I think that Rita and Rafael have been best bros since Harvard, and while they always try to beat the other one in court, they also help each other privately.

Also, Barson and Calhola all the way! I hope you all like it, I'm looking forward to your opinions!

A thank you to Kage, who threw some plot ideas at me, and betaed, together with the awesome Rose! :)

Plan B Always Works

A starless night sky was already hanging over New York City when Rafael Barba climbed out of a cab on the Upper East Side, clutching a brown paper bag as he walked up the steps to one of the fancy brownstones in a determined fashion. Anybody walking by coincidentally would probably have thought that he, with his expensive suit, was living here, as he fit perfectly into the scenery.

It wasn't often that he came into this part of the city at this time of day, but he found that it was long overdue; there were some conversations even Rafael Barba had to have from time to time, and there was only one person in his life he could have those with. And that wasn't only because his job kept him from having many friends, no – there were just some things that he only felt safe to openly share with the person who'd been his best friend for thirty years.

He rang the doorbell and while waiting for her to answer the door he inspected the withered plant next to the entrance, hanging sadly in its pot. As the door was opened he lifted his head, only to be hit by an irritated and slightly judging glare.

"Stop staring at my plant and tell me what you're doing here, I'm in the middle of an Ally McBeal marathon and don't have time for you making fun of me because you won in court today," Rita Calhoun said sharply, hands at her hips. Her outfit was reflecting the relatively late hour, and Rafael mused that there probably weren't many people who thought that Rita Calhoun owned any other clothes than designer suits.

Or, let alone, a worn pair of leggings, bright pink fluffy socks and a baggy Harvard hoodie. Her usually perfectly styled brown hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail and she wore an expression of boredom, but Rafael knew that she was worried about his unannounced appearance. She just wasn't someone who showed her care for people openly, and their friendship only worked through banter most of the time anyway.

"I brought tequila and Oreos," he replied curtly, and a sigh left the woman; those two products had been their secret code for 'I think I'm having a crisis' since their first year at Harvard, and they weren't breaking with some traditions.

"Come in."

She took a step to the side and Rafael gave the plant a last glance before he entered her house, pointing out: "I'm not an expert, but I think it needs water."

"Shut up, Barba. You're the one who's not able to take care of a rubber plant."

Rita was walking off towards the large living room while Rafael slipped out of his coat and shoes, and by the time he joined her she'd turned off the TV and fetched shot glasses from the kitchen. They sat down on the huge designer couch in silence and Rafael pulled the bottle of tequila and the extra large package of Oreos before crumpling the brown paper bag, tossing it onto her coffee table. She was just about to ask what had happened that he required her emotional support at this time of day when a quiet meow caught Rafael's attention. Raising an eyebrow, an Oreo already halfway to his mouth, his gaze wandered over to the kitten standing in the doorframe to the hallway; the kitten stared back at him curiously with its big green eyes.

"You obviously forgot to tell me something. You're turning into a crazy cat lady," he stated with a snarky smirk before popping the Oreo into his mouth. Rita crossed her arms in front of her chest defensively and shot him a glare while the kitten disappeared into the kitchen.

"I only adopted him last week, and that doesn't mean that I'm lonely, okay? I just found him adorable and I've always wanted a cat. His name's Giorgio."

Rafael almost choked on his cookie while he started chuckling, and she smacked his shoulder several times when he managed to rasp out: "Like Armani? Rita..."

"You're such an asshole, Rafael Barba!" she exclaimed, but an involuntary grin stole its way onto her face and she rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah, maybe also like Armani."

"He's cute," Rafael said once he'd swallowed the rest of the cookie and recovered from the lack of breath, grabbing the tequila bottle to open it and pour the liquor into the shot glasses.

"And it's nice to have somebody waiting for you at home." She didn't have a problem with admitting this now, as they were talking a little bit more seriously – he knew exactly how she felt about coming home to an empty house, because it was the same for him. He handed her one of the shot glasses and grumbled a 'Cheers' before they downed the tequila and slammed the glasses down on the coffee table.

