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Elliot hates Christmas shopping.
Of course, he likes to give presents to his kids and grandsons, but he loathes the chaos of the holiday shopping crowd.
He’s already taken care of most of his Christmas shopping on Amazon because free two-day shipping is far more up his alley, but he wants to grab a few more things, and one of those things is some type of gaming console to surprise his grandsons with.
And since his knowledge of modern technology is close to non-existent and his kids are all preoccupied with their own pre-holiday plans, he has Jet with him to help him track down the elusive PlayStation he’s been trying to locate so the boys can play it when they visit.
“There’s a Best Buy nearby that’s supposed to have them in stock,” Jet informs him as she checks something on her phone.
“Let’s check it out. Did you find it on MySpace or something?” Elliot asks, taking a sip from the Starbucks coffee he’s still trying to re-adapt to after getting used to the coffee he drank in Italy.
“It’s a Twitter page. I don’t think anyone even uses MySpace anymore.”
Elliot chuckles as they make their way out of a GameStop that’s nearly out of business. He turns in the direction of Best Buy, weaving around a patch of tourists with armloads of bags.
They’re halfway down the block when the unmistakable thunder of gunshots rings through the air.
Immediately screams ring out as the crowd of shoppers start to run in different directions, the noise almost drowning out the sound of another gunshot.
“Get down!” Elliot feels something hit his arm, but he ignores it as he pushes Jet behind a metal bench. He squats down, one hand instinctively reaching for his service piece as he looks up.
He can’t spot the shooter through the crowd, but he feels something else hit him in the side, hard enough to knock the breath out of him.
Elliot’s been shot plenty of times in his life. The pain doesn’t register right away, but he already knows he’s been wounded before he looks down and sees the blood surrounding a spot on his side.
“Stabler!” Jet quickly calls for an ambulance, her eyes widening when she sees the blood forming on his arm and side.
The burning steadily increases, making Elliot wince. “Get somewhere safe,” he instructs. “The shooters are probably still in the area.”
“No. You shouldn’t be alone. I’m staying until the ambulance gets here.” Jet tries to shake off the shock and assesses the wounds, applying pressure to the entry and exit wounds on his side since the bleeding is quickly worsening there.
Elliot groans, inhaling sharply when he feels an ache in his side. “Don’t want you… to get hurt…” he grunts through pained sounds.
“I won’t.” She keeps a watchful eye on their surroundings, the area eerily clear now as sirens wail in the distance.
Knowing it’s pointless to argue further, Elliot grimaces and opens his eyes again to take in the damage. He knows the bullet in his arm is still there, slowing the bleed somewhat, but his side’s on fire and he struggles to hold back another pained groan.
An ambulance pulls up to the curb and Jet only backs away from his side when the paramedics take over controlling the blood loss.
She steps back when they load him into the ambulance, wiping her shaky, bloodied hands on her pants before she grabs her phone to make a call.
“Sergeant Bell? Something just happened.”
~oOo~
Olivia’s in the middle of a grocery store in a fruitless effort to find cupcakes for the class party Noah didn’t tell her he signed her up to provide cupcakes for until fifteen minutes ago.
Apparently, with Christmas Eve being the day after tomorrow, every shop on the block is fresh out of cupcakes.
It’s already after seven thirty, so she just grabs a boxed mix and a can of pre-prepared frosting from the shelf. They’re halfway to the checkout when Olivia’s phone rings. She glances at the screen, surprised to see Kathleen’s name on the caller ID.
What the fuck has Elliot done now?
“Hey, Kathleen,” she greets. “Everything okay?”
Noah watches as his mom talks on the phone. She tries to contain a panicked gasp, but it escapes her anyway and Noah notices the way she holds the phone more tightly.
“I’m on my way, sweetheart,” Olivia says, forcing her voice to remain calm.
