Chapter Text
Livvie held the ice pack the nurse had given her against her cheek. The shock she was in had lessened the pain, but it was starting to fade. As much as she hated to admit, the left side of her face hurt. A lot.
She was stuck in a cubicle as she waited to get an X-ray and CT scan done to see how bad the hit to her face was. The detective who was first on scene stood close by and didn’t seem in any hurry to leave her just yet.
“You don’t have to stay, you know?” She told him. “It could be a while.”
The hospital emergency room was a lot more crowded than usual and her injury wasn’t life threatening.
He shrugged. “I don’t mind. Unless, there’s someone you want me to call. Maybe your parents?” He suggested.
Livvie shook her head as slowly as she could manage. “My mom’s in Boston, and my dad died last year, so no.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. We weren’t that close.”
“That’s a shame.” He told her.
“You have kids, Detective?”
He nodded. “I have five.”
“Five?” She repeated with widened eyes. “ That’s… wow.”
He smiled. “Yeah. They’re pretty much grown ups now, except my youngest. He’s fifteen.” He paused. “You don’t have any family in New York?”
“I have an aunt. She’s listed as my emergency contact, but I don't wanna bother her with this.” Livvie answered just as a nurse came in with a wheelchair.
“You’re up.”
The young girl eyed the wheelchair like it was the most insulting thing she had ever seen. “I can walk, you know?”
The nurse gave her an amused smile. “It’s hospital policy.”
“I’d be rolling my eyes if my face didn’t hurt so much.” She mentioned as she begrudgingly sat down in the chair.
"Don't you have bad guys to catch?" Livvie asked as she was wheeled back into the room. The detective was still sitting in the same chair.
He looked up from his phone. "Nah. Already caught one earlier. That's enough for today."
Livvie huffed out a laugh as the nurse helped her get settled back onto the bed.
"So, what's the verdict?" He asked.
"I need to wait for the doctor to confirm, but I'm guessing that nothing is broken. It's probably just a hairline fracture."
"Are they gonna admit you?"
"I don't think so. I do have a slight concussion, but it's not a big deal." She paused as she squinted, looking through the window facing the hallway. A familiar figure was walking towards her room.
Livvie tilted her head to the side when she saw who it was. "I told them not to call you."
"Well, I'm glad they did." The older woman said as she took in her niece's bruised face. "Are you alright? What happened?"
"I'm fine, Aunt Liv." The younger girl insisted.
"Some punk tried to mug her." The detective said from his side of the room. "But your girl fought back."
Olivia turned towards the familiar voice. "Elliot?" Her eyes widened in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Wait, you two know each other?" Livvie asked, her gaze moving between the two of them.
"Yes. We used to work together." Olivia answered vaguely. "Is this your case?" She asked her former partner.
"Er, no. I was just the closest responding officer. There's a detective from the 5-4 who's working the case."
Olivia nodded. "Perp in custody?"
“Yeah." He told her. "Wasn’t really that hard to catch him." He said sharing a knowing look with Livvie who snorted.
Olivia frowned. "What did you do?"
"Me?" He asked, placing a hand on his chest in mock offence. "I didn't do anything. I swear."
"It's true." Livvie confirmed. "I'm the one who broke the guy's nose."
Olivia's eyes widened slightly. "You didn't." She said in disbelief.
"She totally did." Elliot said with a hint of pride in his voice.
Livvie shot Elliot a grin, and Olivia felt like she was in some kind of alternate universe where her niece and former partner had known each other for years.
The captain shook her head, looking back to assess the damage done to Livvie's face. "What did the doctor say?" She asked while gently tilting Livvie's face to the side.
"Well, I definitely have a concussion. They're still waiting on my x-ray results. But I'm guessing my cheekbone is fractured, not broken."
Olivia shook her head. “I can’t believe this happened to you.”
“I’m okay, Aunt Liv.” The younger girl assured her. “Could’ve been a lot worse.”
“God, don’t even say that.” The captain mentioned, squeezing her niece’s arm.
Elliot quietly observed his former partner and wondered if she thought of Livvie as a daughter more than a niece. Was she like this with her son, too?
The doctor knocked on the door a few minutes later. “Well, Livvie you were right.” He said holding up the x-ray scan. “Hairline fracture to the zygomatic bone.” He pointed to the faint crack along her cheekbone.
“NYU’s finest.” Livvie joked. “What, did you hijack my actual doctor?”
“Saw your name on the chart and asked to switch.” He answered.
“Ah. Aunt Liv, this is Dr Fields. ER attending.” She introduced. “He’s also Taylor’s uncle.”
