Chapter 6

Just Lucky.

"Amanda?... Amanda, can you hear me? Open your eyes." A slight flickering, a small tremor of closed eyelids indicated an awareness of somebody talking very close to her right. She thought she recognized the deep soothing voice, that was calling her name, but pushed the thought aside thinking it must have been a dream.

Even though she hadn't moved yet she could feel the stiffness taking a hold of her body and the pounding in her head could only be described and compared to as a construction site. Groaning, she turned her head towards where the voice had come from. "Amanda?" There it was again, clearer this time and louder. Realizing that it wasn't a dream but in fact very much real blue eyes fluttered open.

Her vision was blurry. What the hell had happened? Tired eyelids closed and opened several times to try and clear the fuzziness in front of her. A dark figure was hovering over her right side. She felt a warm hand on her shoulder, brown hair lightly brushing against her face and a sweet scent filled her nostrils.

"Dete... Detective, Benson?" Her throat ached from the dryness that had formed while she was sleeping. Her tongue felt like sandpaper in the Sahara desert. Swallowing whatever bit of saliva there was she tried to shift into a more comfortable position. A sharp pain in her left shoulder and her chest shot through her body like a bolt of lightning. Throwing her head back into the pillow she gritted her teeth and tried not to cry out.

Something gently brushed her forehead and cheek. It only lasted a couple of seconds but it was enough comfort for Amanda to take away even a slightest bit of pain. Tears were seeping through closed eyes, trickling down pale skin and was shortly absorbed by the pillow, creating wet stains that were slowly increasing in size.

"Amanda, you're okay. You're in the hospital. You were shot twice but you're okay. You're gonna be okay." Olivia was softly reassuring the distraught blonde, trying to make her feel safe and calm. "I know you're in pain, honey but do you think you can tell me what happened? Did you see who did this to you?"

Amanda continued to swallow and was grateful when a straw was placed against her dry lips and cool liquid ran down her throat. "Easy, small sips." Olivia put the plastic cup back on the nightstand and pulled the chair closer to the bed. "Amanda, can you tell me who did this to you?"

Hands gripped the bed sheets, turning her knuckles white. The pain in her chest was almost unbearable and inhaling deeply was out of the question. The brunette's concerned eyes watched the pale features carefully. "Come on, honey, give me something. Do you know who did this to you?"

It was too difficult to speak but with plenty of determination Amanda was sure she could let out a few words. "I... I saw his... face. I've seen him... before." Again, she licked dry lips. "Don't know his name." Ever so slightly she turned her head towards Olivia so she could look at the detective's face. She saw concern, empathy and strength in her brown eyes. "Why?" She uttered.

The detective took in the sight of the injured woman and saw how helpless she looked in that very moment. She gracefully grabbed a hold of Amanda's icy hand and covered it with both of her larger ones, hoping she didn't cross any boundaries by doing so. "We think that someone must have seen and recognized you earlier today outside the house you took us to. Someone must have thought you were a cop undercover or that you ratted them out and put out a hit on you."

She watched blue eyes close and a single leftover tear escaped from its corner. "What about Kim?" Amanda managed to ask. "Did you... did you and Elliot find anything new about Kim?"

Olivia wanted to reach out and capture the lone salty drop with her thumb but restricted herself. Instead she unconsciously squeezed Amanda's hand a bit tighter. "Elliot and detective Munch are still watching the house, they will let me know as soon as something comes up." She made a brief pause. "Amanda, Its not just bout Kim anymore. They know who you are, they know where you live and they probably know that you are still alive and in this hospital. You are not safe." Olivia watched as the injured woman tried to understand everything that had happened in the last few hours, but there was no signs on Amanda's face that indicated concern for her own safety.

"Kim is still out there. You shouldn't be here detective. You should be looking for my sister, that's your job." Her voice was stern and full of physical pain but it was gonna take more than an angry looking Amanda to scare Olivia off. "Everyone at the precinct are working on finding Kim, including myself, but you are too involved, Amanda. Your safety is just as important as finding Kim."

