Title: The Sentinels
By: nancy
Fandom: Law & Order: SVU
Pairing: Alex/Olivia & Elliot/George & Olivia/Melinda
Rating: R
Warnings: slash and femslash in this one, violence, WiP?
Summary: Olivia and Elliot butt heads at work when bad things happen.
***
Reaching inside his desk drawer
for the Extra Strength Tylenol that he’d started keeping there, Cragen undid the bottle, shook out two, then changed his
mind and shook out another one to toss back into his mouth. He picked up the
cold coffee that had been sitting on his desk for the last two hours and washed
down the pills while vainly pinching the bridge of his nose to stem the
throbbing. The source of his headache continued arguing outside in the bullpen,
male and female voices rising to an unacceptable level in short order.
Don sighed and took a deep
breath, making a mental note to pick up some Tums, and then crossed over to the
office door to poke his head out and ordered, “Stabler!
Benson! In here, now!”
He was back behind his desk
before they entered the office, standing stiffly at attention while waiting for
him to take them to task. Unfortunately, he’d done so for the last two months
and it hadn’t made a dent. What before had been a well-oiled machine, two
partners so in tune with one another that they finished each other’s sentences
was now a train wreck of anger and silent accusations. He still didn’t know
what had prompted the whole situation, but he did know that for the sake of the
unit, it had to stop.
“Sit.”
They both sat, avoiding his
gaze and each other’s.
“I don’t know what happened
between the two of you and frankly, I don’t care,” he began, even though it was
a lie. He cared so much that it was painful to even look at them now. “What I
do care about is that you can’t work together any more, so I’m splitting the
two of you up.”
“Captain, no!”
“Sir, please!”
Startled by the unity, Don
leaned forward on his desk and snapped, “You’re letting your personal lives
interfere with getting the job done, Detectives, and I can’t have that. We have
people to seek justice for, criminals to put away, and
you’re letting all of that fall by the wayside.”
They both flushed at his words,
still not meeting his gaze.
“You’ve got twenty-four hours
to get your shit together. If I hear a single argument after three p.m. tomorrow, Stabler
will be assigned with Munch, and Benson with Tutuola.
Period. End of story. Dismissed.”
He watched them stand and leave
the office, already in conference in near silent voices before the door had
even finished closing. Through the window, he saw Olivia shake her head
emphatically and Elliot’s jaw tighteed in a way that
didn’t bode well for reconciliation.
Sighing, he observed to no one,
“Well, it was a good run while it lasted,” and got back to the endless
paperwork that continuously crossed his desk.
* *
* *
The morning after Cragen’s ultimatum, Olivia followed Elliot into the empty
interrogation room, to find George there and waiting. With her temper so
out-of-control these days, it was good to have his calming influence around as
often as possible, though it wasn’t nearly as often as it should be.
Restraining herself from pulling Elliot away from the smaller Asian man as they
hugged briefly, Olivia crossed her arms over her chest to make sure she didn’t
do something she’d regret. It was unbelievable, the level of possessiveness she
felt for the psychologist. Olivia had never been a jealous lover, so this whole
revelation into her personality was an unpleasant novelty.
Especially
since they weren’t even lovers.
George finally walked over to
her, a tired smile in place as he held out his arms to her. Relieved, Olivia
pulled him in tight, burying her face against the side of his throat to breathe
him in, warm and comforting as always. Something deep inside slowly began to
relax as she continued to scent him.
“You can’t keep waiting until
the last second,” George scolded gently, his hand running up and down her back.
“If you need me, you just need to tell me.”
Olivia sighed as she pulled
reluctantly away and answered, “I know how much it upsets Elliot.”
“And you don’t like being
dependent on anyone,” he added.
At that, she had to smile,
however half-heartedly. “That too.”
Shaking his head, George took
her hand and pulled her to the table in the center. He hopped onto the table
and took Elliot’s hand in his other as he said, “This antipathy has to stop.
The two of you are best friends and partners. You need to be able to
rely on one another to stay safe. I won’t permit this kind of primitive
response to wreak such havoc between you.”
Elliot snorted. “Oh yeah? How’re you going to stop it, when we can’t?”
George pinned him with a look
and stated, “For once in your life, Elliot Stabler,
you are going to shut up and listen, am I understood?”
Olivia stifled the laugh that
threatened to get free at the swiftness with which Elliot gave in to his lover.
Then George pinned her with a
similar look and informed her, “And you are going to do the same.”
Under that dark, knowing gaze,
the only thing she could do was nod wordlessly and duck her head to avoid it.
