Sorry for the delay but I had no internet for the last two weeks.
Chapter 14
"OLIVIA!" he screamed his eyes frantically searching the dark waters. "OLIVIA."
He shone his flash light out over the water as the boat rocked. "Come on baby where are you?" he said out loud to himself. "OLIVIA!" he yelled again as there was another crack of thunder and flash of light. It was then he saw her face down in the water floating out of the small inlet they were tied up in.
"Oh God no," he said as he dropped the flash light and climbed onto the edge of the boat and dived into the dark fast flowing river, and began swimming towards her. He got to where he had spotted her and tread water as he searched for her again.
"OLIVIA!" he called as his eyes skimmed over the water but he couldn't see her.
"Where are you, where are you," he mumbled over and over as panic started to set in, he couldn't lose her not now, not after everything they had been through.
"WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU!" he screamed out into darkness just as there was another flash of light but he never saw her.
"Fuck" he snapped and began swimming out further into the river. He stopped again after a while as he tried to tread water but the flow of the river carried him along. "OLIVIA!" he yelled.
Suddenly he saw a flash light.
"WE'VE GOT HER!" someone yelled. "HEAD FOR THE LIGHT!"
Without a second thought Elliot swam harder and faster than he ever had before towards the light and the voice. He had never felt so much joy and fear at once. Someone had her, but who.
"COME ON….NOT MUCH FURTHER!" yelled a different voice over the roar of thunder as Elliot closed in the boat. A hand reached over the side for him and grabbed his wrist and started to help him in the small boat.
Elliot fell over the side gasping for breath. "Oliv…..Olivia," he gasped pushing himself up.
"I don't think she is breathing," said a voice from behind him. Elliot moved quickly turning around and saw the young boy Olivia had yelled to earlier looking at him scared.
"Move!" he yelled pushing the boy out the way and kneeling beside her limp body as the boat rocked. He bent over her, "Olivia…Olivia can you hear me baby?" he asked shaking her as he leant in close and tried to feel her breathing on him. "Shit," he said as he tilted her head back and opened her mouth, he felt inside and found her airway clear, covering her mouth with his he breathed into hard five times.
"Don't do this to me baby," he told her as he began chest compressions. "Don't you dare fucking leave me….. Not now…Not ever," he said as tears flowed from his eyes. He bent over again and gave another two breaths before carrying on the compressions.
"Come on sweetheart; come back to me….. I need you…I'm nothing without out, nothing," he sobbed. "I can't do this without you…Don't you dare fucking give up, do you…."
Olivia coughed and spluttered water spurting from her mouth.
"That's my girl," he cried as she continued to cough and gasp for breath. "That's my girl," he half laughed and half cried as her eyes fluttered open.
"YES!" yelled the boy from earlier grinning at Elliot, who finally smiled back at him.
"Try and get us to shore," Elliot told him his eyes going back to Olivia's face as she continued to cough. She finally opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Don't you ever scare me like that again," he told her unable to hide the emotion in his voice. "Do you hear me?" he asked her as he lifted her and cradled her shivering and shaking body in his arms.
She nodded against his chest as she cuddled into him.
"Is she okay?" asked the boy who helped him into the boat.
"She will be," he told him. "Thanks to you guys."
It was as he looked around he realised the boy who had been fishing earlier and freaked him out a little wasn't there.
"Right place, right time," I guess said the other boy as there was another rumbled of thunder but a lot quieter as the storm moved away.
"Yeah," smiled Elliot as the boy turned the boat towards the shore and a small sandy beach.
As the boat ran ashore the two boys jumped out and secured the boat.
"You okay to stand?" Elliot asked her and she nodded.
"Yeah," she said quietly.
Elliot stood up first and climbed out the boat and reached for Olivia helping her to her feet.
"Come here," he told her and reached for her when he saw her wobble and easily lifted her from the boat. He knew in any normal situation she would have argued but she was too tired and weak to argue with him, as he carried her from the boat.