Noah knows that voice. It’s the same voice his mom uses with him when she doesn’t want him to worry about something. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
“Noah, we have to go to the hospital. Elliot got hurt,” she explains carefully, setting the cupcake mix aside when she sees how long the checkout line is. “We’ll come back later, okay?”
Understanding entirely, Noah nods and follows his mom out of the store. “How bad is Elliot hurt?”
He hasn’t known Elliot long, but he’s seen a lot of him around their apartment lately, and his mom doesn’t know it, but he walked in on them kissing a few days ago when he was just trying to get a second helping of chicken nuggets from the kitchen.
“I don’t know, baby,” Olivia replies honestly. Even though he’s a big ten-year-old who now balks at holding his mom’s hand, she still makes him hold it as they weave through clusters of tourists on the sidewalk.
Noah sees how worried his mom is, so he doesn’t try to pull his hand away as they walk through the intersection.
They make the three-block walk in record time, and when they get inside the hospital, Olivia glances around until she spots Kathleen.
“Olivia.” Kathleen rushes to her and hugs her tightly. “I’m sorry I called you so late. I just—”
“I want to be here,” Olivia assures the younger woman as she returns the hug. When they separate, she tries not to look too worried as she asks, “How bad is it?”
“He was shot. Twice,” Kathleen explains, her blue eyes dark with worry as she leads Olivia to where her siblings are waiting. “In the side and in the arm. All we know is he’s alive, but that’s it.”
Feeling sick, Olivia finds a vacant seat and sits down in it. “I thought he was off-duty today.”
Moving to a seat near Olivia and Kathleen, Maureen nods. “He was. Sergeant Bell called me. She said he was shopping with Detective Slootmaekers in Midtown when he got shot.”
The pit in Olivia’s stomach grows as she takes that in. The thought of him shopping at all, let alone with a young co-worker, would have made her laugh if he hadn’t gotten himself fucking shot two days before Christmas.
She sees how worried all of his kids are, and even if they’re all grown now, a part of her still feels the need to be brave for them. “Your dad’s a strong man,” she begins softly. “I’ve seen him get shot several times, and he’s always toughed it out.”
He better pull through this time, she thinks to herself.
A few minutes later, Ayanna and Jet join them. Jet’s hair is damp as if she’s just showered, and it doesn’t take long for Olivia to put the pieces together and realize the young woman probably had to help control the bleeding until the paramedics arrived.
Olivia turns her attention to them. “Do we know anything about who shot Elliot?”
Ayanna nods. “He was ambushed by two defenders of the brotherhood. They targeted Elliot for getting the brotherhood dismantled. A couple of uniformed officers happened to be in the area and took them both into custody. How is he?”
Olivia sighs in relief, taking some reassurance in knowing that at least his attackers can’t get to him. “He’s in surgery. We don’t know much yet.”
“We’ll stay until we know he’ll be alright.”
“Thank you.” There’s something comforting in knowing how many people care about her former partner. “Jet, how are you?”
“I’m fine. I just want to make sure he’s okay.”
Elizabeth and Kathleen leave long enough to grab some coffee from the Dunkin’ Donuts across the street since the hospital’s excuse for a coffee shop seems to specialize in selling drinks that can only be compared to lightly caffeinated, microwaved dishwater.
When they get back, Elizabeth hands Olivia one of the cups from the tray. “Here you go.”
“Thank you.” Olivia gladly takes the cup and watches as Elizabeth hands Noah a cup.
“I thought you might like some hot chocolate.”
Noah perks up as he takes the cup. “I like hot chocolate. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Elizabeth sits across from him. “I hear you have a dance recital coming up.”
Noah nods, always eager to talk about dance. “I’m gonna be in a play, too. It’s my first one. I’m kinda nervous about it.”
“It’ll be okay. I did plays when I was in school. It’s a lot of fun.”
Olivia smiles a little as she watches Noah tell Elizabeth about the play he’ll be in next month. He’s only met Elliot’s kids once before, but they’ve all already accepted him as part of their family.
