Camo and Navy Blue [Book Two]

Twenty-Two

Elliot

My wife and I went about our day with little action. She spent a lot of time filing things that had been piling up on her desk while she was suspended. We ate lunch together and talked about how Jacob was calling dibs on naming the baby, and my plans to fight him for that right. We laughed a lot, and it felt great to talk to my wife and not be arguing.

At four in the afternoon, while I was leaving my office to send Olivia home for the day, all the phones rang at once. I froze and watched as my wife answered her phone.

She spoke for several moments, before standing and quickly and turning towards where I stood. Her cheeks were covered in tears, and her hands were shaky as they cradled her belly.

"Liv?"

"T-there was a crash. Uh-"

"There is a reported pile up between Manhattan and Queens. They need all hands on deck," Amanda interrupted, as she rushed to where we stood.

"Olivia, who called you?" I whispered, as everyone got around to leave.

"An office that was searching our van after the crash. El, our babies were involved," she whispered.

I felt my body start to sway, and I stumbled back and grabbed the filing cabinet behind me.

"Lieu?" Carisi asked. I took a slow breath and looked over at my detectives.

"Nick, Carisi, and Amanda... go and help. Fin, I need you to drive me and Olivia to the hospital."

"Hospital?" Nick blurted out.

"Our van was found in the accident. Maureen was driving the kids home," I replied, before turning to grab my items from my desk.

///

We tried four hospitals before finding the one where our children were taken. As we walked into the ER, I had to grab Olivia's arm to keep her close. Everyone was rushing around and I didn't want her to get knocked down in the process.

"Alright, next!" An exhausted and overwhelmed nurse yelled. I stepped forward with Olivia, while Fin made a call to the others to see how they were doing.

"I'm Elliot Stabler, my children were brought here. Uh, Maureen, Kathleen, Lillian, Jacob, Tobias, and Jasper," I struggled to speak as I listed my children's names.

"Um, yeah, let me look."

I turned to look at my wife, but she didn't even appear to be in this room. She was zoned out on the ER bays that were divided by curtains. I reached out and caressed her hair until she turned to look at me. Yet she still didn't seem to register that I was standing in front of her.

"Okay, Maureen and Kathleen were taken to the OR for surgery. Lillian and Jacob are in bays two and twelve with our doctors."

"What about Tobias and Jasper?" Olivia asked once she finally snapped back.

"Right here," Fin spoke from behind us. I turned quickly and saw my bruised little boys. They had bandages on their foreheads and Jasper had stitches on his left arm.

Olivia said nothing as she walked to our sons and hugged them tightly to her body.

///

Olivia

I called my mother and asked her to join us at the hospital. I needed her to sit with the twins, while Elliot and I were trading between the other four.

Maureen broke her pelvis and her right leg. She had internal bleeding and a concussion that was pretty serve. Kathleen broke three ribs and her left shoulder and arm were broken. She also had internal bleeding and a skull fracture. 

Lilly had been right behind Maureen, which led to her getting stuck between her seat and the driver's seat. She had a lot of bruising and several deep cuts that required stitches. Jacob had bruises and a fractured hand, but was still in a lot of pain.

When I got that call, all I could think about was burying my children, and who says that still won't happen? My eldest daughters weren't in great condition, and I know cars were going to be much scarier for them now.

"Serena is downstairs with the boys. They were hungry, and convinced her to get them pizza for dinner," Elliot spoke, as he came to where I sat in the OR waiting room. 

"Why aren't you with the Lilly and Jacob?" I questioned.

"They are being moved upstairs to the pediatric floor. They are also going to take Lilly for an x-ray because her left knee is pretty swollen," Elliot replied. He sank down beside me and grabbed my hand. He intertwined our fingers together, before pressing a firm kiss to my cheek.

"Why did this happen?"

"I don't know," Elliot replied softly.

"What if they don't make it?" I whimpered as I turned to face my husband. Elliot caressed my cheek before smiling gently.

"Maureen and Kathleen are fighters. I know you are thinking about Kathy, and I am too... but this is different. They made it away from the scene alive, and Kath didn't."

I nodded slowly before standing and walking to a wall of windows. The sun had set, but in the distance I could see the flashing lights of the cars at the sight of the accident. Amanda and the others were still on sight as they helped process all the evidence.

"Do you want to pray?" Elliot asked as he wrapped an arm around my waist.

"Please," I whimpered.

My husband led me back to our seats, and he led us in prayer. He held me close and dried my tears when I cried even harder. I had to put my faith in God and trust that he knew what he was doing. If Maureen and Kathleen were meant to survive, he'd ensure that they do.

"Family of Maureen Stabler?" A doctor asked as he walked into the waiting room. I opened my eyes quickly and looked at him.

"We are," Elliot spoke as he stood and waved his hand.

The doctor slowly walked towards us and I was beyond nervous to know what he was going to say.