Okay...last time I am reposting this. No more author's notes. Say what you want to me. I am not addressing the issue anymore. I will try to finish this story for those who want to read it.
Nick was still holding onto Olivia as they walked into the hospital. He was worried about her. She'd been dealing with so much already concerning the pregnancy, and he was afraid that finding out her fiancé was in critical condition and laying on the operating table while doctors tried to save him was more than she could take. There was no doubt in his mind that she was strong, but there was only so much one person could take.
Maureen was sitting in a chair, holding onto Noah who was crying and failing to keep an eye on Kate who had discovered the rack of magazines in the corner and was close to knocking them over. Nick put his free hand on the magazine rack to steady it, and released Olivia from his grasp while she rushed over to Elliot's daughter. "What's going on?" she asked. "How is he?"
Maureen's eyes were red and swollen, and she shook her head, "I don't know," she cried. "They won't tell me anything other than he's in surgery. They said someone would come out and update me, but I've been here almost an hour." She looked at Noah, whose cries and turned to screams and patted his back, "He won't stop crying…"
"It's okay," Olivia nodded. As worried as she was, she could tell Maureen was worse off. She took Noah from her and held him close, trying to soothe his cries as she walked to the front desk. The nurse was on the phone, and it was obviously a personal call, as she giggled and avoided eye contact with Olivia. "Excuse me…" Olivia tried to remain calm as the woman put her finger up to signal she'd be done in a minute. Olivia pulled out her badge, flashing at the woman, "I really need some help here…" She said again as the woman hung up the phone with an exasperated sigh.
"What can I do for you officer?" the woman asked.
"Sergeant…" Olivia sputtered. "And you can tell me where the hell my fiancé is. He was brought in earlier today after the bank robbery. My step-daughter says you haven't been very helpful with her, but you are damn well going to be helpful to me!"
"Ma'am…" the woman looked at Noah, still crying as he clung to his mother. "I don't have any information, other than the fact that he is in surgery. That's what I told his daughter. Maybe you should call someone to take your little boy home. He's been very upset up here."
"Of course he's upset!" Olivia yelled. "His father is God only knows where and the rest of us are frantic waiting to hear some news. What is going on with Elliot Stabler? Tell me now!"
"Liv," Nick walked over to her, "Let me take the baby." He reached for Noah and Olivia handed him over reluctantly. "You need to calm down…getting yourself all worked up isn't going to change a thing."
"What am I supposed to do?" she cried. "Just sit here and wait? I don't want them to come out and tell me he's gone…"
Nick knew her biggest fear was a possibility, but he prayed that wouldn't happen. Since Elliot had come back into her life, Olivia was a new person. Happier than she'd been in a long time. "All you can do is be strong for him…be strong for the kids…Liv, they need you."
She brushed away the tears that were falling down her cheeks and looked at Maureen who was still sitting, but now had Kate in her lap, clinging to her little girl. She nodded, "You're right…" and she walked over and sat next to her. "They'll let us know when they have news," she whispered, not sure what else to say.
"I called Liz and Dickie," Maureen said sadly. "They're gonna head up from school as soon as they can." She sighed, "And I called Mom. She said she didn't want to tell Eli yet…you know, just in case…" she started to cry again and Olivia put her arms around her and hugged her close. "Olivia…what if he dies?"
"Honey," Olivia held her close, not knowing what to say. "If there is one thing I know about your dad, it's that he's a fighter. He doesn't want to leave us. He's going to fight with everything he has to stay with us."
Nick walked over to them, smiling at Kate who was trying to wriggle out of her mother's arms. "What do you say I take these two to the cafeteria for a while?" he asked. "This isn't the best place for them."
Maureen shook her head, "I don't know…"
"She'll be okay," Olivia promised her and she picked the girl up. "Kate…this is my friend, Nick." The little girl looked curiously at him. "He's gonna take you and Noah to get ice cream, and Mommy and I will be right here waiting for you, okay?" The little girl nodded and took Nick's hand easily.
"He seems nice," Maureen said, watching her daughter walk off with him. "How long have you been partners?"
Olivia sighed, "Ever since your dad left." She shrugged, "He's a very nice guy…the kids will fine."
"I'm looking for Elliot Stabler's family…" a nurse walked into the room, her face grim as she stared at Maureen and Olivia.
They both jumped up and rushed over to her, "Is he okay?" Olivia asked. "Can we see him?"
"Are you his next of kin?" the woman asked.
"I'm his fiancé," Olivia explained. "And this is his daughter."
"Okay, well the doctor would like to speak with you," she motioned toward a door behind the reception desk, "Follow me."
