It's early the next morning when Olivia wakes up. She shifted on the uncomfortable excuse of a mattress in her hospital bed as she glanced around the room, piecing together the last turn of events she remembered.

Elliot lay asleep on the plastic couch in the corner of the room under the window, looking as if he had aged ten years in the past couple of days.

What day it is, how long she had been gone…she didn't know. All she remembered was calling Elliot after getting Jerry disarmed and him and the squad coming to her rescue at the warehouse.

The sun was slowly rising over Manhattan as she took a deep breath in, grateful to still be given the chance. Something is missing though and an ache deep within her starts as the panic began to sink in.

Olivia felt empty; realizing in the time between reality and reflection that she had become separated from her daughter; the life she'd spent the last nine months nurturing no longer needing her to survive.

"Elliot."

He didn't stir at the sound of her voice.

"Elliot." Her voice is louder this time, panic heightening the tone.

He jolted awake, gathering his bearings in the room. "Liv?" He asked as he rubbed his eyes and sat up. Seeing more clearly, he stood and crossed to her bedside. "Oh, thank God." He grabbed her palm and laced their fingers together, careful of the IV running from the top of her hand. "I thought I was losing both of you."

"What happened? Where is she?" Olivia asked.

"She's in the nursery." He ran a thumb over her knuckles in a soothing manner, sensing her pulse quickening . "Breathe, it's okay. You're safe now."

"What happened?"

"You don't remember?" He asked warily.

She shook her head against the pillows behind her. "The last thing I remember is calling you….then showing up."

"You don't remember what happened in the ambulance?"

"No. Elliot, I don't even know what day it is, how would I know what happened in the ambulance when I clearly don't remember anything after you showed up?"

He nodded at the hostility in her tone. "It's October fourteenth. It's a Friday. You were gone for a couple of days," he said with a shaky breath. "Since Tuesday night."

She stayed quiet at his words.

"It was the worst week." He shook his head, cutting himself off. "Not knowing where you were, what was happening….Liv, I was so scared." He shuffled on his feet. "Mollie was born…." He glanced at his watch, doing quick calculation of the last few days. "Technically yesterday, the thirteenth."

Tears welled in Olivia's eyes as she realized she didn't remember the most important moment of what should have been one of the biggest days of her life.

"They said there was…placenta abruption?" He squinted as he racked his memory for the correct term. "Yeah that's what it's called. Which is why you were in so much pain," he continued. Eliot paused as he watched as she bit her lip and held back more tears.

"And bled; you bled so much. They gave you a transfusion."

"Is she….okay?" Olivia asked, fearing the worst.

"Yeah." He smiled. "Yeah, Liv, she's perfect." He lifted her hand off the bed and kissed it. "She's got a head full of dark brown hair just like you, my nose….five pounds and thirteen ounces of bad assery like her mom."

She smiled softly. "She's really okay?"

He nodded again. "They're watching her vitals and keeping an eye on her, but so far, yeah. Said had we been even five minutes later…we would have lost her. I would have lost you both."

Tears streamed down her face as she broke their eye contact. She focused on the sunrise outside her window as she whispered, "I'm sorry."

"Olivia, don't. What happened to you is not your fault."

"I put her in harm's way." Her eyes glazed over as she traveled back in her memory and suddenly she was standing in the apartment in front of Jerry again, gun pointed to her temple.

"You made it out alive. You both did. That's all that matters."

"I just…froze. He was there when I got home, came in through the living room window. And I just froze. I told you I wasn't cut out to be a mother."

"Olivia, stop." Elliot shook his head at his tone, realizing it had come out harsher than he'd intended. "It's not your fault. He's a sick, son of a bitch-"

"I thought I could talk him down and I couldn't. I couldn't, Elliot. He said he would shoot and I just-" Olivia started shaking as sobs wracked her body, memories washing over her.

"Hey, shhh," he said as he pulled her into his arms. He stroked the back of her head, running his fingers through her hair. "Liv, it's alright. You're here. Mollie is here. You're both healthy and safe. It's okay. It's okay."

He rocked them back and forth on the cot as she clung to him and cried. He let her get all of her emotions out; she wept for the lost time, for the circumstances that caused their daughter to enter the world.

"It's okay," he repeated as he rocked her. "You're here. I need you here and so does Mollie."

She sniffled and pulled away from him as she wiped at her face.

"You want to go see her?" He asked.

Olivia nodded and Elliot kissed her temple before sprinting out of the room to the nurses' station to grab a wheelchair.

She stayed quiet as he came back with one and helped her into it, then wheeled her down the hallway of the maternity wing to the hospital nursery. Her chest was feeling heavy, images of the warehouse clouding her mind but she tried to fight it and focus on the important things in front of her.

"Back left," Elliot said as the wheelchair came to a halt in front of the nursery window. Olivia braced the side of it as she slowly stood up, shooing Elliot's hand away from helping her.

