Chapter Twenty Four – Coats and Socks

Olivia had drifted back to sleep again, chin almost resting on her chest as she leaned against the wall. Amanda stayed close but otherwise just left her be. She needed the rest and there wasn't anything else she could really be doing.

Until the silence of the cell was suddenly shattered.

It had sounded like someone had tried to kick the upper door in. Amanda's head shot up, and she was on her feet within seconds. Even Olivia had opened her eyes and struggled to focus on the door which was outside of her line of sight.

Amanda was on her way to the barred grate when there was another thud, this one followed by splintering wood. She could see figures on the edges of the door, and her hopes soared. Chris had never come down with anyone else. Amanda was proven right when she saw Fin start down the steps, gun leveled.

"Fin!"

"Rollins." That one word was nearly dripping with relief.

The stark tenseness in Fin's shoulders eased. Amaro had rocketed down the few steps after Fin when he'd heard Rollins' voice. His gun was still out, but both he and Fin were partially ignoring the need to clear the room. The steps down were clear, and Amanda would have given them some sign if she wasn't alone. Plus, their suspect was in custody, and they'd seen no indication that he had a partner. Officially clearing the room didn't seem all that important. Right now all they cared about was the fact that they'd found Rollins and hopefully Olivia as well.

Fin thundered down the rest of the steps and somehow managed to stop himself before he collided with the bars. Amanda was clinging to them, relief pouring off of her. She'd never been happier to see her partner. This was finally over.

"You alrigh'? Anyone there with you?" Fin asked as he reached through the bars and rested his hand on Amanda's arm.

"It's just me and Olivia. I'm alright, but she's really sick, Fin."

Knowing that they were both relatively alright helped Fin relax more. It was then that he felt Amanda's trembling and cold skin.

"You're freezin'!"

"It's fine, Fin. Just get us out of here. Liv needs a doctor."

She was trying to keep her voice down so that Olivia didn't hear what she was saying. If she had, chances were she'd protest it and maybe even try to get up.

Fin wasn't really listening to Amanda at all. He simply pulled off his jacket and shoved it through the bars. There was no way he was going to let her freeze if he had a way to prevent it. Amanda certainly wasn't going to argue either. She took the coat, pushed her arms through the sleeves, and pulled it tight around her.

"Hey, Nick! Give me your coat!" Fin yelled up the steps.

Amaro frowned down at him in confusion. The moment he'd seen the padlock on the door, he'd retreated back upstairs. It wasn't the type of door they could just kick down. In order to get in they would need a key, and Chris Shannon knew where that was.

"Why?"

"Cause it's freezin' down here, and I only got one."

And there were two detectives trapped. Amaro got the drift and pulled off his suit coat. When he had it off, he tossed it down for Fin to catch.

"Tell them to hang tight. I'm working on getting the key now."

Fin caught the coat and passed it through the bars to Amanda before calling out to Amaro again.

"Call Cragen and let 'im know we found 'em."

"I will after I get you the key," he called out before he disappeared out of sight again.

Amanda waited to hear the rest of the conversation before she hurried over to Olivia and gently draped the coat around her.

"They're here?"

It wasn't really meant as a question. Olivia knew they were. She'd heard the voices, but she wanted confirmation. Amanda smiled and rubbed Olivia's arm.

"Yeah. They're working on getting us out."

"Liv! It's Fin! You alrigh'?"

"Fine," she croaked back before turning her attention to Amanda. "Help me up."

It was difficult to ask, but she knew she needed help. Her head was spinning and getting up would only make it worse. She was going to need Amanda's support if she didn't want to fall over.

"Sure," Amanda answered, playing it off as best she could so it wouldn't seem like a big deal.

She slid an arm around Olivia and slowly helped her to her feet. Olivia swayed and desperately clenched Amanda's arm to steady herself. It took a few seconds with her eyes closed for the wave of dizziness to subside. When it did she released her grip on Amanda and started forward, using the wall for support. Somehow that seemed less pathetic to her than getting help from another person.

It took her a long time to make it what was only a few stumbling steps across the cell. She stopped when she stood across from the door and slid down to the ground in exhaustion.

Fin had craned his head near the bars the second Liv had answered him so he could see her as soon as possible. The instant she was within view, he'd kept his eyes on her, watching each strained, wavering step she took. Olivia looked awful. Aside from the black eye which covered far more than just her eye, her face was sickeningly pale, and Fin could tell she'd used all of her energy to simply make it a few steps.

"Good to see you, Liv. We're gonna get you out in a second."

Olivia managed to give him a weak smile in return. That wasn't Olivia, and Fin didn't like it. He'd seen her in her worst moments, but there had always been a fire there, even if it took a second to appear. This time was different though. He couldn't find it without looking really hard. It wasn't there in the usual places, her words or facial expressions. Instead, the only part of her that still showed him the usual spark was her actions. She hadn't allowed Amanda to help her get across the cell. She'd had to do it by herself. That was the Liv he knew.

Still, she had to be feeling terrible. Even when she'd come into work with the flu a few years back, that fire, that spark had still been in her eyes. He couldn't have missed it even if he'd tried. This time he'd really had to try.

The thud of feet coming down the steps drew Fin out of his thoughts.

"Got it," Amaro said as he shifted Fin out of the way and slid the key into the lock. A quick turn of his wrist and the padlock clicked open.

"You guys are life savers," Amanda told them both as they entered the cell.

Fin gave her arm a pat and pulled her into a one armed hug. He could tell she was on the verge of tears, and he was going to offer what support he could to help hold her together.

"I'm just glad you're okay."

"Thanks, Fin."

Amaro moved to his own partner and knelt down next to her. It was his first real look at Olivia since her disappearance, and he didn't like what he was seeing. He tentatively reached out to brush her hair off her face. Hopefully she wouldn't push him away. Amazingly enough, Olivia let him do it.

"Hey."

"That's it?" Nick asked in surprise. "You get abducted and held hostage for four days and all I get when I find you is hey?"

Olivia smiled appreciatively, glad he was trying to keep the mood light.

"Yeah. That's it."

He squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

"We're going to get you cleaned up and in a nice, warm bed in no time. Plus a doctor visit and something warm to drink."

"And socks."

"What?"

"I'd really like a pair of socks."

Nick glanced down at her bare toes and then up at her face again.

"I think we can do that."