“Here’s the deal. Olivia is
going to move in with us.”
Olivia’s head snapped up so
fast she heard her neck crack. “Excuse me? I can’t just…”
“What did I just say?” George
interrupted pointedly.
Aggravated, Olivia nonetheless
shut up and waited to hear him out.
“You can make up any excuse you
like,” he continued evenly. “Infestation, landlord problems, allergies, or
anything else that sounds plausible for a long-term stay with Elliot and I. After your shift today, you’re to come home with Elliot
and from here on out, you’re going to live with us so that you and I can work
on controlling your senses and your temper.”
“Look, George, I appreciate the
offer, but I can’t move in with you,” Olivia protested.
His eyebrows rose. “Oh? Why not?”
“Because it
wouldn’t be right.”
“Why not?”
Olivia threw a desperate look
at Elliot, but the grinning bastard was just standing there, leaning casually
against the table. Grinning.
The bastard.
Taking a breath, Olivia finally
said, “It’s not right, George.”
“Olivia, I’m not asking you to
have sex with me,” George informed her seriously.
And God, if I wasn’t
embarrassed before, I am now, she thought as heat rushed her face. Mostly because for the last six months, since her senses had gone
into overdrive, she’d been thinking of just that. She’d never been
attracted to the man before, as much as she’d always admired him, but now it
was like he was the only man on the planet for her.
She was surprised when Elliot
stepped forward and gripped her shoulder, pulling her half against him as he
said, “It’s okay, Liv, I
know exactly how you feel and I know you can’t help feeling it. It’s just how
we are. If there were another Guide in the area, you’d be attracted to them,
too.”
Olivia groaned and pressed her
face against his chest as she muttered, “It’s so damn embarrassing, not being
able to control myself or my hormones.”
One of his hands stroked down
her back and Elliot told her, “You will, you just need practice and George is
right. You can’t do this on your own and I’ve been mucking things up being an
ass about giving you access to him. I’m sorry. I know you’re not a threat, I
just, I can’t help it sometimes.”
“This is crazy!” Olivia
exclaimed. “I can’t move in with you two! It’ll be an invasion of your privacy,
at the very least!”
A faint smile curved George’s
lips as he replied somewhat playfully, “After a year of being with Elliot, I’m
a bit of an exhibitionist, so there’s no need to worry about that.”
Olivia unexpectedly found
herself drawn into a mini group hug with Elliot behind her and George right in
front of her. It felt good and safe and right, being held like that, she
couldn’t deny it, no matter what her brain might insist upon.
“You might as well give in,”
Elliot murmured against her ear, voice warm with humor and caring. “I haven’t
won an argument against him yet.”
And as Olivia looked into
George’s dark eyes, she had the distinct feeling that she wasn’t about to,
either.
* *
* *
The first week of living with
Elliot and George was definitely among the strangest days of Olivia’s life. The
most strange thing about it, was how natural it felt.
Even though she was new to the whole sentinel thing, she did know that there
was no way the two of them should be able to coexist with such ease in the same
‘territory.’ In this case, New York City.
When she’d first gone on
overload six months ago it had been George to bring her out of it. Shortly
thereafter, he’d given her what little history that Elliot had given him when
they’d become Sentinel and Guide. The lore had been passed down in the
traditional Irish oral fashion from father to son. And in those legends, one of
the big rules was that two sentinels together invariably spelled trouble.
So waking up in the morning and
being totally relaxed, more so than she’d been in over a year really, was
distinctly odd. Not even being with Melinda gave her the kind of peace she felt
in George’s presence, which made her feel guilty. So did moving in with them at
a moment’s notice when she’d been putting Melinda off for the last seven months
with what were lame excuses, even to her. She could hear George and Elliot in
their room upstairs as they woke and took care of their morning ablutions,
amidst kisses, and sometimes even more than that. It not only didn’t bother
her, it gave her a wistful feeling inside, wishing that she felt that kind of
total commitment and love for someone. And that someone felt it for her.
What she had with Melinda was good. It was better than good, it was
great and Olivia knew it. The Medical Examiner was intelligent, funny,
compassionate, and incredibly good in bed. She’d even said the ‘L’ word almost a two months ago during one of their discussions
about moving in together. It was a step that Olivia wasn’t ready to take, even
inside her own head. The last time she had, the woman she’d loved had wound up
under witness protection.
