𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 - the reveal

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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 Sister Maggie had retrieved half an hour earlier was still grasped in Olivia's hand, it had been twirled, spun, aggressively stared at and almost crushed in frustration. The wolf had been trying to force herself to call the number that belonged to Alias Investigations; she needed to speak to Jessica, reassure her friend that she was okay, so why was she hesitating?

The main reason was laying on the bed that was beside her; Matt's breathing had returned to the hollow and hoarse breaths that struggled to escape his swollen throat. After all, earlier that day he had stopped breathing, thankfully the insanely skilled nuns helped him and evened out his breathing as best they could but even Olivia couldn't hide the fact that fear and hopelessness gripped at her.

To sum it up, she didn't want people to know she had lived if Matt didn't. It just didn't feel right; another life lost and yet hers was to continue; she couldn't do it again. But Jessica deserved to know; knowing the P.I as well as she did, Olivia just knew that Jessica was probably nursing a bottle of whiskey and drinking away her guilt. The duo had that in common.

She couldn't put it off any longer. She moved her thumb and swiped at the screen before typing in the number she knew by heart. One ring passed... another... and another before finally the line picked up. Usually, the phone would be answered with a professional 'Alias investigations', but no, this time Olivia was greeted with a small beat of silence, the sloshing of liquid in a glass bottle as it was slammed against the desk and a grim "What?" Sounded out.

"Hi, Jess." Olivia breathed as she spoke, her heart aching at the tone of her friend's voice.

There was a pause, a sound of movement followed by the sound of a smash; clearly the P.I had been shocked into dropping her drink onto the ground. "Fuck." The woman swore before regaining her focus. "Liv?"

"It's me, Jess."

"You're alive?"

"Just about-"

The P.I cut her off as she pulled on her jacket and raced out of the door. "Where are you?!" Her words were slurred and Olivia could hear the woman's foot clad feet slamming heavily on the ground as she ran out of the building.

"Clinton Church. Jess, you don't need-"

"I don't need to come? The hell I don't, Olivia." The super spoke, her tone hard and leaving Olivia with no room to argue.

Once again there was a small moment of silence before Jessica spoke up once again, her voice softer, the razor edges smoothed to comfort her friend, "What about- what about Matt?"

Olivia's eyes flicked over to said man as his chest rose and fell, his breaths thick and wheezy as they clawed out of his throat. Her voice lowered to a volume just above a whisper and the fear for his health and the ever-present taste of guilt sat on her tongue. "He's not good Jess." She paused as her throat tightened and with the back of her hand that clasped the phone she quickly and harshly wiped her eyes before releasing a watery breath as Jessica stayed silent, "Just- I need to see you."

"I'm on my way."

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Olivia tried her best to wait patiently, but patience was not her strong suit; it wasn't any Hale's strong suit. So there she sat, her aching body slouched in the chair next to Matthew's bed as she tapped her foot against the wooden floor and chewed at her bottom lip as the impatience of seeing her friend riddled her body.

She heard the knock -the knock that sounded just as impatient as she felt- and knew it was Jessica. It had taken the woman less than ten minutes to arrive and thankfully, during that time Olivia had the chance to warn Sister Maggie that her rowdy friend would be visiting. Though the Sister clearly recognized the name, she simply smiled and told the Hale that she would send the P.I up the moment she arrived.

The wolf's breath became baited as she heard the heavy footsteps that approached grow louder and louder until the door to the room opened and there stood Jessica; a look of shock on her face as if she had dreamt the phone call and didn't believe it was real.

"Jesus Liv," Jessica whispered as she walked closer after setting down a plastic bag, each cut and bruise becoming clearer as she carefully wrapped her arms around her thought-to-be-fallen friend

Olivia kept the gasp of pain that wanted to escape her trapped inside and smiled as she noticed the rare, glassy look in the P.I's eyes as she pulled back, a look she had only seen once before; when the super had told her each and every detail that happened with Kilgrave, everything about her past. "Hello to you too."

Jessica took her place beside her friend and perched on the edge of the wolf's bed; her eyes couldn't break from the wolf's form. She had so many questions; what had happened? How did they get out? Why wasn't she healing? The latter seemed to be the most important for the time being, after all, it didn't matter how she got out, the only thing that mattered was that she did get out. "I'd ask if you're okay, but you'll lie and say yes and then we'll shout, so, why aren't you healing?"

The P.I watched closely as the wolf's eyes became downcast, the hand that wasn't resting inside the makeshift sling began to pick at the bottom of the oversized shirt the nuns had found for her. "I'm too weak." Olivia brought her eyes up to Jessica's "I uh, I broke my spine... I had to use all my energy to heal it."

"You broke your spine? God..." The black-haired woman sighed as she brought up a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. "What the hell happened down there Liv?"

That was the question Olivia knew was coming, it wasn't a question she wanted to answer. She didn't want to relive the moment where she threw Elektra to the side in the hopes of her surviving, she didn't want to relive the feeling of dust clogging her lungs as she stared into Matt's understanding eyes and she most certainly didn't want to be reminded of the excruciating pain she felt when the crumbling ceiling collided with her body.

