Learning to Fly
Chapter 4
Traveling internationally with a preschooler had provided Olivia with many learning experiences. The most predominant being preschoolers don't care about time zones. It was Sunday morning and they had been up since five. After arriving home on Friday night most of Saturday had been spent in a fog. A fog combined with a growing sense of despair, Rafael had not shown up at the airport and he had not called, texted, or come by. At first she considered the possibility that maybe the cards hadn't arrived yet but Finn, Rollins, and Carisi all had received theirs. She couldn't blame him, she had left him in the middle of the night and not been in contact for two weeks. Her heart still ached at the thought of what she had lost with him.
Noah had asked to go to his favorite playground at the park. Finn had called to ask if she was ready to handle phone calls and she agreed since she had left him on his own for two weeks. They hadn't been at the park long when the phone call came in. A seemingly abandoned child was found on one of the other playgrounds. Olivia didn't think twice before gathering Noah up and heading in that direction. Never did she imagine that she would find herself shielding her son from a gun held by another child.
An hour later she and Noah were back in her apartment. Noah seemed unaffected by the morning's events other than he wanted stay at the park longer. Olivia was trying desperately to get ahold of Lucy so that she could go to the hospital and follow up on Ali and figure out how he ended up alone in the park with a loaded gun. When she head a knock at the door she assumed Lucy had gotten her message. She opened it and stopped quickly when she saw Barba on the other side.
"Barba" Was all she could say as she took in the look of desperation in his eyes.
"My neighbor got my mail. I just got your postcard this morning, I would have been there Liv, I promise I would have been there, you have to believe me." He begged, his voice matching the desperation in his eyes.
"I believe you." She said knowing that in spite of everything he would never lie to her. She stepped back from the door so that he could come in he took her hand as he walked by never breaking contact with her eyes.
"I was on my way here when I saw you and Noah on TV." He explained moving closer to her.
"We're all right, I've never been so scared, but we're all right. " She assured him stroking the side of his face with her free hand. "I'm so sorry Rafael…"she started to say but he silenced her with his lips on hers. Unlike their first kiss in his apartment this one was soft and tender, Barba doing his best to convince her through a kiss that all he cared about was that she was there and she was all right.
They both quickly pulled back when they heard footsteps come running through the apartment.
"Barba!" Noah called out running towards them. Rafael smiled at liv and quickly kissed her hand before letting it go to turn his attention to Noah.
"Noah, mi amigo!" He said while stooping down to pick up the boy.
Olivia's phone rang, it was Carisi calling from the hospital.
"I am still trying to get ahold of Lucy, she wasn't supposed to be back to work until tomorrow. You and Rollins handle it for now. I will be there as soon as I can." Rafael heard her explain.
"Go, Noah and I will be fine," He told her as she hung up the phone.
"Are you sure?" She asked him.
"Completely." He assured her.
"I know we have a lot to talk about."
"Noah, tell Mamma we will see her later she has to go to work." Rafael said.
"Bye Mamma, I play with Barba."
"Now, go grab your shoes so we can go get pizza." He told him giving him and Oliva a minute alone. He stepped closer to her and put his arms around her.
"Are you going to fly off across the ocean before you come home?" He asked her with a smile.
Olivia shook her head and smiled at him, "No" she said placing a kiss on his lips.
"All right then, we can talk later." He assured her. Oliva pulled herself from his arms and he watched her walk over to her desk and pull a stack of papers from a notebook.
"I wrote you every day, I don't know if they even make sense but I want you to have them. I need to know that the Olivia who gets scared and confused sometimes, the Olivia that still has a lot of work to do isn't too much for you. If you read them and want to act like none of this ever happened I will understand." She told him as she placed the letters in his hands.
"Go to work, I will read them when Noah sleeps, call me when you can." He said before kissing her again.
Several hours passed before Olivia called him. Lucy was on her way to the apartment and she needed him to find a judge who would was willing to work on a Sunday.
"All right, I got it, but I don't know how long it will take them. Liv, please be careful" He told her.
"I will be. What are you going to do now?" She asked him.
"Go back to your place, put Noah to bed, read your letters and wait for you."
Olivia laughed at the thought of Rafael Barba putting her son to bed, "You don't have to"
"I'll see you when you get home Liv." He told her before hanging up.
Hours later, long after Noah was asleep Olivia returned home to Rafael who for the second time in one day had watched news coverage where she had been in danger.
"If we are going to make this work I'm going to have to stop watching the news." He told her half-jokingly when she walked through the doors.
Olivia slipped off her shoes and fell down on the couch next to him, "It was a hell of a first day back," she admitted.
"Liv, this isn't going to be a normal case, are you sure you are up for it?" He asked reaching for her hand.
She nodded, "I know, but I need to get back at it."
Barba nodded, "I have to be in arraignment at eight o'clock." He told her apologetically looking at the letters knowing it wasn't the time to talk about all of it.
"I understand, it can wait." She said taking his hand and standing to walk him out.
"Liv, could I stay, please?" He asked her his usually sure voice wavering. "I will sleep on the couch if you want, I'm not asking or expecting anything from you. It's just you were gone and I didn't know if you were coming back to me and then you did and I almost lost you twice in one day. I just don't want to go home alone tonight."
Olivia leaned in and gave him a slow tender kiss much like how he had kissed her earlier in the day. "Rafael Barba, you are not sleeping on my couch." She said as she led him to her room.
TBC
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