"Liv," Elliot stood the moment she exited her office, standing despite the fact that it looked like he was mid-sentence with Fin.

"Fin, Rollins, how's the search going?" She pressed.

"I've found a few reviews of the facility on a couple of websites and forums that are… possibly enough to get a warrant?" Rollins offered, though her tone was unsure.

"Joe?"

"I've been digging on social media. Found a few allegations."

"Fin?" She said again.

"I'm supervising these fools," he shrugged.

Liv raised an eyebrow and shook her head, "call Carisi. See if what Rollins and Velasco have is enough for financials and phone records to start."

He nodded.

The sergeant and both detectives were aware that Liv was not technically in charge of this case but all three of them also knew that this was her way of making it seem like she'd been working all day.

"How about coffee?" She looked at Elliot.

He nodded and the two of them headed toward the elevator.

Both of them were quiet until it reached the lobby and they headed out onto the sidewalk.

"You've been avoiding me," Elliot stated.

"Is that a question?" She glanced at him.

"Statement."

"I thought so," she nodded, "no. I haven't been avoiding you exactly."

"You're busy?"

"Officially? No. I've had to recuse myself from this case. Unofficially? Yes, very."

"Why would you recuse yourself?"

"I don't want to risk the case by being involved in the investigation. I know the witness' family."

"The little girl?" He asked as they approached the coffee cart.

"Observant. You should be a detective or something," she smirked slightly before turning to the attendant and placing her order.

Elliot placed his and didn't respond to her sarcastic comment.

Liv paid for both coffees as they walked to a bench a bit down the sidewalk.

"How do you know the little girl?" Elliot asked.

"You're going to get mad, El."

"No I'm not."

"Actually, you are. I know you." He took a sip of his coffee and looked away from her, over the street. He had the arm closer to her across the back of the bench and the cardboard coffee cup in the other hand resting on his knee.

Liv held her coffee with both hands, having pocketed her wallet and phone, she didn't say anything. She was waiting for him to respond.

Being July, perhaps it was too hot for coffee but neither of them complained about the ability to have some caffeine. They both needed it.

"I'll do my best not to get upset," he turned back to her.

She took a sip of her coffee to buy herself a minute, looking over the street before them. Her mind wandered to Rafael as she tried to work out how to approach this. To his smirk. The way his eyes search her face.

"This case," she started, still not looking at Elliot, "this case involves Rafael Barba."

She felt him tense beside her, his arm moved away from resting behind her on the bench.

"That's who avoided me in your office earlier."

It was a statement.

"Yes."

"And you helped hide him."

Another statement.

"El," she started.

"So what is he part of your life again?"

"Elliot."

"You've just forgiven him for what he did to you? To me?"

Olivia hesitated, because the reality of it was… Rafa didn't do anything to her. He betrayed her by taking a case that involved Elliot, represented a man that they were certain killed Kathy. But in all honesty, that shouldn't have involved her. She knew she was bending the rules again, the same way she always did when it came to Elliot. The realization dawned on her like a wave crashing on shore. She was a captain, she was the commanding officer of an entire unit. She couldn't keep playing fast and loose the way Elliot did. Elliot was a detective, if he got in trouble it usually went up the ladder because his command couldn't control him. If Olivia got in trouble… that meant her entire job could be on the line.

"Elliot," she rubbed at her jaw a bit, "he had a job."

"He didn't need to take it."

"No," she conceded, "he didn't. But he did because of me. He did because if he hadn't someone else would've torn me apart on that stand and put my entire job at stake."

"So he chose to protect you and that meant defending the man who killed my wife and ensuring he didn't go to prison?"

"None of this is an easy situation."

"A case can just pop up and you'll just let anyone back into your life."

Fire sparked in Liv's eyes and she turned to him, "like you?"

He didn't miss a beat, "I needed you."

"After a decade? You needed me? And you knew I'd come running despite the fact that you left me here with nothing? Have you even considered what I went through here? Have you considered the people that had to deal with me after you left? The people who picked up the pieces of me that you threw away?"

His blue eyes grew icy.

"And Barba was one of those people. Doesn't matter that he left you, too."

