yet another chapter! enjoy! don't forget to review!
They move through the press, Fin shoving one of the cameras out of his way, having the man behind it shoved into the banister of the concrete stairs.
Munch, Fin, Casey, and Alex arrive at the doorstep of the brick red brownstone, their hearts pumping blood, trying to keep reality real. They were about to enter a house of horrors, a house that was once lively, filled with a family, happiness, and now it is filled with emptiness, nothing.
Elliot and Cragen answer the door and the four shuffle in fast, avoiding the press. All four move through the house with a solid presence, as if they were stepping foot onto a cemetery, trying to keep their respect as to not step on graves. Elliot guides them into the kitchen, where Robert is leaning towards Olivia, lighting yet another cigarette for her, and one for himself.
All four are shocked, as they had never seen the woman smoke, let alone look so skeleton like, her features sticking out as if her insides were rotting, as if her heart was gone itself. Cragen, who's behind the group whispers not to ask why.
They don't know if they should approach the woman, before anyone does, Robert turns around and stands up.
"I'm Robert Shriver, I'm with the union."
All four nod and look at him, then back to Olivia who's exhaling smoke.
Casey walks over to Olivia.
"Have you had anything to eat?"
Olivia only nods no. She feels squished as she sits at the table with seven people staring at her.
Munch walks over to the fridge, looking inside.
"Clearly, the woman doesn't have anything in here."
"What about Julia? Has she eat..." Casey stops in her words. She starts up again. "Does she know?"
Olivia nods.
Cragen looks at the squad.
"Let's order in, we shouldn't go out to those vultures again."
"How about Italian? That'll last us a while." Munch says, suggesting in his quirky attitude
Robert looks for approval from Olivia.
"I don't care."
It's nearly eleven, Casey and Alex are sitting with Olivia at the kitchen table, playing speed to pass time, a cigarette in Olivia's mouth, clenched by her teeth, simultaneously exhaling smoke. Her expression hard and unreadable. Julia's upstairs sleeping. The rest of the squad in the living room, looking at the news reports.
Elliot could hear Robert on the phone in the living room, Olivia too, murmuring with the airlines. She hadn't realizing the television was on, but she sat up in her chair.
"Did they say a bomb?" Olivia asked
Robert doesn't move from his position in the living room.
Her squad turns from their seated positions in the living room and listen attentively to Robert on the phone.
And then Olivia heard the bulletin, the report that would say "bomb responsible for crash" . The word bulletin had come to her mind, the word becoming bullets. Word bullets that tore through her brain and exploded, obliterating memories.
"Robert" Olivia called
He came into the kitchen and stood at the sink, not facing her, nor Elliot who was standing near Olivia, his hand on her shoulder.
"It's not confirmed" he said
"They think a bomb?"
Robert dug through his jacket pocket coat, taking out a small bottle, Elliot cautious. He looks through her cabinet, finding a bottle of brandy.
"It's just a theory, here give her one of these Elliot" Robert says, having Elliot come near him
"What is it?"
"It's valium."
"You carry these? With you?" Elliot whispers, his voice quiet enough to not have Olivia hear.
"Just give it to her, here, it's in the tea, it'll help her sleep, it's what she needs right now."
He handed her the tea, Olivia taking a sip of it, recognizing the brandy taste.
"El, why is there brandy?"
"Take this with it." Elliot says, giving her a valium pill
"What is this?
"Valium" Robert volunteered
"I can't I've had the brandy."
Robert didn't ask how she felt or if she was all right. In Robert's way of thinking, Olivia knew there was no other way of feeling alright. Nothing else would work now. The tears, the shock, the sympathy-all of that could come later.
"Olivia?"
Olivia looks up from her tea cup.
"I'm going to go to the inn-"
"No, stay here. With the rest of us, at least for tonight."
Robert's expression is surprised, surprised Olivia wants him to stay.
"Alright. I just need to get stuff from the inn."
She nods.
Robert puts his jacket onto his broad shoulders, his arms fitting well into it. Before he leaves he stops at the door.
