It was still pretty light out, as it was only mid-afternoon by this point.

The outdoor bar was beautiful, there were lights hung all around in the beams of the overhang and on the beams of the pergola over the bar, not far off from where they sat.

The group of five got a picnic table, both couples sat across from one another and then Elliot pulled a chair over to sit at the end of the table. The table they'd picked was under a bit of an overhang.

They got a round of celebratory shots before ordering their usual drinks.

Elliot and Amanda each got a beer, Olivia a glass of wine, Rafael a double of scotch neat, and Carisi went for whiskey on the rocks.

They chatted while they sipped at their drinks, informing Stabler of more specific incidents that had occurred with Maria Benito that had led to where the court was at with her by his time on the stand.

"Damn," he mumbled as he polished off his bottle, "that's a level of delusion that I can't even begin to comprehend."

"Fin emailed me some of the files and articles on her," Amanda said, pulling out her phone and beginning to skim through.

"Anyone need a refill while I'm up?" Stabler asked as he stood.

Rafa raised a finger, "if you don't mind?"

"Not at all," Elliot smiled at him, "scotch, double, neat?"

Rafael nodded, "thanks."

"Liv? Rollins? Carisi?"

"Yeah why not," Carisi nodded.

Elliot listed his order for confirmation, too.

Liv held up her barely touched wine, "I'm alright. I've gotta drive us home in a while."

"Same for me," Rollins agreed with Liv without looking up.

"Alright," Stabler nodded and headed toward the bar.

Rafael was the most disturbed by the display put on by Maria Benito, having experience as a defense attorney. He couldn't stop seeing her absolute confidence up until her motion to dismiss had been denied and then the lost floundering she did.

"So, it looks like her inability to provide real cross examinations and produce defense witnesses is not new," Amanda began.

"Really?" Carisi leaned to look over her shoulder.

"The case that got her disbarred in Florida was criminally negligent homicide by Armani Sull-" She looked up, "her younger brother, Armani Sullivan. She supported perjury and falsified evidence, she created a late investigation alibi for him. Paid a girl a lot of money to claim she was with him."

"And California?" Carisi inquired.

"I don't see anything yet," Amanda said as she kept scrolling on her phone.

"Where's Stabler with those drinks?" Carisi looked up.

Rafael hadn't been paying attention, he'd been texting Lucy to see how the kids were.

Olivia had been watching Elliot at the bar, "I think we might've lost him," she said.

Everyone looked toward the bar.

Stabler was laughing at something a woman next to him was saying, he leaned toward her an said something and she started laughing in kind.

They could only see a side profile but she looked to be very pretty and maybe in her mid-fifties or so. Her hair hung in long sheets of silver past her hips, it was pin straight. She was wearing a pale, teal colored, sundress and a pair of sandals with a cork, wedge heel. She had a light colored sun hat on and the bow matched her dress. Her crossbody purse was a pop of orange that beautifully contrasted the rest of her outfit.

Elliot shook the woman's hand with the famous Stabler smile, dimples and all, on his face as his mouth formed the words 'I'm Elliot.'

Rafael reached over and took Liv's hand, as a reminder that he was there.

It was clear to Liv that this sign of support was Rafa's way of saying it was okay if she had any sort of negative feelings in regard to Elliot flirting with the woman at the bar, but she didn't… which surprised her. She was happy for him, happy that maybe he'd found someone that could make him as happy as Rafa made her.

Elliot made eye contact with Liv as he laughed again and seemed to realize he was supposed to be getting drinks for the group.

Liv shook her head and gave him a go ahead gesture, "I can go grab the drinks for you guys."

"Do you think you could order some of those nachos they make?" Carisi asked as he was engrossed in reading about Maria Benito over Amanda's shoulder again.

Liv and Rafa laughed before she said, "sure, Carisi. Anything else?"

"Maybe some of the nachos and an appetizer platter?" He added.

Amanda stopped scrolling and looked at her partner, "you hungry, counselor?"

