AN: This picks up exactly where the last chapter ended. It's really a mini chapter
Munch suggested drinks, and the team (minus Elliot) went out.
"I think I should head home." Kathy complained she never saw him.
The others went to O'Malley's.
Olivia greeted Casey with a kiss when she arrived at the bar.
"What was that for?" Casey asked with a smile.
"Just because."
"Well, just because should happen more often."
"Okay." Olivia kissed her again.
"Calm down or else Munch is going to need a cold shower," Fin teased.
Olivia rolled her eyes before she pulled Casey in close.
They got a pitcher and started shooting the shit.
"So how was your holiday off?" Munch raised a brow.
"Amazing, great food and perfect company," Casey grinned.
"What did you all have?"
"Oysters, steak frites, and apple pie with ice cream."
"Can I come to your place next year?"
Who knows, maybe Alex will do a larger one next year.
Two pitchers later, they were drunkenly hollering at the football game. Alex called to see when they'd be home and Olivia invited her to hang out.
"We're in a partying mood, Babe!"
Munch frowned. Who is she calling Babe?
About a half hour later, Alex arrived and Olivia hugged her. "Hello, Sexy," she whispered into her ear.
"Hey Liv." Alex blushed at the attention. "How are my boys doing?"
One scumbag dead and a murderer in jail, "all in all, a pretty good day."
Alex ordered a tall whiskey on the rocks to catch up.
Both Munch and Fin noticed how handsy Olivia was with her. Casey didn't seem to mind at all which was even weirder.
"We should get something greasy after this," Casey commented. "Who wants Chinese?"
"ME!" cheered everyone.
They headed out to a restaurant. Casey pinched Alex's bottom as they were leaving. Munch saw that. Are they all playing around? HOT!
They got to the Jasmine Dragon and slid into a booth, the girls on one side the boys on the other.
"I want dumplings," Alex declared. "Lots of dumplings and with that spicy sauce!"
"Oh and can we get kung pao chicken and those beef skewers?"
Alex and Casey started rattling off dishes. When the waiter came, they ordered enough for everyone.
The appetizers just came when Olivia got a phone call.
"Benson!"
"Liv, it's Elliot. Are you still at O'Malley's?"
"No, we went to the Jasmine Dragon. Is something wrong?"
"I think I'm going to need your apartment after all. Kathy wants a separation. She told me to get out."
Elliot had forgotten all about Dickie's last soccer game of the season. He took off for the crime scene and didn't even realized he missed anything until he came home to an empty house. It was the final straw for Kathy.
"Do you want me to come let you in?"
"No. I have the spare."
"If you want to get dinner with us…"
"I think I need to be alone right now."
"Call me if you need me."
Casey rubbed Olivia's hand. "What's wrong?"
She gave Casey a look that said I'll tell you later.
They continued their meal, laughing and joking about and then it was time for people to get going. Again, all three girls got in one cab.
"They don't live in the same direction and it's not even late," Munch pointed out.
"Maybe they're having a sleepover or something."
"A rated X one."
"Yeah, the thought crossed my mind."
"It did more than just cross my mind."
Fin slapped his head.
When they got back to Alex's apartment, Olivia told them, "Kathy wants a separation. She told Elliot to get out."
"What?" Alex didn't see it coming at all. "But they've been married since forever."
"They've been having problems over the past six months or so."
"Is it the hours?" Casey questioned.
"That's part of it. You have to build so many walls to survive this job. He put up one too many for her."
"Maybe they just need a counselor, someone who can be neutral."
"He sounded terrible. I hope they can get through this."
"No matter what happens," Casey said, "I don't want any of us getting thrown out. We work things out together, and if I need to, I'll drag you into a counselor's office before I just change the locks."
Alex kissed both of them. "My home is your home. That's all there is to it."
The three girls put on an old movie and snuggled under their blankets.
December
Alex would be going to trial next month. The last minute attempts at a plea fell through. Kessler wanted Man two for his client and the lowest Alex would go was murder 3.
"She shot her husband for the insurance money."
"She needed the money to escape domestic violence!"
Alex decided to take her chance at trial.
Kessler decided to try and get his client's confession thrown out.
"She was questioned in violation of her Miranda rights. Detective Green did not read them to her."
"Is that true?" Petrovsky frowned.
"She was not a suspect at the time, your honor. At the time the victim's wife was interviewed, the police believed that she had only been a witness to the shooting. The conversation was voluntary, and once she started to make incriminating statements, she was read her rights, and she continued to talk."
"I take it this confession was on tape."
"It was your Honor."
"I will review it before making my decision."
Two days later, the judge ruled that "the confession is admissible." The questions the detective asked did not suggest that they suspected her of the crime. Their tone was soft and her confession seemed like she had just blurted it out. It came out of nowhere.
"But your honor!"
