"I've got him." Rafael drew a sleeping Noah out of the car seat and lifted him into his arms. It was late on Thursday when they returned to the boat. It was almost eleven at night when Rafael pulled the car into the marina car park. Noah had been wide awake when they left the resort, talking both their ears off. Ten minutes later, he was sound asleep, still hugging Eddie and the Winnie the Pooh plushie that Rafael had bought him.

Neither Noah or Rafael had mentioned their conversation again nor had they told Olivia. Rafael wasn't worried though. He wanted Noah to come to a decision on his own time – without undue pressure from either him or his mom. That way he could truly be sure that Noah was making the right decision for him.

They'd spent their final day at Hollywood Studios, exploring the attractions – the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror quickly becoming a favourite – and taking in some of the live shows including Muppet Vision and Toy Story Mania. Rafael had revealed his inner geek with the Star Wars attractions and he and Noah had further bonded over Jedi and Storm Troopers. Olivia didn't really care for the franchise, but her boys had fun and she was happy to let them indulge. Although, she wondered about her sanity when the two of them started talking about a back-to-back marathon of all eight films.

They hadn't managed to see everything in all the parks during their visit. Neither had they had time to go to the waterparks, but perhaps they could return one day for a family vacation and see more of what Walt Disney World had to offer… if they ever recovered from this visit.

Olivia pulled the bags of goodies they'd bought from the car and rounded it to join him. They'd purchased a few mementoes while at the resort; mostly for Noah but there were a few for themselves and Jesse too, as well as a few things for the children Rafael visited at the hospital.

"Let's get him into bed and then we can come back for the cases before collapsing ourselves."

Rafael chuckled quietly. Noah was an absolute dead weight in his arms as he stepped onto the boat and below deck. He hardly stirred at all, even as Rafael laid him on his bed and Olivia undressed him. Once he was settled, they retreated to their own cabin. The bed was just too comfortable to resist. Rafael dropped onto it with a groan. His back was killing him. He lay back against the pillows, sighing gratefully as his body relaxed.

"I may never move again."

"Hmm." Olivia joined him, toeing out of her shoes and stretching out next to him. "I don't know where he gets all his energy from." Noah had been on the go all day every day for their entire trip to Disney World. "Even my hair is aching." It had been worth it though; the three days had been truly magical. Noah had the time of his life and Olivia knew that the three of them had made memories they would treasure forever.

"We can have a lazy day tomorrow," Rafael suggested. "Maybe head down to the beach and lie back while Noah builds sandcastles." Rafael reached over and pulled her to him. She turned onto her side and draped an arm across his middle, snuggling into him with a quiet hum. When her head settled against his shoulders, he began to gently run his fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp.

"Mmm. That feels good," Olivia commented of his ministrations.

"Yeah?" Rafael toed out of his shoes and drew her more comfortably against him. They'd rest a minute, he thought, and then go and get the cases out of the car.

"Hmm." Olivia tucked her face into his neck and settled comfortably against his chest. "Five minutes," she muttered. "Then we have to move."

"Five minutes," he agreed. With her gentle weight tucked against him, he slowly worked his fingers down to her neck. "Better make it ten," he decided when she moaned quietly.

"Not a second more," she said.

It was nearing dawn before either of them stirred. Rafael woke, the chill of the morning air biting at his bare feet. It seemed their ten minutes had gone overtime. He reached up and stroked Olivia's arm slowly. Her skin was cold; he was not the only one affected by the temperature.

"Liv," he called her name quietly. She stirred slowly, and he turned his face into her hair, lips gentle against the top of her head. "We should get under the covers."

"Mmhm." Her lashes fluttered but didn't open. "Comfy right here," she muttered and burrowed into his side and the relative warmth of his upper body.

"Yeah, I know…" His hand swept her hair back from her face. He was tempted to go right back to sleep but didn't want either of them to catch a chill. "Come on," Rafael sat up slowly and smiled when she did the same, her eyes blinking open slowly.

