After about an hour a nurse came in to check Olivia's vitals and remove her IV. She dropped two bottles of water onto the counter next to the sink. "If you don't stay hydrated then the IV will go back in. Next time I'm here, both of those bottles need to be empty." The nurse's eyes flicked to Elliot with sympathy. "I don't want to make you leave here, but I will if you don't take care of yourself."

Olivia nodded, and reached for the first water bottle. "Okay," she agreed, and the nurse gave her a small smile before leaving her alone with Elliot.

Olivia drank the first half of the water bottle, not because she was particularly thirsty, but because she didn't want to be forced out of this room. For the next few days, this would be her home. He was her home. She had no plans of leaving. At least not until he was well enough to get transferred out of the ICU.

After hydrating she felt sleepy. Exhausted, long days and nights were beginning to catch up to her. Her head felt full of lead and she couldn't stop it from sinking onto the hospital bed beside hers and Elliot's joined hands. She was drifting off when Elliot's raspy voice pulled her from near unconsciousness. He squeezed her hand, and her eyes popped open. "Liv, love, come up here please."

Her brain barely registered the pet name, and she was too tired to decide if she liked it or not. She lifted her heavy head, and shook it. "No, El. Pretty sure the nurses will kill me, and I don't want to hurt you." She tried more logic. "You literally almost died, and I'm not making anything worse."

Unfortunately for her, those blue eyes were pleading, and when he offered a soft, "please" all logical thought flew out the window. She carefully climbed up next to him. He tried to move over, but that small movement made his face drain off what little color he had.

She paused but those damn baby blue eyes were still pleading so she slid next him, laying on her side. She tucked her chin above his shoulder, allowing her forehead to lean against his cheek and her lips ghosted his jaw.

She felt him sigh in relief and his body relaxed. Her body melted into his and she finally felt safe.

They laid silently for a moment until he turned his head towards her so his mouth brushed against hers. "Kiss me please."

Her heart thumped. "El," she scolded. She really didn't want to hurt him. She was nervous that any movement would shake something loose and he would bleed out. She knew she was probably overreacting, but she was terrified that if she moved to fast or too hard, he might break.

He closed his eyes and breathed her in. "Please. I need to feel you here. I need to know this is real." His eyes watered, "I need to know you're okay."

She didn't hesitate. Her lips found his. She felt a familiar warmth building within her. Tears cascaded down her face as she kissed him with a quiet passion. God she loved him. So. Damn. Much.

-000-

A buzz from her phone woke Olivia from the sleep brought on by the comforting warmth of Elliot's body. Without letting her body drift too far from his side, she reached for her phone. Kathleen.

K: How are things? You still doing okay? How's Dad?

O: Sorry Katie. I meant to fill you guys in, but I crashed pretty hard. He's been in and out of consciousness. He's lucid though.

O: Thank you for letting me go. I know I'm not really his family.

K: Shut up Olivia. YOU are the most important person in his life. Mom is coming around. He nearly killed himself trying to keep you safe. We knew you would be the first person he'd want to see.I'm just glad Mom understood that.

O: Yeah I was sure Amanda was gonna straight up fight your mom if she didn't let me come.

K: Right!? I was worried I would have to step in. I mean, my mom has been horrible, but she's still my mom…. Still Amanda would have kicked both of our asses in under a minute.

O: Someone would have called her off…I think…

K:Lol. Sorry I woke you. Rest. Keep us posted.

O: I will.

Olivia laid her phone on her lap and settled back in, glued to Elliot's side. She hadn't even drifted off before her phone buzzed again. Amanda

A: IAB wants to talk to you.

O: Tell them to f-ck off.

She had zero patience right now, and the last thing she wanted was to sit down with IAB they could screw themselves.

A: Tried that. Didn't go well.

O: You didn't.

Of course she did.

A: Tucker is an ass.

O: Well yeah, but you don't say that to his face.

A: Too late.

O: He's gonna pull your jacket.

A: Whatever.. he can go to hell.

O: I'm going to have to talk eventually.

A: Yeah but he can wait. You're recovering and Elliot isn't out of the woods. He can f-ck himself.

O: I should be mad. But I'm not. Thank you.

A: Any excuse to tell IAB to screw it.

O: Oh God.

A: Just rest. I'll keep the wolves at bay. I'll bring you some food in a little bit.

A: Need anything from your place. Dumb question. I'll bring you some stuff.

O: You're my favorite. Don't tell the others.

O: Oh! you will have to sneak past these nurses. They're pretty… rigid.

A: I'll be sneaky.

O: Thanks. You're the best.

A: Hell yeah I am.

