A/N: Well I had written most of this chapter a long time ago, so that's why its up so quickly! You guys rock, sticking with my story! Please please please read and review!
Elliot gulped down the rest of his drink, struggling to remain sitting up. It had been two months, but he still hadn't managed to return to work- though he was scheduled to tomorrow. Knolls had resigned almost immediately following Olivia's death, and Cragen had agreed to step in until a replacement could be found. Elliot sighed and asked for another drink, and the bartender reluctantly handed him one. He nearly fell out of his chair reaching out to get it. Fortunately, someone grabbed his arms from behind and hauled him back. Elliot looked over and saw Winter O'Connor come to sit on the chair beside him. He didn't say anything, only looked at Elliot with a sort of sorrowful understanding. After a while Elliot asked him, "Why did you do it?"
"Do what?" Winter questioned, looking up at him.
"You went into the warehouse with Devon when no one else would." Elliot told him simply.
Winter gave a sort of sad smile, and said, "Because it was the right thing to do."
Elliot looked back at him, somewhat surprised. "That must be why you have all those awards." Winter was probably one of the most decorated lower level officers in the NYPD.
Winter laughed and replied, "Maybe."
"You better be careful, you could get yourself killed."
"Oh believe me, that wouldn't bother anyone. In fact, I bet my father would throw some sort of party if I died- after he sold my car and apartment, of course."
Elliot looked at him in a stunned sort of silence. "Do you really believe that?"
"It's true. So ya, I do believe it." Winter replied, and then said, "Come on, I'll drive you home. Riley's probably worried about you."
Winter walked Elliot up the steps and helped him into the apartment. Sure enough Riley was sitting up at the counter, on the phone trying to track down her father. She smiled in relief at Winter and walked over to her dad. Elliot smiled at her and kissed the top of her head when she gave him a hug.
"Goodnight honey." He told her, and then walked off to his bedroom. Riley looked after him and then turned back to Winter.
"Thanks for bringing him back."
"No problem. Do you have school tomorrow?" Winter asked.
"No. Summer break started last week. I'm supposed to go to this special pre-med thing at Stanford for three weeks starting tomorrow, but I don't think I'll go."
"Why not?"
"I just… it was something my mother really thought I should do. It's supposed to look really good on college apps and everything. But it's just going to be hard, you know?" Riley answered with a distant shrug.
"You should. I'll keep an eye on your father for you." Winter told her with a smile.
Riley smiled and gave him a hug. "Thanks." And then she placed a very light kiss on his cheek. With a slight wave she walked away into her bedroom. Winter stood quite stunned, and then finally summoned up his senses enough to head out.
The next day Elliot woke up with probably the worst hangover of his life. He stumbled out into the kitchen, digging around for Advil. Riley tapped him on the shoulder and handed him a glass of water and two of the painkillers. Elliot smiled at her and then gulped them down.
"Dad, Ashleigh's mom is going to pick me up at noon, you know she's going to that class at Stanford too. I'll call you when I get there." Riley told him, and Elliot nodded, somewhat surprised at her change of heart. He had had to drag her out of bed and take her to school in her pajama's the first day she was supposed to go back- some three weeks after Olivia died. Riley had thrown an absolute fit about going to school, and it had taken a week of his escorting her around to her classes for her to finally be able to settle into it again. But Elliot wasn't going to let her lose everything too.
"Good, you'll have fun." He told her, looking at his beautiful daughter who looked so much like her mother.
"You're going to be okay, right?" Riley asked, her eyes wide with concern.
Elliot didn't answer and instead just gave her a gentle hug.
When he arrived at work, he was greeted by almost dead silence. Slowly making his way to his desk, he tried not to look at hers. But something caught his eye. A legal pad. He pulled it over to his side, and read through the first page and then skimmed through the rest. Then in the middle of a thought, Olivia's cursive stopped. Elliot bit his lip and then found a new sort of determination. He would solve this last case.
Present Time
Riley couldn't remember much of that evening after the man had dropped her on the hardwood floor. When she came to, she was laying on her couch wrapped up in a blanket with paramedics busily working on her. And Winter stood looking very concerned just behind them. As she opened her eyes she suddenly discovered that she could move again. "Glad you finally got here, Detective." She murmured, smiling slightly at him.
"I can't leave my favorite girl for to long," replied Winter, relief evident in his tone. "Plus, Devon would kill me if I let anything happen to you while he's gone."
Riley laughed and slowly pulled herself into a sitting position. "Did you catch those guys?"
Winter shook his head. "No, but we ran the prints, and surprise surprise, they belonged to a Winston Perry. Stupid bastard."
Riley sighed and said, "At least you got his, the other guy was wearing gloves. They were looking for the file and the notebook."
Winter didn't seem surprised and then sat down beside her as the paramedics walked off. "Do you remember that case a few weeks back where that woman's husband got shot?"
Riley nodded and said, "Of course, you were on the cover of the paper, carrying her out."
"Right. Well her husband was shot in the abdomen and she said the shooter snuck up on them in a stairwell. The MO didn't match your mother's because your father was the one who was supposed to be shot. But I'm positive Winston Perry shot him too. Same with your doctor."
"Oh my God… I thought that the lead guy in this was Myers, and he was put in jail right after my mother died. It doesn't make sense that Perry would act alone."
"That's because he's not. Your father was right. Myers isn't the lead guy in this."
"Then who is?" Riley questioned, her eyes wide.
"I don't know… but I think your Doctor Swanson gave us a clue. After he was shot, the crime scene investigators told me he sent a fax. It was important enough that he was willing to send it before taking care of himself."
