(Barba's Point of View)
It was a quiet day. In fact, since Theo had been gone, almost every day was a quiet day. It's ironic, really, how someone who couldn't hear anything be the loudest person in the group. I didn't want to tell anyone, but I missed her. She was interesting, to say the least, and underneath the layer of cynicism she has about the world, there is a sincere heart. We all sat in Olivia's office, trying to come up with better ideas to find out what happened to Gina Wildman rather than going undercover. We had to come up with better ideas.
"You could just be cops," I suggested.
"Anything to get you out of carrying a gun, huh, Barba?" I knew it was a joke, but the way Olivia said it made me shut up. I didn't dare answer. She saw my reaction and sighed, rubbing her temple with her fingers. "Sorry," She began. "It's been a stressful couple of weeks."
"Tell me about it," Fin chimed in.
Olivia looked at him, an eyebrow raised. "How is Theo, Fin?" He looked up from his stack of papers. "Sorry we haven't been by to see her, but—"
He put his hand up to stop her. "I understand, and I'm sure she does too," He then continued. "She's not unreasonable. As for how she's doing? Pretty well last time we spoke, but I wasn't with her last night."
"Who was?"
"Munch was."
"Munch?" Carisi looked at Rollins, her face dancing with knowledge. "I guess I owe you twenty bucks and a drink."
"Are you betting on a deaf girl?" Fin quipped. "Have you no shame?"
Rollins turned to face Fin. "Not per se, but we are betting on Munch."
"Why?" I asked.
Carisi looked at me, his eyes lit with excitement. "Rollins and I want to see how long it would take for him to make a move on her."
"I bet four months after meeting her," Carisi admitted. "Because, well, Theo is a difficult person. I like her and all, but she doesn't let many people come close to her. I figured she would be more aloof."
Rollins finished for him. "Have you not seen how he looks at her?" We nodded our heads. It was so clear it like looking through a window. "He's completely smitten by her. It's so cute."
It was sorta cute; the way he seemed to float on air whenever she smiled at him or laughed at his corny jokes. She was something to hold on to, something to love—I can see that now. Munch was either smitten by her gaze or was so lonely he tricked himself into being smitten by her gaze. Theo has dark, trapping eyes that stared into your soul when she was just looking at you. I can see how you would get lost in them because I did.
"So what do we do now?" Carisi asked. "Do we suspend the investigation into Akins's background to chase after the person who hurt Theo?"
"No," This was my specialty. "We keep going."
"What if they get suspicious?" Olivia challenged. "Then they would run."
Fin saw the look on my face and put his head down. I sighed. "We have to forgo that case, at least for a while." I said. "Bring Theo back on, if you can, and find the person who killed Gina."
"And what about her rape case?"
"As far as I am concerned," I stood up. "That case does not exist."
I looked at the room, there was a mixture of sadness, betrayal, anger, and understanding in the air. I knew what they were thinking, I was feeling the same way. Theo may never get justice, she may never know who hurt her, who raped her, and she may never us trust again because we had to protect the city and not just her. Then the question of who would tell her this came up.
"I'll do it," I said as I walked out of the room. "After work, I'll stop by, have some dinner, do some talking, and explain some things.
"Just be careful, Barba," Fin urged. "She doesn't live in the best of areas."