DISCLAIMER: All television shows, movies, books, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work, and the characters, settings, and events thereof, are the properties of their respective owners. As this work is an interpretation of the original material and not for-profit, it constitutes fair use. Reference to real persons, places, or events are made in a fictional context and are not intended to be libelous, defamatory, or in any way factual.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sequel to Dancing. While I do not claim to own Alex, Olivia, any of the other SVU characters, Jill, Lindsay, JJ or Emily, the OC members of the Crazy Clan Cabot are mine. Please don't steal them.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
FEEDBACK: To author18[at]live.com

Game Face
By mel

Chapter 6

Soft hands sliding over her arms, her shoulders, her back, down to her ass, gliding, sliding, gripping, squeezing. That touch ratcheting up her need, causing her heart to pound in her chest, to thunder in her ears, to pulse between her legs, the tempo speeding with each brush of lips against her neck. Her cheek. Her mouth.

Smoky words rasped against her lips between ragged breaths, "I want to taste you Liv."

Oh god. That voice. That mouth. Those lips. Those soft, silky soft lips that were moving down her body slowly but with a purpose. Moving down, down, unerringly down. Through the valley between her breasts, not bothering to venture left or right to tease, to nip, to suckle her straining swollen tips. And for the life of her she couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not. She leaned back against the wall for support as those lips, that tongue, moved down, always down, teasing, kissing, licking down, down over her abs that she could feel trembling in anticipation. Teeth raking over a protruding hip leaving a trail of fire in their wake. A hand behind her knee. Tugging gently. Silently beseeching. Who was she to deny it? She shifted her weight and watched as the woman before her guided the leg over a deceptively strong shoulder. Opening her wider. A moan escaped her as she watched the blonde's mouth tilt up towards her sex.

Breath, hot breath against her. Dancing over her, promising the world and the moon and the stars with the gentle caress of air moving over her wet and throbbing center. Blue eyes, blue eyes dark with desire and sparkling with love gazing up her body at her, pinning her to the wall as a pink tongue slowly slid out between plump kiss swollen lips, wetting them, readying them as they hovered above her, making time stand still as she waited, waited for Alex to release her.

"I love you." A whispered promise to match the silent ones she'd been hearing all evening. "I love you Liv." Again uttered on a breath, an awed breath as lids slipped down, hiding magnificent blue as the mouth hovering above her lowered to her, delivering a soft kiss to those sensitive lips before a quick tongue boldly ran the length of her.

Her eyes snapped shut as her head fell back against the wall. Stars. Flashing colors. Heat. God, so much heat. And Alex, her Alex touching her so tenderly, worshipping her so intimately. Fingers tightening on her hip as a hand trailed up and down the thigh perched on Alex's shoulder. Soft. So incredibly soft. Everything. The touch. The caress. Teasing her higher, and higher with each flick of a tongue, with every low rumbling moan against her. Her hips began rocking of their own volition as her climax grew closer. Rocking onto a greedy mouth that turned firm and demanding. Demanding she fall. Pleading for her to let it all go and silently promising to catch her when she did. It was too much, too much sensation, too much feeling and she knew that on the next flick of a tongue against her she'd come apart. And then it was there, on her. Tasting, stroking, making her heart flutter in her chest, flicking and …

"Liv, we're back," Elliot's voice booming over her shoulder yanked her rather violently out of her daydream. "Wow, are you feeling okay? You're looking kinda flushed," he observed when she turned toward him.

Olivia scrunched her eyes closed in an attempt to regain some control over her body before she answered, "Yeah El. I'm fine. Where did you guys run off to like excited little schoolgirls?"

"It's a surprise," Fin grinned as Munch did a gangly old man version of a happy dance behind him. "You sure you're okay?"

God no. I can't focus. All I can think about is Alex's hands and mouth on my body. "Yeah," Olivia offered a weak smiled. "Yeah. Maybe I'll just go to the bathroom and try splashing a little cold water on my face, see if that'll help."

The three boys all nodded and smiled at her as she pushed up from her desk and walked out of the squad room. Once she was clear of the double doors and out of sight Munch piped up, "So, do you think she was daydreaming about Cabot?"

Fin looked over at his partner and shook his head. "Has it been so long that you've been with a woman that you don't recognize the symptoms?"

Munch crossed his arms over his chest. "What symptoms?"

"Flushed cheeks, short breaths, dilated pupils," Fin rattled off a few of the more obvious signs of arousal.

"Hey!" Elliot interrupted them. "That's my partner. And, she's like our sister – so knock it off. That's gross."

"Yeah," Fin agreed reluctantly. "But you gotta admit – Olivia and Cabot … that's hot."

"Yeah," Elliot and Munch agreed.

Just then Cragen poked his head out of his office, his angry gaze leveled on his three male detectives. "Where were you yahoos?"

"Errand, Cap," Elliot held up the rolled sheet of plastic he was holding.

"Is that the…," Cragen's voice trailed off as he hiked a brow questioningly.

"Yup," Elliot grinned.

Cragen frowned thoughtfully. "I thought it was supposed to be done yesterday?"

Elliot shrugged. "Gus said that he had an issue with his screening machine and it took him a while to fix it so it ended up taking an extra day. Is it okay if we hang it from the crib?"

Cragen nodded and disappeared back into his office to call Liz and let her know that the sign was here as Elliot and Fin ran to their lockers to dig out the staple guns they'd stashed there before scampering up the stairs to hang the sign while John stood in the center of the room directing them.

"A little bit higher on your side Fin," he called out, waving his right arm higher. "Elliot, just bring your side down a smidge," he continued.

"What's Elliot bringing down a smidge, his ego?" Olivia asked as she reentered the squad room to find Munch look like he was directing air traffic and Elliot and Fin nowhere to be seen. She came to a stop beside the bespectacled detective and turned around to see what he was looking at. "Oh. My. God. I gotta call Alex," she muttered as she ran over to her desk and quickly dialed the ADA's number.

Oh god, the taste, the feel of Olivia coming apart on her mouth. Her lips. Her tongue. Heaven. And then before the last rocking tremor had subsided, before she was able to milk out a second orgasm from her trembling lover, the leg that she'd placed over her shoulder disappeared and strong hands wrapped around her shoulders, guiding her up off the floor. She got to her feet and was pulled against the heaving chest of the woman she loved, the woman who'd so quickly become her entire world. She buried her face in the crook of a sweaty tanned neck and breathed in deep the scent of her lover. Sandalwood and leather, as always, but now with a salty tint of sweat and a musky edge of sex.

Husky words danced over her soul as she was embraced by her lover. "I love you Alex."

She smiled and pressed a soft kiss to the sensitive hollow of Olivia's throat, her own voice sounding rough to her ears as she replied, "I love you too Liv."

Strong arms squeezed her tight, "I never thought I'd find this," the confession uttered on a breath and caused hers to catch in her throat. She kissed the collarbone under her cheek, slowly moving her lips up the column of Olivia's throat until she found the brunette's lips and captured them in a deep reassuring kiss.

She felt herself being steered backwards toward the bed as the kiss deepened. Calloused hands on her hips guiding her back one slow step at a time. Right when she'd expected to bump into the bed she felt herself being spun around and then her lover's lips disappeared for a moment before she was pulled down onto Olivia's lap. She moved her knees to either side of her lover's hips as Olivia's mouth claimed hers once more. The hands on her hips began to move, sliding down her thighs to her knees and back up again. Over the side of her hips and up her back, grasping the wings of her shoulders and pulling her forward forcefully. Breasts crushed between arched and heaving bodies as mouths sought to devour. Teeth nipping at tongues at lips as strong fingers dug into her back and her hands tangled in short messy spikes; pulling Olivia in tighter, delighting in the feeling of their mouths, their bodies, their souls moving together.

The body beneath her leaned back, the hands on her shoulders sliding back down to her hips as her upper body fell forward in a desperate attempt to not break their kiss. Gasping, she pulled away by inches to rest her forehead against Olivia's sweaty brow.

"God I love you Alex," Olivia smiled up at her, the brunette's fingers playing at her hips. Rubbing, stroking, massaging. Thumbs digging into the seam where her hips met her body, fingertips grasping at the muscles of her ass. Pulling, tugging against her. "Let me love you?"

Oh god. That voice. So rich, so deep, so full of love. And those eyes. Big and brown and staring up at her as if they could see into her very soul and they liked what they saw. The swirling emotion visible in those mocha orbs the closest thing to liquid desire she'd ever experienced.

"Of course," her consent offered on a breath as she appraised the woman below her, searching for a sign as to what she desired.

Fingers digging a little harder into her ass as Olivia's grip on her tightened. Again tugging at her. Again pulling at her. Those subtle signs were enough to convey Olivia's wish. She loosened her limbs and allowed her lover to guide her higher up her body. Higher, over defined abs. Higher, her inner thighs brushing tantalizingly over firm breasts, hardened nipples scraping teasingly against her. Higher and higher still, until she'd arranged her legs around broad shoulders and hot breath flowed up at her heated core.

Strong hands sliding down her hips and over the outside of her thighs, tracing over the top of her knees before making their return trips up the inside of her thighs as she balanced herself above her lover's mouth. Her hips rocked forward, seeking, searching, as she looked down her sweaty body at her lover, her sex and her heart clenching at the look of pure unadulterated lust on the older woman's face as she stared up at her.

"Alex," her name whispered with awed reverence as Olivia's hands returned to her hips and began to gently pull her down toward her lover's waiting mouth.

The first gentle brush of her lover's tongue against her was electric, her pulse and her body jumping at the intensity felt from that tender touch. The low growl that rumbled from below her grabbed her attention as surely as the hands tightening around her hips did. She was pulled back down to Olivia's waiting mouth and her body became enflamed with passion as her lover's tongue delved inside her, deep, deep inside her, teasing, thrusting against her, the hands on her hips holding her there, unable to move away from the overwhelming onslaught of sensation. Desperate for something to hang on to she reached down and tangled her fingers in her lover's hair, scraping, scratching, massaging Olivia's scalp encouragingly as the tongue that was teasing her to madness increased its fervor against her. Her legs were burning from the strain of holding herself up, her body was burning with her orgasm that was building and coiling inside her, She could hear wordless moans of encouragement escaping her lips as her hips fought to rock against her lover's mouth. She was so close, so deliriously close. She could feel her nipples tightening, her abs trembling as she raced closer and closer to the edge with each loving, knowing flick of a tongue against her. And then Olivia's lips wrapped around her clit and the brunette began to suck against her hungrily, creating a faint buzzing in her head, a ringing in her ears …

… A ringing in her …

… A ringing …

… Ringing …

She watched, detached, as her own hand reached across her desk to grab the phone out of its cradle. "Cabot," she husked.

"Oh god don't answer the phone sounding like that," Olivia's voice greeted her.

"Like what?" Alex asked, her voice steadier but still low and throaty.

"Like you were just thinking about what I've been thinking about all day," Olivia replied tiredly. "You are wreaking hell on my concentration Counselor."

Alex chuckled softly as she looked around her disorganized desk. "I could say the same for you Detective," she drawled. "Is there a reason you were calling or was it just to interrupt the rather spectacular daydream I was having?" she asked as she began rearranging piles of paperwork, thankful that there was no court this week due to the holiday and that tomorrow she and Liv would be heading up to Boston and she'd be able to stop having to pretend to care about work.

Alex smiled to herself as she listened to Olivia's voice drop to a whisper, "Who was in this spectacular daydream?"

"Two guesses," she offered with a smile as she sat back in her chair.

"Damn," Olivia muttered. "How much longer until five o'clock?"

"Two hours," Alex answered regretfully. "So really – what's going on Liv? Do you guys need something?"

"Can you come down here?"

"Sure," Alex answered as she stood from her chair. "What's up?" she asked as she grabbed her suit coat off the back of the visitor's chair she'd draped it over and slipped it on.

"Just get down here," Olivia chuckled. "This is one of those 'you gotta see it to believe it' kind of things."

"Alright," Alex frowned as she pinned the handset between her ear and her shoulder so she could straighten her cuffs. "I'll be there as fast as I can," she promised.

"I love you Alex."

Alex smiled. "Love you too Liv, see you in a few."

