Liv's line about someone saying they can change your life in a weekend felt like a challenge that needed to be accepted. That's what this is.
1) Shout out to Groundhog Day. I can't wait to see it on the Tonys in June. I've told my husband that if there is a show right now that could get me to spend more money than we currently should on entertainment, it would be that and the tickets to NYC.
2) Harlan Coben is my favorite mystery writer. Seriously. I never see the end of any of his books coming. I love them all and preordered his newest one last night. If you haven't ever read his stuff, I highly recommend it.
48 hours is all it took. Sometimes her words had an amazing way of coming back to bite her in the ass. Epically.
It had started innocently. Noah literally ran into him coming out of a bookstore. She had gotten to call it early on Friday and had nothing stretched out in front of her for the weekend except keeping her 4-year-old entertained. Noah was beyond delighted to have ran smack into Barba and what had started as him acting as if Noah had maimed him permanently with his head turned into a stop for ice cream and Barba walking them all the way back to her apartment.
It was the walk. That's where it had started. She shook her head. After all this, she needed to be honest with herself. It had started long before Noah ran into him coming out of that store. It had probably started with 'take your daughters to work day?' and the way he shook her hand.
He was grabbing his phone off the table as she quietly closed the door.
"Hope we didn't ruin any plans for you tonight?"
He shook his head. "Other than starting this new Harlan Coben book, I have no plans for the weekend."
"Didn't take you for a mystery guy, Barba."
"Usually not, but there is something about the way this guy writes. I'm a sucker for something that keeps me guessing, keeps me on my toes and makes me wait for the ultimate payoff." He hadn't moved any closer to her, but the way he said those words and the way his eyes never left hers, made her think he was talking about more than the book.
She swallowed the lump in her throat. "No work this weekend?"
He shrugged. "For the first time in a long time, no. It would seem the police unit I work with managed to get their work done on time for a change." She threw a pillow at him. "You and Noah have plans?"
"His school is having a fundraiser tomorrow – street party kind of thing. Probably will head over there about 10 or so, try to wear him out for the afternoon nap." Barba just nodded. She followed him as he headed toward her door. He turned around quickly and she found herself in his personal space. She could see clearly the flecks of brown in his green eyes and the stubble that was on his face.
"Thanks for letting me be the third wheel tonight" he said, smiling. She swayed into him slightly as he shuffled forward a bit. They were so close. The line between them was becoming less and less pronounced and at some point, she knew it would disappear completely. She held her breathe for a moment as they just looked at each other. He leaned in and pressed his lips to her cheek, pressing for a moment longer than he should have.
"Good night Olivia" he said quietly.
"Good night Rafael" she replied. She stood in the doorway and he turned to wave as he entered the elevator. She took a minute to get her breathing back in order before turning back into her apartment for the night, wondering how long it would take sleep to come after that.
She stretched out under the covers, not quite ready to open her eyes yet. After the whirlwind that had been the weekend, opening her eyes to this new day seemed like something she wasn't quite ready to do.
She froze for a moment, trying to process what she was seeing in front of her. It took her a minute to recognize him, sitting there in jeans and an untucked button down, drinking coffee and looking at his phone on the bench outside of Noah's school. It took Noah less time to put it together as he ripped his hand out of hers and bolted over to him on the bench.
She shook her head as she walked up to them, thick as thieves.
"Barba, what are you doing here?"
"What can I say? I'm a sucker for a fundraiser for a good cause. And Noah's school seems like a good place to throw my money." She could literally feel her heart swell up in that moment.
"You didn't have to…"
He stood up, throwing Noah up on his shoulders. "I know, Liv. I wanted to. Plus, who wants to waste a day like this inside. I miss enough of them on a regular basis. Might as well take advantage when I can." And with that, he was off, Noah directing him through the fair.
Olivia was watching them try to dunk one of Noah's teachers when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked back to see Elise, the mom of one of Noah's friends and one of the few moms around here she trusted with Noah. Elise was a good mom, a caring person and had a wicked sense of humor. In a rare instance, she had taken Noah home with her with Liv had gotten stuck and Lucy had class. They had formed a quick friendship when their sons had done the same.
"So…" she asked, eyes wide and arms crossed, giving her that look.
"Elise…"
"That is who I think that is right? The ADA you are always working with? Barba?" Olivia nodded.
"So, he's just…"
Olivia turned to her friend. "I swear to God, Elise, I have no clue. We ran into him last night and I mentioned this in passing before he left…"
"Left?"
"Shut up. So, I mentioned this and then there was this… moment… and then he was here this morning when we got here."
"Stop. Back up. A moment?"
"Yeah, it was…" but they stopped when they saw Noah and Barba moving toward them.
"Elise! We dunk Mr. Payer? You see?" Elise nodded. "I sure did Noah! Good job." She turned to Barba, smiling that smile that Liv knew. She cleared her throat. "Hi. I'm Elise, Olivia's friend. You are Rafael Barba, right?" They shook hands and did the small talk thing, all while Olivia was shooting daggers at her friend.
"Liv?"
She shook her head and looked at him. "What? Sorry. What?"
"I said I just got a text from a friend who has tickets to Groundhog Day tonight that they can't use. Asked me if I wanted them. There's two. You want to go?"
Before Olivia could even process what he was asking, Elise smiled. "You know Liv, I was just going to ask if Noah wanted to hang out with us tonight. Kyle has been asking and asking for him to come over."
"You were?" Olivia replied, narrowing her eyes at her friend.
"I swear. What a great coincidence!"
"Amazing how that just happens…" she replied.
