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Chapter 3

The entire squad had gathered in Olivia's hospital room, Casey curled up against the detective's side, her arms latched firmly around her neck, her head buried in her shoulder. They were waiting for her liver function tests to come back. Low was good. It would mean she wouldn't need a new liver. That she would live... High was bad.

No one was talking, Olivia and Casey embracing each other tightly and waiting for the doctor to return with the results. Casey was refusing to believe Olivia was going to die. No. She couldn't. Her sweet detective had been through the hell that was her childhood and been a cop for ten years. She'd chased after rapists and child molesters and stared death in the face a thousand times before and always lived to tell the tale. She couldn't die because of a car crash. It wasn't fair.

Kissing her neck, Casey hid her tears in Olivia's hair and wrapped her arms more tightly around her, as if she might float anyway at any moment. She could tell that the detective was absolutely terrified- not that Casey blamed her. She was terrified, too. Terrified that Olivia was going to leave her all alone, but that, that was a stupid, selfish reason- she couldn't handle the thought of someone as good and sweet and pure as Olivia dying. It just wasn't fair.

When the door opened to reveal the doctor, everyone turned to him and Casey helped Olivia sit up, the two women clinging onto each other, eyes wide with fear. The doctor was holding a sheet of paper in his hands, his expression grim. He was looking directly at Olivia when he said, "The liver function tests just came back... there's nothing we can do to stop you're liver from failing. I'm sorry, Detective."

SVU all stared at him in horror before turning to look back at Olivia. She wasn't reacting outwardly at all, her face frozen in an expression of shock and terror.

Casey gasped softly, squeezing Olivia's hand so tightly it hurt. The detective's expression changed slowly from frightened to horrified, the blood draining from her face. Casey shook her head fiercely, trying not to hear what the doctor was saying. No. No no no. Olivia's not dying. She can't be dying!

There were hidden tears on Olivia's tongue when she asked softly, "So... how long before I... before I die?" Casey gripped Olivia tighter on the last word, tears falling faster and faster down her cheeks. Olivia couldn't die. She couldn't!

"Well, in about 24 hours, you'll slip into a coma, and..." He saw the expressions on their faces, deducing that they didn't want to hear all the medical crap and just wanted to know what was going to happen to Olivia. "Two days, if you're lucky. I'm sorry, Detective," he apologized again before turning to walk out the door.

"No!" Casey shouted, letting go of Olivia and jumping off the bed and storming over to the doctor. "You're lying! She's not dying! No!"

"Ma'am-"

"No! I- I mean- can't you do anything at all to help her? Please, there has to be something!" she begged, because if there was nothing they could do and Olivia died... she couldn't even handle the thought.

The doctor shook his head, his expression sober. "No, ma'am, there's nothing we can do for liver failure. We can just give her some drugs to ease her passing, but..."

As the doctor continued to speak, an idea popped into Casey's head, a brilliant possibility of keeping her detective alive. Of course it was worth the risk; anything was worth keeping Olivia from dying.

"Does she need a whole liver? Can't I donate part of mine?" she begged tearfully, begging the doctor to tell her that she could do something, anything to keep her Olivia alive.

"Casey!" Olivia gasped weakly in shock, the other detectives not much better, shaking her head fiercely. "Casey, no!"

"Can't I?" she implored, staring into the doctor's eyes and ignoring Olivia's plea. She couldn't let Olivia die.

The doctor shook his head uncertainly. "Ma'am, you'd have to have the same blood type, and hers is incredibly rare- it's-"

"AB negative?" Casey interrupted harshly. "I know! We have the same blood type- please! Please, let me donate part of my liver to her!"

The doctor hesitated, looking between the two women, from Olivia's horrified expression to Casey's determined one, then nodded. "We need to run a lot of tests on the both of you to make sure, but yes. Because of our time frame, you're going to need to come with me so we can start the tests right away-"

"No, Casey! You can't do this!" Olivia tried again, the other detectives still too shocked to speak. "I won't let you!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Casey walked over to her and bent down to whisper in her ear, "Olivia, my memories of you were the only things that kept me sane when I was pregnant. I'm not going to let someone as amazing as you die when I can save you."

"Casey!" But the ADA wasn't listening to her. She turned and walked out the door after the doctor, flashing a final smile at Olivia.

"I love you, Liv," she said softly before disappearing around the door frame, leaving a horrified Olivia and three shocked detectives in her wake.

SVUSVUSVU

"She can't do this!" Olivia exclaimed hoarsely, glaring imploringly at Elliot. "Go, make her get this ridiculous idea out of her head. Please, Elliot!"

The two women had been separated for about half an hour, now, to undergo the tests before the surgery. Elliot was with Olivia, Munch was with Casey. "Liv," he said softly, trying to placate her, "Nothing I say or do is going to stop Casey from doing this."

"But she could die!" The detective was frantic, and, even in her weakened state, she was fighting like all hell to get Elliot to talk to Casey.

