Chapter 96

It was just after four in the morning when Natalia felt something move against the side of her face. Her head snapped up and she was met by the most beautiful green eyes she'd ever seen. "Hi." Olivia choked out.

Tears sprang to Natalia's eyes as she stood and bent to kiss Olivia's forehead. "Hey. It's about time you woke up."

Olivia smiled and tried to speak. "W-wa-water." Natalia quickly grabbed the cup of water on the bed side table and held the straw for Olivia to take a drink. "Th-thank you."

Natalia placed the water down and pressed the call button before drying her eyes and smiling at her wife. "How are you feeling my love?"

"I k-know I-I've s-said t-th-this be-before, b-but, I t-th-hink a m-mack t-tr-truck h-hit m-me." She stuttered with a half-smile.

"I'm so sorry Olivia. I should have never let you go out there." She started crying again at the guilt she felt for her wife's injuries and pain.

"H-hey. It-it's n-not y-yo-your f-fault b-ba-baby. C-come h-he-here." Olivia felt foggy and struggled to say words. She didn't want to talk, but she wanted to make sure Natalia knew this wasn't her fault.

Natalia stepped closer and carefully leaned her forehead against Olivia's, being mindful of her wound. "Yes it is. Frank's doing this because of me, and I shouldn't have let you go out to the house. We had plenty of clothes at the hotel. I'm so sorry Olivia. I'm so sorry."

"S-st-stop. Fr-Frank d-did t-this. N-no-not y-you. I l-lo-love y-you sw-sweet-sweetheart."

Natalia tried to stop her tears but couldn't. She cried harder at how much Olivia was trying to comfort her when she was the one in so much pain and how hard it was for her wife to speak. "I love you too. I should be the one comforting you. You're the one that's hurt."

"W-we c-com-comfort e-each o-oth-other. T-that's h-how i-it w-wo-works."

Natalia kissed her forehead and sat back in the chair, gripping her hand as Rick appeared where she had thought a nurse would. He checked all of Olivia's vitals before finally addressing the pair. "Well, hi there. You know we really should quit meeting like this. There are better ways for you to see me."

Olivia half smiled at his attempt at humor. "Y-ye-yeah w-well, w-what c-ca-can I s-say, I l-like t-the a-att-attention."

"Well, that's true. You always were an attention whore. But seriously, how are you feeling?"

"H-hurts. I-it's h-ha-hard t-to t-talk. E-ev-every th-thing is fu-fu-fuzzy."

"Alright. Stop trying to talk. I'll get you a dry erase board and we'll try that. I'm sure you need more rest and then you'll be back to firing off those insults you love so much. I'll be right back and then I need to ask you a few more questions."

"O-okay."

Rick walked out and Natalia smiled at Olivia before whispering she'd be right back and followed after him. "Rick?"

"Yes."

"Is that normal? She can't say a single word without stuttering."

"Yes, it's very common in concussion patients. I'm going to do some very simple test to check for any other damage. It's possible that what I said is true and she just needs some more rest."

"And the other possibilities?"

"Look Natalia, I won't lie, there were some things on her CT scan that are slightly concerning. But nothing I think will cause permanent damage. She could need to relearn some aspects of speech. She may need to do some speech therapy. She might struggle with her fine motor skills. Things like that. Nothing to horrible.

She is going to need physical therapy. She might need a little more care then we initially thought, but nothing drastic as far as I can tell at this time. Let me grab a board for her. It's one of the tests I'm running. I want to see if it's just her speech or if her writing and spelling are effected as well. I'm also going to check her vision, hearing, memory, and fine motor skills. Let me grab what I need and I'll meet you back in there."

Natalia didn't say anything further, just went back to sit with Olivia. When she entered, Olivia half smiled up at her. "H-hey y-yo-you. S-so, w-wh-what's t-the v-ver-verdict? A-am I b-broken?"

Natalia smiled at her love and sat on the very edge of the bed, taking Olivia's hand into her lap. "No, my love, you're not broken, Rick just needs to grab some things so he can run a few simple test. Nothing bad honey. He'll be back in a minute."

"R-R-Rafe?"