"Yeah, it sounds delicious," he finally looked up at Liv, when he saw the amused look on her face, a smile broke across his, "should I go?"

"No, I got it," Liv laughed, "it's just funny, the way you disappear into things reminds me of an ADA I used to know that would order way too much Chinese food because he wouldn't be paying attention and I would order everything he'd list."

"Oh, come on," Rafael said, "I wasn't that bad."

"Should I remind you of the 150 bill and the leftovers you were eating for days?" Liv commented as she stood and headed toward the bar.

Ensuring to stay a bit away from Elliot, but close enough to eavesdrop for a moment as she placed the order.

"No, no. I swear," the woman was saying as Elliot sipped a beer, "it was crazy, how fast everything happened. The tornado was maybe a mile east."

"And that didn't matter to you?" Elliot asked.

"No, it was exactly why we were there. We spent months trying to get that close to one," she explained as she was talking with her hands, a bit of her drink spilled over the lip of the glass which made her laugh again as she apologized profusely for the drops on Elliot's dress pants.

Elliot laughed too and ensured her he wasn't upset, "keep telling me about this storm chasing, it's fascinating."

"Your drinks," the bartender said to Liv, "we'll have the food brought to your table when it's done."

"Thank you," Liv took the two glasses and went back toward the table.

"You did the cop thing," Amanda commented without looking up as Liv sat the drinks down.

"What do you mean?" She took a sip of her wine.

"Standing just close enough to 'overhear' but far enough to not draw attention to your presence," Carisi also didn't look up.

"Hear anything interesting? Her name, maybe?" Rollins asked.

"No, no name, but it sounds like she was a storm chaser, maybe?" Liv looked over.

Rafael sat forward and looked at the woman, "wait a minute. A storm chaser?"

"Something about tornados and trying to get close to them?" Liv shook her head and shrugged.

"I knew I recognized her," Rafa pulled his phone out and started typing on it.

"Is that a bad thing?" Carisi looked up.

"No, no. The opposite."

Amanda put her phone down.

"Years ago, a man I was…" Rafa glanced at Liv, "involved with…"

Liv smiled, "go on."

"He took me to this photographer's exhibit in SoHo. The photos were stunning, some of them were terrifying showing houses actively being ripped from their foundations or cars lifted off the road," he put his phone down on the table, the photos on it, "I've never been much of an art man, but the lighting and the composition, each one told a story."

"Quoting the man you were involved with?" Liv bumped her shoulder playfully against his.

He wrinkled his nose playfully as he smiled at her, "maybe. He was a nice guy, a bit too poetic and rose-colored glasses for my tastes, but it was fun. Art galleries and… I never did lose my taste for Broadway after him."

"Yeah, we remember you ditching an interrogation to go see Hamilton," Carisi said as he lifted his glass to take a sip of his whiskey.

"Margaret "Maggie" Lowell," Amanda read the name on the article Rafael had pulled up, "storm and nature photographer. Known for her up close photography of nature's wrath, Maggie, is an artist with an impeccable eye for capturing the way nature tries to reclaim it's space from human influence."

"That's beautiful," Liv turned to look at where Elliot and Maggie were still laughing with each other.

"She's very pretty," Amanda was looking at the photographer's photo on the screen at the bottom of the article.

Liv glanced at the photo and it was, absolutely, the woman Elliot was speaking with.

"I spoke to her at her exhibit," Rafael said, "she was a bit of an adrenaline junkie but she told fascinating stories of her travels all over the world and the people she met."

"They seem to be hitting it off," Carisi commented.

"Good," Liv felt like this really was good for Elliot, she liked how happy he looked.

"An adrenaline junkie would be good for hi-" Rafa paused, "sorry, that was unkind. I'm still trying to move past everything he did."

"Forgiveness isn't linear, just like healing," Amanda said, "it'll take time."

"Exactly," Olivia agreed, "give yourself time and if you want him around less, all you have to do is ask."