Olivia nodded. “I can see the family resemblance. Nice to meet you.”
He flashed her a smile. “You too, Captain.” He shook her hand a little longer than necessary.
Elliot cleared his throat from the other side of the room. Livvie had almost forgotten that he was still there.
“Oh, and this is Detective Stabler.” The teenager added.
Both men stared at each other and gave a slight nod of the head as a greeting.
Huh, weird. Livvie thought.
“So… when can I get outta here, Doc?” Livvie asked.
“I have your discharge papers right here.” He motioned to the file in his hands. “Though due to the concussion, I’d advise that you stay with someone who can keep an eye on you.”
“She’ll stay with me.” Olivia volunteered.
“What? No. That’s not necessary. I have a roommate.” Livvie pointed out.
“I know. But I’d feel a lot better if you were close by.”
“And there’s no way my niece is staying put on a Friday night.” Dr Fields mentioned. “Even if it was life or death.”
The curly haired girl sighed. “Fine.” She agreed begrudgingly.
“Great. I just need to do one last examination, then you’re free to go.”
“We’ll just step out.” Olivia looked over at Elliot, who nodded. Both left the room, leaving doctor and patient alone.
"So…" Dr Fields started as he went about doing his final examination. "Is that detective your aunt's boyfriend?"
Livvie frowned. "No. At least I don't think so. I've never met him before today."
"Huh." He let out a curious sigh. "So does that mean I can ask for her number?"
"She's way out of your league. So, no."
"What? I'm a surgeon. Chicks dig that."
"Exactly. She's not some chick. She's a police captain."
"I know. It's kinda hot."
Livvie snorted. "You're such a guy."
He grinned at her.
"Can I please just sign the discharge forms? You're making my face hurt."
He handed her the forms.
"Speaking of your face, I'm prescribing you antibiotics and pain meds."
"I don't need strong pain meds. I'll just grab some Tylenol at the pharmacy."
"Livvie.." He tilted his head to the side. "If you think your face hurts now, it's gonna feel a lot worse later without any pain meds."
The teenager closed her eyes, mostly in annoyance, but also due to the fact that she felt like she was about to throw up.
“What’s wrong?” Dr Field asked her.
She opened her eyes. “Nothing. I’m fine.” She said before her hand went to her mouth.
The doctor grabbed a nearby bucket, placing it under her chin just as she threw up.
“Yeah. I’m not discharging you today.” He told her after she stopped. “Your temperature is higher than normal, and so is your heart rate.”
Livvie leaned back on the hospital bed. If she didn’t feel so nauseous, she would disagree with him.
Olivia observed her niece through the window in the door.
“You okay, Liv?” Elliot asked, noticing how tense she seemed.
“Yeah. I’m fine.” She answered with a small smile. “I just worry, you know?”
“Family tends to do that to you.” He nodded. “I didn’t know Simon had a kid.”
“Yeah. It’s kind of a long story.” She told him vaguely, choosing not to elaborate any further than that.
Elliot decided not to push her on the issue. “So, he named her after you, huh?”
“He did, indeed.”
“She seems like a good kid, Liv.”
She nodded. “Yeah. She is.” Olivia replied with a smile. “Noah loves her.”
“That’s good.” Elliot mentioned. “Liv…” He started to say, but the doctor opened the door and walked out.
“How is she?” Olivia asked.
“I think it would be best to admit her, just to be on the safe side.” He mentioned. “She’s still pretty nauseous and her temperature and heart rate is a little high. I don’t want to discharge her, then have you bring her back here again if she feels worse.”
Olivia let out a breath. “Okay. If you think that’s for the best.” She said, then noticed his hesitation. “Was there something else?”
He motioned for her to join him at the nurses station. “Livvie’s refusing the recommended pain medication. I was hoping you could talk to her about it.”
Olivia sighed. “Yeah. Okay.”
“You don’t seem surprised by that.” He noticed.
“My niece is pretty stubborn, so no.” She mentioned. “I’ll see what I can do, but she’s not likely to change her mind on this.”
“I can administer Tylenol, but it’s probably not going to be much help for the pain.” The doctor explained. “Depending on how she feels tomorrow, I can prescribe something stronger.”
The captain nodded. “Thank you, Doctor.”
“Of course.” Dr Fields said with a small smile. “I’ll get started on the admittance paperwork. You can sit with her in the meantime.” He told Olivia then walked off.
“Everything okay?” Elliot asked from behind her.
She turned around to face him, then nodded. “Yeah. Doctor thinks it’s best to admit her.”
“Oh. Bet she’s gonna love that.”