She’s talking to Kathleen when a nurse approaches them almost two hours later.
“Family of Elliot Stabler?”
Everyone’s on their feet in a moment. “That’s us,” Olivia informs the nurse. “How is he?”
“He pulled through the surgery just fine. One of the bullets lodged just below his elbow. The other went through his side. It grazed his liver, but fortunately, the liver can heal on its own. We’ll monitor it for a few weeks, but he should be fine as long as he takes it easy. He needs to take time off work and rest until he’s fully healed.”
Ayanna nods. “Already taken care of,” she says, and Olivia shoots her a grateful look since she knows Elliot will try to insist on going back to work the moment he’s discharged.
“When can he have visitors?”
“Now, but only two or three at a time,” the doctor allows. “He’s asleep and needs his rest. He can go home tomorrow.”
Relieved, Olivia sits back down so his kids can take their turns visiting him. She’s not going anywhere anytime soon, so she’ll take her turn after his kids have had some time to see him.
Maureen goes first since she has young kids at home to get back to, and when she returns to the waiting room a few minutes later, Kathleen and Eli leave to take her place in their dad’s room.
“Olivia, are you staying here?”
“I need to take Noah home and see if Fin can watch him, and then I’ll come back to check on Elliot.”
“He can come home with me,” Maureen suggests as she fastens her coat. “I didn’t find out until today, but I have to make brownies for Kieran and Seamus to take to school tomorrow.”
Olivia chuckles softly. “I can relate. Noah and I were trying to track down cupcakes for his class party tomorrow when Kathleen called me.”
“I’ll help him with the cupcakes.”
Noah tugs at his mom’s hand. “Can I, Mom?”
“Yeah, honey. Be good and listen to Maureen,” she instructs, kissing his head goodbye when he hugs her.
Once his kids have had a chance to check on their dad, Olivia takes her turn. She finds his room and quietly lets herself in. There are a couple of chairs by his bedside and she sits in one of them, scooting closer.
He’s sound asleep, his chest rising and falling in slow, steady motions that reassure her because it lets her know he’s going to be okay.
Olivia settles her hand on top of his and lets out a heavy sigh. “Don’t do this again, Elliot,” she whispers sharply. A few moments pass before she feels his fingers curling loosely around her hand. The motion surprises her, but he settles back into deep sleep before she can say anything else.
She doesn’t know if he’s too heavily asleep to hear her or not, but for some reason, she wants to talk to him anyway, even if he won’t remember a word of it when he wakes up.
“Hope this is the last time you wind up in the hospital,” she muses as she makes herself as comfortable as possible in the stiff chair. Her back will make her regret it in the morning, but she’s not leaving his side.
Not for anything. Even if his doctor promised Elliot would be okay, Olivia needs to see it for herself.
Olivia hears a knock on the door and looks up to see Jet watching from the doorway. “Hey, Jet. I didn’t know you were still here.”
“Uhm… is it alright if I stay for a while?” she asks hesitantly.
“Sure, honey.” Olivia nods to the other chair in the room and watches as the girl sits down in it. “How are you holding up?”
“Okay. I guess. That’s… that’s the first time I’ve ever seen someone get shot.” She shakes her head. “Someone I know, I mean. I just wanted to make sure he’s okay.”
“He’ll be okay,” Olivia assures her. “He’s been through a lot worse. His doctor said he’ll be fine as long as he rests.”
“That’s good.”
“Maureen said you were shopping with Elliot?” It’s a strange thought, because Olivia knows Elliot hates to shop.
“He was trying to buy a PlayStation and wanted my help since he hasn’t bought any electronics in at least a decade.”
That makes Olivia chuckle because she knows how clueless her former partner is with technology. The man still has a home button on his iPhone that he refused to even buy until flip phones became extinct.
“You know, he thinks pretty highly of you.”
