5Olivia sits on the side of the ER gurney much like she had after being targeted by Oscar Papa, buttoning her shirt when a resident walks in, Dr. Capehart embroidered on her lab coat.
"You're a lucky woman, Captain," she says. "No fractures showed up on x-ray, but you'll have to take it easy for the next several weeks as bruised ribs can feel incredibly similar to broken ones," she adds. "No field work until after your follow-up."
"Great," Olivia tells her. "I'm sure my sergeant's gonna love that."
"You'll be bruised for awhile so alternate between –
"— Unfortunately, I know the drill, Dr. Capehart," Olivia interrupts. "Hazards of the job."
"And I thought my job was rough," she tells her. "A nurse will be back with your discharge papers in a little bit. I'll go work on them now," she adds. "Take care of yourself."
As she leaves, Olivia hears her tell someone, "You can go in now."
To no surprise, in walks Elliot. With reddened eyes and wrinkled clothes, he looks like he's been through hell. Witnessing the love of your life get shot will do that for you.
"Thank God for Kevlar," he opens with.
"Yeah," she says, "Especially with my knack of having people put hits out on me."
"You and me both."
Olivia gingerly moves to stand, wincing in the process. Elliot is at her side in a matter of seconds, holding her elbow as she gets her footing but makes no attempt to distance himself.
"About what I said after you went down…"
"Liv, stay with me, baby. Please. I love you. Stay with me."
"El, it's okay I –
"—It was the heat of the moment and I understand you –
"—No, Liv. It wasn't."
"Why are you so intent on having this conversation?"
"Why are you trying so hard to avoid it?"
"I told you. I'm not –
"— Not ready. It's the wrong moment. Our timing is bad," he concludes.
"And you think now, here in the middle of an Ohio emergency room on a random Thursday is the right time?" She asks, stepping away to pull on her blazer.
"We've had the two years I was separated and the last three since Kathy's been gone to do something about what's between us."
"You had your ring on last week, Elliot," she points out. "Don't make it sound like my fear or anger at how you left is the only thing keeping us from moving forward."
"I know I've hurt you, taken you for granted and taken advantage of our past and the trust you have in me," he confesses. "So, I get it, I don't deserve a chance with you."
"But?"
Elliot smirks at her response. She knows him just as well as he knows her.
"But when I saw you laying on the ground," he begins, an emotional lilt to his voice. "I prayed for a chance, a real chance with you. One that I would give everything I have, do all that I can not to fuck it up because…"
He lessens the distance between them.
"How cocky have we been to think that we'll continue to have God's grace on this job," he continues. "That we have an unlimited number of tomorrows, or right moments or perfect timing. We don't, Liv."
She can't hide the tears his words inspire.
"I want…Elliot," she begins. "Working with you, our instincts, our ability to read one another, to react without needing to speak," she adds. "I've never had that with anyone else."
"Me either."
"But the rest," Olivia goes on as the tears continue to fall. "Callously throwing away 12 years together without a word or any consideration as to what that would do to me, El, I don't know if I can ever get past it."
"I'm gonna say now, what I should've said in your kitchen all those months ago," he says, closing the distance. "I'll wait, Liv. As long as it takes. I'll wait," he adds, swiping at her tears. "Because in case you didn't hear me at the diner, I love you. I am in love with you."
Then to her surprise, he turns to walk away.
"And for the record," Elliot says once he reaches the door. "Safe wasn't the only thing I was trying to make you feel," he tells her. "Pretty sure we both felt that too."
Under the guise of gathering her things, she turns as blush colors her face. He opens the door just as the nurse enters with Olivia's discharge papers. Elliot stands by.
"These are for you, Captain Benson," she says. "Any questions?"
"No, I'm good."
"Okay, if that changes or if you have any new symptoms, please feel free to call us."
"Will do," Olivia says as the nurse leaves.
"We have a few hours to get to the hotel, shower and change before our flight back to New York takes off."
"Right."
"You okay? They give you anything for pain?"
"I'm fine, just a little sore."
"Bruised ribs are a bitch," Elliot says. "Ready?"
"Yes."
But she makes no move to leave.
"Liv?"
"Yeah?"
"The door's over here," he says, smiling.
"I know," Olivia says, approaching him. "I said…I'm ready."
"What am I missing?"
She removes the distance between them, palms his face and tenderly kisses him.
"Oh," he says, when she pulls back.
"Yeah," she tells him, smiling against his lips as he puts careful arms around her waist before deepening the kiss. For her part, Olivia circles his neck with her arms, melding their bodies together.
"El?"
"Yeah?" He says, placing warm open-mouthed kisses beneath her ear.
"About that shower…"
"You saying I stink, Benson? It's like 80 degrees out there."
"Yes," she answers with a smirk. "And…as good as it feels to finally be able to kiss you, a shotgun blast to the abdomen, even through Kevlar, hurts too damn much for this type of…activity."
Elliot grabs her bag and steps back.
"You're right, I'm sorry," he tells her. "I'm gonna use the time it takes for you to heal to see my shrink and to properly…woo you."
"Woo me?"
"Of course," he says opening the door for her. "I'm talking dinners, walks in the park, random naughty text messages, the sharing of funny memes, gifts for no reason -
"— Tell me more about these gifts."
Elliot laughs as he reaches for her hand and they make their way down the corridor.
"I'll start small," he answers. "Maybe surprise you with good coffee or those interesting oatmeal combinations you've taken to eating."
"And then?"
"We'll work our way up to a country neither of us has been to," he suggests. "Turks and Caicos is less than 4 hours from JFK."
"As amazing as that sounds right now, I'm mostly looking forward to honest conversations and not having to hide our feelings from one another anymore."
"I meant what I said, Liv," he promises. "I'm ready to do the work."
She smiles, stopping long enough to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"I think that's exactly what I needed to hear."
"Let's go home, partner."