A/N: This one-shot was part of a writing challenge I participated in when a group chat I'm a part of on Twitter was discussing the episode and pointing out all the different ways it could have gone. We each decided to do our own version. Here is mine. After you read this, please check out the others, written by EORocks, justanotherbookworm78, FragileVixenFic, MrsWellRested,LivEinziger , Chriskapeach,galfreygod and AlexisDawn. #PaternityRedux
After talking to Tommy, Fin, and Lake rushed to the Keegan residence. Elliot stayed at the precinct with Olivia as she was nine-months pregnant and on desk duty. He told the captain, with the baby expected to arrive any day now, he didn't want to be too far from her. She had rolled her eyes at his overprotectiveness, but couldn't hide a smile because she secretly enjoyed it. It was nice to be with someone who cared for and loved her as much as he did. She hadn't had that in her life before him.
Elliot had gone to the breakroom to get some snacks from the vending machine that Olivia was craving when his phone rang. Fin told him that he and Lake had arrived at the Keegan residence and found Leah in a pool of blood. She was dead and Jake was nowhere to be found. A murder-suicide was suspected and they needed to find him. They needed to get him to confess to killing his wife.
Fin asked him if they'd heard about anywhere Jake might have gone. Elliot tried to think for a minute and glanced over at his partner. They both gave each other a look as they remembered the picture they'd seen on the table in the living room.
"The lake house. It's on the north forks. It's about a two, three-hour drive from here." Elliot spoke up.
"Jake dropped Tommy off at the precinct a half hour ago."
"Fin, call the local sheriff. Tell him to watch the house and head up there. I gotta take Olivia to her appointment in a bit."
"I can catch a cab." Olivia chimed in but Elliot shook his head.
"No way. I'm driving you. They can go."
"El-"
"I'm not letting my partner and my baby ride in a dirty cab. I will take you. Cragen knows you have an appointment today anyway." He puts his phone back in his pocket and grabs his keys.
He gestures for her to wait as she tries to get up and extends his arm to keep her steady as she stands. He rests his hand on the small of her back as they head to the car.
X
They both were filled with nervous excitement as they drove to what would be Olivia's last appointment before her due date. They were listing off ideas for their son's name. Olivia told Elliot she wanted their baby named after him; Eli Stabler. Elliot told her he was part Benson, and therefore, should be either Eli Benson-Stabler, Ben for short, or Oliver Elliot Stabler.
Elliot's comment about their baby being part Benson brought up her doubts about becoming a mother, because of her childhood. He was always quick to reassure her, however, that it wasn't all about the genes, that their baby was conceived in love, and would have parents that loved him and would do their best for him. Things wouldn't be perfect, but they would get through the struggles and celebrate the joys together.
They rode in silence for a few minutes until Fin called them to let them know Jake Keegan was now in custody. Fin and Lake told them that they hoped Olivia's appointment had gone fine and that everything was ok with 'Junior', as the squad had affectionately nicknamed him.
The sound of tires screeching interrupted the pleasantries of conversation.
X
Elliot wasn't sure how long he'd been out; just that when he came to, he was in the car surrounded by shattered glass. He tried to look around, but his head and back of his neck were throbbing. He managed to put together that he was at an intersection and that someone had crashed into the sedan. He knew that a car had crashed into him but couldn't get a good look at the driver.
He rubbed his temples and tried to roll out the kink in his still throbbing neck. He blinked a few times before turning to his other side.
He'd seen a lot of things in his 46 years. However, few things filled him with the amount of terror as seeing his partner, the love of his life and mother of his child, completely passed out. Her legs were pinned, and there was blood on her stomach.
His hand shook as he reached to feel for a pulse and nearly sobbed when he felt a faint, thready beat beneath his fingers.
"Liv! Liv? Liv, baby, wake up! Oh God, please wake up! Please be ok!" He was careful not to jostle her too much in case she had a spinal injury, but he stroked her hair and lightly tapped her cheek to try and rouse her.
He was pretty sure he stopped breathing when she didn't respond to him. He cupped her cheek in his hand to hold her head steady as he grabbed his radio.
"SVU portable to Central." He did not attempt to hide the fear in his voice.
"Go ahead, SVU portable."
