Dealing, Chapter 3
Title: Dealing
Pairing: Alex/Olivia
Rating: M (for some chapters)
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters contained here, but I am thankful to have these wonderful people to play with.
Notes: Itallics are thoughts. I apologize in advance for any errors in grammar and spelling. Also I'm having a bad time with the formatting so hopefully everything is right.
CHAPTER 3
Once she got out of the city Olivia began to relax and enjoy the drive. The clear skies gave her a wonderful view of the landscape and she let her mind wander to the afternoon’s reunion. She could only guess as to Alex’s intentions but was hoping that maybe she shared Olivia’s feelings of attraction.
The trip continued without incident and soon Olivia found herself pulling into the parking lot outside the courthouse in Harrisburg, PA. Looking at her watch Olivia noticed that it was just before 3:00 and she had made it in time to catch Alex before the prosecuter had to be in court.
The dective made her way to the appropriate office to deal with the paperwork for the extradition. Stopping outside the door Olivia pulled her phone from her belt and dialed Alex’s number. Alex answered after 2 rings and Olivia found that she was still nervous.
"Hello detective, where are you?" Alex was all business, responding to the call in a professional manner. She wanted to maintain as much of her image as she could in public.
"I’m ouside the office you sent me to for the extradition paperwork."
"You made good time. I’m glad we can meet before court." Alex paused, contemplating her next move. "Why don’t you go ahead and come in."
Olivia furrowed her brows in confusion. "Come in?"
"Yes, I’m already here."
Olivia hung up the phone and dropped it into the holder on her belt. Taking a deep breath, Olivia briefly closed her eyes before she opened the door. Alex was standing next to a desk watching the door while an older woman was seated, working on filling out some papers. The two friends locked eyes and stood perfectly still, their gazes catching the unspoken words passing between them.
"Olivia." The single word greeting was uttered with a passion that made the woman seated at the desk look up. She had heard Alex speak of the detective but had never heard her use that tone of voice. As much as Alex had wanted to maintain her professional image the sight of Olivia standing before her melted any conviction she thought she possessed. The years of mistakes were gone from her mind.
"Alex." Olivia replied with an equally passionate voice. Since Alex had not seemed to be bothered by the audience Olivia didn’t care either and she closed the door and stepped towards the ADA. Olivia was unable to tear her eyes away from the woman standing in front of her.
Instead of more words Alex simply stepped forward and folded Olivia into a tight hug, catching the detective off guard. After a couple of awkward seconds Olivia eagerly returned the embrace and the pair stayed silent as they fully enjoyed the reunion.
Finally Alex pulled away from the detective and stepped back to stand beside the desk. Gathering her wits about her Alex looked down at the seated woman and gestured to Olivia. Back to business before her mind turned to mush.
"Helen, this is Detective Olivia Benson from the NYPD. She’ll be handling the Richard’s extradition." She then turned to Olivia and continued. "Olivia, this is Helen Crawford and she will set you up with all the paperwork." Helen looked from one woman to the other, curiously watching the silent interaction between the two. They kept their eyes on each other for several more seconds.
Helen rose from her chair and reached across the desk to shake hands. Olivia took the offered hand and firmly returned the pressure, then spoke. "Nice to meet you and thank you for your help in retrieving our fugitive."
"Always glad to help out our neigbors." Olivia smiled slightly at the light reply.
"I’ll leave you two to work out the paperwork." Alex then turned to Olivia. "If you finish up before I’m done in court Helen can give you directions to courtroom 3. That’s where I’ll be this afternoon. If I don’t see you I’ll come back here to get you."
"Sounds good to me." Olivia watched as Alex made her way to the door. "Good luck, counselor." Alex turned with her hand on the door knob to smile widely and give Olivia a wave before opening the door. The ADA hesitated, not wanting to leave. Finally she pulled her eyes from Olivia’s and walked out the door, letting it close quietly behind her.
"How long have you known Alex, Detective?"
With her thoughts still on Alex the question caught Olivia off guard and it took the dective a moment to form her answer. "Almost 10 years. She used to be the ADA for our unit before all the dramatics."
