Last chapter! I'm kind of ready to get this done, you know? It was nice while it lasted but I'm ready to move onto other stories and such. I really hope everyone has enjoyed reading this and I know it was one of the stories I started off with so I'm glad people were willing to give me a chance. Anyway, on to the story!
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN LAW AND ORDER: SVU OR ITS CHARACTERS
Cragen sat in the waiting room of Mercy General's E.R. room. When Alex had called him the last thing he needed to hear was one of his detectives was being rushed to the hospital, so as soon as he got the news he rushed out of the precinct and over to the E.R. room. He had met Alex in the waiting room, who explained everything that had happened, before he took a seat and began to wait. Alex, who had been in the E.R. room the whole time, sat next to him, worried. She didn't know the state of anyone, and she could only pray that everyone would come out of this alright.
The two waited for what seemed like hours. Finally, two hours after the incident in the courtroom, Elliot walked into the emergency room. Alex was the first to see him, standing almost immediately, Cragen following her actions. "How is she?" she asked, concerned for her friend.
"How's the baby?" Cragen asked immediately after. Truth was he loved Olivia like the daughter he never had, and he knew that if something happened to her baby, it would not only devastate her and Elliot, but him as well.
Elliot, unable to contain his happiness, smiled widely. "Olivia's fine. The doctors said the stress of everything caused her to go into labor early." He watched as Alex let out a small sigh of relief. "As for the baby," he began, pausing to remember Olivia's water breaking in the middle of court. "He's perfect. He had a few breathing issues when he was born, but he's doing great right now."
Both Cragen and Alex visibly relaxed when they heard the news. It was unknown at the time but Olivia had been having contractions during court. It wasn't until Gordon had pointed a gun at her did she stress so much it caused her water to break. "Have you gotten any news?" Elliot asked, referring to the man who had taken the bullet for Olivia.
After Daniel had seen Gordon point the gun at Olivia, he knew he had to do something. So, doing the only thing he could think of at the moment, he stepped in front of Olivia, just as the bullet reached the two. He had collapsed on the floor as he began to bleed and watched as Olivia joined him on the floor after her water had broken.
Alex shook her head. "He's been in surgery this whole time," she said. In the few months that Daniel had stayed in New York, she had formed a friendship with him, so knowing that the man she considered a brother was fighting for his life made her very concerned.
Elliot nodded. He wiped his hand down his face, exhausted. He was going to open his mouth to speak but someone beat him to the punch. "Family of Daniel Boyd."
All three of them turned to see an older gentleman in green scrubs come out from the back. Alex was the first to respond. "How is he?"
The man stared at Alex, his eyes telling the three the results weren't that good. "Well, we were able to take the bullet out, and we were able to stabilize him. He's back there resting right now."
Alex breathed a sigh of relief. "So he's going to make it then?"
The doctor nodded. "We're fairly certain he's going to be fine." He looked up and sighed. "There's one thing you need to know though." He waited a minute. He knew as a medical professional he needed to tell them what was wrong, but he also knew they had been through more than enough. "The bullet nicked a rib and exited out his back, hitting his spine and damaging the nerves. I'm sorry to say this but he'll probably never walk again."
The three looked at the man in shock. Daniel had risked his life going undercover, risked it again when he tried to save both Elliot and Olivia while the three of them were undercover, and he had saved Olivia and her unborn baby's life once more. It just didn't seem fair that he would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. "When can we see him?" Cragen asked. He knew how hard this was going to be for the young man, and he wanted to personally thank him for saving his detectives' lives on multiple accounts.
"He's resting right now. It'll take a few hours for the meds to wear off and when he wakes up he'll be in a lot of pain. You can come back tomorrow afternoon."
Cragen nodded. "Thank you," he said. The doctor nodded, before he turned on his heel and walked off. Cragen took a deep breath. This case was definitely one that was going to alter everyone's life.