"He didn't. Not like you did. He told me he was going and he still kept in contact with me. You were just gone. No trace."

Elliot sat up, "if I'd spoken to you, I wouldn't have been able-"

"You wouldn't have been able to leave. You had a wife! You had children!"

"But it was always you, Liv."

"But it wasn't. It shouldn't have been. The fact that you chose me over your wife so many times-"

"It wasn't like that."

"Elliot, you were the right one at the wrong time. You were the person I needed back then. I needed someone who would give their life to protect me, I needed someone who knew my every move. I needed that and in the end you left."

"And I'm not the right one now?" His voice cut like knives.

She looked at the street again, "you never changed. You still have an issue with authority. You still blow up the second something isn't going the way you think it should."

"So do you."

"Only around you. You are the only one I have ever thrown caution to the wind for time and time again."

"I do it for you, too," his voice was softer now, like he thought that this was about to be a grand admission of love.

"I can't do that anymore, Elliot. I'm a Captain. I'm the commanding officer of the unit that I gave my entire life to."

"So that's it?"

"I will always love you, Elliot. There isn't a doubt in my mind that there's a piece of me that always will. But I have a son, I have a family that I have to think about. I can't keep breaking rules and putting myself at risk for you."

"What if I ask you to stay?" He reached for her free hand.

"We're friends. We'll keep being friends, but you need to accept that Barba is part of my life again and likely will remain a very important part of my life. And someday you'll understand."

"Someday I'll understand?" He stopped reaching for her hand, "you can't just brush me off like I'm Noah. Like I couldn't understand now because I'm too young."

"No, I'm not explaining it to you now because I don't need you yelling at me more outside this precinct."

His jaw locked and unlocked in that way that you can see the muscles working.

"Now, I have to get back to work," Liv stood.

"Oh, the case you recused yourself from for him? Because some hot shot hero turned villain defense attorney told you to?"

"No, to the unit that I earned my place in. Call me when you calm down or don't," she didn't wait for a response, she just turned and headed back toward the precinct.

Elliot grabbed her hand and pulled her back around, his hand slipped around her waist and he pulled her close, and then he kissed her.

Olivia's eyes went wide and she kissed back for a brief moment before she pushed him back, "no, Elliot. No."

"Liv."

She moved away from him and pointed at him, "do not do that again."

She turned on her heel and stalked to the coffee cart, getting Rafael a new cup and then into the precinct, she didn't look back a single time.

Elliot watched her, he watched the way she didn't turn back. The way she didn't hesitate or question her decision to leave him there. Didn't she feel it? The power behind the kiss? The chemistry, the connection, the things he felt?

He didn't turn to leave, he lowered himself back onto the bench and picked up the coffee. He stared at the cup for a long time before he stood and chucked it across the sidewalk with a frustrated yell.

He watched as the dark coffee exploded and spilled across the concrete and then sighed and picked up the cup, threw it away, and looked toward Liv's office. He didn't know for sure but he thought he saw the blinds move and he stormed away.

Rafael had watched the children play with the puzzles for a while, the two of them were very bright and hit it off almost instantly once they'd been left alone. Just as Olivia had predicted.

He watched as Noah leaned to whisper something to Aspen and she laughed at him. The way they argued about a piece if it didn't fit on the first try and then celebrated when it fit on the second, it was like they were already siblings.

Langan had dropped the paperwork they needed off and gave a few quick updates before he was off again.

Rafa had walked around Liv's office and looked out the window, he could see Olivia and Stabler a few floors below on a bench. He could see that Olivia wasn't looking at him and he was staring intensely at her. He could see the way the back of Stabler's neck was red whether with anger or embarrassment he wasn't sure.

He kept watching. He watched Liv go to leave. He watched Stabler grab her and kiss her. He watched her start to kiss back and then push him away. He watched the way she wiped her mouth and headed from his view.

He watched Stabler remain, angry and volatile. He saw the man explode briefly and then watched as he picked up the coffee cup and threw it in a nearby trash can.

He saw as Stabler looked up at the window and he slipped away before he could be seen.