"I made my decision. I will submit my findings in writing and if you wish to pursue an interlocutory appeal, you are welcome to do so."
Alex had to get back to her office. Before she could get there, however, she managed to hear Kessler's second chair say, "I could hardly pay attention to what the judge was saying. I was distracted by the ADA's tacky suit."
Alex whipped around so fast she could have been a tornado. Her hair flowed behind her like it was a Herbal Essences commercial
"Tacky! You're calling this tacky!" she pointed at her black and white, very chic skirt suit. She even had a cute black ascot on. "This is Prada, that's JC Penny Bitch! I don't know where you get off, but don't you dare start with me little girl. I am not the one."
Jaws dropped as everyone within earshot heard the exchange. Little did Alex know, it had been caught on a cell phone and would end up on YouTube.
Munch was the first in the 1-6 to find it. "Hey guys. You have to see this!"
The team gathered around, and Munch played the video.
"This is Prada, that's JC Penny Bitch!"
They all started cracking up. Who in their right mind would call Alex Cabot tacky?
The video went viral. It was played all over the defense bar.
Trevor Langan added it to the "Shit Alex Cabot Says" twitter account.
People kept saying it to each other. "This is Prada … that's JC Penny Bitch!" It was in high schools, colleges, Starbucks.
It even found its way into The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. One of his interns said to him, "This is Prada! That's JC Penny Bitch!" Jon was confused until they played the clip.
"This is what lawyers do outside of the courtroom!"
Both Prada and JC Penny were interested in capitalizing on the fame. Prada contacted Alex Cabot to see if she would do a photo-shoot and JC Penny launched a new line of affordable yet presentable suits.
"You should totally do the fashion shoot," Trevor told her.
"How do you even know about it?"
"I know people, plus there's a rumor on Reddit!"
"What's Reddit?"
"Seriously, this could be great publicity for you. Everyone will know your pretty face. You'll be one step closer to the DA's chair."
"You think I'll get elected for modeling for Prada."
"You'll be a household name and face. Come on Lex, everyone knows it's a popularity contest."
It ended up not being her decision anyway. Branch decided she was doing the shoot. "I've been getting calls all week about you Cabot. This is your chance to be in the limelight, good luck and don't fuck it up!"
"Yes Boss!"
Olivia and Casey loved to tease her about the shoot
"Aw, our woman is a fashionista," Casey cooed.
"Will you remember us when you become rich and famous?"
"I'll remember to change the locks to my apartment," Alex said dryly.
"If they have anything in my size, bring it back," Casey told her.
"I doubt they'll have anything in my size," Olivia told her. "Maybe you could stop at JC Penney on the way back? I hear they got Levi's."
Alex flipped her off before leaving.
They sent a limo to pick her up. Inside were a bottle of water and a mint. Diet of the supermodels!
Alex skipped breakfast, only allowing herself a cup of coffee earlier. The last thing she needed was for people to say she looked bloated in print.
An assistant was there to greet her. "Welcome, Miss. Cabot."
"Oh, please call me Alex."
"Alex, I'm RJ, and it's my job to make sure you get everything you need today. Do you need anything before we go to wardrobe."
"I'm ready."
"Perfect. Right this way."
Alex was used to be treated like a doll. It was how she got by in the program, live here, work here, do this. She hated that part of her life, but it did teach her discipline. She knew how to play the part.
While Alex was in makeup, Olivia was getting to work. She and Elliot had caught yet another case.
"Case, I have to go in."
"Call me when you need me," she said with a kiss.
"I always need you, but I'll call when we need a warrant."
"I need wine to deal with all of that cheese."
"Bye Casey."
When Olivia got to the precinct, she realized everyone was waiting for her.
"Our vic is only 7. We thought you had the best chance of getting his story." Elliot looked like hell. Olivia didn't have to ask. She knew Kathy still hadn't taken him back.
Detective Benson briefly went through the file. His mother had taken him to the doctor because he had bouts of nightmares and bedwetting. The pediatrician suspected molestation, so here they were.
She grabbed a teddy bear and walked in. "Hi Martin," her voice was soft and she sat down away from him as to not crowd the boy. "My name is Olivia. Is it alright if we talk?"
The boy nodded and reached for the bear.
"Do you want to hold him? His name is Oscar."
"I like Oscar."
"Who do you live with Martin?"
"My Mom."
"Anyone else stay at the house."
"Her boyfriend Jett."
"Tell me about Jett."
"He's nice. He gives me candy and plays basketball with me."
She started to get the lowdown on his life. Someone would stick out. She just had to find him.
While Olivia was in with Martin, Munch started going over his latest conspiracy theory.
"There's something going on with Olivia, Casey, and Cabot."
"What?" Fin looked up from his report.
