A/N: RIP Richard Belzer aka John Munch.
Olivia walked back into the bedroom and found Alex lounging in bed, her therapy session over.
"We need to talk, little one." Olivia sat with her back against the headboard and welcomed her sweet little submissive to cuddle in her arms.
"Did I do something wrong, Ma'am?" Alex tensed a little with a trembling lower lip, noticing the serious expression in Olivia's chocolate brown eyes. She had already been swatted multiple times earlier that morning, but she was trying really hard to be a good girl.
"Not at all, angel baby, you've been a very good girl." Olivia assured her, gently stroking the side of Alex's face, "I just got off the phone with Munch. I have a photo to show you, can you handle that right now?"
"Yes, Ma'am." Alex said honestly, cuddling further into her Mistress's strong arms for protection, sensing that this was indeed something very serious.
"Okay, good girl. Do you recognize this man?" Olivia held up her phone for Alex to see the photo of a black man in a wheelchair exiting the front doors of Rikers.
Alex's reaction was instantaneous, and Olivia practically tossed the phone aside as Alex shrieked in fear and buried her face on Olivia's chest, clinging to Olivia for dear life as she began to sob.
"You're safe, baby girl, I promise. I'm right here, I will always keep you safe. Can you tell me where you recognize this man from?"
"The warehouse. He forced me to… to… to…" Alex sobbed harder, coughing a little.
"Such a brave girl. I need to tell you something very important, baby. Cry it out and squeeze my hand when you're ready to listen." Olivia gently took Alex's hand in hers.
Alex sobbed for a while, struggling desperately to kick the dark memories of the warehouse from her mind. She wasn't sure how much time had passed when she finally felt brave enough to squeeze her Mistress's hand and pull back just enough to prove she was paying attention, still clinging to Olivia tightly.
"That's my good girl, take a deep breath. Like I said, I just got off the phone with Munch. The reason I needed to show you that photo is because earlier today, both Michaela and Dave were found dead in their cells, and we think that this man may have had something to do with it." Olivia explained, gently rocking Alex in her arms to keep her calm.
"Both of them?" Alex coughed.
"Yes, both of them. You don't need to know all the details right now; when you feel better, if you want to know the details, I will tell you. What you do need to know right now is that Michaela and Dave are both dead and you won't have to testify next week, I'll make sure of that. I will work on figuring out who this man is and how he is connected to Dave and Michaela and how to protect you from him. The only thing you need to focus on is being my good, sweet girl."
"I can do that." Alex smiled. Olivia kissed her forehead.
"I know you can. If you're still feeling sick tomorrow, I'll arrange for Daddy to come watch over you while I'm at work, or if he's not available I'll ask Casey to come hang out with you. I don't want you home by yourself tomorrow."
"You trust Casey and I not to throw any wild parties?" Alex grinned. Olivia laughed.
"Sassy. Just keep the noise down. If the neighbors complain, your naughty bottom is mine." Olivia patted Alex's bottom.
"I thought it already was." Alex giggled. Olivia gently turned Alex across her lap.
"You must be feeling better if you have the energy to be sassy. I guess it's time for another spanking." Olivia teased, moving her sweatshirt out of the way to reveal Alex's bare bottom and delivering twenty playful love taps, spanking her so gently that it didn't hurt at all.
Alex was still giggling when Olivia pulled her up to settle her back in bed and kissed her forehead.
"Now, I have other things to be doing besides spanking playful little girls, and you still need to be resting. I'll make you some more tea, lunch will be ready in a couple of hours."
"Ma'am, can I move to the couch and watch a little TV? Please?" Alex asked, hoping for a change of scenery, as the view in the bedroom was getting a bit monotonous for her. Olivia pretended to think.
"Well, okay. But I want you on the couch resting, and if you feel like you need to nap, I don't want you to fight it." Olivia said.
"Thank you, Ma'am." Alex smiled.
The next morning, Olivia kissed Alex's forehead, reminded her to be a good girl, and left her in Don Cragen's capable hands for the day. Alex promised to behave, knowing full well that Don had Olivia's permission to discipline her if she needed it and if Don had to discipline her, Olivia would spank her again when she came home. Alex had only found herself over Don's knee once many years ago before she decided to become Olivia's collared property, and while he didn't spank quite as hard as Olivia did, his left hand was still something to be wary of.
At the precinct, Olivia met her new rookie in person for the first time when Grace Muncy walked into Olivia's office to introduce herself.
"Captain Benson, I'm Grace Muncy, you interviewed me last month."
"Ah, yes, my transfer from the gang unit. I hear you've already made an acquaintance with my right hand man." Olivia motioned toward the cane on the wall.
