How Does It Feel

Chapter Five

Disclaimer: Not mine.

A/n: I am so sorry that it's taken this long to update. But, I've had so much to do with moving and the start of school. Plus, we didn't get the internet until Friday, so I've been scrambling to finish this chapter so I could update it, so after watching L&O:SVU on TV today I finished it (the chapter) and here it is. Hope you like!
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Elliot woke in the middle of the night to the sound of panicked cries coming from across the hall. His initial thoughts were of Maureen, the screams were, in fact, coming from her room, but then he remembered. That room was no longer occupied by his first born but instead by Olivia, his partner. In the short millisecond it took for those thoughts to cross his mind he was out of bed and quickly running to the source of the cries, his mind buzzing with the thousands, millions of possibilities.

In an instant he was at the door to Maureen's old room, now turned into the guest bed, the thought of knocking never once crossed his mind and he thanked God that she had left the door unlocked. He rushed into the room and was relieved when he say that it was void of anybody except for Olivia, and himself. He rushed to her bedside where she was moaning in agony, tossing and turning against an unseen assailant. He grabbed her shoulders and gently shook her, "Liv, wake up."

She jerked awake yelling and hitting. He took a few good blows before grabbing her arms as forcefully as he could without causing her pain and pulled her close to him. His arms wrapped around her body he held her as tightly as he could, again without hurting her. "It's ok, Liv. It's just me. Don't worry, I'm here," he whispered into her hair, "It's alright. You're alright. It was just a nightmare, only a dream. I'm right here."

She broke down in his arms, sobbing into his bare chest. He let her cry, knowing that for her shedding tears was a rare occasion, and that this would most likely be the only time she would cry though the whole ordeal. He wasn't sure how long they stayed like that but he did know that by the time her cries turned to sniffles and the occasional hiccup it was beginning to get light outside, and he could see the starts of a pink sky through a window in the room.

When the hiccups finally subsided she pushed back from him, breaking his strong hold on her. She looked up at him, her eyes red and puffy, tears streaking her face. He gave her a small, sad smile and cupped her face in his hands, wiping away the tears with his thumbs, then placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. "You wanna talk about it?"

To his surprise she nodded. She told him about her dream, her voice breaking. "He broke in...he...you were lying on the floor and there was blood...everywhere. Oh, God...El, it was horrible. He came at me, he had a gun, and he...he–" Elliot pulled her back to him, and she clung onto him for dear life. "The whole time that he was...," she spoke into his chest, "the only thing that I could think of was that I would never see you again. And that it was all my fault."

He ran his hands up and down her back, so as to comfort her. "It's alright, 'Livia. I'm still here. I'm not going anywhere. You don't have to worry about that. I won't leave you alone, I swear. I'll always be here for you." He felt her sigh into his chest and realized then that he had no shirt on. It hadn't even occurred to him, or to her for that matter. Still, he didn't nothing about it. He just wrapped his arms around her tighter, afraid to let go.
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Olivia knew that she should probably break the embrace again, but she didn't want to. His strong hold on her was comforting, his warm touch taking away from the cold chill that her nightmare had left her in. She turned her head to rest her right cheek which was sticky from her tears and he absently began to run his fingers through her short hair. The sensation gave her chills. She never wanted to leave his arms.

"We should probably get ready for work." He said taking her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah," she sighed. Neither of them made a move to break the embrace.

A couple of minutes later she noticed that the sun had fully risen in the now clear blue sky. She closed her eyes with another sky and hesitantly pulled out of the warm hold he had on her. She looked at him through sad eyes that almost immediately fell on his bare chest. She quickly looked away, "we should probably take a shower. I know I need one, and with all the crying I din you probably do to."

His eyes narrowed, "that an invite?" He said with a cheeky grin.

She rolled her eyes, "outta my room, Stabler."

He held up his hands in mock defense, "alright. Fine. Don't bite my head of, ok?" He flashed her another grin, larger than the prior. "But, if you're ever offering, I'm game."

She threw a pillow at him and it hit him in the head, "out!," she yelled playfully.

He left the room laughing and a few seconds later she heard the door across the hall shut. Still smiling she got off of the bed and made her way down the hallway, looking for another bathroom. She found it and quickly undressed and stepped into the shower, turning the water on warm.

With her horrible nightmare now nothing more than a fleeting memory she finished her shower and went back to her room, toweling her hair dry. She began to get ready for work. As she pulled her black three quarter's length shirt over her head a thought crossed her mind. Elliot always knew how to make her feel better.

She smiled as she thought over what he had told her not to much earlier; I won't leave you alone, I swear. I'll always be here for you.

She hoped so.
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a/n: so there it is, hope it was worth the wait. Let me know what'cha think 'bout it. (Which means, push the blueish purple button that says review!)