A/N: Thank you to everyone who continuously reads and comments on my fics and also, put up with me starting a new one every other month. I know I have tons of unfinished fics, and I'm working on all of them, but when a plot bunny emerges, it cannot be ignored. This one is, again, different from what I've written before, but not really. I don't own SVU or it's characters but I do own the fact that I love to torture the hell out of them. ENJOY!

"I've never been to New Hampshire."

"Really?"

Liv looked to Rafael questioningly as she slung her purse over her shoulder. Her phone buzzed with a picture message of her son's smiling face smeared with what looked like ketchup. She smiled sadly, knowing she wasn't going to be home well into the morning, but that was what the job required.

Unfortunately, that meant hoping on a jet plane to Manchester, New Hampshire to try and catch up with a runner who was, more or less, holding one of their witnesses captive. Captive may have not been the correct word, because she'd gone willingly, but 1PP was beyond caring at that point. Had this been any other case, they would have shoved it off to the Feds or Manchester PD to ship his ass back to the city, but Liv had grown a special bond with Emily, the victim, and was likely the only one that could bring her home while also catching her rapist and racist boyfriend.

It was the perfect opportunity and Chief Dodds had no problem thrusting her right into it. Of course, it was a testament to how much she could handle and how well she could get the job done, so his demand that she drop everything she was doing to take a three-hour flight to New Hampshire was cushioned.

Plus, she wasn't alone in this endeavor.

Rafael Barba was her back up, armed with the law and a hell of way of talking to people. She didn't mind the company, though. Not in the least. He'd been roped in last minute when she mentioned his name and Dodds skillfully talked the D.A. into it.

Barba hadn't been all that pleased, but he went along with it anyway. He packed several files and some paperwork to enjoy while they flew, although Liv hoped he wouldn't work on it the entire way there. There was no way she was going to be bored to tears in a little jet and she had nothing but her phone, badge and her purse.

Besides, conversations with Barba about anything other than work always proved to be entertaining. She loved it when he joked around with her and they exchanged stories from their past, but she wouldn't ever admit to it. Just like he wouldn't admit to purposely going out of his way to make her smile.

"Weird, I know. I've been to every surrounding state, but there."

"Well, it's your lucky day."

"Yeah," he scoffed and trailed behind her, sipping his latte, "Tracking a runner all the way to a different state on a three-hour charter flight isn't my idea of fun."

Liv glanced over her shoulder, still typing out a text to Lucy, "Look at it this way. You get to see New Hampshire on a private jet payed for by the NYPD. How many ADA's get to do that?"

She had a point and he knew it. Not many officers could even say that and Liv sometimes marveled at all she'd been able to do through this career. The people she's met, helped, tracked down…even all the negatives seemed worth it in the end. Having such a supportive team was the cherry on top.

They walked through LaGuardia, which wasn't as busy on a mid-morning Tuesday like she had hoped it wouldn't be. That would make this experience even better if they could get through TSA and on their plane in under an hour. Unfortunately, it took a little over two after she had to verify her weapon and badge number, which took way longer than it should have.

"This is already stressing me out," she murmured as they walked out of a separate door where their jet was waiting on the strip. The sun shone bright outside, betraying the slight breeze blowing in. It was rather cold for the beginning of September, but after a grueling summer, she welcomed the change in weather.

"Don't say that until we're sitting in a precinct with a bunch of detectives we don't know, trying to find this guy."

"That's not helping, Barba."

She sent him a withering glare, but he merely smiled brightly. At least he was having somewhat of a good time. It was rare when she saw him smile, and when he did, it was usually because he was feeling at ease, which was the exact opposite of the way she felt. She was a bundle of nerves the closer they got to the small jet.

She could see a large man with grey hair talking on the phone, leaning against the railing of the stairs that were pulled out. Overhead, planes were taking off and landing and for a moment, she wondered how the hell they were even going to take off.

It was true, she wasn't a fan of flying, but she would gladly have stepped onto a commercial liner rather than this tiny jet they saw fit to get them to their destination. It was faster, more convenient and probably on a contract with the city, but still, the thought of being up in the air in such a tiny plane was troubling to her. She gripped the phone in her hand and swallowed, trying to calm the anxiety threatening to consume her.

