Brokenhearted

Chapter 5: Tears and Smiles

A/N: I've been meaning to wrap this story up for a long time and now, I think I've managed to give it a sufficient ending. I hope you all enjoy it.

Olivia awoke only two hours later to the sound of the door opening. She sprang up to see Elliot, almost doubled over, hobbling in. "Why the hell aren't you in the hospital," she snapped, accusingly.

He made his way to a cot and sat down before he answered her. "I didn't want you to leave without saying goodbye," he told her breathlessly.

She took a seat down beside him, not being able to keep the soft smile from crossing her face, but at the same time, not being able to remember a time when she was more angry at him. "You checked yourself out of the hospital within," she checked her watch "Eight hours of getting shot, just to make sure I didn't leave? What kind of idiot are you?"

He turned to face her and cupped her face in his hand "The kind of idiot who's madly in love," he admitted softly.

His simple admission robbed her of her anger. She wanted desperately to be mad at him, to give him a reason to be angry with her, but she couldn't. She found herself staring into his eyes and all she could see was love, love and fear, fear that she was going to leave. She opened her mouth and desperately searched for words. "You… idiot," she managed in a tone that was the complete opposite of angry. "How could you possibly…? What made you think…?"

He placed a finger to her lips "I had to come see you," he whispered. "You need to know that you're not alone in this. That whatever happens, I'll be there for you."

"You know," she began "You should really be in the hospital."

"Do you promise not to leave while I'm laid up?" he asked her. "Do you promise that you'll wait for me? Do you promise that you'll let me come with you?"

"Why is it so important to you that I do," she asked.

"Because, I love you," he stated plainly. "I don't want you to have to be alone if there's anything I can do to prevent it. Is it really so hard for you to accept that I love you?"

Olivia cast her eyes downward and nodded "Things have just been happening so fast," she whispered. "After what you did for me… I guess I can't doubt you but… I'm afraid that if you come with me, you'll just end up getting hurt."

Elliot chuckled "Are you planning to run away to someplace where you're gonna be getting shot at constantly?" he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her as close as he could without aggravating his wound. He leaned against her for support; he was starting to realize just how bad checking himself out of the hospital really was.

"It's not that," Olivia told him. "I'm a total screw up with relationships. And, with what happened, with Mill, I'm probably going to be more difficult to deal with. I just don't want you to end up regretting me."

Elliot used his hand beneath her chin to bring her eyes to meet his. He brought his lips to hers, gently. "I'll put up with anything as long as it means I can spend the rest of my life with you."

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking at him with barely restrained hope. She'd hoped for years, even though she knew it was wrong to, that Elliot could love her. When he nodded, she started crying. "I love you too," she whispered, kissing him again. "Now, let's get you back to the hospital."

Elliot grudgingly agreed. And with some effort on Olivia's part and a little help from Cragen, and the non productive laughter of Munch and Fin, Olivia managed to get Elliot back to the hospital where the nursing staff was up in arms over his disappearance.

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When Elliot was back in a hospital bed again and the nurses and doctors had made sure he wasn't in any immediate danger, Olivia was allowed to see him. She came and sat beside his bed. She smiled at him softly "You did a really dumb thing, sneaking out of here."

"I had more important things to do," Elliot informed her, squeezing her hand and smiling broadly. "It's not like I broke anything or busted my stitches or something."

Olivia closed her eyes and breathed deeply. He was exasperating. But, she decided, he was exasperatingly cute. She opened her eyes and looked at him. She still had her doubts that she wouldn't drive him away but she loved him and he had said that he loved her. She realized she had been staring at him for a long time without saying anything. She opened her mouth but realized that words were not necessary.

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"In light of recent events," the judge addressed the court. "I have no choice but to declare a mistrial."

Robby Wilson smiled slightly an tipped his head to the replacement prosecutor that the DA's office had sent. He turned and confidently strode out of the courtroom and right into the grasp of Munch and Fin. "Detectives," he greeted cheerfully "I know it's only a brief reprieve until the DA files the charges again but I'm grateful for the momentary victory," he stared the detectives down with overwhelmingly annoying bravado.

"Let me be the first to burst your little bubble of delusion," Munch smirked at him "You're under arrest, again." Munch's smirk became more pronounced as Fin slapped the cuffs on Wilson.

Wilson looked surprised "Why?" he asked, hoping that he hadn't been discovered.

"Criminal facilitation," Fin grunted angrily.

"We found the emails that you and Mill exchanged," Munch added "And we traced the payments that he received back to you. Mill didn't trust you as far as he could throw you. He had all the evidence we need to connect you to his crimes at his apartment." The two detectives dragged Wilson out of the courthouse and to the waiting sedan.

