Amanda gripped her drink, gnawing on the mixing straw between her teeth. She was on edge about the case and was eager to have a night at the bar with her squad. Fin and Liv kept their conversation light. Barba sat at the other end of the table staring intently at his cell phone. She sighed and set her cup down.
She wished Carisi was out with them. Her partner was at least someone to keep her entertained and chatty the entire night. She wondered what he was doing that he had to miss their monthly get together outside of work. It wasn't something he typically did. He'd been strange lately, but she thought little of it. He's always been a character. She didn't voice her question out loud though, because Barba beat her to it.
"What was the reason Carisi said he wouldn't make it tonight?" Rafael said, narrowing his eyes in the bar's direction. He tapped Fin on the shoulder and motioned to where he was looking.
"Uh, I'm not sure, something with his family," Benson said, looking at her own phone since her conversation with Fin had ended. She didn't look in the direction half of their party was staring in.
"Homeboy lied to us." Fin said, raising his eyebrows. Curiosity shined in his snooping eyes as he looked past Amanda's head at the bar to where a couple sat on a pair of stools. A petite woman with long brown hair sat closely, intimately, to the tall familiar frame of their fellow detective. The pair was obviously a couple, the tall man's arm wrapped around the woman as they chatted quietly, laughing to themselves.
"Is he with a girl?" Barba asked, squinting his eyes and asking an obvious question at the new distraction for the evening.
Amanda's head swiveled to follow Fin's stare.
"I feel like we're at a zoo, watching." Barba added. He'd never really considered Carisi's dating life. He supposed it could happen. Carisi was a smart, good looking guy. It was hard to diminish the chiseled newly bar-associated lawyer from the mousy mustache detective that had started as a temporary placement on the squad.
"Think that's Miss 34-B he's been hiding?" Fin asked.
"Carisi openly mentioned her bra size?" Barba asked. Maybe they were at the zoo .
"No, he had an ad pop up on his computer and everyone saw it… it's more of something we tease him with because he never brings her around. Constantly calls her his friend so we call her Miss 34 B or Miss Raw Food since he's started eating raw food, Miss Broadway…" Amanda said, pushing back the icy feeling that raced up her spine. She reached to take another sip of her drink.
"Is that what that's all about?" Benson said, finally looking up. She shook her head at her squad before looking over to where they were all staring, "I felt like I wasn't part of the joke." Liv rolled her eyes at her unit's desires to make her other detective uncomfortable. She knew they meant no harm, and her own curiosity got the better of her. Carisi was a nice enough guy. He never really brought anyone around. He looked happy, in his own little world with the woman.
"Man, Carisi has been holding out on us." Fin nodded appreciatively at the woman in question as she turned to dig in the purse on the back of her chair.
As Carisi's arm moved down her back, the tension in Amanda's body rose.
"Maybe he's telling the truth and they really are just friends." Amanda offered.
Suddenly, the woman turned back, successful in finding what she was searching for, and leaned in and planted a definitely more-than-friendly kiss on her partner's lips to punctuate Amanda's words.
"Yeah, me and Barba are friends, and we don't do that." Fin piped in. Barba laughed and looked to Liv, who continued to shake her head at the squad.
"Alright guys, leave him alone. Maybe…it's new. That's why he doesn't want to bring her around. Sometimes…it's easier to separate life and work." Liv offered. It slightly upset her that she hadn't gotten to meet the woman that made her detective smile. She enjoyed getting to know them outside of work and she had gotten little from Carisi aside from his family or law school.
"Oh, come on Liv, we're just having some fun. He looks happy." Fin said.
Amanda couldn't gather what she was feeling seeing her partner at the bar. They were right. He did look happy, smiling and engaging in whatever conversation this woman was carrying with him. They were wrapped up in each other. It was foreign to see.
Was she jealous? Envious that even the crazy mustache guy that showed up almost two years ago had someone to make him happy and she didn't? Or was she mad that this was the reason her close friend, her partner had been so strange lately?
Carisi had been different, not very "him."
He styled his hair a little differently, wasn't as eager to take the night shifts, and she could have sworn he'd slimmed down. He rarely brought treats for them in the morning like he once did, and when he did, he often skipped out. The biggest difference though was his lack of hanging out with her at her house. He'd normally attempt to see Jesse a few times a month at her house and spend the evening watching stupid television with her after whipping up a Staten-Island-Carisi family recipe, and even that had suffered.
"How much do you guys want to meet this woman?" Barba asked, taking a sip of his colorful drink. He looked down at his phone and typed out a quick text, "because I gotta meet the woman that can put up with Carisi without being paid for it."