"So much for that ten minutes." Olivia swept her hair back and smiled. She untangled herself from him and glanced at her watch. It was still very early.

Standing, Rafael turned down the bedclothes while Olivia popped her head in to check on Noah.

They changed quietly, and quickly. Rafael down to his boxers and undershirt while Olivia slipped into the dress shirt of his that she had claimed. They climbed into bed and settled next to each other; Olivia pulled Rafael's arm around her and pressed back against him when he drew her against his chest.

Olivia could get used to falling asleep with his arms wrapped around her. Hopefully, one day soon, she thought, they'd be able to do it on a far more regular basis.


"Momma?"

Olivia looked up from her book to where Noah was lying on his stomach, colouring. She and Noah were relaxing on the deck of the boat while Rafael was visiting the children at the hospital. He'd offered not to go; to stay with them, but Olivia had brushed him off. It was only a couple of hours and she and Noah were more than capable of amusing themselves.

"Yes, my love?"

"Does Uncle Rafa have any glitter glue?"

Olivia's brow furrowed. "I'm not sure. I wouldn't think so. Why?"

"I just wanted to make him something, that's all."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." He bit his lip. "Could we go and buy some? It's important."

Olivia considered her son's request for a moment. She had no idea what it was he wanted to make Rafael and was surprised by his willingness to do so. Noah didn't engage in craft activities - save from colouring or painting, which he loved. It was something Olivia wished he'd do more of, so she wasn't about to shut him down.

"Okay, why not? Put your crayons away and we'll go to the store." There was a Target not far from the Marina and she was sure they'd have whatever Noah wanted. Rafael had left the hire car, because parking at the hospital was a nightmare and, when there was a direct bus from outside the marina, he didn't see the point in driving there.

Noah obliged, gathering up his colouring equipment and putting it safely away in his backpack. Olivia did a quick sweep of the upper deck, tidying up, before securing the boat. She jumped off onto the jetty and turned to lift Noah down. "What is it you want to make for Uncle Rafa?" she asked as she scooped him up.

"A Father's Day card."

Olivia sat Noah down on the edge of the boat, his expression puzzled at the sudden change in their plan. She bent slightly so that they were face to face.

"Oh, Noah, honey… that's sweet of you but…" she paused, carefully considering her next words so as not to cause her son any distress. She didn't know how her son knew it was Father's Day that weekend, but she couldn't let his assumptions about Rafael go unaddressed. It would only cause further heartache in the long-run. "You know Rafa isn't your Dad."

"But he wants to be."

Olivia swept a hand across her face and sighed. "Noah," she continued gently, "just because we've spent a lot of time with him lately doesn't mean that-"

"But he does want to be my Dad! He said so!"

"He did? When?"

"At Disney. At the Tree of Life."

Olivia stood staring at her son as she processed what he was telling her. The Tree of Life. The conversation they'd had 'man to man'. This was what their conversation was about? Rafael offering to be Noah's father.

"Okay, Noah. Before we go to the store, I need you to tell me exactly what Uncle Rafa said."

So, Noah told his mom everything he could remember about the conversation they'd had that night. When he finished, he regarded his mom carefully.

"Are you mad at him?"

"No." Olivia shook her head. "I'm not mad at him," she assured. "So, you'd like Uncle Rafa to be your Dad?"

Noah nodded vigorously. "Yeah. Please, Momma. Can he?"

"I will speak to him," she promised. "But it seems like you and Uncle Rafa have already made a decision."

"No. We still have to ask you. Uncle Rafa said. Do you not want him to be my Dad?"

"I… I would like nothing more, Noah." And she realised it was true. While she wished Rafael had spoken to her about it first – and there would be a conversation about that – she couldn't deny that having him as Noah's father would be perfect. There was no-one else she would trust with the job.

"Come on then," she beckoned, holding out both hands. Noah took them and slid down off the edge of the boat. "We'll need to hurry if we're going to get back and get this card made before Uncle Rafa gets home."


