Olivia looked up from her paperwork and was taken aback to see her boyfriend standing in the doorway. "Ed? What are you doing here?"

"It's 7pm. I thought we could grab some food to bring home to Noah," he beamed.

She tidied up her desk and grabbed her coat and bag to leave. "You could have texted, you know - you really didn't have to head across town to find me."

"I wasn't going to make you wait for me on a random street corner. How was work today?"

"It was alright. Carisi's going undercover at a homeless shelter and we're making sure everything is in order."

She pretended not to notice his relief upon hearing that she'd been at the precinct all day. It makes sense. No reasonable man would want his girlfriend hanging out around the person she'd cheated on him with. "How about you?"

"Same old stuff." He typically wasn't effusive about his work to avoid stepping on Olivia's toes, and the recent events had made him even more cautious than before.

It was time to change the subject. "I just want to beach myself on the couch. My back is killing me." She groaned and stretched her sore muscles.

He grabbed her bag from her shoulder before she could protest. "How does a back rub sound?"

She eyed him skeptically. "A massage, from you? What's gotten into you?" she teased, although it was more than just gentle teasing. They'd enjoyed a lovely meal at Buvette over the weekend, even though Ed definitely would choose dollar pizza over French cuisine any day, then he'd offered to get Noah ready for school the previous morning so she could get an extra hour of sleep, and now he was showing up at the precinct and offering a back rub? He was being far more romantic than usual, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why.

"I can spoil my girlfriend once in a while." His tone was casual, but he placed his hand on the small of her back and she instantly knew he was being serious.

The evening went even more splendidly than Olivia had expected. After a hearty dinner of Italian take-out, they'd put Noah to bed and he fulfilled his promise of a back massage, HBO playing in the background. From crying in the bistro just a couple of weeks ago to a picture of domestic bliss - Olivia almost couldn't believe she could enjoy this. From Ed Tucker, of all people! This man continued to surprise her. He left very reluctantly a few hours later, after an especially long hug and goodnight kiss, which made her skin tingle - something she hadn't felt in a while.

The giddy feeling slowly died down as she prepared for bed. Olivia mulled over the events of the past week. She wasn't sure she was that pleased with Ed's very spirited attempts to overcompensate for their recent rift, but he was trying, and she wasn't going to make him feel any more rejected than he probably already felt. As much as she was enjoying Ed's increased affection, something about it still made her uncomfortable - whether from guilt, or discomfort, she wasn't entirely sure, but she hoped it was just a phase, and that she and Ed could eventually work on building a more normal "new normal", whatever that might look like.

"Right on time," Fin muttered to Amanda as he watched Ed Tucker emerge from the precinct elevator.

"Again?" she asked, barely resisting an eye roll.

"What are you complaining about? Means we can head home," he smirked.

"You wish," she retorted.

Sure enough, Ed made a beeline for Olivia's office, like he always did, nodding at the detectives in the squad room on the way. A few minutes later, Amanda and Fin watched as they walked back out the main doors, laughing softly at something she'd said.

Amanda waited until they'd left before leaning towards Fin to continue their conversation. "Don't you think this is a little weird? All the time I've been here Liv's been such a workaholic, and the last few weeks she happily leaves with Tucker before sunset? And let's not even get started on the fact that he's here all the damn time now, after she got back from Community Affairs."

"Are you sure you aren't just annoyed that you have to see Tucker's face three times a week now?" he joked.

"Three times too many," she groaned. "And it seems like she's still holding it against Barba. She's been so cold to him lately."

"Hey, I know you don't like Tucker - and you know I don't either - but he's good for Liv. She looks happy, and that's all I care about. And whatever she has going on with Barba, they'll get it sorted, like they always do."

Amanda couldn't suppress an exasperated sigh. "I get you, and I want Liv to be happy too, but, this is weird, Fin. They've been so close lately... I can't possibly be the only one who thinks that Tucker is being awfully clingy. I swear - Liv sometimes looks like she's over it too." She couldn't help but stare at her boss and Tucker as they walked out of the precinct earlier, and could have sworn that she caught Olivia's grimace at the IAB captain - very fleeting, but nonetheless, a grimace.