"No, no. It's okay," Rafael put a hand on top of Liv's on the table, "I want good things for him, I want him to heal from his losses. I just still find myself making-"

"Classic sassy Barba comments?" Carisi offered.

"Yeah," Rafael swirled his drink around his glass, his eyes on it. For a brief second there was a doubt in his head, that his comments were seen as a bad thing.

Liv seemed to notice and leaned over, pressing a kiss against his shoulder, "and we love your sassy Barba comments."

He looked over at her and gave her that crooked smirk that always made her skin prickle with heat.

Their food was delivered not long later. Time was passing and the sun was growing lower in the sky.

It turned out there was a duo playing music on the little outdoor stage that night and Lucy didn't mind staying later with the kids, so Rafael and Olivia were going to spend the evening with Rollins and Carisi, celebrating this win.

Tomorrow, Liv would go to her appointment with Dr Lindstrom to see if he would clear her to return to desk duty as her other doctors had, and Rafael would stay home with the kids. And Friday, if she was cleared, everything would go back to normal.

The lights on all the beams turned on as the sky grew dark and Olivia was in awe of the beautiful evening and the music that was being played was beautiful and soft.

Elliot had not returned to the group table; he and Maggie had moved from standing at the bar to a small patio table with an umbrella and were still talking.

Rollins and Carisi had decided they were just going to Uber home and to work in the morning, he'd drive her car home tomorrow after work. They were well into their drinks, laughing about some story neither of them could get through because of how hard they were laughing.

Liv was laughing at them purely because of how hard they were laughing.

Rafael was barely paying attention, he himself was a bit deeper in his drinks than he had anticipated allowing himself to get. He was listening to the music and leaning his shoulder against Liv's. He could smell her perfume and the bit of sweet wine on her breath as she laughed. And, oh that laugh.

Both men at the table had shed their suit jackets and were wearing their dress shirts and vests with their ties loosened just a bit. Amanda had ditched the black blazer she'd been wearing. Liv was the only one who hadn't been wearing a coat of some sort.

Turning to look at Rafa, Liv's brow furrowed, "you okay?"

He looked at her, "dance with me."

"What?" She smiled at him.

"Dance with me, Liv," he held a hand to her.

"Raf."

"Please?" His eyes were soft and he had that crooked smile.

"Okay but, I'll have you know I'm not a very good dancer."

"And I'm drunk, it'll be a disaster," that crooked grin danced across his features as he leaned against her more and wiggled his hand.

She took his hand, and let him lead her onto the little area that was set aside for a dance floor.

The musicians, who were playing an acoustic guitar and a keyboard finished off the song they were playing and upon noticing Liv and Rafa, picked up a slower song. They'd been doing covers all night and that didn't change as they picked up a slowed down version of "Say You Won't Let Go" by James Arthur.

The guitarist had a beard and a deeper voice, his hair was shaved on the sides and longer on top. He hadn't been singing lead for most of the songs but he did for this one. His partner, the keyboardist, had short blue hair that was shaved underneath and an asymmetrical sort of bob on top, they harmonized higher. Both of them seemed really happy to see people coming onto the dance floor.

Rafa pulled Liv close and rested his hand on the small of her back, taking her hand in the other. He hummed along to the song as he led her through the dance. There were certain lines he sang softly under his breath rather than humming.

She couldn't help but to note that even as drunk as he was, he was still a much better dancer than she was and it wasn't nearly as much of a disaster as he'd said it would be.

"You made me feel as though, I was enough," he twirled her.

She loved how softly he was singing along.

"I knew I loved you then, but you'd never know," he sang, "cause I played it cool when I was scared of letting go."

She closed her eyes, letting him lead her as the cool August air brushed over her skin.

"I knew I needed you, but I never showed."

After the third line he sang, Liv realized he was singing them to her.

"I wanna stay with you until we're grey and old."

Olivia's heart was pounding in her chest as this realization struck her.

"I'll bring you coffee with a kiss on your head and I'll take the kids to school, wave them goodbye," he sang quietly.

