Hey everyone! I am soooooo sorry for this long wait in between chapters! Real life got in the way and I'm sorry! I promise to be better with updates!
As always, I own nothing but the actual story line… Dick Wolfe owns the rest… careless though he may be with them. Ugh!
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Olivia strolled down the hall of the hospital towards the orthopedic wing of Children's Hospital, smiling at the people she passed. She entered the unit and made her way towards the break room to put her things in her locker. Just as she was putting in the combination to her locker, she heard the door open and her name being called.
"Hey Mary," Olivia said, greeting her supervisor with a smile.
"Hi dear. Listen, we need to move you to another unit tonight. We're not full on our unit but the cardiac wing is and they need an extra hand. Their volunteer didn't show up. Do you mind going down there for the night?" Mary asked.
"No, ma'am. Isn't that on the fifth floor?"
"Yea. Just go to the double doors and scan your badge. Ask for Lynn and she'll tell you what to do. Thanks again, honey. We'll see you tomorrow unless they need you again."
"Have a good night, Mary," Olivia said as she made her way out of the unit and down to the fifth floor. Once there, she scanned her badge and the doors opened.
Olivia was surprised at how different the cardiac unit looked from the other units she'd been to in the hospital. The walls were painted to look like you were in a field of wild-flowers and the ceiling was painted a light blue, like the sky. There were clouds painted around the light fixtures. The look of the unit made her smile. She made her way to the nurse's desk and asked the first person she saw for Lynn.
"You're looking at her," the woman, clearly in her late fifties, answered. "You must be Olivia," she stated.
"Yes, ma'am. Mary said you all needed an extra hand."
Lynn stacked the papers she'd just been going through and stood up. "We sure do. Follow me, honey, and I'll show you where you can stash your stuff." She held the door open for Olivia as they made their way into the break room. "Ok, honey, this is our spare locker. There's no lock on it, but you can't get into this room without an ID badge so your stuff should be fine." She waited as Olivia put away her things and then led her back out the door. "So here's the deal. This unit is quite different from the ortho floor. Our babies are much sicker. Some look it and some don't. We have three babies on our unit right now who are living here. They can't go home until they get a new heart."
Olivia stared at the woman, her eyes wide. "You mean, they're waiting to have a transplant?" She couldn't imagine what it was like living in a hospital. Not able to leave. Not able to sleep in your own bed. It was heartbreaking. "How sad," she whispered.
"Exactly. Do you think you'll be able to handle this?"
Olivia swallowed and looked the woman in the eyes. Her heart was racing but she was determined to see this through. "I'll be fine."
Lynn smiled and patted Olivia on the back. "Good. I think the kids are gonna love you," she said. "We don't ask too much from our volunteers on this floor. Basically, you're dealing with sick kids. Sick kids get scared. Parents get stressed. It's not always pretty down here, Olivia."
"I understand."
"Not to be rude, honey, but I don't think you do. You remember those three babies I told you about?" Olivia nodded. "At any minute, one or even all three of them could take a turn for the worse, and if there isn't a heart available, then there's nothing we can do for them," Lynn told her, matter-of-factly. "I'm not trying to be mean, Olivia, but I just want you to be prepared."
"Yes ma'am. I know I haven't been around sick children all that much, but I'm actually pretty good in high-stress situations and I think I'll be ok. If I find I can't handle it, I'll be sure to let you know before I freak out." For the first time in her life, Olivia Donnolley actually thought she might not be able to handle something. But her mother had raised her to never quit and to give it her all.
Lynn smiled and proceeded to give Olivia a tour of the rest of the floor, pointing out the various rooms and explaining what they were used for. Once they were finished with the tour, the two returned to the nurse's station so that Lynn could finish the paperwork she was doing. Olivia got out her psychology book to work on the project she was doing with Elliot while there was some down time. After about thirty minutes, Olivia heard a beeping coming from the desk and looked around. Lynn got up and hit a button, connecting her to a patient's room. She heard a little voice ask for some water and Olivia got up to get it.
"What room?" Olivia asked as she came out of the refreshment room.
"That was Katie. She's in room 30, right around the corner," Lynn told her. "Thanks, Honey"
Olivia nodded and made her way around the corner to Katie's room. She knocked lightly on the door and went inside. "Hi, Katie," she greeted the little girl. "I have your water, sweetie."
