A/n: this chapter details a graphic scene of child abuse, read at your own risk.
Central park, 5:10 PM.
"Mommy, daddy I'm hungry..." Izzabella said as they finished walking their second nature trail.
"I'm hungry too daddy," Zara joined in.
Amaro nodded to both girls "why don't we all walk to a vender then? There are some good food trucks near by."
"We can't afford a vender Nick sorry," Elliot said as Olivia nodded in agreement slightly out of breath "El's right and I'm sorry guys but I can't walk much more."
Amaro nodded to them as Elliot pulled her close to him "we don't have much farther to walk till we get to a place to sit baby," he said softly "I can carry you the rest of the way if you need me to."
Olivia chuckled slightly as Elliot frowned "I'm serious."
Olivia nodded slightly at him but then shook her head "I'm not a child El and there are people around."
"Who cares what they think? If your in pain and I can help by carrying you I'll do it no matter what anyone thinks about it."
Olivia smiled at him slightly "your sweet El really but I can make it the rest of the way."
He nodded slightly "alright alright just tell me if we need to slow down honey please."
She nodded "I will I promise," she said as Izzabella looked to them "mommy, daddy I'm hungry..." she said again.
"We know baby," Elliot said through a sigh as they soon made it to a bench and he helped Olivia sit down as he smiled slightly when he heard her sigh of relief "okay what does the Stabler group want? It has to be from somewhere cheep," he said.
"Cheese burger!" Izzabella said with a smile.
"McDonalds is fine with us," the older kids said.
Olivia nodded in agreement as Elliot nodded "McDonalds it is then, lets give every one 10 minutes to rest our legs then we can go."
Izzabella nodded slightly as every one sat down "can we go to McDonalds too daddy? I wanna spend more time with Olivia and Izzabella," Zara said.
Amaro nodded "we can go to McDonalds Zara sure but weather or not you spend more time with them is up to Olivia and her husband."
She nodded slightly and ran up to Olivia "Liv! Liv can I go with you guys to McDonalds... please?..."
"Is it okay with your dad?" Olivia asked her.
Zara nodded "mmhmm he said we could go to McDonalds."
"You guys going to McDonalds is a little different than you going with us to McDonalds," Elliot said gently.
Zara nodded slightly and ran over to Nick "is it okay if I go with them to McDonalds daddy?"
Amaro nodded "it's fine with me honey but only if it's okay with them."
She nodded slightly and sighed as she ran back over to them "what did he say sweetheart?" Elliot asked.
"He said I could if you guys say it's okay. Please Liv? Please mr. Elliot"..."
Elliot sighed slightly and glanced at Olivia as she nodded slightly "it's fine with me El her and Izzabella are getting along great they can babble some more in the back while we drive."
Eliot nodded slightly at her as he looked to Zara "you probably can sweetie just give us a minute," he said as he went up to Nick "does she ride in a booster-seat or anything? The last thing me and Liv need right now is a ticket."
He shook his head "she doesn't," he said with a small smile "I can drive her though it's not a problem."
Elliot shook his head slightly "me and Liv don't mind really, we'll see you at the McDonalds," he said as he walked back over "you can ride with us Zara," he said.
She smiled big "thanks so much Mr. Elliot!"
"Your welcome sweetheart," he said as after a few more minutes of them sitting on the bench he smiled "Izzabella, Zara lets go girls."
Both girls stood with smiles as the Stabler group all headed to their cars and once every one was loaded up both Elliot and Carl drove off.
"Today's been sooo fun daddy!" Izzabella said with a bright smile.
Elliot smiled "I'm really glad you've enjoyed it honey, have you Zara?"
Zara nodded "mmhmm daddy's been on a vacation from work for a few days and we've done fun things every day."
He smiled "that's great sweetie."
Zara nodded her head and smiled big "I hope he's on vacation forever."
Elliot smiled some "maybe," he indulged as Zara nodded and started chatting with Izzabella as he rubbed Olivia's shoulder slightly when he saw her try to hide a yawn.
The motion of his hand just made her yawn more as she chuckled slightly "do you want me to fall asleep El?" she asked lightly.
Elliot smiled "you can if you want to love we're in a traffic jam."
She nodded slightly "I'm gonna try not to but I can't make any promises."
