Influenza

Chapter Twenty Two

Disclaimer: None of it is mine, excluding the idea for the story, of course.

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When she had told him that all she wanted to do that night was take a hot shower, she hadn't been joking. But, as she walked back to her apartment, she realized that showering would probably be a bit of a problem, with the bandage covering the most of her lower arm. So, instead, when she got home, instead of jumping into a nice, steaming shower, she drew up a bath, forgoing the bubbles.

Sighing as she slid into the hot liquid, she thought of the events of the day. Sure, she had gone through similar situations before, but never had she been through such a close call, and never before had Elliot tried to baby her, as if she wasn't capable of disarming a suspect. The thought still boiled her blood, and she imagined that she would be angry with him for quite awhile, until he had the chance to prove to her that he didn't see her as the proverbial damsel in distress. And she knew better than to hope for one of those kinds of situations.

As she bathed, being careful not to wet her stitched arm, she wondered what she would do with her day off. Maybe she would just spend a lazy day at home, not changing out of her pajamas and getting up only to get more ice-cream. Then again, her apartment could use some mid-winter cleaning, and Christmas was less than two weeks away, and she had barely done any shopping at all. This year she had to think differently than all the previous ones. With Munch, Fin, Alex, and Cragen, things would be the same. But when it came to Elliot and his kids, she couldn't be so universal with the gifts. They had to have meaning. Now they weren't just her partner and her partner's kids, it was her boyfriend and her boyfriend's kids.

Even though her former plan sounded a lot more appealing to her, Olivia decided that she would go to the mall the next day, and then clean her apartment later on in the evening. Well, as much as she could clean with only one good arm, that was. Resting her back against the edge of the tub, she allowed herself a few more minutes of laziness, and thought. She had a fairly good idea of what to get Kathleen, having remembered the girl speaking of a certain light-blue soccer ball she had her eye on, but as for the others, she had no clue. What did you get thirteen year old twins and a nearly twenty-one year old college student?

Then again, Dickey liked video games, and Elizabeth loved and kind of purse, so they might not be that hard to get something for. All Olivia would be have to do would be to call Elliot and ask him what they didn't have that they wanted, even if she was still a bit upset with him. For Maureen, she would have to do a bit more thinking, but she was sure she could find something the girl might like. The one person she knew she would end up stressing over was Elliot. How many times before had she bought a gift for a boyfriend? Not very many...

A watch maybe? His was a bit old, she thought. That seemed a tad bit impersonal to her, though, and she wanted whatever she got to be something only she would get for him. She would probably end up getting one of the guys a watch, and to get your boyfriend the same thing you got a simple friend didn't sound so glamorous.

With another sigh she got out of the tub, pulling the drain, then grabbing a towel from the rack next to her. Wrapping it tightly around her body, she turned the fan on, to un-fog the mirrors, and left the bathroom to change. After putting on a pair of jogging pants and a simple, black tank-top, she went back into the bathroom and towel-dried her hair, then brushed her teeth.

She ate Roman Noodles for dinner, as she watched the local news, and then skipped over to the weather channel to see what it would be like the next day. Not surprisingly, it would be in the late 30's, and thankfully, with no chance of snow or rain. The skies would be clear, and hopefully that would mean with the sunlight it wouldn't seem so cold. When she was done eating, she washed the dishes that were in her sink and then sat back in front of the TV, surfing through the channels for the lighter part of half an hour before giving up and deciding to call it an early night. She wouldn't have to be up so early in the morning, but she probably needed to catch up on her sleep, and had the perfect opportunity to do so.

So, she shut off the TV and headed into her bedroom, slipping under the covers and wincing slightly at the stab of pain coming from her stitched up arm. Being mindful not to hit it again, she found a comfortable spot and moved around until she was satisified in the position she was in, then closed her eyes and waited for sleep to take over. She had a very busy day ahead of her, and the sooner it was over, the better.

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He called his kids when he got home. It had become a habit for him lately, now that he couldn't see them when he walked through the door. The phone calls never lasted too long, just enough time for him to ask how their day went and what they were planning on doing the next one. Maybe, subconsciously, he just wanted to assure him that he was alive, and that some criminal hadn't gotten the better of him during the work day. Either way, they didn't seem to mind the daily talks and he thrived on them. Lately he had been feeling a bit lonely.

They were supposed to be staying at his apartment that night, since it was a Tuesday, but Kathy had plans the next night, and so they had decided to switch the week around, so that the kids would be at his apartment Wednesday and Thursday, and then they would go back to their mothers until the next Tuesday. It wasn't very much time for him to spend with his children, but with his job he probably wouldn't have been home much anyway.

After the phone call he clumsily made his way into his bathroom, where he turned on the water, in order to take a bath. With his ankle the last thing he needed was to take a shower, and his muscles were sore and in need of a relaxing, hot bath anyway. Having to sit on the edge of the tub, in order to do so, he undressed and then slipped into the water, groaning when his hurt ankle moved slightly.

