SVU - elliot/katie - the rest is forgotten - M
title: the rest is forgotten
fandom: Law & Order SVU
pairing: elliot/katie (ofc), contains Matt Vaughn, OC of ciaimpala - thanks for letting me borrow him, again!
letter: k for knee-jerked - table # 11 for a_to_z_prompts
summary: Katie tries to adjust for life without Bonnie.
rating: M.
word count: 2257.
warnings/spoilers: none really ;)
a/n: Katie Summers is an original character of mine who I'm pairing with Detective Elliot Stabler for my fic's in this challenge. You'll get to know more about her as you read :) SVU timeline wise is set during the time Elliot is separated from his wife, around seasons 5-7.
disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Law and Order SVU. This is purely written for entertainment only.
Inspired by this song.
The Rest Is Forgotten
Katie was numb. More than numb. Empty. Her sister was gone; had died on a sterile hospital gurney while Katie was sleeping comfortably at him, not knowing her sister and niece were struggling for their lives. She felt useless; a failure. She'd let her baby sister down.
Telling her mother was horrific, but in some ways Katie was glad she was so devoid of emotion; it would have been much more difficult to tell Paget she'd lost her youngest child if Katie was overcome with tears.
She didn't have tears left; they were all gone. And her niece needed her to be strong.
The first time Katie saw the infant, she was so struck by how tiny and beautiful the baby was she almost forgot the dull ache in her heart. She was breathtaking; tiny and pink, little hands gripped into teensy fists on either side of her head as she slept. She had needed oxygen for the first few hours after her birth; but now she was breathing on her own, though still in an incubator.
A million things ran through Katie's mind, all of them contradictory... she had to plan Bonnie's funeral... but the baby needed a cot to sleep in... she had to decide what was going to be on Bonnie's tombstone... but her niece needed a name... it was too much. And with her mother's ailing healthy anyway, Katie knew it was all going to fall on her.
The NICU where Katie's niece was being kept wasn't busy; there were only four infants there. A pair of identical twin boys who were just in for the night for observation, a baby girl who had been born at 28 weeks but was still going strong; Katie had heard the nurses celebrating the fact that the baby had reached her original due date the week before; and of course there was Katie and her niece.
Katie wasn't able to hold her just yet; but she was allowed to touch her. She swayed in an old, but comfortable, rocking chair, with her hand inside the incubator, her little niece's whole fist clutching her forefinger. Katie slept in that rocking chair, stayed in the NICU until she was ushered out by nurses, her little unnamed niece was Bonnie; her embodiment, her life-force. Her blood was Bonnie's blood; Bonnie's blood was Katie's blood... this baby was her blood.
"Katie?"
It had been days since Katie had spoken to Elliot; she was either in the NICU with the baby or sleeping. She didn't know - or really care - where her cell phone was, and she hadn't been home to check for messages. But she wasn't hiding; everyone knew where she was. It was only a matter of time before someone came to find her.
"How is she?"
"Perfect." Katie said, smiling proudly at her strong little girl. "They said she might be able to be moved to the nursery tomorrow."
"She's beautiful." Elliot said, grinning at the infant as he stuck his hand into the other side of the incubator, taking the baby's other hand in his finger. "You got a name for her yet?"
Katie shook her head. "I can't think of anything... but her middle name is Bonnie." She said resolutely.
"I saw Alexis yesterday," Elliot said after a few moments of silence staring at the baby. "She's been keeping your place sorted."
It took Katie a second to answer him. "You went to my apartment?"
"Yeah, your mother sent some stuff over; Alexis called me and asked if I could help her."
"What kind of stuff?"
"A crib, changing table, clothes," Elliot said. "I wasn't sure where you'd want them; but I set them up in your bedroom."
Why this act caused Katie to tear up; she wasn't sure. Maybe because she hadn't cried in so many days; and Elliot's act of pure kindness for her, for the baby, was overwhelming. She only managed a wobbly, smile, but he seemed to take her sentiment and pulled across a chair against the wall so he could sit right by the baby with Katie. At some point he left and she fell asleep; because she woke up with Elliot's jacket draped over her shoulders. A nurse was quietly asking her if she was ready to hold the baby.
Katie's heart lifted for the first time in days, and she nodded excitedly as the nurse opened the side of the incubator. The baby was awake, but dozing, and wasn't happy to be moved. The nurse was somewhat rough with her, in Katie's opinion, but she supposed a woman who worked with babies as a career had better judgement. The baby fussed as the nurse set her in Katie's arms, and then wrapping a soft, white, cotton blanket up under her.
