"We'll bring them back girls, I promise." Olivia said, opening the door as she shrugged into her coat.
Maureen and Kathleen hugged each other tightly as the door closed behind her.
Olivia could not think of a time when she had driven this fast. She was pushing 85 in her NYPD issued Buick with the gumball siren blaring as she whipped down the highway towards Albany. Thoughts raced through her head and her anxiety was rising in her chest but nothing compared to the feeling of being on the job again. This was her first time out since her shooting and she was thankful to feel useful again. Elliot wouldn't be thrilled to see her at first, but he would get over it. Nothing could stop her from helping to get his kids back...and Kathy. She was scared for her too but truth be told, she was much more worried about Dickie and Lizzie because they were so young.
Olivia pulled off at the Albany exit and sped towards mile marker 12 which was the last place she had known Elliot to be headed. She had tried to call him a few times but he hadn't picked up which made her worry slightly. Elliot almost always answered her phone calls, even when it was 4 a.m. and she couldn't sleep.
Coming up on the truck stop, she saw dozens of marked cars towards the West end of the parking lot, lights brightly flashing against the cloudy sky. Olivia pulled up behind them and skidded to a halt. She jumped out of her car and checking that her gun was firmly in place at her hip, raced towards the front of the cars. She flashed her badge at a couple uniforms who stepped up to stop her but they backed off and let her through. Once she passed the first set of cars and chaos of people, she was able to see exactly what the commotion was about.
Olivia stopped dead in her tracks.
Greg had Elliot firmly in his grasp, gun pressed deeply into his temple while Kathy lay at his feet unconscious or dead (Olivia couldn't tell). The twins were in the backseat of the pick up truck crying and holding each other, screaming for their daddy. Everyone was silent except for Munch who was trying to talk Greg down.
"Take it easy, Greg. We don't want anyone to get hurt here." Munch said, taking a few steps towards the men.
"Back, old man! I have no problem dropping Elliot right here!" Greg yelled.
Munch put his hands up and took a few steps back. "Greg, let us take Kathy to a hospital. She needs medical attention right now." Munch stated, eerily calmly.
"Nope. Not until you get Olivia out here. I get Olivia and you get Kathy. That seems like a fair trade to me. What do you think, Elliot? You've had them both now, right? Olivia for Kathy is a step up, isn't it?"
Elliot visibly tensed and tried to wrestle his way out of Greg's grip. "You son-of-a-bitch..." Elliot started but Greg pressed the gun further into the side of his head, forcing Elliot to his knees beside Kathy in pain.
Olivia gasped when she saw this, drawing the attention of Fin and several uniforms who were standing close to her. "Olivia, what the hell are you doing here?!" Fin hissed, trying to pull her away from the scene. Before she could answer, Greg saw her and spoke up.
"Ah, so you did manage to get my bitch of a sister here. Olivia, how about you come join the family? Come here, and I'll let them put Kathy in the ambulance."
Olivia stepped forward, shaking her arm out of Fin's grasp. "Greg, nice to see you again." Olivia half smiled. "Why don't you let the Stabler family go and you and I can talk this out." She inched forward with each word carefully, trying not to arouse his anger.
"I'll give them Kathy and the kids, but you and Elliot are coming with me."
"Greg, you know I can't let you take Elliot. Besides, I thought it was me you were looking for? Didn't you say we were practically family?" Olivia was calm and she could tell Greg was getting more and more reckless. She needed to Elliot out from in front of his gun.
"Practically family? You mean you don't recognize your own brother, Olivia? I mean sure, my dad raped your mom but that doesn't mean he didn't check up on you. In fact, he had every school picture you took, cut out every article you wrote for your high school newspaper; when you graduated high school, he was there; when you moved into your dorm, he was there; when you graduated at the top of your class from Siena, he was there; when you graduated from the Academy, he was there. He saved every picture of you they put in the paper and every picture he took of you on the street or in your apartment alone, or on the job, at a restaurant, buying groceries, visiting your mom. He was at her funeral too. Come to think of it, I think he was there when she fell down the stairs at the subway station..." Greg laughed manically at this while Elliot continued to squirm. "You see, Olivia. This is all for you. Our Daddy's only wish was that you lived a happy life. My brother and my only wish was that you ceased to exist. Daddy never knew right from wrong anyway."
Olivia stood stunned. Her stomach had dropped well below her feet by this point. She looked from Greg, to Elliot, to Kathy, and then at the kids. Her voice was gone. She felt like she had the wind knocked out of her. Not only was Greg related to her but according to him, her father had been stalking her for her entire life. She looked around again at the scene before her. This was all because of her. Another tragedy because she was alive. It was becoming more than she could handle.