"You can't tell us how he's doing?" Maureen asked anxiously. "Is he alive?"
"The doctor needs to be the one to give you any information," the nurse said gently. Then she led them to the room and they sat there waiting for what seemed like hours, letting their emotions get the best of them.
"Mrs. Stabler? I'm Dr. Myrobi…the neurologist here…" the doctor said as he walked in and shook Olivia's hand.
"Benson…my name is Olivia Benson," she said quickly, not sure why she'd bothered to correct him. "How's Elliot?"
"Is my dad alive?" Maureen asked again, determined to get an answer.
The doctor nodded, "Yes, he's alive. He's in recovery right now and we'll keep him there for a while to monitor him before we move him to ICU."
"ICU?" Olivia asked. "What's happening? Is he going to be okay?"
"The gunshot wound was less severe than it could have been," the doctor assured them. "It grazed the front of his skull and lodged in the left side of his brain."
"Oh God," Maureen gasped. "He was shot in the head?"
"I'm sorry..I thought you knew," the doctor said seriously. "He was shot in the head, but we were able to remove the bullet, and a few small fragments. He was very lucky…if the bullet had lodged just a few centimeters one way or another, he could have had irreparable damage."
"So he's going to be okay?" Olivia asked. "He's going to recover?"
"Right now, he has massive swelling from the force of the bullet and the trauma to his brain," the doctor explained. "We removed a small section of his skull to allow for the swelling and we plan to replace it using synthetic bone once his brain heals. For now, with the swelling, he's in a coma…and we won't know for sure what kind of effects we are dealing with until he wakes up."
Olivia gasped, the words the doctor was saying swirling around in her mind. "What effects?" she asked tearfully.
"There's no way to know right now," the doctor answered. "There could be speech problems, vision problems, trouble with motor skills…or memory," he sighed. "Or he could wake up and be perfectly fine. We'll just have to wait and see."
"How long until he wakes up?" Maureen asked.
The doctor knew they were hoping for specific answers, but with this kind of injury, there were none. "Days…maybe weeks…sometimes it's even months." He looked at them and spoke gently, "The coma is actually a good thing. It is allowing his brain to heal. If he was awake, he'd be at serious risk for stroke. The pain and stress on his body would be too much. And once he does wake up…you should prepare yourselves for a long road of recovery."
Olivia felt sick to her stomach. Thinking of Elliot, in so much pain, not able to help him…it crushed her. "We're having a baby…" she whispered, more to herself than to the doctor. "He's supposed to be there…he wants to be there…"
Maureen reached over, grabbing her hand and holding it tight, "Olivia…" she cried. "He's going to get better before the baby comes." She knew her words were of little comfort, but she was suddenly aware of how pale and weak Olivia looked and she knew her future step-mother had been staying strong for her sake.
"Once we move him to ICU, we'll allow you to see him, briefly," the doctor explained. "We try to restrict visitors, so for tonight I'd prefer it only be one of you."
Olivia and Maureen looked at one another and Maureen nodded, "You stay," she whispered. "I'll take the kids home and wait for Dickie and Lizzie." Then she looked questioningly at her, "Unless you'd rather go home and get some sleep. You need to keep your strength up, for the baby."
"I'm not getting any sleep tonight," Olivia sighed. "I'd rather stay." She put her hand to her stomach and sighed, "I promise I'll rest as much as I can. I'm not going to let your father or this baby down."
"Is there anything else we can do?" Maureen asked the doctor. "Anything to help him?"
"If you believe in prayer…you can do that," the doctor replied. Then he stood up and opened the door, waiting for them to leave the room. "Call if you have questions, and I'll keep you updated as well."
Olivia and Maureen walked out the door, and noticed right away that Nick had returned with Kate and Noah. Kate ran to them, "Mommy…where's Poppy?" she asked as Maureen picked her up.
"He's here baby," Maureen forced a smile. "But he's sick right now. The doctors are making him better."
"I want to see him," she put her head on her mother's shoulder and Maureen stroked the toddler's hair.
"Not right now," she said gently. "Me, you, and Noah are going to go home and wait for Auntie Liz and Uncle Richard…okay?" The little girl nodded, happy to have the chance to see her aunt and uncle, and Maureen looked at Olivia, "Call me…if there's any change…please…"
"I will," Olivia promised as she hugged her and kissed Kate on the cheek. The she took her sleeping son from Nick and kissed him softly, "Daddy's gonna be fine," she made a promise she wasn't sure she could keep.
"I'll help Maureen get the kids in the car. I'll be right back," Nick said and he carried Noah behind Maureen.