One of the twins started crying, so the nurse left Katie alone with her niece. She didn't know what to say to her... it wouldn't matter in the long run, it wasn't like the baby would remember, but for some reason Katie felt like her first words to the baby were pivotal. "Hi, honey..." she whispered, lifting the baby closer to her face so she could kiss her soft, tender forehead. "I'm... I'm so sorry that your mum isn't here..." She bit her lip as the baby opened her eyes - Bonnie's eyes. "But I'm here, always. And I won't let you down, ever, I promise..."
The name came to her like a sudden memory; like it had been stored in her brain and was waiting for the perfect moment to spring to Katie's mind. It was the name of a song she loved; a name of a beautiful French river, and a name that was always swimming somewhere in Katie's thoughts. "You're mine, Acadia. And I love you so much." She pressed another kiss to her nieces' forehead.
xxx
Katie didn't care about the strange looks some of the nurses gave her after she told them to write Acadia Bonnie Summers on her niece's birth certificate. She loved the name, so did Elliot, Matt, Olivia, everyone who Katie actually gave a damn about.
Leaving the father's name unwritten, there was no way she would put Marcus's name down on anything relating to Acadia, Katie was now almost ready to take the baby home. Before that; she had to endure questioning at the precinct. Thankfully it was with Olivia; but it was still painful to have to go through all the details again, of finding Bonnie at the apartment, waking up next to her at the hospital as she told Katie how helpless she had been to Marcus's beating.
After her lengthy interview; Olivia told Katie she should go and see Dr. George Huang, the forensic FBI psychiatrist who often helped out with cases, or whenever there was a serious event that warranted therapy for the detectives.
Katie hadn't seen George in awhile, he'd been on assignment with the FBI, and then with everything that happened with Bonnie. They weren't friends, but friendly. Katie greatly respected him and everything he worked for; and appreciated his offer to talk with her, even though she would rather just shut her mouth, get Acadia and go home; but she didn't. Acadia needed her to be healthy, physically and mentally.
"She is very beautiful," George said, handing Katie back her digital camera that was now full of pictures of her niece. "How did you come up with the name Acadia?"
"My mother, her name's Paget - it's French, too. She used to travel to France with her parents when she was younger, and for some reason a story she told me and Bonnie just kept coming into my head when I looked at the baby." Katie fiddled with the sleeve of her sweater. "The name derives from a Greek word, Arcadia. It means utopia. Idyllic harmony... perfect... first time I saw her... she was so peaceful... she just looked like any other baby." Not the child of an abusive drug addict and a murdered mother, she didn't add. "How could a baby with so much crap in her life already; be so peaceful?"
"Children are innocent." George said. "Untouched. A blank slate."
"I don't know what to tell her," Katie admitted. "Do I tell her that her mother died? Do I raise her like my own child?" She wiped at the tears pooling in her eyes. "What do I do? It seems like the only thing I know for sure is that she's coming home with me... but what do I know from babies? I have a job, too, so I'll need a nanny or something, how long do I wait before I go back to work? I just... I don't know what I'm doing here. And on top of all that, I have to bury my little sister..."
"If you want my opinion, Katie, I would say you are handling this extremely well. You acknowledge that your sister's brutal death affects you, and your niece, you are taking the healthiest steps to manage your grief."
"It doesn't make it easier."
"I promise it will get easier," George assured her. "Having Acadia will change your life for the better; I'm sure."
Katie felt better after talking with George, but the session had brought all of her emotions right to her surface. She intended to take a walk, perhaps get a drink, before she went back to visit Acadia, not wanting to bring negative energy around her niece.
Unfortunately, she didn't get her negative energy out of the precinct; because she spotted her sister's murderer being led out in cuffs just ahead of her.
"MARCUS!" Katie bellowed; giving him only a second to turn around before she flew at him, and sent a heavy fist into his jaw. "You killed her you son of a bitch!" She lunged for his neck but was pulled back; someone had their arm around her middle. "You killed her!" She cried out; not caring that every pair of eyes in the vicinity was fixed on her. "Why did you have to kill her? Why her? What did she do?" She wrenched and pulled at the arms around her, recognizing the tattoo on Elliot's arm as he tried to pin her down.
"She was alive!" Marcus looked puzzled. "No; she was alive when I left her!"
"You left her to die! I hope you rot in hell you piece of shit!" Katie was lifted off her feet, and tried to squirm out of Elliot's arms, but the man had years of army and police training pumping through his muscled arms; she wasn't going to overpower him. "Let me go!" She twisted and struggled. "Let go of me!" She swivelled her body enough to be able to push her hands off against Elliot's chest; he let her go and she stumbled.
