Chapter 7 - Miracles?

"Liv!" His eyes widened and a tear of hope fell down his cheek. "Liv, squeeze my hand again! Come on Liv, I know you can do it! You got to do it Liv." He frantically pressed the nurse button on her bed.

"Liv! Please wake up! I know you're there Liv, I know you can hear me. Please, for me."

Again, he felt the weakest squeeze from her hand. It was the most magical sensation he ever felt.

A nurse entered the room, before she could even speak Elliot blurted out, "She squeezed my hand! Twice!"

The nurse ran over to the bed to check Olivia's vital signs. She hit the intercom button on Liv's bed, "Page Dr. Shepard, get him down here immediately."

Elliot couldn't believe it! His heart began race. Before he could even process the situation the Doctor followed by another nurse wheeled him out of the room.

His head was spinning; he didn't even know how he got into the hall.

"Elliot! What happened? We saw the Doctor go into Liv's room, did she pass?" Munch asked.

"Huh? What? No, "A smile emerged on Elliot's face, "She squeezed my hand. She squeezed my hand John!" Elliot said as John bent over and embraced his friend in a consuming hug.

A nurse came out that broke up the hug.

"Detectives, we are not sure what happened but she appears to be awakening from her coma. She has not opened her eyes, but she is responding to our voices. We are going to take her up and run some tests on her. Now," She said looking at Elliot, "I don't want to get your hopes up, Detective Benson is in very critical condition just because she is responding does not mean she is going to pull through. I'll let you know her status as soon as we get the labs back. The best thing you can do for her is pray for a miracle."

Elliot felt like he was going to have a heart attack, "What does that mean John? What does that mean?" He asked his friend in complete distress.

"It means we wait, and we pray for a miracle." He replied.

"Come with me?" Elliot asked.

"What?"

"Come with me to the Chapel."

"Sure." John would have done anything for Elliot at that moment. Although John was Jewish he would pray to every God there was if it meant that Olivia would survive.

Eoeoeoeoeoeoe

The Chapel was peaceful; they were the only two people in there. They bowed their heads and prayed for a miracle. After a few minutes they lifted up there heads.

"What happened in there Elliot?" Munch asked.

"I don't know man. I was just talking to her. Telling her everything I should of said years ago. Baring out my heart and sole you know?" He looked at John who nodded his head understanding what Elliot was saying.

"I had her hand in mine, I told her I loved her and placed her hand on her stomach and when I went to withdraw my hand she squeezed it. At first I thought I had imagined it, it all happened so fast. So I told her, to please squeeze it again, and she did! She heard me John."

John didn't know what to say so he just said the first thing that came to his mind, "She's a strong person Elliot. There is no doubt in my mind that she is fighting like hell to come back to us, to you. What ever you said to her she wanted you to know that she heard you."

Elliot's eyes swelled up again. "I told her I didn't know how to say goodbye, not to her. I love her John. I have for a long time."

John nodded. This was not news to him. It wasn't news to anyone. Everyone at the 1-6 could see it in his eyes, in her eyes. They way they were with each other. They were like an old married couple. They had the chemistry that people could only write about. John prayed that they would get the chance to be together.

"I don't know what to do about Kathy, John. She knows." He lifted his head and looked at John.

John took a deep breath. "Listen Elliot, I'm not one to give advice on marriage, but if you have had these feelings for someone else…it usually means that there is something wrong in your marriage."

Elliot exhaled a long breath, "Yeah."

"Well we should get back down there." Munch said standing up.

"Yeah, give me a minute. I'll meet you down there, k?"

"Sure." John said and walked out.

"God, I know you are there. I know you were looking down on Olivia today. Please don't take her. Not yet. She is a good person, a great person. She helps people, you know? She cares, she really cares about the victims, and she gives them hope when they are hopeless. She would bend over backwards for anyone if they asked her too. She has had a hard, a hard life, but she doesn't hold it against anyone; she doesn't let people pity her. She has a beautiful spirit; any room lightens up when she walks in. However, she doesn't let people love her; she thinks that no one can love her. Yet she has so much love to give, and I love her with my whole heart. If only I had the chance to tell her. Please God, let her know what love is, let her experience it once before you take her. Amen."

Eoeoeoeoeoeo

When Elliot entered the waiting room all eyes turned to him, but no one said anything.

"No news yet." Cragen simply said.

He noticed that Kathy and the twins were gone.

"Mom went home. She took the twins with her. Something about needing to shower." Maureen said. She could read her Dad like a book.

