Title: Twist of Fate
Author: Rachel
Series: Hmm. I guess since this is a sequel, it makes it a series. Haven't got a name for the series yet. Any suggestions? Rating: PG13 so far I guess
Category: angst, romance, drama, yadda yadda yadda. Whollota shippiness. Olivia & Elliot (duh).
Disclaimer: Mine the characters are not! To Dick Wolf and company they belong. Hey, man, didn't anyone ever teach you how important sharing is? Come on, get with it! Summary: How will Olivia deal with the aftermath of the Livingston case and how will it affect how she handles Elliot's proposal? And when Olivia's health takes a turn for the worst, how will Elliot react?
Spoilers: A little one for "Abuse" Feedback: Yes. Me want feedback!
Archive: Wherever, just email me.
Author's notes: Elliot's still divorced. Boo, Kathy. Boo! Oh, and keep in mind that I'm not a doctor, so if there are inaccuracies in medical conditions (even though research has been done) and procedures, don't yell at me. (Not that you would, of course) Just bear with me, I'm doing my best. Character thoughts will be between the *'s. Many Thanks to my Perfectly-Gracious-Beta, Caillean! You're the bestest! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------
SVU Squadroom Monday June 9th, 2003 9:30pm
Elliot looked at his watch and realized that it had been almost 6 hours since Olivia had disappeared into the crib for a "nap". *Geezus, she must really be tired* He got up to get some more coffee, stopping by Munch's desk on the way.
"Hey John. Where's Fin?" he inquired.
"He went to talk to Cragen. or to the bathroom. or something like that. I wasn't really listening."
"Okay.??"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. just. don't expect to get any 'Partner of the Year' awards anytime soon." Elliot criticized as he got his coffee and returned to his desk, chuckling. Munch just shrugged, put his hand to his chest and frowned, pretending to be truly effected by Elliot's words.*I should get an award for tolerating everyone else's cocky sarcasm* he thought. *Oh wait, I'm thinking of MY cocky sarcasm. Whatever. I should still get an award!*
SVU Squadroom Same day 20 minutes later
Elliot was filtering through some files when Cragen stepped out of his office into the bullpen.
"Stabler." Cragen said, beckoning Elliot with his finger. Elliot stood up and walked to over to him.
"What is it, Captain?"
"Where's your partner?" he asked, surveying the squadroom.
"She went up to the crib to get some sleep." Elliot answered as he yawned.
"How long ago was that?"
"About 6 hours." Elliot said honestly.
"Well, I think she's got enough beauty sleep for right now, go get her. I have some more paperwork I need her to go through."
"Alright. I'm on it." Elliot replied as he started towards the stairs to the crib. He walked up the stairs swiftly and in no time was standing at the entrance to the crib. He opened the door and saw Olivia lying there, sleeping peacefully.
"Olivia, the captain wants you." Elliot called into the room. "Olivia? Olivia?" *Since when is she this heavy a sleeper?* Elliot's voice got louder as he approached her. "Olivia, knock it off! This isn't funny. OLIVIA! WAKE UP! CAPTAIN WANTS YOU. You have had your nap, now wake up!" He continued to shout her name as he shook her lightly, then harder, and even harder. She still didn't wake up. He checked her pulse, it was weak. He checked her breathing. It was shallow. He bounded down the stairs and towards Cragen's office, stopping at the door and panting for breath. "Captain, Olivia won't wake up!"
"What do you mean she won't wake up?" Cragen asked, the worry evident in his voice.
"I mean she won't wake up. I went in there, practically screamed her name, shook her. and nothing. She still wouldn't wake up. I checked, her pulse is weak and her breathing is shallow. " Cragen followed Elliot back up to the crib and Olivia was in the exact same position as she was before. She hadn't moved even a millimeter. Not even a toe or finger.
"Benson! If you want to keep your job, I suggest you cut the crap and wake up right now." Cragen said, assuming a threat would cause her wake up. It didn't work. *Maybe it's the pain meds. They do tend to make a person drowsy*
"What's wrong with her? Why won't she wake up?" Elliot shouted as he started to pace around the small confines of the room.
