Eleven Months [A Bensler Fan Fic]

Twenty-Two

"You want me to come home?" Olivia asked weakly, as Amelia turned around on her mother's lap before grabbing her hands and started to play with the rings on her fingers. Amelia kept spinning around her mother's engagement ring and smiling when she saw the diamond sparkle.

"We want you to come home, Liv. Amy needs her Mama, and I need my wife."

"But we won't be able to have kids... or a real life." Olivia whimpered.

"We can still have kids, Liv. It might be harder for us to... get stuff going. But we don't have to give up our lives because of this. You can still be a detective. John is saving your spot for you."

"But I can't run after bad guys." Olivia frowned.

"Babe, this is going to be our new normal. But for us to be able to start our new normal together, you need to start working with your therapists. Both of them."

"And then I can come home?"

"And then you can come home. It's a one-story house and its' in a newer neighborhood out in Queens. You can come home and put Amy to bed every night."

"I miss stories, Mama!" Amelia exclaimed, and Olivia smiled and nodded.

"I've missed reading stories to you, love... so uh, you two need to leave. I have to learn how to use my wheelchair."

///

Once Olivia knew that she could actually go home and be with her family, she started to work harder to get home sooner. Every day, twice a day, Olivia did physical therapy and she started to also learn how to do things for herself. She learned how to transfer herself from her wheelchair and into her bed, onto the toilet, and onto the shower bench. It was embarrassing the first several times, but as she got more used to it, she was less embarrassed.

Elliot brought Amy up almost every day, and Olivia got to even learn how to take care of her daughter again. 

Only a month later, Olivia was released and driven to her new home in Queens.

"So how fixed up is it?" Olivia mused, as she held her husband's hand on the way home. She was hating that she couldn't drive yet, but was praying that she could get her car fixed up so she could drive without the use of the foot pedals.

"The house?" Elliot asked, and Olivia nodded.

"Yeah... like is it going to be easy for me to do everyday things?" Olivia asked.

"Babe, it is completely handicap accessible."

"Lower stove?" Olivia questioned, and Elliot laughed softly and nodded.

"Yes."

"Wider doorways?" Olivia asked rapidly.

"Nah. I think we made them narrower." Elliot grinned. Olivia reached out and smacked her husband's chest.

"Are you excited to have me home?" Olivia asked softly, and Elliot nodded as he glanced over at her.

"I am so excited to have you home. But honestly, Amy might be more excited than me. She was racing around this morning and couldn't stop screaming that her Mama was coming home." 

"I've missed her so much..."

"You saw her yesterday." Elliot chuckled.

"I know. But I missed taking care of her. And I especially missed holding her when she sleeps."

///

When they got home, Amelia was down for her nap. Casey and Alex had been helping out a lot, but it was mostly so they could get some practice in. They both wanted a baby, and were just waiting a little longer before finding a donor and starting the process.

Olivia took the free time to explore the house. She checked out both bathrooms, and was glad that both showers had benches in them and bars for her to hold on to. She went into the kitchen and checked out where everything was, before reorganizing it to her liking.

"So, is it up to your standards Mrs. Stabler?" Elliot asked, as he watched his wife put the brake on her chair and smiled at her husband.

"It is. Thank you so much for doing this for me... it makes me happy." Olivia smiled softly. 

"What are you going to do first?" Alex asked, from where she sat at the kitchen table with her girlfriend.

"I don't know yet... but I do know that I need a huge favor." Olivia breathed.

"Another one?" Elliot groaned.

"Yes, another one... I need to talk to Fin."

"Fin?" Casey asked softly.

"Yeah. I need to apologize for how I was acting towards him. He tried his hardest to save me, but it just wasn't enough. He couldn't control that." Olivia frowned.

"Liv, he isn't working at SVU anymore." Elliot spoke.

"Huh? Where is he working now?" Olivia breathed tearfully. She hated herself for hurting Fin to the point that he left.

"He isn't working for the NYPD anymore. He won't answer our calls or texts." Elliot frowned.

"Okay, well someone needs to drive me over to his place."

"He lives on the second floor, Liv-"

"I will crawl up those damn stairs if I need too. So Elliot, will you take me over there?" Olivia asked quickly.

"Do I have any other choice?" Elliot sighed.

"Nope. Casey and Alex, mind watching the girl for a few more hours?"

"Of course."

///

Elliot drove his wife to Fin's building before taking her chair in, and then carried her in and up the stairs to Fin's floor. He got her situated in her chair before he went downstairs and was going to wait for her to call him.

Olivia slowly made it to Fin's door before pulling her spare key out and unlocking the door. She opened it and slowly wheeled herself in, before hearing as Fin slowly came towards the hallway.

"Who... Liv?" Fin breathed, as he saw her. He forgot about her having a spare key, so he hadn't expected her to be there.

"Hey, Fin. I think we need to talk." She breathed gently.

"You are in that chair because of me... I don't think we should talk. I'm not the man I thought I was, so I need you to leave."

"I'm not leaving, Fin. Especially since I came here to apologize."

"For what? I was the one that couldn't pull you over the edge." Fin breathed.

"I'm sorry for the way I treated you after I fell. I was a bitter bitch, and I hate myself for what I did. I love you, Fin. And I'm so thankful for you. You held me until the bag could be in place. I may have missed a large portion of it, but at least I'm alive and can still be around for my baby... so please don't hate me or yourself for what happened. No one could control what happened."