Olivia's Dark Nights
Disclaimer: The characters are only on temporary loan. They will be returned to their rightful owner.
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in updating.. I missed this story! Hopefully other people did too! Pretty please review! It rocks my socks!
Chapter 18
Olivia was rushed to the emergency room of Hudson Valley Hospital. She had suffered a concussion, and needed 21 stitches on her cheek. She was lucky Mildred did not slash her throat as she originally intended. She woke up in the hospital room disoriented. Her vision was blurry. She couldn't make out the faces of the people in the room.
"Olivia, are you awake," she heard a familiar woman's voice say.
"She's waking up," another voice said.
Olivia's vision began to clear. She noticed the pounding pain in her head. She touched her face and felt the roughness of the stitches. She remembered being held by Mildred, but couldn't remember what had happened after that.
"What's going on? Where am I," Olivia asked softly.
"Olivia, you were attacked by a patient. You're in the hospital."
Her eyes finally were able to focus on the face speaking to her. It was Melinda. "How long have I been out?"
"About six hours," Melinda said calmly.
Tears began to form in Olivia's eyes. "Melinda, please don't send me back to that place. I don't think I can bare another moment of it. Those people are crazy. I don't fit in. I.."
Melinda cut her off. She put her hand on Olivia's shoulder. "Shh…Olivia, calm down. Don't worry, you aren't going back there. Huang is filing a formal complaint against the hospital. He is livid. This should have never happened."
"I just want to go home. I need to be in my own bed in my own apartment. Melinda, please let me just go home."
Melinda could see the desperation in Olivia's eyes. She had been through a lot. The hospital was supposed to help her heal. Instead, she was more broken then before.
"We'll work something out. I need to keep you here for twenty-four hours for observation. You have a serious concussion Olivia."
"Then what happens? Can I go home?"
"Huang and I are working it out. We'll talk again in the morning."
Olivia ran her fingers long the stitches on her cheek.
"Will I have a scar?"
"A plastic surgeon friend of mine stitched you up. He said there may be some slight scarring, but nothing that can't be easily corrected."
"Thanks Melinda."
Melinda smiled. "We'll talk in the morning." She placed Olivia's chart on the edge of the bed, and exited the room.
She was relieved knowing she would not be going back to the mental hospital, but Olivia still tossed and turned all night. The monitors annoyed her. The IV in her hand was throbbing. She couldn't believe she was in a hospital again. She was becoming a regular. Soon she'd earn VIP status, and they'd roll out the red carpet when her ambulance pulled up. Her mind continued to race. She thought about so many things at one time that she almost couldn't keep up with herself. She wondered if she was a hopeless case; too far gone to be helped. Maybe she did belong at that hospital. Maybe her mind was so warped that she just couldn't recognize it. After all, how could she know if she was crazy? Maybe her normal wasn't normal. What if she had to spend the rest of her life in an institution? Maybe this was as good as it would get for her. As she continued to think, she could feel her airway constricting. She felt like she couldn't breathe; like someone was standing on her chest. Her heart felt as if it would explode out of her chest. Various alarms started to go off in the room. Melinda came running into the room.
"Olivia, what's wrong?"
She noticed Olivia gasping for breath. She studied the monitors intently. The panic was evident on Olivia's face. Melinda knew from experience Olivia was having a full-fledged panic attack.
She couldn't breathe. Her chest felt tight! She could feel her heart beating in her head.
"Olivia, calm down. Take deep breaths. You are fine now. Nothing is going to happen to you."
Melinda turned up Olivia's oxygen. Melinda rubbed Olivia's back in a soothing manner.
Within a few minutes the attack had passed. It felt like an eternity to Olivia. The symptoms slowly began to fade. She was feeling normal again.
"Melinda I'm sorry. Sometimes I can't control my thoughts. I lose control, then I start to panic."
"I'll prescribe something to relax you so you can get some sleep. Just try to stay calm. We'll discuss everything in the morning. Don't worry Olivia; you aren't under any circumstances going back to that hospital."
Melinda's drug had indeed relaxed Olivia. The next time she woke, sunlight filled the room. She felt a bit groggy, and she still had a massive headache. As she stretched her arms out over her head, she noticed Elliot and Casey sitting in uncomfortable chairs in the far corner of the room sound asleep. Both looked as if they had been awaken in the middle of the night, and hurriedly driven up to Westchester. Casey was still wearing her pajamas. Olivia didn't want to disturb them. They were no doubt exhausted having been woken in the middle of the night. She watched the sun light dance around the room. This morning was the first morning since she had been committed to the hospital that she felt at ease. She finally believed things were looking up. The mental hospital had been one big nightmare. Nothing positive had come out of it. She was anxious to hear what Melinda and Huang had planned for her next. She didn't believe it would be any worse than what she had already endured.
The door opened, and a food service worker entered carrying Olivia's breakfast. The noise woke Elliot and Casey.
"Liv, you're awake," Casey croaked groggily.
"I could say the same for you two. I've been sitting here for half an hour watching you sleep."
"Why didn't you wake us, Elliot asked."
You two need your sleep too. I surmised that you both came in the middle of the night."
"Not really," Casey said with a smile. We got here around 3:30. It was already early morning."
"Did you hear about what happened last night," Olivia asked.
"Yeah, Huang and Melinda filled us in," Elliot said.