Jet doesn’t answer right away. “I’m not really close with my parents, and he sort of… took me under his wing, I guess.” She’s not sure why she’s confiding like this because it’s not something she does, but Olivia’s easy to talk to and Jet likes that.
“Elliot and I are hosting dinner at his place on Christmas Eve. You’re more than welcome to join us. Some of my squad and his kids will be there.”
Jet thinks that over. She doesn’t have any plans, and even if she usually avoids people, it sounds more fun than spending the evening alone in her apartment. “I’d like that. I’ll try to come.”
“I hope you do.” Olivia gives her a reassuring smile before she returns her attention to Elliot.
She’s not going anywhere.
~oOo~
Elliot sleeps through the night.
He wakes when he feels the sun spilling through the window, hitting his eyes. Wincing, he turns his head in the opposite direction and opens his eyes.
Olivia’s at his bedside.
She’s curled up in the chair beside him, sleeping lightly. Her hand’s resting on top of his and Elliot’s sure she hasn’t moved all night.
She feels his hand move and stirs from her sleep, sitting up. “Hey...”
“Didn’t mean to wake you,” he apologizes through a heavy yawn.
“Don’t worry about that.” Olivia wraps both hands around his bigger one and sits up straighter. “Welcome back, El. How do you feel?”
He’s distinctly aware of an ache in his side and in his arm, which is tucked safely against his chest in a sling. “Hey…”
“Like I got shot,” he groans.
“Your doctor said you’ll be sore for a while, but you’ll be okay as long as you rest.” She moves one hand to touch his cheek, letting her fingers graze over the day-old stubble. “That means taking it easy and not getting shot doing last-minute shopping.”
He lets out a pained chuckle and tries to flex his arm in the sling. As he does, he glances around the room and that’s when he notices Jet asleep in the other chair in the room.
“She stayed here last night,” Olivia supplies. “She wanted to make sure you’re alright.”
“But she’s okay? She didn’t get hurt?”
“She’s fine,” Olivia promises. “She was just worried about you and wanted to stay.”
Relieved, Elliot nods. “She’s a good kid.”
“Not a kid,” Jet mutters, half-asleep. “You’re just old.”
Elliot chuckles. “Still a kid.”
“Still a boomer,” she retaliates calmly. She sits up and looks him over. “Last time I go shopping with you.”
“Sorry.” Elliot shifts a little to relieve the pressure on his side. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. I’m really glad you’re alright.” Jet stands up and picks up her jacket. “I’ve gotta run. I have a date.”
Elliot arches a brow. “Is it that one guy? Maleficent or something?” he teases.
Jet rolls her eyes in a fashion incredibly similar to the way his daughters used to when he would tease them about their boyfriends and shakes her head.
“ Malachi, and no,” she corrects. “And who said it was a guy?”
“I stand corrected.” Elliot holds his hands—hand, rather, since his left arm is restricted by the sling he’ll be ripping off as soon as he gets home–up in surrenderance.
“Right. I’ll see you at your Christmas dinner.” She gives him a wave as she makes her way to the door. “Try not to get shot again before then.”
Once they’re alone, Olivia moves to sit on the bed and cups his cheek in her hand, letting her fingers graze against the day-old stubble. “El?”
“Yeah?”
“Promise me one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Never scare the shit out of me like that again,” she instructs sharply. “Or I’ll kill you myself.”
He laughs softly and reaches up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Order received, Captain.”
The gesture is so gentle that it makes it impossible for her to stay furious at him for having a near-death experience.
Asshole .
“Glad you’re listening, Detective.” Shaking her head, she leans over and kisses him softly. Elliot doesn’t hesitate to kiss her back, his focus immediately on her.
When their lips part, he wraps his hand around hers and gives it an affectionate squeeze. “When do you think they’ll let me out of here?”
“Today, if you can behave.”
“You have my word.”
“I’m holding you to that,” she quips as she stands up. “Let me find your attending so we can get you discharged. We’ll let your kids know you’ll be at my place.” The tone of her voice leaves no room for argument as she slips out of the room.