"You mean with her death and coming back to life."
"Yes, but we lost track of each other several times in between." Olivia’s voice was sad as she thought about how empty her life had been when Alex was gone and how much time they had wasted.
"She seems to be happy to see you now." Helen smiled broadly as she noticed the small smile on Olivia’s face in response to her comment.
"I’m glad to see her too, we lost a lot of time." Olivia’s face returned to her normal stoic countenance and she addressed the business at hand. "I understand that I can take custody on Monday to return to New York."
"Yes. Our department will have finished with everything today. I have the paperwork here and Alex has already signed herself so all I need is yours here." Helen slid a form across the desk and Olivia took a seat to review the document. "I’m sure Alex will give you directions to the county lock-up where he is being held."
Forty-five minutes later found Olivia reaching the doors to courtroom 3 and she quietly let herself in. Taking a seat in the back row she watched the prosecuter in all her glory, smiling at the familiar show of confidence and knowledge.
Olivia loved listening to Alex Cabot speak. The voice had always calmed her on her most restless days but today Olivia was faced with different feelings. Instead of easing her mind it seemed to make her more aware of her feelings for the beautiful woman. She sat, mesmerized by the ADA, for over thirty minutes while Alex finished her argument over evidence that was being questioned. Soon Alex would be back to fighting for Olivia and the other detectives at SVU.
When Olivia heard the bang of the gavel she shook her head to clear her thoughts and watched Alex gather her papers. The prosecuter turned slowly, her eyes scanning the seats for her friend. A smile appeared on her face as she watched Olivia from across the courtroom.
Once most of the people cleared the room Alex walked to Olivia and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You hungry?" The blonde’s voice was pitched low to give the impression that she was talking about more than food.
"You bet," came the equally quiet response.
Alex smiled brightly, took Olivia by the elbow and pulled her through the doors behind the pair. The hallway was quiet and Olivia just followed along with Alex’s guidance. Both women were oblivious to their surroundings as they walked together down the hall to the elevators.
Alex managed to snag an elevator and pulled Olivia in before anyone else interrupted their reunion. When the doors closed Alex turned to Olivia and finally spoke.
"I’m sorry, Olivia." The brunette’s jaw dropped as she digested the words.
"For what?" Olivia asked quietly, recovering from her shock at the sudden apology. That was not how she expected the conversation to start.
"For everything…leaving the first time because I was too stubborn to drop things." Alex paused, looking into Olivia’s eyes for her reaction. She saw pain and regret but also saw something else that inspired her to continue. "For leaving a second and third time…without saying goodbye." Alex took a deep breath and let out the last of her confession. "I was scared."
"Of me?" Olivia choked out, looking at Alex in confusion.
"No…never of you. I was scared of me and how I felt. I’ve never had feelings this strong." Alex’s soft voice was interrupted as the elevator reached the ground floor. She again took Olivia’s elbow and led her through the building. They exited through the main entrance and headed across the street towards another building.
Olivia remained silent, allowing Alex the time to gather her wits and herself the time to process what had been said. The dective followed the ADA into a multi-storey building that housed more city offices. Once again they entered an elevator but this time they weren’t alone so the two women remained silent.
A couple of minutes later Alex led Olivia into her office and quickly closed the door behind them. Olivia looked around the room, searching for signs of the ADA but all she could see were empty shelves and a couple of half filled boxes on the floor in the back corner. Her mind was pulled from her inspection of the surroundings by Alex’s voice as the blonde placed her briefcase on a chair. She turned to face Olivia.
"I’m through being scared, Liv. I’m coming back to New York to face my future." Though the words were confident Olivia could read the uncertainty in her friend’s eyes.
"Am I part of that future?" Olivia’s voice broke as her reply was uttered without thought and her mind hoped for the right answer.
"Always." Alex closed the distance between the two and took Olivia’s face in her hands. Looking deep into the dective’s eyes Alex read the emotion there and moved closer. Their eyes remained locked on each other as Olivia finished closing the space between them and leaned forward to softly kiss Alex on the lips. They melted into each others arms as the kiss deepened.