"Yes, Ma'am. I guess I got a little over zealous and Amanda gave me three licks of the cane over my jeans for throwing my radio at a suspect." Grace shrugged. Olivia raised an eyebrow.
"I see. Well, just remember that this isn't gang unit, we do things a little differently. Here, take Fin with you, go to this address, and tell Linda Davis that we found her son's body and bring her to the M.E's office to make an ID. And on your way out, send Amanda in here." Olivia handed Grace a piece of paper with an address written on it.
"Yes, Ma'am." Grace nodded.
"You wanted to see me?" Amanda walked into Olivia's office.
"Three licks over jeans? Really, Amanda?" Olivia raised an eyebrow. Amanda blushed.
"Well, you weren't here, and you know Elliot's a big softy and won't do it if it's one of us girls. Somebody had to do something, she could have gotten the whole case thrown out." Amanda tried to defend herself. Olivia rolled her eyes.
"Amanda, you were far too easy on her, she's not the least bit sorry for what she did. I've personally seen you paddle Casey on the bare until she couldn't sit properly for an entire weekend. What's the difference between Casey's backside and Grace's backside, is Grace's made of glass?"
"No. It's just… I don't know, she's so young and she was crying."
"All the more reason to be strict when necessary. She's young and she's got to learn to obey the rules and use her head or she could really get hurt. And of course she was crying, you all cry when I take the cane to you, including those big, two hundred pound guys sitting in there. Do I need to bend you over my desk and remind you what a proper caning feels like?"
"No, Ma'am. I remember." Amanda's eyes widened and her hands automatically reached back to protect her bottom.
"I'll let it go this time, but that poor girl is going to have a rude awakening the next time she steps out of line, which will probably be soon since I doubt she learned a proper lesson this time. Take Nick with you and go to Mercy Hospital. There's a kid named Colton Schneider, his teacher reported suspicious bruises on his arms." Olivia handed Amanda a slip of paper.
"Yes, Ma'am." Amanda turned to do as she was told.
Olivia shook her head at Amanda's retreating form and with a sigh walked out of her office to get a cup of coffee.
"Has anyone seen Kat?" Olivia asked, noticing Kat's empty desk.
"She's on vacation this week for a funeral." Munch replied, staring intently at something on his computer screen.
"Oh, right, I forgot. Remind me to send a card from all of us."
Olivia's cell phone beeped, and she opened the email she had just received from Barba. She sighed in relief when she read his words that Rikers had finally given in and given them access to their visitor's log.
"Elliot, take Munch and go pick up Ian Richmond for questioning."
"Who's Ian Richmond?" Elliot asked, standing from his desk and pulling on his jacket.
"Alex's wheelchair guy. I'll text you the address."
"Thank God. I was about to go nuts trying to make sense of this lab report." Munch stood from his desk.
"There's no answer in front." Elliot said, walking away from the front door of the house.
"None around back, either. It's the middle of the day on a Monday, unless this guy is a ghost, he's probably at work." Munch met Elliot by the car.
"Well, we don't have a work address, and we don't have time to stick around and wait for him, I'm due in court in an hour." Elliot looked at his watch.
"Hey, look. Speak of the devil." Munch motioned toward a man in a wheelchair wheeling down the sidewalk carrying groceries on his lap.
"Ian Richmond? Police." Elliot approached the man, holding up his badge to identify himself.
Ian sighed and put his hands up in surrender.
"The guy folded like a pizza slice. Admitted to coordinating the hit on Dave and Michaela with a few members of BX9. I feel like I'm back in high school again; according to Ian, he coordinated the hit because he wanted to be with Michaela but Dave was in his way, and when he asked Michaela if he could see her she told him to go screw himself so he decided they both had to die. The good news is that Ian is the last member of Dave's illegal ring, so we've officially arrested them all. We're still on the lookout for Adam Bentley and Krystal Dane, but they aren't official members of Dave's ring so they're on a separate case file." Munch said as he walked into Olivia's office.
"Good work. I'm going to head home a little bit early. You guys know how to reach me if you need me."
"Copy that, Captain."
When Olivia walked into the apartment, she was greeted by the sight of Alex standing in the corner of the living room, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. Olivia didn't see Don right away, but quickly spotted him in the kitchen making his famous chili. When she heard the door open behind her, Alex turned her head and started to turn from the corner to run into Olivia's arms.
"Stay there, baby, so you don't have to start your time over again. Turn around." Olivia instructed as she kicked her shoes off. Alex cried a little harder, but reluctantly did as she was told and turned back to face the corner with her hands on her head.
Olivia put her badge and gun away and changed her clothes. With all of that accomplished, she went into the kitchen and kissed Don's cheek in greeting.
"What happened over there?" Olivia asked quietly, motioning toward Alex in the corner.
