Psychic Revenge
Chapter Thirteen
Golden Slumbers
New York Methodist Hospital
1910 Nostrand Ave., Brooklyn
9:17 A.M., Monday, October 31, 2011
"This is fine, thank you."
Elliot recognized Olivia's voice and he wanted to go to her, but he couldn't find her in the dark. Then another voice spoke, one he didn't recognize, and it was so quiet that he couldn't make out what it was saying.
"That will be great, thanks," Olivia replied.
He felt her hand, smooth and soft against his cheek, and her voice called sweetly, "El? Honey? Are you in there?"
Suddenly the darkness was gone. It took a moment or two for him to realize that he had opened his eyes. Then he grinned at her. "Hello, Gorgeous."
Olivia smiled down at him. "Hello yourself, Handsome. How do you feel?"
Everything went dark again and he realized he must have closed his eyes to think. "Stoned," he said, and a moment later he opened his eyes and gave her a dopey grin.
She chuckled at him and said, "I believe that. Do you know why you're here?"
More darkness, then he opened his eyes saying, "They fixed my arm, right?"
Liv nodded. "Yes, they did, and everything went fine. You'll be out of the cast in six to eight weeks."
He nodded his understanding and suddenly became very queasy. Olivia must have noticed the sudden change in his complexion, because she quickly grabbed an emesis basin off the nearby nightstand and held it for him while he retched. When he was done, she wiped his face with a tissue and gave him some ice chips to suck on.
"Are you all right?"
"I think so," he said, and frowning, he asked, "Should you be out of bed?"
She chuckled and said, "Right now, I'm in better shape than you."
"I know, but . . ." he trailed off. There really was no but. He was just being over-protective. Forty-eight to seventy-two hours was a pretty standard hospital stay for a healthy woman who'd had an uncomplicated delivery. "How are the girls?"
"Perfect," Liv beamed. "I've asked the nurses to bring them here for their next feeding."
"Great," he said. "I can't wait to see them." The world went dark once again.
She laughed at him. "If you're awake." Slipping her hand into his good one and interlacing their fingers, she said, "Tell you what, you sleep now, and when the girls get here, I'll wake you, ok?"
"Mmmm."
"Elliot? Ellllllioooot." Behind the soft voice calling his name he heard a hearty squall. Somebody was hungry.
"Hmmm?" Slowly he opened his eyes.
"Somebody wants to see her daddy."
Olivia was holding little Alexandra up so she could look at him. The baby studied him with those big, placid, brown eyes, and he felt himself turn to goo. Then he heard Casey squall again and was glad she wanted him to hold Alexandra. Pushing the button to elevate the head of his bed, he said softly, "Hey, Angel, you wanna come to Daddy?"
When he was sitting up, Olivia helped him nestle the little girl against his chest. Holding the baby was a bit awkward with one arm, but he used his cast to support most of her weight and held her close to him with his good arm.
"Does she need to be burped?" he asked as Olivia got her sister out of the bassinet.
"Not yet. She hasn't eaten," Liv said. "I need to feed Casey first."
"Good plan," he told her, and she made a face at him. Then the room went quiet for a few minutes as Olivia nursed Casey and Elliot adored Alexandra.
"You know, if you can keep your lunch down, the doctors say they'll send us both home today," Liv told him.
His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "No kidding."
She nodded, then she grimaced in pain, looked down at baby Casey, and said, "Hey, kid, if you suck that thing off, you're gonna have to go hungry." Looking up at Elliot she laughed and said, "She's like having a Hoover attached to my chest. God!"
Elliot grinned at her and said, "That's one aspect of child rearing I'm glad I can't share with you. So, are you ready to go home?" He asked the question casually because he didn't want make it a big deal if it wasn't, but he knew she had been traumatized by Ballantine's manipulations and wanted to give her a chance to tell him if she needed some help dealing with it.
"Well, Maureen tells me she called a cleaning service that specializes in crime scene cleanup to take care of the blood upstairs," she began. "Rick and Jim took care of fixing the busted window, the family room door, and a bullet hole in the wall outside the master bedroom, and Cragen got one of the guys from TARU to inspect the alarm system after the company sent someone out to fix it. So, the house is ready for us."