Natalia looked over to the other bed and Olivia slowly turned her head and followed her line of sight. At seeing her two eldest children, she smiled with the left side off her lips again. Natalia was beginning to see a pattern. Whenever Olivia smiled, it was only with the left side of her mouth. She had thought it was on purpose at first. Olivia's signature half smile, but when she noticed the light in her eyes that almost always accompanied a full smile when she looked at their children, she realized Olivia was unaware she was only using half her mouth. She decided to keep that to herself and speak with Rick about it, as well as not telling Olivia about Rafe until morning at the very least.

Rick came back in carrying a dry erase board, a marker, some flash cards, and a container with some small beads in it. "Alright ladies, I'm going to ask Olivia a few questions, and then if she's up for it, we'll do some simple test, if not, we'll wait until morning. Okay?"

Both woman nodded and Natalia moved back to the chair releasing Olivia's hand so she could hold the board and marker. Rick moved the bed side table to be over Olivia's lap and adjusted the bed so she was sitting up a little more. "Okay, I'm going to ask you some simple questions and you are going to answer them, writing your response only. I know you're going to want to tell me to shut up for a lot of these, but humor me and just write your answers. Okay?"

Olivia nodded and Rick began. "What's your full name?" Olivia wrote out 'Olivia Rebecca Spencer-Rivera' without a problem. "What's today's date?" Olivia wrote out 'January sixteenth two thousand and ten.' Rick corrected her that it was well into the following day, but he would give her that one since it was the sixteenth before she took her little nap. Olivia swatted him gently on the arm and he continued. "Who's the president?" Olivia again wrote her answer, 'Obama.' And Rick smiled and continued. "Okay last one and then we'll move on. What day is it?" Olivia started to write 'Friday' but crossed it out and wrote 'Saturday' since she had already been informed that it was no longer Friday the sixteenth. "Good. Now I'm going to show you some cards with colors on them, write down what you see.

Rick held up several different colored cards and Olivia wrote down each color correctly. He moved on to simple objects like a ball, a cat, a dog, a house, a car, and so on. Olivia wrote everything down correctly. He then shined a flashlight in her eyes to check her pupils before doing a simple eye exam. He noticed a slight difference in her pupils, but nothing major. Stopping to ask if she was okay to go on and getting a positive answer, he moved on to having her move the beads he brought in from the container to a plastic cup and back. Once he was satisfied that the only thing that seemed to be effected was her speech, and possibly a small vision issue, he put away everything he had brought in.

"Alright Olivia, everything seems good so far. Now, I'm going to ask you some things, and I want you to answer verbally. If you are uncomfortable answering anything, just let me know and we'll move on. Okay?"

"O-ok-okay."

"Alright. What's the last thing you remember from last night?"

"R-Rafe c-crying. H-he w-was sc-sca-scared I w-wa-was g-going to sh-shoot F-Frank."

"Good. Do you remember the events from last night?"

"Y-ye-yes."

"Everything?"

"I t-th-think s-so."

"Okay. I'm not going to make you tell me. We'll leave that to the detectives. What I do need to know is if you can remember how you got that nasty bump and cut on the back of your head?"

"N-no. F-Fr-Frank h-h-hit m-me wi-with t-the g-gun a-a-and I b-bla-blacked o-o-out."

"Okay. That's okay. We'll see if one of the detectives or Rafe can tell us what you might have hit your head on. Now here's my last question for now, and I need you to be honest. Did Frank hurt you, sexually? They wanted to look last night but I wouldn't allow it without your consent."

"N-no. T-th-thank y-you f-for s-st-stopping t-th-them."

Rick smiled and patted her leg. He knew Olivia had a difficult past and although he didn't know for certain, in all his years of treating her, he had seen signs that she had been sexually abused in the past and he wouldn't allow her to feel violated while in his care. "Of course. Alright, I'm going to leave you both to get some rest, I'll be by in the morning and we'll talk more. Natalia, can I speak with you for just a moment?"

Natalia kissed Olivia's hand and followed Rick out of the room. "What's up?"

"Well, it's good that it only seems to be her speech, however, I did notice that she seems to only be smiling with her left side and that her right eye is slightly less responsive then her left."

"I had noticed and was going to bring it up to you. What does that mean?"