It had been a week since the incident at the courthouse, and a lot had happened since then. Gordon had been sentenced to life in prison without parole, and had another charge of attempted murder added to his rap sheet. Alex was definitely going to try to get him the death penalty now that he had tried to kill two of her good friends. Olivia and Elliot had welcomed the birth of their new son, who had been born about a month earlier than expected. When he was first born he had a few breathing problems, due to his lungs still needing a little more time to develop fully but after two days in the NICU, he was able to be reunited with his parents who couldn't have been more thrilled. The morning after Daniel had been shot Elliot and Alex had gone to visit him, telling him everything the doctor had shared with them. At first he had taken the news of him never being able to walk hard, but after being able to think about things, he was just glad he was alive.
"Are you sure about this El?" Olivia asked.
Elliot looked up at his partner and smiled. She sat at the edge of her hospital bed with a packet of papers that needed to be filled out. Because her pregnancy and delivery had been considered high risk Olivia had to stay in the hospital for a week, just to make sure that she and the baby were alright.
"Yes Olivia, I'm sure," Elliot replied with a smile. The two were filling out the papers for their son's name, and Olivia wanted to make sure Elliot was okay with the name she had considered.
"So do you know when they're going to discharge Daniel?" Olivia asked, as she finished the last page of forms.
Elliot nodded, as he finished backing the duffel bag Maureen had brought over the other day. "He's actually getting released today. I was hoping we could see him before he leaves."
Olivia nodded. She owed the man a giant thank you and she knew he deserved to see what she and Elliot had decided. "I would love that."
FBI agent Daniel Boyd sat down and listened to the doctor as they discussed his discharge. He shifted in his chair, letting out a small sigh at the thought that he would spend the rest of his life in it. He knew him being in the chair was worth it, but he couldn't help but feel a little depressed at thought of never being able to walk again.
The doctor quickly finished talking, asked him if he had any questions, and when he said no, he left. It was no more than a minute later when there was a knock on the door. "Oh good, you're still here."
Daniel looked up and saw Elliot walk into the door, holding a car seat. Olivia followed him into the room, in her arms was their newest addition to the family. "Hey," Daniel began, "how is he?"
Olivia smiled. "He's great," she said, before walking over to Daniel. She knew the man had wanted children all his life and when he told the two of them that his wife was returning from the army soon and they were going to start trying, she couldn't help but feel happy for him. She knew him being in the wheelchair wasn't going to stop him from trying to have a family, and for that she couldn't be happier.
"Can I see him?" Daniel asked, moving his wheelchair closer to the couple. Olivia nodded, before she slowly bent down and placed the baby in his waiting arms. "He's beautiful," Daniel said, as he moved the blanket away from the baby's face. "What's his name?"
Olivia looked at Elliot and smiled. Elliot looked down at his girlfriend, before he wrapped an arm around her body. "His name is Daniel Elliot," he said, watching as Daniel's head snapped up at the name. "We thought we'd name him after the man who saved his mother and his lives."
Daniel looked down at the baby named after him and smiled. Suddenly being in this chair made everything worth it. "You two make a pretty cute baby," he said, before watching as baby Daniel reached up to the man holding him. "And you have a pretty sweet name," he joked, giving the newborn a smile.
Elliot smiled as he watched the man interact with his son. "So what are you going to do now?"
Daniel turned to face Olivia before lifting the baby up, allowing her to grab him and hold him close. He watched as she wrapped the blanket tighter around his small body, before offering the small boy a smile. "I just got off the phone with my wife," he said, unable to keep the smile off his face. "She's on her way here." His wife had been in Iraq for a little over a year, but since he had already been undercover during that time he never got to say goodbye to her. For the past year he always went to bed worried he wasn't going to ever see her again, but now that he was going home, he'd be able to rest knowing she was safe.
No sooner had Daniel finish talking did the three hear a knock on the door. Standing in the middle of the doorway was a younger woman. She had bright red hair that was up in a sporty ponytail and big blue eyes. "Daniel!" She quickly rushed up to the man in the wheelchair, hopped onto his lap and hugged him tightly.
Without a word Daniel wrapped his arms around his wife and began to cry. Olivia, knowing the two needed their time alone, looked at Elliot and nodded. The two quickly slipped out of the room, letting Daniel and his wife reunite for the first time in a year and a half.
