The sun had set a couple of hours ago, and it was almost nine now. The doctor had swung by once more at the end of his shift to check on Savina, wrote a few more orders, said a few words of assurances to Olivia, and introduced the doctor taking over for him, before he took his leave.

The night shift doctor managed to grate on Olivia's nerves in under a minute. He asked her questions that she'd already answered, and he could easily find the answers to if he bothered to read Savina's file. And she wasn't some civilian, she knew that underlying accusatory tone he had in his voice as he asked her about signs Savina may have been exhibiting.

And then the icing on the cake was when he told her he'd asked for a psychological consult as soon as Savina woke up! When she told him of her intention of taking her to see Dr. Lindstrom, he more or less accused her of bribing the guy to cover up whatever it was! If Savina wasn't clinging to her, she would've taken him out to the hall, and chewed him out. But alas, Savina's comfort came first.

She was seething and worried out of her mind at the same time. Could they take her baby away from her? Can the Beaumont Academy use this to rescind her scholarship? Olivia can't afford that school's tuition on her salary! And she didn't want Savina to lose the opportunity!

She found herself spiraling down a dark rabbit hole she knew all too well. So, she grabbed her phone and called Dr. Lindstrom. After apologizing profusely for the out-of-office-hours call, she relayed what happened to him, and the consult she tried to overturn.

"Olivia, it's routine. She's a fourteen-year-old who collapsed at a private school; his suspicions may not be in you. He may think she's on something to help her excel, or to cope with the pressure of fitting in with a certain crowd, or even handle the trauma of what happened with you," he explained calmly. "I know you and I talked about bringing her in for a session with you, and I think we need to do that more than ever now. Not just for your sake, but also for hers." He continued, and she was having a hard time fighting back the tears. Why didn't she just shoot Lewis when she had the chance? At least she could tell herself now that she made sure that bastard can never hurt her or her baby again. That she made him pay for every cut and burn he made on her body; for every remark he made about Savina. She could tell herself that he was out of her mind once and for all.

But the truth was; he wasn't. He was still there. Hiding, lurking, waiting for his chance to prance. Like a predator studying its prey; he was waiting for her moment of weakness, for her Achilles heel…..and it always was, and always will be, Savina.

He may not have raped her; he may not have succeeded in fully breaking her spirit. But he did succeed in pulling her away from her daughter, he knew how to break her just enough so that the one ball she kept dropping would be Savina.

And look where it got them! Her fourteen-year-old had pushed her body so far that it quite literally shut down! And she had no clue about it till she landed in a hospital.

"Olivia, don't go down that rabbit hole!" Dr. Lindstrom's calm yet firm voice broke through the one in her head – which oddly sounded like her mother's – and pulled her back to reality.

"H- "she started to ask, but he interrupted her. "I can hear your labored breathing without the phone," he quipped gently, and she smiled. "Olivia, this is a tough situation, and an unfortunate result of what happened. You and I will discuss it at length when Savina is released. But the only person this falls on is William Lewis and him alone. None of it falls on you!" he assured her.

"It's kind of hard to believe that right now," she confessed tearfully.

"I know. But just focus on the good side," he instructed.

She scoffed. "Didn't realize there was one."

"You got out of working that case for IAB," he joked gently, and she couldn't help but chuckle. It was a bit of dark humor, but she did have to admit he was right. She wasn't a fan of working with Tucker, nor was she particularly interested in working with Cassidy.

"I know you're worried about the legal ramifications of that psych consult, and if the Beaumont can use it against her," he said. "But as I understand your ADA has been a great support to you both, and I'm sure he can put your mind at ease. So why don't you give him a call?" he suggested.

"Thanks." was all she said.

"You're welcome, Olivia. Have a great night."

And with that, Olivia pulled the phone away from her ear, and looked down at Savina. She was still out cold, hadn't opened her eyes again. And aside from some murmurs, she hadn't even turned.

After some deliberation with the doubtful voice inside her head – that she only now noticed sounded exactly like Serena's – she hit the dial button on Barba's name.

It barely had time to ring, before his worried voice reached her ear. "Liv, is everything OK? Something happen with Savina? Are you alright?" he fired off the questions so fast, that it took her by surprise how worried he was about them.

"We're fine, Barba. Don't worry. She's still asleep," she replied. She hoped her voice sounded calm, but at the slight pause on the other end, she realized he was debating if he should call her out on her tone or not.

"Do you want me to grab dinner and come over?" he asked, and she had to admit that this wasn't the answer she thought she'll get. And she didn't know how to answer. She would love the company, and maybe talking with him will ease her worries. It might even be good to have some back-up if that insufferable doctor came back. But at the same time, she wasn't entirely sure how to ask such a big favor of him.

Yes, they'd gotten close, but were they this close? She wondered.

Luckily for her, he decided not to wait for her inner jury to reach a verdict.