"Who got the fax?"
"A Serena Warren, married to a Doctor living in the Florida Keys. That's what Devon is down there checking out." Winter replied. Riley shook her head, completely overwhelmed by the whole situation. "Why don't you get some rest, I'll finish up with the officer's here."
Riley smiled at him and he patted the top of her hand gently. He started to stand but she caught his hand and squeezed it. Winter seemed surprised but didn't let go of her hand. "Thanks Winter, for everything. And by the way- screw our age difference."
Winter didn't quite know how to respond and so just grinned.
Devon Masters walked cautiously through the streets of a small town in the Florida Keys. He kept his hand close to his gun, feeling more than a little uneasy. His boss had sent him down here to scope out the situation- nothing to dangerous. But still, Devon's gut kept twisting and was quite painfully nagging at him. He sighed and sat down under a shady umbrella, glancing through the little marketplace where people strolled about. A waitress came over and offered him something to drink, which he reluctantly accepted. The ocean crashed upon the beach nearby, normally a soothing sound to most people. But Devon was already quite bitter and the stupid ocean smacking the sand was enough to drive him insane. When the waitress brought him back his drink he sipped it slowly, and then picked up his phone. He dialed the familiar number and waited. Naturally, she didn't pick up. "Hey Riley honey, I was just checking up on you. Call me when you get this message. Love you." He said, flipping his phone shut. He really worried about that girl. She was his last connection to them, a living breathing reminder of what had once been. And ever so slowly she was slipping away too.
His partner, a young agent in training, trotted over and flopped down loudly in the chair beside him. Devon raised an eyebrow and sighed. "What's up?"
"That Doctor wants to see us, at noon." He said quite proudly.
"Oh wonderful. Glad you could arrange that Jack." Devon replied, downing the rest of his drink in one gulp.
Jack looked at him and asked with a grin, "How's your kid doing?"
Devon laughed and asked, "Which one?"
"The baby, of course. And the twins. And the cop." Jack answered, smiling even wider.
"The twins are great. The baby is adorable, looks just like her mom. And Riley… she's not doing so well."
Jack looked surprised but then grinned, "I'll help her feel better. She is so fine."
Devon glared at him and said, "Touch her and I'd be forced to kill you."
"Easy Devon. You know I wouldn't." Jack said with surprising honesty, "We should head over to Warren's." Devon nodded and stood.
Doctor Warren sighed as he shifted in his chair, eying the two FBI agents almost sadly. "My wife came here about two years ago… she doesn't like the heat too much."
Devon furrowed his brow slightly and asked, "Why did she come then?"
"Well she and her first husband were in the wrong place at the wrong time. The store they were at got robbed, and her husband was killed with three bullets through him. She got shot once, and almost died. But they sent her here to be rehabilitated, and that's when I met her." The Doctor said mournfully, "It took her about a year to get back to normal. But she still has nightmares about it."
"That's awful. I am so sorry." Devon said, feeling an unexpected surge of gut wrenching emotion.
Warren smiled slightly and said, "She will be okay. Look the reason why I called you down here is because of a fax I received. It was addressed to my wife, and had confidential stamped all over it. But the thing is its medical records. And they are from a Doctor Swanson in New York City."
Devon straightened in his chair slightly and was about to ask something when a maid walked in. "Doctor Warren I finished the upstairs except for your wife's room. Do you want me to start on dinner?"
"No… go wake up Serena. Tell her we have some important guests and to dress appropriately."
"Are you sure Doctor? Pardon me but she was sound asleep, I feel bad waking her. She had a rough night last night." The maid said hesitantly.
"Did she? I feel bad that I keep getting these night shifts."
"Yes. She was up on her laptop until about one, and then said she fell asleep a couple hours later. I woke up when she started screaming. She told me that she was fine though. I kept on eye on her until she fell asleep again."
The Doctor sighed and asked, "What was she doing on the laptop?"
"On the internet as usual looking up something." The maid said, and then she smiled slightly, "She told me that the laptop was the best gift you ever gave her."
"I know. One of the few times she has smiled was the day I got it for her. You would think that she'd like the hundred thousand dollar diamond bracelet I got for her more, but if she's happy, it's all good." The Doctor replied.
With that the maid trotted upstairs. She slowly opened the patio doors, allowing the warm light to flood in. "Mrs. Warren, you have to wake up. Your husband has guests." She said, and the woman on the bed moaned slightly and jerked the covers up over her face. The maid laughed slightly and yanked them off of her, earning her a glare. "What do you want to wear?"
"The blue dress is fine." yawned Serena, stretching slightly. The maid brought it back over and looked at her in an appraising sort of way.
"You need to get your hair re-highlighted. I can take you Monday."
"That's alright, I'd better drive my car. Lawrence thinks I don't like it." She answered dully, sitting down on the stool. The young maid smiled at her and brushed through her long auburn hair. Serena then slipped into her blue gown and asked, "Does it look okay?"
The knee length blue dress was a light fabric tying in a halter top with a very low back and layers of flared fabric at the bottom. "You look fantastic. Now go on downstairs."
When she arrived, Lawrence greeted her with the fax. "This came for you. Perhaps you can enlighten us as to its meaning."
She took the fax and glanced at it in surprise. But she nearly dropped it in absolute shock when she flipped to the second page, on which was scrawled in Doctor Swanson's handwriting a short note. Her eyes widened and she stood absolutely still. "Mrs. Warren, is something wrong?" asked Devon, and she whipped around to face him.
He stared briefly and then collapsed in a dead faint.