"Maybe nothing, like the speech she could just need more rest. Frank hit her in the right temple, so it's possible that she is having delayed response time on that side, or she could be partially paralyzed on her right side."

"When will you know for sure?"

"Let's give her some time to rest. In the morning we'll see how she's doing. If I see a problem, we'll do some further testing. When she's ready we'll see if she can walk properly and give her some simple test with the right half of her body. It's a good sign that she could use her right arm and hand to write. That means she's probably not paralyzed. We'll know more after she's had some more sleep. And you should do the same."

"Thanks Dr. Rick."

"Anytime, now go. Sit with her and you both need to sleep. I left the dry erase board and marker in there so she can write if she needs anything. I know the talking is getting to her and it's draining her. Try not to let her talk too much. Okay?"

"Okay. Thanks again." Natalia reentered the room and was at Olivia's side in a split second. Kissing her forehead and cheeks and finally gently kissing her lips. "I'm so glad you woke up baby. You have no idea how worried I was. Please don't ever scare me like that again."

"I-I'll t-try. C-come l-l-lay w-with m-me."

Natalia handed her the board and marker. "Rick said not to talk too much right now. And no, you have too many injuries, I am not crawling up there and hurting you."

Olivia wrote on the board and turned it to her wife. 'Please. I sleep better with you.'

Natalia shook her head. "No baby. You have broken ribs, I can't."

'Please.' Olivia wrote. 'You always lay with me when I'm stuck in this damn hospital bed.'

Natalia sighed and kissed the back of Olivia's hand. "I know baby, but this is different. You've never had four broken ribs before."

Olivia pouted as she wrote again. 'You'll be careful. I love you.'

"How about if I sit on the edge like I was before until you fall asleep?"

Olivia shook her head no and wrote again. 'Not good enough, I need you next to me.'

"Honey, please, I'll lay with you tomorrow if Rick says it's okay, for tonight, just please, let me sit here."

Olivia huffed and set down the board, sliding the table out from over her and patted the spot next to her on the bed for Natalia to sit. "F-f-fne." She pouted.

Natalia gently sat down on the very edge and ran her fingers carefully through Olivia's hair and kissed her head. "It's only because I love you so much baby."

"I k-k-know. I l-lo-love y-you t-t-too. C-c-can I ha-have a r-real k-kiss? T-th-then I w-will sl-sle-sleep."

"Of course, my love. I will always kiss you." She bent down and gently placed her lips against Olivia's. Olivia lifted her right hand and placed it on the back of Natalia's head, pulling her in for a deeper kiss. When they broke apart, Natalia smiled her full dimple smile and placed one last peck on her wife's lips. "Now, close your eyes and go to sleep. I'll be right here when you wake up."

Olivia did as she was told and closed her eyes. Natalia stroked her hair carefully and rubbed her arm. Eventually Olivia's breathing slowed down and Natalia could tell she was asleep. She eased herself off the bed and sat back in the chair, taking Olivia's hand back into her own and laying her head down on the bed so she could try and get a couple more hours of sleep.

Natalia felt like she had just shut her eyes when she was being shaken awake. It took a moment for her to register where she was but then Ava's voice calling for her brought her to consciousness and an awful sound woke her fully. Her baby boys was crying in his sleep and calling out for his mom. She hadn't heard her son cry like that since he was a little boy. She quickly jumped from her position and ran to his side.

She raked her fingers through his hair and softly tried to rouse him. "Shh mijo. It's okay."

Rafe batted her hand away and screamed. "NO! mom."

Natalia didn't touch him but instead just kept her voice calm and tried to wake him. "Mijo, it's okay mijo, it's just a dream. Wake up Rafe."

Rafe tossed and turned for a minute while Natalia kept talking softly to him. Eventually she was able to wake him and he clung to her. "Ma. Ma. Where's mom, is she okay?" He sobbed.

"I-I'm r-right h-he-here ba-baby." Olivia said as loud as she could from the other bed. "I-I-it's o-okay s-son. I-it's o-ov-over."

Rafe's head snapped around at the sound of Olivia's stuttering voice. He jumped from his bed as fast as he could and ran to her side just as Ava reached her other side. "Mom." He said softly as he gently touched her bandaged head. "I'm s-s-sorry mom. I'm s-so sorry." He choked out through his tears.

