Olivia stood outside the bank, trying to calm her nerves. She hadn't slept much the night before, and when she woke up she was sick enough that she'd ended up huddled over the toilet in Elliot's bathroom for an hour, even though she'd rarely suffered more than moderate queasiness for the past month. She figured it probably had more to do with the stress she was under than with the pregnancy, but she felt miserable and even now she had to take a few deep breaths to try to settle her stomach. She stood there, dressed in a pair of gray sweat pants and one of Elliot's Marine Corps t-shirts, the only thing she could find in his room that would come close to fitting her since she'd thrown her own clothes in the washing machine, and she tried to muster enough courage to walk into that bank. She had to do it, but it scared her.
Maureen and Richard had gone to the hospital to check on Elliot and Olivia had called early to check on him, the nurse assuring her that he was doing the same as yesterday. Elizabeth had agreed to watch Noah and Kate for a while because even though she was worried about her father, she was scared to go to the hospital right now. She wanted to go with Olivia later and since they could only go in two at a time, it made sense for her to wait. Olivia didn't want the kids to know anything about what the police had said about their father…about the shooting…and she certainly didn't want them to know about the surveillance footage or they'd ask to watch it and after seeing it herself, she didn't want to put them through that. So she told Elizabeth she was running to the store to pick up a few things for Noah and herself so they could get by without heading back to the city and she made a mental note to do that when she finished at the bank.
She pulled open the door to the bank, and the security guard smiled at her and held the door the rest of the way. She assumed he was probably one of the men who had called in sick the day before, forcing Elliot to fill in and she wondered if things had been different if this man would be lying unconscious in a hospital bed instead, but she shook that thought from her mind. It wasn't worth it to think about what could've been. She'd never been to that bank before, but she recognized everything from the surveillance footage. She looked intently at the spot where she had watched Elliot fall to the ground, where the blood had pooled around his head, and she felt her body shake a little as goosebumps covered her skin. Then she looked at the tellers, trying to find the one from the video, but it was obvious she wasn't there.
"Excuse me, ma'am…" A man in a dark suit walked up to her. "Can I help you with something?"
She looked at him, pulling her badge out and showing it to him, "I'd like to speak with the manager," she said.
"I'm the manager," he replied. "Is this about the robbery yesterday?" She nodded and he motioned for her to join him in his office, "Such a tragedy," he whispered. Olivia sat across from his desk and the manager to his seat, looking her over. "You don't look like a cop," he said seriously. "Can I see your badge again?"
Olivia took it out and let him stare at it for a few minutes, "I'm working undercover," she tried to explain the sweats and t-shirt, but he didn't look convinced.
"I don't think you're supposed to tell people when you're undercover," the manager said. "What is this really about?"
"The security guard who was shot yesterday," Olivia began.
"Elliot Stabler…" the manager said sadly. "He's a good guy. Didn't work here often, but when he did the customers and employees loved him. I hope he pulls through…I really do…"
"He's my fiancé," Olivia admitted. "We have a little boy, he's not even two and this baby is due in a few months…" She tried to keep herself from tearing up.
"I'm so sorry…" the manager said sadly.
"The police think he froze," she continued. "That he wasn't able to protect the people here because of it and ended up causing himself to be shot…I just need to know what really happened yesterday."
The manager shook his head, "I wasn't here," he admitted. "I took the day off because my daughter had a field trip at school and I volunteered to supervise it. I'm sorry…"
Olivia nodded and pulled some papers out of her purse. They were pictures she had screen capped from the surveillance video. "Do you know this little girl?" she asked, showing the picture of Elliot handing the child a lollipop.
The manager looked at the picture and shrugged, "It might be Sarah…Margaret Gomez's little girl. She's one of the tellers. I don't know why she would've been here yesterday though."
"Was Margaret working yesterday?" Olivia asked.
"Sure…she works every day. Not today…I let the tellers from yesterday stay home today. It's too much to expect them to come back already," he sighed. "Do you think Margaret has something to do with this?"
"No," Olivia insisted. "But I'd like to talk to her. I think maybe she knows the truth about what happened. I can't believe Elliot froze…he was my partner for twelve years and I've never seen him freeze in the line of duty. I'd just like to talk to her…"
"I'll have to call her," he said. "See if she's okay with me giving you her address." Olivia waited while he made the call and when he hung up he wrote the address on a piece of paper and slid it across the desk to her. "Good luck," he said. "And I really do hope Elliot wakes up soon and recovers."
"Thanks," she forced a weak smile and headed to the door.
Thirty minutes later she pulled up in front of Margaret Gomez's house. It was a small duplex, and Margaret lived on one side with her young daughter. Olivia knocked on the door, and a short woman with dark hair answered it. She recognized her from the surveillance video, "Are you Mrs. Gomez?" she asked and the woman nodded and motioned for her to come inside. The room was small, toys scattered all over, and the TV was blaring some courtroom reality show.
