Warning: This chapter has specific details of violence.
A/N I can't say where it will be this time, like I usually do, without giving away details of this chapter. I know this can be hard or confronting for some of you, that's why I give the warning.
Chapter 12. The day after Olivia wakes up.
Nathalie decided to transfer Olivia to ICU this morning since Olivia was improving well. She had found a Prof. in California that was the best surgeon for the kind of injuries Olivia has. She also had found out that when Olivia was brought into the hospital they didn't finish taking X-rays because they were fighting to keep the Detective alive. So she'd ordered to take X-rays of Olivia's entire body. The results are shocking. Besides the fractures they'd already discovered it turned out that Olivia had broken her sternum and her left clavicle, her pelvis was broken badly. It is a miracle she didn't have fractures in her spine or that she was able to move her lower body at all. After finding that out Nathalie had ordered MRI scans for her internal organs and an echo. Her spleen had cost internal bleeding earlier so it was smaller after the surgery she'd had. But the scan and echo showed sever trauma at her uterus and Nathalie knew Olivia would never be able to give birth of a child and it was a risk to let it stay inside, so she decided to remove her uterus later today or early the next morning when the Prof. from California was there to perform the first surgery. It depended if the Prof. would be there in time or not. He was scheduled to land at La Guardia in the late afternoon.
Nathalie was shocked that the Detective was able to stay awake and not pass out because of the pain she was in. But she had found it out the hard way that Olivia was the most stubborn and hard headed person she'd ever met. The Prof. knows now that Olivia would still say that she was fine when she was about to pass out. The only ones that seems to be able to read the Detective were Alex and Casey, the blonde more than the redhead. Alex and Casey both were with Olivia when Nathalie came back with the results. Nathalie explained everything and answered the 1000 questions Alex fires at her. Wanting to know everything to the last bit or part. She'd smiled internally at all the questions the blonde ADA had asked her. It was clear to the young Prof. that what the two women in front of her have is rare, they connect on such a high level that this was more than true love, it was clear to her that without the other neither woman would survive or stay alive. They would die on the inside should they lose the other and she wouldn't be surprised if they actually would die within days after the other. Nathalie had just left the room and the three women were alone in Olivia's room now.
Casey knows she has to take Olivia's statement today she is not able to hold it off much longer and with the upcoming surgery or surgeries she knows that she has no other choice there is simply no other possibility to take the Detective's statement then today.
"You know I never wanted children of my own but now that they gonna take my uterus away I feel kinda depressed." Olivia says.
"You knew that if you would change your mind that you had the chance to get pregnant now that choice will be taken away from you. It's ok to feel depressed about that, Olivia." Casey says.
"Yeah but it's not like I would change my mind of having children of my own. So there is not really a choice that's taken away from me now." Olivia answers.
"Does it make you feel less woman? Do you think that you're less to me now that they are going to take your uterus away?" Alex asks softly.
Olivia thinks about what the blonde asks for a moment.
"No, yes, maybe. I don't know. I don't think it makes me feel less towards you. Maybe it does make me feel less woman. I'm not sure about that." Olivia answers confused.
"It doesn't really matter, the reason why I mean. What matters is that it's not your choice to take it away. But it doesn't change what you mean to me. Not one single bit. You're still the same amazing, strong, caring and beautiful woman you always are." Alex says sincerely.
"Thank you, Lex. It means a lot to me even though I don't think about that the same way." Olivia says softly.
Casey takes a deep breath before she speaks again.
"I hate it that I have to do this but I don't have a choice. I need to take your statement, today, Liv. I wish I could postpone it but I can't and since you going to have surgeries starting today or tomorrow morning I have to do it now. I'm sorry, Liv." Casey says.
"I know you have too, Casey. I also know that if it were possible you would've waited. Don't be sorry, it's out of your hands." Olivia says.
Casey looks briefly at Alex before she looks back at Olivia.
