As promised, everything went according to plan and Olivia was released that day. Elliot listened to her griping about being on bed rest for the next three months with a smile. Some things hadn't changed.
Despite his chagrin, Elliot got a call from Fin when he got home, telling him that him and Munch had just arrested the Johnson's after a clerk at the local grocery store had called in a domestic disturbance. The two were fighting pretty ferociously and continually, despite the requests from the store employees and even the cops.
"Somehow I think God wasn't too pleased with the language coming out of the Reverend's mouth," He'd said, sounding almost amused. Elliot was anything but.
As he hung up the phone, he let out a frustrated sigh and looked at Olivia who was waiting tolerantly in their bed, watching him with her hands folded on her lap. "Liv, I'm sorry, but I have to go down to the station, there was a new break in the case."
Olivia shrugged. "Go. I know how important this is."
"You're more important. I'll stay if you want me to-"
"Elliot stop." Olivia held up a hand. "I'm getting mixed signals here. One minute you're telling me that I don't exist and next I'm the most important person in the world. What is going on?"
Elliot sat on the end of the bed and took Olivia's hand in his. He sighed heavily. "I don't know what's happening here. I really don't. It freaks me out to think that one minute I'm unconscious in my car, and the next I'm unconscious on the living room floor of the apartment that I didn't know I had, with the wife that I never married, with a baby that I had no part in."
Olivia shook her head. "I don't understand. It was like amnesia, you didn't know where you were, but you knew who I was. You knew about work. You even knew about the case, Elliot, I don't know what to believe here."
"I wish I could explain."
Olivia was silent for a moment. "Go to work," She said quietly. "We'll figure this out. I hope."
Elliot clutched her hand tighter. "We will." He stood slowly, reluctantly leaving her behind. Before he left, he turned once more and said, "And I do care about you. I always have, even before I found myself here. Aside from my kids, you were my number one. And when or if I ever leave, I don't want you to forget that."
Olivia frowned, unsure of what he meant. Something from the back of her mind was tugging on a memory that she never knew she had. It was almost like a flashback of cases and days spent with Elliot, not as his wife, but as his partner. But they weren't her memories.
"Where did you come from, Elliot?" Olivia murmured to herself, finally realizing the truth.
Elliot hurried to the stationhouse, wanting to know what the big deal was about.
"What's going on?" Elliot asked, seeing Munch and Fin at Fin's desk. Fin's head was in his hands and Munch was sighing heavily. "You aren't going to believe this."
"We took some DNA from Dana and Roger and then compared it to the DNA found from Carrie's rape kit. Roger's was a perfect match."
Elliot froze, stunned. "The minister?" He asked incredulously.
Munch nodded. "Yep. We checked with the mother. Roger went down to visit her, all right. Three months ago. Our rapist minister probably just skipped town after the rape."
"What about the domestic disturbance?" Elliot asked. "What made you want to take DNA?"
"Oh, just the little part that Roger spilled. It went something like, "If you ever disagree with me again, I'll kill you just like I wanted to do to Carrie" followed by a few choice words," Fin informed.
"And of course, the lolo spills the beans just when the cops walk in. The moron incriminates himself in front of a good 50 people. I love criminals, they never let you down," Munch stated.
Elliot sighed. "So what happens next?"
"He'll go in front of a jury. He's planning to fight this thing until the day the good Lord takes him home. I have a feeling that won't be the case either way," Fin's voice was dripping in sarcasm.
Elliot nodded. "Yeah. So, our work here is done?"
Munch glared at him. "No, now we have to finish the paperwork." He handed Elliot a big stack of papers.
Elliot drew back his hands and put them up. "Uh, no. Sorry. But I got an ailing wife at home who needs my attention."
"That's low Stabler," Fin raised an eyebrow. "Use Olivia as an excuse."
"Excuse? She's a savior. Bye, guys," Elliot turned and left with a small grin on his face.
"Hey, Olivia! I'm ho-"
He was cut short when he came face to face with her, sitting on the couch as if everything was fine. "How did you get out here? Did you get up? I told you you weren't supposed to get up!"
"Whoa. Hold on a minute," Olivia said with a smile. "We have to talk. Come, sit down."
Elliot sat down next to her, still not happy that she disobeyed the doctor's orders. But instead of pushing the matter, he listened patiently to her.
"Look, Elliot, I never really understood what was going on with you. Not knowing who I was or where you were. But now I do. You were telling the truth."
Elliot stared at her. "Okay, but how did you…"
Olivia shrugged. "I dunno, I just felt it, that's all. I was remembering things about us. But they were things that we didn't do together. They were things that you and Olivia in your old life did."