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Two weeks later, Elliot and Olivia stood in Casey's hospital room, staring down at their motionless friend. Both of them knew the facts: she was unresponsive and the doctors had little hope that she would wake up again. Casey's family had been called in to make the decision whether or not to keep her on life support. They had decided to disconnect her from the machines that sustained her.

Elliot and Olivia had been allowed a chance to say goodbye. Olivia was holding on to Elliot for dear life. She felt completely responsible for Casey's condition. She had been so hesitant to report the rape and Casey had been the one to suffer.

She took a wavering step towards Casey's bed and nearly collapsed. She took a deep breath and tried to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Hey Casey," she began softly "I'm so sorry that I wasn't strong enough to stop Mill before he hurt you," she sobbed and felt Elliot's firm hand on her shoulder. She turned briefly to look at him.

"Casey wouldn't blame you for what happened to her," he told her softly "You know she wouldn't. She's your friend Liv."

She nodded slightly and turned back to Casey, tears still streaming down her face "You are one of my best friends," she continued. She smiled faintly as she remembered some of the fun they'd had together, watching bad movies and eating ice cream and shopping. She found herself unable to speak as tears overcame her fully.

Elliot pulled her to him and held her close. "It's okay," he said soothingly as his own tears fell "Let it out. I'm here." He rubbed her back in small circles with his right hand while his left hand remained securely around her waist.

Olivia wrapped her arms around his shoulders and clung to him as she cried. She was overpowered by grief and she needed him. And, she realized, he needed her just as much. Neither of them would have been able to face this moment without the other by their side.

There was a soft knock on the door "Her family's ready," the nurse said in a quiet voice as she poked her head in on the very private moment.

"We'll be out in a second," Elliot told her in a whisper. He separated from Olivia and approached Casey's bed to say his goodbye. "You were a good friend," he whispered "And one hell of a lawyer. If I wasn't already so sure you were going to heaven, I'd be secure in the knowledge that you would talk your way in," he smiled softly before turning back to Olivia and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. He drew her closer and turned back to the bed "This isn't goodbye," he told Casey "It's just see ya later."

"We should go," Olivia said quietly. The two of them walked out of the room, Elliot's arm still wrapped securely around Olivia's shoulders.

Casey Novak was pronounced dead fifteen minutes later.

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The red Toyota minivan pulled up in front of the peaceful suburban house. The front door opened and three young children, followed by their father ran to greet the driver.

"Long meeting?" Elliot asked as he embraced his wife and kissed her deeply.

"Yeah," Olivia replied as she pulled away "I should have called but I couldn't get away." She smiled down at her children as they all clambered for their mother's attention.

It had been ten years since she had been attacked by Mill. She and Elliot had moved to Connecticut to escape their old lives. They had settled down and started a family. Olivia had quit being a cop all together and gone back to school to get a teaching degree. About four years ago, she had started teaching elementary school.

Elliot had stayed a cop until last year when a close call had brought up the discussion of retirement. He took his pension happily after a long late night talk with Olivia and had fallen, quite comfortably into the role of househusband.

"Mommy, Mommy!" her daughter Isabelle, the middle child at age six, said excitedly "I made a picture of us in art class!"

Olivia smiled, hugging her daughter "I can't wait to see it," she said with a smile as the family walked towards the house.

"Mommy, up…?" her youngest son, Alex, age three, asked in a whisper of a voice.

Olivia picked up the little boy and held him tight "Hi sweetie," she kissed him on the forehead.

"Come on," Elliot said to their oldest child "Let's go finish setting the table."

The boy with the red hair that neither Olivia or Elliot could figure out where it had come from nodded as he followed his father.

Olivia sat on the couch in the living room while Isabelle went to retrieve the picture she had made. Alex cuddled close to his mother "I missed you Mommy," he whispered.

"I missed you too pumpkin," she smiled down at her youngest. The faculty meeting had gone much longer that she had expected it to.

"Look Mommy!" Isabelle ran into the room, waving a large piece of paper "Look!"

Olivia took the picture from her daughter's outstretched hands and looked at it. Her daughter was a truly gifted artist. She and Elliot stood in the middle of the picture. Olivia was holding Alex and Isabelle was sitting on Elliot's shoulders. Elliot's other four children stood around them and their eight year old son stood in front of them.

"It's beautiful," Olivia smiled as she laid it on the coffee table.

"Mom," her son called from the door to the living room "It's time for dinner."

Olivia looked up at her son and smiled "I'll be righ there Casey," she told him as she got up and walked with her children into the kitchen.

The last ten years had been a whirlwind of changes but they had been changes for the better. The pain and fear she had felt when she had been attacked had all but disappeared. Elliot had been her rock, getting her through the tough times and at the beginning there were a lot of tough times. But now, she had a family and a husband who loved her. She truly felt whole again.

THE END