"Trust me, Amanda, you're not the only one who noticed that Tucker's been showing up here a lot. But unless Liv says something to us, we should stay out of it. Come on, there's a bright side to this - we can finish up and head home soon."

She nodded begrudgingly and accepted that Fin was right. He'd known Olivia much longer, and even if she did ask her about how things were going with Tucker, it would take an awful amount of probing to get anything juicy from the lieutenant. But the flowers, take-out lunches, and almost-daily visits to the precinct spoke volumes. Ed Tucker definitely was not a romantic, and seeing him smile so warmly at Olivia almost made her spine crawl. Something in their relationship had changed as of late, and she wasn't sure it was just the fall-out of the Catholic church investigation. She wondered if Olivia was alright with all of this.

"Come on, Amanda, let's grab a drink and go home." Fin's jacket was already on. Her nagging suspicion wasn't going away that easily, but she could put it aside for the time being and enjoy a beer with Fin. Anyway, she'd have plenty of opportunities to ruminate on this further when Tucker inevitably showed up again the next evening.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Ed." Olivia looked apologetically at the man sitting on her office couch. "This case is driving me up the wall." She'd been poring over clips from the nauseatingly sweet Heart's Desire all day, aided slightly by Amanda's shockingly in-depth knowledge of the reality show, and Ed been waiting nearly an hour.

"A few days ago we were sitting in Forlini's complaining about this show, and now you're investigating it. Maybe we jinxed it," he laughed, which eased the tension slightly.

"Trust me, it gets worse. Jeffrey and Regina Prince are class-A assholes. But enough about that. What's up for tonight?"

"It's getting late; how about we head home, read Noah a story? Any supper you're in the mood for?"

Olivia just wanted him to decide for her. He'd made a habit of seeking her approval over even the most minute decisions, and it was starting to grate on her. For about a fortnight it was sweet; now it was too much and she didn't know how to tell him to stop, especially when it was clear that he was just trying to mend their relationship. "Thai sounds good," she muttered without much thought. Anything to get that very minute decision out of the way.

"We can order in, have it ready by the time we get to your place."

"Sounds romantic." She almost cringed saying that - was it just her tired brain parroting canned dialogue from the stupid reality show they were investigating? But she didn't have much energy - or willpower - to come up with something more authentic.

Ed moved a step closer to her, as though he was about to take her hands in his, but the office door flew open and he pulled away seeing Sonny in the doorway. Thank God, she thought. "Hey Lu... sorry, didn't mean to interrupt, but you've got to see this."

She put her "work face" back on immediately and followed Sonny back into the squad room, Ed trailing behind her. A new episode of Heart's Desire was already playing on the TV and they gathered around to watch it while Ed observed from the corner. As impatient as he looked to leave the precinct and take her home, at least he was respectful enough not to get in the way.

What the hell? she thought, when she realised that the Princes had constructed their own "exposé", complete with secretly-taped footage of them interspersed with the typical melodramatic reality show confessionals. She was not interested in becoming a reality TV star, whether by her own making or not.

Rafael followed the sound of schmaltzy reality show music into the squad room. He'd been on the way home in an Uber, but immediately asked the driver to turn back to the precinct when Fin texted him saying to turn the TV on immediately. Everyone was engrossed in watching the broadcast, but he was momentarily distracted by the sight of Ed Tucker standing in a corner, looking on, probably waiting for Olivia to get off work.

Shit, he muttered under his breath. They'd managed to restore some normalcy while working on the House of Gilbert case together, and it seemed like their keep-our-distance-and-focus-on-work arrangement was working promisingly. A few times he'd arrived at the precinct after sundown to follow up on a new lead with the squad, only to learn from Fin that Olivia had left with Ed. It seemed like they were working on their relationship, and he felt happy for her. But here he was, standing within metres of both Olivia and Ed Tucker - the first time he'd crossed paths with the IAB captain since the investigation - and even the well-timed distraction of what looked like a very juicy episode of Heart's Desire didn't do much to calm his racing heart.

