A/N: THEY'RE MINE, THEY'RE ALL MINE...Okay, I got nothing.
A/N: Thanks to my wonderful reviewers from last chapter: KaydenceRei, AussieChick, Neela149, onetreefan, princess-dreamer, Drop Dead Saxy, WuHaoNi, AliasCSIFriendsER, obsessedwithstabler, thutinha, OElvrs4life, and estrelitalovesSVU. I enjoyed all of your reviews, despite the fact you think I'm an evil. Well, guys, this chapter is going to be even more evil. I'm sorry, but it is. Mysteries are resolved from last chapter and you will feel a bit of relief, but I'm sure you will all hate me by the time you are done with it. But enjoy it and please review!
This chapter is for Drop Dead Saxy for helping me work through all the writer's block and for inspiring me to add additional twists and really play with your minds. And also for Mi Estrelita (Cilla) for listening to me last night. Love you both!
Drs. Frye and Christy sat in the waiting room having just finished informing the detectives and lawyer of Elliot's fate. They waited in painful silence as the group slowly broke down around them.
"When did it happen?" the captain asked quietly.
Frye cleared his throat. "Less than an hour ago; shortly after Detective Stabler was moved to the recovery room."
"Did he suffer?" the attorney whispered, tears running down her cheek.
Christy shook her head. "He never regained consciousness after the bullet…I don't think he felt very much pain."
The group nodded slowly, allowing the words to wash over them. "Does Detective Stabler have any family we should contact?" Frye asked.
The captain nodded. "He and his wife are divorced, but he also has four children."
Frye and Christy nodded. "We can call them, if you would like," Christy said softly.
The captain nodded again, but didn't say anything else. "May we see him?"
Frye cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, but I cannot allow that. His body has already been moved."
The captain sighed. "When we will receive news on Detective Benson's condition?"
It was Dr. Christy who answered. "I will go check on her in surgery, if you want."
The group nodded. "Thank you," the attorney whispered.
Frye was suddenly distracted by his pager going off. He glanced at it and then looked at Dr. Christy. "Maggie," he said softly, nodding his head at her. She returned his nod, eyes full of understanding. "I'm sorry, we must go," Frye said, holding up his pager. "Duty calls." He and Christy left walking quickly down the hall. The page had been their signal.
Elliot was awake.
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Elliot felt himself regain consciousness slowly, as though he was just waking up from a century of sleep. He could feel a heavy pain in his leg somewhere around his thigh, and his mind was groggy as he tried to clear it.
Where am I?
Elliot's eyes snapped open as the memory suddenly came flooding back to him. He was lying on a rather lumpy hospital bed with immaculate white walls. The room had no windows. Elliot glanced around and saw a tall, strange man sitting in the corner of his room. Elliot narrowed his eyes, trying to place the man, but eventually had to give up: his head hurt too much.
The strange man rustled his newspaper as he turned a page. Looking up from his paper, he noticed Elliot was awake. He didn't smile or make any other gesture towards Elliot; rather, he merely closed his paper and sent a page. Once it had been sent, he went over and stood at the foot of Elliot's bed.
"Nice to see you're awake, Detective Stabler."
Elliot didn't even ask how the man knew his name. He just looked at the strange man waiting for him to say something else.
"I'm Eric Thompson – Agent Eric Thompson," the man introduced himself, showing Elliot his badge. Elliot glanced at it and the nodded slowly.
"Olivia…" he moaned.
Agent Thompson nodded. "She's here too," he assured Elliot. "The doctors can fill you in when they arrive." Thompson looked out the window to the hospital hallway, as if expecting them to materialize all of a sudden. There was a soft knock on the door and then it was opened and two people, a man and a woman, entered. Thompson nodded approvingly; right on time.
"I'm Dr. Frye and this is Dr. Christy," introduced the male doctor. "I'm glad to see you're awake, Detective."
"Call me Elliot," Elliot muttered.
