Dinner at Follia had been nice and was definitely a break that Rafael needed to take his mind off the stress from earlier. Sofia had been a little fussy, as she was now teething, but hadn't been too bad. She'd been more than happy to gnaw on a chilled teething ring. Noah was a little high strung at first, just being a kid, but calmed down quickly when talked to, so, all in all, it went smoothly.

When nothing happened over the next couple of days, Rafael put the strange call behind him, the paranoia fading almost completely.

Waking up, he showered and threw on a green checkered shirt and dark red coloured tie, walking out to everyone at the table, already having breakfast.

Liv slid a cup of coffee over to him, and he smirked, taking a few sips before looking up and saying, "I love you."

She chuckled. "You're an easy man to bribe, husband of mine."

He rolled his eyes playfully, taking a sip of the warm liquid he was holding.

Noah looked at them both inquisitively. "What does bribe mean again?"

Rafael smirked. "It means your mother knows there is very little I wouldn't do for a coffee first thing in the morning."

Olivia chuckled. "Accurate." She looked over at Noah. "Bribing someone is when you do something for someone to get them to do something you want."

Noah considered it a moment. "Ok."

They chatted briefly before Lucy got there and Rafael had to head to work for the day, leaving it to Liv to drop Noah off at school.

The morning passed by quickly. Rafael had a lot of time to himself that morning to manage his files, which was a rare thing, so in between a meeting, some emails and phone calls, he spent the afternoon doing that, except for taking a break for lunch at Forlini's with Carisi to get an update on a case.

Rafael stopped halfway through the page he was currently reading, frowning at his phone, which was now going off, in slight confusion. Noah's school was calling for some reason. "Hello. Rafael Barba speaking."

"Mr. Barba," the vaguely familiar voice said, "I'm Susan Bernard from PS199. I'm calling in regards to your son Noah who's a student here."

Of course the phone call was about Noah, but what was going on? Rafael's mind was racing more than he'd like to admit. "What happened? Is he hurt? He's not in any trouble is he?" he inquired, already throwing his jacket on, and rummaging around for his keys, trying to make his way out the door as quickly as possible.

"I assure you, he's perfectly fine," the lady stated in what he supposed was meant to be a soothing voice, although it did little to help his nerves. "He fell down during lunch while playing soccer and injured his wrist. Nothing major, as it's likely just a sprain. However, the only classes he has left today are Physical Education and Art."

Rafael nodded more to himself than anything given that the woman couldn't see him. "And because of the injury, he can't participate properly."

"Exactly," came her response, "and he's been upset since; clearly wanting to go home. Our nurse is with him right now, giving him a new icepack. We tried your wife's phone but got no answer."

"Alright. I'll talk to her," he replied, feeling calmer than he had initially. "I'm on my way than to pick him up. I should be there in about a half-hour."

"Perfect," the secretary said. "We'll see you shortly."

Shaking his head, he realized he had an unread text from Lucy. He immediately pressed dial, calling her. "Hello, Lucy. I'm assuming you got the call from Noah's school as well?"

"I did," she said immediately, "but I just got the voice mail. I was giving Sofia a bath when they called, so I missed it by half a second. Do you want me to run and get him from school?"

"No, no," he said not unkindly. "I've got it. I want to take him to the doctors, and I'm not going to ask you to try and weather that with two cranky children."

"I could handle it," she said with a chuckle. "Is he ok?"

"He's fine," Rafael assured her. "It's likely just a simple sprain."

He politely ended the call and texted Liv to let her know what was going on. Shoving his phone into his pocket, he locked his office and quickly stopped by Carmen's desk to talk to her. "Carmen, I need you to hold all my calls and cancel my two o'clock."

She gave him a look of concern. "Is everything alright?"

He gave her a small smile. "Yes, everything's fine, but I do have to go and deal with a family matter that just came up. If nothing comes up by three o'clock, feel free to come home for the day. I'll pay you for the rest of the original shift regardless."

She nodded. "I'll see you later then."

Walking outside briskly, he jumped into his car and made his way to Jessie Isador Straus. Once at the elementary school, he found parking easily and made his way to the office where Noah was waiting with the school secretary.

As he walked in, Noah rushed over and threw his arm around him, pulling him into a hug. "Papi, you're here!" The young boy gently nuzzled into Rafael's chest, clearly needing the contact. "¡Duele! Quiero ir a casa." (It hurts. I want to go home.)

Rafael smiled softly down at the young boy, trying to reassure him. "Lo sé, Mijo. I know. Es por eso que estoy aquí." (I know. That's why I'm here.)

The secretary seemed surprised at hearing the Spanish, but it was definitely more astonishment than anything. "Hispanic?"

Hearing that, he set his jaw, unsure of where the line of questioning was going. He decided to give her the benefit of the doubt, however, tilting his head down in a half nod. "Yes. I'm Cuban, well Cuban-American."

She smiled softly. "I'm German-American, myself. More parents should teach their children their first language. It helps children develop an appreciation for other cultures, and I know I wish I could speak my parents' language better."