Finally Olivia pulled back and smiled. "I’ve wanted to hear you say that forever." She leaned forward again quickly to place another kiss on the prosecuter’s lips, confirming her words. She could feel Alex relax into her as they continued the embrace.
When the pair eventually came up for air they stepped back, holding hands stretched between them. Suddenly Alex pulled away and picked up her case, pulling out the sheets she had used in court. She slipped them into a file folder on her desk, then turned back to Olivia.
"I need to drop this off next door and I’m done." Alex pointed to the sofa against the wall. "Why don’t you have a seat and I’ll be back in a few minutes."
Olivia dropped into the seat and smiled at Alex. "Go ahead. I’ll be here when you get back." Alex sighed and opened the door, quickly walking through it and out into the hall.
Alex stepped to the open door next to her own and knocked lightly on the frame. Holding up the folder in her hand she approached the desk to address the man seated there.
"The evidence is in." She handed him the folder with a smile. "And that is my last official act as an ADA in this city so I’ll see you tomorrow when I pack up the last of my stuff here."
"Have fun Alex." He returned the smile and added a comment as Alex moved through the door. "Thanks for everything and I’m glad to see you going out on a winning note." Alex waved briefly and headed back to her own office.
When Alex returned to her own office she gathered up her long coat and scarf before taking Olivia’s hand and pulling her to her feet. "I’m done here, let’s go." Once again Olivia followed Alex through the hall to the elevator and then out of the building.
"What’s for dinner? I haven’t eaten since breakfast." Olivia stopped and pulled Alex around to face her. There was a mischievous twinkle in Olivia’s eyes as she waited for the answer.
"Where are you parked? We can swing by my place and drop off your bag, then figure out where we want to go." Alex just wanted to be out of the public eye so she and Olivia could relax and get reacquainted.
"Ok." The short reply was easily given as Olivia enjoyed the thought of staying with Alex for the weekend. This trip was becoming a dream come true for the detective as she realized that Alex shared her feelings and had quit running from them. Alex was taking her to her home and after the weekend Olivia would be taking Alex back home to New York.
Pairing: Alex/Olivia
Rating: M (for some chapters)
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters contained here, but I am thankful to have these wonderful people to play with.
Notes: Itallics are thoughts. I apologize in advance for any errors in grammar and spelling. Also I'm having a bad time with the formatting so hopefully everything is right.
CHAPTER 3
Once she got out of the city Olivia began to relax and enjoy the drive. The clear skies gave her a wonderful view of the landscape and she let her mind wander to the afternoon’s reunion. She could only guess as to Alex’s intentions but was hoping that maybe she shared Olivia’s feelings of attraction.
The trip continued without incident and soon Olivia found herself pulling into the parking lot outside the courthouse in Harrisburg, PA. Looking at her watch Olivia noticed that it was just before 3:00 and she had made it in time to catch Alex before the prosecuter had to be in court.
The dective made her way to the appropriate office to deal with the paperwork for the extradition. Stopping outside the door Olivia pulled her phone from her belt and dialed Alex’s number. Alex answered after 2 rings and Olivia found that she was still nervous.
"Hello detective, where are you?" Alex was all business, responding to the call in a professional manner. She wanted to maintain as much of her image as she could in public.
"I’m ouside the office you sent me to for the extradition paperwork."
"You made good time. I’m glad we can meet before court." Alex paused, contemplating her next move. "Why don’t you go ahead and come in."
Olivia furrowed her brows in confusion. "Come in?"
"Yes, I’m already here."
Olivia hung up the phone and dropped it into the holder on her belt. Taking a deep breath, Olivia briefly closed her eyes before she opened the door. Alex was standing next to a desk watching the door while an older woman was seated, working on filling out some papers. The two friends locked eyes and stood perfectly still, their gazes catching the unspoken words passing between them.
"Olivia." The single word greeting was uttered with a passion that made the woman seated at the desk look up. She had heard Alex speak of the detective but had never heard her use that tone of voice. As much as Alex had wanted to maintain her professional image the sight of Olivia standing before her melted any conviction she thought she possessed. The years of mistakes were gone from her mind.
