Finding Olivia
Chapter 8: The Long Road Home
"Mm," Olivia smiled as she stepped into the sunlight. It was a new day, in more ways than one. Elliot stood beside her with his arm wrapped around her waist. In one moment of liberating honesty the previous night, their lives which had seemed so bleak up until that second began to take a turn down a new road. She didn't know what would lie ahead where they were going but she knew that if they went there together, where they were headed would be much better than where they had been. She leaned her head on Elliot's shoulder "It's so good to be out of there," she told him.
Elliot nodded as they neared his rental car where Fletcher stood waiting for them "Hey," he nodded to the younger man who had agreed to drive them to the airport and return the car for Elliot. Fletcher had been very helpful, he had made sure that the investigation into Derek's death was expedited and that Elliot was cleared of any charges that the Sheriff's office might have decided to file. Fletcher had also gone to Olivia's apartment and packed the short list of items that she had told him she was bringing back to New York with her.
Fletcher opened the back passenger side door and stepped aside and with a grand sweeping gesture he said in a tone that tried to be serious "Your carriage awaits madam."
Olivia laughed a little "Thanks Fletcher," she slid into the back seat and fastened the belt over herself before she added "For everything."
Fletcher nodded before turning to Elliot "She doesn't know yet does she?" he asked. He had informed Elliot earlier that morning before Olivia had woken up, that the time codes on the recording showed that a half hour was missing. He had also finally been able to tell Elliot what he hadn't gotten the chance to the night before. When Fletcher had gone up that staircase, he had found himself in the apartment above the store that Derek Moonshower shared with his wife Natalie. Natalie Moonshower was in the kitchen, lying on the floor, dead, she had slit her wrists. There was very little doubt that it was a suicide. Natalie had left a long elaborate note that FBI investigators had found taped under the sink where Natalie had hoped that her husband would never find it.
"She doesn't need to know yet," Elliot answered softly "I'll tell her once we're on the plain and headed as far away from this place as possible."
Fletcher shook his head "If you say so," he mumbled as he walked around to the front of the car and slid into the driver's seat.
Elliot slid into the back beside Olivia "How are you feeling?" he asked as Fletcher started the car.
She stared straight ahead for a moment, ridged once again, vigilant against any and all perceived threats. She turned to him finally and whispered so as not to betray her emotions "I need to know that it's over."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"How severe is it?" Munch asked as he and Fin stood outside the room in the intensive care unit where Dana Lewis lay, attached to machines and fighting for her life.
"She was shot in the shoulder," the doctor told him "It was a while before anyone found her so she lost a lot of blood."
"What are her chances?" Munch asked as he scribbled something on his notepad. He wondered how anyone could ignore someone lying on the street bleeding to death.
"She was in incredibly good physical condition," the doctor explained "She should recover nicely."
"When will she be up to talking?" Fin asked, reaching for the handle of the door.
The doctor stopped him "She's not even awake yet," he told the detectives "Let alone lucid enough to answer questions."
"When will she be awake?" Fin asked impatiently.
"It could be a few hours," the doctor answered pensively "It could be another couple of days."
"Thanks," Munch shook the doctor's hand as he and Fin turned away and walked down the hall a few yards.
"Now what?" Fin asked as he stopped and leaned against a wall.
Munch sighed, removing his glasses and rubbing his tired eyes before returning them to his face "Captain says she's our case," he grumbled "He wants to know her motives and who was paying her. He doesn't want to turn her over to anyone else yet."
"Why can't we just load her off on the feds?" Fin asked his partner with a groan.
"Because, my incredibly empathetic friend," Munch began, putting a hand on Fin's shoulder "Our dear little Dana isn't just a perp here, she's also a victim."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Are you sure you're allowed to be here?" the medical examiner asked the two men and one pale looking woman who stood in front of him.
All three flashed their IDs as Fletcher told the ME "This has all been authorized."
The man shook his head and turned "Follow me," he called over his shoulder. He heard the three sets of footsteps echoing behind him in the hall. He reached the appropriate area and pulled open the drawer "We're just about to ship him off to be buried," he said, his voice cold and full of hate for the dead man before him "Filthy bastard," he muttered.
Olivia slowly moved past Elliot and towards the body. She watched as the ME pulled the sheet off the face. For a moment, she was unable to say anything. She found her voice again and whispered to the ME "Thanks," without waiting for a response, she quickly turned away.
Elliot went after her and caught up with her when she had exited the morgue. He watched as she leaned against the building, taking slow deep breaths, her face upturned towards the sun. He came up beside her "He's dead," he stated.
"I know," she whispered in return as she turned to him and buried her face in his chest as her arms wrapped around his neck "I thought that seeing his body would make it all go away."
"Did it?" Elliot asked softly. He held her close to him, wanting to absorb any hurt she was feeling.
"For a moment," she sobbed "When I first saw his face… I…"
Elliot moved a hand up to stroke her hair "I know," he whispered "It's sometimes hard to believe that they're dead at first."
"No," she separated from him just slightly "For a moment… I thought he was… I thought I saw you," she pulled him close to her again, needing to feel his heartbeat, needing to feel the rise and fall of his chest, needing to know that he was still alive.
"Liv," he whispered "I'm so sorry," it was all he could think to say after what she had just told him.
"Please," she whispered "Don't think that I could ever think it was you that did those things to me. I know you'd never do anything to hurt anyone."
"I never would," he told her as he stood there with her in his arms.
"I know you wouldn't," she told him firmly, trying to convince him of what she knew "It's just when I thought I saw you… I thought I would die too. I was scared. For one second, I thought that you were gone and if that ever happened for real. I just can't lose you."
