NOTES: This chapter made my heart all soft when I wrote it. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did... Let me know!

"Are we done here?" Olivia asked wearily as she rubbed awkwardly at the bags under her eyes with her left hand. She'd use her right but unfortunately, it was both immobile thanks to this damn IV and currently busy gripping the hospital bedsheets in a desperate attempt to keep herself together. God, she just wanted to sleep. Her head was killing her.

"Absolutely. Thank you for your patience, Detective Benson." This IAB woman, Sergeant Powell… Olivia wanted to strangle her. Her voice grated on her ears and positively dripped with pity. Olivia couldn't help but sigh with relief as the sergeant stopped the recorder she had propped up on the small table and began to gather her things. Finally. She missed Rafael.

"I trust IAB will be in contact soon?" Captain Cragen asked expectantly as he stood from his seated position by her feet.

The woman nodded, "I'll be forwarding you her statement later today. This really shouldn't take too long," Powell added, "As long as everything lines up with the evidence, this should all be cleared up within a day or two." She turned to Olivia who braced herself. She had that fucking look on her face again. "I wouldn't be too concerned, okay Detective? Don't worry about anything but getting back on your feet."

A mixture of sharp anger and embarrassment at the reminder of her reclined position had her gritting her teeth but Olivia managed to bite her tongue. For the most part. "Yep." Her p popped as she gave Powell a rather unconvincing smile, "Will do."

Her captain shot her a concerned look at her overt and bracing sarcasm. Damnit. Too harsh.

Cragen cleared his throat awkwardly, "Well if we're all done here, I'm sure Detective Benson would like to rest." He leaned over to her a spoke in a quieter voice, "I'll be right back, Liv." Olivia nodded.

"Of course," Powell exclaimed as she gravitated towards the door, clearly having gotten the hint. She gave Olivia a quick nod of farewell that she blatantly ignored before turning back to the captain who had opened the door for her. As Powell stepped through the doorway, Olivia slowly began to let go of her grip on the sheets and her body relaxed.

She let out a deep sigh, letting her head drop towards her chest. The simple movement caused her to wince heavily; her eyes prickled with tears. As she let out a groan, frustration and anger began to bubble up from her stomach. This feeling was already too familiar. Her face crumpled as the overly friendly voice of her doctor echoed in her head. "Mood swings are very common for this type of head trauma. You may feel more volatile than usual, but that's normal, okay?"

Normal. Right.

A small knock on the door caused her to startle, effectively pulling her from her thoughts when her head throbbed once more.

"Hey Liv, I'm back." Her captain's head stuck out from behind the door.

She stifled her pain and waved him in, "Come on in Cap. You got rid of her fast."

"Years of practice," he said with a smile, closing the door behind him. As he made his way over, she couldn't miss the way his eyes zeroed in on her IV bag and heart monitor before their eyes met. To her immense relief, his expression was devoid of pity but despite that, he still seemed to pick up on how much she hated him seeing her like this. "How long are they keeping you here?" he asked, settling into the same chair he'd been in during her statement.

Olivia shrugged, "I don't know yet. They're worried about my concussion."

"That's understandable. When we found you…" his voice trailed off and his eyes grew distant, "You had us scared there, Liv."

Olivia swallowed heavily as she began to sweat. "I'm just glad you did. I just wish—I still don't remember!" Frustration reared it's ugly head once more as she rubbed at her forehead with one hand. Giving her statement had been hard for many reasons, but memory recall was a big one. At one moment, everything would seem jumbled up in her head and the next it'd be crystal clear. One thing was for certain, however. The fear was there, jumbled or no. As her heart rate began to speed up, she lost the ability to censor her speech and blurted out the first thing on her mind, "Where's Rafael?"

Cragen didn't blink. "I think he stepped out to grab something to eat. He made sure to tell me earlier that he'd be back soon," he said, quick to reassure her.

Olivia nodded and sucked in a breath. "Okay. Okay good." As she began to calm down, she realized she hadn't—

"He told me about you two, don't worry," Cragen said with a wink.

"Oh," she said, a little shocked. How did he always do that? How did he know she was just about to disclose?

"Although, to be honest, even if he hadn't told me, it would've been obvious. He cares Liv."

Olivia's lips curled into a small smile. "I know."

"Good." Cragen gave her a crooked smile, "I'll have you know, though, he's been made well aware that if he hurts you, he'll have to prepare to keep his eye out for several well-armed cops. The jury's still out but I think he knows I was only half-joking."

At this Olivia let out a bark of laughter that quickly devolved into a groan of pain, "Shit, sorry, son-of-a—!"

Cragen jumped up from his seat in alarm, "Do you need me to call a nurse?"

"No—Agh—Sorry, no, I'm fine."

"Sure you are. What are they giving you for pain meds?"

Before she could answer, they were interrupted by a knock at the door. She jumped involuntarily and gasped as her pain spiked.

"Liv?"

