In silence, they watched the yard bathed in the light of the police cars, which just a moment ago had been dark, silent and menacing. And without a word, Elliot wrapped his arm around her waist, pulled her against him, and with a sigh, Olivia lowered her head on his shoulder.
And that was all they needed at that moment.
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As if Mike's disappearance, the tornado, the serial killer attack, finding Mike, and their miraculous rescue weren't enough for one day, Sheriff Gold had dragged them to the police station for interrogation right after the second ambulance that arrived had checked Elliot's neck wound and determined it was just a superficial scratch. They had been ordered into a police car that had taken them to the town of Crowell, a 20-minute drive away.
During the car ride, fatigue had hit them so hard that it was as if it had drained all the strength from their limbs. They'd just stared out the window in silence, and eventually Olivia had fallen asleep against Elliot so soundly that by the time they got to the police station, she was completely confused.
"W-where are we?" She asked in a voice, thick from sleep, and looked around in confusion. "What…"
"We're at the police station," Elliot answered and got out of the car, then held out his hand to her. "You coming?"
After looking at his hand for a moment, Olivia finally remembered where they were and struggled to get out of the car. Then they followed the sheriff who arrived in the parking lot through the doors of the police station, and finally sat down on the chairs of the interrogation room.
This wasn't the first time they were in an interrogation room together, far from it. But Olivia couldn't remember them ever playing the role of the people being interrogated, not together. However, they were together in the room that was an integral part of them, of their history, and the thought forced a small smile onto her face.
"What's so funny?" Elliot asked next to her, and she turned to look at him.
"Nothing, I'm just… Happy."
Happy. It was a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time. And she realized that Elliot was the thing she needed to be happy. The thought scared her, but at the same time it brought peace, stability to her heart.
"Happy?" Elliot raised his eyebrows in wonder. "Why are you happy?"
The sound of approaching footsteps and the rustling of papers began to be heard from the hallway, and Sheriff Gold entered the room. Olivia glanced at her former partner again and answered quietly so that only Elliot could hear:
"Because you're here with me."
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After an hour of exhausting interrogation, Olivia and Elliot were finally free to leave. However, since they didn't have a car, the sheriff had promised to take them back to the farm on his way to Mr. Murdoch's house. As the sheriff sat down behind the wheel, the whole car curtsied, and Elliot sat in the front seat next to him. Olivia crammed into the back seat, and then the car started to roll through the dark night. Despite the darkness, the morning had already begun to dawn, and colored the horizon reddish.
"So, is this over now?" Olivia asked. "We haven't found Gilbert Murdoch yet, can he be involved in this?"
Gold slowly shook his head. "I don't know where he is, but if he has something to do with this... I don't know what to believe in anymore. I know Gilbert well, and he is the last person I would think capable of mass murdering children."
"I just wonder..." Elliot bit his lip thoughtfully. "Is it possible that Gilbert realized what his son was doing? Nicholas panicked and killed him. After that he wrote a note on the door of the house that no one would look for Gilbert?"
"It's possible, although I hope that's not what has happened," the sheriff answered quietly.
"When exactly did the murders of children begin?" Olivia asked, trying to get her exhausted brain to work.
"Almost exactly two years ago," Elliot sighed. "I remember that day like it was yesterday. I had been working on the farm for about a month when the first child, 5-year-old Marie, disappeared in broad daylight. We searched for her unsuccessfully for almost a week until she was found in a ditch near the farm."
"And how about Nicholas? Has he visited his father during this time?"
Sheriff Gold shook his head. "No, nothing has been heard from him for 30 years. However, my men are starting to investigate where he has lived, and where he has been. If he was in Crowell when the murders started, we can be almost certain that he is at least one of the perps. Hopefully there aren't more of them, but I believe we'll find it out when we examine his phone."
Olivia and Elliot nodded silently, and as if to lighten the mood, Gold turned on the radio. Soft music filled the car, and everyone fell silent for a moment to listen to the song.
~I will tell your story if you die
I will tell your story and keep you alive
The best I can
I will tell them to the children
If we have some, if we have some~
A lump started to rise in Olivia's throat, so she cleared her voice and asked:
"Has my captain heard of the tornado?"
"Oh yes," the sheriff suddenly seemed to snap out of his thoughts. "I told him that you are alive, but I recommend you to call him tomorrow, he was quite worried."
~But I've always felt a feeling we would die young
Some die young
Some die young~
"I will. And tomorrow…"
"Tomorrow we will interrogate Nicholas, and we will try to get him to tell us if he acted alone." Then Gold sighed and rubbed his eyes with his other hand. "I can't understand what made him do this. He was a kind and sweet child, a little younger than me, but I remember him as a happy boy. This... I can't believe this. I have to say you two are incredible lucky that you have survived the tornado and him in one day."
Olivia glanced at Elliot and could almost see that he swallowed.
