It had been a long six years, in Rafael's opinion, but it was funny how little and how much had changed at the same time. He was enjoying being a judge. It had been a bit of an adjustment, but he'd made the right decision for himself in so far as what career trajectory to take.
Carisi was happy with his choice as well. He'd had to fight to prove himself, but Carisi rose to the challenge and by all accounts had become a great lawyer.
The biggest change had to be Fin getting married two years prior, however. Fin had married Phoebe Baker a Lieutenant from the NYPD's Vice Squad.
Phoebe formerly worked in Narcotics with Fin prior to the man working for the Special Victims Unit. There had been something between the pair back then but they'd broken up, rekindling their friendship during the whole COVID debacle and eventually their relationship.
Rafael's life had become even more hectic if that was possible, but he and Olivia were managing, and quite happy if busy. And, honestly, he wouldn't change it for the world, even if he occasionally did want to pull his hair out because of bickering children.
They were really good kids, but they were siblings. They had a knack for fighting one minute and being best friends five seconds later. As an only child, it wasn't something Rafael really understood, but it certainly made things interesting.
"Mom! Dad!" their rather rambunctious thirteen-year-old son yelled. "Sofía was going through my things again!"
Their eight-year-old daughter didn't miss a single beat either. "Oh, come on! I was just looking at it! I didn't do anything!"
"Well," Noah retorted, "it's mine! ¡Dámelo! Now!" (Give it to me!)
Well, that was one of the things that had changed. He loved both of the kids but they'd entered the moody teenager stage with Noah. And Sofía, well, although the girl was usually a total sweetheart, she knew just what buttons to push.
He loved Noah. Still, having a teenager was definitely an interesting chapter.
Rafael sighed, shot Olivia a look, and walked up the stairs so that he didn't have to yell across the brownstone to be heard.
"Good luck," he heard his wife deadpan.
Rafael rolled his eyes, not bothering to reply to that comment. Once he was at the top of the stairs, he swiftly made his way into his son's bedroom, where both of the kids were still bickering about whatever it was that was going on with those two. "¡Basta ya! ¿Pueden ustedes dos dejar de gritar y calmarse por favor? Ambos deben terminar de prepararse para la escuela." (That's enough already! Can you two stop yelling and calm down please? The both of you have to finish getting ready for school.)
Both kids looked at him rather sheepishly. "!Lo siento, papi!" (Sorry, Papi!)
"Está bien," he said to his daughter, "pero sabes que no debes tocar las cosas de tu hermano sin preguntarle." Rafael then turned to his son. "Y, Mijo, también puedes compartir. Ella no iba a romper nada." (It's fine, but you know not to touch your brother's things without asking him. And, son, you can share as well. She wasn't going to break anything.)
"¡Sí, papi!" they chorused. (Yes, Papi!)
"De acuerdo," he said. Rafael then glanced between both of his children, smiling down warmly at the rather lively duo. "Bueno, ¡pónganse las pilas! La leche con chocolate de abajo no se va a beber sola." He then gestured for both the kids to follow him. "¡Dale!" (Alright. Well, get moving! The chocolate milk downstairs isn't going to drink itself. Come on!)
Both Noah and Sofía gave him a look before following him down the stairs.
"¿Puedo salir con un par de amigos después de la escuela?" Noah asked as the three of them made their way into the kitchen. "Ashton me acaba de mandar un mensaje de texto y me preguntó." (Can I go hang out with a couple of friends after school? Ashton just texted me and asked.)
"Y papi," his youngest rather abruptly chimed in, "¿te acuerdas del cumpleaños de las jimaguas el sábado? Prometiste que me llevarías a comprar sus regalos." (And Daddy, do you remember that it's the twins' birthday on Saturday? You promised that you'd take me shopping for their presents.)
Rafael quickly wracked his brain, mentally going over his work schedule to figure out when he could go. He'd honestly forgotten about the Miller twins' birthday with everything else that was going on at work at the moment. The twin girls had gone to school with Sofía since kindergarten and the three of them had become fast friends. "Mañana iremos de compras después de la escuela, Princesa." He turned his gaze on his teenager now. "Y, Mijo, si tu madre está de acuerdo, sí, puedes ir y pasar el rato con Ashton más tarde." (We'll go shopping after school tomorrow, Princess. And, Mijo, if your mother is agreeable, yes, you can go and hang out with Ashton later.)
"Your schedule's more hectic than mine is this week," Olivia pointed out, easily following the conversation. "Sof, I'll take you after school today if you'd like."
Sofía nodded, smiling. "Okay, Mom."
Olivia then looked at their son. "And yes, Noah, you can go."
"Thank you," he mouthed to his wife.
She gave him a lopsided smile and gestured for the kids to sit down and eat.
After breakfast, both he and Olivia hurried to drop both kids off at their different schools and to make it to work on time.
It was the first day of the new school year, and Sofía was starting the third grade at the same elementary school Noah had gone to, PS 199. Noah had just finished the eighth grade at the Dual Language Middle School and was now starting the ninth grade at Eleanor Roosevelt High School.
He gave Olivia one last kiss before heading towards his car. They did need to leave.
"Come on, Dad!" Noah called out. "We're going to be late."
He rolled his eyes; they weren't running late. Yet.
He loved his family, he really did. As he got in the car, he thought about his maternal grandmother and everything that had happened.
"Ah. I see you brought El Juez."
"Abuelita, I'm not a judge."
"You will be."
And he was. Shockingly, and against the expectations of many, he was.