Olivia could make out Rafael's silhouette through her haze of tears and waved him in, not trusting herself to speak just yet. As the door opened, shining light directly into her eyes, the throbbing of her head grew to a roar in her ears and her eyes squeezed shut, tears rolling down her cheeks. Somehow through the pain, she vaguely recalled what her doctor had told her, Deep breaths, Olivia. Deep breaths. She sucked in a shaky gasp. And another, and another until the roar dulled down.

"…go if that'd be easier."

"It may, but I don't want to tell you what to do, captain."

"I think I'll update the rest of the squad and come by later."

"I'll let her know."

Olivia didn't have the energy to make her lucidity known. When her eyes finally opened a crack, Rafael was there alone, seated right next to her.

"Hey there," he said softly.

She clumsily brought her hand up to put a finger to his lips. "Shhh…" At his light confusion, she pointed her finger at her head, "Ow."

He let out a small laugh and whispered back, "I'll shut up. But first, I just want you to know the nurse is on the way with pain meds."

"Mhmm… Thanks."

A comfortable silence fell over the two until it was broken minutes later by the arrival of her nurse. A whispered explanation from Rafael and a nod of confirmation from Olivia was all she needed before the nurse swapped out her IV bag from a simple saline solution to one that had Olivia sighing deeply a minute later as the throbbing in her head finally dulled. She knew she didn't have much time before the meds would knock her out so as the nurse closed the door, she turned her head towards Rafael who cocked his head in response.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing. I just… Thank you."

"For what?" he asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

"Everything."

"No," Olivia said three days later, shaking her head, "This is ridiculous. I don't need a babysitter!"

"I'm sorry Ms. Benson, but this is only out of concern for your health."

"It's Detective Benson, and I can take care of myself! I just want to go home. Alone."

Oh to be alone! She'd almost forgotten what solitude was like, what it was like to sleep through the night without being prodded awake every four hours to check vitals, what it was like to simply go to the bathroom without dragging that stupid IV with her.

Dr. Hernandez gave her a sympathetic frown, "You don't really have much of a choice, Detective. Unless we know you have someone at home to monitor your progress, we can't in good faith let you leave."

Olivia let out a huff of air as she shot daggers at her doctor, "I don't need your good faith, I need to go home!"

"Liv…" Rafael said quietly, "She's got a point."

"Not you too!" she exclaimed, "I can't just conjure up some at-home nurse, Barba, I live on a detective's salary I can't afford—"

"I can do it."

"to pay for—wait, what?" Olivia gave a double-take, staring at him shocked.

He felt heat rise in his cheeks as he repeated himself, "I can go home with you. Help you out until you're cleared."

Olivia immediately shook her head, "I understand the concern but—"

"But nothing," he interrupted, "Please. Let me do this for you. I know how much you hate it here."

God she did. "But what about—"

"My work? I can do it from home. Please Liv," he begged, "I just want you to be s-safe."

Olivia's heart clenched as his voice cracked, effectively robbing her of the ability to protest. As she stared back at his pleading expression, she broke.

"Fine."

"Thank you."

The doctor cleared her throat awkwardly. "In that case, we can begin to get you out of here! I'll start the paperwork now and then I'll go through the information you need to adjust back at home, sound good?"

Olivia nodded her consent, waiting until her doctor left before turning to Rafael.

"Rafael… Are you sure about this?"

"Yes. Absolutely." His expression was serious and filled with the stubbornness she'd grown to expect.

"Okay," she said softly. "I guess we're doing this."

He gave her a soft smile, "Hey don't worry. I'm not that bad, honest."

"It's not you I'm worried about Rafa."

At this, his forehead wrinkled in confusion, "Oh?"

"I'm still recovering," she elaborated, her speech becoming more agitated as she continued, "I've never been good at accepting help and I've been having these awful mood swings and I don't want to lash out at you but between the headaches and these fucking flashbacks I—"

Rafael lightly touched her wrist, drawing her attention before he reached forward to push her hair back from in front of her eyes, "Woah, woah, woah, hey!" Olivia stared back at him wide-eyed. His green eyes were intense but strangely calming. "Hey. It'll be okay Liv. It'll be okay. We'll be okay. Now let's talk this through, alright?"

She gave a small nod before swallowing hard, "Okay."

He dropped his hand from her face only to hold hers as he spoke, "You said you've never been good at accepting help?"

She shook her head in affirmation. "Never. I just—I've always had to fend for myself. It doesn't come very naturally to me."

"Okay, well, how about this? You trust me?" he asked.

Her response was instantaneous. "Yes. More than you know."

He gave her a shy smile and squeezed her hand, "Good. I trust you too." He paused for emphasis, "More specifically, I trust you to tell me when I'm being a hovering bastard who needs to back off." He shot her a crooked grin as she let out a little laugh-hiccup and sniffled, blinking back tears, "And," he looked her in the eyes, "I trust that you'll ask for help when you need it, if you can trust that I'm not going to think you're weak or–or," he stumbled over his words.

"Or helpless?" she whispered.

