A/N: Apologies for not updating as quickly as I normally do. I was struggling with this chapter a bit. I also want to thank you all for the reviews. I had a particularly stressful work week, but you all helped to make it better!
Over the next few weeks Rafael and Olivia settled into their new dynamic. During the day they worked cases, challenging each other just as much as before, if not more so. They did a good job, at least according to them, of not acting any differently than they had before. Then, if they weren't working, they would spend their evenings together, sometimes with Noah and sometimes without. If they went out they were careful to avoid areas near the precinct or his office, doing their best to prevent anyone seeing them.
They still hadn't slept together, committing to their decision to take things slow. They knew once they crossed that line there was no turning back. The anticipation was killing them both, but so far they were holding strong. The extra tension in their relationship was definitely making things interesting.
"Dammit, Barba. Just do your job and get me the warrant." Olivia demanded as they stormed into the squad room. "He knows we're on to him. He could dump the computer at any time."
"Oh, okay sure. 'Your honor, Lieutenant Benson has a feeling that this guy has child pornography on his laptop. Can I have a warrant, please?'" Barba trailed her toward her office. "Yeah, that will work for sure."
"Look, I don't have time to do your job for you. If you can't…" Olivia slammed her office door behind them before flicking the blinds closed.
The second the slats closed, Rafael's hands were on her hips, his lips finding hers in hurried, fervent kisses. He backed her up until she was perched on the edge of her desk.
"So, does this mean I get my warrant?" She asked playfully as he assaulted her neck.
"You can have whatever you want." He growled.
"We are so good at this."
"So good." He said, capturing her lips again.
"No one suspects a thing." She said between kisses.
"Definitely not." He mumbled against her lips.
Out in the squad room Amanda stared intensely at her Lieutenant's closed office door.
"Uh oh, I know that look." Carisi said, sitting down at his desk across from her.
"What look?" Fin asked, glancing up from his computer.
"I think they're sleeping together." Amanda said before Carisi could answer.
"You're crazy." Fin shook his head. "What's your evidence?"
"They used to always stand close to each other, touch each other absentmindedly, a shoulder, an elbow. Now they stand on opposite sides of the room. Plus, they're fighting a lot more."
"They're touching less and fighting more, so that means they're sleeping together?"
"No, it makes sense." Carisi chimed in. "They're making a conscious effort not to be close to each other, to throw us off the trail. Plus, why do they need to be close to each other here when they're getting close after hours?"
Amanda gestured to Carisi and gave Fin a 'see?' look. "Yes, and the fighting just seems put upon. Like it's a show for us."
"You both have spent way too much time thinking about this. And even if you're right, that's their business and I don't want to know about it." Fin turned back to his work, done with the conversation.
"So, when do you think it actually started?" Carisi asked Amanda in a gossipy tone.
"Don't you two have cases to solve?" Fin asked, not even looking over at them.
"Yes, Sarge." Amanda picked up a file, but continued to stare at the office door.
"So, will I see you tonight?" Olivia asked, now seated behind her desk.
"Not tonight." Barba was leaning against the opposite wall, putting some distance between them so he could cool off. "We start voir dire in the morning for the Cahill trial. If we get a jury, we'll start tomorrow afternoon, so I'll probably be working late prepping my opening statement."
He'd managed to get the grand jury to return with a rape indictment for Zach Cahill and he was looking forward to finally making him pay for what he did to Melanie.
"You've had that opening statement ready for over a week."
"I know, but I need to go over it again. That middle section is bugging me."
"You'll get it." She assured him. "You always do."
He smiled, grateful for her encouragement. "I'm doing witness prep with Melanie after court tomorrow if you'd like to be there."
"I will if I can. It depends on what we find on Ferguson's laptop. I might have to be here."
He shook his head. "How are you finding anything on Ferguson's laptop without a warrant?"
"You told me you were going to get it for me."
"What are you talking about?"
"'You can have whatever you want.'" She did her best imitation of his breathless growl from just a short time earlier.
"Okay, first of all, I don't sound like that." He pushed off the wall and placed his hands on the back of one of her visitors' chairs. "And second of all, you cannot use things I say in the throes of passion against me."
"I need that warrant."
He shrugged. "Get me some probable cause and I'll get it for you."
She fixed him with a glare and he knew it would make her mad if he told her how adorable he found it. She stood, walked over to the door and flung it open. "Carisi!"
"Yeah, Lieu?"
"Apparently what we have on Ferguson isn't enough for our esteemed ADA to get us a warrant." She ignored the annoyed look that Barba shot her and continued. "Can you do some more digging?"
"On it." Carisi had to fight the urge to smile.
"Laying it on a little thick, aren't you?" Rafael muttered so only she could hear as he walked by her and out into the squad room.
