A/N: Mean, huh? Alright: I'll take it. It's something at least. Please keep up the feedback!

Chapter 6: Clear as Mud?

Olivia sat with a heavy heart as Kathy's mournful voice echoed through her thoughts.

One of the bullets had shattered a lumbar vertebrae. Elliot may never walk again.

As many times as that phrase repeated itself, she still couldn't quite comprehend it. The magnitude of it all was too much to bear.

She'd gone to visit him in the recovery room alongside his family. She had managed to hold it together in front of them, but found herself excusing herself from the room by stating that "this was a time for family." No one in the Stabler clan questioned this response, and Kathy nodded her consent.

Olivia hadn't returned to the waiting room to sit with the other detectives. Instead she had found herself exiting the elevator on its next stop. The second floor lounge was vacant -- just the quiet spot she had needed.

Elliot wasn't yet awake. The doctor assured them he would indeed regain consciousness, but it would take a few hours minimum. Until then, Olivia had no intention of sitting at his bedside. He was alive -- that was enough for her. She wouldn't go back and see him like that, lying helpless. Elliot the cop. Elliot the protector. That was how she had always envisioned her partner. Now what would he be without the use of his legs? How would he cope? He could probably get a desk job, but that wasn't him. Elliot had always hated the paperwork; it was the thrill of the chase that kept him going.

What about me? Olivia turned her attentions inward. Even when they'd fought and separated, they had always been Benson and Stabler. What am I to do without him? She could probably partner with Detective Lake, but it wouldn't be the same. She and Elliot were solid as a team. Liv had no problem with Lake -- he was good, but he was no Elliot.

Olivia realized she was being selfish. Her relationship with Elliot at work came second to the one he had with his wife and children -- always had, always will. He and Kathy had just patched things up, but the tension was still there at times. With four kids and a baby, a disability would only add to the stress. Liv worried his marriage would crumble again -- would Elliot survive it again?

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

Olivia raised her head to see an elderly janitor standing in front of her.

"I need to vacuum in here, but I can wait if you want me to."

She forced a smile. "Oh, no. Don't worry about me. I should be going anyway. Its getting late."

Olivia reached down to grab her jacket before noticing it had left some dried frosting on the chair. She looked apologetic to the janitor. "Sorry about that. I can take care of it."

He held up his hand. "No, no. I got it. Its why they pay me the big bucks."

Liv smiled as she made her way to the door. Just as she reached the hall, he spoke again.

"You know -- whatever it is that's bothering you, I'm sure it'll work out in the end. And if not, it'll make you stronger."

Olivia stared into his kind eyes. "Thanks," she said. As the elevator doors slid shut in front of her, she heard the vacuum cleaner roar to life.

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The muscles in Cragen's face relaxed as he caught sight of Liv near the elevator.

"Benson!"

Olivia jerked her head in response.

"Detective Lake called. Some uniforms picked up our fugitives on the Turnpike. I sent--"

"Which precinct?" Olivia interrupted.

"--Munch and Fin to supervise."

Olivia raised her voice a notch. "Which precinct?"

Cragen narrowed his eyes. "I thought you'd rather stay with your partner. Are you sure?"

Olivia remained silent. Cragen recognized the look of determination her eyes possessed and gave up the information. "Just promise me you won't do anything you'll regret!"

Liv turned without a word and made her way to the exit.

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Munch and Fin jumped to attention as Olivia stormed through the doorway.

"Whoa! Where you think you're goin'?" Fin asked, while Munch held up his hands to block her path.

"Move," Olivia spat.

"Nah-uh. You shouldn't be here."

Olivia glared at him. "And why the hell not?"

Her two colleagues turned to look at each other. Munch shrugged, and then Fin swung back to her. "Fine. But we're only watching. No contact, alrigh'?"

"Fine," she nodded, and the three entered the viewing room.

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"It wasn't s'posed to go down like this! There wasn't s'posed to be anybody in the store to put up a fight. Nobody was s'posed to get hurt, I swear!" The dark-haired man slammed his fist on the table. Sweat poured down his face as he nervously glanced between his interrogators and the mirrored-window next to the door. "Honest! She promised!"

"Nobody was supposed to get hurt, huh? Well, somebody did. You shot a cop, now didn't you?" The eager detective leaned in intimidatingly.

"No! No, I didn't!"

"Yeah, you did. We test your hands for gun powder residue, we're gonna find it, aren't we?"

The man paled. "Well..yeah, I fired the gun, but I didn't hit nobody! Just a warning shot, I swear. I didn't shoot the cop, I swear."

"Right. And if you didn't, then who did?"

"She did. Jill did. She took my gun and shot him with it. Twice. I swear -- it wasn't me! She had planned everything, but when that lady cop messed it all up, she got pissed. She went completely psycho!"

The questioning detective sighed, while his partner looked towards the glass. On the other side, Olivia flinched a little. Munch reached out and switched the microphone off. As he did so, Liv walked over to where two other detectives sat questioning Jill.

"It was all his idea --he needed the money. He said he'd kill me if I didn't help him get it!"

The balding detective sat back in his chair. "Tell me what happened after the Detective Benson detained your boyfriend."

Jill choked back a tear. "There was a gunshot. Bobby hit the cop in the leg, and he went down. The lady detective dropped Pete and the cake. What a mess. Then she ran out to her partner and then down the street after Bobby. He really didn't understand what he was doing -- he's just a kid."

The detective waved his hand. "Don't worry about that now -- we'll deal with your brother later. Then what happened?"

"Oh, right. Well, I know I shouldn't have, but I helped Pete to his feet. He looked like he was in pain, and I couldn't stand to see him like that. But then he grabbed me and dragged me outside. He told me to go back inside and get the gun, so I did."

"Just like that?"

"He was going to kill me if I didn't! So I got the gun and told everyone to stay down. It was for their own safety. When I came back out, he grabbed the gun and shot the cop again. Then he pointed the gun at me and told me to drive."

The detective stood up, and walked to the door. As he closed it behind him, he spoke to Liv. "Good enough for you?"

Olivia stared at him in disbelief. "You're joking, right?"

The man shrugged.

"She claims he shot him -- he was in handcuffs! How does she explain that?"

The man sent a glance through the window. Jill sat rigid in the chair. "She claimed he got out of them."

"Yeah, right," Olivia scoffed.

"Well, when we picked 'em up, your cuffs were dangling from his left arm only. So, he must have somehow."

The blow silenced Olivia. Fin stepped forward. "So, what we got is 'he-said, she-said'?"

The detective nodded. "Lookin' that way. There's no way to prove who masterminded it, or who shot your partner."

Bad ending, I know. And the title sucks -- couldn't think of any better cliches.