Breathe.

Chapter Two: Begin Again

A/N: This is sort of inconsistent, but I am changing the POV to third person. If I forget something or there are any mistakes, please let me know. I will redo the first chapter to accommodate the changes later. Enjoy!
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Brian stood up from his chair. Olivia and Elliot held their gaze on each other. He walked over towards Elliot.

"Hey! Elliot, man, I didn't expect to see you here. I thought you would still be at the precinct working on something." Brian tried to ease the tension.

"Had to grab me a bite to eat." Elliot said, still staring into those big brown eyes he had constantly thought about over the past three years. Olivia stood up as well and headed to the bathroom. She was distraught and fidgety.

Elliot was still socializing with Brian when they heard a loud thud from the direction of the restrooms.

"Olivia?" Elliot ran towards the women's bathroom with Brian not far behind.
"Olivia?!" He looked right in the doorway and there she was, passed out on the cold tile floor. "Someone call a bus!" he yelled out of instinct.

A man yelled back to him, "A bus?"

"An ambulance! Call an ambulance!" he was now agitated and wanted to make sure Olivia was okay. After knowing what it feels like to lose someone you love greatly, he couldn't face that pain again.

Olivia was unconscious. Elliot held her close, shielding her from anything and anyone. It was not necessary, but when the ambulance arrived Elliot carried her to the gurney. He was then asked a few questions, mostly about her general health. He couldn't answer half of them because he honestly didn't know.

"Is she responsive at all?"

"No. Is she going to be okay?"

"Sir, there are many things that could be wrong with her. With the information you're giving me, which is nothing, I can't determine much. Next question. Has she participated in any drinking in the last 24 hours?"

"Probably." The man asking the questions gave him a look. "She had some wine at the table, I don't know if she was drinking it."

"Sir, they don't sell wine here. It's a deli. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I swear she had wine at the table. Red wine. Probably merlot, her favorite."

"Whatever you say. Um.. Has she ever participated in taking drugs? Excluding medicines, of course."

"Not that I know of." he thought back to how she was acting in the café. She was shaky and seemed disoriented. He realized then, Olivia was trying to hold herself together. She had all the symptoms of a woman facing addiction. She wasn't fully addicted yet, but passing out can be a side effect. "On second thought, sir, she may have. She was fidgety and distraught. I figured she was just nervous."

"And what exactly would she be so nervous about? If you don't mind me asking."

"Well this is the first time we have seen each other in three years. Before now, I thought she was dead."

"You seem to know a lot about her. You two were involved?"

"In a way. She was my partner."
Elliot thought about it. She is my partner. Partners for better or worse.

"The other men are ready to head to the hospital and continue treating her. I assume you're riding with?"

"Of course." he paused and looked around. "Where the hell is Cassidy?" he asked, irritated. "Whatever. Let's go." He hopped in the back of the truck and sat beside Olivia. Elliot watched as they hooked up tubes and fluids. Her heart rate was fine, which signaled things weren't seriously horrible. The ride was somewhat blissful. It was quiet and everyone was attentive to Olivia. They arrived at the hospital and Elliot watched as they rolled her away to the ER and away from him. He sat in one of many chairs in the waiting room. Elliot sat and wondered if she would be okay, if it was serious, how she would feel when she woke up, if she would wake up.
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4 HOURS LATER
"Elliot Stabler?" the nurse tried to wake him up.
"Elliot?"
He finally woke up, flailing his arms.