Shaking off the depressing and
conflicting thoughts, Olivia rolled out of bed to take a shower. She dialed
down her hearing lower than usual when Elliot got demanding with George and the
Guide gave in with very little persuasion. Olivia had no intention of getting
aroused when there was no chance of satisfaction. Melinda was away at a
conference, so there was no way she could grab the other woman at some point
for a quickie. Olivia was downstairs with breakfast cooked by the time they
joined her at the table.
“And all this time I thought
you couldn’t cook,” Elliot teased.
Olivia made a face at him.
“Don’t get used to it.”
“You want to get started on the
Browner case or the Wilcox one, when we get in?” he asked, sitting at the
table.
Shrugging, she answered,
“They’re both cold at this point, so it doesn’t really matter.”
“Elliot, have you decided what
to do about this weekend yet?” George asked, apropos of nothing.
Olivia gave him a curious look
when Elliot sighed and leaned back in his chair, putting his fork back down.
“We talked about this already.”
“No. You said that you would
figure out what to do.”
“That’s talking about it.”
“No, it’s not. It’s called
avoidance.”
“Maybe I should head on in to
work now and let you two talk,” Olivia suggested, standing.
But Elliot waved her back down
and said, “No need. Conversation’s over.”
“Elliot.”
The two men exchanged a look
and whatever George saw in his lover’s face caused the man to sigh and back down.
So much for never winning an
argument, Olivia thought in surprise. She wisely didn’t mention it, instead
picking up her fork to start eating again.
* *
* *
“You still
having the dreams?” Elliot asked.
Slouched in the passenger’s
seat beside him as they waited for the suspect to come home, Olivia nodded. Dreams of flight. Dreams of long-distance
sight, even more so than she had now. Dreams of
chasing and being chased, but no sense of danger. Canting her head
towards him, she questioned, “So what does it mean?”
“I think your Guide’s around
here somewhere,” Elliot answered, shrugging. “The he or she is looking for you,
even now.”
Olivia grinned and punched him
lightly in the shoulder. “And won’t you be glad when that happens. No more
sharing George.”
Elliot quirked a grin her way
and said, “I claim the Fifth.”
She snorted, then noticed the
suspect walking down the sidewalk and announced, “There he is.”
The grin turned wolfish and
predatory on Elliot’s face as he suggested, “Let’s go say hello.”
They were out of the car in a
couple of seconds, striding across the street in perfect sync. Maybe too
perfect, since the bastard took one look at them and spun in the other
direction to make a run for it. Breaking into a run as well, Olivia shouted,
“NYPD! Stop where you are!”
“That worked,” Elliot grunted
as he put on a burst of speed when the guy didn’t even pause.
Olivia knew the neighborhood
pretty good, so she broke off from Elliot to run across the street and into an
alley. It would curve around and connect with the street the suspect was aiming
for so she could cut him off.
Everything went perfectly
according to plan until she saw a kid’s bike dart onto the street about a block
down, her vision automatically zooming ahead to lock onto the boy in danger.
Olivia was so focused on him that she didn’t notice herself running into the
street or the car heading right for her until it honked so loud that she
dropped to her knees, writhing in agony until everything faded into a complete
whiteout…
* *
* *
Elliot paced in the waiting
area, waiting for George to get there and doing his best to ignore the accusing
looks that Munch and Fin kept sending his way. Cragen
was trying to get more information on Olivia’s condition, even though he
could’ve told the Captain it would be a waste of time. Everything would be a
waste of time until George could get to her and bring her out of the sensory
overload.
“Elliot.”
Turning at the quiet call of
his name, knowing that no one else would hear it since George was just walking
in the admissions entrance, Elliot met his lover halfway.
“How is she?” George asked
softly.
Elliot made an impatient
gesture and answered, “She’s on overload and of course they don’t know what to
do with her. Cragen’s gone to get official word on
her condition.”
George sighed, discreetly
squeezing his hand as he said, “I’ll go find out what’s going on.”
But Cragen
returned just then, so they walked over to the Captain to get news.
“They don’t know what the
problem is,” Cragen announced heavily. “She’s in a
coma, but there’s no apparent reason for it. The car didn’t actually hit her
and there’s not a scratch on her from the fall. All we can do is wait and pray that she comes out of it.”
Elliot met George’s gaze, then
asked, “When can we see her?”
“They’re moving her to ICU now,
so probably in an hour or so. I’ve already cleared you to see her first,
Elliot,” Cragen told them.
“Thanks, Captain,” Elliot
replied, grateful.
Cragen
shook his head. “Don’t thank me yet. We still need to go over exactly what
happened today.”
