Love and Danger
Chapter 11
When they reached the hospital, Olivia was rushed into the Emergency room, closely followed by Elliot. Elliot was stopped by a nurse, forcing him to stop and watch as Olivia was wheeled into a room, his eyes unable to see her. He looked down at the nurse, seeing her eyes burning into him.
"Sir, we know you want to know how your partner is doing, but we can't allow you to be in the trauma room. While we are waiting for an update on her condition, please allow me to check you over and access you for any injuries." The small nurse said while pushing Elliot back and into an exam room. Elliot barely noticed, his soul focus remaining on Olivia. He barely noticed as the nurse poked and prodded at him. When the nurse was done, she gave him a blanket and allowed him to go and sit in the waiting room. Elliot jumped when he felt a hand land on his shoulder. He looked up to see Cragen, Munch, and Fin standing in front of him, all wearing concerned masks.
"How are you, man?" asked Fin.
"I'm fine. I just want to know how Liv is, and they won't let me see her!" Elliot yelled, suddenly frustrated.
Cragen looked at him sympathetically. "Elliot, I am sure she is fine. You know the procedure. They have to make sure she is ok before they can tell us anything."
"Elliot, what you did back there, that was incredibly heroic." Munch said, receiving agreeing nods from the two other men. Before they could continue, a doctor came out of the doors.
"Is there an… Elliot Stabler here?" the young man called out. Elliot bolted up from his chair and rushed to stand in front of the doctor.
"That's me! How is she?" Elliot asked, getting up in the doctors face, unknowingly intimidating him.
"My name is Doctor Stevens…" the man began.
Elliot grabbed Dr. Stevens by the collar of his shirt and pushed him against a wall. "I didn't ask what your name was! I asked to know how DETECTIVE OLIVIA BENSON is doing!" Elliot all but roared. Munch and Fin were at Elliot's side instantly, slowly pulling him off the doctor.
"Elliot, you have to let the doctor talk so we can find out how our girl is doing." Munch said, trying to calm his colleague down. He felt Elliot's shoulders relax underneath his hand.
"I'm sorry." Elliot apologized to the young doctor. "Please tell us how she is."
"Well, we are currently prepping her for surgery. As you know, she was under the water for several minutes. She is hypothermic, and we are currently unsure of if there will be any brain damage due to lack of oxygen. She did receive a stab wound to her side, which punctured her lung and did cause some damage to her liver and some nerves and muscles. The stab wound is what we are going in to surgery for, so we can repair all the damage it caused. Also, her heart has been put under quite a bit of stress. From what I hear, her heart did stop in the rescue boat and did not start beating again until she was halfway to the hospital. At this point, it is unclear if she will survive or not. I'm sorry." Doctor Stevens said before turning on his heel and walking back through the doors.
Elliot watched the doctor walk away before turning on his heel and returning to his seat. The others looked at him with sympathy, unable to imagine the kind of pain he was enduring. Everyone who met the famous Benson and Stabler knew that there was something more than a friendship, yet for some reason, the two couldn't see it for themselves.
As Elliot sat back down in the hard, plastic chair in the waiting room, he felt empty. He never would have pictured Liv to be the one to go first. Elliot knew that the job required them to put their lives on the line every day, but he always made sure that he was the one in front of Olivia. Her protector. He also knew that she was incredibly independent, strong, and stubborn.
"She won't let a river take her out." Elliot thought to himself, bringing a small smile to his face.
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The next thing Elliot knew, he was feeling himself being shaken awake. He jumped when he remembered the events of the previous day. He looked up to see Cragen standing over him with a concerned look on his face. Elliot looked down at his watch and noticed that it was a little after two in the morning. They had been there for close to ten hours. He looked back up to Cragen, his face void of any information.
"Elliot," the captain started. "You should go home. We don't know how long it will be until she is out of surgery. You heard what the doctor said. There was a lot of damage. Go home and get some sleep. Shower. Call the kids. We can call you as soon as we hear something."
Elliot jumped to his feet so he could tower over his captain. "There is no way in HELL I am leaving her. She was always there for me when I was shot. She was there for me through my divorce from Kathy. She was the one who was always there for me when I needed someone. I can't leave her. I lo…"
Cragen looked at his detective with a small smirk on his face. "It's about damn time you two buckled up and realized you loved each other. I thought I would be dead before you guys got your act together."
Elliot smiled and returned to his seat, waiting for any sort of update.
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Three hours later, Dr. Stevens came out of the operating room, his face empty of emotion. He made his way into the waiting room to find all of the detectives and their captain sound asleep in the uncomfortable chairs. He cleared his throat and watched as all of the men jumped to their feet. He began to talk when they looked at him expectantly.
"The surgery was a very complicated one. We realized that there was more damage to her liver than we expected. We had to remove a small part of her liver. Her heart did stop several times." Dr. Stevens paused when he heard the men all take in a deep breath. "Thankfully, we were able to bring her back. She is currently being moved to the ICU as we speak. She should wake up in a few hours. She will need to remain in the hospital for at least two weeks, and will most likely be in quite a bit of pain. One of you may see her now."
All of the men looked to Elliot. Finally Cragen spoke up. "Elliot, you go. We will come back bright and early in the morning to see how she is. Don't worry about work either. You have enough time saved up to take several weeks off. Stay with her and take care of her." He said before all of the men walked out of the hospital.
Elliot followed the young doctor through the hospital until arriving in front of Olivia's door. The doctor left him and Elliot pushed his way inside. Elliot quietly pushed his way inside her room and gasped when he saw her. Her once olive-toned skin was now as pale as the sheets she rested upon, dark bags surrounding her eyes. Her hair was fanned out around her, only accenting to how pale she was. Elliot slowly walked to the chair that was beside her bed and sat down, taking one of her fragile looking hands in both of his. His softly placed a gentle kiss on the back of her hand, flinching when he felt how cold she was.
"I love you so much Liv. I always have and I always will.
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Elliot awoke with a start, realizing he must have fallen asleep. He heard a loud ringing in his ears and looked around to try and identify it. He looked at the monitor and gasped. Instead of hearing the slow and steady beeping, he heard a loud, monotonous buzz.
It was the sound that signified when her heart had stopped beating.