnelly laughed, as she slid the towel under the dog. "Not exactly a guard dog, is he?" she said, as the puppy tried to lick her face.
"He likes you," Alex laughed, tension draining away.
"Let's hope he doesn't like any intruders you may get, unless you're planning for him to lick them into submission," Donnelly said. "I'll bring him back soon, once we've gotten to know each other a little," she called over her shoulder as she walked out.
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Casey was rifling through a file as she walked up the corridor, so she didn't notice Wheels until she almost bumped into her. "I'm so sorry," she said, with a smile. "I wasn't paying attention."
Wheels looked closely at Casey, pleased to see her looking well and happy. She smiled warmly at her. "I'm here to collect the bloodhound," she said teasingly.
"Alex has just taken him out for a pee," Casey said. "She'll be back soon. Come and wait for them in her office. It's nicer than mine, mine's not much more than a closet!" she smiled, leading Wheels to the office and settling her in a chair. "Coffee?"
Wheels nodded. "That would be great. As long as I'm not disturbing you?"
"Not at all. I need to wait for Alex too. It's so good to see you," Casey touched Wheels arm. "I haven't seen you for ages, and I wanted to thank you for being so kind to me last time we met."
Wheels accepted the cup of coffee gratefully, and took a deep draught. "How are you?" she asked in a kindly tone.
"Things are good," Casey said. "Truly. Charlie went back on his meds, and he's been real sweet to me recently. He's a good man. It's just when things aren't good, he doesn't cope too well. But he's promised me he'll keep taking his medication."
Wheels nodded. "I'm so pleased. Just remember we're all here for you, huh?"
Casey nodded.
Alex carried Wiggle into the office. As soon as he spotted Wheels, he struggled to escape Alex's arms. Alex dropped the towel and the puppy into her lap. "You're hot favorite," she smiled, as Wiggle squirmed excitedly in Wheels lap, trying to lick her face.
Wheels smiled. "We just need to get him out of here before your boss catches him," she said.
Casey laughed. "Oh it's too late for that," she said.
"Rumbled?" Wheels asked, with a grin.
"Well and truly," Alex said. "I should have known better than to think I could hide anything from our esteemed bureau chief," she laughed.
"Indeed you should," Liz stuck her head round the door.
Alex stood open-mouthed as Donnelly strode off down the corridor. Wheels laughed. "I think I'd better get this fella out of here, before he causes any more trouble," she said.