A/N: Thank you SO much for all of the wonderful reviews! Thanks also to Foreward for pointing out the ventilator thing I forgot to change in chap 2! LOL Good eye ;) Lastly, a huge thank you again to my fantabulous Beta, Cori for patiently working with me to make this story the best it can be! Anyway…on with the story! Hope you all enjoy…
Bringing the jeep to a screeching halt, Elliot turned it in the opposite direction, cutting off a group of impatient motorists in the process, and headed to the hospital.
Saunders would finally get what was coming to him, if he had anything to say about it.
Halfway to the hospital, Elliot's Blackberry began to vibrate once again. With frustration, he snatched it from his pocket and answered.
"Mr. Stabler?" The hesitant voice questioned.
"Yes, this is Detective Stabler. Can I help you?"
"Um, yes, this is Gloria Weston, a nurse at New York Presbyterian…Miss Olivia Benson has been moved out of ICU and although she is still being treated for a mild case of pneumonia, she can have some visitors for a short period of time now."
Fuck.
Elliot ended the call without a word and pushed down on the gas pedal, increasing his speed. As relieved as he felt that Olivia was out of the ICU, the fact that Saunders was in the same hospital, potentially trying to locate her now that she was able to have visitors, caused his heart to rapidly thump against his ribcage with worry. His mind began to imagine different scenarios involving that son of a bitch hurting her while she lay alone and feeling ill.
The tires of his jeep squealing as he turned sharply into the parking lot of New York Presbyterian, Elliot swung haphazardly into the closest available spot. He slammed the car door shut and jogged into the building and up to the information desk, badge flashing in his unsteady palm.
"Detective Stabler, NYPD! I need Olivia Benson's room number now!" Elliot gasped for air as he observed the terrified looking secretary rapidly type out information onto the keyboard of her computer.
"Benson…uh, room 143. Down the hall and hang a right," she stammered.
{EO}
Elliot tried to catch his breath as he stared at Olivia's empty, rumpled hospital bed.
He slammed his fist against the opened, cold metal door of room 143 and dialed his cell. "Fin, get down here now! She's gone! Fuck, Liv's gone!"
"Looking for someone?" He turned around to see a cocky looking Carl Saunders, his arms crossed over his chest, watching Elliot from the hallway just outside Olivia's room.
Elliot's eyes narrowed as he charged at the man. "You son of a bitch-" Elliot shoved Saunders roughly against the wall and placed a strong hand firmly against his throat. "Where is she? Where the fuck is Olivia?"
Saunders groaned in pain, glaring at Elliot. "Shit Stabler get off me! I don't know where that bitch is!"
Elliot tightened his grip on Saunders' throat. "Listen you prick…I asked you a fucking question. Where. The fuck. Is. Olivia?" He shouted, punctuating each word with another slam of Saunders' back against the wall.
"I don't give a shit where your little girlfriend is!" He sputtered. "Heard someone tried to do her in…bitch got what she deserved!"
"Do you have a death wish asshole? It was you and we got enough evidence to bring your ass in again, so wipe that fucking smirk off your face and tell me what the fuck you did to Olivia. Don't make me ask you again," he growled.
"What's going on here?" The nervous looking hospital security guard couldn't have been more than twenty five. "Break it up!"
"Um, excuse me, sir. Are you talking about Olivia Benson?" A petite nurse questioned as she cowered behind the lanky security guard.
Finally breaking his focus from Saunders, Elliot glanced over at the source of the small voice. "Yeah, Olivia Benson. You know where she is?"
"Uh, yes. Um, she was taken to get a MRI about twenty minutes ago. She's okay, sir. So um please let go of Mr. Saunders… he has a broken rib."
"MRI?"
"You see Stabler, I didn't touch the bitch! Now let me the fuck go!" Saunders pushed against Elliot. "Get off me before I press charges."
"Press- are you fucking kidding me?"
"Hey, Elliot!" Fin shouted, as he jogged down the long hallway that was now filled with onlookers. "Let him go man, I'm taking him down to the station now. You just worry about Liv for now." Fin grabbed Saunders from Elliot's grasp, roughly cuffing him, as he began to read him his rights.
Elliot clenched his fists as he watched Fin drag the asshole away.
Olivia was okay.
He released a rush of air as he leaned against the wall for support then turned to the shocked looking nurse again. "When can I see her?"
{EO}
"All right Saunders, care to explain how your fingerprint ended up on a condom wrapper we found at the scene of Sharon Matthews' attack?" John Munch raised a bushy eyebrow over his lowered dark glasses.
"Fuck if I know! I was at the goddamn hospital all morning!"
"How'd you get the broken rib anyway?" Fin walked across the dim interrogation room and leaned in toward Saunders.
"None of your damn business, but thanks for asking." Saunders sniffed and looked down at the metal table in front of him.
Fin and Munch exchanged glances.
Fin pounded his fist on the table. "Here's what I think went down. You tried to get rid of Detective Benson, but you failed, so to satisfy your sick needs you found another victim that lives in her building to rape and murder…"
"You wanted to send a message- a threat. Why else would you pick Detective Benson's building? But this time your victim fought back harder than you expected. She kicked you in the ribs and fought like hell, so you scurried off to the hospital and left her there naked, violated, and terrified." Munch stood on the opposite side of Saunders from Fin, leaning in close to his face. "What I want to know though, is how you managed to attempt to murder Detective Benson without anyone seeing you."
