Chapter 5

The last two nights had been rough, to say the least.

The hospital had kept Olivia until 6:47am. That gave her just enough time to get some coffee, before immediately going back into work. She didn't have enough time to go see Noah. Luckily, her nanny was absolutely understanding about the night's events, and diligently stayed with the toddler all night. Olivia made a note to give her a huge raise. She deserved it. Noah, for his part, was sad his mommy didn't come home - but surprisingly understanding for a toddler.

Olivia had spent her lunch break that day at the preschool, spending some much needed time with her child, and it was the fastest hour of her life. She would spend all day with the kid if she could. If only.

It was now nearing the end of the day, and it left her heart a little heavy. It was one of those days where justice seemed to be against the victims. Very few of the unit's cases seemed like they would get any closure.

Then there was Alan Todd. Even though the jury had found him guilty of all charges, it looked like he was going to die in an isolated hospital room before a judge would be able to sentence him. A terrible fate, to be sure - but Olivia couldn't help but feel like he was cheating justice. Though, she supposed she should count her blessings. He didn't give her his illness. He didn't give anyone in her unit his illness. At least there was that to be grateful for.

She looked at the clock - it was about time for her to leave. She smiled. Time to get some much needed time in with her son.

As she got up from her office chair, there was a knock on the door. Before she had a chance to answer it, she found Rafael Barba coming into her office.

"Do you have a minute?" he asked. Olivia sighed. Barba never talked to her about anything that wasn't important.

"Yeah," she said, although reluctantly. She didn't want to deal with anything else case related today.

He took a seat, and sighed.

"I'm going to have to leave the unit," he said, bluntly. Without hesitation. It took Olivia a second to process exactly what he said.

"What?" she exclaimed. The Special Victim's Unit worked best, when there was an assigned ADA. Most lawyers, they couldn't care less about what happened at the Special Victim's Unit. Having an ADA who specifically worked with them made the hard process of justice a little bit easier.

"Not permanently," he explained, "Just a month, maybe two."

Olivia nodded. That was better, she supposed. That still meant they were gonna be struggling for a while.

"When do you leave?" she asked.

"A couple days. But I don't want to leave the unit hanging," he paused, "I talked with Ms. Cabot-"

"Alex?" she paused. Her heart jumped a bit. It was just a few days ago she saw Alex again, and now they might be working together? No, probably not. Alex was quickly on her way to becoming a DA. If not in New York, some other state. As sad as it was, working with the Special Victim's Unit was beneath her. There's no way Alex would agree.

Barba nodded, "She's a fantastic lawyer, and I want to leave the unit in good hands."

Olivia smiled. It was true - Alex always left the unit better than it was when she got there.

"What did she say?" Olivia asked.

"She told me she'd think about it," Barba said, "But, I'm not hopeful. Which is why…" he leaned into her desk, "I was hoping you would talk to her."

"Why me?" Olivia asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" the ADA laughed, "You spoke very highly of her at the hospital, and Fin said the two of you used to be close."

"Used to, being the key part of the phrase," Olivia paused, a small pang of guilt. That phrase described her and Alex all too well. Her and Alex used to be a lot of things. "I don't think it'd be appropriate of me to ask her. I'm sorry."

Barba nodded, and stood up. He gave her a small smile.

"I understand," he said, and left the office. Olivia leaned back in her chair. She couldn't ask Alex something like that. As amazing as it was to get coffee with the former ADA, there was something awkward about the encounter. Whether she liked it or not, her relationship with the blond had deteriorated. And as much as she would love to work with Alex again, she couldn't ask her to possibly sabotage her career because she wanted to work together again.

She was making the right decision. She knew that.

And yet, she felt slightly guilty about it. And she didn't know why.

Olivia lied in her bed, blankets up to her chin. Her eyes were closed, and she took a deep breath. Noah had been asleep for an hour - he stayed up slightly past his bedtime as Olivia read him an extra story. They hadn't spent too much time together, and Noah was happy to stay up with his mommy. Now he was safe and sound in his bed - while Olivia was left with her thoughts.

