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Detectives Odafin Tutuola, Amanda Rollins, and Dominic (Sonny) Carisi were waiting anxiously for their Lieutenant, Olivia Benson and their Sergeant, Mike Dodds, to exit the residence of Gary Munson, a corrections officer who had taken his family hostage.
Olivia had gotten the children safely out of the house while Dodds had attempted to calm Munson down and bring both him and his wife out safely. However, something had gone wrong and Munson had taken a gun seemingly out of nowhere and shot Dodds.
Munson's wife was safely removed from the house by Fin and left in the care of her father while Olivia attempted to stop the bleeding as they waited for the ambulance.
Now Olivia and Dodds' father, Chief Dodds, were inside with the paramedics.
Suddenly they heard a panicked voice call out. "What happened?! Where's Liv?!"
"Elliot, she's fine. She's inside," Fin assured him.
"I heard there were shots fired," said Detective Elliot Stabler.
Elliot had divorced his wife, Kathy two years ago and Olivia had been dating Elliot for about a year. Their friends had all found out about the relationship about six months into it. Now Elliot stood anxiously waiting for information on the true love of his life.
"Liv wasn't in there when the gun went off. She had come out with the kids and ran back in to help after we heard the shots. The SWAT team brought out the shooter and Fin brought his wife out before that, but no one else has come out," Carisi explained.
"Here they come," Amanda said, pointing towards the house.
The group looked up in time to see the paramedics pushing a gurney. Dodds was on the gurney looking pale and very still.
Chief Dodds followed close behind, and Elliot breathed out a sigh of relief as Olivia appeared behind him. After she had spoken to Dodds and sent the ambulance on its way, Elliot rushed over to her.
"Liv!"
"Elliot," Olivia breathed out as she found herself crushed against his chest. "I'm ok," she whispered as she felt his heart pounding.
"I had to come. I heard over the radio that there was a hostage situation and then I heard your name. I just…I couldn't handle it if I lost you. I needed to see you."
Olivia was barely holding it together and she knew she couldn't be strong much longer if she didn't distance herself. She stepped out of Elliot's arms, but before she could say anything, Amanda and Carisi came running up.
"How's Dodds?" Carisi asked.
Olivia shook her head.
"He took a bullet."
"How bad?" Amanda asked softly.
"Bad," Olivia admitted, adding, "he's lost a lot of blood. It was a gut shot, so they're taking him to Lincoln Hospital."
"Ok. Let's go," Carisi said, running around to the driver's side of the squadcar.
He stopped when he realized Olivia wasn't making any move to get in. Amanda and Elliot noticed too.
"Liv?" Elliot gently pressed.
"You alright, Lieutenant?" Carisi inquired.
Olivia took a deep breath and replied shakily. "No. We didn't check Munson, so I left Dodds in there." Olivia looked from Amanda, who placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, to Carisi, and finally to Elliot before continuing. "This is on me."
Elliot started to protest, "Liv…"
Olivia shook her head emphatically.
"No, El. Don't. This. Is on. Me."
Elliot sighed. He knew it was pointless to argue with her at this time. Instead, he gently took her arm and said, "Come on. I'll drive you to the hospital."
Olivia nodded absently and allowed herself to be led to his car. Carisi and Amanda got in their car and followed them to Lincoln.
There was a pretty big group in the waiting room. Sergeant Dodds was well liked by his squad. Olivia stayed with the Chief while Dodds was in surgery, offering what support she could. Finally, the doctor came out and told the chief that the sergeant was expected to make a full recovery.
After he left, Chief Dodds turned to Olivia and told her, "Mike's fiancée is coming in from Chicago. We all just love her. She's been good for Mike. And his brother is on the way."
"I'll stay until they get here," Olivia offered.
"I appreciate that," was the Chief's reply.
Telling her boss she'd be right back, Olivia went to update the others before sending them back to work.
Elliot moved forward and took her hands.
"What do you need from me?"