"I don't know, Elliot. We need to get her to the hospital." Cragen answered as the worry in his voice was replaced with fear. Elliot lifted her up into his arms and he followed Cragen down the stairs and out of the squadroom to the sedan. They drove to the hospital, using the sirens to cut through the traffic.
Angel of Mercy Hospital Same day 10:20pm
Elliot and Cragen busted through the emergency doors, Elliot carrying Olivia in his arms. A nurse jogged up to them and asked them what the problem was. Cragen flashed his badge while Elliot began to explain the situation.
"My partner won't wake up. We don't know what's wrong.." Elliot explained, trying to stay as calm as possible. The nurse called a doctor over, who in turn brought over a gurney. They put Olivia on the gurney and wheeled her down the hall and disappeared into a trauma room. Elliot and Cragen started to follow the doctor and nurse, but another nurse stopped their progress.
"You're going to have to wait out here while the doctor works on her." The nurse told them before turning on her heel and walking back into the room.
Angel of Mercy Hospital Same day 11:45pm
Elliot had yet to learn anything about his partner's, and soon to be wife's, condition, so he had begun to pace and walk around in circles around the chairs in the waiting area.
Cragen was getting especially annoyed by Elliot's restlessness. "Elliot, sit down. Your pacing is giving me a headache." Elliot just sighed and went to sit in one of the hard plastic chairs next to Cragen. Just as he was about to get slightly comfortable, the doctor walked out of the trauma room and approached them. They both stood abruptly and met the doctor halfway.
"What's going on doc, what's wrong with her?" Elliot asked absently rubbing the back of his neck.
"Well, your partner."
"Olivia." Elliot interrupted.
"What?"
"Her name is Olivia. I just wanted you to know what her name was. So she doesn't end up a Jane Doe on the chart or something."
"Oh. Alright. Olivia is suffering from a subdural hematoma most likely caused by blunt force trauma. Now according to the amount blood accumulated in the temporal lobes, it probably began to form about 2 to 3 weeks ago. Do you know of any incidents that may have taken place around that time?" The doctor explained.
Elliot and Cragen looked at each other as their eyes widened. "Richard Livingston." they said simultaneously.
Cragen rubbed his forehead, processing the information.
"Now," the doctor continued, "Olivia is stabilized, but she is going to need surgery right away to remove the blood. So I need a family member to sign the consent form."
"I guess that would be me, I'm her fiancé." Elliot announced taking the form and signing it quickly and returning it to the doctor. "There you go."
"Thanks. Surgery is on the 4th floor, so you are welcome to come and wait in the waiting room up there." The doctor said as he turned and followed the gurney into the elevator.
"Thanks doctor!" Cragen called after him.
"That son of a bitch Livingston! I'm going to kill that bastard!" Elliot yelled in frustration.
"Elliot, calm down. Killing Livingston won't make things any better." Cragen reasoned.
"Hell yeah it will. Olivia is going up to surgery right now for God's sake! Because of HIM! He needs to pay for what he did." Elliot's face began to turn bright red and the veins in his neck showed more and more prominently.
"He will pay. We can charge him with attempted murder ON TOP of kidnapping, assault, and rape."
Elliot let out a groan from the back of his throat as he walked into the elevator, Cragen right behind him. When they arrived on the 4th floor, they took a seat in the waiting room, right next to the door to the operating room that Olivia was in.
Angel of Mercy Hospital Operating Room Tuesday June 10th, 2003 1:22am
A little over an hour and a half into the surgery, the heart monitors hooked up to Olivia began to beep wildly.
"She's crashing!" A nurse yelled out.
"Charge the paddles to 300!" The neurosurgeon called. "Ready? Clear!" he shouted as he shocked Olivia's heart. No change. "Charge to 360!" he called again as he repeated the process. Olivia's heart returned to a normal rhythm. All occupants of the room let out a sigh of relief. Once everyone was sure she was once again fully stabilized, the neurosurgeon returned to suturing the incision he had made on the side of Olivia's head, near her temple.