Elliot smiled some "if you do you do honey it'd be okay really."
Olivia nodded slightly and yawned again as Elliot chuckled softly then went from rubbing her shoulder to stroking her hair knowing that would do her in as she was sleeping lightly with in 30 seconds.
Eventually the traffic jam cleared as they pulled up at the McDonalds at around 20 till 6 "baby we're here," Elliot whispered softly into Liv's ear.
Olivia nodded slightly as her eyes fluttered open "I think I feel tireder than I did before I fell asleep," she said groggily.
Elliot frowned slightly and nodded "why don't I take Zara over to her dad then and we can just go through the drive through?" he suggested softly.
Olivia shook her head slightly "it's okay El really I'll just order a coffee," she said through a yawn as she stretched some then got out of the car.
Elliot sighed slightly once she had gotten out as he vowed in his head that tomorrow would be a day of rest for Liv as they then all made their way into McDonalds, placed their orders then shared 2 tables.
"Did you have fun riding with the Stablers?" Amaro asked his daughter once they were all seated.
"Mmhmm," Zara said with a bright smile "Liv was really sleepy though."
Amaro frowned slightly "really?" he asked.
Zara nodded "mmhmm Mr. Elliot woke her up when we got here, it's evening daddy not night. Why would she need to sleep?"
"I'm not to sure sweetie," he said as Maureen and Carl brought every one's food over and they started digging in.
Every one finished their burgers in no time "guys why don't we take the rest of our milkshakes to go? It's already a quarter after 6 we won't make it back to Jersey until around 8 at this rate," Elliot said as they then heard commotion and a small child crying "shut up!!" the man at the table shouted.
"Sounds good to me dad," Lizzie and Kathleen said as Maureen frowned hearing the man "that's no way to speak to a kid," she said.
Elliot nodded at Kathleen and Lizzie then turned to Maureen "your right it isn't but it's not our business," he said as the child just screamed and cried louder.
"It should be our business! yelling at a baby like that is just wrong," Kathleen said, the commotion at the other table having gotten her attention to as the man and older woman at the table hurled more angry words at the child.
Olivia sighed "Katie your right what they're doing is truly wrong but unless we see signs of abuse"- she said as the elderly woman then banged the child's head against the table hard several times and the man shook the child's middle hard "SHUT UP!!" he bellowed.
"There's our sign of abuse..." Carl said as his face paled.
"ALL WE WANTED was to have a nice meal and you ruined it!! YOU RUINED it Layla by not controlling your behavior and having shitty manners!!" the woman shouted as she banged her head against the table some more.
"My god..." Lizzie said in tears watching the scene play out in front of her as Izzabella crawled into Olivia's arms and Elliot shot up out of his seat "Kathleen call the police, request Manhattan SVU, Carl come help me, Nick bring your handcuffs in here if you have them, we'll be making citizens arrests."
Every one nodded and did what Elliot said as the man saw him and Carl coming "stay out of this it doesn't involve you," he said.
Elliot glared at them both "the police are on their way, ma'am let go of that baby."
She shook her head and banged her head against the table again "I'll use force if I have to, let go of that baby!" Elliot said as Layla was almost unconscious but trembling and crying still as she was terrified of every one at this point.
The man who so happened to be Layla's father took what he thought would be a good opportunity to try and run but Carl tackled him quickly and held him down as Amaro slapped the handcuffs on him as the elderly woman slammed Layla's head against the table one final time then threw her roughly out of her arms and Elliot caught her "Amaro get that woman out of my sight," he said as Layla trembled in his arms in terror.
Amaro nodded quickly and quickly pulled her to the side as Carl stayed with the father making sure he stayed put "I warned her if she wasn't good she'd be in trouble, I warned her about grandma Dorothy's temper but she didn't listen to me, she cried and cried and cried."
"Your a shitty father you know that? You should have stood up for your daughter not sat there and watched while your grandmother beat her brains in. I hope you both go away for a really long time," Carl said as he kept him on the ground.
The father, Corey finally dissolved into tears as Elliot shook his head while still holding the trembling girl "your safe sweetheart no one's gonna hurt you anymore I promise," he swayed gently from side to side "I promise."
Layla still trembled in his arms despite his reassurances and tender voice as Kathleen frowned watching "I've never seen a kid upset that dad wasn't able to calm down," she whispered to Olivia.
