Chapter 18
Three more agonizing days passed and Elliot spent as much time in the hospital as he could. It was hard considering they were battling to keep Robbie Alvarez behind bars either in New York or New Jersey and the fact that he was waiting to hear back regarding the divorce.
The paperwork had been delivered to Judge Carlson and he promised his decision in two days' time which was regrettably tomorrow. Then he would decide if they would need Olivia's testimony or not. Martha had discussed her concerns with Elliot regarding the case. Even if he wasn't sleeping with his partner, the story could be made to look that way. He was her emergency medical contact, she was involved with the children, giving them rides or helping out with advice, and it wasn't exactly helpful that the rumor mill around the precinct was that they were sleeping together. Their behavior certainly indicated that they were close considering they fought like a couple at times. It was bound to happen when you had two very passionate people doing a job that they were passionate about. Elliot wasn't sure how far this could go and how far Kathy was willing to push it but he figured he'd find out.
"Detective Stabler?" Doctor Kyle Beresford shook him from his thoughts in his seat next to Olivia's bed.
"Yes?" He asked.
"I just got off the phone with Detective Munch and I thought I'd deliver the news in person, Elizabeth Stevenson just died," the doctor said. Elliot let out a sigh. Robbie Alvarez had just claimed one more victim.
"What happened?" He wanted to know. In a scary way, Olivia could be in the same shape.
"It was all too much for her. Between the beating and the frostbite, we couldn't stop the infections. Her last brain scan showed little to no signs of activity and when we took her off the ventilator she couldn't breathe on her own. Her mother made the call to let her go," Beresford explained.
"Is that where Liv is headed?" He had to ask.
"Your partner is in much better shape before the incident so she had that going for her. Her last brain scan showed the swelling had reduced and we want to bring her around. We need to see if there was any permanent spinal damage," the doctor told him.
"You think she's ready?" Elliot was incredibly concerned about her coming out of the coma too soon.
"I hate to leave a patient in a medically induced coma for too long. Sometimes it can't be helped but she's been showing good signs of improvement and she's stable enough now. I do have to warn you though. Waking out of a medically induced coma is not like waking up to your alarm clock. There is a good chance she'll be confused or agitated or non-compliant," Beresford explained.
"That last one isn't exactly something new for her Doc," Elliot chuckled at his own joke. It was nervous laughter and the doctor could tell.
"Well then I'll look forward to seeing just how non-compliant she can be. Give me a few minutes to get a team together and we'll begin the process," he said.
"Thanks for everything Doc," Elliot smiled slightly.
"No problem, it's what I do," Beresford gave him a wink and then went out of the room. He was back in ten minutes with a team of nurses and they went about starting the process. It seemed like an eternity, but finally Olivia's eyelids began to flutter.
"Liv?" Elliot asked, taking her hand in his.
To Be Continued…