Prompt #18: A fun day at the ice skating rink ends with someone in the emergency room. Pain medicine and fluff are included.

Partners on Ice

~oOo~

Olivia never expected to see her former partner on ice.

There was a Christmas festival Noah wanted to go to, with ice skating and hot chocolate. They extended an invitation to Elliot and his family, who readily accepted.

She watched as Elliot slipped his feet into a pair of ice skates. She'd half expected him to only watch, but he'd surprised her by renting a pair of skates and promising the boys he'd give it a try.

"Have you ever been on ice skates?"

"A couple of times when my kids were young." Elliot fastened the skates and made sure the laces were snug. "It's been a long time, though."

"Should I have an ambulance on standby?"

"Ha ha. I might surprise you." Elliot rose from the bench, carefully standing up. To his own surprise, his feet didn't fly out from under him.

"So far, so good." Olivia stepped onto the ice and watched as Elliot followed her with a little more trepidation. There was something incredibly amusing about her tough former partner wobbling on ice skates and she had to grin.

Elliot hadn't been on ice skates since his twins' tenth birthday almost twenty years ago (God, was he that old?), but it was coming back to him, and he managed to gain stability on the sleek blades.

"Got it. Ready to make a lap around the rink?"

"Only if you promise not to fall and take both of us down. I'd hate to spend Christmas with another broken ankle."

"Have some faith in me." Elliot edged forward on the skates. He was shaky at first, but after a few feet his motions became more steady. "See?"

"Not bad, El." Olivia smiled slyly and gave him a pat on the back.

"Watch, Mom!" Noah exclaimed as he skated past them. He easily leaped into a span and landed neatly. "See?"

"Good job, baby," she praised, watching as he dashed away to show Maureen and the boys. As they rounded the corner, she almost slipped and fell, grabbing onto Elliot's sleeve.

Elliot steadied her before she had a chance to hit the ice. "Didn't you just say something about not wanting me to fall? I think you were worried about the wrong person, Captain."

She poked him as she uprighted herself. "Don't jinx yourself, Detective," she quipped.

His arms were still around her waist and he grinned down at her. Her cheeks were tinted pink from the cool breeze, and she was wearing a black beanie that Elliot was positive belonged to him at some point. "Gotcha."

"Guess I'm stuck, huh?" Smiling, she leaned up and kissed him.

Elliot melted into the kiss and cupped her cheek in his hand. His other arm remained looped around her waist, drawing her close to his chest.

"Get a room!" Noah teased as he skated by.

Olivia rolled her eyes, parting from the kiss. "To be continued later?" she whispered.

"You know it." Elliot gave her hand a squeeze before they resumed skating.

On their third lap around the rink, one of Elliot's blades snagged on a crack in the ice. He threw his hand out to grab the rail, but he wasn't fast enough and hit the ice hard.

Something cracked, and in the suddenness of it, he wasn't sure if it was the ice or one of his bones.

"Elliot!" Olivia was watching Noah when she heard Elliot hit the ice. She turned and extended her hand toward him. "Are you hurt?"

Slowly the pain registered and Elliot winced. "I'm pretty sure I broke something." He shifted to get his weight off of his left leg. The discomfort steadily sharpened as he tried to move it, and he felt a dull ache settling in his ribs.

Olivia carefully crouched next to him, taking care not to slip as well because the last thing they needed was for both of them to break bones a week before Christmas. "Hold it still. We'll try to get your skate off so we can look at it."

Maureen made her way over to them with the boys following her. "Dad, are you okay?"

"Noah, grab our shoes," Olivia instructed.

Nodding, Noah skated off the ice. He grabbed his mom's and Elliot's shoes and carried them back to them. "Here you go."

"Thank you, sweetheart." Olivia untied her skates and put her shoes on.

Elliot winced as he eased his injured foot out of the skate. "Yeah, something's fractured." He took his other skate off and put his shoe on his unharmed foot only.

"Let's try to get you up." Olivia wrapped an arm around him.

"Liv, let me do it. If I fall again, you'll wind up hurt, too," he protested.

"Or you'll try by yourself and hurt yourself worse than you already are," she argued, refusing to leave his side.

"I'll help." Maureen changed out of her skates as well and took her place on her dad's other side. On the count of three, they managed to help him up.

Elliot tried to keep weight off of his hurt leg without putting too much weight on Olivia and Maureen, because the last thing they needed was for someone else to wind up in the emergency room.

Maureen helped Olivia get Elliot to the car. Olivia unlocked it and held his arm as he eased into the front passenger seat.

"Thank you, Maureen. I'll take him to get it X-rayed. Do you mind if Noah stays here with you?"

"That's fine," Maureen assured her. "Let me know when you find something out."

"We will." Olivia slid into the driver's seat and started the car. "How's the pain, El?"

He shrugged, wincing again. "Hurts, but I don't think it's a severe break. Guess we'll find out."

Olivia merged into the street. Mercy was the closest hospital, so she set off in that direction. When they arrived, she parked as close as possible. "Wait here. I'll get a wheelchair."

She didn't give him time to protest and exited the car. When she returned a couple minutes later, a nurse was with her, pushing an empty wheelchair.

