Olivia can feel his breath on her skin. She smells his familiar scent and hears her name on his lips. It's like coming home after a long journey. It feels more like five years instead of five days since last she saw him.
"El," she rasps, opening her eyes to see his glassy with unshed tears.
She puts her hand up to his cheek, caressing his face with her thumb. A rogue tear escapes from his eye.
"You scared me," he whispers.
"I'm not going anywhere," she tells him, as he pulls his face from hers sitting back in the chair, but never lets go of her hand. "Look how many times you were shot on the job."
"Shot, stabbed, thrown through a window and off a roof," he jokes, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles.
"You have more lives than a cat," she says trying to joke back, but fails when her voice cracks with emotion. "De La Costa told me he killed you," she reveals, finally losing her battle and closing her eyes against the tears that manage to escape down her cheeks.
He's on his feet again instantly, wiping them away and cradling her face. Elliot puts his cheek next to hers, craving the physical contact.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that Liv," he rasps in her ear. "But I'm right here."
Olivia reaches up and puts her left hand to the back of his neck, holding him close to her.
"I've really missed you," she confesses through tears, as she strokes the hair at his nape. "And not just for the last few days."
"I've missed you too Liv," he says, planting kisses on her forehead, her cheeks and lastly a chaste kiss to her lips. He's simply missed saying her name.
After he pulls away, she smiles for a few seconds before a panicked look comes over her face.
"Shit El," she exclaims. "I just remembered something Max…um…Aaron told me."
"What is it Liv," he asks, now concerned as well. "What's wrong," he asks again, returning to his sitting position in the chair.
"He said they were handing over all the blackmail evidence he found at the mansion over to the FBI," she reveals. "De La Costa bragged that he recorded us that night El, if they see that-
"It's okay Liv," he interrupts, soothing her hand again. "I got it."
"What do you mean, you got it," she asks, with raised eyebrows.
"It's the reason Agent Jimenez had to fake my death," he reveals. "He and De La Costa busted me in his office snooping," he continues. "I found his little DVD collection and took the one dated for last Sunday night. I was able to tuck it away before they saw. I just hope it was the only copy."
"Yeah me too," she tells him. "Making love to my ex partner while under cover at a drug kingpin's house probably wouldn't bode too well for my career."
"Making love huh," he asks, smiling. "I thought it was just sex," he tells her, smirking. "What changed," he asks, more seriously.
"I thought I lost you," she says. "And I realized that that hurt me more than this hole in my chest does."
"And if I would've lost you," he tells her, laying his head on her stomach looking up at her. He knows he doesn't need to finish the statement as they eye one another affectionately.
Olivia is smoothing the hair of his beard when Dr. Valentine returns. Elliot raises his head at the sound of the door.
"I heard you were conscious," she begins, looking over the chart in her hand. "I'm Dr. Valentine your primary care physician." she continues, checking the numbers on Olivia's machines and making notes on her chart.
Elliot nods at the doctor not bothering to introduce himself. He's too concerned with hearing about Olivia's injuries and progress.
"I'm just going to listen to your lungs for a bit," she explains, leaning over with her stethoscope.
"How do I sound," Olivia asks. "And will I really have to deal with these tubes for five days?"
"Well Olivia," begins Dr. Valentine. "Your breathing has improved just since this morning," she informs her. "We usually leave them in for a minimum of forty-eight hours," she continues. "So I don't see why they can't come out tomorrow."
"That's great," Olivia tells her, as Elliot smiles at the news. "It's the second best news I've gotten today," she comments, eying Elliot.
The doctor sees the exchange between the two. She doesn't bother asking what the first best news was. Dr. Valentine can see that it probably has a lot to do with the blue eyed man sitting at her patient's bedside.
"You're the last of my rounds so if you have any questions I don't have to rush off," Dr. Valentine says.
"How soon do you think I can go home," Olivia asks hopefully.
"You're body has just had a major trauma Olivia," the doctor advises her. "A gunshot wound, collapsed lung and the amount of blood you loss is nothing to take lightly," she says, trying to make Olivia aware of how grave her situation was.
"But you just said I was improving," reminds Olivia.
"Yes," the doctor acknowledges. "But that doesn't mean you're out of the woods. I'm going to monitor you for any infections or complications after the tube removal," she explains. "And if you continue to do well, we'll take it day by day."
"You have got to work on your sunny disposition," Elliot says, speaking up for the first time.
"Well Mr-
"Elliot Stabler," he tells her.
"Well Mr. Stabler," she continues. "I'm not in the habit of lying to my patients or giving them false hope."
"It's okay El," interrupts Olivia. "I'd rather hear the truth."
"And the truth is," she begins again. "We were able to stop the internal bleeding, drain your pleural cavity and successfully close the entry and exit wounds," Dr. Valentine says informing them both. "You flat lined in the ambulance and twice on the table so saying we'll take it one day at a time is being optimistic."
