AN: Okay, okay. I deserved every one of those icy reviews! But I'm back sooner than expected with said answers! Yay.
..But also more questions.. X
Olivia's hip supported Elliot's weight as she leant forward, her firm knock echoing down the wooden stretch of balcony. Her eyes traced the newly refurbished cabin door, whoever lived here surely wouldn't be expecting their jarring arrival at this early hour.
As moments ticked by she felt Elliot's fingers dig into her waist in earnest, a small grunt expelling as his breathing started to escalate into jagged pants. She knew he was reaching his limits and she wouldn't be able to keep him horizontal for much longer. Her eyes were desperate to turn, to seek out Elliot, to gauge his state but all her energy went into keeping him upright.
"Jackie," Elliot called out suddenly, his hand lifting off the bracket of the door to pound directly on the wood.
Jackie.
Olivia's mind raced. The way he'd said her name - so familiar, yet the name itself bearing no connection. An eerie silence took a hold as Olivia looked around, catching a peak of sunrise lifting behind the surrounding trees, a subtle hue of dawn reminding her that time wasn't on their side.
She hears movement from inside, her eyes whipping back to the door in front of them as hurried feet moved down a staircase and it was a few uneasy beats before metal slid through it's catch and the door was opening before them.
A blonde woman came into view. Sleep in her startled eyes, messy shoulder length hair that framed her face, a cream cardigan closed around her chest.
Early 40's maybe.
She looked like an edgy version of Kathy.
"Elliot," the woman whispered in shock, her eyes widening. "Jesus, what happened?" She doesn't wait for an answer, just opens the door wide and ushers them both into the large expansive living room.
Olivia moves him forward, her arm nearly giving out, a jarring ache shooting through her bad shoulder. Her teeth bore holes into her lower lip as she tries to keep him upright amongst the pain. There is blood on her stomach, crimson lining her palms and she looks around the room before her eyes collide with the blonde as if to say - where do I put him?
Jackie gestures the couch and Olivia walks the few remaining paces until she drops him down with a gentle thud, her bloodied hand bracing herself on the back of the couch so she doesn't fall into him.
Elliot lets out a groan as his back hits the sofa.
"Has he been shot?" Jackie calls out as she heads towards a large cupboard at the back of the room.
"No," Olivia breathes out, shaking out the pinch in her shoulder as she moves to take a seat beside him. "Car accident." The guilt of that statement hitting her full force, having had no idea the full extent of his damage until recently.
"What was it El?" Jackie calls out over her shoulder, her hands scrambling to accumulate boxes of medical aid. "Metal or glass?"
"Metal," Elliot grunts, now bending over from the pain.
She's back within moments and sinking down to the floor grasping the lip of his shirt and hoisting it upward but Olivia was still stuck on her words, his nickname, details surrounding the nature of their relationship.
'What was it El?'
The familiarity hadn't escaped her for a second and it was like a punch to the gut.
Jackie gasps when she sees the extent of the wound, the damage visible on her face and it makes Olivia's stomach turn.
"What can I do?" Olivia asks her eyes scanning the plethora of gauzes, needles – far more than the average home. Jackie had to be a medical doctor of some kind and that provided some relief at least.
Jackie looks up at Olivia with an expression she couldn't quite place as she began to snap on some latex gloves. It was the first time Jackie's eyes really took her in from head to toe as if she were only just realizing she was there.
"What blood type are you?" Jackie asks, her eyes scanning her like a puzzle.
The question hits Olivia sideways.
"A positive," Olivia responds.
"Good to know," she whispers, relief filling her eyes. "So is El."
A wave of protectiveness suddenly fills Olivia's chest as her eyes move from Jackie to Elliot's bowed head in confusion, unable to reconcile why a woman living in the middle of Ohio would have such intimate details of Elliot's life. She watches Jackie douse a cotton towel with disinfectant, her eyes barely lifting to Olivia's when she says it.
"You're going to come in handy," Jackie informs her and the statement singes her sides, almost as if she were implying Olivia would be useless otherwise. She watches as disinfectant meets with Elliot's open flesh and he hisses in response, his arm coming out and grasping Jackie's hand for support. Jackie grips his thigh as she leans forward, her breath blowing against the gash on his stomach in an effort to ease the sting.
Olivia feels it in her chest then like a physical force, a surge of distance hitting her like a wall. She watches their interaction play out from the sidelines, feeling almost as if she were interrupting something. Then it's Jackie who breaks the silence, her eyes moving across to an empty blood bag and needle sitting on the coffee table opposite Olivia.
"He's going to need one bag to start," Jackie whispers, her eyes finally lifting to meet Olivia's and it's something about the look in her eyes that makes Olivia's chest fall, like she was merely a piece of this ever growing puzzle that was never meant to fit.
TBC
AN: They say you should trust no one. But trust me..