Olivia lifted her right hand to touch his face. "I-it's o-o-okay s-s-son. I-i-it's n-not y-your fa-fault."

Rafe grabbed her hand from his face and squeezed it tightly. "Yes it is. I should have protected you."

Natalia walked over and hugged her son from behind as Ava leaned down and kissed her mom's cheek. "Hey mom. I'm so glad you're awake. How are you feeling?"

Olivia started to speak but Natalia stopped her. "Hey, honey, wait just a second okay. Ava baby, can you hand your mom that dry erase board over there. Rick said for her not to talk too much but she can write for us.

Ava did as she was asked and handed the white board and black marker to her mom. Rafe sat in the chair Natalia pulled over for him and laid his head down against Olivia's arm. Natalia gently lifted Olivia's left leg and sat at the foot of the bed, placing Olivia's foot in her lap, and rubbing up and down her shin with one hand while the other rubbed Rafe's shoulders.

Olivia took the board and answered her daughter's question. 'I'm okay my darling daughter. Just a little hard to talk right now.'

"Are you gonna get better?" Ava asked.

'Of course, I am. I'm Olivia freakin Spencer-Rivera.' She wrote and smiled at her daughter.

"You're not invincible mom, but I'm glad you're okay."

Just to show both of her children that she was going to be okay. Olivia concentrated as hard as she could before she spoke. "I'm… okay... I… p-promise." She said the words slowly, having to pause between each one to think and concentrate, but it was the first sentenced she had said without stuttering every word and she was proud of herself for doing it. Natalia beamed at her wife and squeezed her thigh to show her support.

"You should rest more it's only six." Ava told her mom.

Olivia shook her head but Natalia squeezed her leg again. "She's right honey. You and Rafe should both try and get some more sleep. Yesterday was very traumatic for both of you."

"I'm not leaving her." Rafe said sternly.

Olivia moved her hand to play in his hair. "Rafe… y-you… need… t-to… sl-sleep… I'm… fine... I-I'll… be… h-here… when… y-you… get… up." As Olivia became more tired even concentrating and talking as slow as a sloth wasn't helping her speech.

Natalia could see that Olivia was getting aggravated with herself. "Alright. Ava, can you help me move Rafe's bed over here next to moms. Rafe come sit here for a minute."

Rafe moved to sit where Natalia had been while Ava and Natalia moved his bed until it was flush up against Olivia's. With some coxing, Natalia got Rafe to climb into his bed and hold Olivia's hand. Ava got back into Rafe's bed on his other side and hugged tightly to her brother.

Natalia kissed both of her children on the head and then kissed Olivia's lips before she went back to her chair and held Olivia's other hand. "Okay, there. Now everyone is together and we can all get a little more sleep."

Olivia gave her half smile to her wife, squeezed both her and Rafe's hands and closed her eyes. Rafe turned onto his side so he was closer to Olivia and he too shut his eyes back tight. Ava spooned Rafe from behind and glanced over at her Ma. The two shared a knowing look and then they too tried to get a little more shut eye.

It was two hours later when Dr. Rick silently came into the room. If anyone had been awake they would have seen the unshed tears in his eyes. The sight before him was both endearing and heart breaking. Natalia had as much of her upper body laid on Olivia's bed as possible. Olivia had one hand resting on Natalia's head and the other squeezing tightly to Rafe's who was as close to Olivia as humanly possible without hurting her. Ava was still spooning Rafe and clinging tightly to him with her head on the top of his arm.

Rick quietly walked to Natalia and gently shook her awake. He placed a finger over his lips to tell her to be quiet and motioned for her to follow him into the hall. Natalia looked over her family and couldn't help but give a sad smile. She kissed Olivia's forehead and followed Rick.

"Morning Natalia. Did you get any sleep?"

"A little. How about you?"

"More then you I'm sure. When did Rafe wake up and move the bed over?"

"He had a nightmare around six. He refused to move from Olivia's side so Ava and I moved the bed over so he and Olivia could both get some more sleep. At least he moved on his own, he still didn't say anything more than sorry, but he was all there, just mad at himself and worried for Olivia. I don't know what to say to him. He thinks this is his fault, like he failed her."

