Thanks for hanging in there through my writer's block! I'm not making any promises about when the next chapter will be out, but hopefully by tomorrow or the next day.
Oh yeah, and the little 'you're on candid camera' gag in here is based on an event from my brother-in-law's past… uh I won't go into the details. :)
Anyway, here's part 4. Enjoy!
The next two days passed by in a blur for Elliot. He had taken some vacation time and spent it with Olivia at home, going through old pictures and talking about their lives. At the particular moment, the two were sitting on the floor amongst hundreds of pictures strewn all over the floor.
"Whoa." Elliot held up an old black and white picture to the light and smirked.
Olivia looked up from the pile of pictures of her lap. "What?"
"I remember this one," He said, not taking his eyes off the shiny paper. "It was when I was a teenager. My friends and I stole my cousin's car and he caught us and took a picture of us in it for evidence."
Olivia took the picture from him and smirked reading the caption. "Smile, you're on Candid Camera?"
Elliot shrugged and took back the picture. "God, all these pictures from my childhood. All these memories I have, but I can't remember anything after joining the NYPD," Elliot sighed and flung the picture back into the mess.
Olivia was silent for a moment. Her eyes lingered on her stomach for a moment before asking softly, "You really don't remember anything?"
Elliot leaned back against the couch and watched her face. Sighing, he reached over and took her hand. "Liv, I know that this is really hard. It's freaking me out, too. But... maybe we should just... give it some time. Maybe it'll all come back to me..."
Elliot's words trailed off quickly. Olivia pulled her hand out of his and struggled to stand up. Elliot rose with her, holding on to her arm. "Just wait here," She said shortly, getting up and walking out of the living room towards their bedroom.
Sighing, Elliot flopped down onto the couch. He couldn't tell whether he had made her angry or not. It was hard to tell. *As if Olivia isn't hard enough to read as it is,* He thought almost bitterly, angry at himself for not trying as hard as he should to remember what he was supposed to.
Olivia emerged a minute later with a few more pictures in her hand. "Hmm, I thought we dragged out all our pictures," Elliot said, watching her curiously.
"I wouldn't keep these ones in the boxes," Olivia said softly, sitting beside Elliot. Elliot took the pictures from her and froze. "Our wedding," He stated with a relaxed smile.
"Mmm hmm. I always keep these in that little tin box on the headboard," Olivia rested her chin on Elliot's shoulder as he flipped through the pictures, smiling a little more at each one. There were silly ones of them at their wedding reception slamming cake in each other's faces and serious ones of them at the alter, holding hands and smiling.
Elliot's smile abruptly faded as he came upon the last picture. It was murky and looked like the form of a little shadow. He suddenly realized it was a sonogram.
"Had it done last week," Olivia intertwined her fingers with Elliot's. "You went with me. You said that the two happiest moments of your life was when we were married and that moment. I thought maybe… if you saw these, they might jog some memories."
Elliot's finger traced the muted silhouette of the unborn baby on the photo paper. Three times before had he seen one of these in his 'other' life, but somehow, this one felt different.
"It's always hard to believe that it's a baby in there," Elliot said inaudibly, glancing down at Olivia's stomach. Olivia smiled tenderly. "You talk like you've been through this before."
Elliot laughed lightly to himself. "I thought I had been." His face briskly turned somber.
"But maybe… maybe this is where I'm supposed to be."
Olivia watched him, her eyes also serious. "Do you really believe that?"
"I don't know. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love my kids... my other kids and I miss them but... but I feel like I'm not in a big hurry to get back there, you know?"
Olivia opened her mouth to respond, but the ringing of Elliot's cell phone cut them off. Elliot glared as he ripped it out of his pocket. Olivia smiled. "Better answer that. It could be an emergency."
"Yeah, or a telemarketer," Elliot answered. "Stabler."
He listened for a moment to the voice on the other end of the line with a frown. "Hey Elliot, it's Munch. We hate to cut your vacation short, but we really need you to get back to work. We got some new developments on the Fowler case."
"Oh, yeah?" Elliot had learned one thing over the past two days: with the exception of his personal life, everything was the same. The case that he had been torturing himself over the night all this first started still existed and it was still a big a mystery as it had been in his other life.
"Yeah. We got a witness to the rape in the church."
"I thought that it was impossible. There was service going on in the church she claimed she was raped in?" Elliot frowned.
"Nope. Wrong church. She was raped at the church down the street, Mount View Presbyterian."
"Uh, hold on, I'll meet you there. Where are you at?"
Munch gave Elliot an address quickly. "Okay Munch, I'll see you there." Elliot hung up and looked apologetically at Olivia. "Look Liv, I know I said I'd spend time with you for the next few days but…"
Olivia rolled her brown eyes. "Oh, shut up and go. I'm not going anywhere, I'll be here when you get back." Olivia smiled warmly at him.
Elliot leaned over and kissed her lips gently. "I'll be back soon," He whispered lovingly. Reluctantly, he stood up and exited the apartment, ready to begin another long, confusing day on the Fowler case. Unfortunately, he underestimated how very long and confusing it would be.