This is shaping up to be one very bittersweet day for Detective Olivia Benson. First, she finds out that Elliot is still alive. Then, she finds out that she died not once, not twice but three times.
"But you've been stable since coming out of surgery, even if you didn't wake up right away," she says surprising Elliot. "And that's another reason to be positive about your prognosis."
"Thank you doctor," Elliot says. Olivia seems to be speechless after hearing about all the times her heart stopped. She's staring straight ahead avoiding eye contact with both of them.
"You're welcome," she says, turning to leave. "So if they are no more questions a nurse we'll be in shortly to give you your meds and I'll see you in the morning," she tells them, pausing to wait. When neither of them speaks, she takes that as her cue to leave.
"Liv," Elliot begins, startling her out of her trance. "What's wrong," he asks worriedly.
"I died three times Elliot," she says, letting go of his hand to put it to her forehead. "And I would've done that without ever saying…without ever telling you-
"Time for your meds Olivia," says Kelly entering her room. When she sees the intensity between the two she adds, "I'll make it quick."
She pushes the medication into the I.V. and makes a fast exit.
Elliot gets up from the chair and sits on the bed next to Olivia's thigh. He takes her hand in both of his and eyes her intently.
"What did you need to tell me," he asks, rubbing circles on her hand. From the meds given to her, she yawns almost instantly. His ministrations are only getting her to dreamland faster.
"I just didn't want to go another day," she begins, unable to hold back another yawn. "Without saying how-
"Liv, maybe we should save this talk," he interrupts, watching how sleepy the medication is making her.
"I don't want to save it Elliot," she says, determinedly. "You're the one who wanted to talk about us in the first place and now-
"I know Liv," he interrupts again. "But you're tired."
"Damn it Elliot," she begins. "If you cut me off one more time," she warns.
"I know what you want to tell me," he says. "And I don't want you to say it just because you thought I was dead or because you almost died."
"Come on El," she begins. "After all we've been through together, you have to know that that's not the only reason."
"When you…when we say that to each other Liv," he explains. "I don't want either of us to be in a hospital, or dying or under the influence of anything."
She gives a small smile before asking, "When did you become so rational?"
"Hey if I acted on every impulse I had," he says, letting her hand go to place both of his next to her head. "And you were here for something less serious," he continues, looking unhurriedly over the length of her body as if he wants to eat her alive. "I'd lock that door…"
"Really El," she says in disbelief. "I've only had a sponge bath, I'm not wearing any make-up, my hair's a mess and I probably smell like antiseptic," she admits, yawning again for the umpteenth time.
"And you're still," he begins, punctuating his words with a kiss to her neck. "So," he continues, kissing the other side of her neck. "Damned," he adds, kissing her collarbone. "Sexy," he whispers into her ear before gently nibbling on it.
"You do not play fair Elliot Stabler," she tells him sleepily.
"Just trying to give you something to look forward to," he says, returning to her bedside chair. "Now why don't you stop fighting your meds and get some sleep."
"Payback's a bitch you know," she tells him, just before her eyes slip closed.
Olivia is awakened early the next morning to have her chest tubes removed. Though his back will probably regret it later, she was comforted to see that Elliot had spent the night with her. He had alternated between sleeping hunched down in the chair and resting with his head near her waist. She awoke a couple of times just to touch him to make sure he was real.
During the procedure Elliot decides to go home to eat, clean himself up and stop by Kathy's to check on little Eli. Upon returning, he expects to see Olivia still resting comfortably in her bed. After seeing that isn't the case, he knocks on her bathroom door to see if she's enjoying the new found freedom of being unattached to chest tubes. There's no answer and when he opens the door, he finds the space empty.
He exits her room to check with the nurse's station.
"Hi, my name is Elliot Stabler and I came to visit Olivia Benson," he explains. "She's not in her room and I was just wondering where she was."
The nurse checks over her charts and gets a perplexed look on her face. "It doesn't look like she was scheduled for any procedures," she begins. "Let me check with the night nurse before he leaves," she continues, stepping away from him to trade whispers with a male nurse.
He looks just as confused as she does and Elliot begins to get worried. How in the hell could they not know where Olivia is? The first nurse returns to the counter to let him know what she's found out.
"Mr. Stabler the night nurse says he saw her being wheeled out by two guys. One in surgeon's scrubs and an orderly. He assumed she was being taken for a procedure," she explains. "We're checking with surgery right now."
The hairs on the back of his neck stand up and his pulse begins to quicken. He knows something is wrong.
"You go ahead and do that," he tells her, now pissed. "But call security and get this hospital locked down," he seethes. "She's a detective with the NYPD, if anything has happened to her…"
With the horrifying glare Elliot is giving her, he doesn't have to finish the statement. Elliot immediately gets out his cell phone to call the one person he trusts to help him find Olivia.
"Captain it's Elliot," he tells his former boss. "I think someone kidnapped Olivia."