What his wife didn't say was more revealing that what she had said, Elliot realized. He gave her a steady look and spoke kindly, "You didn't answer my question. Are you ready to go home?"
"Ok, Casey, you're just playing now," Olivia said to the baby. "I think it's time for Daddy to burp you, and for your sister to get a turn at nursing."
They swapped off babies, and once she had Alexandra positioned so she could suckle, she said, "It depends on how soon you plan to go back to work. It's better now that you told me how he did everything, but I won't deny that I still feel a little uneasy. I keep thinking, what if the girls had already been born. How would I have kept them safe?"
"You'll find you make a lot of decisions differently, now, Olivia," Elliot told her as he sat there patting little Casey on the back. "You wouldn't even have been there when he showed up."
Casey belched, a surprisingly loud sound to emanate from such a tiny person, and Elliot laughed. "That's a good one," he told her, then looked back at Olivia. "Why don't I start with a two-week medical leave, and then we'll see what we need to do from there, ok?"
Olivia nodded, and, the decision made, she asked him, "You haven't seen the finished nursery yet, have you?"
Elliot and Olivia held hands and beamed at each other as they rode downstairs in the elevator. She was in a wheelchair as per hospital policy for all new moms, but he was not considered a fall risk and was allowed to walk out of the hospital under his own steam. Casey and Alex were in the back of the elevator carrying the twins and quietly bickering about which of them favored her namesake most. Captain Cragen, who had stopped by to give Elliot the good news that IAB had cleared him in the shooting of Sebastian Ballentine and only needed his and Olivia's statements to officially close the file, was pushing the wheelchair; and Maureen was carrying the bag with her dad and Olivia's clothes. Maureen's husband, Jim was in the van with Nathalie waiting at the exit to drive Elliot, Olivia, and the babies home.
The doors opened and the lobby seemed quite busy, and although none of them said anything, they all wondered what was happening. The moment they stepped out of the elevator, they found out. A group of reporters mobbed them with lights glaring, flashbulbs popping, cameras rolling, and microphones being thrust at them from all angles. It was clear they all wanted to talk to Elliot, but they were so loud talking over each other and shouting questions that he couldn't figure out why.
Olivia's nerves were already stretched too tight after Ballantine's psychological warfare, and the sudden assault of cacophony snapped them. She was desperate to locate her babies, but the crowd was pressing so close that she couldn't stand up. She sat turning in her chair trying to look behind her and calling out, "Alex? Casey! Where are my girls?"
Elliot's instinct was to stick close to Liv. He trusted their friends to look after the girls, but he knew that between the trauma of Ballantine's stunts and the hormones and anxiety of being a new mom, his wife would be feeling a little fragile. He squeezed her hand tighter, smiled down at her, and tried to move closer.
Cragen just wanted to forestall the mob before they were surrounded, but Maureen was too shocked to move out of his way. He some idea of why they were so excited to interview his detective, but he had no idea how they had located him here. Casey and Alex hung back with the twins waiting for Elliot or Olivia to tell them what to do.
For a moment, everything was chaos with the reporters pressing in on them and shouting questions over one another so that no one could be heard. Then one jerk with a microphone made the mistake of forcing his way between Olivia and Elliot and it all went to hell.
Before he knew what he was doing, Elliot cold-cocked the guy in front of half a dozen television cameras and even more newspaper photographers. The reporter stumbled back against Olivia's wheelchair causing her to scream and elbow him hard in the back. The force of her blow pushed him back into Elliot who neatly sidestepped and used the collar of the guy's coat to send him crashing headlong into a cart full of meal trays being pushed back to the cafeteria for washing.
When Elliot shifted position it gave Cragen room to move. He snatched the bag from Maureen's hands and placed it on Olivia's lap, grabbed Maureen by the wrists and placed her hands on the grips of Olivia's wheel chair, gently pushed Casey and Alex toward the door, and directed Maureen to follow saying, "Tell Casey to come back in once the twins are settled."
Once the women were safely on their way, he grabbed Elliot by the front of his jacket, and looked around for some cover. Then he shoved his detective into a nearby lounge and slammed the door behind them before Elliot could wreak more havoc.
