Copyright (c) 2016 by Aviator39 under the Copyright Act of 1978 which states that works written under a pseudonym are protected for 95 years after publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter. Stealing and/or plagiarize any aspect of this story is grounds to sue you! You have been warned. You will be reported if you violate this Copyright.
Elysian
(adjective) beautiful or creative; divinely inspired; peaceful and perfect
Rafael stared out of the floor to ceiling windows that made up most of the outer walls of their apartment at One Madison. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he'd ever live like this, even with his generous salary from the DA's office. But he guessed it helped to have a daughter who had money being thrown at her from every direction: tv & movie studios, fashion designers, photographers, magazines, etc.
"Your face is going to get stuck like that, you know." Carina commented, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Trust me, it wouldn't be an attractive look for you." She huffed a laugh before wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her chin on his shoulder. "You're tense."
He shrugged, relaxing minutely as her arms tightened their grip on him. "I should've known better – taking on the Terrence Reynolds case. I knew it would put us in the crosshairs of the NYPD." Rafael sighed wearily, fingers tapping an erratic staccato on his leg. "I've put you in danger. God, how could I be so stupid?"
"Hey!" Carina interjected sharply and spun him around to face her. "You did your job, and you did it brilliantly. You got justice for Terrence Reynolds and his family." She took a breath and gave him a hard stare. "The fact that I'm being threatened isn't your fault. It's the fault of whoever is behind this. It was their choice to drag me into this – not yours'...entiendes?"
Rafael gave his daughter a pained look and sighed, looking away from her imploring gaze. "You are so much stronger than me, do you know that?" He breathed and scrubbed a hand down his face. "And frankly, I don't really know what I would do without you."
Carina snickered, clapping a hand over her mouth before it could turn into a full blown laugh. "You wouldn't know what to do with yourself." She giggled softly, hazel eyes dancing. "Like, for reals, you'd be lost without me."
"That I would be." He managed a weak laugh before stuffing his hands in his pockets, brooding gaze returning to the city skyline outside the windows.
"We'll get through this." Carina murmured, pressing a kiss to his cheek and wrapping her arms around him tightly. "We're survivors, always have been."
Her eyes bugged as black spots danced across her vision as her grandfather tightened the belt around her neck, the buckle biting harshly into the tender skin of her neck. "I will not allow my granddaughter to be corrupted as well." Ignacio hissed as he glared down at Carina, her small hands clawing futilely at the leather belt. "Devil child! I will beat the impurity from you, so help me."
He relaxed his grip and Carina sucked in a lungful of stale air. How long had it been since her grandfather had "picked" her up from school? Hours? Days? It was impossible to tell with the blacked-out windows of whatever building she was being kept it. The only light came from the blindingly bright floodlights Ignacio had set up around the perimeter.
"Abeulo por favor, no hagas esto. (Grandpa please, you don't have to do this)." Carina pleaded, hazel eyes shiny with tears and imploring as she scooted backward on her bum away from her grandfather.
The belt was loose around her neck as Ignacio lunged at her, face bright red and twisted with righteous rage. "I already have a faggot for a son. I will not allow him to further corrupt you!" He roared, yanking the belt impossibly tight before tearing his granddaughter's dress down the middle. "I didn't want it to come to this. No me dejas otra opción. (You're not giving me an option)."
The pain of him entering her dry was like nothing Carina had ever experienced. It was so much worse than when he canned her. Worse than when he threw her down the stairs and kicked the breath from her lungs. And it was a hundred times worse than the so-called exorcism he and Lucia had forced on her at the hands of Father Fernando.
"Lucia and I will not have another child of the Devil in our house!" Ignacio shouted as he continued to pound into her, blood slicking his way and coating the insides of her ten-year-old thighs. "If I cannot beat the Devil from you, then I will rape him from you." He hissed, forcing a kiss on her. "See if this makes you think about wanting to be with a woman again."
Carina screamed.
Rafael's eyes shot open the minute the first scream permeated the silence of the apartment, the noise for once not coming from him. "Carina?!" He called out as he pushed himself out of bed and half-ran-half-walked through the living room to his daughter's room, trying the handle and surprised to find it unlocked.
He pushed open the door, the knob banging against the wall harshly but his focus was on his daughter who lay thrashing in bed, legs tangled in the sheets as she screamed.
"Carina!" Rafael shouted, shaking her shoulders harshly as her eyes shot open. "It's just a dream, hija." He pulled her into his arms, tucking her head beneath his chin and rocking back-and-forth slightly. "You're okay….you're okay."
Carina's breathing hitched, the sobs making her chest heave and her throat constrict painfully. "Four, five, six…eleven…one…nine." She murmured to herself as her breathing slowed and her sobs subsided. "That was a bad one."
Rafael nodded mutely and tightened his grip on his daughter, finally relaxing as he felt the now steady beating of her heart. "You want to tell me about it?" He asked gently before pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
"Maybe later." She answered lowly and glanced at the clock on her bedside table – 6:30am. "It's time for us to get going anyway." Carina muttered and unplugged her phone before turning it on, groaning as it began to ding with incoming messages.