Amanda cracked a smile but still felt odd. It's not like it would be hard to 'put up' with Carisi. Sure, he talked a lot and was a handful in the beginning, but her partner has really grown into his own. He was a crucial asset to the team.
"He's not that bad," Amanda defended.
"Oh, I know. I kinda miss his law school antics." Their ADA smirked, "I've wondered what he's been doing with all his free time since he passed the bar. I'll goose him to see if he notices us." Barba said, setting his phone down after pressing send.
They could see Carisi's phone light up on the bar next to him. Their fellow detective pulled away from the woman and glanced at it briefly, the sudden brightness catching his eye. His face scrunched up in confusion at Barba's text before setting the phone back down without responding.
"Well that's rude." Barba said sarcastically.
"What did you say to him?" Amanda asked.
"I asked him about an interview I set up for him the other day. Maybe I should go ask him in person why he's ignoring me." Barba said, setting his little plan into motion. He got up, downing the rest of his drink before grabbing the glass and making a beeline in Carisi's direction.
"Think he'll be angry at us for messing up his date?"
"No way, he knew we were coming here. Maybe he was with his family and just came out after." Fin said, watching Barba.
She didn't like the idea of messing with Carisi but even she laughed a bit when he visibly jumped when Barba set a hand on Carisi's shoulder and smirked.
"Do you usually ignore texts when the sender can see you from across the room?" Barba asked dryly, setting a hand on Carisi's shoulder as he leaned against the bar. The tall detective barely noticed him and jumped when he realized who it was.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Carisi asked. He huffed a nervous laugh and let out a breath as his heart restarted. The girl curled into his side noticed the commotion and glanced at Barba curiously. She relaxed when she realized Dominick must know him.
"Just watching you from across the room. Whole squad is back there." He said quietly, pointing a thumb in an off direction.
"Oh."
"Fin was about to make paper airplanes and throw them at your head." Barba added, as he motioned for another drink to the bartender.
"Fin's here too?"
Carisi rolled his eyes and Barba moved in to get a good look at the woman next to him, extending his hand across Carisi's front..
"Hi, I'm Rafael."
"Arielle." She responded cheerfully, offering her hand to the well-dressed man. She was good-looking and dressed in a simple green dress.
"Rafael is the District Attorney for the Special Victims Unit. He's the one that set up that interview with the Brooklyn . office. " Carisi offered, seeing no point in trying to hide the woman anymore.
"Oh! That was so kind of you! Nice to finally meet you. Dominick has talked a lot about you," Arielle responded, "Would you like to join us? We're just grabbing a drink on our way back in from Staten Island."
So he hadn't lied to them fully.
Dominick ? Rafael had forgotten Carisi had an actual name that wasn't "Sonny" or "Carisi."
"Thank you, but we're actually over there. With the entire squad. We've got room for two more if you guys want to join?" Barba asked, shooting a sly grin to Carisi.
"I'm not sure that's the best idea…" Carisi said, frowning at Arielle.
"Oh, please. I've been wanting to meet them for months. You said you were trying to find the right time. You're telling me they just happen to all be here and you don't think it's the right time?" Arielle said, rolling her eyes at Carisi.
Barba chortled. He liked this one.
"Come on." Arielle said again, laughing along with the ADA. She tapped Dominick's shoulder.
"Alright. If you wanna meet them, we can go over there. I'm warning you now though that Barba is the tamest one of them all."
"Oh come on, Benson doesn't bite." Barba smirked.
"Make some room." Rafael declared to the squad as he made his way back to the table with his drink, "they're coming over here after they get a fresh round of drinks."
"How did you manage that?" Benson asked, smiling at Barba.
"I used my charm." He said, sitting down in the seat closest to Liv.
"Any details we should know before he brings her over here?"
"Her name is Arielle, I heard the word months , she calls him by his first name- believe me that was a shock to hear-and she's so sweet, you're all going to get cavities." Barba reported. Rollins sighed and finished off her drink as she looked over to the bar once more.
"Thought you were with family tonight, player." Fin retorted as Carisi and his date approached. He shook his head playfully and motioned to two empty chairs next to him.
Carisi rolled his eyes, "We were…earlier."
"This the girl you've been hiding?" Fin asked again once they moved to sit. Carisi pulled a chair out for the woman beside him.
"Uh, yeah." Carisi laughed softly, causing the brunette to roll her eyes at him playfully, "This is Arielle. Arielle, these are some guys from my unit — Fin and Amanda. You met Barba, and this is my Lieutenant, Olivia Benson."
They exchanged greetings as the couple made themselves comfortable at the table.