"Unless she wants to leave herself Alex stays, Casey. I probably need her in the courtroom, I can't handle that on my own. And I don't want her to find out what happened then. I'm still afraid I'll lose her but I realize that's the gamble I need to take. She already saw my body and she's still here that gives me a little bit of hope." Olivia says softly, looking at the blonde attorney.
Alex smiles at Olivia and squeezes her hand gently. She knows that it's more than just a gamble to Olivia even though the Detective wants make her and maybe Casey to believe otherwise. Alex knows that right at this moment the Detective is laying her trust and heart in the ADA's hand. That this the moment that she can make or break the strong brunette. Not that there is even one fiber in the younger woman's body that wants to break her ever.
"We'll go at your pace, Liv. I know this must be extremely hard for you to do. We have to do it today and before the end of the afternoon if nothing changes but that's the only restriction we have." Alex says softly.
Olivia nods and prepares herself for what's coming the best she can.
"Can you come and sit with me, Lex?" Olivia asks softly.
Alex nods and carefully climbs on the bed. She knows it's not the wised thing to do but right now the blonde doesn't care about that, Olivia needs her and she's doing everything within her power to make that happen. When Alex is settled Olivia leans back at the blonde attorney and Alex put her arms carefully around the Detective. Casey has taken her legal pad out of her briefcase and a pen.
"Are you ready, Liv?" Casey ask gently.
"As ready as I'm gonna be." Olivia answers.
"Alright, I'll start questioning and we'll go from there. If you need a break just say it, alright?" Casey asks.
"Yes." Olivia answers.
"Ok. Let's start with at the beginning. Tell me what happened first." Casey says.
"Fin and Munch were running errands and would go home if they turned up with nothing when the Captain offered us to go home and come back in the morning. Nick accepted the offer because his daughter was home. Amanda said that she was continuing with working on this case and was gonna run some errands herself. I told him I was gonna call Alex and see if we could meet and give her an update on the case. I didn't mention that I was going to work as long as it would take, it wasn't necessary he already knew I wasn't gonna take a break until we would catch the bastard. Around 7.15 pm Amanda left to run some errands and the Captain left with her to go home. If we would find something we would call him and then he came back to the precinct right away. Prentiss kept an eye on the precinct I think because after Amanda and the Captain left I went to the toilet, planning to finish the paper I was working on and then leave to pick up some food on my way to Alex. But as soon as I left the bathroom I was hit against my head with something, hard." Olivia says.
"What happened next? Do you know what it was he hit you with?" Casey asks, looking up from her legal pad where she is writing down what Olivia says.
"A baseball bat. As soon as I looked up he hit me on the other side of my head with it and broke my other cheekbone. Before I could react he hit me again in my stomach and torso. I fell on the floor and he dragged me back into the bathroom. When we were in the bathroom he spoke up for the first time. He said that now the party could get started then he hit me two more times with the bat before he threw it aside took my handcuffs and chained me to the radiator." Olivia answers.
Both Alex and Casey gasp when Olivia finishes her answer. The asshole had done a real number on her by then and they know it only went worse after that. They continued like this, Casey asking questions and Olivia answering them for about an hour. They now are halfway trough Olivia's statement and the Detective really needs a break.
"Alright, we'll take a break for half an hour and then we continue with your statement. You're doing great, Liv. I'm proud of you." Casey says softly.
Olivia nods before she buries her head into Alex's shoulder. Alex just hold Olivia and whispers sweet nothings in her ear. It took 10 minutes for the Detective to calm down and she knew that the hardest part has yet to come. She stays lying against Alex knowing that when she starts telling about Prentiss raping her and how he did she won't be able to do it anymore. The only thing she hopes is that she feels comfortable enough to let Alex touch her to comfort her. Although she knows that it's more likely that she can't stand it. And probably can't for a long time. The Detective has troubles with it already but somehow she manages to not flinch or pull back now, and once everything is out in the open she knows she is to vulnerable and not able to hide it or allow it. She hopes that Alex will understand it and can give her the time she needs before she will be comfortable again with getting touched. Yes the blonde ADA works the same cases as she does and that she understands it from her experience with victims but it's something else when it's someone you love or your partner. And it doesn't matter how long or short you are in a relationship or how long you know each other before you were attacked.