Olivia nodded slightly as thankfully she had been able to shield Izzabella from seeing most of the violence "I haven't either honey but this little girl just went through a lot in a really short time for all she knows Elliot could be getting ready to hurt her too."
Kathleen frowned "dad would never..."
"I know that and you know that but she doesn't know that," Olivia said quietly.
Kathleen just nodded slightly "how do you do this job Liv? How did dad do it for so many years?" Lizzie asked.
Olivia sighed "I can't speak for your dad but for me it's because somebody has to, someone has to save the layla's in the world and when I have a hard day I think about the kids like her that I've saved, of course right now I don't know if I can go back but when I would struggle after a case those are the thoughts that would get me through," she said with sadness in her eyes as she watched the little girl in Elliot's arms.
Lizzie nodded slightly as Elliot had finally managed to get Layla sorta calm by his repetitive swaying as he slowly walked over to their table "where are the police?" he asked.
"I called them dad they said they were sending someone," Kathleen said.
"They should be here by now," Elliot said through a frustrated sigh as that slight change in voice was enough to have Layla trembling again "it's okay sweetheart he's a nice man... he won't hurt you he's not mad at you," Kathleen tried to soothe.
"Honey she's not afraid of me she's afraid of every thing right now," Elliot said softly as he looked to Maureen "Mo take Izzabella and Zara over to the play area please they've seen more than enough, Liv I'm gonna walk outside with her, see if a change in scenery might help her calm down."
Olivia nodded quickly "El if there's anything I can do please let me know."
He nodded "there is actually, see if you can get the squad to come the hell on, if they're not here soon along with an ambulance we'll be driving this little one to the ER ourselves."
Olivia nodded "I'll call Cragen myself."
"Thank you honey," he said as he then focused all his attention back on Layla as 5 knots had popped up on her head already and she still trembled badly in fear "your gonna be alright sweetie I promise, I know your scared and I know you don't know me but you can trust me, I swear on my life you can trust me, I'm gonna help you, that's all we're gonna do is help you," he said softly as he stepped outside and into the breeze.
"M-M-Mama, m-mama," she whimpered slightly as that was the first thing she had said to him since he caught her a few minutes ago.
"You want your mama?" he asked softly.
"M-M-Mama," she whimpered again as tears streamed down her face.
Elliot nodded slightly as a tear fell from his eye "we'll find your mama baby," he said softly as he swayed slightly and started to sing a lullaby to her just as she slipped into unconsciousness.
Around 5 more minutes passed as despite Elliot's best efforts Layla didn't come to again as Rollins and Cragen walked over to them "what happened Elliot?" Cragen asked.
Elliot sighed "this baby's great grandmother banged her head against the table several times, I lost count of how many times it happened and her dad shook her once then just sat there and watched. Amaro has the great grandmother with him, my daughter's fiancé has the father and this baby needs medical help immediately."
Cragen sighed "the medics might be a little longer they're stuck at a building fire."
Elliot shook his head "she can't wait any longer she went unconscious about 5 minutes ago, I don't mind to drive her myself."
Cragen shook his head "me and Rollins will do that, a uni will be here in a couple minutes to get the dad and grandma."
He nodded slightly "okay great, her name's Layla, she's terrified cap all she did while she was awake was tremble in my arms and beg for her mother."
Cragen frowned slightly "I thought you were the child whisperer?"
Elliot sighed "I guess I lost my touch."
Cragen shook his head "I doubt that what all did you try?"
He sighed "every thing that would have been deemed appropriate I swayed with her, spoke softly to her, sang to her... she was just so scared and captain I can't say that I blame her."
"Me either Elliot," Cragen said as Amanda walked out of the restaurant "I talked to Olivia, Kathleen and Elizabeth Stabler, all of their stories matched they all saw the father shake the baby and the great grandmother bang her head against the table. Do we have enough for arrests?"
"We do Rollins good work in there," Cragen said as a police cruiser pulled up along with an ambulance "Elliot you've taken care of the child so far so see it through, brief the EMT's for us, Rollins go get the great grandmother I'll get the father."
Elliot and Rollins nodded their heads as Elliot ran over to the stretcher and carefully laid Layla down on it "her name's Layla, she's got head trauma please take good care of her."