Okay, Rafael, play it cool. He passed Ed as he walked by and instinctively greeted him with a quick nod and brief touch to the back. He could have sworn that Ed's eyes burned with hatred for just a split-second, but all he responded with was a polite, reciprocal nod, and Rafael quickly turned his attention to the TV screen and rest of the squad. "Hey. What'd I miss?"

"Melanie's a liar and NYPD screwed up," Fin said dryly.

"Yeah, I can't wait to see who the heroes are," Olivia added.

Rafael couldn't believe that his mother was addicted to this heaping trash pile of a TV show. This was network ratings trap Heart's Desire, for God's sake, not a thoughtful Netflix true-crime documentary. "They filmed us?!" he said incredulously when he saw himself on the screen, standing behind the same table they now were standing around. The same table next to which he was now standing very close to Olivia Benson. He hadn't even given it a second thought. Suddenly, he imagined Ed's eyes boring into his soul from behind them, and regretted not thinking this over. Sitting or standing next to Olivia in the precinct came so naturally to him, but with Ed around, he couldn't do what was "natural" any more.

Olivia must have felt the same, he realised quickly, because she moved away from him to stand next to Ed, almost on cue. He resisted the urge to turn around and sneak a glance at them, sat down next to Fin instead, and directed his attention to the screen, where the Princes were busy making him and the squad look like incompetent fools. It wasn't infrequent that he received harsh criticism, but he'd chosen to focus on work with the precise goal of redirecting his attention away from his personal problems, and now that was under attack too.

"Turn it off." The show finally cut to commercial and everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

"What now?" Carisi asked.

"It's late. Let's sleep on this and talk to Melanie and the Princes first thing tomorrow. Go home, everyone."

Rafael watched Ed and Olivia head back into her office as he waited for the elevator. He'd survived being in the same room as both of them for the first time since the debacle, and hadn't combusted from anxiety right in front of them. He had no desire to ruin his working life to indulge in his residual guilt and annoyance. Keeping himself together and getting used to Ed's presence in the precinct was the wisest short-term decision he could make for them both. It was a small victory, and he was sure Olivia was thinking about the exact same thing he was.

Anyway, there wasn't time to ponder this when everyone wanted to nail the Princes as soon as possible. Rafael's romantic and personal lives could take a backseat until they undid the professional damage of being smeared on national television. Judging from his rapidly buzzing phone, Lucia Barba had tuned in and definitely had a few choice words about her son's appearance on her favourite reality show.

Can you come to the courthouse today? Grand jury is delivering the Munson indictment and I'd really appreciate back-up.

Rafael texting Olivia directly was increasingly rare - he tried to go through Fin, Sonny or Amanda whenever he could nowadays - so Olivia knew that this was serious. The Gary Munson case was threatening to erupt into a media circus and full-blown war against the CO union, and Rafael had a target on his back. Without giving it a second thought, she grabbed her jacket and keys and had Mike drive them to 60 Centre Street. In the hallway, she found an agitated Rafael pacing up and down, eyes glued to his phone.

"Thank you for coming," he whispered, eyes shifting between her and Dodds and the mob of furious CO union reps waiting at the other end of the corridor. "My gut is when the grand jury gets back from lunch, they'll return a bill of indictment on multiple counts of rape and sodomy of both Charisse and Leanne." Rafael tried to keep his tone calm and voice steady, but his nervous body language spoke otherwise. "When the indictment does come down, I'll need you to walk me out of here."

Olivia could feel the union reps' angry glares boring a hole into Rafael as he walked away, and felt some of the cool rationality she'd promised herself she would maintain melt away. Hot rage bubbled in her stomach - how dare they insinuate that Rafael was on a mission to spite Munson and the union, when all he was doing was put a serial rapist away. She and Mike positioned themselves right outside the door where the proceedings were taking place, and her hands balled into fists in the pockets of her jacket. It was going to be a very infuriating wait ahead.

"Lieutenant, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Dodds. Just a little concerned about the media circus that I'm sure will be outside. We'll probably have to push our way through it. Keep a close eye on Barba."

