Chapter 17
Suddenly Olivia grabs her head and screamed out from pain.
"Olivia, what wrong? I go get the doctor." Casey says and stands up.
"No, you don't. You are gonna call Alex and tell her that she needs to get back here as soon as possible. If you are gonna get the doctor now, she will whisk me away before Alex is here and she would never forgive herself for leaving me to go away for a short time. Never mind the fact that she won't leave to do anything again. No go call Alex!" Olivia says.
Casey left the room to stand in the corridor and called Alex. Thankfully the blonde was on her way back and came running into Olivia's room after 2 minutes.
"Liv, what's wrong? Casey called me and told me to get back as soon as possible." Alex rushes out worried.
"Out of the blue my head is feeling like it's gonna explode." Olivia groans.
"I'm gonna call doctor Brown." Alex says and pushed on the button at remote at Olivia's bed.
Alex seated in the chair next to Olivia's bed again and takes her hand and intertwined their fingers. Alex has a feeling by the way Olivia looks at her that the brunette had trouble to see her clear.
"Liv, are you having trouble with your vision?" Alex asks.
"Yes, I do. I see kinda double. And my head is killing my." Olivia answers.
2 minutes later Doctor Brown enters the room.
"You pushed the button, Detective? What's wrong?" Doctor Brown asks.
Before Olivia can answer a wave of excruciating pain in her head hits Olivia again. She screams out in pain again. Grabbing her head. Alex is getting really worried now. She knows something is definitely wrong.
"I pushed the button. Olivia has suddenly the feeling like her head is gonna explode, waves of excruciating pain are hitting her. And her vision is not good. She sees double." Alex answers.
"Ok. I'm ordering a MRI scan right now. Detective Benson need a scan of her brains immediately. We have to wait on the scan, but right now I think her brains are swelling again if that is the matter we need to operate her and need to held her in an drug induced coma. At least until the neurosurgeon is here. I'm still looking for the specialist, I'll will give my head nurse the order to search for the neurosurgeon right now. And let her make sure he or she will be here as soon as possible." Doctor Brown says.
Olivia doesn't follow anything of what is going on around her. She is getting more waves of excruciating pain faster.
"Lex, call the Doctor. I can't take the pain anymore." Olivia says crying from the pain now.
Alex looks at the Doctor with anxiety and horror. She hates it that Olivia is in so much pain. And she know that it is really bad if Olivia doesn't know who else are in the room and what they talked about. That and the fact that she says she can't take the pain anymore.
"Ok that's it. I'm gonna sedate her right know. If you want to say something to her Ms. Cabot now is the time as soon as I injected her she will be out pretty fast. And I'm taking her to the scan and then to the OR immediately. Clearly Detective Benson doesn't know who is here and what we talked about. And I know she is a tough cop so her calling out she can't take it anymore is definitely not a good sign. I don't want to worry your more then necessary. But your are a smart woman so I don't hold back." Doctor Brown says. Pushing on the alarm button.
"I love you Liv, I will be here when you come back. I'll be waiting here for you." Alex says.
"I love you to Lex. Please make them stop the pain." Olivia says.
Alex leans into Olivia and kisses her briefly on her lips.
"The Doctor will give you something to sedate you Liv, you won't feel anything more in a minute. Don't leave me Detective, I can't live without you. I need you to fight. Do you understand me?" Alex asks.
"Yes, I understand you Alex. I don't wanna leave you. I just want this fucking pain in my head to stop. I love you, Lex. Don't forget that." Olivia says.
"I won't. Don't forget I love you too, Liv. Very much. Now the Doctor is here so you won't feel anything soon. Come back to me, Detective. I can't live without you yet." Alex says.
"I'll come back I promise." Olivia says.
Alex kisses Olivia quickly but intense on her lips. Then Doctor Brown injects the sedative in the Detective.
There are nurses running in the room.
"Get an OR ready. And we need a MRI scan of her brains now. I think they are swelling up." Doctor Browns says.
Nurses running out of the room to get an OR ready and to arrange an MRI scan.
Two nurses pull the brakes off of Olivia's bed and race her out of her room.
"I will do everything I can, Ms. Cabot. I assure you." Doctor Brown says to Alex before leaving the room in a hurry.
