Recovery

Olivia lay in the hospital, having no sense of date, time, or what she was doing here. The last things she remembered was Elliot telling her that they could never be anything, then running and getting hit by a car. The more she thought about it, she realized that she had also heard a voice, tell her that it loved her. She didn't know who the voice belonged to, but she remembered that she had felt comforted by it.

As Olivia lay beside him, still unconscious, Elliot reflected over the last few hours. He had told Olivia they were over, and she had raced out of the building. Instantly, he realized his mistake and ran after her, noting the angry expressions of his co-workers. He had run after her, calling her name but she hadn't stopped. He had watched, horrified, as the car had struck her down. As quickly as he could, he had run to her and scooped her into his arms, pray for her to be okay, and trying to comfort her with his love. He clutched her hand tightly before falling asleep at her side.

The following morning, Elliot was awakened by something hitting his face. Quickly realizing it was Olivia, he attempted to calm her before the nurses at the desk were alerted.

"Shhh," he whispered, holding her gently, "It's okay."

A few minutes later, he felt her relax against him, and they both fell asleep in each other's arms.

A few hours later, Olivia woke once more, and pulled away from him, before he could protest.

"What are you doing here?" she asked harshly. The last thing she remembered with Elliot was him breaking her heart yet again.

"I wanted to see you. God Liv, we've all been so worried."

"Why would you be? You wanted nothing more to do with me," she stated, the earlier conversation still hurting her.

"I was just tired and angry, Liv. I didn't mean it."

"Yeah, and how often am I gonna hear that. You've hurt me so many times and each time you barely apologize and then you do it again. How often am I gonna have my heart broken because you can't control your anger?" Olivia paused, waiting for a response, when none came, she shouted, "Answer me, dammit!"

"I don't know, okay? You might have realized your affections for me years ago, but I just realized mine for you, so excuse me if I'm not happy-go-Larry all the time."

"Bugger off, you ass," Olivia stated when he had finished, attempting to role onto her side, but stopping when she realized she couldn't, "Go away, and don't come back!"

She closed her eyes, waiting for him to leave, but when it became apparent that he wasn't leaving she opened them once more and looked at him.

"What do you want? Haven't you caused me enough pain? Want to plunge another dagger into my heart? You know, maybe twist it this time, for maximum effect? Is that what you want, Elliot? IS IT?" she screamed the last few words.

Elliot looked horrified, and suddenly everything that John ever had said to him about this suddenly made sense.

"No, no. I've been trying to get you to understand what I feel about you for the last few weeks, but it seemed to backfire every time, and then, that night, I was tired and angry that we couldn't find this guy so I took it out on you, because I knew you would accept it without returning it."

"Right, so you hurt someone who you know is hopelessly in love with you just to release your anger and then you find out that they're in an accident and you come to hurt them more," she paused and continued before Elliot could interrupt, "Gee, you're really a nice guy," she ended sarcastically.

"No, Liv. You got it all wrong. I came to apologize. I came to say that I love you and I want to know if there is still a chance for us. I don't want to hurt you, I never did, and I don't want to hurt you ever again. Is there still a chance?"

"Look, Elliot. For months you've basically told me that you hate me and we can barely be friends, and now, after I have an accident, you're suddenly in love with me and you want to give 'us' a shot? You've hurt me more in the past few months than you ever have before. I don't even know if I trust you anymore," she said sadly.

"I'm sorry, Liv. I really am, but maybe," he paused, thinking, "Maybe we can be friends first, and then move on?"

Olivia paused for a few minutes, seemingly considering his offer before knodding and placing her uninjured hand in his, "Friends for now," she said softly, almost to herself.

"Friends for now," he repeated just as quietly, as she nodded once more. On a sudden burst of impulse he leant forward and pulled her face up to his where their lips met. Sensations exploded once more, but it was different this time. Neither knew why, but there was a tenderness that had not been present earlier, and this made the sensation of each other's lips more wonderful.

Reluctantly they broke apart, and Olivia leant her head on his shoulder and drifted off to sleep once more, as Elliot ran his fingers through her hair and lightly dozed.

Later that day, after both Elliot and Olivia had fallen asleep, Don and Casey came to visit them.

Taking in the image of the two of them curled up together, Casey said softly, "It's about time, isn't it?"

"I don't know how she found it in herself to forgive him. He's put her through hell for months, and she's instantly forgiven him. I don't know how she does that."

"It's not that hard to believe, Don. She really does love him, and although it looks like she's fully forgiven him, I don't think she's ready to trust him yet. That might take some time," Casey said knowledgeably.

"It seems you have some experience in this matter?" Don said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, let's just say, I hope theirs turns out better than mine did."

And with that comment they both turned to go, leaving Elliot and Olivia oblivious to the visit and safely wrapped in each other's arms.