Burning Desire
By: Liv-x-Lex4Ever & E. Scribbles
Chapter 1: Bravery
After she saw Tommy's finger twitch on the trigger, Olivia instantly, pulled Casey to the ground. Luckily, the shot missed her completely, but the detective wasn't as lucky and was hit in the shoulder.
Moments later, her gun was somehow at her side. She looked at Liam, who managed a reassuring nod. He was extremely worried for them, but he wasn't stupid. He knew what his odds were unarmed: not good.
"Stay down," she managed to tell Casey through gritted teeth in excruciating pain. On shaky legs, Olivia stood, gun in hand.
Tommy was grinning. "So detective, how's the—" but before he could get the sentence out, she fired, somehow knocking him unconscious as she dropped to the floor in pain. Remembering Elliot, she stood and went as fast as she dared toward him, luckily finding he only had a good-sized lump on the back of his head.
He groaned in pain at her touch as his eyes opened. "Hey…you okay? I heard two shots."
She showed her bleeding shoulder. "All things considered, I've had worse." She looked over seeing Casey giving her dad a tight hug before going to talk to the manager.
"Want me to call?" Elliot asked as Casey walked toward them with a First-Aid kit.
She raised a brow. "You're sure?"
He nodded. "I just have a bump on my head. You've got blood running down your arm. I think I can manage more easily."
Olivia nodded, helping him to a chair.
Casey took her uninjured arm and led her back to the table. "You should have this looked at. There's no exit wound. The bullet needs to be removed," she said, staunching a good amount of the blood. "You didn't have to do that. Now I feel guilty." She heard her father groan and saw him turn a bit green. "Daddy, got talk with Elliot, so you don't pass out."
He nodded, making his way over.
Olivia winced. "Don't be. It's my job."
Meanwhile Liam had walked up beside Elliot and handing him a bag of ice. "Here, use this."
He smiled, pressing it to his head. "Thanks."
"May I?" he asked, gesturing to a seat beside him.
Elliot nodded.
He sat next to him. "Lucky your partner's so quick on her feet."
"Yeah, she is. Saved both our lives plenty of times," Elliot said. "She's a great cop. Knows her stuff."
Liam nodded. "Oh yes, I haven't introduced myself," he said, extending his hand, "I'm Liam, Casey's father."
He shook it. "Elliot Stabler."
As Casey heard the sirens, she squeezed Olivia's hand. "Nice of everyone else to run out. One of them could have taken him. And, you know, if you wanted to give my dad a show of how brave you are, you could have just helped a grumpy lady across the road or something." Casey kept talking, trying to distract Olivia from the pain, and herself from the guilt
"Nah," she said, leaning her head on her shoulder, "that's not really my style. And, for the record, I did save you for you. It was...the memory of her that..."
Casey put a finger to her lips, looking up nervously as Tom groaned. "It's ok. You don't need to explain anything. Just try and relax until the bus gets here." Casey dropped a gentle kiss to Olivia's temple.
She sighed. "Will you go to the hospital with me? I mean, if you'd rather spend time with your father, that's fine..."
"Are you kidding? If they don't let me into that ambulance, I'm climbing on the roof and riding it the whole way." Casey squeezed Olivia's hand once more and stepped back as the paramedics approached.
"Olivia?" Melinda asked. "What happened?" she got on her knees next to her, pulling Casey's hand away.
Olivia winced. "Tom was the guy stalking Casey. And I proved it. Unfortunately, he grabbed Elliot's gun and fired... OW!" she yelled as Melinda eased the bullet out with tweezers, than put a gauze pad over it and wrapped it.
"You'll still need to get this checked out, okay?"
Olivia nodded.
As Melinda moved onto Elliott, Casey stayed back hesitantly, watching the scene, trying to ignore the glare Melinda had given her.
Olivia noticed. "Melinda," she asked. "She didn't do anything..."
"I don't like to see my detectives wounded Counselor. Especially by someone you apparently know." Casey tried to say she didn't know him, but decided just to merely nod. "Right, you two. In the ambulance. They're taking the perp in now. Munch and Fin are already there. You two need to get checked over. Can you both walk to the bus?" Melinda looked between Elliott and Olivia.
Olivia nodded, sighing, really wanting to argue, but knowing she couldn't right now. She shook her head. "She didn't know him. I didn't either. Something strange is going on, but I—" she grabbed Casey's arm, "—we should talk to Cragen."
"Hospital first." Casey laid a hand on top of Olivia's and gave her a smile before helping her towards the ambulance. "I think maybe our next date should involve sitting still and doing nothing because we don't seem to have a very good track record, do we?" Casey offered Olivia a grin.
She nodded. "Good idea."
On the way to the hospital, there was a deafening silence, Melinda still giving Casey a look that made her squirm in her seat. At the hospital, the last of her Olivia saw was Cragen appearing, and then she was whisked away by a doctor.
Casey sighed, feeling someone wrap an arm around her. From the scent, she knew it was her father. "How is she?"
She sighed. "They just rushed her into surgery."
Cragen walked over. "Casey, we need to talk."
"But—"
"Now Casey!"
Casey rubbed her head, trying to clear her mind so she could think, before asking her dad, "Will you wait here?" After he nodded, she followed Cragen from the room.
Walking into a deserted hallway, Cragen leaned against a wall. "What the hell happened?"
"It was a coincidence. Pure and simple. I recognized him...from the restaurant where Olivia and I had our first date. He was the same guy who was stalking me." She wiped the tears that were threatening to fall. "I never meant for this to happen! They got hurt trying to protect me!"
"I don't care about any of that right now. Are you sure he was trying to shoot at you? He wasn't aiming for Olivia or anyone else? Because they've tested him and his finger prints don't match the ones found at your house. Either you apparently have two stalkers, or a whole group of people working together. Are you sure you've never seen him before the restaurant? THINK HARD Casey because two of my detectives are lying in hospital beds and you are the only link we have to that guy. Until he wakes up and talks, IF he wakes up and IF he talks, you're all we have."
"I'm sure. He made me uncomfortable. Olivia had to reassure me a million times that she wouldn't let anything happen to me. Two stalkers is...possible, but he knew my name from when he came to my house. It's on my doorbell. Also, Olivia said he made a reference to Alex too."
Cragen sighed and rubbed his head. "Right. You better comer down to the precinct, AND NO ARGUMENTS! Until we get this sorted out you need to be safe, and I'm sure you wouldn't want to put Olivia and Elliot in more danger." Without listening to her protests, Cragen led her from the hospital.
Casey sighed, not arguing. Olivia would be in surgery a while anyway.
Her father was standing outside. "Casey, what's going on?"
Cragen looked at him. "Liam? Liam Novak?"
He nodded. "Yes, do I know you?"
"It's Don Cragen! We worked together years ago."
"Oh yes, I remember now! How've you been?"
He shrugged. "I'd be better if two of my best detectives weren't in the hospital."
Casey sighed. "Yeah, because of me..."
Liam touched her arm. "Hey, at least your old Dad's fine!"
Casey offered a small smile.
"I'll stay here, Let everyone know what's going on. You're taking her to the precinct?" At Don's nod, Liam gave Casey a tight hug. "Look after her Don, she's my only daughter. I think."
Casey rolled her eyes, but her next smile was more genuine, and she followed Cragen to the car with no protest.
Author's Note: What do you think? The first chapter to the sequel of Dancing Within the Flames.
Thanks to my Beta:Tiger(dot)Lily(dot)Weasley(dot)757
Please read & review!
Liv-x-Lex4Ever and E. Scribbles