"How is the pain…Elliot?" Frye asked. "Can I get you anything else for your leg?"
Elliot shook his head. "The pain is fine."
Frye nodded. "Good, good." He looked expectantly at Thompson.
Thompson cleared his throat. "What happened?" Elliot asked suddenly, before Thompson could begin.
Thompson looked directly at Elliot and began in his deep voice. "You were shot. The EMTs found you and Detective Benson in the alleyway. She's still in surgery," he added, noticing Elliot was about to ask.
Elliot nodded as he tried to process the information quickly. "Will she survive?" he asked quietly.
Dr. Christy shrugged slightly. "We will know more after the surgery."
"The important thing now is that you're safe," said Agent Thompson. "You are, officially, dead; the unit has already been informed. Elliot Stabler no longer exists; from now on, you will have a new identity…"
Elliot frowned as his head spun. There were too many questions swirling around in his head; he didn't even know which one to ask first, so he came up with the one word to sum it all up. "WHAT?"
Thompson, who had been talking still, suddenly paused and looked at Elliot. "Excuse me?" he asked.
Elliot took a deep breath and let it exhale slowly. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Thompson looked at him sternly. "Listen to me, Detective Stabler. We have a ticking clock. We are entering you into the Witness Protection Program. It has already been finalized. Your unit has been informed of your death already."
Elliot felt his head start to spin again. He was dead? Witness protection? "Why?" he asked. "Why are you doing this?"
Thompson leaned in closer to Elliot. "Do you remember a Richard White, Detective?"
Elliot nodded slowly. "Creep after Olivia…we locked him up years ago. Unless…" Elliot's voice trailed off as the realization hit him. "He hasn't been released, has he?"
Thomson shook his head. "No, he hasn't been released…he has escaped."
Elliot felt the color drain from his face. "When?" was the only word he could get out.
The agent shrugged. "A few days ago; we still have yet to track him down. However, with the attack on you and Detective Benson last night, we can safely say he was in New York."
"But," Elliot stuttered, "but – witness protection? Can't we just get a – a restraining order on him – or something – like that?"
Thompson shook his head again. "I'm afraid not. You are better off dead. We know White will stop at nothing until he kills you both…it's better this way."
"And Olivia?" Elliot had to ask.
"As for Detective Benson, arrangements have yet to be made. We are waiting for news on her condition. It is still unclear whether or not she will live."
Elliot frowned. "I'm not going to leave without her."
Thompson appeared to be taken aback. "Excuse me?" he asked Elliot. "I don't think you're going to have much of a choice."
"I'm not going to leave without her," Elliot repeated.
Agent Thompson looked helplessly at the two doctors. "I don't know if that will be possible," Dr. Christy said slowly. "We don't know enough of Detective Benson's condition to make that kind of guarantee."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Elliot snapped.
"There may be complications after the surgery," Christy continued. "She may not be stable enough for transfer."
Thompson decided to step back in at this point. "Detective Stabler," he said. He handed Elliot a large file. "Meet Matthew James. You're going to learn everything in this file. We will wait only a short period for news on Detective Benson's condition, but we are not going to make any guarantees. Do we understand each other?"
Elliot nodded and Thompson nodded back at him. "Good."
Dr. Christy's pager suddenly went off. She unclipped it from her belt and looked at it, a small smile tugging at her lips. "It's surgery," she announced. "Detective Benson is out of surgery and in the recovery room."
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Elliot came to the room slowly, accompanied by the two doctors and Agent Thompson. The agent went into the room first and had a quick word with the surgeon who was writing a chart. Elliot and the doctors waited outside, but Thompson was quick. He returned and spoke quietly, but severely to Elliot.
"They're going to let you sit with her. She's in a private room, but she's hooked up to lots of machines, including a respirator."
Elliot nodded, though the thought of Olivia on machines was terrifying, heart wrenching. "That's fine," he said quickly. "I just want to see her."
