As the bar and his coworkers who were standing helplessly in the street, began disappearing from site, Olivia's hand fell from Elliot's and her heart stopped beating.

Elliot was on the verge of a panic attack. The waiting room that he had be ushered into as the wheeled Olivia to the operating room was beginning to spin around him but still he couldn't sit still. He hadn't had her back. He should have never left her alone. He should have stayed closer, protected her, killed that bastard himself, anything but what he actually did, which was nothing. His other half, his partner, his best friend was bleeding out in a goddamn hospital because he hadn't done his job. At that moment he would have given his last breath to see her open her eyes and know that she was okay. He was suddenly nauseated and ran to the garbage bin to relieve his stomach. Standing up shakily, Elliot let his emotions out in the only way he knew how without Olivia.

And this is how his co-workers found him; on the floor, cradling his fist in his lap, with a few rather large dents in the drywall above him. Maybe it was the divorce, the stress of finding out his family was falling apart but Elliot had suddenly realized that Olivia was his foundation and the only safe place he had ever had and he had absolutely no idea who he would become if she didn't survive.

Cragen bent down and rested his hand on Elliot's back. "C'mon, detective, let's get you up and get you some water."

Elliot stood up carefully and allowed Cragen and Fin to help him to a nearby chair while Munch went to find a bottle of water and a nurse for Elliot's hand. Elliot lowered his face into his hands and remained that way until Munch returned. The nurse bandaged Elliot's swollen hand and fingers and together the four detectives began a grueling wait to hear news about Olivia.

Sometime during the night, Elliot dozed off into a nightmare filled sleep. All he could see was her eyes and he watched helplessly as they filled with blood and then closed. He woke with a start when someone called his name.

"Elliot Stabler?"

"Yes? Oh, doctor. How is she?!" Elliot tripped over himself trying to stand quickly and his movements roused the other detectives.

"The next few hours will be touch and go. As you know," he nodded towards Elliot, "she coded in the ambulance and then once more on the operating table." Fin caught Elliot before he fell at this news. "The shot must have been angled so it went in through her back. It was a clean shot, through and through. It nicked an artery and part of one of her kidneys but she's going to be fine. We stitched her up, she'll need physical therapy and will be in a significant amount of pain for a few weeks but she's alive. She's extremely lucky."

Elliot and the other detectives drew in shaky breaths. Only Cragen had the presence of mind to thank the doctor while Much and Fin gather around an already sitting Elliot.

"She gonna be okay, Elliot." Munch said, reassuringly.

"Yeah. Yeah she is. Thank God."

Olivia blinked slowly and opened her eyes, momentarily blinded by the fluorescent light of the recovery room.

"Hi, Detective. Glad to see you're awake." A young nurse, brunette nurse smiled down at a very confused Olivia.

"What?" Olivia croaked, mouth parched from the breathing tube that had been inserted during the surgery.

"How are you feeling?" The nurse continued while she check the bags of fluid hanging by Olivia's bedside.

"Terrible. What's going on?"

"You were injured in the line of duty. I'll page your doctor so he can tell you more. Would you like for me to bring your family in to see you? They've been waiting quite a while."

"I don't have family, you must be mistaken." Olivia stated, trying to readjust in the bed but having very little luck.

"Hmm…they've been harassing me about every five minutes for a report. Are you sure they're not family? One of them has a vein the bulges in his neck when he gets angry."

"Elliot's here?" Olivia's heart rate elevated and she suddenly felt very desperate to see him.

"Oh, so you knew who I was referring to, huh? They certainly think of you as their family."

"Yeah, they do. Can you bring the one with the anger problem in please?" Olivia gave a half smile and the nurse nodded.

"Just for a few minutes and then you need to rest By the way, you probably shouldn't try to move for a while. Don't want you to bust your stitches." The nurse called as she left the room.

Elliot did all he could to not sprint to Olivia's room. When the nurse had come in and said she was asking for him, he about knocked her over on his way out. As he approached her room, he straightened is very wrinkled white undershirt and gently knocked on the door before pushing it open.

Olivia, pale, bruised and drugged, had to be the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. He softly approached her bedside and clasped her hand, prompting her eyelids to flutter open. She turned her head slowly and looked down at Elliot who had tears running down his cheeks.

"Hey, El."

"Hey." Elliot choked. "How are you feeling?"

"Confused. What happened?"

"You don't remember? I failed you, Liv. I didn't protect you and you got hurt. Really hurt." The tears streamed faster now but as he turned to wipe them away, Olivia raised her hand and cupped the side of his face, brushing away some of his tears with her thumb.

"Shhh…El, it's okay. I'm okay."

Elliot turned into her hand and brought his own up to cover hers. The two sat like that for a few moments until the doctor came in.