Angel of Mercy Hospital Surgery waiting room Same day 1:55am
The neurosurgeon entered the waiting room and walked up the Cragen and Elliot.
"How'd it go?" inquired Cragen.
"It went well. She gave us a bit of a scare, but we got her stabilized again. She's on her way to the ICU for recovery as we speak. She'll have to stay there for about a week." the doctor told them.
"What floor?" Cragen asked.
"2nd floor. But I suggest you wait a bit before going in to see her. Just give the nurses a little bit of time to get her all set up."
"Okay. Thank you so much doctor."
"Dr. Bullock. James Bullock."
"Oh. Thank you Dr. Bullock." Elliot said sincerely as he and Cragen once again headed towards the elevator to get down to the 2nd floor.
ICU 2:25am
"Alright, it's been a half an hour, I'm going to go see her." Elliot announced, not waiting for Cragen's reply before walking towards Olivia's room. When he entered the room, he was only a little bit shocked at the amount of monitors and tubes surrounding Olivia. He had seen victims in the same condition countless times. What made it difficult for him was that it wasn't JUST another victim. It was his partner lying motionless in that bed. His partner and fiancé. He was looking at the woman he loved with a tube down her throat because she couldn't breathe on her own. *I am going to kill that son of a bitch Livingston!* He pulled a chair next to the bed and sat down, taking Olivia's hand in his own. *I took so long to tell her how I feel and now I've come so close to losing her for good. Why didn't I tell her sooner? It was so stupid not to have told her sooner.* Suddenly he remembered the Ashley Austin-Black case. Olivia had returned to work after having picked Ashley up from the 27th precinct and driving her to the studio her mother was working at. She had told Elliot that they had arrived in the middle of one of Ricki's songs. *I only remember one line of it, but I can't stop thinking about that one damn line!* Perhaps it was because it held so much truth to how Elliot was feeling at that exact moment. ~But I wish I'd loved you then, the way I love you now.~ *See. I should have told her sooner* Elliot concluded. He placed his head on top of their entangled hands and closed his eyes. *Please God, let her be okay. Make her better*
TBC.
Author: Rachel
Series: Hmm. I guess since this is a sequel, it makes it a series. Haven't got a name for the series yet. Any suggestions? Rating: PG13 so far I guess
Category: angst, romance, drama, yadda yadda yadda. Whollota shippiness. Olivia & Elliot (duh).
Disclaimer: Mine the characters are not! To Dick Wolf and company they belong. Hey, man, didn't anyone ever teach you how important sharing is? Come on, get with it! Summary: How will Olivia deal with the aftermath of the Livingston case and how will it affect how she handles Elliot's proposal? And when Olivia's health takes a turn for the worst, how will Elliot react?
Spoilers: A little one for "Abuse" Feedback: Yes. Me want feedback!
Archive: Wherever, just email me.
Author's notes: Elliot's still divorced. Boo, Kathy. Boo! Oh, and keep in mind that I'm not a doctor, so if there are inaccuracies in medical conditions (even though research has been done) and procedures, don't yell at me. (Not that you would, of course) Just bear with me, I'm doing my best. Character thoughts will be between the *'s. Many Thanks to my Perfectly-Gracious-Beta, Caillean! You're the bestest! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------
SVU Squadroom Monday June 9th, 2003 9:30pm
Elliot looked at his watch and realized that it had been almost 6 hours since Olivia had disappeared into the crib for a "nap". *Geezus, she must really be tired* He got up to get some more coffee, stopping by Munch's desk on the way.
"Hey John. Where's Fin?" he inquired.
"He went to talk to Cragen. or to the bathroom. or something like that. I wasn't really listening."
"Okay.??"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. just. don't expect to get any 'Partner of the Year' awards anytime soon." Elliot criticized as he got his coffee and returned to his desk, chuckling. Munch just shrugged, put his hand to his chest and frowned, pretending to be truly effected by Elliot's words.*I should get an award for tolerating everyone else's cocky sarcasm* he thought. *Oh wait, I'm thinking of MY cocky sarcasm. Whatever. I should still get an award!*
SVU Squadroom Same day 20 minutes later
Elliot was filtering through some files when Cragen stepped out of his office into the bullpen.