"Look, Cap . . ."
"Shut up!" Cragen ordered sharply. Once he had Elliot's full attention, he softened his tone. "It's ok. I understand. I'm not mad, and if there's any trouble from what just happened out there, I'll back you all the way. You hear? I'll even be your witness if you want to charge him with assault. After all, he did touch you first. Ok?"
When Elliot nodded, he continued. "Ok, we have to try to fix this now, or we're gonna get a world of grief over it."
"So, what do we do?"
"You have to apologize to the guy you and Olivia just beat up, give them a statement, and answer a couple of questions," Don said. "Then turn it over to Casey and you can go home."
"Wait, where's Casey?" Elliot asked with a note of anxiety in his voice. "She and Alex had the girls."
"Calm down," Don reassured him. "I sent them out to the van. Casey will be back when the girls are settled. Now take a deep breath."
Elliot obeyed.
"Ok, are you ready to go out and meet the press?"
He nodded. "Yeah, but I have one question."
"What's that?"
"Why do they want to talk to me?"
"I can't stop crying dammit!" Olivia sobbed into her tissue. "Why the hell can't I stop crying?"
Maureen sat on the third seat of the van with her arms around her step-mom hugging her, comforting her, and rubbing her back. "It's ok, Liv," she assured her. "It's normal to be a wreck right about now. What happened in there would upset anyone."
"But I never cry like this!" Olivia wailed, which upset the babies and now there were three crying women in the van.
"And in a couple of weeks, you never will again," Maureen soothed as she tried not to smile. Olivia's hysterical tantrum was almost comical because it was so out of character for the tough cop she knew, but Casey and Alexandra's frantic grimaces to distract the twins were hilarious. "It's just hormones and stress, Liv. It will all be out of your system soon and you'll feel like yourself again."
"Unless I have post partum depression!"
"Give it a couple of weeks, Liv, and if you don't feel better, I'll take you to the doctor myself," she promised.
"I just want Elliot," she sobbed. "Please, I just want my husband so we can go home!"
Maureen shushed her and rocked her and looked at Casey and said, "You need to go get my dad now."
Casey just nodded, and leaving the babies in Alex's capable hands, she went back into the hospital.
When they left the lounge, Don was able to hold the press at bay with a fearsome glare while Elliot located the reporter he had assaulted. He found the man in a corner nursing a black eye and a knot on his head with icepacks apparently provided by the hospital.
"You got a minute?"
The guy cowered away. "You gonna hit me again?"
"No," Elliot tried not to smirk, "but I'd like to offer you a public apology." He felt a little bit bad about hurting the reporter but he disliked the press enough that he wouldn't lose any sleep over it.
The young man eyed him warily, and judging him to be sincere in his intent, he nodded his agreement.
"Ok, what's your name?"
"Brian, Brian Willis."
Elliot offered his hand, and Brian jumped, but then he understood the gesture and let the cop help him to his feet. As they walked toward where Cragen was standing, Elliot nodded slightly. Smiling, Don turned to the gaggle of reporters and said, "Now I believe Detective Stabler is ready to make a brief statement and then he will take a few questions."
As Elliot led Brian to the front of the group, the reporters erupted into a chorus of shouted questions again. He just waited calmly for them to stop talking. Only when they were quiet did he begin.
"Before I comment on the apprehension of Neil Czarhyskinsky, I would like to explain and apologize for my behavior of a few moments ago," he began. "Friday evening, in an event completely unrelated to the Czarhyskinsky case, my wife, who was pregnant with twins, was attacked in our own home. I can't tell you much about it because the case is still officially open, but it was a very traumatic event which resulted in my wife going into labor a week before her due date, an Inspector from the Canadian fugitive recovery unit getting shot in our home, and tragically, the death of another human being."
Don leaned over and whispered in his ear, and Elliot amended, "And me breaking my arm, which was just set in surgery this morning. So, you can see that my family and I have had a rough weekend."