Within 3 minutes since Alex came back running to Olivia's room the Detective has left the room and is on her way to a MRI scan and the OR. Alex has problems processing what the hell happened so fast. Casey comes back into the room and Alex turns around to the redhead ADA, the fear clearly in her cerulean eyes.
"Casey, what the hell happened?" Alex asks.
"I don't have a clue. We were just having small talk and suddenly she screams and grabbed her head. I asked her what was wrong and told her that I was gonna get the Doctor. But she said I needed to call you and ask you to get back here as soon as possible. She didn't want me to call the Doctor before you were here. Then you came back here and well, the rest you know. Better then I do, since I wasn't in the room." Casey answers.
"All I know is that she was in a hell of a lot of pain. That and she saw double. I don't think I've ever seen her in so much pain. And it scares me. Olivia never asks for pain medication. She practically begged me to let it end. That she couldn't take it anymore. Now does that sounds like Liv to you?" Alex asks.
"No it most definitely doesn't sound like her. I am scared too. I know it is different because you're her girlfriend and I'm just a friend but still I'm scared. One moment we were talking the next she screams out and grabs her head. I wish I hadn't listen to her and called the Doctor instead of waiting. She insisted to call you and get you here first. I shouldn't have listen to her. I'm so sorry, Alex." Casey says.
"It's not your fault Casey, you did what Liv wanted you to do. There is no way you could have known what was wrong. She didn't even tell you what she felt. Don't blame yourself for this, I certainly do not. I would like it if you could stay with me here. I understand it if you have to go back. But I really could use your company. I'm afraid I lose my mind if I'm gonna be here alone. If you can't that's fine. But I really would like it." Alex says.
"No it's not a problem. Just let me make a phone call to my secretary. It only take a minute, then I will be back. I only have some paperwork to stash around. I call Serena, to take over the warrants if the guys should need them. I'll be right back." Casey says.
"I should call Cragen. To tell him what's going on. He can tell it to the guys." Alex says.
"That is a good idea. Since Liv isn't here right now, you can stay here to make your call. I just go outside and come back in when I'm done. I don't think you want to leave this room now." Casey replies.
"No, I want to be here for when Liv comes back here. Even if she is unconscious. I promised her I would be here and I don't have any intension to break my promise." Alex says.
Alex and Casey both made their calls. When Casey came back into Olivia's room Alex was still on the phone.
"I don't know how long it will take. A while I think. Depending on what the scan shows. …... Doctor Brown takes her to the OR after the scan. They don't wait for the neurosurgeon to be here. …... No that isn't necessary Casey will stay here with me. …... No if the guys need a warrant, Serena Southerlyn is taking care of that. ….. … Casey will be back tomorrow. …. … I appreciate it but visiting like it was won't be able for now. … …. Because they are gonna keep Liv in a drug induced coma at least until the neurosurgeon is here. …. …. Yes I let you know when the schedule is back in order. … … Thank you. I'll let you know if I know something or if there is a change. …. … Goodbye Don." Alex says and ends the call.
"Liz is coming over tomorrow somewhere during the day. She asked me to tell you not to worry about work right now. Your first priority is Olivia right now. You get as much time off as it takes." Casey says.
"To tell you the truth I haven't thought about work for one moment since I've been here. But it's good to now that I don't have to worry about that too." Alex answers.
"I know it is hard to believe right now but Olivia is gonna get trough this. She made a promise to you. And I've never seen Olivia Benson back off of a promise she made. She doesn't want to start with that now. The best Doctor will be here as soon as possible, they will do what ever it takes to get Liv better." Casey says.
"I'm not so sure about that. I have to keep hoping she will. I've never been so scared in my life. Not even when I was shot and needed to go in Witsec. Not even when that asshole Atkins was in our bedroom. Because I knew that somehow Liv would protect me. I knew Amanda was close to our safe house. Now I don't know anything. I don't know what's wrong with Liv, I don't know if she is gonna make it, I don't know if the Doctors are will be able to cure her. I can't control anything and I hate it. I don't like it not to have control. My faith is lying in the Doctors hands and there is nothing I can do about it. I know Liv's a fighter. But what if she can't fight this? I can't lose her now, Casey. I don't know what to do without her. It's not fair. After everything we've been to trough we finally found each other. Even with the threat that was there, we were happy. And for how long? A few hours. I felt so safe lying in her arms. For the first time since that horrible night I truly felt safe, because I was in the arms of the woman I love. The woman that will always keep me safe no matter what it takes. Now even that isn't given to us. I start asking myself if we ever will be just happy together." Alex says.