Olivia pulled the blanket up over Noah as he snuggled down in the bed. As on the previous evenings they'd been on the boat, Rafael had read him several bedtime stories before he and Olivia had traded places, so she could say goodnight and tuck him in.

He cuddled Eddie and Winnie the Pooh close to him. "Do you really think Uncle Rafa will like the card?"

Their shopping trip had been a rousing success and Rafael's card was currently hidden at the bottom of Olivia's suitcase, alongside a card from Olivia and the gifts that they had picked out for him.

"He'll love it," Olivia assured him, kissing him on the forehead.

"I can't wait to give it to him."

She pushed his hair back off his face and stroked his head soothingly. "Well, the sooner you go to sleep, the sooner it will be morning and we can make Rafa breakfast like we planned, okay?"

Noah nodded sleepily. "Okay, Momma."

"Goodnight sweet boy." She dropped a final kiss to his head and switched on his nightlight before creeping quietly out of his room.

She climbed the few steps up to the deck and found Rafael reclined on a red plaid blanket, a bottle of wine and two glasses resting next to him. They'd sailed out into the ocean when Rafael had arrived back from the hospital, hoping to spot more dolphins, and had dropped anchor for dinner, remaining there while they readied Noah for bed.

"What's all this?"

Rafael patted the blanket. "Come here," he beckoned. She lowered herself down to the blanket and lay next to him. "Look," he instructed, pointing at the sky.

She gazed languidly at the night sky, marvelling at the millions of flickering stars. "It's beautiful," she whispered. You couldn't see the stars in New York City; there was too much light, but out here away from civilisation, they shined brightly and in great numbers.

Rafael pointed again. "You see the constellation there… the one that looks like a pan with a slightly bent handle." Olivia nodded. "That's the Big Dipper. Now, can you see, the two stars that form the side of the bowl farthest away from the handle? They are 'pointer stars'. Now, draw an imaginary line connecting them and then extend that line upwards about four or five times the distance and there's a brighter star. You see it?"

Olivia followed his instructions. "I think so."

"That's the North Star. It sits almost directly over the North Pole. Sailors used to use it to navigate. If they ever lost their way, they'd look for the North Star to guide them." His hand found hers at her side and he entwined their fingers. Lying there, hand-in-hand, it almost felt as if the stars were shining just for them. He turned to face her, his lips soft against her ear when he spoke. "You're my North Star, Liv."

She rolled her head to meet his gaze, her hand reaching up to cup his cheek. "Rafa…"

He brought a finger to her lips, quietening her. "All these weeks I've been here searching for… something, but the only time I've felt any real clarity is when I've been with you."

"And?" She worried her bottom lip between her teeth, hope rising within her.

He lifted his hand to cup her cheek and met her gaze. His was unwavering. "Once I've finished my cases, once my contract is up, I'm coming home."

Olivia gripped his other hand and brought it to her lips. "As long as you're ready. You know I'd wait, as long as you needed me to."

"I know. But it's not fair to ask that of you. Or Noah."

She smiled, "Okay then. Two more months." It was only a short amount of time in the relative scheme of things, but it wouldn't be easy. Still, they had each other to lean on and the promise of a future together at the end.

Rafael sat up and reached for the wine bottle. Uncorking it, he poured them both a glass. Wine was not his usual drink of choice, but tonight, out here with Olivia, lying under the stars, it felt more appropriate than the harsh Scotch he'd normally choose.

"While we're on the subject of the future," Olivia continued. "Noah and I had an interesting chat while you were out this afternoon."

"Oh?" He asked, handing a glass off to Olivia.

"Yeah. Did you…" She lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip, savouring the flavour. "Mmm. Did you tell him you wanted to be his Dad?"

"Yeah, I did. Although it wasn't quite as direct as that. He asked me why I left and when I was going to come home, and the conversation just sort of evolved and…" His words trailed off as he doubts began to fill his mind. "Wait. Are you… are you not okay with that?"

"I just wasn't expecting it, that's all... we haven't exactly talked about it."

