Even though my kitchen is a little chilly, I feel warm all over just thinking about my dream of Liv. I whistle a tune as I get out my bowl and cereal. I actually feel happy since Kathy and I divorced. Liv is about the only person who can make me feel better on bad days just by looking concerned. She hates it when people try to take care of her; I do, too, unless Liv does it. She almost killed me when Richard White was stalking her and I tried to protect her.
I eat my cereal and think about another hard day at work. I'll bet I'll be running around like a crazy man, chasing people, drinking too much coffee, getting warrants, wishing I were home, watching Liv, and falling more and more in love with her. I want her to rest her head on my chest when she's troubled. I want her big, brown eyes to look into mine with that look of concern that makes my heart melt. I want to come home to her every night.
It's now that I realize how much I really love her, how much I really need her. She is my lifesaver, the rock I cling to when the sea of my life turns turbulent. I go to her when I need help; she was the one who got me through the divorce. I don't think I'll ever be able to tell her how much she means to me.
But if I don't try soon, I might lose her...
I dial the precinct's number.
"Hello? How may I help you?" a woman's voice asks.
"Elliot Stabler. Captain Cragen, please," I ask impatiently. I wait a few moments.
"Hello, Elliot," Cragen greets me. "What's up?"
"I...Liv's sick and I...she and I need a sick day...so I can take care of her," I stammer.
"All right," the Captain says. "And Elliot?"
"Yes?"
"Go for it."
When I get to Liv's door, I almost lose my courage, but I straighten and ring the buzzer.
When she gets downstairs, I am amazed, as always, at how beautiful she is. I try to grin at her, but it doesn't work, for the task ahead is serious.
Liv keeps asking me what's wrong, but I can't answer her, though I want to. I don't trust myself to speak. Not yet.
When she turns to me at my apartment with that angelic look of concern in her eyes, my heart swells and I almost take her in my arms and kiss her right there.
"I called in a sick day for both of us," I say slowly.
Did you ever know
That you're my hero?
You're everything I wish I could be
I can fly higher than an eagle
For you are the wind
Beneath my wings