The boys both reached into the boat and grabbed their rucksacks as Elliot carried Olivia into the tree line to try and get out of the rain that was still falling despite the storm starting to moving away.
"Here," said one of the boys handing Elliot a sleeping bag.
"Thank you," he said taking it from him and wrapping it around Olivia's shaking body.
"Thanks," she smiled at the boy before cuddling back into Elliot and closing her eyes.
"Liv….Sweetheart, you can't sleep," Elliot told her as he looked at the bump on the side of her head. "You were knocked out you might have a concussion, I need you to stay awake for me."
She nodded and opened her eyes. "I know," she told him giving him a look that said I'm not stupid.
"Yeah I know," he smiled at her and kissed the side of her head before she moved slightly to sit up a bit better pulling the sleeping bag around her.
Elliot looked over at the two boys who were sat opposite them resting against a tree. "I really can't thank you guys enough," he told them. "What were you doing out on the river in that storm anyway?"
"Teaching our idiotic friend a lesson," said the one Olivia had spoken to earlier.
"Before we go any further what are you names?" asked Olivia.
"I'm Daryl," he said. "And that's Robbie, and the idiot we left behind is Marcus."
"I'm Olivia and this is Elliot," she said smiling.
"So why did you leave him?" asked Elliot as he thought back to earlier and the way he had smirked and gave Elliot the finger.
"He was being a complete Dick. I mean yeah we came out here to get drunk and have a laugh, but….."
"He took it too far," said Daryl looking at Olivia and quickly looking down looking embarrassed.
"What do you mean?" asked Elliot noticing the way Daryl suddenly couldn't look at Olivia.
"He erm, well after you guys passed…. He kind off…Well he had loads more to drink and then we, well we…. You guys ain't cops or anything are you?" he asked them. Before either of them could answer Robbie started laughing.
"You're kidding right," he said pointing at Elliot. "Have you seen that guy's tattoos, do you really think they would let gang members serve on the force?"
Elliot's eyes shot open. "What the fuck do you mean by that?" he snapped.
Robbie looked scared at his outburst.
"N….Nothing, it's just I saw the tattoo on your back and….and I'm sure that's like a biker gang tattoo," he stumbled over his words.
"And how the fuck would you know that?"
"I….. I done a …..A paper on gangs and their tra…..traditions and shit," he told Elliot and Olivia saw the fear on his face as Elliot went to move her off him. "I …..I swear that's all," he said swallowing hard.
"El," said Olivia putting her hand on his chest. "He's just a kid."
"Liv we can't take that chance," he said glaring at Robbie.
"I promise you man, I done a paper….."
"He did," said Daryl defending his friend. "He done a load of research and shit, he got an A minus for it."
"El," said Olivia softly. "Let it go, their kids just like yours, that's all."
Elliot let out a deep breath and sat back against the tree.
"Sorry," he said knowing she was right. "It's been a tough few weeks."
"Ignore him he is a little grumpy, we have had a rough few days," Olivia told them. They both nodded looking at each other. "So what were you going to say, about Marcus?" she asked them.
"Yeah," said Daryl still staring at Elliot. "Well we, we had a few more beers then Marcus he …. He got out the weed he brought. Everything was fun at first but then he started to, well he got a little weird," he told them.
"What do you mean?" asked Elliot who had finally calmed down.
Daryl and Robbie looked at each other and shrugged.
"It must have been something bad for you to leave him like that," said Elliot.
"We weren't gonna leave him, not really," said Robbie. "We were just gonna head down stream for a while and let him think we had gone. Let him realise he can't say the stuff he said."
"Which was what?" Elliot asked narrowing his eyes.
"He started telling us what he would if…. If he found you alone in the woods," said Daryl looking at Olivia.
Olivia felt Elliot tense up again.
"He was getting really sick and then he, said what he would do to my little sister who is sixteen," said Robbie.