She was proven right an hour later when they emerged from the building and were swarmed by a herd of reporters, and angry - no, furious - union reps. Olivia and Mike instinctively positioned themselves closer to Rafael, who flinched when he heard them taunt him. "You want a war, Barba? You got it." If they weren't surrounded by cameras, Olivia and Rafael could have sworn that they were going to kill him, right then and there. Rafael's cases often attracted media attention, but this felt even more tense than usual.

"Hold on, guys. Guys. There's really no need to do this." Olivia's blood boiled for Rafael, but she stood her ground and demanded they step back to let them through. "Everyone's just trying to do their jobs, okay? So how about you step back and let us through?"

She resisted the urge to get physical when the angry mob circled them and continued to taunt Rafael. "Good luck to you when you need a prisoner to testify. You're looking at a big problem, Mr. Barba." She cast a quick glance at Rafael, who'd never looked this shaken, and turned to Mike to take the lead. They had to get him out of there, now. Mike calmly and confidently cleared a path through the crowd, Olivia quickly following suit - she was glad for his imposing physical presence.

They caught their breaths at the bottom of the staircase. "That was something," she murmured to Mike, back turned to the dispersing crowd. "I didn't think this many people would show up. The union really punches above its weight."

"Ever seen a crowd this angry? I really thought they were going to jump us," Mike uttered. The usually stoic sergeant frowned watching the union reps file into the building. "I don't even want to know what my dad has to say about this."

Olivia decided not to entertain thoughts of William Dodds for the time being - the further away he stayed from them, the better it was for her blood pressure. "The sooner this ends, the better it's going to be for all of us. Munson is a serial predator, and we need to make sure he goes away," she replied angrily. "He abused his power so horrifically. Thinking about what he did makes my skin crawl."

"Well, we're here because the grand jury delivered the indictment on multiple counts, so that's a promising start."

"Let's just hope that Barba puts up a good fight. These charges need to stick."

"Speaking of Barba... where is he?" Mike gulped and hurriedly looked around when he realised that Rafael wasn't standing with them. Damn it. Olivia turned her eyes back up the stairs and immediately pulled Mike towards him when she caught sight of a visibly shaken Rafael.

"Hey. Everything all right?" She stepped right next to him and inspected his face closely. He certainly didn't look alright - whatever just happened had left him paralysed with fear. Any memories of their talk in the park flew out the window when she saw how distressed he looked, and she reached out to touch his arm comfortingly.

"Not really... someone just threatened to kill me," he hurriedly whispered.

"What?!" Shit. I should have kept my eyes on him until I was sure he was safe, she berated herself. It wasn't even that hard a job, and she'd failed miserably.

"Who was it?" Mike panicked and scanned the crowd for any suspicious-looking people.

He didn't answer, but dipped his voice to warn them. "Tell the squad to watch their backs. This is just the beginning," he implored. She kept her hand on his back, too stunned to pull away. The steely demeanour he'd perfected working with her in recent weeks melted away almost instantly. His green eyes were now flooded with fear and concern; his breath staggered and shallow. The trio looked around in a tense silence in the hopes of locating the mysterious man, but Rafael knew that he was long gone.

Olivia gratefully let Mike take the lead in ushering Rafael to safety while she berated herself for taking her eyes off him. How could she have turned her back to him when it was her job to protect him? He was worried enough to reach out to her - in spite of all that was going on - to ask for her protection, and she now felt responsible. But Rafael or not, she couldn't deal with things like this with a panicky mind or guilty conscience: not when his life seemed to be on the line. She'd go back to the precinct, calm down, and then follow up on what'd happened.

The incident weighed on her mind until she got back to the precinct. She stared blankly at her laptop, but realised quickly that she needed to talk to Rafael to ask for more details on the threat while it was still fresh in his memory.

I'm sorry for missing the guy at the courthouse earlier, Rafael, she finally texted. She knew a text apology wouldn't make up for how rattled he probably was, but it was a start.

Liv, it's fine. It happened so quickly. I've asked Rollins and Carisi to look into it for me.