"We should drink something other than tequila, I always feel like shit the morning after."

Rafael chuckled lowly while pouring them another shot, then he bumped his shoulder into hers. "We're getting old."

"That's life," she mumbled before downing the tequila and grimacing at the burning feeling that spread in her throat once again. Her insides started to feel warm and her cheeks were glowing as she leaned back on the couch to eat a cookie. Rita knew exactly why he was here, and he probably knew that she knew around what their conversation would revolve – again. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

It was almost funny how nervous he suddenly got, shifting around on the couch and gazing down at his wringing hands so he wouldn't have to look her in the eyes. His shoulders were tense and Rita sighed inwardly as she pulled her knees to her chest, deciding to give him some time. Rafael was one of the most confident people she knew, and if something took the wind out of his sails like this it was truly serious. She was well aware of the reason for his behaviour, and lately she'd even tried to help him – without his knowledge, of course – but so far it hadn't brought the results she'd been hoping for.

"Uhm... I asked Olivia out for a drink yesterday. She declined again," Rafael explained quietly after a few minutes of silence, during which he'd poured them another shot – Rita could already see the hangover paired with a lack of sleep coming for her. But Rafael was her best friend since Harvard, she couldn't let him down right now.

While releasing a long sigh, she tried to think of a way to formulate her current thoughts in a, well, diplomatic way that wouldn't have him running out the door while calling her cold and claiming that she didn't take him seriously at all. If she was completely honest, she was absolutely frustrated with both Rafael Barba and Olivia Benson for their stubbornness and inability to finally act on their more than obvious feelings for each other.

Over the past weeks she'd tried to get to the bottom of the problem, fueled by her annoyance about Rafael's need for support that had gotten more and more frequent and had soon turned into whining. There was only so much she could take, and he wasn't the only one who felt like his personal life was being swallowed by their job.

So she'd started to investigate, listening to what Rafael had done so far to try and move his relationship with Olivia onto a new level – which wasn't much, mostly tentative steps at best – and at the same time she'd carefully evaluated Olivia's perspective. Mostly through the cases during which she'd helped the SVU detectives, Rita had become friends with Olivia over the years, which was a big advantage. Also it seemed like Olivia didn't have anyone to talk to about her feelings, really, and after a few coffees and a cocktail on a rainy Friday evening Olivia had spilled all the details Rita needed to see the whole extent of the problem.

And after expertly gathering all the evidence, she'd started to build her case like the excellent lawyer she was; sometimes she briefly wondered why the hell she was suddenly becoming so interested in the private happiness of her friends.

However, after getting all the knowledge about Olivia and Rafael and the exact nature of their feelings had been so easy, trying to get them to admit them to each other, or even start to take baby steps towards admitting them to themselves, proved to be a hard nut to crack.

Olivia was constantly trying to keep Rafael at a distance out of fear how he would get along with Noah, how a confession of their – very obvious – attraction would affect their friendship and their professional relationship, and she also wasn't sure if he meant it that seriously.

Rafael meanwhile was too nervous, thanks to her rejection, to do what he really intended – ask her out on a date.

Whenever she tried to break one of their doubts down, they would fight against it, like a person who tried to protect completely unnecessary items from a professional cleaning unit. Especially Olivia proved to be very persistent in that matter, and constantly threw 'what if's' at Rita as if she were a pitcher for the Yankees.

To conclude, Rita was only one 'I don't know what to do anymore, but I love her' away from losing her shit at both of them, and so she had to summon a great amount of self-control so she wouldn't say to Rafael that she was tired of him being an ostrich. Why couldn't he just use his ridiculously high confidence and ask her out on a date?!

"Again? Oh, poor you," she mumbled instead, patting his shoulder, and she was glad that Rafael was too absorbed into his worries to notice how awkward that gesture was, especially from her.

"I really thought we were getting closer to... well... it! You know what I mean?"

