The purpose of this chapter was to give Olivia a little break. I mean, she's a superwoman, but even she can't run around every night with stitches on her forehead.
I'll be away for the weekend, so I won't have time to update, but I'll be back next week!
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"And you have no idea how much I've missed this."
But even without his memories, the flame of warmth playing in his heart told him she wasn't the only one who had missed this. And squeezing Olivia's hand he whispered:
"I have a hunch."
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The closer Olivia and Elliot approached the farm, the more cars passed them, and when they turned into the farmyard, they saw the reason. There was some sort of mass exodus going on, travelers were packing their cars and running around the yard, and they didn't have to guess why.
"Did this happen the last time a child disappeared?" Olivia asked as Elliot parked the car at the side of the yard, and they got out of the car. Elliot nodded.
"Yes, momentary panic. But since no one told much about it, the travelers returned pretty soon. Now I don't know," he shrugged, and Olivia looked thoughtfully at the crowd rushing around the yard. On the car ride, she'd told him what the sheriff had said to her before they'd gone looking for Oliver, and Elliot hadn't been surprised.
She thought of the previous evening, its atmosphere, its peace, its coziness. However, it had turned into a nightmare in a matter of seconds, which the travelers in the yard now wanted to avoid. They were holding their children's hands, cramming them into the car and looking all panicked.
And I can't blame them, I would be too.
"Are you alright?"
Elliot's voice interrupted her thoughts and turning her gaze she met his worried eyes.
"Yeah, just thinking."
Elliot's protectiveness didn't come as a surprise to her, in fact it ignited a warm flame in her heart. It was something that had sometimes made her irritated, made her feel like her former partner didn't trust her, or didn't think she could do it. But deep down, she knew that wasn't the case. It was because he cared. He wanted to make sure everyone he cared about was safe.
Everyone he loved.
No, Elliot doesn't love me. We used to be partners, best friends, of course he cares. But love…
The voice inside her head was strong. The voice that told her she wasn't worthy of love. It was a familiar voice, it had followed her since childhood, whispering evil, poisonous things in her ear.
It was her mother's voice.
Why would Elliot love me?
But now something seemed to have changed. It was as if that strong, familiar voice had been joined by another, smaller voice. It was weak, uncertain, but it was there, bringing something warm, something real alongside that evil voice.
Or does he love me?
And deep down, she knew that same voice was and had been preventing her from admitting her feelings for Elliot. Because of that voice, her heart had hardened itself to protect her. It was much easier to deny your feelings than to face them, especially if you didn't think the other person felt the same way.
And it was because she knew that if she admitted her feelings, and Elliot reciprocated them, she wouldn't be able to back down anymore. It would be like a tidal wave, unstoppable, unfettered, it would take over her heart, her soul, and every cell of her, and there would be no return. It would be a one-way ticket.
She knew it, she always had.
Since the day she had met him.
"Yeah?" Elliot gave her an appraising look, but Olivia's gaze landed on Hannah, who was walking in the yard with Mike. They were clearly coming towards them, and Olivia straightened her back.
"Hi," Hannah greeted, and her eyes widened when she saw Olivia. "What happened?!"
She grimaced in embarrassment and touched her forehead, which had a white band-aid protecting the stitches.
"Just a little accident."
"That's one way to say that," Elliot locked the car doors. "Are you leaving too?"
"No, our vacation has just started, neither of us want to leave. We talked about it with Mike, but we know that accidents happen. We just have to be more careful, and Mike can't go outside alone. And besides…" She touched Elliot's arm almost imperceptibly, and he looked at her hand. "...We haven't gone swimming yet."
"Right, yeah," Elliot took a step to the side and then glanced at Mike, who was standing slightly behind her mother. "If it's okay with Emily, we could go today?" She looked at Olivia, who found herself clenching her fists on the other side of the car. Her mouth opened in surprise, but then she shrugged.
Keep it cool, Benson. Keep it cool.
"Fine, but I can't swim because of my stitches. Nice to see that spring, tho."
Hannah glanced at her, disappointment lingering in her eyes for just a second, but long enough for Olivia to notice. Then she flipped her blonde hair and smiled.
"Okay, today is a hot day. I'll get to try out my new swimsuit," she winked at Elliot, who blushed and glanced at the ground, looking awkward. Olivia snorted and started walking away from Elliot's apartment, which clearly surprised him as she heard an exclamation behind her:
"Hey! Where are you going?"
"I'm going to find that flashlight," Olivia answered without looking back, as the poisonous feeling started to squirm inside her again, and she didn't like it one bit. This wasn't her; she had never been like this.