"I know it isn't fair. If anybody deserves to be happy it's the two of you. But there is one thing that has changed, one thing that is different now. And that is knowing you love each other. I admit it was to short. But now you and her have more to fight for then you ever had. And she will fight, harder then she ever have done. Because now she knows that you love her as much as she loves you. You remember she'd came back three times. She did what very few people were able to do. Maybe she was the first given her injuries. But she kept fighting. She kept coming back. Because of you. Because she knew you would be here. Just like she knows you will be here now when she comes back. That's all the reason Olivia Benson need. To know that a certain blonde ADA will be waiting here for her. She will come back. And I know they will find a way to get her as good as new. The road will be long perhaps, but she's not giving up as long as she has you, Alexandra Cabot. This hospital and the Doctors, nurses and everyone else are gonna find out how stubborn she can be and what kind of a fighter your Badass Detective is. By the time she leave this hospital they are gonna be relieved that they can hand her over to you. Because she's gonna fight and argue with them every chance she gets." Casey tells Alex.
"Tell me about it. If anyone knows how stubborn Detective Olivia Benson can be, it will be me. She's the only one that's able to actually win a fight with me. And we fought and argued a lot. But that's not something I need to tell you. I'm sure you had your share of fightings with Liv yourself." Alex says.
"Yes I have. And boy can she be stubborn if she has her mind set on something. I still need to meet the person that can change her mind if she's like that. Although I think I've met her. I think the only person that can change the mind of Olivia Benson besides herself is you. I knew that when I came back here because I forgot my keys. If it had been somebody else but you she wouldn't have agreed so soon. Hell she wouldn't have agreed at all. But I know that it is a good thing now, that she is so stubborn and a fighter, because that's what will bring her back to you Alex, that's what is gonna bring her back." Casey replies.
"Only time will tell us. Speaking of time, Liv's been out of here for quit some time now. I just hope that's a good thing now." Alex says softly.
"Doctor Brown will be here as soon as she can. But brain surgery always takes a lot of time. And a lot of patient from the people who are waiting. You don't seem to be someone with a lot of patient to me. And now, when it is about Liv, I'm surprised you didn't corner a nurse or other Doctor and demanded to know what's going on." Casey says.
"I did that when we came here when she was shot. It didn't helped me then and I doubt it will help me now. Although if it's gonna take much longer I don't think I'll be able to control myself and corner some nurse again." Alex answers.
"Why is it that it doesn't surprise me that you've already done that? And I know better then try to stop you the next time you gonna try it. I don't want a pissed off Alex Cabot against me, thank you very much. You are as worse as Liv is." Casey smirks.
" Hey, I'm not that bad." Alex says.
"Yes you are. And I heard that before. I believe a certain brown haired Detective said it before. That she wasn't that bad, I mean." Casey answers.
It was six hours after Doctor Brown left Olivia's room that she came back into the room.
"How is Liv doing, Doctor?" Alex asks.
"Your Detective is one hell of a fighter Ms. Cabot. We were able to bring the swelling down for a bit. But we had to open up her skull. We needed to give her brains some space. She must have had one hell of a headache when she woke up. I'm surprised to was able to take it as long as she did. So far the good news I'm afraid. She still is critical and not out of the woods by far. I won't give you false hope Ms. Cabot. I know she is a fighter. But right now I don't know if she's gonna make it trough the night. Her blood pressure is very high. We try to bring it down. But the longer it will be this high, the lower the chance she will be making it. We brought her over to the CCU, in a room similar to this one. I will take you there as soon as you are ready. But I have to warn you. She is on a lot more machines and wires then she was when she came to this room. We found a neurosurgeon. Her name is Professor Angie Cavanaugh. She will be here in about 6 hours. She is on a plane to New York as we speak. Now if you want it, I take you to Detective Benson. Ms. Novak, you can come with us if you want too and if it's alright with Ms. Cabot. How ever you can't go into the room." Doctor Brown explains.
Alex don't even try to keep it together after Doctor Brown was finished speaking. She throws herself in Casey's arms. The redhead was sitting next to Alex and holds the blonde and let her cry. She has trouble to keep it together herself. But Casey knows she has to be strong for Alex now. After a few minutes Alex managed to calm down a bit.