Elliot nodded. "Okay so you believe me. Now what do we do?"
"You go back."
Elliot was dumbfounded. "Olivia… I don't know how to go back, number one, and number two, why was I sent here in the first place? There has to be a reason."
Olivia nodded. "There was. The case." Elliot looked at her like she was loco. Olivia laughed lightly. "Let's just say I sort of… channeled my split personality. Olivia back in your life is confused about it. They can't figure out what happened. I felt her confusion… or my confusion… whatever," Olivia frowned and shook her head, as if she were bewildering herself.
"But anyway, the point is that you need to go back. You need to go back to your old life… and Kathy."
Elliot felt a pang of sadness. "But what about you?"
Olivia shrugged with a smile. "Hey, my husband was here before you came. He was just like you. Big surprise. But if you go back, he'll come back. And we'll both be fine."
"Yeah, he will," Elliot had a look of jealousy on his face. Olivia laughed loudly. "Elliot, my husband is you. You don't have to be jealous. If you want to know what's going on here, just concentrate as hard as you can. That's what I did with your Olivia."
Elliot nodded and smiled. "Yeah. You're right. Thank you." He leaned over and gave her a sweet kiss. Olivia smiled. "Now, being the good husband you are, can you please get me some water?"
Elliot smiled. "No problem." He stood up to go towards the kitchen, but instead tripped on one of Lucy's chew toys. The last thing he remembered was Olivia gasping frantically. And then there was nothing.
A bright light was shining in his eyes. Elliot tried to open them. The faint sound of voices surrounded him and the source of the voices began to come into his vision, though blurred.
"Elliot! Oh, God, he's awake! Elliot, are you all right?"
"Olivia?" Elliot asked, sounding and feeling groggy.
"Olivia? No, honey, it's Kathy!"
*Kathy?* He thought. The name rang familiarity throughout his head. And then he realized where he was.
"Kathy," He breathed a soft sigh of relief. He was home again.
"Honey, you were in an accident. You're in the hospital."
Elliot blinked as he tried to open his eyes. Despite the bright light that he thought he'd felt, the room was fairly dark. Him and Kathy were the only ones in the room.
"Kathy," He said again, more clearly. "Oh God, Kathy. I had a different life! I was married to Olivia and we were going to have a baby. And then there was the case and we-"
"Whoa, Elliot, slow down!" Kathy laughed. "You were in a coma. You've been out for almost Six hours now."
Elliot looked at her, startled. "Six hours? No, I was away for days! I…"
"I promise you, Elliot, the only place that you were was here. And I promise you, Olivia and you are not married. And she is not pregnant. I'll bring her in here and prove it to you," Kathy said with a smile.
Elliot nodded slowly. "O-okay…"
Within moments, Kathy had returned, Olivia in tow. She smiled. "Hey partner. You gave us all quite a scare."
"Olivia," He mumbled. She smiled down at him. He glanced at her stomach. Kathy was right. It was perfectly flat. He returned his gaze back to Olivia's face and smiled. She was exactly the same.
*"There has to be a reason."*
*"There was. The case."*
Their words came floating back to Elliot. He looked up frantically at Olivia. "Olivia, I know what happened with the Fowler case," He said. Olivia frowned. "Really? How?"
Elliot smiled a little and shook his head lightly, trying not to stir the dull aching that was beginning to show up. "It's a long story. But I know what happened."
THREE MONTHS LATER
Elliot sifted through the filed pile don his desk. Another long, busy day at work, doing paperwork. *What else?* He thought to himself smiling a little as he remembered using Olivia as an excuse to get out of the Fowler paperwork.
He yawned and stretched, taking a momentary break. Olivia looked across at him and chuckled. "Tired already? We just started."
Nodding and giving her a sarcastic sneer, Elliot mumbled, "Yeah, yeah. I'm working."
He pulled a file out form the stack and a small envelope fluttered out. Elliot frowned, not remembering this envelope before.
He opened it and turned it upside down. Out came a small picture of a little baby wrapped up tightly. The caption read, Andrew Elliot Stabler 6 pounds 7 ounces.
Elliot looked across his desk to Olivia, who was engaged in her work, clueless that Elliot was watching her. A small smile began to spread across his face.
He looked down at the picture again. *Hey Andrew, maybe I'll meet you someday,* He thought. Maybe he never would. Who knew? But one thing he knew for certain. Olivia now meant more to him than ever before.
Olivia looked up and caught him staring at her. "What?"
Elliot shook his head. "Nothing." Looking back down at his son, he carefully replacing the picture and slipped it in his drawer, then looking up to the pictures of his four kids. He smiled.
