How Does it Feel?
Chapter 8
Disclaimer: You know, I'm really getting tired of this damn thing. They're not mine.
A/n: (Takes cover) Alright! Alright! Here...just don't throw anything at me! No rocks, no tomatoes, no shoes!! And by the way...what the hell is a brickbrat, whatever it is...juts don't throw it!
Olivia's gun was instantly trained on him, but as quickly as her gun lined up with his chest his gun lined up with the back of Kathleen's head. Olivia could feel herself tremble.
"Drop the gun or I shoot the little bitch," he spat at her."Ok...ok! Just don't shoot her." She crouched down on the floor and placed her gun next to her foot, she then stood back up and kicked it slightly, sending it across the floor. Her eyes met Kathleen's which were wide with fear, pleading for help. Then Kathleen's eyes traveled to the floor and she whimpered, Olivia's followed Kathleen's and her breath instantly left her body when she saw what had horrified Kathleen, Elliot was lying on the floor unconscious, blood flowing from a wound in his stomach and pooling around him.
"Look at me you fucking bitch!" Albertson screamed. Olivia's eyes flew up to meet his cold gray ones. He laughed bitterly. "Oh...the murderer has a conscious?"
"You're brother was about to shoot my partner, there was nothing else I could do!"
"YOU KILLED HIM!"
"And if he dies you're no better than he was."
He snorted, "my brother was a good man."
"He raped and killed innocent women! That hardly qualifies him as a good man."
"You didn't know him!"
"I knew enough! All I needed to know was he had a loaded weapon pointed at my partner and he was hell-bent on pulling the trigger. I wasn't going to let him do that, I couldn't."
He swung the gun around so that it was pointing at her, "how does it feel?"
"How does what feel?"
"How does it feel to know that the one person you ever truly loved is gone, that the only person who ever gave a damn about you won't be there for you anymore, and there's not a damn thing you do to get them back? To know that there was something you should have done, something that could have saved them?"
"You give yourself too much credit, Albertson, my partner's not dead yet."
"Oh, he will be, soon enough. It doesn't feel good, does it? You know what, detective. You and I...were not so much different. You killed my brother, naturally I want to kill you. I kill your partner, you're gonna want to kill me. It's basic instinct...an eye for an eye."
"If my partner dies I won't have to kill you myself, the state of New York will do it for me. Cop killers go straight to death row."
She saw something move out of the corner of her eye and turned to look in the direction of the movement. Elliot had woken up and somehow gotten a hold of her gun, it was pointing up at Albertson who by then noticed Olivia's distraction and turned to see what it was himself. As soon as he saw the gun in Elliot's hands his own gun pointed at Elliot for a second time that night.
"Go to Hell, bastard," Elliot spat out as best he could as he pulled the trigger. The bullet hit Albertson in the stomach and he went flying backwards, out cold. Olivia ran to Elliot and checked the wound. He was bleeding badly.
"Oh God...oh God..." She searched her mind franticly for something that would slow the bleeding, she settled with his own shit. She pulled it off of him and pushed the cotton material against the wound, he cried out in pain and his head fell back to the ground.
"Damn it...Liv...stop!" He yelled.
She let go and took his hands and pressed them where hers had been. "I swear to God Elliot if you let go of that shirt I'll shoot you myself."
He snorted, "just...call for...a bus."
She pulled out her cell and dialed 9-1-1 letting them know the emergency and Elliot's home address. When she hung up she remembered Kathleen. She rushed over to where she was still tied to the chair and began to unknot the ropes. "What did he do to you Kathleen? Did he hurt you?"
She was sobbing, understandably, "I came to see Daddy, but he wasn't home. I used my key to get inside, and he was there in the living room waiting. He hit me and then tied me to the chair. That's it...is dad ok?"Olivia looked back at him, he was still awake which was good. With the T-shirt covering the bleeding had slowed significantly. "The bus...ambulance is on its way. He's going to be ok, he'll have to have surgery to get the bullet out, but I don't think it hit any organs, and least I hope not."
The last of the ropes fell to the ground and Olivia found Kathleen in her arms, crying her eyes out. She held on to the teen, letting her cry on her shoulder, trying to find some words that would comfort her, failing miserably. "It'll be ok, Kathleen."
She finally let go when the EMT's arrived and mumbled something about calling her siblings. Olivia let her go, and made her way to where they were putting Elliot on a stretcher. He had passed out again. Olivia took his hand into hers and gave it a small squeeze, "you promised you wouldn't leave me, Stabler. You said no matter what you'd always be with me. Don't break that promise, you hear me?" She kissed his hand and laid it back on the stretcher. Kathleen came back into the room and Olivia took her back into her arms.