"Can you bring me to Liv now, Doctor Brown? Casey can come with us. I would like her to stay as close as she is allowed to be." Alex whispers.
"Yes of course. I will bring her to you right now. I'm sorry I don't have better news for you Ms. Cabot. Let's go to Detective Benson now." Doctor Brown says.
"I will get your stuff and Olivia's later Alex, don't worry about that." Casey says softly to the blonde attorney.
"Thank you, Casey." Alex says.
They left Olivia's old room and went down to the CCU. Alex and Casey followed Doctor Brown. When they were in front of Olivia's room Doctor Brown turned around to face Alex and Casey.
"I'm sorry Ms. Novak but you have to wait here. I will make sure the nurses will bring you a chair when I'm back here. Ms. Cabot I know it is hard and very difficult but I need to ask you to stay calm. It is necessary for you to stay calm in front of Detective Benson. For her sake. Now if you have the feeling you won't be able to stay calm, just walk outside her room. You can go back inside once you are calm enough. I just say this because I know it must be hard for you. Not to judge you. You can stay with Detective Benson for as long as you want. Ready to go, Ms. Cabot?" Doctor Brown asks.
"As ready as I can be." Alex answers.
"You can do this Alex, I will be right here if you need me. I won't go anywhere. Now go to see your gal." Casey encouraged Alex.
Doctor Brown opens the door and walks inside, Alex follows right behind her. Alex needs to bite her lip not gasp at the sight of Olivia. Olivia's head is wrapped up in a bandage. And there are wires all over her. There are more monitors and machines around Olivia then Alex has ever seen. She sees that Olivia's blood pressure and heart beat are extremely high. She takes a moment to collect herself and then walks to Olivia's bed and sits down in the chair next to her bed. She takes Olivia's hand carefully in her own.
"Hey Liv, I'm right next to in the chair. Just like I promised I would be. And I won't go anywhere. I'm staying with you here as long as it takes. Now I know the Doctors are doing what they can to bring down your blood pressure and heart rate, but I think you need to help them a bit. Right now it is to way to high to be safe. And you promised me something Detective. So what do you say Liv?" Alex talks to Olivia softly.
As soon as Alex started to talk to Olivia, Olivia's blood pressure went down and heart beat started to slow down. Doctor Brown was stunned with what she saw happening. Her jaw hit the floor. What ever they had tried nothing helped to get it low enough. Getting it lower at all. And standing there she saw a miracle happen. She knew right then that the brunette could hear Alex. As soon as the Detective heard the blonde's voice her pressure went down and her heart rate slowed down too. She wouldn't have believed it if she didn't see it with her own eyes. The longer Alex talks to Olivia the more Olivia's blood pressure went down and her heart beat slowed down. Both went down to a normal level. When Doctor Brown got her jaw from the floor she speaks to Alex.
"Ms. Cabot can I speak to you for just a moment outside?" Doctor Brown asks.
"Yes." Alex answers.
Alex turns back to Olivia.
"Liv, I need to go outside for just a moment, to talk with Doctor Brown. I will be right back, I promise. Don't go anywhere, Detective. I don't want to need to chase after you. You are faster then I am and in a better shape then I ever will be. So stay put." Alex says and kisses Olivia's forehead softly.
Doctor Brown shakes her head and smiles. Then she walks out of the room with Alex behind her. She closes the door behind Alex.
"Ms. Cabot, if I didn't see it with my own eyes I wouldn't have believed what I saw happening. What ever we did to try to get Detective Benson's blood pressure and heart beat down, we couldn't get it down. As soon as you start talking to her it did went down. Down to a normal level. As soon as she heard your voice. This can't give us any guarantees. But I think the changes of getting trough the night and surviving this are getting higher with you at her side. She will be in the woods for a long time. But I do think that with your help we might be able to get her out of it. If we can bring the swelling of her brains down then I think she has a chance to survive. I don't want to give you false hope. But I really think that as long as you are at her side she will keep fighting. I've never seen somebody react so strong at somebody else's voice or react at all, like Detective Benson reacts to you. We need to wait for Professor Cavanaugh to know what the prospections will be. But it is a good thing for sure, the way she reacts to you. Now go back inside. I know you want to be with her. I just wanted to tell you this. Because a lot can change in a good manner. Again I wouldn't have believed what happened if I didn't see it for myself." Doctor Brown says.