"Katie." Elliot held his hands up; cautious; as if he was worried she would lunge at him, next.
"Why are you all just standing here?" She cried to everyone around her. Elliot, Olivia, the Captain, Munch, Finn, Matt; everyone she worked with had eyes on her. "He killed my sister! Why aren't you doing anything? Why is he still here? Why can't you let me just...?" She threw her arms up and caught her fingers in her hair, tugging at her wavy blonde curls, not caring about the pain it caused her. "I don't understand you all! He killed Bonnie! He needs to pay!"
"Katie; you have to calm down or we'll have to arrest you..." Captain Cragen said gently as he carefully approached her.
Katie let out a hollow laugh. "Of course you will; this bastard murders my sister and I'm the one who gets arrested." She pounced at Marcus again, but Cragen caught her wrist before she could get too close. "You vicious little prick; I will KILL YOU for this!"
"Elliot; get her out of here!" Cragen ordered, almost having to toss Katie into Elliot's arms.
Katie wasn't sure what else she screamed at Marcus as Elliot physically dragged her away. He took her to an interview room and pushed her into a chair. She was still yelling, trying to stand up, he had to hold her down by her shoulders to keep her still.
"Katie!" Elliot shook her; hard. "I'm sorry." He said firmly. "I am so sorry about Bonnie. We are gonna nail that snivelling bastard to the wall; I can promise you that. But you have to let us do it. You can't go after him." He paused. "You're all that baby has in the world." He added. "Acadia needs you. You said you didn't want to let her down; so don't."
Feeling tears just pour from her eyes like a tap, Katie tried to nod, but the ache in her heart just made her want to cry harder, punch someone, scream at the top of her lungs. "He killed Bonnie, Elliot," She said through gritted teeth; grabbing Elliot's shirt in her fists and pulling herself into his body. "He killed my sister. I don't know how to live without her here."
"He's being arraigned this afternoon; he will go away for the rest of his life." Elliot took Katie's face in his hands, running his thumbs just under her eyes to wipe away her tears. "I won't let him get anywhere near you or that baby ever again, do you understand me?"
Katie just nodded, and let him hug her until her tears were mere stains in the shoulder of his shirt.
xxx
fandom: Law & Order SVU
pairing: elliot/katie (ofc), contains Matt Vaughn, OC of ciaimpala - thanks for letting me borrow him, again!
letter: k for knee-jerked - table # 11 for a_to_z_prompts
summary: Katie tries to adjust for life without Bonnie.
rating: M.
word count: 2257.
warnings/spoilers: none really ;)
a/n: Katie Summers is an original character of mine who I'm pairing with Detective Elliot Stabler for my fic's in this challenge. You'll get to know more about her as you read :) SVU timeline wise is set during the time Elliot is separated from his wife, around seasons 5-7.
disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Law and Order SVU. This is purely written for entertainment only.
Inspired by this song.
The Rest Is Forgotten
Katie was numb. More than numb. Empty. Her sister was gone; had died on a sterile hospital gurney while Katie was sleeping comfortably at him, not knowing her sister and niece were struggling for their lives. She felt useless; a failure. She'd let her baby sister down.
Telling her mother was horrific, but in some ways Katie was glad she was so devoid of emotion; it would have been much more difficult to tell Paget she'd lost her youngest child if Katie was overcome with tears.
She didn't have tears left; they were all gone. And her niece needed her to be strong.
The first time Katie saw the infant, she was so struck by how tiny and beautiful the baby was she almost forgot the dull ache in her heart. She was breathtaking; tiny and pink, little hands gripped into teensy fists on either side of her head as she slept. She had needed oxygen for the first few hours after her birth; but now she was breathing on her own, though still in an incubator.
A million things ran through Katie's mind, all of them contradictory... she had to plan Bonnie's funeral... but the baby needed a cot to sleep in... she had to decide what was going to be on Bonnie's tombstone... but her niece needed a name... it was too much. And with her mother's ailing healthy anyway, Katie knew it was all going to fall on her.
The NICU where Katie's niece was being kept wasn't busy; there were only four infants there. A pair of identical twin boys who were just in for the night for observation, a baby girl who had been born at 28 weeks but was still going strong; Katie had heard the nurses celebrating the fact that the baby had reached her original due date the week before; and of course there was Katie and her niece.