"Stabler." Cragen said, beckoning Elliot with his finger. Elliot stood up and walked to over to him.
"What is it, Captain?"
"Where's your partner?" he asked, surveying the squadroom.
"She went up to the crib to get some sleep." Elliot answered as he yawned.
"How long ago was that?"
"About 6 hours." Elliot said honestly.
"Well, I think she's got enough beauty sleep for right now, go get her. I have some more paperwork I need her to go through."
"Alright. I'm on it." Elliot replied as he started towards the stairs to the crib. He walked up the stairs swiftly and in no time was standing at the entrance to the crib. He opened the door and saw Olivia lying there, sleeping peacefully.
"Olivia, the captain wants you." Elliot called into the room. "Olivia? Olivia?" *Since when is she this heavy a sleeper?* Elliot's voice got louder as he approached her. "Olivia, knock it off! This isn't funny. OLIVIA! WAKE UP! CAPTAIN WANTS YOU. You have had your nap, now wake up!" He continued to shout her name as he shook her lightly, then harder, and even harder. She still didn't wake up. He checked her pulse, it was weak. He checked her breathing. It was shallow. He bounded down the stairs and towards Cragen's office, stopping at the door and panting for breath. "Captain, Olivia won't wake up!"
"What do you mean she won't wake up?" Cragen asked, the worry evident in his voice.
"I mean she won't wake up. I went in there, practically screamed her name, shook her. and nothing. She still wouldn't wake up. I checked, her pulse is weak and her breathing is shallow. " Cragen followed Elliot back up to the crib and Olivia was in the exact same position as she was before. She hadn't moved even a millimeter. Not even a toe or finger.
"Benson! If you want to keep your job, I suggest you cut the crap and wake up right now." Cragen said, assuming a threat would cause her wake up. It didn't work. *Maybe it's the pain meds. They do tend to make a person drowsy*
"What's wrong with her? Why won't she wake up?" Elliot shouted as he started to pace around the small confines of the room.
"I don't know, Elliot. We need to get her to the hospital." Cragen answered as the worry in his voice was replaced with fear. Elliot lifted her up into his arms and he followed Cragen down the stairs and out of the squadroom to the sedan. They drove to the hospital, using the sirens to cut through the traffic.
Angel of Mercy Hospital Same day 10:20pm
Elliot and Cragen busted through the emergency doors, Elliot carrying Olivia in his arms. A nurse jogged up to them and asked them what the problem was. Cragen flashed his badge while Elliot began to explain the situation.
"My partner won't wake up. We don't know what's wrong.." Elliot explained, trying to stay as calm as possible. The nurse called a doctor over, who in turn brought over a gurney. They put Olivia on the gurney and wheeled her down the hall and disappeared into a trauma room. Elliot and Cragen started to follow the doctor and nurse, but another nurse stopped their progress.
"You're going to have to wait out here while the doctor works on her." The nurse told them before turning on her heel and walking back into the room.
Angel of Mercy Hospital Same day 11:45pm
Elliot had yet to learn anything about his partner's, and soon to be wife's, condition, so he had begun to pace and walk around in circles around the chairs in the waiting area.
Cragen was getting especially annoyed by Elliot's restlessness. "Elliot, sit down. Your pacing is giving me a headache." Elliot just sighed and went to sit in one of the hard plastic chairs next to Cragen. Just as he was about to get slightly comfortable, the doctor walked out of the trauma room and approached them. They both stood abruptly and met the doctor halfway.
"What's going on doc, what's wrong with her?" Elliot asked absently rubbing the back of his neck.
"Well, your partner."
"Olivia." Elliot interrupted.
"What?"
"Her name is Olivia. I just wanted you to know what her name was. So she doesn't end up a Jane Doe on the chart or something."
"Oh. Alright. Olivia is suffering from a subdural hematoma most likely caused by blunt force trauma. Now according to the amount blood accumulated in the temporal lobes, it probably began to form about 2 to 3 weeks ago. Do you know of any incidents that may have taken place around that time?" The doctor explained.