Maureen had never felt so confused in her entire life. She had so many emotions running through her body she felt like she might explode. She was scared to death about losing Olivia. Olivia had always been like a cool Aunt or Big sister figure in her life. Liv was the one she went too, when she couldn't talk to her Mom or Dad. She gave the best advice. She couldn't imagine what she was going to do with out her. Then she would think of her Dad. How was her Dad going to handle all of this? She had never seen her Dad so distraught before. Which then brought her to her mother. She didn't know why but she was mad at her. She was mad that she wouldn't let her Dad leave her, when she knew damn well that he was in love with Olivia. She couldn't understand why her mother wanted to stay with him. They fought all the time; she was constantly accusing him of having an affair. When her Dad was home, he spent all his time with her and her siblings. She didn't understand what was left of their marriage. As Maureen got older she started to think that the only reason her Mom wouldn't leave her Dad was to punish him. Punish him for falling out of love with her.

Maureen thought about her parents for a minute. When Maureen's parents were her age 23, they were married with two kids. Maureen thought of her high school boyfriend, and how she thought she was in love with him. How she thought she was going to marry him. She almost laughed at herself for being so naïve. She didn't even know what love was back then. How can anyone at such a young age. Her parents were too young to know what real love was. They were foolish teenagers. She felt bad for her Dad, that he never got the opportunity to be single, explore his options, and grow as a person. He got trapped, and because of the guy he was he took full responsibility for his actions.

This would then lead her back to Olivia. Who was so obviously her Dad's true love. She was mad at her mother for leaving the hospital and taking the twins with her. How could she leave at a time like this? She knew that Lizzie and Dickie wanted to stay, but she had no authority over the situation.

She couldn't keep her emotions together anymore. She walked over to her Dad sat down next to him and cried on his shoulder. He patted her back and whispered, "I know, I know" over and again. Watching this scene caused Kathleen to breakdown as well. She got up and sat on the other side of her father and bawled into his other shoulder. "I love you girls" Elliot whispered to them.

When one person cries it starts a trend. Casey lost it when she looked at Elliot and his eldest girls. She cried into Munch's shoulder. Cragen got up and sat on the other side of Casey to help console her. Fin couldn't take it; he stood up and walked outside, "Need to get some fresh air." He muttered underneath his tears.

Eoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeo

It seemed like forever before the nurse came into the waiting room. They all gathered around to hear the news.

"We have Detective Benson in the ICU. She is in serious critical condition. She is in and out of consciousness, but she is responsive. We ran a bunch of tests and they look promising compared to the last test results. She is a fighter, she doesn't want to leave us."

"She's the strongest person I know. Can we see her?" Elliot asked.

"Detective Stabler, I don't want to get your hopes up, she is still in critical condition. And let's not forget about your own injuries. We should really take you back to the other hospital."

"No! No, I won't go. Not yet. Please, let me see her first?" Elliot pleaded with the nurse.

"Ok, but just for a few minutes, and then we are taking you back. Understood?"

Elliot nodded in agreement. He would have said and done anything to get to see Liv.

Eoeoeoeoeoeoeoe

He wheeled himself into the private room. She was laying there. She looked the same as she did before, yet something was different about her. He didn't know what it was, but it was there, something.

He took her hand and placed it in his, like he had earlier. "Liv, you gotta stop doing this to me. I don't know how much more I can take." He let out a little laugh, "I don't have much time. The nurses say I have to go back to the other hospital. This means I have to leave you now. You have to promise me something Liv, you have to promise that you are going to pull through this, be the strong woman I know you are. I know you can hear me Liv, so for the first time in our partnership I need you to do as I say." He chuckled out loud, he knew that she was probably laughing too, "I Love you Liv." He brought her hand up to his lips, bowed his head and kissed her soft silky hand.

"You staring at my chest Stabler?" Olivia said very weakly.

Elliot immediately looked up into her eyes. A smile emerged from ear to ear. Her voice, that sweet sexy voice of hers. "Olivia! You're awake!"

"You're a genius Detective." she said joking.

"Just awoke from a coma and already making fun of me," He said as they stared into each others beautiful eyes, "I missed you Liv. Don't ever do that to me again. You hear?" He said as his eyes began to water.

She looked at him and could tell that she really must have scared him. "That bad, huh?"

Elliot nodded.

"So I guess I'm not going to get to leave anytime soon?"

Elliot let out a laugh, "No Liv, you're not going anywhere," he tilted his head and smiled, "You're not going anywhere but right here." He said as he took her hand kissed it and placed it over his heart.