"I'm not going to say it's going to be easy, but he'll get through this. You all will. Your family is very strong. Once he and Olivia are both on the road to recovery, I will suggest some counseling for both of them. I know we don't know much of what happened, but I would venture to guess it was traumatic for them both. Hopefully when they wake up, the two of them can give us a clearer picture of what exactly happened yesterday."

"I hope they are more help then Frank. I could tell he was lying when I went down to the station. When he got caught in one lie he invoked his rights for a lawyer and quit talking. I have no idea what happened to my wife and son yesterday but I guarantee you, one way or another I am going to find out."

"Easy there mama bear. Let's focus on getting Rafe and Olivia both well, then we can look into the facts. I see Phillip's bodyguards arrived."

"Looks like it. I must have been asleep when they came up because I don't remember meeting them." Natalia said as she looked from one end of the hall to the other at the two men in black suits that were obviously watching Olivia's room. If she hadn't known Phillip was sending them over she would have been frightened.

"I'm gonna go get us both a cup of coffee. Why don't you call Doris or Phillip about these two and then we'll wake the two sickies and see what we can do about them."

"Alright. Thanks Rick."

Rick smiled as she strolled away to grab them both coffees. Natalia slipped into the room just long enough to grab her phone before stepping back into the hall and calling Phillip. He said that she and Olivia were both asleep when he got there last night and would be down shortly for introductions.

Rick returned with their coffee and he and Natalia walked into the room to wake her family. Natalia first shook Ava awake who stroked Rafe's face to wake him while Natalia went to kiss Olivia awake. Once they were all awake, Rick stepped closer to Rafe's bed to speak with him first.

"Good morning Rafe. How are you feeling?"

"Okay I guess. Tired."

"That's to be expected. Do you feel up to talking for a few minutes?"

"Not really, but I guess I have to." He turned his head and saw Olivia doing her best to smile at him while she rubbed his back. He reached out to touch her leg just to have some contact before looking back at Rick. "What do you want to know?"

"I'm not here to ask you about what happened. Yes I would like to know, but my main focus is making sure your health is okay. Do you remember yesterday?"

"Yes. Too well."

"I know you don't want to remember, but it's good that you do. Are you aware of what happened after you left the farmhouse with Olivia?"

Rafe thought for a second and realized he couldn't remember much after getting in the ambulance with his mom. He shook his head. "No. The last thing I remember is getting in the ambulance with mom, and then I think I remember seeing Ma some time, but I don't remember anything else."

"That's okay."

"But why can't I remember anything between the ambulance and waking up earlier?"

"You were suffering from what's called emotional shock. The events that occurred yesterday were to traumatic for your brain to process at the moment and it shut down. You'll be okay. You may suffer symptoms for days, week, even years, but you'll get through it, with the help of your family, and your friends. Talking about it will help."

"Do I have to right now?"

"Not to me no. The police will probably need a statement soon, but, you don't have to talk to anyone else until you're ready."

Rafe nodded his head and laid back down as close to Olivia as he could get. Rick walked over to stand next to Natalia at Olivia's bed side so he could assess her. "Alright oh stubborn one. How are you feeling this morning? Honestly."

Olivia glanced at her children before looking at Rick. "I-I'm o-okay." She said slowly.

Rick knew she wasn't going to be honest as long as Rafe and Ava were in the room and he also knew there was no chance of prying Rafe away from her just yet. "Good. I need to run a few more simple tests."

"O-ok-okay." She stuttered nervously.

"Don't worry, I think even you can do this one for me without complaint. Smile." Olivia just stared at him like he had grown two heads. "Olivia, I'm not asking you to be happy, I'm asking you to smile and I'm being serious."

Olivia didn't know what the point of this was but smiled all the same. It was a little better than it had been earlier that morning, but her right side was still dropping slightly. He took out his flashlight and had her follow it with her eyes. Just like her smile, her right eye was a little more responsive then before, but still slower than her left. Rick had her cover her left eye and read a chart of letters. She was able to but struggled and got a few of the letters wrong.

"T-they're a l-li-little b-blurry, b-but I c-ca-can s-see t-th-them."

"That's good."