"This is Detective Elliot Stabler. I'm at 151 and Mccombs. There's been a car accident. The victim is my partner Detective Olivia Benson, and she's nine months pregnant. Rush a bus and the fire department!" He attempts to free Olivia's legs, but it's no use. "Advise the fire department the victim is pinned!"
"Copy that. EMS is en route."
He is unable to keep tears from pricking his eyes. "Hurry! Please hurry! Oh God. God, no! Livia! Please wake up! Please come back to me!" He sniffles and looks up towards the sky "Don't take them from me, father. I can't lose them. I-can't-" He doesn't suppress the sob when he hears sirens wailing. "They're here babe. Help is here! Everything's gonna be alright. Just keep breathing you hear me!? Keep breathing. Don't leave me, Livia. Don't you dare leave me."
He strokes her cheek tenderly and he's not sure if he's trying to soothe her or himself. The next moments are a blur as he sees the paramedics approach the car.
"Detective Stabler?" He manages to open the door. "Sir we need to check you out." The medic adds when he refuses to leave Olivia's side.
"No, no I'm not hurt."
"Sir, you could have a spinal injury. You should go to the hospital." Elliot grabs him by the collar nearly in hysterics.
"Don't worry about me, dammit! Please, help her!"
It doesn't take long for the EMS crew to realize that the unconscious woman is a lot more than just his partner. The medic gives him a sympathetic look.
"Detective, we need you to at least step out of the vehicle so we can help her. We gotta get inside here." Elliot places a soft kiss on Olivia's head before reluctantly getting out of the car.
"Please, hurry." He pleads again.
"You're gonna have to stay back, Detective. We'll take good care of her and get her fixed up, I promise." Elliot shakes his head as he hears someone say the airbag had not discharged.
Screw procedure. He wasn't leaving his partner and his baby. They'd have to physically restrain him.
"You don't understand! That's my-" He's cut off by another member of the crew.
"The passenger airbag didn't deploy." Elliot jumps in before they can do anything.
"It needs to be deactivated before anyone can go in there."
"I understand that."
"She's my partner." He ignores the looks of disbelief. This man was too distraught for her to just be his partner. "She's pregnant and the baby could be in danger. My baby could be in danger!" He shouts; his irritation towards them growing.
Now, they got it. This was a father pleading for the life of his unborn child and the woman he loves.
"Sir-"
"Detective!" He spits out.
"Detective, I'm not gonna get anybody killed here if that bag blows up." Elliot doesn't respond.
His gaze darkens and his fists clench when he glances in the direction of the other driver and realizes he knows who it is. The man looks like he barely has a scratch on him and is chatting with one of the medics.
Kathy's boyfriend. The one she'd started seeing while she and Elliot were still married. The father of her unborn baby that Kathy had, at first, tried to convince Elliot was his.
He wants to go over there and yell at the man. He wants to demand what the fuck he is doing here. He wants to strangle him and have him arrested for nearly killing his Olivia and their baby.
The only thing holding him back is that he can't leave her. He has to save her. She has to be ok because if she isn't Elliot didn't think he'd make it.
"Legs are encased." He hears someone say. "We're gonna have to cut her out."
"Why can't you use the jaws of life?"
"We will, but we gotta stabilize her head and neck first before we can do anything else." Elliot could hear the exasperation in the man's tone but he didn't care. This was his family.
"Heart rate's up! There's not enough room to get her blood pressure and she's still unconscious."
"What about my baby?" The chances of Olivia getting pregnant had been extremely small and Elliot's heart was breaking. She'd always wanted to be a mother and he prayed to whoever would listen that she wouldn't lose her chance.
"I can't tell. Access is pretty tight over there." Elliot moves past them.
"I got out. I can get back in." Someone cuts the roof for him to reach her.
"Ok listen to me. Place a hand on either side of her head to hold her steady."
Elliot swallows a lump in his throat as he does just that; feeling for her pulse again. While the fear was still cutting through him he felt a bit of relief at being able to touch her and know she was still breathing. The moan he hears makes him release a breath he didn't know he was holding. She was waking up. She was coming back to him. She would be ok. Her face scrunches in pain and he holds her in place when she starts to stir.