They went unnoticed until their pilot spotted them and waved at them, smiling big. Liv could barely make out his words as the loud planes landing and taking off drowned out any other noise. Liv held out her hand and shook his waiting one, "Didn't catch that."

"Just introducing myself. I'm Ralph and I'll be flying you today. Got a big case, I understand it?"

"Yes," Liv thanked him as he helped her up into the small plane. Barba followed behind, ducking his head to enter. Ralph climbed in, shutting and locking the door behind him. He prattled around, getting the plane ready for takeoff while simultaneously rambling about something or another. Rafael stopped paying attention the moment he spotted the mini fridge towards the back of the plane.

"You fly a lot for the NYPD?"

"Somewhat. I get a call every now and then but not often. Usually, it's for some important people, but never really for an active investigation. So, this exciting!"

Ralph patted her on the shoulder as he walked past but visibly tensed and stopped. He rubbed at his chest and Liv noticed the sheen of sweat covering his face. It was odd, considering they were headed into September and the hot weather had dropped considerably for this time of year. In fact, he looked pale, although she had to remind herself she didn't know this man.

"You ok?"

Rafael looked up from where he was helping himself to a small amount of whiskey, which was all that was stocked besides some soda and a few bottles of water. He, too, noticed the odd look on the man's face, but it passed and he waved them both off, "Just some heartburn. I need to lay off the spicy food."

He slapped his burly stomach and shimmied his way into the cockpit. Liv chuckled, even catching a small smirk from Barba at the joke. The seat belt light turned on and she easily strapped herself in. She took a deep breath and exhaled and switched her phone into airplane mode.

"Water?"

She grabbed the bottle in Barba's hand and watched as he settled himself into his seat, pulling his brief case close to his body. She eyed his whiskey and couldn't help but smirk as he took a hefty gulp. Even if he seemed like he was two seconds away from turning into a total grump, she couldn't help but find his company much needed.

She always enjoyed his company, even when it wasn't related to work.

They listened to Ralph's voice filtering over the speaker directly above their heads, reminding them of the standard flight procedures that had to take place. Liv drifted off during the explanation, having been through this countless times and tried to preoccupy herself with the way Barba sat next to her, sipping his drink and reading an E-Mail message that required attention before they took off.

Seeing him at ease helped with her unease about the situation, but so did the cute way his tongue poked out between his lips as he quickly typed a lengthy explanation back. She pretended to be staring at the floor by his feet when he looked over at her, but she knew he caught her eyes staring at him.

She was worried about that. Bringing him and only him was dangerous with nothing else to distract her until they touched down in Manchester, and she cursed Dodds for doing this to her. Although, the Chief had no inkling about her growing feelings and she prayed to God he never would.

Stop thinking. Read your magazine and shut up.

As they taxied down the strip, she settled in with some lifestyle magazine she'd bought after they were cleared by security and preoccupied herself with the article on child care advice as the took to the skies, leaving the city behind.

They hadn't broken out the file on the case until their flight was almost over.

Rafael had napped, surprisingly, and for longer than he thought possible. Liv had followed suit after the fact, because she was still reading when he dozed off. He woke her up with a simple call of her name as he rubbed his eyes while he peaked out of the window to see the thick forests thousands of miles below them, something he very rarely ever got to see in person.

"How long were we out?"

Rafael zeroed in on the small screen hanging above the cockpit door, displaying their flight path and the current time. He did the math, "We still have 45 minutes. Not long."

"I've never been paid to nap before. They need to send us on cases like this more often," she yawned and stretched, popping and cracking her back and neck. Rafael watched with fascination and coughed when he was caught staring.

"Speak for yourself. I have loads of work to do still. We should go over some information so we're fresh for the Chief when we get there."

He sent her a half-hearted glare when she rolled her eyes, but he slid the file from his briefcase easily, having it at the ready so he could study. There wasn't that much to go over, since they had weeks on this case before hand, but he had yet to fully dive deep into their suspect thanks to all the warrant grabbing he had to do. Never in his career had he had a suspect give him this much chaos before.

