Adult-FanFiction.org : Television / Streaming

Darkest Nights	By : Bucken-Berry Category: G through L > Law & Order Views: 1449 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own SVU or it's characters and I'm not making money from this.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
An hour later they arrived at Elliot's apartment building. Elliot parked as close as he could and walked over to George's door. He leaned over to shake George's shoulder.

"I'm awake," George said. He opened his eyes.

"Need help standing up?" George began to shake his head, but then he nodded. Elliot pulled George upwards. He used his arms to hold George while he struggled to keep his balance.

Once Elliot was sure George could stand on his own he released his grip, though he kept one arm under George's shoulders to steady him. They moved slowly towards Elliot's apartment.

George was panting for breath by the time they got in the elevator. Elliot's concern rose when he noticed that George looked paler, too. George caught his gaze.

"It's my lungs. They'll clear up soon though," he said between pants. They reached the floor Elliot's apartment was on and George started to take another step. Elliot shook his head.

"That isn't going to work." George was about to ask what he meant but found himself being lifted effortlessly by Elliot, who started carrying him towards the apartment. He didn't have the energy to protest. Instead he wrapped his arms around Elliot's neck for balance and rested his head on Elliot's shoulder. They entered the apartment and Elliot eased him onto the sofa.

Elliot sat down on a chair in front of him. He took George's hands in his, rubbing George's palms with his thumbs. George waited a few minutes before speaking.

"Elliot, I hadn't wanted to mention this, but I can't stand bottling it up anymore. Remember how I said that when I was taken, I was here mentally?"

"Yeah?" Elliot prodded. George looked at their hands as he continued.

"When I was there, I dreamed about being with you. When I was awake my thoughts were dark most of the time, but when they weren't, it was because I imagined you protecting and comforting me. It was a big part of why I asked for you the second I was found." He took a shaky breath. Elliot squeezed George's hands, prompting him to continue.

"I also felt guilty because I knew you would be trying to find me, but I thought no one cared. It felt like I was detaching from reality by hoping you would pick up the pieces. It's not that I thought you were a bad person, I just—I caved. I fell apart. I was convinced that nothing good was going to happen ever again, and that thinking otherwise was just foolish. And now I feel guilty for having thought that way."

It was the first time George had mentioned what his thought process had been. Elliot wasn't a psychiatrist, but he recognized this as a crucial moment—George wasn't trying to avoid conversation about his ordeal anymore. Elliot also realized that he had become George's confidant in every sense of the word. George would talk to others at some point but George needed Elliot to hear him first.

The thought provoked a wide variety of emotions. George's need was greater at the moment, however, so he pushed his own thoughts away.

"George, for a month you were trapped with people who were hurting you terribly—of course you felt forsaken and hopeless," Elliot justified.

"Those are good words for what I was feeling," George agreed grimly.

"How did you keep yourself sane?" Elliot asked gently, with a hint of admiration for George's resilience.

"Besides dreaming about you as a knight in shining armor," he laughed humorlessly, "I thought about people I knew and everything I remembered about them. And other things I committed to memory—diseases and their symptoms, profiles I'd made, everything."

"Have you talked to your family at all since this happened?" George shook his head.

"My parents and I are estranged. Remember how I told you that my upbringing was strictly traditional, and my parents don't approve of interracial relationships? Let's just say they're even less tolerant of my attraction to men. They would prefer almost anything to that."

"So you haven't talked to any of them since you came out?" Elliot asked incredulously.

"I do talk to my sister ever few months. But I haven't in a while."

"So none of them even know what happened to you?" Elliot found himself angry on George's behalf.

"No. I don't plan on telling them either," George said firmly.

"They should know," Elliot asserted.

"What am I going to say? 'Hello, Mother and Father! I'm calling you, for the first time in years, because I was kidnapped, drugged, tortured and raped by sadists, and I was held captive for a month before being left for dead. When I was found I was in septic shock, and at the hospital, I flatlined and had to be put on a ventilator. I was in critical condition for five days before regaining consciousness and finding out that a man I love shares my feelings. Also, I'm now showing symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Have you done anything interesting lately?' Yeah, that's a conversation I want to have," George said with a mirthless laugh.

"They need to know that they can't take someone like you for granted anymore," Elliot said softly.

"They think I deserve to be taken for granted," George stated bitterly.

"But you don't deserve it," Elliot insisted. Elliot's anger towards George's situation was starting to make his blood boil. He clenched his teeth, trying to control it.

"I'm still not talking to them about it," George said lowly.

"What about your sister?" Elliot inquired. George's face softened slightly.

"The reason I don't talk to her often is because she's an endocrinologist at a hospital in Chicago. She did accept me a while after I came out—she just doesn't have a lot of time to talk. I don't want to tell her, though. It'll worry her."

"If one of my siblings got hurt in any way I'd want to be worried. I'd rather be afraid than not be there for them," Elliot informed him.

"Maybe," George said reluctantly. Elliot decided to change the subject.

"What went through your head when you were found?" George frowned.

"The memory isn't very clear, but if I remember correctly I woke up on the side of the road. I was so disoriented but I knew I had to get to that road. Moving hurt a lot but the pain wasn't nearly as bad as how hot it felt—it felt like fire. And then this woman came and started doing some first aid. I asked for you—it was all I could think about. I saw your face and wanted to say a lot of things but I don't remember anything after that, except for what I told you the other day." George looked at Elliot inquiringly. Elliot immediately understood the unspoken request to know what had happened.

"You were really out of it and you didn't say much except that you felt sick. Then the shock worsened and you were out. I rode with you in the ambulance and then we got to the hospital."

"No offense, but how did you go from married, with children, to loving me?" George asked suddenly.

"I didn't become attracted to you just like that, but I was always told it was a sin to be attracted to men and when I was with Kathy…"

"You didn't want or need the complication of being with someone else when you had her there."

"Right. But seeing you like that made my feelings more clear." George took a moment to process everything. Elliot stood up and stretched his legs.

"I'm going to make some dinner, ok?" George nodded and Elliot embraced him before walking to the kitchen.

A few minutes later Elliot came back with two bowls of soup. George took his and ate quietly, but he stopped after a few bites.

"Elliot?" George began.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for being here for me. You make me feel safe mentally and physically." Elliot blinked.

"George, I'll always be here. You've always been there for me and you don't need to thank me."

"Yeah I do," George said softly. He grabbed Elliot's bowl and set both bowls down on a coffee table before hugging Elliot. Elliot pulled George closer and rested his chin on George's head. George buried his face in Elliot's chest and began to cry silently. Elliot felt amazed that George had bottled everything up for so long without snapping. Elliot had repressed his emotions, too, he realized, and he finally let go.

Neither of them moved for a while; the catharsis they were silently undergoing was too draining.
- 12
- 13
- 14
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Darkest Nights