Chapter 22 - Benson

Thanks for the reviews Mika Tsuki, christopher-meloni-freak, TeacherTam, qt-angel, Delila07, LivElRocks a lot, Lady Padfoot II, and Katydidit.
To whoever asked, Olivia doesn't know that the guys have a suspect yet. That'll come up a little later. And just because I spent forever today writing and catching up on this story, I'm posting two chapters, Olivia and Fin. They're both pretty long, so I hope you enjoy:)

Lyrics by Leann Rimes - I'll Get Even With You

For all the nights you held me close
Warmed my heart, when it was cold
When I was giving up you gave me love
From some dark alley in my mind
You made a hidden dream unwind
And turned my stumbling blocks to stepping stones
When the odds were against me
And I was lost with no will to go on
You wrapped your loving arms around my heart
Took my losing hand and led me home
I'll get even with you
For the hard times you've helped me through
I'm giving back to you
All the love you've given me
For the rest of my life
Every day and every night
If it's the last thing I'll ever do
I'll get even with you…

Benson

"Can I help you?" The man behind the counter sighed. He'd looked tired of being here already.

"Two coffees to go, please." I dug into my pocket and started pulling bills out.

I was at a coffee shop a block away from the hospital. I had decided to spare both Elliot and myself the torture of hospital coffee.

"That'll be six-fifty," he flatly stated, setting the cups on the counter in front of me.

As I began counting the money I had, I quickly realized that I was about a dollar short. Damnit… I cursed to myself. Now what? I glanced up at the man, a pleading look on my face. He just sighed and crossed his arms, like this was just another horrible event to add to his day.

"Here." I heard a familiar voice behind me as a ten-dollar bill appeared in front of me.

The man took it and started counting out my change as I turned around to face Fin.

"Fin, hey." I gave a surprised smile.

"Three-fifty's your change." The guy was so long gone that he didn't even bother trying to be nice anymore as he held out the money in his hand.

I accepted the money and turned back to Fin to give it to him. "Thanks."

He smiled, "Sure."

"Can I help you?" The man's voice was rude and abrasive as he snapped at Fin. Fin just ignored his tone and ordered.

He turned back towards me. "So how are you doing?"

"I'm good," I nodded. "What are you doing?"

He responded by picking up the two coffee cups that were on the counter. "Same thing as you."

"Where's John?" I asked him.

He appeared confused as he answered. "He told me he was going to the hospital to see Elliot. Didn't you see him?"

"No, I-" I suddenly cut myself off as a thought occurred to me. "Wait. How'd you know I'd be in the hospital?"

He shrugged and took a sip of the steaming coffee he was holding, not even blinking. "I assumed you'd still be there after falling asleep on top of Elliot."

I let out a small, barely noticeable gasp after he said that. "You saw that?" I felt my face starting to redden, revealing my embarrassment.

Fin nodded and grinned, obviously amused by the situation.

"Anyone else I should know about?" I almost begged as we walked into the cold morning air.

"Just John and Cragen."

"God." I bit the side of my tongue as I realized that practically everyone I worked with saw me sleeping with Elliot. Well, next to, I quickly corrected myself.

"Aw, you two were cute." He elbowed me and grinned again, letting me know he was just playing around. His joking just made me blush even more. "So how's Elliot doing?" He changed the subject.

"He's fine. The nurse said his x-rays were good, no skull fractures, and that he could probably get out today."

"How are you doing?" He asked me again.

"I'm fine," I insisted, locking gazes with him for a moment. "So, I haven't seen you the past few days."

He shrugged. "I was busy working your case, since I was the only one who could."

"What do you mean?"

He paused before answering, like he wasn't sure if he should tell me. "I wasn't the victim, I wasn't the suspect, and I wasn't the guy who beat the crap out of the suspect."

As I listened, I realized that he was talking about me, Elliot, and someone else. At first I thought the last person was me, but that didn't make any sense. As I thought about it, I realized Munch was the only person it could be.

"Munch beat up Elliot? When?"

Fin turned to me, trying to read my shocked face. "You mean you didn't know?" I shook my head, mouth still agape. "Oh," he sighed. "Well, since I already put my foot in my mouth… We were in the hospital the night you were attacked and John had just told me that it was Elliot. Then Elliot comes rushing in saying that he came as soon as he heard. John suddenly jumps him and uses him as a human punching bag."

"John did that?" I asked in complete disbelief. Though I'd seen Munch get aggressive during interrogations, he'd never really attacked anyone.

Fin watched me a few minutes before answering me. "He really cares about you," he spoke softly.

I turned my gaze to the sidewalk as I thought about what Fin had just told me. The both of us were silent as we continued walking.

We finally arrived at the hospital entrance a minute later. I pushed the door open and was met with a comforting whoosh of warm air.

