A/N: I know, I know, I'm going to update DITR, I promise. I'm not abandoning it because I love that story, but I can multitask, you guys know that.

Also, I guess I should address this here; A Day in the Life is not one of my priority stories. It's a story that I use as an out for writer's block and sometimes, I even get writer's block on that, but it's not a priority of mine, which is why it is updated a lot less frequently.

I hope judging by the title of this story a few of you may have been able to figure out what this story is based on and if not…I urge you to go find the book, read it, watch the movie, because it is GREAT! (Pun intended Hehehe). I don't know where this suddenly came from, but it popped into my head and I realized just how perfect it is! I mean no one has EVER done this and I guess I wanted to be the first, Hehehe.

Some things will be similar, but most things are gonna be original and my own because I don't believe in forgery. It sucks. Anyhow, I hope you guys enjoy this because I'm extremely excited about it. I literally modernized the story hehehe.

Disclaimer: As always, I don't own any of the Law and Order characters. And in this I'm paying F. Scott Fitzgerald his dues, because that part of the story isn't mine either. Just using for entertainment purposes :)

Alex's hand shakes violently as she slowly brings the tea cup to her lips. She just barely gets a taste of the rich liquid before she brings the cup away from her mouth and sets it on the small dish occupying her other shaky hand. Taking a deep breath, she scoots to the very edge of the luxurious sofa before she replaces the tea back onto the coffee table, though she remains perched on the edge of the cushion her nerves showing cleanly through her typically composed complexion.

"Alex, honey, what's the matter?" Serena asks curiously as she takes in the state of her best friend. Placing her own tea cup on the coffee table, she stands up from her comfortable spot in a luscious armchair before she moves across the sitting room and softly joins the quiet blonde on the sofa. "Alex? Are you listening?"

"I'm fine." Alex answers robotically as she continues to sit in her rigid position. She stares straight ahead across the room and out one of the many large windows into the horizons outside. A look of longing passes over her face before she blinks a rapid number of times and shakes her head before she finally manages to turn and meet to concerned gaze of her best friend. Managing a small smile, Alex forces her self to relax before she is able to respond. "I'm fine."

Looking rather unconvinced, Serena purses her lips for a moment before shaking her head in disbelief. "You aren't fine, honey. Look at you," she begins as she takes both of the other woman's hands in her own as if to state her point. "You're shaking."

Alex looks down at her hands and notices that she is in fact shaking, but from what exactly, well, she just isn't sure. "I am, aren't I?" she questions rhetorically with a nervous laugh, trying to draw the immediate attention away from her self. "Join me on the balcony will you? I'll have Giles bring our tea out there."

Serena opens her mouth to protest, but she finds her self left alone in the sitting room as her long time friend stands up from the sofa, and briskly makes her way out of the room. Sighing heavily, she follows suit as she hastily follows Alex's path which leads her out onto the balcony where she finds her best friend clutching the railing in a tight nit grip as she stares out at the vast expanse of yard before her.

"It's so beautiful in the summer time isn't it?" Alex says wistfully as she her eyes graze over the large expanse of green grass that makes up her yard. She eloquently waves down at the various staff members who are working diligently to maintain the beautiful upkeep of the vegetation in the yard from the grass it self, to the wide variations of flowers, to the trees, and anything else that would need tending to. "They work so hard you know? Trying to make sure this place looks as beautiful as it does. I just don't understand how any of them does it you know? It must be so hard working like that all the time. I don't think that I could pull it off."

"Of course not. God knows that you've never had to lift your dainty little fingers for anything." Serena replies with a tinge of humor in her voice as she attempts to lighten the mood. She knows how Alex gets when she starts to ramble on like this, and the rambling has already given way to some underlying meaning, though, Serena just hasn't quite figured out what it is yet. "If you don't mind me asking, why show the sudden conversation regarding your workers? I'm not trying to call you shallow or anything of the like, but I've never seen you express any type of interest in the staff before; what is so different about to day."

Alex shrugs her shoulders as she finally relinquishes her white-knuckled grip on the balcony railing. "I don't know Serena. A girl can wonder every now and then, can she not?" she responds rather snappily, though her gaze does not meet her best friend, but rather it falls towards the twelve carat diamond ring sitting on her ring finger on her left hand. She flexes her fingers several times as she watches the ring glisten and reflect the harsh rays of sunlight. It's almost as if the ring sits on her finger to mock her and many of times, there is a tiny voice in the back of her mind telling her to take it off and fling it into one of the many fountains that sit around the property, but she can never bring her self to listen to that voice and do such a thing.

A tiny frown plays at Serena's features as she observes the other blonde silently examining her hand and as she looks closer, she notices that she is in fact examining her wedding ring. Tilting her head to the side, Serena opens her mouth to once again inquire over what is the matter, but after a small moment of hesitation, she closes her mouth, deeming it far too soon for such a repetitive question.

