DISCLAIMER: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and its characters are the property of NBC and Dick Wolf.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
SERIES: Part of the Holiday Shorts series.
Holiday Short - Super Bowl Sunday
By sunsetwriter
"Beer?"
"Check."
"Chips?"
"Check."
"TV remote?"
Alex arched an eyebrow. "Check. But don't even think about channel surfing during the commercials. I want to see them."
"You want to see the commercials?"
"It's the Super Bowl. The commercials are as much a part of it as the game."
Olivia scoffed. "OK, but don't think I'm gonna watch the half-time show. Those are always lame."
Alex smiled. "Don't worry, I have other plans for you during half-time," she said cryptically.
The ringing of Olivia's cell phone interrupted what was about to become an interrogation about those plans. Olivia huffed and reached for the phone.
"I didn't think you were on call today," Alex said.
"I'm not." She glanced at the display. "I don't recognize the number." She pressed a button and answered the phone in her usual manner. "Benson." No response. "Hello?"
"Hello?" a tiny voice responded.
"This is Detective Benson. Who's there?"
"Megan." Olivia suddenly recognized the voice of the eight-year-old she had spent hours interviewing the day before. The detectives were certain the child was being molested, but the little girl wouldn't reveal her abuser.
"Megan, are you OK, sweetie?" Alex saw the concern in Olivia's eyes as she realized she was speaking to the little girl who's situation had kept the detective awake for the better part of the past night.
"You told me to call you if the bad man came back."
"I remember. Did he come back?"
"Yes. He's here now."
Olivia's eyes widened. "Where are you?"
"He told me when he was done with my mom, it would be my turn." The little girl sniffled. "I'm scared."
"Megan, where are you?"
"I'm hiding in my closet."
"You stay there, Megan. Don't move. I'm on the way." She looked apologetically at Alex as she continued to speak into the phone. "I'm going to call some policemen to meet me there, but you stay where you are, OK?"
"OK. Hurry."
"I'll be there as fast as I can." She disconnected the call and punched in a number as she went to the bedroom to retrieve her gun and badge. Alex could hear her giving the dispatcher the address as she requested uniformed back-up to meet her at the child's home.
When she emerged from the bedroom, she gave Alex another apologetic look. "I'm sorry. I've got to go. The son-of-a-bitch is there and said he was coming after her when he was finished with her mother."
Alex nodded, knowing how cases like this affected her detective. Her caring and compassion and dedication were just a few of the many things that had attracted her to Olivia in the first place. "It's OK. Go. Just be safe." She gave Olivia quick hug and a kiss.
Olivia stopped for a moment to give Alex another kiss. "I'll try to be home by half-time," she said with a crooked smile as she backed out the door.
It was eleven-thirty by the time Olivia returned home. She entered the apartment to find the TV still tuned to a post-game show, an empty beer bottle and half a bowl of chips were left on the coffee table.
"Alex?" she called as she hung her jacket on the rack by the door.
"In here," Alex's voice called from down the hall.
Olivia made her way down the hall in search of the ADA. When she reached the bedroom, she realized that Alex was in the bathroom. "How did it go?" Alex's voice called to her from behind the partially closed door.
"Uniforms caught the bastard beating the crap out of Megan's mom, but luckily he hadn't turned his attention to Megan yet. I found her hiding in the closet. We called a bus for the mom, so I took Megan in to wait for child services. That's what took so long," Olivia explained as she unclipped her badge and removed her gun. She secured the gun in the drawer of the nightstand and placed her badge and cell phone on top. Still out of Olivia's sight, Alex smiled on hearing the good news as she quickly finished changing.
When she heard Alex emerge from the bathroom, Olivia looked up and found herself speechless at the sight before her. Alex stood in the doorway and casually leaned against the doorframe. She was wearing a loosely woven mesh football jersey that hung down to the tops of her thighs. Through the mesh, it was clear to see that was all she was wearing. She smiled, almost self-consciously, as Olivia simply stared.
"Wha…" The start of a question came out of Olivia's mouth in sort of a whoosh of breath as she continued to stare at her girlfriend. Her brain seemed to short-circuit and she seemingly lost her ability to speak. She blinked and tried again. "What... uh…"
"I believe it's called a practice jersey," Alex said with a satisfied smile.
Olivia nodded slightly. "Yeah, but… why are you wearing it?" she finally managed to ask. "Not that I'm complaining," she quickly added.
Alex gave a small shrug. "I had something special planned for half-time entertainment. But then you said you thought half-time shows were…" Alex looked up as she seemed to ponder for a moment and then looked directly at Olivia. "Lame." She tilted her head and waited for Olivia to respond.
Olivia started shaking her head. "Well, that's because I obviously hadn't seen this one," she said as she raked her eyes down Alex's scantily clad body. "I'll be happy to be proven wrong."
A hint of a smile played at Alex's lips as she watched the detective squirm a bit. The ADA nodded, but still didn't move. "It's just as well, I guess." The smile got a little bigger as she saw the look on Olivia's face that said she was beginning to think she had really screwed up with her earlier comment. Alex continued, "This has really turned in to more of a post-game celebration anyway." Her smile widened a little more as she saw the relief on the detective's face. "That's assuming that you want to celebrate – you haven't even asked who won."
Olivia chuckled. "I think I just won."
"Oh, not yet… I thought we could play our own little game – if you're up for it."
"What'd you have in mind?"
A wicked smile appeared on Alex's face as the detective easily took the bait. "Shirts versus skins. Full contact." She pushed away from the doorframe and started walking slowly toward Olivia. "I've got the shirt, so guess what that makes you?"
Olivia grinned as her fingers started furiously unbuttoning her own shirt. "Did I ever tell you how much I love post-game celebrations?"
The End