He could practically feel Munch
and Fin lean forward in anticipation and mentally grimaced.
This should be fun, he
thought. Not.
Elliot finally said, “I don’t
know what happened, Captain. We were chasing Rodriguez and she split off from
me. I thought she was moving to cut him off, like she knew a shortcut or
something, but I managed to grab him on my own. Next I know, I hear horns
blaring down the block and she’s on the ground, unconscious. The driver said
she just ran right out, like she was chasing someone, and he barely slammed the
brakes in time to avoid hitting her.”
“She was fine before that?” Cragen pressed.
“Absolutely.
We were talking in the car, spotted Rodriguez, got out and he ran,” Elliot
confirmed. “She yelled an ID and about five seconds later, split off from me.”
Cragen
sighed and shook his head. “It doesn’t make any sense. Did any of you notice
any health problems she’s been having?”
There were head-shakes all
around, but then Munch pointed out, “There was that thing last year, when she
was kidnapped. Remember? She was like in a trance and Huang here pulled her out
of it.”
Three sets of eyes landed on
George and Elliot tried not to be the fourth.
“What about
it, doc? You want to give it another try?” Fin asked.
Casey rushed up to them just
then, forestalling any answer George might have given, and demanded, “How is
she? What happened?”
Cragen
pulled her off to the side to give an update and Elliot tugged George away in
the other direction. Keeping his voice low, Elliot said, “You can’t let anyone
see you with her, or they’re going to start putting things together.”
“I know,” George agreed,
worried. “But the longer we let her stay overloaded, the harder it will be for
me to pull her out.”
Elliot paused, hearing an
unfamiliar voice say Olivia’s name and zeroed in on the man who was saying,
“…her in room 418. Once she’s settled in, you can allow her partner, Detective Stabler, in to see her for a few minutes. Keep her…”
Looking at his lover, Elliot said, “She’s in room 418. Go out the front, then
double around to a side entrance and meet me there.”
George nodded. “I will.”
Their hands brushed together
for a brief moment, then George turned and left the
hospital, stopping briefly to make his excuses to the others.
Elliot sighed, wishing they had
more time together, but then pushed the thoughts away. He had forty minutes to
just wait and nothing to occupy his time but thinking. George’s schedule was as
full as his own, floating between the precinct and FBI cases as he did. They
were lucky to get as much time as they did, he knew that, but it wasn’t nearly
enough. Sometimes he thought he would go crazy if he couldn’t bury himself in
George’s scent and body right away, keeping the need at bay through will alone.
At least I’m not one of
those poor bastards who never finds a Guide, Elliot
thought morosely, his thoughts shifting to his partner upstairs, lost in her
senses.
It wasn’t even for sure that
George would be able to pull her out of it this time, because he wasn’t her
Guide. Hopefully the fact that they’d been working together for so long would
be enough to bring her around. If it wasn’t, Olivia would stay lost in the
sensory overload until her body shut down in self-defense and, eventually, she
died. Not even modern technology would be able to save her.
On that depressing thought,
Elliot sank into one of the nearby chairs to wait.
* *
* *
Elliot was on his way out when
he literally bumped into Melinda, who was rushing into the hospital. She was as
frazzled as he’d ever seen the perpetually calm woman and the worry was practically etched into her face as he steadied her.
“Elliot! How is she?”
Surprised by the depth of the
other woman’s emotions, hearing the fast beat of her pulse and smelling the
fear on her, it suddenly dawned on Elliot just who Olivia had been spending
time with over the last several months. They’d both been the souls of
discretion and he’d never even been able to catch a scent of either on the
other. “She’s in a coma.”
Melinda flinched and he reached
for her, supporting her and guiding her over to the nearest set of chairs. When
she was seated, she half covered her face with a hand and took a few breaths
before whispering, “What happened?”
Uncomfortable, he sat in the
chair beside her and answered, “We were chasing a perp
and got separated. No one’s really sure what happened to her, but she’s been
unconscious for the last eight hours. And aren’t you supposed to be in Philadelphia?”
“Like I could stay away, once I
heard?” Melinda pointed out, tired.
Knowing that they likely had
friends who knew about them, even if he hadn’t, Elliot wasn’t all that
surprised the ME had found out that Olivia was in the hospital. He wished that
he could summon up some kind of hurt or anger that he hadn’t been told, but
Olivia was an intensely private person. Just because they were both Sentinels
didn’t mean that she would tell him the details of her sex life. If things were
serious between them, well, he’d ream her out for not trusting him about it when
she was able to be yelled at.
“Can I see her?”
