Law and Order: SVU" and "Law and Order: Organized Crime" are the properties of Dick Wolf and NBC Universal.
Olivia was taken by surprise to see how he apparently had no hesitations whatsoever about seeking out comfort from her. But it was an outright shock to herself when she realized she also had no hesitations about giving it to him.
It felt both humbling and awful to be in that moment, listening to Elliot weeping in anguish. Even as pissed as she was at him for leaving the way he had, it was impossible for her to deny that she had missed him terribly. He had been her best friend, her family, and there was still such a huge part of her that hadn't wanted to adjust to life without him.
He was so upset that he couldn't fully catch his breath and the harder he tried, the more it hurt. Olivia was startled at his agonized moan and quickly began pulling back, but he wouldn't move away from her, almost as if he was trying to force himself to endure it.
She began gently guiding him by the shoulders back against the pillow, forcing him to move.
"Relax, Elliot," she murmured painfully. "I don't want you to hurt yourself."
He squeezed his eyes shut abruptly, wincing as a searing burn shot down his neck to the top of his spine, and couldn't stop the pitiful noise of anguish that came out. He just tensed up even more and refused to relax.
"Olivia, where are the kids?" he gasped, shaking his head. "'I've got-I've got to call them..." He become more agitated. "Oh, my God. Eli is in Rome. I've...I've got to get him back-"
A sudden pain stabbed inside of his abdomen and he gasped.
Olivia quietly reached over beside her and pressed the call button on the side of the bed.
"I'll do that," she said immediately. She rubbed his shoulder and tried to coax him back once more. "I'll take care of your kids, Elliot. I promise."
He finally gave up fighting against her, his injuries making themselves known enough that he didn't have a choice anymore. He settled against the pillow with a tearful sigh.
His expression was worn and devastated and made him look unrecognizable. She had to swallow to keep from losing her composure.
A soft rap on the glass door preceded the arrival of a nurse entering the room with an IV bag. Olivia glanced back and then moved off of the bed. She wondered fleetingly if the doctor who had been in before had sent her to assess the situation.
"You're due for more pain medication, Mr. Stabler," she said quietly. She attached the bag to his IV pole. "The doctor ordered some Lorazepam as well, just to help you get some rest."
The drugs had an almost instant effect. His eyes began to droop before the nurse was even finished updating the chart.
He turned his head into the pillow and let out a slow breath, already feeling the strong pull into oblivion, and his blinks got longer until he couldn't resist it anymore.
"Thank you," Olivia said quietly as the nurse was leaving.
She met the woman's eyes and silently conveyed her gratitude. The nurse gave her an understanding nod, knowing what she was trying to express without saying it, and Olivia decided that she most definitely knew about what was going on.
Olivia watched him sleeping for a few moments and then blew out a breath, swiping at her eyes as she quietly walked out.
Carisi was in the squad room when she returned, talking to Fin. They knew right away by her expression that something was wrong.
"What happened?" Carisi asked.
She looked at him darkly.
"Kathy Stabler didn't make it," she said.
The ADA grimaced and blew out a heavy breath.
Fin looked at her in concern.
"How's he doing?" he asked gravely.
Olivia shook her head.
"Not good," she answered shortly.
Carisi nodded firmly.
"Ok," he said. "I'll go see Lenski again, up the pressure. At the very least, I might be able to get him with an accessory charge."
She looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"I don't care what you have to do, Carisi," she said menacingly. "I want this son of a bitch to go down for murder."
Fin glanced at her and saw that she was barely controlled. She looked like she was going to explode at any minute.
He wisely decided to give her space.
"I'll have Kat and Rollins follow up on the mistresses," he said.
He gave Carisi a slight look of warning and they both made a hasty retreat. Olivia was too shaken to even care as she went to her office. The sound of Elliot pleading with her to tell him the doctor had been mistaken still rang in her head.
She closed the door and swallowed hard.
Then she went to her desk to find the message from earlier with Dickie Stabler's phone number written on it.
Rollins called Fin an hour and a half after he had sent her and Tamin to talk to Yuri Lenski's mistresses again. They were parked outside of an auto body repair shop in Willets Point.
"Lenski's second mistress gave up his nephew, Sacha," she told him. "No record, but apparently he's been playing with matches since he was five. He burned down his neighbors house trying to blow up a boat for the insurance."