As we walked past the front desk and up towards the elevator, I suddenly realized I had no idea what room Elliot was in. "Damn," I softly cursed to myself as I tried to recall at least which floor he was on.

"What?" Fin heard me as he pushed the button for the elevator.

"I have no idea what room Elliot's in," I shrugged my shoulders, becoming frustrated.

"Floor three, room 304," he instantly said as the elevator beeped and opened.

"How do you know that?" I detected a slight hint of surprise in my voice and tried to shake it off. People knowing things I didn't, by now, really shouldn't have amazed me. It seemed to be happening more and more often.

He pushed the button for the third level once we were inside the elevator. "I rode in the bus when they brought him in, and I was here for about five hours after that."

"Oh." As we arrived at the third floor, the elevator doors opened and we stepped out. "Which way?" I asked, noticing we could go left or right.

"That way," he pointed to the left and started walking, with me quickly tailing him. When we arrived at the right door, I didn't even bother knocking as I pushed it open.

Elliot was still in the bed, sitting straight up and looking at John, who was standing a few feet away from the bed. Elliot seemed to have an expression of frustration and slightly dazed. Once he saw me though, it quickly vanished and a slight smile appeared.

"Hey." I smiled back and went up to the side of his bed. "Here you go." I handed him one of the cups of coffee I was holding.

"Thanks." He reached over and grabbed it with both hands.

"Sure." I glanced over to where John was, cupping the warm coffee cup in both of my hands, keeping me warm. "Hi John."

"Hey Liv." He gave me such a warm smiled that I no longer needed the coffee to keep me warm. We just stared at each other for a moment as I thought about what Fin had said.

"He really cares about you…"

Suddenly, I felt myself looking at him in a new light. I was grateful for everything he's helped me through and done for me, but I had still seen him as the same Munch I'd always known, the sarcastic, government-hating, cynical, comedian. But now, I saw a new side, a sensitive, caring, almost vulnerable side.

"Here." Fin handed John one of the cups he was holding as well. Almost instantaneously, Fin's cell phone went off.

He excused himself and turned away from all of us as he answered it. "Tutuola. Yeah, we'll be right there." He flipped his phone shut and faced John. He gave him a look I couldn't read and said, "We gotta go." John apparently understood because he just nodded his head.

"Where?" I asked him out of simple curiosity.

Fin didn't reply. Instead, he looked up at Elliot. "Good luck getting out of here." He started hustling out of the room.

"Bye." Munch smiled again before jumping after his partner.

"Bye," I repeated, slightly affronted. I shifted my gaze to Elliot. "What was that all about?"

He shrugged and took a sip of his coffee. "You know how weird they can be sometimes," he commented, as if trying to end the whole conversation.

I looked at him and tried to study his face. When I was unable to, I just shook my head and sighed. "You're all weird."

"Why thank you." He smiled as I sat down in a chair next to his bed. I leaned back and crossed my legs, trying to get comfortable. "And who said you didn't have that comforting, nurturing gene?"

I just rolled my eyes and ignored him. Though I was pretending that all his teasing and ribbing upset me, it couldn't have made me happier. When I first found out that I had wrongly accused Elliot, I though I'd just totally screwed up our relationship forever. I mean, what kind of man would just forgive and forget someone accusing him of rape? Especially considering he spent his career putting people like that away. And yet, here he was, acting as if the past few days hadn't even happened.

"Elliot Stabler?" I heard the door open and turned to see a man in a white lab coat walk in, staring at a clipboard. He looked to be in his late forties with dark colored skin and jet black hair that was slicked back with gel.

"Yeah?" Elliot leaned over and put his coffee on the end table next to his bed.

"I'm Dr. Hoffman." He leaned over and shook hands with Elliot.

"Hi." He responded.

The doctor turned to me. "And you must be his sister the nurse was telling me about."

I just smiled and rose to my feet. "Olivia," I introduced myself and shook his hands, just going along with the sister thing.

"So how are we feeling today?" Dr. Hoffman stopped shuffling through the papers and put the clipboard under his arm, hugging it to his side.

"I feel great. Can I go?" He asked, almost too eagerly.

Dr. Hoffman smiled and nodded, knowing his feelings. "I understand that you want to leave, believe me, but I just want to make sure you're okay before I discharge you."

"I know," Elliot sighed.

"Now…" The doctor pulled his clipboard back out and read it over. "All your vitals look really good and your x-rays are clear of any fractures… So I suppose you are good to go."

"Really?" Elliot sounded hopeful as he asked in a tone that suggested that he thought the doctor was only messing around with him.

"Yeah." He nodded again. "Now you suffered a concussion when you fell, so I'm giving you a strict order of bed rest for the next few days. And you definitely can't do any heavy exertion, lifting, or exercising for at least a week. Also, I'm giving you a prescription for some pain medication, but use it only if you need it."

"Okay, is that all?"

"That's everything. I'll go get a nurse to get your discharge papers and get you out of here."