She couldn't stop thinking about what Barba had said - about the possibility of Alex Cabot being with the unit, just for a little bit. How he wanted her to ask the blond.

Maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't be so bad if she did. She was in charge of the Special Victim's Unit now, and she had to act in the unit's best interest. Alex was the unit's best interest.

Olivia pulled out her phone, and looked at the time. It was 10:45PM. For anyone else, that would be too late to receive a phone call. But Alex? The lawyer had chronic insomnia, and on a good night, she would go to bed at the early time of 3AM. Alex used her insomnia for her advantage - that was when she caught up on paperwork, or read up on cases. Occasionally, she would use the time to catch up on herself - maybe read a good book if she could find one.

Olivia and Alex used to talk on the phone at night a lot - usually about cases. Sometimes just to hear each other's voices.

But then again - a lot has changed since she last saw the lawyer. There was a chance that Alex put an end to her insomnia, and got the proper medication to treat it. Maybe calling her right now would simply wake her up.

Yet, Olivia still found herself scrolling through the contacts. The detective realized this might be a mistake - how did she even know that Alex had the same number? Maybe she would just be calling a stranger.

She found the contact info - Alex Cabot. It was complete with a dumb picture Olivia had taken of the lawyer, a picture of when they went ice skating together. The two had spontaneously decided to take a selfie - neither of them had ever taken one and hey, why not take one together. It was one of maybe three selfies Olivia had ever taken?

She hesitated, for a bit. This was dumb, she decided. She shouldn't make this phone call. She would regret everything.

And yet, she pressed the button.

The phone rang once, twice, three times…

"This is Alex Cabot," the voice on the phone said. Olivia smiled. At least she didn't call a stranger, "Who is this?"

A punch to the gut - Alex didn't have Olivia's number saved. Of course she didn't.

"Alex, hey...It's Olivia," she said. It was awkward, to say the least. She heard a gasp on the other end of the phone.

"Oh, Olivia, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed. She heard Alex cough on the other end, Olivia figured she caught the blond off guard, "Excuse me...sorry. I got a new phone last year, and I couldn't figure out how to import my contacts, and-"

"Don't worry about it," Olivia said. It wasn't a big deal, anyways. At least, she didn't think it should be.

"I heard no one in the unit was infected," Alex said, small talk, "I'm glad to hear everyone was okay."

"Me too," Olivia said. Maybe this was the perfect place to transition to why she was really calling, "So Barba told me you two talked."

A small pause, "Oh yeah," was Alex's response. Another pause.

"I just wanted to call and say, as much as the unit would benefit from you being there…" she paused. She wanted to include how much she would enjoy having the lawyer back on the team. How she missed their days of working together. But she decided it was best kept to herself, "...I just wanted to say that…" she wondered, would it be selfish to ask Alex to come back? Maybe her first instinct was right. She shouldn't have made this call, "I'd love to have you back. But if being with us sabotages your career…"

"I'm gonna take the job," Alex said. Olivia's heart skipped a beat.

"What?"

"I'm going to take the job," Alex repeated, "I was planning on working somewhere else, anyways, and it would be a nice transitional job."

Olivia found herself smiling, "Well...great. I'll see you at work, I guess."

"Yeah," the lawyer replied, "Sleep well, Liv."

"You too."

She heard a laugh on the other end of the phone, "You know I don't sleep," was all that Alex said.

Olivia found herself laughing at the joke, "Well, have a good night regardless."

"You too."

And with that, the conversation ended. Olivia felt her pulse racing. Alex was coming back. She would actually be working with the unit again, even if it was just for a little bit.

Olivia closed her eyes. Somehow, she found it a bit easier to sleep now.

Thank you peterpeter, Brels, Guest, Thalie57, and lizzy43 for reviewing. You guys make my rocking world go round.

Sorry for being a couple days late on this, again. I might start making the update date Tuesdays instead of Mondays, since Mondays have become kind of my catch-up date. As always, let me know what you guys think. I appreciate the support. Once again, you rock my world.