Alex glanced at her watch as she hurried out up the steps to the precinct, her unbuttoned coat flapping around her legs and her loose hair blowing in the breeze. She threw open the front door and strode purposefully inside as if she owned the place, ignoring the inevitable stares that followed her appearance. She joined the small crowd waiting for the elevator, shuffling in behind the group with her briefcase grasped firmly in front of her. The doors opened at her floor and she exited the car without a backwards glance, eager to see Liv and to see what was going on with her squad.

The concentrated rhythm of her clicking heels alerted her detectives to her impending arrival and when she turned the corner into the SVU squad room she found Olivia perched on the edge of her desk with a smile on her lips.

"Counselor," she nodded, her eyes conveying her true feelings – I love you, I missed you.

"Detective," Alex replied. "You wanted to see me?"

"Always," Olivia smiled as she pushed up off of the edge of her desk and crossed the few feet of dull linoleum separating them to take Alex's briefcase and coat from her. "The boys have been scheming," she whispered against the perfect shell of an ear as she moved around the blonde helping her out of her coat.

"Have they now?" Alex smirked as she turned to her lover. "And this is why I needed to come down here?"

"It is," Olivia nodded as she spied her friends entering the squad room from Cragen's office.

"Charlie!" three distinctly masculine voices called out exuberantly.

"I knew you'd come back to me," Munch smiled.

"She's not here for your old ass," Fin smacked his partner. "You dirty old man."

Alex laughed throatily as she turned to the group. "So what have my angels been up to?"

"You need to go in a little bit further to see," Olivia gave Alex a gentle shove. "And look up."

"Look up?" Alex asked.

Olivia nodded.

"Okay then," Alex drew a deep breath and took a few more steps into the middle of the room, stopping between the pairs of desks and turning to look up at the crib. "Oh my," she laughed, her right hand lifting to cover her mouth in surprise.

Surprise, because there, hanging above the SVU squad room, was a three foot tall by probably six foot wide banner that read 'Cabot's Angels', the bold gold colored words superimposed over a charcoal colored silhouette of three men holding their guns up in the universally recognized Charlie's Angels pose. Her shoulders shaking with barely restrained laughter, she turned to find Elliot with his gun pointed up at the ceiling, flanked by Fin and Much who also had their service weapons drawn, all of them doing their best impression of the angels.

"Oh god!" Alex squealed, unable to hold back her amusement any longer. "You guys are too much!"

"That's one way to describe them, I guess," Olivia drawled playfully as she came to stand behind the blonde. "You should see the t-shirts they ordered."

Alex turned to Olivia and whispered. "T-shirts?"

"Yeah," Elliot piped up and when Alex turned back around to the guys they all opened their button-down shirts to reveal white tees with an identical logo to that on the sign screened on them.

"Go stand with the boys Alex," Liz Donnelly's familiar voice drawled from the entrance to the squad room. "And I'll take your picture."

"Picture?" Alex turned to her godmother.

"Yeah Cabot!" Elliot grinned. "We need a picture!"

"Picture!" Fin and Munch echoed jovially. "I want a copy in an eight by ten for my desk," Munch informed Liz who smiled and nodded.

"Go on," Olivia laughed as she pushed Alex toward the boys.

Alex laughed as she walked over to where the guys were standing. She threw her head back and laughed harder when the three of them dropped to a knee in front of her and resumed their pose. "You guys aren't going to wear the shirts on the Today Show tomorrow are you?"

"Nah," Fin assured her. "We got something else planned for that."

"Oh god," Alex groaned.

"Come on Alexandra," Liz admonished. "Don't just stand there – do something!"

Alex glowered playfully at Liz before she put her hands on her hips and smiled saucily at the camera.

"On three," Liz called out as she framed the shot in the screen on the back of the digital camera. "One … two … three …"

"Boobies!" Olivia called out loudly, which got Alex and the guys laughing hysterically.

"Got it," Liz announced as she glanced at the screen. "Well played Olivia," she grinned.

Olivia chuckled and grinned back at the Bureau Chief. "Thank you Liz."

"Boobies, Detective?" Alex drawled as she closed the distance separating her from Olivia. "Very mature."

Olivia laughed and wrapped her arms around the teasing ADA. "It got them to laugh," she murmured unapologetically in Alex's ear.

"Hmm," Alex huffed.

"Besides," Olivia grinned as she brushed her lips across the shell of Alex's ear. "I've been thinking of yours all day long."

Alex smiled and tilted her mouth towards Olivia's ear conspiratorially. "I've been daydreaming about your tongue," she whispered huskily. "And your hands."

"Fuck," Olivia groaned, her earlier discomfort reappearing in an instant as all the moisture in her body flowed south to settle between her legs.

Alex smiled and dropped a quick kiss to her detective's cheek. "I gotta get back to my office and finish a couple things before we head out of town in the morning after the show. Meet you at my place tonight?"

"Mmm," Olivia nodded distractedly.

"Good," Alex smiled. "See you later then," she called out as she grabbed her coat and briefcase off of Olivia's desk and strutted out of the squad room.

"You got it bad Benson," Liz chuckled. "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning – make sure you don't keep each other up all night, you need to look presentable," she directed with a smile before she too turned to leave.

"Damn Liv," Elliot muttered once the squad was left to themselves once again. "You look all flushed again."

"Yeah," Olivia nodded jerkily, thinking if she left now she'd be able to pack and get to Alex's place before the blonde finished work. She looked at her watch and noticed that there was only another hour left on her shortened schedule. "Maybe I'm coming down with something. I think I'm going to head out so I can get some sleep before we need to be at the Today Show tomorrow morning. See you guys there?"

"Sounds good Liv," Elliot frowned. "I'll tell the Cap you went home sick. Take care of yourself, you don't want to meet the family looking like shit."

"Gee, thanks El," Olivia smirked as she gathered her coat and keys. "I'll see you guys in the morning!" she called out with a wave as she exited the squad room.

Elliot, Fin and Munch turned at the sound of Cragen's door opening. "Where's Olivia?" Cragen asked.

"She said she wasn't feeling well," Elliot reported with a shrug. "So we sent her home to rest up for our big appearance tomorrow morning."

Cragen nodded. "Okay. Who's catching tonight?"

"We are," Fin raised his hand to indicate himself and Munch.

"Alright. Then you need to get out to this scene that was just called in," he handed Munch a slip of paper with an address scribbled on it. "Elliot, I want you to try and knock through those fives," he waved at Olivia's desk where all of their unfinished paperwork was piled up.

"See you later Elliot," Fin grinned as he snagged his coat and shrugged it on.

"No good deed goes unpunished my good man," Munch laughed as he clapped a frustrated looking Elliot on the shoulder before he followed his partner out the door.

"Paperwork," Elliot grumbled as he yanked the top file off of the pile. "I hate paperwork."

Chapter 7

Alex's hand paused halfway to her eye, the mascara wand she'd been focusing on a moment before completely forgotten as her gaze refocused on the mirror to watch Olivia climb out of the shower. She smiled appreciatively at the way the brunette's deliciously short hair was sticking up in a million different directions from the quick toweling it had undoubtedly received and licked her lips admiringly at the sight of toned tanned skin wrapped in a plush white bath sheet.

Brown eyes locked onto blue through the reflective glass as Olivia smirked and drawled, "See something you like Counselor?"

Alex licked her lips again and nodded. "Indeed I do, Detective. Of course, I'd see a lot more that I'd like – love, even – if you'd drop that towel."

Olivia pointedly looked over the jeans and sweater Alex was wearing. "Somehow that just doesn't seem fair," she noted. "Not with you all covered up like you are. Besides," she sighed, the playful twinkle in her eye disappearing, "we need to get rolling soon or else we're going to be late. Are you sure you want to take a cab to the station and then come back here for your car?"

Alex sighed and returned her gaze to her reflection as she finished putting her hair up. "Yeah. We need to come back uptown to get to Boston, so I'd rather not hassle dealing with parking at the studio."

"Alright," Olivia agreed easily, a mischievous smile tweaking her lips as a particularly evil idea sprang to mind. "Hey, Alex," she called out with a smile as she drew the blonde's attention back onto her. "What's the dress code for this thing?" she asked as she turned away from the blonde and dropped her towel.

"Sweet Jesus," Alex groaned, her mascara wand falling from her fingers into the sink as she turned to face Olivia. She hesitated at the counter for a moment, waiting for Olivia to turn to face her before she slowly crossed the room – stopping just in front of her naked lover. "Well, I do love the way you look in this suit," she husked as she trailed her hands from Olivia's shoulders down to her breasts which she palmed and massaged greedily.

"Aaaalex," Olivia moaned softly as the blonde's thumbs brushed over her nipples, instantly regretting her impromptu tease.

Alex smiled and tweaked the nipples under her fingertips before she dropped her hands and stepped back. "Dressy casual."

Olivia groaned at the loss of Alex's touch – and at her answer. "What does that mean?"

Alex smiled and leaned in to kiss her softly. "Just wear whatever you would to work and you'll be fine. Trousers and a shirt or a sweater," she elaborated.

"You're wearing jeans," Olivia observed.

"I knew you got that gold shield for a reason," Alex drawled with a smile as she turned to the sink. "I'm taking my clothes for the show and will change into them there."

"Okay," Olivia nodded thoughtfully as she took a step closer to the mirror and stole Alex's brush to run it quickly through her hair. "I'll be ready to go in a few. Will you make the coffee?"

"Yup," Alex nodded as she brushed the wand over her blonde lashes one last time and twisted it back into its bottle. "I'll have a travel mug ready and waiting for you when you're done. We can take our bags down and leave them in the car and then we'll have Harry call us a cab to the station."

Alex stared blearily out the window of the cab as it crawled through the pre-dawn streets of Manhattan en route to the set of the Today show. She found it utterly amazing, as she always did, that even at six thirty in the morning the city was literally abuzz with activity and people moving, driving, going about their day. She looked over at Olivia and smiled, enjoying the moment to observe the unguarded detective as she 'rested with her eyes closed'. Not sleeping. No. Olivia would never do something as pedestrian as catch a quick nap in a cab.

"Stop staring at me Alex," Olivia murmured, a small smile tweaking her lips as she turned her head toward the blonde and opened her eyes.

"I like looking at you," Alex smiled unapologetically as she lifted her right hand to lightly trace the backs of her fingers down the brunette's cheek. "You look so peaceful when you sleep."

"Wasn't sleeping," Olivia argued playfully. "Just resting with my eyes closed."

"Whatever you say Detective," Alex chuckled. "Are you ready for today?"

Olivia smiled and shrugged. "Hopefully. I'm a little nervous about all this."

"The Today Show or meeting my family?" Alex asked softly, genuinely curious as to what Olivia was thinking.

"Both," Olivia answered without hesitation. "The show because I hate being the center of attention, but your family because … well, because they're your family and I want them to like me."

"You've already met Maggie and Matt," Alex reminded Olivia as she captured the brunette's hand with her own, automatically twining their fingers. "And they love you. Everybody else will as well, I'm sure of it."

Olivia smiled down at their joined hands. "I'm not so sure about that," she confessed quietly. "But I'm sure about you."

"I'm pretty sure about you too Liv," Alex smiled.

"Only pretty sure?" Olivia teased.

Alex shrugged. "Eh, gotta make sure you can survive a Cabot family holiday before I go all in," she teased.

"Oh, I'll survive," Olivia assured Alex as she leaned in toward the blonde.

"I know you will," Alex smiled, licking her lips as she mimicked the brunette's actions and leaned in closer so that her next words danced across Olivia's parted lips. "I love you Olivia Benson and if I weren't sure about you, I would never have invited you to the melee."

Olivia chuckled before she captured Alex's lips in a quick but serious kiss. "You make it sound like so much fun, I'd be a fool to miss out."

Alex smirked and was about to respond when their cab pulled to a stop outside the studios. She reached for her purse for some cash as she advised Liv, "Why don't you grab our bags out of the back while I take care of this."

Olivia nodded and climbed out of the cab to pull their garment bags out of the back of the car while Alex took care of the fare. She swung the bags over her shoulder as she slammed the trunk closed before rounding the cab to help Alex out of the cab. She placed a protective hand at the small of the blonde's back as they walked up to the studio's revolving door and sighed happily once they were inside the building and out of the early morning chill. Alex led them up to the front desk where after a quick display of identification an intern for the show was paged to escort them back to the set. She directed them into a green room, which was actually a rather calming shade of taupe, and left them to go in search of the producer whom Alex had requested to speak with.