After the time they had agreed to take a break has past Casey carefully tells Olivia that it's time to continue. Olivia nods at Casey and turns to Alex.
"It's not personal I promise but could take a seat in the chair please?" Olivia asks softly almost whispers.
Both Alex and Casey see where Olivia is coming from. And Alex is thankful for being an ADA for SVU so long. She understands why Olivia asks it, having interviewed many victims she knows it's difficult to be held in someone's arms. She is glad and proud of Olivia that the Detective has the courage to ask her it.
"Yes of course I can. I know it's not personal, Liv. Don't worry about that. I'll do what ever it is that you need me to do. Anything that helps you or could make things just a bit easier." Alex answers softly.
After giving her answer Alex carefully climbs of Olivia's bed and takes a seat in the chair again. She lays down her hand on the Detective's bed but is careful not to touch her. She just lays it there for Olivia to take when she needs it. Olivia knows what Alex means with her gesture and gives the blonde a small smile, letting her know that she understands what the attorney means. She turns back to Casey and they are continuing with Olivia's statement. The more Olivia tells the more Alex and Casey get angry on the inside.
"You're doing good, Liv. You told me that he just stopped beating you and said that he needed to look at his work for a moment. Can you tell me what happened next?" Casey asks, carefully keeping the anger out of her voice.
Involuntarily Olivia shivers as she tries to keep herself from getting a flashback when she thinks back at what happened after he stopped beating her. She tries to control her breathing which is difficult enough without broken ribs. Casey gives Olivia a few moments to collect herself seeing that the Detective is fighting against having a flashback. The redhead ADA is at the point of stopping with the brunette's statement when Alex speaks up.
"Keep breathing, Liv. Take a breath as deep as you can and hold it for a few seconds then breath out again." Alex says softly.
Olivia does what Alex tells her and the blonde keeps talking to her with a calm and soothing voice. Together they slowly manage to get Olivia's breathing back to normal. After a few minutes since Casey asked Olivia what happened next and Olivia fought against a flashback they continue again. By the time they are almost done Alex and Casey are shocked and utterly horrified with what Olivia went trough. They needed to stop once because Olivia had a flashback and it wasn't easy for Alex to get the Detective out of it. The moment Alex touched Olivia she would flinch and pull back and Alex had to talk her out of it without touching the Detective. Alex and Casey wanted to stop after the first time Olivia had a flashback but the brunette wouldn't hear of it. Olivia had put her heels in the sand and said that she needed to tell it when she was on the stand without having flashbacks so she had to do it now with them. They almost got into a fight about it so when it almost happened a second time the ADA's didn't even try to talk Olivia into stopping. It breaks Alex's heart to see Olivia struggle so much to see the pain the Detective is in emotionally as well physically. Casey isn't doing much better. Both women struggle to keep their emotions inside themselves. They both may be top-notch ADA's but to see their friend and now girlfriend like this is tearing them apart.
"I already have Alex's statement and with that what happened from the moment she came into the precinct and bathroom but I need to hear it from you as well. After that we are done I promise. So what happened when Alex came into the bathroom after she arrived at the precinct?" Casey asks softly.
