Out of the Blue [A Benson and Carisi Fanfic]

Chapter Twenty

Dominick sat with his wife for about an hour before he went to update his family on what he had been told. When he was leaving the room, Elliot passed him and walked into Olivia's room. He was quiet as he stood in the doorway and watched his partner.

"Did you cry?" Olivia asked.

"Excuse me?" Elliot replied as he stared at his friend with wide eyes.

"When I almost died? Did you cry like a baby?" Olivia teased, the usual mischievous glint in her eyes, even if they won't focus on him.

"Don't be mean to me, Benson. I love you for some reason, and when I thought you'd die... I shed a tear or two." Elliot sighed. He wandered over to Olivia's bedside before grabbing her hand and squeezing it.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Elliot let out a weak breath.

"Do you think you'll be able to come back to work?" 

Olivia turned her head and tried her hardest to focus on the blob beside her. 

"I guess we will see if glasses help my eyes... but don't worry. Even if we don't work together again, I will always be a giant pain on your ass," Olivia grinned, as she attempted to make the best of this situation. 

Joking around was going to be her lifeline right now, even if it may annoy those around her.

"Mo and Katie have been asking about you. They wonder where Auntie Liv has wandered off to... Kathy and I don't have the heart to tell them about the accident," Elliot breathed.

"It's not a big deal, El. Just tell them that-"

"That some bad guy that we got off the street almost killed one of their favorite people? That won't go over well with my kids, Liv... anyway, I don't want to tell them myself. When you are out of here, you can joke about it all. Just like you are doing right now," Elliot snapped, his face red with anger.

"El-" Olivia started, but didn't get to finish because she heard Elliot stomping out of her room.

///

For the next several days, Olivia tried her hardest to stay hopeful. She did all the tests that the doctors ordered, and she tried her hardest to get used to just listening instead of seeing.

A little over a week after she woke up, Olivia got her eyes tested. Dominick sat in the room with her, his hand stroking her thigh as she said what was clearer and what wasn't.

"Do you think glasses will fix this? Isn't the problem in my brain?" Olivia asked, as a pair of makeshift glasses were placed on her. She had her eyes closed and was too scared to open them again.

"Liv-" Dominick started, but stopped when the doctor interrupted him.

"You said that these lenses helped you see more clearly, so we will try them. Then we will also proceed with a surgery to help and correct the issues."

"Brain surgery? Liv, are you sure that you want that?" Dominick asked. Olivia nodded slowly as a tear slipped down her cheek.

"I want to see your face again, Dom... and all I can imagine is not having the ability to look over at you and see that sly smile on your lips... or never seeing exactly what our future kids' faces look like. So yeah, I'll do surgery if I must."

Olivia opened her eyes on cue and frowned deeply.

"It's not working now."

"Olivia, are you-"

"I'm tired. Can we discuss this later?" She asked weakly, as tears flowed freely down her cheeks. She didn't realize that everyone else could see that she was crying.

"Baby, do you want me to join you? I can-"

"I need space, Dom. Come see me tonight."

///

Dominick called Olivia before he headed to the hospital. She said she wasn't up for visitors and would see him soon. She had let out a bitter laugh when she said the word 'see', before ending the call with a heart-wrenching sob.

"I heard you weren't up for visitors," Serafina spoke, as she walked into her daughter-in-law's room. Olivia was hugging a pillow to her chest as she stared ahead numbly.

"Ma, please go home."

"I'm not leaving you, Liv. Do you want to-"

"The glasses they said that would help, won't. I don't know if I was lying when I said the lenses were clear, because they weren't when I opened my eyes. They want to do another fucking surgery on my brain to fix the issue, but what if they can't?!" Olivia rambled, her breath becoming erratic.

"Honey, I know you aren't religious... but pray on this. Put your faith in God because he saved you. He also protected you long enough for you to meet my Sonny. So please, don't give up now. Your life is just beginning," Serafina spoke, as she caressed Olivia's hair. She leaned close and kissed her temple as Olivia's breath became calmer.

"This isn't how I wanted to spend my life, Ma. Unable to see and be a cop-"

"Now, who said you can't be a cop? Once your vision is repaired, you should be able to go back."

"What if they don't want me back? I clearly didn't do a good job locking that guy up, and I paid with my sight."

"That man had superhuman strength because he was higher than a kite, baby. It wasn't your fault."

"It was though, Ma. And I probably will pay for it my entire life."

///

Serafina stayed with Olivia that night and was by her side the moment the doctor told her they had scheduled her a surgery to fix her eyesight. While Olivia was getting prepped, Serafina called her son and had him come up. He rushed into Olivia's room as the nurses were taking the breaks off the bed.

"Liv!" He exclaimed. Olivia frowned deeply as she reached for him.

"I'm scared," she whimpered.

"I am too, but everything will be okay. You are too stubborn to die, and everyone knows that I'd go full psycho if you croaked," Dominick spoke passionately, as Olivia let out a weak laugh. She pulled him down and kissed him deeply before smiling as they rested their foreheads together.

"I'm in love with you, Dominick Carisi. Don't forget that."

"I won't, Olivia Carisi. Especially since you will remind me for the next hundred years."