"Olivia? Tomorrow is going to be a harder day, thats when the airlines will be coming, as well as investigators."
"Okay. I'll be ready." Olivia says, her body becoming tired from the valium.
He leaves, the house becoming quiet.
It's quiet and nobody speaks, Olivia walks out into the hallway, Elliot following behind her.
Alex and Casey run back to the living room, then finding Olivia staring at her squad, her face tired from the day's news.
"I'm going to sleep upstairs." she says, her hands shaking with the cup of tea in her hands.
Olivia is off balance, her feet shaken. Casey and Olivia look at her, distraught at the woman, her hair is messy, her eyes blueish and swollen.
"We'll help her shower and get to bed." Alex volunteers, Casey follows suit quickly after
They follow Olivia up the stairs, having to catch her when she trips on a stair.
They move out of hearing distance.
"What the hell did you give her Elliot?" Cragen asks, his hands in his pockets, his eyes concerned
"Valium. Robert gave it to her with some brandy and tea." Elliot responds, scratching his nose and then putting his hands in his pockets
"Way to go, Robert's channeling his inner pedophile, drugging women." Munch says
"Shut up Munch." Fin says, rolling his eyes
"Never mind that, now did Robert say it was a bomb?" Cragen asked
"It's only a guess." Elliot responds
"Elliot. I need you to tell me something." Cragen says, looking at Elliot's moving eyes
"Besides her official piece, do you know where she keeps her home piece?"
Elliot already wants to jump to defend his partner, to keep Cap from disowning her, from making her step down, taking her gun away. In a situation like this, the commanding officer must take the officer's piece away from them, hoping their own brother won't have to eat his own gun.
"Now Elliot, the woman's husband just died, I just want to be cautious."
Elliot relaxes, understanding that it's important that Olivia is safe.
"Both her pieces are in a safe that's in the closet near the front door, there's one in her room too. All in safes. Try 1939 for the code. I'll get the one upstairs after she falls asleep."
Cragen wishes she'll never resort to her own gun, even after an event like this.
Upstairs Casey and Alex lead Olivia to her bedroom, opening the door they find a light blue room, wooden framed windows facing the street. Olivia had the first two floors to herself, and the other two belonged to Margaret. Alex held her arms while Casey drew the shower, making sure it wasn't too hot. Olivia walked with Alex, frozen in time, her mind not in the present, quiet. Alex guided her to the bathroom and Casey gathered a robe for her. The silk purple one, the one James had given her.
Alex and Casey left Olivia in the bathroom, waiting on the bed for her, looking at each other. They didn't hear movement after ten minutes and Alex decided to check in on her.
"Olivia!"
Olivia turned, looking at Alex then back at the water, where she'd been standing for ten minutes, just staring at it.
"Olivia? Can you get in the shower?" Casey asked
The woman didn't answer her.
Alex looked at Casey. Alex gestured Casey outside the bathroom door, leaving Olivia to her thoughts.
"You know she's in shock, we have to help her."
"You mean get in with her?"
"If we have to."
Casey looks back at Olivia but knows she has to help the fragile woman.
Casey takes off her pantsuit jacket, including her blouse, leaving her camisole. Alex leaves on her blouse. They walk back into the bathroom.
"Olivia, step into the shower." Alex says
As Olivia steps into the shower, Casey guides her into it, her hair and camisole immediately getting soaked. Alex takes off her silk robe before she steps in, leaving her naked. Olivia looks straight ahead, at the white tile. Thoughts going no where. Casey starts to feel the woman lean against her chest, her shoulders moving, followed by wrenching sounds from Olivia. Alex watches the two, Olivia sobbing on Casey while Alex uses a towel to wipe Olivia's face of tears. The water runs down her thin frame, moving in and out of the surface of each crevice, feeling the movement of her lungs, desperate to inhale the air that seems to have so little available.