"And he was laughing and rubbing himself, it just freaked us out a little as he has never been like that before and he wouldn't stop. So when he went to take a leak we grabbed our stuff and jumped in the boat," Daryl told them.
"We yelled at him to sort his shit out and to make his own way home. We only meant to go around the first bend and stay there for the night, but the storm carried us further and well you know the rest," said Robbie. "We just wanted to show him he can't say the things he said and think it's okay."
Everyone sat in silence for a while.
"Do you think he would carry out what he said?" asked Elliot.
The boys looked at each other and shook their heads.
"No….At least I don't think so, I would hope not. He is normally the geek and really quiet around everyone but us," said Daryl. "I think it was just the drink talking…."
"And the weed," said Robbie. "Like we said, we just wanted to teach him a lesson. He is probably curled up in a ball crying right now, cause he has never liked thunder storms since he was a kid."
Elliot nodded and smiled at the two boys, he still wasn't convinced about Marcus but he believed these two boys were good and after what they had done tonight he was willing to take a risk and believe them.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Do you think it's okay for her to sleep?" Daryl asked Elliot nodding at Olivia who was asleep in Elliot's arms cuddled into his chest.
"Yeah, I will wake her every now and then to check she is okay, she needs to get some rest."
Daryl nodded and reached into his bag and pulled out two bars of chocolate and offered one to Elliot.
"Thanks," Elliot smiled taking the chocolate from him looking over at Robbie who was lay on top of his sleeping bag snoring. "I'm sorry for snapping earlier," he told Daryl.
"It's okay… So you're not in a biker gang then?"
Elliot shook his head. "It's a long story and one your best not knowing right now," he told him. Daryl just nodded not wanting to push it. "So what you going to do about your friend?" he asked him.
"Go back for him I guess," he sighed. "Try and find out why he acted like that."
"You know most kids wouldn't have stood up to him like that, they would have just gone along with it," said Elliot.
"Yeah well, I don't…..well we don't," he said looking at his sleeping friend. "Find it funny. Plus I'm planning on doing something in law when I finish my studies, so is Robbie."
Elliot smiled. "You are huh, any idea what yet?"
Daryl shrugged. "Not sure yet. My dad was a cop, he err…. He died in the Twin Towers. I don't really remember him as I was only little, but I want to do something to make him proud."
"Well I'm sure he is already proud of you, stepping up to your friend like that and pulling Liv from the river."
"Thanks," said Daryl giving Elliot a small smile.
"But can I give you a little advice about Marcus," he said and Daryl nodded."From my experience I wouldn't just forget about what he said. Keep your eye on him and if at any point you have any doubts or your worried about his behaviour then report him."
"But I don't want to report him if there isn't a reason too."
"Your better to report him and let the right people decide if there was a reason to. The special Victims Unit will listen to any worries you have," he told him just as Olivia opened her eyes.
"Hey you feeling okay?" Elliot asked her.
"Yeah," she said stretching. "What time is it?"
"Just after four," said Daryl.
"Maybe we should head back to our boat, to check it is okay," she yawned. "The sun will be up soon."
"We will take you," said Daryl. "We need to head back up the river anyway to get the idiot," he said kicking Robbie to wake him up.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Well everything seems okay," said Robbie as they all stood on the Gibb's boat and looked it over.
"Thank god," said Olivia as Elliot went into the small cabin and came out with his rucksack. He reached inside and took out a pen and piece of paper handing them to Daryl.
"Write down your full names and your contact details," he told him.
"Why?" asked Robbie still a little nervous of Elliot.
"Well I have a few things to sort out when we get home but after that I may be able to help you guys out and put you in touch with some people to help you figure out your future plans," he told them. "And maybe help you to decide on which area of law enforcement you want to go into."
"Oh shit, you are cops," said Robbie. "Listen about the weed thing…."
Elliot held up his hand. "Just stop now if you want to be a cop," he smiled at him.