I'm everywhere, and soon you'll be nowhere. This little bitch better watch her back. - A
Does the squad know how close you and Daddy are? I'd bet they'd love to. I think I'll send them this. – A
Beneath the messages was a picture of Rafael and Carina, taken during the summer if their clothing was anything to go by. They were in Rafael's old apartment, lying on the couch with Rafael lying on top of her fast asleep. Carina had been doing a photoshoot of her home life, and her father had simple fallen sleep on top of her after being up for 36 hours straight. The image itself was completely innocent, but they both knew that everyone interpreted things differently.
"This doesn't mean anything." Rafael stated firmly even as he stood, dislodging his daughter from his lap. "Whatever this 'A' hopes to gain by sending that to the squad, clearly hasn't done their research." He added, running a hand through his still disheveled hair.
Licking her lips, Carina nodded, unlocking the phone as another message came in – it was Olivia.
Texted your Dad, but he didn't answer. Meet at SVU in an hour. We need to talk about 'A'.
"Guess we should get going." She muttered, tossing her phone on the bed before looking at her father with concern. "Are you alright?" She asked, taking in the anger starting to simmer in his coffee-brown eyes.
Rafael nodded sharply. "I'm just...angry." He hissed through clenched teeth, the muscle in his jaw ticking with the effort. "I'm supposed to be able to protect you, and yet you have some psycho gunning for you."
"A disturbed individual, Counsellor." Carina chided, trying for humor to lighten the mood. "Frustration is no excuse for layman's terms."
"Damn it, Carina! This isn't funny!" Rafael shouted and she backed up a step.
Carina swallowed. "You don't think I know that?" She countered, voice thick. "I'm scared – hell, I'm terrified. But in case you haven't noticed, I'm not the only one in this family receiving death threats." Crossing her arms over her chest, she stared him down. "And don't lecture me on being flippant about it, Mr. I Didn't Tell Anyone For Ten Months."
Rafael opened his mouth to argue, but closed it, realizing his daughter was right – he had hid the fact that he'd been receiving death threats for ten months before finally telling Liv. "Lo odio cuando tienes razón. (I hate it when you're right.)" He muttered, sighing heavily.
"Well tough." Carina teased and ruffled a hand through her hair before looking at her father who lingered in the doorway. "Dad?" She prompted softly.
Rafael shook his head, rolling his shoulders back and cracking his neck. "We can grab breakfast on the way." He stated distractedly and left the room.
"Something tells me I better get used to being here." Carina muttered as she and her father pushed through the doors of the station house, following the hallway down to the squad room SVU was allocated to. "I mean...get reused to being here most of the time." She corrected, clearly remembering the long hours she and Rafael had spent here after she'd been rescued from her grandfather.
Rafael sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, already feeling the beginnings of a massive migraine building just behind his eyes. "Welcome to my life." He commented blithely as they entered the squad room.
"Counsellor, back so soon?" Carisi teased from his spot at his desk, a rubber band ball being tossed back and forth in his hands. "Miss me already?"
"You're giving yourself a lot of credit there, Detective." Rafael rolled his eyes, his voice taking on its usual snide tone. "All that night school going to your head?"
Carina shook her head, licking her lips nervously. "I'm assuming you all saw the photo?" She leaned back casually against Mike's desk, appearing completely nonchalant about the whole thing, running her gaze around the squad room.
"Well, it's not really anything new." Amanda said, laughing lightly at Rafael's confused look. "I remember when it showed up on my Instagram feed. Some three and a half million people liked it." She grinned at the amused look Carina gave her. "Yes, I follow you on Instagram."
Nick smirked, leaning back in his chair. "I think we all follow you on some form of social media." He shook his head. "Zara keeps begging me to get her a phone so she can follow you too. I mean, you're only her favorite person ever. Or so she says."
Carina grinned as her father shook his head, adjusting the grip on his briefcase as he watched Liv enter the squad room, dusting snowflakes out of her hair. "Oh good, you're here." Liv muttered as she shrugged out of her coat before hanging it up in her office. "We need to talk about that photo."
"We know that whoever 'A' is pulled it from her Instagram feed. So, no surprise there." Mike stated matter-of-factly as he crossed his arms over his chest. "And we can't exactly interrogate all 6 million plus followers Carina has."
Liv nodded, a small furrow appearing between her brows as she thought to herself, fiddling with her necklaces to keep her hands busy. "I'd feel better if TARU were able to monitor your social media, but they're stretched thin as it is with monitoring your phone and the apartment." She sighed and shook her head.
A contemplative silence fell over the squad room before being shattered by Carina's phone going off and being replaced with palpable tension.
Just a reminder – photoshoot and interview with us in an hour. – Seventeen
Carina smiled and laughed lightly. "Relax guys, it's just a reminder that I have to be at Seventeen magazine in an hour." She tucked her phone away as she ruffled a hand through her hair.
"There's something else we need totalkabout." Liv said evenly as her gaze landed on Carina and Rafael. "1PP and the "Brass" have decided that since the death threats towards you both haven't been acted upon, they no longer warrant full-time protection detail." She paused and shook her head, clearly disappointed with the politics of the whole situation. "As of right now, you no longer have police protection."
Here is the second chapter my lovelies :) Please read and review!