"Detective Stabler... I remember you it's good to see you back."
He shook his head "I'm not back I just happened to be here so."
She nodded "gotcha," she said as her partner checked her vitals "she was asking for her mother before she passed out."
The medic nodded "thank you Mr. Stabler," she said as Cragen walked over "I'm riding along," he said.
El and the paramedic nodded "keep me updated on how she's doing Don please."
"I will Elliot, thank you guys for calling it in," he said while getting in as the ambulance doors then closed and it drove off.
"What a night," Amaro said through a sigh as he went to stand beside Elliot.
"Right?" Elliot said as he sighed too "I better get back in there with Liv she was exhausted before we got here."
Amaro nodded "sounds good man I'm gonna hug my daughter close that woman was a piece of work."
Elliot nodded "I don't even wanna know what all she said, have a good night Nick."
"You to Elliot," he said as they both headed back into the McDonalds.
"Is she gonna be okay?" Olivia asked Elliot softly when he sat down and put his arm around her.
He sighed slightly "I don't know Liv I honestly don't she passed out about 10 minutes before I was able to get her into the ambulance."
She nodded slightly "do you wanna go to the hospital? Sit there until they figure out if she'll be okay?"
Elliot shook his head "we've gotta get back to Jersey Cragen said he'd keep me updated though."
She nodded slightly "good," she said as once Izzabella and Zara had said their goodbyes at the play area the Stabler bunch left the McDonald's and headed towards Jersey.
The drive was comfortably quiet for the most part as Izzabella fell asleep in her car seat pretty quickly "this has been one hell of a day hasn't it honey," Elliot spoke after a while.
Olivia nodded "it has, you were so good with that little girl too El you showed her gentleness and kindness."
He sighed "I tried but despite it all I think she was still scared of me."
Olivia shook her head slightly "like you told the girls earlier she was scared of everything."
He nodded slightly "true, if she pulls through this I wanna stop by Mercy on Tuesday, check in on her if it's alright with you."
Olivia nodded and smiled "of course it is El, you bonded with her and that's a good thing plus I'd like to see her give you a smile," she admitted.
Elliot smiled "you know so would I but if she doesn't that's okay, as long as she's safe, her great grandmother goes away and they find her mother for her I'll be happy."
Olivia nodded "me too," she said as she leaned her seat back slightly and tried to find a more comfortable position as her morphine had worn off and she was aching all over from her rather strenuous day.
"You alright honey?" Elliot asked, his smile dropping when he noticed her efforts.
Olivia nodded slightly "yeah just sore."
He nodded slightly "I'm sorry honey..." he said softly as he gently rubbed her shoulder wishing he could absorb her pain as his.
Olivia shook her head slightly "it's not your fault El really you have no reason to be sorry."
He sighed "I should have gotten us back to Jersey sooner, gotten you your meds before the pain started again."
Olivia shook her head slightly "saving Layla was worth it to me El," she said softly.
Elliot gave her a small smile "your to selfless sometimes you know that?"
Olivia smiled small and nodded her head as Elliot smiled "you know if I didn't need to have my eyes on the road I'd kiss you right now."
Olivia smiled "ohh I know but our lives our more important Stabler, that kiss can wait, the people driving in front of and behind us will thank you."
He chuckled "they might but I might not be thanking myself."
"Ohh you will be," she said with a knowing grin.
"I will huh?" he asked intrigued.
Olivia nodded "a long kiss is better than a short kiss," she said with a smile as she leaned her head back and closed her eyes leaving Elliot grinning huge.
As the trip went on Olivia ended up falling into a restless sleep and her face grew pale causing Elliot to worry a great deal she'll be alright, the color will come back to her once she gets her meds, he tried to assure himself in his mind as anywhere the traffic wasn't overly heavy he'd rub her shoulder in the hopes that her brain would focus on that more than the pain she was in.
A little while longer passed as they then made it to Berni's "baby we're here," he whispered softly to her once he had parked the car.
Olivia didn't hear him as he nodded slightly and gently undid her seatbelt as when he was about to lift her into his arms she startled awake "h-hmmm?"
"Easy baby easy it's just me love we're here," he said softly.
