Um...hi. It's me again. This isn't exactly the sequel I had planned, but this storyline would not leave me alone (probably because a lot of you suggested it, so well done on planting a little A/O seed and nurturing it until it took over my brain (in a good way, of course!)). This won't be as long as the original Cabin Fever, but there's definitely gonna be some more chapters because where I stopped today would be a horrible place to leave you all hanging forever. This cabinverse Olivia and Alex (not to mention Josie and Cam!) have been roaming around in my head for eight months now and it felt weird to pack them away for a while. So here they are again to bring you some pre-holiday cheer. Enjoy the little prologue bit and chapter one! -Cherry

Olivia's first day back at work was bittersweet. She was excited to get back to work and return to action, but she genuinely missed being around Alex all the time. She'd sent a dozen roses to her girlfriend's office and when her cell phone rang shortly after 8am, there was only one person it could be.

"Benson," she said in her usual phone answering tone.

"You didn't have to do that," said the quiet voice on the other end of the line.

The mental image of Alex looking at the roses and talking on the phone made Olivia smile. "But I wanted to."

There was a barely audible sniffle before Alex spoke again. "It's been a long time since someone's given me even a single rose."

Olivia could tell Alex had been crying and her heart melted because she knew that it was from feeling loved and adored and being surprised by such a grand gesture. "That changes now."

Alex grinned. She loved how Olivia was a hopeless romantic deep down and that made her fall even more in love with the detective. "I love you, Liv."

"I love you too, Alex. Now get to work. If the DA's office is anything like this place, you've got a lot of work to catch up on," Olivia teased.

"You're right," Alex chuckled. "I'll see you tonight?"

"Absolutely. That's my motivation for getting all this paperwork done as fast as I can. Now, we're wasting valuable work time, so we can continue this tonight. Okay?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Alex reached out and touched one of the delicate blooms. "Thanks again for the roses, Liv. They're beautiful."

"Just like you. Bye, Peaches."

Alex smiled even wider. "Bye, Cupcake." She hung up the phone.

As Olivia closed her cell phone and put it back on her desk, she noticed Elliot walking toward his desk with a smug grin on his face. "Peaches?" he asked as he took off his jacket and draped it over the back of his chair.

The bottom dropped out of Olivia's stomach. However, her training allowed the look on her face to remain impassive. "Just got a call from an old friend."

Elliot sat down and began rifling through the papers on his desk. "Sounds like more than a friend to me..."

"It doesn't matter what it sounds like to you, Elliot, because this discussion is over," Olivia declared as she began typing up a report on her computer.

"Well, can you at least tell me if you enjoyed your vacation?"

Olivia grinned as she looked back to Elliot. "I had a wonderful time."

"Glad to hear it. You needed some time off."

Giving her partner her best fake hurt face, she groaned, "Jeez, El, was I that unpleasant to be around?"

"I can be honest with you now since you seem more relaxed and I'm sure you won't tear my balls off, but yeah, you were. Fresh air did wonders for you."

Memories of her week at the cabin flashed through her mind. "It certainly did."

As they returned to their work, Olivia couldn't take the smile off her face.

###

Alex and Olivia had settled into a routine. While they were at work, there was nothing more than the utmost professionalism. But when they were together any other time, they were so totally into each other that it seemed that anything aside from them ceased to exist. There were dinners out, dinners in, movies, sleepovers, long walks, and all the 'boring couple things' they had talked about in Montauk. Work things were kept at work, and no matter what happened on the job, they left it at the office and belonged only to each other when they left.

Alex was staying the night at Olivia's two days before Christmas. As they lay together on the sofa, Alex ran a hand up the leg of Olivia's pyjama pants, caressing the toned calf beneath the flannel. "Are you ready for Christmas with my family?"

"I think so. I can't wait to see Josie and Cam again and I'm excited to meet your mother."

"Wow. I don't think anyone I've ever dated has said that."

Olivia shrugged. "It's true, though. I want to meet the woman who gave me you. She's not some stuck-up aristocrat, is she?"

"Not at all. She's tough when she needs to be, but she has a warm heart and a soft spot where family's concerned."

"Sounds like someone I know..." Olivia said slowly.

"I had to get it from somewhere. She's gonna love you, Liv."

A thought suddenly entered Olivia's mind. "Does she know you're gay? And that we're dating? Should I-"

Alex put a finger to the brunette's lips to stop her from continuing that train of thought. "She knows about me. She knows about us. If I hadn't told her, I'm sure Josie would have let it slip at some point. She's always been accepting of anyone I bring home, so just be yourself and you'll be fine." She removed her finger and kissed Olivia's forehead.

Olivia relaxed and snuggled closer Alex. "Thanks for reassuring me. You're good at that."

"I'll give you anything you need, Liv."

Arching an eyebrow, Olivia smirked. "Anything?"

"Anything," Alex replied.

"In that case, I need you on top of me. NOW."

Alex was only too happy to oblige.

###

Christmas morning had arrived. Olivia and Alex had spent the night at Alex's apartment so they could leave for Alex's mom's house early in the morning. It was roughly three hours from Manhattan to Albany, so they decided to leave even before the sun came up. They were spending the night at the house and driving back down the following afternoon because Olivia was catching cases that night. Their bags were packed and in the car and just before they headed north, Alex stopped for coffee and brioche at her favourite cafe.