"Pick him up," Fin said.
"Already ahead of you," she replied. " We're at the auto body shop where he works. I'll let you know when we're bringing him in."
The two women got out of the car and approached the garage.
"NYPD," Amanda told the men busy working inside, holding up her badge. "Tell us which one of these guys is Sacha Lenski."
Almost before she finished speaking, a man near the back bolted out a side door.
"We got a runner!" Kat yelled, taking off after him.
Amanda ran in the other direction to head him off in case he eluded Tamin. But Kat was on him in seconds, tackling him the ground.
"Stay down!" she yelled as he struggled.
Sacha Lenski had his face to the ground from her weight on his back.
"It wasn't me!" he said frantically as Kat cuffed him. "I didn't do it!"
"Didn't do what?" Rollins snapped from his other side.
Kat hauled him up.
"Let's go," she ordered him. "Come on."
Yuri Lenski looked annoyed when the guard escorted him into the visiting area and he saw Carisi sitting at a table with Fin.
"I gave you my time before," he said. "I am a busy man." He eyed Carisi almost cunningly. "You come all the way to Green Haven twice to talk to me? I must have something you want."
He looked over at Fin.
"The guard tells you are from SVU," he said. "That cop who got blown up. That was your unit, wasn't it?"
Fin leaned forward to stare into the man's eyes.
"Yeah, that's right," he said menacingly. "Here's something they didn't tell you. His wife didn't survive the blast."
Yuri's face turned remorseful.
"I am sorry for that," he said. "Such a terrible tragedy."
"Mr. Lenski," Carisi interjected. "Tell us if there's anyone in your family connected to the bombing and I'll put in a good word for you. You're up for parole in a couple of months. You could be out before spring."
Lenski scoffed impatiently. Fin felt his hackles rising watching him.
"People still fall for that?" he said arrogantly. He shook his head. "I told you. I don't turn on family. I've already done four years. I can do three more with my eyes closed."
It was obvious he wasn't going to be forthcoming. Carisi stood up, not bothering to continue.
"We picked up Sacha," he told the man. "You want to play the loyalty card? Go right ahead." He regarded Yuri coldly. "We're testing his DNA to the cell trigger we found in the debris."
Carisi raised an eyebrow and continued.
"You should know if he ends up being our guy, we'll also be charging you with accessory to murder if you're covering for him. Then you can forget about those three more years, Mr. Lenski, because you'll be looking at a life sentence added to them."
Olivia had asked Dickie to call his sisters and meet her at the hospital, but hadn't indicated why over the phone. It had barely been two hours since she had last left, yet the drive back seemed to take days. Her stomach was twisted with dread the entire way .
They were already waiting by the front entrance where they had agreed to meet when she arrived. It was evident that they had come as fast as possible.
She hadn't seen Maureen in almost fifteen years. The young woman looked so much like her mother that it actually made Olivia start for a brief, horrible second before she got close enough to recognize her.
"What's going on?" Maureen asked frantically.
She obviously had no trouble recognizing Olivia. She began walking toward her before Olivia could even reach them, rambling nervously.
"I've been at work," she said. "I'm an emergency dispatcher in Connecticut and I'm on overnights, I couldn't get here. Katie said Mom and Dad were in an accident and had to have surgery." She was tearful. "I haven't been in yet to see them."
Olivia had been rehearsing in her head how she was going to break the news. But she wasn't prepared to hear that and her emotions surged involuntarily, threatening to ruin her plan.
She looked at Maureen and then at Kathleen and Dick, who had stepped over as well.
She swallowed.
"We should wait for Elizabeth," she said quietly.
"She can't come," Dick said quickly. "She's in Ohio for an internship and her plane was delayed." He looked at her with fear in his eyes and repeated his sister's question. "What's going on?"
Olivia closed her eyes briefly and blew out a painful breath.
"Guys, I'm so sorry," she said hesitantly.
Kathleen's eyes widened in disbelief.
"I'm sorry," she said again in a choked voice. "Your mom, she...her heart stopped. The doctors did all they could-"
"No," Dick interrupted in a panic. He shook his head in denial, looking suddenly young again. "Don't even finish. That-that's impossible."
She felt tears climbing and forced them back.
"Your mom didn't make it," she said softly. "I'm sorry."