The woman sat on the couch, tossing a few toys off onto the floor. "Have a seat," she said, her voice horse and dry. "My boss said you needed to talk to me about yesterday."
Olivia nodded, "My name is Olivia," she said gently. "And Elliot…you know him…" the woman nodded. "He's my fiancé."
"I'm so sorry," Margaret said, tears stinging her eyes. She looked at Olivia's stomach and then back to her eyes, "Your baby…I'm so sorry…"
Olivia cleared her throat, "The doctor thinks he might be okay. He's in a coma…but when he wakes up he could be just fine." She put her hand to her stomach, "I know he wants to see this baby…so I believe he'll be alright."
"He was always so nice to my Sarah," Margaret smiled. "He would be a good daddy."
Olivia smiled, "He already is. He has several kids...and he has a little granddaughter too. And they love him…they want to know what happened yesterday."
The woman shook her head, "That man…he came in. He had a gun and he made us all lay down on the floor. He started shooting," she cried. "We all thought we were going to die."
"What about Elliot?" Olivia asked. "The police say he never drew his weapon. Do you know why?"
"I don't know," the woman said. "My face was to the floor."
"Margaret…" Olivia knew the woman was keeping something from her. "Where was Sarah yesterday?"
"I don't know what you mean," the woman lied.
"I saw her…on the surveillance footage," Olivia explained. "I know she was at the bank. Where was she when the gunman started shooting? Was she behind the counter with him?"
"I am not supposed to bring her with me," Margaret said seriously. "I could get fired."
"If Elliot dies," Olivia said sadly. "I want to be able to tell my kids that their father died a hero…not a coward who couldn't pull his weapon when the situation was heated."
"He was not a coward," Margaret insisted.
"Just tell me the truth about what happened…please," Olivia asked.
"My daughter was with me yesterday," Margaret admitted. "I am not supposed to bring her, but she had a slight fever and I couldn't send her to school. She was fine, but they would have called me to come get her and I couldn't afford to call in sick or leave early. So I took her and told her she had to stay behind the counter with her coloring books. The other tellers don't mind. Some of them have done it before too. Our manager was gone for the day, so no one had to know," she sighed. "Elliot…he knew Sarah was there. He let her come over and talk with him. He asked her about school…how she liked kindergarten and he gave her candy. He told her after lunch he would give her another lollipop if she was a good girl all morning."
"What happened when the gunman came in?" Olivia asked.
"The man, he came to the counter…waved his gun around. Julie…one of the tellers…she opened the little door and let him behind the counter. I tried to grab Sarah, but he pushed us out and made us lay on the ground. I could hear Sarah crying…and he yelled at her. Then Elliot came over, told him to calm down and the man started shooting. Elliot must have reached for his gun, because the man started yelling at him to get his hands off of the gun and put them in the air or he'd shoot my little girl. She screamed, and Elliot kept telling him to calm down, that he wouldn't shoot but he needed to let Sarah go. He kept saying Sarah didn't have to die, that the man could still have his money and leave, but the man just shot him. At first, I thought he shot Sarah, but when I looked up I could see Elliot falling to the ground, and then the man ran out." Margaret looked up at Olivia, "I'm so sorry…"
"Thanks for telling me," Olivia cried. "I knew he was doing all he could…and I'm glad your daughter is okay. How is she doing after all this?"
"She's scared," Margaret answered sadly. "She's in her room. Would you like to meet her?"
"Of course," Olivia smiled.
Margaret walked out of the room and came back a few minutes later, holding the little girl's hand. "Sarah…this is Olivia. She came to meet you."
"Hi Sarah," Olivia said gently, and she wanted to cry meeting the little girl Elliot had nearly died trying to save. "It's so nice to meet you."
"My mama says you know Mr. Elliot," the little girl said sadly. "Is he okay? Is he gonna die?"
"I think he's going to be fine," Olivia smiled. "And I know he'll be happy to know you're okay."
"That man shot him because I screamed," the girl cried. "I didn't mean to…"
"No…honey," Olivia said sadly. "The man shot him because he was a bad man. It had nothing to do with you…I promise."
"Mr. Elliot said his wife is going to have a baby girl soon. He said he hoped she'd look like me cause her mommy has dark hair and eyes like mine," the little girl smiled. "Are you his wife?"
Olivia nodded, "Yeah…and I bet my little girl will look a lot like you." She couldn't help but wonder if Elliot had been thinking of that as he tried to save the little girl that day. "Sarah…I want you to know…I am so glad you're okay." The little girl reached out and hugged her, and as Olivia held her close, there was no doubt in her mind that Elliot would wake up soon and be fine.