There were tears in her eyes as she listened to him pick the lines he wanted to say to her.

"And you look beautiful as ever," there was a crooked smile on his face, "and I swear that everyday you'll get better."

"Raf," she whispered.

He just pulled her closer, moving to wrap both arms around her waist, "you make me feel this way somehow… I'm so in love with you and I hope you know."

She moved to rest her arms around his shoulders.

"We've come so far, my dear. Look how we've grown. And I wanna stay with you until we're grey and old. Just say you won't let go."

Liv adjusted to rest her head on his shoulder, one of the many benefits of being nearly the same height.

"Cause you were always there when I needed you most," he sang softly in her ear, "I'm gonna love you 'til my lungs give out. I promise 'til death we part."

"That's a big promise," she breathed.

He smiled wider, "now everybody knows, that it's just you and me, 'til we're grey and old."

"Just say you won't let go," she whispered to him as they danced in a circle.

The duo on the stage moved into another slow song after pausing to drink some water.

Liv was fighting with the tears in her eyes.

"Think we started something," Rafael whispered.

It was then that she realized Rollins and Carisi were dancing as were Elliot and Maggie. There were a few other couples they didn't know who'd begun dancing, too.

"I guess we did," she sniffed slightly.

"Are you crying?" He pulled back a bit to look, "don't cry, my love."

"You're just so good to me."

"I'm only giving you what you deserve," he chuckled a bit, "and I meant every line."

"Did you just pick our song?"

He laughed a bit harder, "are we doing something as juvenile as picking a song?"

"Juvenile?" She asked softly.

He was quiet for a moment, "I didn't mean it in a bad way, Liv. You've always made me feel like I'm a teenager again, acting a fool. I always got nervous when I knew I was going to see you no matter how many times I did."

She pressed a gentle kiss to his jaw, "and now?"

"You give me butterflies every day. Waking up beside you in the mornings is like," he paused, digging through his scotch marinated thoughts, "like I never want to sleep because being awake is better than dreaming, finally."

"You're incredibly cheesy, Mr Barba," she breathed.

"For you," he smiled.

She shifted to place her fingers under his chin and guided him to kiss her.

He kissed her, happily. He could taste the red wine on her lips and pulled her closer as they continued dancing beneath the yellowy globe lights strung up.

Elliot and Maggie were the first to leave, three songs into the dancing. He had made eye contact with Liv on the way out and gave her a smile which she happily returned.

Rafael kissed her temple, "you are so beautiful, Olivia Benson."

She rolled her eyes.

"We should get home to tuck the kids in," he sighed softly.

Carisi and Rollins moved back to the table to request their Uber back to her apartment.

Rafael noticed the goosebumps on Liv's arms on their way back to the table and draped his jacket over her shoulders as he finished his drink and left a cash tip on their table for the server. On the way out he went up and placed a tip in the bucket for the musicians as well.

They gave him huge smiles and nods in thanks as they continued singing.

The four friends left the bar together.

Liv and Rafa waited with the other couple for their Uber and watched, laughing, as the two ran like school children to it when it arrived.

The walk to the courthouse wasn't that far, the sounds of the city at night filled the air as they walked hand in hand.

Rafael hummed softly to himself, the song he'd sung along to was clearly stuck in his head now.

Olivia pulled his jacket tighter around her shoulders as she listened to his humming, "until death, hm?"

"If you don't mind keeping me around that long," he answered easily, without hesitation.

She considered for a moment, "I think I might be interested."

He gave her a sidelong glance, his drunken, crooked smile crossing his face again as he swung their hands some, "loving you is the easiest thing I've ever done. It's like breathing. It's like I was programmed to do it."

Liv looked over at him, awe and adoration on her face, "the fact that you can be intoxicated and eloquent never stops astonishing me."

"Maybe I should've been a drunk poet instead of a lawyer," he laughed, scratching at his jaw with his free hand.

"You're in a good mood," she smiled.