"So, that's a yes?" he asked, watching the women interact. It wasn't often he got to see anyone get the best of Olivia Benson, but this woman seemed to have her number. He found it endearing.
"Yes" Elise replied for Olivia.
"Elise!" Olivia shook her head and turned toward him. "And yes. That would be great."
"Perfect. Well, there's a giant teddy bear I need to go win for Noah. Excuse me."
Elise threw her arm around her friend's shoulder. "He's going to win him a teddy bear!"
She didn't know where she was going to keep that stupid huge teddy bear but Noah demanded it have a place of honor because Raf had gotten it for him. Olivia kept telling him he could just go buy it on Amazon for what it was costing him to try to win it, but he kept saying it was going to a good cause and there was no talking him out of it. The way he looked, determined, focused… she found it crazy sexy. She was usually good about turning off those thoughts in court or in the office, but on this day… and then that night…
Her breath stopped when she opened the door to him. Crisp white shirt, dark suit, no tie, hair just a bit mussed. He looked…
"You look amazing" he said, looking her up and down. He offered his arm and they were off. The musical was amazing. Being out with him, listening to him talk about Broadway and his love for it – it made her excited. It made her curious. It made her want to erase the damn line and tell the rest of the world to go to hell. It made her head spin, how quickly she had gone from trying to keep a professional distance to being ready (and more than OK) with blowing it all to hell just to be with this man. They were at a bar near the theater, grabbing an after-show drink. Most of the theater must have had the same idea, since they had grabbed the last chair at the bar. Not that he seemed to mind. He leaned his hip against the bar, arm resting across the back of her chair, forcing her to be turned into him.
"So, did the show live up to all your lofty expectations?"
"And more" he said, nodding, leaning further into her. She could feel his breath on skin as he spoke. "Something about the story – being forced to live a pretty crappy existence over and over again until you finally decide to get your shit together and do something different. It speaks to me." The meaning of his words was not lost on her in that moment. He had done the job for her – erased that line and told the rest of the world to go to hell. She let go of all reservation, all doubt, all worry and grabbed his jacket, pulling him in till their lips met. The fire that ignited deep in her belly in that moment would never be able to be extinguished. Thank God, her brain was still working to remind her that they were in a very public, very crowded bar. When he leaned in and almost begged her to come home with him, she couldn't say yes fast enough.
She started to force her eyes open. The sun was just starting to peek out for the day and she had a few minutes before the alarm went off.
She woke up to the feel of his fingers lightly tapping up and down her back. Their night together had been life changing for both of them. They had agreed, pretty adamantly, that whatever this was, they were both in, all in, and they would deal with what came next together. She sighed lightly as she felt him move her hair and kiss the back of her neck.
"Raf…"
"Liv, my dear, you cannot say my name like that because you will make me want to cancel my regular Sunday morning plans and never leave this bed."
She flipped her head toward him, admiring his bare chest and green eyes filled with love and lust and hope and everything they had never allowed themselves to feel before.
"You have a regular Sunday schedule?"
"Church and brunch with mom. It's the one time during the week I can always give her and to have to call and explain why I'm not coming… well, that's not really something I'm prepared to do at this particular moment" he stated, rolling her over on her back and slowly sliding on top of her, brushing her hair from her face. He kissed her slowly, methodically and only stopped when he looked up at the clock. Groaning, he rolled off of her, much to her protest and started to get ready for the day.
He grabbed her hand as they exited his building, pulling her into him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "So, where do you all eat brunch normally?"
"There is this place across from St. Catherine's. Mom loves it. Usually there."
So why he was shocked to see her sitting there, with Noah, at a table for 4 when him and Lucia entered a few hours later is beyond his understanding. Yet there she sat, looking beautiful and relaxed and not at all freaking out at the fact that his mother was about to grill her the entirety of the meal and try to adopt Noah right out from under her. And while that is exactly what happened, Olivia took it all in stride and like a pro. By the time the meal was over, Olivia and Lucia were best friends and Noah had yet another Barba wrapped around his finger. As he slowly walked her back toward her bedroom that night, kissing his way up and down her neck, he warned her she had created a monster in Lucia and there would be no going back now.
"Rafael, I couldn't even if I wanted to."
"I'm going to have to bring much better coffee over here tonight" she heard from the door. There he stood, showered, dress shirt buttoned but not tucked in. She rolled to her side and propped her head up on her hand.
"Snob."
"You bet your sweet ass, Lieutenant." He put the cups he was holding on the table and weaved his hand into her hair, pulling her up for a passionate and quick kiss. He sat down on the bed to put on his shoes and she crawled up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist, kissing his neck. He turned his head and she moved in on his lips. He grabbed her arm, holding on as tightly as he could.
"I do need to go, Liv." He whispered as he pulled back. She nodded slightly and let go, pushing herself out of bed, knowing Noah needed to get up soon so she could get him fed, dressed and ready for Lucy on time. He grabbed his jacket from the back of her door and looked at her closet.
"Yeah, I'm going to need some room in there for a few suits." Before she could even respond, he kissed her cheek and was out of the apartment. When Ed had mentioned leaving things at her place, she had freaked out. Now she found herself looking at her closet, trying to figure out what to get rid of to make more room for him in her home and her life.
"How was your weekend, Liv?" she heard Rollins ask as she walked in to start the week. "Hope it was relaxing."
Liv was about to respond when she felt her phone vibrate in her hand. She looked down and smiled.
Mom wants to know if you all will be joining us for brunch again on Sunday and what our plans for the 4th of July are.
"Life changing" she said to Amanda, smiling and heading into her office.