The door opened and the surgeon poked her head out. "Detective?" Elliot nodded; the surgeon smiled a small smile at him. "You can see her now," she said softly. Elliot stepped eagerly forward. "Dr. Christy," Elliot heard the surgeon say as the door was closing. "I need to speak with you…"
Elliot entered with his heart pounding. Olivia was lying on the hospital bed; indeed, she was hooked up to many machines. He approached her slowly and took a seat next to her bed. He gently took her hand.
"Hey Liv," he greeted her softy, giving her fingers a squeeze. "I'm so glad you're out of surgery," Elliot said. The surgeon hadn't told him whether or not Olivia could hear him, but Elliot decided to keep talking anyway. "You had me so worried out there in the alley, Liv. But you're so strong and I know you're going to make it through this."
Elliot sighed as he felt tears begin to well in his eyes. "Guess what, Liv?" he whispered to her. "I'm – I'm going into the Witness Protection Program. "It's – well, it's complicated, honey. Richard White-" Elliot swallowed hard. "White, Liv, he – he escaped from prison. The feds think he's the one who shot us, and now I have to go away." Elliot opened the large file Agent Thompson had given him. "Do you want to know about Matthew James, Olivia?" Elliot asked her. "That's my new identity. Let's see…he has no siblings, no wife, and his parents died years ago. Well, that's pleasant," Elliot remarked comically to Olivia. He sighed and continued reading. "Matthew James is…a social worker? Oh man, Liv, if you thought me being a janitor was bad, being a social worker is so much worse. And get this – he's a social worker in a hospital. He works at-" Elliot suddenly read the name of the hospital and his voice died in his throat.
"Liv," he whispered. "He works at County General Hospital – in Chicago!" Elliot suddenly felt excited. He was going to be working at the same hospital as Carter and Abby. He smiled sadly at Olivia.
"I love you so much, Olivia," he whispered into her ear. "The feds are going to take me away soon. They say that they're not sure what will happen to you yet. You have to wake up first, sweetheart. I don't want to leave you, Liv, but they're not going to give me much of a choice. I – I don't want to say good-bye to you like this, Olivia." Elliot kissed her cheek. "I want to see you smile, hear your voice…or your laughter. I love you, Olivia. Please give me the chance to say good-bye for real."
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The surgeon led Drs. Christy, Frye, and Agent Thompson over away from the room, allowing Elliot to have a moment alone with Olivia. They talked as they walked down the hall.
"So how is she doing?" Dr. Christy asked.
The surgeon sighed. "The surgery went well, which is good. We removed the bullet from her stomach and managed to clot the bleeding…" her voice trailed off.
"What happened, Julie?" Christy asked the surgeon. "Why are you hesitating?"
Julie sighed. "She crashed on the operating table. We managed to get a rhythm back, but she was down for at least fifteen minutes."
Christy frowned. "What are you saying?"
"She's in a coma," the surgeon replied glumly. "She's in a coma and we don't know when – or if - she will wake up." The surgeon paused as Agent Thompson exhaled loudly. "We, of course, don't know where that leaves her in the program…"
"Elliot is adamant about staying with Olivia," Frye said. "I don't think he's going to leave without her-"
"He'll have to," interrupted Agent Thompson forcefully. "People are reluctant to enter into the program all the time, but we can't make all these exceptions. If Detective Benson is indeed not going to regain consciousness for an indefinite period of time, we have no choice but to leave her here. Detective Stabler will enter into the program and Detective Benson will remain here."
"But how are we going to get Elliot to leave her?" Frye argued. "Couldn't he just remain here for a few days just to see if Olivia's condition improves at all?"
"No," replied the agent. "That is absolutely not allowed. We have a ticking clock, Dr. Frye, as I explained to the detective earlier. The longer he stays, the more danger he puts himself and Detective Benson into. Detective Stabler is going to leave now and that's final!"