O: and humble too…

A: haha

-000-

A couple hours later a head of blonde hair popped in. "Coast clear?"

Liv chuckled at the dramatics. "Yeah come on in." Olivia still laid flush against Elliot, one leg draped lazily over his. If it were anyone else she'd probably quickly extricate herself from him and blush with embarrassment. But it was Amanda, and she had probably seen them in way more compromising positions. Olivia didn't feel the need to move a muscle.

She hurried in and shut the door. The rustling sound of plastic bags broke the monotony of the machines beeping. She quickly peeked out the small window in the door. "You weren't kidding. I had to wait until shift change to sneak back here." She dropped a backpack on the chair. "I grabbed you a change of clothes, and that blanket you like. Also your toothbrush and some make up and crap." She grinned. "I had no idea what you needed so I just kind of threw a bunch of stuff in."

Honestly, Olivia was grateful for anything she brought. She would kill for a toothbrush right now. Oh and that blanket. The hospital sheets sucked. "Thanks lady."

"No problem." She pulled out a take out box. "I grabbed a sandwich and chips from that deli you like. I figured you needed something you could hide from the nurses easily."

Olivia couldn't help the laugh that escaped from her lips. Her shaking unintentionally woke Elliot. His eyes seemed weighted as he blinked heavily. "Oh hey," he greeted sleepily.

She watched Amanda blink back some errant tears. This was hard for her too. She was his friend. His family. Throughout the past few months she had stayed at their place far more than her own. His brush with death affected her like it would had it been her brother. "Hey," she brushed the tears away with the heel of her hand. "You couldn't do what you were told? At least just this once?" She tried to keep her tone light, but her voice betrayed her emotion.

He chucked and winced, making both Olivia and Amanda worry. He breathed for a moment. Finally the pained seemed to ease and he said, "You know full well I wouldn't stand down."

True. Neither woman would have actually expected him to back down. There was no way in hell he would have wasted even a minute getting to Olivia.

"Well," she drawled, "I knew you wouldn't, and I tried to rush Murphy along, but he wanted to be cautious, which you seem to lack the ability to do," she snarked, "you couldn't wait another five minutes to get yourself shot? I mean seriously. We were almost there."

Olivia knew she was teasing, but she thanked God Elliot arrived when he did. A lot could have happened in those five minutes. He could have raped her in those five minutes. He could have killed her. So, while she hated to see Elliot in pain, and she hated she felt responsible, she was eternally grateful he showed up, saving her from those five minutes in hell.

Elliot's face darkened and she knew he had the same thought. Those five minutes made all the difference. He shrugged it off and continued the banter, "Come on Amanda, you couldn't get Murphy to go straight there. I thought that's what that," he imitated her accent, "sweet southern drawl was for."

"Ha ha. You're funny," she said sarcastically. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got shot in the chest and almost bled out," his voice was starting to strain. He couldn't go

More than a couple minutes without needing to rest. Even the short conversation left him out of breath.

Amanda must have sensed his sudden turn and smiled sadly, "Well, you need to heal up. You scared the crap outta everyone, and uh," she cleared her throat, "None of us," she leaned her head towards Liv, "would be okay with you gone."

His eyes watered, and Olivia watched him blink back tears. "Thanks," he said with sincerity.

Amanda nodded and hurried out of the room. Olivia wasn't sure if she was trying to hide her tears or avoid the militant nursing staff. Probably a little of both.

She sighed and leaned her head against Elliot's shoulder. "You doing okay?" He asked, brushing his lips across her forehead.

She laughed softly, "I should be asking you that."

"I'm fine," he insisted.

"Says the man with a gaping hole in his chest." Her fingers danced across the skin on the opposite side of the bullet wound.

He weakly lifted his hand to hold her fingers close to his heart. "You're okay. Which means I'm okay."

She bit her lip to fight back the tears. He didn't care what state he was in as long as she was okay, and she felt the same about him. She brought her free hand to his cheek. "I loved you," she breathed softly, and kissed him gently.

"I love you too, Liv. More than you could ever know." His lips brushed hers once more, and she pulled back.

"You need to rest El, and I need to eat. And pee." She started to slide away from him and laughed at the displeased look plastered across his face, "What? They have pumped me full of IV fluids all day, and that crazy nurse made me drink two bottles of water. I'm Basically bursting at this point." She eyed the sandwich sitting on the counter. "I haven't kept food down for days so that sandwich is looking amazing right now."

"I'll be right back." She promised as she slid off the bed. His eyes were already dropping and she knew he wouldn't stay awake much longer. She leaned over and dropped a light kiss on his forehead. He murmured something unintelligible, and fell asleep.

-000-