Olivia nodded slightly, took a couple deep breaths then looked out the window as once she was sure of her surroundings she opened her door and shakily got out of the truck as she was staggering since she was still half asleep and her Adrenalin had worn off.
"Easy honey easy don't rush take as long as you need," Elliot said not wanting her to accidentally hurt herself.
Olivia nodded slightly with her eyes half closed as she swayed slightly on her feet and Elliot frowned pulling her close to him "here lean against me baby it's alright," he whispered as the older kids got out of Maureen's car "she alright?" Carl asked.
"Yeah she will be the hike was just to much for her and her sugar rush from her coffee's worn off, will you carry Izzabella in for me?" he asked quietly.
Carl nodded "of course man where do you want me to put her?"
"Settle her on the love seat last night was just a one time thing, and also no scary movies with her in the room guys."
Carl nodded "yes sir," he said as Olivia sighed slightly and tried to stand on her own "I'm gonna have to pour cold water on my face when we get in," she said sleepily.
Elliot shook his head as he gently held her hand in his "you'll do no such thing my love because doctor Elliot recommends a dose of morphine, a nice massage then rest for his beautiful lady," he said as they walked slowly to cause Olivia as little pain as possible.
"But I promised you some passionate kisses and I still have research to do and"-
Elliot shook his head with a small smile "all that can wait until tomorrow love," he said as they entered the house.
Olivia just nodded her head sleepily as Elliot smiled slightly and gently guided her to the bed "here honey go on ahead and lie down I'll get in with you in a few minutes."
Olivia nodded slightly and crawled in as Elliot kissed the top of her head gently then went about brushing his teeth and getting himself ready for bed.
By the time he had finished with that and getting a bottle of water for Olivia she was already sleeping lightly again but it was obvious by the paleness of her face that she was still in pain as after he eased onto the bed and her into his arms he took one of the morphine pills out of the bottle and gently stroked her hair "baby I need you to take this for me," he said softly.
Olivia stirred slightly and glanced at the pill in his hand "it's just your morphine baby," he said reassuringly.
Olivia nodded slightly and tried to raise up so she could take the pill herself but grimaced slightly in pain as although she had been able to hide several of the grimaces from him today this time her luck ran out as Elliot frowned seeing it "I can help you love I don't mind we've done it before."
It's Elliot, not Lewis but Elliot, she thought to herself as she nodded slightly "I'll put the pill in y-you can hold the water."
Elliot nodded his head with a gentle understanding smile as he handed her the pill, she put it in and soon it was swallowed as she nodded slightly when she was done with the water and he pulled it away "that should kick in soon love, get some rest I'll be right here," he said softly.
Olivia nodded slightly and began trying to massage her temples with her hand as Elliot saw "here let me," he whispered as he gently took over and it took her less than five minutes to fall back asleep as Elliot smiled happily, glad that he wouldn't have to disturb her rest again as he scrolled through his phone then fell asleep himself.
Sleep didn't come all that easy for them as the rain made Olivia's bones hurt worse as about every time she'd move she'd whimper involuntarily in her sleep which would in turn wake Elliot "why don't I set you up a bath with epsom salts?" he asked softly at around midnight knowing she couldn't have more Morphine until 5.
She nodded slightly "I'd r-really appreciate it El n-no matter what position I lay in I hurt all over a-and it's a little hard to breathe."
He nodded slightly "do you feel like you need to go to the ER Liv? Having a hard time breathing isn't something to play with."
She shook her head slightly "I-I can still breathe El it's just a little hard, I-I'll tell you if I think I need to go I promise."
He sighed "you better baby I can't lose you and you wouldn't be alone for a single second."
Olivia nodded slightly taking his demand for what it was, fear for her wellbeing not an attempt to control her as she nodded firmly "I will Elliot I promise."
Elliot nodded slightly "I believe you," he said seeing the truth in her eyes as he gently kissed her head "I'm gonna go prepare your bath I'll be right back for you," he said softly as he eased up and headed out.
It wasn't long at all until he was back to help her in to the tub "I poured the salt in so I just hope the temperature is good."
She smiled some "I'm sure it will be El," she said as once her clothes were off she got in with his help "the water's perfect," she said with a small smile.
He smiled "I'm glad honey, here lie back the salts will cover more of your body that way," he instructed gently.