Alex washes the rest of the conditioner from Olivia's hair. Casey holds onto the naked woman, her body light and fragile. Alex stops the shower, and Casey takes the woman's hand, guiding her out of the shower, she wraps Olivia in a towel, tying it at her back. Olivia is between the two woman, Casey at her back, drying her hair, and Alex, wiping the black smears of makeup off her face. They guide Olivia to her bed, putting her under the covers, they leave the room, drenched in water, they close the door and walk down the stairs.
The two walk into the living room where Elliot, Fin, Cragen and Munch turn, looking at the drenched women.
"What happened?" Munch asks
"We had to help Olivia take a shower, whatever the hell you gave the woman knocked her out." Alex says sharply
"It's just shock Alex." Casey responds
Olivia wakes up. Her head spinning, as if she's reliving the moment she felt that something had happened to James. She hears movement downstairs, her hands frigid, her feet hitting the cold floor again. She tightens the silk robe against herself, nothing underneath but just cold skin. Olivia walks down the stairs, the wooden boards creaking underneath her, threatening to break. It was not yet seven o clock, how long had she slept? Eight hours? She could only remember Casey and Alex drenched in water, leaving her in her bed. She was cold.
She noticed the living room empty, except for the figures of the two men, rough in posture, angry with the atmosphere set by the day's events. Elliot was next to Robert, looking at something, clearly oblivious to the woman who was behind them. Her squad must of gone home, they needed to man the one six after all. They'd probably be back. They always were, it was part of the grieving process. People came over. They brought casseroles. Food. Meals. Comfort gifts.
She walked into the kitchen, crossing her arms and leaning against the lip of the window sill, looking out the window. A few press people still waiting outside, waiting for the next best hing to happen so they could get their story. Even if it was true or false. It had been a long day, a terrible day, a day so long and so terrible, it had hors ago passed out of any reality Olivia had ever known. She had this distinct feeling she'd never be able to sleep again, that when she'd woken early that morning she had emerged from a state of being that could never be reentered.
She sat at the kitchen table, tea in her hand now, her head resting in on her arm that laid on the table. Somehow she lulled herself to sleep.
She woke up to hearing a heavy tread on the stairs outside. A man's tread. For a moment she thought it was James coming home, but it couldn't be him, it couldn't be. She squinted at the clock numbers on the microwave.
6:30am.
Elliot comes into the kitchen, taking a pot from the cabinet and an egg from the fridge.
"I'll make you an egg."
The door opens and Robert comes in with Casey and Alex trailing behind him. He has a giant stack of newspapers in his hands.
"What's this?" Elliot asks, Olivia looking at Robert
Robert throws a copy of The New York Times on the kitchen table.
"What the hell has the press done? We don't even have the full story and they're making up this crap?!"
She looks down at the newspaper, the front cover, the airplane before it last hit air, and then a photo of James' passport photo and Olivia's. On the side of the airplane photo sat a photo that looked familiar to a moment from yesterday. Elliot was hugging Olivia in the doorway of her house. The title made the moment feel volatile.
A NYPD cop's affair, is this the reason why the pilot took his plane down?
Olivia stands up, smashing the back of her kitchen chair against the wall. She takes the paper out of fury, her hand s crumpling the paper. She rushes towards the front door, prepared to face the press head on. Robert runs to the door, slamming it shut as soon as Olivia opens it.
"Robert, get the fuck out of my way." Olivia says out of breath
"You're going to let them slaughter my husband like this? To say it was suicide?! To say I'm having an affair?!
"No. But I won't have you make this worse for yourself. I need Elliot. Now. I'll tell them off, and you'll be okay. Wait here."
"Elliot, get over here"
Both of them exit out the door, Olivia watching from the kitchen window now. The press are ready to record and capture whatever they can.
Robert looks at them calmly, meanwhile Elliot is fuming.
"All of you need to get you're facts straight. This man from this paper is her partner in the NYPD special victims unit, and regarding the plane, we have not determined the cause of the explosion. Now stay out of this, and any of you taking photos of a cop again, I'll have you removed from the premises and you're job taken out from under you."
I would really enjoy reviews! :)