~Some, some die young
But you better hold on
So many things I need to say to you
Please don't, don't let me go
And we said we would die together~
"And Mike?" He asked quietly, and Gold took a deep breath before continuing:
"I suppose that Mike will have to stay in the hospital for at least one more night. God knows what that poor kid has been through. There are also a couple of police officers waiting at the hospital, and they will interview him as soon as he is ready to talk. The information we get from him might also help us find out what happened to Gilbert, and if Nicholas is behind all the murders."
~I will tell you a story if you try
But how long will your thoughts of valleys stay green
When the world you were born in changes with seasons
Will you run with this dream or will you run alone
Or will you run against and finally reveal
Why some die young~
For a moment they were all quiet and just listened to the song, but then Gold grimaced and asked:
"Is it okay if we stop for a second? I shouldn't have had that last cup of coffee."
"Sure, if nature calls…"
The sheriff stopped the car on the side of the road and surprisingly quickly jumped out of the car. The music was playing in the running car, and Olivia closed her eyes while she listened to the lyrics.
~Why some die young
Why some die, some die young
But you better hold on
So many things I need to say to you
Please don't, don't let me go
And we said we would die together~
Tears were burning in the corners of her eyes as she asked in a stifled voice:
"What happened to you, El?"
Elliot turned to look at her, and to her surprise, his eyes were glittering with tears as well.
"I don't know."
"What do you mean? I thought you got your memory back?"
"It did, but..." He looked down at his hands. "I remember being shot at. I remember waking up in Mexico. Between them, I have no idea what…"
"Wait," Olivia frowned in astonishment. "You woke up in Mexico?!"
"Yeah, but..." Elliot's sentence was interrupted, because Sheriff Gold appeared from the bush and sat down into the car with a thump. With his eyes, Elliot announced that he would continue later, and without saying a word, Olivia nodded almost imperceptibly.
Something in Elliot's being had told her that the story wasn't entirely clear. That there was something involved that didn't necessarily stand the daylight.
And as curious as Olivia was, she was far too tired to delve into the story. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed under the blanket and fall asleep in Elliot's arms, listening to the steady and living beat of his heart. She wanted to feel his chest heave with his breathing, she wanted to feel the warmth radiating from his body, she wanted to wrap herself in the safe, soothing, comforting feeling that his presence gave her.
She wanted to feel that he was alive.
Alive, here, with her.
~Some die young
But you better hold on
So many things I need to say to you
Please don't, don't let me go
And we said we would die together
Some die young
Some die young~
When Olivia and Elliot finally got home, Elliot realized that he had left his coat at the police station. The situation in itself wouldn't have been problematic, but of course the keys to the cabin were in his coat pocket, and he couldn't remember in his fatigue where he had hidden his spare key. Cursing, he went looking for it around the cabin, and Olivia sat down on the steps of the cabin, sighing. The morning sun cast its first rays upon the surroundings, banishing the terrors of the night, and if she hadn't been so tired, she might have enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere that had settled upon the surroundings. Her eyes forced shut, and she would have fallen asleep on the step if a dusty and dirty Elliot hadn't appeared beside her, waving the key in his hand triumphantly.
"Thank God," Olivia stood up with a groan and looked mischievously at her former partner from head to toe. "But you won't sleep in my bed if you don't take a shower first."
However, Olivia just shrugged, grabbed the key from him, opened the door and stepped inside.
"It's your choice, Mister. Take it or leave it."
"Hey! If you don't remember, Detective, it's my bed," he chuckled, but Olivia stepped to the bedroom door and smiled innocently at him before closing the door.
"No, you gave it to me."
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Olivia was amazed that when Elliot quietly opened the bedroom door ten minutes later, she still hadn't fallen asleep. However, she kept her eyes closed and heard him walk over to the bed, lift the blanket and lay down next to her. Then she felt an arm around her, and she couldn't stop the small smile spreading across her face that the warm feeling igniting inside her caused. Elliot nestled against her, buried his face in her neck and let out a deep sigh.
But then Olivia was surprised to hear his voice:
"Long day, huh?"
For a second she wondered how he knew she was awake, but then she remembered that Elliot had always been able to read her, sometimes better than she could read herself.
"Enough for the whole year, I could say. If you ever hear me say "I'm bored", slap me."
Elliot didn't answer, but Olivia felt him smile against her neck, and the smile caught hers too. She felt sleep start to creep into her body, and after a moment of silence, she whispered sleepily, even though she thought Elliot had already fallen asleep:
"I love you, El."
Without waiting for an answer, she took a deep breath and wrapped herself in the feeling that Elliot's strong body pressed against her caused in her. But just before she fell asleep, she heard a quiet and soft voice reply:
"I love you too, Liv."
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This was a slower chapter in between the action:)
Anyway, thank you for you lovely feedback! 3
Song: Laleh - Some Die Young
