In The End – Chapter Three

Elliot's Apartment

9 O'clock that night

Elliot said as he sat on his couch. He had been watching TV, but there was nothing on, so he just sat there thinking about Olivia. All of a sudden, a knock at his door startled him out of his thoughts. He grumbled as he walked to the door. He opened it and was surprised by what he found. "Olivia?" He asked, as he looked at the person standing in front of him, wearing large, black sweats, a baseball cap pulled down to cover their face, and large, dark sunglasses.

The figure nodded as it fell towards Elliot. "Olivia!" He shouted as he carefully picked her up and brought her inside. He kicked the door shut behind him and lay her gently on the couch. Olivia moaned as she tried to sit up, and just lay back down. She took her cap and sunglasses off, making the huge, dark bruises and her swollen face visible.

Elliot gasped. "Oh Liv," he said as he took her into his arms. "Clay?" He asked quietly.

Olivia nodded and began to cry. Elliot rocked her gently in his arms and consoled her. "It's okay Liv…I've got you…he can't hurt you now," he told her as he kissed her head.

Olivia quieted down as she lay in Elliot's arms. "I need you to take me to the hospital," she told him.

Elliot nodded. "Okay…I'll take you. Do you want to go now?" He asked her.

Olivia nodded. "Yes…" she told him.

Elliot stood up and got his keys. "Do you want me to carry you?" He asked her.

Olivia nodded. "I feel too faint and weak to walk," she admitted quietly.

Elliot picked her up and cradled her injured body in his arms gently. He carefully made his way out of his apartment and down to his car. He gently lay Olivia in the passenger seat of his car, and set off for the hospital. "What did he do to you?" Elliot asked.

Olivia sighed and a tear ran down her cheek. Elliot held her hand and squeezed it. Olivia took a shaky breath before she started. "He's been hitting me, pushing me around for a few months," she told him, "but it's gotten worse and worse. Tonight…he…he raped me."

Elliot gasped and looked over at Olivia. "Oh Liv…I'm so sorry…oh god…" he said, upset, and angry that this happened.

Olivia nodded. They pulled up to the hospital, and Elliot got out of the car. "You stay here, I'll go get someone," he told her. He ran into the hospital and up to the Emergency desk. "I've got my best friend in my car out front. She's been beaten and raped," he told the nurse. The nurse nodded and paged a doctor and some nurses who ran up to Elliot and followed him out to his car. They lay Olivia on a gurney and wheeled her into the ER. Elliot followed close behind, holding Olivia's hand.

"Okay, I need a CBC, CTC, EKG, CAT. Give her 10 cc's morphine, a full body x-ray, and then I want an ultrasound," the attending doctor shouted at the nurses who scurried off to do her orders.

The doctor pulled some gloves on looked at Olivia. "Hi, I'm Doctor Hayden," she said to Olivia. "I'm going to need you to tell me exactly what happened, okay?"

Olivia nodded. "My boyfriend, Clay, he's been hitting me for a few months. It was small at first, but in the past few weeks he's started throwing me around, pushing me into furniture. Tonight…he raped me," Olivia said.

Dr. Hayden made some notes on Olivia's chart. "Have you ever gone unconscious after these fights?" She asked.

Olivia nodded. "Most of the time these past few weeks," she told the doctor.

"Okay, I'm going to do a rape kit before we get you up to x-ray. I'm going to need to contact the police and take pictures of your injuries," Dr. Hayden informed her.

Olivia gritted her teeth and looked at the doctor. "I am the police," she told the doctor.

Dr. Hayden frowned and looked at Elliot. "I'm assuming you're not the boyfriend," she said.

Elliot nodded. "I'm Detective Stabler, with Special Victims Unit. I'm her partner, and her best friend," he told her.

Dr. Hayden nodded and turned to Olivia. "Would you like him to stay?"

Olivia looked at Elliot who shrugged. "I can wait outside," he told her.

Olivia shook her head. "No, please stay El," she said. "I need you here," she told him.

Elliot nodded, and stood by her side, holding her hand as Dr. Hayden performed the rape kit.

Once she was done, Dr. Hayden took her gloves off, and pulled up a chair to talk to Elliot and Olivia.

"Miss Benson, did you know that you were pregnant?" Dr. Hayden asked.

Olivia shook her head. "No…"

"Wait," Elliot interrupted. "What do you mean 'were'?" He asked.

