Heeeeeeeeeeey, how's this for updating? I posted that last chapter on Sunday (in a frenzied manner so as to get it published before the place I was at closed and also because I was really excited...I think it was pretty hastily done, but maybe not since I'm my own worst critic) and here it is the following Wednesday in the same month in the same year and I've got another, albeit slightly shorter, chapter locked and loaded. I can't promise that the rest of the chapters for this story will come as fast as this one, but I've got a good feeling about writing again that gives me hope. I haven't had a lot of time to ruminate on this one, but I kind of like it, so up it goes. I hope you enjoy.

Grocery stores and cannonballs line up on my list of things I'll remember when I'm old / Water towers and Mid-west plains still in the abyss left unseen 'til we're further up the road

When Elliot got back to the precinct, he found Olivia fidgeting at her desk. He pulled his chair back and dropped unceremoniously into it, heaving a sigh of relief when he landed.

"How'd it go? Did you get everything? Was the housekeeper nice to you?" Olivia rattled off.

"Fine more or less. I think so. And the housekeeper wasn't there," Elliot answered each question.

Olivia's brow furrowed. "I thought the housekeeper was supposed to be there. Who let you in?"

Elliot shook his mouse to wake up the monitor of his computer and didn't make eye contact with Olivia. "Robert let me in."

"Wait, what?!"

"Robert stayed home from work, drank about a fifth of single malt scotch before I got there, and opened the door for me when I knocked." He looked over to his partner who was leaning over her desk and looking at him expectantly. "When I asked him what he was doing there he said he wanted to see Alex on last time."

Olivia growled under her breath at this revelation. "What'd you tell him?"

Shrugging, Elliot replied, "I told him something came up and she asked me to come by instead. I don't think he knew I was a friend of yours too."

"That's probably for the best," she nodded slowly. "What else did he say?"

"Just that he wanted Alex to see he's gone to shit, his words, without her and when I told him that calling in sick to work and drinking weren't gonna do him any good in the long run, he told me to go fuck myself."

Olivia's eyes went wide. "Wow. I did feel a little sorry for him, but that's pretty uncalled for."

"I get where he's coming from. His life got turned upside down and he just happens to have shitty coping skills," he explained. "He probably doesn't have any support system. At least Alex has you." Elliot watched his partner smile slightly at his last statement. "How is Alex, by the way?"

Now Olivia was full-on beaming. "She's good. Getting stronger every day. She was worked up about the Robert thing, but now that's done with so that's one less thing for her to worry about." She paused, considering if she should tell Elliot about Alex's wanting to see a mental health professional. If he's willing to brave her ex-fiancé just to return her belongings, he'll care about her entire recovery, she thought. "She told me she wants to see a therapist."

Elliot grinned. "That's great, Liv. Seems like staying with you's been really good for her."

"I love her, El. And thank you for today. I really can't even put into words how much we appreciate it."

"Just have me over for dinner some night and we'll call it good." Elliot turned back to his computer and added, "I don't think we should tell Alex that Robert was there. It won't do anything but make her feel worse if she knows what he said."

Olivia shuffled her papers and got back to her files. "I agree. She's come a long way and we really don't need a set back."

###

Olivia and Elliot carried the boxes of Alex's things into the apartment and stacked them next to the sofa. Alex heard the key in the door and was making her way down the hallway on her crutches when she saw the boxes and stopped.

"Oh, my God, Elliot. I... Um..." Her eyes brimmed with tears. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Anytime. Just happy to help out a friend," he said, a faint blush colouring his cheeks. "Well, I should get going. Kathy'll kill me if I'm late for dinner. It's good to see you up and about, Alex," he said, nodding in her direction. "And I'll see you tomorrow, partner."

Olivia stood on her tiptoes and kissed him quickly on the cheek. "Thanks again, El."

Elliot left and closed the door behind him, leaving Alex looking at the boxes that held her life since she returned from witness protection and Olivia looking at Alex.

"Do you wanna go through this all now, or wait, or-" Olivia offered.

Having sufficiently recovered from the overwhelming emotion a few moments before, she shook her head and came to stand next to Olivia. "Most of this is work clothes anyway, which do me no good right now. I could use some of the make-up and hair products, and I have some casual clothes I could wear, but after Wisconsin and Aurora I just didn't see the point of having a lot of possessions because I could be moved at a moment's notice and I'd have to leave it all behind. It wasn't seeing the boxes that hit me a minute ago, it was the look on Elliot's face; like he genuinely cared." She stopped to try to quell the urge to cry. "He didn't have to do this for me."

Olivia rubbed a hand on Alex's back. "He knows how much you mean to me. And when you said goodbye after you got shot, it hurt him too. He considers you a friend. A good friend."

"I was so wrapped up in how you were gonna deal with it I didn't even think about how Elliot felt. I knew I had to say goodbye to you both, but all I could see was you that night," Alex confessed. "When I came back to testify and he was guarding me in my hotel room, we played cards and talked about his kids. It was good to hear about people I knew. And I told him a little about Wisconsin, but just superficial things; what it was like to visit a working dairy farm, the endless fields of soybeans, the inches and inches of snow every year, the temperature dropping so low it was too cold to snow..."

"He told me later that you seemed sad and how he hoped that you were able to come back to New York."