Olivia swallowed the bitter disappointment at the back of her throat. It was perfectly reasonable of him to ask the junior detectives for their help, but she couldn't help but think that he'd approach her instead if this had taken place a couple of months ago. Fuck this arrangement. She wanted to keep Rafael safe, even if that meant collapsing the carefully constructed emotional walls between them in the process. She wanted so badly to drop everything, run over to his office and check on him, but clearly he didn't want her too close if he'd run straight to Amanda and Sonny.

"Amanda?" she called across the squad room when she saw the blonde emerge through the main doors.

"What's up, Liv?" She closed the office door behind her.

"Barba told me that he just called you and Carisi about the courthouse threat. What happened?"

Amanda chewed on her lower lip - Barba hadn't seemed particularly keen on Olivia knowing the details - but knew that Olivia would pry the answer out of her sooner or later. She still didn't know why the relationship between her lieutenant and the ADA had become more strained as of late, but assumed that it had to do with the residual tension from the Catholic church investigation. "The man who threatened him said that he'd, um... push Barba down the courthouse stairs and crack his skull open."

Holy crap, that is gruesome. Olivia maintained her best poker face and suppressed nightmarish visions of Rafael bleeding out on the steps of 60 Centre Street. "Anything notable? Did Barba get a word in with him?"

"Young - probably in his mid-20s - and wearing a black leather jacket. Not much else we can go on. Barba said it didn't make any sense to murder him in front of all the cameras, gave him a fake address, told him it was his home address, and then told him to "come by any time he wanted". Then the man slipped away into the crowd."

"What?!" Of course Rafael wasn't stupid enough to give a menacing stranger his actual home address, but him being a smart-ass to someone who was threatening his life? The nerve of that man! He didn't need to embolden the mysterious stranger and whatever organisation he worked for. She almost sprang out of her seat.

"We aren't sure yet if this threat is related to the ongoing case or one of Barba's previous ones, but Carisi and I are going to look into it."

"Get Barba a security detail, especially near his apartment block. I don't care how much he protests. The least we can do is have someone escort him to and from work."

"We're on it."

As much as Olivia trusted Amanda and Sonny to do their jobs, she couldn't shake the feeling of doom in her chest. Hopefully the man who threatened Rafael was all bark and no bite, she thought, but given how many people he'd pissed off in his time as an ADA and the contentious nature of the Munson case, it probably wasn't an empty threat. But he'd almost definitely push her away if she got too involved, and having Amanda and Sonny take care of it was the next best option.

A couple of hours later, Olivia looked up from her laptop and spotted Ed making his way through the doors of the precinct. Not again, she grumbled. Especially not today and right NOW, when she had the life of her ADA on her mind. She despised herself for wanting to turn him away, but it was too late for that - Ed had made such a habit of his sudden visits that no one blinked an eye when he strolled in like he owned the place. In the fifteen seconds she had before he entered her office, she took a sip of water and did her best to expunge the vision of someone cracking Rafael Barba's skull open from her head. Clearly it hadn't been successful, because the first question Ed asked her was a concerned, "What's wrong? Munson case getting you down?"

"Grand jury delivered an indictment a few hours ago, and the CO union is giving us a hard time, but you already know that. And..." she added quickly, "someone threatened to crack Barba's skull open on the courthouse steps right after."

Ed frowned upon hearing Rafael's name, although, to his great credit, he did his best to cover it up. He'd heard about the indictment through the courthouse grapevine and already knew that the case was bothering Olivia, but Barba's life being threatened? That was new information to him. "You went to the courthouse today?" he raised an eyebrow and asked, extra careful not to sound interrogative.

"Rafael asked me - and Mike - to meet him there and walk him out. Union was going to eat him alive otherwise." It slipped out of Olivia's mouth before she could give it a second thought. She instantly regretted sharing that tidbit of information with him. And she'd called him Rafael, not Barba! "Rollins and Carisi are following up on that."

