Disclaimer: I don't own these characters but I do own a pair of running shoes that are about to get some good use.
Author's note- I know it's been forever since I updated but between my workload at school and my grandmother's kidney transplant I haven't had much time. Please don't hate me. Thanks Pie.
It was the same doctor as before, Dr. VanDyken. Olivia searched her face for any signs as to how Cragen was doing. Usually she could read people pretty well but here she was getting mixed signals.
Without any type of announcement being made the rest of the people in the room became quiet and started to form a semi circle. Elliot grabbed a spare chair and set it in the middle for the doctor to sit. She looked at him and smiled before she sat down. She looked around the room at all the people. "I don't think I've ever seen this many people show up for one person before, the Captain is one lucky guy."
Alex looked at Olivia, she could see how nervous she was, she squeezed her hand in support and then asked the question that was written all over everybody else's faces. "How is he?"
Dr. Vandyken smiled. "He's doing good. They should be wheeling him to post op as we speak."
Olivia seemed to find her voice with the news that the Cragen was okay. "How did the surgery go?"
"The surgery went…well." The doctor said.
"Define well." Olivia said sensing the slight hesitation.
"Overall he's doing great. There was a little bit of a hitch in our plans once we opened him up but we managed to work it out and from that point on things sailed very smoothly."
"What kind of hitch?" Elliot asked.
"The clot that I told you about earlier was easy to remove. Unfortunately once we removed it we found that there was some blockage behind it that didn't show up on any of the tests we ran prior to the surgery."
"Did you remove it?" Casey asked.
"Yes, it was a little touch and go there for a few minutes but we managed to safely remove the rest of the blockage and from there on it was all just a matter of repairing the damage."
"How bad was the damage?" Alex asked her.
"It was not as bad as we had previously anticipated. It took us a little bit of time but we managed to get it repaired. Right now everything looks really good. We're going to keep him here on the surgical floor for about a week after that he'll be moved to a different floor for recovering patients for a few days and at that point we'll reassess his case to make sure everything is working well and if it is then he should be able to go home."
"And once he's able to go home?" Olivia asked.
"He'll need a little bit of help for a little while. He won't be able to drive for a few weeks so he'll need help getting to his physical therapy appointments, looking around the room I don't think that will be much of a problem." She joked. "It won't be long before he's back at work keeping New York safe."
Olivia only had one last question. "Can we see him?"
"I about a half an hour I'll send a nurse to come get you guys. You can see him but only one at a time and you'll all have to wear masks and gloves just as a precaution." She told them. They talked for a few more minutes before she got up and left.
The next thirty minutes seemed to be the longest part of the night so far. Olivia was about to get up and start pacing when a nurse came in to take them to see the Captain. When they got down to the post-op rooms everybody stopped and tried to figure out who got to go first. Elliot grabbed a mask and some gloves and handed them to Olivia.
"Are you sure?" She asked.
"Of course Liv, if anybody deserves to see him first it's you."
Olivia blushed slightly before she put the mask and gloves on. Once she was ready she sighed and looked at Alex who gave her a small encouraging smile then she turned and followed the nurse down the rest of the hall and into the recovery room. She stopped when she got to the doorway to compose herself.
"You ready?" The nurse asked her.
Olivia sighed. "Yeah."
The nurse pushed open the door for her and Olivia walked through. There were two beds in the room, one was empty and the other was occupied by a man that slightly resembled her captain. She saw a chair over in the corner and pulled it up next to his bed. She reached over and took his hand in hers. A few seconds later his eyelids fluttered open.
"Hey." Olivia said.
"Hi." He said and gave her a small smile. "Sorry I ruined dinner."
"That's okay it was a little overcooked anyway."
Cragen laughed lightly before a coughing fit took over. Olivia panicked slightly but before she could get out of the door to get a nurse he had calmed down.
"If you continue to scare me like that I'll be in the bed next to you." She said.
He reached over and took her hand. "I'm really sorry that I scared you Olivia." He said sincerely.
Olivia could feel the tears brimming and blinked them away quickly. "Just don't let it happen again." She croaked out.
They sat together for a few more minutes before a nurse came in and told her it was time to go.
Olivia bent over and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "I'll be back tomorrow, do you need anything?"
"No I'm good, just do me a favor though."
"Sure anything."
"Don't come too early."
"Why not?" She asked.
"You see that nurse over there?" He asked pointing to Mary.
"Yeah, that's Mary. What about her?"
"I'm going to ask her to have breakfast with me in the morning so do me a favor and make sure nobody shows up before ten okay?"
Olivia laughed. "I think I can manage that." She said before leaving.
Olivia walked back into the waiting room and told everybody the Captain's message. She started gathering up her things. Alex started to pack up her things as well and waited for Olivia to say her goodbyes to everybody.
"You ready?" Alex asked.
"Alex, you don't have to go yet. You can stay and see the Captain if you want. I'm a big girl, I can get home by myself."
"I know you can but I also know you probably don't want to be alone right now. So I say we go back to my apartment and get some rest before we come back up here tomorrow morning."
"Okay." Olivia said knowing she couldn't fight it and also knowing she didn't really want to.
They let everybody know they were leaving and then walked outside to catch a cab.