A few minutes later the young woman returned with two steaming cups of coffee and a middle-aged balding man. She handed Alex and Olivia the cups of coffee, trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible, as the man who who'd joined them introduced himself.

"Max Johnson," he reached out and shook each of their hands. "You wanted to see me, Ms. Cabot?"

Alex smiled. "I did. Thank you for being so accommodating. I just wanted to check and make sure that you received the modified terms for the interview segment that I'd sent over yesterday evening?"

Olivia cocked her head questioningly as she watched Alex and the producer. She hadn't heard anything about there being any sort of agreement as to what questions could be asked. Hell, she didn't know that guests even had the power to dictate those things.

"Yes Ms. Cabot," Max nodded. "I received them and Matt and Meredith have read them as well."

"Very good," Alex smiled. "I do apologize for being so …," she waved her hand as she paused, "… uptight about the whole thing, but I'm sure you can understand our position."

"I do," he assured her. "There will be no questions as to your involvement with Detective Benson. This is a feel-good segment only."

"Thank you," Alex smiled and shook his hand. "What time are we set to tape?"

The producer checked his clipboard before he answered, "Nine. You'll probably be on set for about twenty minutes, so we'll have you ladies out of here by nine thirty. I am aware of your travel schedule for the day and we really do appreciate your agreeing to come in. Trish, the intern who was helping you earlier, will be back in a bit to escort you to hair and makeup."

"Excellent," Alex nodded. "Thank you so much."

"My pleasure," Max replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work. Ms. Cabot, Detective Benson," he nodded at each of them in turn, "I will see you in a bit."

"You dictated terms for this thing?" Olivia asked Alex once they were left alone.

Alex turned to face her lover and frowned. "Did you not want me to?"

Olivia stared at Alex, completely flabbergasted. "I didn't even know you could."

"Everything is always negotiable Liv. It's just all about knowing how to go about it," Alex smiled. "I didn't want you to be uncomfortable, so I made sure that it wouldn't be an issue. We can play the whole thing off as just you and the guys fulfilling a bet. Which is true – not the whole story, but true. Everything else," she kissed Olivia quickly, "is ours to share with the world when we are good and ready."

Olivia pulled Alex into her and captured the blonde's lips in a searing kiss. "You are an amazing woman Alexandra Cabot."

Alex grinned and kissed Olivia soundly. "I know."

"And modest to boot," Olivia chuckled.

"Your friends are all here now," Trish informed Alex and Olivia as she led them to the hair and makeup room.

"Great," Olivia drawled, the smile on her face negating the somewhat exasperated edge to her tone. "Please tell me that they're behaving themselves."

Trish laughed. "Oh yes. They seem to be enjoying their fifteen minutes of fame quite a bit."

"Good lord," Alex groaned and Olivia laughed. "Liv," the blonde turned to the woman beside her, "did you ever find out what they had planned for this thing? I got a little … distracted last night," she smiled cheekily, "and forgot to ask you about it."

Olivia smiled at the memory of the many different ways she'd managed to distract Alex the night before. "No clue," she shrugged.

"Oh, that would probably be their suits," Trish smiled.

"Suits?" Olivia asked.

"Yes," Trish nodded as she motioned toward the left before she turned into the corridor. "They all showed up wearing black suits with matching gold ties."

"Really?" Alex laughed. "Well, that's not bad."

Trish nodded. "I thought they looked pretty sharp, myself. Here we go," she waved toward an open door. "This is Rob and Jen," she motioned at the waiting stylists. "Guys, these lovely women are Alex Cabot and Olivia Benson."

There were smiles all around and the four strangers greeted the other, "Nice to meet you."

"Their segment is set to tape around nine, I need them done and ready to go by a quarter 'til," Trish informed the stylists.

"You got it sweetie," Rob laughed as he shooed the young intern out of the room. "Now, let us get to work!"

Alex and Olivia smiled nervously at each other as they allowed themselves to be ushered into the two chairs in front of the lighted mirror. They were halfway through their makeup when Elliot and the guys came bounding through the door.

"Awww, look at our Liv getting' all pretty," Elliot drawled.

"Shut up Stabler," Olivia laughed.

"I kind of liked the whole process myself," Munch smiled. "It was nice to be pampered. I even got a haircut!"

Olivia smiled at him in the mirror. "Looks good Munch. Nice suits guys," she added.

The three men beamed as each of them reflexively moved the straighten their tie. "Thank you," Fin grinned. "We wanted to look good when we met …,"

"Meredith," Elliot jumped in.

Alex caught Olivia's eye in the mirror and arched a brow questioningly, to which Olivia responded with a shake of her head and a shrug.

"Well boys," Rob smiled at the Detectives. "We need to get these girls prettied up so they can change and get out onto set. So, if you'll excuse us…," his voice trailed off indicatively.

"Yeah, sure," Elliot smiled. "Kath is waiting in our green room anyways."

"Kathy's here?" Olivia asked, thinking to herself that she and Alex would have to make sure to see her and say hello before they headed out after the show.

"Oh yeah," Elliot grinned as he exchanged a quick look with Fin and Munch that had Olivia's gut tingling – and not in a good way.

"What are they so excited about?" Alex asked Jen, who was now working on her hair.

Jen just smiled cryptically and shrugged. "Dunno."

Alex zipped her boot up and stood, automatically smoothing her hands over her skirt before tugging her sweater down into place. She looked over at Olivia who was flipping the cuffs on her sleeves up to reveal several inches of tanned wrists and the detective's favorite Breitling watch. She watched the brunette run a quick hand through her spiky do and smiled when keen brown eyes focused onto hers.

"Ready?" Olivia smiled.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Alex replied as she crossed the small space to stand in front of her lover, reaching out to run an appreciative hand down Olivia's arm. "You look good Liv."

"You're not so bad yourself," Olivia murmured as she leaned in to kiss Alex quickly before opening the door to their dressing room. "Well, let's get this over with," she waved her hand to usher Alex out in front of her.

"Ms. Cabot, Detective Benson," Trish smiled as the women exited their dressing room. "If you could follow me please, we are ready for your segment now."

"Of course," Alex agreed amicably as she fell into step behind the perky young intern. They meandered through a maze like expanse of hallways and Alex sincerely hoped there would be somebody waiting for them after their segment to show them back to their dressing room.

"Here we go," Trish called out over her shoulder as she led them through a set of green double doors. "Careful of the cables and such," she warned helpfully just as Alex stepped carefully over a particularly thick bundle of black wires.

"You got it?" Olivia asked, eyeing Alex's heeled boots speculatively as she placed a hand under the blonde's arm.

Alex looked over at Olivia and nodded. "Yeah, thanks," she smiled.

"Here we are," Trish smiled at her charges as the cleared a row of cameras. "Matt, Meredith," she called out to the hosts, "I'd like to introduce Ms. Alex Cabot and Detective Olivia Benson."

"Alex, please," Alex smiled as she stepped forward to shake the TV personalities hands.

"Olivia," Olivia insisted as she introduced herself after Alex.

"Nice to meet you both," Meredith smiled warmly. "So, here's the plan. We've read over your requests and that won't be a problem," she assured Alex as she turned to lead them up onto the set. "We'll have you two seated in front with the three guys standing behind you. We'll do a quick Q and A about why the tape was done, your reactions to the response, etc. Any questions?"

Alex looked over at Olivia who smiled and shook her head. "No, I think that about covers it," she smiled at the hosts. She smiled up at Elliot, Fin, and Munch who were all shuffling excitedly before she took her seat.

"There's Kathy," Olivia pointed at Elliot's wife who was seated in the front row.

"And Liz and Don," Alex observed. "And Serena," she waved at her friend who had a digital camera out and pointed at the stage.

"Are you all ready?" Matt asked as the producer signaled that they were coming back from commercial.

"Let's do it," Alex smiled, turning in her seat to face the hosts as the music to You've Lost That Loving Feeling began to play.

"Welcome back," Meredith smiled at a camera. "We are here with a very entertaining group of people, many of you have undoubtedly seen their hit YouTube video which has already gotten nearly six hundred thousand hits …,"

Elliot nudged Alex and Olivia in the back at the announcement of their newest tally.

"… ADA Alexandra Cabot and the detectives of the sixteenth precinct's SVU unit, Olivia Benson, Elliot Stabler, John Munch, and Odafin Tutuola. Guys, thanks for coming," she smiled at the group.

"Our pleasure," Alex replied, taking the lead for the group.

"So, tell us, what precipitated the making of this video?" Matt asked.

Olivia chuckled. "I lost a bet to a mutual friend of ours," she waved a hand between herself and Alex. "Abbie Carmichael," she offered, figuring that since they were all getting their fifteen minutes of fame that Abbie might as well get a shout-out as well.

"So you lost this bet and your friends helped you out?" Meredith clarified.

"Exactly," Olivia shrugged.

"Nice friends," Matt chimed in cheerfully.

"The best," Olivia agreed with a warm smile.

"Were you surprised when the entire bar started singing?" Meredith directed this question toward Alex, purposefully steering the conversation past the point where it would be natural to ask about why Olivia was serenading Alex.

"Incredibly surprised," Alex smiled. "It was very surreal."

"I liked the way you all took turns with the different sections of the song," Matt smiled at the guys.

"It ended up to turn out pretty well," Fin smiled.

"I'll say," Meredith laughed. "Were you surprised with the amount of attention it's received?"

"Very much so," Alex answered as she looked over at Olivia who nodded her agreement.

"Alright, so now – in case there's anybody out there who hasn't seen the video, here it is now," Meredith held her hand out to signal the tech to cut to the video.

The group as a whole turned to face the large monitors off to the side of the set, smiling at themselves as they watched the replay of that night up on screen. They were so focused on the screen, in fact, that they failed to notice the two new people who had appeared just off set. When the video ended the audience clapped and cheered, which made all five of them blush.

Meredith smiled and stood up from her chair as she held her hands up to quiet the audience. "Now, Alex and Olivia don't know about this, but since this video is such a hit – we've arranged a little surprise for them …,"

Elliot elbowed Fin and Munch who were on either side of him and grinned as they moved around from behind the girls to stand off to the side. Alex shot a confused look at Olivia who looked equally confused. Their matching looks of confusion growing more pronounced as a bodiless voice began singing, "You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss…"

"YOUR LIPS!" Elliot and the guys chimed in laughing and clapping as Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis walked out onto the set. They slid into position behind the newcomer as Meredith finished her introduction.

"… the original Maverick and Charlie – please welcome Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis!" Meredith called out cheerily before applauding with the audience that was suddenly on their feet and screaming.

"There's no tenderness like before in your fingertips," Tom crooned as he walked hand-in hand with Kelly up onto the center of the stage where he directed her toward a seat that had magically appeared next to Alex's.

"You're trying hard not to show it…"

Kelly smiled at Alex and Olivia as she sat down next to them.

"BABY! BUT BABY, BABY I KNOOOOOW IT!" El and the guys sang raucously. "YOU'VE LOST THAT LOVIN FEELING, WHOA THAT LOVIN FEELING, YOU'VE LOST THAT LOVING FEELING NOW IT'S GONE … GONE … GONE … WHOA-OH-OH-OH."

The four men finished with a rather dramatic bow and the audience once again went wild with their applause. Olivia easily spotted Kathy Stabler in the front row clapping enthusiastically as she hopped in place, with Liz, Don, and Serena all laughing and cheering as they looked on. A stagehand appeared with an extra chair that he set next to Olivia for Tom and Elliot and the guys returned to their positions at the back of the group.

"So," Meredith took charge of the circus. "Now that you've made an extremely memorable entrance … Tom, Kelly, what did you think of the detective's video performance?"

"I loved it," Kelly smiled. "I think I've watched it at least a dozen times."

"Seeing it brought back a lot of fond memories," Tom answered smoothly. "That was a fun scene to shoot, it's nice to see people having fun with it."

Meredith nodded as Matt took over the remaining few minutes of the segment, easily directing the group of star struck detectives through the motions of the interview before sending them to commercial. "Thanks so much guys," he smiled at the group as he stood to shake each of their hands in turn.