Olivia sat on her bed staring at the baby in her arms. She couldn't believe how much her life had changed in the past 10 months. She was now living with her partner and best friend, with their son she never thought she'd have. She watched as Daniel yawned, letting his mother know he was ready to fall asleep. A smile graced her lips as she watched his eyelids begin to close. He looked so much like his father, right down to the perfect blue eyes. "Someone's a little tired," she whispered to the baby trying to fight his sleep. She watched as he strained to keep his eyelids open one last time before finally giving in.
Daniel had been home for nearly two months and although Olivia had a hard time to begin with, she was adjusting to life as a mother quite well. Everyone from the 1-6 had made sure to stop by at least once to welcome the newest addition to the family, and Olivia knew her son would grow up with so much love he wouldn't know what to do with it.
"Is he asleep?" Olivia looked up towards the doorway and saw Elliot. She nodded, before watching him walk from the door to the dresser. He pulled open a drawer, took his shirt off, and replaced it with a t-shirt he had grabbed from inside. He quickly took a seat next to Olivia on the bed, smiling when he saw her place the sleeping baby on the bed in between her legs. "He had a long day."
Olivia gently caressed her son's face, before wrapping him in his soft blanket. "I think he had fun being with his siblings," she said lifting him up into her arms once more.
"I swear, Maureen couldn't get enough of him," Elliot said with a chuckle, as he opened his arms, silently asking for Daniel.
Olivia placed their sleeping son into his arms, smiling when she saw Elliot just stare happily at the baby. When she had first told Elliot she was pregnant she didn't know how he would react, especially since he already had 4 children, but when he found out he couldn't have been more excited. "Who was on the phone?" Olivia asked, referring to the conversation he was having a few minutes earlier.
Elliot carefully slid off the bed and stood, freezing when he saw Daniel begin to stir in his sleep. For only being two months old Daniel slept fairly good, but if he was woken up prematurely he got pretty cranky. Unfortunately both Elliot and Olivia had found this out the hard way, the extremely hard way. When he was sure the baby was still sound asleep, he continued walking over to the bassinet by Olivia's side of the bed. He carefully laid him down, making sure he was comfortable, before he turned to face Olivia. "It was Daniel. He said he's getting used to everything back in Chicago and his physical therapy is going well."
Olivia smiled. Ever since the man had saved her and baby Daniel's life, she and Elliot had become closer to the man. Elliot kept in constant contact with him and his wife, continuously letting them know how grateful he was for him saving Olivia. "That's good," she said, as she pulled her hair into a messy ponytail.
Today had been a long day. Maureen, Kathleen, and the twins had all come by and officially welcomed their little brother home, and since they had all had either school or work preventing them from doing it earlier, they decided to go bigger than usual. They had invited all of Elliot and Olivia's coworkers and friends, so it was definitely a big affair, with baby Daniel being passed around to everyone, just as long as they sanitized their hands first, as per Olivia's request. Daniel had been born a month early, and had had complications with his lungs, she didn't need him getting sick when he was this young.
"They also have a little surprise," Elliot said, as he took a seat on the edge of the bed. "
Sarah was starting to feel a little weird lately."
Olivia froze and looked up quickly. "No way," Olivia said excitedly. She knew these two wanted to have kids and with both of them finally away from the violence of their former jobs, she knew now was the time to start trying.
Elliot nodded. "Yep, she's pregnant."
Olivia smiled, happy for her new friend. "That's great!" She watched as Elliot bent down and grabbed something from the bottom of Daniel's bassinet. "So what else did you guys talk about?"