He nodded, smiling more warmly now. "My grandmother didn't speak English much until I was a teenager, and neither of my grandfathers ever did speak it. My parents and aunt spoke it, but Spanish was what was spoken at home. But, we should probably get going." He ruffled Noah's hair playfully. "¿Qué dices, Mijo? Pasemos por el médico y luego iremos a buscar chocolate caliente." (What do you say, Mijo? Let's stop by the doctor's and then we'll go get some hot chocolate.)

"Ok, Papi," Noah murmured softly, a small on his face. "¿Puedo obtener una galleta también? Please." (Can I get a cookie too?)

"Ya veremos," he said, ruffling the boy's hair again. "We'll see. Maybe if you' good, you little rascal." The teasing tone to his voice was unmistakable at the end. He turned to the secretary. "Thank you, and I hope your afternoon goes well."

"Yeah," Noah said. "Thank you."

She smiled down at Noah. "You're very welcome, Mr. Noah. I hope you're feeling better tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your day, the both of you."

With a slight nod, he picked up Noah's schoolbag and started walking him out to the car so they could get the trip to the doctor's over with.

Luckily, an hour and a half later they were making their way out of there, with Noah's injury being confirmed as a 'Grade I' sprain. Noah had been given a splint to support his wrist, and given some stretching and strengthening exercises to practice.

They stopped at a nearby café for a little snack before making their way home and getting Noah settled in and talking with Lucy. He then talked to Liv on the phone before giving the kids a kiss goodbye and running out the door to go back to work to try and get some stuff done for his cases.

He was walking into the doors of their home by five, and Noah was somewhat awkwardly playing Lego with his non-dominant hand in the living room with Lucy beside him, Sofía on her lap. "Papi!"

He smiled down at the boy. "Hola, Noah. Hi, Lucy." He looked over at the brunette girl who'd somehow become family. "So, how was your guys' afternoon?"

"Good, Rafael," she said. "Sofía was a lot less cranky after her nap, and Noah's been fine. We went for a bit of a walk, played a few games, and then I got talked into baking with the little rascal here. Chocolate chip cookies."

Noah grinned. "There may or may not have been flour everywhere."

Rafael laughed, hanging his jacket up. "Well, that certainly wouldn't be a first."

Noah giggled. "True, Señor Pancakes."

He rolled his eyes, starting to take off his shoes. "Hey, you were an equally guilty party in that chain of events, if I recall correctly."

His son smirked. "Prove it."

He laughed. "Cheeky kid."

He started to take a step towards them but Lucy gestured for him to stay put a moment, pointing to the squirmy little girl that was trying to get away from her, much to Lucy's amusement. She gently placed her on the floor and Sofía immediately started creeping and scooting around the floor contentedly to get to Rafael.

When Sofía reached him, she looked up and babbled, making it clear she wanted him to hold her. He bent down to pick her up. "Hola, Princesa," he murmured, smiling. "¿Te portaste bien con Lucy?" The little girl just coo-ed, snuggling into his shoulder slightly.

"She adores you," Lucy said, smiling. "And to think family services tried to give both you and Liv grief over the years."

He looked over at her. "I get it, but it was definitely irritating." He made a vague gesture. "You staying for dinner? Liv should be home in about a half-hour, last I talked to her." He was planning on making arroz con pollo; something a bit easier.

She smiled. "Rain check? I'm actually supposed to meet Toni's parents tonight." She'd been dating Antonio for quite a while now. He was a year older than her, they'd met through some mutual friends. By her account, he treated her well and he'd actually started his own business in Washington Heights that to all appearances was doing exceptionally well too.

"No worries. Enjoy yourself," he said earnestly, before adopting a teasing tone. "And don't let the loudmouth Latinas get to you."

She laughed. "Oh, I think I'll be fine." She looked him straight in the eye. I've actually signed up for the Spanish classes at Idlewild Books. I'm starting next week."

He nodded. That relationship was definitely getting serious now, which didn't particularly surprise him. "Well, if you want any help practicing, you know where I am."

"Appreciated," she said. "I also wanted to ask you and Liv about having him over for dinner sometime so you both can meet him."

"We'd love to have him over. Just let us know when works for the both of you," he said. He put Sofía down in her playpen, walking towards the kitchen. He glanced back at her, a smirk plastered firmly on his face. "¿Quieres un café, Mamita?"

She threw a hand up in the air, laughing. "Woah! Woah! I said, 'starting.'"

Noah giggled. "He's asking if you want a coffee."

She ruffled Noah's hair, still laughing. "Thank you, Noah." She looked back to Rafael, amused. "And I'd love one, gracias."

He gave a soft chuckle, replying without missing a beat. "Bueno, dos cafés por venir." (So, two coffees coming right up.)

She rolled her eyes, looking at Noah. "And this is why I am taking those Spanish classes. Crazy Latinos."

Rafael laughed. "I heard that, Missy!"

Noah giggled, and Lucy had a self-satisfied smile on her face. "You were supposed to!"