"W-what's g-g-g…." Frustrated with her speech, she angrily grabbed the white board and wrote her question. 'What's wrong? Why are you testing my eyes again and having me fucking smile?'

Rick looked around the room and then to Natalia to know if he should say or not with the kids in the room. Natalia gave him a small nod so he explained. "Your right side is a little slower than your left." At Olivia's quizzical look, he continued. "You were hit in your right temple, pretty hard. It's caused you to have a bit of a delayed reaction with your right eye, and the right side of your mouth is having trouble. That's why I asked you to smile. I noticed earlier that when you smiled it was with only the left half of your mouth. It's better now than it was earlier and your eyes response time is catching back up with your other eye. I believe with a little therapy both your vision and your cheek and mouth will be fine. I also think your right side could be part of what's effecting your speech. You are doing better on all aspects now then you were just a few hours ago. Don't get discouraged, just give it time. Later this afternoon we'll go for a very short walk and see how the rest of you is doing."

Olivia nodded her thanks to Rick and turned her head to bury her face in Rafe's hair and hide her tears. Before Rick could say more, there was a knock at the door. Rick answered it and there stood Phillip, Mallet, and Remy. Phillip entered first and went over to Olivia's bedside.

"I can't have all of you in here at once. I'm sorry." Rick stated.

"I'll only be a minute Rick. I just want to check on them and introduce their daytime security. Then I'll leave and Mallet and Remy can do their thing." Phillip said.

"Okay, make it quick."

"I will. Thanks Rick."

Rick exited and Phillip turned his attention to his ex-wife. "Hey there pretty lady, you look like hell." He said with a smile.

Olivia faced him with a half smirk. "S-still l-lo-look bet-better t-then y-y-you."

"That's true. Look, I don't know what happened, but I'm so sorry it did. If you need anything you just call me. Okay?"

"T-th-thank y-you. D-don't t-te-tell E-Em-Emma, p-please."

"I won't. I'll wait until you're ready to see her to say anything. She's playing with Payton and is none the wiser that any of this is happening."

"G-go-good. T-tell h-her t-that I lo-love h-her v-very m-much."

"I will." Phillip turned away for a moment, seeing the strong woman that used to be his wife so weak and unable to speak was hard for him to watch. He cleared his throat as he turned back to her. "I'm gonna grab the guys so you all can meet them. They will be here until six tonight and then I'll come back to introduce you to the night team."

"G-guys."

Natalia stepped forward. "Doris and Phillip thought maybe we should have some security until this is over. Phillip was nice enough to provide that for us. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to tell you earlier. Doris text a little while ago and said she would be in soon and if you're mad about the guards you can yell at her." She said with a smile.

"S-she k-kn-knows m-me t-too w-well."

"She's a good friend Olivia, I'm grateful we have her."

Olivia smiled as two men dressed in black suits walked in with Phillip. "Olivia, this is Jeremy and Paul. I trust them both with my life, they are two of my best and they will make sure no one gets anywhere close to your family." He turned towards the security guards and addressed them. "Guys, this is Olivia, Natalia, and two of their children, Rafe and Ava. You already know Emma, who will remain with me for the time being."

Both of the men said hello to the Spencer-Rivera family and went to resume their post at each end of the hall. They had already been introduced to the only two nurses who should be entering Olivia's room, as well as Dr. Rick, Mallet, and Remy. Anyone else who wanted into that room would have to be cleared first. Phillip followed the two men out and Mallet and Remy walked in.

Mallet chose to take the lead since he was the first on scene at the farmhouse. He first walked over to Rafe. "Hey man, how you doing?"

"I'm wishing people would stop asking me that and I haven't even had half as many people as mom."

"I get it man. Look, I know this is rough but, I need to get a statement from you with as much detail as you can remember. Frank's not being very fourth coming, so the more you and Olivia can tell us the better."

"There's not much you don't already know man. You were there when I got into that room. Before that there isn't much to tell."

"Can you tell us anything?"

