You and I [A Bensler Fanfiction]

Thirty-Five

Olivia held Landon's hand and carried Marley down the hall of the hospital as Avery and Jackson walked in front of her. The kids were wiggling with excitement and couldn't wait to see Elliot again.

"Olivia," an older nurse frowned once she spotted Olivia and the kids.

"Hi, Angie. I was told that Elliot could have more visitors tonight, so I brought the kids," Olivia smiled, but Angie didn't give her a smile back.

"Elliot cannot have visitors right now."

"What?" Olivia asked, as she glanced down at her children. Landon looked like he was about to cry, and Olivia felt the same way.

"I thought Daddy was awake and ready to see us?" Jackson whispered, using the same term for Elliot that his little brother screamed this morning.

"H-he was... AJ, take your brothers over to the waiting room. Call Grannie on my cell and see if she can pick you up," Olivia spoke. Avery nodded slowly before taking the phone from Olivia.

Once the kids were out of earshot, Angie led Olivia to a bank of chairs. They sat down together, and Angie reached out to hold Olivia's shaky hand.

"Elliot can move his legs and feel them," Angie spoke.

"W-what? That's great-"

"It's great, but that means he is in a lot of pain. Some of his stitches broke when he was struggling with the pain, and they had to take him down for additional surgery on his leg. Once he's out of surgery, they will be taking him in for additional diagnostic testing to see what happened."

"He was supposed to be paralyzed from the waist down, and it just magically changed? Did something happen?"

"A woman visited him today and they got into a fight. Personally, I am wondering if while fighting he shifted just right and he started to gain feeling again."

"His ex-wife?" Olivia mused with a deep sigh.

"If her name is Christine, then yes. They were yelling and once he started to feel the pain, she left. The security guards have checkpoints at every entrance into the hospital so she is no longer welcome here," Angie replied. Olivia nodded slowly as she glanced into the carrier that held her sleeping baby.

Things just kept getting more difficult for their family. Even if Elliot may be able to walk again, who says he'll be able to survive the pain he's currently in.

///

Serena came and picked up the kids, while Olivia waited at the hospital for news on her boyfriend. Bernie and Joseph joined her, but it was hours before any update was given.

"He should be able to walk, so that's good news," Bernie smiled, as she patted Olivia's leg after she got up and walked a lap around the floor.

"Y-yes, it is... But Angie told me he is in an incredible amount of pain. He tore open some stitches that hadn't been removed yet," Olivia frowned.

Bernie looked at her husband, but Joseph was too focused on a set of doors to notice the glance from his wife.

"What surgery is he having?" Bernie asked.

"They were only doing surgery on his leg, as far as I-" Olivia started, but she stopped when a doctor walked from the doors Joseph had been staring at. He looked around for a moment before walking towards them.

"Are you Elliot Stabler's family?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm his mother. What's happening?" Bernie asked. The doctor frowned deeply, before shoving his hands into the pockets of his white coat.

"Elliot was thrashing around before we rushed him into surgery, and all the work we put into repairing his leg had been undone. There was too much additional damage, and we are now asking for permission to amputate his leg," He spoke.

Olivia felt her stomach drop and her face grow red. She fell back on the chair as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Olivia? What do you want to do?" Bernie asked, as she turned to look at her son's girlfriend. Olivia looked up and shrugged slightly.

"I-i don't know. C-can it ever go back to normal?" Olivia croaked.

"No. It's destroyed beyond repair. If we allow him to keep the leg, he won't be able to walk again. Chances are, he'll get pretty severe infections let alone lifetime pain," The doctor replied.

Olivia stood on shaky legs, before looking at her future in-laws.

"He could die without this surgery, Olivia," Joseph breathed, and Olivia nodded.

"Do what you need to do," Olivia replied. A nurse passed Bernie a clipboard and she signed it to consent to Elliot's leg getting amputated.

///

Olivia sat beside Elliot's bed and held his hand in hers. He still hadn't woken up after surgery, but he was showing signs of waking up. Even if Olivia didn't want Elliot to lose his leg, she knew that in the end it would be the best for him. Once he had recovered enough, Elliot would get a prosthetic limb and would learn to walk again.

"L-liv?" Elliot struggled to speak, his voice thick with sleep.

"Hey, baby," Olivia replied, as she leaned close to her boyfriend.

"What happened? Where are the k-kids?" Elliot coughed out. Olivia quickly reached for a cup of ice, before giving him a small cube to suck on.

"The kids are at home. You had emergency surgery after your fight with Christine. El, you aren't paralyzed anymore. But..."

"But what?" Elliot asked, his eyes squinting against the bright hospital lights.

Olivia started to cry, her head dropping because she couldn't look at Elliot right now. She didn't want to see the anger towards her and his parents when he found out they agreed that his leg needed to be removed.

"Olivia? What happened? You are kinda scaring me," Elliot frowned.

"I'm sorry, El. Your leg was beyond repair, and there was nothing they could do to fix it."

"I don't have my left leg anymore, right?" Elliot asked, and Olivia shook her head.

"No, El. I'm sorry," Olivia whispered.