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First thing she noticed on her walk home was that graffiti on the wall of her building. Second thing she noticed were two boys standing across the street and she knew immediately they were there for her. It took her a second to remember that there was a smaller hand in hers, and she was not alone – Noah, her sweet boy. She half-wished Elliot was there, other part of her was glad Elliot was not there to see it.
She rushed Noah quickly into the lobby of their building with her handbag and instructions to have the security guy of the building call the police and tell them it's 10-13 and then for Noah to call dad to come home right now – they will need him no matter how this was gonna go – and for Noah to stay in the lobby. She knew that both she and Noah would need Elliot. She thought about making the officer down call, but she was hoping that would not be needed. 10-13 would be sufficient for now, and with any luck there would be a squad car a few blocks away from her and they'd get to her before this could go badly.
And she did what she'd done so many times before in her life, in her career and took the fight to BX9 and taking away their chance to jump her. As she approached them, she saw one of the boys taking out a machete from the jacket – she was glad Noah was not around to see this. Noah was safe. Elliot was safe. Ben was safe. Olivia… was not safe.
"NYPD, drop your weapon," she commanded as she lifted her gun. These boys were not much older than Ben – her 15-year-old sweet and only a bit rebellious teenager – BX9 boys actually looked younger than her eldest did.
"We take what we want," one of the boys said.
"Drop it," she repeated while aiming her gun at both of the teenagers, hoping she wouldn't have to shoot either of them. They were somebody's sons, there were mothers out there completely unaware of their sons joining a gang and attempting to murder a NYPD Captain.
The moped came out of nowhere and just like that she lost her footing and fell to the ground. She felt kicks in her face, her jaw, her ribs, her stomach, her arm, her ankle, she rolled around and she felt kicks in her lower back – like that hadn't been killing her before – but she managed to find her weapon right in time to see one of the boy rise the machete at her.
She was down, but she had her weapon and she was aiming it at the boy with the machete – and she hesitated – but before the boy could slash her open with machete she lowered her gun and took out the boys kneecap. It's like an ancient lesson from her NYPD physical training to go for the bad guy's knee, or it could've been something Elliot taught her a lifetime ago.
And then she held her gun to the other unarmed boy.
"Mom!"
The scream caught the attention of everybody – Noah sounded terrified. No! Noah shouldn't see this, she couldn't have him there. She didn't want Noah to see her on the ground with her gun pointed at the boys they saw standing on the street before. And Noah becoming a target was the last thing she wanted. She couldn't let them hurt her boy.
"Noah, go back inside," she yelled, luckily the security guy was there to take hold of Noah and guide him back to the safety of the lobby.
But it was a distraction enough for the mopeds to show up and pick up the 2 boys instructed with killing Olivia, one of whom had a bullet lodged into his knee. She got up, and aimed her gun at the runaway mopeds, but it was useless – she wasn't going to shoot the mopeds with 4 kids. It was only then that she realized that everything hurt.
And BX9 had green lit her – BX9 had green lit a NYPD Captain – there was only one man, who had enough power to make that call. And something must've happened, something that she was yet to find out about.
She almost forgot about Noah in the lobby, quite possibly scared out of his mind. She quickly checked herself to make sure she looked decent enough not to scare Noah any further and put her gun away to get that out of sight.
Noah jumped to her arms, the second Olivia walked into the lobby and she had to hold her teeth together not to make any sound at the flash of pain that shot through her. Noah ambushed her with 100 questions about what happened and who were the boys and why it happened that she was actually glad to see the police cars arriving and giving her an excuse to escape the questions she didn't want to answer – she didn't really have most of the answers yet anyway. Though she wanted to stay with Noah and comfort him, she knew she had to give her statement.
The ambulance got there right after the first NYPD squad cars, followed by a detective car and more squads. She got ice pack for her eye and jaw, the paramedics gave her a quick check, and she was half-way through giving her statement, when she heard her name being called and Elliot running through the cars with their red and blue lights still blinking.
"Liv!"
She excused herself from the detective taking her statement by saying that her husband had arrived.
"Elliot," she exhaled.
"What happened?" he asked, slightly out of breath before he reached her. All Noah had told him over the phone was that Olivia had told Noah to call Elliot and to call the police and tell them 10-13. That was enough to make his blood run cold, he left Ben's soccer game and made a call to Kathleen to pick up Ben instead.
"It's BX9, they were waiting outside of the building when I got home with Noah," she explained. Elliot had finally reached her, he snaked his arm around her back with caution and hesitated before pulling her into him – he'd seen her nursing an ice-pack, he kissed her forehead gently. "I sent him inside to call for help, he's fine. I told him to stay inside, but he ran out and he saw me on the ground," she spoke quickly before Elliot could ask.
