Disclaimer: I do not own Law and Order: SVU. It belongs to a genius named Dick Wolf. No profit is being made from this story.
Author's Note: I apologize for any confusion this may be causing. I get caught up writing the emotional scenes and it's hard to remember my storyline! I haven't focused a lot on it yet, but Elliot's arms are paralyzed because of the injuries. I know it seems like they are ok in the last few chapters and once again…what can I say except I am only human? The emotions take precedence in some of my chapters, so just take it for what it is. I will try to make it a little clearer. My eyes hurt now…..do you really want another chapter?
Elliot sucked in a gasp as the doctor extended his right arm slowly. He hadn't felt anything but heavy weight in place of his arms for the past several days, so the blinding pain that he was suddenly feeling was a rude awakening.
Olivia was watching the doctor intently, and jumped when he hissed loudly. Her eyes flew to his face, which was screwed up in discomfort.
Dr. Paul Stevenson also heard the noise, and looked to the detective. "Tell me what you're feeling," he urged, keeping the limb straight out.
"Ahh…." Elliot squirmed involuntarily, trying to get the doctor to let go. "Tingling," he said through clenched teeth. "God…that hurts like a bitch."
Olivia watched the doctor's face set in determination. "Your circulation is starting to come back," he said. "That's a good sign."
He moved one of his hands to lightly grip Elliot's elbow, and put the other on his wrist. Elliot's eyes were glued to his arm as the doctor slowly forced the limb to bend toward his head.
Elliot yelped loudly as searing shards of fiery pain traveled all the way up his arm. Olivia jumped again, her face paling. Tears of pain sprang to his eyes before he could stop them.
The doctor looked at him sympathetically. "Alright, relax, Elliot," he said. He supported the limb as he carefully stretched it out again and brought it down to rest limply at his side. "That's enough strain on this arm for today," he said. "Take a break. I'll be right back"
He breathed a sigh of relief when the doctor left the room, closing the door behind him. "I hate this," he said bitterly. "I don't even remember what it feels like to stretch."
Olivia watched him angrily glare at the floor. She wanted to tell him something to make him feel better about his situation, but couldn't find the words.
Don jerked upright at the squawk of his radio. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and quickly reached for it. "Go ahead," he said, hoping his voice wouldn't give away the fact that he was tired as hell.
"Everything looks secure inside, Captain," came the voice of one officer inside the building. "No one has been inside that doesn't live here."
He sighed and rubbed his eyes. The sudden desire to just go home was overwhelming, and his brain taunted him that he was an idiot to be sitting here at all.
"All right," he said in defeat. "Look, you guys have been there all night. Go home and get some sleep; I can handle things for a while."
"Yes, sir," the officer immediately replied, sounding relieved. Cragen sighed again and replaced the mike. His butt was numb and he was incredibly pissed. He wasn't used to sitting around waiting to do his job, and he didn't like it one bit.
The two of them walked out of the hospital an hour later. Elliot collapsed into the passenger seat wearily. The physical therapy had been very light, but it was incredibly exhausting to try and move a part of your body that refused to respond. He was so drained that he could hardly move.
Olivia was still quite shaken from watching the session. Just the simple act of having his arms extended had made him almost pass out from pain. The wounds on his arms were still quite raw, and it had made her sick to see them. He had been covering them up the whole time he was with her, and was not happy when the doctor instructed him to remove his shirt during the session. It had to be done so that Dr. Stevenson could tell if any muscles were stimulated by the exercise, but it still was too much to bear.
She came up behind him and fastened his seatbelt for him, something she was still having difficulty coming to terms with having to do. He was humiliated, she knew that, and tried to do it quickly. Coming around the car, she got in herself and started the ignition. Elliot was sagged against the seat, too spent to even lift his head.
The ride back to her apartment was quiet. She could tell he was exhausted because he started snoring. As they passed the courthouse, Olivia was bombarded with memories. Has it really only been two weeks since the day they had been clowning around after the trial? It seemed like half a lifetime ago now. It saddened her to the very core, and made her shake with rage at the same time. One man had single-handedly torn away every shred of Elliot's spirit and soul, leaving her with nothing but an empty shell.
Fin was lying on his couch, staring at the ceiling. He hadn't gotten any sleep and had no desire to even move. The discoveries made the previous day had been eating away at him, tormenting him mercilessly. His mind kept conjuring up the memory of the day they had received the telephone call from his kidnapper. He could remember every painful detail with excruciating clarity.
"It's so dark." When he had heard Elliot sobbing, he'd had to make an effort not to lose his breath. He had been so horrified that he didn't even hear the words that Olivia was trying to reassure him with, but he did hear the anguish in her voice.
