"Now Olivia I do have to ask that you take it rather careful. I see no signs that any of your injuries will relapse, but if you try to do too much too soon, there is a chance that we could see you in here again much sooner than you would like." The doctor, who had been monitoring Olivia's progress since she entered the hospital a little over a week ago, told both Liv and Nick as they awaited her release.
Although it was still a much longer stay than Olivia had hoped to experience in a hospital, to be leaving only a little over a week after she had been attacked surprised not only Barba and the team, but her doctor as well. They had expected it to be a much longer time after the serious injuries Liv has sustained, but where there was will there was a way and Olivia certainly had that will. With such a hatred for hospitals, the sergeant did everything she could to speed up her healing process and get out of the overly white, sterile building as soon as possible. It was also great motivation that Noah had been sent home three days earlier; the mom wanted nothing more than to be at home with her son.
"How long will it be before I will be cleared to go back to work?" Nothing would ever stop the commanding officer from worrying about her job.
The doctor sighed. "Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. We'll take that one step at a time, for now you are staying home, taking it easy, and attending all of your follow up appointments. As time goes on and we see how your body handles recovery, we can give you a more exact answer."
It was not at all what was Liv was looking for, but she had assumed that the topic of work would be one that seemed less important than her getting back to normal and healing properly. And although she would have a hard time being kept away from the sixteenth precinct, she would take being able to go home to Noah, for now, as enough to get her through the days of recovery that lie ahead.
Almost half an hour after the discussion with the doctor, Olivia, very much to her dismay and with a large amount of protest, was being brought to Nick's car in a wheelchair pushed by the nurse she had during her stay. As Nick pulled the car up in front of them, Liv was more than thankful to get up out of the heinous, wheeling object and into the comfort of Nick's small SUV.
"I'm going to get you home first, but is there anything I can go pick up for you? Anything that you think you might need?" Nick kept his eyes facing forward as he pulled out from in front of the hospital.
Olivia thought for a moment before answering. "I think Lucy said she did a little shopping. We'll probably be fine; you don't need to go the trouble Nick."
"It's not any trouble Liv. I just want to help. You're going to have your hand full as it is." By hands full Nick was referring to Noah, but he was also referring to Olivia fighting the urge to go overboard, to do too much, to try and get back to her regular schedule too quickly. The detective was well aware of his former partner's traits and being patient was not one of her most virtuous ones.
"Really Nick, don't worry about it. I have Lucy to help me and I care more about you being in the squad room helping the others to keep things running the way we like it." Olivia was well aware that since she would not be able to return to work for a while there would be a new temporary commanding officer put in to take her place for a while.
"Well I'll do my best on that one for you." Nick understood Olivia's territorialism.
There was a moment of silence between the two, before Liv spoke up again. "Have you heard anything about Raegan yet?"
That, Olivia and the team had learned, was the name of the baby girl. Raegan Grace Hayes was her full name; after nearly three hours of searching Amanda had been able to pin down her birth certificate with name, date of birth, and the hospital where the baby had been delivered. And now with all that information there was something different about how Liv felt about the little girl; there was something about knowing her name and knowing that she was biologically related to her son, it changed everything.
"Amanda said that she was placed in an ACS facility because there was no other family that claimed her." Nick explained.
It sounded like another familiar story. When Noah had first been placed in his ACS home, it had been for the exact same reason, no family. There was no one to take in her sweet son, which did end up working in her favor, but for some other kids having no loved ones would only mean years spent being bounced from foster home to foster until the child became old enough to be set free from the cycle. Olivia had seen it and Olivia had wanted to stop more than once for more than one child she had come across in her cases.
As their ride home continued there was a shared silence. Nick knew that Olivia was thinking about other things and he respected it. The rest of their drive seemed faster in the quiet than it had as they talked to each other.
"Let me help you upstairs." Nick said to Olivia as he stood next to her while she got out of the passenger seat.
Olivia nodded and was soon being followed, closely behind, by the detective as she slowly made her way to her apartment. Her body still seemed weak and while she was feeling much better than she had, standing for too long made her dizzy and her legs began to feel like they might collapse under her weight. It would be some time before she was back to being one hundred percent.
Lucy, who had been waiting with Noah for Olivia to get home, was standing in doorway as they walked down the hallway. "Hey Liv." The young woman spoke softly and with sympathy.
Olivia gave her a small smile and Nick helped her past Lucy into the familiar home. Without even a second to notice the little boy, he had already turned to see who had just walked in, a large smile covering his face.
"Mama! Mama!" He squealed with delight, as his little legs moved him as quickly as they could to where Olivia stood. He ran straight into her legs, his hands gripping tightly around her calves.
Olivia couldn't help but chuckle at her son's behavior. She hadn't ever left him with anyone else for any longer than one night, so it was obvious the days at home alone had left him missing his mom. "Hi my sweet boy."
"Mama, up." Noah reached his chubby little hands upwards.
Nick swooped in quick and whisked Noah off the ground into his arms. The motion made the little boy giggle for a moment, before his hands were reaching sideways towards Olivia. "Let's let mama sit down and then you can see her."
Liv made her way to the couch, where Nick met her and set Noah down beside her. The little boy immediately snuggled into her, almost lying on top of her. Olivia tried to hide it, but it was hard to hide the tears that were welling up in her eyes. She hated that her career had led to what happened and that this time it wasn't just herself who was affected. It was something she had promised herself would not happen; even though none of it was exactly Liv's fault, she still felt completely guilty.
"I'm going to let you get settled" Nick told Liv. "Let me know if you guys need anything."
"Thanks for everything Nick." Liv gave him a genuine look of appreciation.
"Of course." Nick told her as he made his way back to the door he had just come through.
"Oh, Nick." The man turned around to the sound of his name. "If you hear anything new about Raegan will you let me know, please?"
"Yeah, sure thing Liv." Nick assured her. "When I talked to Judge Linden earlier she seemed upset about having nowhere to place the baby, if anything else comes up I'm sure she'll let us know."
Liv stopped for a moment before she realized what he had said. "Wait, it was Judge Linden that was placed on her case?"
"Umm, I thought I had already told you that, I'm sorry. But, yeah she took it right away when she heard that we had found the child." By we he meant the SVU team.
"I have to go see her." Olivia sounded all too serious.
"Liv, what do you need to see her for?" But as Nick saw the expression on Olivia's face he began to realize what she wanted. "Okay, I know you want to help her, but Liv you have so many things going on. Do you really think this is the best thing you can do?"
Olivia sighed. "I know it sounds ridiculous, but that little girl needs a home. She doesn't deserve to be left in some government facility or be stuck with multiple foster families. I mean, she's Noah's sister or half sister, whatever you want to call her, but she's his family. And I want to do what I can for her."
Lucy, who had been silently observing the conversation, stepped in a little closer, making herself feel like a part of the discussion. "Liv, you just got home. You can't even go back to work yet, do you really want to add on to all of that?"
"I want to help that baby." Olivia made her decision quite clear.
* There you have it. The story is certainly going to start moving towards some more Barson moments and Mama Benson times. As always, reviews are appreciated! *