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Elliot heard the door open behind him. Turning around, he saw the two doctors and the surgeon enter. "Agent Thompson would like to have a word with you," Dr. Christy told Elliot. He passed her as he left the room.
Agent Thompson was waiting for him right outside. "We're leaving now, Mr. James," he said, using Elliot's new name.
Elliot frowned. "Why?" he asked angrily.
"Detective Benson's condition is very grave," Thompson told him slowly. "She is in a coma, and the doctors do not know when – or if – she will regain consciousness."
"If?" cried Elliot outraged. "What do you mean 'if'?"
Thompson sighed angrily. "I mean that the doctors don't know how long it will be before she regains consciousness and that we don't have that kind of time to wait. The longer you stay, the more danger you're putting yourself – and Olivia – into. We must leave immediately-"
The rest of Thompson's words were suddenly drowned out by a shrill shrieking of a machine inside Olivia's room. Elliot felt his heart stop as he heard it. Without another look at Thompson, he yanked open the door and rushed inside.
The shrieking stopped immediately; the doctors had switched off the machine. "No!" cried Elliot. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
Dr. Frye shook his head sadly. "I am so sorry, Mr. James," he began, also using Elliot's new name, "We lost a rhythm."
"BUT WHY ARE YOU JUST LETTING HER DIE?" Elliot roared. "Save her! The machine just started shrieking; you can get her rhythm back! Why aren't you trying; why aren't you helping her?"
"There's nothing we can do," Dr. Christy told him slowly. "She was in a coma, Mr. James. There was nothing we could've-"
"STOP CALLING ME 'MR. JAMES!'" Elliot yelled.
Frye put a hand on Elliot's shoulder. "I am very sorry for your loss-"
"You feel nothing," Elliot snapped back at him. "Don't tell me you're sorry; tell me you can save her! Try to save her – please! I love her!" At these words, Elliot suddenly broke down. "I love her," he sobbed over and over again. Elliot sank onto the chair and sobbed.
"I'll give you a few minutes alone with her," Dr. Frye said softly. He led the others in the room out, leaving Elliot alone with Olivia again.
Elliot continued to sob feeling as though the tears could never stop. He couldn't believe that he was losing everything at once: his identity, his job, his friends, and now…Olivia. He cried for his losses; he took Olivia's hand in his again and kissed it.
"It wasn't supposed to end like this, Olivia," he whispered to her through his tears. "It wasn't supposed to be this way. You were supposed to live; I was supposed to marry you!" Elliot pulled a small box out of his pocket and opened it, revealing a gorgeous golden ring.
"I was going to propose to you that night at the restaurant," he whispered. He felt more tears run down his cheeks as he brought the ring to her hand. "I've loved you from the day I first met you, Olivia. Without you, I feel so alone, like the other half of me is missing. After everything we'd been through with Bloomberg, I can't believe it has to end this way." Elliot let out another loud sob. "I will love you until the day I die, Olivia," he told her as he slipped the ring onto her finger. He kissed her fingers, and then gently placed her hand onto her stomach. Even through his tears, he smiled sadly. The ring looked so beautiful on her slim finger.
The door opened behind him and Agent Thompson entered. "All ready, Mr. James?" he asked.
Elliot nodded spiritlessly and more tears slipped down his face. He gently kissed Olivia on the cheek and whispered in her ear, "I will love you forever, Liv." He then stood up and followed Agent Thompson from the room. He took one last look at Olivia as the door shut, closing Elliot off from his old life as Detective Elliot Stabler, and reluctantly opening the next door of his new life as Matthew James.
A/N: Please, don't hurt me! It's all for the plot, I promise! Just keep that in mind, okay? Next chapter is going to be mostly ER, and yes there will be plenty of Carby for all my Carby fans out there. I hope to have it up soon!
P.S. Thanks to Estrelita for reviewing my HP story, Harry Potter and the Core of the Wands! Love you, carina!