"No man. All I know is mom and I went to pack for our trip to Chicago cause we were going to stay at The Beacon this weekend. I got mine and Emma's stuff together and put it in my truck. I went to see how mom was doing and I noticed Ava's suitcase in the hall with our garment bags for the party. I took that stuff down to the truck and then sat on the couch to wait for my mom. I heard a thud upstairs and I thought she fell or knocked something over or something. When I went to check her the door was locked. I tried to call out to her and she didn't answer. I thought maybe she had another episode with her heart so I tried to knock the door in but it wouldn't budge. I called 911 and then you showed up. You know the rest dude."

"You didn't hear anything else? No screaming, or any kind of scuffle or struggle?"

"No, I'm telling you, there was nothing. I packed, I loaded the truck, I was waiting for mom, and bam, a big thud, that's it."

"I told you Olivia didn't attack him." Natalia grunted.

Mallet turned his attention to Natalia. "Natalia, I'm not saying I believe Frank in the least, I was there, but I have to do my job, and I have to do it by the book so he can't get off on any sort of technicality. That means asking these tuff questions even if I already think I know the answer."

Natalia scoffed and went back to stroking Olivia's hair while holding her hand tightly. Mallet turned back to Rafe. "Alright Rafe, that's good. I'll need you to write all that out and sign your statement as soon as possible. Make sure to add as much detail as you can and go from beginning to end, even after I got there. I need your account of the events from the moment you got to the house until you got here to the hospital." He handed Rafe some paper and a pen. Then he faced Olivia. "Olivia, you think you can fill in the blanks for us?"

Olivia nodded and then wrote something for only Natalia to see. 'Take the kids out of here. I don't want them to hear this just yet. I don't think Rafe can handle it right now.'

Natalia nodded and gave Olivia a quick kiss. "Come on you two, let's go grab some food at the cafeteria while your mom talks to Mallet and Remy."

"No!" They both said at the same time.

"I'm not leaving mom." Ava said sternly.

Rafe just gripped Olivia's thigh tighter and looked at her with pleading eyes. Olivia cupped his face. "I-it's… okay… son. I j-just n-need… to… talk… to… t-th-them f-for a m-minute b-by my-myself. G-go w-with… Ma… and… your… s-sister… please. I-it will… o-only b-be a f-fe-few… min-minutes." She spoke slowly and took a break between each word so she could get as many out without stuttering as possible. She knew Rafe was afraid to leave her but giving him the details of what Frank did to her right now would only make it worse.

Rafe could tell his mom didn't want him to hear this yet so he got out of bed and went over to his Ma. Ava gently hugged her mom and kissed her cheek. She knew if Rafe was leaving then she didn't stand a chance of staying, no matter how bad she wanted to. Olivia kissed her daughters' cheek and patted her arm to let her know it was okay. The two kids stepped into the hall to give their mothers a minute.

Natalia walked closer to Olivia and bent to her ear. "You sure you're okay to do this by yourself?"

Olivia nodded. She wanted Natalia there more the anything, but their babies were more important, no matter how old they were. Rafe needed at least one of them with him right now and Natalia was the only option. Natalia kissed her tenderly and looked back longingly as she went out into the hall to join their children.

Just as Mallet was about to start, a soft knock sounded and Paul poked his head in. "I have Mayor Doris Wolfe out here to see you ma'am. Is she allowed or should I send her on her way?"

"S-she's o-okay." Olivia said. Grateful that she wouldn't be alone as she told her story.

Paul nodded and opened the door wider for Doris to enter before returning to his post just outside the door since Jeremy had gone with the rest of the family. Doris went straight to Olivia's side and patted her hand. "Hey there. I'd ask how you're doing but I can see that the answer is 'not good.' Even if you would lie to me and say you're fine."

Olivia chuckled at her friend who knew her so well and motioned for the board so she could write something down. Doris handed it to her and Olivia quickly scribbled a message. 'Did you yell at me to wake up last night?'

Doris read the message and laughed. "Yes my friend I did. You aren't gonna let a man like Frank Cooper stop you. I knew you'd listen if I spoke your language, it just took you a few hours to decide I was right."

"T-th-thank y-you D-Doris. Y-yo-you're a g-good f-friend."

"Well, you know." She bent forward so she could whisper in Olivia's ear for only her to hear. "I'm only gonna say this once so you listen. You are my best friend and I; I love you okay. So, you're gonna be fine. You have to be. You're the only friend I've got." She pulled back and wiped the tears from her eyes before they could fall.