"There's not much more. We sent the APB out to Manchester PD, and other than the fact that he's a former lawyer, an extremely good bull-shitter and has a swastika tattooed on his back, there's not much more we know. Emily tried to block our investigation and that cost us time to learn this guy.

"Ok. So, he's a manipulative racist with an understanding of the law. Good. I enjoy a challenge."

Liv scoffed, "By the end of our meeting, you'll be wanting to slam his head into a wall. I had to physically restrain Fin during the interrogation. Fin! He's one of the calmest people I know."

Rafael frowned at that tidbit. He couldn't place it, but he felt a growing pit of dread in his stomach that had started the moment they took off. He tried to rationalize it by pinning it on the shitty lunch he had, but considering it was less than a half takeout carton of fried rice from his favorite restaurant within walking distance of his office, he wasn't successful in reassuring himself. But, now that he had this, he could easily blame the dread feeling on that.

The last thing he wanted to do was to want to throw punches. Not that it would ever come to that, but he certainly would think about it. Liv, oblivious to his feelings, continued, reaching over to rifle through the file in his hand. She pulled out a paper and held it up for him.

"We've tracked his phone usage in the past six weeks. The only number that doesn't have a text message conversation attached to it is this," she pointed at the number with a giant red circle around it and a plethora of question marks, "Which happens to be a landline."

"Land line? They still exist in 2017?"

"They do in eighty-year-old grandfather's houses," she handed the paper back to him and he slid it back into the folder.

"He's a real winner, that one."

"Tell me about it," she retorted, swiping her hand through her hair.

Barba shook his head, closing the file again. He shoved it in his briefcase and closed the flap and fell back against the plane seat, finding the open jet window once more. He knit his brow together as he noticed they had started descending. The line trees looked closer and the details of the surrounding cities were getting clearer.

"How's Noah doing?"

The question brought a smile to her lips, and he grinned as she started talking about him. Her eyes always lit up whenever he was mentioned and that was a detail that always struck him about her. Sometimes, privately, he wondered if her eyes lit up like that when he would mosey over to the precinct with little to no intention of working.

But, that thought was always wiped from his mind as soon as it appeared. He had been trying and failing desperately to talk himself out of even entertaining the idea for a couple of years now and he'd chocked it up to being lonely and nothing more. While most of that was true, he knew when, after the Tucker debacle, and the sting of jealousy and utter sadness followed him well into weeks after it was over, that his feelings were more than just loneliness.

"How long has it been since you've seen him? You know, you're always welcome to come to the park with us on in your down time. I know you spend most of it working, but it's nice to take a break."

He could tell that was her not so subtle way of telling him it was time for a vacation and he agreed. He spent most of his time outside of the office, working, but there wasn't much else going on in his life other than his horrifically large to-do list. The thought was upsetting now that her invitation was on the table.

"I just might do that. I need some fresh air every once and a while."

"Well, don't expect to sit down much. Noah will drag you around the playground if you let him," she eyed him, finger flipping through a few pictures on her phone until she landed on a recent favorite. Noah was smiling happily up at her phone as he swung back and forth on a tire swing. Rafael grinned, eyes tracing the pure expression. It always made him feel the slightest twinge of something deep inside him when he saw the little boy. It was a longing feeling he was afraid to name.

"I wouldn't mind."

"You're forgetting playgrounds are dirty, although I would pay to see Rafael Barba chase after a three-year-old in a thousand-dollar suit."

He looked at her like she was crazy and then replied, "In your dreams. I'll be wearing a t-shirt and jeans."

It was her turn to look at him like he was crazy, "Whoa, wait…you own something other than polo's?"

Rafael quickly thought back to the handful of times she'd ever seen him outside of work, and each time he'd only ever been in polo shirts. While he did own many a polo shirt, he was kind of shocked by the realization that he was rarely ever in his casual clothing outside in the real world.

"Yes. Is that so shocking?"

"Well, I mean, I just can't imagine someone as sophisticated as you would wear such a common item of clothing. I can't even picture you in one," she teased. He rolled his eyes and sat up straighter, giving her serious side eye.

"Hey, I'll have you know I look great in t-shirts," he adjusted his suit jacket with the haughtiest look he could muster. Liv chuckled but grew serious, running her fingers along the leather arm rest of her seat. Her eyes were playful when she met his across the aisle.

