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 - First Day of Fall
By sunsetwriter
Olivia opened one eye. She was not surprised to see two blue ones staring back at her from the neighboring pillow.
"What're you doing?" Her voice was groggy and slightly muffled since she hadn't moved her head and she was practically speaking into her pillow.
The blue eyes blinked. "Watching you sleep."
"I know that. But why?" She closed the eye again.
"How did you know that?"
"I could feel you."
Alex raised herself up and propped on one elbow. "You could feel me watching you while you slept?"
"Mmm hmm."
"How is that possible?"
"Mmm Nnno." Alex assumed that meant 'I don't know.' "Mm a d'tective. An' I'm good." Olivia's eyes remained closed so she missed the eye-roll her comment earned.
"Are you going back to sleep?"
The eye re-opened. "'Parently not."
Alex smirked. "Do you want to go back to sleep?"
Olivia rolled onto her back and stretched. "Depends on what else you have in mind."
Alex smiled as she watched the detective. Her short, dark hair was tousled from sleeping and her eyes still had that sleepy, half-mast look that Alex found incredibly sexy. All sorts of ideas ran through her head, but she opted for the original one she had before Olivia woke up. "Well, it's the first day of fall. I was thinking maybe we could take a drive upstate and see if the leaves were beginning to turn. Maybe take a picnic lunch."
Olivia smiled. "Can I drive?"
Alex rolled her eyes again. "Sometimes I think you love my car more than you do me."
"Not even close." Olivia rolled onto her side again and curled one arm beneath her head, resting her head on her elbow. "But I usually only get to drive police-issues. Driving your Beamer is like a vacation." She smiled. "Besides, it actually reminds me of you."
Alex looked skeptical. "Because it's my car?"
"Nope. Because it's smooth and sexy and I can make it purr…"
Alex smiled. "Oh, you are good. Maybe we should just stay here."
"Or we could take a blanket with us… Find a secluded spot…" Olivia leaned over and kissed Alex softly.
Alex scooted a little closer and put her hand on Olivia's hip. "That sounds tempting, but…"
"But what?"
"I was actually going to see if you wanted to invite Elliot and Kathy to go along."
Olivia looked surprised. "Why?"
"I know it's spur-of-the-moment, and they probably already have weekend plans, but we could ask. It might be fun."
Olivia sat up and propped on her elbow. "Alex, what are you thinking?"
Alex chewed on her lip for a moment. "I think we should tell them. About us."
Olivia just stared for a moment. "You want to tell Elliot and Kathy. About us." She repeated the words as if it would make her understand them clearer. "Why now?"
"A couple of reasons, really."
"Like?"
"Well, it's the autumn equinox. Some view that as a time for finding balance and renewal. The fall is a time for harvesting what's grown from the seeds you've planted and enjoying the bounty of your labors." Olivia's eyebrows rose a notch and Alex seemed to realize that she was rambling. She shrugged slightly. "It just seems like a good time to start a new phase in our lives. If you want to, that is."
"I want to… but are you really sure you want to tell Elliot? Because, once we do, there's no going back."
"If I can handle telling my mother, I think I can handle telling Elliot Stabler. Which brings us to my other reason." Olivia tilted her head and Alex continued. "It only seems fair. Elliot is family to you. I think you should be free to share the important things in your life with your family if you want to."
Olivia looked at Alex for a moment. "So what's changed?"
"Nothing. And everything."
"Care to elaborate?"
"Nothing, in that we still need to be careful. There could still be repercussions if the wrong people find out or want to use it against us or the unit."
Olivia nodded. "And everything?"
Alex took a deep breath. "You are the first person I've introduced to my mother since I finished law school." Olivia's eyes widened. "And I'm not trying to frighten you, but I think I've fallen completely and madly in love with you. And I'm not sure I can hide that much longer, even if I wanted to."
Olivia stared at Alex for a moment before slowly breaking into a wide grin. She laughed as she launched herself toward Alex, pushing the ADA onto her back and landing on top of her. She kissed her deeply, taking Alex's breath away. When they finally parted, they were both panting for air.
Alex was the first to recover her voice. "Wow." With that, Olivia kissed her again and this time when they parted, Olivia was smiling from ear to ear.
"I don't think I want to tell Elliot today."
Alex couldn't help but frown slightly. "You don't?"
"Not today. We're gonna do this right, not spur-of-the-moment. We'll invite them out for dinner next weekend and tell them then."
Alex smiled. "So what would you like to do today then? To celebrate the first day of fall?"
Olivia laughed. "The only fall I want to celebrate is falling in love with you all over again." The next kiss she gave Alex, left no doubt in the ADA's mind as to the type of celebration Olivia had in mind.
The End