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Elliot ran a hand down his face as he laid in bed. Her perfume covered his bed. Her presence was missing though. Her ghost haunted him as if she had died in this room. It could've been that way. It had been days since Elliot had seen her. Calls weren't answered and texts were ignored. It was as if she disappeared completely from their lives.
He knew that the kids had talked to Olivia. Daniel and Nick were both mad at him even though they didn't know why Olivia had left. Katie was too little to understand what was going on between the two, but missed the woman who became a mother figure in the past year. The house seemed empty without her, and seemed like the world just wasn't spinning without her walking around the house.
His train of thought was interrupted when his bedroom door opened. The little face that appeared around the door was tear stained and red. "Daddy? Can I sleep in here tonight?" Katie asked, half of her face hiding behind the door.
"Of course, princess, come here." Elliot said patting the blankets on the bed next to him. His daughter closed the door quickly before climbing into the bed, huddling up next to him. He wiped away the tears on her face and kissed her head. "What's wrong?"
"I miss Mommy." Katie whimpered into his chest, hugging herself. She sniffled, her little nose twitching from use of her facial muscles.
"I know you do, sweetie. I miss her too." Elliot breathed as he rubbed her back. He laid down further so she could cuddle into his chest. "I wish she would come home too. But, Daddy messed up. I don't know how to make it up to her."
Katie looked up at him, playing with his chin like she often did when he didn't wear a tie. "Have you tried?"
Elliot sighed. "I tried calling her. Honey, she just doesn't want to talk to me." He kissed her forehead and frowned when she felt warmer than usual. "Honey, are you hot?"
"No, I'm cold." Katie stated before rubbing her nose with her arm. "Daniel and I went down to get ice cream. We put peanuts on it."
"Oh no! He forgot." Elliot blurted out before turning on his light. He looked back at Katie to find her face blotchy, the red patches of skin appearing on her neck too. "We need to go to the hospital."
Katie wrapped her arms around Elliot's neck when he picked her up. "Why?"
"Because, you are allergic." Elliot stated as he hurried down the hallway, waking up the boys and running down to the car.
Elliot ran into the hospital with Katie in his arms. "Please, help me!" He panted as his eyes filled with tears. "My daughter had peanuts and she's allergic. She's just starting to have trouble breathing!"
Two of the nurses hurried around with a doctor and took her from him, laying her on a gurney. The doctor opened her mouth to look down her throat. "It's closing up! Get her moving now!" He said before they started running down the hallway.
"Dad, I'm sorry. I forgot." Daniel apologized again.
Elliot hugged his son, cupping the back of his head. "It's not your fault. She's going to be fine, okay. It was a mistake." He paused, trying to keep the emotion out of his voice. He almost lost his daughter the first time they were put into this situation and it was nerve wrecking waiting for the doctors to report back to them about his daughter's condition. "Katie will be just fine."
"Nick!" A voice called from the hospital doors. They all turned to find Olivia running for them, her face showing the fear that was probably on all of their faces. "What happened? Is Katie alright?"
Daniel accepted her hug when she offered her open arms. "I accidently gave her peanuts. I forgot she was allergic."
"They just took her back. It's not looking good." Nick said pointing down the hallway that the nurses took Katie.
Olivia teared up and covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh my God!" She breathed into her hand before looking at Daniel. "This isn't your fault, okay? It was an accident." Daniel nodded at her before sniffling. She glanced at Elliot, seeing the redness around his eyes, before looking between the two boys. "Why don't you guys go get something to eat or drink? We may be here for a while." She kissed both of their heads before they walked off in search of food. Turning back to Elliot, her heart broke seeing everything he was feeling in his eyes. The heartbreak, the worry, the guilt, the love. "Hey El."
"Hey." Elliot breathed.
"Come here." Olivia whispered holding out her arms, not being able to handle to stand there doing nothing any longer. His arms enveloped her torso, hers around his shoulders. "Is it really that bad, El?" Elliot nodded into her shoulder, holding her tighter. Olivia teared up, feeling the weight of everything start to take down her walls.
"Okay, John, I'll keep you posted." Elliot said into his phone before hanging up. He leaned back in his chair in the waiting room next to Olivia. The boys were exhausted and had school in the morning, so John came and took them home so they could get some sleep. Even though Elliot insisted that Olivia do the same, she refused and marked her place in the cushioned seat next to him. "The boys are in bed. They said goodnight."
Olivia smiled lightly, nodding her head. "That's good. At least they can relax for a little bit." She ran a hand through her hair before closing her eyes briefly. "How have you been?"
Elliot shrugged. "I've been living in a house of hell. It's too quiet. I know why too." He leaned on his thighs, looking at her over his shoulder.
Olivia opened her eyes to see that smirk on his face. It was playful, yet so sad. She didn't know how to react at first, but her instinct was to protect herself. She didn't want to end up alone and hurt because he wouldn't state that she was his girlfriend. "You know very well that it's quiet because of you."
"I screwed up, Liv. I know that." Elliot whispered, all humor gone from his face now.
"Yeah, you did. But, it wasn't the first time and I told you I didn't like it when you introduced me as just your nanny. It makes it pretty obvious what you think of me." Olivia said situating her purse in her lap.
Elliot frowned, his confusion evident in his features. "Liv, I think the world of you. You could not mean more to me even if you tried to do so."
Olivia shook her head, tears forming in her eyes, but a small smile forming on her face. "Why do you have to say such sweet things that make me weak at the knees, but treat me as your employee to everyone else? It just doesn't add up, El."
"I... I just don't want anyone to try and take you away." Elliot whispered, making her scoff. "No, listen to me." He said putting his hand on her knee. She looked at him, clearly not happy about the situation. But, she stayed seated next to him. She was willing to try. "Everything good in my life, everything I ever accomplished, has always been taken away or topped. In my eyes, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I just didn't want to lose you. But in trying to keep you away from everything that could take you away, I lost you anyway."
"Elliot, I get to choose. And, guess what?" Olivia asked him, leaning towards him so her hand was on his chest. "I chose you. People change their minds, their ways, all the time. El, I can't promise you forever. You can't promise me that either. But, I can promise you that I will try, because I don't want to lose you either."
Elliot let a grin form on his face. At least, he knew she wanted him. That was one thing he had feared. "Does that mean you'll come back home?"
"I don't know." Olivia sighed biting her lip. She looked down at her hands. "You have to prove to me that you aren't going to fall into your same patterns again."
"I can do that." Elliot whispered nodding his head. It wasn't the answer he was hoping for, but it was a step in that direction. That was all he could ask for. It was probably more than what he should ask for, but he had to ask for it or risk losing himself.
"Katie Stabler's family?" A doctor asked from the nurses' desk.
Elliot stood up with Olivia and walked over to the doctor. "Hi, I'm Katie's father. This is Katie's mother." He said before shaking hands with the doctor. "How is our daughter?" Olivia squeezed his hand with hers.
The doctor cleared his throat before speaking. "She's awake."
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