"Will you take me to the hospital? I don't think I can drive."
"Of course."
The walked behind the EMT's and got into Kathleen's car (Olivia's was at her apartment). The followed the ambulance to the hospital and waited for hours while he was in surgery. Kathy brought Dickey and Lizze to the hospital, and Maureen had come from campus. They all waited together in silence. Kathleen still holding on to Olivia and occasional crying into her bloodstained shirt. Alex, Munch, Fin, and the Captain arrived as soon as they got the news and Alex had thought enough to bring Olivia some clothes to change into, but Olivia refused. She wasn't going to leave her chair until she knew that he was ok.
It seemed like an eternity before the doctor came out to tell them surgery had finished and Elliot was out in a drugged-induced sleep. He wouldn't wake for hours. He told them to go home and get some rest, but first they could go see him. Kathy and the twins did so and then left, against the twins will. Olivia had offered to stay with them but Kathy had told her she knew what was best for her kids. She wanted Kathleen to come but she refused, saying she had her car and could drive home later.
Olivia finally changed out of her dirty clothes and into the sweats and T-shirt that Alex had brought. She was thankful that they wore around the same size and Alex had brought loose fitting clothes. The Captain, Munch, Fin, and Alex all left after they went and saw Elliot. Maureen, Kathleen, and Olivia were the three that remained. They dozed on and off in the uncomfortable chairs waiting for the doctor to tell them he was awake. Olivia finally had enough of waiting and while the two young girls slept she went to his room.
He was still asleep when she walked in and pulled a chair up by his bed. For awhile she just stared at the heart rate monitor, scared that it would stop suddenly. After a while she was confident that it would stay normal and turned to look at him. "Don't ever do that to me again," she said to him though he was sleeping.
"Do what?" Came a hoarse reply that shocked her.
"You're awake?"
"Trying to find the strength to lift my eyelids at the moment, but yes, awake."
She chuckled softly, "you scared the shit out of me today."
His eyelids finally opened and he squinted at the brightness of the room, he licked his dry lips, "sorry."
"I forgive you. You know, for a second there I thought that you were going to go back on your promise."
"I meant what I said...I won't leave you."
She took his hand into hers again. "You almost did."
"But I didn't." He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, "I'm still here."
"You know, Albertson actually said something to me that made sense."
"Oh yeah. What was that?""He asked me how it felt knowing that the one person I ever truly loved was gone."
"How's it make sense?" "He was talking about you. He figured you'd bleed to death. But he was right...you're the only person I've ever loved...really loved."
"Really?" He said, confusion dancing in his eyes.
She smiled at him. "Really." Their fingers intertwined and she at their hands in their perfect fit, then she looked back up at him, his blue eyes meeting her brown ones. "I love you Elliot."
Now instead of confusion dancing in his eyes a smile did. "I love you too."
The heard claps from the doorway and immediately turned to see Maureen and Kathleen standing in the entryway of his room.
"How long have you two been there?" Olivia asked. "Long enough.""We woke up and you weren't there, so we figured this is the only other placed you'd be. We came to find you. Looks like we should have stayed put."
Elliot's eyes softened when looking at his middle child, "Kathleen...what did he do to you?" He asked fear in his voice.
"I'm fine daddy. He didn't hit me too hard. I'm more shaken than hurt.""He didn't..."
"No...he wasn't after me. He just saw me as a trap." "I'm so sorry."
"I'm fine, daddy. Really. I am. Now...we're going to leave you two alone to talk...Lord knows you need to." They turned and exited quickly. Giggling could be heard along with footsteps traveling down the hall.
Olivia turned back to look at Elliot. "So, what are we going to do about this?"
"Well...you could kiss me, seeing as I can't really move all to well."
She laughed and carefully leaned over and pressed her lips against his. His right hand found her hair and he pushed her deeper into the kiss. She smiled as the kiss broke, "now what?"
"Well...the good stuff can't happen until my wound heals."
"Kathy is out of the picture. We're getting a divorce."
"We can't be together until it's final. I know how much your religion means to you, I'm not going to let you cheat, nor will I be the other woman."
"I understand. We have plenty of time to think about that, my wound has a lot of time to heal."
She smiled and gave him another kiss, just a small one. "Not that I'm thrilled that you're awake...but I really need to get some sleep."
"Crawl in here with me."
"I can't do that, you've just gotten out of surgery."
"The wounds on the left side, get in on the right. I'll be fine as long as you don't try and push me out of the bed."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Come on."
She carefully crawled into the bed with him and carefully snuggled next to him. Both fell asleep almost instantly, and that was how Kathleen and Maureen found them nearly 2 hours later.
a/n: yeah, I know, sappy. Let me know what'cha think.