Maureen let out a sudden yell of agony, making her jump. Kathleen was shaking.
"No," Maureen whispered, looking horrified. "Oh...oh, my God." She burst into tears, almost unable to stand up. "Oh, my God."
Olivia went over and grabbed her gently, hugging her and holding her up at the same time. Kathleen began sobbing beside them, her arms crossed tightly over her chest.
Dick turned quickly and walked away from them. Olivia watched him over Maureen's shoulder trying to keep himself together.
Then he abruptly leaned over and puked onto the concrete.
Sacha Lenski was nervous, almost frenetic, as he sat inside the interrogation room with Tamin and Rollins.
Fin had just arrived back and was watching from outside as they grilled him.
"-For the hundredth time," Sacha was saying, pushing the photo away that was in front of him on the table. "I don't know anything about this car."
Rollins looked exasperated.
"We found the phone that was used as a trigger for the bomb," she told him. "There was DNA on it and it's gonna be yours."
"I don't know anything about bombs!" he said insistently.
"Really?" she said. "Then how did you blow up your neighbors house when you were seventeen?"
He shook his head.
"I had nothing to do with that either," he replied snippily. "You can ask my old neighbor."
Carisi stepped up beside Fin.
"How long has he been shadowboxing with them?" he asked.
Fin sighed.
"All night," he replied. " I don't think he's our guy. It's a big step up from burning down buildings to a hit on a cop and his wife."
"Either way," Carisi said. "I think it's time we arraign him."
The sergeant looked at him.
"You do that, he's going to lawyer up," Fin said.
Carisi nodded.
"That's exactly what I'm hoping for," he said. He looked calculating. He's most likely just a patsy. If he's looking at years, a lawyer will get him to cooperate."
The three adult Stabler children sat outside the hospital with Olivia at a table that was in the grass. They were disoriented and in shock, their faces pale in the moonlight.
None of them had spoken since sitting down. Olivia wasn't sure what to say, so she hadn't either.
"Does Dad know?" Maureen asked suddenly in a weak voice.
The young woman looked at her tearfully.
Olivia felt her stomach turn just thinking about Elliot's reaction.
"Yes," she answered softly. "I was there when they told him a few hours ago."
"Why didn't he call us?" Maureen went on.
They saw Olivia's face twist. It was enough of an answer to make Kathleen cry again.
She couldn't lie to Elliot's children.
"He didn't take it well," she replied quietly. "A nurse gave him some medication before I left to help calm him down."
Maureen looked at her siblings.
"Let me go in there," she said to them. "I need to see for myself how he is."
Dick nodded. Kathleen said nothing.
Olivia looked at her. Maureen knew exactly what she was thinking even though she didn't speak.
"I'll come back and let you know," she said, nodding at her father's former partner.
Olivia gave her a small smile. Her phone rang and she got up to answer it, leaving the table as Maureen went inside.
It was Fin, calling to update her on what had transpired since she had been there.
"They're arraigning Sacha in the morning," he told her.
"Alright," she said tiredly. "I''ll meet you at the courthouse tomorrow."
He paused a moment.
"How are you?" he asked quietly.
Olivia pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I'm fine," she lied. "Don't worry about me."
She could tell he didn't believe her.
She waited with Kathleen and Dick for Maureen to return and tried to make conversation, but it was strained and awkward.
It was another twenty minutes before Maureen came back.
"He's out cold," she told them. "I didn't want to wake him. The nurse said he's been asleep since you left, Olivia."
Her face was sad. Olivia nodded and glanced around at each of them in turn.
"I'm going to do my best to get in touch with the U.S. Embassy in Italy," she told them. "Your dad said Eli is still there."
"Oh, Christ," Dick murmured, sounding horrified.
The looks that crossed his face told her that they had most likely all momentarily forgotten about their youngest brother amidst their grief.
"Someone is going to have to tell him about Mom," he went on quietly. "Shit."
"I'll take care of it," Maureen said heavily. "Dad gave me the contact information when they left the country six years ago and kept it updated in the event of an emergency."
They all looked understandably haggard. Olivia looked at them with worry creasing her face.
"Can I give you a ride home?" she asked. "Are you okay to drive?"
Maureen shook her head.
"I'll have my husband will come get us," she said. "Thank you, Olivia."
