Fix You Chapter 14

Two days had passed since the funeral. Two days since she last saw Liv and two days since the two male strangers had temporarily made her driveway their home in a black SUV. Constantly on edge, she peeked through the windows to make sure they were still there and that everything seemed somewhat normal. They shadowed her to work, stayed outside the restaurant until she finished and then followed her back home again. It was slightly annoying to have two people constantly walking in your footsteps but she knew it was for the better.

She missed Olivia. Missed her scent, her warmth, her way of always knowing what to say and her reassuring touch. She wanted to call her, hear her voice, ask her to maybe go to the movies but the nerves got the better of her.

It was close to dark and she just arrived home early from work. Being the owner and the boss she had the privilege to come and go as she pleased, well, at least for the most part. She was tired. Since the attack he hadn't slept well at all and catching up on some well needed rest seemed almost impossible. She headed straight for the shower to wash away the grease and smells that only came from working in a kitchen. Hopefully the strong spray of hot water would help with the stress and anxiety she felt.

While getting undressed she was suddenly violently thrown into the wall and a loud bang rang out, making her ears painfully sore and throbbing. She slid down in to a heap on the floor, her back sore from the powerful blow, her head and neck hurt real bad and everything around her was spinning. Not realising what exactly had happened she immediately tried to stand but soon regretted it as her vision blurred and became fuzzy before her eyes.

What the hell was that? She thought frantically, trying to locate where the blast had come from and what had caused it. She was non the wiser and had to close her eyes and lean her head against the wall behind her for support. Everything was spinning and her ears were ringing so loud it felt like her cell phone was inside her head ringing and vibrating at the highest volume.

Suddenly she saw two figures, two silhouettes, through a thick layer of smoke and dust. As they came closer she could see that it was the two uniforms that were assigned to protect her.

Something warm and sticky trickled down her temple. It was blood. Must have hit the side of my head against the wall, she thought as she watched the bright crimson liquid coating her fingers. Things were moving in a haze, almost slow motion but still not slow enough for her to undertand what was going on. In a matter of minutes she heard sirens and before she knew, the bedroom was filling up. The EMTs quickly assessed the injuries, placed a blanket over her and seconds later she was pushed into the ambulance on a stretcher.

She desperately clung to the blanket, trying to cover herself up as much as she could after finally realising that she was only wearing jeans and a bra. She was beginning to shiver from cold and she knew it was the shock kicking in. Someone covered her with a sheet that looked like tin foil. It wasn't comfortable but she soon got less cold.

She must have dozed off because when she opened her eyes again she was laying in a hospital bed and the cut on her temple was being stitched up. Startled she flinched in confusion.

"Easy," the nurse said with a smile, "just relax, I'm almost done." she cut the suturing thread and placed a bandage over it. "There you go. Hopefully it won't leave a scar. You've got a concussion and a bruised back but otherwise you were very lucky. If you had been in the same room as that bomb then... well, let's not think about that. You're here and you're alive. I'm gonna give you something for the pain, I'll be right back."

She quickly disappeared before Amanda could answer any question but returned shortly with a plastic cup and two pain killers. "We'd like to keep you over night for observation to be on the safe side. Concussion can be quite unpredictable."

Swallowing the pills, the blonde greedily finished the water, the cool liquid soothing her throat. Damn that smoke must've gotten to me, she muttered to herself. "Bomb?" she finally managed to rasp out.

"Yeah, well I don't know any details but there was a bomb that went off in your kitchen." the nurse looked at her with kind eyes. "I'll let you get some rest. I'll check in on you every hour. If you ned anything just press the call button."

A bomb? she though. A fucking bomb! What the hell was happening? Then, it suddenly dawned on her. The Sullivan's. So this was what he ment when he signaled his death threat towards her the other day at the funeral. This was his way of payback, revenge, to even out the scores. He was holding her responsible for Frank Jr's death and he would not stop until he found his justice.