Olivia saw Ed relax instantly when she clarified her involvement - or lack thereof - in the situation. "It could be a prankster. No serious gangbanger would threaten an ADA like that, with so many people there. And they get threats all the time; most don't end up being serious."

Well, it could also be a real threat that we have to take very seriously, she thought, and didn't hide her annoyance with Ed's callous attitude. "Look, I know you don't like Barba and for good reason, but it's my job to be at least somewhat concerned for him when the threat's probably connected to one of our cases."

He bristled hearing the ice in her tone and instantly softened. "Sorry, Liv. I didn't mean for it to come out that way."

"It's fine," she replied. "Come on, I could use a coffee." She got up before waiting for his response and walked out the door.

They waited in silence at the coffee stand outside the precinct, and she pretended not to notice him scanning the area for any suspicious-looking people. "Liv... please tell me that no one has threatened you too," he finally said.

"No, nothing of that sort. We still don't know if the threat's related to this case or a previous one. But I'll be careful, I promise."

"Good, good. I'm sorry, Liv." He paid for her coffee before she could take her wallet out.

"Let it go, Ed. It's fine."

The mood now sour, neither seemed particularly keen to continue the conversation, so Ed glanced at his watch. "I think I'd better get back to IAB. I'll call you later."

"Okay."

He kissed her on the cheek. "Love you, Liv."

"Love you too," she replied, almost robotically. Mixing work and romance wasn't her strong suit, and she was too flustered to think about a romantic evening with Ed. She questioned how sincere she was being when she said that, but she'd figure that out later - once the threat against Rafael was resolved once and for all. Now, all she had to do was her job. After all, the situation couldn't possibly get any worse, could it?

"Carmen, lock the door and don't let anyone into my office unless I explicitly say it's alright. Also," he leaned in and lowered his voice, "if you receive any mysterious or suspicious calls, take down the date and time immediately. We need to get those details to Rollins and Carisi."

The young woman nodded and watched Rafael slam the door behind him. He scanned the room, ensuring that no one had snuck past Carmen in his absence. Only when he was positively sure that he was alone did he put his briefcase down and take his suit off.

Someone threatened to kill me today!

It definitely wasn't the first time he'd been threatened - it was easy to make enemies in his line of work - but the stress of the Munson case and the past few months made him realise that he'd made some enemies in very high places. The Catholic church, NYPD higher-ups, and now the CO union... True friends were few and far between in a job like this, and he silently uttered a grateful prayer that the mysterious man hadn't shot or stabbed him right there on the courthouse steps. Rollins and Carisi had taken down all the details and promised to get to work as soon as possible, but until they found a lead, which might mean receiving another threat, he was as good as a sitting duck, and this feeling of helplessness was new and thoroughly unappealing to him.

He sat down for a fresh cup of coffee, forgoing his usual scotch - he didn't want to be tipsy or let his guard down for even a second - and his phone buzzed with a new message.

I'm sorry for missing the guy at the courthouse earlier, Rafael.

Rafael sighed. As rattled as he was, he couldn't exactly blame Olivia or Mike Dodds for what had happened. They were doing him a favour and not there in an official capacity, and took time out of their day to help him get through the mob on the courthouse steps. He wasn't even sure if this threat had anything to do with the current case or not. It took all his strength not to call Olivia right now and tell her just how afraid he was. But he also didn't want her to feel like his current anxiety was her fault; she probably already was beating herself up in her office for missing the man, and he wasn't keen on adding to that emotional burden.

Liv, it's fine. It happened so quickly. I've asked Rollins and Carisi to look into it for me, he'd typed.

Olivia had so much else on her plate - it made more sense for the junior detectives to follow up on it, instead of having her devote her precious energy to him. He couldn't risk Olivia plunging into a situation that would put her or Noah's safety at risk, especially given her proclivity for acting rashly in high-stakes situations. And there was Ed. He certainly knew about what had happened between them, and Rafael wasn't going to overstep any boundaries when there were equally capable detectives on hand to help him out. Anyway, all that mattered was that Sonny and Amanda were on the case, and with their tech-savviness and street smarts, maybe he wouldn't have a problem to worry about by this time tomorrow. Perhaps it all was just a childish prank, like so many of the other threats he'd received in the past. No need to overreact until things got worse, right?

