A/N: "The way your eyes lit up when I cringed in fear, the way they should have the day I was born, made me almost grateful for the abuse." Nolan D., age 10, his slam poem "Childhood Gone."
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters as written on the TV show, but this version of them? All mine.
Olivia stood, leaning against the wall, her small frame swallowed by Elliot's varsity jacket. She wrapped herself up in the leather and wool, wishing it was his arms, and then chuckled pitifully at herself for wishing anything of the sort. She watched the rest of the family playing a silent game of musical chairs, getting up, shifting, sitting down again, having quiet conversations where they pretended not to blame each other for things.
Her lip caught between her teeth as she took in the sight of Elliot and one of his sisters, engrossed in a volley of words she couldn't hear, and she swatted the hair out of her eyes with the only bit of fingers not eaten by the jacket's leather sleeve. She felt like an outlier, unsure of what to say to anyone, certain she had no right to be there, only present because she had nowhere else to go. She continued chewing on her lip and backed up even further, not wanting to make anyone feel like she was eavesdropping. "Oh," she gasped, turning quickly to see who she'd bumped into, and she squinted. "Sorry, I was just…"
"Olivia," a man in a long white coat smiled at her. "My goodness, I haven't seen you in quite some time." He saw the blank look on her face and laughed softly. "Well, I don't expect you'd remember me, sweetheart. You were...never really conscious when I…" he cleared his throat. "I'm Doctor…"
"Hensley," Olivia said suddenly, her eyes widening, "I do remember you, now. Um, I'm not here because of my…"
"I didn't think you were, honey," the doctor interrupted. "You're awake and standing, that alone tells me you are...not my patient, today." He looked around. "Wait, is your mother here for…"
"No, no, she's...she's fine," she said without thinking, realizing she didn't actually know what condition her mother was in, at all. "My, um, my boyfriend's mom and little brother, they were in an accident, we just came up from…"
"Danny Stabler?" Doctor Hensley questioned. He watched Olivia nod, and smiled slightly. "Take me to the family, then, I have news for them."
Worried now, believing news from a doctor was never good, she led him over to the waiting group, including Elliot, and gestured to them before folding her arms, and herself, deeper into the jacket.
Joe Stabler stood up fast. "What happened? How is he? How's my boy?" he asked fast, unblinking.
"He has a few fractures, his wrist and arm, and a bump on the noggin that's gonna smart for some time," Hensley listed, but then he laughed. "He's awake and asking his big brother to bring him some ice cream."
There were relieved laughs and harsh, exhausted sobs, and Joe sighed as he wiped his eyes, and then nodded at Elliot. "Go," he whispered, "He wants you, go."
Elliot shot to his feet, moving fast and grabbing Olivia's arm. "Where is he?" he asked, gripping tighter, trying to find her muscle beneath the leather.
"Room Ninety-Four," the doctor said. "I will take…"
"I know where it is," Olivia interrupted, pulling herself free from Elliot and leading him through a set of swinging doors, leaving Doctor Hensley to talk more with Joe and the rest of the family.
"Do I want to know why you know where his room is?" Elliot asked, reattaching his hand to her arm. "Or why it seemed like you and that doctor were pretty chummy?"
She turned to look at him, her eyes narrowing a bit. "You're jealous of a guy who's old enough to be my…"
"No, I'm concerned because my girlfriend has a better relationship with a pediatric surgeon than I do with my own family!" He pulled her close to him, both hands on her shoulders, and looked into her eyes. "Tell me. Now."
"Christ," she hissed, "You already know! He's the doctor who was usually on call when...when my mother sobered up enough to realize she really hurt me." She licked her lips. "When she regained enough common sense to call an ambulance, ya know, while I was still alive."
"Baby," he breathed, his eyes filling with fresh tears, and he pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her. "Never again, I swear."
She nodded and sniffled, and then said, "Let's go see the little dude, huh?"
He chuckled, wiping his eyes, and pushed through the door with a forced smile. "Hey, champ!" he said brightly.
"Elliot!" Danny yelled, smiling widely. "Look!" he exclaimed, proudly showing off his casted arm. "Cool, right?"
Elliot tried to give a thumbs-up, but he didn't see anything cool at all about his brother lying in a hospital bed, broken. He shot a look over toward Olivia, who seemed to be gazing at the drawn curtains, as if they were not only familiar, but comforting. With a sigh, he moved toward the side of the bed and looked at his little brother. "The doctor said you're lucky you've got a hard head," he teased, ruffling Danny's hair.
Danny giggled and sat up a bit taller. "Hey, Liv, you have to sign it!" he squealed, getting Olivia's attention. He reached over toward the small metal table beside his bed and grabbed a red marker that the doctor had left for him, and with a broad grin, he held it out to her.
She took it with a laugh, and sat gently on the edge of his mattress as she gingerly picked up his arm. "Hold still," she warned playfully, and she eyed him suspiciously for a moment before setting off on doodling. She drew a cartoon drawing of Danny in a Yankees cap and uniform, throwing a ball, with the words, "When this cast is off, game on!" followed by a small heart and her name.
"You're so good," Elliot whispered to her, staring in amazement down at the plaster artwork.
She shook her head and blushed, capped the marker, and put it back on the table. "It's going to be itchy, Slugger," she said, using a nickname she'd given him a while ago. "Whatever you do, do not try to stick a fork or anything in there." She shook her head with wide eyes, making Danny laugh loudly, but it was serious, honest advice. "Trust me, you'll want to, but...very bad idea," she wagged a finger at him, and then tapped his nose.
There was a loud knock on the door, and immediately Olivia shot up off the bed, not wanting the family to think she was doing something she shouldn't have been. Elliot noticed, giving her an odd, inquisitive look. "Liv," he said to her, reaching for her hand, "What are you…"
She shook her head and sunk closer to him, hoping between his jacket and his body, she'd go unnoticed.
