Author's Notes: Nothing belongs to me …how sad!
This story has been written in its entirety and should be posted on a regular basis over then next few weeks. Some chapters are twice as long as others but they were the natural breaks in the story.
A big thank you to Sam for all her encouragement!
This chapter's for Lu78 and PaceyW'sgirl for their ongoing support of my work.
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It was Thursday evening in early fall, Olivia stepped out of her lavender infused bath feeling more relaxed and calm than she had all day. Wrapping a soft, white cotton towel around her head, she dried off before slipping into the red, white and blue Wonder Woman pj's she'd received from Casey on her last birthday.
Yawning, she pulled back the covers on her bed, determined to have an early night. Olivia placed a glass of milk and plate of cookies of the bedside table before picking up the latest novel she was reading. She flicked off the overhead room light and padded back to the bed.
It took her three minutes before she was able to fluff and plump the pillows and get them into exactly the right spot. Once she had, she reclined into the pillows, a blissful smile creeping across her face. Quickly she opened her book to page 63 and placed the bookmark Lizzie had made for her, on her chest. She was two words in when the phone rang.
Grumbling she answered it.
"Liv, it's Don," her boss' voice came down the line.
"Hi Don, what's up?" Olivia asked, hoping there was no case needing her attention and put all her relaxation efforts to waste.
"You haven't heard from El or Fin by any chance have you?" he asked.
"No why?" Olivia tossed her book onto the bed and started pulling back the covers. She knew this call wasn't going to end well.
"Um, something's happened and I can't get a hold of them," Don replied.
"There supposed to be on stakeout with the 12th. What's happened?" Olivia asked quickly.
"Yeah, but I just can't raise them," he said, avoiding her question. "I'll ring the Lieutenant at the 12th and see where their crew is at."
"Don, what happened?" Olivia asked again. She could hear his indecision down the line. "Don?"
"Look Liv, I'd rather speak to Elliot first but…oh god!" He took a deep breath. "Liv, there was an accident tonight on the Triborough Bridge," Don said.
"Yeah, heard that on the news on my way home, car versus truck, fatality right?" Olivia replied.
"Yeah, well, ah, it was Elliot's car." Don paused and Olivia thought she'd stopped breathing.
"Was he um…driving?" she asked quietly.
"Oh no, no Liv, sorry, I shouldn't have let you think it was him. It was Kathy and the twins," Don said.
"Oh god, no…the fatality?" she asked, praying it wasn't one of the twins.
"It was…um…Kathy, um, she died on impact," Don reported, his voice strained.
"How are the kids?" Olivia asked, tears streaming freely down her face.
"They're okay – not too sure of the details though. They're in the ER at Mercy," Don said. "The responding car ran the plates and it was registered to El, that's why they rang me but I just can't get hold of him."
"You keep trying Don and I'll go to the hospital, someone should be with the kids."
Olivia ran into the ER and straight to the nurses' station.
"Sylvia," she called to the nurse. "El's kids, where are they?"
"Olivia, god, I'm glad to see someone's here for them. They've been calling from their mom and dad. Where's Elliot?" Sylvia asked, walking her to the trauma room at the end of the corridor.
"Don's still trying to get him. Do they know about Kathy?" Olivia asked.
"Not sure. Dickie has a broken arm and has been conscious throughout so he may know but Lizzie suffered some minor chest and facial injuries, she also had a blow to the head and was unconscious for a bit, so I don't think she does." Sylvia pushed the door open and Olivia caught her breath.
Lizzie and Dickie lay on trolleys side by side, their hands spanning the gap between them, laced together. Asleep, the eleven year olds didn't hear them enter. Olivia stood and stared at them, she had been desperate to get here and see them and now she had she really wasn't sure what to do next.
"It's okay, Olivia, you can go to them," Sylvia prompted before slipping out of the room.
Olivia moved towards the beds and looked from one to the other. She bent down and kissed Lizzie's head before doing the same to Dickie.
"Aunt…Liv," he mumbled, his eyes focussing on the face before him.
"Hey kiddo, I'm right here," she whispered, kissing him again. "How are you doing?"
"My arm's broken," he said matter-of-factly.
"Yeah, I know," she said, running her fingers through his dark hair.
