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Chapter 1
They arrived at the front, seeing the flashing lights of their back up arriving in the distance. They silently counted to three together and then Detective Elliot Stabler pushed to open the door as he led the way in.
They searched the immediate area and continued down the hallway listening closely for any sign of life. Elliot signaled that he would go to the left and Olivia nodded in understanding. Elliot took the first door and Olivia took the second. After clearing the room, Elliot moved onto the third room as she entered the hallway. Abruptly, Olivia heard a small whimper and then a cry of pain.
She took off running toward the noise hearing Elliot close behind her. She turned the corner surveying the room. At the end of the hallway the smell of a thick must immediately hit her nose, and she entered the room in hesitation.
There were stacks of boxes, plenty of places to hide. She moved slowly feeling Elliott’s heat behind her. The sound of gasping hit her from behind. She spun seeing a box. She pushed the box out of the way with her foot revealing Kevin, the little boy they had been searching for. His face was bloodied and bruised, as he gasped for air.
“Elliott!” She called to her partner as she rushed to the child’s side. She lifted the boy into her arms. His throat, sliced half across his neck was bleeding profusely. Olivia immediately placed her hand over the wound to stop the bleeding as she Elliott called for a bus. She heard a thud and quickly turned to see the suspect standing over Elliott with a gun. The man was twitching nervously. The gun in his hand was pointed upward as he took Elliot in. Without thinking Olivia immediately pulled her weapon and aimed. The suspect fell but not before his gun fired. Elliott yelped in pain just as Fin and Munch rushed in.
“Elliott!” She called out to him, her heart stopping, fearing the worst.
“Fuck! Goddamn it!” Was her partner’s reply.
“He’s good, “Fin said as he helped Elliot to his feet.
Olivia was already on her feet and out the door as Fin responded.
Hang on baby, hang on…
She felt the child’s hand grip her shirt tightly and her feet couldn’t move fast enough. The city air hit her, and she vaulted down the stairs. The Bus within sight, the pulling on her shirt lessened. She couldn’t breathe. His small body suddenly became heavier in her arms. Her stomach twisted painfully. She laid the boy on the stretcher finally looking at him. Covered in blood, his eyes stared back at her. Clouded and lifeless. The paramedics immediately went to work, but she already knew…it was too late.
Her heartbeat thundered in her head, The events around her hummed as the movement slowed. She searched for relief. Plead for silence, peace. Elliott was walking out of the building with Fin holding pressure on his shoulder. Her heart ached again. Her eyes rolled back to the stretcher. It was reality, now as they gingerly placed the sheet over the boy’s body.
It’s too much, too much…
She could feel herself losing control, breaking in half.
“Liv,” she heard someone say but it seemed so far away. “Olivia.”
Reality moved back into real time. She felt a hand touch her arm. She turned toward the motion and saw Fin looking at her in concern.
“Hey, you okay?” he asked studying her face.
She immediately anchored her pooling emotions. Her gut instinctively pulling them down and away from her conscious mind.
“Yeah I’m good,” she replied with a steady voice. “Where’s El?”
“Over there,” Fin pointed. She followed his gaze and saw Elliot sitting in the back of a bus. His shoulder was being bandaged by one of the paramedics. She jogged to the bus glad to see he wasn’t badly injured.
“El,” she said as she reached him. “You okay?”
“Yeah it’s just a flesh wound,” he replied before looking up at her. “How’s the boy?”
“They’re…” she started and then paused. “They’re still working on him.”
Her eyes were distant and hesitant as she responded. He looked beyond her and saw a small body wheeled over to the ME bus. They had lost him. He could see in her eyes that she knew it. She’d known it before he asked.
Her face was pale and expressionless. She was doing everything she could to bury the emotions threatening to bubble to the surface. She wandered away lost in her own mind. Her clothes and hands were covered in blood. The paramedic finished and he asked for a towel. Elliot pulled his shirt and coat back on.
He moved up next to her and handed her the towel. She looked at him and then the towel. She silently took it from him and began to wipe her hands. Her hands shook and his arm moved to the small of her back as he g led her to the side of the ambulance away from centralized view. She threw the towel into the window of the ambulance before looking back to him. She looked as if she was going to say something but then Elliot’s wordless gaze stopped her cold.
It was like hitting a brick wall when he looked at her like that. Her insides melted and she could feel her eyes brimming with unshed tears. She fought like hell to keep her composure intact but her head dropped down as she relented. Her hands covered her face to hide the guilt that ripped through her. Elliot took a step closer pulling her in, her forehead resting on his chest. His hands smoothed over her shoulders and arms in comfort. She pushed down the emotion that threatened to take over.
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