Having sensed the rather awkward silence, Alex folds her hand into a tight fist, successfully hiding the ring from her line of vision for the time being. She looks up and stares out at the yard once more before she spins on her heel and quickly stalks over to the opposite side of the balcony to stare at something else. If Serena didn't know any better, she would outright say that her best friend resembles that of a lost, curious little puppy right now.

Both women are startled by the gentle clearing of a throat behind them, and the man of average height wearing a tuxedo cowers under the glare of the shorter blonde. His white glove covered hand fidgets uncontrollably, nearly causing him to drop the tray he is carrying. He then quickly stammers his apologies before he clears his throat again and carefully approaches Alex. "Mrs. Carmichael, if you will excuse my interruption, I believe that there is someone calling for you."

Alex cringes at the use of her married name as she retrieves her cell phone from the silver tray that was offered to her. She brings the phone to her ear and frowns as she strains to hear any kind of sound coming from the other end of the call. "Hello?" she questions curiously into the receiver, starting to become a little unnerved by the silence she receives as a response.

Finally, there is a click from the other end of the call and the line goes dead. Alex frowns deeply and places her phone back onto the tray, eying the butler with genuine curiosity. "There was no one there. Who did they say was calling when you answered?"

"They didn't Ma'am."

"Well, was it a man or a woman?"

"It was indeed a woman. When I answered the call, she did not state who she was. She simply asked for you and said that it was urgent. Never did she once say why she was calling."

Alex pinches the bridge of her nose out of frustrations. Probably another phony prank call or another, she immediately deduces. "Thank you, Giles." She murmurs as she prepares to dismiss the butler, pausing when she realizes that she has another question. "Giles, would you happen to know the whereabouts of my wife at the moment?"

The butler thinks for a moment before her vigorously shakes his head in the negative. "No Ma'am, I'm afraid that I do not. I do believe that she mentioned something about going into town on a few errands but she was leaving in such haste that I did not quite catch what it was she was saying exactly. I do know that she will return before supper, if that is where your concerns lie."

"That's alright. Thank you Giles. Please don't forget to inform the cooking staff that Miss Southerlyn is accompanying us for dinner tonight."

"Of course Ma'am. Anything else Mrs-"

"That'll be all." Alex cuts him off quickly with a waft of her hand dismissing him. Once the butler is out of earshot, Alex sighs heavily and turns back towards Serena who is eyeing her with a genuine amount of curiosity. "Sometimes, I actually forget what my own name is."

Serena frowns at the statement and she can't help but tilt her head in curiosity towards its meaning. "I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you mean?"

Alex shakes her head as she wafts her hand towards the large, Georgian Estate that is her home. "I never hear my actual name unless you come around. The staff only addresses me as 'Ma'am' or by my married name. Never once do I hear just 'Alex' anymore."

"Well, what does Abbie call you?" Serena asks curiously.

A feint snort is heard in response as Alex shakes her head and turns away. "Whatever she wants to." she mumbles darkly, more to her self than to her best friend. Grinding her teeth together at the thought her wife, the blonde shakes her head and turns her attention back to the mysteriousness of the phone call she received not even five minutes ago.

As if reading her mind, Serena clears her throats and decides to mention the rather cryptic call that has sparked her own curiosities. "I wonder who was calling. Did you check to see who the number was? So maybe you could have called them back?"

"The number was restricted." Alex answers gravely before she sighs heavily. "I'm in no mood for jokes, and now this is going to bother me simply because who ever called didn't even identify themselves. Hell, they didn't even say anything to me at all, they just spoke to my butler asking for me. Who does that? Ask for someone on the phone and then just simply hang up when you actually have the opportunity to speak with them? Gosh Serena, this is driving me insane. You know how I am."

"Yes honey, I know how you are." Serena repeats with a chuckle as she gently places her hands on her best friend's shoulders. "Calm down? Why don't we talk about something else? Like maybe you could tell me what it is that's been bothering you all day?"

"Nothing has been bothering me." the taller woman answers unconvincingly as her voice drops down to a defeated murmur. "I'm fine."

"Alex, you aren't fine! I thought we already established this when we were inside and you kept shaking? I'm your best friend Alex, which means that I'm going to be here for you. Why don't you tell me what's going on?"

"Because, we'd be here all day and all night if I did. Listen, I realize that you are only trying to help, and for that, I am truly grateful and glad that you are my best friend, but in truth, I am fine. Maybe it's just the fact that I have been cooped up in the house for I don't know how long."

"Well, would you like to drive in to town? Perhaps we could even catch up with Abbie and she could-"

"NO!" Alex cuts in aggressively before she can stop her self from doing so. She softens her harsh gaze and backs down a little before she shakes her head and speaks in a much quieter tone. "No…I don't need to see her. Not yet."