Amanda smiled warmly at Arielle. She was younger than them, probably by six or seven years. She was good looking—petite with a good sense of style. Her long brown hair was hairpin straight and hung down her back. It's not surprising though—Carisi was a good-looking guy. She'd always thought he was attractive, especially after losing that horrendous mustache. Despite the urge to get to know this woman who apparently made Sonny happy, she couldn't help but allow the thoughts she buried to surface.
This woman was the reason her partner wasn't himself, the reason her three-year-old asked randomly for Uncle Sonny and his "pagetti" because she missed him. She understood that Arielle probably wouldn't like Carisi coming over with just her—what woman would be okay with that?
Sighing, she pushed the thoughts away and rejoined the conversation.
"So, Arielle! How are you? You guys said you were coming from Staten Island?" Liv asked, making conversation.
"Yeah! We were out with Dominick's family and went to a recital for one of his cousins. Mariella was the cutest little thing in her tutu!" Arielle said.
Meeting the family? How long had he been keeping her a secret?
"Mariella is...Nikki's youngest right?" Rollins asked, trying to remember the many faces of the Carisi family.
"Second youngest. She just had another boy a few months ago." Carisi amended.
"It was very nice. Dominick is so great with kids." Arielle said.
Amanda turned her head to contain her skyrocketing eyebrows. Dominick? Since when do people call him Dominick ?
"He really is. He's played Uncle Sonny once or twice during some cases. And he's great with Jesse and Noah." Liv agreed, smiling at Carisi.
"Noah is your son, right? And Jesse is yours?" Arielle asked, motioning from Liv to Rollins, "I've seen pictures of both of them. They're so precious."
Liv nodded, launching into a tale about Noah's latest antics. Amanda smiled, silently thanking Carisi's girlfriend for the compliment of her child. But she could help the red that ran through her. Why did she feel this way about Carisi showing pictures of them, of Jesse, to his girlfriend? It was only natural for her to be curious about Carisi's godchild. She couldn't shake the growing tension.
"So, what do you do?" Amanda asked before they could bring up just how good Carisi was with Jesse. She imagined Carisi's girlfriend might be a lawyer or someone he met through that side of his life.
"I'm a reporter for the Ledger." Arielle said.
Oh.
A reporter?
Horror stories suddenly spread out into Rollins' head. She'd heard Liv talk before about people trying to get close to if someone was using him? What if….
She shook her head again. She was just being protective.
"Well, that's...a rewarding career," Liv said.
"So, Carisi, you never did tell me how the interview with La Rosa went. Was he able to offer you anything?" Barba asked, finishing up another drink.
Carisi looked over to his date, who smiled back at him. He wasn't used to sharing this much information with everyone.
"Come on, Carisi, everyone knows you had an interview. I have eyes and ears all over the precinct. And friends in Brooklyn." Benson said, rolling her eyes.
"It went..alright I guess-"
"Oh, he's being modest. It went great. They offered-" Arielle started before Carisi shot her a look.
"Regardless, I'm turning it down. I'm not sure Brooklyn is the right spot for me. I got my lease, and-"
"Well we talked about that too," Arielle laughed and shot him a similar look before sipping her own drink. The fire was back, rising inside Rollins like a furnace. Did she mean living together? In Brooklyn ?
"Not sure I'm ready to make that jump yet. I'm still waiting on the right move. Plus, Brooklyn is a little closer to Staten Island and after tonight, I'm good for a while." Carisi said, changing the subject.
As the conversation flowed and continued through the night, Carisi's watch beeped. Arielle looked at him curiously.
"Probably should get going. Dog is probably getting ancy." He said quietly, talking mostly to her.
"Since when do you have a dog?" Rollins asked, curious. She'd been to Carisi's apartment quite a few times and having a pet wasn't something that seemed to appeal to him. He got his fill when he was around Frannie and Jesse when he spent time at her apartment.
"Oh, it's my dog." Arielle said, "I took her for a walk after you left this morning but you're right, she hates it when we're gone all the time." She laughed, reaching for her phone to show off the prized pup that had seemed to have taken over Frannie's spot in Carisi's life.
And as everyone stood outside the bar on a warm summer night, bidding each other goodnight, she saw her partner draping his jacket over his arm as he placed a hand on the small of Arielle's back and guided her out towards the street, Rollins saw clearly for the first time since she saw him sitting at the bar.
It was Frannie's place for now.
But soon?
It'd be Jesse's place, it'd be his career as a cop, and it would be her place in his life disappearing into the night. But that was something that was bound to happen right?
It was only a matter of time.