Elliot hung up the phone as he pulled into the parking garage. Olivia was leaning against her sedan, waiting. Elliot climbed out, unsure of what to do next. Now was not really the appropriate time or place for the conversation they needed to have. He simply smiled at her and they walked inside.
"You don't have stay, you know," Elliot said as they headed to the reception desk.
She just shrugged and Elliot didn't push any further. The nurse working reception greeted the two detectives warmly.
"What can I do for you today, Detectives?" she smiled kindly at the familiar faces.
Elliot simply smiled and raised his hand. It didn't hurt too badly, but it was pretty banged up. He had a cut on his knuckle, his middle and ring fingers were swollen beyond recognition, and his whole hand had turned to alarming shades of black, blue and green.
"Ooh, injured in the line of duty, huh?" the nurse said, examining Elliot's hand. "Here, fill these out," she said, handing him a clipboard and pen, "and I'll see what I can do to get you in and out of here in a jiffy," she winked at him as he and Olivia went to sit in the waiting room.
Elliot fumbled mercilessly with the pen and clipboard before Olivia grew impatient and grabbed it from his hands. He smiled gratefully. She just rolled her eyes and pursed her lips as she filled in Elliot's personal information. It was disturbing, really, how much she really knew about him. That he had his appendix out when he was eleven, his tonsils out last year, he was nearsighted in his left eye and farsighted in his right. He was allergic to penicillin and sulfur. And he hated needles. How the man had tattoos she'll never understand. But she sat silently, filling out his paperwork while he took in the people around the waiting room. He caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye. She was hesitating on a certain question, he just couldn't tell which one.
"Um, who do you, uh, who do you put for your emergency contact?" she asked, knowing full well his answer would be her. But he could very easily change his mind and put Kathy. Attempting to show no hard feelings toward his partner, he shrugged.
"You," he answered simply. She nodded and began filling in her own personal information.
A different nurse Elliot didn't recognize approached him.
"Detective Stabler?" she asked.
"That's me," he said, standing. He peered down at Olivia, who was still scribbling away furiously.
"Here, give me your insurance card, I'll finish this," she said. Elliot fished the card out of his wallet and followed the nurse into a small curtain area.
"Go ahead and have a seat, Detective," she said, gesturing to the bed.
"Please, it's Elliot," he gave the nurse a small smile.
"Alright, Elliot, I have to get the boring stuff out of the way here," she said, pulling out a thermometer.
She continued to chat as she stuck the thermometer in Elliot's ear.
"How do you know Nurse Kim?" she asked, writing on Elliot's chart.
"She seems to be around a lot when we get called in here for cases," he said, dangling his feet back and forth. Hospitals always made him a little uncomfortable when he was a patient.
"Let's take a look at this hand," she said, unbuttoning Elliot's shirt cuff and rolling up his sleeve. "Nice tattoo," she said jokingly, but smiled at Elliot.
"I was young and stupid and in the Marines," he said as if that explained everything.
"What department are you in, Detective?" she asked as she held Elliot's hand gently in her own. He was startled at how comforting it felt to have such intimate physical contact with another woman. It made him miss Kathy's soft touch.
"Ouch," he winced in pain and laughed at himself for thinking this felt good. "Manhattan Special Victims," Elliot responded to her question, not taking his eyes off his hand for a second.
"Well, I really admire and respect that. It must be really difficult sometimes. This is going to hurt a little," she said, putting pressure on the back of Elliot's hand. He grimaced, but kept his mouth shut. He didn't want to ruin his good reputation with this nurse.
"Your work should be commended," she continued. Elliot smiled, he never got tired of hearing people express their appreciation for his job. It made it all seem worthwhile.
"And yours, too," he said, equally thankful for the nurse's help.
Elliot was surprised at what he saw almost three hours later as he left the emergency room. His partner fast asleep in the waiting room, her knees pulled close to her chest, her heading resting against the wall behind her. She looked so peaceful, innocent even, he hated to wake her. He knew she hadn't been sleeping and it tore him up to see her finally catch sleep in the most uncomfortable position in the most sterile environment. He hated it even more that he had to be the one to wake her up. He knew he was the last person she wanted to wake up to.
Letting out a long, slow breath, he collapsed into the chair next to her, exhausted himself. He leaned his head against the cold, hard wall behind him. He rolled his head so he was facing Olivia.
"Livia," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Hey, wake up."
She groaned at the sound of Elliot's voice.
"What'd the doctor say?" she asked groggily, slowly reaching behind her in an attempt to rub the kinks out of her neck.
"I'm fine," he said, standing up and extending his hand to help her out her hard plastic chair.
She ignored the gesture and averted her attention to the hand Elliot let hang at his side.
"Doesn't look fine," she mumbled, climbing to her feet. Her body ached from sleeping in the uncomfortable chair.
"Couple of broken fingers, lot of bruises and swelling. It's not as bad as it looks, really," he said, avoiding her eyes.
She mumbled something under her breath that Elliot chose to ignore. They walked silently back to their respective cars, lingering in awkwardness. Olivia broke first.
"Home?" she asked, curious as to how he wormed his way out of a weekend's worth of paperwork.
"Yeah, I have the kids," he said as a smile crept across his face.
"Good, it's good you're spending time with them," she said, turning to unlock her car.
"See you Monday, Liv," Elliot called to her as she climbed into her car.
Her only response was a weak smile.
Elliot pulled into his driveway, happy to see Maureen's beat up Civic parked out front. He grabbed the bag from the drugstore and hurried inside. The smell of cheese and garlic greeted Elliot as he opened the front door. He couldn't suppress a smile when he saw his oldest daughter serving pizza to her younger brother and sister.
"Dad!' Lizzie cried, running to Elliot, flinging her arms around his middle.
He bent down and inhaled the scent of her shampoo, kissing her softly on the top of her head. He'd gotten so used to having so many girls around, he forgot how much he missed. The sweet smell of shampoo and body lotion. Hairspray residue on the bathroom mirrors. A never ending supply of chocolate. The phone constantly ringing off the hook and teen magazines covering every surface of their bedrooms. One whiff of Lizzie's shampoo brought back so many memories. He held onto her tightly, as if hugging her for the last time.
"Spread the love, would ya?" Maureen asked, wrapping an arm around her father's shoulder.
He released one arm from Lizzie and brushed Maureen's long blond bangs from her face and kissed her gently on the forehead. He looked at the table to see Dickie inhaling his pizza in silence. He was probably glad to get a reprieve from the girls.
"We were starving, couldn't wait any longer," Maureen explained as they walked to the kitchen table.
Elliot sat at the table, silently cherishing the moment. His kids were all smiling. He couldn't help but think about what he and Kathy had put them through the past few years. He tried to push the thoughts out of his mind, though. They were here with him now, and he was grateful for that. He was also satisfied knowing that they were strong and were able to come away from the divorce relatively unscathed. Elliot's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his daughter's voice.
"Dad! What happened to your hand?" Lizzie asked, her voice full of worry and concern.
He looked at his daughter, her bottom lip quivered and her chin trembled. He suddenly remembered the bloody mess and broken glass in the bathroom. How would he explain this one?
Thanks for all the reviews, you guys are great! Don't worry, I still have good things in store for our favorite detectives. As always, read and review please! Enjoy!