Title: Remember Me

Author: Megan Faye

Disclaimer: I don't own anything here.

It was Casey's favorite time of day; half an hour before sunrise. The sky was light, but there was no orange from the sun. It was beautiful and peaceful to her. Casey, in the three weeks since Olivia's fall, had gotten used to sleeping nights at Elliot's and days, long days, in court. Today, she was taking personal time off. Olivia was out of the drug induced coma now, but she was still out. Olivia was in a coma on her own now.

When it was evident that Olivia wasn't waking on her own yet, Elliot stopped speaking, and fell into depression. He would only speak to Olivia. When he did, he sounded like there was nothing wrong, and they were in the squad room, joking across the desks. Only he was the only one taking, and he would only talk to Olivia. He was almost compeltely shut down outside of her hospital room. Maureen managed to get his attention for a few minutes, and he maintained eye contact for a few seconds, but then went back inside his mind. Kathy decided to bring the kids back to her mother's house until he was through the trauma.

"Morning," Don said, wandering into the kitchen.

"Hi," Casey sighed. She rubber her forehead in a tired manor.

"You doing okay?

"I guess. I just made coffee." Don stepped around her and poured a cup. "Are you okay?"

"No," he said softly. "Waiting was never easy for me."

"I know the feeling." There was a long silence. "Elliot'll be up soon."

"Casey-"

"Don-" they said in unison. "Sorry."

"You first."

"What are we going to do if she doesn't wake up?" Don sighed deeply.

"I dunno, Casey." Don fell back into a chair at the table and sipped the coffee. "It isn't something I want to think about."

"I'm terrified that my best friend isn't coming back," she said, voice shaking. Don stood and stepped over, and wrapped his arms around her. Casey sobbed into his chest, taking the comfort that she'd longed for since the whole ordeal started. "She's my best friend...I don't have anyone else..."

"You have Fin and Munch. And you've got me, Casey." Don tilted her chin up to look into her eyes. "You aren't alone, Casey. I promise." He pulled a fresh hankie from his pocket and wiped the tears that stung her cheeks. "I won't let you be alone," Don whispered, pulling her back into a gentle hug.

"Are you scared?" she asked.

"Terrified. I lost my wife, and now I'm losing the woman I think of as my child. I don't have any one to lean on, because everyone is leaning on me," he said, feeling the weight of the last three weeks caving in around him. "Its like when it snows in the woods, and it sticks to the trees. Its great until someone shakes the tree and all the snow caves in around you, and the only reason you went over to the tree was for shelter. I finally allowed my friends into my heart, and now I'm losing them, one by one; Marge, Alex, Olivia...Elliot..."

"I'm here."

"You're here."

"I'm here," she repeated, looking into his eyes for any kind of an answer to questions she didn't even know. Don pushed the blond hair from her face gently and tucked it back behind her ear. Casey reveled in his touch. The next thing Casey felt was a gently pressure of his lips on hers. He kissed her gently, almostly shyly, while her hands pushed their way up his chest and around his neck. His hands found themselves resting on her hips, and his thumbs touching the soft skin along her sides, driving him crazy. She shivvered under his touch. Casey tilted her head so his lips parted, and the kiss was deep and sensual.

Elliot, still basically catatonic wandered through the kitchen, poured coffee, spooned sugar in, and finally caught their attention when he stirred the hot liquid. Don and Casey dove apart, embarassed to be caught.

"I should get going," she said, puling her shirt down over the expose flesh of her flat stomach. "I need...to...um...I'm going to shower before we go visit Olivia."

"Okay," he said, visibly shaken by the experience. He sat to his coffee, which was a little cooler than it originally had been. He downed it quickly. "I have a feeling you won't tell anyone," he said to Elliot. "It would be my luck that the first thing you say out of this catatonic state is telling Munch and Fin that I was making out with Casey in your kitchen." Elliot conitued to stare aimlessly and sip at his coffee. "If it would bring you back, I'd be okay with it, El," he said as the shell of Elliot shuffled out of the room.

