Hospital rooms never had great reception. It was a miracle that Casey was able to call her wife at all. The tears echoing in her voice, she waited for Olivia to answer the phone. It went to voicemail. Casey began to cry. "Olivia, I'm in the hospital. My water broke, and the baby is coming. The doctor says they may have to-" She cried out in pain. "Operate," she added weakly before hanging up. The medicine claimed her, and she fell asleep within seconds.
Olivia's phone had beeped in the middle of talking to a suspect and she had to wait fifteen minutes before the interrogation was over. Getting in the car as she dialed her voicemail, her face paled as she listened to Casey's distressing message. "We need to get to the hospital, now!" she informed her partner, who quickly shifted the car into drive. Olivia's distress unnerved him.
By the time Olivia arrived, the doctor greeted her and told her that Casey had experienced hemorrhagic shock, and that they were starting a crash C-section. Olivia sat down in a state of shock as the doctor walked away. Why couldn't she have just answered the phone? She stood after a few minutes and paced the room, giving Cragen a quick update as she waited for further news about her beautiful wife.
"Detective?" Casey's head doctor emerged from the operating room two hours later. Her blood stained scrubs painted a clear picture of the situation. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "There is nothing more we can do."
"What? No! There has to be something."
"I'm sorry, detective. We did everything we could. It just wasn't enough."
Olivia looked like the life had been knocked out of her, her eyes glazed with tears. "The baby?"
"She's with the nurse. She'll be alright."
"Can I see them?"
The doctor noded solemly. "Only for a bit. Your wife is through here. When you are ready, you may spend some time with your little girl. She'll be ready to go home tomorrow. She needs you, Olivia. You're all she has."
Olivia nodded following the doctor through to Casey's room, as the medical staff left them alone. She took Casey's cool hand in her own, stroking her forehead. "I'm so sorry, Casey. I should have been here, I'm so so sorry," she whispered, hugging her wife tightly, her head on Casey's chest.
Casey's diamond wedding ring sparkled in the frigid hospital room, the monitors beside her as lifeless as her.
"I promise I'll look after our daughter. I don't know how I'm going to do it without you, Case. You were the prepared one. You have far more maternal instinct than I do, but I promise she'll be ok," Olivia said, moving to stroke her cheek again as she looked at her. "I love you, Casey Benson," she whispered, kissing her lips gently.
Within an hour, the doctor entered. "Detective, it's time," she murmured apologetically. "You can see your daughter for a bit, and then we have some paperwork."
Olivia reluctantly kissed Casey a final time, repeating that she loved her, letting go of her hand one last time. Fighting to keep her composure, the detective stumbled after the doctor, tears flooding her chocolate brown eyes.