Montserrat made a hasty walk into her favorite coffee shop. She didn't ordinarily make entrances like those but she was on a mission. She'd gotten out of trial as fast as she could and made a beeline for the shop. As soon as she walked in, she spotted Caroline sitting at one of the tables.

"Caroline," Montserrat called once she was in hearing distance.

The brunette looked up from her phone and smiled at the detective. "Montse!"

Montserrat slid into the open chair across the table. "Thanks for meeting me."

"Of course," Caroline set her phone down beside her. "Although it's kind of strange we're not meeting in the salon, right?"

"Yeah, and again, I'm so sorry for making you work a bit on your day off," Montserrat said, letting out a long sigh. "Believe me, I would not have bothered you if it weren't serious."

"Hey," Caroline reached across the table for Montserrat's hands, "I may work for Kara at the salon but you and I are friends. So, what can I do for you?"

Even though she'd been the one to make the first move, Montserrat felt unbearably nervous. She was doing this behind Rafael's back, for the moment, and she wasn't sure how he would react when he eventually found out. "I, um," she cleared her throat. In order to do this, she would have to tell Caroline everything. She wasn't that close to Caroline, but she did trust her to keep the secret. "My boyfriend has been having some trouble with his grandmother lately. She's not capable of living on her own anymore and as much as he's tried to convince her to move to an assisted living facility, she refuses."

Caroline pushed through her surprise of finding out Montserrat was dating to focus on the important part. It would lead her to understand why Montserrat sought her out. "Right, we had the same problem with my grandfather."

"Yeah, I remembered Kara talking about it," Montserrat nodded. She licked her lips before continuing. "I've helped as much as I can from my end but things aren't working and I hate seeing Rafael so...down." 'Down' wasn't even remotely close to how he was feeling but she would leave it at that for the sake of time. "His grandmother feels like he's trying to lock her up and he feels terrible for it even though it's nowhere near what he's trying to do. He's just trying to come up with the best, safest, solution for her and she doesn't see it." She was rambling. Caroline didn't need the long story. "The reason I asked for your number is because I really want to know if what worked for your grandfather could work for this situation."

"Umm…" Caroline had a lot to process but since Montserrat was so worked up, she skipped that part. "Okay, um, it depends on insurance and how many hours the patient needs." Montserrat nodded fairly fast that Caroline wondered when she would get dizzy from it. "But I'm assuming it'd be fine since the facility was willing to take her in. It'd probably be a matter of a series of calls and interviews."

"Alright," Montserrat liked what she was hearing. It was giving her hope. "I-I'm sure they would call. I'd just have to explain to Rafael first—that'll be an interesting conversation."

Caroline smiled lightly. "Or you give me his number and I can have my grandfather's nurse set things up. She's very nice."

"You can do that?"

Caroline shrugged. "You can when the nurse is dating your brother."

Montserrat laughed. "Now I get it."

"I have some connections," Caroline wiggled her fingers. "If you want some extra time before you have to talk to him."

"I'll eventually talk to him — I don't intend this to be a secret. But the nurse would probably explain things better than I would," Montserrat said. It would definitely help speed things up too.

"Great," Caroline picked up her phone from the table. "Pass me his number and he'll probably get the call later in the afternoon. Maybe tomorrow morning." Montserrat quickly gave her the number and thanked her profusely for what she was doing. "Don't worry," Caroline waved it off. "I know the trouble firsthand. My grandfather thought we were trying to put him away because we didn't want him around anymore."

"Yeah, he says that's what his grandmother thinks too," Montserrat nodded. "I don't...I mean, you know that I don't have grandparents. I barely talk to my grandparents in Slovakia so…"

"I got it, don't worry," Caroline assured her. She put her phone away in her bag and smiled. "On another note, I had no idea you were dating someone now."

"Yeah, um—" Montserrat bit her lower lip, "—would it be too much to ask you to keep that to yourself for now? Kara knows and my brother does too — well, he knows but not who — but no one else."

"Of course," Caroline smiled teasingly. "But I have to ask...the name...isn't that the guy that Kara used to make fun of you for?"

Montserrat brought a hand to her hair. "Umm…"

Caroline laughed. "It is!"

