Chapter 7

The SVU squad had been told she wouldn't make it through the night, which they all knew was possible, but they dreaded it. It was a huge surprise for them then, when they received news at dawn that she was still alive. However, her worsened condition left no one at ease.

She was still unconscious, and she hadn't shown any signs of waking since she had been brought here. Her shivering from when they first found her began again, but it wasn't from being cold anymore. It was from a high fever that had risen dangerously over night as the infection from her wounds spread throughout her body. From the looks of it, it would be safe to say hope was rapidly draining from her.

Everything had been done to try to stabilize her. They had done surgery to get as much of the infection under control as possible, and now she was hooked up to IVs that gave her blood, nutrients, and antibiotics, but it just wasn't enough. None of it was working.

Elliot had been allowed to spend the night in her room. He hadn't left her side, worried that, if he did, he'd miss something or something would happen to her. He literally counted every breath she took as he helplessly watched as her condition worsened. He hadn't been aware of slipping his hand through the bars to touch her face, but he could feel her now shockingly warm skin as he curled himself up on the chair he had been sitting in for the past fourteen hours. It was a slight surprise to him when he saw the sun was coming up.

"How's she doing?" asked Fin, as he opened the door with a slight knock. He looked from Elliot to Liv as the others filed in behind him. There was no doubt in his mind that Elliot hadn't slept at all last night. Fin's mouth fell open when he saw his comrade's condition. She looked, if it was possible at all, worse than she had been when they found her. Her face had shrunken in and her body seemed so gray and frail.

"They let you guys in?" asked Elliot, looking up at the group gathered, very surprised to see them all.

"Well, she doesn't have any family around, so I guess we count," said Munch.

"She's not doing well. She's getting worse actually." It was amazing to them all at how he could keep all his emotion out of his voice. He wanted so badly to sob, but he had a hollow, and slightly hoarse voice.

"If you want, Elliot, one of us could stay, and you could go get some sleep," Beck piped up.

"Thank you for your concern Beck, but I really need to stay here," he said.

His response came as no surprise to anyone. They all knew his devotion to the woman lying unconscious in the bed. It was a very somber moment to see him watch her so intently.

"Well, if you're not going to rest, you should at least eat something," said Cragen, who was leaning against the wall, a glint of concern in his brown eyes. He wondered in the back of his mind what would happen if Liv really did die...well, when she'll die more like it, it's just a matter of time now (don t worry, Cragen isn't that cold-hearted.) They weren't fooling themselves, she was going to die and they knew it wouldn't take long, judging from her gradually worsening condition.

He didn't look at the Capitan and didn't bother to answer him either. It was clear he didn't want to talk, it was also clear that he didn't want any of them in there with him. The only thing he wanted was a miracle that he knew would never happen.

"I'll bring you something a bit later," he said, and with that, Cragen and the other detectives filed out.

"They're so worried about you, Liv. I just wish you could see it. Well, maybe not, because it would just make you angry," he told her after he hear the door click.

He didn't shed tears this time, he simply couldn't do it today. His eyes still burned from all the tears he shed yesterday. "I don t know what they'd do if you didn't wake up. I don t know what I'd do," he said, straightening his blanket. "We need you here, Liv."

He looked up from the blanket and stared at the blank wall for a second when he felt a movement and something warm curling around his hand. Liv had curled her fingers around his hand. At this, Elliot smiled for the first time in what he thought was a century.