He opened his door and carefully turned around, trying not to jostle his swollen ankle too much. "I think I can make it."

"We're not risking it." Olivia shook her head and gave him a sharp look as the nurse parked the wheelchair beside him.

Elliot eased out of the seat and sat in the chair, relieved when it gave him a chance to prop his ankle up.

"We'll have you fill out some paperwork inside and get you seen as soon as possible," the nurse addressed him as she began pushing the wheelchair inside. Olivia walked alongside them, settling a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Are there any injuries besides the ankle?"

"Sore ribs. I don't think they're broken, though." Elliot shook his head.

"We'll still X-ray them to be sure." Once they were in the lobby, the nurse handed him a clipboard. "Fill this out with your information and I'll let you know when someone can examine you."

Elliot took the clipboard and pen and filled out the information they needed, handing it back to the nurse when he was done.

Olivia sat in a chair across from him. "Can I get you anything?"

He shook his head and fidgeted in the wheelchair as he tried to find a position that took pressure off both his leg and his ribs. "I just hope we're not stuck here all day."

Twenty minutes or so passed before a nurse paged them. "Elliot Stabler?"

She showed Olivia to a room she could wait in while they ran Elliot's X-rays. While she waited, Olivia took the time to update Maureen while she waited and scrolled through her phone.

A lab tech brought Elliot back a few minutes later, carrying a file of scans in one hand.

"Alright, Mr. Stabler. The good news is, your ribs are only bruised," she began. "But your ankle is fractured. We need to do a minor surgery to place some pins."

"How long will I need to be here?"

"The surgery won't take long, but since you'll be sedated for it, we'll have to keep you overnight for observation."

"When can you do the surgery?" Olivia asked before Elliot had a chance to argue his way out of it.

"Our surgeon is currently in the OR wrapping up another procedure. He should be finished soon. Your nurse will go ahead and get you set up in a room so you'll be more comfortable while you wait."

The same nurse from earlier escorted them to a room down the hall. As much as Elliot hated being in the hospital, it was a relief to get settled in a bed with his ankle propped up with an ice pack.

"Well, this wasn't how I thought I'd spend my Saturday evening."

Olivia sat on the edge of the bed. "How's the pain?"

"It's a little better now that I'm lying down." Elliot shifted his attention to her. "You don't have to stay."

She cut him off with a shake of her head. "I'm staying," she insisted, resting her hand on his arm. "Noah's spending the night at Maureen's, so that's taken care of."

Elliot nodded softly. He felt a little guilty that she was at his side when he had been undercover the last time she was hospitalized, even if she'd told him multiple times it was all forgiven. "Thanks for being here."

"Of course."

About forty-five minutes later, a couple of nurses made their way into the room. "Dr. Roberts can do the surgery now. It shouldn't take more than an hour, and once you're out of recovery, we'll bring you right back in here," one of them addressed Elliot.

He nodded as they began setting up an IV. Olivia moved off of the bed and stood next to him.

"I'm making a coffee run and calling Noah, but I'll be here when you're out of surgery," Olivia assured him. She gave his hand another affectionate squeeze, then stepped back so the nurses could take him down to the OR.

~oOo~

When Elliot awoke, it was to the late evening sun spilling through the window blinds. He roused with a heavy yawn and opened his eyes, blinking a few times to let his eyes adjust to the light.

"Hey," he greeted when he saw Olivia in the chair next to him.

"Hey, you." Olivia set her phone aside and scooted closer to his side. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good," he yawned drowsily, a lazy smile forming on his face.

"I'd say so. Your pain meds probably haven't worn off yet." She gave his hand an affectionate squeeze. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Think so…" he slurred. "Something about ice."

"You have a fracture in your ankle. They had to put a couple of pins in, but it'll heal in a few weeks. You'll get to go home in the morning."

"I'm good to go now," he protested, sitting up a little more in the bed.

Olivia shook her head and easily pushed him back against his pillows. "They need to keep you here overnight until the sedation's completely worn off. You'll survive here one night."

At that, he frowned. "I'm hungry."

"We can get you something to eat."

"The food here is shit." Elliot shook his head.

Amused, she stroked his cheek with her thumb. "I'll get us something delivered. You're out of excuses. What do you want for dinner?"

"A burger."

"Alright." Olivia nodded. "I'll order one for you." She opened the DoorDash app on her phone and found a diner that delivered to the hospital. She ordered him a burger, as well as some food for herself, and set her phone aside. "That's taken care of."

"Okay…" Still drowsy, Elliot closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he grinned as he reached a hand out, touching her cheek. "You're pretty."

"That's good to know." Olivia chuckled and wrapped her hand around his. "They really have you on something strong, huh?"

"Still pretty," he yawned. His stomach rumbled and he huffed. "Food's taking forever."

"El, I ordered it less than a minute ago." She could tell he was on the verge of sleep and squeezed his hand. "Why don't you get some more rest while you wait? I'll wake you up when your dinner's here."

Nodding sleepily, Elliot closed his eyes. "Night…"

Olivia leaned over and adjusted his pillows, situating them more comfortably behind his head and under his cast-encased ankle.

"Night, El."

The author of this A Merry SVU Season story will be revealed in January