Alex was very well behaved all day Saturday and was welcomed back into bed with her beloved Mistress on Saturday night. On Sunday morning, instead of being awoken by the smell of brewing coffee, Olivia was awakened by the sound of Alex coughing and rolled over to rouse the sleeping blonde beside her. It was unusual for Alex to still be in bed at this hour, she was usually up making breakfast and tending to her other chores long before now, so Olivia knew something wasn't right.
"Alex. Alex, wake up, angel. Come on, baby, let me see those pretty eyes." Olivia coaxed, gently stroking the side of Alex's face. Alex coughed again and slowly opened her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Ma'am. I'll go make breakfast right now." Alex coughed again and tried to get out of bed frantically, afraid that she would be punished for being lazy, but Olivia gently pushed her back down.
"You'll do no such thing, my love, you'll stay right here like a good girl. You sound terrible. Tell me what hurts." Olivia placed a gentle hand on Alex's feverish forehead.
"My throat, mostly. And I have a headache and I'm cold." Alex admitted. She coughed yet again and Olivia could hear the rattle in her chest as she gently checked Alex's glands.
Alex pouted as she lay over Olivia's lap, trying to lay still like a good girl while Olivia took her temperature. The threat of a spanking was the only thing that had gotten Alex to cooperate with having her temperature taken and lay herself over Olivia's lap with only a soft whine.
"Now, now, no sulking. Just lie still for three minutes and it will be all over. That's my good girl, just relax." Olivia carefully pushed the thermometer in place and then began to gently stroke Alex's long blonde hair to soothe her.
"I don't like it, Ma'am!" Alex was able to lie still for almost two full minutes before she began to squirm and fuss.
"Don't whine, my angel. Just one more minute, then it will be over. Stay still for me."
"Your knee is in my belly! Ow!" Alex whined again.
"What did I just say?" Olivia popped Alex's tender thigh for whining, but she gently shifted Alex's position over her lap so that the blonde was lying more comfortably.
Alex burst into tears, and Olivia knew that her little one was truly sick; Olivia's right hand was certainly nothing to sneeze at, but just one pop usually did not elicit such a strong reaction.
"I'm sorry I had to do that to you when you don't feel well, sweetheart, but you know I don't tolerate whining, and when I tell you to do something or to stop doing something, I shouldn't have to tell you more than once." Olivia explained as she gently stroked Alex's long blonde hair to soothe her.
"Yes, Ma'am. I mean, no, Ma'am. I mean-"
"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Calm down, princess, you're okay. You're my good girl." Olivia soothed.
To Olivia's relief, Alex's temperature was only slightly above normal. Her baby wouldn't need a hospital, just rest and affection. Olivia assumed that Alex's system was finally crashing after everything Alex had been through over the last few months. The problem was going to be trying to convince Alex to stay in bed resting instead of tending to her normal chores.
"Here, baby, let's get you a little more comfortable and back into bed." Olivia attempted to put a pair of pajamas on her still naked submissive and was met with resistance.
"But I'm still on clothing restriction, Ma'am." Alex pointed out with her arms folded to keep Olivia from putting the pajama top on her.
"I know, but your health is more important. Would you rather wear my NYPD sweatshirt?" Olivia offered the option, knowing that Alex sometimes liked to wear her sweatshirt when she was ill even though it was too big.
Alex opted for the sweatshirt, but again resisted actually putting it on. Olivia sighed, but she didn't want to have to pop Alex's bottom anymore than absolutely necessary today.
"All right, young lady, you've forced my hand. Tickle, tickle, tickle." Olivia teasingly wiggled her fingers towards Alex's belly, inching closer without actually touching her.
"Eek!" Alex giggled, involuntarily uncrossing her arms. Olivia took the opportunity to pop the sweatshirt over Alex's head.
"That was a dirty trick, Ma'am." Alex relented and put the sweatshirt on the rest of the way by herself.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures, baby girl. Now, let's see if we can get some nourishment into you. Do you feel like you could eat an actual breakfast, or do you want to start with tea and toast?"
"With raspberry jam?" Alex asked hopefully.
"Of course with raspberry jam. What kind of monster do you think I am?" Olivia grinned.
"This isn't right, Ma'am. I should be making you breakfast, you shouldn't have to take care of me." Alex frowned. Olivia sat down on the bed again and took Alex's hand gently in her own.