"I got it," she muttered, stubborn as ever. She took a step closer to the window and gazed in at their daughter, sleeping peacefully even though she was hooked up to a few different monitors.

Their daughter. She still couldn't believe this was real. Half of her and half of him. She loved this little girl more than life itself; knowing she would have sacrificed herself in the warehouse if it meant Mollie would be spared.

"I'll go grab a nurse so you can hold her," Elliot said.

"No." Olivia shook her head, tears filling her eyes once more. "No, I've….I've done enough damage to her already."

He frowned as he watched her pull away and shake her head again. "I can't do this," she whispered as she sat back down in the wheelchair, fidgeting with it to turn it around.

"Where are you going?" He asked, watching her start to roll back down the hallway.

"Back to the room where I can't hurt her anymore."

"Olivia….Liv, come back."

His plea fell upon deaf ears as he watched her wheel herself down in the hallway in the direction they'd come from. He swallowed the lump in his throat, knowing the effects of her abduction were just starting to show. He turned back to the window and gazed in at their daughter, feeling a presence settle next to him.

"Mr. Stabler."

He turned and saw the on-call doctor, the one who had been there when Olivia had been brought in.

She was dressed in pewter gray scrubs under her lab white coat, blonde hair flowing down her shoulders.

"Dr. Cabot," he said, clearing his throat as she flipped the chart in her hands shut.

"How is Olivia this morning?"

"She uh…" He reached behind him and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, she doesn't want to hold the baby. Seems like she wants nothing to do with her. Should I….be worried?"

"She had a very traumatic delivery and days leading up to that. Her hormones are all over the place. Not necessarily normal but also….not completely irrational in this situation. Don't push her too hard just yet." She nodded. "We'll try again later."

Elliot nodded, letting the words sink in.

Dr. Cabot smiled and placed her hand reassuringly on his arm. "The road to recovery is a long one but I have faith both Olivia and Mollie will be just fine." She offered another small smile before she took off again.

"Just fine," he muttered as he turned back to the window, watching their daughter sleep peacefully.

Olivia's eyelids fluttered open sometime later that afternoon. She was groggy; still unaware of how much time had passed since she was last awake. She stretched; she'd slept curled up as tight as she felt comfortable, huddled into herself. She blinked, her eyes adjusting to the bright sunlight that now lit up the room.

Elliot stood in front of the couch he'd been asleep on earlier in the morning, his legs wide in his stance. His back was to her but she could tell he was holding Mollie, swaying gently as he rocked her and spoke to her.

"There's so many people who love you already," he said in a hushed tone. "Grandpa Cragen, Uncle Munch, Uncle Fin….me, your siblings. You won't get to meet them for a while but they're so excited to meet you. And Mommy. Your mommy loves you the most. She's loved you since before we even knew about you. So just….go easy on her, kid. Okay? She thinks she's already messed up but that couldn't be further from the truth." He paused as Mollie yawned in her sleep and he smiled at the bundle of joy in his arms. "I'm not saying we'll be the perfect parents by any means but….we will do whatever it takes to make sure you know you're loved and safe. We just want you to be happy. Just go easy on us when we make mistakes?" He chuckled and stroked her cheek. "We love you beyond words, Mollie Elyse Stabler."

"Benson," Olivia said in a small voice as she sniffled.

Elliot turned around, a smile taking over his face.

"Benson-Stabler," she corrected.

"Mollie Elyse Benson-Stabler," he said, glancing back down at her. "So Mommy is awake." His voice was low as he rocked her still. "How much of that did you hear?"

"All of it," she whispered. "Grandpa Cragen, Uncle Munch, Uncle Fin…."

"It's true. All of it." He stepped closer to the bed until he was at the side of it. "It's time, Liv. I know….that you're scared and I am too, it doesn't get any easier, but….it's time. Meet our daughter." He gently leaned down and placed Mollie in her arms.

Olivia cried harder as she held her daughter for the first time, taking in what she could see through her tears. The perfect piece of her and Elliot, the perfect combination of two souls into one. Proof that even in the modern world, true love really exists.

"Hi," she whispered as she gazed down at the baby in her arms. Mollie slept peacefully snuggled in the hospital blanket but cuddled in closer to Olivia at the sound of her voice.

She traced her cheek with featherlight strokes, admiring her chubby round face and extra long eyelashes.

"She's perfect," she whispered.

"Told you." Elliot smiled and rubbed the small of her back. "It's okay, Liv. It's okay. You're both okay." He kissed the side of her head and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you, too." She blinked rapidly, trying to dispel tears from her eyes so she could focus on the angel in her arms. She looked up at Elliot, who reached out and cupped her cheek, wiping away tears that still fell.

"And I love you," she whispered as she leaned down and placed a tender kiss to Mollie's cheek. "So much. You gave me reason to keep fighting. Both of you."

He smiled as he watched mother and daughter together for the first time, committing the moment to memory. And he knew…somehow… they would all end up okay.

TBC.