It was definitely a rhetorical question, and her raising eyebrow went unnoticed as he sighed, slumped his shoulders and continued: "Sometimes I feel like we're just talking about us and not about a case, or that there's something under the surface... You know, after Abby's case with the odd spiritual guy – that I won, in case you forgot..."

"Fuck you, Barba."

"... Liv and I talked to Abby and Liv said something about fighting for someone who's worth it or not worth it, and she looked up at me and I think she meant me... And after Abby was gone I said that maybe it will all work out for her, and Liv answered she hopes so!"

Rita took a very deep breath, her eyebrow still raised, and when he didn't say anything else, she asked slowly: "And?"

"She said she hopes so, and what I said... I'm not sure myself if I was really talking about Abby and her boyfriend, maybe I subconsciously meant Liv and me and she picked that up..."

She rolled her eyes and let her head fall against the back of the couch, groaning loudly, and finally he seemed to pick up on her annoyance. "You clearly lost your mind. Do you realise that you sound like a complete weirdo?"

Obviously deflated by her words, he leaned back on the couch and stared into space for a moment, giving her the opportunity to pour them another shot. After downing the liquor – by now it wasn't burning in the back of her throat anymore – she could literally see the existential crisis building inside of him. She barely had time to brace herself before the words blurted out of Rafael, uncharacteristically desperate and slightly hopeless. "Why are we like this? We work and work and our private lives are filled with loneliness and we're unable to get dates or tell the person we love about our feelings and we'll die alone... or maybe we'll go crazy from only having our work. If we continue like this we'll become the Britney Spears of the New York law scene."

"What?" Rita laughed loudly and shook her head. "You're drunk, Rafael."

"No, no, listen! We'll get burnout from all the stress, shave our heads and our careers will go down the drain!"

Of course she knew what he was speaking about, what he was trying to say – they couldn't continue like this, or it would end badly... but she didn't find herself ready to admit that her condition was almost as bad as his. "Speak for yourself, Barba. I have a life outside of my office, unlike you."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes! I go to the Krav Maga training!"

"Once a week, and when you have a big case you cancel."

"I go to the Met to listen to operas pretty often!"

"Yeah, alone. How many times did you only see the first half of an opera because a client called?"

"I go out at least one evening in the week with people!"

"Yeah, to one of your fancy functions. For work."

"I sometimes have dinner with..."

"... the other senior partners of your law firm. That's work, Rita."

"I got Giorgio!"

"A kitten you use to compensate the lack of human contact."

Rita was starting to get pissed by him pointing out how little her life revolved around private matters – as if he was any better!

"At least I don't avoid speaking to my family, Barba!"

"Because you only have your sister and your nieces and you don't have the opportunity to skype with them often enough to avoid them. And it probably has been months since you last talked to them via Skype because they're living the L.A. life. Face it. You're just as fucked up as I am," Rafael said, giving her a pointed glare and she rolled her eyes while grabbing another cookie.

Maybe he was right, but so what, she was making more money than she could spend on charity, shoes, clothes and expensive vacations, she was successful and damn good at her job, hence being one of the most wanted defense attorneys in Manhattan. That was nothing in her eyes, in fact, she was more than proud of what she'd achieved, and while of course money would never make someone happy, she still felt satisfaction about her life. Most of the time, she was able to push the thought of how empty this big house was into the back of her mind.

"But you're the one who is more fucked up. Your luck is so close and you're a buffoon for not grabbing it."

"I tried..." Rafael protested, and the way his voice got a teeny bit whiny almost made Rita slap him.

"No, you didn't! What you're doing is being too much of a coward to just put the cards on the table and tell Olivia that you want to take her on a real date! Don't you think that that would be a way better idea than to dance around what you really want to say? Normally you don't have a fucking problem with saying what's on your mind."

She truly struggled with keeping her voice at a normal volume, but he still flinched slightly from the sharpness of her words – and the truth in them. Would he finally get the hint or would she have to put the last bit of her sanity on the line to get these two fools together?

"I don't know how... I..."