"But how you a cop with those?" he asked pointing at Elliot's tattoos.
"Like I said to Daryl it's a long story. All I'm going to ask you is if anyone asks if you have seen us don't say anything, not even to your friend."
"But….." said Robbie.
"Sure," said Daryl. "We will keep it to ourselves."
"Thank you," said Olivia.
"We should get going," said Daryl. "Go and let Marcus know he doesn't need to walk home," he grinned.
Olivia pulled them both into a hug and thanked them again before Elliot shook their hands.
"I will be in touch," he told them putting their contact details into his bag.
They both stood on the boat and watched as Daryl and Robbie disappeared up the river.
"You ready to get going?" Elliot asked her.
"Yeah, the sooner we get to Gibbs place down the river the better," she told him.
"Well if we don't stop anymore we could make it before nightfall."
"Well what we waiting for. Let's get going and I will sort us out some food on the way."
"How's your head?" he asked her cupping her face and gently brushing his finger over the bump on the side.
"It's fine," she told him.
"I was so scared Liv," he said dropping his head to hers. "You were just gone and I couldn't find you."
"Hey everything is okay, I'm okay I promise you."
Elliot nodded and kissed her lips softly. "I just love you so much," he whispered. "And the thought that I would never see you again….."
"I know, and I love you too," she said returning his kiss.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"You seem a lot better now," said Elliot smiling as she wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed the centre of his back.
"I am. The head ache I was getting has gone and I have stopped feeling dizzy. Plus the fact we are now passing civilisation again makes me feel better," she said against his back as she played with the waist band of his shorts and continued to kiss his back.
"Hmmmm Liv….Baby if you want to get to Gibbs place before dark you need to stop that," he sighed as her hand slipped further into his shorts and he felt himself becoming hard and Olivia chuckled against his back.
"Sorry," she said withdrawing her hands and putting them on his waist. "How much further do you think we have to go, the sun is already starting to set."
"I would say about an hour I have been checking the map every 15 minutes to check where we are."
"I hope this place is better than the last couple, I really need a shower and a comfy bed," she said as she walked towards the front of the boat and sat on the little ledge. "Who do you think he will send to meet us?" she asked him.
He shrugged his shoulders. "Not a clue. I have never met any of his team; I haven't even seen Gibbs for about 15 years."
"I thought you were close with him and that was why you asked for his help?"
"I don't need to see him all the time to know he will be there for me."
Olivia sat in silence for a while looking at the odd cabin here and here as they headed down the river.
"So were you and Gibbs in the same unit in Iraq?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "Gibbs was my Gunnery Sgt. He really put us through our paces and I often felt like quitting, but he was a good leader and a good friend," he smiled.
"So how come you haven't seen him in all this time?"
"When we got back from Iraq things we're different. I left the Marines as we had Maureen and I just…" Olivia watched his as he drifted off from the conversation.
"And you just what?"
"I just needed something different, something at home with my family. So I became a cop."
"And Gibbs stayed in?"
"Yeah for a while. He went through a bad few years; his wife and little girl were killed. The last time I saw him was at their funeral."
"What happened to them?"
"I don't really know just something to do with Gibbs work. He kept a lot of stuff to himself and didn't like to share…. He opens up about his feelings less than I do," he smiled.
"Have you never asked him what happened?"
"No, if he wants you to know then he will tell you. We kept in touch with the odd phone call over the years and that was it. He asked me a few times to join his team though."
"Why didn't you?"
"Because I was at Special Victims then…. And I had a partner who was driving me crazy, so I turned him down every time. Kathy used to go mad at me for passing up the chance to move to Washington and be earning more money. But I had everything I wanted right there in New York."
Olivia looked down between her feet.
"Until everything went wrong and you left."
"I was never gone for good Liv, how many times do I need to tell you this. I have been in love with you for so long there is no way I could have stayed away forever."
Back to a bit of alone time for them again in the next chapter and time to see who Gibbs sends to help them.
