Aaaaaand here we are with the soundtracks again!
The reunion part: The Water Cycle - Panu Aaltio
The cottage part: Birth of a Reindeer - Panu Aaltio
At the same moment, Olivia saw the movement in the corner of her eye, and when she turned to look, she felt her heart stop and her breath block. Suddenly her whole body felt numb, and she thought for a moment that she was hallucinating. A short distance away was a figure that Olivia would have recognized even in the pitch-dark.
"Elliot."
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When Olivia saw Elliot, the rest of the world disappeared around her. Elliot stood still twenty feet away, and for a moment Olivia was afraid that she was just imagining everything. Then, however, he started to stumble towards them, limping his leg.
"El…" Olivia's voice was just a stifled sob.
"Liv!"
Olivia tried to get her legs moving, but they had turned into jelly, and she collapsed on her knees to the snow. When Elliot was only a few meters away, she gathered all her strength and got up to her feet, taking one groping step towards her partner…
Then Elliot wrapped his arms around her, and the storm of emotions made her feet bend again. They collapsed on their knees, entwined to each other, their faces buried in each other's necks. Neither said anything, only the muffled sobs broke the silence. Olivia felt like she had been drowning, but Elliot's scent was like oxygen, making life flow back into her veins. Elliot's hands wandered along her back, and he raised his other hand to her hair and pressed a kiss on her temple. This made Olivia cling to him even harder.
After a moment that felt like an eternity, they finally broke apart. Olivia was still shaking all over and her face was soaked with tears as she looked up at Elliot's blue, tear-glimmering eyes. He raised his hand and gently wiped away a tear rolling down her cheek.
"I thought that… you were dead," Olivia managed to say between the hiccups. Elliot pulled her back into his arms and pressed his cheek against her head.
"I thought you were dead," he whispered and closed his eyes. Then he tried to correct his posture, but as he moved his legs he breathed in pain. The voice made Olivia back away a little.
"You're hurt," she bit her lip.
"It's nothing," Elliot waved his hand and looked at Olivia, evaluating. "Are you hurt?" He gently touched the scar at her hairline.
"I'm fine," she said and when she faced his worried eyes, the warmth flamed in her heart for the first time since the crash. Elliot was alive, he was fine except his leg, he was here, he was so familiar and safe and… Tears of relief welled up Olivia's eyes and she pressed her fingers to the corners of her eyes. "God, when have I become such a crybaby?" She snorted. Elliot grinned.
"Hey! I would be offended if you hadn't cried at all," he poked Olivia's shoulder with his index finger. She snorted in amusement, swiped snow from the ground on his face and got up to her feet. Elliot gave a surprised laugh, and gave her a mischievous look.
"Hey! You…" He started scramble up to his feet, but then there was Fin's voice behind them.
"Stabler! I understand now why they say nothing can get you killed," he shook his head in relief and Elliot turned to look at him in surprise. Olivia wasn't sure if he had noticed Fin or Munch at all before, and a smile spread to his ears.
"You're alive too!" He gave a laugh.
"Yes, thank you for your concern," Munch snorted as if he'd been offended, even though they could see he was relieved as well. Elliot managed to get up on his feet, limped over to them, and wrapped his arms around their shoulders. Their laughter made happiness bubble inside Olivia, and she felt the knot in her stomach starting to loosen. She walked over to them and joined the group hug. They stood this way for a moment until Elliot's stomach growled loudly. They released their grip and Elliot grimaced.
"You don't have any food I suppose?" He asked. However, Munch's response made his eyebrows rise in surprise.
"Actually we have," he stated.
"We also have a cottage," Olivia grinned and made Elliot's jaw drop.
"A cottage?!"
"Five-star accommodation," Fin announced. "Can you walk?"
"Of course," Elliot snorted, but didn't resist when Olivia raised his hand on her shoulders and they started to walk slowly towards the cottage. The mood had clearly changed, and Fin and Munch chatted happily as they walked in front of them. Elliot's gait was slow, and supporting him was hard, but Olivia felt lighter than for days. Now that Elliot was with her, she could even walk to the edge of the earth.