"Lizzie hurt her chest and her head," he reported. "She's been asleep a lot, even in the car." A tear escaped down his cheek.
"Do you want to talk about the car, Dickie," she asked quietly.
He shook his head. "Where's dad? he asked.
"He's out on a job with Fin, Uncle Don's trying to get him now," Olivia replied quietly. "He shouldn't be too long."
Dickie nodded and Olivia was well aware he hadn't mentioned his mother.
"Do you need something, kiddo?" she asked, tousling his hair again.
He shook his head and with Olivia's tender fingers caressing his head, fell asleep.
Hearing a whimper, she turned to find Lizzie stirring.
"Mom…my," the little girl whimpered and it broke Olivia's heart. True, she'd never liked Kathy but she would have never wished this upon her – not and really meant it.
"Hey Libby," Olivia whispered, using the pet name only she was allowed to.
"Mommy," Lizzie cried again.
"Sshh Libby, it's okay," Olivia soothed, knowing she was lying. Lizzie's eyes finally opened and it took her a few minutes to realise it was Olivia with her.
"Auntie Livvy?" she asked quietly.
"Yeah Libby, it's me." The child smiled, she loved Olivia and had decided long ago she wanted to be just like her Auntie Livvy, she even asked to be called Libby so it matched, but only Olivia was allowed to do this – it was their special bond.
"What happened?" Lizzie asked her big blue eyes filled with tears and confusion.
"There was an accident, honey, and you hit your head," Olivia whispered, running her fingers along the bandage on the child's face. "The doctor says you're going to be as good as new."
Lizzie smiled, she went to speak again but it came out as a mumble, sleep overtaking her again.
Olivia watched both for a while longer before stepping back through the door and into the corridor to compose herself. She had let her tears rain unchecked but didn't want the kids to see her this way.
"Where the hell are you, El?" she muttered to herself as she wiped her own eyes.
"LIVVY!!!!"
She turned around to see Maureen and Kathleen running down the corridor towards her. She opened both her arms and caught them both, hugging them tightly to her.
She pulled back and brushed the faces of both girls.
"Are they…the twins…okay?" Maureen managed breathlessly.
"Yeah, honey, they are. They're in there." She gestured behind them. "They're sleeping at the moment. Dickie has a broken arm and Lizzie has some minor face and chest injuries and she has a big bump on the head. The doctor says they'll be fine though," Olivia reported, still hanging on to the girls.
"And is it true about mom?" Kathleen finally asked.
"Yeah, baby, it is." Olivia confirmed the news as gently as she could but it did nothing to diminish the impact.
Kathleen dropped to her knees, her sobs racking her body and her cries shattering Olivia's heart. She clasped her tightly and rocked gently. Maureen tried her best to comfort her sister but caught up in her own grief it was proving very hard. Olivia wrapped and arm around her waist and drew her to them. Maureen buried her head on Olivia's chest and rocked with her, trying to bring some comfort to them all.
Olivia looked up to find Don coming down the hallway.
"I still haven't got a hold of El, Liv, but I had to get the girls. They rang looking for him and I couldn't let them find out any other way," Don explained quietly, one hand on Kathleen's shoulder, the other around Maureen.
Olivia nodded, she wished Elliot had been there when the girls found out about their mother but at least they were with family.
"Can we see the twins?" Kathleen finally asked, getting off her knees and holding tightly to Olivia.
"Yeah, of course," Olivia answered, brushing Kathleen's hair back into place and drying her face.
"Do they….know?" Maureen asked quietly.
"I think Dickie does. He only asked for your dad and he was awake through the whole accident so he probably knows. Lizzie doesn't know though and she was crying for her mom when she woke up," Olivia said, drying Maureen's eyes as well.
Olivia pushed the door opened and waited for the girls to enter, she was going to let them have some time alone as a family but Maureen kept hold of her hand. "Please Auntie Livvy, come with us."
Olivia squeezed Maureen's hand, it had been a while since she had used the term Auntie with her, believing she was all grown up and it wasn't necessary. But on this tragic Thursday night in September, Maureen felt anything but grown up. She had lost her mommy and she needed the next best thing, her Auntie Livvy.
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A.N. If you get a chance, check out my SVU oneshot Early Morning Introspection.