"Alex." Olivia replied with an equally passionate voice. Since Alex had not seemed to be bothered by the audience Olivia didn’t care either and she closed the door and stepped towards the ADA. Olivia was unable to tear her eyes away from the woman standing in front of her.
Instead of more words Alex simply stepped forward and folded Olivia into a tight hug, catching the detective off guard. After a couple of awkward seconds Olivia eagerly returned the embrace and the pair stayed silent as they fully enjoyed the reunion.
Finally Alex pulled away from the detective and stepped back to stand beside the desk. Gathering her wits about her Alex looked down at the seated woman and gestured to Olivia. Back to business before her mind turned to mush.
"Helen, this is Detective Olivia Benson from the NYPD. She’ll be handling the Richard’s extradition." She then turned to Olivia and continued. "Olivia, this is Helen Crawford and she will set you up with all the paperwork." Helen looked from one woman to the other, curiously watching the silent interaction between the two. They kept their eyes on each other for several more seconds.
Helen rose from her chair and reached across the desk to shake hands. Olivia took the offered hand and firmly returned the pressure, then spoke. "Nice to meet you and thank you for your help in retrieving our fugitive."
"Always glad to help out our neigbors." Olivia smiled slightly at the light reply.
"I’ll leave you two to work out the paperwork." Alex then turned to Olivia. "If you finish up before I’m done in court Helen can give you directions to courtroom 3. That’s where I’ll be this afternoon. If I don’t see you I’ll come back here to get you."
"Sounds good to me." Olivia watched as Alex made her way to the door. "Good luck, counselor." Alex turned with her hand on the door knob to smile widely and give Olivia a wave before opening the door. The ADA hesitated, not wanting to leave. Finally she pulled her eyes from Olivia’s and walked out the door, letting it close quietly behind her.
"How long have you known Alex, Detective?"
With her thoughts still on Alex the question caught Olivia off guard and it took the dective a moment to form her answer. "Almost 10 years. She used to be the ADA for our unit before all the dramatics."
"You mean with her death and coming back to life."
"Yes, but we lost track of each other several times in between." Olivia’s voice was sad as she thought about how empty her life had been when Alex was gone and how much time they had wasted.
"She seems to be happy to see you now." Helen smiled broadly as she noticed the small smile on Olivia’s face in response to her comment.
"I’m glad to see her too, we lost a lot of time." Olivia’s face returned to her normal stoic countenance and she addressed the business at hand. "I understand that I can take custody on Monday to return to New York."
"Yes. Our department will have finished with everything today. I have the paperwork here and Alex has already signed herself so all I need is yours here." Helen slid a form across the desk and Olivia took a seat to review the document. "I’m sure Alex will give you directions to the county lock-up where he is being held."
Forty-five minutes later found Olivia reaching the doors to courtroom 3 and she quietly let herself in. Taking a seat in the back row she watched the prosecuter in all her glory, smiling at the familiar show of confidence and knowledge.
Olivia loved listening to Alex Cabot speak. The voice had always calmed her on her most restless days but today Olivia was faced with different feelings. Instead of easing her mind it seemed to make her more aware of her feelings for the beautiful woman. She sat, mesmerized by the ADA, for over thirty minutes while Alex finished her argument over evidence that was being questioned. Soon Alex would be back to fighting for Olivia and the other detectives at SVU.
When Olivia heard the bang of the gavel she shook her head to clear her thoughts and watched Alex gather her papers. The prosecuter turned slowly, her eyes scanning the seats for her friend. A smile appeared on her face as she watched Olivia from across the courtroom.
Once most of the people cleared the room Alex walked to Olivia and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You hungry?" The blonde’s voice was pitched low to give the impression that she was talking about more than food.
"You bet," came the equally quiet response.
Alex smiled brightly, took Olivia by the elbow and pulled her through the doors behind the pair. The hallway was quiet and Olivia just followed along with Alex’s guidance. Both women were oblivious to their surroundings as they walked together down the hall to the elevators.
Alex managed to snag an elevator and pulled Olivia in before anyone else interrupted their reunion. When the doors closed Alex turned to Olivia and finally spoke.