"She got a little too disrespectful for my taste. I didn't spank her, but I did wash her mouth out with soap and I figured a little time in the corner would set her straight. Don't be too hard on her, she really was very good all day today aside from this little slip. And I'm making chili so you ladies don't have to cook tonight."
"Thanks, Daddy, it smells great. And thanks for looking after her today."
Olivia offered for Don to have a bowl of chili with them, but he declined and let himself out, giving his beloved daughter a kiss to her forehead and an affectionate pat to her bottom. Olivia set the chili aside so it wouldn't burn and then sat down on the couch and watched Alex stand in the corner for a few extra minutes until the blonde submissive began to cry a little harder.
"You can come to me now and get a cuddle, baby girl." Olivia called kindly.
Alex turned from the corner and practically ran into her Mistress's waiting arms, sobbing on Olivia's shoulder. Through her sobs, Olivia could hear her apologizing profusely and begging Olivia not to spank her. She had tried so hard to be a good girl all day and she was thoroughly upset with herself for getting in trouble yet again.
"There, there. I'm not angry with you, sweetheart, I know you're sorry. Did Daddy let you rinse your mouth?"
"No, Ma'am." Alex sobbed.
"Okay, so first of all let's go let you rinse your mouth before anything else."
Olivia guided Alex into the bathroom and let her rinse out her soapy mouth with water for several minutes. When she was finished, she was still sobbing quite hard.
"There we go, all better now. Let's go cuddle up and have a talk, little one."
"Please, Ma'am, don't spank me! I swear I'm so sorry! I tried so hard all day to be good! Please don't! I'll be good forever! Please!" Alex sobbed as Olivia guided her out of the bathroom and over to the bed, convinced that something terrible was about to happen.
Olivia sat on the bed with her back against the headboard and cuddled Alex in her arms, taking Alex's limp wrist in a dominant grip that made Alex feel safe. Olivia glided her thumb across the delicate skin of Alex's wrist, searching for her pulse, and noted with loving concern that Alex's heart was pounding. She shifted Alex's position so that she was somewhat reclined in her arms like an infant and they could look each other in the eye. She gently took Alex's hand and placed it over her own heart, then she reached underneath Alex's t-shirt and rested her hand gently on Alex's belly.
"Look in my eyes, baby, let's just breathe together. Look in my eyes and try to match your heartbeat to mine. I'm going to count for you. Take a big, deep breath; one, two, three, four. And hold it; one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. And let it out slowly; one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. That's my good girl. One more time, take a big, deep breath; one, two, three, four. And hold it; one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. And let it out slowly; one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight." Olivia lovingly coaxed Alex through her breathing exercises that Dr. Lindstrom had taught her, repeating the process two more times for a total of four.
Alex tried to focus on her breathing, seeing the love in Olivia's eyes and feeling Olivia's gentle hand resting on her belly and Olivia's strong, steady heartbeat under her own hand. It seemed to be helping as Alex's own heartbeat gradually evened out and Olivia felt Alex's belly begin to rise and fall calmly.
"That's my good girl. Nice and calm and relaxed." Olivia cooed, lovingly rubbing Alex's belly.
"It doesn't burn anymore, Ma'am." Alex said honestly, noticing that the tightness in her chest was gone.
"That's good, baby. You don't ever need to be that scared, I'm not angry with you and I would never hurt you, you know that. Are you ready to sit up and have a conversation with me?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
Olivia guided Alex to sit up, but still kept the blonde cuddled securely in her arms.
"All right, before anything else gets said, Daddy did tell me that you were a very good girl for most of the day today, and I'm very proud of you for that, baby. You just had a little slip there at the end, can you tell me about it?" Olivia spoke kindly.
"Um…" Alex hesitated with a light blush.
"It's okay, baby, just tell me the truth." Olivia coaxed.
"Don told me to turn off the TV and rest my eyes and I told him to screw off."
"I see. That wasn't very respectful, was it?"
"No, Ma'am."
"Daddy wasn't here to annoy you, he was here to look after you for your own good because you are still sick and I didn't want to leave you home alone today. When I decide to leave you in someone's care while I am working, I expect you to show them the same respect you show me. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Good girl. You already got your mouth washed out with soap, so I won't lecture you about keeping a civil tongue, but we have another problem. What did I tell you before I left this morning?"
"You said that if Don had to discipline me today, you would spank me when you got home." Alex's lower lip trembled and she looked as if she might start crying again.
Knowing that she had to be consistent and follow through on her word, Olivia gently guided Alex over her lap. Alex whimpered, but didn't fight it.
"Lift your hips, little one."
Using her core the way Monique had taught her, Alex obediently lifted her hips and felt Olivia gently pulling her sweatpants and panties down to her knees, and then settled back in place.