Pulled from his thoughts,
Elliot nodded. “I’ll make sure that you can.”
“Thanks, Elliot,” Melinda
murmured.
He rubbed her shoulder and said
awkwardly, “I’m glad someone’s here for her. That she’s got someone like that.
Like you.”
Dark eyes gave him a tired
smile as he stood and Elliot wondered just what else Olivia might have been
keeping from him.
* *
* *
The squad room was quieter than
usual, despite people continuing to do their jobs. Everyone felt Olivia’s
missing presence and Elliot couldn’t help but smile to himself sometimes at the
thought of just how much she was admired and respected. Olivia would never
believe that people considered her important, but she was.
“Oh my God.”
Elliot’s head jerked up at
Fin’s quietly shocked exclamation and found the black man gaping at the main
doors into the squad room. Curious, Elliot turned to look and his own jaw
dropped on finding Alex at the threshold. She looked tired and wary, but
determined. About what, Elliot had no idea, but he fully intended to find out
as he strode over to her. “Alex! What the hell are you doing here?”
“Nice to see you too, Elliot,”
she replied, voice cool with amusement.
Cragen
joined them, looking equally as shocked as Fin, which reminded Elliot that
everyone but he and Olivia thought that Alex was dead. It took all of five
seconds for the voiceless man to take in Elliot’s expression and state flatly,
“Witness protection.”
Alex nodded and asked, “If we
could speak in your office, Captain?”
Elliot moved to walk behind
her, protecting her from the prying eyes around the office; as much as he
could, anyhow. The PD grapevine would be all over this in minutes and it would
flash across town to the DA’s offices shortly thereafter. He wouldn’t be
surprised if Casey showed up within the hour demanding to know what was going
on.
As soon as Elliot shut the
door, he demanded, “What the hell were you thinking to break cover like that?”
“Oh, I don’t know, Elliot,
maybe I just got tired of the suburban lifestyle,” Alex replied, blue eyes
snapping icy fire at him.
“Elliot! Back off,” Cragen ordered. “Sit, both of you, please.”
Leaning against the door,
Elliot folded his arms over his chest and waited pointedly for an explanation.
Not that anything could be worth Alex risking her life this way. When Olivia
found out, she’d be livid. He tried not to think about the fact that she might
never find out, being day six of the coma with no sign of her waking.
Sitting properly in the chair
before the desk, Alex said, “I didn’t make this choice lightly, even though I’m
pretty sure I’ve gone crazy and just don’t know it.”
Elliot met the Captain’s
worried gaze and shrugged, just as in the dark.
“I’ve been having dreams for a
while now. I’m flying and chasing after someone who is somehow also a bird. A Falcon, to be specific. I’ve done a lot of research on the
species since recognizing what it was.”
A jolt of shock ran through
Elliot at that and it took all he had not to grab Alex and drag her down to the
hospital, then and there.
“In the last week or so,
though, I haven’t been able to sleep at all because I keep seeing the falcon
caged and in trouble. Hurting and alone. And I can’t
get to her, no matter how hard I try.”
When Alex fell silent, lost in
the memory of her dreams, Cragen said gently, “They
sound like terrible dreams, but why are you here, Alex? Why would you risk your
life to come back?”
“I don’t know,” Alex admitted.
“All I know is that it has to do with being here. That somehow, someone I know
and care about is in trouble and I have to try and help.”
Cragen
met Elliot’s gaze this time.
“What?” Alex demanded sharply.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“Olivia’s been hurt. She’s in a
coma,” Cragen told her.
Alex paled and her eyes landed
on Elliot, accusing.
Stiffening at the silent
rebuke, Elliot explained, “She wasn’t hurt, Alex, you know I wouldn’t let that
happen. She collapsed in sensory overload.”
“Excuse me?” Cragen questioned.
The mild tone didn’t fool
Elliot a bit. He sighed, running a tired hand over his head before walking over
to them. He hadn’t brought anything of this up to Melinda since Olivia had gone
down, and wouldn’t, but she wasn’t Olivia’s Guide, either. “This is going to
sound completely crazy, but you’re going to have to take it on faith that I’m
not nuts, okay?”
Cragen
leaned back in his chair, pinning him with a look that said he wasn’t going to
do any such thing.
Alex didn’t appear any more
supportive.
“My family has a, well, a
genetic predisposition towards becoming cops and firemen and rescue workers and
joining the military,” Elliot began, trying to figure out the best way to
explain things like Guides and Sentinels. “See, in almost every generation, one
of us is born with…an advantage, physically. Enhanced senses.