"Were you surprised?" Meredith asked Alex and Olivia.

"Very," Olivia answered for the both of them.

"Well, if we could get everybody up here on stage, we'll take a few pictures for posterity and then you are all free to go," Meredith smiled. "Sound good?"

Elliot and the boys moved to stand closer to Kelly while Tom stood between Alex and Olivia. "I love tall women," he quipped as he rested a hand on the small of each of their backs and smiled for the camera.

There were a handful of pictures taken, some with just Alex and Liv with the stars and then a few with the detectives, Alex and the stars. And they even managed to get one of Elliot and Kathy with Tom and Kelly. Alex laughed as she watched that one being taken, Kathy Stabler was hilarious in her excitement. After the pictures were finished they all shook hands one last time before separating, Tom and Kelly heading down the hall to the right while Alex and the detectives turned left to follow Trish back to their dressing rooms.

"I am going to get a copy of that picture in at least an eight by ten," Fin grinned as he did a little jig. "That Kelly McGillis is smokin!"

"You know she plays for our team, right?" Olivia smiled at her friend as she wrapped her arm around Alex's waist.

"No way!"

"Way," Alex chuckled.

"Well guys," Olivia grinned as she turned to face her friends. "It's been a blast. But now I gotta go face the firing squad."

"Good luck with meeting the family," Elliot smiled at his partner. He pulled her into a loose embrace and whispered, "Take your gun with you – just in case."

"Elliot!" Olivia laughed as she slapped him on the shoulder.

"I don't want to know," Alex drawled as she hugged Elliot goodbye. "Angels, enjoy your holiday and we'll see you Monday morning, bright and early."

"You got it Charlie," Munch smiled as he pulled Alex into a fierce embrace, actually leaning back and lifting the blonde off of her feet.

"Munch, go get your own girl," Olivia laughed.

"Can't blame a guy for trying," John smirked. "Take care of her," he murmured in Alex's ear before he let go.

"Always," Alex assured him with a smile. "Now, we need to get changed so we can try and get up to Boston this afternoon. So, if you'll excuse us," she smiled as she hugged Fin goodbye, "we really need to get going."

"Have fun!" the guys chorused as they waved and turned toward their own dressing room which was two doors further down the hall.

It was after three o'clock when Alex pulled off of the interstate and began turning from one secluded road to the next. Olivia looked out the windshield at acre upon acre of rolling hills dotted with barns and lined with white split rail fencing. She turned her attention to the beautiful blonde who was driving and asked, "This is where you grew up?"

"Mmhmm," Alex nodded as she looked over at her lover and smiled. "You like it?"

"Well … yeah," Olivia turned back toward the windshield, her gaze immediately returning to the scenery. "It's amazing."

"It was fun," Alex smiled as she turned off of the road onto a winding maple tree lined drive. "I have a lot of good memories of this place," she murmured thoughtfully as she steered the car through a series of familiar gentle sloping curves.

Olivia watched the scenery out her window and gasped softly when they crested the small hill they were climbing and Alex's childhood home came into view. Spread out at the end of the circular drive was the biggest house Olivia had ever seen in person. The stacked gray stone looked like it belonged on an old English manor somewhere and she quickly counted over a dozen chimneys. "That's your house?"

"That's the house I grew up in," Alex answered with a small nod as she maneuvered their car around the bend and across the front of the house.

"Holy shit," Olivia breathed.

Alex chuckled and pulled up in front of the garage. "You okay?" she asked as she turned to face Olivia.

"Yeah," Olivia replied quickly. "I just … wow."

"It's a little pretentious," Alex allowed.

Olivia swallowed audibly. "It's gorgeous."

"You okay?" Alex asked again, noting the way Olivia's pulse was pounding at her throat and the shaky hand that raked through her hair.

"I'm a little nervous," Olivia answered. "Any tips?"

"Yeah," Alex laughed as she popped the trunk and climbed out of the car. She rounded the back of the vehicle and waited for Olivia to follow suit before she continued. "When the teasing starts – and it will – no matter what is said, do not show any emotion. We raise lawyers in this family, if you react to what they're saying they'll be on you like a pack of rabid wolves."

"Well that's reassuring," Olivia muttered as she took a few steps toward Alex.

Alex smiled and gathered her lover in her arms. "Just keep your game face on Detective. You survived Mags and Abbie, you'll be fine," she kissed her softly.

Olivia drew a deep breath and nodded. "Game face," she repeated as she chivalrously removed each of their bags from the trunk of the car.

"Exactly," Alex smiled as she took hold of the handle on her bag and began wheeling it toward the front door. She bumped the bag up the handful of steps leading to the gorgeous mahogany and leaded glass double doors and turned to face Olivia. "Liv?"

"Hmm?" Olivia hummed as she stopped beside the blonde.

"I love you," Alex smiled as she leaned in and kissed the still obviously nervous brunette soundly. "You'll do fine. Everybody will love you."

"Okay," Olivia nodded and kissed Alex again quickly. "Let's go meet the family."

Chapter 8

Olivia felt her heartbeat speed up into a irregular staccato as she watched Alex open the front door. She smiled tightly as she was ushered inside and stopped in the middle of a burgundy rug laced with bright hues of gold and cream just inside the foyer. She let her eyes wander over dark wood floors and wainscot divided walls, the bottom layer a bright white and the top half a warm cream. The expansive staircase at the opposite end of the foyer was magnificent, she estimated it to be at least ten feet wide, and at the landing it split, the wings leading either left or right depending on which direction you needed. She stood still, rooted in place and bathed in a kaleidoscope of rich, warm colors from the sun shining through the stained glass windows that ran from the landing to the vaulted ceiling high above.

Alex shut the doors behind them and turned to find Olivia rooted in place drinking in every detail available to be studied. "You okay?" she murmured.

Olivia nodded.

"Alright," Alex smiled as she set first her bag and then Olivia's off to the side of the foyer. "C'mon, let's go see who's here," she directed, taking Olivia's hand in hers as she led them down the hall.

"How do you know where to find anybody in this place?" Olivia couldn't help asking as she obediently followed Alex, her attention split between the tantalizing sway of Alex's hips and the photographs lining the walls. She easily spied quite a few pictures of Alex as a child among the black framed shots and made a mental note to come back and spend some quality time looking through the photographs at some point during this trip.

"There's no snow on the ground yet – they're all going to be out back," Alex replied as she turned into the kitchen and headed directly toward the French doors at the far side of the room. "Here we go," she smiled as she spied her mother, Maggie and Jenny lounging on comfortable chairs around the outdoor fireplace.

"Alex and Olivia are here," Maggie smiled and waved as she spotted her niece and Olivia coming out onto the terrace.

Two blonde heads turned to face the newcomers wearing similar expectant smiles. Olivia automatically identified the one on the right as Alex's mother – they shared the same honey colored hair and electric ice blue eyes. "Alexandra," Carolyn Cabot called out warmly. "How was the drive?"

"Not bad at all," Alex smiled as she crossed the flagstone patio to greet her family. "Mom, Jenny, this," she turned and smiled at her lover as she pulled her in close and wrapped an arm around the brunette's waist, "is Detective Olivia Benson."

"Hello," Jenny smiled, her eyes twinkling with amusement as she watched the two younger women suffering through the 'meet the family' moment. Remembering her own unforgettable experience, and completely unable to help herself, she took the first shot at the duo, "I'm Jenny, Matt's wife. I know the drive is a long one, so if you girls are hungry there are some donuts leftover from breakfast this morning in the kitchen."

Maggie laughed as Alex shot daggers at Jenny and Olivia choked out, "I'm good, thanks."

Carolyn watched the exchange with a small secretive smile tweaking her lips. She'd heard enough about the brunette to know that she was supremely well matched for her daughter, the only question left to answer was if the Detective could handle the entire Cabot clan en masse. They'd all learned firsthand that not everybody could, but those that were able to survive thrived.

"Olivia," Carolyn smiled as she stood to lightly embrace her daughter's girlfriend. "It is so nice to finally meet you."

Olivia hesitantly returned the embrace, a look of complete surprise on her face as she replied, "The pleasure is mine Mrs. Cabot. Thank you so much for inviting me."

Carolyn squeezed the detective tight before she stepped back and corrected her, "It's Carolyn, dear. No need to stand on formalities. When I hear Mrs. Cabot I start looking around for my mother in law," she smirked. "And, believe me, the pleasure is all mine. Rumor has it that you make my daughter extremely happy," she reached over and pulled Alex into a loose embrace, "I couldn't wait to meet you in person."

Olivia blushed and nodded shyly.

Taking pity on the brunette, Carolyn Cabot turned the full weight of her gaze onto her daughter. "I particularly enjoyed your little video on the internet."

"You saw that?" Alex groaned.

"Of course. Adam sent the entire family the link to it," she replied breezily and chuckled lightly at the look that crossed Alex's face at the information. She had a feeling that her son would be getting an earful as soon as Alex ran into him. "It's nice to see that you and your friends can still find some joy in the world with the horrors you see every day," she told the two women earnestly before directing the conversation into more pleasant areas. "You two looked wonderful on television this morning. Did you know they were going to bring out Tom Cruise?"

"No," Alex chuckled. "That was a surprise for both of us. As was the singing."

Carolyn nodded and smiled at Alex and Olivia. She could tell that the brunette was a little anxious and she took pity on the duo, deciding to save her 'talk' with Olivia until the woman had settled in a bit. Not that she wanted to scare the woman off – far from it – Olivia was the first person Alex had brought home since she was in college. But she did feel obligated to at least lightly grill the poor woman about her intentions toward Alex. "Would you girls like to join us and have a glass of wine or do you want to go and join the games?" she asked, gesturing over her shoulder at the group of adults assembled on the lawn playing croquet and the smaller, more boisterous, group of children running around after a soccer ball.

"What would you prefer Liv?" Alex asked her lover, unsure as to whether or not the brunette would be more comfortable with the smaller group of women on the patio or the large group of men and kids out on the lawn.

"We can go out and meet everybody else," Olivia shrugged. "Whatever you'd like to do is fine with me Alex, you know that."

"Okay," Alex smiled. "Then I'd like to go kill my brother," she looked up at the sound of her mother clearing her throat. "I mean," she backtracked as she grinned unrepentantly, "I'd like to introduce you to my brother."

Olivia chuckled softly as Carolyn, Maggie and Jenny laughed. "Yeah right Alex," Maggie teased. "Just go easy on him – last time you two got into it Matt ended up putting ten stitches in his shoulder."

"That wasn't my fault," Alex argued with her aunt.

Maggie held her hands up in surrender. "Just don't start any wars – you know the rules, no blood until Friday."

"What did I get myself into?" Olivia mused, loud enough for the three older women to hear.

"You don't want to know," Jenny laughed. "Trust me," she arched a brow knowingly.

Olivia appraised the woman for a moment, noting the knowing twinkle in her green eyes and the enigmatic smirk tweaking her lips. "Yeah," she finally muttered. "Better to be surprised."

"That's the spirit!" Carolyn laughed. "Dinner is in a couple hours – Benjamin made his famous chili and we have apple pie for dessert."

Alex nodded. "I'll pass it on. C'mon Liv," she released her hold on the brunette's waist and started toward the laughing group on the back lawn.

She watched her brother line up his shot, his mallet swinging between his legs as he repeatedly looked up from his ball to the wicket that was his target and back again. Finally, after about six practice swings, he let it go and missed wide right.

Alex sniggered and called out, "Hey loser. You're supposed to get it between the wicket!"

Olivia watched as the blonde man stood to face them. She automatically noticed his patrician good looks, broad shoulders and trim waist. His blonde hair and blue eyes were exact replicas of Alex's and she immediately pegged him as Alex's brother.

"What can I say," he grinned as he strode over to where they were standing. "You were always better at aiming between the wickets than I was," he winked conspiratorially. "I'm more of a stake man, myself."

"That was bad Adam," Alex laughed loudly.

"You still love me," he smirked and reached out to pull his sister into a big hug. "How ya doing sis? Long time no see."

Alex smiled as she returned his embrace. "I'm doing okay. But, more importantly – what the hell were you doing forwarding that link to the entire family?"

"Aww, c'mon Alex," he grinned. "Maggie told me to!"