Elliot and Cragen looked at each other as their eyes widened. "Richard Livingston." they said simultaneously.
Cragen rubbed his forehead, processing the information.
"Now," the doctor continued, "Olivia is stabilized, but she is going to need surgery right away to remove the blood. So I need a family member to sign the consent form."
"I guess that would be me, I'm her fiancé." Elliot announced taking the form and signing it quickly and returning it to the doctor. "There you go."
"Thanks. Surgery is on the 4th floor, so you are welcome to come and wait in the waiting room up there." The doctor said as he turned and followed the gurney into the elevator.
"Thanks doctor!" Cragen called after him.
"That son of a bitch Livingston! I'm going to kill that bastard!" Elliot yelled in frustration.
"Elliot, calm down. Killing Livingston won't make things any better." Cragen reasoned.
"Hell yeah it will. Olivia is going up to surgery right now for God's sake! Because of HIM! He needs to pay for what he did." Elliot's face began to turn bright red and the veins in his neck showed more and more prominently.
"He will pay. We can charge him with attempted murder ON TOP of kidnapping, assault, and rape."
Elliot let out a groan from the back of his throat as he walked into the elevator, Cragen right behind him. When they arrived on the 4th floor, they took a seat in the waiting room, right next to the door to the operating room that Olivia was in.
Angel of Mercy Hospital Operating Room Tuesday June 10th, 2003 1:22am
A little over an hour and a half into the surgery, the heart monitors hooked up to Olivia began to beep wildly.
"She's crashing!" A nurse yelled out.
"Charge the paddles to 300!" The neurosurgeon called. "Ready? Clear!" he shouted as he shocked Olivia's heart. No change. "Charge to 360!" he called again as he repeated the process. Olivia's heart returned to a normal rhythm. All occupants of the room let out a sigh of relief. Once everyone was sure she was once again fully stabilized, the neurosurgeon returned to suturing the incision he had made on the side of Olivia's head, near her temple.
Angel of Mercy Hospital Surgery waiting room Same day 1:55am
The neurosurgeon entered the waiting room and walked up the Cragen and Elliot.
"How'd it go?" inquired Cragen.
"It went well. She gave us a bit of a scare, but we got her stabilized again. She's on her way to the ICU for recovery as we speak. She'll have to stay there for about a week." the doctor told them.
"What floor?" Cragen asked.
"2nd floor. But I suggest you wait a bit before going in to see her. Just give the nurses a little bit of time to get her all set up."
"Okay. Thank you so much doctor."
"Dr. Bullock. James Bullock."
"Oh. Thank you Dr. Bullock." Elliot said sincerely as he and Cragen once again headed towards the elevator to get down to the 2nd floor.
ICU 2:25am
"Alright, it's been a half an hour, I'm going to go see her." Elliot announced, not waiting for Cragen's reply before walking towards Olivia's room. When he entered the room, he was only a little bit shocked at the amount of monitors and tubes surrounding Olivia. He had seen victims in the same condition countless times. What made it difficult for him was that it wasn't JUST another victim. It was his partner lying motionless in that bed. His partner and fiancé. He was looking at the woman he loved with a tube down her throat because she couldn't breathe on her own. *I am going to kill that son of a bitch Livingston!* He pulled a chair next to the bed and sat down, taking Olivia's hand in his own. *I took so long to tell her how I feel and now I've come so close to losing her for good. Why didn't I tell her sooner? It was so stupid not to have told her sooner.* Suddenly he remembered the Ashley Austin-Black case. Olivia had returned to work after having picked Ashley up from the 27th precinct and driving her to the studio her mother was working at. She had told Elliot that they had arrived in the middle of one of Ricki's songs. *I only remember one line of it, but I can't stop thinking about that one damn line!* Perhaps it was because it held so much truth to how Elliot was feeling at that exact moment. ~But I wish I'd loved you then, the way I love you now.~ *See. I should have told her sooner* Elliot concluded. He placed his head on top of their entangled hands and closed his eyes. *Please God, let her be okay. Make her better*
TBC.