Dr. Hayden smiled sadly at Olivia. "Unfortunately the rape and the beatings caused you to miscarriage," she told them. "You were about a month along, which is probably why you didn't realize it," she said. She stood up and began to head out of the door. "I'm going to give you guys a few minutes alone before the nurse comes to take you up to x-ray," she said as she walked out of the door, closing it behind her.

Elliot looked at Olivia, who was staring straight ahead, looking very pale. He cleared his throat. "Liv…?" He said quietly.

"That bastard killed his own child," Olivia said angrily, before looking at Elliot with tears in her eyes. "If I had known I was pregnant…I wouldn't have stayed there…" she said.

"I know Liv…I know…none of this is your fault though. You know that Liv," he said as he brushed some hair out of her face.

Olivia nodded. "I don't know what I ever saw in him," she spat out.

"Don't worry," Elliot said as he put an arm around her. "We'll make sure you never have to see him again," he told her as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

The nurse knocked on the door and took Olivia up to be x-rayed. Elliot stayed behind in the hospital room to call Cragen.

"Hello?" Cragen said.

"Cap, it's Elliot," he said.

"Where are you?" Cragen asked. "I've been trying to call you all night. Casey put a rush on the search warrant, and you can go," he told Elliot.

Elliot sighed. "It's too late. Liv showed up at my apartment around 9. We're at the hospital. Clay raped her, and beat her," Elliot told Cragen sadly.

"Oh god," Cragen said. "How is she?"

"Physically, other than the rape, bruises, and probably a few broken ribs, she's going to be okay. Mentally…I don't know. She was pregnant Cap…she was pregnant and he caused her to miscarriage," Elliot said as he began to cry.

"Oh man…" Cragen said. "I'm going to send Munch and Fin to pick Clay up. Casey and I will come by tomorrow to see her. Hang in there," he told Elliot.

Elliot closed his phone and put it back in his pocket. He hung his head and rubbed his face with his hands. He blamed himself for not realizing this, and not stopping it. He tried not to cry, but he was too upset. He lay his head on the bed and let the tears fall. Olivia found him there when the nurse wheeled her back into the room. She got out of the wheelchair, closed the door, and walked slowly over to Elliot. She put sat down on the bed and wrapped her arms around Elliot.

"Shh…El…it's okay El…it's not your fault," she told him.

Elliot looked up at her. She wiped the tears off his cheek as she listened to him. "I should have known something was going on…I should have helped you," he said.

Olivia shook her head. "You couldn't have done anything. I didn't want anyone to find out, so I didn't let on. Elliot, look at me," she said. She took his face in her hands and made him look into her eyes. "If anything, you saved me," she told him.

Elliot nodded and pulled Olivia into a hug. "I'm sorry…I'm the one who should be comforting you right now…How are you feeling?" He asked her.

Olivia shrugged. "Dr. Hayden gave me a prescription for some pain pills. She said I could go home," Olivia said sadly. "But I don't have a home to go to," she said.

Elliot squeezed her. "Yes you do…with me…you will stay with me," he told her. "Let's go, okay?" He asked her.

Olivia nodded and smiled weakly. She got into the wheelchair and Elliot wheeled her out to the car. They drove back to Elliot's house in silence.

Elliot's Apartment

Elliot helped Olivia up the stairs and into his apartment. Olivia sat down on the couch, and Elliot went into the kitchen to get her something to drink. He brought back two bottles of water, and handed her one. He watched her as she silently sipped her water. "What ya thinking Liv?" He asked her quietly.

Olivia sat her water bottle down on the coffee table and looked at Elliot. "I'm thinking about the baby," she told him.

Elliot nodded and waited for her to continue. "I'd never really thought about having a baby with Clay. I guess I knew we weren't right for each other from the beginning, but then once he started hurting me, even if I had thought about it, I wouldn't have gone through with it. I never thought I loved Clay, so having a child with him really wasn't an issue. I guess I just wanted someone to come home to…but after a while I didn't want to go home at all. Now, knowing that I was pregnant, so many thoughts are going through my head," she told Elliot as she reached for his hands.

Elliot took her hands in his and entwined his fingers with her. "Like what?" He asked, waiting for her to continue.