"Why am I not surprised," Olivia chuckled.

"Oh, hey," he turned his attention to Olivia and held out his hand. "Sorry about that, I'm usually not so rude. Adam Cabot," he introduced himself. "You must be Olivia. It's nice to finally meet the woman I've been listening my sister wax poetic about for the last year."

"Traitor," Alex muttered under her breath, the smile tweaking her lips negating the harsh tone of her voice.

Olivia smiled at Alex's mutterings as she took the proffered hand. "It's nice to meet you."

Adam laughed as he shook her hand, leaning in close as if what he was about to say next was a secret. "We'll see if you're still saying that at the end of this weekend. We've chased many a suitor off – do you really think you're up for it?"

"Sure," Olivia grinned. "I'm armed."

"Damn," Adam whistled appreciatively. "That's something I never thought of. Maybe I should start carrying for these things."

"Yeah – that's just what we need. A gaggle of Cabots walking around with firearms. Like last year with the tequila shots and the M-80's wasn't dangerous enough," Alex muttered. "Hey, has Jill showed up with her girlfriend yet?"

"Jilly has a girlfriend?" Adam arched a brow questioningly in surprise.

"According to the rumor mill she does," Alex smiled. "And that would be Liz Donnelly, so you know it's true. I'm actually half banking on the fact that she's hopped over to our side of the fence to detract from the level of heat Liv will get."

"I'll take care of it," Adam smiled mischievously at his sister. "I owe her after last year with Cory."

Alex laughed loudly at the reminder. Jill was definitely her mother's daughter at times. "Come on, the little penis hats were cute!"

"Hey Alex!" Matt Cabot called out with a wave. "Send your brother back out here so I can finish kicking his butt – it's his shot!"

"I'll let you go," Alex smiled at her brother. "We'll catch up more later. What's the game for the Cup this year?"

"Pucks," Adam grinned. "And Andy called and said that they should be here by dinner, so at least it'll be even teams."

"Adam, get a move on! Ladies – donuts are in the pantry!" Matt hollered with a shit-eating grin on his face.

Alex shook her head flipped him playfully off as she hollered, "You're supposed to be on my side Matt!"

"What's the cup?" Olivia asked as they watched Adam jog out to where his yellow ball was.

Alex waved at her cousins Bryn and Bryan who were watching their own children running around as she answered, "Yet another Cabot clan tradition. We team up according to schools and play – whichever team loses has to do all the dishes after Thanksgiving dinner. And it's a lot of dishes."

"How do you determine the teams?" Olivia asked as she watched Adam's yellow ball roll through the wicket and smack into Matt's green one.

"Woohoo, you're going down Matty!" Adam called out as he sauntered over to their balls and placed his foot on top of his own. He looked around, adjusted his stance, and reared back to smack Matt's ball as far off course as possible.

Alex laughed as her mother loudly chastised Adam for sending Matt's ball into the side of the house. From a distance she couldn't tell if there was any damage, but she wouldn't discount it after last year. "At least it wasn't the window this time," she observed softly to herself before turning the focus of her attention to answering Olivia's question. "Ivys versus plebes."

Olivia looked over at the smiling blonde and frowned. "What?"

Alex rolled her eyes and answered, "That's how we break off into teams. Ivy league schools versus non-ivy league schools."

"Of course," Olivia drawled. "Because that's how every family breaks into teams. So, did I understand right – your sister isn't here yet?"

"Yes you did," Alex smiled and leaned in to kiss Olivia quickly. "Should we make the rest of the rounds now? I see Matt's kids, my cousins, Bryn and Bryan over there," she pointed at two sandy haired adults who were forcefully prying a couple of boys off of each other. "And Jill's brothers Jake and John," she pointed at two men with pale blonde hair off to the side of the croquet game holding blue and red mallets in their hands.

"Are they all twins too?" Olivia asked as she looked at the people Alex had pointed out, her keen eye placing each pair at around the same age.

"Kinda," Alex smiled. "Bryn and Bryan are twins. Fraternal, obviously. Jake, John and Jill are triplets, but Jake and John are identical."

"Holy multiple childbirths Batman," Olivia muttered.

"Yeah, the whole 'multiples are genetic' thing is actually true. Andy's kids are twins, as are Jake's. Bet you're happy you can't get me pregnant," Alex laughed.

"I dunno," Olivia mused as she looked over at Alex, her eyes softening and her face remaining neutral as she appraised her lover. "I can picture myself chasing a little Alex or two around the house."

Alex studied Olivia's warm eyes as she placed a gentle finger onto the brunette's lips. "We will come back to this topic later," she murmured, a small smile tweaking her lips. "C'mon, let's get the rest of your intros out of the way and then we can get our luggage up to my rooms. I'm suddenly feeling rather appreciative of you and have this burning desire to show you how much I love you."

"My rooms are this way," Alex informed Olivia as she turned left at the staircase landing and climbed the remaining steps. She led the way down the bright hall, motioning thoughtlessly as she rambled, "This is the door to Adam's rooms, and that," she waved off to the right, "is Andy's. Guest rooms," she motioned towards the doors surrounding her siblings'.

"So is that where the kids all sleep?" Olivia asked, trying to figure out how careful they needed to be.

"Over the holidays the kids always bunk in the game room over the garage so they aren't running around the halls waking up all the adults," Alex winked conspiratorially. "And this is my room," she turned into the last door on the left and stopped in her tracks.

Olivia glanced over the blonde's shoulder and laughed as she took in the sight of Alex's sitting room, "Streamers? Seriously?"

Alex shook her head and crossed over to the small table in front of the loveseat and picked up the card that was resting against a stack of books. She slipped a finger under the flap and ripped it open neatly to pull out a greeting card covered with pictures of donuts.

"Do I want to know?" Olivia asked as she set their suitcases next to the bookshelves.

Alex looked up and smiled, holding the card out for Olivia to read for herself. The brunette took the card and quickly scanned the script inside, Because we couldn't give you streamers before. So glad you brought Olivia with you. Love, Mags. "I guess it's the thought that counts?" she looked up and smirked.

"I dunno," Alex smiled as she looked around the ceiling that was crisscrossed with red and black streamers. "At least it's confined to my rooms and it's not all over the house."

"That is true," Olivia chuckled as she tossed the card back onto the table and gathered Alex in her arms. "Because I would hate to have to explain to all those kids what the streamers were for."

"Hmm," Alex hummed appreciatively as Olivia began peppering her jaw with kisses. "You definitely have a point there, Detective."

Olivia smiled and kissed her way up to Alex's ear to whisper, "I have a point in my bag as well."

Alex laughed, low and throaty as she pulled back to smile at her grinning lover. "Do you now?"

"Mmhmm," Olivia leaned in and kissed Alex soundly.

Alex smiled into the kiss and let her hands drop to Olivia's ass. "Good thing everybody's outside then," she murmured as she slipped her hands into the back pockets of the brunette's jeans and pulled Olivia into her as she teasingly ground into her lover. "Go get him," she husked as she let go of Olivia.

"Really?" Olivia squeaked, her surprise obvious.

"Really," Alex confirmed with a grin as she turned toward her old bedroom.

Olivia smiled at Alex's retreating form as she walked over to the door leading to the hall and closed and locked it before returning to their bags and unzipping hers. She dug around in the front pocket of her bag, easily finding the toy and harness that she'd surreptitiously packed earlier that morning as a 'just in case' afterthought. She hadn't expected to use it, or really to even be able to spend any quality time between the sheets with her lover – but it'd caught her attention as she was throwing the few things Alex had asked her to get into the blonde's bag and she'd just grabbed it.

Now she was pretty damn glad she did.

She strolled into the bedroom, the toy dangling from her fingertips by one of the thin straps of the harness and smiled at Alex who was pulling the drapes over the floor to ceiling windows closed.

Alex smiled as she turned to find Olivia standing beside the bed with the strap-on hanging from her fingertips. "Hi," she murmured as she sashayed across the room toward her lover.

"Hey," Olivia smiled and leaned in to kiss Alex softly as the blonde's fingers began unbuckling her belt. "A little anxious are we?" she teased as Alex finished opening the belt, ripped it out of its loops, and tossed it carelessly aside.

"You have no idea," Alex purred as she hooked her fingers into the belt loops on Olivia's jeans and pulled her in close. "I've wanted you since you got out of the shower this morning," she muttered.

Olivia dropped the toy she was still holding onto the bed and grabbed Alex's hips. "Glad it wasn't just me," she muttered as she kissed her way over the blonde's jaw and down her neck, nipping gently at the sensitive spot below Alex's ear causing the blonde to moan loudly and her own desire to skyrocket. "I want you," she growled as she rocked her hips forward into Alex's.

Alex moaned again, louder this time, before gasping, "Please."

Olivia lifted her head to see lust and liquid desire swirling in Alex's rapidly darkening eyes. She moaned loudly as her body physically reacted to what Alex's eyes were saying, her nipples tightening and her sex clenching needfully. She crushed their mouths together, the softness of earlier lost in the face of her growing want, her growing need to possess, to own the woman in her arms. Tongues dueled as hands roamed, easily shedding clothes until they were pressed against each other skin to skin.

Alex was the first to pull back, a wicked smile tweaking her lips as she leaned over to pick up the discarded toy. "We really need to give him a name," she mused as she kneeled in front of Olivia and began helping the brunette into the barely-there harness.

Olivia chuckled at Alex's train of thought, her quiet laugh turning into a moan as the last strap was fastened and the blonde took the length of the toy into her mouth. "Fuck Alex," she groaned at the sight of Alex kneeling in front of her giving her a blowjob. She obviously couldn't feel the blonde's mouth on the shaft, but there was something about just the sight of it that was so incredibly fucking sexy. She felt a flood of wetness settle between her legs as she let herself become entranced by the erotic show Alex was putting on for her, snapping out of it only when a questing finger teased her opening.

That wasn't what she wanted.

"What?" Alex growled as Olivia's hips canted away from her and looked up at her lover with a pout.

"Bed," Olivia husked as she pulled Alex up to her feet.

Alex bit her lip and smiled coquettishly as she palmed Olivia's breasts roughly and teased the already hardened tips with her thumbs. She chuckled softly as she felt Olivia's hands drop to her hips and physically turn her toward the bed. "I was playing with those," she muttered as she released Olivia's breasts and allowed herself to be turned around.

"Now," Olivia growled as she pushed up against Alex's back, the fake cock lifting and pressing against her stomach as she guided the blonde forward onto the mattress.

Alex smiled to herself as she climbed up onto the bed, moving into the center of the mattress on her hands and knees. She looked over her shoulder at Olivia who was staring at her ass and asked, "Are you coming?"

Olivia groaned and quickly moved in behind Alex, her fingertips raking up the blonde's hamstrings causing a trail of goosebumps to erupt in their wake. She ran her palms over Alex's ass toward the blonde's hips, her grip tightening as she rocked her hips forward causing the tip of the toy to dip into the copious amount of moisture between Alex's legs.

"God Liv," Alex moaned as she rocked back and tried to impale herself on the toy, wanting, craving, needing to feel it inside her. "Please," she gasped as Olivia's grip on her hips stopped her movement with only the head of the cock inside her.

"Patience, love," Olivia murmured as she held Alex still with her right hand and reached down with her left to adjust the harness slightly so it was pressed more firmly against her center before she rolled her hips forward into her lover. "Christ Alex," she husked, choking back a moan as the strap of the harness rubbed against clit as she pushed slowly into Alex. Once the toy was buried as deep as it could be and her hips were pressed tightly to Alex's ass, she reached up with her right hand and pushed gently on the spot between the blonde's shoulder blades.

Understanding her lover's unspoken request, Alex lowered herself until she was propped up on her elbows. She moaned again, louder this time, as the movement changed the position of the toy inside her.

Olivia scratched her nails down Alex's back as she pulled out, rocking just the head of the cock inside the blonde as she ran her hand back to its previous position on Alex's hip. She pushed back in just as slowly as before, her fingertips gripping Alex's hips as she rolled her own into the blonde, her movements gentle and tentative as she was still unsure about just taking Alex when she wanted her.

Thankfully, Alex harbored no such insecurities.

"Fuck me," Alex growled as she rocked back into Olivia, pushing the cock just that little bit deeper into herself.