The room was still for a moment and even Jessica could hear the struggled rasps coming from Matt as his chest shuddered with each breath. They could both hear the nuns pottering around and the sounds of the children playing outside filtered through the open window, mixing with the fresh air that seemed to ease Olivia's aching bones.

With a deep inhale that caught Jessica's attention Olivia delved into what had happened and told her friend each and every dust and blood coated detail; from the fight with the old woman, not being able to break through to Elektra and to the moment the wolf and the devil believed their death to be upon them.

As the broken story filtered to an end, her whiskey eyes finally broke their stare with a droplet of blood that had stained the caramel-colored wooden floor. As they moved to Jessica's usually hardened face, they softened; the woman had digested each word, studied them harder than any piece evidence for a case she had ever come across.

The P. I's mind was in overdrive as she pictured the story in her mind. She wanted to question her friend further but decided against it and quashed her investigative curiosity, instead opting for releasing a heavy breath, "But you made it, that all I care about Liv."

Olivia physically could not hold back the stray tear that slipped down the broken skin of her cheek, just the thought of never seeing Jessica or any of the others broke her heart and just hearing the P.I tell her that she didn't care what happened, she only cared for her friend made her tense shoulders slouch and she finally felt like she could breathe again.

"Yeah..." Her voice was choked as she moved her gaze to brush over Matthew.

"How is he?"

"Not good." The wolf swallowed as she tore her eyes away and bit her lip. "He uh- he stopped breathing earlier."

Jessica swallowed at the sound of the Hale's voice; it was hoarse and watery and she knew that her friend was beating herself up for his condition. She didn't blame her, had it of been her with Matt, seeing the way he looked; covered in bandages that couldn't quite contain the blood that spilled from his wounds, she'd blame herself too, that was just how the two were.

Jessica huffed a small laugh as she leaned back. "He'll be okay. As if he'd pass up another chance of flirting with you, or beating your ass for all the digs at his costume."

Olivia snorted, her throat hurting as she did, though she ignored it in favor of letting out a small laugh. "That's true."

Jessica's eagle eyes certainly didn't miss the way Olivia's eyes would dart back to the vigilante with every heavy breath he took and she couldn't help but think back to the conversation she, Olivia, Matt, and Luke had before jumping into the pit; or more accurately, herself and Luke listening to the bantering and flirting back and forth. She knew the two had clicked quickly; hell, Jessica felt that even she clicked with the lawyer.

"You know he's alive because of you, right?"

"What?"

"Matt's alive because of you, you saved him, Liv."

Olivia let out a humorless laugh as she shook her head. "Look at him Jess, I didn't save him."

"He's here, isn't he? Probably wouldn't be if you didn't stay behind."

The wolf frowned, her friend was right but even so; just looking at the hundreds of scrapes and cuts littering the man's body made guilt claw at her and every struggling breathe that wheezed out of him made her tense, just a few hours prior she feared that each breath would have been his last. "I know..."

"But you don't believe it? Story of our lives." Jessica chuckled as she scooped up the previously discarded plastic bag from the floor. "Well, here's a care package; chips, beer..." She paused as she brandished another item. "Jerky; that's mine."

Olivia rose a brow as she eyed the four-pack of beer, her body craving a drop of the alcoholic beverage to soothe itself. "You aren't here to drag me home?"

"I think you should stay here, with him."

The wolf was mildly shocked, to say the least; her brows furrowed and her lips parted. "You think I should stay?"

Jessica shrugged as her tone became accusatory. "Well, you're taking his pain, aren't you?"

"Sister Maggie told you?"

"Yep." The woman sighed as she scooted closer to the edge of the bed and picked at the hole in her jeans. "Just be careful Liv, you've told me what can happen if you take too much away."

Olivia sighed; she knew what Jessica was getting at, after all, she had once lost something by taking too much pain from someone she cared about, but today wasn't the day to dwell on that. Instead, she nodded as she unclenched her teeth. "I'll be careful, I promise."

"Good, because if you die, I'll kill you, and him."

The wolf chuckled alongside her friend; it felt as if Midland Circle hadn't happened, it was just herself and her friend cracking jokes and filling the comfortable silence. That being said; as silence crept up on the room once more, certain faces flashed at the back of her mind. "Shit." She whispered harshly, drawing a raised brow from the P.I. "Derek and Peter?"

"They don't know anything."

"You- you didn't tell them?"

Jessica shook her head. She had picked up the phone countless times in the past two days, trying to force herself to call the family of wolves and tell them the news, but, how could she? "I didn't believe it. I didn't believe you were dead" She paused to swallow the lump forming in the throat. "I couldn't."

"Jess..."

"They knew you were working a case with me. You've gone longer without speaking to them... I wanted to leave it as long as I could, give you a chance." The P.I paused as she made eye contact with the wolf before shifting to shuffle through her jacket pocket and pulled out her own phone. "Here."