Montserrat shook her head. "Yeah, yeah, live it up. Kara sure had her moment when she found out."

"I'm not Kara," Caroline reminded her and it was a fair point. "And I'm happy to hear it worked out in the end. I'm just sorry you guys are going through this rough patch right now."

"It's not me, it's him. I don't think I've ever seen Rafael like this. It's horrible," Montserrat sighed. "I want to help him so badly but his family doesn't really know about me and I don't want to present myself in this situation. I just want to help."

"I get it and I promise I'll do my best to make things work."

"Thank you," Montserrat felt like she could breathe a little more. She did what she had at her disposal. Now she hoped things would start working out from here on out.

~ 0 ~

The last thing anyone expected to happen during the trial was for Walter Briggs to send a message to everyone. It ended trial for the day as both sides took their time to study the video. Before going to the precinct, Rafael stopped by the office to leave his things behind. Just as he was leaving, he got a call from an unknown number. To his surprise, it was from a nurse.

"I think you have the wrong number," he tried to say but the nurse was very adamant that he was the person she was supposed to speak to. She definitely had the right name, as well as his grandmother's.

"How did you get my number?" he asked once things started getting too weird.

"A friend of a friend asked for a favor," the nurse explained. "I believe her name was, um, Montse?"

Immediately Rafael wondered what the hell had Montserrat gotten herself into. "What did...what did she do?"

The nurse laughed. "She's not in trouble. I believe she wanted to help you."

"Ah, I wouldn't be surprised." Rafael was absolutely guilty that Montserrat was going above and beyond for him during these days. He knew he'd been extra snippy with her latetly. It was why he preferred staying away from her altogether...but then that was also a bad thing to do.

"I'm willing to discuss the details of how our agency works," the nurse was all too kind despite his conflicted tone. "If you have the time."

"Uh, yeah...I guess I do," Rafael agreed solely because it was Montserrat who set it up. He was beginning to lose faith in ever finding the right solution for his grandmother, especially now that she wasn't exactly favoring him.

~ 0 ~

The squad had already seen the video Briggs left for them but were more than happy to let Rafael get the summarized version of it.

'...now, if anyone is still reading Fred Worth's books by the time you see this, that could only be because it's part of their punishment at a state penitentiary…."

"He spends the first ten minutes trashing his literary rivals," Olivia said after pausing it. None of them were in the mood to see that again.

"Well, God forbid a feud should end just because he died," Rafael was almost impressed with that bit. Taking an argument above and beyond was something to admire on some level. "Where did this come from?" He was more than bemused with the sudden appearance of the video.

"It's an Internet service that sends messages to your loved ones post mortem," Amanda explained. "They recorded it three years ago. His obituary triggered its release."

"For an extra fee, they set it to music," added Nick.

"Here's where it gets kind of interesting," Montserrat motioned to the screen as Olivia fast forwarded to the specific moment.

'...now I want to talk to the people I love. My beautiful wife, Charmaine, who saved my life, and my daughters, whom I love despite the way they treated me…'

Olivia paused the video again.

"The way they treated him?" Rafael raised an eyebrow at the screen. That would certainly put a twist on the case.

"He certainly had a different view on it than we do," Finn said.

"He had dementia," Sonny reminded them. "I mean, he was confused—"

"He doesn't look confused here," Nick gestured to the screen in case he needed to watch it again.

"I talked to his daughters. They knew nothing about this," Olivia turned the screen off and turned to Rafael. "Can the other side use this in court?"

"Oh, they'll find a way." He was absolutely sure of it. He got up from his chair to leave, but not without warning the team to keep him posted. He discreetly made a nod at Montserrat to follow him.

The nerves were an instant thing. Still, she slipped away from the group to meet him in the hallway. "What's, uh, the matter?"

Rafael tilted his head at her, his expression a mix of bemusement and offence. Was she really going to try and act like nothing? "I got an interesting call earlier."

"You did?"

"Mhm, nice nurse, no idea who she was though she seemed to know me. Any idea where that came from?"

"Umm…" Montserrat briefly looked away. "I-I...maybe…"

"God, and you're a detective?" Rafael's jab earned himself an immediate glare from her. He laughed. "There it is."

Montserrat sighed. "Yeah, I sort of stuck my nose into your business but I swear I did it with the best intentions."