Winching at the pain in her head and back she slowly lowered herself onto the uncomfortable mattress and sighed. All she could think of now was that the condo was obviously in a terrible mess and it wasn't even hers. What was Alex gonna say? God, this couldn't get any worse. There was nothing she could do to stop the tears from falling down her pale cheeks and within minutes she was asleep.

She became aware of a presence, a soothing calm and a warm hand on her forehead and hands. Someone was holding her hands? Someone was stroking her forehead? Is this a dream or just a drug induced state? Who had such a gentle nurturing touch? Such warmth and healing hads? Olivia!

Opening her eyes she was met with concerned but tender brown. "Hey," Liv was quick to sooth, "you gave us quite a scare. How are you feeling?"

Afraid to move her head too much the blonde slowly turned to face Olivia. "Bomb?" her voice was barely a whisper and full of confusion.

Liv stroked her cheek. "I think we both know who planted it and why. CSU are currently combining the condo. The main thing is that you're okay."

Amanda closed her eyes briefly. "What's Alex gonna say? Fucking hell, I ruined her house, her home! I'll never forgive myself for this. How could I've been so stupid and thoughtless? I should've known something like this would happen. It's all my fault."

The blonde was working herself up which did her head no favours and a wave of nausea hit her. "Oh god!" she said as she placed a hand over her mouth. Olivia was quick and placed a paper tray underneath in front of her as she tossed the little food she had eaten that day. The vomiting did not help the throbbing in her head. The pain was intense and she couldn't help but to let out a loud moan.

"I guess you have a concussion." Liv said gently. "And don't worry about Alex. I already rang her, she was just relieved that you are okay. The insurance will cover it so don't think about that. Just relax, honey. You're okay and it's not your fault what happened." she removed the tray when Amanda was finished, tossed it in the trash and came back with a cup of water.

"Here, sweets. Drink this." the blonde eagerly drank the liquid.

"She said that?" she asked when the cup was empty and she collapsed back onto the bed exhausted from her efforts.

Olivia sat down on the bed and took Amanda's hand in hers. "Yes, she did so don't worry, okay?" she tenderly brushed blonde hair away from her tired face. "I heard that they're keeping you in overnight. I know you don't like it but I think it's a good idea. It will, at least, put my mind at ease knowing that you're taken care of. I'll take you to my place tomorrow after you've been discharged." Amanda was about to protest but Liv was quick to interrupt. "You're staying at mine and that's final. I'll do whatever it takes to put the guy or guys who did this to you behind bars and to keep you safe. Do you hear me?"

Amanda blinked tiredly and nodded. "Will you stay until I fall asleep?"

The usually stoic detective melted at the innocent request, leaned over and placed a kiss on the blonde's forehead and cheek. "Of course I will and I'll be here when you wake up cause I'm not leaving."

Liv's gentle smile and reassuring words almost brought the blonde to tears again. No one had ever cared for her before except her mother and it was close to painfully overwhelming as the strange feeling assaulted her senses.

"Why the tears, sweetheart?" Amanda didn't even realise she was silently crying until Liv commented on it and she brought her hand up to a moist cheek. Tears.

"Just tired, I guess." Amanda answered and shrugged. She was too tired to talk. She held Liv's hand firmly, to make sure she was still there and wouldn't leave, and closed her eyes.

"Sleep now. I'll be here, I promise." Olivia watched as the smaller woman quickly fell in to a deep sleep.

She continued to offer gentle touches and words to sooth. It was a mystery how fast this woman, this petite blonde haired strong woman, had wormed herself in to her heart and mind. Munch was right, she had a thing for blondes but this was something more, something stronger, than just an casual crush. She cared for Amanda. Perhaps a bit too much since they didn't really know each other but she couldn't help but to worry, care and think about her on a regular basis.

It was extremely unusual for the dedicated detective to fall for someone so quickly and effortlessly as she had with Amanda. She couldn't understand it herself why she was so drawn to her and always felt the need to be near her but she wasn't sure she wanted to understand it. Some things are better left alone and this was one of those things. Just go with your gut and trust your instincts and Olivia was good at that.