"For fuck's sake, just use that ridiculous charm of yours that she seems to have a thing for and just stop being like this! You don't sound like yourself anymore! Since when are you someone to back down without a fight?"

He'd just answered the question she'd asked herself earlier – there went her last bit of sanity. Hallelujah.

"I don't want to press too hard, you know?"

Rita jumped up from the couch, not able to sit still anymore while listening to him talking this kind of bullshit. As she swayed more than she'd anticipated, she nearly pushed the package of Oreos off the coffee table with her knee while she rounded it, releasing a frustrated noise. "Oh shut the fuck up, Barba! You're being a goddamn coward and you know it."

"Maybe," he said quietly, and she rolled her eyes at how odd it sounded. "At least I'm not destroying our friendship."

"Yeah, because destroying yourself is a much better idea," Rita mumbled under her breath, pinching the bridge of her nose while pacing through her living room. A long moment filled with a pressing silence later, Rafael sighed loudly, shaking his head, and Rita knew that he would attempt a topic change. He gave her a slightly forced smile and she glared back, her expression only darkening as he started to speak. "So, I've seen you talk with Sergeant Tutuola pretty often lately. Something going on between you two?" he asked with a wink, and Rita crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"No. And if you aren't going to listen to my advice again, then don't you dare start with the 'come on, why don't you date him' crap."

They stared at each other stubbornly and Rafael crossed his arms as well, signalling her that this conversation, or at least the part concerning Olivia and him, was definitely over.

"Fine. See yourself out, I'll go to bed," Rita mumbled in annoyance before grabbing her phone and walking up the stairs; Giorgio came out of the kitchen and followed her immediately.

OoO

Rita hadn't paid any attention to how late in the evening it was already, but it had to be pretty late, as Fin's voice sounded sleepy and rough when he finally answered his phone. "Calhoun, what the hell? It's one a.m."

"We need a plan B," Rita slurred while coming out of her walk-in closet, still feeling the frustration from earlier simmering in her stomach.

"Are you drunk?"

She rolled her eyes at his question and made a dismissive hand gesture before realising that he of course couldn't see it. "I tell you, that man isn't able to have a conversation about feelings without tequila. So I put my liver on the table, in vain, of course. We need a plan B, Tutuola. I'm tired of their shit."

There was a sigh on the other end of the line and she heard the rustle of blankets, probably as Fin shifted into a more comfortable position. Giorgio curled up on the end of her bed while Rita slipped out of the kimono she wore over her pyjama, dropping the piece of silk onto the ground carelessly before getting into bed. "Okay. Would've preferred this conversation to take place after I had a night of sleep, but I'm open for suggestions, Calhoun."

"Nobody is forcing you to help me."

Not long after she'd started to try and talk Olivia out of her obvious worries about a potential relationship with Rafael, Fin had noticed what Rita was trying to do. Just as annoyed about his best friend's inability to admit her feelings, they'd joined forces after a few discussions over coffee or drinks. It wasn't always easy, as she was used to working alone, and they often started bickering as neither of them was willing to back away from certain ideas, but he was also able to help her. Nobody knew Olivia Benson better than Fin, and so she was more than glad that he was on board; also she could rant to him when their targets were driving her crazy again with their stubbornness.

"True, but I got no choice. I can't let my best friend continue like this. So, come on, I can tell you already have an idea," Fin said, and she thought she could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Well, I do. All our efforts so far were based on, let's say, verbal reassurances in the hope that they'll be adults and talk to each other. How foolish of us."

"True," Fin replied with a little snort while Giorgio meowed quietly and came over to his Mama, curling into Rita's side. "We should have known better."

Rita didn't know why, but she felt warm on the inside as she listened to him talk, and she absentmindedly ran her fingers through her kitten's soft fur, causing the little guy to start purring. "I guess it's time for a change of strategy. No more talking, we need actions."

"To show them that they're blowing this up to seem like a bigger problem than..."

