DISCLAIMER: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and its characters are the property of NBC and Dick Wolf.
THANKS: To everyone on my Yahoo Group, vivalab, for their support - you guys rock!
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
First Aid
By VivalaB
She saw the fist flying towards her and closed her eyes, bracing for the inevitable impact.
When it came, it wasn't from the fist in front of her but from the hand of the woman beside her. She reflexively reached for her face and felt the wetness on her palm. She opened her eyes and watched as Olivia Benson grappled with their violent suspect.
A large woman, weighing at least 300lbs, was currently pinned face down on the table in the interrogation room with Olivia on top, trying to cuff her hands behind her back as Elliot Stabler barreled into the room to provide support.
After a few minutes of struggling, heated exchanges and unfounded threats of 'Police brutality', the woman accused of hiring her 8 year old daughter out to neighbors for sex, stopped squirming. Olivia and Elliot led the cuffed woman across the squad room to the holding cell.
Once she was inside Olivia turned, about to make her way to the interrogation room to check on their ADA, Alex Cabot when the blonde attorney suddenly appeared, striding furiously towards her.
Olivia met her in front of her desk and noticed the hand over her mouth, "Alex?"
Alex lowered her hand to reveal a bloody chin and looked directly at her, "Thanks Liv, Petrovsky's going to have a field day when I turn up for arraignment in an hour looking like I was punched in the face…oh wait, I was punched in the face," she spat out.
Olivia shook her head in disbelief, "If I hadn't grabbed Kong's fist," she paused and motioned in the direction of the holding cell, "she would have given you more than a bloody chin Alex," she countered.
They stood no more than a foot apart and glared, unblinking into each other's eyes.
Olivia softened her tone, "My watch," she paused, lifting up her left arm and indicating her Breitling, "must have caught your face…I'm sorry, I was trying to stop her from hitting you," she said quietly.
Alex followed the movement and sighed heavily, "I'm sorry too, I didn't mean to yell at you…thanks," she said awkwardly, giving her a shy smile.
Olivia reached out a hand to touch the wounded area, stopping suddenly as she realized what she was about to do and pulled her hand back instantly, the move did not go unnoticed by the ADA.
Elliot approached them, "You okay? Maybe you should get that looked at," he said to Alex as he moved past them to his desk.
Alex smiled at Olivia and turned to face Elliot, "I'm fine, I'll go clean up…Petrovsky's going to love this," she groused as she headed for the ladies room.
Olivia watched her leave and sat down heavily in her chair. She bit the inside of her lip and furrowed her brow in deep concentration.
Elliot studied his partner from across the desk, "You okay?" he asked lightly.
Olivia nodded in response as she stared at the surface. She had almost touched Alex in a really intimate way, her mind was reeling at the lack of control she had displayed. When she saw their suspect reach across the table, throwing out a punch, her only thought had been to protect Alex.
Elliot continued to watch her and wondered what she was thinking about, if he had to guess, he'd place his money on the tall, blonde with the bloody chin that had just left the squad room. He coughed slightly to get his partner's attention, "Why don't you go see if she's okay?" he suggested casually.
Olivia looked over at him and nodded absently. She rose from her chair and made her way slowly to the ladies room. She took a deep breath before tentatively opening the door.
Elliot turned in his seat as Olivia left the room, his eyes meeting the amused expression of Detective Finn Tutuola.
"They ever gonna figure it out?" Finn asked.
Elliot smiled and shrugged, "Probably not," he replied, turning back to the paperwork on his desk.
Alex stood at the sink, gently dabbing her chin with a tissue. The water swirling down the plug hole was tinged with pink, she looked at her reflection and raised her chin to inspect the damage. Studying it underneath the harsh fluorescent lighting of the bathroom, she realized it wasn't as bad as she first thought. Definitely not enough to justify shouting at Olivia the way she had. She owed her a proper apology, Olivia had only been trying to protect her, she knew that. She smiled at the thought of the dark haired detective. She felt her cheeks redden as she thought of how close Olivia had come to touching her, hoe much she had wanted her to and blew out a shaky breath.
There was no denying her attraction to the older woman but she always played it down, thinking of Olivia as her 'favoirte girl crush'.
She noticed a small stain at the top of her blouse in the mirror and groaned as she removed her jacket. She had just begun to wipe a the drop of blood when the door opened.
Olivia stepped carefully into the small room and looked at her in the mirror, "You okay?" she asked as she sidled up next to her at the sink.