"I saw the door opened and hear Alex asking if I was inside. Then Alex came inside and saw me cuffed to the radiator and she ran to me asking me what happened. I didn't answer her question but asked her if she had seen anybody in the squad room. Alex answered that she hadn't seen anyone and asked me what happened again. I told her to go to my desk and get my gun out of the upper drawer on the left and come back as soon as she could that I would explain it later. Alex ran out of the bathroom and came back, about 20 second later I think, with my gun. She asked me softly if I could tell her what the hell was going on. I told her to call 911 for back up and then go into the stall of the bathroom and to stay there till back up was there or me telling her that she could come out. I told her that Prentiss was in the building and that he went downstairs to go eat something but that he would be back soon. Alex pleaded that she'd take off my handcuffs first and asked me where my keys were. I almost begged her to go into the stall and to stay there. That I couldn't protect her like I normally can but that I had my gun now and that he didn't know that. That I didn't want her to get hurt and asked her to do it for me. Alex said that she would do it for me. She called 911 and asked for backup and an Ambulance and went into the stall. I think it was a minute or 2, something like that, after Alex was in the stall that Prentiss came back. He said... he said that dinner was nice but that it was time for his dessert. He started to kick me again, hard, I felt and heard my ribs breaking. It hurt so badly... I bit on my lip not wanting to make a sound and make it any harder for Alex to stay in the stall then it already was for her. It was the only way to protect her... I didn't want Prentiss to know that Alex was hiding in the stall. So even though it was really hard I kept my mouth shut. I couldn't... I couldn't bear the thought of him...of him going after Alex." Olivia chokes out, tears streaming down her cheeks again.
Even now the thought of Prentiss going after Alex was too much and Olivia needs a few moments to somehow collect herself a bit again before she can continue.
"Then he went to kick in the direction of my head but I managed to pull my head aside and he ended up kicking me into my left shoulder, hard. He was furious that I managed to pull my head away so he kicked me against my left arm twice and slammed my wrist against the radiator the second time he kicked. After that he went back to kick me against my torso again. I dropped my gun when he kicked me against my shoulder but thank God he didn't hear it. He kicked for a few minutes and when I thought I couldn't take it anymore and couldn't keep silent he stepped back like he was done. He looked at me... he looked at me with the same nauseous making smile he did the first time when he started raping me. And I knew I had to do something and do it fast. I didn't know how long it would take before back up showed up so I searched on the floor with my right hand and found my gun and quickly pulled of the safety and pointed it at him. I said to him to don't even think about it and to stay where he was standing or that I would shoot him. That was the moment that Amanda came in with her gun raised. She shouted at him to put his hands behind his head and get down on his knees. He did what she told him to do immediately and Amanda cuffed him and dragged him out of the bathroom. She told me she would be right back just before she walked away. I knew it was over then and called Alex to come to me and get the damn handcuffs of. Alex came out of the stall and walked towards me. I told her that the keys were in the right pocket of my slacks. Alex reached into my right pocket slowly and carefully and took out the keys and got the cuffs off then she took off her coat and pulled it around me. Then the paramedics came inside with a stretcher I asked Alex if she would go with me to the hospital and she said that what ever I wanted or needed she would do. The rest you know." Olivia finishes.
After Olivia was finished and she was done writing, Casey closed her legal pad and put it back in her briefcase. The redhead told Olivia how proud she was at her for telling them what happened to her. To tell Alex what happened while she knew how hard that was for the Detective. Alex didn't say to Olivia how proud she was of Olivia she wants to do that when they are alone. They talked for a few more minutes before Casey said that she needed to talk with Alex for a few minutes, something technical about the up coming trial. Casey stayed in the room next to Olivia's just like she had done when the Detective was on CCU. With the same rules too. Olivia nodded at Casey and said that it was alright and then looked at Alex.
"Just come back as soon as you can Lex, ok?" Olivia asks softly.
"Of course I will. I don't want to be away from you any longer than necessary. Don't worry, I'll be in the room next to yours just like when you were at CCU." Alex answers.
Olivia gives a small smile and nods at Alex. The blonde smiles back before she and Casey leave the room and walk into the other room next to the Detective's room. Casey closes the door behind her before she turns to Alex.
"What am I going to do? Forget about her physical condition, there is no way that she will make it through her testimony without breaking down emotionally or having flashbacks. How the hell are we going to prevent that Liv needs to take the stand and testify?" Casey asks.