Through the Fire
PG-13
EO Pairing eventually. While investigating a case, the building catches fire...and things change. Bad summary I know, but once I know more of where I'm going with this, I'll make it better.
Just a little drabble...I'm not sure how long I'll make it. It's just a little thought that came to mind while I was procrastinating on my other stories. Influenced slightly by the fires in Ventura county, which filled our campus with smoke and ashes. Rating is simply to be safe at this point, I'll let you know if I decide to change it. I promise I'll get to my other stories soon...in the meantime...
Disclaimer: Not mine...the storyline is the only thing I can claim as my own. The folks down at the 16 are not mine. They belong to Dick Wolf, not a lowly college student like myself...
Chapter 1 - Flames and Fear
Elliot and Olivia stood in the living room of the woman they were interviewing. Her number appeared multiple times on the phone LUDs for a suspect they were looking for. Elliot was questioning the woman, asking her about her relationship with their suspect, when Olivia drifted towards the window of the woman's sixth story apartment.
"Ma'am. If there's anything you can tell us-"
"Hey, Elliot." Olivia interrupted, and he turned toward her, his eyebrows raised. "Do you smell-"
"Smoke?" He finished for her, his eyes going wide as realization dawned.
"Yeah." Olivia muttered as she walked to the door of the apartment. She opened it, and immediately began coughing at the thick smoke that was coming down the stairs. "Shit!" She exclaimed as the fire alarm began blaring.
"Ma'am, go downstairs and get outside, tell anyone you see to get out. Now!" Elliot told her quickly, pushing her towards the door and springing into action. He and Olivia followed her out of the apartment, splitting up at the stairs. Elliot ran down the flights of stairs, knocking on doors and yelling for people to evacuate, and at the same time radioing for help. "This is Detective Stabler, we've got a fire at 425 E. Fernwood. My partner and I are evacuating the building. We're gonna need some buses."
Olivia ran up the flights of stairs, mirroring Elliot's actions. She pounded on doors, yelling for people to get out of the building. As she climbed the stairs the smoke began thickening, and it became harder to breath. When she reached the tenth floor, she found the location of the fire. Dropping to her knees, she took a breath of the clearer air near the ground, and turned to go back down and out of the building. Suddenly she stopped, straining to hear the sound that struck her over the crackling fire. After a moment, she heard it again, the sound of a child crying. Forgoing the stairs, she moved in the opposite direction, towards the whimpers. At the bottom of the other flight of stairs lay a small girl and her mother. The toddler had one arm wrapped around her mother and was crying, pulling at her mother, and coughing as the smoke continued to thicken. Olivia could see that the mother was unconscious, and when she got closer she noticed the large wound at the base of the mother's head. It appeared as if the mother had fallen down the stairs in her rush to get out with her daughter.
"Sweetie." Olivia called over the fire. "Come here honey." She held her hands out to the little girl as she moved closer.
"Mommy." She could hear the girl's whimper as she reached them. Looking down at the mother, she saw that she wasn't breathing, and made a quick decision. As the crackles of the blaze grew louder, Olivia grabbed the little girl and hurried back towards the stairs. The little girl wrapped her arms around Olivia's neck and pressed her face into her shoulder as she ran down the stairs, desperate to get out of the burning building.
Outside, Elliot stood with the occupants of the building, helping families count heads to make sure everyone had gotten out okay. At the same time, he searched for Olivia in the crowd. He hadn't seen her come out, but he'd been distracted. He was gradually becoming more and more worried though, each face he saw was unfamiliar. He and Olivia had repaired their partnership after she'd returned. Their friendship had grown as well, and Elliot was currently ignoring new feelings he'd developed along the way. These feelings rushed up to a head though, as he moved around the residents, fearing for her safety and gradually realizing that she was probably still in the building.
He pushed his way to the front of the crowd, finally reaching the fire chief. "Listen man, I'm Detective Stabler and-"
"You the one who called it in?" The chief interrupted.
"Yeah, my partner and I. Look, she's-"
"Good you did. The fire was pretty well advanced when you called. Building could cave at any moment."
"Damn it! My partner's still in there!" Elliot finally exclaimed, trying to push his way past the chief and the beat cops who formed a barricade around the building. He was struggling against two of the men when one of the residents yelled.
"Detective! Look!"
Elliot turned toward the building, hoping against hope. He and the crowd watched in disbelief as Olivia came running out of the building, flying towards the group just seconds before a loud rumble was heard and the building collapsed. She ran directly into his arms, nearly knocking him over, and he wrapped his arms around her. She gasped to catch her breath, leaning against him, and he became aware of the child in her arms.
"Liv? Hey, you okay?" He asked softly, and she looked up at him. Struggling to take a deep breath, she nodded, then looked at the little girl she held. The child still had her face buried in Olivia's shoulder, but she was cradling her right arm against her chest. "Let's get you two checked out okay?" Olivia nodded again and let him lead them over to one of the waiting ambulances. One of the paramedics helped her sit in the back of the bus, then moved to take the child from her. Instantly the little girl began crying hoarsely, and tightened her grip around Olivia's neck.
"Let her be." Olivia told him softly, and the paramedic nodded. He handed her an oxygen mask, and strapped one around the little girl's face.
"You hurt anywhere detective?" The paramedic asked, and Olivia shook her head, trying to shift the child on her lap, but wincing. "Let me see." The paramedic examined her, then wrapped some gauze around her right hand. "Looks like you burned your hand a little there Detective. I'm gonna check out the little one, then we'll take you both to the hospital and get that treated." Olivia nodded silently, as he examined the child. When he was done, he stepped back and addressed both Olivia and Elliot. "Looks like she's got a broken arm. She'll need an X-ray to see how severe it is though. And you've got first degree burns on that hand that'll need some treatment." He told them, helping Olivia to move back into the ambulance farther. "You riding Detective?" He asked, and Elliot jumped up beside them as the paramedic closed the door behind him and the bus sped away.
Hope you liked it. I have a general idea of what I want to do, but I have no idea how long it'll take to get there. Please review, and I might get there quicker!