"God," Olivia moaned as she rolled her hips forward, grinding into her lover as her body literally came alive at the blonde's smoky words.

Alex gasped appreciatively as Olivia pulled out and pushed back into her more forcefully, the wonderful feeling of fullness combined with the friction of the toy sliding in and out of her igniting the familiar burn of want and desire low in her belly.

She relaxed her shoulders and allowed her forehead to drop to the mattress as Olivia's stroke became more confident, more demanding. God she's good at this, Alex bit her lip and moaned loudly as her eyes rolled back into her head after a particularly ferocious thrust. So incredibly fucking good, she thought to herself at the almost hypnotic shifting pressure of Olivia's hands on her hips from the brunette's fingertips on every thrust to the heel on every pull. The tempo, the force, of Olivia's movements increasing with each stroke until their rhythm against each other became nearly frantic.

Christ, I don't know how long I'm going to last, Olivia's inner voice groaned as the strap between her legs rubbed her so perfectly at the end of each thrust and pulled up into her every time she rolled her hips back and Alex's inner muscles clamped down around the toy, clutching at it, fighting its removal.

"That's it baby," Olivia encouraged throatily as she rolled her hips hard into Alex after a particularly forceful thrust. "God you feel so good Alex," she husked, leaning forward and sliding her hand over Alex's mound as her hips rocked back.

"Aaah, Liv," Alex gasped as the fingertips that had been playing at her right hip suddenly slid down to tease her clit sending a jolt of pure electricity through her body as that sudden, unexpected, masterful touch pushed her into orgasm.

Already so close herself, Olivia was pulled over the edge mere seconds after her lover by Alex's low, throaty, almost primal cries of pleasure. Trapped in her own release her hips rocked forward in a blind search for contact to extend the rolling waves of pleasure coursing through her body, pushing the toy cock deeper into Alex and eliciting another round of tremors to roll through both of them.

When the last racking spasm left her shaky and weak, she pulled out gently and quickly removed the harness, kicking the toy to the end of the bed and gathering Alex into her arms – wanting nothing more than the feel of Alex's body cradled tenderly against her own as their flushed and heated skin cooled to the air around them.

"God Liv," Alex moaned as she settled back into her lover.

"Mmm," Olivia smiled weakly as she pressed a soft adoring kiss to the back of Alex's shoulder. "God yourself Alex," she teased quietly. "You were … that was …"

Alex intertwined the fingers of their right hands together and lifted Olivia's hand to her mouth to press a tender kiss to the back of the brunette's knuckles. "Yeah," she agreed thickly.

They laid wrapped up in each other for an untold number of minutes, enjoying the warmth and comfort of holding and being held, falling into an easy intimacy that was in stark contrast to their frantic coupling. The disparity of the moments striking but at the same time markedly similar, both showing the love, trust, and affection that is required for such an unquestioned giving of one's self over to your lover.

When her heartbeat had slowed to its normal rhythm and the cool air of the room left her feeling chilled, Olivia reached down to the end of the bed and pulled the throw that was artistically folded over the end up over their bodies.

"Mmm," Alex hummed appreciatively at the warmth.

Olivia smiled and pressed another kiss to the back of Alex's shoulder. "You surprised me," she murmured as she propped her head up on her left hand.

Alex smiled and rolled over, careful to not dislodge Olivia's arm from around her waist. "How so?" she asked as she lifted her head up to kiss her lover tenderly.

"I wasn't expecting you to be so …," Olivia's voice trailed off as she searched for the right word.

"Forward?" Alex offered helpfully, a playful smile tweaking her lips as she ran her left hand over Olivia's hip.

Olivia smiled at the feeling of her lover's wandering hand sliding over her body and nodded. "I guess that'll work," she conceded. "I was thinking enthusiastic."

Alex chuckled as she slipped her hand between Olivia's legs and began playing in the arousal she found there. "Should I apologize?" she teased.

"No," Olivia gasped as the tip of Alex's index finger brushed over her still sensitized clit.

"Good," Alex smiled as she quickly flipped Olivia onto her back and began trailing kisses down the column of the brunette's throat en route to her magnificent breasts. "Because I'm not done with you yet," she smirked as she lowered her lips to semi-flaccid nipple and sucked against it hungrily, immediately bringing it back to full arousal.

"Dinner," Olivia gasped as Alex's lips left her breast with a wet pop, knowing that for as much as she wanted this they weren't alone in the house and that they would be expected to appear on time.

"Don't worry," Alex assured Olivia with a wink as she settled between her legs. "This is more of an appetizer," she smirked before she lowered her mouth to Olivia's swollen, wanting, waiting lips.

Chapter 9

Olivia tugged gently on Alex's hand as they passed the pictures she'd noticed earlier in the hall. She leaned in close to peer intently at a black and white picture of three little kids sitting on the end of a dock with their legs dangling over the water. "Is this you and your brother and sister?" she asked with a smile as she pointed out the particular picture that had captured her attention.

"It is," Alex smiled. "I want to say I was five there, so that would make Adam six and Andy seven."

Olivia smiled at the image of her lover as a young child as she asked, "Where was this taken?"

"The family house in the Vineyard," Alex ran an appreciative finger over the picture frame. "You would love it up there Liv – the sun and the sand, as kids there was nowhere else we'd rather be. Maybe next summer we could go spend a week out there just the two of us?"

Olivia nodded and pulled Alex in close to press a soft adoring kiss to the blonde's temple. "Sounds perfect."

Alex sighed happily and turned to wrap her arms around the brunette's waist. She buried her face in the crook of Olivia's neck and flexed her arms, squeezing the detective tight in an unspoken declaration of affection. It felt right to be spending this time in her childhood home with Olivia and she was glad that she had never brought anyone home for the holidays since she'd graduated law school; she was glad that she'd saved this moment for the woman with whom she truly saw herself spending the rest of her life with.

The opening and closing of the front door behind them had Alex looking over Olivia's shoulder to see who had arrived and she let go of her lover with a childlike squeal of excitement when she spotted her cousin Jill standing in the foyer with an ear-to-ear shit eating grin on her face.

"Alex!" the waifish blonde grinned as she dropped her bag and hurried to gather Alex into a warm embrace. "I've missed you!"

"Oh, me too Jill," Alex chuckled as she stepped back to introduce herself to Jill's apprehensive guest who bore a striking resemblance to Abbie. "Hi," she held out her hand and smiled, "Alex Cabot. You know, you remind me of a good friend of mine."

"Abigail Carmichael?" The brunette smiled a little uncomfortably as she shook Alex's hand.

Alex nodded and cocked her head inquisitively. "You know Abbie?"

"Unfortunately," the Abbie clone laughed. "She's my cousin. So now I know why she was so damned amused when I told her I was coming to meet Jill's family. Lindsay Boxer, nice to meet you."

"Oh the pleasure is mine," Alex drawled with a wink as she half turned to Olivia. "I'd like to introduce you to my girlfriend Olivia Benson."

"Hi," Olivia grinned as she shook each of the women's hands in turn. "The resemblance is uncanny," she chuckled as she shook Lindsay's hand.

"Don't hold it against me?" Lindsay laughed. "Please?"

Alex and Olivia laughed and nodded. "We'll try," Alex assured her.

"Oh so you are the infamous Olivia Benson," Jill grinned as she used her grip on Olivia's hand to pull the surprised detective into a strong embrace. "She's been in love with you for forever, hurt her and I'll have Liz make your life a living hell," she whispered with a chuckle before she released the stunned brunette. "Jill Bernhardt, nice to finally meet you."

"I thought Maggie was your mother," Olivia frowned as she tried to fit this new piece of information into the Cabot family tree.

Jill laughed. "For as much as I'd sometimes like to believe otherwise, she's mine all right. Me and the boys were given my dad's name – mom never changed hers … feminist movement at its finest and all that jazz," she winked.

"I see," Olivia drawled. "So how was the flight out from San Francisco?"

"Fine," Lindsay replied a little too quickly.

The blush tinting Boxer's cheeks was enough to trigger Alex's curiosity. "You two didn't join the mile high club did you?"

"No," Jill laughed. "I wanted to, she wouldn't do it!"

"You Cabots are insatiable," Olivia chuckled.

"Hey – I have yet to hear you complaining about my sex drive," Alex smacked Olivia's shoulder playfully. "Soooo, what happened on the flight?"

"Just some trouble getting through security," Lindsay answered vaguely.

Alex was watching Jill's reaction and knew that something else was up. And, being that this was Lindsay Boxer's introduction to the Cabots it became her responsibility to push the subject just a little bit further. "Why? Firearm?" she asked, knowing from her conversation with Liz that the woman who was now cringing under her prosecutorial gaze was a detective. Or inspector. San Francisco has some crazy titles for its employees.

"Nah – all she had to do was show her shield and ID and she was cleared to carry. It was that suspicious looking object in her luggage that made the TSA agents a little squirrely," Jill shrugged with a smirk.

"Like what – a strap on and nipple clamps?" Alex asked playfully.

"No … neither of us own a set of nipple clamps," Jill answered with a grin as Lindsay's blush deepened..

Understanding dawned quickly for Alex and she couldn't help asking, "Why would you put that in your bag if you were planning to carry on?"

"I didn't!" Lindsay argued. "She put it in there!"

"Well, I didn't want those gross security officers digging through my bag," Jill laughed. "You know how uptight they are nowadays."

"Okay, can I just tell you how glad I am that we drove?" Olivia leaned in and whispered into Alex's ear, to which the blonde just grinned and offered the detective a smile and a quick kiss.

"So, what room are we in?" Jill asked in an attempt to change the subject and spare her girlfriend anymore embarrassment.

"Same as always," Alex grinned. "I know Adam was pretty excited to see you, why don't you come down and see everybody and you can run your bags up before the game."

"What's the game this year?" Jill asked as she moved her bag off to the side of the foyer and out of the way.

"Apparently it's time for pucks again."

"Pucks?" Lindsay asked.

"That's right," Jill grinned as she wrapped an affectionate arm around Lindsay's waist. "You West Coasters aren't versed in the winter sport slang … pucks is hockey," she clarified.

"You play hockey?" Lindsay and Olivia both turned to ask their respective blondes.

Alex rolled her eyes. "It's not real hockey Liv, just a bunch of us screwing around on skates."

"With sticks," Jill chimed in. "You should be glad that you're excused from playing," she told Olivia. "One year when Alex was … what were you, fifteen?"

Alex nodded and shrugged, motioning with her hand for her cousin to get on with the story already.

"Yeah, somewhere around there, you were still in high school, I know that much," Jill looked at Alex as she tried to pinpoint the time. "Anyways, Alex here got pissed at her brother and decided to whack him upside the head with her stick."

"I had a breakaway and he threw his stick under my skates and took me out!" Alex argued. "He totally deserved that beating!"

"Okay, now I'm understanding the 'no blood until Friday' rule," Olivia muttered.

"Yeah, after that year our parents instituted a mandatory helmet rule," Jill mused almost regretfully.

"How overprotective of them," Olivia drawled.

"I know, right?" Jill grinned. "So, where's the crew?"

Alex glanced at her watch before answering. "Probably at any flat surface they can find – Benjamin made chili and cornbread and it's six o'clock…"

"Feed time," Jill nodded knowingly. "To the kitchen it is!" she called dramatically and turned down the hall, never looking back, just assuming that everybody would follow her.

"Quite the theatrical flair she has," Olivia observed quietly as she and Alex watched Jill and Lindsay disappear down the hall en route to the kitchen.

Alex laughed and kissed Olivia tenderly. "You have no idea my love," she chuckled as she remembered some of Jill's previous stunts. "C'mon, gotta fuel up before the game."

Olivia tightened her arms around Alex's waist and held the blonde close. "Do we have to?" she murmured against Alex's ear before she began laying a soft trail of kisses down the side of the blonde's throat.

Alex's eyes rolled back in her head at the feeling of Olivia nipping gently at her collarbone but she knew that now, no matter how much she wished it otherwise, was not the time. "Mmm, unfortunately yes we do," she answered regretfully as she pulled away and twined her hands with Olivia's. "Come on baby, let's go have some dinner so we can get the game over with and then maybe afterwards you can give me a massage?"

