I highly recommend this soundtrack for the first part of this chapter! I think it fits perfectly.
Where's Hiccup – John Powell (How to Train Your Dragon)
"POLICE! Put your hands up!"
Then five heavily equipped police officers rumbled into the room, and Brown and the guards dropped their guns to the ground. However, Olivia thought of nothing but Elliot, who was still lying on the ground tied to his chair. She stumbled to her partner and tears blurred her vision as she saw a pool of blood slowly spread beneath him.
"El!" She panicked and shook his shoulder. "Elliot! Please do not leave me, please…"
There was no answer.
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The whole world spun in Olivia's eyes as she tried to wake her partner again and again. She couldn't see where the blood was coming from, but judging by the amount of it, Elliot had clearly been shot. She grabbed his shirt and pressed her head against him, sobbing loudly.
"No… Please, no…"
It felt like time had stopped in the room and Olivia wanted to scream.
Why?! Why Elliot?! My Elliot…
Then she remembered Harris, and just as she felt her anger blur her mind, Elliot moved a little, and for a moment she thought that she had imagined everything. But then he groaned and turned and Olivia could see the gunshot wound. The bullet had hit his other shoulder, and she pressed her hand over it to restrain the bleeding. Then Elliot slowly opened his eyes and when he faced her brown eyes he grinned faintly.
"Like Fin said, apparently nothing can get me killed."
A sob of relief escaped Olivia's lips as she leaned over him and pressed her lips to his. She no longer cared, even though there was an audience around them, because they had survived, and nothing else mattered. But then there was a voice behind her:
"Well, it looks like we need to reorganize the partners."
They turned their gazes in the direction of the voice, and their jaws dropped. Cragen stood at the door with tears in his eyes.
"Captain…"
Then Cragen took a few quick steps towards them and wrapped his arms around Olivia. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he muttered hoarsely:
"The next time you ask my permission to go on a trip, my answer is no."
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They quietly watched people moving in the hospital hallway. It was clearly the rush hour, and they felt strange watching the bustle of people after the last few days. Olivia tapped nervously on the armrest of the chair and glanced at Cragen, who looked like he hadn't slept at all the entire time they were missing. His face was pale and there were dark shadows under his eyes.
They had arrived at the hospital a few hours ago, and Elliot had been immediately taken to the operating room. The nurse had then asked Cassidy to the X-ray, and soon the rest of them had been called for a medical examination. Cassidy's leg had really revealed to be broken, so he had gotten a cast and crutches to move. Olivia, Fin and Munch had been told that the examination had not revealed any more serious than contusions. Now they were waiting for the doctor to come and tell them the news about Elliot.
"Liv, he's gonna be just fine," there was Fin's voice and Olivia turned her gaze to him. He squeezed encouragingly her shoulder.
"I really hope so, but why does this take so long?" She huffed anxiously, but at the same time the doctor in a white coat walked over to them.
"I suppose you're the colleagues of Elliot Stabler?" He asked and Olivia nodded, holding her breath.
"The bullet had hit his shoulder and he had lost a lot of blood due to the incisions and the gunshot wound. However, we got the bullet off and it hadn't hit any critical point. He has gotten strong painkillers but is otherwise feeling pretty well under the circumstances and asks his partner. I suppose you're Olivia Benson?" He turned his gaze to Olivia, and she nodded. "You can go see him as soon as you want, he's in the room number 336."
Olivia bounced to her feet and looked at the others hesitantly. "Can I… Can we have a moment?"
Cragen nodded. "I'll give you ten minutes."
"Thank you," she replied, and then set out to navigate towards her partner's room. She found the right door and knocked on it.
"Yes?" There was Elliot's voice and the butterflies started to flutter in Olivia's stomach.
"It's me, can I come in?"
"Of course."
She opened the door and faced Elliot's tired face. She walked beside his bed and sat on it, and Elliot took her hands in his own and smiled weakly. However, his blue eyes sparkled like the sea on a warm summer day, and the heat transferred from them into Olivia's chest. Then tears welled up in her eyes, and the words got stuck in her throat.
"I… I thought I lost you," she whispered and had to swallow her tears that she didn't start to cry. "Again."
He raised his other hand and gently swept a tear from her cheek. Then he grinned: "Well, I must say I've wasted my extra lives effectively on this trip. I have to start to spare them so that they won't run out quite yet."