Blue eyes glared at her. "What are you saying, detective?"

Olivia sighed and ran her free hand through her shoulder length hair. "I'm just saying that we need to be very careful about how we proceed in this case. You almost got killed, Amanda. I know that our priorities are your sister right now, and so it should but honey, you have to take care of yourself too. You'll be no good to Kim if you don't start looking after your own health and safety."

Olivia suddenly reached out and tucked some of Amanda's hair behind her ear delicately, immediately regretting her action but it was already too late. The pale blonde met her eyes. No words were spoken for about a minute before Amanda tore her gaze away from the stunning detective. "I'm tired."

Liv gave her a slight smile. "Okay, you get some rest. I'm gonna get you a protective detail just outside your door." She could see That Amanda was about to argue against it but was stopped when Liv put her hand up. "I don't want you to argue with me on this. I'm gonna make a phone call and an officer should be here within the hour. Get some rest. I'm not leaving until someone gets here. Its final."

Amanda watched as the detective disappeared out of view but she knew she would stay close by until someone came to relieve her. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream and shout out in anger and frustration but in her physical condition it was impossible to even let out a sob. She watched between half closed eyes as a nurse came in, gave her some pain relief, scribbled something down on her chart and left the room. Sleep claimed her but before she drifted off her last thought was that she felt so alone and helpless.

Back at the precinct, Craigen informed Olivia that they were able to identify all the girls that were brought in. Benson was happy with the good news but it still didn't get them any closer to Kim.

"Olivia, can I see you in my office?" Craigen placed a hand on her lower back and guided her in to be seated.

"What's going on, Cap?" She asked with concern. "Is there news on Kim?" The serious look on her captain's face made her uneasy and she was preparing for the worst. Don sat himself down, put his hands together and sighed.

"As you know this is not just about finding Kim anymore. We now have ms Rollins safety to think about and her wellbeing. Elliot and Munch are still monitoring the house but I doubt they will get anything before dark. Daylight is not exactly suitable for the kind of business they are running." He took a breath and continued. "What I want and need for you to do is to make sure Rollins is safe around the clock, 24/7." Olivia opened her mouth to protest but Craigen was quicker.

"I know it's probably not you favourite thing to do but it's important that she's safe and stays that way. Also, she would probably feel more comfortable with a woman around anyway."

"You want me to be her babysitter?" Olivia was trying to understand what her captain really wanted from her.

"Not babysit. More like... a personal bodyguard slash chaperone."

The brunette raised her eyebrows and inhaled deeply. "Captain, with all due respect, I work on sex crimes not professional security. I don't think I'm... adequate for this position, I'm..."

"Its only temporary. You'll still be working on the case just from a distance. I wouldn't ask you to do this if I didn't think it was important. We both know that whoever shot Amanda wasn't just planning on injuring her or to give her a scare. They were shots ment to kill. She just got lucky. I don't want a repeat of today and I don't think you do either."

Liv just nodded, trying to take it all in. "Yes, captain." She got up to leave but stopped herself. "What about when she's released from the hospital? Where is she gonna stay? They obviously know where she lives."

Don held his hand up. "One step at a time, Liv. Let me worry about that when the time comes. For now, go back to the hospital. You and the officer outside her door can work out which shift to take between you."

The detective bobbed her head once more and stood up. "Sure, Cap."

Liv approached the officer. "Is she still sleeping?"

The female cop nodded. "Yeah, she's been out since you left. She's talking a lot in her sleep, though. Can't really make anything out of what she's saying. Just a lot of nonsense. Sounded like she was in pain but I checked on her and she was still sound asleep."

Oivia glanced at the sleeping blonde and was a bit sad to see the pained and worried expression playing on the pale features. She placed a hand on the officer's shoulder. "Thanks. Why don't you take a break, come back in a few hours. I'll do the day shifts if that suits you?"

"Sure." She reached out her hand. "I'm Donna Walkers by the way."

Olivia shook it. "Olivia Benson SVU."