Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Law and Order: SVU.
A/N: This story takes place around the middle of season six, right before Kathy and Elliot's split. Also, I really don't know when Olivia started working at SVU…I'm fairly a new viewer to the show and I watch episodes on USA when I can, but I probably missed it if they mentioned it. If anyone knows, be sure to mention it in your review. (hint-hint).
"Olivia?" he touched her cheek. She looked up at him, a blank expression crossing her features. "Who…who are you?" Olivia asked, looking a bit scared.
Elliot's heart skipped a beat. "I'm…I'm Elliot. Your partner…Liv, it's me," he searched her brown eyes for some sort of recognition. She removed her hand from his, feeling uneasy.
"What happened to me?" she looked up at the doctor.
"Olivia, I'm Dr. Jones. You and Elliot were in a car accident yesterday. Do you remember?"
"A car accident? No…" Olivia shook her head, tears filling her eyes. "Okay…what's the last thing you remember?" he raised an eyebrow.
"I went to work, came home, it was late…I ate a late dinner…then went to sleep," she replied nervously.
"Can you tell me the date?" Dr. Jones glanced at Elliot, who was staring at Olivia.
"Um…March 15th… 1998," Olivia told them. Elliot sighed, and shook his head.
"Olivia...there's no easy way for me to tell you this…" Dr. Jones sighed, looking over his chart, a somber expression crossing his features. "We performed a CAT scan when you were admitted to the hospital yesterday. Everything appeared normal, but…"
"What?" she knew it was something terrible.
"It seems as if you may be suffering from some form of traumatic amnesia. Today's date is November 14, 2004," the doctor informed her as tears escaped her eyes.
"What? Oh my God…" a stunned look crossed her face as tears escaped her eyes. Olivia looked at the two men, the one on the right stared down at her with concern.
"Olivia…" He started to wrap his arm around her, but then realized he didn't know what to do. Elliot somberly watched her cover her face and sob. Her day was getting worse by the minute. He tried his best to comfort her, not doing a very good job. She finally succumbed to fatigue and fell asleep.
"So what can we do about this? Will she get her memory back?" Elliot whispered with Dr. Jones. "There's no way to be sure. Her memory could be triggered by anything, or she may never remember what happened."
"This is terrible. She doesn't know who I am…how am I supposed to help her?" he asked frustrated. "Just talk to her. Let her get to know you again…give her time to trust you," Dr. Jones said as his pager went off. "I have an emergency. I'll be in to check on her later."
He left Elliot with his thoughts. Elliot rubbed a hand over his face, sighing deeply. He sat in the chair next to her bed, unsure of what to do next.
"Olivia. I don't know if you can hear me…it's – it's Elliot. Look, I know you're scared, Liv. I'm scared, too. But I don't want you to worry…I'll be here for you every step of the way. I promise," he took her hand, giving it a squeeze.
9:30 a.m.
The sunlight coming through the blinds on the other side of the room woke Olivia from her sleep. It took her awhile to realize where she was. Someone was holding her hand. She glanced down and saw the guy from earlier resting his head on her bed. 'What was his name again? Wait a sec…Elliot? That sounds right'. She didn't really want to disturb him, but she needed to go to the restroom. She moved her hand a little, hoping she could slip it out unnoticed. No such luck. He suddenly lifted his head, looking in her direction.
"Hey," he said, clearing his throat.
"Hey," Olivia tried to act as normal as possible. Whatever that was.
"Do you feel okay?" he wondered, raising an eyebrow.
"Um…yeah. I guess…um…I have to go to the restroom," she told him slowly getting up. She winced when she put pressure on her right leg. "Let me help you," Elliot offered and was by her side before she had time to protest. "Thanks," she said quietly. Elliot stood by the door, waiting for her in case she needed his help again. Olivia appeared from the bathroom a few minutes later, and she did need help. They sat in silence until Elliot spoke up.
"So…the last thing you remember took place in March of '98?"
She glanced at him. His forehead had a bandage on it, she guessed from the accident they were in. His big blue eyes were red and puffy and he looked like he hadn't had a decent sleep in awhile. But something about him…she could tell he cared. She nodded, "yeah. It was March 15th. The last thing I remember is going to sleep," Olivia gazed down at her hands.
"March…that's about six months before we started working together," Elliot noted.
"We work together? Are you my partner?" she asked thoughtfully.
"Yeah," his eyes lit up, "you remember something?"
Olivia shook her head, and his moment of hope faded. "I remember that I really wanted to work in special victims…guess my wish came true," she gave him a small grin.
"Yep." How she had gotten so lucky as to work with a handsome guy like Elliot was a mystery to her.
"Morning," a nurse entered with a smile, chart in hand. "Hi," Olivia greeted. "How do you feel this morning?"
"Okay," she replied, tucking her hair behind her ears. Considering the circumstances. She checked her vitals and told Olivia she could check out in a couple of days.
"Thanks," she told her, watching her leave. "Umm…Elliot?" her eyes met his.
"Hmm?" Elliot looked at his longtime friend. She looked like she did yesterday. When she knew who he was. It was hard to believe so much had changed in less than 24 hours. "Do I still live in the same place? The apartment complex off of 48th and…" Olivia searched her brain for the other street.
"Yeah…you do. Apartment 4B. Don't worry…I'll take you home," he smiled reassuringly. She grinned back. "Thanks," Olivia replied appreciatively.
"Hey…you don't have to thank me, okay? Don't hesitate to ask me for anything. Ever." Elliot looked at her intently, taking her hand in his. Olivia's heart fluttered at this, and she took a deep breath. "Okay."