He shook his head, trying to hide how worried he was about Casey. "Liv, Casey's going to go through with this, no matter what anybody says."

"No!" Olivia exclaimed again. "She's... she's not just not thinking right, that... that has to be it. Casey can't die for me, she just... Elliot," she started hesitantly, then coughed again and winced. The doctors continued to poke and prod her as she continued, "This is just when she would of given birth to her daughter. She blames herself for her miscarriage even though it's absolutely not her fault and she's not thinking straight. She can't do this. You can't let her do this."

Elliot just sighed. "Olivia, Casey's a grown woman, allowed to make her own choices. You're probably right that she's not thinking straight, but you have to remember that she loves you and would do anything for you. What you would you do, if your positions were reversed?"

Olivia stared at him, flinching at the very idea before shaking her head adamantly and saying, "It's not the same. Casey can't do this. She can't risk her life to save mine. I... I can't let her. If she dies, then it'll be my fault!"

"Listen to me, Liv," Elliot said harshly. "Casey's not going to die, and this is not your fault."

"How the hell do you know anything, Elliot?" Olivia demanded, wincing as the doctors continued their tests but forcing herself to keep talking to him. "The doctor said she could die during surgery, and since I know you don't have any magic powers to stop that from happening, then Casey is risking her life- just to save mine!"

"Yes- because she loves you. And-"

"And I love her!" she snapped. "I can't let her die!"

Elliot leaned forward, grabbing Olivia's hand and squeezing tightly. "You can't let her die just like she can't let you die. And, Olivia? If Casey doesn't do this transplant, you would... there's no chance you would make it out alive. For Casey, the risk of death is less than one percent."

"But there is a risk! A risk that I can't let her take!"

He kept on trying to convince her. "Olivia, come on. What would you do if it was Casey who needed a liver and you who had one? What you would tell me if I tried to talk you out of the transplant?"

Olivia glared at him, stubborn as hell. "Elliot... just... if she dies... because of me, then I'll-"

He shushed her. "Olivia, I already told you and I'm going to tell you again, this isn't your fault, and Casey is not going to die. You are both going to be fine."

SVUSVUSVU

Munch smiled at Casey as he walked slowly into the exam room. She winced and glared at the doctor who was sticking the needle in her arm before directing her attention back at Munch and saying, "Thirty five more tests and I'll be ready to go. Hell. Thirty five more tests. I'm not going to make it to the transplant."

They both chuckled as he sat down next to her, giving her a look, trying to convey both his gratitude for saving Olivia's life and his worry for her own. She nodded, accepting it, knowing he wouldn't try to talk her out of the transplant. He didn't want Olivia to die and Casey knew that, despite the risk to her own life, Munch supported her decision- he also knew that Casey was stubborn to a fault and could never be talked out of anything, especially something concerning the woman she loved so much.

He chuckled as he tried to come up with any possible scenario right now where Casey could do something to make him mad, to make his gratitude to her disappear. Not even his wild mind could come up with anything.

What the doctor said next, though, did the trick, all right. It was certainly something he never could of come up with. "And your pregnancy nine months ago, Ms. Novak, did you get an abortion?" he asked nonchalantly, unaware of how secret and sensitive that subject was with the ADA.

Casey froze, staring at the doctor in horror before raising her terrified gaze to Munch, who was looking between her and the doctor in confusion. "Pregnancy? What's he talking about? You were never pregnant... were you?" he asked lightly, not believing it for a second. When Casey didn't reply, her gaze darting frantically between the doctor and detective, he asked uncertainly, "Were you, Casey?"

She stared at him desperately, unable to tell him the truth. Unfortunately for her, Munch and his conspiracy theory mind jumped to conclusions and he stood up, letting go of her hand like he'd been burned. "Oh my god. You were! And he said nine months ago- that was when you were in LA, for witness protection! Hell, you must have fucked the first person you saw! And when you got pregnant, you got an abortion to get rid of the evidence, didn't you?"

"John- John, I'm so sorry," she said tearfully, shaking her head back and forth frantically. "I- I didn't mean to, I didn't know, I just woke up and he was- and I- it hurt, and-"

"No excuses, Novak!" he snapped. "Olivia never even looked at another woman and she thought you were dead! How could you do that to her? You cheated on her, fucking the first guy you saw, and Olivia couldn't have a relationship with anybody for nearly eight months because she felt like she was betraying you! You're just doing the transplant to get back on her good side, aren't you?"

She shook her head again, the tears cascading down her cheeks now. "No, John, I swear! I woke up and he was on top of me- I couldn't-"

"You whore, I don't want to hear any details! You don't deserve Olivia," he snapped, turning to leave the room and slamming the door behind him, leaving the ADA shocked and crying silently behind.

Oh, look at me, being all committed to you guys and doing research on liver transplants for you! You should feel special and drop a review. Seriously, review. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!