*I am the luckiest man alive.*
Despite his chagrin, Elliot got a call from Fin when he got home, telling him that him and Munch had just arrested the Johnson's after a clerk at the local grocery store had called in a domestic disturbance. The two were fighting pretty ferociously and continually, despite the requests from the store employees and even the cops.
"Somehow I think God wasn't too pleased with the language coming out of the Reverend's mouth," He'd said, sounding almost amused. Elliot was anything but.
As he hung up the phone, he let out a frustrated sigh and looked at Olivia who was waiting tolerantly in their bed, watching him with her hands folded on her lap. "Liv, I'm sorry, but I have to go down to the station, there was a new break in the case."
Olivia shrugged. "Go. I know how important this is."
"You're more important. I'll stay if you want me to-"
"Elliot stop." Olivia held up a hand. "I'm getting mixed signals here. One minute you're telling me that I don't exist and next I'm the most important person in the world. What is going on?"
Elliot sat on the end of the bed and took Olivia's hand in his. He sighed heavily. "I don't know what's happening here. I really don't. It freaks me out to think that one minute I'm unconscious in my car, and the next I'm unconscious on the living room floor of the apartment that I didn't know I had, with the wife that I never married, with a baby that I had no part in."
Olivia shook her head. "I don't understand. It was like amnesia, you didn't know where you were, but you knew who I was. You knew about work. You even knew about the case, Elliot, I don't know what to believe here."
"I wish I could explain."
Olivia was silent for a moment. "Go to work," She said quietly. "We'll figure this out. I hope."
Elliot clutched her hand tighter. "We will." He stood slowly, reluctantly leaving her behind. Before he left, he turned once more and said, "And I do care about you. I always have, even before I found myself here. Aside from my kids, you were my number one. And when or if I ever leave, I don't want you to forget that."
Olivia frowned, unsure of what he meant. Something from the back of her mind was tugging on a memory that she never knew she had. It was almost like a flashback of cases and days spent with Elliot, not as his wife, but as his partner. But they weren't her memories.
"Where did you come from, Elliot?" Olivia murmured to herself, finally realizing the truth.
Elliot hurried to the stationhouse, wanting to know what the big deal was about.
"What's going on?" Elliot asked, seeing Munch and Fin at Fin's desk. Fin's head was in his hands and Munch was sighing heavily. "You aren't going to believe this."
"We took some DNA from Dana and Roger and then compared it to the DNA found from Carrie's rape kit. Roger's was a perfect match."
Elliot froze, stunned. "The minister?" He asked incredulously.
Munch nodded. "Yep. We checked with the mother. Roger went down to visit her, all right. Three months ago. Our rapist minister probably just skipped town after the rape."
"What about the domestic disturbance?" Elliot asked. "What made you want to take DNA?"
"Oh, just the little part that Roger spilled. It went something like, "If you ever disagree with me again, I'll kill you just like I wanted to do to Carrie" followed by a few choice words," Fin informed.
"And of course, the lolo spills the beans just when the cops walk in. The moron incriminates himself in front of a good 50 people. I love criminals, they never let you down," Munch stated.
Elliot sighed. "So what happens next?"
"He'll go in front of a jury. He's planning to fight this thing until the day the good Lord takes him home. I have a feeling that won't be the case either way," Fin's voice was dripping in sarcasm.
Elliot nodded. "Yeah. So, our work here is done?"
Munch glared at him. "No, now we have to finish the paperwork." He handed Elliot a big stack of papers.
Elliot drew back his hands and put them up. "Uh, no. Sorry. But I got an ailing wife at home who needs my attention."
"That's low Stabler," Fin raised an eyebrow. "Use Olivia as an excuse."
"Excuse? She's a savior. Bye, guys," Elliot turned and left with a small grin on his face.
"Hey, Olivia! I'm ho-"
He was cut short when he came face to face with her, sitting on the couch as if everything was fine. "How did you get out here? Did you get up? I told you you weren't supposed to get up!"
"Whoa. Hold on a minute," Olivia said with a smile. "We have to talk. Come, sit down."
Elliot sat down next to her, still not happy that she disobeyed the doctor's orders. But instead of pushing the matter, he listened patiently to her.
"Look, Elliot, I never really understood what was going on with you. Not knowing who I was or where you were. But now I do. You were telling the truth."
Elliot stared at her. "Okay, but how did you…"
Olivia shrugged. "I dunno, I just felt it, that's all. I was remembering things about us. But they were things that we didn't do together. They were things that you and Olivia in your old life did."
Elliot nodded. "Okay so you believe me. Now what do we do?"
