Eileen told the two men that she was going to go take a rest in the room. Nick and his former captain watched her go. Just after the door closed, Cragen turned to Nick.
"How bad is it?" That was the one thing pressing against his mind, the only thing.
Nick hesitated, already telling Cragen what he was afraid to know. "Doctor says her lung might collapse again. If it does, she'll go into cardiac arrest."
The terrified detective tried to keep his voice even to no avail. He didn't need to hide anything.
"We just have to wait." Nick nodded then.
The connecting door to the room opened after he'd finished the sentence. Amanda and Fin both came through, sad smiles on their faces.
"Captain." Amanda said softly, approaching him and taking him into a hug.
Cragen gratefully accepted the short hug, followed by Fin's.
"You don't waste any time." Fin commented sadly. As he looked into his superior's eyes, he saw the concern he too felt.
"Not today." Cragen shook his head in answer.
Door slid open again slowly when Munch and Brian came through.
"The world traveler, back on his home turf." Munch said, unable to make it sound like a lighthearted joke. There was no joke.
Cragen felt his tears starting to come again as he saw how his old friends and colleagues had all come together to keep each other from falling.
"I'm sorry this is why you had to come back." Munch whispered in his ear as he hugged him tightly.
Brian swallowed hard, still pained by the huge lump in his throat. Cragen had rushed home from a once-in-a-lifetime cruise to be with them as they tried to get Olivia back. Brian didn't even have a chance to say anything, because when Munch released Cragen from the embrace they shared, the captain closed the distance between himself and Brian.
"Brian." His tone was soft and sympathetic. Of all the people hurting, Brian had to have been hurting the most. "I'm so sorry."
Brian accepted his arms around him, hugging back with an emotional intensity.
"She finally got him." Brian pushed the words from his throat as he held Cragen's frame. The older man nodded against him.
"Yes she did." He pulled his arms tighter against Brian, comforting him.
"What a hero she is." He finished, feeling the tightness in his chest again.
Three miles from where Olivia lay withered, Emily lay in her own bed, eyes closed as her body continued in a deep sleep. The nightmares didn't wake her, only dragging her further into the night. The rain hitting the window of the room created the music that brought back the sounds of the rain pattering on the giant building that horrid man had kept her in.
She had waited for someone, anyone to come help her. Someone had to know she was gone. Someone had to know where she was.
She moved unconsciously as the nightmare, lived hours before, continued.
:::
The screams of the woman who had come to save her got louder and longer than they had been before. Emily could see nothing, but despite her hands covering her ears, she could hear every cry of agony that came from the pitch blackness. Her heart beat so fast that she thought it was going to crush itself against her rib cage.
When he stopped, maybe he would let them go. Maybe after hurting her enough, he would let them leave.
It felt like ants and other bugs with microscopic legs were crawling over her arms and legs. Her body was rigged with chills as arms of shadows reached out into the room where she was bound and tried to grab her. Faces jumped out of the shadows, laughing at her. Why wouldn't it stop?
:::
Emily finally sat up, awakened by her dream in a violent jump. Her breaths came fast from deep in her chest, her eyes darting from the walls to the ceiling. The rain still hitting her window, the darkness outside only made it seem like she'd never awoken at all. She cried out.
"Mom!" Her chest heaved again.
"Olivia!" Maybe, like before, even though her mother couldn't save her, Olivia would.
When no one came through the door, Emily began to cry. "Anyone."
The door flew open, Lacy's face of concern accompanying her into the room. She moved quickly to the side of the bed.
"I'm right here, Emily. It was just a nightmare." Lacy wrapped her arms around her daughter and hugged Emily while she cried. What terror she'd been through.
"It's ok." She repeated in a whisper, rocking her daughter out of the shaken state she was in.
"I'm supposed to be brave." Emily said softly. "But I'm scared." Her voice shook dramatically.
Lacy felt her own tears beginning to fall down her cheeks. At least her daughter was still there with her. She was alive.
"Me too." She said.
The screams rang in Emily's ears again. She covered them.
"He hurt her so bad." She squinted her eyes shut. "She was screaming so loud."
Emily kept telling her mother what she'd been dreaming back to. Lacy listened to the retelling with pain filtering through her body. That woman had been a complete stranger to Emily, but she'd saved her from the pain. Emily wasn't hardly touched.
Such bravery, she thought.
"When she held me, she was shaking." Emily's voice dropped low as she uncovered her ears and leaned further into the protection her mother offered.
"I asked her if he would hurt her again." Emily was back in the granary, remembering everything as she experienced it again.
Lacy held her tight.
Emily felt the nod against her as Olivia had done. "She said yes."
Chills immediately coiled down Lacy's spine and through every fiber of her body.
"Mom." Emily was suddenly composed and quiet. It scared her mother.
"Yeah, Honey." The sound of thunder rumbling through the city filled the pause Emily gave.
"Is she ok?"
Lacy sighed deeply. She wanted to be able to tell Emily that Olivia was ok. In reality, she had no idea. She'd been so worried about her daughter that she paid no attention to the state of the woman who had saved her daughter's life.