"Elliot! There you are! I've been calling your room and- oh. Hi Olivia. You're awake," Kathy walked in the room. "Am I interrupting something?" she wondered, seeing their intertwined hands and the awkward look Olivia had in her eyes. "I'll be right back, Liv. Kathy, can I talk to you outside for a sec?" Elliot stood from his chair, leading his wife outside the room.
"What's going on Elliot?" Kathy seemed upset.
"It's Olivia. She woke up this morning with no memories of the last seven years of her life," he told her, furrowing his brow.
"What? Oh my God," she put a hand to her chest, glancing in the window at Olivia.
"Yeah…" he wanted to be upset at Kathy's attitude earlier, but his concern for Olivia overwhelmed his demeanor. "This is…this is awful. How're you holding up?" she touched his chest.
"Don't worry about me…I'm fine. It's Olivia I'm worried about." Elliot turned towards the window again. She had turned on the t.v. and was resting against the pillow. "She needs all the support we can give her right now," he told her sighing.
Olivia glanced at the window, meeting his gaze. The woman from before was still there, looking at him sympathetically and rubbing his shoulder. 'Who was she? Was he married?' They re-entered the room a few moments later, this time Kathy spoke in a different tone.
"Olivia, this is Kathy…my wife," Elliot introduced them. Boy was this weird. She sat upright as she extended her hand. "Hey Olivia," she smiled. Olivia smiled back, shaking her hand. 'So he was married. Figured.' "Hi." She stayed and made small talk for a while, then left for work.
"Well your wife's nice. She's lucky to have you," she said sincerely, glancing down at her hands.
Elliot grinned slightly. 'She doesn't act like she's lucky sometimes,' Elliot thought, wanting to change the subject. "Yeah."
A couple of days later after visits from Cragen, Munch, Fin, and Casey, Olivia was discharged and Elliot took her home. They sat in silence most of the way. Elliot glanced at Olivia occasionally. She was staring out her window, likely hoping something would jog her memory. "Here we are." He said unlocking her apartment door, following her inside. He sat her bag down and watched her look around.
"Not much has changed…" Olivia observed, glancing back at him.
"I doubt you'd have time to change it if you wanted to," he grinned at her, watching her smirk at his comment.
"Can you um…" she struggled to get her jacket off with her broken arm. "Oh… yeah," he slid the leather off her arm and she smiled gratefully.
She continued to glance around, coming across a picture on her bookshelf. Elliot saw her pick the picture up and stare at it intently. Olivia grinned momentarily, so quickly he would've missed it had he not been watching her. It disappeared, and replacing it came a look of complete sadness. He was looking at her from the side, but he knew she was holding back tears. He walked closer to her, he wasn't even sure she noticed.
"Olivia," he said her name softly, gently touching her back. Elliot looked at the picture. It was Olivia and her mother, taken a few years ago.
"Where is she? Where's my mother? Did she know I had an accident?" her brown eyes were still fixated on the small frame. Elliot sighed. This wasn't getting any easier. He opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it. "Something happened to her didn't it?" Olivia finally looked at him, eyes glistening with tears.
He held her gaze for a second, reluctantly answering yes to her question. "She passed away a few years ago. I'm sorry," Elliot looked at Olivia. She'd already been through so much…he knew she was in pain.
"Liv…" she sniffed, turning to look at him. "It's okay. I mean…maybe it's best I don't remember. Just like I don't remember taking this." Olivia started to cry, placing the frame back on the shelf.
"I remember what you told me after you took this," he began, his crystal blue eyes finding hers, "you had the day off…so you and your mom spent a day together. You guys had lunch, went to the park, and caught a movie. You told me that it was one of the best days you had ever had with your mother. You said it was one of the few times you felt like she didn't blame you for all her problems," he stepped closer to her, pulling her into his arms.
Olivia rested her head on his shoulder, crying softly. "It's gonna be okay." Elliot whispered soothingly leaning his head against hers.
"I hate this…I hate it," she pulled away wiping her face. "I've lost a chunk of my life. I feel so helpless," she turned towards the window, wishing the tears would stop.
Elliot's heart broke for his friend. He wanted her memory back as much as anyone else; he felt helpless too. He walked over to where she was standing, placing his hands on her shoulders.
"I know this is hard, Liv. And I'm sorry you have to go through this…but you're not alone. We're all here for you…we all care."
Another tear escaped her eye. Olivia stared down at the street below. She stared at the numerous people living their lives, going about their daily tasks. None of them thinking that in any given moment, everything could change. "Why? Why do you care so much?" she asked through her tears, frowning. No one had ever truly cared for her. What made this different?
Elliot was taken off guard by her question. "Olivia…I don't need a reason to care for you…you're my best friend. I…I care for you because you're you."
"I don' t know who I am anymore." She bit her lip. Elliot wrapped both his arms around her, pulling her into his chest.
"You're a kind, compassionate, honest person, not to mention a damn good friend…you're always putting others feelings ahead of your own. That's what makes you such a great cop, Liv." He softly rubbed her back, trying to reassure her. They sat on her couch, and Elliot consoled her until she had calmed down.
"Feel better?" He glanced down at her, tissue in hand.
She nodded, meeting his gaze. He really did care…he wouldn't have been here if he didn't. "Thanks for staying with me, Elliot."
Elliot grinned slightly, pulling her a bit closer. "We'll get through this together, Liv. I'm not going anywhere."