He paused for a moment as the reporters mumbled amongst themselves. When he had their attention again, he continued. "Quite frankly, so much has happened in my life since the arrest of Neil Czarhyskinsky that I had completely forgotten about him. When all of you came charging at us, shouting, and flashing lights in our eyes, it was a little overwhelming, especially since we had no idea what you wanted. As a new mom, my wife is already a little on edge. As a husband and a father, all I want to do is keep my wife and children safe."
Turning to Brian Willis, he said, "Mr. Willis, when you came between my wife and me, I saw you as a threat. I realize now that I overreacted and I'm sorry for any injury I may have caused you. Would you please accept my apology?"
He held out his hand to shake, and the young man took it. Several flashbulbs popped at that moment, and Willis said, "Yes, yes, of course."
Elliot smiled. "Thank you." Looking back at the crowd, he said, "Now, I know you are here for a statement on the Czarhyskinsky case. I don't know what to say except that being the lead detective just means I get to do all the paperwork. Things like this are always a team effort. My partner, Detective Beck, is the one who actually put the cuffs on him, and she's the one who collected the reports and files from other police departments across the country. Detectives Munch and Tutuola from my squad proved that the suspect lived in all of the different cities when the crimes took place. ADA Novak got us the warrants we needed, and Dr. Warner from the ME's office collected and processed the suspect's DNA. When my family emergency arose, Captain Cragen saw to it that my responsibilities in the case were handled by other detectives. But the real heroes are the women who were brave enough to come forward and report the attacks. Without them, there would have been no case."
He looked at the crowd for a moment before asking, "Are there any questions?"
There was a moment of chaos before Don pointed to one reporter, a woman with dark hair.
"Sandra Olvera, from The Ledger," she said. "Detective, now that the Beach Boys Rapist is in custody, to where do you think will he be extradited once he faces charges in New York?"
"The Beach Boys Rapist? Who thought of that?"
Sandra looked around and everyone shrugged. "It comes from the song 'California Girls' she explained. "'East Coast girls are hip; I really dig those styles they wear . . ." She said the lines rather than singing them.
"'And the Sothern girls with the way they talk . . .' yeah, yeah, I know the lyrics, I grew up on that music," Elliot cut her off. "Except that his pattern went the opposite direction."
The reporter shrugged and said, "It still seems to fit."
Elliot nodded doubtfully and said, "Well, Sandra, before I answer your question about extradition, I just want to say that I think giving these serial criminals catchy little names and titles is socially irresponsible. It encourages copycats, glamorizes violent crime, gives these criminals undeserved status and notoriety, and sends the dangerous message that this kind of behavior is cool.
"As for the extradition, you'll have to speak with ADA Casey Novak about that. Personally, I would like to see him face those capital murder charges in Missouri next and then go to Utah where he could face sentencing enhancements because all of his victims were of the same religion. After he has faced trial in all the other places where he committed rapes, he can go back to Missouri for his lethal injection."
Again there was a lot of talking, and this time, Elliot singled one person out to ask a question.
"Martin Jones, Channel Nine News. Were the twins born healthy and are mother and babies all doing well now?"
Elliot smiled. "Yes, they're all fine, they're beautiful and perfect and . . . just perfect, thanks for asking."
There were several "Awws" from the crowd at his obvious delight in fatherhood which gave Martin just enough of a pause to ask a follow-up question.
"Are these your first children?"
Elliot beamed. "You know, off the record, I could talk you to death about my family and friends and how great they all are, but considering the nature of my work, I don't want to make that information public knowledge."
As he was speaking, Casey approached. He leaned over for her to whisper in his ear, and when she did, he nodded and told the reporters, "If you'll excuse me, I am needed by my family. This is Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak. She'll be trying Neil Czarhyskinsky here in New York."
It had taken Elliot longer to console Olivia than it had taken Alex to calm the babies, but eventually her adrenaline rush gave out and she slumped against him in exhaustion. She apologized again for making a scene and they all assured her she had nothing to be sorry for. Then Rick had driven them all to Brooklyn.
The Stabler Residence
2581 Flatbush Ave., Brooklyn
7:35 P.M., Monday, October 31, 2001
There was a small welcome home party for them when they arrived at the house, just the fourteen people they considered family. Elliot's kids, Jim, Nathalie, Kathy, Munch, Fin, Dani, and Ginny Marchesi were waiting when they arrived, and Cragen, Casey, and Alex came in a few minutes later.