"I don't know, Em." Lacy whispered. "How about I go make you some hot chocolate and check?"
Emily looked up to find Lacy's comforting eyes in hers. She nodded silently.
The evidence was collected, the scene still remaining as the investigators left. The crimson of blood stained the floor, even after it was cleaned. The fingerprints stood out in the darkened dust on every wall and window. It left an eerie reminder of the ghosts who had fought their battles there.
The last vehicle left at 3:00, a full week's work for those who carried the evidence away. The barricades held back an invisible crowd. The people dispersed shortly after 12:00 that afternoon when the torrential rains opened the skies.
The officers all had a different sort of feeling inside that building. Whenever a case involved one of their own, it was different. It reminded them that it could happen to any one of them at any time. Then it reminded them that their lives had not been the ones in danger because of the officer down. It helped them remember that the oath they took was to be faithful until death. When they saw that that sacrifice had been made, it humbled them in their job.
It wasn't just a job. It was a duty, a lifestyle. The badges never came off. Though they weren't on duty all the time, every man and woman on the force knew what their job was. They had to be ready to do whatever it took to protect the people of the city that they loved.
The building stood alone again after the last officer left. It rose into the foggy sky with an ominous presence. Radiating from it was a strange feeling of remorse.
As the squad sat with their former captain in the room trying to talk everything out, Nick's phone rang. He answered though he didn't recognize the number.
"Sorry." He apologized to the group and then stepped into the room to the left.
"Detective Amaro." He answered while he shut the door behind him. The darkness in the room made him shiver.
"Detective, it's Lacy - Lacy Haitcamp. We met earlier today." The woman's voice on the other end was familiar.
Nick could picture the face in his mind. "Is everything ok?" All he could think about was the little girl, that poor girl.
Lacy didn't answer the question. She just asked one of her own. "The woman who saved Emily - Olivia - is she going to be alright?"
The last word gave away the inner conflict she felt. Nick swallowed hard.
"I don't know." He regretted to reply. The images of Olivia in that white room, blending into the sheets with her pale skin all flooded back to him. He squinted his eyes shut to try and make them go away, but they became more vivid.
"She was stabbed twice. Her lung collapsed." Nick had to remain objective. He had to sound like he was as strong as he wished he could be.
"She's not breathing on her own."
Lacy's pause was one of terrible disbelief. She couldn't say anything until she cleared her throat. "She saved my little girl."
The tears were evident, though Nick could not see her eyes. They leaked through her voice into the phone.
"Can you do me a favor?" She asked quietly.
Nick swallowed what felt like a ball of pins. "Anything." He nodded, even if she couldn't see him.
"Will you call - just to let us know how she's doing?" Lacy took a deep breath and wiped the few tears from her cheeks.
Nick was able to smile for but a millisecond. "Absolutely."
When he hung up the phone, Nick took a few minutes to himself. It was all just too much. After entering the room with the others, he could tell what they were thinking.
Had that been the call? Was she gone?
Nick looked down and shook his head. "That was Lacy Haitcamp. She wants us to call with updates."
He assured them that it hadn't been what they thought. The collective sigh of relief was almost audible.
"Emily was holding Liv's badge when we found her." Amanda was talking to no one in particular. She was just reminding herself of the touching feeling it gave her, knowing Olivia had given up her badge for the little girl. It reminded her of the haunting emptiness she'd felt. Olivia's last sign of authority had been voluntarily given to the girl.
Brian hadn't known. He allowed his head to go back against the headboard as he sat in the bed.
"I thought she was finally getting better." He said softly.
The words cut them all to the heart. Would she get that chance again?
Simon was eating pizza around the kitchen counter with his smiling family when his phone rang for the third time. With his mouth full of food, he handed the phone to his son.
"Ty, why don't you answer and see what this hooligan wants."
With a smile, Ty walked into the living room and put the phone to his ear, answering politely. "Hello?"
The reply came faster than he expected. "I'm looking for Simon Marsden - is this the correct phone number?" It was a woman on the other end.
Ty nodded. "Yes. He's my Dad."
"You're a very polite young man. May I speak to him?"
Ty glanced back to where Simon was still eating. "He's eating now. Could you maybe call later?" The boy turned back around.
"It's very important - about a woman named Olivia Benson."
Ty's face lit up. "She's my aunt." He smiled broadly.
"I see." The nurse hated making these calls. The way that little boy piped right up when he heard the name hurt her. She had to deliver the news that his aunt was nearly killed.
"May I talk to your dad?" She didn't want to crush his spirit.
Ty nodded and walked over to Simon. "Dad."
Simon looked at him with a smile. "You take care of him for me?" He put a hand on Ty's head playfully.
"She says it's about Aunt Olivia. It's important."
Simon swallowed hard, putting his pizza down and wiping his hands on the napkin in front of him. He took the phone from Ty.
"Thanks bud." He answered. "This is Simon."
The woman's first words hit him hard. "Sir, you're listed as Olivia Benson's emergency contact."
She paused, hating having to tell him. "She's in Bellevue's ICU."