"I can do massages," Olivia nodded helpfully.

"I know," Alex winked. "Now – enough sex talk, I gotta go face my mother," she shuddered slightly. "And I don't want to miss a second of Jilly's coming out party."

The mood in the kitchen was upbeat with all the 'kids' sitting around the large oblong table joking and eating dinner while the grandkids were in the dining room with the 'adults'. Alex and Olivia quickly served themselves up a couple of bowls of chili and made their way over to two of the four remaining empty seats at the table. Not long after they were seated Jill and Lindsay came into the room, filled their own bowls and settled into the last of the open chairs.

"Hey guys," Jill smiled at the group as she leaned across the table to grab a couple squares of cornbread out of the pan. She handed one off to Lindsay as she asked, "So, what have I missed?"

"Well, Alex and Olivia here seemed to have had a rather enjoyable afternoon," Jake grinned.

"Oh god," Alex groaned.

Happy that the full weight of the Cabot cousins' inquisition wasn't focused on her for the moment, Jill asked, "Really. Like how enjoyable was it?"

"Well, it sounded like a Baptist revival in there with all the 'Oh Gods' and 'Sweet Jesus'-es," John offered helpfully.

"I thought we were quiet," Olivia leaned in and whispered in Alex's ear.

"If that was quiet Olivia, I'd hate to be your neighbors when you're not worried about how much noise you're making," Adam winked. "Right Skittles?" he looked right at Jill.

Jill looked around quickly with a confused look on her face. "Who's Skittles? Me?" she pointed at her chest.

Adam nodded enthusiastically with a huge dorky grin on his face as the rest of the cousins sat up just that little bit straighter knowing that Adam was about to let go on Jill.

"Why Skittles?" Jill asked, knowing that she didn't want to know but unable to help herself.

"Because you finally decided to taste the rainbow," Adam replied.

The table blew up. Everybody was laughing so hard that they had tears running down their collective faces and the drinks that were in the process of being consumed at the time of Adam's outburst were sprayed across the tablecloth. Jill and Lindsay even joined in laughing, albeit with distinctively embarrassed blushes tinting their cheeks.

"Oh god Bryan!" Alex laughed as she stood up and leaned across the table to steal his napkin to wipe off the beer that he had spit out all over her.

"Sorry!" he squeaked as he stole his wife's napkin to clean himself off. "But it started to come out my nose and beer freaking BURNS when it comes out your nose!"

Everybody nodded sympathetically at that fact, each of them having suffered the indignity of having their drink spill from their nostrils at some point in their lives.

"So, how's the rainbow taste sis?" John laughed.

"Amazing," Jill winked at her brother.

"God, Jill!" Lindsay hissed, causing the cousins to start laughing loudly all over again.

Olivia, still laughing, leaned in close to whisper to Alex, "Okay, I am so glad that Adam decided to go after Jill and not me."

Alex smiled knowingly and kissed the brunette's cheek. "Don't jinx it love, there's still plenty of time for all of this to turn back around on us," she replied sagely.

"What is going on here?" Maggie's voice cut through the group's laughter.

"Nothing?" Adam squeaked as he turned to face his aunt. "We were just having some fun with Skittles and Lindsay here."

"Skittles?" Maggie frowned.

"Taste the rainbow?" Adam offered helpfully, cringing slightly as he was unsure of how his aunt would respond.

Maggie's stern face broke out into a huge grin as she laughed. "Skittles … that's good Adam – well done," she winked at him as she turned to report back to the 'grown up' table what was happening in the kitchen.

The rest of the meal progressed in a much more mature manner, with the blatant teasing over everyone's sexual preferences held to a minimum as the group instead focused their attention onto talking shit about the upcoming game.

After dinner everyone headed up to their rooms to change for the game and Olivia leaned back onto their unmade bed as she watched Alex digging through her closet. "What are you looking for?" she asked as yet another sweatshirt came sailing out of the closet and landed on the floor with six others.

"I need my hoodie," Alex replied.

"You've tossed out six hoodies Alex," Olivia observed.

"Yeah, but I need my lucky Yale hoodie," Alex called out, exasperation lacing her voice.

"Lemme guess, another tradition?"

"Yeah – you gotta wear your school's colors and I have one hoodie that whenever I wear it we always win. Fuck, where is it? Wait – I know where it is!" she called out as she hurried out of the closet and began digging through her chest of drawers. "Found it!" she held the heather gray hoodie aloft victoriously.

"Put it on," Olivia smiled.

"I'm in my underwear Liv," Alex frowned as she waved a hand at her cotton bikini briefs and sports bra.

"I know," Olivia winked, rather enjoying the sporty look Alex was modeling. It wasn't in the same league as Alex in sexy negligee, but even in cotton necessities Alex was certainly easy on the eyes. "And you look delicious. Just humor me Cabot. Put. It. On."

Alex smiled devilishly as she slipped the hoodie over her head. It fell just over her hips so that it looked like she wasn't wearing anything else. "You like?"

"You would have been one hot coed," Olivia grinned.

Alex recognized the look in her lover's dark eyes and she shook her head emphatically as she lifted the sweatshirt off over her head. "Not right now Benson," she scowled playfully. "We gotta get down to the barn."

"I thought you were playing hockey?"

"We are," Alex nodded as she pulled on a pair of shiny red running shorts. "The barn is where the rink is," she explained as she lifted a pair of black warm-up pants out of her bottom dresser drawer and put them on.

"You have an ice rink in a barn," Olivia frowned.

"No. The building where the sheet is looks like a barn, ergo – we call it the barn. It was never a housing animals type of structure," Alex explained dryly as she pulled on a white long sleeve compression shirt.

"You look hot," Olivia muttered as she slid off the bed and ran her hands up Alex's sides.

Alex looked down at herself. "I'm wearing warm-ups and a compression shirt," she frowned.

"Trust me," Olivia murmured as she slid her hands over the silky-smooth fabric of Alex's shirt. "This is a very good look on you Ms. Cabot," she purred as she palmed the blonde's breasts possessively.

"I am definitely bringing this shirt back to the city with us," Alex groaned as Olivia's thumbs brushed over her rapidly hardening nipples.

"Mmm, I like that idea," Olivia growled as she leaned in to nip playfully at the sensitive spot below Alex's right ear.

"Liv, we really gotta get down to the barn," Alex gasped as Olivia continued to play with her breasts. "Later?"

"Fine," Olivia sighed as she dropped her hands and stepped back. "Then you better get that sweatshirt on because if I have to look at my favorite toys being all perky and excited like they are you aren't going to make it down to the game … and I will gladly put up with the teasing we would get for that one."

"They're only excited because somebody was playing with them," Alex laughed as she reached down for her sweatshirt.

"Don't tempt me Alex," Olivia hiked a brow threateningly.

Alex studied her lover's serious face for a moment before she nodded. "Okay. Fine," she pulled the hoodie on over her head. "Happy now?"

"Not at all," Olivia grumbled as she slipped her arms into her leather jacket. "C'mon Counselor – let's get you down to the ice."

Chapter 10

Alex regretfully let go of Olivia's hand once they entered the barn and pointed the detective around the far side of the boards to where Carolyn and Maggie were huddled. "Do you want to stand by my mom and Mags to watch?" she asked tentatively, unsure as to how comfortable Olivia would be on her own with Carolyn.

"Linds will keep her company," Jill interrupted as the pair from San Francisco stepped into the building behind them. "I'm sure between the two of them all of their police training will help them survive the mothers."

Olivia shot a grin at Lindsay who nodded her agreement. "Alright," Olivia sighed. "We'll go get the grilling over with. Do good baby," she pulled Alex in for a quick kiss before she let the blonde go to get her skates on.

Once Lindsay finished giving Jill a similar goodbye the two women began their slow walk around the basher boards toward Carolyn and Maggie. The older women spotted their daughters' suitors as soon as the foursome entered the barn, and they smiled warmly as the duo approached.

"No need to look so concerned," Maggie laughed as she pulled Olivia into a hug. "You know I don't bite. I'm pleased to see you doing so well, how's the arm?"

"Good," Olivia smiled as she answered Alex's aunt. "Still doing a little PT on it, but I've at least been cleared for desk duty. Should get a full release in a couple weeks."

"Excited to get back?"

"Yeah," Olivia nodded. "I'm sure Alex would prefer I stay at a desk though."

"Probably," Carolyn Cabot agreed, taking the mention of her daughter as an opening to join the conversation. "She worries about you Olivia."

Olivia looked over at Alex's mother and nodded. "I know," she assured her. "But, like I always tell her, I'm careful when I'm out on the streets. I don't take any unnecessary risks."

Carolyn smiled and placed a well meaning hand on the detective's arm. "I know dear. So," she changed the subject rather obviously. "Who do you think will win this year?" she asked as she waved at the rink where the cousins were all warming up.

"I'm kind of partial to the Ivy league crew," Olivia smiled as she scanned the Ivy team. Alex in her lucky Yale hoodie was snapping off some wrist shots against the boards with Bryan who was sporting Dartmouth's colors. Alex's sister Andy was skating lazy circles around the group in a Harvard hoodie and John (Columbia) was still lacing up his skates.

"No surprises there," Maggie chuckled. "I think the Plebes have a real chance this year. Jake was telling me that he's been doing a little skating on the weekends so he's got his legs already."

"I have to agree with Maggie," Lindsay replied carefully as she slid in next to the boards to watch Jill in her cardinal red Stanford sweatshirt passing a puck back and forth with her brother Jake who was wearing the sky blue colors of Johns Hopkins. "Of course, I don't know how good Adam is," she noted as she watched him brushing ice off his maroon BC sweatshirt after having fallen. "Does he even know how to skate?"

"Mhmm," Carolyn nodded. "He actually played through high school, he's just screwing around for the kids," she pointed at the nieces and nephews who were laughing and clapping on the other end of the rink.

"Yeah," Maggie nodded. "The real weak link on that team is Bryn," she pointed out the sandy blonde in a MIT hoodie. "She can stay upright, but she can't skate like the rest of them."

"Hey Boner!" Adam hollered across the rink. "You stuffy snobs ready to play?"

"Because your upbringing was so different!" Alex hollered back playfully. "Don't blame us because you couldn't cut the Ivy admission requirements."

"Boner?" Olivia asked Carolyn and Maggie.

Carolyn laughed softly and nodded as she watched Alex and Adam skate towards each other and center ice. "No blood you two!" she called out sternly.

"Yes mom," they replied in unison and Olivia had to laugh – she could imagine the two of them getting into all sorts of trouble as children.

"Alex didn't tell you?" Carolyn turned her attention to Olivia as the game got underway.

Olivia shook her head. "I guess not."

"Figures, damn secrecy," Carolyn nodded thoughtfully. "Well, you know she went to Yale," she waited for Olivia to nod before continuing. "She was recruited during her junior year of undergrad to join the Skull and Bones Society."

Olivia turned completely away from the game to face Alex's mother, her surprise obvious on her face. "What? Really?"

"Indeed," Carolyn nodded. "Think back to when she first joined your squad – how would you have described her?"

"Ambitious," Olivia answered immediately as she cut her eyes back towards the game for a moment. "Ruthlessly ambitious. Some of the guys called her..."

"The Ice Queen," Carolyn cut in. "She didn't like that one so much. But you see, that was why the Bonesmen recruited her … she was young, idealistic, and full of piss and vinegar and barrels of ambition. It's not so much a fraternity as a group of individuals with political aspirations," the Cabot matriarch tried to explain the true purpose of the highly secretive society. "And the alumni, if you will, have already achieved their own levels of influence and can help the next generation along."

"She once told a suspect that she was going to send him down on the death penalty and when his appeals ran out she'd be the one answering the phone at the Governor's mansion denying his clemency."

"That does sound like our old Alex," Carolyn nodded. "Her father was a Bonesman, bless his soul, he was so proud when she called to say that she'd been recruited – they'd only just started inducting female members, you see."

Olivia nodded as she tried to picture a younger Alex in such a select group. "She's not as blindly ambitious anymore," she murmured thoughtfully. "I mean, she still cares a great deal about her win/loss ratio and putting the perps away … but she's softened with the victims."

