One more chapter after this one! (I think ...) Please review.
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14. Still here
Olivia was still in a daze. John Munch had handcuffed Andy, who had cursed loudly for a minute about being shot and about how he felt about Elliot before turning completely inward, as if he was no longer there. They had all gone inside the house and after checking the place for boobytraps, John had found them a first aid kit. Olivia had helped Elliot take his damaged, soaked shirt off but was barely registering what was going on around them. She was tending to Elliot's cut on autopilot, cleaning it and taping it, to stop the residual bleeding. Meanwhile, John had located a working phone and called Cragen, who was greatly relieved to learn that his Detectives were still alive, and told him they were on their way.
Elliot knew that Olivia was in shock. She had been ready to die just half an hour earlier and he couldn't fathom what that was doing to her now. He was still shaking himself. When that gunshot rang, in his mind she had been shot in the head and he had lost her. The instant he saw John, he had rushed to Olivia's side. He had taken inventory and had concluded that Olivia wasn't injured, his brain taking over from his emotions. Those emotions were coming back full force now.
They were each sitting on a dining chair and Olivia was sitting close to him, one of her knees between his while she made sure the tape would stick to his chest. Elliot put his hands on her thighs carefully and she raised her eyes to meet his.
"We're still here," he rasped, telling himself as well as her.
Olivia just nodded, swallowing hard and then averted her eyes.
"Hey," Elliot whispered, and she looked at him again.
"We're still here. Let it sink in, Liv."
She took a shaky breath then. She wanted to say something too, but the words just wouldn't come. She could have been dead. Gone. Elliot too. If John had been there only seconds later, it would all have been over.
"Liv," Elliot said again and when she looked into his pleading blue eyes, she began to feel it again.
Their connection.
They were still here. They were still connected.
She took another deep breath, wanting to say something again, but all she could manage was his name.
"El."
Elliot's arms were reaching for her then and she let him pull her into his lap. She suddenly felt exhausted, almost unable to keep herself upright, and she gave in to his comfort, resting her head on his shoulder.
"We're still here," Elliot repeated softly a few times while rocking her gently, as if it was his new mantra.
John kept his distance and was studying all the computer equipment on the table. When Andy piped up from his corner that he wasn't to touch anything, John just told him to shut up and continued going through the laptop he was looking at.
Olivia had closed her eyes and tried to focus on Elliot's breathing. He was still breathing. So was she. They were going to go home and Andy was going back to jail. He should never have been out in the first place. What he put those young girls through … it was sickening. Elliot was rubbing her arm gently and she focused on that. He loved her. He'd said so. And when she thought that their time was up, she had wanted him to know she loved him too. They hadn't really spoken with each other since, but it was out in the open now. She didn't have a clue what they were going to do next and she tried not to let that uncertainty add to her stress levels. She needed Elliot's calming presence now. Everything else could wait.
It was much the same for Elliot. Holding Olivia close to him was enough for now. He was feeling faint, having lost a considerable amount of blood, and his back was killing him. But it had all been worth it. He just needed some time to come to terms with what had almost happened today.
John stood up after receiving a call from their Captain.
"He's coming," he told his co-workers, who stood up slowly to follow him outside.
Olivia wrapped her arm around Elliot's waist and Elliot wrapped his arm around her shoulder. When they glanced at each other, they both knew they were looking for support as much as they were giving each other support.
When they walked outside, they heard a roaring sound and looked up just in time to see a black helicopter lower behind the trees. They looked at each other again, a hint of surprise in their eyes this time. Cragen had taken a helicopter to meet them? A few minutes later, their Captain arrived, his overcoat flapping in the wind as he rushed towards them, followed by two local uniformed police officers and a man and a woman carrying medical equipment.
"Olivia, it's so good to see you!" Cragen called out even before he had reached them. "You too Elliot. John. Even if you did go rogue on me."
"You knew Elliot wouldn't just sit and wait for you to find her," John told their superior officer, who just smiled at all of them.
He then looked at Olivia more attentively.
"How are you doing?" he asked her kindly.
"I'm fine," Olivia said automatically. "Elliot's injured. He needs to be checked out."
Cragen beckoned the medical staff to approach and look at Elliot's injuries.
"Check his back too," he instructed them, and Elliot let go of Olivia reluctantly.
"So where's our guy?" Cragen asked.
"Inside," John said, tossing his head in the direction of the house. "I'll take them to him."
John led the two officers into the house and Cragen stood next to Olivia, who was watching the medical staff check the tape on Elliot's chest.
"You need to sit down," the woman remarked, gesturing at a tree stump where Elliot could sit down. She then talked into her portable radio, urging a third member of their group to hurry up with the gurney.
Olivia was focused on Elliot alone. He was her lifeline at the moment, keeping her from slipping away into this strange state of numbness that kept trying to overtake her. She had been strong and alert for days without knowing how it all would end, and she felt utterly drained. All she wanted was to have Elliot's arms around her again so she could finally sleep. She registered that Cragen was talking, but she didn't know if he was talking to her or someone else.
"Maybe Liv should sit down too," Elliot said, and she saw concern in his eyes.
The male nurse turned to her and took her arm gently to help her sit down on the ground. Before Olivia could comply, John and the officers returned with Andy, who was still handcuffed.