"Hey, Liv. Its hotter than hell out there, just how you like it," Elliot said, leaning back into the chair beside her bed. He propped his feet up on the bed and sipped at a hot chocolate. "They never get the hot chocolate right here. You're going to hate it, Liv.

"Oh, man, Liv, you gotta wake up- you are missing the craziest stuff I've ever seen. I told you, Cragen's got me on this rediculous two-by-two, right?" He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Well, the double team has been getting a little closer than normal. I walked in on Cragen and Casey making out in my kitchen. Not shitting you!" There was a small crash in the hall as Munch dropped his coffee, and Cragen groaned loudly. "I guess they are listening in on us. You shouldn't let them play you like that Olii-" He stopped. "Liv? Did you just sqeeze my hand?"

"Elliot, what's up?" Cragen said, rushing the room with Munch.

"I was talking to her and she squezzed my hand. Do it again, Livvie. Give it a squeeze." There was gentle pressure on his finger-tips. "Now open your eyes."

"El-"

"Shut the hell up, Don. Olivia, listen to me. You're my partner. I need you. Open your eyes and help me," he pleaded. If anything would tug at her, it would be the 'partner help me' card. Her eyelids fluttered open for a few seconds. "Oh, God, Livvie," he whispered touching her face. Her eyes closed again.

"I'm getting her doctor," Much called as he left the room.

"Liv, open your eyes, dammit!" Elliot squeezed her hand again. "Don't tease me," he pleaded. As the doctor made his way in, Liv's eyes opened again. She blinked and studied her surroundings.

"Ms. Benson? Can you hear me?" Olivia blinked and stared blankly at the ceiling.

"Is she deaf?"

"I need you guys to leave while I examine her," the doctor said, paging a nurse. Munch and Cragen lead Elliot from the room.

The two men didn't let him go until they were in the waiting room and he was sitting in a chair. Elliot put his head in his hands and sighed while Don called Casey to let her know that Olivia had woken up.

"She's awake, but she's not there," Elliot said hoarsely.

"She's been up for three minutes. You gotta give her time, man. When was the last time you ate?"

"I dunno, ask Romeo over there."

"All this time, and you heard and saw everything?"

"Yeah...just didn't feel like participating."

"Understandable." There was silence for a good 45 minutes while they waited. Eventually, Don got off the phone and joined the two in the less-than-comfortable chairs.

"How you gents doing?" Fin asked, wandering into the waiting room. "Brought you some coffee."

"Did he call you?" Elliot asked, nodding his head in Cragen's general direction.

"No, just figured I'd visit. But, you're ta-"

"She's awake," Munch said, grinning.

"You better not be-" The doctor cleared his throat and the men turned.

"Gentlemen, Ms. Benson's condition is improving...but," he started. Everyone stood. "Wow, you guys can be a little intimidating. Luck lady to have you guys around-"

"You were saying about her condition?"

"She's got partial amnesia. Basically, she can function. She can feed herself, sit up, speak, but all of her experiences, memories of places, people, friends, are gone." He allowed the words to sink in. "There is a basic memory of how things work, the name of basic objects, but its disconnected. It may take a while for Ms. Benson to be able to care for herself. Her medical coverage will allow her to stay here another few days, but now that she's awake, she will need either live-in help, or a long-term facility."

"She can stay with me," Elliot offered. "I don't need a double team, Cap. I'll take my vacation time, help her get settled in, and when she can be left alone, I'll come back to work. Okay?"

"Elliot-"

"I wasn't asking. I was informing. Big difference." Don sighed.

"How much time do you have saved up?"

"Well, I should have 4 weeks vacation, and 2 weeks paid sick leave coming."

"If she's not okay after 6 weeks, I'll take some time off so Elliot can get back to work," Munch offered. "I have 12 weeks coming. Jesus I haven't taken time off in a few years." Don rubbed his forehead.

"I'll get a temporary reassignment to cover you, Stabler. Go in to work and get things set up at your desk. I really don't like this."