"Babe, how bad is it?" he asked, motioning to the ice pack to her face and having noticed her walk being a little off – he'd spoken to Noah, he knew Noah was okay.
"They got a few kicks in, but I don't think anything's broken," she replied bravely.
Elliot looked around the scene, there was at least 5 NYPD cars, 1 ambulance and multiple unmarked NYPD cars.
"Did they get the guys?" he asked, his eyes narrowing. He was gonna get them if Olivia didn't – the message had to be clear, Olivia was off limits, their family was not to be harmed. Nobody got to hurt her and walk to live the tell the tale.
"They were only boys, as old as Ben," she said and dropped her head against his shoulder with her uninjured side. "But they got away, I shot one of them though."
"I'll find them and I'll kill them, I don't care if they're boys or not. I will haunt down every single member of BX9 if they dare come close to you again," he promised.
Olivia chuckled. "El," she reprimanded him, the last thing she needed was him being a cowboy and going after a gang. There was a chance that Elliot was already a target like she was.
He looked at her and pressed his lips into her hair. He wrapped his other arm gently around her back and held her – thankful she was alive. He was careful not to hold her as tightly as he would've wished, for he was unaware how injured she was and where exactly she'd been kicked. The last thing he wanted was to cause her any additional pain when all he wanted was to take all the pain away from her.
"Where's Ben?" she asked remembering that Elliot had been watching Ben's soccer game while her late-night meeting with McGrath meant that she was gonna miss most of it and it was easier just to pick up Noah from dance class and grab Ben's favorite for dinner for consolation.
"Kathleen is picking her up. Noah called me just after half-time and I came as fast as I could," he explained. "Ben scored to give his team a lead," he added, which brought a small smile to her face.
She exhaled heavily and buried her face deeper into his coat. "Poor Noah, I only saw him briefly before the police arrived," she spoke remembering the main reason why she called for Elliot. Then she lifted her head from his shoulder. "El, you should go stay with him, he's scared. I'm fine, I need to finish giving my statement anyway. He shouldn't be alone right now."
Elliot nodded. "Yeah, I'll go stay with him," he said, but didn't make a move to let go of her yet. He had noticed a tickle of blood on her lower lip before, but it didn't look busted. "Can I kiss you before I go?" he asked with hesitation.
Olivia nodded and leaned forward already with anticipation. He kissed her gently; his lips were soft and he was being cautious. And then he let her go and went to check on Noah while she returned to the detective who was taking her statement before.
She gave the younger detective her gun with one bullet missing from her magazine, finished her statement, blew 00s into the breathalyzer and was midway through protesting against being taken to the hospital for a proper check – even though she knew she'd have to go, she might refuse the trip, but Elliot would make sure she'd get there, even if it meant for him to forcefully drag her there or throw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and drop her into the doctor's office.
Luckily that's when she noticed Fin walking towards her. She excused herself again from the younger detective.
"Not as pretty as Rollins, but I'll do my best with this emotional support thing," he attempted to joke.
"Between the two of you – we both know who's softer," she replied in an attempt to lighten the mood. She got a chuckle out of him.
"Can you believe this?" she asked in disbelief. She hadn't quite processed it herself.
As they discussed the case, BX9, Duarte and Olivia shooting one of the boys, Elliot appeared back on her side. He shook hands with Fin and placed his arm protectively around Olivia.
"Where's Noah?" Fin asked changing the topic for he was certain Olivia didn't want to share all the details about BX9 and Duarte with Elliot. If Fin knew the other man at all, he was already making plans to take down every member of the gang and probably ending up getting whole OC taskforce involved as well. Fin would definitely approve of the plan and wouldn't hesitate to join in.
"I told him to go inside," Olivia said. They walked towards the building, where Noah was looking through the glass with another officer next to him.
"He's okay, he's a bit concerned for Liv, but otherwise he's okay," Elliot spoke quickly, and ran circles with his palm over her back soothingly.
"He's a tough kid, and he knows there's hundred cops here for his mom," Fin spoke.
"Fin, can you stay with him until Ben and Kathleen get home?" Elliot asked, then looked at Olivia with concern he had been hiding. "Liv needs to get checked out and I don't wanna leave her alone," he spoke softly.
"I'm fine," Olivia protested with exhaustion.
"Me and half dozen of NYC finest," Fin said ignoring Olivia. "I'll put an unmarked squad car on all of your kids," he said to Elliot, who nodded.
"Thank you," Elliot said, shared a look with his old friend and coworker, then started walking Olivia towards his car parked a bit further away due to lack of parking where police cars were.
