Eleven Months [A Bensler Fan Fic]

Sixteen

When Cragen left, Munch was put in charge of the squad and quickly requested for Olivia to take his position in the squad. Along with Cragen being gone, a new ADA joined since Casey was still madly in love with Olivia even after Olivia and Elliot got married.

And a year after Amelia was born, someone came back that no one expected to ever see again.

"Okay, so she grabbed your soda from the table." Olivia sighed as she came into the kitchen with Amelia held out in front of her. Amelia was covered in soda, but she didn't seem phased at all. She just kept smiling and babbling.

"Oh... maybe I shouldn't have opened it and just forgot about it out there." Elliot sighed, as he looked at his wife and daughter.

"Really? Because now I think you should be in charge of cleaning up the mess." Olivia replied, and Elliot nodded.

"Will do. Is she one of the messes?" Elliot teased, and Olivia rolled her eyes as she sat her daughter on the counter before taking her birthday dress off.

While Elliot was in the living room cleaning up the mess his little girl made, and Olivia was cleaning up her daughter, someone asked to be buzzed into their apartment.

Olivia quickly lifted Amelia up and headed to the door.

"Yeah?" Olivia sighed, as Amelia reached out to slam the buttons on the call box.

"Uh, is this the Stabler's apartment?" The voice questioned.

"Alex?" Olivia breathed, recognizing her voice right away.

"Liv? Can I please come up?" Alex replied quickly.

"Of course. Uh, I'll leave the door unlocked. Come right in when you get up here."

///

When Alex finally got upstairs, she and Olivia just stared at each other for several moments. Olivia didn't know what to say since they had fought the last time they saw each other.

"So are you out of the program for good?" Olivia breathed, as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked her friend over.

"Yeah... they released me today. Agent Harrellson gave me some money and I used that to get a cab here."

"You can sleep on the couch if you want... we don't have a spare room." Olivia spoke weakly.

"Where's Amy?" Alex questioned, and Olivia frowned before running her hand over the back of her neck.

"Uh, she made a mess in the living room so she's getting her third bath today."

"I didn't have much money, but I still stopped to get her a gift. She's one today, right?"

"Yeah, she is. She's gotten so big. But she's trouble." Olivia said with a weak smile.

"Just like you." Alex breathed. Olivia nodded before sighing softly.

"Why don't you go get changed."

"Liv, I couldn't bring much with me. It's being used for yet another person that is hiding... so I really don't have much." Alex frowned.

"You can fit into my stuff. I'll find you a few things." Olivia breathed, before turning and heading away from the door.

They walked towards the bedroom as Elliot came out of the bathroom with Amelia wrapped in her towel.

"Alex?" Elliot spoke, and Alex gave him a weak smile as she stopped by the door.

"Hey, El..."

///

"When did she get released?" Elliot asked, as he and his wife got ready for bed that night. Alex had fallen asleep on the sofa about an hour after she had gotten there and hadn't waken up since.

"Tonight." Olivia replied with a sigh, as she turned on the baby monitor.

"Liv, is she okay? She only said two words to me since she got here and then passed out."

"I don't know. She is still pissed off at me. She's only here because she needed our help." Olivia frowned.

"Should we go wake her up and try to get something out of her? Because she seems depressed and kinda anxious."

"She just got out of the Witness Protection Program, El. She had been in there longer than I was, so she was without her family for much longer. She didn't get to see her mother when she was dying nor did she get to go to her funeral. She even hates me because I was placed so close to New York compared to her."

"You two are best friends-"

"We aren't anymore. She only came here to take care advantage of our couch and probably our food until she can get back on her feet. Then she'll be gone again and ignoring me."

Elliot watched as his wife brushed a few tears from her cheeks before rolling over to fall asleep. He frowned deeply because he knew how much his wife missed her friend, let alone how worried she was about her safety.

Elliot climbed out of bed and moved from the room. He quickly shut the door and went to check on Amy, before he woke Alex up.

"Hey, wake up." He whispered, as he shook her gently. Eventually Alex opened her eyes before swallowing hard.

"I haven't been sleeping this whole time. I heard what Olivia was saying about me... how I've been a horrible friend."

"Alex, she didn't mean it. She's just upset because you didn't talk for months and then you show up when you need something."

"Because I had nothing. Working was just to help me make the hours go by faster. I didn't get to keep any of the money I made for some reason. So yeah, I needed help. I needed a place to sleep because my mother is dead and I couldn't crash at her place. I don't even know if anyone else knows if I'm alive or not. Like Casey, the crew... my exes. I don't know if they even care."

"Casey is living in Olivia's old place. She has a spare room. You could stay there." Elliot breathed.

"I just-"

"You need to try and make up with Olivia. I'm sure that you both said some things that you regret. I don't want you two to stop being friends after everything you have gone through."

"I don't have anything to say to her." Alex breathed, and Elliot sighed before nodding.

"I'll leave some spare clothes on the coffee table for you to change into tomorrow. We leave the house at seven if you need a ride anywhere."