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The way back took twice as long as usual, but eventually they saw the cottage behind the trees. Elliot was quiet, but because of his breathing and facial expression, Olivia could tell that his leg was hurting more than he admitted.
"You'll get to give Brian peer support," she announced amused, and Elliot glanced at her.
"Is he one-legged too?"
Olivia nodded. "Yes, but his leg is probably broken, because it doesn't carry at all."
"How did you manage to get so far?" Elliot asked in wonder.
"Fin and Munch half carried him," she explained. "He went near hypothermia, and was only half-conscious when we found the cottage. Then he had a high fever…" She pursed her lips together and swallowed before she continued: "He's in a better shape now, miraculously. Anger probably gives him strength…"
"Anger?" Elliot glanced at her in confusion.
"Yeah, well…" Olivia suddenly felt embarrassed. "I may have not been a very exemplary girlfriend in recent days."
Elliot frowned but said nothing. Olivia guessed he simply didn't have the energy to continue the conversation at this time.
Eventually they arrived at the cottage door, and rumbled in.
"Hi, did you find…" Brown started, but fell silent suddenly. He and Cassidy's expressions were worth seeing when they noticed Elliot, who grinned and raised his hand tiredly.
"Hello."
Olivia glanced at Cassidy, who stared at Elliot as if he had seen a ghost, and whose eyes suddenly flashed strangely.
He looked disappointed, Olivia realized and shook her head quickly. No, it must be only because of the confusion. She helped Elliot sit down in a familiar spot next to the fireplace. He leaned his back against the wall and sighed half in pain, half satisfied. Then she fetched a jar of dry meat from the cupboard, opened it, handed it to him, and sat down next to him. Munch shared his jar with Fin, and Brown handed his own jar to Cassidy after eating his own portion first.
"I found a rope in the closet, so I'll set a few traps out soon," Brown announced suddenly. The others glanced at him surprised and he raised his hand. "Yes, I can set traps if you wonder."
Munch looked at him approbatively. "Good, there's food left only for a day," he glanced at the rapidly dwindling food supply. Then Brown continued:
"There is also a brook behind the cottage if you want to take a bath. The ice wasn't thick, so be careful not to step on it if you don't want to get wet on purpose."
"Five-star accommodation indeed," Elliot muttered while chewing the meat. Fin looked at him thoughtfully and then asked:
"How can you be alive?"
Elliot swallowed and glanced at the others. Everyone had turned their gaze to him, and he grinned.
"It's actually a pretty funny story," he sneered. "When I woke up, I couldn't find anyone, and because of my leg, I couldn't search for long. I started to walk in a random direction to find shelter and found a cave."
"A cave?" Munch asked, astounded. Elliot nodded in amusement and continued:
"Okay, it wasn't a real cave, but a cavity between two large boulders. However, it was big enough that I could fit in there and make a fire in front of it, luckily Munch had reminded me to keep matches with me."
Munch glanced at Fin and looked proud of himself. Fin snorted.
"I couldn't sleep all night and in the next morning I went looking for you, but my leg hurt so badly I couldn't get far. I had to go back and wait until next morning. My leg was still hurting, but I had decided not to live the third day as a caveman and started to walk towards the place where I woke up. Then you were there, and you know the rest of it," he fell silent and continued to eat. Olivia had to resist the urge to squeeze him again.
After everyone had eaten, a calm silence fell in the cottage, and they began to nap one after another. Olivia's eyelids felt heavy, but she struggled to avoid sleeping, fearing Elliot would disappear while she slept. She leaned against him and as she listened to his calm breath, she felt the peace surrounding her for the first time in a long time. Cassidy's snoring filled the cottage and Olivia's eyelids closed despite her resistance. She sighed deeply and suddenly felt Elliot's thumb touch lightly her cheek. She wrapped her arm tightly around his one arm. Elliot leaned his cheek against her head, and she let the dream wrap her in its peaceful embrace.