"I know. I've probably irritated you so much these past days—"

"Stop saying that," she practically begged him. "I don't understand why it's so hard for you to accept my help without having to put yourself down first. It's okay to need help."

He may have had an idea or two for that reason, but he didn't feel like sharing. The simple truth was that he'd gotten used to dealing with things on his own at an early time in his life. Understanding that he actually had someone with him still blew his mind.

Montserrat had no intention of arguing with him over that matter. She touched his arm, an act that could easily slide where they were at. "I want to help you because I don't like seeing you suffer. I'm your…" she looked around for any possible eavesdropper and still dropped her voice to a whisper just to be extra safe, "...I'm your girlfriend. I care about you and if I have the power to help then you bet that I'm going to do something about it. Wouldn't you?"

"Absolutely," Rafael said on the spot. He couldn't help the fond look on his face that would easily give him away to anyone passing by.

Montserrat smiled at him. "Then go meet with the nurse and work things out with your grandmother."

Rafael nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"That's what I like to hear. Go. Oh—" she stopped him from leaving just then, "—but don't go thinking she's cute or anything. She has a boyfriend and I'm pretty sure I'd kill you."

Rafael smirked. "I don't know, a detective is a bit tiring sometimes."

Montserrat barely kept her mouth shut and the only reason she did it was because of that smirk on his face. She loved it and she missed it. "Go," she said again, softly.

"Thanks," Rafael said to her before leaving.

Montserrat was able to return to work with a strange smile that the rest of her co-workers wondered about.

~ 0 ~

It was an entire mission getting both his mother and grandmother to agree to another sit down with him. Lucia was more willing but there was only so much she could do with her stubborn mother. Catalina was on the plan of refusing anything her grandson offered, even glancing his way wasn't something she was offering. Rafael suspected that the only reason his grandmother agreed in the end was because they would be meeting in his mother's apartment. They couldn't take her to that facility if she was at her daughter's.

"I'm telling you right now that I'm not going to any facility," Catalina repeated the same warning twice after Rafael had entered the apartment. He wasn't getting a proper 'hello' from her.

"I'm not tricking you, abuelita," he said but all she did was scoff and shift on the couch.

Lucia approached him to ask him in a quiet whisper, "What are you doing this time?" She was curious what new solution he would propose, especially since he gave no clue as to what it was.

"I think I may have found a compromise," he said. It was a complete lie. It hadn't been him who thought of this but bringing up Montserrat now of all places wasn't a smart thing to do.

"Really?" Lucia raised an eyebrow at him. "What is it?"

Just as he was about to answer, someone knocked on the door. He motioned her to wait to go answer it. On the other side was a pretty brunette with the warmest smile anyone could ask for. At this moment, Rafael knew Montserrat would kill him for ever thinking that. There's other moments to make her jealous. He barely contained his smirk. Instead, he let the woman in and introduced her to his mother and granddaughter.

"Araceli Montez," the woman shook hands with the other two women. "I'm a live-in caretaker."

"A what?" both Lucia and Catalina looked to Rafael for the explanation.

"I have been talking to an agency about a possible live-in caretaker," he said and just as they went to ask him again what he was talking about, he added, "Employees like Miss Montez come to your home for a given period of hours to take care of you."

"A stranger in my house?" Catalina was already frowning.

"I assure you that we are all background checked," Araceli said. "Agencies don't just take anyone."

"I don't know…"

"Abuelita," Rafael walked over to her despite the turn of her head. She would have to eventually look at him whether she wanted to or not. "You don't want to move and I get that, so this is the next best option for you. You cannot live the way you are now. It's…" An odd smile spread across his face as his next words left his mouth, "It's okay to need help."

Catalina looked at him in time to see that odd smile. "What's wrong with you?"

He chuckled, yet something else that was off about him. "I just realized that someone was right. It's okay to need help and to ask for help. I don't think we're used to that, are we?"

Catalina said nothing but the look she shared with her daughter was answer enough. No, no they weren't.

"Maybe we should listen to what they have to say, Mamá," Lucia shrugged. "She seems nice…"

Araceli chuckled. "I promise that I am. And I also speak Spanish."

That sparked interest in Catalina. "Really?"