Olivia smiled the best she could and wrote on the board. 'I love you too my friend. Thank you for being here, and don't worry, I won't tell anyone you're a big ol softie.'

Doris smiled and then faced the two detectives. "Alright, I assume you're hear for Mrs. Spencer-Rivera's statement. I spoke with her lawyer this morning and since she can't make it, I'm standing in. I don't like something you ask; she doesn't answer. We clear?"

"Yes ma'am." Mallet said with a mock solute. Then he turned to Olivia. "Alright Olivia, what can you tell us about last night?"

It took a long time for Olivia to recount the story of what happened. She had to take several breaks in between speaking, but she wanted to say it out loud before doing a written statement. She knew from her rigid past that speaking about it would make it easier to process so she figured she should start now. She told them what Rafe had about what they were doing before the attack and then about what no one else knew except for Frank. How he grabbed her and covered her mouth before she could scream the second she opened the closet door. How he hit her to get her to stop struggling and then knocked her out with the butt of his gun when that didn't work. She told about what she had last seen, the picture of her family on the dresser. She recounted very little of when she woke up in the dark closet in pain before Frank kicked her until she passed out again. She couldn't remember how she had come to be standing in front of Frank, she had been unconscious so couldn't know. Lastly she told what she could remember of waking up with Frank holding her and the gun pressed against her temple. How she saw Rafe in front of her terrified. She said that all she could think about was getting her son out of that situation and that's what gave her the strength to throw her head back into Frank's nose and stomp his foot. She wasn't sure how she did it, just knew that she spun and grabbed the gun, jammed the heel of her shoe into his groin, and aimed the gun at his chest. She wasn't shy about telling them that she would have shot him then and there if it hadn't been for the pleading look in Rafe's eyes. She couldn't remember anything after she and Rafe embraced.

When she finished, Doris was silently crying for the horror her friend had lived through. Both Mallet and Remy had unshed tears they were doing their best to hold back. Although they had both seen a lot of what happened with their own eyes, hearing the way he beat her into blacking out twice was heart wrenching.

Mallet cleared his throat. "Okay. Thank you Olivia. Again, I am so sorry you and your family have to go through this. I can't believe Frank did something like this."

"T-th-thank y-you M-Mallet. C-can I r-rest n-now?"

"Of course. When you are able, I need your written and signed statement. Just as I told Rafe, give as much detail as you can. Natalia, or Doris can drop it by the station for you and we'll be sure to keep you updated. Don't worry. He won't get away with this."

Olivia gave them a sad half smile and the two men left. Doris gave Olivia's hand a squeeze and told her she would be right back and followed the two out. "Mallet, don't question him again until we get their written statements, and I want to be there."

"Yeah, we have to sort through all of the evidence and photos anyways, so it may be tomorrow before we get the chance."

"I want all that evidence combed through twice. Nothing is left with loose ends."

"Of course." The two men walked away and headed back to the station.

Doris went to the end of the hall where Natalia, Ava, and Rafe were waiting. She motioned for Natalia to follow her around the corner. "Hey. I know the kids want to be in there with her, but I think she needs you right now. Just you. I'll stay out here with them."

"Was it bad Doris?"

Doris thought about lying, but she knew eventually Olivia would tell Natalia anyway. "Yeah. It was bad. She's gonna need you to get through this. I'll tell you one thing though; you've got a very strong wife."

"I already knew that Doris, I just wish she didn't keep having to be." Doris squeezed her hand and went to distract Rafe and Ava so Natalia could have a moment alone with Olivia.

Natalia walked back into the room to her wife sobbing. She rushed to her side and sat on the edge of the bed, taking Olivia into her arms as gently as possible, being mindful of her broken ribs. She didn't say anything, just held her wife and let her cry. She peppered her face and head with kisses trying to sooth her the best she could. Although she didn't know what had truly happened, the tear streaks down Doris's cheeks and her wife's current state told her enough. She placed her lips on the side of Olivia's head and held them there. She wished she could name this kiss, but there was nothing. Just an attempt at comforting the strongest woman she has ever met, and who she loved more than life itself, as she fell apart in her arms.