Katie rolled over in her bed and looked at the door, wondering who the new voice belonged to. "Who are you?" the little blonde asked as she sat up in her bed.
"My name is Olivia. I'm helping out down here tonight."
Katie pushed a hand through her long blonde hair trying to get it out of her face. "Oh," she said while reaching for her water. "How old are you?"
"I'm 21. How old are you?"
"I'm 4. My daddy is 22." Katie looked Olivia up and down, trying to decide if she liked her. "You can sit on my bed if you want," she told her, decision made.
Olivia smiled at the little girl and took a seat as she looked around the room. "I see you have a lot of books. Do you like to read?"
Katie looked up at Olivia from her water cup and smiled. "I love to read Miss Livvie. My daddy reads to me all the time."
"Sounds to me like you have a great daddy."
"My daddy is my best friend. He reads me stories, and plays barbies and dolls with me. We had a tea party today!" Katie said, gushing about her daddy to Olivia. "He dressed up and everything!"
Olivia chuckled at the little girl's enthusiasm. She couldn't help but notice that Katie had yet to mention her mother. She watched as Katie tried, yet again, to push her long hair back behind her ears. She reached out and brushed a piece out of the little girl's eye. "Do you want me to fix your hair for you, Katie?"
Katie's eyes lit up. "Will you braid it like yours is, Miss Livvie? That will get it out of my eyeballs!"
Olivia laughed and patted the girl's cheek. "I sure can. I bet it will look so pretty. Let me go tell Mrs Lynn where I am, okay. I'll be right back," Olivia told her. She got off the bed and went to see if it was alright for her to stay in Katie's room. Lynn told her it was fine and that she would call her if she needed her. Olivia walked quickly back into Katie's room and saw an array of hair brushes and pony-tail holders spread across the bed. She chuckled at the little girl.
"Livvy, I got all the hair bands I had!"
Olivia sat down and looked at the spread before her. She picked up two pink bands and twirled them in her fingers. "I can see that. So, Katie, do you want one braid, like mine, or two?"
Katie put her finger to her chin, mulling over her decision. "Umm... I want two! Daddy calls them piggy-tails."
Olivia watched Katie closely and decided to ask about her daddy. "Where is your daddy tonight? Are you staying here by yourself?" she asked as she moved to sit behind the little girl and began to brush out her long blonde hair.
Katie giggled and looked back at Olivia. "No, silly. He had to go to school. He always comes back before bed time," she told her.
Olivia noticed that Katie was getting sleepy as she brushed out her hair and braided it. She tried to hurry before the little girl fell asleep on her. Once she was finished, she put Katie's hair accessories back in the bathroom and tucked the little girl into bed. Katie asked Olivia if she would stay and watch a video with her until her daddy got there and Olivia told her she would, she just needed to check in with Ms Lynn first. Olivia returned a few minutes later and sat down in the chair beside the little girl's bed.
"No, Miss Livvie, I want you to lay down with me. Please?" Katie asked her with her big blue eyes. Olivia smiled at the little girl and moved to sit beside her in the bed. "Can we watch Finding Nemo?"
"Sure, Katie. Where are your movies?"
Katie pointed across the room to a bookcase filled with books, movies, picture frames, and toys. Olivia knelt down to look for the movie and found herself face to face with a familiar pair of blue eyes. Her breath caught in her throat as she picked up the picture frame holding a picture of Katie and her psych partner, Elliot Stabler. She turned around to face the girl and held up the picture. "Katie? Who is this?"
Katie smiled and simply said, "That's my daddy," as she sat the head of her bed up a bit. "Did you find the movie?" she asked, oblivious to the pounding of Olivia's heart and her struggle to breathe. "I know it's there."
Olivia put the frame back and located the movie. She put the video in and joined Katie on the bed. She was surprised when the little girl immediately curled into her side and snuggled close. Olivia felt her panic lessen as she wrapped her arms around Katie and pressed the play button on the remote. She relaxed back in the bed and began to watch the animated film. Ten minutes into the movie, she looked down to find Katie sound asleep in her arms. Her mind started to wander and she rubbed the little girl's back. She had so many questions that she wanted to ask Elliot but she wasn't sure where to begin. And she wouldn't get much time to think about them because the door opened only seconds later and Olivia was once again staring into Elliot's blue eyes.