Kathy had brought along a gift of six "baby's first year" picture frames with an oval for a picture from every month of the baby's first year of life. Four were for Elliot, and they were filled with pictures of each of his older children. The other two were for Olivia. Elliot had sent Kathy newborn pictures of the twins from his camera phone and those were already in place. Of course the thoughtful gift had made Olivia cry, again, but this time she was able to laugh while apologizing for making yet another scene.
The party only lasted about half an hour after which, in deference to the happy family's need for privacy and Olivia's need for rest, the guests cleaned up after themselves and said their goodbyes.
By six o'clock, Elliot and Olivia found themselves in the nursery admiring their achievements. They had both girls nestled closely together in one crib and the stood at either end gazing down on them. The babies were both bright-eyed and cooing softly.
Looking around for a moment, Elliot said, "You guys did a fantastic job in here."
Olivia smiled and said, "Thank you, but the kids did all the hard work."
"I love the way the picture frames turned out," he said, "the way the mat is the color of the wall and the frame matches the opposite wall."
"That was Maureen's idea."
They went quiet for several more minutes and just stood at the ends of the crib staring down at their tiny, beautiful babies.
Elliot sighed. "We have been so blessed," he said.
She nodded. "We have a lot to be thankful for."
They'd traveled a long road to get here, first as partners, then lovers, and finally husband and wife, but always, always, even in the worst of times, as friends. Olivia's pregnancy hadn't been without its rough spots, and the past weekend had been a horrible nightmare for both of them, but right now, just for tonight, life was perfect.
"They're both just beautiful," Elliot said. "Just like their mother."
Olivia smiled and blushed slightly. "They have a lot of their father in them, too," she said.
Elliot just grinned and reached out to run his finger along the sole of one tiny foot. Alex cooed and pulled her foot away as if it tickled. He did it again to Casey and she blew raspberries at him. As she watched him smiling at his girls, Olivia got an idea. Moving over to the rocking chair, she dragged it across the floor closer to the window seat. Then she got the blanket out of the unused crib, folded it into fourths, and placed it over one of the armrests.
"Elliot, come sit."
"Huh? No, Liv, that's for you," he protested. "You should probably be sitting in it right now and resting."
She shook her head. "I'm fine. This chair has been in your family for generations. I think you should have the honor of being the first to rock them to sleep in it."
"Liv, I only have one good arm. I might drop them."
"I won't let you," she promised. "Now quit being stubborn and sit."
He gave her a mildly frustrated look but obeyed. She helped him take his injured arm out of the sling and move it down inside the folded blanket so it would be out of the way and nicely cushioned. Then she got Casey out of the crib and brought her to him. He held her in his good arm while she went back to the crib for Alexandra. Baby Alex nestled perfectly in the softly padded curve of his cast. Liv had positioned the rocker so she could keep one hand on Alex and make sure she didn't fall and in this way, Elliot was able to hold both of his girls at once.
For a moment he smiled down at them in adoration. Then he looked up at Olivia and grinned, his eyes brimming with joy. Looking down at the girls again, he began slowly rocking and after several minutes, in a sweet, soft voice filled with love and awe, he began singing the song his mother had often sung for him when he was very young.
Golden slumbers kiss your eyes.
Smiles awake you when you rise.
Sleep pretty loved ones, do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby.
Lullaby, lullaby, lullaby.
Life's cares are heavy, therefore sleep,
And Father a safe watch here will keep.
Sleep pretty loved ones, do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby.
Lullaby, lullaby, lullaby.
Olivia watched the girls doze off as Elliot rocked and sang to them and smiled because she knew she had never done a better thing in her life.
The End
To hear the lullaby Elliot was singing, search "golden slumbers kiss" on Yahoo. Click the KIDiddles link (should be the first one). Scroll about halfway down the page and you will see a little mouse holding some musical notes. There is a player control underneath him. The lyrics I have do not match the ones on the KIDiddles page because I am using the words I learned as a child, but they still fit the melody perfectly.