"Medical tests on Nathaniel came back positive for chlamydia," Rollins informed him. "And the doc found extensive anal fissures."

Those were the words wracking through his brain as he made the drive to the Banks home. Last night had been bad enough, Rafael getting next to no sleep after his conversation with Olivia, but things just kept getting better, it seemed. The only upside was that they had more evidence against Michael... The downside? The poor kid just couldn't seem to catch a break.

Everything that had happened with the biological father, then the mess with the pathetic excuse of a 'stepfather.'

And Rafael was honestly still reeling. He'd pushed everything down for so long, trying not to think about what had happened, and a lot of it had come flooding back. He'd woken Olivia up at two in the morning because of a nightmare, which he'd found a bit embarrassing, despite knowing that Olivia was the last person on Earth who would judge him for having a rough night given everything.

He did feel he had to get a grip on himself, though. It had been years. It belonged firmly locked in the past.

He was greeted rather warmly by Carolyn and Nathaniel, and all of them made their way to the living room, taking a seat on the couch to talk.

"Michael made bail an hour ago," Rafael informed them. It was unfortunate, but not altogether unexpected. It had been completely against Rafael's recommendation, however, as he'd wanted remand.

Carolyn nodded. "Alright."

"I'm sorry it took me so long to tell the truth," Nathaniel mumbled.

"What?" the woman said. "No. No, no, no, no, no. None of what happened is your fault. Do you understand, Nate?"

The boy shrugged.

"Nathaniel," she said. "You did nothing wrong. Nothing."

"Your mother's right, Nathaniel." He tried to give the boy a reassuring look. "Your stepdad is sick and he made bad choices. It's not your fault."

The boy licked his lips and swallowed anxiously. After a moment, however, he nodded. He clearly didn't want to speak, so neither adult pushed it.

"Well... It's time to pack, kiddo," Carolyn said sadly. "Why don't you go and throw some things into your suitcase and backpack that you want?"

"Where are we going?" Nathaniel inquired.

"I don't know," Carolyn admitted, "but we will find a place."

He eyed them. "There's no reason you should have to move."

Olivia's comment after the Renee Clark assault came to mind.

"I can ask for a temporary restraining order," Rafael said pointedly, "but maybe she should change dorms."

"Ah," Olivia shot back, "so it's the victim who should change her life?"

She'd had a very, very, valid point. Still, there was only so much they could do to help a victim. They always tried their best, though.

Carolyn eyed him. "But Michael pays the mortgage, And he's never given me any of the passwords," she said. "To any of our accounts."

"Here's what you do," he said softly. "Go to the bank and show them your ID. Then you empty the shared account and open a new one in your name. After that, come home and change the locks to the doors here. I'll help you take out an Order of Protection as well."

"We can do that?" the woman said, clearly a little stunned.

"You're married," he deadpanned. "What's his is yours." He raised an eyebrow. "And you didn't get this advice from me."

She exhaled deeply, visibly relieved that she wasn't going to end up homeless. "Damn, man, you got a little gangster in you, huh?"

He smirked. "Never mess with a kid with a smart mouth from the South Bronx. We tend to, uh, keep people on their toes, shall we say."

She laughed. "I'll say!"

He chatted with them for a few more minutes, before taking his leave and heading to the Bronx to pick up the kids and go home for the rest of the afternoon.

Noah chatted his ear off the entire drive home about the fun he'd had with his grandmother.

Rafael then decided to mess with Noah a bit when his son was still chatting animatedly on the way to the front door.

He grabbed the kid and started singing and tickling him. "Cuando vayas a la carnicería... No me traigas carne ni de aquí...!"

"¡Ay, Papi!" Noah squealed, laughing. "¡Papi!"

"¡Ni de aquí! ¡Ni de aquí! ¡Ni de aquí...!" he continued. "¡Sino de aquí qui qui qui qui!"

"¡Papi!" Noah said, trying to catch his breath in between fits of squirming and laughter. "¡Para, por favor!" (Papi! Stop, please!)

He stopped, putting the boy down and smiling at him. "De acuerdo, he terminado. Venga," he said with a vague gesture towards the door. "Vayamos adentro." (Okay, I'm done. Come on. Let's go inside.)

He played with the kids for a bit and then started making dinner while Noah read one of his comic books. Sofía was sitting contentedly in her bouncer, for the time being, so Rafael was actually able to focus on cooking.

"Papi, ¿puedes poner música?" Noah called from the living room. Apparently walking to the kitchen was a bit too much to ask, but he didn't really mind as it wasn't excessive or anything. (Papi, can you put some music on?)

"¡Claro!" he replied. He wasn't about to say no to music, and had been considering it himself already. "¿Alguna canción en particular?" (Sure! Any song in particular?)

"¡No lo sé!" Noah yelled back. "¡Tú decides!" (I don't know! You decide!)

He rummaged through his music for a moment before settling on one of his favourite Benny Moré songs for them to listen to. The man was definitely way up there on Rafael's list of favourite Latin artists. Benny Moré was called El Bárbaro del Ritmo for a reason. He was a great artist.

Dinner was two minutes from being ready, if even that, when his wife finally walked through the front door.

He gave his wife a quick kiss when she walked into the kitchen a few moments after she got home. "Welcome home."

"Hmmm," his wife said, "what smells good?"

"Picadillo with rice and plantains," he murmured, giving her another kiss.

"Can't wait," she murmured against his lips.

"Ew!" Noah exclaimed. "Coodies!"

Both Olivia and Rafael laughed fully at the antics. Rafael then glanced at Noah, humour shining in his eyes. "A few coodies never hurt anyone."

Noah rolled his eyes. "It's gross."

Olivia laughed. "Keep on thinking that, Sweetie. I'm more than happy with that."

He tousled the boy's hair. "As am I, Mijo."