"You go back."
Elliot was dumbfounded. "Olivia… I don't know how to go back, number one, and number two, why was I sent here in the first place? There has to be a reason."
Olivia nodded. "There was. The case." Elliot looked at her like she was loco. Olivia laughed lightly. "Let's just say I sort of… channeled my split personality. Olivia back in your life is confused about it. They can't figure out what happened. I felt her confusion… or my confusion… whatever," Olivia frowned and shook her head, as if she were bewildering herself.
"But anyway, the point is that you need to go back. You need to go back to your old life… and Kathy."
Elliot felt a pang of sadness. "But what about you?"
Olivia shrugged with a smile. "Hey, my husband was here before you came. He was just like you. Big surprise. But if you go back, he'll come back. And we'll both be fine."
"Yeah, he will," Elliot had a look of jealousy on his face. Olivia laughed loudly. "Elliot, my husband is you. You don't have to be jealous. If you want to know what's going on here, just concentrate as hard as you can. That's what I did with your Olivia."
Elliot nodded and smiled. "Yeah. You're right. Thank you." He leaned over and gave her a sweet kiss. Olivia smiled. "Now, being the good husband you are, can you please get me some water?"
Elliot smiled. "No problem." He stood up to go towards the kitchen, but instead tripped on one of Lucy's chew toys. The last thing he remembered was Olivia gasping frantically. And then there was nothing.
A bright light was shining in his eyes. Elliot tried to open them. The faint sound of voices surrounded him and the source of the voices began to come into his vision, though blurred.
"Elliot! Oh, God, he's awake! Elliot, are you all right?"
"Olivia?" Elliot asked, sounding and feeling groggy.
"Olivia? No, honey, it's Kathy!"
*Kathy?* He thought. The name rang familiarity throughout his head. And then he realized where he was.
"Kathy," He breathed a soft sigh of relief. He was home again.
"Honey, you were in an accident. You're in the hospital."
Elliot blinked as he tried to open his eyes. Despite the bright light that he thought he'd felt, the room was fairly dark. Him and Kathy were the only ones in the room.
"Kathy," He said again, more clearly. "Oh God, Kathy. I had a different life! I was married to Olivia and we were going to have a baby. And then there was the case and we-"
"Whoa, Elliot, slow down!" Kathy laughed. "You were in a coma. You've been out for almost Six hours now."
Elliot looked at her, startled. "Six hours? No, I was away for days! I…"
"I promise you, Elliot, the only place that you were was here. And I promise you, Olivia and you are not married. And she is not pregnant. I'll bring her in here and prove it to you," Kathy said with a smile.
Elliot nodded slowly. "O-okay…"
Within moments, Kathy had returned, Olivia in tow. She smiled. "Hey partner. You gave us all quite a scare."
"Olivia," He mumbled. She smiled down at him. He glanced at her stomach. Kathy was right. It was perfectly flat. He returned his gaze back to Olivia's face and smiled. She was exactly the same.
*"There has to be a reason."*
*"There was. The case."*
Their words came floating back to Elliot. He looked up frantically at Olivia. "Olivia, I know what happened with the Fowler case," He said. Olivia frowned. "Really? How?"
Elliot smiled a little and shook his head lightly, trying not to stir the dull aching that was beginning to show up. "It's a long story. But I know what happened."
THREE MONTHS LATER
Elliot sifted through the filed pile don his desk. Another long, busy day at work, doing paperwork. *What else?* He thought to himself smiling a little as he remembered using Olivia as an excuse to get out of the Fowler paperwork.
He yawned and stretched, taking a momentary break. Olivia looked across at him and chuckled. "Tired already? We just started."
Nodding and giving her a sarcastic sneer, Elliot mumbled, "Yeah, yeah. I'm working."
He pulled a file out form the stack and a small envelope fluttered out. Elliot frowned, not remembering this envelope before.
He opened it and turned it upside down. Out came a small picture of a little baby wrapped up tightly. The caption read, Andrew Elliot Stabler 6 pounds 7 ounces.
Elliot looked across his desk to Olivia, who was engaged in her work, clueless that Elliot was watching her. A small smile began to spread across his face.
He looked down at the picture again. *Hey Andrew, maybe I'll meet you someday,* He thought. Maybe he never would. Who knew? But one thing he knew for certain. Olivia now meant more to him than ever before.
Olivia looked up and caught him staring at her. "What?"
Elliot shook his head. "Nothing." Looking back down at his son, he carefully replacing the picture and slipped it in his drawer, then looking up to the pictures of his four kids. He smiled.
*I am the luckiest man alive.*