Olivia found herself standing in the elevator once more, her head on Barba's shoulder, her hand grasping Amanda's tightly. The elevator seemed to be moving at a slowly torturous pace, stopping at every single floor, to either let people out, or in. Almost as if it was teasing her, taunting her, prolonging a moment that she had dreamed of for so long. Granted she never thought it would be possible, and never under the circumstances, but she couldn't deny that she was happy. Her baby was alive, she didn't die. She wasn't blind to the fight she had ahead of her, she of all people knew it all too well. But at least she wouldn't be alone.
The doors finally opened at their designated floor, and she allowed both Barba and Amanda to basically pull her out. She was terrified, she had no idea what she was going to say to the girl, how she was going to explain any of this. How was she supposed to tell her that she was hers? That she brought this all on her? What if the girl already knew, but wanted nothing to do with her? She can't really blame her. She suddenly felt sick, and not so sure anymore. She felt like her knees might give out any second, and was never more grateful for Barba's hand that was firmly grasping her. Amanda now had a gentle hand on her back as she maneuvered them towards the girl's room. They had barely walked a couple of feet down the hall, when a voice called from behind.
"Lieutenant Benson."
They all turned around, and both women recognized the doctor they had been speaking to that morning. And one they had met on numerous occasions, sadly not all had happy endings.
"Dr. Thompson." Amanda greeted. "You're still here?" she wondered and he nodded.
"You've been here since they brought her in," Olivia remarked, clearly impressed with his dedication.
"Yeah, but she's not entirely out of the woods yet, so I'm keeping a close eye on her," he explained.
Olivia's heart sunk even further at the revelation. "Why isn't she out of the woods yet?" she heard Barba ask.
"She has a concussion, she's hung over, and she was pumped full of drugs. That's a dangerous combination, and we can never predict how the body can react to such a cocktail, so we're monitoring her closely." He told them, and Olivia almost swayed on the spot, if Barba's hand hadn't tightened around hers.
"I was actually on my way to her room for a neuro checkup," he declared, as he gestured with his hand towards her room. They all joined him, as they headed down the seemingly endless hall.
"I assume you have some news if you're here at this hour?" he alluded, and Amanda nodded.
"Yeah, we wanna run a few things by her," she said simply.
"I do hope that whoeve…..Ms. Matthews!" the chastising tone with which he called her name, made them all jump, as they rounded the corner, and came face to face with Savina, standing next to none other than Eddie Garcia.
"Dr. Thompson," Savina greeted.
"Rafi!" Eddie exclaimed happily, and Savina's head snapped to him in shock. She watched as he made his way over to the man in question, and engulf him in a hug.
"Eddie, I might be concussed, hung over and pumped full of drugs, but I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to call the ADA that!" she quipped.
"I'll call him anything I want," Eddie protested jokingly. "Los Tres Mosqueteros De Jerome Avenue!" he continued, and Savina's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"Excuse me?" the doctor wondered.
"The Three Musketeers of Jerome Avenue!" Savina translated with ease.
"You told her about that?" Barba asked incredulously, and to all their surprise, Savina –momentarily forgetting about her situation – genuinely grinned at Barba. "Yep!"
He couldn't help but mirror her smile, chuckling softly at the mischievous gleam in her eyes. "Don't believe a word he said!" he ordered jokingly.
"Well, that's a good sign," Dr. Thompson pointed out. "If you're alert enough to understand Spanish, that's a good sign."
"You hang around three Cubans for almost two years, you pick up a thing or two. And does that mean you won't be flashing that annoying light in my eye?" Savina said sweetly.
"Not a chance!" Dr. Thompson dead panned. "And what is it that you think you're doing?" he asked, as he fished the 'annoying light' out of his scrub pocket.
"Eh, walking!" Savina stated simply, scrunching her nose at the sight of the flash light.
"Cute!" Dr. Thompson retorted, as he flashed the light into her eyes, one at a time.
"Nurse said she can try walking if she's feeling up to it," Eddie started. "Was she supposed to stay in bed?" he asked.
"Squeeze my fingers," Dr. Thompson instructed gently, placing his index and forefinger inside her palms, and she did as instructed.
"Like I was telling Lieutenant Benson, you're concussed, hung over, and pumped full of drugs. I just don't want you rushing things, and then crumping on us," he elaborated, his eyes holding Savina's steady. "How's your head?" he asked.
"Pounding," she declared.
"Well, that could be the hang over," the doctor stated.
"Yes, someone remind of this if I decide I ever wanna touch alcohol again," she quipped, and Olivia had to admit that her spirit was impressive.
"Will do!" Eddie said matter of factly, and she chuckled, before she hissed in pain, and grabbed her side.