"That's him?" Cragen asked. "Who is he?"
"Andy Turner. The lowest life form in existence," Elliot growled, rising to his feet.
Andy glared at him and Elliot felt rage bubbling in his gut.
"This isn't over, Stabler," Andy hissed and Elliot balled his hands into fists.
On top of abusing those young girls, Andy had dared to attempt to kill his Olivia. It was over.
"Wanna bet?" Elliot spat back.
"I'm just going to get out early on good behavior again, Detective. You'll see. I'm a model prisoner."
Elliot wanted to wipe that confident smirk off the creep's face, and before he could think about it, he lashed out and punched him square in the face, breaking his nose.
Andy screamed and cursed, and the two officers who had been ordered to take him in, had some trouble containing the man. After uttering a few vile profanities, Andy started screaming police brutality. Cragen stepped forward and looked both police officers the eyes when he told them,
"I didn't see a thing. Did you?"
"No sir," both men said in unison.
"Must have happened during an earlier struggle," Cragen said.
"Must have," John confirmed, and they all nodded.
Andy wisely stopped protesting, knowing that these officers wouldn't turn on one of their own.
Elliot was breathing heavily, still shaking with adrenaline. He wished he could punch Andy again but seeing his nose smashed would have to do. Olivia moved next to him and wrapped her arm around his waist, and he exhaled slowly.
"We got him El," she said softly and he looked into her dark eyes.
"You got him," he said softly, reaching up to caress her cheek.
She gave him a small smile and shrugged.
"Details."
"I like details when it comes to you."
Their only focus was each other and it was soothing for both of them. It was as if there was nobody else around, even while Andy was being dragged off behind them, the medical staff was waiting rather impatiently for Elliot to climb on the gurney and John and the Captain were trying to look anywhere but at them.
Olivia's eyes had widened a bit at Elliot's gesture and she gazed up at him with a mixture of expectation and apprehension in her eyes. Elliot leaned in and nuzzled her nose softly with his. They both smiled and let out a shaky breath. They were confirming to each other wordlessly what they had told each other earlier. I love you. When Olivia put her hand against Elliot's cheek, he took it as permission to kiss her. He leaned in again and brushed his lips against hers before kissing her, very softly - tentatively. Olivia sighed against his lips and they both relaxed visibly. Olivia wrapped her arms around Elliot's neck and they both closed their eyes then, holding each other, anchoring themselves in the present so they wouldn't drift off into the nightmare of a future without each other, that had been so close today.
…
Everyone had been quiet on the helicopter ride back to the city. Elliot had been checked out thoroughly at the hospital and was back on his pain medication. He would be allowed to go home but under strict orders to take some time off and really rest. John had returned to the station to brief the others and help with following up on Andy's case. Captain Cragen had stayed with Elliot and Olivia at the hospital and was urging them both to take all the time off they needed to heal, not only physically but also emotionally. And a chat with Huang would be mandatory for both of them before Cragen would even allow them to come back to the 1-6.
Olivia just nodded. All she wanted was to take a long shower and sleep, but every time she closed her eyes, she was back behind the shed, on her knees, expecting to either lose Elliot or be shot herself any second. She wanted to sleep but she didn't want to be alone.
When Elliot stood up from the examining table, she moved next to him automatically, and Elliot grabbed her hand.
"I'll have a uni drive you home," Cragen told them, and Elliot nodded.
"Thanks Captain."
He looked at Olivia then, as if asking here where they were going. There was no way he was going to leave her alone now. They were both shaken up and he wanted to have her close to him, just to see for himself that she was still alive and well.
"Your place or mine?" he asked her softly and he could see relief in her eyes.
"Yours," she told him without hesitation. "It's where I was supposed to go, right?"
He squeezed her hand gently.
"You're right. We're gonna have that takeout after all."
"All the time you need," Cragen stressed once more, looking at both of them very seriously.
He hadn't commented on how close they were now, or about seeing them kiss each other, and they were grateful. It was too fresh for them to talk about now. They needed to talk to each other first. But not today.
Not today.
It was late in the afternoon when they finally got to Elliot's place and Olivia told him that all she wanted was to take a shower and sleep. They could eat later.
Elliot had showered at the hospital before getting a new dressing for his wound, and showed Olivia where everything was in his bathroom. When she emerged, wearing one of his long t-shirts and a pair of his sweatpants and smelling like his shampoo, Elliot wrapped her up in his arms again. He was groggy from the pain medication but he wasn't ready to be separated from Olivia just yet.
Olivia closed her eyes and this time, she didn't flash back to those moments behind the shed. She inhaled Elliot's scent and held him tightly. She wanted to ask him if she could sleep in his bed with him but wondered if that would be too forward.
"I think I could sleep for days," Elliot mumbled against her temple.
"Me too," she said quietly. As long as you're with me, she thought.
"Lay with me?" Elliot asked her and relief flooded her system.
She nodded without looking up at him, and without another word, Elliot led her into his bedroom and to his bed. Elliot slipped out of his jeans, leaving a fresh t-shirt and boxer briefs on. They both crawled into his bed and found each other in the middle. They didn't speak. They didn't have to. Elliot pressed his lips to Olivia's forehead once and when she snuggled up to his right side, they both breathed out contently. They were asleep within minutes.
…