Chapter 5

Olivia felt all the color drain from her face. Her body was drunk on adrenaline and her mind didn't register the pain as she heard the metallic cylinder collide with her ribs. It wasn't until she had crumbled to the ground and saw the guy standing over her that her mind caught up with agony her torso was undergoing. She still had a tight grip on her dignity and refused to let the man see her in pain. He only shrugged and bent down to whisper in her ear.

"You can give that to your boyfriend," he simply said and was off just as Elliot reached them. He started after the guy, but ran in vain through the pitch-black alley. Deciding Olivia was more important anyway, he double-backed to the spot where he left her. She had crawled away from the spot and was leaning against a tree, gripping her ribcage and moaning softly. He sat down and held her, assuring her that everything would be alright. He estimated them to be sitting for ten minutes and he was now noticing that her moans were getting softer and softer and her breathing was slowing down.

"Liv?" She didn't respond. It was then that he realized he hadn't called 911. He was relieved to see she had hers with her, for he left his in the car. He again mumured that everything would be fine and dialed the number. She could hear him frantically shouting into the phone. She smiled at the frustation in his voice as he had to repeat his badge number for the third time. He had finally snapped at the person on the other line. She listen hard and heard the person respond that his getting angry wouldn't help anybody. She almost laughed when his eyes bugged out, the veins in his neck nearly leaped out of his skin, and he let loose on the poor soul on the other end. She could tell the other person wasn't impressed by his temper tantrum when he closed his eyes and counted to ten...twice. Then she heard the sirens.

FLASHBACK

It was the day after his return and Elliot felt renewed. He was happy, no, estatic to be home in his native New York, surrounded by friends and family. He looked at the clock on the desk by Olivia's bed. It read 11 AM. He thought it was late enough and got up to take a shower. He was looking forward to the look on his kids faces when he showed up. His face stretched into a smile and the goofy smile stayed planted on his face from the time he stepped out of the shower to the time he stood on the doorstep of the house that had been his home for twenty years. He was surprised to find he was nervous. He began to have doubts about coming to see his children. What if they hated him? What if they resented him for going away? What would they say? What would they think? He had now talked himself out of seeing them. He was turning around to go back to the waiting taxi when the door opened.

"Daddy!" shrieked his son as he rammed into Elliot's gut and squeezed. Any doubts that were stopping him before miraculously vanished. The love was so great, Elliot could almost see it oozing off his son as he hugged him tighter. Elliot was proud that Dickie, though he was fourteen and too cool to touch anybody, refused to let go as Elliot attempted to walk into the house. Apparently his daughters heard the commotion and had come see what was wrong with their brother. They stopped as they saw their father waddle into the house, Dickie still attached securely around his waist. The snapped out of their daze when he grinned. Schreeching, they all ran for him at once and Elliot soon found himself on the floor laughing as his children smoothered him with hugs and kisses. For a solid ten minutes this went on. Finally, they found themselves lying in a heap on the floor, everyone exhausted from the excitement. It was Elizabeth who broke the silence.

"Daddy...what are you doing here?" That earned her glares from her siblings. "I mean...I thought...Mom said that you were staying out in L.A. Not that I'm mad that you're back or anything..."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that," Elliot laughed. "You guys didn't really think i was gonna leave you, did ya?"

"I don't know, Daddy," offered Maureen. "We were all really shook up when they said you..."

"Oh, come guys. I'm not that easy to get rid of," he joked and recieved soft chuckles from his childen. "Seriously, I thought of you guys everyday that I was gone. I prayed to God that if he let me out of Witness Protection alive, the first thing I would do is come home and hug and kiss my kids. I'm so grateful that He gave me that chance..." He was cut off as his children covered him with hugs again. They were content to sit there like this, and this is how his ex-wife found them when she came home two hours later.

"So Elliot, I ran into Detective Benson today." There was a hint of sourness in Kathy's voice. He knew Kathy had a deep jealous stake in Olivia, but he figured she'd have let it go by now. They were in the kitchen preparing dinner. She was chopping some kind of foreign object that she claimed was a vegetable. Elliot was suspicious of it anyway.

"Kathy, don't be like this. Her name is Olivia." He jumped as she slammed the knife into the cutting board.

"I'm sorry. I ran into O-liv-vee-ah today." She streched out the name so that Elliot could hear the hatred behind it as she recited it. She didn't have to, tough: he caught it the first time. Elliot resisted the urge to ask her why she despised his partner so much. She'd avoid the answer, as she always did. Then she'd go into a rant about his commitment to his family and marriage, like she always did. Finally she'd wind down complaining about how much time he spent at work and he seemed more attached to him job than her, like she always did. Then he'd assure her that it wasn't true, his commitment was first to her and the kids and everything else was second. She'd cry and scold herself for thinking otherwise and he'd say it was his fault, he should make more of an effort to be home more. Then they'd head to the bedroom for a few rounds of make-up sex. It was pretty routine for the entirety of his career in the Special Victims Unit.

"What did she say?" He decided it would be better to keep her calm.