"Olivia, how are you feeling?" The doctor's voice seemed to boom in the small room.

He was a large man with a tinge of gray running through his dark hair, significantly taller than Elliot with large features.

"Great. When can I go home?"

Elliot eyed the doctor and burst out laughing.

"Liv, slow down honey."

"I get the sense that you don't like hospitals, Olivia." The doctor stated with a lilt of humor in his voice.

"That would be an understatement." Confirmed Elliot.

"Well, Olivia we will try to get you out of here as soon as possible but you've been through some major surgery so let's take our time with this." He smiled kindly at her as she settled back into the bed.

"Okay, so what happened?" Olivia's pain meds were starting to kick in and she closed her eyes briefly, as she reached for Elliot's hand.

"Elliot, you better listen for her. She's going to be out in a moment. Those pain meds are a doozy!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Olivia piped up quite hoarsely.

"Okay, little lady. If you say so." The doctor chuckled. "Well, as far as gunshots to the abdomen go, this one was one of the luckiest shots I have seen. The bullet was a through and through. Nicked an artery and one of your kidneys, but other than that, no major organs or arteries were affected."

Olivia had gone paler than the sheets she was lying on.

The doctor continued. "So you have quite a few stitches across your abdomen. Those will need to be removed in about a week. I've got you on heavy antibiotics to prevent infection as well as percocet to help with the pain. I will get you home in a couple days and you can continue your bed rest there with supervision of course. You will be on bed rest for at least six weeks for your abdomen and another three for your heart."

Olivia stared straight through the doctor, lost in thought until Elliot began rubbing her arm tenderly.

"O...okay, thank you doctor." She nodded at him shakily.

"Do you have any questions, Olivia?"

"No." She closed her eyes and the doctor took the hint. He nodded at Elliot, patted him on the shoulder and left the room.

"El."

"Yeah, babe?"

"What happened to your hand?" Olivia eyed his bandages with concern.

"I fought a wall and the wall won."

"Ah. I see." Olivia gave a weak smile and then turned stoic again.

"Elliot, how did I get here? I don't remember anything."

"You sure you want to know?"

Olivia nodded.

Elliot took a deep, steadying breath and began:

"We were in the club. The sleazeball rapist made a pass at you so we decided to pursue that and see if we could get him without using Officer Hudson. But, he made us. Actually, he knew exactly who we were by name which was odd. He held a gun to your side and I couldn't get there fast enough. Liv, I'm so sorry. Officer Hudson had been hiding in the bar. She startled him and he shot you. Hudson killed him. I froze, Liv. I couldn't do anything. You kept telling me to leave but I couldn't do anything." Elliot was on the verge of tears again so Olivia squeezed his hand to calm him. "You coded twice. I watched the life drain out of you in the ambulance and I guess once they had you on the operating table, you coded again. Liv, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. I'm here and I'm fine…"

"Okay, Olivia time to get you moved into your room for the next few days!" The bubbly nurse returned, breaking the somber air in the room and making Elliot jump in his chair.

"How's the hand, Rambo?" The nurse joked with Elliot who offered a small smile while rubbing his bandages.

"It's fine. Thanks for your help earlier."

"Not a problem!" the nurse chortled while adjusting Olivia's fluids and taking her vitals. "Okay, Olivia, I need to check your bandages now which may cause a little discomfort. Elliot, would you mind waiting outside for a bit?"

"No. It's okay. He can stay." Olivia responded quickly, reaching out her hand for his. She needed his strength.

Olivia winced in pain and squeezed Elliot's hand while the nurse removed and re-bandaged her wound. Elliot tried to distract her with conversation but when that didn't work, he found himself simply stroking her cheek and hair. This seemed to have the most impact as Olivia physically relaxed each time he placed his hand on the crown of her head or passed his thumb over her cheekbone. Maybe it was the drugs or just the situation, but Elliot was quite certain that he and Olivia had never been this physical with one another. He relished every second and every touch. She did the same though made no acknowledgement of it.

Once Olivia's wound had been tended to, the nurse wheeled her bed to a private room on the third floor. As Olivia was getting settled, Elliot phoned Cragen and told him Olivia's new room number. The three men arrived a few moments later having detoured at the gift shop. The sight of Fin holding a pink stuffed teddy bear was enough to make even Olivia laugh though she did so gently for fear of hurting herself. Cragen placed a bouquet of flowers by her bed and Munch and Fin took their places on either side of her. They chatted for a few moments, everyone expressing their joy that she was going to be okay, before the nurse came back and shooed them out. Cragen, Fin, and Munch bid their goodbyes and promised to come back tomorrow. The nurse eyed Elliot carefully as if expecting him to leave as well but as he settled in the chair next to Olivia and grasped her hand, she decided not to fight it. Olivia was in for a long night and she just might need him by her side.