A short one shot I thought of.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Barba was just getting his third cup of coffee that morning when his phone buzzed in his pocket, and he shifted his coffee cup and some files into his left arm while pulling his vibrating cell phone out of his pocket with the other. He hit the answer button and held it up to his ear as he headed in the direction of the court house.
"Hello?" he said.
"Raphael Barba?" a professional female voice chirped.
"Speaking," he replied.
"Are you the boyfriend and emergency contact of Dominick Carisi?"
"Yes," he responding, wondering what Sonny had to do with this phone call.
It couldn't be good. Raphael and Sonny were the only ones who knew about their relationship. They'd been dating for almost three months, and the SVU squad were still in the dark about the romance between the lawyer and the detective. Honestly, Raphael and Sonny weren't sure their relationship would last this long, considering they worked together and drove each other crazy on the job (and off of the job, but usually, when they were off work, they drove each other crazy in a good way and not an irritating way). They'd been talking about telling their coworkers since their three month anniversary, but talking about it was easier than doing it. They had yet to tell their coworkers, or even their families. Therefore, they were the only two that knew, so who was this woman and how did she know about their relationship? And emergency contact? The only people that would need that were…
Oh, no. The hospital.
As if to confirm his suspicions, the woman continued speaking:
"This is Mercy Hospital. I'm afraid your boyfriend has been shot."
Shot. The word bounced off of Raphael's skull like a ping ball, ricocheting from the front of his mind to the darkest corners of it.
"Thank you," he said, but his own voice sounded distant to his ears as he hung up.
The minute Raphael snapped out of his shock, he stuffed his phone into his jacket pocket and gave a taxi whistle every New Yorker would be proud of, clenching and unclenching his fists in anxiety as a yellow taxi cab pulled up to the curb.
Raphael opened the door and slid inside, handing the driver fifty dollars.
"You can keep the change if you get me to Mercy Hospital as fast as humanly possible," Raphael stated, and the driver nodded, gaping at the wad of cash, before slamming his foot on the accelerator.
Raphael had to hand it to the driver; he could drive fast when he wanted to, and he managed to not get into any accidents or get pulled over (although he did get honked at a lot).
The driver pulled up in front of the hospital and Raphael ran inside, nearly forgetting his files on the seat (luckily, he remembered them at the last second. Leaving case files lying around for anyone to look at was a quick was a quick way to get disbarred.
Raphael bolted inside the building and nearly ran into Olivia directly inside.
"Raphael," she said, and Barba did not like how pale her skin was or the increased worry lines around her eyes. He hadn't seen her this distressed since… since Dodds died.
"How is he?" Raphael asked.
"They won't tell us anything, not even me. They'll only give updates to family or someone on the emergency contact. We called his parents and sisters, and they're on their way. Until then, we have to wait," Olivia told him, obviously annoyed by that fact.
Barba nodded. "I've got this," he said before walking up to the desk with Olivia trailing behind him.
For a moment, he forgot she was even there as he tapped his fingers on the counter and looked at the dark haired woman behind it.
"Dominick Carisi," he stated.
"Are you family?" she asked.
"I'm Raphael Barba," he replied, and she glanced into Sonny's file.
"Ah, yes, the boyfriend. You're listed under emergency contact. I'll get his doctor," she told him before standing and heading down a nearby hallway.
A hand touched his shoulder, and Barba reluctantly turned to face Olivia.
"Boyfriend?" she demanded.
Barba sighed. "Three months," he replied.
"Why didn't either of you tell us?" she asked. "And how did we not notice? We work with you everyday!"
Barba shrugged. "We were good at hiding it, and honestly, we didn't think we'd last this long. We're with each other ninety percent of the time and love to drive each other crazy, so neither of us thought our relationship would last three months. When it did, we were talking about ways to tell all of you, but talking about is easier than doing it. Then, this happened, and… well, I guess it's about time it came out."
Olivia nodded. "I can understand that, but still, I don't care if you're together, and I know the others won't. You didn't have to hide it from us."
Raphael nodded. "I know."
"Raphael Barba?"
Barba looked up to see a middle aged, black haired doctor standing beside them with a clip board.
"How's Sonny?" he asked.
The doctor glanced at Olivia, and Barba rushed to say, "She can stay. How is he?"
"He was shot three times- once in the shoulder, once in the hip, and once in the stomach. The one in the shoulder cut clean through the muscle, but it didn't cause any permanent damage. The one in the hip hit the bone, and although it will be sore for a few weeks, it will heal and leave no permanent damage. It's the one in his stomach that we're worried about. Miraculously, it missed any vital organs, but it did hit a few arties, resulting in him losing a lot of blood. The blood bank is going through what they have, and after he's given some blood, he can rest and be on the road to recovery. He'll be in the hospital for a week, maybe a little longer, more for observation than anything, but he should make a full recovery."
"Thank you, doctor," Barba told him, and the doctor nodded before walking away to see other patients.
"Thank goodness," Barba murmured.
"You go ahead. I'm going to go give Rollins and Finn the news," Olivia told him.
Raphael nodded and walked down the hall to room 219, and he peaked inside to see his boyfriend laying in the hospital bed, conscious but loopy on pain medication.
"Hey, Sonny," Raphael murmured, softly, as he stepped into the room.
"Hey, Raph!" Sonny exclaimed, giggling. "I got shot."
"I can see that," Raphael chuckled.
"It doesn't hurt," Sonny assured him.
"That's because they've got you all doped up," Raphael responded. "Now, what were you thinking?"
"Well, I didn't wake up today thinking you know, I'll get shot three times and land myself in the hospital!" Sonny exclaimed, sarcastically.
"Even drugged, you're still as snarky as ever," Raphael sighed, rolling his eyes.
"You love me." Sonny smiled. "How are you holding up?"
Raphael frowned. "Me? I'm not the one in the hospital bed!"
"Raph," Sonny stated, firmly, raising an eyebrow.
"All right," Raphael replied. "You had me worried."
"Love doesn't come without worry," Sonny pointed out.
"Why is it that you only sound wise when you're on drugs?" Raphael joked.
Sonny gaped. "Hey!" he said, offended.
"I'm just kidding!" Raphael told him before pressing a kiss to Sonny's lips. "But if we ever find ourselves in this situation again, I am going to punch you in the nose."
Sonny smiled. "And that's one of the many reasons why I love you."
They kissed again and were interrupted by an ahem sound from behind them.
The couple turned to see Amanda and Finn standing in the doorway, not looking surprised.
"You owe me twenty bucks," Finn told Rollins.
"Manda! Finn! What's up?" Sonny asked, giddily.
"What do they have him on?" Finn muttered to Raphael.
"I think they have him on everything," Raphael replied.
"How are you feeling, hun?" Amanda said, sweetly.
"It doesn't hurt," Sonny reiterated.
Finn chuckled. "That's good. Now, when did you two start dating?"
"Three months ago," Barba answered.
"You owe me ten more bucks," Finn said to Rollins.
"You two bet on us?" Barba asked.
"Of course. I'm pretty sure Liv is the only one who didn't have it figured out, and that's understandable. Her romance radar is beyond broken."
Barba laughed. "Good to know."
"Now, let's give the couple some privacy," Amanda told Finn, dragging him out of the room. "Take care of him, Barba."
"I will," Barba responded.
"You don't take care of me. I take care of you," Sonny disagreed.
"We take care of each other," Barba compromised. "I love you, Sonny."
"I love you, too, Raph."
The two kissed once more, and Barba thought back on all the worry Sonny had caused him that day. Sonny Carisi was definitely right about one thing:
Love doesn't come without worry.
Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading, and please review!