Shouldn't have jinxed it - it does get worse.

Rafael's heart thumped loudly in his chest as he sprinted in the direction of the courthouse exit. "I'm a New York City DA. That man just threatened me. Shut the building down and get that security footage!" Rafael practically spat at the nearest officer. Not this again!

He pushed the brass doors open and stood at the top of the courthouse stairs, scanning the area around the building. Again, no sign of him. Damn it. He should have let Amanda and Sonny talk him into getting a 24/7 security detail, not just for his commute to and from work. His palms grew clammy thinking of what had just happened in the elevator - what if the man had a knife or worse, a gun? He could have lost his life during that twenty-second elevator ride.

"I'm sorry, Counselor. We gave chase on foot, but he slipped away and we lost sight of him. We'll get the security footage from the elevator and have an officer escort you back to your office now." How did this bastard get away AGAIN? Rafael questioned, but decided not to give the already-panicky officer a verbal dressing down.

"Send the footage to Detectives Rollins and Carisi at the 1-6. They'll follow up on it." The officer nodded and ushered Rafael back into the building, where he caught his breath in a waiting room. He fired off a quick text to Amanda and Sonny, asking them to meet him at his office as soon as they could, but it didn't feel like enough. Olivia had been right there the first time he was threatened - surely it made sense to keep her in the loop? He recalled the panic in her eyes and reassuring touch from the day of the first threat, and almost dialled her number, but shoved his phone back into his pocket. He had to keep a lid on his emotions. There was no reason he couldn't wait until after he was in the safety of his office and briefing Amanda and Sonny.

An hour later, he shifted nervously in his office chair as Amanda and Sonny produced the elevator footage from earlier. "That's the guy."

Amanda made a mental note to get that image processed and run through facial recognition as soon as possible. "So, he threatened you for the first time after the Munson indictment, and hasn't made any other contact until today?"

"Actually... I've been getting threats all year. Hangups, mostly, on my cell, from burners, a few texts."

"Why didn't you tell us this earlier? Does Liv know?" Sonny pressed.

Rafael managed not to flinch hearing her name. "I thought those were just pranks. I'm used to them. Didn't think they'd amount to anything more. But it's only in the last week or so that they've felt so much more real. Not sure if they're related or not."

"Are there any cases you think this could be related to?"

"I honestly don't know. Um… but the cell phone threats started after I indicted the three cops who shot Terrence Reynolds."

Amanda and Sonny turned to each other with looks of horror on their faces. No one doubted the gravity of the situation at hand. "I'm calling Liv."

Rafael leaned back in his chair with an exasperated sigh as Amanda picked up her phone. This situation was proving mentally exhausting for everyone, and it was for the best that Amanda would break the news to Olivia instead of him. I'll follow up with Liv later, he told himself.

"Yeah, Lieutenant... uh, sorry to bother you, but we got a situation here." Before Amanda could elaborate further, however, her face fell and she mumbled incoherently and nodded before hanging up.

"Sonny, we need to get going, now," she said sternly. "And we need to vest up on the way."

Rafael sat back up in his seat, suddenly ten times more alert. Vests? "What happened?"

"Gary Munson is holding Dodds and Lisa hostage in the house. Probably armed. Liv's trying to get them out now. Barba, we'll follow up with you later. Don't leave your office until we get you that security detail."

"Don't worry about me. Just go!" Within seconds, they were gone from his office, and he immediately shelved his idea to finally give Olivia a call. How were both of them facing life-threatening situations in the same week? It was as though God wanted to unite them in some perverse, twisted way, especially when they weren't exactly talking.