Katie wasn't able to hold her just yet; but she was allowed to touch her. She swayed in an old, but comfortable, rocking chair, with her hand inside the incubator, her little niece's whole fist clutching her forefinger. Katie slept in that rocking chair, stayed in the NICU until she was ushered out by nurses, her little unnamed niece was Bonnie; her embodiment, her life-force. Her blood was Bonnie's blood; Bonnie's blood was Katie's blood... this baby was her blood.
"Katie?"
It had been days since Katie had spoken to Elliot; she was either in the NICU with the baby or sleeping. She didn't know - or really care - where her cell phone was, and she hadn't been home to check for messages. But she wasn't hiding; everyone knew where she was. It was only a matter of time before someone came to find her.
"How is she?"
"Perfect." Katie said, smiling proudly at her strong little girl. "They said she might be able to be moved to the nursery tomorrow."
"She's beautiful." Elliot said, grinning at the infant as he stuck his hand into the other side of the incubator, taking the baby's other hand in his finger. "You got a name for her yet?"
Katie shook her head. "I can't think of anything... but her middle name is Bonnie." She said resolutely.
"I saw Alexis yesterday," Elliot said after a few moments of silence staring at the baby. "She's been keeping your place sorted."
It took Katie a second to answer him. "You went to my apartment?"
"Yeah, your mother sent some stuff over; Alexis called me and asked if I could help her."
"What kind of stuff?"
"A crib, changing table, clothes," Elliot said. "I wasn't sure where you'd want them; but I set them up in your bedroom."
Why this act caused Katie to tear up; she wasn't sure. Maybe because she hadn't cried in so many days; and Elliot's act of pure kindness for her, for the baby, was overwhelming. She only managed a wobbly, smile, but he seemed to take her sentiment and pulled across a chair against the wall so he could sit right by the baby with Katie. At some point he left and she fell asleep; because she woke up with Elliot's jacket draped over her shoulders. A nurse was quietly asking her if she was ready to hold the baby.
Katie's heart lifted for the first time in days, and she nodded excitedly as the nurse opened the side of the incubator. The baby was awake, but dozing, and wasn't happy to be moved. The nurse was somewhat rough with her, in Katie's opinion, but she supposed a woman who worked with babies as a career had better judgement. The baby fussed as the nurse set her in Katie's arms, and then wrapping a soft, white, cotton blanket up under her.
One of the twins started crying, so the nurse left Katie alone with her niece. She didn't know what to say to her... it wouldn't matter in the long run, it wasn't like the baby would remember, but for some reason Katie felt like her first words to the baby were pivotal. "Hi, honey..." she whispered, lifting the baby closer to her face so she could kiss her soft, tender forehead. "I'm... I'm so sorry that your mum isn't here..." She bit her lip as the baby opened her eyes - Bonnie's eyes. "But I'm here, always. And I won't let you down, ever, I promise..."
The name came to her like a sudden memory; like it had been stored in her brain and was waiting for the perfect moment to spring to Katie's mind. It was the name of a song she loved; a name of a beautiful French river, and a name that was always swimming somewhere in Katie's thoughts. "You're mine, Acadia. And I love you so much." She pressed another kiss to her nieces' forehead.
xxx
Katie didn't care about the strange looks some of the nurses gave her after she told them to write Acadia Bonnie Summers on her niece's birth certificate. She loved the name, so did Elliot, Matt, Olivia, everyone who Katie actually gave a damn about.
Leaving the father's name unwritten, there was no way she would put Marcus's name down on anything relating to Acadia, Katie was now almost ready to take the baby home. Before that; she had to endure questioning at the precinct. Thankfully it was with Olivia; but it was still painful to have to go through all the details again, of finding Bonnie at the apartment, waking up next to her at the hospital as she told Katie how helpless she had been to Marcus's beating.
After her lengthy interview; Olivia told Katie she should go and see Dr. George Huang, the forensic FBI psychiatrist who often helped out with cases, or whenever there was a serious event that warranted therapy for the detectives.
Katie hadn't seen George in awhile, he'd been on assignment with the FBI, and then with everything that happened with Bonnie. They weren't friends, but friendly. Katie greatly respected him and everything he worked for; and appreciated his offer to talk with her, even though she would rather just shut her mouth, get Acadia and go home; but she didn't. Acadia needed her to be healthy, physically and mentally.
"She is very beautiful," George said, handing Katie back her digital camera that was now full of pictures of her niece. "How did you come up with the name Acadia?"
