Olivia sighed to herself, crumpling the paper and aiming it for the wastebasket. It bounced off the rim and crashed silently to the floor. Growling, the detective waved her hand at it as if she could make the nuisance disappear simply by wishing. But if that were true... Speaking of truth, it wasn't even the paper she was angry with, or her own ineffective words. She was pissed beyond belief at Alexandra, who was pissed beyond belief at her. Why, Olivia still couldn't say.

That evening she'd trudged in the door from a horrible day, Alex not two steps behind. The blonde lawyer flung the door shut and Olivia dropped her coat on the couch. That's when it started. "Can't you pick your shit up?" Her normally sweet partner's attitude had gone from bad to worse on the drive home. Every comment Olivia made seemed to inflame the situation, and instead of listening sympathetically, she'd reacted instantly the only way she knew--she lashed out verbally and then shut down.

So now she sat at her desk, trying to compose a 'Dear Alex' letter of apology. Olivia had learned in the past year that even when she'd done nothing wrong, the quickest way to end a fight with Alex was to apologize. It made her feel guilty, then she apologized, too, and they could get back to the business of being in love.

Olivia sighed again, doodling a little picture on the notepad in front of her. She heard a sharp bang as Alex slammed something else -- a door or a drawer, maybe. Suddenly struck by inspiration, Olivia reached for the mouse and her computer shook itself from its comfortable black slumber. As the monitor shivered to life, the detective pulled up Yahoo. Typing quickly, she read the result with a half-smile. Clicking on the first link, she cut and pasted the text into Word, and doctored it up. Adding an introduction, Olivia changed the font of the pasted text. "Vivaldi, perfect," she said, picking the best one off the drop-down list. Not very romantic, Olivia acknowledged mentally as she hit 'print', but here goes.

"Allie," it said simply.

"Laugh and cry
Live and die
Life is a dream we're dreaming
Day by day I find my way
Look for the soul and the meaning

Then you look at me
And I always see
What I have been searching for
I'm lost as can be
Then you look at me
And I am not lost anymore

People run
Sun to sun
Caught in their lives ever flowing
Once begun, life goes till it's gone
We have to go where it's going

Then you look at me
And I always see
What I have been searching for
I'm lost as can be
Then you look at me
And I am not lost anymore

And you say you see
When you look at me
The reason you love life so
Though lost I have been
I'll find love again.

And life just keeps on running
And life just keeps on running

You look at me and life comes from you."

At the bottom, she added a simple quote from another of their favorite Celine Dion songs. "If walls could talk, they would say I want you more, they would say 'Hey, never felt like this before', and that you would always be the one for me." Striding upstairs, Olivia slipped it under their bedroom door silently and snuck out for a run.

An hour later, she came back, drenched in sweat. Taking the stairs two at a time, Olivia stopped at the top, trying vainly to evaluate the situation. The door opened slowly and Alex stood there, a gentle expression having replaced the glaring frown from earlier that evening. Reaching out her arms, she was about to hug Olivia when she stopped, noticing the sheen and pungent stench surrounding her girlfriend. With only a giggle and a shake of her head, Alex turned and after a moment, Olivia heard the rushing water of the bathtub. Following the blonde, Olivia stripped quickly and leaned against the cool wood of the doorway.

"Are you coming?" Alex murmured, eyeing Olivia from her comfortable position in the quickly-filling bathtub.

Nodding, Olivia closed the door, trapping the steam inside with them. "Lean forward," she whispered, unwilling to break the mood her simple gesture had drawn around them. When Alex complied, Olivia slipped in behind her. She drew her knees up, cradling the other woman between her thighs. Olivia slid her hands over Alex's shoulders, rubbing her upper back gently, in the way she knew her partner loved.

Moaning softly in approval, Alex leaned back against Olivia's breasts and tilted her head back. Her eyes shone as she waited for the expected kiss.

Olivia didn't disappoint her, and their lips met in a tender kiss. Her hands slid down Alex's body until the blonde could lean back into the crook of Olivia's arm. As she did, her lover's mouth found its way to Alex's neck, nibbling and sucking, arousing her quickly. Her hand slipped up to cup Olivia's face, stroking her cheek encouragingly.

In response, Olivia felt her own wetness begin, but she was more interested in the wet, moaning woman in her arms. Caressing Alex's face, Olivia's free hand slowly trailed down until it settled between her thighs. They parted easily for her, Alex's eyes darkening in anticipation of what was about to happen. Olivia's fingers slipped between Alex's folds easily, the water creating a delicious pressure she could feel around her hand.

Entering her, Olivia heard the soft gasp and felt Alex's strong fingers digging into her shoulder. Beginning to stroke her lover slowly, Olivia tilted her hand, curling her fingers back and seeking out the spot that would cause waves. As she found it, Alex's hips bucked involuntarily and she gasped, "Liv!" Stroking that spot, Olivia drew her lover to the edge, watching with deep pleasure as Alex moaned and tried for any kind of purchase on the slippery tile of the tub. Her head was buried against Olivia's arm when they both felt the clenching start in her core.

Alex forced her eyes open and gazed at Olivia, as her lover's fingers guided her toward release. Their eyes stayed locked as Alex cried out, her nails digging into Olivia's arm.

When she finally came down from her high, Alex realized Olivia was laughing at her. "What's so funny?" she murmured.

"You bruised me."

"I'm sorry!" Alex was horrified as she struggled to sit up, kissing Olivia's shoulder tenderly. "I'm so sorry, baby."

"It's okay," Olivia smiled, stealing a kiss quickly. "It was worth it. You're always worth it." Something in her tone told Alex that they weren't talking about bruised shoulders anymore.

"No it's not, but thank you. And I'm sorry, too."

"It's really okay." Olivia kissed her perfunctorily and gestured to the now-cold tub full of water. "I'm getting pruny?"

"Oh, sorry." Alex stood, reaching down to grasp Olivia's hand. They stood dripping wet, facing each other. Her hands slid up to cup the detective's face, drawing her down for a long, leisurely kiss. "Promise me something?"

"Anything."

"Next time I'm being a bitch to you for no reason, kick my ass."

"You got it. But right now, I have plans for that ass." Olivia smiled wickedly as they wrapped themselves in towels.

"You got it," Alex echoed, leaning against Olivia and letting her lover's kiss melt away any trace of the lingering frustration of the day. She was counting her blessings, realizing how lucky she was to have someone who would forgive her tirades and the immaturity that sprung up at the most inopportune times.

Little did she know that Olivia realized in exactly the same way how lucky she was that Alex trusted her enough to be just who she was at any given moment, no holds barred. If that meant she had to get bitched at once in a while, it also meant she was the only one who got to see Alexandra Cabot with tears of rage at an injust world streaming down her Athenian face. She was the only one to see Alex pout, and she was the only one to see Alex moan in sensual pleasure. She was the only one to see that grin Alex got when Olivia did something unexpected. And in a little over a year, she would be the only one who would ever see Alex in a wedding dress, walking down the aisle toward her.

And Olivia was right. That was worth it. Alex was always worth it.

The End