Thanks for all the reviews guys!! It means alot.
Disclaimer: I have a fat cat and no EO - I don't own anything of Mr Wolf's.
For...Nettie...again..coz I feel like it...hell, the whole story can be for Nettie...except chapter two because that's for Laura.
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By the time Elliot had reached his apartment it was about four in the afternoon and traffic was already beginning to peak. He pulled into a spot he found by chance, just out the front of his building. After a moment he killed the ignition before turning to Olivia.
She was still asleep after the half hour drive, Elliot smiled to himself. He was surprised that she hadn't shot up after some nightmare but was definitely glad.
"Liv?" Elliot called quietly once again.
Olivia murmured something resembling 'I'm fine' before shifting in her seat and letting her soft snoring begin again.
Elliot chuckled.
He quickly unclipped his belt before pulling the keys out and slipping them into his pocket. He opened his door and walked around to Olivia's side. He gently eased the door open and waited for Olivia to shift away from it before pulling it open fully. He bent over and ducked into the car so he was hovering over Olivia. He unclipped her seat belt and let it slip back up into its holder.
"'Livia?" Eliot called softly.
"Nmmm…What?" Olivia mumbled, still not opening her eyes.
"We're at my place. I decided to let you sleep," Elliot smiled, "...and you didn't wake up at yours so I drove to mine and you can crash here tonight. Okay?"
"Uh-huh." Olivia mumbled shifting towards the driver's side.
Elliot shook his head, "You're still asleep aren't you?" He muttered.
Olivia didn't respond.
Elliot cupped her face in both hands and turned her towards him, "C'mon Olivia, wake up."
Olivia blinked her eyes open and looked up at Elliot with a sleep infused gaze, "Huh?"
"Come on, you can crash inside." Elliot smiled, backing out of the car so Olivia could get out.
"Mmm…" Olivia mumbled, her eyes fluttering shut.
"Great." Elliot muttered, "So she's only semi-conscious."
Elliot took hold of her hands and pulled her out of the car, resting one of her arms over his shoulder and holding her waist as her head rested against him.
"Where're we going, El?" Olivia mumbled.
Elliot bumped the car door closed and reached into his pocket, pressing the lock button on his keys. The indicators blinked and the car made a 'Bloop bloop' sound, indicating it was now locked.
"You're going to bed." Elliot replied to Olivia's question.
"Mkay." Olivia sighed.
Olivia's slight awareness allowed her to walk, more like stumble, with Elliot's guidance as they made their way into Elliot's apartment building. They slowly trudged up the stairs until they reached the third floor and walked down the hall until they reached '3C'.
Elliot unlocked the door and pushed it open, leading Olivia inside before kicking the door closed behind him. He led Olivia to the couch and let her lie down before going back to the door and locking it.
He dumped his keys, gun and holster on the kitchen bench before trudging to his bedroom and grabbing the comforter off his bed. He came back to the living room and gently threw the quilt over Olivia, making sure she was completely tucked in.
He went into the kitchen and pulled a beer out of the fridge, removing the lid, taking a sip then walking back into the living room and taking a seat in the arm rest adjacent to the couch. He looked at Olivia sleeping peacefully and smiled to himself.
He wasn't sure when they'd reached this point in their partnership…friendship…relationship- whatever you want to call it but it felt like they had been like this forever. It was complex to anyone else but them. They had an amazing bond, never physical though. The question plagued Elliot's mind as well as everyone else's. He didn't mean sex, just a physical thing. They comforted each other just by standing close. Only on two occasions had they even come close to hugging: Once when Fin got shot and the other time was when he had been knocked into the window, she had cradled him close to her as they waited for the ambulance, him barely aware of what was going on around him, only able to feel her and smell her perfume.
Then there was one time where their bond went well and truly beyond anything they had ever experienced. After the car accident with his now Ex-wife. He had been so worried about his child, about the mother of his children that he had brushed past her after just a glance. When he exited the hospital room it suddenly occurred to him that he could have lost her forever and that scared the hell out of him. He took hold of her and held her; he didn't hug her, he held her.
And she held him.
And for one moment it was just them standing in the busy corridor of the hospital and time had no authority in their small moment.
You're okay.
Yeah.
He had finally breathed when he saw her, finally inhaled in relief that his world hadn't come crashing down around him and that his guardian angel was still on earth.
Elliot took another sip of his beer, holding the neck and letting momentum take hold as he gently swirled it in a circle. He drank the rest of his beer quietly as he watched Olivia sleeping before leaving it on the coffee table and picking up the book he had left there the other night.
