Chapter 26

The nurse from recovery finally came to the waiting room and said they could see Elliott.

Olivia hesitantly walked up to Kathy, "Are you sure you want me to go first?"

"Yes, Olivia, just go."

Kathy turned to walk back into the waiting room.

Olivia could not believe what had just happened. She went from slamming Kathy up against the wall, to hugging her, and now she had got permission to be the first one to see Elliott. What the hell was going on here? She felt like she was in the twilight zone.

The nurse led Olivia back to the recovery room. Elliott was hooked to all kinds of machines, but he had his eyes open. He was staring at the ceiling until he saw her walk up.

Elliott looked towards Olivia and wondered what she was doing here. And how did she get back here first. Where was Kathy? Did Olivia come to tell him she had changed her mind about the things he had told her. Watching her walk up, he just stared. She was so beautiful.

Olivia walked up beside Elliott's bed. He looked so tired. "Hey, El, you look a little worse for wear. I know you can't talk right now, so just listen to what I have to say."

Elliott blinked his eyes and tried to shift in the bed. All the things hooked to him made it impossible to move. He looked up at Olivia and waited for her to speak. She had a strange look on her face and he, for once, could not read her expression.

"El, you know we have been through so much together, right? I know you remember telling me you were the longest relationship I have ever had. At the time, that statement really hurt my feelings, but after thinking on it I realized it was so true. I have never had a male relationship that lasted longer than a few months. I have never known a father's love. Or fussed with a brother or cousin, well not until last year, but I have had you in my life for almost ten years."

Elliott motioned towards the table. He wanted Olivia to hand him the dry-erase board, so he could write something.

"Just give me a minute, El. I need to finish this before I lose my nerve. I have needed to say this for a while, so I need to take advantage of you not being able to talk back. Your wife has a lot of issues going on, and one of the main problems is me. She has such trust issues with you, that she wanted to put most of the blame on me. I know and you know that we have never been involved outside of being partners, but she says there is no way you could be partners with someone that looks like me and not be involved. There is something so wrong with that, Elliott, that I have no idea where to begin."

Elliott closed his eyes. He tried to shut out everything Olivia was saying. He knew that what she was saying was true. Kathy had always had a problem with her. She tried to hide it to begin with, but as the years went by she didn't try so hard anymore. She must have had a talk with her before she came back here.

"She wanted me to come back here and talk to you first. She apologized to me, but not before she slapped me and I slammed her up against the wall." Olivia waited for Elliott's reaction. She walked over to the table and grabbed the dry-erase board for him. She walked back to the bed and handed it to him.

Elliott took the board from her and immediately started to write. The IV's and tubing did not make it very easy for him, but he took his time and turned the board over so she could read it- Why did she slap you?

Olivia thought about her answer carefully. "Hang on, Elliott. I need to work up to that. I have other things to say."

He turned the board back over and wiped it off. Starting to write again, Olivia kept talking.

"Elliott, I have realized the last few months that my life is lacking in so many ways. I am almost 45 years old and I have absolutely nothing to show for it. I have my job, but that's about all. Well, I do have you guys, THANK GOD. I have no husband, no children, and for the most part I am all alone in life. I do not want to go on like this anymore."

Elliott turned the board over to show her- Liv you will never be alone.

"That's just it, El. I know I have you, Fin, John and the Captain, but that's not enough anymore. I want a husband and a family. I want to be happy and I have finally met the man that I want all that with. The problem is he heard our talk the other night and ran away before he could hear everything. He thought I had feelings for you and wanted to be with you. If all this with Kathy had happened years ago, I know that things may have turned out so different. I had feelings for you, Elliott. My feelings got in the way of our jobs sometimes. That was such a mistake and I realized that it would never happen, so I went to Oregon with Starr."

Elliott had something new written down- Why didn't you come to me Olivia?

"I did not want to be the home-wrecker, Elliott. I did not want to ruin your marriage and your family. I have a lot of respect for your whole family, and I did not want to do anything to hurt them. I knew that if I had come to you and poured my heart out, our partnership would have ended. I just felt like it was a one-way thing, so I kept it to myself."

Elliott finished the board and showed it to her- I have loved you for a lot of years and I still do.

"Elliott, I am so sorry. Why did it have to come to this? How can we fix this?"

Olivia stared at the board he had just turned over- Let's try this Liv. Me and you. Let's get married.