Olivia surveyed the scene again and caught Elliot's eyes. She held his gaze as she found her voice and spoke. "Greg, let them go. All of them. And I will do whatever you want." She was broken. There was no fight left in her. She just wanted Elliot and his kids to get as far away from her and the destruction she caused as possible.
"No, Liv!" Elliot cried, earning a hard hit with the barrel of the gun.
"Deal." Greg said, kicking Kathy's unconscious body one last time for good measure. He pushed Elliot on top of Kathy and aimed his gun directly at Olivia.
Unfortunately, Greg had underestimated Elliot's remaining strength. The ground game swift and sudden for Greg as he landed flat on his back, his feet having been lifted up from underneath him. Elliot ripped the gun from his hands and tucked it inside the back of his belt. Uniformed officers and detectives swarmed the scene in a flurry of activity. EMS workers ran for Kathy while Fin and Munch went straight for Greg, relieving Elliot of the responsibility of holding him down. They handcuffed him and dragged him to the back of their squad car. It was a chaotic scene as people rushed to tend to the children, secure the scene and fend off the onlookers and members of the media who were starting to gather.
In all of the commotion, Olivia had not moved. She remained standing, staring at the place where Greg had been standing moments ago as if frozen in her own thoughts. Her mouth was slightly open in shock.
Elliot glanced over at her from his position beside Lizzie and Dickie in the back of a second ambulance and immediately stood up and rushed to her side.
"Liv!" He called, as he jogged up to her. She shook her head slightly and brushed her hands through her hair, breaking her concentration. Suddenly, she was on the ground. Her legs had given out and she had nothing left in her body holding her up.
Elliot was there in an instant and knelt down to wrap his arms around her. "Liv, honey. It's okay. Shh...it's okay." He cooed, running his hands in her hair. She was still, quiet, and unresponsive as if she was completely unaware of her surroundings. Elliot called for the paramedics to come over. "She's in shock. You've got to get her to a hospital and get her some sedatives." Elliot ordered. The paramedics nodded in agreement and went to get a stretcher for her. Elliot bent down and picked her up in his arms. He carried her to the waiting gurney and placed her gently on. Olivia closed her eyes and let herself be taken away without argument.
Elliot sat by Olivia's bedside stroking her hair. It had been three days since she was admitted and she had yet to wake up. The nurses had kept her sedated for the first few hours but Olivia had been content to remain asleep since then. The twins had been released a few hours after they were admitted. A few scratches and bruises but nothing to be worried about, at least not physically. Kathy had suffered a major concussion but was also going to be fine. She was at home with the children and Kathleen and Maureen were doing a fantastic job of taking care of her.
Olivia, however, was another story altogether. Physically, she was fine. Mentally, not so much and Elliot was scared. He sat by her bedside everyday and talked to her. He read her the morning paper, told her about all the things they were going to do when she got out of the hospital, talked to her about how the kids were doing and how Kathy was recovering but there had been no change.
It was nearing the end of visitor's hours for the day when a nurse came in to check Olivia's vitals. Elliot stood up and moved out of the way to allow her enough room to work. "Has there been any change?" Elliot asked, timidly, knowing what the answer would be.
"Not yet, Mr. Stabler. I'm sure it will be soon." The nurse, who was a plump, older woman with a kind smile and sunny outlook replied. She reminded Elliot of a fat Mary Poppins and he was becoming a little annoyed at her persistent optimism. He wanted someone to just tell him the truth. The doctor had been in on day one to explain that sometimes with psychological breaks, the brain needs time to heal itself or to cope with whatever information it received. It could take Olivia hours or days, depending on how quickly her brain worked and Elliot needed to be patient. This was not a virtue at which he excelled.
When the nurse left, Elliot bent down and brushed his lips tenderly against Olivia's. He whispered his love in her ear, kissed her forehead, and then picked up his coat to leave.
Walking out into the crisp New York air, Elliot found himself praying, something he had been doing a lot of lately. He prayed for Olivia to understand that this wasn't her fault but knowing her, that's exactly what she was thinking right now.
He jumped in his jeep and set off towards his Manhattan apartment, spirits slightly raised with hope with what a new day would bring. Tomorrow, he would grab the paper and set off to the hospital, just like he had done for the previous three days. He would sit with Olivia until they kicked him out and then he would do it again the next day. He wouldn't abandon her. Not now, not after everything they had been through together. He would be patient and wait for her to come back to him.