He squeezed her hand slightly and bumped his shoulder against hers, "I feel good and I feel free. We get to keep our kids, we get to raise them together. We… I get to use the word 'we' and mean you and me. Olivia, I cannot explain the way that the last month has felt like a dream come true to me. I know I keep saying that, I keep talking about how much I've wanted this."

"Rafael," she smiled and tilted her head back, "you have made my life better from the moment you entered it. We've had our fights and our disagreements but in the end we always return to one another."

He gave her a squinty smile, "have I mentioned that I'm in love with you?"

She smiled a bit, looking sidelong at him, "I don't think you have, no."

"Well, I am," he nodded to confirm what he was saying, "should I list everything?"

She seemed to consider for a moment, pursing her lips playfully, "maybe another time?"

"You don't want to hear about how much I love your brown eyes?"

She snorted a bit, "brown eyes are not that interesting, Raf."

"I beg to differ. I believe brown eyes are the most fascinating color. There are secrets in brown eyes that blues and greens don't get to have."

"How do you mean?"

He turned toward her a bit as he was walking, "brown eyes tend to look simply brown, yes? But introduce them to sunlight and you get chocolate browns, caramels, honeys. Every brown is different when you put it in the sunlight and I believe that is absolutely beautiful. I think it proves that sometimes you have to bring something into the light just to see exactly how beautiful it is."

"More of your poetry," Liv felt her heart racing again.

"I don't know about that," Rafa laughed, "I do know I love your eyes."

"You're a lovey drunk tonight."

"No, I've always been a lovey, touchy drunk," he corrected.

"You've never been lovey and touchy before."

His eyebrows furrowed at her, "for someone who makes a living investigating things, you sure miss a lot…"

She gasped in faux offense.

"Liv, I used to have to sit so far away from you when we'd drink together in my office. I can't believe you never noticed. Even sitting next to you at the bar in Forlini's was a struggle if we were having more than one drink."

She looked over at him with a furrowed brow, "really?"

"You really never noticed? I would lean against you at the bar at Forlini's or move to a different chair in my office or pace and rant about something."

"You did all that to avoid being touchy? You know I would've understood if you're a touchy drunk?"

He smiled, "I was terrified of making you uncomfortable."

"Because I'm SVU?"

Laughing, Rafa said, "aside from you being the queen of SVU."

"Queen?"

"Hush, I'm telling a story," he bumped his shoulder against hers again, "I was desperately attempting to hide my feelings for you and I was more than satisfied just being in your life… and I was afraid that if I got touchy-feely you would… I don't know. Run away from me? It doesn't make sense now, I guess."

She looked over at him, "you were afraid that I would get weird about it and it would make our friendship weird?"

"Yeah."

"I never would've made it weird, Rafa."

"I think the fact that I was shoving those feelings so deep and trying to bury them made it seem so much more scary to imagine you being upset with me for that?"

"I thought you knew me well enough to know that I never would've been upset with you for being a touchy drunk, Raf."

He was quiet for a long moment as they got closer to the courthouse, "it was more the being afraid that it would give away those feelings."

"You were that afraid of letting them out?" She asked softly.

"I was afraid of you not reciprocating them," he breathed out, "I was afraid of losing my best friend because I'd fallen for her and she didn't feel the same."

"Clearly that hasn't turned out to be the case," she whispered.

"If I'd known then what I know now," he smiled, "I would've kissed you on my office couch years ago."

She returned his smile, "never thought I'd miss that office so much."

"If it was still my office we could've taken a little detour," he looked toward the courthouse.

"Truly unfortunate," she smiled, "but, you're drunk and I am not and even though we are in a healthy, committed relationship, I wouldn't do it anyway. I have to practice what I preach and currently you are incapable of consenting, my love."

He pouted at her, "even though I'm completely coherent?"

She arched an eyebrow at him.

"I'm teasing, Liv," he smiled and kissed her cheek, "let's go tuck those kids in. I wanna cuddle in bed."

She smiled at him.

He skipped the rest of the way to the car.