"... it really is, yes! Olivia needs to be able to see that Rafael is serious and he needs to..."

"... see he can get along with Noah just fine. You're a genius, Calhoun," Fin finished for her – they didn't even notice they were completing each other's sentences – and Rita smiled to herself.

"I know."

"Oh, so little modesty. Now, what's the plan?"

OoO

Of course it had been a hard piece of work to convince both Olivia and Rafael to agree to what Rita had called their 'last fucking chance before I become a number in the homicide statistic'. There were many discussions, especially with Olivia, and Rafael had obviously been close to losing his mind from the nervosity several times, but ultimately they both gave in to the thinly-veiled threats Rita and Fin issued.

And one beautiful Sunday afternoon, Rita and Rafael stood in front of the entrance of the Central Park zoo, waiting for Olivia, Noah and Fin to arrive. The weather was wonderful, not too warm yet but still sunny, and a clear blue sky was hanging above them. Many families were entering and leaving the zoo, enjoying the nice day, and Rafael nervously shifted from one foot to the other, his eyes scanning the approaching people for Olivia and Noah. He'd already ruined Rita's lunch earlier by constantly asking her what to say or how to act, and if he should have bought Noah a gift, or gotten Olivia flowers – thus her nerves were already strained, and her stomach was growling.

"Calm down, Rafael," she hissed at him while putting on her sunglasses, trying to think of all the positive things of the day to keep her calm. She was wearing a new dress, her older niece had told her this morning that she would be in New York over the summer, all her cases were looking promising, she was ahead of her paperwork and if this afternoon went well she would treat herself with a dinner at some fancy restaurant. Yes, that all sounded very good...

"They're coming, what am I supposed to say?"

"Oh dear," she groaned, smiling politely at Olivia, Noah and Fin as she spotted them a few meters away. "How about hello, you walnut?"

A nervous chuckle left Rafael, and Rita rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses; this man was a wreck, Plan B should have been started earlier. He seemed to stagger a bit from the bright smile Olivia gave them as they came to stop in front of Rita and Rafael. Olivia looked relatively relaxed, and Noah seemed happy and excited, giving Rita the hope that Fin had managed to get Olivia to see this afternoon as a test run that didn't necessarily have to be perfect. If only that had worked with Rafael.

"Hi," Olivia greeted them cheerily and Rita smiled back, then down at Noah. After pushing her elbow between his ribs, Rafael managed to say hello as well and they entered the zoo; within the first few minutes, Rafael realised that Noah had changed a lot since the day he'd held him like a ticking time bomb.

"What animals do you wanna see, Rafa?" he asked almost shyly as soon as they were through the entry gates, taking him a bit by surprise. "And what is your favourite? I like penguins. Their arms are flappy."

Rita smirked and said loudly, almost mockingly: "Oh, he would probably love to see the ostriches, but penguins are cool too, right, Rafael?"

He shot her a glare over his shoulder before looking down at Noah with a smile. "Yeah, I like penguins, too, Noah."

It took a few minutes, but then Noah slowly started to warm up, talking about everything he knew about penguins and Rita and Fin slowed their steps somewhat to put some distance between Olivia, Noah and Rafael and themselves so they would have some privacy.

"I didn't know you could do the leisure look, Counselor." Fin gazed at her with a relaxed smile, though Rita could tell that he was trying to sound casual. "It's quite intriguing. So, what animal do you like?"

Her heart seemed to beat a little faster at his words, and she knew that her cheeks were starting to glow, but she didn't let that tamper with her confidence. Returning his smile charmingly, she leaned over to him, their shoulders touching as they walked, and whispered: "Don't tell the zoo enthusiasts over there, but I haven't been to the zoo for at least ten years."

"Really? You need a better work-life-balance, Calhoun," he replied, sounding genuinely surprised, and Rita chuckled softly.

"I didn't know you're so worried about that. Most of the time we're working on opposite sides, after all. And since my nieces and my goddaughter are all in their teens now I don't have a reason to go to the zoo."