"My mother, her name's Paget - it's French, too. She used to travel to France with her parents when she was younger, and for some reason a story she told me and Bonnie just kept coming into my head when I looked at the baby." Katie fiddled with the sleeve of her sweater. "The name derives from a Greek word, Arcadia. It means utopia. Idyllic harmony... perfect... first time I saw her... she was so peaceful... she just looked like any other baby." Not the child of an abusive drug addict and a murdered mother, she didn't add. "How could a baby with so much crap in her life already; be so peaceful?"
"Children are innocent." George said. "Untouched. A blank slate."
"I don't know what to tell her," Katie admitted. "Do I tell her that her mother died? Do I raise her like my own child?" She wiped at the tears pooling in her eyes. "What do I do? It seems like the only thing I know for sure is that she's coming home with me... but what do I know from babies? I have a job, too, so I'll need a nanny or something, how long do I wait before I go back to work? I just... I don't know what I'm doing here. And on top of all that, I have to bury my little sister..."
"If you want my opinion, Katie, I would say you are handling this extremely well. You acknowledge that your sister's brutal death affects you, and your niece, you are taking the healthiest steps to manage your grief."
"It doesn't make it easier."
"I promise it will get easier," George assured her. "Having Acadia will change your life for the better; I'm sure."
Katie felt better after talking with George, but the session had brought all of her emotions right to her surface. She intended to take a walk, perhaps get a drink, before she went back to visit Acadia, not wanting to bring negative energy around her niece.
Unfortunately, she didn't get her negative energy out of the precinct; because she spotted her sister's murderer being led out in cuffs just ahead of her.
"MARCUS!" Katie bellowed; giving him only a second to turn around before she flew at him, and sent a heavy fist into his jaw. "You killed her you son of a bitch!" She lunged for his neck but was pulled back; someone had their arm around her middle. "You killed her!" She cried out; not caring that every pair of eyes in the vicinity was fixed on her. "Why did you have to kill her? Why her? What did she do?" She wrenched and pulled at the arms around her, recognizing the tattoo on Elliot's arm as he tried to pin her down.
"She was alive!" Marcus looked puzzled. "No; she was alive when I left her!"
"You left her to die! I hope you rot in hell you piece of shit!" Katie was lifted off her feet, and tried to squirm out of Elliot's arms, but the man had years of army and police training pumping through his muscled arms; she wasn't going to overpower him. "Let me go!" She twisted and struggled. "Let go of me!" She swivelled her body enough to be able to push her hands off against Elliot's chest; he let her go and she stumbled.
"Katie." Elliot held his hands up; cautious; as if he was worried she would lunge at him, next.
"Why are you all just standing here?" She cried to everyone around her. Elliot, Olivia, the Captain, Munch, Finn, Matt; everyone she worked with had eyes on her. "He killed my sister! Why aren't you doing anything? Why is he still here? Why can't you let me just...?" She threw her arms up and caught her fingers in her hair, tugging at her wavy blonde curls, not caring about the pain it caused her. "I don't understand you all! He killed Bonnie! He needs to pay!"
"Katie; you have to calm down or we'll have to arrest you..." Captain Cragen said gently as he carefully approached her.
Katie let out a hollow laugh. "Of course you will; this bastard murders my sister and I'm the one who gets arrested." She pounced at Marcus again, but Cragen caught her wrist before she could get too close. "You vicious little prick; I will KILL YOU for this!"
"Elliot; get her out of here!" Cragen ordered, almost having to toss Katie into Elliot's arms.
Katie wasn't sure what else she screamed at Marcus as Elliot physically dragged her away. He took her to an interview room and pushed her into a chair. She was still yelling, trying to stand up, he had to hold her down by her shoulders to keep her still.
"Katie!" Elliot shook her; hard. "I'm sorry." He said firmly. "I am so sorry about Bonnie. We are gonna nail that snivelling bastard to the wall; I can promise you that. But you have to let us do it. You can't go after him." He paused. "You're all that baby has in the world." He added. "Acadia needs you. You said you didn't want to let her down; so don't."
Feeling tears just pour from her eyes like a tap, Katie tried to nod, but the ache in her heart just made her want to cry harder, punch someone, scream at the top of her lungs. "He killed Bonnie, Elliot," She said through gritted teeth; grabbing Elliot's shirt in her fists and pulling herself into his body. "He killed my sister. I don't know how to live without her here."
"He's being arraigned this afternoon; he will go away for the rest of his life." Elliot took Katie's face in his hands, running his thumbs just under her eyes to wipe away her tears. "I won't let him get anywhere near you or that baby ever again, do you understand me?"
Katie just nodded, and let him hug her until her tears were mere stains in the shoulder of his shirt.
xxx