We can see and hear and smell a hundred times better than normal people. And
all of us are driven to protect our territories, which for me is New
York City. I’ve got a cousin upstate in Niagara
and he’s got the Canadian border covered. And we’re not the only family with
this kind of, of gift, but it’s not real common. More like, one in a half mil,
but it does run through certain bloodlines.”
Pinching the bridge of his
nose, Cragen asked, “What does that fairy tale have
to do with Olivia?”
So much for that leap of
faith, George, Elliot thought sardonically. “Olivia’s the same as me. It’s
why we were butting heads so much a few weeks ago. Six months ago, her senses
broke out, but she didn’t have a Guide to help her get real control of them.
She’s done really great, but sharing George like we have been is hard on all
three of us.”
“Wait,
sharing George? As in Dr. Huang?” Alex
demanded sharply.
Elliot sighed again and
thought, Perfect. A Guide pissing match.
Then Cragen
questioned, “What do you mean, sharing?”
“Let’s start with some
definitions here,” Elliot countered, remembering how George always told him to
break it down to basics. “Olivia and I are Sentinels. George is a Guide. Each
Sentinel has to have a Guide in order not to lose themselves in their senses,
just like Olivia is right now. Now, George is my Guide, not Olivia’s,
but she’s been able to learn the gist of controlling her senses with his help.
That’s what I mean by sharing. Nothing else. No one
touches George, but me, not even Olivia.”
And okay, that sounds really
possessive, Elliot thought in some surprise.
Alex and Cragen
looked equally as surprised, but where Cragen had an
‘O’ of understanding dawning on his face, as well as a little discomfort, Alex
relaxed at the statement. Which was exactly how Olivia’s
Guide would react.
“Anyhow, Alex, I think that
you’re Olivia’s Guide,” Elliot finished. And damned if this doesn’t make Melinda odd-woman-out. That is seriously going to cause an
explosion when Alex finds out that Olivia’s moved on.
An explosion
that Elliot had no intention of being around, when it happened.
Thoughtful now, Alex asked,
“What does that mean, exactly?”
“Different things for different
pairings, but all pairings form an emotional and physical bond, even if they
don’t ultimately remain lovers,” Elliot explained bluntly.
Cragen
choked off a noise and reached for his candy bowl.
* *
* *
Elliot clearly needed a
straightjacket, but on the off chance that he wasn’t insane, Alex drove with
him to the hospital. Cragen had stayed behind to deal
with the FBI, from whom she’d slipped away and, she suspected, to eat more
candy in an effort not to reach for a drink. The need to see Olivia pretty much
overruled the belief that Elliot was crazy, and she
fidgeted the entire ride there.
Walking into the room where
Olivia lay motionless in the hospital bed, Alex actually held her own stomach,
feeling like the wind had been knocked out of her. Approaching the bed, Alex
stopped a few inches from it, hardly able to believe that the vibrant woman she
remembered was deep in a coma.
“Sit with her,” Elliot
instructed. “Hold her hand and talk to her. Give her something to grab hold of,
to get out of the chaos.”
Alex looked over at him and
found a pained expression in place. “You’ve been through this.”
“Not this bad, but yeah,” he
confirmed.
Intensely curious, Alex
nonetheless forced herself to ignore the questions
demanding release and closed the remaining distance between herself and Olivia.
She sat on the edge of the bed and took the lax hand in her own.
“Lean in close so she can smell
you, too.”
Alex was startled by the suggestion
and gave him a frown.
He shrugged. “Scent is one of
the strongest senses. Trust me on that one. Basically, you want her to focus on
you, instead of whatever is keeping her locked into her senses, so get as close
as possible. I’ll keep an eye on the door from the other side, make sure you
aren’t disturbed.”
She watched him leave and close
the door behind him, then turned back to Olivia. There was too much to say,
things that shouldn’t have remained silent when she’d left, but she didn’t want
to say them twice in case Olivia didn’t remember what she talked about here.
She started on a neutral topic.
“I see you didn’t take my
advice about taking care of yourself,” she began, smiling softly, if painfully.
“You know that Elliot’s fed me a line about this sentinel and guide thing,
right? Didn’t even have time to make him prove it. I
just had to take his word that he hasn’t gone completely off his rocker by
coming here to try and bring you out of this.”
Keeping her voice quiet, but
steady, Alex continued talking as she scooted further up the bed until she was
right beside Olivia’s shoulder. Once there, she carefully climbed onto the bed
and stretched out beside the unconscious woman, sliding an arm under Olivia’s
neck and folding it back to cushion her head.