Olivia sat back down, not sure what to do now that she was all alone. She wished they'd come out and tell her they had moved Elliot to ICU so she could see him, but she knew it could be hours. The smell of old, burnt coffee filled the room, something she couldn't drink even if she wanted to and she dug around in her purse looking for change for the soda machine. Surely there would be something caffeine free in there. She walked down the hall, stopping to look at the selection and pushing the button, grabbing the can of Sprite and opening it, taking a big drink. She noticed two police officers, talking with Dr. Myrobi and she could tell from their hushed tones they were talking about Elliot. Her instincts kicked in, knowing the doctor would tell the police more than he was telling her, and she positioned herself around the corner so she could hear better, hoping they wouldn't notice her.
"So when will you know if he will recover?" a tall officer with sandy hair asked.
"There is no way to know," the doctor insisted. "Like I told his family…it could be a long road."
"We have the shooter in custody," the shorter, dark haired officer added. "If he dies, this guy's facing murder charges."
"Stupid security guards," the sandy haired officer snickered. "You give 'em a gun and they think they can take on anything. If he would've just taken the shot…it's really his own fault this happened. He's lucky no one else was hurt."
Olivia listened to them and she couldn't believe they were talking about Elliot. He was the bravest man she knew and there was no way this was his fault. She watched as the officers thanked the doctor and then headed toward the door. They walked right past her, and she couldn't stop herself from calling to them, "Excuse me…" she flashed her badge and tried to sound like a professional instead of a woman grieving over the love of her life. "I couldn't help but overhear. You were checking on the victim of the bank robbery shooting right?" she asked. "Did I hear you say this was all his fault?"
The sandy-haired officer looked at her seriously, "The guy had a chance to take the robber down," he said. "He didn't. He froze…he didn't even grab his gun."
"There must have been a reason," Olivia insisted.
"None that we could see on the surveillance video," the dark-haired officer argued. "These damn rent-a-cops shouldn't even have guns. I can't tell you how many times I've seen them freeze under pressure. They don't have the training…"
"Elliot Stabler isn't a rent-a-cop," Olivia sputtered. "He's a decorated police officer, retired after twenty years of service with the NYPD. If he didn't take the shot, he had a reason…"
"And who are you exactly?" the sandy-haired officer asked. "What is your interest in this anyway? Did our captain send you over here?"
"I'm Olivia Benson," she said, not wanting to reveal why she was there. "Commanding Officer of Manhattan's SVU."
The dark-haired officer laughed, "Well I can guarantee this isn't a sex crime. What the hell do you want with us?"
"Stabler and I are old partners," she said, trying to sound nonchalant. "My unit just wants some closure about what happened. You can help us out, right? Maybe let me take a look at that surveillance video?" she asked.
"Liv," Nick came rushing down the hall. "I wondered where you disappeared to. The nurse came out and said they are ready for you to go see Elliot."
Her eyes widened, "Nick Amaro…these are the officers investigating the shooting. They have some video footage they want to share with us. I told them we were wanting to help since Stabler used to be a detective in our unit. If I go see him…can you get the video and we'll watch it later?"
"Liv…" he knew she was going to get them into a lot of trouble, but he also knew he'd do the same thing if it was the person he loved. "Yeah…I'll get it and you go see Elliot." He watched as she walked down the hall.
"Your C.O. is crazy," the dark-haired officer looked at Nick shaking his head. "We told her this Stabler guy was to blame for this, and she insists there had to be some other explanation. You're welcome to a copy of the footage, but you'll just see we're right. He didn't do anything to protect the customers or employees in that bank and he probably got himself killed."
Elliot was in bed, his eyes closed and his face blank of all emotion when Olivia walked in. His head was bandaged and Olivia couldn't count the number of tubes violating his body. But he looked like he was asleep, the way he looked when she would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and stare at him, not quite believing he was in bed with her. She sat in the chair next to his bed and she watched his chest rise and fall as oxygen was being pumped into it through extra tubes. She wondered if he could breathe on his own or if those tubes were his only lifeline. She made a mental note to ask. "El…" she whispered. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't let herself. She wasn't sure he could hear her, but she thought he could, and she didn't want him to hear her cry. His body didn't need that stress. "You have to get better…so you can wake up. We miss you." She put her hand to her stomach as the baby moved and she sighed, "The kids need you. I need you…" she brushed away the tears that had escaped and sniffled a little. "I don't know what happened," she said softly, "But I know you did everything you could to protect those people…and yourself…I know that. And I'm going to prove it. I promise you that."