Officer Down
Amanda guided the victim down the steps of the courthouse. Fin, Nick and Olivia were close behind, trying to keep the handsy reporters at bay. It had been a long trial but worth it in the end as the perp got what was coming. At the bottom of the steps a car was waiting to take the victim home. Amanda helped her into the car and closed the door.
Suddenly there was a loud bang coming from somewhere in the near distance and a searing pain tore through her left shoulder. The screams coming from the bystanders were just as loud as the bang but it slowly ebbed away as the blonde went into shock. She looked down towards her shoulder and saw crimson red liquid spread rapidly through the material of her jumper and coat. Then she realized what had actually happened... she had been shot.
As the screams dimmed the blonde could feel herself falling to the ground like a heavy weight was just thrown upon her. She could hear someone calling her name but wasn't sure who the voice belonged to until she saw her sergeant's face hover above her.
"Amanda? Amanda, can you hear me? Amanda?" Olivia's lips were moving and the blonde knew she was yelling at her but to her it was barely a whisper. Her ears were buzzing, sounds muffled around her. She was cold. So cold... and tired. Then, in less than half a second all the noises, sounds and screams came back full force. It was chaos around her. People running and screaming, sirens could be heard coming from a distance but all Amanda could focus on was her sergeant's worried face.
Then the pain kicked in. That searing, throbbing agonizing pain. Her shoulder felt like it had been ripped out of it's socket, hanging from a piece of soft tissue and then scalded with boiling hot water. She screamed and tried to move. She wanted to get away from the pain, run as far away as she could until it lessened but she couldn't move. She was being held down by strong hands. Warm hand. The warm hands of her sergeant's penetrated her already ice cold skin and she wished she could be enveloped in that warmth entirely.
"Amanda?"
Then, all her senses came back to the present and heard Olivia crytal clear. "Amanda, you're gonna be okay. Stay with me, honey. Stay with me. Help is on the way, you just need to hold on for a bit longer."
She screamed again as Olivia pressed her wolly scarf over the wound to stop the bleeding. Was this really happening? Who shot her? Why? Where? She heard Olivia telling Fin and Nick to try and locate where the shot had been fired from while she stayed by Amanda's side until the ambulance came. She was then swiftly laid upon a stretcher and shoved into the back of the bus, Liv close behind, her hands covered in blood. Her blood.
The paramedic began working fast. He replaced Olivia's soiled scarf with a bunch of gauze, hooked her up to a heart monitor and inserted an saline solution into her almost non existent vein. Her pulse was irregular. Her blood pressure slowly dropping and her eyes began to flutter shut. Then a syringe was jabbed into her drip and the searing pain subsided and she could feel herself drifting off.
Fin and Nick came running down the corridor, down to the waiting area where a frantic Liv was pacing back and forth. Her bloody hands were now clean but it was as if she could still feel the sticky warm substance coating her fingers and palms. "How is she doing, sarge?" Amanda's partner Fin questioned in concern. Nick was positioned slightly behind him, fear and worry etched on his face for his injured colleague.
Liv ran her hads through her hair and tried to stop her tears from forming but it was useless. Her friend, her colleague, her best detective, her... her everything, was at this very moment laid upon a surgery table, unconscious, bleeding profusely, being sliced open by scalpels and prodded by various surgical instruments, fighting for her life and there was nothing the brunette could do about it. Just wait. A long endless waiting.
"She's in surgery. They won't tell me anything." she said with a shaky voice that held fear and desperation. Fin nodded silently while Nick tried to find someone who could give them any answeres to what was happening.
"We think we found the spot where the shooter fired from. It came from a roof top just across the street from the courthouse. CSU are checking it out as we speak and we already requested all surveillance footage available from the area. I want this guy's ass on a spit."
Liv sighed ad nodded. "Good. Good. Um, I'm gonna need you all to look through the footage when it arrives, put a rush on every test and let me know if anything pops up. I'm gonna stay here."
Nick came back with a slight relieved look on his face. "The surgery went well. The bullet was a through and through, no muscle or tissue damage and no damage to any nerves or major arteries. She's being moved to a regular room two floors up."
All three let out a sigh of relief and their hearts began to beat normally again. "Okay guys, I need you down at the station ASAP. Keep me posted."
Nick nodded, turned and headed down the corridor. Fin placed his hand on Liv's forearm in a calming manner. "Tell her how you feel, Liv. If I have read all the signals right coming from the two of you then the feelings are mutual. She loves you, Liv. Tell her, or I will." he smiled and winked before catching up with his coworker.
Liv was slightly stunned. Had her stares, touches and glances been that obvious? How long had Fin known about this? Did anyone else know? Did the blonde really feel the same way Olivia did? She took a deep breath and headed two floors up.
The brunette found out the room number without any problems and headed straight for it. Her heart stopped only for a second when her eyes took in the sight before her. Amanda was sleeping, her pale features matched the white bed sheets, her shoulder and arm was in a cast an was now resting on her stomach. She was hooked up to various machines that made sure she was kept alive and stable. She looked small. So so small.
The older detctive sat down on the bed next to the sleeping woman and took an icy hand in hers, rubbing it gently to give it some warmth. She couldn't help but to reach out and brush a blonde strand of hair away from her face, lingering by her cheek and stroking it with her thumb, mesmerized by the softness. A faint whimper came from the slumbering form and Olivia was quick to soothe. "Shhh, everything's okay, sweetie. Everything's okay."