Araceli nodded. "Claro que sí," she laughed at the women's reaction. "Para que no tenga dificultad en decir lo que quiera. This way, you can say whatever you want and be understood."

Catalina was looking far more accepting than she'd been five minutes ago. It wasn't hard to convince her to let Araceli explain the way the assistance worked. The more Araceli spoke, the more comfortable Catalina seemed to get.

"Your grandson mentioned that the assistance would mainly be from the afternoon until the evening on the weekdays. During those hours, I'd be in your home helping you in whatever you need."

"But that's mainly all day — how much does this cost?" Catalina glanced at her grandson for an answer.

"Let me handle that—" Rafael was in the middle of saying when she cut him off with a wag of her finger.

"No, no, as much as I like this idea I can't take it if it's going to cost too much!"

"It's a joint work between insurance and out-of-pocket," Araceli explained in simple terms. "But your grandson worked it out very well. He talks well."

"Hmm," Lucia immediately huffed, making Rafael roll his eyes. "It's what he does nonstop."

"Thank you, mother," he said flatly.

"If you'll have me, I can start as early as tomorrow."

"Already?" Catalina suspiciously looked at her grandson.

He smiled innocently. "I do talk a lot."

"Mhm," she shook her head at him. "But I suppose, if it is all set...I wouldn't mind seeing how it works."

Araceli grinned. "Perfect! We can adjust the hours depending on how the first days go. If there's any specific requests or reminders that anyone wants to write down, now's a good time."

"I have a few," Lucia motioned her to move with her into the kitchen. "I have a few of her medicine bottles here."

"Of course," Araceli got up from the couch and excused herself.

Lucia lingered behind to meet her son's look. "I like her."

"Good, she'll be around a lot," he said.

"Very cheery too," she added and glanced at Araceli waiting in the kitchen while humming a tune. "You should ask if she's single."

"Ma," Rafael's eyes widened with horror.

"I was just saying," Lucia shrugged carelessly, adding in a low mumble, "Wouldn't get mad if I got grandchildren one day."

Rafael glared at her as she walked off. He wouldn't even entertain the conversation that would turn into an outstanding argument in a matter of seconds.

"Ignore her," Catalina reached out for his arm. "Well, the first part, not the second part. I wouldn't mind great-grandchildren one day too."

"Abuelita—"

"I'm shorter on time—"

"Don't ever say that," Rafael came around to take Araceli's seat on the couch. "Are you okay?" He took the opportunity that she had taken his arm to grab her hand.

Catalina knew exactly what he was asking and she couldn't feel any worse about it. "Yes, of course I am. I'm sorry about everything."

"No, no, I understand what you were arguing for. I'm just sorry I couldn't explain myself better. Usually, I'm good at that."

Catalina chuckled. "Yes, you are. But you had to get your arguing skills from someone, right?"

It was Rafael's turn to laugh. "Yes, I guess so."

Catalina patted his hand around hers. "Gracias. For thinking about this for me even when I was being very unfair to you."

"Well as much as I would love to take credit about this...I can't really. I didn't think of it."

"But the nurse—"

"It wasn't me, abuelita," Rafael discreetly checked to see if his mother was busy before going on, "It was Montserrat. She thought of it. Actually, she made the first call on our behalf and then they called me."

"Really?" Catalina may have gained about two more layers of respect for the woman she'd never met. "She did?"

Rafael nodded. "Yeah."

Catalina thought for a few seconds then announced her new idea—her demand. "I need to meet her."

It certainly took Rafael by surprise. "What?"

"Necesito conocerla," she repeated. "I need to meet her to properly thank her for this."

"Abuelita, I appreciate you thinking—"

"Shh!" she snapped, her wagging finger in the air again. "This is not about you, it's about her. It's fine if you don't want her to meet your mother but after what she just did for me, it's only right that I do my part and thank her in person. Do you understand?"

Yeah, that might be where he got his arguing skills from. He saw a very little chance of getting out of this one.

"Where can I find her?"

"What!?"

"Well if you're not taking me then I'll have to find her on my own!"

"Abuelita—"

"Shh! Where can I find her?"

"I'm not...you're not going anywhere."

"It's your job, right? The office, she stops by there a lot. It's a lot easier to get there than find out what precinct she's at, much less her home."

