A/N: CHAPTER 4! Thank you for all of your positive reviews. Without you I don't know what am I going to do with my life. haha xoxo.
2016
"You're lucky to be alive, and Noah is lucky that you are. But that is not why you left that house. I know you think you know everything, but no one could have predicted what was going to happen."
"It was Dodds' time."
"It wasn't yours."
PRESENT DAY
"Is mommy gonna be ok?" Noah said, as he watched Olivia, Lucy squeezed his shoulders, "Yeah, she is. And you know what?"
"What?"
"If we go buy her some flowers, She will be better. That's okay with you?" She said, making the young boy smile.
"Yep! Let's go, Lucy!" Noah said as they exited Olivia's room. "Oh, I forgot!" He went back and kissed his mom on her cheek "We will be back mom!"
Elliot watched the two go and smiled, Olivia's son is growing up. The last time he saw him was when she was about to take him home. He sighed, Time goes really fast. He thinks.
He was in his car when Olivia emerged, holding Noah. He could see the happiness radiating off in his former partner's body. An answered prayer, Olivia finally had her chance to become a mother, A chance to express her love to someone the way her mother didn't.
"I'll support you any way you want." He said to her years back. He became true to his words.
Maureen told Elliot two days ago that Olivia almost didn't make it. "I was scared, Dad. I'm scared that I wouldn't be able to thank her for everything." She said to him.
Now he was standing at the doorway of her room. Tears start to fall as he enters, she looks so small. The doctors put her on life support for a while, But they assured them that Olivia will be waking up in no time and it makes him feel relieved.
She's alive.
"Hey," he said, as he sat in one of the stools beside her. He then holds her hand, "How are you?"
"I miss you. So much," he continued. "Maureen told you almost didn't make it, you gave the kid a scare huh?" he chuckled.
"You haven't changed, huh? Only with a kid and goddamn title. Captain," he said. "I spoke to Cragen and Munch, the former cap said he's expecting you to wake up and slap me in the face for putting you in a hospital bed, because god knows how you hated it. While Munch, being Munch as always, is telling me that if you woke up, I should ask you if you saw the black hole. While me…" he trailed off.
"While I'm here, all I ask is…wake up, Olivia." He said kissing her hand. "You have no idea how much I miss your smile when I said something stupid, I miss how you handle yourself among all the men, your strong personality. Everything about you."
"I miss loving you, Liv. I'm sorry if I lied to you ten years ago. Because the truth is, my love for you didn't pass. And it never will."
It never will.
Suddenly, Elliot feels Olivia's hand squeezing his. "Liv? Olivia?" he stood up on his seat and turned on the intercom, "I need some assistance here, the patient is waking up." And true enough, Olivia's eyes fluttered open.
"Olivia, oh god." He kissed her forehead, "You're awake."
Another answered prayer.
"Captain, I'm gonna pull out the tube ok?" Dr. Beresford said while Maureen was standing behind him, ready to assist her colleague in no time. Kyle slowly pulls out the tube out of Olivia's mouth causing the captain to cough out, "Easy, easy." One of the nurses said, rubbing Olivia's back. Maureen immediately puts on an oxygen mask on her. And as they wait for Olivia's breathing to steady, Her squad, along with Noah, comes in.
"Mommy!" the young boy said, Olivia smiles and removes her mask "Hi." Fin helped Noah to sit beside his mom so that Olivia can hug him, "I miss you buddy."
"I miss you too, Mom. Look! Lucy and I bought you some flowers!"
"Oh, really?" She said seeing the flowers on her bedside table "That's beautiful."
Elliot couldn't himself but to smile at the interaction between the mother and son. She's really happy.
"How 'ya holding up, Liv?" Kyle asks.
"Uh, I don't know. What happened by the way?"
The people around the room including Elliot were shocked, How could Olivia didn't know what happened?
It was Maureen's turn to ask but as she approached the Captain, there was a confusion written in her face, "Have we met before?"
Bullseye.
"I'm Dr. Maureen Stabler. Elliot's daughter."
"Elliot?"
"You don't remember Dad?"
"No. Neither what brought me here. So that's why I'm asking."
"Uhm, we and the Organized Crime squad were working on a case, You and Elliot were caught in a bomb explosion in Washington Square park weeks ago." Fin said.
"What? I-I'm confused." Olivia said.
Kyle cleared his throat, "Uhm…you know what? We're gonna let you have your time with your son while I talk to your squad ok?"
"Ok."
Maureen looked for her dad but he was nowhere to be found, But by the time they left the room she saw him pacing back and forth in the hallway. "Dad."
"She doesn't remember me neither you, How the hell did this happen?!" He said. Maureen rubs her father's arms "I don't know but Kyle is already contacting our Head psychiatrist to see what happened but I got a hunch that she has Dissociative Amnesia, I don't know. Hey…look at me, dad."
"I can't–"
"Look. At. Me." Maureen said. "You want to be in Olivia's life?"
"She got a son, I don't want to." He said.
"But you want to be?" She said. Elliot looked at her "Come on, It's like I didn't know the answer."
"I love her." He said.
"That's right, you love her. When you and mom finally divorced, I pray to god that someday, you and Olivia will cross paths again. And it happened." She said, Elliot sighed
"Now, if my hunch was right, you don't need to push the past on her. What you gonna do is, make a new one. Be there for her when she makes new memories. Help her, ok?" She continued. Her father nodded, "Okay."
"Captain Benson has dissociative amnesia. It's a condition which rarely affects 2.6% of women and 1% in male. People, like Olivia, don't remember any personal information about their life or what happened to them." The psychiatrist explained. "In the captain's case, the accident causes her memory loss. That's why…"
"She doesn't remember me?" Elliot asks, the shrink nodded, "exactly, Captain Stabler. In fact, I did examine her earlier, showing her some pictures and at the same time, asking some questions about it, she did recognize some of the people in the picture except for one; You."
"Why she couldn't remember me when she remembers others?" He asks. Fin, Amanda and the rest of the people look at him.
"Can we talk in my office, Captain?" the psychiatrist said. They both exited Olivia's room and went to his office.
"Have you been a constant person in her life?"
"Excuse me?"
"The way she practically didn't remember you says a lot. Before any of this happened, have you been with Olivia her whole life?"
Elliot swallowed, "We've been partners for 12 years, only for me to leave the job in 2011."
The psychiatrist nodded "Now I know there was a reason why she didn't remember you."
He looked at the shrink, "You mean, the way I left her?"
"I see a lot of confusion in her eyes. When she looks at you in the picture. She did remember you but she doesn't remember when and where. It's all foggy as she said."
"She does?"
"The heart doesn't forget. Captain. I think all you need to do is to reintroduce yourself to her. That's all I can say."
Later that night, Elliot went into Olivia's room. She was sleeping peacefully. While he was observing her, it also takes him back on the things that Maureen and the psychiatrist said.
Be there for her when she makes new memories. Help her.
Reintroduce yourself to her. That's all I can say.
And he will.
