A/N: I'm spoiling everybody with 2 chapters this week. Enjoy! ;)

Chapter 5

Elliot paced back and forth in the hospital waiting room. Olivia was still in surgery and he worried that the shot had done more damage than he'd originally assumed. Of course maybe once they got the bleeding stopped they found other things they had to worry about. He tried to push that thought out of his head. She'd been fully clothed. Perhaps nothing overly bad happened. The bruises he saw on her face would prove otherwise but if he didn't stay positive about the whole situation he was going to literally fall apart. Things were finally great and this just couldn't destroy the birth of Charlotte or Calvin's adoption. Calvin. What was he going to tell Olivia?

"Munch," the older detective answered his cell phone despite the nurses giving him dirty looks from across the room.

"I'll tell him. I know. As soon as I know something, I'll call. Thanks," Munch finished the phone call and turned to Elliot who had momentarily stopped his pacing.

"That was the Captain," he started, not sure how to say what he had to say.

"They have Calvin?" Elliot asked, hoping and praying that Munch's tone was hiding how he felt.

"Calvin was not where Lewis said he was. He played us," John gave it to him straight. At this point, Elliot clenched his fists.

"Don't even think about going after Lewis to get the info. He's going to want his attorney. Barba is on his way here. He wants this on the up and up. We only get one more crack at him," Munch told him.

"While we follow procedure my son is out there suffering from God knows what. I can't sit by and do nothing," Elliot spat.

"You can and you will; it's a direct order from a superior officer. You're off the case and I've been instructed to keep you that way. Olivia needs you here when she gets out of surgery. Charlotte needs you here because she needs your help. The team and the Captain will find Calvin. They are the best at what they do," Munch got in his face. At this point Elliot collapsed into the chair next to him. He was angry, really angry, and logic was not going to work for him.

"I know what you're thinking. I've seen that look Stabler. Don't make me shoot you," Munch knew physically he could never take Elliot on so he would have to use any force necessary to stop him from doing something stupid. Olivia was the only one capable of calming him down.

"Yes please Detective I would hate to charge Sergeant Munch with shooting a police officer," ADA Barba joined them after stopping at the nurses' desk. It wasn't hard to guess what was going on between them, especially since Munch had subconsciously moved his hand to where his holster was.

"You had better fry the bastard or I will," Elliot stood up and he was right in Barba's face.

"What did Olivia see in you anyway?" Barba asked. He hadn't had many dealings with Stabler since everyone found out he was still on the force. The occasional bump in when he stopped by the precinct to talk about a case and Elliot was waiting for Olivia. Elliot stood up the rage on his face was plain as day and he was about to do or say something stupid.

"Sit down and shut-up Stabler," Munch ordered as he saw the Detective's fists clench.

"Look, you may not like me and you may not care what I have to say but you will do as you're told because I'll not be the one to tell Olivia you screwed up this case. You got it? We nail this bastard my way and he won't be getting out of prison," The fiery ADA told him. Munch chuckled on the inside for fear of getting his bell rung. Barba was a good guy and he could be a little brusque but that is what Elliot needed right now.

"Now, I'm going to see Lewis as they tell me his attorney is already here," Barba explained.

"Can't you call the Bar on his lawyer? I mean they did seem a little too close, if you get my drift," Munch spoke up.

"Oh I intend to threaten, don't worry. I want to play it close to the vest until I have better proof or at least some way to embarrass him in court," Barba smirked and took his leave of the two men and the baby.

Just then the surgeon exited the emergency doors and Elliot forgot all about Barba. He stood up and the doctor made his way over to him.

"I'm Doctor Stevenson. Are you her husband?" He asked.

"Yes, I am. How bad is it Doctor?" Elliot wanted to know.

"I'm assuming you're the detective helping with the case?" Stevenson skipped over the question.

"One of the many," Munch said.

"All right then you can come with me," the doctor was still being cryptic and the two of them weren't sure what that was all about. If Olivia was in bad shape, he'd have come right out and said something right?

They followed him down the hall and into a little room where there were x-rays on the wall. The two detectives looked at each other hoping they weren't Olivia's.

"Detective Benson suffered major damage to her ribcage and internal organs. What I am most concerned about is the bullet that was partially lodged in her spine," Stevenson paused and Elliot practically fell down.

"What happened Doc?" Munch asked.

"The best guess is that the bullet entered her stomach, cut through her internal organs, and stuck in her spinal column. The good news is that we have her all stitched up and that her broken ribs will heal. The better news is that the bullet wasn't lodged very deeply having lost momentum by the time it got there. The swelling around her vertebrae is such that we can't tell if she can move her lower limbs just yet. It will take a few days but with any luck she'll be able to regain every normal function. We may need to go in and stabilize the region after the swelling goes down but we won't know if that's absolutely necessary until we see what her range of motion is. We've got a specialist coming in from Buffalo. He's handled spine trauma similar to this before and he should be able to figure out what the next step is. In the meantime we are following his instructions to the letter," Stevenson explained.

"How bad are the other injuries?" Elliot asked.

"She had severe bruising from what appeared to be fists. Her kidneys are bruised and we removed the spleen. She has four broken ribs, one of which punctured a lung. Whoever did this was very angry and very methodical. He intended to make her suffer," the doctor said.

"Was she sexually assaulted?" Munch hated to ask but he had to.

"Not as far as I can tell. We're having the nurses check her over now but it appears that most of the damage was sustained with her clothes still on. Either way I am calling in a therapist. She will need to be mentally evaluated due to her trauma," the surgeon told them.

"When can I see her?" Elliot wanted to know.

"Give the nurses at least another thirty minutes. I'll send someone for you," Stevenson gave a slight smile and it was then that Charlotte started to cry.

"Somebody's hungry aren't they?" Munch gave a smile and he quickly exited the room to find the diaper bag that Rollins had grabbed from the apartment. Elliot thanked the doctor and headed back to join Munch.

There he found Barba talking with him. No doubt Munch was filling him in on all the gory details.

"I want an APB put out for his former attorney, Vanessa Mayer, on the double," Barba said as Elliot approached.

"I'll call the Captain," Munch nodded.

"What's going on?" Stabler wanted to know.

"Vanessa Mayer is no longer Lewis' attorney. Her replacement says that she didn't show up for work this morning and no one could reach her at home. They were just about to send someone to her apartment to see what was up. I'm having Munch get police over there right away," the ADA explained.

"Another victim of Lewis?" Elliot wondered.

"Or she has Calvin," Barba said.

To Be Continued…