"I had nothing to do with what happened to Benson, but fuck if she didn't deserve it!"
"Deserve it? Tell me, in your twisted little brain, why the hell do you think she deserves to die?"
Saunders was about to respond when a firm knock against the glass of the two way mirror startled the three men.
Munch walked out to see what was going on and was motioned over to the double mirror by ADA Gillian Hardwicke and Captain Cragen.
"He's definitely the rapist," Gillian stated. "We just received solid evidence from the lab. DNA taken from under Sharon's finger nails and traces of semen from her inner thigh are a match, and even though the partial print on the condom wrapper wasn't conclusive, this definitely is. He's going down for the most recent rape- the only one we can prove-but we need him to fess up about the attack on Olivia. She said his name identifying Saunders as her attacker while under the influence of medications in the hospital, so we need more to go on to nail him for attempted murder of a police officer."
"Got it. Thanks Gillian." Munch headed back into interrogation, where Fin was grabbing Saunders by his shirt collar.
"Well, Mr. Saunders looks like some new evidence popped up that is not in your favor."
"What are you talking about, old man?" Saunders rubbed absently at the back of his neck as Fin released his shirt.
The corner of his mouth twitching slightly, Munch haughtily confronted Saunders with the evidence Alex had laid out before him.
Shifting awkwardly in his seat, Saunders wouldn't make eye contact with the detectives.
"Looks like now all we gotta know is what happened with Olivia," Fin stated, chin tilted upward.
Feeling defeated, Saunders turned his gaze up at Fin and then quickly looked away. "I told you…I had nothing to do with what happened to Benson." He cleared his throat and crossed his arms.
Munch gave Fin another knowing look. "Then who did?"
"No one… I mean, I don't know who tried to kill that bitch. How many times do I have to tell everyone that?"
Fin yanked the chair out from under Saunders, causing him to land harshly on his back on the concrete floor.
"Fuck!"
Hovering over Saunders menacingly, Fin stared down at the pathetic man before him. "You know who it is, don't you? If it wasn't you, then who was it? I suggest you tell us or you'll not only do time for rape, but for attempted murder of an NYPD officer too."
"I- I want a deal!" Saunders scrambled up off the floor clutching his back and ribcage in pain. "I tell you who's involved and I do less time and not for murder. This is so fucked up!"
With that statement, Gillian walked into the room and sat down calmly before him. "I've contacted your lawyer and we'll work something out. You give me a name that leads to the arrest of the attempted murder of Detective Benson and you will only be charged with one rape…but you will receive the harshest penalty with no possibility of getting out early for good behavior."
"What the fuck kinda deal is that? I'd still be in jail for like what- fifteen, twenty years or more?"
"Would you prefer life, Mr. Saunders?"
"Don't answer that." Defense Attorney, Jeremy Swift entered the room with authority and plopped down his briefcase next to Saunders. After much whispering back and forth, Saunders had seemingly made a decision.
Swallowing harshly and taking a deep breath, he muttered, "Jake. Jacob Saunders…my brother."
The room went silent.
"Your…brother?" Gillian's right eyebrow quirked. "Your brother is the person who tried to murder Olivia Benson?"
"He's still out there…I gotta tell Cap and Elliot." Fin quickly left the room and headed toward the captain's office.
{EO}
Elliot put his Blackberry on silent before stepping into Olivia's room, watching as a nurse helped her settle into bed. Although her usual luminosity was absent, Elliot noticed that some of the color had returned to her face. Her eyes were clearer and she was smiling softly at her nurse as she carefully situated herself into the bed.
"Hey there, sleepy-head." Elliot made himself comfortable in the cushioned chair beside Olivia's bed. She smiled at him as he brushed his fingers down her smooth, flushed cheek.
"You weren't here when I woke up," she teased before dissolving into a coughing fit.
Elliot chuckled and motioned for her to move forward in the bed. "Come here," he said as he slid into the bed behind her; her back resting against his hard chest. He wrapped his arms around her stomach as she laid her head back onto his broad shoulder. "You have to stay elevated so your lungs don't get so congested."
"That right?" Olivia craned her neck to look up at his face behind her, eyebrow quirked.
"Not sure, but it would make sense right?"
"Okay Dr. Stabler." Her grin slowly dissipated as she became more serious. "Any word on Saunders?"
Pressing his lips against her temple, Elliot soothed her. "We got him, Liv. Fin brought he fucker down to the precinct and they are probably still interrogating him as we speak. It's over."
Olivia nodded slightly. "Elliot?" She positioned her hands over his large ones that rested gently against her stomach. "Doctor Michaels said that as long as my vitals remain stable and the results of my MRI are okay, I'll be able to go home tomorrow…discharged with strong antibiotics and bed rest for at least week. I still have to wear the stupid oxygen mask while I sleep here tonight though. I just want to get out of here and forget this whole mess."
"Me too, Liv. I know you feel like shit, but things will only get better from here." He held her tighter and smiled against her mussed hair.