For a brief moment, Rafa allowed himself to be hurt by the kiss. Only seconds though, because he saw the way she'd barely reacted before pushing him away. He saw the way she wiped her mouth and stalked away. He knew that something hadn't clicked.

Outside her office there was an explosion of sound, he turned just in time to watch as Olivia pushed Fin into her office and slammed the door.

"You cannot have an outburst like that in my squad room, Fin."

Fin looked at Rafael and then back to Liv, "I don't want to have this discussion in front of him."

Rafael raised his hands in surrender and headed toward the interview room where the kids had looked up and Noah looked like he was reassuring Aspen.

"No, Raf. Don't go. This isn't going to be a long discussion and you're not in any trouble, Fin."

Fin looked at Rafael and gave a slightly annoyed but apologetic look.

"You can't yell like that in the squad room. Especially not when there are children in here."

Rafael moved silently to the couch again.

"It's just damn stupid of him to think he could do that without your permission. Did ten years away just wipe his memory of workin' for SVU?"

Rafael knew immediately what Fin was talking about but he held in a reaction because he didn't want Liv to know he'd seen.

"I told him not to do it again, Fin."

"If he does without permission, I'll break his face and I'm sure Rollins will help."

Liv glanced toward the window where Rollins was turning like she wasn't listening and continued walking back to her desk.

"Knock on that window for me," Liv looked at Rafael and gestured behind him.

Without hesitation he knocked on the window.

Liv pointed at Rollins and made a 'come here' motion.

Rollins joined them and Liv gestured for she and Fin to sit down.

"Yes, that was inappropriate behavior especially to a superior officer. However, I don't intend to start any wars over it. I told him not to do it again and if he does then there'll be an issue. Until then, we're all gonna let it go."

Rollins opened her mouth to speak.

"No. That's it. End of story. Stabler isn't the enemy and neither is Barba."

Rafael let out a sigh as if to warn them that he's still here.

"We know you're here, man," Fin snapped.

"Fin."

"Sorry. I'm just pissed."

"We all had jobs to do and we did them and it's in the past now. What we need to be doing is working on this case."

The sergeant and detective nodded.

"Any updates?"

"We're waiting on Carisi. He's fighting for a warrant right now," Amanda offered.

"Anything more to make his fight less?"

Rafael rubbed at his beard because he felt for the younger ADA, he knew how hard it was to build a case from next to nothing from the squad. He knew that it wasn't the squad's fault, too. Both ends were hard, but he knew the favors and hits Carisi would need to make it happen if he was fighting.

"Alright. I'm leaving at five since I can't touch this case aside from these little updates and maybe offer direction. This is Fin's case. But if you need me, any of you, Carisi included. Call me, alright?"

Liv finally seemed to realize she was still holding two coffees and moved to hand one to Rafael before finally sitting in her chair.

"They look like they're getting along really well," Amanda's eyes were on the two children.

Olivia looked, she couldn't wait to get out of here for the day and truly get to spend some time getting to know Aspen. She felt like she'd been running around all day trying to make sure everything was taken care of even though she couldn't technically be part of the investigation.

"They are," Rafael agreed softly.

Fin turned to look at him, his eyes a bit squinted as he surveyed the lawyer.

"Make good decisions, counselor," Fin got up and headed toward the door.

Liv and Amanda looked after him, but Rafa didn't. He kept his eyes on Liv.

The Captain turned to Amanda, "you're good to go. I trust you guys to call me if you have any issues or if you need me."

She nodded and stood up, heading for the door. She glanced at Rafael and gave him a nod before leaving.

Rafael took a big sip from his coffee and moved to sit in the seat where Fin had been.

"You've got very protective friends."

"They were your friends, too, at one point. Give it time," Liv said as she put her glasses on and looked at her phone, "Carisi just texted me that he managed to pull some strings to subpoena the financials and phones for now and he'll work on the property if anything suspicious is found."

"It's a start," Rafa said, "must have some pretty big strings."

"He's doing relatively well for himself over there. We can definitely hear some of your influence from time to time."

A small, almost sad, smile took Rafael's face as he looked down and poked at the arm of the chair he was sitting in.

"You okay?" She asked softly, sipping her coffee.