"I didn't like you making out with Casey in my kitchen at 5:00 in the morning, but, Hey! You hardly hear me complaining," Elliot said, for sheer shock value. "I'm gonna go see Liv."

Olivia opened her big brown eyes. There was a man standing over her, smiling. He was attractive, and obviously liked her. She had no idea who he was, but there was something there, she could feel it. She looked into his eyes and felt safe.

"Hey, Olivia."

"Hi," she said, shyly.

"How you feeling?"

"I don't know." She looked around the room. "So..."

"You look a hell of a lot better now than you did a week ago." She smiled lightly. "The doctor said you don't really remember much...about anything."

"I...uh...I'm not really sure..."

"Well, would you like me to tell you about you?" She nodded. "Your name is Olivia May Benson. You were born July 7th,1969, making you 37 for a few more months. Your eyes are a beautiful shade of brown. You're a hard-ass cop, but the sweetest lady I've ever met when it comes to the victims we protect. You're favorite color is green."

"Where do I live?"

"New York city. For a while, you'll be living with me, if you are okay with that. You've always thought I lived in a rat-hole, but Cragen and Munch sort of...cleaned it up. Kathy can bring your goddamn cat over if you like."

"I have a cat?"

"You went under cover last year, and when you got home, your really missed having all the animals. You were having a pretty crappy week, so Don went out and adopted a gray kitten for you. The thing is huge. Turns out the cat is a Russian Blue; big and soft. His name is Shadow, he's your best buddy, and really isn't too fond of me. I'm the one who took him to get fixed." Olivia smiled blankly. "Liv?" she continued to look out the window. "Olivia?"

"Hm?"

"Do you even know who I am?" he asked softly.

"I know that you know me pretty well, and you make me feel safe."

"Allow me to introduce myself," he said, taking her hand in his. "I'm your best friend, Elliot Stabler."

"Elliot," she said softly.

Casey pushed the wheel chair through the corridors quickly. They were behind, and losing never sat well with Casey Novak. She slid along the tile floors as she turned Olivia's chair around and started back toward the room. A nurse fussed at them, and dodged the laughing women. At the end of the hall way, Don Cragen was waiting.

"You are never gonna beat us, Stabler!" Casey hollered, sliding in and touching Don's hand just before Elliot and Fin could get there. "You owe US Milkshakes in the caffiteria-"

"Are you insane? This woman has been in a coma for 3 weeks! She's scheduled to go home in 2 hours and you are holding wheel chair races in the hall ways!?"

"We're trying to-"

"What? Put her back in the coma?" The doctor threw his hands up and stormed away. A nurse chuckled.

"He lost the bet," she said. "We had money on this race, and that guy bet on your little boy friends there."

"Serves him right, betting against Novak. She's too stubborn to lose."

"Now, about those milkshakes?" Casey said, grinning.

"Milkshakes are good, right?" Liv asked softly as Elliot rolled her wheel chair into the elevator.

"They are the best."

"I thought coffee was the best," she said, confused.

"Milkshakes in the summer, coffee in the winter. You'll like them. Hell, you always get a chocolate shake when we go out for burgers." She nodded.

"I want something that I've never tried."

"Its all new to you-"

"I want something that you thought I hated, so I can form an opinion of my own," she said, sternly.

"Okay then." They left the elevator, Casey and Don leading the way, chatting aimlessly about a movie they'd gone to the night before. Fin had seen it, and they were leaving out a big chunk of the middle. He suspected that they missed it completely. As they rounded the last corner to the cafeteria, Olivia looked up at him. "What's up?"

"From now on, please don't tell me that I already like or hate something. I want to find out on my own."

"Okay," he agreed. "But there are something I know you hate because I was there the first time you tried them, and was cleaning up throw up from my car. They usually involved alcohol."

"Noted. What's something out of the ordinary for me?"

"Asking me to order for you for one," he joked. "She'd like to try a strawberry shake with extra whipped cream. I'll have the same."

