"Hi, Laura, are you in trouble?"
"No, I'm at the hospital, but I need to talk to you."
Elliot made a contorted face. "Are you sure you don't want to talk to my partner, her number is at the bottom of the…."
"No, I wanna talk to you." she replied.
"Alright, what hospital are you in?"
"Montessori, on Thirty-second and Park avenue."
"Ok, I'll be there in ten minutes."
When Elliot arrived, he asked where Laura was. The secretary showed him into her room, and Elliot crept in. Laura had her eyes closed, and Elliot sat into a chair next to the bed. Elliot examined her blonde hair, its golden hue; just like Kathy's. She opened her eyes, and smiled at Elliot. He noticed that she had the most intriguing eyes he ever saw. They were a soft shade of turquoise blue, and they pierced him.
"Hi…" she whispered.
"Hey, how are you feeling…" Elliot asked.
"Exhausted…" she replied. "I asked you here because I wanted to say I was sorry for today…"
"No, no…don't worry about it…" Elliot consoled her.
"I was terrified…I didn't want any male near me…" she laughed. Elliot smiled, he
realized how she was exposed. "Also, I want to drop the charges…"
"What? Why?" Elliot asked.
"I don't want to see Danny ever again…" Laura explained.
"You won't have to. Believe me, that bastard is going to be behind bars for a long, long, time."
"But rape is one of the hardest things to prove…"
"Ms. Hughes, he raped you and we're gonna convict him…"
"I can't go through with it…It's gonna be too much…"
"I'm gonna be there. He can't touch you…" Elliot explained now holding her hand. "Believe me…"
"Alright, then. I'll do it…" she smiled after some thought.
"Good." Elliot replied delighted. He let go of her hand.
"Thank You…" she yawned.
"Sure…try and get some sleep, you need it…"
"You too…" she smiled closing her eyes. Elliot got up from his chair and walked out of the room. He felt compelled to stay with her, but knew that that would be uncomfortable for them both. Plus, he was wrecked tired. He met a doctor who was about to enter the room.
"Hi, Detective Stabler, Manhattan Sex Crimes." Elliot began showing his badge.
"What are the results of the rape kit?"
"Positive. She was pretty beat up, the works."
"Alright, well we're going to be back here tomorrow morning. Any developments, call us…" Elliot said handing the doctor his card. Elliot left the hospital and headed to his car. He thought of calling Olivia, but instead headed to her house; he wanted to talk to her in person. After a ten minute drive to the other side of the city, he reached her apartment building. He raced up the five flights of stairs and knocked on her door.
"C'mon Liv, answer the damn door…" Elliot said anxiously. She opened the door seconds after in her pajamas, and joined Elliot outside the apartment leaving the door ajar. Elliot found her demeanor odd, she usually asked him in.
"Elliot…" she began annoyed.
"I know, Liv, I'm sorry."
"You can't keep coming around unannounced like this…"
"You know, you're right…" Elliot said embarrassed, and he turned to walk back down the stairs.
"El, you can't keep doing this to me, I'm kinda busy…"
"You know, I'll just come back tomorrow…"
"No! You're here now, " she sighed, "What's up?"
"I got a call a while ago from that girl Laura Hughes. She wanted to drop the charges but I convinced her not to."
"How come she didn't call me?"
"I don't know…" Elliot changed the subject. There were footsteps from inside the
apartment. "You have company?" Olivia didn't have time to answer, because her company was at the door.
"Olivia…." the mysterious man appeared at the door. "…popcorn's ready."
"Great, I'll be there in a minute." she said closing the door. Elliot seemed confused, and Olivia was embarrassed. "Can we talk tomorrow over a drink or something?"
"Yea, sure…" Elliot complied.
"Ok then, tomorrow, you and me…" Olivia smiled as she reentered the
apartment. Elliot smiled falsely and walked down the stairs.
Olivia made it sound so easy, have a drink, just friends. Elliot was going through so much with his divorce, his life starting a new chapter, it wasn't as easy to say their lifestyle was just friendly. He knew he wanted more, but when he saw that man at the door he began to think otherwise. He missed his chance, and he would have to move on.
"Or maybe they're just friends…like me and her ." he told himself. "God, I'm so paranoid." Driving back home was tiresome, and listening to the messages on the
machine was even more tiring. The first was from his lawyer.
"Hey Elliot, this is David Spitzer here. I have the conditions here that Mrs. Stabler is requesting during your divorce proceedings next month. Give me a call when you get the chance." Elliot rolled his eyes in a pessimistic state. The next three messages were from family members who wanted to console Elliot, and the last message was Maureen.
"Hey dad, you must be busy. I'll call later. Love ya."
"Shit, I forgot to call her!" he replied picking up the phone and dialing her number.
"Hello?" she picked up.
"Hey sweetie…"
"Dad, hey. You got my messages, huh?"
"Yea, what's going on?"
"I heard about you and mom…What the hell happened?" she sounded distressed.
"Look, sweet heart, your better asking your mom, I might be a little biased in this whole story…"
"We're both adults, dad…" she reminded him. And he forgot the whole time she
was gone off to college that she wasn't a child anymore.
"She's seeing someone…"
"What? You're still married! What the hell is wrong with her?"
"Maureen, this was going to happen anyways…we just grew apart, we were kids when we fell for each other. That was twenty odd years ago."
"So your justifying what she did."
"Of course not…"
"Are you seeing anyone?"
Elliot thought about this for a few seconds. "No…"
"Olivia?"
"No, Maureen…I'm not seeing Olivia."
"God, how did I not see this coming?"
"Don't cry…Get some sleep…"
"Alright, dad. Love you…"
"Goodnight, Maureen…"
Elliot felt like crying himself; how could he not see it coming either? It was going
for ten o'clock and Elliot decided to go to bed. Olivia was obviously dating again, and Elliot was stuck in a rut with the divorce and everything to take advantage of that. It was the first night he actually felt lonely, and he vowed that he would erase all traces of Kathy from himself, even if it meant more lonely nights.
A/N: Thanks to everyone who started to read my resurrected version of this story. Also, thanks loads to those who reviewed, I appreciate it! Things are really going to pick up in the next chapter (I promise!), and that's when all the drama starts to really unfold. Thanks again, and drop a line if you can!