"El, no, the detective is waiting for me," she remembered.
"I don't care what he says, I'll drive you there," he spoke with no room for argument. He didn't trust anyone else to drive his wife after she was jumped outside of their building in case, they would return to finish the job. Some days he acted like a possessive caveman, who'd grunt at and threaten to break anything and anyone who got into his way. This was one of these days.
"Fine," she replied weakly. It came as a no surprise that she was drained physically and emotionally and Elliot taking charge was welcomed. She didn't protest, there was no point, so she leaned into Elliot, let him take her wherever and follow his lead – she'd go anywhere with him, she felt the safest with him.
He made it clear to the poor detective, that he'd be taking Olivia to the hospital and the guy could follow them. The younger detective didn't see any point in putting up a fight, as long as Olivia was with NYPD his ass was covered.
Elliot ended up following the detective instead, while Olivia sat on the passenger seat with her eyes closed the ice pack on her jaw.
"Honey, how are you feeling?" he asked seriously.
Olivia made a sound at the back of her throat, but didn't open her eyes. Elliot kept one eye on the road and the other on her, while he took her hand in his and gave her a comforting squeeze.
"Don't lie," he instructed her gently.
Olivia swallowed, she turned her head towards him and opened her eyes. He noticed the bruise forming around her left eye and by the jaw, where she was still holding an ice pack. "I feel like I got hit by a bus. Everything hurts," she admitted.
Elliot tilted his head, his fingers tightened around her palm. "Babe, I will do everything I can to keep you and the boys safe," he promised.
"I know, it's not on you," she spoke, letting him off the hook even though she knew it would take a lot more to make him stop finding ways to blame himself. "It's from a case. I put two of their guys away for rape in the summer. I have no idea why they are coming after me now," she explained.
"The gang case you worked with the unit from Bronx. Captain Duarte, was that his name?" Elliot asked, he remembered hearing her complain about Duarte for days and then getting a text from her saying she'd be home late because she's having drinks with the insufferable Captain. He chose not to ask for he didn't understand how she could change her mind so quickly, but also he didn't really want to know.
"Yeah, that case," Olivia confirmed. "I don't know why I was green lit now."
"Would Duarte know?" Elliot asked bitterly.
Olivia shrugged her shoulders. "He knows BX9 better than anyone else, if there's anyone who knows, then that's Duarte. I'll reach out tomorrow and see if we can work together to bring down the head of BX9, nobody else would have the power to green light NYPD Captain and her son," she spoke.
Elliot was half thankful to get her mind out of looking for revenge, when he parked his car in front of Mercy hospital and turned off ignition.
"Let's get you checked out," Elliot said softly.
He was out of the car and was rounding up to her side by the time she'd opened the door. He reached for her hand and helped her out of the car. She winced visibly, he chose to ignore it and she was probably grateful that he did. He kept his arm around her while they walked through the hospital doors. The detective on site had already spoken with the nurse and they had an exam room set up for her. Elliot guided her in and closed the door.
Elliot assisted her with removing her coat and her leather blazer underneath it, then helped her into sitting position on the exam table, threw his own coat on top of hers and stood in front of her.
"I'm so sorry for this babe, I wish I'd been there with you. I hate seeing you hurt," he admitted.
"You couldn't have known," she replied hoarsely.
"I could've gone to pick up Noah instead, and you would've been fine watching Ben be amazing in soccer," he continued. He lifted his hand and caressed her cheek on the other side from where she was holding the icepack.
"Then they would've jumped me when I came back with Ben, babe there's nothing you could've done. Or maybe they would've gone for you and Noah, either way they were gonna get to us," she assured him.
Elliot made a noise but didn't speak.
She lifted her hand to hold his head. "Come here," she whispered and guided him closer. She kissed him with assurance that she was in fact okay and there was nothing he could've done to prevent it. It felt oddly similar to a few years ago, when Wheatley's men were waiting for Elliot one night and he took a beating right outside of their home. She probably felt a bit better that he did.
He kissed her forehead gently, then sat on the exam table next to her, wrapped his arm around her back and coaxed her into him.
"Thank you for being here," she spoke quietly.
"There's no other place I'd rather be," he replied.
Olivia closed her eyes and allowed the familiar scent of his aftershave mixed with his perfume comfort her and bring back calm to her mind.
There was a knock on the door and a doctor walked in, she looked like an average overworked doctor in her mid 40ies.
"I'm sorry about the wait," she said politely. "How are you feeling Captain Benson?"
"Been better," she replied.
