And the hits just keep on coming. "Get off my bed!" he scribbled furiously.
"Come on, Dad," she pleaded. "You guys are perfect for each other. Everyone knows it, you're just too stubborn to admit it."
She stayed on his bed, he should have known she wouldn't give up so easily. After all, she did have Elliot's stubborn attitude and temper. He motioned her closer, his voice was weak and what he wanted to say would be more effective coming from his mouth, not the dry erase board.
"We had a fight," he struggled to utter those words.
"You and Olivia? About what?" Maureen took her dad's hand and looked at him sympathetically.
"Us. Me and her," he said quietly, hanging his head. "We said some things. And you know, some words aren't meant to be spoken."
"But sometimes you've got to say something," she said, trying to reassure her dad, whom she'd never seen look so defeated.
He had tried so hard to suppress his feelings about the divorce around his kids so they wouldn't worry. But here, it was different. This was Olivia he was talking about. Maureen could tell he loved her, it had always been there, the elephant in the room no one dared to bring up. But to hear him finally admit it, it was hard.
Silence. Neither knew what else to say. Maureen was the first to speak after they took a few minutes to collect their thoughts.
"Dad," she said, squeezing his hand, "it's okay to want to be happy again. Mom's miserable, you're miserable. We need someone happy. The kids need to see you happy. Whatever you have to do to fix this, do it. We want our old dad back."
Elliot could see tears forming in his daughter's eyes. He had completely missed the part of her life when she became such a grown-up, so intelligent. Her words struck a chord with Elliot. She was always looking out for Dickie and her sisters, and it meant so much to hear her say she wanted him to be happy. He pulled her in close for a hug and rubbed her back.
He whispered softly in her ear, "What would I do without you? I love you."
He said those words a lot to his kids, but she always enjoyed hearing them.
"Love you, too," she whispered back.
There was a knock on the door. Maureen jumped off the bed, wiping her eyes. Elliot smiled at her. There were no words to express how much he appreciated their conversation.
He nodded toward the door and, taking a deep breath, she opened it.
"Uncle John! Finnigan!" she squealed, excitedly throwing her arms around the men.
Elliot believed one hundred percent that his kids were the only ones in the world who could get away with calling Munch and Fin ridiculous nicknames.
"It's good to see you, sweetheart," Munch said, returning Maureen's embrace. Elliot smiled at the sight of Munch melting in his daughter's arms.
"My turn," Fin said, pushing John out of the way so he could wrap his arms around Maureen. "Damn, you're getting tall," he said, squeezing Maureen tight.
"Don't say his name too loud, he's trying to up his street cred," John said, walking toward Elliot's bed.
"She can call me anything she likes," Fin headed to the bed, his arm still draped around Maureen's shoulders.
Elliot felt like he was in a tank at the aquarium. They just stood there looking at him.
"He's not allowed to talk," Maureen laughed.
"This should be fun then," Munch said dryly.
"How you doing for real, Elliot?" Fin asked.
Elliot shrugged his shoulders, whispering "okay" in response.
"You should have seen him earlier," Maureen said, eyeing her dad.
He gave her the look. The look that every daughter knows well. The if-you-even-think-about-it-I'm-going-to-ground-you-until-you're-thirty look.
"But he's much better now," she said, quickly recovering from her dad's glare.
"We really can't stay, we caught a case, have to get downstairs for an interview," John apologized.
"Cap and Casey send their love," Fin said.
Elliot smiled, but deep down he wished they had said Olivia. He wanted to see her, talk to her more than anything. He couldn't stand it anymore.
"Liv?" he asked expectantly.
Munch and Fin exchanged glances and turned back to Elliot.
"She won't be talking to you for real long time, buddy. Captain's got her doing all your paperwork that's overdue. She was less than thrilled, as you can expect," Fin said.
"If I had to spend days deciphering your chicken scratch notes, it'd be a long time before I wanted to wish you well," John said sarcastically.
Elliot forced a smile and felt a wave of exhaustion hit his body. He rubbed his eyes, wanting more than anything to go to sleep and forget that Olivia hadn't come by. Although he couldn't blame her. But he needed to talk to her, and in his condition, it would be impossible for days.
"That's your cue to leave, boys," Maureen said, ushering the men to the door.
"Thanks," Elliot said, thankful they had stopped by.
"See you later, man," John said, waving as he left.
Fin grabbed Maureen for one more hug and said, "Take care of your old man."
Maureen sat back down on her chair, pulling her book onto her lap. She looked at Elliot with her big blue eyes. The sadness in them told him she knew what he was feeling. She smiled, and he closed his eyes and let sleep settle over him.
Elliot awoke a few hours later to the sound of his name.
"Hmmph," he mumbled, fighting to open his eyes.
"Elliot," he heard again.
"Dad!" a familiar voice yelled as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. His glasses miraculously appeared over his eyes, making things clearer. He saw Kathleen's face inches from his own, and he couldn't help but smile.
"There he is," she said, a goofy expression on her face. "Time to rise and shine, sleepyhead," she giggled, using his favorite wake-up call.
He realized he had an audience and he felt his face flush, wondering how long they'd been trying to wake him up.
The doctor and nurse started talking to him, poking around in his mouth, taking his temperature, all the while, he sat there like a good little boy.
"Everything looks good, Elliot. Get a goodnight's sleep and you can leave in the morning," the doctor said, exiting the room.
"End of his shift, he gets cranky when he's hungry," the nurse said, winking at Elliot. "Don't worry, I have everything you need to know."
She proceeded to give Elliot instructions about going home, check-ups, anything he could possibly need to know to care for himself in the coming weeks.
"So, we just need someone to sign you out in the morning and you'll be good to go," she said, and Elliot's heart sank. He hadn't planned far enough ahead. He had just assumed he'd go home alone, but after listening to the nurse, there was no way he'd be able to do this all on his own.
Elliot thought about what to do while the nurse took his IV out of his arm. "It's going to be sore, maybe a little bruising," she said. He nodded absentmindedly, not really paying attention to her. God, this was embarrassing. He was a grown man and he didn't have anyone – no family, no friends to help him.
He hadn't even realized the nurse left the room. The sound of Kathleen's voice startled him from his trance.
"I'm supposed to get you to take these pills," she said quietly, secretly worried about her dad. She'd never seen him so vulnerable. When she'd relieved Maureen for baby-sitting duty, she'd said it had been a rough day. But Kathleen was only staying for a few hours, how bad could it be?
Elliot nodded and spent the next several minutes swallowing two pills. It was one of the most painful experiences of his life. They burned going down and although the ice water felt cool on his throat, he dreaded the next dose of medicine.
"How you doing?" Kathleen asked, uncertain of what to do now that her dad had woken up. "Want me to call mom? You know, to give you ride a home tomorrow?"
Elliot sighed and nodded.
She planted a kiss on his forehead and whispered, "Be right back." She grabbed her cell phone and retreated out the door.
Elliot closed his eyes and fell asleep almost instantly. He was vaguely aware of being woken up in the middle of the night to take more pills, and then again in the morning.
"Up, up, up! You're going home today, detective," the nurse said too cheerfully for Elliot. "Your chariot awaits you outside. Let's get you up, changed, ready to go!"
Elliot, in his groggy state, let the nurse help him out of bed and into the bathroom. Once alone inside, he splashed cold water on his face, looking at his reflection for the first time in days. He hardly recognized himself. He was pale, his eyes dark. He shook his head and began to pull on his favorite pair of sweats that Olivia had brought for him. He emerged from the bathroom and there she sat, waiting for him on his bed.