The warm summer gave way to a mild but rainy Fall and by the time November dawned, cold and grey, they were no closer to finding a house they both agreed on. They were either too big or too small. The yards were tiny or would require too much maintenance. Or they were too far from either of their offices or the kids' schools.

They'd just been to another unsuccessful viewing and had called in at Starbucks on their way home. It was a win for everybody. Rafael got coffee, Olivia got to be off her feet – she'd picked the wrong shoes for their morning task – Mia was meeting her lab partner to go and work on a project and Noah liked the caramel waffles they sold in little bags on the counter.

Olivia and Noah found a table while Rafael and Mia queued up at the counter. She helped her son off with his coat, and when he'd removed his hat and scarf, she stuffed them in the sleeve, so they wouldn't get lost. Placing it over the back of his chair, she removed her own winter jacket and sat down. She dug into her handbag for the colouring book and pencils she kept in there to keep Noah occupied and slid them across the table to him.

By the time Rafael and Mia returned to the table – him carrying a tray of drinks, her carrying two plates containing muffins and holding a bag of caramel waffles between her teeth – Noah was halfway through his picture of The Avengers. Rafael set the tray down and took his seat. Once he was settled in his chair, he took the bag from Mia, opened it and passed it to Noah.

"Not too many," Olivia warned, knowing he found the treats rather moreish as Rafael handed out the drinks.

Mia took a sip of hers and let out a satisfied sigh. "Ah. It's nearly Christmas."

"What makes you say that?" Olivia asked, handing Noah a napkin to tuck into the neck of his t-shirt, save it get covered in hot chocolate. She didn't want to think about how close Christmas actually was. When she and Rafael had decided to move in together, she'd hoped they'd be in the new house and settled in time for the holidays. But it was looking, less and less likely now.

"Eggnog latte is back," Mia said, indicating her venti-sized take-out cup. "This makes me happy."

"Tell me again about this project," Rafael asked. "Where are you going this afternoon?"

Mia rolled her eyes, reaching into the open bag of mini waffles. She'd already told him this twice at least.

"Hey!" protested Noah, pulling the bag away from her.

Olivia gave him a pointed look. "Noah, I'm sure there's enough there to let Mia have one."

Reluctantly, he pushed the caramel waffles back towards the girl who was practically his sister.

"It's a science project," Mia said, taking one of the waffles. She began separating the two sides, picking at it with her nails. "We've got to do a presentation on the origin of the universe so we're going to Planetarium. They have a Big Bang show."

"Have you got tickets?" Rafael asked her. "The lines can be really long."

Olivia patted his hand where it lay on the table. "I booked them online for her last week. It's all sorted." She looked at Mia. "Assuming you remembered them?"

"They're right here," she replied, patting the front of her rucksack.

The bell above the door rang and, over Mia's shoulder, Rafael saw a teenage boy enter and look around the coffee shop, expectantly.

A feeling of unease came over him. Mia had not been very forthcoming with information about her new study buddy. "Sirena… is your new lab partner a boy?"

Mia sighed as she glanced around to see her friend had arrived. "Yes," she admitted. She was hoping Rafael and Olivia would have already left with Noah before he arrived. "Okay, don't say anything stupid. Actually, you know what? Just don't say anything at all. And don't call me sirena," she hissed.

The boy noticed them at their table and waved, before walking over to join them. "Hey, Mia."

"Hey." She began the introductions. "Liam, this is my guardian, Rafael. Rafa, this is Liam. And this is Olivia and Noah."

"Hi. It's nice to meet you." He held out a hand. "Mia tells me you're a lawyer?"

Mia cursed inwardly. So much for Rafael not saying anything!

Rafael took the boys hand and shook it. "I'm an Assistant District Attorney for the borough of Manhattan. And Olivia is a lieutenant in NYPD. She's the commanding officer of Manhattan SVU."

Olivia shook her head at Rafael trying to intimidate the boy, who was clearly not fazed by her job. Instead, he nodded approvingly. "A woman in charge? Right on!"

Olivia smiled. Rafael just looked baffled at the comment. Mia decided to end the meeting before it got any more awkward. "You ready, Liam?"

"Yeah, sure. The sooner we get started the sooner we can relax, right?"

Mia gathered her bag and jacket, picked up her latte and headed for the door, Liam following dutifully behind.