"Like would I have been a good mother…what my baby would have looked like…would it have been a boy or a girl…would I marry Clay…things like that. Now that I think about it all…in my heart I don't know if I would have truly loved my child. I mean…it would have been a reminder of the fact that Clay had hurt me…like I was for my mother," she said. "But it still would have been my child…" she shrugged. "I'm not really sure what to think," she told Elliot honestly.

Elliot nodded and smiled comfortingly at her. "You know what I think?"

"What?" Olivia asked as she looked up at him.

"I think that maybe you weren't meant to have that baby…I don't know," he shrugged, "Maybe it all happened for a reason," he said.

Olivia smirked. "That's so cliché," she told him.

Elliot smiled. "I know…but I know that if; that when you do have a child of your own, that you will be a great mother and you will love your child," he told her reassuringly.

Olivia smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks El," she said, stifling a yawn. "Thanks for everything…"

Elliot gave her a hug. "Let's get you to bed," he said as he stood up.

"I'll just take the couch," Olivia said, stretching out.

Elliot shook his head. "Liv, you're in no condition to sleep on this hard couch. No, you'll take my bed until you get better," he told her as he helped her up.

"Well I don't want to throw you out of your own bed," she said nicely. "We can share," she decided.

Elliot nodded. "Okay, fine with me," he said. "That way I can keep a close eye on you," he said.

Olivia didn't argue. Normally she would have refused his protection. But right now, she knew that she needed it more than ever. She just needed someone to comfort and take care of her. Elliot helped her into his room.

"I'll uh…I'll leave you in here to change into some pajamas," he said as he handed her one of his large, old shirts and a pair of boxers.

Olivia smiled as Elliot shut the door behind him. She took her sweat pants off, and tried to bend down to pull the boxers up, but it hurt her too much. She then tried to take her sweatshirt off, but she had no luck there either. She sat down on the bed and sighed. "Elliot," she called.

Elliot yelled from the other room, "Yes?"

"I need your help," she admitted.

Elliot came in from the living room, and averted his eyes when he saw that she had no pants on.

"I can't do this El," she told him. "It hurts too much."

Elliot nodded. He picked up the pair of boxers he had given her and bent down in front of her. She placed her hands on his shoulders and stepped into the boxers. He pulled them up quickly, not making eye contact with her.

"Sweatshirt," she said embarrassingly.

Elliot nodded. He eased the sweatshirt off of her arms as gently as he could. He blushed when he saw that she was only wearing a sports bra underneath. But his embarrassment turned to anger when he saw that horrid bruises and welts on Olivia's abdomen. "Oh god…" he said looking at them. "Does it hurt bad?" He asked her.

Olivia nodded. "Can you help me put the cream on?" She asked him. "The doctor said it would sting…and right now I just can't handle to do it myself," she said honestly.

Elliot nodded, and got the cream off of the dresser. "Lay down on the bed," he ordered her.

Olivia lay on the bed, and closed her eyes as Elliot began to apply the medicine. She winced in pain as he made contact with her skin.

"Sorry," Elliot said. "I'll do it as fast as I can," he told her. Once he was done, he blew gently on her wounds to dry the cream.

Olivia shivered. It wasn't just pain she was feeling right now. She felt a warm feeling enter her body, but she shook the thought of it out of her head.

Once it was dry, Elliot helped Olivia sit up. He picked up the shirt and helped Olivia put it on. He eased it onto her arms, and then over her head. He pulled it down over her head, and when her head popped out, their faces were dangerously close.

Olivia's breathing got heavy, and Elliot's heart began to beat very fast. They locked eyes, and stood there for a second before Elliot blinked several times and stepped back. "Um…you okay?" He asked her.

Olivia nodded and blushed. She got into bed carefully and pulled the covers tightly over her. Elliot went into the bathroom, and came out a few minutes later, joining her in bed.

He turned off the lights and snuggled under the covers. Olivia rolled over in bed and scooted towards Elliot. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back to his chest. Olivia sighed peacefully and closed her eyes. She could feel Elliot's heartbeat lulling her to sleep. "El," she said sleepily.

"Yeah," he said, yawning.

"Thanks," she said. "Thanks for everything…"

Elliot caressed her cheek and kissed the top of her head. "You're welcome Liv…that's what best friends are for," he told her.

Olivia smiled to herself. They were indeed best friends. But did best friends blush when they helped each other change? Did their heart speed up at the sight of each other? Olivia sighed silently. Maybe they were more than best friends. Only the future would tell.