"I'm gonna head down and see if I can get us some coffee. I'll be back in a few," Casey said. She got up and exited the room.
"Liv, you okay? That's a nasty scar."
Olivia absently traced the stitches with her finger. "It's not as bad as it looks. Melinda said the scarring will be minimal."
Elliot sat down on the bed. He touched her cheek with the offending gash.
"Does it hurt," he asked.
"It's not so bad," she answered.
"I've missed you so much. He leaned in and began kissing her. Olivia felt chills go down her spine. She had craved his touch for so long. Olivia kissed back with passion. She was afraid she would never see this side of Elliot again. Olivia felt the anticipation tingling between her legs. She was ready for him at that moment. Their moment was interrupted when a nurse came in to check Olivia's vitals. Both Olivia and the nursed blushed with embarrassment. Elliot looked away. She tried to get out of the room as quickly as possible.
Elliot took Olivia's hand in his. "Olivia, I can't wait to have you all the time. I want there to be an us. I'll help you in anyway I can. I just know I can't live without you. I love you Olivia to the depths of my soul."
"Elliot I feel the same way. I've been thinking about us non-stop since this ordeal began. El, I'm gonna get better. I am getting better. I want to put all of this behind me and get on with our lives."
The door opened, and Casey returned with their coffee. She had a sneaking suspicion that she had interrupted their "moment."
"I got some bagels with cream cheese and fruit also. I thought you guys would be hungry too." After looking down at her hospital breakfast tray, Olivia opted for the bagel and fruit. The coffee was the best she had in weeks. Olivia still had not regained her appetite. After only a quarter of the bagel, and a few bites of fruit, she was full. Casey, Olivia, and Elliot sat in the room chatting like everything was fine while eating. Olivia felt more normal than she had in at least a month. It made her feel hopeful; like she could get her life back.
Around 10 o'clock, Melinda and Huang came by. Olivia's stomach churned a bit. She knew exactly what they wanted to talk about.
"Olivia, I'm so sorry this happened to you. Nothing like this has ever happened at that hospital before. They have a spotless record for patient safety. I've already filed a complaint with the county and state."
"It's done. I'm fine," Olivia said quietly. "I really just want to go home."
"That's what we're here to talk about," Melinda said.
Olivia looked at both doctors waiting to her what they would say.
"Liv, we can leave," Elliot and Casey began to say.
"No, stay," Olivia said calmly. They both took their seats.
Huang began to talk. "Obviously Westchester didn't work out for you. The program wasn't a good fit, and it obviously wasn't safe. But, after talking with your therapists and psychiatrists, we all agree that you aren't healed yet. Melinda told me about your panic attack last night. I'm still concerned about the self-mutilation.
"George, I just need to go home. I can't go on like this," Olivia told him.
"I understand Olivia. I think we've come up with a good solution that you'll agree with. There is an intensive outpatient program I've discovered at the Manhattan Women's Center that deals specifically with the aftermath of sexual assault. They also treat a multitude of other problems that you may be dealing with."
Olivia didn't know what Huang meant when he said "other problems she may be dealing with, but she sat quietly and listened as Huang spoke.
"You'd have to go to therapy four times a week, and check in with your doctor a few times a day."
"But I'd be home? What about work," Olivia asked.
"Yes, you'd be staying in your own apartment. Your doctor will decide when you can return to work."
"That's it? All I have to do is go to therapy four times a week, and check in? Sign me up."
Melinda began to speak. "Besides the psychiatric care, Olivia you need to see a nutritionist. You're severely underweight now. Dangerously so. You need to work on regaining some weight. I'm also concerned about your general health. You'll need to check in with me weekly. I'm worried about you Olivia."
"I'll do whatever you both say. I just want to go back to my normal life."
"It's settled," Huang said. "I'll contact the center, and arrange everything."
"I can go home then," Olivia said taking the oxygen tube off of her face."
"Not so fast Olivia," Melinda said. "I said I wanted to keep you for 24 hours. Your time isn't up. I'll release you first thing tomorrow morning."
"But that's more than 24 hours," Olivia whined.
Melinda shook her head. "Keep that up and I'll make it longer. Olivia you had a serious head injury. I won't take any chances."
True to her word, Melinda released Olivia by 9 the next morning. Elliot drove her back to her apartment. She noticed Elliot had cleaned the place for her and put fresh sheets on the bed. He even stocked the fridge.
"Elliot, it feels damn good to be home!"
"You heard Melinda Liv. Even though you're home, you need to rest."
Olivia shook her head. She thought Elliot missed his calling. He should have been a doctor, or maybe a prison guard. As a condition of her release, Elliot would be staying with Olivia for a few weeks. She didn't mind at all. She wanted to make up for lost time.
The first thing Olivia did when she came home was take a shower. She wanted to wash away all of the pain from the past few weeks. She wanted to use her own shower, with her own soap. She was sick to death of institution-issued bath products.
Olivia and Elliot spent the day hanging around the apartment, getting reacquainted. They settled in to watch a movie. Olivia loved being wrapped in Elliot's arms. Around 7, Casey stopped by with dinner. It felt amazing to be around friends again.
Later that night they crawled into bed together. For the moment, Olivia was fine.
I know I haven't written for a while, but I'm hoping people are still interested! Please review and let me know. If I get enough reviews, I'll try and update tomorrow.