Not that Elliot has any.
Olivia’s back in a few minutes with a nurse who hands Elliot a clipboard. “Here are your discharge papers. You’ll need to change the bandages daily and take it easy so you can heal. No heavy lifting, no intense exercise. You can still get up and walk around, but nothing strenuous.”
“I’ll make sure he’s careful,” Olivia assures the nurse, giving Elliot a sharp glance that silently tells him he better not think about going home and trying to throw himself back into the chaos of work.
After the nurse checks his vitals and unhooks his IV, Olivia hands him the change of clothes she’s glad Kathleen had the foresight to bring from his apartment last night.
“Let’s go home, El.”
~oOo~
It’s Christmas Eve, and this is the first time in years Olivia hasn’t been called out for a case.
They’re hosting the dinner at Elliot’s place since he has more room—and since Maureen and Kathleen already decked the place out with Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving—and to his relief, his kids handle the cooking. That’s a Christmas miracle in itself since Olivia hates cooking and even though Elliot picked up some recipes in Italy that he’s surprisingly talented at making, preparing an entire Christmas dinner is beyond his culinary abilities.
Between his kids and Olivia, Elliot hasn’t had a chance to over-exert himself. They’ve all taken the job of making sure he takes it easy seriously, and he’s lost track of the death glares he’s gotten each time he’s tried to do something even slightly risky.
While they wait on dinner, he and Olivia keep Kieran and Seamus busy with a round of Mario Kart.
“Grandpa! You’re not supposed to drive off the bridge!” Kieran chides when Elliot makes his Mii careen off of the bridge, only to be rescued by some floating character with a fishing pole.
“Yeah, Grandpa . You’re not supposed to drive off the bridge,” Olivia echoes, making both boys laugh.
“I thought I could take a shortcut,” he defends as he manages to get the bald-headed Mii his grandsons made him back on the race track. There’s a knock on the door as he finishes the race in almost the last place, so he sets the neon controller aside and gets up. “I’ll get it.”
He opens the door and steps aside to let Ayanna and Jet in. “Hey, guys. I’m glad you could make it.”
“I’m glad you pulled through. It would’ve been a lot more paperwork otherwise.”
Elliot shrugs as he closes the door behind them. “What can I say? Might as well be a liability off-duty, too.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Olivia reprimands, and if they weren’t in front of their co-workers and Elliot’s kids and grandkids, she would’ve given him a smack on the ass. She keeps a watchful eye on him as he makes his way to the kitchen to check on dinner.
Once the food’s served, Olivia takes a seat next to Elliot and glances around the room. Fin and Carisi are sitting with Rollins and Ayanna. Maureen’s trying to persuade her boys that the vegetables on their plate are in fact not poisonous. Noah’s talking excitedly to Kathleen and Dickie about some horror video game, and it’s not long before Jet chimes in on the conversation.
After everyone’s had plenty to eat and a helping of dessert, their guests slowly start to file out of the apartment. Elliot’s kids and Jet and Noah head outside to the ice skating rink down the block. Olivia makes sure Noah’s bundled up in a warm coat before she lets him go.
“I haven’t been ice skating in years,” she comments as she settles on the couch next to Elliot, nestling into his uninjured side.
“We should go sometime.”
“You on ice skates? We could sell tickets to that,” she teases, trying to imagine him on skates and laughing at the thought. “How are you feeling?”
“Great.” Elliot raises his own drink—water, since he can’t have a glass of wine until the injury to his liver heals—and grins. He clinks his glass to hers, not caring if he looks ridiculous as he holds up a sprig of mistletoe.
“Aren’t you sneaky?” Olivia laughs and sets her wine glass aside so she can kiss him. She melts into the kiss, smiling softly when his hand cups her cheek.
Several moments pass before they part. When they do, Olivia snuggles cozily up to him.
“Merry Christmas, Liv.”
“Merry Christmas, El.”