Oh yeah, and the little 'you're on candid camera' gag in here is based on an event from my brother-in-law's past… uh I won't go into the details. :)
Anyway, here's part 4. Enjoy!
The next two days passed by in a blur for Elliot. He had taken some vacation time and spent it with Olivia at home, going through old pictures and talking about their lives. At the particular moment, the two were sitting on the floor amongst hundreds of pictures strewn all over the floor.
"Whoa." Elliot held up an old black and white picture to the light and smirked.
Olivia looked up from the pile of pictures of her lap. "What?"
"I remember this one," He said, not taking his eyes off the shiny paper. "It was when I was a teenager. My friends and I stole my cousin's car and he caught us and took a picture of us in it for evidence."
Olivia took the picture from him and smirked reading the caption. "Smile, you're on Candid Camera?"
Elliot shrugged and took back the picture. "God, all these pictures from my childhood. All these memories I have, but I can't remember anything after joining the NYPD," Elliot sighed and flung the picture back into the mess.
Olivia was silent for a moment. Her eyes lingered on her stomach for a moment before asking softly, "You really don't remember anything?"
Elliot leaned back against the couch and watched her face. Sighing, he reached over and took her hand. "Liv, I know that this is really hard. It's freaking me out, too. But... maybe we should just... give it some time. Maybe it'll all come back to me..."
Elliot's words trailed off quickly. Olivia pulled her hand out of his and struggled to stand up. Elliot rose with her, holding on to her arm. "Just wait here," She said shortly, getting up and walking out of the living room towards their bedroom.
Sighing, Elliot flopped down onto the couch. He couldn't tell whether he had made her angry or not. It was hard to tell. *As if Olivia isn't hard enough to read as it is,* He thought almost bitterly, angry at himself for not trying as hard as he should to remember what he was supposed to.
Olivia emerged a minute later with a few more pictures in her hand. "Hmm, I thought we dragged out all our pictures," Elliot said, watching her curiously.
"I wouldn't keep these ones in the boxes," Olivia said softly, sitting beside Elliot. Elliot took the pictures from her and froze. "Our wedding," He stated with a relaxed smile.
"Mmm hmm. I always keep these in that little tin box on the headboard," Olivia rested her chin on Elliot's shoulder as he flipped through the pictures, smiling a little more at each one. There were silly ones of them at their wedding reception slamming cake in each other's faces and serious ones of them at the alter, holding hands and smiling.
Elliot's smile abruptly faded as he came upon the last picture. It was murky and looked like the form of a little shadow. He suddenly realized it was a sonogram.
"Had it done last week," Olivia intertwined her fingers with Elliot's. "You went with me. You said that the two happiest moments of your life was when we were married and that moment. I thought maybe… if you saw these, they might jog some memories."
Elliot's finger traced the muted silhouette of the unborn baby on the photo paper. Three times before had he seen one of these in his 'other' life, but somehow, this one felt different.
"It's always hard to believe that it's a baby in there," Elliot said inaudibly, glancing down at Olivia's stomach. Olivia smiled tenderly. "You talk like you've been through this before."
Elliot laughed lightly to himself. "I thought I had been." His face briskly turned somber.
"But maybe… maybe this is where I'm supposed to be."
Olivia watched him, her eyes also serious. "Do you really believe that?"
"I don't know. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love my kids... my other kids and I miss them but... but I feel like I'm not in a big hurry to get back there, you know?"
Olivia opened her mouth to respond, but the ringing of Elliot's cell phone cut them off. Elliot glared as he ripped it out of his pocket. Olivia smiled. "Better answer that. It could be an emergency."
"Yeah, or a telemarketer," Elliot answered. "Stabler."
He listened for a moment to the voice on the other end of the line with a frown. "Hey Elliot, it's Munch. We hate to cut your vacation short, but we really need you to get back to work. We got some new developments on the Fowler case."
"Oh, yeah?" Elliot had learned one thing over the past two days: with the exception of his personal life, everything was the same. The case that he had been torturing himself over the night all this first started still existed and it was still a big a mystery as it had been in his other life.
"Yeah. We got a witness to the rape in the church."
"I thought that it was impossible. There was service going on in the church she claimed she was raped in?" Elliot frowned.
"Nope. Wrong church. She was raped at the church down the street, Mount View Presbyterian."
"Uh, hold on, I'll meet you there. Where are you at?"
Munch gave Elliot an address quickly. "Okay Munch, I'll see you there." Elliot hung up and looked apologetically at Olivia. "Look Liv, I know I said I'd spend time with you for the next few days but…"
Olivia rolled her brown eyes. "Oh, shut up and go. I'm not going anywhere, I'll be here when you get back." Olivia smiled warmly at him.
Elliot leaned over and kissed her lips gently. "I'll be back soon," He whispered lovingly. Reluctantly, he stood up and exited the apartment, ready to begin another long, confusing day on the Fowler case. Unfortunately, he underestimated how very long and confusing it would be.