The doctor took a tablet which already had Olivia's information and checked through that. She stayed quiet for a bit.
"Captain, you okay with me doing a thorough physical check-up first?" she asked politely.
Olivia nodded.
"Then let's get started," the doctor said. She put down the tablet and grabbed a fresh pair of gloves, while Elliot slowly got up and stood on the foot of the bed.
The doctor gave Elliot a look and hesitated with proceeding on the exam. Olivia sensed the hesitation in the doctor and looked at Elliot, who seemed unbothered by it. Olivia also knew that there was nothing that would make Elliot leave the room – unless she asked him of course, but she didn't want him to leave. His presence alone made her feel much calmer about the situation.
"It's fine, that's Elliot, he's my husband," Olivia said quicky.
The doctor nodded. She started by listening to Olivia's heart and lungs, she then asked Olivia to remove her sweater and work pants and to lie down on the bed and checked her ribcage for any signs of broken bones, she examined her abdomen carefully, then asked Olivia to turn to her stomach and examined her back. She winced, when the doctor palped her lower back. She continued in checking her hips and legs for deformations – specially the left one which she was holding onto before. She noticed Olivia had a nasty cut on her right elbow, which would need stitches, but didn't find anything else concerning.
She finished the exam by examining her face, her cheek was red and there was a bruise forming below her left eye. Her lip had just a small cut, which was no longer bleeding.
"It seems that you have no broken bones, but I will still send you to CT to check for any internal bleeding. And we'll have somebody clean and stitch up your right elbow. Do you have any other complaints, Captain?" she asked.
Olivia shook her head.
The doctor handed her a gown to change into for the CT and instructed that someone would be there shortly.
Elliot helped her into the gown, another doctor came to stitch her elbow right after she'd finished changing. She only needed 4 stitches and the doctor was optimistic about Olivia getting only a small scar.
Soon after a nurse came to take Olivia to CT. It more than an hour for the same nurse to bring Olivia back after she had all the pictures taken.
"They also took an x-ray of my wrist and ankle to be sure," Olivia explained the longer wait to Elliot.
"How are you?" he asked while running his hand through her hair and kissing the crown of her head, he fully approved of the additional pictures if it meant making sure she was fine.
"Tired, I just wanna go home," she admitted.
"I know. Did they say if you can change?"
She nodded. Just as gently as he helped her undress, he helped her back into her clothes. He noticed the bruises starting to form on her abdomen and on her lower back, surely they'll get much worse before they get any better.
"Kathleen called. She said that Noah crashed, but she, Ben and Fin are waiting up for us. She's worried about you," he spoke.
"She's probably more concerned you taking on a gang singlehandedly," she replied.
Elliot rolled his eyes and chuckled. Maybe Olivia was right.
Once she was dressed he jumped back to the bed on her side. He didn't have to coax her this time – she leaned into him as soon as he sat down. Elliot kissed the side of her head over her hair.
The doctor returned.
"How are you feeling now?" she asked.
"The same," Olivia replied.
The doctor smiled and took the tablet to check the results of Olivia's scans. When Olivia sat upright and Elliot made a move to get up from the bed, the doctor shook her head and Elliot remained seated, he pulled Olivia back onto his side, where she remained with her eyes closed.
"Your scans look good, no broken bones and no internal bleeding. I'll just take your blood pressure and check your eye, and then you're free to go," she announced with a smile.
"Thank you," Olivia replied.
She put the blood pressure sleeve on Olivia's arm while she took another look around her eye socket, she was carefully palpating for any signs of additional injuries.
"You're BP is normal considering," she said when the BP machine beeped, she removed the sleeve from her arm and finished her exam on her eye.
"You'll be sore tomorrow, specially on the lower back," she told compassionately.
"So same as yesterday," Olivia joked and rubbed her sore back. She was already feeling it.
"Put some ice on everywhere that hurts, it'll help with the bruising. You can take some over the counter painkillers to manage pain. If the pain gets worse, we can prescribe you something stronger," the doctor said.
"Thank you," Olivia said.
"Mister Benson, make sure she takes it easy for the next few days physically. Plenty of rest and ice on her injuries is essential," the doctor turned to Elliot. He chuckled at being called mister Benson – he's never been called that before –but didn't bother to correct the doctor, he simply nodded and promised to keep an eye on Olivia. With that the doctor left the room.
"Mister Benson?" she teased him.
"That's only because you're not going by your married name, missis Stabler," he teased her, but there was no harm in his voice – he'd given up on trying to get Olivia to go by his name years ago. It was Benson-Stabler on her driver's licence, but she refused to take his name professionally and he never really pushed for her to take it either. Nevertheless, he took every opportunity to tease her about it.