Elliot shrugged. "We talked about a lot of things, his therapy, work, marriage, the end of your maternity leave." Olivia looked at Elliot, wide eyed. Why was he talking to Daniel about marriage? The two had talked about getting married, eventually, but with everything happening they weren't in a rush to do so. Besides, Elliot had just gotten out of a marriage a year earlier, she didn't want him to get married again until he was absolutely sure. "He gave me some advice, and for a man who hadn't spoken to his wife in over a year, he had some great advice." Olivia continued to stare at Elliot and raised an eyebrow. Elliot, seeing her confusion, smiled. He wanted her to know where he was going with this, but at the same time he wanted to surprise her. "Liv," he said softly, grabbing her hand. "These past years with you have been amazing. I know we've only been together for a few months, but you've been my best friend for 11 years, and for that I can't thank you enough. When Cragen told me my partner had quit and I was getting a new one, I knew it would be a gamble, sort of like a game of Russian Roulette. I didn't know if I would like you, or if you would like me. Hell, the first week we were partners I think you pissed me off more than anyone I know, and Maureen was already a teenager by then. But the more I got to know you, the more I liked you, until I fell completely in love with you."
Elliot looked up at Olivia and noticed the tears forming in her eyes. He squeezed her hand gently, before continuing his little speech. "When we got together, I didn't think I could be any happier, but then you told me about Daniel and I just knew." He grabbed a loose strand of her hair and placed it behind her ear. She may have been in a tank top, a pair of sweats, and her hair may have been up in a messy ponytail, but to him she was absolutely beautiful. "I was going to wait for the perfect moment, but I realized with you, every moment is perfect. " He kissed the back of her hand, slid off the bed, and knelt down on one knee.
Olivia gasped as she placed a hand over her mouth. "Elliot," she whispered, knowing what he was now leading up to.
Without a word Elliot raised the mysterious item up so they could both see it. His eyes got misty as he realized what he was about to do. "Olivia, I love you so much. I couldn't imagine my life with anyone other than you. You're my best friend, the mother of my beautiful son, and an amazing mentor to my other children." He looked her in the eye, not bothering to care that he was now crying, as was she. "Will you marry me?"
Olivia continued to stare at the man in front of her. He had just asked her to marry him, something that, until recently, she could only have dreamed of. She looked down at the ring; it was beautiful, yet simple. It was a princess cut diamond, with a white gold band. From where she sat, she could see the engraving on the inside that read "starting with forever, ending with never", a phrase Elliot had said to her multiple times throughout their relationship. When she had taken in the ring, she remembered the man kneeling in front of her. She quickly wiped her eyes, before nodding her head. "Yes," she whispered, trying to make sure she didn't wake the baby.
Elliot smiled, as he let a few tears fall down his face. Olivia, seeing her now fiancé start to cry, reached over and wiped the tears away from his face with the pad of her thumb. When she was done, Elliot grabbed her left hand and slid the ring onto her finger, smiling when the realization that she had said yes hit him. He was going to marry Olivia, his best friend, the woman he had been in love with for years, and aside from the births of all his children, this was the best moment of his life. "I love you," he whispered, before he leaned in and kissed her, his lips meeting hers in a passionate, gentle kiss.
When the two pulled away Olivia looked into his eyes. "I love you too," she whispered back, before placing another kiss on his lips. She was now engaged to the man of her dreams, and besides Daniel, there was nothing else she could have ever hoped for. She watched as Elliot stood up and hoped on the bed beside her, before grabbing his phone, knowing he needed to tell his children the good news. While he spoke to his children, Olivia laid down, thinking about how much her life had changed. She had a new baby, she was now engaged to her best friend, and she would soon be the step mother to four wonderful children. She smiled, as she wiped her eyes once more. This whole thing, she and Elliot becoming partners, the two of them falling in love, the two of them getting together and eventually becoming engaged was indeed a gamble, but it was one she was so glad she had taken. A game of Russian Roulette could be deadly if played without caution, but if you were careful, and with a little luck on your side, you could absolutely beat the odds.
The End
Okay, let me be honest. I was originally going to have Olivia die, but I knew I would lose a lot of readers if that had happened, so I didn't want to disappoint people. Plus, I would be very mad with myself if I had killed off my favorite character. If anyone has any questions please let me know, although I hope I was able to make things clear enough to enjoy. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this story. I know it wasn't that great, but it's one of the ones that started me off. I really appreciate all of you for reading this and staying with me through all of it. Now I get to go onto other stories and I hope you all will join me on those 'journeys' as well. So please, review and tell me what you thought of this. :)