She just gave a small shrug. "Always a pleasure, counselor."
He caught the double meaning in her words, but didn't want to give her the satisfaction of acknowledging it so he just threw a wave over his shoulder and continued on his way out of the squad room.
"Okay, you may be right." Fin leaned over to whisper to Amanda.
Her only response was a smug grin.
Rafael sat in the front row of the jury box in the empty courtroom, feet propped up on the rail, as he waited for Melanie to arrive for her prep. His ever-present legal pad rested on his thighs as he scribbled some words and then crossed them out.
Voir dire had taken most of the day, so the judge delayed opening statements until the next day. This gave him yet another night to pick apart his statement. These cases were always tricky. Zach hadn't actually been present for the crime, nor did he instruct or persuade anyone to rape Melanie. It was simply a byproduct of his reckless actions. It was critical to get the jury to understand and be on his side from the very beginning.
He'd just ripped the top sheet from his pad and balled it up when the door opened and Melanie peeked into the room like she wasn't sure if she was in the right place. She looked relieved when she spotted Barba and walked into the room.
"Hi, Ms. Tullis. Thank you for coming." Rafael dropped his feet and climbed down out of the jury box to meet her. "Should we wait on Ms. Jacobson before getting started?"
Melanie shook her head. "Teri had to meet with another client, but I'm fine to do this on my own."
And she actually seemed it, Barba thought, giving her a once over. He'd met with her a couple of times these last few weeks and she seemed to be doing better than she had been. The bags under her eyes were still there, but they were less prominent and the heavy weight that had been almost physically apparent on her shoulders seemed a bit lighter.
It wasn't the first time he'd seen the beginning of a trial, the beginning of the opportunity to fight back and put their assailant away, help a victim begin to heal.
"Okay, well, this will be pretty similar to what we went over in my office. I just wanted you to be here, to feel what it will actually be like tomorrow. Go ahead and take a seat." He nodded toward the witness box as his phone buzzed. It was a text from Olivia.
Got Ferguson in the box. Can't make it. Tell Melanie I'm sorry. xx
Carisi had come through and found a corroborating witness, so Rafael had spent his lunch hour that day getting Liv her warrant. He'd made it clear that she owed him and he would be collecting in the near future.
"Lieutenant Benson sends her apologies." He put his phone in the breast pocket of his dark suit. "She wanted to be here, but a case pulled her away."
"It's okay. She's done so much to help me already, I don't want to take her away from helping somebody else."
He'd worked with so many victims over the years, but he had to admit that Melanie impressed him. Even in the face of what had happened she was kind, strong, and caring. She in no way deserved what had happened to her and he was going to fight as hard as he could to make sure that Cahill paid for it.
"Alright, let's get started…"
They went through her testimony three times and he did his best to prepare her for the kinds of questions that Arlene Heller might ask. Her answers were emotional at times, but clear and concise. When he was convinced that she was ready he told her she could step down.
"Just remember, I'll be here the whole time. I've got your back and I'll do my best to keep the defense in check, but if things get overwhelming just take a deep breath and look at me. Okay?"
Melanie nodded, picking her purse up off of the prosecution table. "Thank you, Mr. Barba."
"Do you want me to have someone drive you home?"
"No, thank you. I'll be fine."
"Okay. Get a good night's sleep and I'll see you here tomorrow." He instructed.
"See you tomorrow." She confirmed before walking out of the courtroom.
Rafael checked his phone and didn't have any messages from Liv which meant they were still going at Ferguson, so he decided to head back to his office.
Once there he poured a cup of coffee and stripped off his jacket, rolling up the sleeves of his checked shirt before settling at his desk for a long night. In addition to the Cahill trial he had a college rape case set to go to trial in the coming weeks and SVU had two that were currently active that he needed to keep abreast of. It was a lot to have on his plate, but he loved the work and wouldn't trade it for anything.
He wasn't sure how long he'd been working, it had to have been hours, when his cell phone vibrated on his desk. The screen showed that it was an unknown number. "Hello?"
"Mr. Barba?"
"Melanie?" Her voice was shaky and sounded far away. He looked at his watch. It was almost midnight. "Melanie? Is something wrong?" He asked when there was no response on the other end.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Barba. I don't think I'll be able to testify tomorrow after all."
"Melanie? Are you okay? Melanie?" It was pointless as he heard the telltale three beeps signaling that the call had dropped.
This was more than nerves on her part. He could feel it in his gut. He quickly dug through the mountain of files and paperwork on his desk until he found what he was looking for. Flipping through the file on Melanie's case he finally found her address. Making a mental note of it he grabbed his phone and ran out of his office, praying like hell that his gut was wrong.