"I know that since you came home, you've somehow gotten it into your pretty little head that you have to earn your keep. You don't, baby. This is every bit as much your home as it is mine and it will be forever, no matter how you behave or what you can physically do. You're sick right now, so I'll take care of you, just like you took care of me when I broke my ankle two years ago. You are my submissive, but more importantly, you are my sweet angel and I will do whatever I have to do to keep you healthy and safe. When you feel better, your chores will still be there waiting for you, they aren't going anywhere."
"Can't we train the bathroom to clean itself?" Alex wrinkled her nose. Olivia laughed and kissed Alex's nose.
"Sassy. Now you keep that bottom in this bed and rest. I'll be back with tea, toast, and medicine." Olivia got up to leave the room.
"What about your meeting tomorrow?" Alex asked suddenly.
"We'll see how you're feeling tomorrow. Meetings can be rescheduled, and this one isn't that big of a deal, McGrath just wants to give me another tongue lashing over that cold case that came in from the Bronx. I can take my pounding any day, you are more important." Olivia gently kissed Alex's head.
"Yes, Ma'am." Alex settled back in bed and picked up her phone.
"Ah, ah, ah, I said I want you resting. Not straining your eyes on this tiny screen." Olivia took Alex's phone out of her hands and put it in the bedside table drawer.
"But resting is so boring." Alex offered an adorable pout.
"I know, I'm so horribly mean for wanting to make sure you get the proper rest you need. Maybe later today we can cuddle up and watch a movie, but right now screens are off-limits. If you want to, you can read." Olivia motioned toward a book on the bedside table that Alex was in the middle of reading.
Olivia went to the kitchen to make Alex a cup of tea and toast with raspberry jam as requested. The brunette detective sighed when she walked in the bedroom and found Alex in bed holding her kindle in her hands.
"Alexandra." Olivia warned, taking the kindle out of Alex's hands.
"You said I could read, Ma'am." Alex's eyes widened upon hearing her full name.
"You know what I meant, naughty girl. Roll over."
For the second time that morning, Alex burst into tears as Olivia's right hand delivered one quick pop to each bare cheek. It was over in less than a few seconds and the light sting was already starting to fade as Olivia gently helped Alex roll on her back again and took the still feverish and coughing blonde into her arms to cuddle and comfort her.
"You're okay, baby, it's over. Such a good girl." Olivia soothed lovingly.
"I'm sorry, Ma'am!" Alex wept on Olivia's shoulder.
"I know, lovey, I'm not angry with you, I forgive you. I know you don't like being sick, but if you don't rest you're going to feel worse than you do right now. I don't want to have to take you back to the hospital just because you were stubborn and refused to rest, and I know you don't want to have to go back there either. I think we can easily make the rest of today a calm, spank-free day, okay? But in order to do that I need you to obey me the first time like you know you're supposed to. Can you do that for me, baby?" Olivia spoke kindly.
"Yes, Ma'am, I promise." Alex sniffled.
"That's my good girl." Olivia cooed.
Alex took her medicine and by the time she had eaten her toast and drunk her tea it was already starting to help her feel better. Olivia insisted on taking Alex's temperature every few hours until her fever finally broke and she was able to drift off into a peaceful sleep curled up comfortably on her belly with Olivia lounging next to her to watch over her, gently stroking Alex's long blonde hair to soothe her to sleep. When Alex woke up from her nap, her baby blue eyes fluttered open and gazed about the room until they landed on her beloved Mistress and Alex smiled tiredly, feeling safe knowing that Olivia was still there.
"Here, baby, you can use this for one hour, then it goes back in the drawer until tomorrow." Olivia handed Alex her phone.
"Yes, Ma'am." Alex happily accepted these terms, glad to have something to do besides sleep or stare at the ceiling.
When Olivia told her that her hour of phone time was up, Alex obediently handed over her phone without a fuss. She decided to read for a while and picked up her book from the bedside table, and although she didn't particularly want to, she soon found herself drifting off to sleep again. Olivia smiled when she walked in the room and found Alex sound asleep with her book lying open on her chest. The brunette detective carefully picked up the book, set it on the bedside table, and bent down to kiss her sleeping submissive's forehead, noting with loving concern that Alex's fever may have returned and making a mental note to check her temperature again when she woke up from her nap.
