A/N: Hey there! Sorry this is late! I hope you like it. :)
Chapter 8
Elliot listened to all the specialist had to say and he spent a lot of the time thinking how they got into this situation in the first place.
"Detective Stabler? Are you still with me?" Dr. Cappacino asked.
"Sorry, I just… it's a lot to take in," Elliot admitted.
"It is but your wife is very healthy and I hardly expect there to be any complications but you really must remember something that I stress to my patients, I can perform surgery, I can run every imaginable test, do everything medically imaginable, but if you don't want to walk again, you won't. As I said before, Olivia sounds like a very strong person so I have no doubt that she does want to walk again. With any luck, surgery won't be necessary but until that swelling goes down, I 'm afraid I can't give you more answers," the doctor smiled.
"Olivia definitely wants to walk doctor believe me. She has two kids she absolutely adores and she has a job that she's the best at and I know she would never give them up unless she was dead," her husband told him.
"I treated a young man with much the same principles. Beautiful wife and family, job he loved…" the doctor trailed off.
"What happened?" Elliot wanted to know.
"He was tackled and he damaged his spinal cord in his neck. The surgery was successful as it could have been. Therapy was painful but he continues to work through it. He can walk, he can talk, and he can hold his children but I could not restore the ability to play the game," the doctor sighed. Elliot guessed that the doctor was probably more upset with himself than the former player was at losing the ability to play football.
"Olivia doesn't play football Doc," he pointed out.
"No, she doesn't but she does chase after criminals. Jumps out of vehicles, runs down sidewalks, and breaks down doors. All this has to be considered when we're dealing with a high impact area of the spine," Cappacino said. Elliot nodded. The long term effects could well last after the whole trauma was over. Between the physical and emotional damage there was a lot that they would have to deal with and the possibility of Olivia being forced to desk duty for the remainder of her twenty year career would probably hurt the worst of all.
"How much longer for the ice bath?" Elliot wanted to know.
"I will certainly let you know. In the meantime, you best get some sleep. She's going to need you when she wakes up," Cappacino smiled. Elliot gave a slight chuckle. As if he could sleep right now. Olivia was in trouble, Calvin was out there somewhere with some crazy guy's former attorney, and Munch was looking after Charlotte. That last one wasn't so bad but he was frazzled at his family being pulled apart. With any luck, some good news would be coming soon.
Fin, Rollins, and Amaro pulled up to the Ranger Station at the branch of Taconic State Park where the Park Police along with the local police department were gearing up to take the cabin.
"The cabin is registered to a Vanessa Lewis. Is she the one you're looking for?" Park Police Officer Stevens asked.
"Lewis? She marry the guy?" Amaro wondered.
"You never know what you'll do when you're faced with the possibility of being tortured and killed," Rollins pointed out.
"She should be Vanessa Mayer but my guess it's her," Fin said as he quickly described her to the officer.
"Sounds like her and she had a boy with her, you say?" He wanted to know.
"Yes, Calvin, Detective Benson's adopted son," Fin handed him a photo.
"That's the one we got from your Captain. I hope you're right and he's in there. Especially since we just got a call saying the blood they found on that cat was a type match to Calvin," the officer said.
"Good God," Amaro looked like he was about to snap.
"I want to brief everybody before we go charging in there. If we get Calvin hurt…" he trailed off. The three detectives looked at each other. They couldn't let that happen.
"My guess is Detective Benson would probably kill all three of you, with that look you just gave each other. She'd probably know how to do it so they never found you either," Stevens had a chuckle at their expense before calling for quiet in the room.
"The suspect Vanessa is possibly a victim herself so we need to proceed with caution. She probably doesn't want to hurt Calvin but she thinks she has no choice. We highly doubt she knows the man responsible for her fear is in the hospital under the watchful eyes of some officers. That being said, if she is cornered, she may do something stupid. Let us try to negotiate first," Fin explained.
"And if she starts taking pot shots at us?" An Officer asked.
"The primary objective is to retrieve Calvin safely. We have no way of seeing inside the cabin except from the windows right?" Rollins wanted to know.
"There is no second point of entry. The front door is the only way in and out so the opportunity to sneak in gear is not very good," Stevens explained.
"We want to be careful. We have to assume that she is going to be able to see us coming. Now let's get out there and resolve this thing safely," Fin finished up and everyone piled out of the Ranger Station and into their vehicles.
"I hope you're right and we can get Calvin safely," Rollins looked worried and it was a little off-putting for her partner.
"I know we can," he gave a slight smile. Ever since she took a bullet for him, he'd noticed a slight change in her behavior. They'd been partners for a little while now but he could tell that she feared for his safety, maybe a little more than she should. Not that he didn't want the attention, that wasn't it, but he didn't want her doing something crazy either. Their relationship was just starting to get interesting and he didn't want it to end prematurely.
"So how do you want to do this?" Amaro asked, breaking the uneasy tension that had shrouded the car.
"I think it's best to announce who we are and why we're here. She may give up when she hears the place is surrounded," Fin said. Amaro relaxed slightly in the back seat. He worried that it wasn't going to be as easy as Fin had made it sound.
They pulled up the driveway the cabin and quickly everyone piled out of their vehicles. Fin got the bull horn out of the car and started the conversation with,
"Vanessa this is Detective Tutuola of the NYPD. Come out with your hands up and we'll end this." It was at that point that Fin saw movement inside the cabin. One of the windows facing him opened.
"You know I can't do that. Billy… he'll…" she trailed off.
"Lewis is in police custody at the hospital. Detective Stabler gave him what for," Fin explained.
"How can I be sure you're telling the truth? I know what happens to people who don't do as he wants," Vanessa said.
"That's why we're here. We're here to make sure that you can go home and be safe. You can help us convict Lewis," Fin told her.
"Attorney-client privilege," she pointed out.
"Broken the minute he got a new lawyer and started talking deal to ADA Barba," the detective said. It wasn't entirely true. As far as he knew, Munch and Barba were still hoping for some sort of confession.
"He has a new lawyer? Do they know what happens when they don't listen to him?" She asked.
"I don't think so but only you can tell us. We found your clues. We have Fluffy. We just want everyone to be safe," Fin pleaded, hoping he was getting through to her.
"Is Fluffy ok?" Vanessa wanted to know.
"The lab techs love him and they are taking good care of him," Fin told her.
"All right. I want to give myself up but I need to believe that Billy is in custody," Vanessa was obviously nervous.
"I can get my Captain on the line to tell you or ADA Barba. Anything you need but you need to let me know how Calvin is doing," the detective said.
"He's fine. A bump on the head and a cut on his finger," Vanessa smiled slightly.
"Can I talk to him?" Fin wanted to know. There was silence followed by scuffling.
"Uncle Fin?" The voice was thin as if he'd not spoken in a while.
"I'm here bud. We're going to work this out, I promise," he told the scared kid.
"Put ADA Barba on the phone and then we'll both come out," Vanessa said. That's when Officer Stevens interrupted.
"There's no cell service out here," he whispered to Fin.
To Be Continued…