"Why don't we head back to your room since I need to speak to you about a few things, and it is my understanding they want to talk to you as well, and it's not good for you to do too much at the moment," he suggested, placing a gentle hand on her back, and turning her back towards the room.
Olivia, since she set eyes on Savina standing in the middle of the hall next to Eddie, had been unable to keep her eyes off of her, nor was she able to keep her emotions at bay. Savina looked like her, same tanned skin, her hair a slightly lighter shade of brown…but her eyes. Her eyes were the exact replica of Olivia's. She had grown up to hate her eyes, with the amount of times her mother had reminded her that they were her father's, Olivia had found it hard to forget about where they came from. Even though she had often got compliments about her eyes, she still loathed them. Never mind the fact that they actually betrayed her true emotions if you know how to look. But now, she couldn't hate them anymore. They weren't his eyes anymore, they were hers, they were her baby's eyes.
She saw the determination she saw that morning, the protective walls she wall too familiar with, the anger at the pity glances she was surely getting. But when she tore away at those, she saw the little girl. The little girl whose life consisted of one turmoil and heart ache after each other. The one who never got the chance to have a normal childhood, and never wanted to burden anyone. Who still had trouble believing that she had people who care about her, and reluctantly accepted their help. She saw the gratitude in her eyes directed at Eddie, at them.
Her heart lurched when she swayed once the doctor turned her around, and nearly jumped to her aid if Barba hadn't held her back, muttering 'paciencia' under his breath. She saw Eddie rush to her side, one hand grasping the outstretched hand that Savina flung reflexively in an attempt to gain her balance. She couldn't help the stab of jealousy that coursed through her at the sight of Eddie comforting her little girl. But she had to remind herself that she didn't even know yet. And she was glad that at least in the past couple of years, she had someone in her life who looked out for her.
"Are you okay?" Eddie asked in concern.
"I will be as soon as the room stops spinning," she joked weakly.
"I'll get a wheelchair," Dr. Thompson informed them, but Eddie shook his head. "No need." He said, and in one swift motion, he bent down, and gathered Savina into his arms.
They quickly walked back to the room, and Amanda helped Dr. Thompson and Eddie get her into bed, while Barba rushed to the jar of water sitting on the table, and poured her a cup. Olivia silently made her way around the bed, and softly lowered herself onto the bed.
She knew Barba was right outside in the hall when he told her to have patience, but how was anyone expecting her to hold back any longer? She'd been mourning her for seventeen years now, she didn't run to her and pull her into her arms like she wanted to. She merely sat next to her, taking comfort in the proximity. Which she guessed would have to be enough for quite some time. She was sure Savina was going to need some time to adjust to the news.
Eddie gently lowered her into the bed, and Amanda pulled the covers back up around her, while the doctor connected her once more to the monitors.
"Savina, can you tell me what you're feeling?" Dr. Thompson asked gently, once again pulling his flashlight and flashing it in Savina's eyes.
"Just a little dizzy," she answered, her eyes now once again focusing. She gladly accepted the water Barba offered, smiling thankfully at him.
"We'll let you get some rest," Eddie instructed, but she shook her head.
"No, no. I'm fine, I just moved too fast, and my head was already half spinning," she objected, before she finally looked at Dr. Thompson. "You said you wanted to talk to me about something," she offered, and he nodded.
"Yeah, you sure you're up for it?" he asked, and she nodded. "Well, when we first looked at your x-rays, we were more concerned with the more recent injuries, but looking back at them now," he started, and she smiled softly, already knowing what he was going to say.
"You found old rib fractures," she finished for him, and he nodded. Of course the two cops and the ADA in the room assumed the worst, and all three suddenly took threatening stances.
"Old foster homes," Olivia nearly growled, and Savina's eyes snapped to meet hers.
"No, nothing like that. Diana, my best friend, has two left feet, and out of everything, she decided to take up figure skating," she explained hastily to a seemingly furious Olivia. "She's responsible for both fractures," she added. "She didn't know how to stop and she crashed into an unsuspecting me, and we both fell on the ice, with her on top of me. And the other time, we slammed into the door leading to the viewers benches, once again with me acting as the softening cushion."
Dr. Thompson sighed, "That explains only two of them," he alluded. "We found three," he said after a moment's pause, "and they look like they may have happened a few years back, not to mention old head injuries," he listed, and Savina averted her eyes.
"Savina?" Eddie called questioningly, and she reluctantly raised her gaze to meet his. "What is he talking about?" he asked.
Savina sighed audibly in frustration, "abusive house when I was six," her voice was low, the humor that vibrated in it mere seconds ago was gone.
"Excuse me?!" Eddie almost growled, and she put her hand up to calm him.
"Don't worry, it was one time. A fall down the stairs, and he's been rotting in prison ever since," she explained hastily. "I was never really the quiet type, so I told the cops what happened, and he couldn't weasel his way out of it," she added.