"It would be nice to see you in casual clothes. It would be nice to see you outside of work, in general," she said softly, barely audible over the hum of the plane. The corners of his mouth lifted just the slightest and he licked his lips, trying to figure out the perfect way to say what he was thinking.

Just as he was about to respond, the plane shook roughly, almost knocking them both out of their seats. The glasses in the back near the fridge clanged together and the force sent Rafael's briefcase tumbling to the side. He cursed and set it straight up, making sure the latch was closed properly.

"Shit," he cursed, looking towards the closed cock pit door. Liv sat back in her seat, noting the emergency seat belt sign lighting up just above the door.

"Seat belt," she nodded towards it and Rafael begrudgingly followed suit. He knit his brow together, unease seeping into his body. This was exactly what he had been hoping to avoid. He'd been on small aircraft before and he didn't like the way you could feel every little bump and altitude drop when on one.

"We're only a half hour out."

"Good, I'm going to need a drink," he joked. Liv laughed easily, but he could tell it was a bit forced. He didn't miss the way she gripped the arms of her seat when they took off. It was easy to notice when someone had a fear of flying and he could only deduce that Liv was one of those people.

"Anyway, what I was saying- "

The plane lurched again, this time harder. The turbulence shook the small jet and they both audibly yelped when the plane dropped, leaving their stomachs in their throats before it leveled out again.

"Hey! What's going on?"

Rafael's angry yell up to the cockpit when unanswered and he hissed when the plane dropped yet again. He glanced over at Liv, who now had her eyes closed and her head pressed back against the seat. She was taking deep, soothing breaths, but her legs were clenched together and her nails were digging into the leather arm rests. He looked out of his open window again, and noted with rising alarm, that they were way closer to the ground than they ought to have been.

"It's ok, Liv. Just bad turbulence," he said calmly, trying to diffuse the situation with some reassurance. Liv looked over at him gratefully, forcing a smile. It lasted for all of two seconds as the plane tipped forward and a slew of lights and emergency beeping noises assaulted her ears.

"The fuck…" Rafael growled, hands gripping the leather. His short nails bit into the material and he gritted his teeth when they dropped altitude again. He felt his stomach swirl with dread as the plane tipped forward and leveled out again.

Liv hissed and locked eyes with him, tears gathering in them. Barba took a deep breath and boldly held his hand out to her, feeling her fingers lace and grip his to the point of pain. The cockpit door swung open to reveal the pilot, standing in the doorway, hand clutching his heart and his face beat red.

A vein throbbed as he staggered forward, trying to say something, mouth forming words but the only sound that was audible through the chaotic noises was his choked breaths. Liv and Rafael watched in horror as he fell to the ground in a heap, his body moving uncontrollably against the rocking motions of the plane. Liv gripped his hand harder as the plane continued to drop altitude faster and faster.

Rafael dared a look out of the window again, seeing nothing but trees, and their small jet plane heading straight for the forest that seemed to stretch for miles. It took only a few more terrifying moments until they heard the scraping of tree limbs on the bottom side of the plane.

The lights cut off with a violent flicker, the emergency beeping halting and leaving them with the sound of rushing wind as the vessel hurtled towards the tops of trees.

They locked eyes once more, the world slowing down as they took only a few deep breaths and then their world was upside down, tumbling and screeching and loud. Rafael felt his seat come undone from the floor and he was thrown forward. He shut his eyes, the sounds of Liv's terrified screaming the only thing making it to his brain. It seemed like hours as his world spun and then he found himself slammed into the floor of the plane, hard enough to make his eyesight blur. He was hurtled through the space of the plan again, but found himself lodged into a small space where the door had been flung from the plane.

In the final moments before he blacked out, he could smell the burnt metal and smoke rising from the engine. The only thing he could feel was the immeasurable pain lancing through his body like a thousand needles. The only thing he could hear was the whirring of the engine dying and the snapping of the tree limbs. The only thing he could see was Liv, hanging from her seat upside down, her limbs hanging limply in front of her.

He called her name weakly before he succumbed to the darkness.