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When the waiting room doors opened, Cragen's eyes went straight to Elliot. He looked…better. More alive, somehow. Cragen breathed a quiet sigh of relief. He wasn't sure what Melinda and Casey had said to him, but he thanked them wholeheartedly. Maybe he could just get his detective back after all.
Doctor Stevens was standing off to the side, making notes on a clipboard. When she heard the door open, she looked up. Recognizing Elliot and Melinda from her previous visit to the waiting room, she smiled wanly.
"Detective Stabler, right?" she asked. On seeing his nod, she continued, now speaking to the whole group, all of whom had gathered around the doctor. "I'm sorry it took so long," she started. "We managed to get Olivia stabilized a few hours ago. We took her into surgery, and were able to extract the bullet." She paused briefly, and almost saw the air lighten at that news. "It nicked her kidney and liver, and lodged in her spleen, which we had to remove, but there shouldn't be any long term effects." As she continued, she noticed the tension return with the less than stellar news. She didn't want to have to tell them this, but she knew the last few hours had been like hell. She paused, not quite knowing how to continue, but knowing it needed to be said. "Detective Benson lost a lot of blood," she started delicately. "She wasn't in good shape when she came in, like you know, and she had a lot of internsal and external bleeding. She coded again in surgery." She heard the collective gasp and rushed to continue. "But like I said, she made it through alive and-relatively- in one piece." She looked around the group; no one seemed to find her poor attempt at humor at all funny. She sighed. This group was much more tightly knit than she had thought originally. She really felt for them. "When she wakes up, we'll have a better idea of any long term effects. Her brain was oxygen deprived for several minutes, so we won't know what kind of damage there is, until she wakes."
The room was silent after the doctor finished. They were all still processing.
Olivia was going to be OK? Cragen was relieved. He couldn't bear to lose his favorite detective-yes, while he pretended to care equally about all of his detectives, the truth was he nursed a special place in his heart for Olivia. He was also relieved that he wouldn't lose two detectives in one go; he knew without a doubt that if Olivia hadn't made it, Elliot would follow soon after.
Munch felt like crying. He didn't, of course, but he was so happy that Olivia was still alive, he considered quietly excusing himself, so that he could have some dignity.
Casey and Melinda actually did cry. They had all been hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst. Hearing now that Olivia had made it out of surgery, minus one spleen, alive, and most likely back to work a week before the doctor gave her the OK, they felt like nothing could bring them down.
Jo was relieved as well. She had felt a bit like an outsider in the group the whole time; they were all friends, had known each other for years, and with the arrival of Casey, she had felt pushed to the side a bit. But she liked Olivia, and was glad the woman was going to be OK. Some portion of her felt that this was partly her fault. If she hadn't been so stupid, none of this would have happened. Jo sighed internally. She might need to make an apology eventually.
Fin put his hands over his face and rubbed his eyes. He was subtly trying to get rid of the tears forming, under the guise of being exhausted. His little sister, his baby girl, was going to be all right. He heard the doctor, he understood that there was still some doubt, some fear that there would be long-term effects, but right now she was alive. And that was all they wanted.
Elliot, who had gone back to being the statue when he had entered the room, began to thaw. His heart had stopped when he saw the doctor, but now, after hearing that Olivia was alive and well-mostly-he felt he could breathe again. He still hadn't moved, and Casey had silently grasped his hand and was squeezing reassuringly. He unknowingly squeezed back, grateful for her presence. He actually felt like he could smile now. His stomach seemed to be settling back, after hours of discomfort being lodged somewhere in his throat.
"Is there really a possibility of brain damage?" Cragen's question had been on all of their minds, but he was the first to voice it, noticing everyone stiffen as the words left his mouth.
Doctor Stevens sighed. "We won't know, officially, until she's awake. She was technically dead for two minutes, so there is a possibility-"she saw the panic and hurried, "but the fact that Olivia made it through the surgery is a very good sign. I wouldn't say you should jump for joy, but now is definitely the time for cautious optimism."
Most of them visibly relaxed at that. Only Elliot stayed rigid, not quite willing to let himself believe that she would be completely all right just yet.
"When will she wake up?" Melinda asked. She could see Elliot still worrying, and she hoped that if the doctor could give a rough estimate, he might calm down a bit.
Doctor Stevens sighed. "Definitely not today," she replied. "We actually don't want her to wake up just yet, since she just had a pretty major surgery. She's under some serious medication right now, and we'd like to keep her asleep until tomorrow. After that, it's up to her." Looking around ad their faces, especially Elliot's, she guessed what the next question would be, and answered it before it could be asked. "You can see her if you like, but only one at a time."
Everyone looked at Elliot.
"Why don't you go first, Elliot?" Cragen said, sympathetically.
Elliot nodded and followed the doctor out. The rest of the group looked at each other, wondering what to do next. They decided to give Elliot a few minutes alone first, before the rest of them went up.
Casey excused herself and walked into a corner, pulling out her ringing cell phone.
Everyone else sunk down into their chairs, smiling.
"Thank god!" Fin was the first to break the silence.
"Cautious optimism," Melinda gently reminded him. She was relieved too, but she didn't want to forget that there was still a long way to go, and Olivia wasn't out of the woods just yet.
"Come on, Melinda," Munch stressed, "we all know Liv, she'll fight tooth and nail to survive, right?"
They all nodded. None of them wanted to admit how scared they were at the doctor's words about possible brain damage.
Silence descended again, interrupted as Casey returned, still talking on her phone.
"The ICU waiting room…yeah, see you in a minute."
She hung up the phone and replaced it in her pocked, taking a seat next to Melinda. They all looked at her, questioning.
"Who was that?" Fin asked.
Casey smiled, and decided that a surprise would be more fun. She coyly answered, "A friend."
They all looked confused, but before they could say anything else, the waiting room doors opened again. As Casey's eyes shifted to the door, the rest followed. It was a collective gasp of surprise, and Casey's smile widened.
Cragen was the first to speak. "Alex….?"
Am I really that cruel! This is shorter than I intended, but it seemed like a good chapter ending.
Ask and you shall receive! I got the request, and I worked it in. Some of you may have caught the set up, and if you did, you're very smart! It will be explained in the next chapter, which I can put up at the same time!-thanks to weekend vacations, a book I don't really want to keep reading, an airport where you have to pay for wireless, and a long plane ride.
Reviews are my friend!