"Which prison?" Eddie asked simply, and she arched an eyebrow at him.
"While I appreciate the gesture, he's already in a wheelchair. Apparently the idiot pissed off someone already spending life in prison, so he shived him in his back, completely cutting his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down." She told him, and he looked quizzically at her.
"How do you know all of this?"
"They sent me a letter when he tried to apply for parole for extenuating circumstances, asking if I want to come testify at the hearing. I didn't go, and his parole was denied, and I think Diana's dad may have had something to do with it."
"Good man!" he exclaimed, and she smiled.
"Well, we need to take a look at your medical records, and inform your social worker of what we find, and if the records match up with our findings it should be fine." Dr. Thompson told her and she nodded.
"Do you need anything else?" he asked.
"Yeah, when am I getting out of here?" she wondered.
"We need to make sure the drugs are safely flushed out of your system, and that the concussion and alcohol didn't do any permanent damage. So a week to say the least," he replied, and she groaned, seemingly back to her usual self, judging by the imperceptible relaxation of Eddie's shoulders.
"I'm so gonna get expelled," she commented, and Eddie glared at her.
"You can't seriously be worried about school now!" he cried incredulously.
"Well, the scholarship rules are pretty strict," she argued.
"They can't expel you because of any of this, legally they'd be opening themselves up to lawsuits, and pressure from the city," Barba interjected. "Don't worry, we'll deal with the school," he soothed. And he wasn't lying, they were going to deal with the school, but not really as the NYPD and DA's office, but rather as her parents. He didn't care what strings he would have to pull to keep her in that school, he was going to do whatever it takes.
Dr. Thompson's pager chose that moment to go off, and he excused himself. Savina then turned to Eddie. "Eddie, you have a long way home," she said softly, and he shook his head. "I'm not leaving you here, not with that woman still out there," he declared adamantly.
"Eddie, you have Danny and your mother to think about, she's not going to attack me in a hospital!" she retorted.
Once again, Barba decided to interfere before the argument got too heated. "Don't worry Eddie, she's gonna stay in the custody of the NYPD until whoever did this is caught. We need to speak to her about a few things anyways, and there's a detective on his way over to spend the night here, until we can get a uniform by the door," he told him. They had decided as they left, that once Carisi was done talking to the nuns; that he should head to the hospital, and spend the night with Savina, to make sure that the forewoman won't use the night shift's lack of staff and tries to finish the job.
"See, armed escort," she pipped up jokingly, and he sighed.
"Eddie, you're not choosing between me and him. He needs you more than I do," she reasoned, and he nodded reluctantly.
"Especially that I won't be telling him about this, until you're out of the hospital. Cause if I say hospital, he's gonna hear morgue!" he realized, and she nodded.
"Exactly," she affirmed.
"On one condition," he held up a finger, and she arched her eyebrow questioningly at him. "I'll bring breakfast in the morning, and you'll eat it." he all but ordered, and she looked like she was about to protest. "Omelets with black olives, parmesan and mozzarella cheese, with cinnamon French toast," he added, his voice softening up significantly. He smiled, as well as Olivia, when he saw the gleam in her eyes.
"You know your audience," she quipped, and he chuckled, as he made his way over to her, bending down to press a kiss to her forehead. "As soon as they're done, try to get some sleep. I'll come by tomorrow as soon as I wake up, and get Danny and my mom settled."
"No rush, evidently I'm not going anywhere," she grumbled as he headed for the door.
Once the door closed behind Eddie, the tension in the room almost seemed palpable. The three adults suddenly realizing that they have no idea how to approach the subject at hand, and it wasn't lost on them that Savina knew that something was up.
"Okay, you three are awfully quiet!" she remarked.
"We just need to talk to you about something, and we're not sure where to start," Amanda said honestly. That was partially the truth, never mind what they actually had to say.
"Well, why don't you just tell me what's going on?" Savina suggested.
"Well, it's about your mother," Olivia whispered, past the now choking lump in her throat, and Savina looked quizzically at her.
"There was a hit on your DNA when it went through the system," Amanda started.
"Ah!" Savina realized.
"You know who your mother is?" Barba almost squeaked.
"No, and I don't wanna know!"
EVIl Cliffy I know, but it seemed like a good place to stop. Reviews have been on the disappointing side lately, but the views, and PMs kinda make up for it. Thank you to all who read, and a special thanks to Mrs. Chilton and Fic Friend for their reviews.
Mrs. Chilton, I did have an original draft where Barba spoke to Liv on his own, but then I decided that the rest of the squad should be there, because it'll work better later on in the story. Thank you very much for the review, and I do hope you continue to enjoy the story.
Let me know what you all think of this.
I will re-read it later to check grammar and spelling, so excuse them for now.