Ehh, who am I kidding. I don't want you guys to kill me. Here it is, one chapter left.
The first thing she felt was pain. Pain, everywhere. Exploding into her vision, racing through her veins, invading her bones and muscles and tissue. The second thing she realized was that she was alive. She was alive. She couldn't quite remember what had happened, and found herself drifting back into sleep, clutching that one bit of knowledge to her chest like a prayer.
She was alive.
When she woke up again, things didn't hurt so much. It was dark, and she could finally tolerate opening her eyes. She made out a strange figure in the darkness, and fear struggled under the heavy haze of morphine.
"Liv," it whispered, stepping forward, taking her hand in his. It had blue eyes.
"El," she smiled. "El," her voice mumbled. Her eyes were closing again. She didn't want to leave, she liked this dream.
"Shh," the voice whispered, kissing her forehead. "Get some rest, Liv."
Hmm.
The third time was in daylight, and daylight hurt like a bitch. Before she even opened her eyes, she muttered, "Fuck."
There was a funny noise, like restrained laughter, and she forced her eyes open, resisting the urge to moan in pain. She blinked, suddenly.
"Elliot?" His face smiled down at her in the bright, white room. His eyes were hugely blue as they laughed ever so slightly. She tried to sit up, but pain lanced through her. She bit down hard on her tongue, trying not to cry out as he gently helped her back down. "What happened," she said, more of a statement than a question.
He hesitated.
"I won't break," she muttered grouchily. "Just tell me, it'll help me remember."
And so he told her. He told her how she had confronted McAllister, how she had saved his life, but gotten shot. McAllister had hit Kathy and incapacitated her just as her squad had rushed in, hearing the gunshot. Melinda had saved her life, and woken Elliot up. Both McAllister and Kathy were in custody. And Noah, Noah was okay. He was with Lucy, but Elliot was taking over more now that he was recovering.
Hearing it all, Olivia wanted to cry. But, as usual, she didn't. "Did they…Did they tell you?"
But from the look on his face, he already knew. He knew what they had done to them. "I'll get through it," he said, voice strange. "But I might need the name of your therapist," he said with a slight smile.
Her heart was breaking for him. She knew he didn't want pity, but she reached out and took his hand anyways, relieved to find some part of her that didn't hurt. "El," she sighed. "I'm sorry."
He squeezed back. "All of this for Kathy…Turns out they knew each other in high school. Which means I met him, too. How could I not know?"
She tightened her grip on his hand, unable to prevent the tears from seeping out of her eyes. Another tragedy, this one centering around them and their lives. But they would survive, like they always did.
"You gave your life for mine," he said, sitting on the edge of her bed. It occurred to her that she very probably looked like death right about now, but he didn't seem to notice. She wondered if she was a little high, or if the blue of his eyes was really the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She thought it was probably a little bit of both.
"Well, I love you," she mumbled. Nope, definitely high. "Uhhh," she said. "I mean—Drugs." She covered her face with her hands. "Definitely drugs. Just ignore me."
He took her hands in his, bringing them down from her face. She blushed under his gaze. "You should do drugs more often," he whispered, kissing her cheek before getting off the bed and going to the door. "Get some rest, Livvy Love."
Livvy Love. Unable to control herself, she started laughing uncontrollably. She tried to cover her mouth, but she only laughed harder. She could hear Elliot laughing in the next room, and drifted back off to sleep feeling strangely happy and light as a feather.