Serena quirks an eyebrow curiously at Alex's statement and for another one of the rare times in her life, she is hopelessly confused. "You're married, honey. Something tells me that you're going to have to see her eventually; especially since you live in the same house. What's going on?"

Alex stands stock still for the longest of times before she briskly turns away. "Nothing is going on." She states tersely as she clenches her jaw which in turn shows off the tightly tensed muscles in her neck. "There is nothing."

"Alex, there has to be something for you to be in this mood." Serena huffs still sounding rather unconvinced that there is in fact 'nothing'. "Are you pregnant?"

"No I'm not pregnant! That is completely absurd!"

"Well, with your mood swings, you can't exactly blame me for asking. One moment your raving about how beautiful it is outside, and the next, I mention your wife, and you get all hellcat angry. Is something going on with the two of you?"

"Clearly there's not." Alex responds involuntarily, wincing when she realizes just how much sarcasm was laced in with the tone of her response.

Serena raises both her eyebrows this time as her mouth briefly falls agape. "Well, do you wish to talk about it? I'm here if you need me."

Alex sighs and shakes her head sadly as she taps her fingers against the railing of the balcony. "I don't wish to trouble you with my personal issues."

"We're best friends, Alexandra. We've known each other for so long that your personal issues are automatically my personal issues."

"Yeah, well, not this one."

"What makes this time so different?" Serena asks animatedly as her voice raises an octave in shock.

For a moment Alex looks extremely sad, but the look quickly fades away, replaced with one of tired defeat. "Where do you think that Abbie goes when she isn't here?" she whispers sadly before she spins on her heel and makes her way back into her home, leaving her best friend to sit on the rhetorical question.

Later on that night after dinner, clad in a silk nightgown with a matching shoulder throw, Alex stands on the rear balcony porch of her home as she stares out at the large expanse of the bay that sits just beyond their dock. The wind blows gently against her skin, but that accompanied by the evident fog in the air is enough to make her shiver.

After standing stationary for a moment, Alex shivers once more, but this time, she knows very well that her chill didn't exactly come from the cold temperatures. If she didn't know any better, she would say that someone was watching her. You know, that feeling that you get when someone is well…watching you? That uneasy feeling that settles in the pit of your stomach, your skin slowly begins to crawl, your palms start to become a little clammy and even sweat starts to accumulate on your brow from the nerves? Yes, that feeling. That is the feeling Alex is getting right now.

Narrowing her eyes, she is just barely able to make out, through the fog, the brightly lit lights of the homes sitting on the piece of land across the bay. As she continues to stare through the misty fog, that feeling begins to intensify by the second. Her heart is pounding heavily in her throat by now and she is so focused on staring across the bay that she doesn't hear the footsteps approaching her from behind. Because she doesn't hear the footsteps, she doesn't anticipate the arm that slips it self around her thin waist, which in turn causes her to yelp loudly and nearly jump fifteen feet in the air.

"Jesus, sorry. I thought you heard me." Abbie says apologetically as a look of concern flashes across her face. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Alex murmurs as she has to force her self to relax into the embrace. "You just startled me a little. That's all."

"I can see that. What're you out here staring at so intensely that I was able to sneak up on you like that?"

"Nothing. I wasn't staring at anything. I was just lost in my own thoughts, that's all."

"Ah, the wonders of your mind never cease to amazement." Abbie sighs in an exaggerated poetic tone as she pulls the blonde closer to her. "Why don't you tell me what's going on in that pretty little head of yours? Hm?"

Alex hesitates for a long moment before she shakes her head. "I don't want to talk about it. Really, it's nothing important."

Abbie seems completely unconvinced, though she lets it slide with a shrug of her shoulders. "I see. Well, I think it's time you come to bed, don't you agree? Wouldn't want you to get sick from standing out here in the cold for so long."

Alex robotically nods her head as she feels her wife gently tugging on her hand to lead her back inside. She turns her head out towards the large expanse of water one last time because she still harbors that feeling of someone watching her.

Meanwhile all the way across the bay, a shadowed figure stands at the end of their dock, staring out over the water that houses as a literal and metaphorical barrier between them self and the large Georgian manor that sits right across the way.

The figure heavily resists the urge to extend their hand towards their desire, so they settle on tightly clenching their fist against the railing of the dock. Maybe it is a little creepy to be doing this so often, but as the saying goes, the heart wants what the heart wants. They just hope their desire across the bay can feel it too.

Before we go any further, I just want you guys to know, I really am a sucker for the Alex/Abbie pairing, kind of like maybe a select few out there. But no body writes it, which makes me sad! And in my defense, this is the way that I saw this working out, but I'll assure you this A/A pair here will not be anything like the one in Story of Us. I'm not gonna overwhelm you guys with it like it did there. I promise :) I also PROMISE that this is A/C endgame like always

Anyhow, hope you all enjoyed the first chapter because it was mostly a little bit of character development. I look forward to hearing your feed back!