"Hey, little guy!" Laura came further into the room holding a blue teddy bear and a donut. "Hungry?"
"Yes!" Danny yelled, holding his bendable arm out for the pastry as his sister laughed. He bit into it happily, doing a little dance, as his father moved toward him.
"Hey, pal," Joe offered, "You all right?"
Danny held up a finger as he chewed fast and swallowed. "Yeah," he said, nodding, and he took another bite of his donut.
"Mommy's okay," Christine told him, sniffling as she tried to keep from crying. "She's sleeping, now, but she's...she's okay."
Danny swallowed and then looked at her. "What about the man?"
"What...what man?" Joe asked, confused.
Lifting the donut to his mouth, Danny looked at his father. "The man who got in the way of the car." He bit, innocently, and chewed as he waited expectantly for an answer.
Joe shook his head. "Shit," he hissed, leaving the room to find out what his son was talking about.
"Hey," Laura said, grabbing Danny's cast. "Kiddo, who drew this...Liv." She looked up after reading the swirly script and smiled at Olivia. "You're the one that's been making him those comic books, aren't you?"
Olivia smiled sheepishly. "Yeah," she shifted and rocked on her heels. "Um, they're not...like, they're totally kid friendly, I didn't think…"
"They're awesome," Christine interrupted. "I love reading them with him, he's so proud of being a...well, he thinks he's a famous superhero." She rolled her eyes and laughed. "You drew them and wrote them and everything?"
Olivia nodded again, biting her lip. "You, um...all of you are…" she cleared her throat. "Chrissy, you're Green Goddess, ya kow, because you're…"
"A vegetarian," Christine gasped, not having made the connection before, "Yeah. I am."
Olivia took a breath and looked at Laura. "You're Inferno, because Danny thinks you…"
"You look like your head is on fire," Danny chirped, laughing, tugging on his sister's intensely dyed, red hair.
Laura scoffed in awe, "Wow," she said, shaking her head. "That's my favorite character."
Glancing at Elliot, Olivia pressed her lips together. "You're Quantum, the one who can change shape and appearance so he can…"
"Save anyone, anywhere," Elliot whispered. "Oh, honey," he softly intoned, cupping her cheeks.
Danny proudly declared, "And I am The Incredible DanMan! I'm the smartest, fastest, cutest kid in Metropoville!" He posed like a superhero and said, "I can fly, see through walls, and eat two pounds of bacon in one sitting!"
Everyone in the room laughed and then Christine looked at Olivia. "He has a new one every week! They must take you…"
"I make them during study hall, so it's…" she shrugged. "They make him happy."
Laura let out a single laugh. "They make all of us happy, actually, the way he goes around reenacting them, making us all read them with him." She blinked. "You've got a gift, Olivia. I mean it. They're really...very good."
"You should hear her poetry," Elliot bragged, kissing Olivia's forehead.
She blushed again and tried to draw deeper into the large jacket she was wearing.
Christine noticed, this time, too, and swallowed hard before saying, "We, um, we don't really know too much about you, Olivia. Elliot is...very selfish, when it comes to you."
"That's right," Elliot chuckled with a shrug. "I am."
"There's really...not much to know," she told them. She twisted her lips and waited for someone else to speak, but when they didn't, she added, "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't be here, you should...you need to just be…"
"Finish that sentence," Elliot spoke, in a low whisper. "I dare you." He shook his head when she raised an eyebrow at him. "You belong...wherever I am. You don't really think I would have been as calm as I was, if you weren't with me, do you?" He scoffed. "I mean, you spent more time with the ficus out there in the lobby than me, but...just knowing you were here, with me...I always need to know that. I need you. Get me?"
She nodded, dropping into him, and just before he bent his head to kiss her again, the door swung open, and Joe Stabler stood, fuming, next to his two oldest sons, Ryan and Owen. "I'll be fine," he spat, holding up a hand , keeping Laura from running to him. "Just a little...upset."
Owen moved into the room, hugging each sibling tightly, and then doing the same thing Elliot had done, ruffled Danny's hair. "Hang in there, Spud," he said with a wink, and then he looked around the room and his eyes landed on Olivia. "Did I...did I hug you?" he pointed to her.
"Yeah, but, you know, everyone else got one," she shrugged. "I'd be offended if I didn't."
It seemed to ease some of the tension and Owen tilted his head as everyone laughed. He walked over to Elliot, slapping him on the shoulder again, and looked at Olivia with a grin. "I should have double checked, but, I mean, I just figured I had a sister I forgot about. So many kids in this damn family. Who are you?"
"Olivia Benson," she held out a hand, "Elliot's…"
"Wow, uh," Owen cut her off and shook her hand eagerly, his eyes wide. He knew exactly who she was now. "Yeah, he, uh, he told me about you. Nice to finally be able to put a face to the name."
"Likewise," Olivia told him with another friendly smile. "Why, um…" she turned up one side of her mouth, her eyes wide, and jutted a thumb toward the doorway, where Joe was having what looked like a quiet but heated conversation with Ryan.
"Mom," Owen sighed. "When she...when she lost control of the car, it spun out and hit a trash can, two newspaper dispensers, and a streetlight." He saw them nod, already knowing that, "But...before that, she...shit, man, she hit a guy. A man, a, uh, a person." He cleared his throat and shook his head. "They can't find him, but there's...blood and stuff...in the bumper of the car. Dad...dad can't do anything for her, and if they find the guy and he's hurt...or dead…"
"Oh, my God," Elliot breathed, pulling Olivia closer to him. He dropped his head to hers and closed his eyes as he whispered, "Oh, God, Mom."
A/N: Oh. Oh no, Bernie. What happened, and why?