A/N: Again -- so sorry for the delay! The school year hit with an incredible force. Responsibility sucks! Thanks for the encouraging reviews!

Chapter 5: Good Things Come to Those Who Wait?

The room was filled with an awkward silence. No one dared speak. Fin sat rigidly in one of the chairs, while Munch paced the length of the room. Neither of them cared, or even thought about, the ice cream that sat melting in their squad car. Instead they kept their minds focused on Elliot, praying for a recovery.

Two seats away from Fin, Cragen leaned forward, nervously running his fingers across the top of his bald head. He had instructed Detective Lake to inform him the minute anything new was learned, but so far Cragen's cell phone had remained oddly quiet. He felt uneasy about this fact, and had checked twice already to make sure it was still switched on.

Olivia sat with the Stabler family on the opposite end of the room. She shook her head offhandedly as the afternoon's events began to run through her mind again. She had replayed the scene over and over-- so many times that some details were starting to blur together, and her imagination began to input others at random. No wonder witnesses are unreliable.

To keep her thoughts away from it, Olivia turned her attention to the other occupants of the room. To her immediate left, Kathy sat unmoving, as if in a trance. Her eyes were focused on some invisible spot in the carpet, and she made absolutely no sound. Although she seemed to be completely disconnected from the world, her hand gripped Olivia's with an incredible force.

The two eldest Stabler girls were seated on the opposite side of Kathy. The silence seemed to have bothered them as they were quietly whispering to each other over a magazine. Olivia wasn't sure of what they were saying, but the phrases she caught seemed to deal with clothing. Whatever it takes to keep you from going crazy.

Dickie sat morosely on the floor by his mother's feet. He seemed to be occupying himself by picking at the cracks in his tennis shoe. His twin was next to Olivia and was resting her head on the latter's shoulder. Her breathing had become deep and calm, leading Liv to believe she had fallen asleep. The sleeve of Olivia's shirt was damp with her tears.

Olivia glanced over at her male colleagues. Strangely enough, she envied them. Part of her wished that she too could enjoy the distance they had created between themselves and Elliot's family. Somehow, she realized, she'd been pulled in to hold them all together. She had become their rock, their stability, their Elliot.

She shook her head once again. Elliot was--is--their Elliot. Not me.

Liv didn't even have time to curse herself for using the past tense. A wave of heat swept through her body. Her shoulder had begun to ache, and her hand was uncomfortably sweaty. Elliot's role was something she wasn't prepared to handle. Family had only very recently become an aspect in her life, and she hadn't mastered the concept quite yet. She cleared her throat, feeling overwhelmed by her current situation. She sighed heavily, attempting to shut off her brain for the time being.

Suddenly Maureen rose from her chair next to Elizabeth and slowly drifted towards the busy hospital corridor. No one appeared to notice this except Munch and Kathleen. The former halted his pacing and began following her curiously with his eyes. She seemed to be watching something and was stepping closer for a better look. He tore his gaze from her and shot a glance down the hall.

He gave a little start at what he saw. "Liv," he whispered with force.

Olivia had resorted to staring fixedly at the same spot on the carpet, attempting to zone out like Kathy had done. At the sound of her name, she broke her concentration, her head snapping rudely to attention. She looked to Munch, a silent question written across her countenance.

Munch gave a tilt of his head towards the threshold where Maureen now leaned against the side of the wall.

Two men in scrubs had appeared through the set of doors Elliot had been taken earlier and stood in deep conversation. The slightly taller one shot a glance in the direction of the waiting room.

A sound caught in Olivia's throat as the surgeon began striding towards them. She shook the hand held by Kathy and tried searching the man's face for clues on Elliot's condition.

Kathy's eyes raised and locked on to the doctor. She rose to greet him, dragging Olivia to her feet as well. Elizabeth groaned sleepily, but settled against the back of the chair without waking. The others shifted, however, straining to see and hear better.

"Is he...is he...," Kathy attempted.

Olivia gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before speaking. "Is he okay?"

The man's face looked grim as he addressed them. "I have good news."

"He's alive, then?"

Olivia glanced carefully at Kathy after her exclamation. The woman's face had brightened considerably.

"Yes," the doctor nodded. "It was a bit touch-and-go for a while there, but we did finally manage to stop the bleeding and repair some of the damage. His wounds were pretty extensive, but luckily we got to him just in time."

The doctor continued speaking for several more seconds, but Olivia wasn't listening anymore. Elliot was alive. That was all she needed to hear. Everything else faded away into obscurity, and her mind began to fog over as she thought about how close she had come to losing her partner -- her best friend. If she had lost him, she wouldn't even know where to begin. She had barely handled replacing him temporarily, but if it had become permanent? The thought nearly suffocated her.

Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by an alarming wail.

Olivia shook the haziness from her eyes to see Kathy struggle to keep her strength. She flinched in shock as Kathy squeezed her arm even harder.

The surgeon extended his hand, placing it reassuringly on Kathy's shoulder.

"I'm truly sorry," he said, compassion in his voice. "We did everything we could."

Kathy nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Olivia turned to look at the doctor for an explanation, but the man assumed she had heard. He gave her his most sympathetic look before pivoting on his heel and disappearing behind another set of doors.

The two women turned around to view the rest of the group standing at attention, waiting patiently for the update. Elizabeth was still groggy, but had been shaken into consciousness by her eldest sister.

"Mom?" Kathleen stepped forward. "Did everything go alright? Is Dad okay?"

Olivia realized none of the others had overheard. She glanced towards her companion, anxious to hear the news herself. Something was wrong, and she needed to know what it was.

Kathy shot Liv a pleading look before turning her head back to her children. She opened her mouth to speak.

"Daddy made it through surgery..." her voice began to waiver immensely, "and he's...going...to...to...make it."

"Oh thank God!" Maureen whispered.

Her mother gave a strained smile as she tried to find courage. "But...you see..um...the doctor said..."