Before Olivia could get up, a nurse came to the door saying she had a visitor. Olivia shared a quick look with Elliot wondering who'd come to see her at the hospital – it was almost midnight already. Fin wouldn't let their kids out at this hour… Who could it be?
Elliot already prepared by getting half up from the bed, he pulled Olivia tighter into him and placed himself closer to the door – he was ready for a fight in case it was BX9 trying to finish the job, but NYPD had surely a few officers in the hospital checking visitors.
Olivia sighed and her shoulders fell when she saw it was McGrath. Elliot relaxed but remained vigilant by her side. He didn't like that guy.
"Hey, Cap, you alright?" McGrath asked in almost caring manner.
"I will be once I get my hands on Oscar Papa," she said, she motioned to Elliot to get her jacket and get ready to leave. Elliot zoned out while Olivia and McGrath were discussing the case and how to get BX9. He noticed Duarte's name being said and he didn't like that at all, but if working together would take down the head of the snake and make her life safe again, then he would not say a single word about it, though he was already planning on bringing the case to Ayanna and turning it into something the task force could solve.
McGrath made a move to leave, Olivia was ready to follow him and get back home, when he turned around and turned to Elliot. There was no secret about the men not liking each other.
"Stabler, take good care of her, will you?" McGrath said to Elliot.
"I will, don't worry," Elliot assured the man from where he was standing just behind Olivia, his hand resting on her back.
With that McGrath left the room.
A nurse entered just as McGrath left with discharge papers, which Olivia signed and with that she and Elliot were on the way back home.
Elliot took her hand in the car; they stayed in silence other than the radio playing in the background. There were still 3 squad cars parked in front of her building and one unmarked car a bit further away. Two officers were in the lobby, one at each exit from the building and three men were just outside of their apartment.
They opened the door to be greeted by 3 tired people sitting in the living room – Fin was on the couch while Ben and Kathleen in the armchairs. The apartment was silent – there was no TV or radio in the background.
"Mom!" Ben said the moment Olivia entered the apartment and rushed to her.
"Ben, be gentle with mom," Elliot reminded the boy while he removed his coat.
Olivia held her arms out and Ben walked right into her warm embrace. He was almost as tall as she was with her heels on. "I'm okay," she assured her son. "How was the game?"
"My team won today, I scored 3 goals," Ben said proudly.
"I'm so proud of you. Sorry I missed the game."
"It's okay. You can come to the next one."
"I will."
Ben released Olivia, only for Kathleen to take his place and carefully hug Olivia. She exhaled with relief after seeing that Olivia was okay. She'd been going crazy with concern since Noah called Elliot earlier that night. Whereas Olivia wasn't her biological parent, some days it felt like she was lucky enough to have three parents, who cared about her. Olivia had saved her life a few times over the years, Kathleen had never forgotten about them and she had grown to like Olivia as a mother and as her father's new wife.
"I'm so glad you're okay," Kathleen said.
"I'm alright. It's not that bad," Olivia assured the younger woman.
Kathleen opened her eyes and looked at her father standing right next to them.
"You'll take care of her?" she asked her father, knowing full well how stubborn Olivia could be and reject the help even if she needed it. Elliot was the only person in those moments, who had any hope in getting through to her.
"I will," Elliot promised for the second time that night.
"Good," Kathleen said, then released Olivia.
"How's Noah?" Olivia turned to Fin.
"He fell asleep," Fin replied.
Olivia and Elliot moved through the room, Olivia landed on the couch with exhaustion while Elliot sat down next to her, he placed his palm on her thigh, where she covered his hand with hers.
"No child should have to live like this," Olivia said heavily.
"You don't need a parenting book to know that," Fin replied. Elliot moved his free arm on the headrest of the couch around Olivia, as if he was trying to make her stop blaming herself. "So, what's the plan?" Fin asked changing the topic. His voice was soft and caring – he was giving them the emotional support they needed.
"We could send the boys to mama's old house at the beach," Elliot thought out loud.
"We are not leaving you and mom," Ben spoke for him and Noah.
"It might not be safe for you here," Olivia argued.
"I don't care. We're not leaving you," Ben was firm.
Elliot scratched the back of his neck. "We have enough police presence to do this, but it also means limited soccer practices and dance classes until this thing blows over," he said seriously.
Ben rolled his eyes.
"I'll make some calls and get a few squads placed here permanently," Fin decided.
"Sure, you don't wanna go stay with Mo and the twins? Remember how much fun you and Noah had playing with Seamus and Kieran?" Olivia coaxed, she looked directly at Ben.
"I said we're not leaving you here alone," Ben was firm.