"Olivia and Alex were clearly still gaga for each other when she returned from WP. Olivia and Casey were in a rut for like a month. All of the sudden, the rut was gone and we assumed Olivia just chose Casey in the end, but there's more to the story. Alex and Olivia are still friendly.
Olivia even cut her hair, so she could play the part of Rizzo for Halloween, can you say whipped? The three women got into a cab that night even though they live in opposite directions. Olivia was all over Alex at the bar last month. Casey didn't look jealous at all. Casey pinched Alex's butt as we were leaving."
"What?" Elliot questioned.
"I saw it. I mean how could I not watch Alex's butt as she's walking away, and again, after we got Chinese food, the three women got in a cab and left together even though Alex lives uptown and Casey and Olivia live downtown. How many women do you know hang out with their ex and their ex's new girlfriend? It only makes sense if the three of them are fooling around together?
They're all hot. They all like girls. Can you say friends with benefits?"
Fin agreed that the flirting and the butt pinch were suspicious, but … "girls are always more touchy feely with each other. I think you need more evidence."
"Evidence for what?" Cragen questioned.
No one wanted to answer.
"Munch's latest conspiracy theory," Elliot told him.
"I don't want to know."
"No you don't," Fin muttered.
Olivia got a name. It was the teacher's aide for his second grade class, Madison.
Right away, the squad got to work. Munch's conspiracy theory would have to wait.
"I want more," the photographer called from behind the camera. "Give me fierce. Give me diva. Give me that bitch who went off in the hallway."
That was something Alex could do. Once she heard that, she whipped around like she had before, her hair perfectly flowing behind her.
"That's it, I want attitude."
Her first shoot was of course in a Prada power suit. They also wanted to do Prada eveningwear and one of her walking the streets of New York in classy/casual attire.
They had her standing over a desk, hands on it, and she was looking ready to kill. She pretended she was staring down Steele again.
"I love it!"
The eveningwear shots were Alex's favorite.
They had her in a red evening dress, one that easily caught the eye.
"Don't worry about the scar, Love. We can airbrush that out."
Alex had forgotten about her gunshot wound until they mentioned it. Over time, she just got used to it.
"I want to see love. Pretend your gorgeous husband is taking you out to La Bernadin and he's holding back no expense."
Instead of a husband, she had two sexy girlfriends to picture. Her smile shone through her body. Her body language, eye movements, they all read I'm in love and we're having great sex.
"That's hot. I want more!"
By the end of the day, Alex was tired, but it was fun. She got to keep the clothes, and they finally fed her some food.
"I know you didn't eat all day, so here's all the sushi you can eat."
She called Olivia from the set.
"Guess what I'm doing right now?"
"The director?"
"Haha, all you can eat sushi bitch!"
"Really, I want to model."
"You'd be hot, but I don't know if Prada is your brand. Levi's though, you know how to fill those jeans."
Olivia started cracking up. "What are you wearing?"
"Right now, the same outfit I wore when I left, but they're letting me keep the clothes."
"Model them for me when you get home."
"We can arrange something."
Olivia got off the phone. She turned to see Munch giving her the eyes. "What?"
"Who were on the phone with?"
"It's nothing."
"Really," he swiped her phone.
"Give me that!"
He held it over her head. "Phone call from Alex Cabot."
She tried kicking him, but Munch was a quick bastard.
"Hmm, it looks like you call her every day. I wonder why?"
She started chasing him around the squad room. Fin hid for his life and Stabler just shook his head.
"What are you doing?" Casey questioned as she came in to check on them.
"He stole my phone."
"It's evidence!"
"Of what?"
"Of whatever debauchery is going on with you, Casey, and Alex Cabot."
"What?" Casey squawked.
"Exhibit A, Olivia's phone. She and Alex talk all the time. Other evidence includes their flirty behavior, your lack of jealousy over their flirty behavior, your banter with Alex, and how you three always leave together even though you live in opposite directions. Something's going on with you three, and as the most senior detective in this squad, I demand an explanation." He raised his eyebrow suspiciously. Olivia finally tackled him and took her phone back.
"The nature of our relationship is not your concern," Casey told him. "That being said … we have the kind of fun you could only dream about."
Munch's jaw dropped. "I need a cold shower." He ran off.
Fin reappeared from behind his desk. "Crazy ass Munch was right about something? I must have entered the Twilight Zone."
"How long has he been going on about us?" Olivia questioned.
"He started going in conspiracy mode around Halloween. It's only gotten worse since then."
Olivia rolled her eyes. "I can't believe he stole my phone."
"He must have had too much caffeine today. So Olivia, how did you get to be such a lucky bitch?"
She shrugged. "I guess I'm just that charming."
Casey rolled her eyes. "I don't know about that."
Olivia pouted.
Casey kissed her nose.
Cragen came out and saw the mess from Olivia chasing Munch all over the place. "Clean this up!" he went back to his office.
The squad started laughing and then it was time to clean it up.