As he laid in the warmth of the tub, he tried his best not to think about the things that had gone on that day. He knew that Olivia was upset with him for allowing his emotions to get the better of him, and truthfully, he was disappointed with himself for the same reason. When they had started up their relationship, he had been overly confident that he would manage to keep work and home separate, and not focus on the more intimate part of his life with her, and only think of their working relations. His pride had been his downfall, and he wasn't that surprised by it.

Wondering how on earth he was going to manage to make this up to her, he carefully washed, making sure not to bump his ankle and cause himself any more pain. He wasn't going to call her just yet, because he knew she wouldn't want to speak with him, but he had to do something, relatively soon. Maybe the next day, since they had time-off. But what could he do to make up for his idiocy that afternoon?

Pondering over his options, he let the water out of the tub and then got out of it himself, wrapping a towel around his waist and making his way into his bedroom slowly, a wince on his face from walking without the crutches. Realizing that he wouldn't be able to get to her apartment, unless he took a cab, and that she most likely wouldn't want to see him, he contemplated sending flowers. She liked roses, he knew, white ones with pink edges. Perhaps that would cool her down a bit.

Deciding that flowers was what he would do, he changed and then found the phone and phone-book, then searched the yellow pages for somewhere near by. April Flowers was only two blocks down the street, and their business hours showed that they would be open for fifteen more minutes, so he called and ordered a dozen roses to send to her the next afternoon. Hopefully, they would work, and the next night she would call and all would be back to normal.

Hopefully.

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Olivia set her bags on the ground, searching through her purse for the key to her apartment, with her good arm. When she found them she sighed and opened the door, then grabbed her bags once more and entered the apartment. She set them down on the table and made her way to her couch, where she tiredly sat down and closed her eyes. Shopping was exhausting.

After spending hours at the mall and walking up and down Time Square, she had finished with most of her shopping. The soccer ball Kathleen had wanted was at some sports store that Olivia had found after half an hour of searching for, and while she was there she had found a pink tennis racket. From what she had heard, Lizzie played tennis, and she knew the girl's favorite color was pink, so she bought it, hoping that the thirteen year old didn't own it already. Dickey had been a bit harder to shop for, but she had found a game shop, and called Kathleen's cell phone, quizzing the girl on what the boy would want. Kathleen described some football game to her and Olivia found it, and then asked what Maureen would like.

After getting a few suggestions she had searched around the mall, having a harder time finding something for the oldest of Elliot's children than the others. When it was over with, she had bought the girl a large gift-basket from Bath & Body Works, along with a gift card from a store that Kathleen had mentioned Maureen shopped at. It wasn't as original as the others, but then again, Maureen was much older and in college, so it seemed like something she would need.

The adults had been much harder to shop for. Since Munch had been complaining of the piece of crap watch he owned, she had bought him a new one, along with a pack of surgical masks, knowing how paranoid he was when it came to diseases. For Fin, she had gotten him his favorite type of cologne, and, as a joke, a pack of scrunchies. Alex was easy, Olivia got her what she always did. Perfume. On Christmas, Olivia would open her gift from the ADA to find the exact same thing. Cragen had been one of the hardest to find for. Olivia wasn't sure what to get her boss, and in the end, she had gotten him a watch as well. Men were terrible to shop for.

When it came to Elliot, she hadn't even tried to find him something. That would require a lot more time that she was in the mood for shopping. Her arm was hurting and all she had wanted was to go home and lie down. So, she cut her losses and headed back to her apartment.

Five minutes of lying down on the couch and her buzzer went off. Olivia sighed and dragged herself from her comfortable spot, and headed for the speaker, pressing the button and asking who was at the other end.

"Delivery for Olivia Benson?" the man on the other end said.

"Come on up," she sighed, pushing the button to unlock the door. A few minutes later and there was a knock at her own door, which she opened immediately, having been waiting for whoever and whatever it was.

Only to be greeted by a mass of white roses. Not only white roses, but white roses with pink tips. Olivia caught herself grinning and stopped, who knew who the flowers were from? There was a good chance they weren't from him, of course, although, she couldn't think of anybody else that would send her a dozen roses.

She took the flowers from the man and signed, then shut her apartment door and took them to the kitchen, where she set them down on her counter and looked for a note. After a few seconds she found it, and took it out, to read it. It was a small white card, with two words on it. I'm sorry. She grinned again, and turned it around to see if there was a name on the back side. Instead of another name, she found two more words. Call me?

Olivia set the card down and looked over at her phone. OK, so maybe she wasn't that mad at him anymore. She couldn't blame him really, because she probably would have done the same thing, had she been in his position. Besides, she needed some clues on what to get him for Christmas...

Picking up the phone, she sighed. One dozen roses and she turned to mush. How typical.

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A/N: Anyway... Let me know what'cha think of it.