Olivia carefully grasped the phone; The P.I didn't have one just days prior so it must have been new, though somehow Jess had already managed to shatter the bottom left corner of the glass screen. She slowly swiped her finger across the screen and pressed the contacts button. Olivia had given Jessica Derek and Peter's number before; seeing as they would get annoyed if the wolf didn't pick up her own phone.

She scrolled down and her thumb hovered above Derek's name; She hesitated; did she tell him what happened? Should she lie? Before she could make up her mind, she pressed the button and brought the device to her ear. It rang just once before the line connected.

"Jessica?"

"No, It's me."

"Olivia? You okay? How'd the case go?"

The wolf chuckled at the fast-paced questions that sprouted from her brother's lips as Jessica watched on with a small, fond smile, thoughts of Trish coming to mind. "I'm okay Der, I'm okay. The case? Well-"

"I saw what happened in midland Circle, Liv. Was that you?" Derek cut her off, his soft tone gaining some bite.

"Yes, it was." She sighed as she slumped deeper into the chair. "Can we- can we talk about that later Derek?"

"Olivia, the building collapsed, you could have died!"

Olivia sighed; she couldn't exactly blame his anger, she understood him, she did. But, he couldn't exactly say that he was any different; jumping into trouble to help other people, it wasn't an Olivia thing, it was a Hale thing. "I know. But I had to Derek, you know you would have done the same thing. Can we please talk about this later?"

"Fine, but-"

"-Is that my dearest niece?" The voice of Olivia's uncle, Peter interrupted the two and on that rare occasion, it was greatly appreciated.

"It is. Your dearest, and apparently suicidal niece." Derek spoke slowly causing Olivia to roll her eyes.

"Enough. I'm tired, I ache and I just wanted to talk to my brother and uncle, can we do that?"

"Okay, okay. Well, I take it you solved the case?"

Olivia's lip twitched as she locked eyes with Jessica who raised a brow. "Of course, we solved the case."

Jessica laughed with a shrug. "Solved it, buried it, same thing."

On the other end of the phone, Derek and Peter chuckled at the P.I's words before Peter spoke up. "We expected nothing less."

The smile on Olivia's face slowly faded as her brows creased. "Der... I found the person who released the Nogitsune."

"What?"

"Did she say-" Peter had spoken before his words fell silent in an attempt to digest the words his niece had spoken. A beat passed. "-Did you kick their ass?"

Despite the serious topic, Olivia couldn't contain the snort that escaped her; trust Peter to make light of a situation. The youngest wolf hummed, a sly grin forming. "Hell yeah, I kicked her ass."

Peter chuckled in approval as he swiped the phone from Derek's hand and brought it to his ear, ignoring the less than impressed look his nephew had sent him. "That's all that matters little wolf. Now, rest. Don't worry about Derek, I'm sure I can keep him entertained enough so that he doesn't ask you questions. Right my sweet, sweet nephew?"

"Great." Derek drawled out with a huff, causing his sister to bite her lip to stop the chortle that bubbled in the back of her dry throat.

The grin on her face softened into a fond smile; she may have only just visited her family, but by God did she already miss them. "I'm sure you'll find a way to annoy him. But I will explain what happened, it's just, it's a long story and there are some things..." Her gaze drifted to Matt and the lump in her throat made itself known. "some things that I need to sort out first."

"Don't worry about us, heal. Call when you can."

"I will, I love you both."

"Of course you do, how couldn't you?" Upon seeing the raised bow and unimpressed expression on his nephew's ever pensive face Peter rolled his eyes and his voice came out as sickly sweet as a jar of honey. "Oh, I'm sorry, I meant: we love you too."

With a huff of a laugh, Olivia breathed a small 'Bye' and ended the call. Her shoulders finally relaxed and she tossed the phone back to Jessica. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it. You gonna stay?"

Olivia bobbed her head lightly as a yawn parted her lips and made her eyes water. "Yeah, like you said, I should stay. I want to-" She swallowed as her eyes lingered on Matthew's arm that was littered with black and blue bruises and scabbed over cuts. "I need to make sure he's okay."

Jessica rose from her place on the bed and slid the plastic bag filled with beer and chips over with her boot-clad foot before stuffing her hands into her jacket. "Good, he needs it. I'll uh, I'll pack up some things for you, clothes and your laptop..." She paused as she looked around the room, "They have internet here?"

Olivia snorted as she shook her head. "They're nuns, not savages. Yes, they have internet."

"Right, okay. I'll be back soon. Maybe try and sleep? You look like hell."

"Thank you for that. Oh and uh, can you not mention either of us to anyone else?"

"Why the hell not?"

Olivia swallowed as she fiddled with the ring on her finger. "I just- I don't Foggy or Karen getting their hopes up, he uh, he might not make it and I can't bear the thought of them knowing I survived and he didn't... please Jess, please keep this between the two of us."

The P.I glossed her eyes over the wolf, seeing just how tired she looked and for today, just for today, she wouldn't argue. "Just us, fine. Get some sleep."

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19-07-2020