"El?"
"I'm here baby. Try not to move ok." He keeps his voice calm and steady; not wanting to cause her to panic and aggravate any injuries she might have.
"Wha-what happened?"
"We were in an accident, but everything's ok. I'm gonna get you out of here, ok?" She lets out a pain-filled groan and looks down at her stomach. "Shhh, I know. I know. It's alright. It'll be over soon I promise." He soothes her.
"My water broke!" Oh shit. His heart stops again.
"She's in labor!"
"Elliot!" She reaches back for his hand; moaning in agony. He squeezes it tightly. "I'm here, babe. I'm here."
"I need you to fit this around her neck. The chin goes there." Someone hands him a cervical collar.
"Olivia, I'm gonna put this around your neck ok?" He's not sure if she can hear him or if the pain is too deafening.
"Contraction! Oh god! El help me!"
"Shhh, it's ok." He tries to keep his tone gentle and soothing, but hiding the panic in his voice is becoming increasingly difficult. He knows keeping her calm right now is important, but he is close to a breakdown. "Put your head back. Don't move, ok?"
"There you go. Good work. Now keep your hands on her."
He wanted to scoff at the man. As if he would move an inch away from her now. No way in hell. His eyes widen as he looks down at her now freed legs and hears a medic confirming his suspicion that the liquid pooling there is blood. Her moans of pain are deafening as he hears someone say she needs fluids. The next thing he knows a needle is being pushed toward him.
"You've gotta get the IV in. I'll talk you through this. Find the biggest vein you can in her arm." He picks up her arm carefully in case it's injured and searches for a vein.
"I don't feel anything." Did they expect him to be able to do this? He is a detective, not a doctor for Christ's sake! What if he did something that hurt her or their son? He'd never forgive himself.
"She's too dehydrated. Just look for blue."
"Got it!"
"Now take the needle and slide it in. Parallel to her arm, towards you. When you see a flash of blood you've got it." Of all the things he thought he'd be doing today stabbing the love of his life with a needle wasn't on that list. He prayed he wasn't making her pain worse.
"I don't see blood."
"Push harder."
"I see blood, I'm in." He was thankful that part was over.
"Now pull out the needle, tape it, hook up the tubing."
"It's connected."
"Now squeeze the bag. One, two, she's back." Oh, thank God.
"El-"
"Hey there." He strokes her hair tenderly. "It's almost over honey. I'm gonna get you out."
"We're gonna need to take off the roof. There's gonna be a lot of noise but you're not in danger." Elliot takes off his jacket to hold over her head. He felt her squeeze his hand hard as another contraction hit.
"Her contractions are coming every three minutes." He tells whoever is behind him.
"There's nothing we can do."
"You need to give her something to slow down the labor!"
"We don't carry those drugs on board."
"Are you fucking kidding me!?" He's interrupted by his partner shouting his name.
"Elliot! El this baby's coming now! I can't-" He leans down and brushes her sweaty hair back. He rests his cheek against hers trying to comfort her with his closeness. He wishes he could hold her but decides this is better than nothing.
"Shhh, breathe, Livia. Slow breaths, ok? It's alright. We're gonna do this together. I'm right here. Just keep squeezing my hand, ok? Lean your head against mine. That's it. You can do this. We're almost to the ambulance. Then we're gonna get you to the hospital, I promise." Her sobs gut him as he's forced to let go of her hand so they can get her on the gurney. He'd do anything to take away her pain and absorb it as his own.
"Elliot, don't leave me."
"I'm right here, baby. I'm gonna stay right here next to you. I'm not going anywhere." He reassures her. A wave of relief washes over him when they finally load her safely into the ambulance.
Hearing the words "She's lost a lot of blood." However, remind him that they are not out of the woods yet. "Detectives, you'll be at the hospital in ten minutes."
"No! No, this baby is coming NOW!"
"Just hold on, ten minutes!"
"I can't!"
"We have to keep her airway clear! She's fully dilated and the baby's coming." He looks at Elliot who is on the verge of losing it. "Get behind her and let her push against you."
"El-"
"Shhh, I'm right here. I need you to push, ok? It's alright. I've got you. Just lean against me and push as hard as you can."