To Alex's dismay, when she woke up from her nap she was greeted by a pounding headache and Olivia holding the dreaded thermometer in her hand. But she remembered their conversation from that morning, so Alex obediently, albeit reluctantly, draped herself across Olivia's lap to have her temperature taken the first time Olivia told her to bend over.
"That's my good girl." Olivia praised, and Alex beamed.
On Monday morning, Alex was still feeling sick, so Olivia picked up the phone and rescheduled her meeting with McGrath. He grumbled about it, but in the end he accepted it, having learned the hard way that nobody could force Olivia Benson to do anything she didn't want to do. With that accomplished, Olivia called Dr. Lindstrom to reschedule Alex's therapy session that was supposed to happen later that afternoon. Dr. Lindstrom offered the option to conduct Alex's session over FaceTime rather than rescheduling it. Both Olivia and Alex thought this was a good idea.
"I haven't been going out recently because I've been sick, but I'm not really that scared anymore of the thought of leaving the apartment. The trial is next week, and I think as long as Olivia is with me I'll be okay. And Olivia and I have been discussing the possibility of me being able to go to the grocery store and the bank and places like that on my own. I don't know if I'm ready for that yet, but after I'm better I would like to try." Alex explained during her FaceTime call with Dr. Lindstrom that afternoon.
"That is excellent progress, Alex. And how are you inside these days?" Dr. Lindstrom inquired.
"Better, I think. I've had a few nightmares here and there, but not as many as before. Sometimes I still get scared that if I'm not earning my keep Olivia won't want me anymore. And it really sucks since I've been sick, because she won't let me get up to do anything for her and I feel like I'm just being a burden." Alex said honestly.
"Is Olivia free to come join us for a while?"
"Ma'am!" Alex called out.
"You rang?" Olivia smiled, appearing almost instantly.
"Dr. Lindstrom wants to talk to you."
"Olivia, I'm very pleased with the progress that Alex has made, as I'm sure you are as well. I just want to remind you both that slow progress is still progress and not everything has to happen all at once. If it is easier to just focus on next week's trial, then do that, and the rest will come later. Unfortunately, I won't be available for any therapy sessions next week. My brother is getting married in another state, and I'll be getting on a plane next Tuesday. I've referred Alex's case to my colleague Dr. Branson just on a temporary basis. I'll text her number to both of your cell phones, and I've already told her to expect your call. We can resume our normal sessions together when I return on the 24th."
At that moment, Olivia and Alex's cell phones both beeped at the same time, indicating that Dr. Lindstrom had indeed texted them both. It was only a few seconds later when Olivia's cell phone beeped a second time. Olivia looked at her phone and rolled her eyes.
"I've got to take this, it's work." Olivia kissed Alex's forehead and walked out of the bedroom, letting Alex finish what was left of her therapy session in privacy.
"Exactly what part of 'I have a sick submissive on my hands and can't come in today' do you not understand?" Olivia snapped with her phone pressed to her ear.
"Easy, tiger, it's just me." Munch's voice came over the line.
"Oh, sorry, I thought you were McGrath. What's up?" Olivia calmed instantly.
"What's up is you take a day off and all hell breaks loose. Michaela and Dave Kloss were both found dead in their cells at Rikers with their throats slit. It looks like an organized hit, but we can't seem to figure out where it came from or who ordered it. The good news is that we may have a lead on Alex's wheelchair guy, he came to see Dave almost every day that Dave was locked up, including today, and we have his face on camera. Morales cleaned up the image and I'm texting it to you now to show Alex. Barba is working on getting a warrant for the visitor's logbook at Rikers so we can get his name, assuming he used his real one. Oh, and congratulations, we gave birth to another rookie. This one's a girl, Grace Muncy, and in your absence Amanda has already had to take the cane to her eager beaver backside."
The new rookie's name barely registered in Olivia's mind as she worked furiously to process everything she had just been told.
"I want to know everything you know when you know it. You email me every file, every photo, every lab report, and every document you get. Do you understand?" Olivia was all business.
"Copy that, Captain." Munch agreed.
"Ma'am!" Alex's voice rang out from down the hall just as Olivia's call ended.
"I'm coming, baby!" Olivia called back.