Chapter 25 - Stabler

Lyrics by Allison Krauss – When You Don't Say A Thing

It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart
Without saying a word, you can light up the dark
Try as I my, I could never explain
What I hear when you don't say a thing
You say it best, when you say nothing at all…

Stabler

Beautiful, I thought sarcastically as I looked at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. I was wearing hospital issued, light gray sweats that were way too small. I had to keep tugging at the bottom of the shirt to keep it from riding up and showing off my waist. Well, it was either this or sweatpants so big that I could fit my whole body into one leg.

I'd been in the bathroom of my hospital room for a good fifteen minutes trying to make my five-sizes-too-small outfit slightly presentable before I walked out. The doctor had finally given me my discharge papers, though it was almost five now. So I was getting ready to leave. I had to wear hospital clothes because they'd cut my other blood-soaked clothes off of me when I'd been rushed in. Getting out of the hospital was bittersweet. I was happy about it, but all I had to look forward to when I left was a bed at home for the next few days.

"Hey El?" I heard a knock on the door as Olivia. "Did you fall in?"

"I wish," I grumbled to myself quietly as I forced one last look in the mirror. I slowly opened the door, partly because I thought Olivia might still be behind it, and partly because I just didn't want to come out.

"What took you so… long?" Olivia was in the middle of throwing her coat around her shoulders when she saw me. She froze for a moment, amusement on her face.

"Don't you even," I pointed a warning finger at her.

"Even what?" She played with me, crossing her arms.

"You know what." I yanked at the bottom of my shirt, feeling it slowly rising up.

"I wasn't gonna say a thing," she smiled.

"Liar," I pretended to be mad.

"Fine then," she shrugged and began walking out the door. "You can forget about me giving you a ride and just walk home." I stood back and watched as she disappeared behind the wall, trying to figure out whether or not she was kidding. Remembering how cold it was and how far it would be for me to walk, I decided to take my chances and chase after her. I walked fast, quickly catching up with her.

"So that's how it is?" I asked her. "You're just going to make your brother walk home in this weather with a concussion?"

She searched her brain for a comeback. When something came to her, a grin crossed her face. "I think those sweats of yours should keep you warm enough."

I laughed at her remark, letting the subject drop from there.

--XXX--

"So when did it happen?" Olivia asked me, standing in the middle of my living room, looking around.

"When did what happen?" I asked, closing the front door behind me.

"The tornado that blew through here." She lifted a pile of clothing off of a navy blue recliner and chucked it over onto an even bigger pile that was gathering on the floor. "When's the last time you cleaned up this place?"

"It's not that bad…" I lied, glancing around. It looked like my laundry room had thrown up. I hadn't gotten around to cleaning everything once I had dropped the kids off at Kathy's.

Olivia turned to me. "And the crime rate in New York City isn't that high."

"I'll clean it up," I sighed, leaning down to pick up a coat that was settled at my feet.

"No you won't!" Olivia snatched the jacket up before I laid even a finger on it. "You are going to bed, doctor's orders." She looked at me, a defiant look on her face.

"You can't seriously expect me to stay in bed for the next three days," I wondered hopefully.

"I do," she said, literally pushing me towards my bedroom.

"Are you going to stay here and take care of me?" I asked sarcastically, smiling as I looked at Olivia, waiting for her answer.

"Maybe I will," she shrugged and said in a way that made me think she wasn't joking.

"No, Liv. I was just…" Even as I tried to stop her, something in the look that she gave me snapped my mouth shut. She didn't say anything, but I could sense what she was feeling and I could read it in her eyes. She was feeling guilty and felt that this was a way to make up for it. I didn't want to argue, so I just stared at her for a moment before answering her. "Whatever you want," I smiled.