X
Moments later a cry fills the ambulance and both detectives let out a sob of relief as their son is wrapped in a blanket and handed to them.
"You did it, Livia." Elliot peppers her sweaty face with kisses. "You did it." He wraps his arms around his partner and their son who is in her lap. "Hey, little man. Welcome to the world. I'm your daddy." Elliot's horror returns when Olivia suddenly falls limply against him. "Olivia? What's happening?"
"Her blood pressure's crashing. She needs Oxygen and more fluids. Call it in. Keep the baby warm."
The next words shake him to his core.
"Patient is coding."
No, no, no. Not my Liv. I need her. My son needs his mother. Please, God, don't take her from us. You have every right to punish me, but don't take it out on her.
He repeats the mantra in his head as he holds their son in his arms.
The ambulance pulls to a stop and he's never been more thankful to see the doors of a hospital in his life.
Hang in there Liv. Just, hang in there.
X
He could feel his own heart stopping when they lost her pulse. The amount of fear that is gripping him is paralyzing. There was no way he was ever going to forget this feeling. The seconds feel like minutes as her pulse returns once she is safe and sound in the hospital. The minutes feel like hours as they continue to stabilize her, hook her up to monitors, and attach her to a fluid drip.
He tries like hell to stay by her side. He doesn't bother hiding his tears from his colleagues as they hold him back and tell him to let the doctors work.
He holds his newborn son in his arms; thanking God for one miracle and praying for a second. Olivia deserves to be a mother. She deserves to be happy with a family. She doesn't deserve this. She doesn't deserve to die because his psycho ex-wife and her boyfriend wanted revenge. Cragen tells him they have Kathy and her boyfriend in custody. Both of them are confessing to everything.
He can't even process that right now. The only thing on his mind is his best friend fighting for her life. She has to live.
She has to.
They finally let him sit with her again and he kisses her hand as he pulls a chair next to the bed.
"This is your mommy, Oliver." It was the name he'd decided on. Heaven forbid if his partner doesn't make it, he wants their son to carry a piece of her with him, always. He sniffles. "She's just resting right now so she can come back to us." He can't stomach the thought of anything else. He watches her intently for what feels like hours until he feels her stir.
"El." Her voice is raspy, but it is her, and he tears up again.
"Hey, sleepyhead. How do you feel?"
"Fine," He chuckles, knowing she is likely tired and in pain, but trying to be strong like always. The baby whines and the partners share a smile.
"Someone's been wanting to meet his mama." Elliot places him into her arms and her smile widens as tears fill her own eyes.
"Oh Elliot, he's beautiful."
"Of course he is. You're his mother. How could he not be?" He kisses her head.
"Stop with the sweet talk El, and get in here with us." She cradles their son in her arms and kisses his nose softly as Elliot climbs into the bed and wraps his arms around both of them. She settles against his chest as the baby settles against hers. "I was so scared of what was gonna happen. Not just in the car, but I just didn't think I'd ever get this chance. Elliot, I still don't know if I'm cut out for this motherhood thing, but all I can think about now that we have this little miracle is that I never knew it was possible to be filled with this much love in one moment."
Elliot holds her tighter and pulls her into a sweet kiss as their baby boy sleeps in their arms. "I've done it five times now and each time it's an amazing feeling. It's the best kind of love. I love all five of my kids and you so much, Olivia. More than any of you could ever understand. I always will." She closes her eyes and kisses him again.
"I love you, too. So much." She sniffles. "Thank you for making me a mommy."
"Thank you for making me a daddy again." He wipes away the stray tears that have fallen from her eyes.
"Did you decide on a name yet?"
"Oliver. After his mommy. Just in case-" She shakes her head and cuts him off.
"He should be named after you El. You saved our lives. He should be named after our hero. His daddy." He swallows a lump in his throat as he kisses her forehead.
"Elliot Benson-Stabler Junior. A compromise." She smiles.
"Deal. Eli or Ben for short." He chuckles.
"You really think the world needs another one of us?"
"Not the world. Just me." He laughs again and she snuggles into him. Now that the danger is over the family can finally relax and begin the next chapter of their lives.
A/N: The end! Please let me know your thoughts!
Special thanks to my beta FragileVixenFic! :)