“He said as much contact as
possible, but I hope you don’t wake up swinging, as you’ve said you’ve done in
the past,” Alex observed dryly. “Although really, waking up swinging is better
than not waking up at all, so I guess it’s okay.”
She moved Olivia’s head so that
her face was right at the hollow of Alex’s throat, hoping that it was close
enough for the scent of her to kick in. Holding Olivia’s hand, she continued a
soft chatter until her throat got scratchy and she had to stop for a while.
God, this feels so good. If she were awake and we
were alone somewhere together…
Alex broke off the thought,
even as it aroused her, and shivered lightly. Olivia caught her breath just
then, and sighed deeply, startling Alex. Rolling onto her side, she brought up
their joined hands to kiss the back of Olivia’s and ask, “Olivia? Can you hear
me? Come on, honey, open up those beautiful eyes of yours for me, okay?”
Olivia’s hand twitched on hers,
spasming, and a rush of joy surged through Alex.
Pressing her face to Olivia’s, she kept up a murmur of meaningless words,
sensing the other woman’s battle to return to consciousness.
“And I said that visiting hours
are long gone, now let me do my… What the…? What the hell is going on in here?”
Alex twisted away from Olivia
to find Elliot and some nurse standing in the doorway. She instinctively rolled
to face them, but Olivia wouldn’t release her hand, which made it a very
awkward position.
“Who are you and what are you
doing to my patient!?” the woman demanded. “Get out of that bed this instant!”
“Ma’am, there’s really no need for that,”
Elliot protested. “Alex is just here to help.”
“Help my ass! I’m calling
security!”
“Shit!” Elliot hissed, locking
the door behind the woman. “Alex, where are we?”
Alex turned back to Olivia and
saw the rapid eye movement, but wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not and
answered, “I’m not sure. I think she’s coming to, but can’t tell.”
“Well there’s not a hell of a
lot of time, so do something!” Elliot ordered.
Glaring at him, she demanded,
“Like what?”
Elliot appeared stumped for a
moment, then exclaimed, “Kiss her!”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me! Now is not the
time to be a prude, Alex. Kiss her like you mean it, let her taste you!”
Aghast at the thought of taking
advantage of Olivia, Alex was going to refuse when someone began banging on the
door, demanding to be let in. There really wasn’t time for anything else, since
she was pretty damn sure that she’d be barred from the room once they
extricated her from Olivia. Taking a breath, Alex squirmed back down onto her
side and kissed Olivia, running her tongue over the closed lips. Olivia’s jaw
relaxed at the contact, her mouth opening, and Alex slid her tongue inside,
deepening the kiss with a need that she’d never before acknowledged, not even to
herself.
And then Olivia was kissing her
back with a drive that overwhelmed Alex as she was pushed down into the
mattress. Tubes and wires were ignored completely as Olivia devoured her mouth.
She shoved a leg between Alex’s, who was helpless to do anything except give in
with a whimper of need, clinging to the other woman.
Hands were suddenly on them,
pulling Olivia off Alex and causing Alex to cry out with the loss. The coppery
smell of blood told her that the IV in Olivia’s arm had been accidentally yanked
free.
“Don’t! You can’t interfere!”
Elliot shouted, struggling against a large man who had him in a neck lock.
No one listened to him, though,
and Alex gasped in pain when the man holding her twisted her arm a little too
far up. She was instantly treated to the sight of a feral Olivia. The other
woman viciously reverse-kicked one of her captors in the groin with the ball of
her foot and slammed an elbow into the face of the second man to break free.
Leaping over the hospital bed with one hand as a pivot point, Olivia landed
lightly in a crouch and came up full force, slamming her head into the chin of
the man holding Alex. The guard staggered back, blood gushing from his mouth,
releasing her, and Olivia grabbed her around the waist to drag her into the
furthest corner and pushed her down, planting herself in front of Alex
protectively.
“What the hell is going on
here?” someone roared furiously.
Still in shock from the
violence that Olivia had just dished out, Alex couldn’t even think of an answer
for the doctor standing in the doorway.
Elliot had managed to free
himself in the time that Olivia had attacked and now had his former captor
shoved against the wall. He spoke up with an angry, but controlled explanation
of, “These goons of yours just attacked a woman coming out of a coma! Unless
you want a lawsuit that you can’t even begin to imagine, they’d better get the
fuck out of here so that Alex and I can try and calm Olivia down.”