Alex frowned, "It's not as bad as I thought and it only stings a little…I'll live," she said lightly, focusing her attention on the spot on her blouse.
Olivia watched her hand gently scrubbing the blouse and swallowed as she caught an eyeful of creamy smooth skin at the deep V of Alex's blouse. She felt her heart rate picking up and looked down a the sink nervously. After a few seconds she spoke quietly, "I'm really sorry."
Alex stopped the movement of her hand and placed it over Olivia's resting on the counter, "Hey, I over reacted…she would have knocked me flat on my ass if she'd connected that punch," she said chuckling, giving Olivia's hand a squeeze.
Olivia smiled at her in the mirror, "You sure you don't need stitches or something?"
Alex shook her head and turned to her, raising her chin for Olivia to inspect. Olivia looked carefully at the small tear on the smooth patch of skin and felt her pulse race as she felt Alex's breath caress her face due to their proximity. She wet her dry lips and nodded her head, "Just a small cut," she whispered, looking into twinkling blue eyes protected by dark frames.
Alex felt her heart rate speed up as Olivia gently examined her wounded skin with her eyes.
Olivia glanced down, "Your…um…blouse, is it…coming off?"
Alex's eyes widened at the question and her eyebrows shot into her hairline, "Excuse me?"
Olivia shook her head and blinked rapidly, "The blood…the blood, is it coming off?" she clarified nervously.
"Oh," Alex answered with only a slight hint of disappointment.
Olivia moved back slightly and looked at her own reflection, she bit her bottom lip and turned back to face Alex, "Would you like to go out for dinner with me tonight?" she asked, holding her breath.
Alex halted all movement and locked eyes with dark brown orbs, "We always go for dinner, you don't need to make it sound so…formal?"
Olivia swallowed, "What if I asked you…formally?" she asked, steeling her nerves.
Alex frowned, "As in a …date?" she asked quietly.
Olivia realized her mistake and kicked herself for getting caught up in the moment, she smiled once and headed for the door.
The hand that caught her arm stopped her in her tracks, she didn't turn round, "Forget I asked, I dunno what I was thinking," she said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.
Alex tugged her arm until she turned round to face her. Once she had her attention she closed the distance between them and smiled brightly at Olivia, "I'd love to," she said honestly.
Olivia's face broke into a wide grin and she reached a tentative hand out to cup Alex's face, Alex leaned into the warm palm and smiled at her.
Olivia stepped forward and whispered, "I wish I could make that better, " she said, indicating the rapidly bruising flesh.
"You can," Alex breathed out as she placed a delicate kiss on the side of Olivia's mouth.
Olivia's breath caught in her throat as Alex placed feather light kisses around her mouth, she parted her lips eager to kiss the beautiful blonde.
Alex moved in closer, wrapping her arms around her, Olivia held her tightly and breathed into her ear, "I've wanted to ask you for a long time but I never thought you'd say yes," she admitted softly.
Alex gave her a squeeze, "I thought it was just a crush, but the way you look at me sometimes Liv…"
Olivia pulled back, "How do I look at you?" she asked.
Alex smiled, "Like you can read my mind," she answered quietly.
Olivia leaned in and kissed her softly, allowing their lips to tangle. She ran her tongue along the full bottom lip and smiled as Alex opened her mouth in response. She slid her tongue in, exploring gently and caressed Alex's tongue with her own. As the kiss ended naturally, they smiled into matching pink faces.
"When should I pick you up?" Olivia asked, placing a tender kiss on the bruised chin.
Alex sighed contentedly, "I've only got arraignment then I'm done, pick me up after that?" she asked.
Olive nodded before pressing her mouth to the parted lips once more.
Judge Lena Petrovsky stared at Alex from her intimidating position at the bench, "You're late Miss Cabot, I do not appreciate tardiness in my court," she scolded.
Alex nodded apologetically as she opened her briefcase, "I apologize your Honor, I was assaulted by a suspect that required medical attention," she lied smoothly.
"Approach the bench Miss Cabot," the Judge ordered.
Alex approached the bench and stood on the raised step before Lena Petrovsky.
The judge covered the microphone with one hand as she motioned for Alex to lean forward.
Alex nervously moved in closer.
"Did your medical attention involve CPR Alexandra?" she asked in a hushed voice.
Alex shook her head, "No your Honor."
"Then you may want to remove the lipstick from your neck before proceeding," she smirked, fighting back the urge to smile as she handed her a tissue.
The End