"Italian okay?" he said, and she registered the ruffling of papers in the background and realized he was probably packing up his suitcase for the night. And Rafael Barba did not give up a night of work for just anybody.

"Yeah, sounds great." She whispered.

Olivia wasn't sure how much time passed before she found Barba opening the door to Savina's room. And judging by how her eyes took a few seconds to focus, she realized she'd dozed off.

"Hey. Didn't mean to wake you," he apologized softly, as he deposited the pizza box on the table. She raised her eyebrow at the box and looked at him with a smirk. He shrugged. "Hey, it's Italian!" he joked, and she chuckled.

"It's perfect. I haven't eaten anything all day," she remarked, as he discarded his coat and blazer.

He eyed Savina critically. "Has she moved at all?" he asked, and she shook her head. "Not an inch."

He grabbed the box and walked over to the bed, grabbing a chair on his way over and placed it next to the bed. He sat down gently at Savina's feet, careful not to shift the bed under him too much as to not disturb her. But she didn't flinch at the shift, nor did she show any signs that his presence was noticed by her at all, let alone disturbed her. He handed Olivia a slice, took one for himself, before setting the box on the chair, and handing Olivia a napkin.

"So, who pushed you down the rabbit hole?" he inquired as he bit into his slice.

"What makes you think I went down a rabbit hole?" she shot back, and he gave her a knowing look.

"Come on, Liv. I know you better than that. I could hear the gears in your head on the phone," he told her.

"The night shift doctor told me he asked for a psych consult for Savina as soon as she wakes up," she explained.

"And you're scared that it'll either bring the DA's office into it for an investigation into you," he realized. "Or the Beaumont can use it to rescind her scholarship." He finished, and she nodded. Though she was surprised at how well he knew her.

"It's routine, Liv. She's fourteen, and she collapsed at school. She doesn't show any signs of abuse; no bruises, no malnourishment, she's not underweight," he listed. "Her tox screen came back clean, and there are no marks on her body to suggest drug use," he continued. "So, neither can use it as grounds for an investigation, nor to rescind the scholarship." He assured her. "But the hospital does need an explanation for what happened. She did go through a trauma, and it impacted her. And that's not a thing they can hold against either of you. He's just going to talk to her, and I don't think that's such a bad idea," he added softly.

"I've been meaning to take her to Dr. Lindstrom," she started. "At first, I wasn't sure how to talk to her about it. I asked her coyly once if she wanted to talk to him, and she refused. She came with me, and he spoke to her under the guise of discussing me," she recounted, "and he said that he didn't see any signs of worry. Lately, I noticed that she seemed off, that she constantly had his look of guilt in her eyes," she paused to catch her breath, and noticed how Barba frowned at the word 'guilt'. "I spoke to him about bringing her in, and he agreed. But I got worried that I would be asking too much of her. And now….." her voice had lowered to close to a whisper, her breath hitching at the end of the sentence as she trailed off.

"Liv, I said this before, and I will say it again as long as we both shall live," he started, as he wiped his hands on the napkin, and leaned closer to her, taking one of her hands into his. "This is not on you!" he said firmly.

"I knew something was wrong, and I did nothing about it," she whispered tearfully.

"Did you ask her about it?" he wondered, and she nodded. "And what did she say?" he pressed.

"She said there was some drama with Diana's family on her late mother's side," she responded.

"Did you ask her that one time alone?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"Of course not," she said incredulously. "She always gave me some answer. But I still knew something else was bothering her," she argued.

"Yes, but she's a teenager. And I'm sure you made sure she can come to you with anything. But you couldn't force her to talk. And no one could've seen this coming!" he soothed.

"Did she tell you why she felt guilty?" she asked, and he shook her head.

"No. This is the first time I'm hearing anything about guilt," he said. "What makes you think it's guilt?" he wondered.

"I've seen it in her eyes before," she stated, before she recounted the story for him once more.

He fell quiet when she finished her story, his eyes fixated on Savina's sleeping form, and his jaw clenched. She knew that face all too well. It's the one he used when their perps would take it too far, and he had to fight the urge to punch them.

"She never told you about her kidnapping." It wasn't a question; it was a statement. But he nodded his affirmation, nonetheless.

"Where's he?" he ground out.

"Dead." She said softly.

"Good. I don't have to worry about tracking down his parole date and pulling every string I could to make sure it gets denied!" he seethed.

"She bounced back from the actual kidnapping faster than the comment he made," she told him.

"Well, whatever it is that's making her feel guilty this time; I don't think you'll be able to get it out on your own. So maybe that psych consult isn't a bad idea, he may get her to open-up, or even jostle her enough that Lindstrom can crack it open all the way," he thought out loud, and she nodded.

"Thank, Barba." She said, smiling gratefully at him.

"Anytime, Liv."

So this storyline was supposed to be a two-chapter thing max, but has taken on a life of its own as I watch old and new episodes which gives me ideas.

Reviews are appreciated, and for those who requested more Barson, here it is.