Olivia woke up around seven. She gently shook Alex's arms and pressed a soft kiss to the base of her neck. "Hey, princess. Time to get up."

Alex looked at her through wide, frightened eyes. She immediately started to tremble.

Olivia hugged her tightly. "It's okay, honey. I'm here." She gave Alex another kiss. "Come on. Let's get in the shower."

Alex reluctantly got out of bed and followed Olivia to the washroom, who turned on the shower and stripped, getting in and motioning for Alex to do the same. Alex shivered, but complied.

Olivia wrapped her arms around Alex and pulled her close, kissing the ADA's hair. "We're going to be okay, Alex. We can do this."

Alex took a deep breath and nodded. She leaned against Olivia and allowed herself to relax in her girlfriend's embrace.

They finished their shower, then got dressed and went into the kitchen. Olivia made herself a cup of coffee and Alex a cup of tea. "What do you want for breakfast?" she asked.

Alex sighed. "I'm not hungry."

"You have to have something," Olivia told her. "You've lost a lot of weight, honey. It's not healthy."

Alex turned away. "Don't tell me what to do," she muttered, hollowly, with no real conviction.

Olivia sighed, too. She sat down beside Alex and gently massaged her shoulders. "Have a banana," urged Olivia.

Alex shook her head, taking a sip of tea and grimacing. "Olivia," she said firmly. "I'm not a child. Stop trying to take care of me. I'm an adult and I can decide whether I want breakfast or not."

Olivia smiled to herself. "Sorry, sweetie. I'm just worried about you."

"Well, don't be. I'm okay."

Olivia didn't believe it for a second, but she nodded anyway. "Okay, honey." She had a banana herself and pulled on her shoes. "You ready?"

Alex tried to compose herself and slowly nodded. She followed Olivia outside the apartment and they hailed a cab.

Alex rested her head in Olivia's lap and the detective threaded her fingers through Alex's hair. "You're strong, baby," she murmured. "You can do this."

Alex nodded, trying to calm her ragged breathing.

They reached the DA's office and Alex started to tremble again as they climbed out of the cab. Olivia noticed and took her hand, rubbing it to warm it up. "You're okay, princess. You're okay."

She let Olivia lead her inside, where some of her colleagues cast curious glances her way, but she ignored them. She was here on a mission, and she was going to accomplish it if it killed her. She had nothing left to lose.

Olivia knocked on the door to Liz's office and Alex took a deep breath. They were really doing this. She was absolutely terrified.

Olivia noticed and squeezed Alex's hand. "Breathe," she murmured, and Alex exhaled a shaky breath.

Liz opened the door and Alex immediately dropped her gaze. She couldn't bear to meet her boss' eyes.

"Come in," said Liz sharply, and Alex and Olivia followed her into her office, sitting down across from her. Alex still kept her eyes down, unable to look at either of them. Without preamble, Liz snapped, "What is it?"

Alex glanced at Olivia, waiting for her to explain, but Olivia didn't. Alex took a deep breath and forced herself to meet Liz's eyes. "I – I didn't tell you what really happened – with –" God, she was tripping over her words. She needed to pull herself together. She focused on breathing for a moment, then looked at Liz again, unsure what to say or how to say it. Finally, she just burst out, "They broke into our apartment and they had us at gunpoint and they – they took us with them and they held a gun to my head and they told me to – to rape Olivia and they said they'd kill us if I didn't." She hung her head. "So I did."

Liz crossed her arms, seemingly unaffected by Alex's words and the pain that shone through as she spoke them. "Why didn't you tell me this to begin with? And why did you take the case, Alex? You knew it was unethical."

Alex looked at the ground. She didn't know what to say.

"It wasn't her fault, Liz," said Olivia firmly, a hint of reproach creeping into her tone.

Liz fixed Olivia with her icy stare. "I know that. But that doesn't excuse her unethical conduct. There are going to have to be repercussions for that."

"Don't you think she's been punished enough?" snapped Olivia.

"She's right here," muttered Alex, but neither of them seemed to hear, and went back to talking about her as if she wasn't in the room.

"I can't imagine how difficult this has been for you – for both of you – but that doesn't excuse anything else. The fact of the matter is that if Alex had told the truth to begin with and not taken on the case – which was completely unethical – we wouldn't be here."

"Has it been that long since you've been at SVU that you don't remember the aftermath of these crimes? The guilt, the shame . . . even if it seems illogical to you."

Alex bowed her head, blushing at how easily Olivia could read her emotions. "I'm sorry," she offered, so quietly that she wasn't sure if Liz heard her. Olivia must have, because she gave Alex's hand a comforting squeeze. Neither of them were particularly fond of public displays of affection, but clearly Olivia thought Alex needed it now.

Liz softened. "I understand." She sighed. "I'll smooth things over with Arthur." In a gentle voice that was unfamiliar to Alex, Liz added, "I think it might be a good idea for you to take some time off, Alex."

Alex finally raised her head, hardly daring to breathe. "How long?" she said softly, trying to keep her voice level.

Liz sighed again. "Two weeks. If you need more time, let me know. I'll have Novak take over your caseload."

"Thank you," whispered Alex, unable to believe her good luck. She wasn't going to be fired or prosecuted or disbarred or anything worse. She'd done it. She'd been brave and stood strong and she was going to be okay.

"Go home," said Liz in that same gentle tone. "I'll see you in two weeks."

It was a dismissal and they took it at face value. Alex got to her feet, her knees barely holding her up, but she managed to make her way out of the DA's office before collapsing in Olivia's arms.

Olivia kissed her hair, gently rubbing her back as Alex tried to hold herself upright, attempting to keep the tears at bay. "You did it, baby," she murmured, holding Alex close. "You're so brave. So brave." She kept one arm wrapped tightly around Alex as she used to other to hail a cab.

She managed to hold out until they sat down, and then Alex's tears spilled over and she leaned into Olivia. The detective kissed her tears away and took Alex into her arms. She didn't say anything else, just held her close.

When Alex had calmed down enough to speak, she curled up against Olivia, not even caring that they were in a cab. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice breaking.

"It's okay, princess," whispered Olivia, combing her fingers through Alex's hair and kissing her forehead. As she did, Alex saw the tears brimming in her own eyes. "It's okay. We're okay."

And they were.

I think I'm going to leave this one as the last chapter. I hope you liked the story. If so, review!