Alex made her way around the boxes and carefully lowered herself onto the sofa with Olivia doing the same. "I was sad and I wanted to come back to New York. I was sp sure my nightmare was finally over."

"I know. You told me as much that night." Silence filled the room as each of them remembered Alex's all too brief return to the city. They had all hoped it would be a permanent move, but it hadn't worked out that way.

After a few minutes, Alex turned to Olivia, her melancholy dissipating. "Since I'm back in the city, and things are going pretty good right now...I mean, they could always be better...like, I could not have this bruised up face and broken body...but I was saying that things are pretty good, so I think we should go out for dinner tonight. Does that sound good?" Alex asked.

Olivia didn't quite know how to respond. "Uh...yeah. We can go out. Did you have someplace in mind?"

"That little bar down the block with the fish tacos."

"Sure. Sounds good to me. Do you want help getting ready?" Olivia stood up and leaned forward to lend Alex a hand in getting up.

Leaning forward and quickly kissing Olivia's lips, Alex nodded. "Yes, please."

###

Olivia helped Alex into an outfit that was comfortable but still appropriate enough for leaving the apartment. The bar they were going to was far from a fine dining establishment, but Alex insisted on a certain level of propriety if she was going anywhere. They settled on some track pants and a hooded sweatshirt and running shoes. Olivia did her make-up, covering up the discolouration to the point you'd have to really stare to notice anything.

"You can hardly tell! Something tells me you've done this before, Liv."

Shrugging and returning the bottles, jars, and compacts to their corner of the bathroom counter, Olivia chuckled. "I was a scrappy teenager, always getting in fights, and even now it comes in handy when things get a bit rough on the job." She turned around and saw Alex regarding herself in the mirror. "You look beautiful, Alex."

"I do now. At least until I wash my face."

Olivia shook her head. "You are the most beautiful woman I've ever met, bruised or unbruised. And I'll tell you every day until you believe me."

Alex looked at Olivia's face and slowly broke into a smile. "You can flatter me later. Let's go get tacos."

###

They opted to take Alex's wheelchair for the block and a half walk to La Cocina. It wasn't much from the outside, but the interior was warm and comfortable. They had an excellent selection of tequilas and made a dozen signature margaritas, most of which Alex and Olivia had sampled at some point. Four nights a week they had live music and Olivia and Alex used to walk there for dinner and to see what kind of band was playing. La Cocina became their neighbourhood hangout and Alex had missed it while she was away. Fish tacos like that just don't exist in the Midwest.

Olivia wheeled Alex to a table along the far wall and moved a chair so she could situate the wheelchair. As she took her own seat across the table from Alex, she remembered the time Alex decided to sample four of the flavoured margaritas in one night.

###

"I am not drunk, Liv. You're just sober," Alex said as she closed one eye and pointed accusingly at Olivia.

Olivia raised an eyebrow and smirked at her girlfriend. "Do you have one eye closed because you're having double vision?"

Alex leaned back in her chair and smiled. "Iss not double vision. Just more of your pretty face to love!"

"I'm pretty sure you're gonna regret all that tequila in the morning," Olivia pointed out. "Thank God tomorrow's Saturday," she added.

"I'll just sleep alllllllllllll day. From morning 'til night. Won't be hung-" she hiccupped, "-over. You'll see."

On the rare occasions Alex got drunk, Olivia was usually right there with her. But on that particular night Alex decided to indulge a bit more in an effort to celebrate winning a big case earlier in the day. Olivia hadn't seen much of her during the trial because she was working late in her office most nights. They decided to go out to dinner and spend a leisurely weekend together at Olivia's place.

"Liv, I had to try the mango margarita. You know I love mangoes. I love them a lot. And the prickly pear one... What even is a prickly pear? It didn't taste prickly or like a pear." Alex held up her hand and counted on her fingers. "That's two... I don't remember the other flavours."

"Jalapeño and hibiscus," Olivia reminded her.

Alex recoiled. "Ick. Hibiscus. Tasted like potpourri."

"But it had tequila in it and that's what matters," Olivia teased.

"It did! That was my favourite part!" Alex cheered.

"And how was the jalapeño one?"

Screwing her face up in deep thought, Alex finally responded. "Tequila."

Olivia laughed and stood up. "OK, babe. Let's get you home." She crossed around the table to help Alex up and to get her jacket on. Alex leaned on Olivia to steady herself for their short walk back to the apartment.

As they crossed the street, Alex spoke up. "Hey, Liv."

"Yes, Alex?"

"Tequila makes my clothes fall off," Alex whispered and then laughed hard at her joke, stumbling a bit as she went.

Trying to keep Alex on her feet and moving forward, Olivia laughed and shook her head as she tightened her grip on the blonde. "Just keep 'em on until we get to my place and then you can wear whatever you want."

###

Alex noticed the faraway look in Olivia's eye. "Whatcha thinkin' about?"

"That time you had four margaritas and you told me that tequila makes your clothes fall off," Olivia smirked.

Covering her face with her hands, Alex groaned. "I was hoping you'd forgotten about that."

"Ha! The image of you naked and sprawled on my bed with a drool puddle on the pillow will forever be burned into my memory!"

Alex laughed in spite of her embarrassment and picked up the drink menu from the table. "Well, I won't be drinking anything alcoholic tonight, so I better see what else they have."