"Thank you Doctor. Your words are just what I need to keep fighting for Liv. Have faith in her." Alex answers.
"Told ya that Liv is a fighter. And that she is fighting for you. Now you hear it from someone else. You are all she need, Alex." Casey says.
"Yes you did. Now if the two of you would excuse me, I need to go back to my girlfriend." Alex says.
"Don't let me hold you, girl. Not that I have the illusion I can." Casey answers.
And with that Alex walks back into Olivia's room and closes the door behind. Sitting back in the chair next to Olivia's bed and not having the intension to leave that spot in the near future.
"Ms. Novak, I really am stunned with what I saw happening in there. Again if anyone told me what happened, I would think they were out of their mind. Really the moment that Ms. Cabot started to speak to Detective Benson her vitals were getting better." Doctor Brown says to Casey, still stunned.
"That's the effect they have on each other. Nobody else is able to calm them down like they can do for each other. They simply don't listen if anyone else talks to them. Nobody else is able to change their minds if they are set on something. Accept for the two of them. Get used to it. Or you will be stunned and surprised ever time they inter act with each other." Casey replies dryly.
"Yes I'm getting aware of that. I saw it happen just a time or two this day. I start getting what you mean and meant earlier, when you say this. How long are they together if I may ask?" Doctor Brown asks.
"Well they are actually been together since the day Olivia has been shot. How ever they kept dancing around each other since the day the first met, about twelve years ago. A lot has happened to them and with them. They were best friends for a very long time. And as brilliant as they both are, they were equally blind to what was going on right in front of their noses. Everybody who knows them knew what was going on accept for the two of them. Don't tell them I told you this. They both will kill me if you do." Casey says.
"They are keep surprising me. I better get used to it I think. And your secret is safe with me, Ms. Novak. I don't want to be responsible for your dead. As I'm sure they will do it both if they know." Doctor Brown laughs.
"Oh that I can promise you. And please call me Cassey." Casey says, smiling at the Doctor.
"Ok, Casey it is then. Now if you will excuse me. I have to take care of things before Ms. Cabot bites my head of, if I don't get the best Doctors or Professors available. I think it is safe to assume she will if I don't get them as soon as possible." Doctor Brown answers.
"No excuses needed. I know she will do it. But let me ask you this. Do you really think Liv's chances are improved?" Casey asks.
"Yes I really think they are. Ms. Cabot was able to do in only seconds what we've been trying to do to for hours. So I think it's safe to say that Detective Benson's chances really do improve with Ms. Cabot being at her side." Doctor Brown replies.
"Ok. Thank you. Just wanted to know that. I'm sure I will be seeing you later Doctor. As for now I think you have more important things to do." Casey says.
"See you later then, Ms.. I mean Casey." Doctor Brown says.
"See you later, Doctor Brown." Casey answers.
In the mean time Alex was sitting next to Olivia.
"You just convinced yet an other person with what a fighter you are, Detective. Let yet an other person being stunned. I'm proud of you, Liv. You need to keep fighting and come back to me. You need to help them to get out of the woods. I love you so much, Liv. I need you back at my side. I want to see your beautiful brown eyes again. Hear your voice again. Together we can fight what ever it is that's making you so sick right now. Do you understand me?" Alex asks.
Alex knows Olivia can't talk back or react because of her drugged induces coma. But that don't stops her for asking it. She is stunned when Olivia squeezes her hand softly.
"Did you just squeezed my hand, Liv? Do you really hear me and understand me. If you do, squeeze my hand again, baby." Alex says.
A moment later Olivia squeezes Alex hand for the second time...
A/N To be sure you all get the quality you deserve every chapter I had a decision to make. Writing two stories at the same time and update it frequently as in every couple of days, is nearly impossible for me.
So I made the decision to write for one story as much as I can and maybe update it more often and to update the other story once a week. That way I will be able to give both stories the attention they both deserve and give you all the quality you deserve every chapter.
From now on I will update this story once a week.
Both stories are equally important but I had to choose between them.
I hope you all can understand and respect my decision.
I will update a new chapter next Monday.
A/N 2 I'm not a doctor, everything medical in this story is the creation of my own mind.
Please keep R+R.