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Flash.
The flash of the gun.
The smoke.
And the bang.
It was loud. Olivia had heard it hundreds of times before but not like this. It made her sick.
She screamed and stumbled back, looking at Melanie's lifeless body. She held her breath for a moment before letting it go shakily as Elliot took hold of her elbows.
The blood, it was everywhere. She could feel little speckles drying on her face as she struggled to feel anything else but the way her head was pounding and her stomach was churning.
She waned to cry out again as her eyes took in the way Melanie had become limp yet her voice was ringing in her ears, yelling at her.
Her breath was coming in sharp shallow breaths and Elliot was trying to guide her to the door but her feet had become led and she couldn't move. Her whole body had become led. She was stiff and wanted to crumble to the floor with the emotional weight of everything. Glimpses of all the horrible things she'd ever seen, ever experienced as a child, as an adult, everything was haunting her mind at one time. Swirling around and around, taunting her as it protruded from the deepest dark recesses of her memory.
Her mind was out of control and all the voices were echoing in her head; Her mother, Gitano, Melanie. Their voices were taunting her.
You're mine. If I can't have you know one can!
I'm gonna kill him!! Do you hear me? He's gonna die!
God, you two are a couple of screw ups…
It's alright…
I'm sorry…
I can't!
Memory after memory, conjuring up in her mind, killing her bit by bit, piece by piece…
The shot.
Ringing in her ears.
Driving her to the edge.
It was black, all black, spinning darkness. Swaying and tilting, never ending motion making her sick.
"Stop!" She screamed.
"Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop, stop, stop, stop…" She was crying as she slumped to the floor in the black, quiet, alone, "Stop…stop…stop…"
"Liv, Liv calm down. Wake up." Elliot whispered quietly, gently stroking her hair.
Olivia jumped and sharply inhaled.
"Shh, shh, shh…you're okay." Elliot soothed, letting his hand sweep her hair out of her face before resuming his previous actions, "You're okay."
Olivia held his serene gaze, already knowing she must be in his apartment. She could feel the tears on her cheeks that she must have cried during her nightmare. She could feel herself trembling and her breath shaking every time she inhaled, exhaling softly.
Olivia sat up slowly, moving the comforter so it was across her lap. She glanced around the room before focusing back on Elliot's beautiful blue eyes. She could feel the tears welling up in her own eyes but refused to let them fall.
Elliot reached up and gently cupped her face with his right hand, brushing his thumb across her cheek. Olivia let her eyes close at the much needed human contact. Elliot dropped his hand and moved onto the couch, sitting on her left side.
Olivia's head fell to his shoulder and she sniffled slightly.
Elliot pulled the comforter over his lap as well, lifting his arm and draping it across Olivia's shoulders, pulling her to rest against his chest, "Want to tell me about it?" He asked quietly.
Olivia shook her head.
Elliot leant back against the couch, getting more comfortable for both him and Olivia. He pulled the blanket up higher so it fully covered Olivia and most of him. His hand gently stroked Olivia's arm as she breathed lightly against his chest.
She sighed quietly, just letting the moment intoxicate her, "It was happening all over again. Everything. Melanie was there and she was so close…" Olivia whispered, "I was so close…I could've- I could've done something but I didn't. And then Gitano and my mother…it was all just drilling into me and I was alone and-" Olivia sucked in a breath, avoiding the tears which were gently slipping down her cheek of their own accord as she maintained her voice, "I should have let her shoot me. There was only one round…" She breathed the last bit.
"No, no, no…Honey…" Elliot sighed, "You did what you could. You tried Liv. You tried and she was lost. You can't find someone who doesn't want to be found." Elliot's arm continued to caress her arm gently, "You didn't know that there was only one bullet. You couldn't have. You didn't know she was going to do that." Elliot whispered just as quietly.
"Exactly, I didn't know." Olivia whispered despondently, blinking back any more threatening tears before they spilled onto Elliot's shirt.
"You're okay…" Elliot replied; his finger's lacing in her hair one again.
He played with her soft strands, enjoying the silence and the feel of her warm breath dancing across his chest and through the thin fabric of his work shirt. Gently, her breaths came even and soft as she began to slip into a deep sleep once again. Elliot followed suit, letting his hand drop to her waist, fingers resting on her hip.
- - - - -
Don't kill me. I repeat: DO NOT KILL ME!!
I;'m going down the coast for a couple of days but as soon as I get back I'll update... promise.
Depending on the amount of reviews I get for this chapter I'll upate again in the morning.
Before I leave...
Love
Curses...