"She's lost her edge," Carolyn nodded knowingly. "She doesn't have her sights set on the DA's chair, Governor's mansion or the Senate any longer. Not that I mind, she seems much happier now – especially in the last month. I am guessing you are the reason for that Olivia."

Olivia blushed and became very interested in the game that was being played so as to avoid the elder Cabot's studious gaze.

"You don't need to worry about the 'if you hurt her' speech or the 'what are your intentions toward my daughter' question from me, dear," Carolyn chuckled. "I know you won't hurt her. Maggie told me how you were shot outside that club and yet you still tried to chase down the man who grabbed Alex."

"I only wish I would have stopped him from taking her," Olivia murmured. "It was my job to protect her and I failed, you'll never know how sorry I am for that."

Carolyn studied the detective carefully as she replied softly, "I can see exactly how sorry you are in your eyes. It's obvious. You love her, don't you?"

"Yes ma'am."

Carolyn pursed her lips but decided against correcting the suddenly shy detective about using her name. "If you don't mind my asking, and feel free to tell me that it's none of my business, where do you see your relationship with my daughter going?"

Olivia laughed and offered the elder Cabot one of her famous lopsided grins. "I thought you said I wasn't going to get the 'what are your intentions' question?"

"I know your intentions – you love her and you want to keep her safe – what I'm asking is, where do you see your relationship going? Marriage? Kids?"

"Sounds a lot like the intentions question to me Carolyn," Maggie laughed. "Let's take turns, shall we. First Olivia can answer and then Lindsay," she turned to Jill's girlfriend, "can have a turn. We won't be doing our jobs as mothers if we don't do a little prodding to make these girls uncomfortable."

Lindsay leaned forward to rest her forehead against the top of the boards and Olivia couldn't help but laugh at the Inspector's behavior. Deciding to take what attention she could off of the Abbie clone, she looked at Alex's mother and answered her question. "I see my relationship with your daughter going wherever she is willing to lead me. As far as I'm concerned, she's it for me. Be it via an official route such as marriage or just our own promises I don't really care so much as I'm allowed to share in her life. Would I like to marry her and tell the world that she's mine – absolutely. But she's in a political field and I'm not going to push her into anything that would make her uncomfortable or negatively impact her career. As for kids," she let her voice trail off as an image of little towheaded children running around flashed through her mind, "I am not too keen on the idea of passing along my genetics, but I would love nothing more than to cuddle up at night with a mini-Alex or two and the original. That would be pretty close to heaven on earth as far as I'm concerned."

Carolyn Cabot looked at her daughter's lover with a look of complete approval in her eyes. "You'll do nicely Olivia dear," she murmured as she turned her suddenly teary eyes towards the rink where the kids were still playing.

"Goddamn, I'm supposed to follow that?" Lindsay grumbled quietly as she rolled her eyes in defeat.

Maggie laughed loudly. "Alright, Inspector. I'll give you a break until your next holiday with the family – I know the whole Skittles experience is new for the both of you … so I'll cut you some slack. For now."

Lindsay sighed in relief and offered Maggie a thankful smile before she turned to face the rink and the game, Olivia – sandwiched between Carolyn and Maggie – doing the same as the elder women shared a knowing smile behind the Detective's back before following suit.

Alex grinned as she exchanged handshakes and hugs with her cousins after the game. The Ivys won by three so the Plebes were doomed to dish duty the following day and in her mind there was nothing better than the thought of her brother up to his elbows in soap suds while she lounged around sipping wine and enjoying herself. Especially this year with Olivia. She looked over at her lover who was surrounded on either side by her mother and her aunt and tried to read the older woman's expression to see how her time alone with the mothers went. Olivia offered Alex a soft smile and a nod and the knot that was building in the blonde's stomach lessened at the unspoken message, I'm fine.

She pointed at the benches on the side of the rink closest to the door, indicating that she was going to take off her skates, and Olivia nodded in understanding.

"Good game Alex," Adam grumbled as he flopped down onto the bench beside his baby sister.

"Thanks bro," Alex grinned and leaned over to bump shoulders with him.

"How'd Olivia do with mom?"

Alex looked up to see her lover walking arm and arm with her mother around the end of the rink. "I think it went well," she nodded indicatively at the pair.

"Wow," Adam whistled. "Looks like she got the full approval. That's never been done since Andy brought Mark home. You got a good one there sis," he told her seriously. "Don't fuck it up."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Alex drawled as she tapped the heel of her skate on the foam mat to free her foot and lifted it up to her lap to snap one of the skate guards onto the blade. "But I have no intention of screwing this up. She's the best thing to ever happen to me."

"Awwwwww," Jill teased as she sat down next to Adam.

"Jealous, Skittles?" Adam teased.

Jill watched Lindsay walking next to her mother, both with their hands in their pockets and their heads tilted in towards the other as they talked. "No," she shook her head as a soft smile tweaked her lips. "No I'm not."

"This is serious, isn't it?" Alex looked from her cousin to Lindsay and back again. "You and her."

Jill looked at Alex and shrugged. "It is for me. I finally figured out what all those other relationships…"

Adam coughed loudly.

"And numerous one night stands," Jill muttered, knowing that at one point she was just as much of a player as Adam still was. "Were missing … until her."

"Then I hope it works out for you J," Alex reached across her brother's lap to squeeze her cousin's thigh encouragingly.

"Thanks," Jill smiled as she turned her attention to taking off her skates and slipping into her running shoes.

Alex had just finished getting her Uggs on when Olivia and Carolyn stopped in front of her. "Good game Alex honey," Carolyn smiled at her youngest child. "Adam – you better not break anything when you're doing the dishes this year, that crystal decanter you dropped last year was a family heirloom."

Alex sniggered at her brother. "Yeah, don't go dropping anything this year Flash."

"Flash?" Olivia asked.

"Got busted for streaking when I was pledging my frat," Adam shrugged with a mischievous grin. "No big deal."

"You do realize that she's a sex crimes detective, right?" Alex whispered loudly.

Adam nodded and jumped up to wrap Olivia in a surprise bear hug. "Yeah – but I'm so adorable she'll excuse a moment of childhood stupidity."

Olivia laughed and pushed him away. "Sorry pal, you're not my type," she winked at Alex. "And I have a sneaking suspicion that you'd enjoy being handcuffed way too much."

"Why – 'cause my sister does?"

"Hey now!" Alex interrupted their playful banter. "None of your damned business."

"Yes, I rather agree with Alexandra on that one Adam," Carolyn fought to control her own smile.

"Heh – he just got your mom picturing you in handcuffs," Jill laughed.

"I'm not the only one who brought a cop home for the holiday Jill," Alex turned to her cousin. "I'd watch the innuendo if I were you."

"Point taken," Jill answered quickly as she finished tying her shoe and jumped up to stash her skates in one of the lockers behind the bench. "Linds, what do you say we head on back now?" she asked as she took her girlfriend by the arm and quickly steered them toward the door.

"Methinks Skittles enjoys the handcuffs," Adam mused.

"Why wouldn't she?" Maggie winked as she turned to follow her daughter out. "They're fun."

"Maggie!" Alex, Olivia and Adam all groaned loudly. "Too much information Mags!" Adam called after her, Maggie's only response a playful wave over her shoulder as she stepped out into the night.

Carolyn studied the group and smiled her 'I'm the mom I'm in charge' smile at Adam. "Adam, would you walk Olivia back to the house, I'd like to speak with your sister for a moment," she stated, rather than asked, as she took her youngest by the hand and pulled her out of the barn.

Alex hazarded a quick glance over her shoulder at an equally confused Olivia before the door to the barn closed, effectively separating mother and daughter from the group. Once they were on the path back to the house Carolyn dropped Alex's hand and set a brisk pace, the younger woman breaking into a quick jog to catch up.

"Mom?" Alex murmured as she hurried after her mother. "Is everything okay?"

Carolyn nodded but refused to answer, a part of her greatly enjoying the inner turmoil she knew she was throwing her youngest into.

Alex silently followed her mother inside the house and up the stairs to what was her parents' bedroom suite. Carolyn indicated with a wave of her hand that she wished for Alex to have a seat in one of the club chairs surrounding the fireplace and Alex, still unsure as to what was going on, obediently followed the matriarch's unspoken directions.

"Olivia is lovely dear," Carolyn told her daughter as she dug through a chest of drawers. "Here it is," she smiled as she turned to face her daughter, her fingers wrapped around an object hidden in her hand. "You know your father was very proud of you and your accomplishments, don't you Alexandra?"

Alex nodded, biting her lip and frowning slightly at the direction the conversation seemed to be going.

"Did you know you were his favorite?" Carolyn asked. "I know parents are supposed to love their children equally, and we do, but you and he had a special connection – you were his shadow and he absolutely adored you."

"I miss him," Alex whispered, a tear tracing slowly down her cheek as she thought of her father.

"He would be proud of the woman you've become. He would have loved Olivia," Carolyn smiled. "So I want you to have this, for when the time comes," she held her hand out.

Alex automatically mimicked her mother's action, her hand facing up to receive whatever it was that Carolyn was giving to her. When her mother's hand withdrew she looked at what had been deposited in her palm. "Grandma's wedding band," she whispered as she traced the circumference of the ring, her fingertips running smoothly over the diamonds inlayed in the simple gold band. "Why are you giving this to me?"

"Before your father passed, he made me promise to give this ring to you when you brought home the woman you were going to marry. Now, I may be wrong in thinking that Olivia is that special person for you, but I somehow don't think I am. So just keep this, and when the time is right it would make your father and I happy if she were to enter the family with an heirloom on her finger. Even if it is just for the engagement only," she grinned, knowing her daughter's fondness for shopping.

"What did she say to you?" Alex smiled.

"If she wishes to tell you then she may, but as far as I'm concerned our conversation was between us. And Maggie and Lindsay who were eavesdropping," she smirked. "It doesn't matter what she said Alex, what matters is that I believed every word of it. She's a good woman, and she'll be good for you – now and in the future. And, as I'm sure Adam is scaring her half to death, I recommend you go rescue her from your brother now."

Alex nodded and wrapped her mother in a warm embrace. "Thank you mom," she whispered. "I love you."

"I love you too Alex," Carolyn smiled as she squeezed her daughter tight. "Now go, I know you have better things to do than spend the evening with your mother," she shooed Alex out of the room.

Alex nodded and carefully slipped the ring into the pocket of her warm-ups. She smiled back at her mother as she left, hurrying down the hall toward the stairs, anxious to find Olivia. She practically ran down hall to the kitchen from where she could hear the familiar clamor of dishes and laughter that indicated the after-game pie had been served. She immediately spotted Olivia perched on a stool at the island and wasted no time crossing the room to gather the brunette in her arms.

"Everything okay?" Olivia asked as she set her fork down to pull her lover into her lap.

Alex just buried her face in the crook of Olivia's neck and nodded, squeezing the brunette tighter as she pressed their bodies together.

"Baby, are you sure?" Olivia murmured, concerned by the tears that were beginning to soak through her shirt.

"Yeah," Alex smiled as she pressed a soft kiss to the column of Olivia's throat. "I'm great. I love you Liv," she whispered roughly as she stayed where she was, wrapped up in the arms of the woman she loved.

Olivia caught Adam's eye over Alex's shoulder and arched a brow questioningly. He just offered her a nod and a smile as he shrugged – indicating that while he didn't know what was going on with his sister, he was sure it wasn't anything to be concerned about.

"Alex honey, do you want any pie?" Olivia murmured as she ran her hands over the blonde's back soothingly.

Alex shook her head no and squeezed Olivia tighter.

"Do you want to go upstairs?"

Alex nodded and pulled back, offering her concerned lover a gentle smile as she wiped her tears from her eyes.

"Okay," Olivia stood and looked at Adam. "Just let me clean up this plate."

"I got it," Adam smiled. "Don't worry about it. You two love birds run on ahead – but remember you aren't the only ones in that wing of the house … okay?"

Alex slid her hand down Olivia's arm to take the Detective's hand in hers, automatically twining their fingers together, before reaching out to pull her brother into a one armed hug. "Thank you."

"Eh," he smiled as he hugged her back. "You look like you need her more than she needs pie. Just means more for me," he joked. "Everything okay?" he asked quietly.

"Perfect," Alex beamed as she looked from her brother to Olivia. "Absolutely perfect."

Part 11

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