SVU: The One Shots

He Needs to Say Goodbye

Olivia sat quietly in her bedroom as her nurse started another bag of IV fluids. At this point, everyone was trying to make Olivia comfortable. She had been sick for about five years, and nothing was working to help her go into remission. 

"Did Noah just get home?" Olivia asked, as her nurse cleaned up her station.

"He got home not long before I came in. He said he wanted to make himself a snack before coming in to see you," Aspen replied, as she pulled her gloves off.

"Can you send him in? I need him to bring in a notebook and a pen," Olivia spoke.

"Of course. Try to rest until he comes in."

Aspen left the room as Olivia pushed her glasses on and grabbed her phone. She had been making a list of what she wanted at her funeral, and she didn't know how long she had left before this list would need to be referenced. Noah knocked softly on the closed door before opening it and stepping in.

"Hey, Mom... You wanted to see me?" Noah asked.

"C'mere, sweet boy. I need some help," Olivia replied, her voice weak.

Noah walked to his mother's bed and sank beside her. Before he even asked what she needed help with, Noah wrapped his arms around her frail frame and kissed her hair softly.

"Okay, what can I help you with?" Noah asked.

"We know I won't be around much longer... so I think it's time we start planning my funeral," Olivia breathed.

"Mom-"

"I know you don't want to think about me dying, but it's happening. For five years I have fought so hard, but it's time to let things happen. Nothing helps, so I want to enjoy what time I have left with you by my side," Olivia spoke, her hand finding Noah's. At fifteen, Noah was far from ready to lose his mother. He had been by her side through every treatment failure and when the doctor recommended hospice.

"Should I call Aunt Amanda?" Noah asked.

"No, not yet. This is between us right now," Olivia replied.

Noah shifted until he was comfortable and opened the notebook before clicking his pen.

"Alright, Mom... Let's plan your funeral."

///

Noah sat at his mother's favorite cafe near the precinct. He had made a handful of calls and was just waiting for the person to show up. His mother was getting weaker by the day, and the one thing she requested above all else was that her former partner be at her funeral. She didn't care if he said goodbye before she passed, as long as he got to see her one last time.

"Has someone named Noah come in here today?" A man asked from where he stood at the counter. Noah looked up from his phone, a shaky breath leaving his lips.

"That's the only Noah who has come in today," A barista spoke, as she pointed to Noah. The man turned towards Noah's table and took a small breath as he approached him.

"Are you Noah?" 

"Yes, sir. Noah Benson," Noah replied, as he reached his hand out to Elliot.

"Benson? Are you Olivia's kid?" Elliot questioned, as he sat across from Noah.

"Yeah."

Elliot nodded weakly as he glanced around the room in search of Olivia. He would be lying if he said he hadn't thought about Olivia in years. He thinks about his former partner every day but was shocked when he got a text from someone named Noah asking to talk about Olivia.

"So what do we need to talk about?" Elliot asked.

"My mother is dying, and she wants you at the funeral."

"W-What?" Elliot asked with wide eyes. He never expected Olivia to get sick and die. She was a force of nature.

"She has been sick for five years and nothing helps. They did experimental treatments, but nothing worked. We have her at home on hospice, and we are planning her funeral."

"Noah, what's wrong with her?" Elliot breathed.

"They really don't know. At first, they thought it was cancer, but that was ruled out. She was losing weight and her organs started to fail. They think it's some autoimmune thing that is just attacking the shit out of everything that makes up my mother," Noah frowned. 

He hated to have this discussion, especially since he wasn't ready to be an orphan again. When his mother passes, he'd be moving in with his Aunt Amanda's family on Staten Island, but it wouldn't be the same as living in the apartment he and his mother became a family in. The same apartment that housed the person who made him feel loved for the first time.

"Can I see her?" Elliot asked.

"I can ask her, but the least she wants is for you to go to her funeral. We didn't know if you'd answer my text or show up today, so if you didn't come around before she died you'd have a chance to say goodbye at the funeral," Noah explained. Elliot nodded weakly before standing on shaky legs.

"Call her and then take me to her. I need to see her one last time."

///

Noah stood outside of his mother's bedroom as her former partner sat on the edge of her bed and held her hand. They had been talking for a few hours, and Noah knew his mother was about to leave them. Her breathing had gotten more labored and her heart rate was growing slower. Aspen had been monitoring her vitals and asked for Noah to call her friends because it was time.

"N-Noah," Olivia breathed, as Elliot slipped off the bed. Noah quickly left the doorway and grabbed his mother's outstretched hand.

"I'm here," Noah whispered.

"You did it," She said with a shaky smile.

"He isn't as amazing as you made him seem," Noah teased, as tears burned his eyes.

"H-He can't compare to you, sweet boy," Olivia breathed as her eyes grew heavy.

"Mom, I love you so much. Thank you for taking such good care of me," Noah spoke, as he quickly knelt beside her bed and held both hands in his.

"I-I. Love. Y-You. Too," Olivia panted, as Elliot squeezed Noah's shoulder. 

"Goodbye, Mama," Noah whispered as his mother's eyes closed and the monitors started to beep. He already missed her so much but was thankful he got to fulfill her last wish to say goodbye to the man she loved longer than he had even been alive.