Rafael's brow furrowed. "But I thought…" He ran a hand through his hair a soft sigh escaping his lips. "We've talked about me being there… in the future…"

"I know but-"

His hand dropped to the blanket and he began toying with the edge, his gaze fixed resolutely on the plaid fabric. "Have you… have you changed your mind about us?"

Olivia shook her head. "No, no! Of course not. I just told you I'd wait for you, didn't I?" Her hand found his thigh and he looked up at her touch. She gave him a warm smile. "I love you, Rafael Barba. Don't you ever doubt that. I guess I just didn't equate your presence in our future with you actually being a dad. Most men would baulk at the idea."

"Should I be offended you'd compare me to 'most men'?" His trademark smirk was back.

"Oh, I'm sorry, how remiss of me." Olivia mirrored his smirk for a moment before pursing her lips. "But in all seriousness Rafa, Noah is my son and I need to look out for him; protect him. Regardless of how much colour you're seeing now, I still need some things to be laid out in black and white. For his sake."

Rafael nodded. "I can understand that, and I would never do anything to hurt him. Just for the record, so we're both clear on this... I do want to be Noah's father. In every way that counts. If that's something that you, and he, want"

Olivia let out a shaky breath as she nodded slowly. "Okay then."

"Okay?"

Olivia reached for his hand. "Okay."

"You really mean that?"

"I do. If Noah chooses for you to be his Dad then I have no objections." Part of her wished she could tell him that Noah had already made the decision, but she didn't want to steal her son's thunder. Instead, she took his now empty wine glass from him and put it to one side. Cupping his cheek, she kissed him passionately. Pushing him back onto the blanket, she slipped her leg over him and straddled him. Her hair fell like a curtain around their faces as she lowered her lips to his once more.

After a few minutes in which they were both lost in the kiss, she dropped her forehead into the crook of his neck, breathing him in deeply. His arms tightened around her, holding her close. One of his hands found the nape of her neck and travelled up into her hair. He was leaving a trail of light kisses on her neck and jaw, when he heard her whisper in his ear.

"I love you." Her voice was soft and low against his skin.

She kissed his neck once more before moving back a little, until their eyes locked. He was watching her with so much love and tenderness that her heart almost stopped beating.

"I love you too."

Their lips met once more, and she hummed in approval as Rafael's tongue swept her bottom lip and parted her lips for him. He slid a hand up her leg and beneath the hem of her dress, letting his fingers dance along the smooth expanse of skin.

"Is this okay?" Rafael rasped. "Noah-"

Olivia sat up. "…is fast asleep. And as long as you're quiet, he'll stay that way," she said, already reaching for his belt.

"If I recall correctly," he replied, stifling a moan, "it's not me who needs to keep quiet." His hands found the hem of her dress and he slipped it carefully over her head.

"Liv." He groaned at the sight of her. The matching black lace that she had hidden beneath her dress had blood rushing south of his waist. His hands moved up her sides again. They settled against her ribcage and his thumbs swept the undersides of her breasts through the lace covered silk cups of her bra.

Olivia finally wrangled his pants open and she tugged his shirt free and began working open each button. Sitting up slightly, he shrugged out of the shirt and it joined Olivia's dress on the deck. She watched his eyes darken as her hands moved back to his pants, skirting the edge of the aroused flesh tenting his boxers. Their eyes remained locked as she dragged his pants down his thighs and helped him out of them.

His hands swept up her back and caught the clasp of her bra. The clasp was easily dealt with and he followed the path of the strap down her left shoulder with his mouth. The bra was abandoned to the deck and he rolled them over. Kneeling over her, Rafael's mouth trailed a path downwards. His hands cupped her breasts, while his lips and tongue bathed a path between. She arched beneath him, and her legs were drawn impatiently along his thighs and around his hips. He groaned when her hips rolled, and she pressed against him. His lips closed around a nipple while his hand palmed her other breast. He took her ragged moan as a sign of approval and braced himself against the deck as he rolled the tight bud between his lips.