"She says that you were with her last night...I told her that couldn't be true. My Elliot wouldn't go see his partner before he saw his family. I told her she was mistaken. I told her she was dreaming..." Kathy went on for a while. Elliot tuned out her voice. He put the lid on the pot he had been stirring around in, sat down at the island in the middle of their kitchen, and rubbed his hand over his face.

'Hmm, I should shave,' he thought to himself. 'Why am I thinking about shaving? Maybe if I rub my eyes, I'll wake up from this dream I'm in...' He rubbed his eyes, but still saw Kathy's mouth moving and she was gesturing angrily. 'Didn't work...maybe if I try again...' He closed his eyes again and reopened them in time to see Kathy's palm collide with the side of his face. Elliot stared at her in shock as she shook with angry.

"You're thinking of her, aren't you?" Elliot didn't answer.

" AREN'T YOU!" Elliot opened his mouth to say something when his phone went off. He looked down and almost smiled when the phone displayed Olivia's cell number. He got up to exit the kitchen, but Kathy was blocking the door. She suspected who it was and was determined to confirm her suspicions.

"Stabler?" he answered, trying his hardest to avoid Kathy's glare.

"Hey, partner." Elliot nearly forgot where he was again and struggled to keep the smile off his face.

"What's up?" Elliot could have swore Kathy's eyes had turned red.

"Ahh...you forgot didn't you?" Yep, her eyes were definately red, and were now starting to twitch.

"Forgot what?" He saw Kathy balling up her fists.

"You were supposed to meet us for drinks..." Elliot could almost see Olivia smiling.

"Ahh...I did forget..." Kathy's eyes widened significantly.

"I know...otherwise you'd be here...where are you? With the kids?" Kathy was starting to pace in front of him.

"Yeah." He could almost see steam coming off Kathy's body.

"...and Kathy?" Elliot sighed.

"Yeah..." Kathy looked like she was ready to chew nails.

"Oh..." Elliot could hear Fin and John in the background.

"What? The wifey won't let him come out and play?" he heard Finn joke and his heart sunk as he heard Olivia laugh.

"Maybe we could put it off for another day..." Elliot suggested.

"I don't...hey!" Elliot smiled as John's voice suddenly filled his ear.

"Elliot, listen to me, man. Spend time with your wife. We understand. It's been a few months, I think we can wait a few more days..." Elliot heard Finn interject something about reminding John being divorced three times and that Elliot probably shouldn't take his advice. Elliot laughed out loud.

"Okay, John. I gotta go..."

"What do ya mean you gotta go? You were perfectly fine with chatting it up all night with Benson, but as soon as I get the phone, you're all in a rush to hang up? I understand I'm not as pretty as her and my voice isn't as sultry as hers," He heard Olivia and Finn snort at this, "but I think I deserve a bit more than 'Okay John'" Elliot laughed again.

"Okay, bye John"

"That's better..." John said and hung up. Elliot really regretted not being able to hang out with them tonight. He couldn't even cheer himself up with his kids, for Kathy's mother had kidnapped them almost as soon as Kathy got home. He suddenly remembered Kathy, and turned around to see that she was gone.

FLASHBACK ENDS

Elliot sat in the ambulance barking orders at the paramedics. He could tell they were five minutes from kicking him out, but the sympathetic driver saw past his anger and let him stay. The paramedics avoided his questions and talked among themselves in their medical jargon. Elliot quickly became frustrated and began to lash out at them. He felt a slight pressure on his hand and looked down to see Olivia half frowning, half smiling at him.

Olivia laughed to herself. She was glad that Elliot hadn't changed too much. He was still severely overprotective of her. He still had a quick temper. He still was brash as ever. Yet, something was different. Perhaps it was he appreciated more little things. Maybe his voice was softer when he talked with friends. She suddenly realized something. Just then, she felt a sharp pain in her chest.

'What the hell was that?' she wondered to herself. The pain hit her again with ten times as much force. Now she was getting scared. She felt her throat closing up. Her head was pounding and she was having trouble hearing. Everything was starting to dim and had started spinning. She heard the paramedic shuffling things around. Were they worried? Why were they acting like that? The expressions on their faces looked hopeless and she could have cried.

"Is she gonna die?" Elliot had said what she was thinking. She promised to sue all of them if they let her die. Especially from something as drab as a bat to the ribs. She had always said that if she died young, she'd want it to be big and dramatic. She always said she wanted to go down like a hero. Not in a ambulance as her partner shook the paramedics senseless. Not while the paramedics threatened him with a suit of police brutality. Not while the whining ambulance shot down the street, its driver unnecessairly laying into the horn. She felt cold metal againt her skin. She heard someone mumur " Clear!" She guess her body must have jumped, but felt nothing. She caught the scent of a hospital and medicines. But when she opened her eyes, she saw Elliot's tear stricken face. And beyond his face, she saw the face of her mother...

TBC

A/N: I apologize for the long break. I know you must hate me now, but I'll have to ask you to stop stuffing the angry letters in my mailbox. lol. Anyway, I just wanna thank my main reviewers : NothingMoreNothingLess, svu101, TV Angel 711, KaydenceRei, jcn2416. And thank you to all the other reviewers. I promise to update more often, but ya know, we all lead our individual lives. If I didn't, I'd put more energy into bargining with Dick Wolf for his characters.