She nodded, checking the time.
"Of course," she said quietly. She gave them all hugs. "I've got to get home. Call me if you need anything."
They nodded as if in a daze and she reluctantly left.
Carisi straightened at the podium and addressed the judge the next morning.
Olivia and Fin sat in the back row of the courtroom. The case was the first on the docket and she was glad. She had slept horribly the night before.
"Good morning, Judge," he said cordially. "Mr. Lenski is being charged with the use of a weapon of mass destruction, use of a destructive device in connection to a crime of violence, and attempted murder."
The judge looked at the defense.
"How does your client plead, Mr. Cryer?" he asked.
The public defender was obviously distracted. He was rifling through his papers like he couldn't find what he was looking for. After a moment of no response, the judge spoke again.
"Counselor, are you with us?" he asked.
Cryer looked up guiltily.
"Sorry, Your Honor," he said. He glanced down. "Uh-my client pleads not guilty. He has no prior record and we request that he be released on his own recognizance pending trial."
"Mr. Lenski has a juvenile history of arson and one of the victims in this case is a police officer," Carisi responded quickly. "Given that the charge involves the use of an explosive device, we believe he is a flight risk and ask that Your Honor deny him another chance to be a threat to the public."
"I have to agree, Mr. Cryer," the judge said. "I am ordering your client remanded to Rikers until a trial date is set."
He banged the gavel. Lenski looked at his attorney like he couldn't believe how pitiful the man's attempt was as he was led out by the deputy.
Carisi met Olivia and Fin at the back row.
"I don't have a good feeling about this," he said. "My gut is telling me that Sacha is just a small link in this chain. We offered him a deal in exchange for telling us who the real threat is behind this and he didn't take it. I think someone bigger scares him more than we do."
He looked at Olivia.
"Do you think Stabler has any idea who we might be looking for?" he asked.
She sighed grimly.
"I'm going to the hospital when I leave here," she said. "I can't promise he'll be open to talking about it right now, though."
Carisi looked sympathetic.
"I can understand that," he said. "Just do what you can."
Olivia turned toward Fin.
"Put in a call to Threat Assessment when you get to the precinct," she told him. "See if there are any groups or individuals who were targeted by NYPD overseas that might have a presence here."
Fin nodded.
"You think someone in Italy has a grudge against Elliot?" he asked.
"I have no idea," she replied. "But we need to check out every possibility."
Olivia took her time driving back to the hospital. Seeing him break down the way he had the last time she'd been there had almost too much for her to bear and she wanted to gather her nerves.
It was harder than she'd thought it would be. She still hadn't come to terms with the emotions she felt from having him abruptly walk from her life, let alone the shock from discovering his sudden reappearance by finding him bleeding on the street.
Plus, the way he had acted was jarring her. The man she had used to know would have rather broken a hand over showing emotion in front of her. Yet, not only had he timidly apologized and nearly cried attempting to talk about how he had left, but the minute that his world had come crumbling down around him earlier, the very first thing he had done was reach for was her like he needed her to stabilize him.
And to top it off, then he gives her that letter while he's lying in a hospital bed...that damn letter-
Her phone rang. She shook herself and reached for it.
"Benson."
"Captain," Rollins said. "We just got a call from Green Haven. Yuri Lenski is dead. It looks like someone gave him a 'hot shot' that was made to look like a drug overdose."
Her eyebrows jumped in surprise. But before she could reply, another incoming call beeped in her ear.
"Stand by a second, Rollins," she said, switching calls. "Benson."
"Lenski is dead," he told her. "They just found him in a cell with a needle in his arm."
"Yeah, Rollins just told me," she said heavily. She pulled into a space inside the garage at Mercy Hospital and parked. "We'll need to get over to Green Haven and talk to the staff."
"No, Olivia," he said quickly. "Not Yuri. Sacha was killed, too, the same exact way Yuri was. A guard at Rikers just told Carisi. He wasn't even in his cell an hour."
Her stomach dropped.
Oh, shit.
"Are you with Elliot?" he went on.
"I just parked," she said in panic. She threw open the car door and got out fast. "Call hospital security and get someone to his room, Fin. Now. I'm on my way in."
Whatever he said in response was lost on her. She had jammed the phone back into her pocket and was sprinting across the parking garage, her heart pounding with anxiety.