"Never!" He looked shocked at her word choice. "Never helpless, Liv."

She nodded slowly, "Okay. Okay, I can do that."

"Good. As for mood swings, what do you mean by that?"

She gestured at her face, "This! I'm on the verge of tears right now Rafa! I don't—I don't cry," she sounded disgusted, "and yesterday I almost bit Amaro's head off when he asked if I'd eaten. And my poor nurses!"

Rafael nodded contemplatively, "What did your doctor say about it?"

She let out a bitter laugh, "That it's 'normal' with this kind of head trauma. And that after a 'traumatic event'," she rolled her eyes, "some volatility is to be expected. That doesn't mean I don't hate it."

Rafael gave a sympathetic grimace, "Hmm... well if that's the case, I'm not sure how much I can help with that, unfortunately... But I do know this," Rafael said with a particularly determined expression, "My mother has always said this, and God knows you know this by now, but I'm damn stubborn Olivia. When I care about something, and I care about you, I don't quit. Ever. So I can promise you. It'll take a lot more than some tears or angry outbursts to drive me off."

Olivia smiled, "You are a stubborn bastard aren't you," she said teasingly.

"Guilty as charged," he smirked. His smile slowly faded as he came to her last point. "You've been having flashbacks?"

She immediately diverted her gaze. "Yeah."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Okay."

"Okay?" she looked surprised that he wasn't pressing her for more.

"Yeah," he said simply, "If you don't want to talk about it, I understand that and I'll respect it. Just know, I'll be here. May it be tomorrow, months from now, whatever, if you want to talk about it, I'll be here for you."

She stared back at him, a little dumbfounded. "Oh. Okay."

"If you do get a flashback and I'm there though," he added on second thought, "Is there anything you want me to do?"

She paused, thinking a bit. "Don't, uh, don't touch me? And, um, maybe try talking to me."

"Okay," he responded, taking a mental note. "See? We'll be okay, Liv."

"Yeah," she said with a smile. Before Rafael knew what was happening, Olivia leaned forward to kiss him gently. His eyes flew open in surprise before they fluttered closed, his body relaxing. Their kiss was soft and sweet and warm. When she pulled away moments later, she was blushing. "Yeah. We will be just fine."

"Liv?"

His breath was hot against her neck. "SHUT up!" Oh god, she was choking, her lungs were screaming for air but she couldn't breathe. Shouldn't breathe. She could feel the rough fabric, smell the sweet scent of—

"Olivia?"

No, no, no, her limbs and eyelids were heavy but her head was light and spinning.

"Olivia!"

She gasped, blinking rapidly. As her eyes focused, Rafael's concerned face swam into view, and embarrassment stabbed at her stomach. "I—shit, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

They were standing in front of the elevator to her apartment lobby. "You don't need to apologize Liv. C'mon, let's get you home."

She didn't have the energy to respond as she moved to step into the elevator, her eyes betraying her and flicking back towards the door to the stairwell that had caused this whole mess. She shook her head rapidly and pushed forward. As the doors slid closed, she gave in to her exhaustion and shuffled closer to Rafael who couldn't help but smile a little as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

After a moment, he spoke softly, "I've got to punch in the number cariño."

"Hmm? Oh. Right."

She moved back a bit to let him punch the number in; the second he was done, she claimed his shoulder once more and they let the sounds of the elevator surround them. It was almost peaceful, Olivia thought, the whir as they ascended, the small clicks as they passed each floor. At the ding indicating their arrival, however, she shook herself out of it and pushed off of him, ready to lead the way.

As she unlocked the door and stood aside to let him in, she stared down at her keys. "I'll need to make you a copy of these."

He nodded but didn't comment as he hung his coat on the hanger by her door. "Are you hungry?" he asked as she headed towards her kitchen.

She shook her head, "Not really. I think I just want to sleep." After a pause, she turned to him, "Oh shit, I'm sorry, do you need to run to your apartment to grab things? If you want, I have some sweats you can use?"

"Could I?" he asked, "I'd go now but it's kinda late. I'll stop by tomorrow and pick things up but I'd rather stay for tonight."

"Let me grab you some," she started towards her bedroom, "Do you want a shirt too?"

"Please."

As she came back out, one of Olivia's eyebrows quirked upwards at the sight of Rafael bent over the couch. At the sound of her feet, he looked up and smiled, "Thanks Liv. I'll get changed and then if you need help with anything, just let me know, okay?" Before she could ask him what he was doing, he bent back over and continued to rearrange the pillows on her couch. "The doctor said I'll need to be in every four hours to make sure you're okay, so when I knock—"

What the—? "When you knock?! Rafa, you're not sleeping on the couch!"

He looked downright perplexed as he straightened up, dropping a pillow.

"I'm not?"

"Why would you sleep on the couch?"

"I just— I wasn't sure if you wanted space?"

"You ridiculous man," she said with a small smile, not unkindly, "Come one. You're sleeping with me tonight."

"If you're sure."

"You trust me?"

"Yes."

"I'm sure."