Amanda opened her eyes, squinting as she got use to the bright lighting. She looked confused at first, as if she didn't know what had happened, where she was or who was sitting next to her on the bed. Two seconds later the pain in her shoulder reminded her of why she was feeling so... so... fucked. The pain was intense and she couldn't stop the tears from falling or scrunching up her face in agony.
"Hey hey, honey. You're okay." Liv consoled tenderly by stroking her face, willing the pain away. "Do you want me to get a doctor?" she didn't want Amanda to be in pain if it could be avoided but the blonde just shook her head.
"No, it's okay." she managed to rasp out between shaky breaths. "The worst will wear off in a minute. Just give me a sec." she breathed through the pain, trying to find her bearings. When the throbbing eased up a bit she became aware of Olivia's hand gently holding hers, stroking her knuckles with her thumb. She glanced up at her sergeant and saw tears brimming in her brown eyes. "Liv?" she questioned concerned and confused. "Why are you crying?"
Brown eyes closed briefly before opening again. "I... I thought I lost you. I was so worried... we all were." she squeezed the cold hand she was holding and smiled when she felt the blonde give it a tug in response. "There are some things I have to say to you but I don't know how or where to start." she chuckled nervously. "I'm usually quite good with words but when it comes to myself I'm completely useless." she sat up straight and took a deep breath.
"I care about you, Amanda. I know we've had our disagreements, arguments and differences in opinions but that doesn't change the fact that I do really care for you. I just wish I had said something sooner and that it wouldn't have come to this before I finally realise what I've been hiding all along." she reached out a shaky hand and cupped the blonde's cheek, caressing it with the pad of her thumb. "I love you, Amanda Rollins. I have loved you for quite some time and it took me almot losing you to man up and admit my true feelings. Fin had me cornered. Told me that if I didn't tell you now, then he would." she added, chuckling again. "So, I'm telling you now. I love you."
Amanda's heart stopped for a second only to resume in double speed. She had always admired Liv. Even before she started working with Manhattan SVU she knew about Liv. Read some of her case files and how good she was with victims and their families. It was abdream come true when she was transferred from Atlanta to NY to work with the stunning brunette. Now, here she was, shot in the shoulder, on a hospital bed, doped up on meds and Olivia was declaring her love for her. She was flabbergasted to say the least. She couldn't utter a word in response.
Liv was starting to get worried and regretted saying anything in the first place. "Um, now is the time to... say something. Anything." she stated nervously, waiting for the blonde to speak up.
Amanda felt how her eyes began to tear up and how her chest tightened with emotios. "I... I... I love you too." she whispered, tasting the salty drops rolled down her cheeks and seeped into her mouth.
Olivia felt immediate relief, let out a shaky breath and let her own tears fall. She brought the hand she was holding up to her lips and kissed it gently. "You have no idea how happy that makes me." she scooted further up on the bed and cupped Amanda's face in her hands and looked into teary eyes. Then she leaned in slowly and let her lips make contact with the blonde's softly.
They were both surprised by the softness and sweetness they could taste of each other and Amanda was the one to deepen the kiss by granting entrance so Olivia could slip her tongue inside to explore. She moaned as Liv began kissing her with passion and how gentle she was and how her thumbs were tenderly wiping at her tears. She never thought she would see this day.
They both needed air desperately and reluctantly pulled away. Smiling, Olivia stroked the blonde hair. "How are you feeling?"
Amanda just started at the beautiful face in front of her. "Great." she bluntly stated, her pain temporarily forgotten.
Laughing, Liv once again took her hand and held it firmly. "I meant your shoulder. Any pain?"
Thruth to be told, she did feel pain. Her pain medication must have worn off and the throbbing was coming back full force. "Being shot is painfull." she simply said, still in shock from what Liv had just told her and from the heated kiss they had just shared.
Liv made a sympathetic grimace and placed a hand on her cheek. "I know, sweetie. I'll go and find a nurse so they can give you something." she stood up but was stopped by a hand on her arm.
"Will you come back?" she asked and Olivia could see the fear in her eyes.
Kissing the top of her head she pulled the covers up to her chin. "Of course I will."
She quickly found a nurse and watched as she administered a dose of sedative into Amanda's drip. When the nurse was gone she sat back down on the bed and grasped a cold hand, warming it between hers. "Better?" Amanda nodded as she felt the pain subside and her eyes became heavy. She didn't want to fall asleep. She didn't want to miss this moment but knew she was fighting a losing battle. "Don't fight it, sweetie." Olivia whispered, "just go to sleep."
"Will... will you still be here when I wake up?" her voice sounded so weak and vulnerable, almost childlike and it brought more tears to Liv's eyes.
"Of course, honey. I'm not going anywhere." again she kissed the icy hand.
"I'm cold." Amanda whispered weakly, on the brink of slumber.
"Oh sweets." the brunette murmured and shifted closer. "I think I can help with that."
She lifted the covers and carefully, as to not hurt her wounded shoulder, she slid in next to the blonde and slipped and arm underneath her neck. Gently she pulled her closer and placed a tender kiss on the blonde hair. "I'll keep you warm, sweetie. Just close your eyes and go to sleep. I'll be here holding you the entire time. I'm right here, baby. I'm right here."