But it's never been Elliot.
Just when she thought Elliot had stayed in his apartment, she heard running footsteps behind her. She didn't turn to look though, because she knew who it was.
"Wait! Where do you think you're going?"
Olivia would have liked to snap and drive Elliot away, because the anger was still bubbling inside her, and the most annoying thing was that it seemed to have a will of its own. She sighed and rolled up the sleeves of the shirt she had gotten from the hospital, because the temperature had risen again, and a long-sleeved shirt was not the best solution for the weather.
"I said, I'll get that flashlight. Also, I'm interested in knowing what exactly knocked me out."
"Are you sure it's good for you to walk that far? It's so hot and..."
"Elliot, I appreciate your concern, but I'll be fine. You can come with me if you want."
"You can be sure that I will."
They walked in silence to the warehouse, and then Olivia opened the lock she had broken in the night. The door creaked open, and they stepped in, Elliot close behind her. In the daylight they could see that there wasn't a proper floor in the warehouse, and Olivia cautiously walked forward. After looking at the ground for a while, she found the flashlight further away than she had thought, and when she turned, she also noticed the thing she had bumped into.
And that made her swallow hard.
It was a thin metal tube sticking out from between the support boards of the wall, thin and sharp enough that if she hadn't be lucky, she would no longer be able to see this. Elliot noticed the same, and the color escaped his face.
"This… This…" He stammered, and alternately looked at Olivia, alternately at the tube. "How… You… You could have d…"
"Yeah, but I didn't. It's the most important thing, don't you think? Here, this is yours," she shoved the flashlight against Elliot's chest, and started walking out. She didn't want him to notice that the nausea had crept up inside her, and she needed some fresh air.
Yeah, not my best idea.
Note to yourself: don't go on night adventures alone.
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Hannah had been right; the spring was beautiful. It was like paradise in a dry environment; the surrounding vegetation and birdsong made Olivia gasp in delight. The spring itself was not very big but spacious enough for swimming, the water was crystal clear, and the bottom was sandy.
"Well… That's… Not bad," she stated, and Elliot grinned.
"Yeah? And the best thing is that not many people know about this," he replied as Mike jumped into the water. They had left the car nearby, and Hannah was walking behind them with a towel over her shoulders and her blonde hair carelessly tied up. After reaching the water's edge, Olivia looked at the sight for a moment and then sat down on a nearby rock.
Hannah clearly didn't want to waste a moment and had undressed herself right away. Then she walked past them, her swimsuit flattering her fit and tanned body, and Olivia couldn't help but notice Elliot's gaze following her. She forced herself to swallow her bitterness and rested her chin on her knees.
But then her phone rang, and she dug it out of her pocket. The caller was unknown, and she frowned, but then realized that the phone given to her for this case had no contacts.
"Emily Murray."
"Hi, Emily. Bad situation?"
A familiar voice made her eyes widen, and she got up to move a little further away. Elliot had just taken off his t-shirt, and Olivia almost forgot for a moment that she was on the phone.
"Emily?"
"Oh, right, sorry," she forced herself to look away and started walking towards the car. "Hi Cap."
"Hi, Liv. How are you?"
"I'm fine, a small accident happened, but nothing big. I suppose that…"
"Accident?" Cragen interrupted her. "What accident?"
"Well…" Olivia wasn't sure why she had even mentioned it. "I hit my head in the dark, and I got a couple of stitches, but seriously, I'm fine. I suppose Sheriff Gold told you what happened last night?"
"Yeah, and I wanted to tell you that it wasn't your fault. I mean, these things happen and…"
However, Cragen's words began to fade away somewhere in the distance as Olivia turned her gaze to the spring. Elliot, Hannah and Mike were laughing in the water, Elliot and Mike were splashing water on each other, and Hannah was looking at Elliot with sparkling eyes.
They look just like a family.
No, he has a family in New York.
Stop it now, you…
"Olivia? Are you there?"
"W-what?" Cragen's words reached her consciousness again, and she cleared her throat. "Yeah, sorry."
"Okay, tell me. What's going on?"
"Nothing, nothing, just... It's really hot in here. Have you ever been in Texas? I mean, I thought it's very hot in New York in the summer, but this... This is something else. How can these people…"
The words began to flow out of Olivia's mouth like a tidal wave, and she felt like her mouth was forming the words before she could even think of them.
"Benson. Tell me," Cragen's commanding voice interrupted her, however, and the firm tone of it made her sigh. She was silent for a moment, but then said quietly:
"You know the farm worker, my "cousin" James?"
"Yeah?"
"He's Elliot."