Elliot Stabler had more self-confidence and humility than anyone he had ever met. To hear him begging….pleading them to rescue him… "Please come get me, Olivia...please!" His throat closed and he had to fight a gag. Sitting up quickly, he shook his head to clear the angry buzzing that had invaded.
"Please…I'm scared." Why had they let the bastard escape? Why didn't he kill the man the minute he had gone into that sewer? What did Elliot ever do to deserve this happening to him?
"I'm scared." Tears built up and came crashing out. Fin covered his face with his hands, the words echoing over and over in his head until he thought he would go crazy.
Munch was hunched over his third cup of coffee at his desk. None of the other officers could understand why he felt the need to be at the station 24/7. The whole situation with Elliot had been out of their hands from the beginning, and being at work was the only way he felt like he could get some of that control back.
Fin had gone home the night before and hadn't yet returned. Cragen had disappeared after dropping them off at the precinct. Olivia hadn't called any of them since taking Elliot home with her two days ago. John was in inner turmoil. They had knit together so tightly while searching for Elliot….but now that he was back it seemed like the team had busted at the seams.
What are we doing here? John squinted and took his glasses off, rubbing tiredly at the bridge of his nose. Giving ourselves a sense of accomplishment? We found Elliot…congratulations to us. Forget about the fact that we may have very well lost ¼ of our squad.
He felt so horrible, and wanted more than anything to be there to help Elliot through his trauma. Munch hadn't worked personally with him many times, maybe three in the past two years. But Elliot knew that John was his friend….right? He had to know how much he cared about him. I've never said that to any of them, he suddenly realized. He had been so busy keeping up the "seen-it-all" façade that he had missed out on the relationships that could be built.
He and Fin were pretty tight as partners, despite their daily banters. Cragen treated him like an equal because he had been in the department for as long as Munch himself had. He was friendly with Olivia and had no problem talking to her or going out for an occasional drink. But…where did Elliot fit into the equation?
They were acquaintances, yes, but they had never gotten together outside of work. Elliot was always friendly and sociable to him, but it seemed more like it was out of courtesy. Most of the men were close to the others in the squad because they had more in common.
That was true about everyone except Elliot. He was the only one in the precinct who had such a strong bond with a member of the opposite sex that he wasn't dating or related to, and vice-versa for Olivia. She seemed to be…well….the only one he had such a strong bond with.
True, she was his partner and therefore was with him a lot more than anyone else, but they all saw the same things on the job. The fact was that John had never made an effort to get to know Elliot as more than just a casual friend. He felt heaviness in his heart, and resolved to change that. He had taken the other man for granted, and fervently hoped for the chance to make it up to him.
The elevator doors opened, and the pair stepped off and walked toward Olivia's door. She unlocked the door and swung it open, stepping back to allow Elliot to enter first. He flopped down at the breakfast bar and rested his head on his arms.
She smirked. "Hey," she teased. "I have to eat on that, you know."
He growled sleepily, and she laughed. She rested her hand briefly on his back as she passed him and went to put her jacket away. He stumbled off of the bar stool and headed for the living room, wanting nothing more than to sink into the soft cushions.
She wrinkled her nose when she opened the door to the hall closet. She was usually good about keeping her apartment tidy, but the past few months had been so busy that she hadn't taken the time. Every time she had clutter in her living room, she would toss it into the hall closet and forget about it. Now she stared in disgust at the pile of clothing and god-only-knew what else heaped on the ground. She shook her head and hung up her jacket, vowing to tackle it soon in the near future.
"Olivia!"
The terror in his voice and the force at which he said her name made her whip her head around fast. Sliding out of the closet, she dashed through the kitchen to where he stood stock-still in the entrance of the living room.
"What?" she asked, in a panic. "What is it?"
She could see him shaking violently when she came up behind him. He couldn't even form any words past the utter fear that was assaulting his senses.
Olivia brushed past him and then stopped as well. "My God…" she whispered, her features twisting in shock and horror.
The living room had been ransacked. Her couch was flipped over and the pillows shredded. Pictures and knickknacks were strewn everywhere. Her entertainment system was hanging open with DVD's tossed from the cabinets.
But the mess didn't even register in her mind. A photograph of Elliot asleep on her couch had been blown up and nailed next to the entertainment center. She recognized the clothes he had worn to bed the first night he had stayed with her.
She was at a loss for words and blinked in utter amazement, unable to move. For the past few days, Olivia had been angrily daring this guy to show up so that she could stomp the shit out of him.
But as she continued staring numbly at the scene before her, she realized that getting what she wanted suddenly wasn't so appealing anymore.