"Thanks," Elliot leaned over and shook Dr. Hoffman's hand again.

"No problem." He politely smiled and turned back towards me. "Take good care of your brother here, and make sure he stays in bed."

"I will," I grinned, looking over at Elliot.

Dr. Hoffman just continued walking out the door, shutting it behind him.

"I don't know," I shrugged as I walked up to Elliot's bed. I picked up his coffee from the table and handed it back to him. "This sibling thing's starting to grow on me. I've always wanted a brother."

Elliot laughed. "I don't know, Maureen and Kathleen used to say that. Now they aren't so thrilled with it."

At the mention of his kids, something occurred to me. "Do they know you're in here?"

"What?" He glanced up from the paper cup.

"Do your kids know you're here? In the hospital?" I clarified as I pointed down, giving him a visual.

He innocently shook his head, like them knowing would be pointless. "Why should they? It'll just scare them. Besides, you heard him," he nodded towards the door from which the doctor had only moments ago exited. "I'll be out before they even realize anything's wrong."

I studied his face for a moment, thinking up an argument. I realized that it might scare Elizabeth and Dickie, because they were still young, but Elliot's children had a right to know their father was in the hospital. But maybe they didn't need to know the events that placed him here.

"Fine," I sighed, failing at my attempt to create a half-decent debate. "But what are you going to tell them when they ask what happened to your face?"

He just shrugged his shoulders and gave me a look that said he'd deal with it when it came up. "Maybe it'll look better by the next time I see them?" He half-guessed, half-hoped.

I felt my expression filling with doubt the moment he even suggested that. "You haven't looked in a mirror, have you?"

He gave a lopsided grin at my question. "No."

I was going to get something to show him his reflection, but by the way he said no, it didn't sound like he wanted to see the damage done.

For a few minutes, Elliot and I just sat there in a comfortable quiet, neither of us having anything to say. I was content just sitting in the plastic chair, staring at the lid of my coffee, my mind completely clear.

That's why I wished everything would have stayed quiet. At least that way, I wouldn't have been reminded of the fact that I had been raped and had no idea by whom.

"Are you okay?" Elliot's voice sliced into the serenity, causing my head to snap up in surprise.

"What?" I asked, allowing myself time to compose, though I'd heard him perfectly.

"Are you okay?" He repeated, concern seeping through each word.

"Fine," I answered nonchalantly.

"I am lying in the hospital, courtesy of you," he raised his eyebrow. "You are any but."

"Oh," I realized quietly, lowering my gaze to the floor. "That."

There was a pause before I heard my partner's voice again. "Do you want to tell me what happened?" His tone was ginger as he carefully crept around the subject.

I took a deep breath and shut my eyes, determined not to let any more tears begin to fall. I held the breath in my chest for a moment before releasing it and looking back up, raising my eyelids. I turned to Elliot. His eyes were clouded over with solicitude. I couldn't bear to face them. I moved my gaze and started talking. I was surprised that I was still able to without my voice cracking.

"I was in my bed when a noise woke me up." I felt my shoulders shrug. "I ignored it." I opened and closed my eyes repeatedly, trying to blink away the tears that were flowing back with the equally suppressed memories. "Then I saw a shadow in my doorway…" My stare flickered down to my lap as I watched myself subconsciously picking at the fingernails of one hand with another. "I jumped up to get my gun, but he fought me back onto my bed. I tried to fight him, but he kept hitting me, punching me back down." I bit my lip and applied more and more pressure until I felt I was going to break skin. My eyes began to water and I knew I was on the verge of crying again. "During it, a car drove by the window and I saw his face." I lifted my hand to my face and wiped away tears that I knew were coming. "I don't know what I was thinking, but he looked exactly like you…" Once I had forced that out of me, I knew that I wouldn't be able to continue without bursting into sobs, so I ended it.

I just felt so ashamed of myself. I was a cop, a sex crimes cop nonetheless, and yet I couldn't even prevent my own rape. When Elliot didn't speak, I assumed he was thinking the exact same thing. I could almost hear the thoughts in his head.

She's been working with SVU for how long? And she can't even stop this from happening?

I hung my head and prepared to take the criticism I was expecting. Instead, I heard two words I'd said repeatedly over the past few days.

"I'm sorry." Elliot's voice was barely above a whisper, but I heard him clearly.

I raised my head level with his, locking gazes with watery eyes as well. "Don't apologize. It wasn't you. You have nothing to be sorry about."

He watched me a moment before replying. This time, he spoke just as softly, but in a shakier voice. "I'm sorry that you had to go through that. I'm sorry that no one was there to protect you." There was a small pause before he continued. "And I'm so sorry that you had to think, for even a moment, that I would ever betray you or hurt you in the slightest way like that."

As I looked over his face, a small smile crossed my lips before I lost control of the tears I desperately was trying to hold back.