"Abuelita, please don't do anything. Give me...give me some time," Rafael would resort to begging if he had to keep her from reaching Montserrat. "I'll...I'll...figure something out, just...time?"

Catalina could see a lie a mile away. Maybe he wasn't lying but he certainly wasn't going to be moving things along like she wanted him to. "Okay," she ultimately said.

~ 0 ~

When trial resumed, Heller had used the brand new ammunition Briggs' video offered to completely spin the odds in her favor. Neither Rafael nor the squad ever expected her to get one of Briggs' daughters to testify for them.

"Judith, I can't believe you're gonna testify for that bitch," Delilah Briggs was right behind her sister as Rafael led them into the meeting room. They had one hour to get their facts straight before they had to return to court.

Judith wasn't looking like someone who would be convinced to come back to the other side. "After I saw Dad's video, I finally understood what was going on. I stopped seeing him because you told me Charmaine wouldn't let us visit, but it was just you."

"No, she forced him to make that video. She hates us both!"

"Delilah, please, just one minute," Rafael cut in before the two sisters started a senseless argument that would cut into HIS his time. "Judith, what do you intend to say on the stand?"

"That my sister lied to me."

Delilah couldn't believe her ears. "Charmaine hates us both! She didn't want either of us there. I was just a scapegoat. I've always been the scapegoat in this family."

"Delilah, stop. This is all about your play, isn't it?" Judith rolled her eyes and looked to Rafael. "That play was supposed to be her big break. She told me it fell through because she couldn't get funding."

"I couldn't get funding 'cause Dad wouldn't give me the rights! He was so arrogant. You know that. It couldn't be good unless he wrote it himself. Besides, I was a girl. How could a girl be a good writer? How could a girl compare herself to him? I called him on his stupid prejudices. That's what he couldn't take."

Heller walked in through the door with Charmaine behind her. "Are we interrupting?"

At this point, Rafael would take it. "Blessedly. We're in a conference."

"With my witness," Heller reminded him. "Let's cut to the chase. The good little sister's gonna take the stand and demolish your case by proving that my client was right to keep Delilah away."

"Scintillating family drama, but that does not give Mrs. Briggs license to recklessly cause her husband's death."

"If I could have kept him alive, I would have done anything, but we both knew it was only a matter of days," Charmaine snapped. "His mind was gone."

"He didn't know anything!" Delilah exclaimed only for Charmaine to snap back.

"No, he had moments of clarity and when they came, he was adamant about what he wanted."

"He didn't want to be raped."

Judith groaned. "Oh, God. Delilah, for once in your life, just stop. One thing I know...my father wouldn't want any of this."

"We don't either," Heller said and gestured to Rafael. "Counselor?"

It took very little to convince Rafael for a plea deal. He was overly tired and he honestly just wanted to see someone. "Your client pleads to criminally negligent homicide, does one year."

"No, not good enough."

"I might consider reckless endangerment."

"First or second?"

"First."

"It's still a felony!"

"I could accept probation…"

Heller didn't like where the conversation was steering to. "You know what, we'll take it to court and get an acquittal."

"You know what, we can," Rafael snapped. His patience was thinning with all of the women in the room. "We're due in court right now. Let's go!"

"No!" Charmaine halted everyone in their spots. "Let's end this. I'll take it on one condition...that she-" she pointed at Delilah, "-is not allowed to ruin Walter's work with her bad play. He didn't want that, so I don't want it."

Delilah was appalled. She looked at her sister for some help. "Judith?"

"Delilah? You know I love you. But I have to respect Dad's wishes."

Delilah frowned. "Then the vote will be tied. I'll take you to court."

"No. It won't be tied," Charmaine once again cut in. "I may be cut out, but there's a third vote that I will control. Your new brother or sister. A fertility clinic implanted a surrogate with an embryo...my egg and Walter's sperm. They're all doing fine."

That sounded about the right ending for all of this mess.

"Okay, then," Rafael exhaled deeply. They would finally be able to put this whole case to rest and he could finally do what he needed to. "We have a deal and you have a child. Mazel tov."