"Buddy, mom won't be alone. I'll be here and Uncle Fin won't leave her side at work. But of course, you and Noah can stay with us, like I said – we have enough police officers to make this happen," Elliot assured his son.
"We're staying," Ben said confidently.
"Do you want me to stay the night as well?" Fin changed the topic.
Olivia shook her head. "No, come home to Phoebe," she said to her sergeant. "We've got this."
Elliot turned to Kathleen, who had been quietly sitting next to Ben. "It is kinda late for you to go all the way to Queens now, you might as well sleep on the couch. I'll take you to work in the morning," Elliot decided.
Kathleen nodded.
Fin stood up, said his farewell and left the apartment, no doubt he'd be awake at the crack of dawn and on his way to the precinct to start working on the case before most of the city wakes up.
"We can't live this way," Olivia decided.
"We won't, it's only temporary," Elliot replied and squeezed her thigh comfortingly before he remembered that it might be sore and his attempt to comfort her would bring her pain instead, but her face remained free of any grimaces.
Ben yawned.
"Bedtime, Ben," Elliot said firmly.
Ben looked between his older sister and parents, then resigned and stood from the couch. He gave Olivia a gentle hug and a kiss to her forehead, and a half-hug to Elliot while mumbling good night, then proceeded to drag his feet through the living room into his room.
Olivia sighed loudly.
Kathleen looked behind to make sure Ben's door was closed, then sat forward on the couch and looked between Elliot, who had concern written all over his features, and Olivia, who was a walking example of exhaustion, both physically and mentally.
"So, what exactly is happening?" she asked while looking in between Elliot and Olivia.
Elliot hesitated and looked at Olivia. He tilted his head and she nodded – a silent agreement.
"One gang from Bronx just green lit me and my 9-year-old son," Olivia was direct.
"Liv put away two of their members for rape in the summer," Elliot added.
"What does it mean to be green lit?" Kathleen asked and squinted her eyes.
"It means there's a hit out on me," Olivia spoke without looking at Kathleen.
Kathleen's eyes grew wide and she gasped with realization, she looked horrified and her eyes stopped at Olivia, who was clearly in pain with her cheek already red from the beating she took earlier and Kathleen was willing to bet her clothes were hiding more bruises.
"We're not gonna let them get to Liv the second time," Elliot promised.
"They were so young. They're only kids," Olivia said to herself, she was looking in front of her zoning out. "I shattered a kneecap of a boy who looked younger than Ben."
Kathleen gasped again.
Elliot shrugged his shoulders in response.
"Babe, you'll need a protective detail and I'm not letting you out of this house without a vest," he said changing the topic. He had already made up his mind about protective detail, but he didn't want to go behind Olivia's back like he did once before when they were still partners. In all fairness he wouldn't mind the couch if that's what it took to keep her alive.
Olivia rolled her eyes.
"I need to check on Noah and then I need a hot shower," she announced.
"Noah was fine. He was a bit shaken up, but he seemed to be okay," Kathleen tried to be helpful.
Olivia ignored her and got up from the couch with a wince on her face. Elliot jumped up instantly.
"Babe, come here," he spoke softly and held his arms out for her.
"El, I can walk to the bedroom on my own," she said stubbornly.
"I know you can, I'm saying you don't have to," he tried.
"El, your hips…"
"My hips will be fine. Babe, come on now, let me help."
Olivia rolled her eyes and exhaled loudly.
"Fine," she resigned. She wrapped her arm around Elliot's neck while he lifted her to his arms in bridal style and carried her out of the living room. He stopped on a doorway which led to the hallway and to the bedrooms, he turned around to Kathleen.
"Honey, you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, dad, I'm good. The spare sheets and blanket are in the cupboard," Kathleen said and pointed towards the said location. "Night Dad, night Liv," she said with a weak smile which didn't quite reach her eyes.
"Night honey."
"Night, Kathleen."
Olivia and Kathleen had never taken their role of stepmother and step-daughter too seriously, and Olivia wasn't even trying to compete with Kathy or take over from her. They had come to an understanding in where Olivia was a confidant for Kathleen like an older sibling or an aunt, while Olivia could rely on Kathleen to be on her side when she needed a babysitter. And while it was never said out loud, the two of them had refrained from using any affectionate names for the other. And whenever things were bad between Olivia and Elliot, Kathleen was amongst their biggest cheerleader and ambassador to make sure they stayed together.
Elliot placed Olivia on the edge of their bed.
"You said you wanted a shower," he said. Elliot already stood and he was on his way to their master bathroom to get the shower started.
