S.W.A.T. Short stories

S.W.A.T. (Olivia): Loss of a loved one

>>This chapter mentions suicidal behaviour. If that is too much for you, you can easily skip this short story and continue to read the others. Thank you.<<

Her life had been nothing but chaos. She had spent the majority of her life moving around from base to base as her father was in the army. Her mother had dumped her with her father as she did not want the life of a military wife. When he was deployed, which he was a lot, she would stay at her friends place. Amelia was another military child. They were inseparable.

When Olivia was 13 her fathers commander came by one evening, alone. She knew what that meant. He was dead. Her world came crashing down, as she realised that she would be all alone. Or so she thought. Her friends mother promised to take care of her until she was old enough to move out on her own.

At first the other children at the base were nice, but as years went by they showed their true side. They were mean little monsters who knew exactly how to make Olivia's life a living nightmare. Daily bullying and monthly hospital trips for 'being clumsy'. The day she turned 18, she packed her things, thanked her friend and her mother for taking care of her and left. She never looked back. Amelia was her only reminder of the place. They kept in touch even when she enlisted and went overseas to fight just like her father.

Fast forward and Olivia just turned 29. She had already spent a few years as a part of 20-David. "Happy birthday, Liv!" The team yelled as she walked into the locker room. She had gotten up extra early that morning in an attempt to get to work before the others. To avoid celebrating her birthday. "And I thought I was early," she said laughing at how tired Street looked. He had dark circles the size of dinner plates. "We wanted to surprise you! Seeing as we failed last year, we wanted to be extra early!" Luca said over enthusiastic. He pulled her in for a hug. She liked that. Hugs. Especially from the people on her team. They were more like a family than her own ever was.

Later in the day once they got back from another high risk arrest, two soldiers were standing next to Hicks. All three had a sad expression on their faces. Olivia recognised one of the soldiers as one of the boys from the base she lived on the most. "Andrew? What are you..." she asked before realising why they were there. She looked down at the floor and breathed out loudly. "I'm sorry Yates, you can talk in my office as long as you need," Hicks said leading them into his office and closed the door. Hondo looked worried at his boss when he came back. He was standing with his feet apart and hands holding onto the top of his protective vest. "What's going on, Hicks?" He asked worried. Chris was aware of her childhood, but the others did not know more than what her file had contained. Olivia and Chris had become good friends and loved spending time together in their free time. Chris had even invited her over for family dinners with her uncle Sarzo and her niece. "Death notification," Chris said before Hicks had a chance. He just nodded and walked off.

"She told me about when her father had died and they showed up. Same thing, same expression," Chris said and walked away as well. That left Deacon, Luca and Hondo standing in the hall of the headquarters baffled.

An hour later the two soldiers were seen walking out of the building, but no one had seen Olivia. That was until she stormed past Hondo. She was headed for the locker room. "Hicks gave me the day off," she said without looking up. Hondo did not get a chance to share his condolence or tell her that he would be there if she needed anything. Hondo let out a big sigh before joining his team. "We are a man down until Olivia is ready to come back." He informed the others. "Where is she?" Street asked feeling sad that he did not get to talk to his friend. "Going home. I think she just want to be alone for a while," Hondo replied. That did not sit well with Chris or Street as they were planning to stop by her apartment when their shift ended.