“Are you all right, miss?” the
doctor asked Alex, ignoring Elliot as he walked further into the room.
Alex nodded shakily and
replied, “I’m, I’m fine. Just, the whole thing
surprised me at all. Olivia’s not a violent woman.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard
of this kind of reaction to coming out of a coma before, but it’s almost like
waking a sleep-walker,” the doctor said, frowning.
“Just let us get through to
her,” Elliot gritted out. “I’m her partner and Alex is…”
“Her lover,” Alex stated
flatly.
Continuing as if he’d spoken
the words, Elliot finished, “If anyone can get through to Olivia, it’s us.”
“I’m inclined to let you try,
since she doesn’t seem to be registering on a fully cognizant level, but rather
an instinctive one. People she knows and trusts will have a better chance at
getting through,” the doctor agreed. “You’ve got half an hour, and then we tranq her and try the whole waking up thing again when it
wears off. With restraints.”
Olivia actually growled at
that, visibly disconcerting the doctor before he collected the security staff
and left the room.
“Now what do we do?” Alex asked
helplessly.
Elliot snorted. “Now you
bring her back to herself. Convince her that there’s no threat and she’ll go
back to normal. There’s nothing that I can do at this point.”
He walked over to the door,
planting his back against it in a very solid and reassuring manner, like
nothing could move him.
It seemed to relax Olivia a
little, fortunately, giving Alex hope that she could get through to the other
woman. Reaching out tentatively, she stroked down the lean back exposed by the negligible
hospital gown and murmured, “It’s okay, Olivia, you
did well. I’m safe now and so are you. Elliot’s guarding the door and no one’s
going to interrupt us this time. Come on, honey, can you talk to me? I miss
talking to you, Olivia, I really do. Miss our after work chats, going to dinner
together, miss everything about you, so much.”
Slowly, Olivia relaxed as Alex
stroked up and down her back and continued talking. Her head dropped forward a
couple of times, like she was about to nod off to sleep, and then she sat down
on the floor, instead of remaining in the protective crouch. Alex gently but
firmly tugged Olivia into her arms and, after an initial reluctance, the cop
slumped against her, nuzzling at her throat. Sighing in deep relief, Alex
kissed her cheek and asked, “You back with us, Olivia?”
“Think so,” Olivia answered,
voice hoarse from disuse. “What the hell are you doing here, Alex?”
Alex laughed outright at that
and squeezed tighter.
* *
* *
“So when all was said and done,
there was a broken nose, a fractured jaw with the man’s tongue almost bitten
off, another man who’s not going to comfortably have sex for at least a few
days, and a lot of bruised egos, considering that Olivia was coming out of a
coma and only one woman against three guys,” Elliot related, with not a little
evil glee and pride at his partner’s prowess.
George shook his head, even as
he smiled and asked, “But she’s fine now.”
“Completely,” Elliot confirmed.
“Already demanding to be let out of the hospital, but the doc’s not hearing any
of it. Said that Alex could stick around overnight, which was just as well
since I don’t think Alex was going to budge anyhow.”
“What about the FBI and Alex’s
trouble with the Columbians?”
“That’s not so easily cleared
up,” Elliot admitted with a sigh.
George rubbed Elliot’s stomach
and yawned as he settled against his lover, hooking a leg over the bigger man’s
thigh. “At least Olivia will hear anyone coming long before they get there.
Alex couldn’t be safer if she was still in witness protection.”
Knowing that was so, Elliot had
to nod. “True enough.”
There was a longish pause
before George shook his head and observed dryly, “You thought it was hot.”
Elliot chuckled as he said,
“Damn hot, matter of fact,” glad that his lover wasn’t nearly as insecure in
them as he sometimes was. George was amused instead of threatened by the fact
that Elliot had been aroused by Olivia’s display of strength. Came in handy having an enlightened lover, no doubt about it.
George’s hand was suddenly
around his cock, squeezing painfully tight as he informed Elliot, “As long as
you’re only looking, caveman.”
Gasping in surprise, and more
than a little arousal at his lover’s unexpectedly possessive reaction, Elliot
quickly pulled George’s hand from his shaft, bringing it up so that he could
kiss the back of it, promising, “Only you, beloved, only you.”
With a soft kiss to Elliot’s
shoulder, George sighed deeply and murmured, “Night, Elliot.”
Kissing the top of his lover’s
head, Elliot replied, “Night, George,” and, after a few minutes spent wondering
just what Olivia was going to do with her past and present colliding, allowed
himself to drift into sleep. Life would take care of itself; it always did.
***