"I changed my mind, I'll have one in the morning," Olivia said while running the back of her hand over her face.
Elliot nodded and returned to her side. He kneeled in front of the bed in between her legs. He wrapped his arms around her midsection carefully and looked up at her. He swallowed. "Babe, I promise to keep you safe. I'll do whatever I need to take down the head of BX9, whatever his name. They won't take you from us."
"We'll find a way to take down Oscar Papa," Olivia promised.
"Please don't go looking for him, let Duarte and his team manage this. Let me and the OC taskforce do this. BX9 would love nothing more than to have you walk into their turf and take you down. We need you alive," he spoke softly while holding her gaze. She nodded, though somewhat reluctantly.
"I'm so tired," she admitted.
"It's late. Brush your teeth and go to sleep, I'll go get you all the ice packs we own," Elliot said softly. She'd forgotten to grab an ice pack when they left the hospital.
"Thank you," Olivia said.
Elliot kissed her softly before leaving the room. He closed the door quietly, and walked through the living room to grab the ice packs they had in the freezer, mostly for Ben after his soccer injuries or for Elliot when he pushed himself too hard in the gym.
He heard quiet sobs from the living room.
"Kathleen?" he asked quietly.
"Dad," Kathleen replied.
Elliot shut the freezer with his hip and balanced all of the 6 ice packs in his right hand.
"What's wrong honey?" he asked as he walked back to the living room and sat down next to his daughter on the couch.
"Is Liv gonna be okay?" Kathleen asked while burying her face in Elliot's chest.
Elliot nodded.
"She'll be sore for the next day, but no broken bones and no internal bleeding," Elliot assured her, he knew where Kathleen was coming from. "She is going to be okay, they didn't get her – she did good."
"There was a car bomb 2 years ago, then you got beaten up in front of the apartment, and Liv's car was driven off the road. When is this going to end?" Kathleen asked through the tears.
Elliot wanted to say it came with the job, but all of that came because of Richard Wheatley and his obsession with him, and in extension with Olivia.
"I don't know, honey," Elliot replied honestly with a sigh. "But I promise that all of NYPD finest will be working their hardest to eliminate the gang that's after Liv."
"I'm scared that something will happen. I don't want to lose her," Kathleen admitted through sobs.
Elliot held her close and dropped all the ice packs on the couch. "You're not going to. We're not gonna lose her. I won't allow it. I will do everything I can to make sure she's safe," he promised.
Kathleen nodded against him and tried to collect herself.
"Go to Liv, dad, I'm fine," Kathleen said, as she lifted her head from Elliot's chest and blew her nose. She dried her eyes and offered a half-smile. "Really, I'm okay."
"Okay, honey, Olivia is going to be okay. She's strong. She's not going to allow anything bad to happen to her or the boys. And trust me, Fin's not gonna leave her alone," Elliot tried to soothe Kathleen. She nodded, but didn't look too convinced.
"Dad, go," Kathleen urged.
"I love you honey," Elliot said, he kissed the top of Kathleen's head and touched her shoulder comfortingly. Then grabbed the ice packs and disappeared into his bedroom.
Olivia was standing in front of the bathroom mirror observing her eye, when Elliot walked in. She'd taken off her jacket and it was now on a chair next to the closet.
"I think it's gonna bruise," she said without looking at him.
He dropped the ice packs on their bed and walked up to her. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and hugged her carefully. His lips found the side of her head, where she'd been hit.
"Probably," he said. "You're still the strongest woman I know."
Olivia made a noise in the back of her throat, but didn't say anything.
Elliot pressed a kiss on her neck just next to where Gitano stabbed her a decade ago. He swayed his hips slightly with her and moved her palm more firmly to rest at her ribcage and studied her face through the mirror for any expressions. She gave him nothing.
"Now, babe, I need you to tell me exactly where it hurts and where it doesn't, because I'm gonna hold you and I intend to hold you for a long time. And I don't wanna cause you any pain," he spoke softly, and kissed her tender neck again. He breathed in her fading perfume and hints of her shampoo.
"I just took some painkillers," Olivia replied. There had always been painkillers in the bathroom right next to where she used to keep her tampons, which had disappeared a couple of years ago, but the pain killers remained fully stocked in top drawer underneath the mirror. She clenched her stomach, when Elliot's lips slipped under her shirt and a shiver ran through her body.
He froze and pulled away looking for her eyes in the mirror. Upon finding them he looked for any discomfort in them again, but she had the same blank haunted look on her face, it's similar to the one she had when she came back home after Lewis had her for the second time. She'd worn that same expression when he arrived earlier that night.