He pursed his lips and then pressed them into a thin line, considering an answer, "yeah. I'm okay. Just not how my day was going to go when I woke up."

"Did you have plans?" She asked as she looked through the window at the children.

"I had a meeting with Rita planned for lunch. I imagine she wasn't impressed by my cancellation over text message."

Liv laughed slightly, "sorry to make you cancel."

Rafael looked over at her and sighed, shaking his head slightly as a real smile took over.

Liv glanced at the clock, still half an hour until she could technically clock out, "tell me about this truly magnificent beard you're working on."

Rafael looked up fully now and took a deep breath, his eyebrows went up a bit which revealed the creases in his forehead, "it wasn't on purpose. You know things were bad for a while after I left."

"Only the basics."

"At first it was to deter people from recognizing me immediately and then I realized it helped me not recognize myself, too," he looked away from her, toward the interview room.

Liv stayed quiet, leaving space for him to fill if he chose to.

"I briefly considered that," he nodded a bit in the direction of the kids.

"Having a kid?" She inquired.

"Settling down, finding a partner. Maybe adopting, maybe seeing if the embryos were still there. Maybe turning my back on law and everything I was."

She couldn't help the desire to walk around her desk and hug him, but she didn't. She knew he wouldn't want that. She knew he would decide to stop talking and keep this stuff inside if he felt any sign of pity.

"I thought maybe if I settled down and accepted domesticity, traded the suits and the big apartment for school pride shirts and a townhouse, maybe I could atone for what I'd done."

She sipped her coffee and considered Rafa, her Rafa, wearing jeans and school pride shirts.

"I ended up a defense attorney because I wasn't ready to hand in the suits and give up on what I'd given my life to achieve. I considered returning to the DA for a while, but the hours and the paperwork. I'm making double what I was even with all the overtime and I have an eighth of the workload."

He stopped again and looked toward Liv, who hadn't pulled her eyes from him despite his not looking at her.

"Which doesn't mean I like working for the dark side, I don't like putting effort into keeping bad people out of jail. Some of the people I've gotten off do deserve to be there and that weighs on me. There is no winning. Prosecuting. Defense. Either way I'm handing over pieces of me I'll never get back."

"There's always going to be another bad guy," the words left her quietly, a ragged whisper.

"Yeah," he took a sip of his coffee.

Liv glanced toward the clock again, she was worried if she spoke up that they could go that he wouldn't talk more about all of this, but she wanted to get the kids. She wanted to head to her apartment and have dinner. And she knew that if they did that, the conversation once the kids were in bed would occur and they'd work toward whatever their next steps were.

Rafa looked at her and for a moment she saw him, her Rafa. Completely at ease, a bit of a sassy, sarcastic smirk on his face, "you really just let me talk you through the end of your day, didn't you?"

"I don't think I'm on trial, therefore I don't have to answer that," she smiled and moved to start packing her things up.

"You really improved on your interrogation techniques," he chuckled.

"All I did was ask about your beard and you kept talking."

He tilted his head back to polish off his coffee and tossed the empty cup in the trash, "I suppose you're correct. I won't make that mistake again."

She nodded, "let's get these kids."

Rafael smiled at her and they headed toward the interview room.

"Momma!" Noah looked up, "look at all these puzzles!"

Together, beyond the two that Aspen had done, the duo had managed to complete every puzzle in the interview room.

Rafael looked at Liv and then back to the kids, "did you have fun?"

"I did and Aspen showed me a trick to start with the outside edges because they're easier since there's always a flat side!"

"Noah helped move them so they didn't fall apart but we'd have room to do the next one," Aspen added.

"Can Aspen stay at our house tonight?" Noah asked Liv excitedly.

"That's the plan, sweet boy," Liv smiled at him.

He turned to Aspen and the two of them cheered.

"Start gathering your things and we'll get out of here."

"It's spaghetti night," Noah told Aspen as he took her backpack to carry for her.

Rafael looked over the two children and then looked to Liv.

She could see tears beginning at the edges of his eyes but she didn't say anything, she just moved to give his hand a small squeeze.

"Alright, you both ready?"