NEW YORK
"Daddy, I don't feel very good," Dickie announced from the couch.
Elliot sighed, trying to maneuver over the toys spread on the floor. The house was a mess, there was a pile of dishes in the sink and an even bigger pile of clothes that needed to be washed. Turns out he should be more grateful for the split shores.
He made his way to the little boy, putting the back of his hand on his forehead and noticing he didn't have a fever. "What is it, bud? You don't have a fever."
"My tummy hurts." He said pouting, his eyes filling with tears.
"What's wrong, daddy?" Lizzie asked, coming out of her room.
"Where, bud? Show me," he kneeled beside the couch.
Dickie put his hand where he was hurting, and Elliot realized. He didn't have a stomachache. His gut was hurting, he was having a bad feeling.
"Mo! Katie!" He called his oldests daughters. Both girls got out of their rooms, startled by their father's shout.
"What is wrong?" Maureen asked.
Elliot sighed in relief at seeing both his daughters okay. "Have any of you talked with your mom today?"
"I just talked to her on the phone, she seemed fine." Okay, Elliot thought, maybe it was just a random feeling.
At the same time he tried to tranquilize himself, his phone rang on the kitchen counter. He got up to answer, his three daughters looked at him anxiously, feeling that something wasn't right.
"Stabler," he answered the phone when he read his captain's name, thinking he was calling him for a new case.
" Elliot, " he said in a tense tone. Elliot felt as if his entire body had gone numb and everything around him was in slow motion.
"What is wrong?" He saw Maureen approach him, a worried expression on her face.
"Dana Lewis just called me," he sighed. "Something happened in Oregon, it looks like there was a bomb." Elliot quickly sat down on one of the kitchen benches, feeling like he had lost all strength in his legs. "Olivia and her dealer were at the house, I don't know what happened but they are being transported back to New York right now. The plane will land in 30 minutes."
"But… Is Olivia okay? She… please … tell me she…" He couldn't finish the sentence.
"I don't know, Dana didn't tell me anything else." His hands started to shake.
"The children are with me, I…" He couldn't think.
"Daddy, go, we're going to be okay." Maureen said. He hesitated but conceded.
"Captain, I'll meet you at the airport." He hung up the phone and grabbed his car keys.
The night was cold, but he barely felt anything. Cragen and Munch were beside him, but neither of them dared to utter a word, the moment was somber. The jet landed and stopped in the hangar, the urgency of bringing them home made the FBI more permissive with spending.
The door opened but the first thing to come out was not one person, but two, carrying a body bag. Elliot's knees gave way but Munch and Cragen caught him before he hit the ground. He didn't see anything anymore, he didn't hear anything anymore, everything seemed to have stopped and at that moment he saw his whole life fall apart. He remembered the lazy mornings he spent next to her in bed, her making the worst cupcakes in the world with the twins in the kitchen, all of them covered in flour, her talking and advising Maureen and even training football with Kathleen. He remembered her laugh and how she called his nickname El .
El. He listened like a mantra.
El…
El…
"El!"
His head snapped up so fast he almost felt dizzy. It could only be a visage. He stood up and before he could take the first step she collided with his body, hugging him with all the strength she had. The entire left side of her face was scratched, she looked like she was in pain but at that moment he could only focus on her body in his arms, her warm and alive body. She was alive . He began to sob into her hair, no longer able to contain his emotions.
"Liv, Liv, thank God , oh thank God!" he repeated several times.
She was finally home.