A ragged sigh was wrought from her lips. She turned her head to the side, arched beneath him. "Rafa!"

He swept his hands down her sides and caught the edge of the black lace that still covered her. Rafael leaned back and drew the material down her legs. It was tossed behind him, while he let his gaze wander back up the length of her body. She would probably never know just how beautiful she was to him, but he would tell her as often as she'd let him.

"You're so beautiful, Liv."

He moved over her when she reached for him. His head bent, and her arms slid around his waist as their mouths met again. She pushed at his boxers and together they shoved them out of their way. His hands cupped the backs of her thighs. He drew her legs higher, tilted her toward him, and then sank slowly into her heat.

One hand gripped the back of his neck, while her other arm slid around his shoulders. She turned her face into his neck and drew a ragged breath as he filled her. The initial heat, the sensation of stretching around him, it never failed to steal her breath, just for a moment.

The walls of her body gripped him tightly, while her heat surrounded him. Once he sank completely home, they lay, still and trembling, while allowing their bodies to adjust to the new sensation. When she moved impatiently beneath him, he lifted his head. He braced himself on his elbows and cupped her face between his hands. He swept her hair back from her face, let his thumbs trace familiar contours of her cheeks. Then he lowered his head and drew slow, languid kisses from her lips as he started to move within her. It started slowly, but the tempo soon increased as need burned through them. Olivia rolled her hips to meet each of his deep, deliberate thrusts. The lazy caress of their lips became open mouth kisses and nipping teeth, until his thrusts were no longer deliberate, and her face turned into his neck, her moans muffled against his skin.

Rafael curled an arm beneath her thigh, his pelvis tilted up, rolled and a ragged gasp was drawn from her at the sensation. He did it a second time and her hands moved to his shoulders, gripping tightly, nails scouring. She trembled beneath him, heat and arousal coiled at her centre, burned through her, and then his hand was sliding between them. Something which might have been his name filled the deep, keening cry that passed her lips as his fingers found her, teased her. Her back arched, and with a strangled cry, her release swept through her, and the slick heat of her inner walls gripped him tightly in its wake, contracting wildly as she came apart beneath him. His hands moved to her hips, pressed her into the blanket beneath them and his rhythm was lost in the onslaught. Only a moment passed before he was joining her. Heat coiled and then broke, and he was left equally as spent, trembling where he lay atop her.

Another minute passed before he lifted his head, shifted his weight off her and gazed down at her flushed face. He nuzzled at her cheek, nosed her hair aside and let his lips slide playfully along the curve of her jaw.

"I didn't actually think we'd get to do this, this week," he rumbled. He didn't mind; he understood the nature of their situation. It was hard to find time to be alone on a boat with a five-year-old around. Even when he was asleep, the walls weren't anywhere near thick enough to muffle any sound from their cabin.

She chuckled quietly. "Oh, we were always going to do this. I didn't make a special trip to Victoria's Secret for nothing."

Their hands did not remain idle long. His fingers were feather-light as he stroked her hair back from her face, and then caressed the familiar curve of her cheek. Their legs tangled together, and he drew her closer to him when she shivered in the coolness of the night. His lips brushed the tip of her nose, and she smiled in response. Her feet were stroking his legs, one of them rubbed the inside of his right foot, and the other slid from calf to ankle and back again.

They watched one another, as the heat and flush of arousal faded into a more languid, relaxed feeling. When they had both recovered, Rafael reluctantly pulled away, and although his legs still trembled slightly, he stood anyway

"I should get us back to the marina." He held out a hand to help her up.

When she took his hand, she smiled devilishly at him. "Well, while you do that, I think a shower is in order. Mmm, yes. A hot, soapy shower."

She stood and wrapped herself in the blanket. Rafael groaned at the images that popped into his head. Showering together would be a new level of intimacy for them, something they had not yet experienced together, but the boat's small shower was not the place to do it.

Soon, he reminded himself, as he located his discarded clothes and pulled them on. Soon they would have all the time in the world to experience new things together