~ 0 ~

Montserrat sat at her desk finishing up the last of the paperwork Olivia handed them for their recent cases. Almost everyone had gone home for the night, including Olivia herself and Fin. Nick and Amanda had just stepped out for those warm donuts sold outside. Montserrat preferred to stay and finish up the work since she was being kind and doing Sonny's too. He'd had a hard time with the case due to his appreciation of Briggs' work so as soon as he heard that Charmaine had gotten off with one year's probation, he set out to talk to Judith.

"Montserrat?" she heard Rafael's sharp call. Her first thoughts went to his grandmother. Maybe she had hated the idea and now things were even worse.

"Oh God." She would absolutely despise herself if she was responsible for such a thing. She got up from her chair and turned around. Rafael was coming—storming—into the bullpen. "What's wrong?" she dreaded to ask but she knew she had to. "Did she not like the—"

Rafael had come over and yanked her body against his for a deep kiss. Montserrat's squeak was swallowed in-between their crashed lips. She had to be strong to pull herself away from him.

"Rafael, we're at the precinct!" Her eyes were widened to the brim. How could he just forget that!?

He hadn't. He just didn't care anymore. He cupped her face in the gentlest manner. "I know, but I'm done hiding you."

"What? You're not hiding me," she smiled softly. "We both agreed to keep it a secret and then just...slowly introduce the idea of us."

"I don't want to anymore, Montserrat. You...you are so amazing…"

Montserrat chuckled as he pressed another kiss to her lips. "I like to think I am but if you want to give me a reason for this behavior I wouldn't mind."

"Thanks to you, everything worked out at home."

"Really?"

Rafael nodded. "You are incredible, do you know?" His fingers spread over her cheeks and under her ears. He couldn't drink her in enough right now. It was downright frazzling to realize he had someone who actually cared for him so much. "I've always known that you are but—"

"Okay Raf, I think we need to calm down. And fast before anyone sees us like this," Montserrat looked past him towards the entrance. Amanda and Nick were going to be back soon.

"I'm not joking, Montserrat. I don't want to hide you anymore," Rafael went for another kiss, a sweet one that took Montserrat by surprise.

"Okay…" she blinked, "That's nice…" Rafael had leaned his forehead against hers and was looking at her with such fondness. "Are you...are you serious?" she asked him quietly. "You want to tell everyone?"

He nodded slowly. "Everyone. I want everyone to know that you are no longer available. Anyone who wanted a chance lost it."

Montserrat chuckled. "I doubt anyone wanted."

"So wrong," Rafael said without thinking. He never forgot that Damian was after her and now more than ever he wanted to hold onto her. He couldn't bear the idea of anyone else being with her. He just hoped that it was the same for her.

Montserrat searched and searched his face for any trace of doubt, or at least a trace of a joke, but just as he claimed there was nothing. "Tell everyone?" she whispered.

"What do you say?"

"Y-yeah," she couldn't even nod the right way. She was suddenly so excited that she was practically frozen. "Let's tell everyone."

Rafael smiled from ear to ear with her answer. He brought her lips to his for another kiss. This time Montserrat didn't hold back. Her arms wrapped around his neck to keep him right where he was. He had already pressed her against her desk but she just had to make sure that he wasn't going anywhere. Hot and frenzy were their kisses and if they could speak — because they refused to pull away anytime soon — they would say it was their best kiss yet.

"What the hell…?"

The sound of a new, yet completely familiar voice, cut their moment. Rafael stepped back enough to turn and see, and allow for Montserrat to see as well, that Amanda and Nick had returned with donuts in their hands.

Amanda looked close to dropping her donut, though. Her mouth was hanging open and her index finger kept moving from the ADA to the detective. "He's the mystery guy?"

Nick was utterly baffled. It seemed like no matter what he saw, nor what he was seeing at the moment, he just couldn't figure it out.

"I guess we have to disclose for real now," Montserrat quietly said to Rafael. He nodded but he wasn't regretting a single thing. His arm curled around her waist, warning the two gawking detectives not to try separating them.

A/N:

You know, I thought and thought about how best to break it to the team and I somehow came back to this route multiple times. In the end, I think it was the perfect ironic way to go! And to make it even more perfect when I was editing this chapter, the song I envision as their theme song came up. It was chef's kiss!

As always, I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "saiilorstars"