"Home in time for dinner please," Rafael called after her. It was a family dinner - they were hosting his mother and Mickey, at Lucia's request. Family dinners tended to be at his place now; his dining table was big enough to accommodate all six of them and, Mia and Noah could go off and do their own thing when they were bored of the adults' company.

"Yeah sure," she called back, before exiting the shop.

"'A woman in charge'?" Rafael screwed up his face. "Isn't he a little slick for a thirteen-year-old?

"I think he's cute," Olivia commented, waving to the two teenagers as they walked past the window. Rafael raised an eyebrow. "If I was thirteen," she clarified.

"You ever been to the Planetarium?" Rafael asked her.

She shook her head, placing her cup back on the table. "No. The darkness never appealed to me as a kid." She shrugged. "And with my current schedule, I think I'd fall asleep."

"Yeah, it would be too relaxing, lying there in the d-" He stopped mid-flow, eyes wide.

"What? What is it?" Olivia asked, an expression of concern creeping onto her face.

"Mia… and Liam. They'll be in the dark… alone."

"Rafa!" she protested, rolling her eyes. "They're thirteen. I'm sure that's not even entered her head."

"Not hers, no. His…" He shook his head. "Believe it or not, I was once a thirteen-year-old boy, Liv. I know how they think."

She smirked. "Just because you were…" she glanced at Noah, lowering her voice, "a sex-obsessed teenager, doesn't mean Liam is."

"Trust me Liv. I know this." He looked at his watch. "Hmm, we've got a few hours before dinner. We could fit in a trip to the Planetarium. I'm sure Noah would like that," he turned to the boy, "wouldn't you? See the planets and the moon?"

Noah opened to his mouth to say yes but didn't get the chance.

Olivia smacked Rafael's arm lightly. "You will do no such thing! You are not using Noah as an excuse to spy on Mia."

"But-"

"No."

Noah and Rafael winced. They both recognised that tone. It was one that brokered no argument.

"Maybe we could go see the planets another day, Uncle Rafa," the little boy said.

"That sounds like a great idea, Noah," Olivia agreed. "Besides, we've got more some more houses to look at."

Noah groaned. "Not more houses!" When his mom and Uncle Rafa had told him they were going to get a new house so the four of them could live together he was excited, but now he wished they'd just hurry up and choose one. He didn't understand what the problem was, all the ones they'd looked at seemed fine to him.

Rafael chuckled at the expression on Noah's face. He was starting to feel a similar way about house hunting. "Don't worry mijo, these ones are all online, so we can look from home."

Noah pumped his fist. "Yeeessss!"

"You do realise the chances of us finding anything and getting moved in before Christmas are nigh on impossible," Rafael stated when they arrived home. They'd taken a quick detour via the park to reward Noah – he'd been dragged around two houses this morning and had behaved quite well, despite the obvious boredom he'd experienced.

"Maybe," shrugged Olivia, "but we can still look." She retrieved her laptop from the coffee table and sat down on the sofa, pressing the power button. "I am fed up of splitting my time – and clothes – between two places. I spent almost twenty minutes looking for my blue, satin blouse the other day before realising it was in your laundry basket."

Rafael sighed. She was right, they couldn't carry on like this for much longer. Mia had gone to school twice in the last three weeks without her homework because she'd left it at one apartment when they'd been leaving from another. Noah had done the same with his reading book on a couple of occasions too.

"Right, well if we're really getting into this – again – I need another coffee. You want one?"

"Mmm, yes please."

"Noah? You want anything."

"Can I have some juice, please?"

"Sure, mijo."

Rafael switched on the coffee maker and poured Noah's apple juice as he waited for it to percolate. Olivia was focused on her computer. Every once in a while, she would wrinkle her nose at something she saw, or open a listing in a separate tab for later review. He carried Noah's juice over to the coffee table before returning to the kitchen to pour their drinks. He set them on the table and joined Olivia on the sofa. Sitting beside her, he tilted his head, glancing at the choices she was perusing.

"Found anything?" he rumbled against her ear, wrapping his arm around her.

Her lips curved. She lay her head against his shoulder. "I want that one." She showed him the house, entirely too large, even for four of them.

"Liv." Rafael sighed. "When I suggested we buy a house, there was an implied budget."

"I said I want it," she chuckled. "I didn't say we could have it."

"Hmmm. Let's try again." His free hand swept hers aside on the trackpad and scrolled through the listings.

They probably wouldn't find something in a single afternoon, but curled together on the sofa, Noah playing at their feet, they looked, they discussed, and they dreamed.