Although Rafael feared for Dodds, he was relieved that it wasn't Olivia in the house. The townhouse incident from a few months ago was more than enough to completely undo Rafael. It had been his first time being so closely involved with a hostage situation, and seeing how precarious a situation like this could be made his stomach churn. What if they stormed in and things went south? Or if Olivia offered to take Dodds' place and put herself in the line of fire? The files he'd spent sleepless nights poring over made it clear that Munson was a twisted, evil man, who was now tethering on the edge of a breakdown after the indictment. He didn't want to imagine her getting attacked - especially not after the Lewis incident, which he still felt responsible for. For the rest of the afternoon he stewed in his anxiety, until a much-welcomed text from Amanda brought him back to reality.

Sorry for the delay. We just wrapped up here. Carisi and I arranged for a squad car to take you home. Threat Assessment has sent Carmen the details.

Thanks.

Curiosity - and concern - got the better of him and he sent a quick follow-up message.

What happened at the Munson house?

Mike Dodds was shot. Lost a lot of blood. In surgery at the hospital, but EMTs think he'll pull through. Liv's unhurt. Carisi and I are going to follow up on the threats now.

Olivia was fine, thank God. He said a quick prayer for Mike Dodds to recover as smoothly as he did from being shot during the Yates manhunt, but really, Olivia was the person he was concerned about. Losing her right when their friendship was still sour? That scared the crap out of him. He wasn't sure if Amanda had told Olivia about the second threat yet, but that definitely could wait until Mike got out of surgery. As long as Olivia is unharmed.

"Carmen, do I have anything else on for the rest of the day?"

"No, Mr. Barba. Your schedule is clear. I also got a message from Threat Assessment; let me know what time you want to leave and they'll escort you home."

"Actually, I think I'd like to go home now, since I don't have anything else to do here." He quickly gathered his things while Carmen called them.

"Thanks, Carmen. You should get going too. Keep your guard up and let me know if anything happens."

An officer that Rafael thankfully recognised and trusted ushered him into a squad car that was waiting by the back entrance of 1 Hogan Place. The sun had barely dipped; this was the earliest he'd gotten off work in months. An idea popped into his head. "Officer, is there any chance that we can make a stop at Lincoln Hospital on the way back?"

"I'm sorry, Counselor. I heard about Sergeant Dodds, but Threat Assessment says that we can't be making unplanned stops."

"Seriously?!" Rafael snapped. "He could be dying, for all we know, and I can't even visit him? The hospital has to be full of police officers now. I'll be perfectly safe there." He didn't know Dodds that well, but it'd be odd for the SVU ADA not to visit someone he saw almost every day, and he'd also be able to check on Liv.

The officer frowned apologetically. "I'm really sorry, Counselor, but I'll have to let my superiors know and get clearance. You should be able to visit him tomorrow."

Rafael felt a tinge of guilt for snapping at the officer. All he was doing was following orders. With no other option, he reluctantly got into the car and headed home. Once his apartment was deemed safe to enter, Rafael locked the door and instructed his doorman not to let anyone in - thankfully, it wasn't suspicious in the slightest, given that his building housed a significant number of high-profile residents. He had no interest in looking over the Munson case files - he'd had more than enough of that disgusting, twisted man for a lifetime, let alone a week - and spent the evening standing over a pot of soup in his kitchen. Rafael rarely had time to cook, but when he did, it always put his nerves at ease. This was his mother's recipe, and he made a mental note to call her about the threats - she needed a security detail of her own.

Soup consumed and half an hour of easing the nerves of a panicked Lucia later, he settled on his couch to re-read his well-worn copy of The Waves - a perennial favourite of his - but even Virginia Woolf's mellifluous, impressionistic prose failed to dazzle him or bring him back to a happier time studying English at Harvard. The thought of Mike Dodds in the Munson house with a bullet in his torso sent a shiver down his spine. He imagined Olivia pacing up and down the hospital corridor waiting for Mike to emerge from surgery, running through the events of the last few hours in her head. Maybe she was comforting a panicked William Dodds. Anxiously waiting for news in Ed Tucker's arms.

Maybe it was the perfect time to screw their Washington Square Park arrangement and clear the air. Rafael wanted to be right by her side and for her to know that he was in her corner; they'd sit on his office couch and drink scotch and talk for hours like they once did.

And even though it'd been ages since they'd last done that, he had a feeling that she wanted the exact same thing.