"Same all around?" Cragen asked. They all agreed, and Elliot pulled out a credit card. As the shakes were handed to them, everyone waited for Olivia's reaction. Her eyebrows shot up.

"This is amazing," she whispered. She sucked in a big gulp.

"Really? You never used to like them," Casey said.

"Wasn't because of taste."

"Why don't we leave it at that?" Elliot said, shooting the others looks.

"We're not telling her about her parents."

"Elliot, that's a dangerous game you're playing," Don warned.

"We'll tell her wwhat she needs to know; her mother was in college when she was born, died in a subway fall, and she's never met her father. She expressed that she never wanted to meet him either. That's it. If she asks more, tell her that you don't know, she never told you before. You got it?" Elliot could be forceful when he wanted to be.

"I can't lie to her, Elliot," John said.

"Then deflect to me. She doesn't need that in her life. She doesn't need to know what her father is."

"Fine," Casey said, agreeing.

"I'm in," Fin muttered. "I don't like it, but I'm in."

"You're going to hurt her, and I don't want anything to do with it," Don said. "I won't lie to her. I'll send her in your direction if she asks me."

"I'm with Cragen," Munch said.

"All right. Those of you who are in, let's get it straight. Serena had Olivia when she was in college, raised her, and died in a subway fall. Serena never mentioned a father until Olivia was an adult and she always told us she never wanted to meet him. Nothing More." They nodded.

"Mr. Stabler," the doctor called. Elliot left the group. "I'm releasing her to you. If she complains of extreme headache, dizziness, or faints at all, bring her in immidiatly."

"Okay."

"She'll be out when she'd changed."

"When do I need to bring her back in?"

"A week from today. Can you do that?" Elliot nodded and signed the stack of forms thrust at him by Olivia's nurse. Elliot looked up when Olivia walked out.

"You ready?" Olivia nodded and the groups started toward the elevator. She was still weak, so they walked slowly.

"So, are you guys always together?" she asked.

"Pretty much," Fin said. "Munchie here's my partner at the 1-6th, Elliot is yours, Don is our big, bald boss, and Casey is the ADA that works out cases. She's also our Cappie's Lady Love." Elliot, Munch and Cragen slapped him in the shoulder. "What? Geeze! Sorry!"

"We're like famile, but we're not actually related," Elliot informed. They'd grazed their relationships before, but never enough to give Olivia an idea of who they were to her. "We're together 10 hours a day, 5 days a week, on a normal week."

"And a not so normal week?"

"20 hours a day, 7 days a week."

"Or more."

"Usually more."

"We're pretty close," she said. The group looked around at each other and nodded.

"Well," Cragen said as the elevator stopped. "I'm in the north garage with Casey."

"We're in the south garage," Fin said.

"We'll take a cab," Elliot said, leading Olivia opposite the rest of the group. She was suddenly nervous. "Come on."

"They aren't coming with us?" she asked weakly. Her voice was high and scared.

"Nah. They'll by tomorrow night."

"Why aren't they coming now?"

"Olivia, you have nothing to be afraid of. We're going to my apartment. Kathy's already brought Shadow and his cat paraphinilia over there. He's going to be excited to see you!" She sighed and allowed him to lead her to the front of the hospital. Soon, they were in a taxi headed toward his apartment. Olivia was silent for the whole trip, staring out at the city like it was her first visit. Elliot was glad that the rain over the previous days had let up. Olivia loved sunny spring days. The upside of the amnesia to Elliot was how free she seemed. Things were new, she didn't have any of the filth they'd seen in her mind. He longed for the days where the worst he'd seen was his own father. Olivia only had good now; friends, new foods to try, and now she was going home. Her wrist was still in a brace, but that only was a few more days.

"Elliot?" she said, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"I want to remember. I see things that I know I haven't tried before, and for a second, there is something familiar, but only a second."

"Like remembering a dream."

"I guess."

"No worries, Liv-"

"You guys keep calling me that-"

"Nickname. Do you like it?" She nodded. Elliot leaned in and whispered in her ear. "Good, you always did." She smiled an pushed him away.

More to come!!!