"I’m sorry, Olivia." The brunette’s jaw dropped as she digested the words.
"For what?" Olivia asked quietly, recovering from her shock at the sudden apology. That was not how she expected the conversation to start.
"For everything…leaving the first time because I was too stubborn to drop things." Alex paused, looking into Olivia’s eyes for her reaction. She saw pain and regret but also saw something else that inspired her to continue. "For leaving a second and third time…without saying goodbye." Alex took a deep breath and let out the last of her confession. "I was scared."
"Of me?" Olivia choked out, looking at Alex in confusion.
"No…never of you. I was scared of me and how I felt. I’ve never had feelings this strong." Alex’s soft voice was interrupted as the elevator reached the ground floor. She again took Olivia’s elbow and led her through the building. They exited through the main entrance and headed across the street towards another building.
Olivia remained silent, allowing Alex the time to gather her wits and herself the time to process what had been said. The dective followed the ADA into a multi-storey building that housed more city offices. Once again they entered an elevator but this time they weren’t alone so the two women remained silent.
A couple of minutes later Alex led Olivia into her office and quickly closed the door behind them. Olivia looked around the room, searching for signs of the ADA but all she could see were empty shelves and a couple of half filled boxes on the floor in the back corner. Her mind was pulled from her inspection of the surroundings by Alex’s voice as the blonde placed her briefcase on a chair. She turned to face Olivia.
"I’m through being scared, Liv. I’m coming back to New York to face my future." Though the words were confident Olivia could read the uncertainty in her friend’s eyes.
"Am I part of that future?" Olivia’s voice broke as her reply was uttered without thought and her mind hoped for the right answer.
"Always." Alex closed the distance between the two and took Olivia’s face in her hands. Looking deep into the dective’s eyes Alex read the emotion there and moved closer. Their eyes remained locked on each other as Olivia finished closing the space between them and leaned forward to softly kiss Alex on the lips. They melted into each others arms as the kiss deepened.
Finally Olivia pulled back and smiled. "I’ve wanted to hear you say that forever." She leaned forward again quickly to place another kiss on the prosecuter’s lips, confirming her words. She could feel Alex relax into her as they continued the embrace.
When the pair eventually came up for air they stepped back, holding hands stretched between them. Suddenly Alex pulled away and picked up her case, pulling out the sheets she had used in court. She slipped them into a file folder on her desk, then turned back to Olivia.
"I need to drop this off next door and I’m done." Alex pointed to the sofa against the wall. "Why don’t you have a seat and I’ll be back in a few minutes."
Olivia dropped into the seat and smiled at Alex. "Go ahead. I’ll be here when you get back." Alex sighed and opened the door, quickly walking through it and out into the hall.
Alex stepped to the open door next to her own and knocked lightly on the frame. Holding up the folder in her hand she approached the desk to address the man seated there.
"The evidence is in." She handed him the folder with a smile. "And that is my last official act as an ADA in this city so I’ll see you tomorrow when I pack up the last of my stuff here."
"Have fun Alex." He returned the smile and added a comment as Alex moved through the door. "Thanks for everything and I’m glad to see you going out on a winning note." Alex waved briefly and headed back to her own office.
When Alex returned to her own office she gathered up her long coat and scarf before taking Olivia’s hand and pulling her to her feet. "I’m done here, let’s go." Once again Olivia followed Alex through the hall to the elevator and then out of the building.
"What’s for dinner? I haven’t eaten since breakfast." Olivia stopped and pulled Alex around to face her. There was a mischievous twinkle in Olivia’s eyes as she waited for the answer.
"Where are you parked? We can swing by my place and drop off your bag, then figure out where we want to go." Alex just wanted to be out of the public eye so she and Olivia could relax and get reacquainted.
"Ok." The short reply was easily given as Olivia enjoyed the thought of staying with Alex for the weekend. This trip was becoming a dream come true for the detective as she realized that Alex shared her feelings and had quit running from them. Alex was taking her to her home and after the weekend Olivia would be taking Alex back home to New York.