"I'm not going anywhere," he told her "I'm gonna be right beside you," he reassured her then he smiled slightly "You can't even get rid of me by going across country. I don't think that you'll ever get rid of me."
"I don't ever want to," she laughed and cried all at the same time as she kissed him. She separated and put her head on his shoulder "I love you."
"I love you too," he whispered in her ear as his hand went slowly up and down her back.
After a few minutes of standing together that way, Fletcher came out of the building to find them "Guys," he called "We should go if you're gonna catch your flight."
Olivia separated from Elliot "Let's go home," she smiled warmly at him and took his hand, leading him to the car.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"I hate goodbyes," Fletcher told the two detectives as he escorted them to the gate.
"Me too," Elliot agreed, he subconsciously tightened his grip on Olivia's waist just slightly.
"This isn't goodbye," Olivia reassured Fletcher with an almost motherly smile "Its more like… stay in touch?" she suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Fletcher said as he gave Olivia a quick hug before turning to leave.
Elliot noticed how Olivia seemed to tense up when Fletcher touched her. And from the way that Fletcher quickly let go and backed away with an apologetic expression on his face, Elliot was sure that Fletcher had noticed too.
"Sorry," Fletcher murmured. He had forgotten for a moment but that moment had been long enough to inflict damage "I didn't mean…"
"It's okay," Olivia reassured him before hugging him again, trying her hardest not to flinch. Regardless, the hug was still very brief.
"Flight 515 for LaGuardia is now boarding," the disembodied voice resounded through the airport.
"Well, that's us," Elliot said, taking Olivia's hand "If you're ever in Manhattan Fletcher, look us up."
"I'll do that," Fletcher smiled "Now go, go before you miss your flight," he playfully shoed his friends towards the plain.
The two detectives waved one last time before they lost sight of Fletcher in the crowd.
Elliot turned to Olivia as they walked through the corridor that led to the plain "Are you ready for this?" he asked.
Olivia didn't need to ask what he was talking about. He wanted to know if she was ready to return to New York, to her apartment, to her job. With all that she had been through and the stress of having to explain their relationship to the captain and everyone, he wanted to know that it wasn't moving too fast "I can handle it," she answered.
"You know," Elliot attempted to give her one last out "I think we both have some vacation time accumulated. If you wanted to take a few days just to get resituated…"
Olivia took a moment to consider his offer. Normally she wouldn't have given such an offer a second thought but nothing was normal anymore. Finally she conceded "Just a few days, until I get settled in again."
They were on the plain now and looking for their seats "This is us," Elliot told her as he pointed to two seats. Olivia slid in first and Elliot took the aisle seat. He turned to Olivia "So," he began "What's the first thing you're gonna do when you get back to Manhattan?"
"Get my stuff out of storage," she answered immediately, smiling to herself at the simple pleasure of being able to sleep in her own bed again.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Is there any chance that she'll wake up in the next nine hours?" Cragen asked as he paced his office with the phone in his hand.
"Apparently," Munch told the captain "According to the doctor, anything's possible. Maybe you should try tapping your heels together and wishing on a star."
"Maybe I should try finding a new detective," Cragen deadpanned "Listen, Elliot and Olivia are landing at LaGuardia in nine hours. I would like some answers for them concerning how all of this happened. If there is someone out there who's out to get them, I want to know who that person is before they make another attempt."
"How are they doing?" Munch asked. He and Fin were made aware by the captain, as soon as he had heard from Elliot, about what had happened to Olivia. He knew that Elliot was probably hurting unbelievably for Olivia.
"I spoke to her before they left the hospital," Cragen told him "She seems fine but you know Olivia."
Munch nodded "And Elliot?"
Cragen sighed "He's trying to be strong for her and she probably needs that right now. I think I'm going to make them take at least a week off when they get back."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"So what were you going to tell me as soon as we were on the plain?" Olivia asked just as Elliot was starting to get comfortable.
"Um…" Elliot trailed off for a moment. He didn't want to tell her about the half hour that was unaccounted for. He thought that it might do more harm than good.
"Elliot," she said softly, placing a hand on his knee "What is it?" she was suddenly nervous. She knew that they hadn't found Rickie but it had sounded like the feds were closing in on him.
"It's nothing," he told her, trying to make it sound not nearly as disturbing as it really was. He turned in his seat to face her and placed a hand on the side of her face "I promise that no one will ever see it."
"See what?" she asked. She knew he couldn't promise that no one would ever see the video. It was evidence in the case that the feds were building against Andy and Jack. It was evidence that cleared Elliot of murder charges. She knew that people were going to see it but she tried not to think about that.
Elliot took a deep breath "Half an hour of footage is missing," he let her rest her head on his shoulder "Fletcher thinks that Rickie might have taken a copy with him before deleting it."
This was bad, this was very bad "Oh God," she whispered. She had a feeling that Rickie would have taken the footage that could have identified him. Tears began to burn her eyes. What he'd done had just hurt so much. She hadn't wanted to give in but it hurt so much.
"Yes."
"Yes what?"
"I'm a filthy little whore."
She just wanted him to stop. She did what he demanded of her because she wanted him to stop "Oh God," she whispered again. Suddenly she felt even more ashamed then she had before. If Rickie had a copy of that footage, he could make duplicates, he could put it on the internet, any and every perp she had ever put in jail could get their kicks watching her be broken by one man. This and other humiliating scenarios swum in her head "Oh God, Elliot," she completely collapsed against him.
"They're gonna find him and the footage he took," Elliot assured her "I won't let him get anywhere near you," he dropped a kiss to the top of her head.
She sniffled and pulled herself into a sitting position again "How long until we land?" she asked.
TBC
A/N: So two chapters ago, I said that there were only two chapters left but I wrote two chapters and there is at least one chapter left of this story.