"You'd better start right now, because Cragen saw us, and I won't be saving your ass anymore soon."
Elliot was silent for a moment before he continued: "You really saved me, you know? When you crashed into the guard, his hand swung, and he didn't shoot me in the chest where he aimed."
Hearing this, Olivia swallowed and squeezed her partner's hand tighter. It had been too close that he was sitting here now and not lying dead on the floor of the headquarters.
"That's what partners do, right? And I owed you anyway, because in addition to surviving the plane crash and the hungry wolves, I also found the cottage because of you."
Elliot raised his eyebrows and looked at her astonished: "But... How?"
Olivia sighed and leaned against him, being careful with his sore hand. He wrapped his healthy arm around her.
"After the crash, we set off to wander into the woods, and eventually we didn't have any strength left to continue. We were already giving up when I suddenly heard your voice."
"My voice?" Elliot frowned. "But…"
"Your voice," she repeated. "You told me to continue, you said I couldn't give up… And then I saw the cottage. I can't explain it, but without your voice we would all have died."
The silence fell in the room, and he stared at her in disbelief. Then she pressed a kiss on his cheek and whispered: "So thank you."
Then there was a knock on the door and Cragen stepped in, the others following him. Seeing Elliot, Munch shook his head:
"Five days, three survivals from almost certain death. You'll have to play lotto."
Elliot gave a laugh and the movement made him grimace. Knowing him, his arm was surely sorer than he let them know.
"But now I really want to know how Cragen knew to come find us in that house, because I was sure we didn't have any chance. Harris said you had been told we had died in a car accident?" Fin asked, and Cragen nodded.
"Yes, they told me so. At first, I believed the whole story, and I spent the night at the bar drowning my thoughts on alcohol. The next morning, I woke up feeling unwell, and as I laid in my bed, the suspicion suddenly began to fill my thoughts. You see, I realized that the Canadian authorities were supposed to arrange the car ride for you, so you weren't supposed to travel by taxi to the hotel. I shared my suspicions with others, but I was told to stop speculating, because probably the plans had just changed, and the Canadians had sent you a taxi. However, my doubts did not disappear, and I contacted the company that owned your plane. At that time, however, I got to know that they had not rented a plane to anyone," he swallowed. "At this point, the others got also interested in the case, and after a long investigation, we found out the right plane and its real destination."
Munch's eyes widened as he shook his head in disbelief. "So in practice, the organization trusted that their plan was so simple that no one could doubt anything?"
"That's what it looks like," Cragen sighed. "But they made a mistake with the taxi story, for which I'm still very surprised, because criminal organizations at this level can't afford such mistakes. Now Harris and his partners are imprisoned, and the evidence found in the house give us more suspects and clues all the time."
"So can we say that the whole organization has now been run down?" Olivia asked, and Cragen pursed his lips.
"It is still too early to say if all members of the organization will be caught, but its activities are currently very uncertain as their boss and headquarter are no longer very secret."
They discussed for a while longer, but then Elliot moved and groaned in pain. Cragen looked at him and, noticing his tired and painful expression, he straightened himself and glanced at Munch, Fin and Cassidy.
"Alright, I think this is enough for today. Stabler needs to rest so the doctor can let him go home tomorrow. I wouldn't mind if I got a hot cup of coffee."
When the door finally closed behind them, Elliot sighed deeply and closed his eyes. Olivia looked at him worriedly.
"You okay?"
"Yeah… My shoulder is just killing me."
"I'm going to call a nurse, she can give you more painkillers," she announced and got up to leave, but then he grabbed her arm with his healthy hand."
"Liv, I… What happens now?" His gaze was suddenly unsure, and Olivia lowered her hand to his cheek.
"We're going home," she answered.
"But… How about you and me?"
She sighed. "It's up to you, El. You have to think about Laura and your kids."
When Elliot opened his mouth to protest, Olivia raised her hand to interrupt him.
"You have to rest now, we'll have time to talk about this later." She turned and walked to the door, but then she heard his partner's voice.
"Liv?"
"Yes?"
"Are you coming back?"
"Yes I am."
"And you'll stay?"
Olivia turned her gaze to Elliot, and when she saw his expression, the warmth filled her heart. Elliot looked almost scared, like she was going to leave him forever. A little did he know, she thought and smiled.
"I'll stay, I promise."