“Yeah, no kidding.” She told him while pulling out her phone. “I think I’m gonna stick around here for a bit and I need to call Fin.”
He nodded. “I should get back to the squad room. Ayana’s probably wondering what’s taking me so long.” The detective told her. “Are you two gonna be okay?”
“Yeah.” She answered. “Thanks El. For staying with her.”
“Of course. Just let me know if you need anything, alright?”
She nodded her thanks and watched as he waved before making his way towards the exit.
Olivia finished up her call with her sergeant before she entered the room where Livvie was in.
“Hey.” She called out softly, shutting the door behind her. “How are you feeling?” The older woman asked, sitting down next to her on the bed.
Livvie glanced at her aunt. “Honestly? I’ve felt better.” She admitted. “I dunno what happened. I thought I was fine, and then I just puked my guts out again.”
“Yeah. Concussions are no fun.” Olivia empathised. “So, Dr Fields said he’s going to admit you for the night…” She trailed off, trying to gauge Livvie’s mood.
The teenager let out a frustrated sigh. “Yes.”
“He also mentioned that you’re refusing to take stronger pain medication.” Olivia said with a raised eyebrow.
“Aunt Liv, I can’t.” She said defiantly.
The older woman placed her hands on her niece’s shoulders. “Livvie… You are not your father.” The captain told her, knowing that she worried about Simon's addiction issues being passed down to her. Genetics was a funny thing.
"I know." She said softly.
The logical side of her knew that just because her father was an addict, didn't mean that she would become one, too. But there was always a part of her that would wonder if that would eventually be her fate.
"I just don't wanna risk it." She added.
"Alright." Olivia relented. "How about we stick to the Tylenol for now, and reevaluate in the morning?"
Livvie closed her eyes and leaned back against the pillow behind her. "Okay."
"Do you need me to get you anything? A change of clothes, toiletries? I can swing by your apartment."
"No. It's fine. I can just ask Taylor." Livvie answered. "Dr Fields probably told her already."
"You sure? I don't mind."
"I'm sure. But thank you." The teenager said with a small smile. "Besides, shouldn't you be getting back to work?"
"That's the perk of being the boss. I can play hooky for a few hours, while my squad works the case." The captain mentioned. "I want to stay until you're settled in."
"Okay." She replied easily, as her eyes fluttered closed.
"Livvie." The older woman called out, placing her hand on the young girl's arm. "Hey. I need you to stay awake, okay?"
The curly haired teen blinked a few times before her eyes remained open. "Sorry. Just feel really tired."
"I know. Let's just keep talking, alright? You can ask me anything you want." Olivia offered.
Livvie perked up at that. "Really? Anything?"
"Within reason." She clarified.
"Okay." The teenager sat up a little straighter. "What's the deal with you and Detective Stabler?"
Olivia frowned. "What do you mean?"
"There was a vibe."
"Meaning what exactly?"
"Just seems like you have history."
"Well, we do. We used to work together. I already told you that." Olivia pointed out.
"Just work?"
"He was my partner back when I was a detective, but we were friends, too." She added.
“At SVU?”
“Yes.” Olivia answered. “What’s with the sudden interest?”
“I just, I dunno, maybe it’s the concussion, but I could’ve sworn he looked like he wanted to punch Dr Fields when I introduced you.”
The captain frowned. “What? No.” She insisted. “Elliot is just protective, that’s all. He’s always been like that.”
Livvie raised her eyebrows. “Okay.” She said simply, choosing not to mention that the detective seemed more jealous than protective.
Olivia tilted her head to the side. “What is it?”
“How come you’ve never mentioned him before?” She asked instead.
Olivia sighed. “It’s a long story, sweetheart. Things are pretty complicated right now.”
“How long have you known each other?”
“Over 20 years.” She answered. “He was my partner for the first 12.”
“So what happened during the rest of those years?”
Livvie had no idea how she was coming up with so many questions. Her brain was fried.
“I actually don’t know. He retired and I never heard from him again. At least not until recently.” The older woman started, then went on to explain the situation to her niece.
“Wait.” She held up her hand. “So you’re saying that he basically ghosted you for 10 years, but now he’s back permanently? And to make things even more complicated, you can’t even be mad at him because he’s grieving his dead wife?”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
“So how are we feeling about this? I mean he was super nice to me this morning, but you’re my family so I’m obviously on your side no matter what.” Livvie told her.
“I’ll let you know as soon as I do.”
“Can I ask you one more question?”
“Sure.” She answered, bracing herself.
“Does he really have five kids?”
***
The End (Maybe😂)