The drive was uneventful, and soon they were pulling in the driveway of a modest sized house on a tree lined street. They recognised Josie's Blazer in the driveway, and there were a few other cars parked under the carport. Alex took inventory of who was there based on the cars. "Looks like Josie and Cam are here already. Even though Josie's related to me by my dad's side of the family, she and my mom are really close. And my mom's sister, Magdalen, is here. We all call her Aunt Mag. And Peter and his wife Lillian are here, too. Peter is Cam's brother who lives in Boston. It's still early and there'll probably be a few more family members stopping by throughout the day." She parked behind Josie and turned the engine off, then turned to face Olivia. "Are you ready for the Cabot family Christmas?"

"I think so. Besides, it's too late to turn around now," Olivia said as she pointed out the window to the front porch where Josie and Cam stood waving at them.

"Here we go!" Alex said as she unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car while Olivia did the same.

"The other half of the Gay Team has arrived!" Josie shouted at them as they walked up to the porch.

Alex rolled her eyes while Olivia smirked. Cam punched Josie, who looked very pleased at the joke she'd just made, on the arm. As Olivia and Alex made their way up the stairs, the front door opened a crack and the face of an older woman with silver hair styled in a neat bob appeared. "Josephine Cabot, keep your voice down! The neighbours don't need a running tally of how many lesbians are here!"

Josie looked behind her with a sheepish look on her face. "Sorry, Aunt Caroline." The front door closed, and Cam and Josie exchanged hugs with Alex and Olivia.

"We're glad you're here. You can take some of the pressure off us. They've been asking us non-stop questions about the wedding. Now they can pry into the details of your relationship instead!" Cam said in a voice slightly above a whisper just in case Caroline was still listening somewhere.

As they filed in the front door, Olivia chuckled. "I missed you two." Josie and Cam headed to the kitchen to help with dinner, leaving Alex and Olivia standing in the living room. There was a fire in the fireplace and combined with the glow from the lights on the Christmas tree in the corner, the room had an intensely cosy feeling. Olivia was drawn to the mantlepiece, looking at the pictures of Alex throughout the years. "Of course you were a beautiful child," she said as she pointed to a picture of Alex when she was about three years old. She was dressed in white shorts and a navy blue t-shirt, her long blonde hair glowing in the sunlight as she stood on the steps of the porch she and Olivia had just walked up.

Alex walked up behind Olivia and hugged her from behind. "I'm willing to bet you weren't ugly when you were younger."

"I look pretty much the same now as I did then."

Kissing Olivia's shoulder and squeezing her tightly, Alex said softly, "Then you were a very beautiful child."

The sound of a throat clearing from the archway behind them made Alex loosen her grip on Olivia and they turned around to see Caroline Cabot watching them with a knowing smile on her face.

Olivia stepped toward Caroline with her hand outstretched for a handshake. "Thank you for inviting me, Mrs. Cabot. You have a lovely home."

Caroline accepted Olivia's hand but did not shake it. Instead she used it to pull Olivia into a hug. "Thanks for coming, dear. I've heard all about you from Alex." As the older woman released Olivia, she moved to hug Alex. "Hi, baby."

"Hi, mom," Alex said before stepping back. "Where's everyone?"

"They're all in the kitchen arguing over how to do everything. Maybe you can threaten to arrest them if they don't stop behaving like children?" Caroline gave Olivia a mock pleading look, which made the detective smile.

Olivia took Alex's hand as they started toward the kitchen. "I'll see what I can do," she laughed.

The smell of food cooking and the sounds of raised voices greeted them as they entered the kitchen. Caroline continued to the centre island to finish preparing some mashed potatoes.

"I'm telling you we should add some cheese and sour cream to the mashed potatoes. We should mix it up once in a while!" the man in the room said. When he looked to the doorway, his face lit up as he noticed Alex and Olivia standing there. "Alex! And you must be Olivia." He was very tall, with reddish brown hair and a fair complexion. One could tell he and Cam were related by looking at them. "This is my wife," he said, pointing to the woman leaning on the counter next to him.

"Hey. I'm Lillian." She gave a quick wave and looked up at her husband. "This discussion isn't over, Peter," she said sternly.

"What're we trying to discuss?" Olivia asked.

Caroline sighed and rolled her eyes. "We're trying to decide on how to change up the mashed potatoes. Peter thinks we should add cheese and sour cream. Josie and Cam want to add heavy cream and black pepper. At least they agree with each other..." she said, shaking her head. "And Lillian doesn't know what she wants, but she doesn't like either of those suggestions. And as for me, I could care less about what we add as long as everyone just stops arguing about it."

Alex had an idea. "You should let Liv pick something. She's really good at this kind of thing."

Olivia blushed. "I don't know, Alex," she said, slightly embarrassed to be thrown into a family discussion.

"Come on, Liv. I know you've already got an idea," Alex encouraged.

"Perfect! An impartial opinion is just what we need!" Lillian said excitedly.

Caroline grinned. "All right, Olivia. Show us what you got."

All eyes were on Olivia as she walked slowly to the refrigerator. She opened it and took a quick look at the contents. Seeing something that would suit her purpose, she took it out and shut the door. Above the sink was the spice rack, which was well stocked in her opinion. She selected two jars and brought everything to the centre island. "Goat cheese, thyme, and marjoram. It's kind of twist on sour cream and the herbs compliment the potatoes as well as the goat cheese." She looked up at Alex, who shot her a quick 'I told you so' look before softening into a look of pride. The room was silent, which made Olivia uncomfortable.

Lillian's voice broke the silence. "Well done! You've managed to diffuse a potential bomb. Welcome to the family!"

Caroline put an arm around Olivia's waist. "Show me how much of everything to add."

Olivia blushed again and uncapped the spices. Soon everyone went back to their cooking projects and various discussions. Alex simply stood leaning in the doorway watching Olivia cook alongside her mother as if she'd been doing it for years.