Fin made an understanding noise and they watched Olivia, Rafael and Noah in silence for a moment; the three were looking like they were having a fun conversation, Noah looking comfortable and unusually engaged; he wasn't the most talkative, so maybe it was a good sign that he opened up. Rafael was listening with a carefree smile that Rita hadn't seen on him in a very long time, and most of the tension seemed to have left him, though she could tell that he was still being very tentative. But hopefully this would only be the beginning, so he would have much more time to get comfortable with being around Noah.

Even better, Olivia and Rafael were exchanging smiles and glances, giving Rita and Fin the impression that everything was well, so they decided to do what they'd been planning all along – leave. They'd given them the final push, now they had to continue on their own.

While the three continued to move towards the penguin compound, Rita and Fin turned the opposite way and left the zoo again, wandering through Central Park together to soak up some of the sun. "I hope they will now take the chance," Fin said after some time, burying his hands in the pockets of his jeans, and Rita nodded.

"Yeah, me too. It will give me a lot of peace if they manage to get into dating. I don't know how much more Oreos and tequila and whining about Olivia I can take before I lose my mind." She tried to sound like she was joking, but he could probably tell that there was some truth in her words, especially since she assumed that he'd been through something similar with Olivia. "But I think Plan B almost always works."

"Yeah."

Silence fell over them again, but Rita didn't mind; she had to admit that she liked his company and that she felt comfortable in his presence, even when none of them had anything to say in that moment.

Ultimately, Fin was the one who started to speak, and what he said greatly surprised her, but positively so. "Hey uhm... how about we have dinner later? To celebrate our success? I know a nice restaurant only a few blocks away."

He looked seriously nervous about his question, though being himself, he tried to conceal it by standing tall. Rita really hadn't thought that he would have interest in spending time with her, but as she thought about it, she liked the thought of getting to know him a little better, as they'd only really talked about their little mission when they'd met. And so she smiled when she turned her head to look up at him and answer. "I would like that."

"Great," Fin breathed, relief briefly flashing through his dark eyes, and he smiled back at her; their smiles didn't leave their faces once as they continued their walk, maybe walking a bit closer to each other than before.

OoO

The afternoon continued to go smoothly for Olivia, Rafael and Noah as well; Rafael slowly warmed up on talking with Noah when they hit the topic of dinosaurs, they took a photo in front of the giraffe compound and then went to get ice cream. And although he'd never had much contact with children, he felt like it was relatively easy to interact with the boy. Rafael couldn't remember when had been the last time he'd been so relaxed; he hadn't spared a single thought for work so far, and the bad habit of constantly checking his phone seemed to have vanished temporarily.

It was almost like they were just another family visiting the zoo that day, and it gave him a good feeling; whenever Noah was distracted by his fascination for the animals, Olivia and Rafael took the opportunity for some light conversation that felt wonderfully natural. Maybe he'd just been too anxious earlier – after all, he was the kind of person that could reach any goal if he only wanted to.

Later at the gift shop, Noah begged Olivia for a stuffed penguin, and Rafael asked himself how she managed not to instantly melt at the puppy dog eyes he unwrapped, clutching the fluffy penguin. On a whim, he offered to buy it for him, and Noah looked like he wanted to jump him in happiness, but went for a sweet smile instead. "Thank you, Rafa."

"Now, Noah, for that you can invite Rafael over for dinner, don't you think?" Olivia said with a soft smirk, and Noah frowned up at his mother.

"But it's veggie day, Mama. Pizza is a better thank you."

Chuckling about that, Rafael shook his head. "I don't mind veggie day, amigo."

"Oh... okay... do you want to have dinner with us, Rafa?"

These big brown eyes... there was no other way out of this situation than to accept the offer, but that was alright with Rafael. Noah smiled happily, and when they left the shop, he handed Rafael the penguin to carry it for him, walking between the adults and holding his Mamas hand.

Going home with them for dinner… it felt like a good beginning, like a real chance for them, and he was curious what the future would bring.

THE END