"Olivia, just tell me where it hurts," he prompted her again. He used her name intentionally – these days he was the only person to still call her that, ironically in their younger days he was amongst the only people to call her Liv, when everybody else still called her Olivia or Benson.
"Everywhere," she replied with sigh.
Elliot kissed her neck again, just as softly as he did before. His palm moved on top of her bruised ribs gently until his fingers reached her side and he moved back keeping his fingers just below the swell of her breasts.
"You are making it better, thank you," she whispered and finally leaned fully into him.
"I got all the ice bags from our fridge for you. Do you wanna lie down and we'll make use of the ice packs?" he prompted.
"Yeah," she replied heavily.
Elliot dropped his hands from her and let her walk back to their bedroom in front of him, he didn't even try to stop his eyes from wandering and stopping at her ass. He noticed her favoring her left side, but he chose not to ask anything, yet. He figured that would be a problem for the next day.
She struggled to take off her blazer, so he jumped in and helped her out of the blazer and her black sweater, then unhooked her bra. He then pulled one of his favorite t-shirts over her head and continued in removing her work pants. He noticed redness on her lower back, some on her thigh and purple bruise already forming on ribcage. Elliot didn't let his eyes wander too much and helped her into her long pajama pants. He allowed his large palm to move over the redness on her lower back and her breath hitched. He muttered his apology and instantly moved his palm away to rest on her hip instead, he kissed her forehead lovingly and whispered that he loved her before she lied down on her side of the bed.
"Where do you want the ice?" he asked and held a pack out for her.
"My back," she said.
Elliot took the biggest pack, he leaned over her and coaxed her arms around his neck, while she held onto him, he lifted her upper body from the bed just enough to place a pack of ice underneath her and then lowered her back on the bed.
She didn't let go of him instantly.
"Thank you, babe," she said softly.
Elliot brushed it off with a smile, but Olivia pulled him closer until she could thank him with a proper kiss. She wasn't as gentle as he'd been with her before, she licked his lips until he opened them for her tongue to slip inside and find his. Elliot almost got on top of her but stopped at the last minute and rested his weight on his elbows and knee instead.
He pulled away, when he was getting aroused, and his pants were starting to get tighter than before.
"Where do you want the rest of the ice?" he changed the topic and stood back up while licking his lips and getting his body back under control.
She held out her hand and he handed her the ice instead. He watched as she placed two bags on her ribcage and one pack on her left hip. She placed one on her shoulder and the last one below her left eye.
"Now all I'm missing is you," she said to him and held out her right arm. Elliot quickly discarded his jacket, his work shirt and tie. He dropped his suit pants and socks, leaving him in his boxer briefs.
Elliot turned off the ceiling lamp and rounded the bed.
"Babe, how about you tell me where it hurts now, so I know how to hold you," he asked softly as he scooted closer to her and kissed her cheek, after all she hadn't given him the answer he'd been looking for. "Because you will spend the night in my arms, we're way beyond debating about it."
"Everything below my ribs and above hips," she said with a defeat.
"Hmm… thank you," he replied.
He kissed her quickly, then rested his head on the pillow next to her. He ghosted his arm over her middle, where he'd normally pull her closer, but that was off limits now and he really didn't want to hold her boobs for she might interpret that as his attempt to get her into the mood for sex. Same could be said if he went to grab her upper thing in his hand.
"El, it's fine," she said as if she'd been reading his mind.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." Olivia chuckled. "You've spent past decade holding my boobs in your sleep, it's quite comforting, I like it."
"Not my fault you have such perfect pair of boobs, that I can't resist," he joked, he'd found himself staring at her boobs more than he'd care to admit, probably times more than she was aware of.
He scooted closer so her side was against his chest, he moved his palm to cup her left breast and wrapped his leg around both of hers, his other arm moved around her neck and rested on her bicep. His nose was in her hair breathing in the familiar scent of her conditioner. He pulled her as close as he could without getting on top of her.
"This okay?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"I've got you now, sweetheart, and I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you," he spoke quietly, not quite remembering how many times in the past he'd spoken the same words and yet again something or someone had a way to get to her and Elliot being unable to stop Olivia from getting hurt.
"I know. You are my home, my safe place," she agreed. For her home had never been the four walls around her, it wasn't her queen-sized bed or her book on her bedside table – it was him, it had always been him. It was his muscular arms around her, his quiet snores next to her, the smell of his perfume, his lips on her skin – and a whisper of his love for her in the quiet air of the bedroom.
"And always will be."
He pressed his lips into the side of her head, he mumbled something that sounded like his proclamation of love for her. She replied in similar mumble which he could've understood or could've not. He didn't need to hear it to know it.