Olivia sighed tiredly. "I'm going to stay for a while. Could you go to my place and relieve the sitter?"
"Absolutely. I'm off today and tomorrow, so I have plenty of time."
"Thanks, El," Olivia said, relief evident in her tone. Elliot gave her a quick kiss and headed out.
Two hours later, Dodds' fiancée arrived. Olivia brought her into the room and found Dodds Senior asleep in a chair. Once the young woman made it to the Sergeant's bedside, Olivia gently shook her chief awake.
"Chief? Chief?"
He woke up with a start and Olivia looked apologetic as she continues, "We should give them some time together."
"Oh. Yeah. You're right," he said, getting up to follow the Lieutenant out.
At the door, he stopped and watched his son and his fiance with a smile. "They look good together, don't they?"
With a soft smile of her own, Olivia said, "Yes. They really do. They look so happy."
With that, the two of them went out to the waiting room.
However, the happiness was short-lived. Just a few minutes later, the machines Dodds was hooked up to went crazy and the doctors came rushing down the hall to Dodds' room. Olivia and the Chief rushed into the room and asked what had happened.
His fiancée explained tearfully, "I don't know! He was fine, then he started talking funny and then the machines went off!"
The doctor ordered the three of them to leave the room, so they watched from the window anxiously while the hospital staff did their jobs.
Twenty minutes later, Dodds Junior was on life support, and his father had a hard decision to make. Olivia went to text the others to return to the hospital and to update El and ask him to stay with Noah longer.
Then she returned to the Chief who was sitting at his son's bedside looking very lost.
"There were blood clots in his brain. They…it was just a …massive stroke. We can see him breathing. His heartbeat is strong, but neurologically, he's… he's already…" he started to explain, but couldn't go any further before breaking down in tears.
Olivia gathered the grief stricken father in her arms and held him as he sobbed. She cried with him for several minutes before leaving him alone with his son's fiancée in their shared grief. Olivia headed out to the waiting room. She didn't have to say anything to her squad. The look on her face told them everything they needed to know.
She walked straight to Elliot, who gave her a quick hug before looking into her teary eyes.
"El, what are you doing here? Where's Noah?" the Lieutenant rasped.
"Noah's with Kathleen. You need me now. Come on. I'll take you home," Elliot said softly.
Olivia didn't say a word the entire ride back to her place. She was barely holding it together. She managed to keep herself under control until she got into the apartment. Once inside she placed her keys on the counter and stood frozen for a moment.
Elliot placed a hand on her shoulder and whispered, "Liv?"
That was all it took. Sobs shook Olivia's body as she turned into her former partner. He held her tightly and murmured soothingly over and over, "Let it out, Liv. I'm here. I've got you."
Olivia cried until she had no tears left. Elliot was truly the keeper of her heart, and she knew he would do everything he could to put it back together when it broke into pieces like it had today.
Elliot was by her side for the memorial and the wake. His four oldest kids all came to the service and afterward Maureen offered to take Noah for the evening. The next day, Elliot took Noah and Olivia to the park with him and Eli. While the boys chased each other around, Elliot and Olivia talked.
"How are you really doing?"
"Honestly, I'm exhausted. I feel like everything is closing in on me," Olivia confessed.
"Well, I may have a cure for that. You need a break. A real one. I think we should take the boys and get away for a while. There's never going to be a better time and we both have a ton of vacation days racked up. My client that I do security for has a place in Italy he said we could use anytime. What do ya say?"
Olivia moved closer and pulled Elliot's face near hers. "That sounds so wonderful. I think I'd like that and so would Noah. I'll put in for the time. I really do need a break. And more time with you and Noah and Eli."
Their lips meet in a kiss that ended too soon for both of them.
Elliot grinned. "Great! I'll call my client and set it up. Now though, let's show these boys the rest of the park."
They called their kids over and Elliot took Eli's hand who grabbed Noah's who slipped his into Olivia's and the four of them strolled through the park looking forward to the adventures still to come.