Before They Were Reunited [Bensler Fan Fic]

~48~

Elliot's POV

"El." Kelly moaned, a few days after her appointment. I walked out of the bathroom and found my wife curled up in the middle of the bed.

"Yeah, baby?" I questioned, and she frowned.

"I feel like I'm going to get sick." She whispered. I lifted her up off the bed and carried her into the bathroom. Her headaches have been just as bad, even when we were trying to not think about the fact the tumor might be cancer.

"Here we go, baby," I spoke, as I sat her down by the toilet. She held onto it and heaved forward a moment later. I tied her blonde locks back before rubbing her back gently.

"I'm going to die, Elliot. This tumor is cancer." Kelly whimpered, a few moments after she got sick.

"No, you aren't Kelly. You are going to live. It's just some stupid mass that doesn't matter at all." I replied, but she shook her head and looked up at me.

"You need to promise me to move on, El. After I'm gone, go and marry Olivia." She spoke, and I shook my head. I walked over and grabbed a washcloth and ran it under the water before turning and handing it to my wife.

"No, because you and I are going to grow old together."

---

For the next few weeks, Kelly just laid in our bed. Her head hurt her so much, that she couldn't stand lights. I put up blackout curtains in our room, which helped, but she still couldn't leave our room. We ate all our meals in her room, and Gus pretty much played all day in our room.

I tried to work from home, but then Kelly would call my name and need something or need to be cleaned up when she got sick on the bad days. But it got to a point where we had to go back for the next scan and she had to be sedated to do the scan because that's how bad the light was affecting her.

"Mr. Stabler?" The doctor questioned, and I stood up and looked at him.

"Yeah?"

"It's growing." He breathed, and tears welled in my eyes. I sank down into my chair and started to cry. He sat beside me and looked over at me.

"Elliot, we are going to go in and remove it. We are going to keep her awake during the surgery, but we need to get this out of her before it starts to attack her other systems. Before it affects your daughter."

"You said that it wasn't anything. Is it cancer now?" I asked, and he frowned and nodded.

"I believe it is. We are going to test it after we remove it. But if we get it all, we can avoid chemo and radiation."

"She really wants our daughter. We can't lose our baby." I whispered.

"And she won't. We will have a doctor sit and monitor your daughter through the whole operation. We are going to do it today. Are you okay with that?"

"Can I see you before you take her in? And I need to get my son up here." I spoke.

"Yeah. Of course. Take your time."

---

Olivia's POV

"I need to talk to both of you," I said, my voice shaking because I was so surprised and nervous. Alex and Casey looked at me and smiled.

"So, what do you need to talk about?" Alex asked.

"I was just asked on a date."

"What? You were?!" Casey exclaimed.

"By Ed Tucker," I whispered, and their eyes went wide.

"Fuck." Alex breathed, and I nodded.

"Yeah. I'm shocked. Like, he said he doesn't like kids when we talked before, but having Hanna didn't deter him."

"Wow," Casey spoke, and I nodded.

"Yeah. Do I say yes or..." I trailed off.

"Are you ready to date now? Two years ago you weren't."

"I know. I still talk to Martin without realizing it. Guys, should I just say yes and try to move on?" I asked, before looking down at my left hand. I ran my fingers over my engagement ring and wedding band. I felt tears well in my eyes before I walked over and sank down onto the chair beside my friends.

"I miss him so much, guys." I whimpered, as the floodgates opened. I leaned over and my body started to shake as sobs overtook everything else.

Alex sat beside me and rubbed my back gently.

"You aren't ready, honey. I'll call him and tell him for you." Alex breathed, and I sniffled as I sat up and looked at her.

"If I'm not ready now, I don't think that I'll ever be ready. I'm going to be watching Hanna get married and have kids, and I'm not going to have anyone!" I cried. I stood up and started to pace, but Casey got me to stop by hugging me tightly.

"It's okay. We can grow old together. I will move in with you and we can just be those two old ladies that live together with about one hundred cats altogether."

"Thanks, Case... I think I'm going over to talk to him. I don't want him to think that I'm a coward by not telling him to his face. I love you two so much. And as a thank you for letting me come in here and cry, would you want to come over and eat pancakes with me and my daughter tonight?" I asked, and they both nodded.

"Yeah, but we have to have them shaped like Mickey Mouse." Alex smiled, and I nodded.

"I wouldn't make them any other way."

---

I drove to One Police Plaza and I got out before finding Tucker's office. I knocked on his door, and after a moment he opened it and gave me a smile, which was weird to see on his face.

"Olivia, it's good to see you." He spoke.

"Can we talk, Ed?" I asked, and he nodded. He let me into his office before shutting the door behind us.

"So, is this you telling me no?" He asked, and I frowned.

"I lost the love of my life three years ago. And even if it was three years ago, it's hard to move on from him. I don't want to go on a date with you and lead you on to only hurt you in the end." I breathed, and he nodded.

"It's okay, Olivia. Thanks for telling me this. And I understand. I was married to my soulmate, but she passed away nearly 10 years ago. Maybe neither of us are really ready." He laughed softly, and I nodded.

"Thanks, Ed. I'll see you around, okay?"

"Yeah. Maybe we could go out for drinks some night. Just strictly friends."

"Yeah, friends."

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