Olivia frowned slightly "I don't know El as sleepy as I am right now what if my head falls underwater?"
"I won't let that happen baby I promise I'll be sitting right here on the toilet lid."
Olivia nodded slightly "I won't stay in very long then I want you to be able to get some sleep tonight."
Elliot shook his head adamantly "no Liv don't rush on my account all I want is for you to feel better and I'll sit here for as long as it takes."
She nodded slightly deciding she'd let him win this battle as she laid back "ahhh," she sighed in contentment.
Elliot smiled when he heard her happy sigh but it didn't take long for a new sensation to spread through her body as it felt like every single area where she had been burned was on fire at once, the epsom salt water having soaked through her bandages and into the wounds as she franticly tried to take deep breaths.
"Baby what's wrong?" Elliot asked worriedly seeing her struggle for breath.
Tears streamed down Olivia's cheeks as her breathing grew more and more rapid "sweetheart please talk to me, please tell me," Elliot said softly as he was heartbroken by her distress.
Olivia just continued breathing rapidly as she shakily pulled the stopper out of the tub then tried to stand up but her body was to shaky and she almost fell over as Elliot gently pulled her into his arms where she continued to tremble, breathe rapidly and sob as just when he was about to call an ambulance Kathleen walked in needing to use the restroom "what on earth is going on?" she asked noticing Olivia's current state.
"I-I have no idea she was hurting so I drew her an epsom salt bath and had her lean back in the water, s-she was fine at first t-then this started, I-I haven't been able to get her to tell me what's wrong yet," he said as he was stroking her hair gently.
Kathleen nodded slightly as her expression became grim "dad I think the epsom salt might have gotten into her wounds."
"T-That's a good thing though right? E-Epsom salt helps, I-it helps not hurts I've used it before and it helped me..."
Kathleen sighed slightly "dad it helps sore muscles not open wounds your never suppose to use it if you have an open wound."
His face paled "oh god Liv I'm so sorry, so so so sorry... I-I thought it'd help you not hurt you baby I-I'm so so sorry..." he whispered softly as he teared up slightly in guilt.
Olivia managed to give him a slight nod as she was trying to regain her composure "we're gonna get it off you honey your gonna be alright," he said determinedly as now that he knew what was wrong he was determined to fix it "Kathleen turn the water on to warm then once your done with that help me get some of these bandages off her."
Kathleen nodded quickly and turned on the water as instructed as Elliot was quick but gentle in removing the bandages and Kathleen was too as once that was done she quickly handed him a wet rag and he gently rinsed the epsom salt water out of the burns with it.
As he worked quickly and gently the on fire sensation Olivia had been feeling started to fade and her breathing evened the rest of the way out as she shakily dried her tears with her good hand "t-thank you, t-thank you I-it felt like my body was on fire," she whispered.
"I'm so sorry Olivia, so so sorry," he whispered softly as Kathleen nodded "he'll probably never forgive himself for this Liv he was torn up trying to figure out what had you so upset."
She frowned slightly "I-it was an accident h-he didn't know that would happen."
"N-No I didn't but I'm still sorry," he whispered as Kathleen not having heard him speak responded to her as well "Liv to be honest everyone usually knows that, it's salt, not table salt but salt none the less and anything with any kind of salt in it doesn't need to go near open wounds."
"I-I thought it was different, I-I thought it only helped," Elliot said as his voice had a devastated quality to it as he was starting to lose his composure.
"El it's okay honey, I promise you it's okay," Olivia said softly as she waved Kathleen out of the room sensing a breakdown coming and knowing Elliot wouldn't want her to see him that way .
Once Kathleen was gone Elliot lost the last bit of his composure he had left as he broke down "I'm s-so sorry honey, s-so sorry I-I didn't know, I-I didn't know," he said through a steady stream of tears as he stroked her hair.
Olivia nodded slightly "I know you are El and I know you didn't mean for it to happen, y-you never would have suggested it if you had thought it would, y-your a good man Elliot Stabler, a good man."
"I-I try to be baby, I-I try to be but h-how can you trust me to keep taking care of you after this?"
Olivia kissed his cheek gently then looked into his eyes "because it was an accident El, an accident and also b-because," she teared up slightly "b-because your the only person in this world that I fully trust..."