Chapter 11: Pressure

Summary: The bubble bursts as Olivia and Rafael return to work and all the pressures that come with having to hide their relationship.

Notes: Since this story is AU, I'm pulling some actual cases from Season 18 and making up some as I go, just in case you wondered.

"Do we really have to go to work tomorrow?" Olivia asked as they cuddled on the couch. "Can't we just stay here forever?"

"Wouldn't that be nice?" Rafael replied with a smirk. "I'm not looking forward to being in the same room as you and not being able to touch or kiss you."

"It's going to be torture, Rafa."

"But we'll survive somehow, mi amor. I should get going," he said, regret lacing his tone. The last thing he wanted to do was leave this little piece of heaven they created.

"I know." She did not want to let Rafael go, but he hadn't been back to his place in a few days, and he needed to get his act together for the week ahead.

They stood and moved together toward the door. "It's going to be so strange sleeping alone tonight," Rafael admitted. "I have already become accustomed to having you next to me."

"You could stay and just leave earlier in the morning," Olivia shrugged.

Resting his forehead against hers, Rafael gazed into those deep brown eyes. "I won't want to leave then, either. And you know we won't get much sleep."

"I know," she replied despondently, her hands gripping his shirt in tight fists. Her feelings were overwhelming her, so she pressed her mouth to his, letting those feelings spill out through a passionate kiss. "I love you."

"Te amo, mi corazon," Rafael whispered, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "Sleep well and I'll see you tomorrow."

….

Olivia was immediately pulled into a case upon her return to work. A young woman, Quinn Berris, reported being raped by a masked intruder after a night out with colleagues. She suspected it was a man, Ray Wilson, who had been stalking her since her college days at Rutgers University.

Olivia and Carisi tracked down retired NYPD Sergeant Tom Cole, who helped Quinn with her stalker previously. In the meantime, Fin and Rollins tracked down Ray Wilson and discovered that he had an alibi - he was actually with a church group in New Jersey at the time the rape occurred, and video evidence supported that claim.

The team worked several long days before they caught a break in the case. Although a cigarette with Wilson's DNA was found outside Quinn's apartment building, it appeared that Sgt. Cole had planted the evidence to frame Wilson. In the end, it was discovered Tom Cole was the one who raped Quinn because he was frustrated that she didn't want him.

Shaken after fatally shooting Cole to save Carisi and Quinn, Olivia went straight home to wash the past few days away. She hadn't seen Rafael all week, given how busy she was with the case, but they texted often. She planned to call him later and make time to spend together over the weekend.

There was a knock on the door as soon as she got dressed after a shower. She was not expecting Lucy and Noah for a while yet, so she wondered who it could be.

Glancing through the peephole, Olivia quickly swung the door open to find Rafael's worried face, arms already outstretched to pull her close.

"I just heard what happened today," he said kissing the top of her head. "I was worried and had to come check on you straight away. Are you okay?"

"I'm glad you're here, Rafa," she sighed into his shoulder. She didn't realize how much she needed his warmth and support until he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm physically fine, but I killed a man today. It was justified and necessary, but I'm still processing that."

Olivia led Rafael into her apartment and settled on the couch as he locked the door and stripped off his coat and shoes. Sliding next to her on the couch, he pulled her onto his lap and kissed her. "You did what you had to in order to save Carisi and the victim," he said, his voice just above a whisper in the quiet room. At her look, he added, "Rollins told me."

Nodding, Olivia leaned deeper into her boyfriend. "I'm glad she did. I was going to wait until later to call you, but I didn't know how much I needed this until you were here."

Rafael was pleased that she found comfort in his presence, but he was concerned that she would allow herself to suffer far longer than she should have by not calling him until later. He wanted… no, needed to know about these things. He should have been her first call after police business was wrapped up.

"Mi amor, you should have called me right away," he soothed. "I want to be there for you at times like this. You don't have to suffer alone anymore."

Olivia nodded into his neck as he held her, both remaining silent as she processed the day. After a while, Olivia felt like herself again and leaned up to capture Rafael's lips. His hand caressed her face before tangling his fingers in her hair. The kiss deepened as Olivia pushed him back against the couch and straddled his lap.

"I need to feel you inside me, Rafa," she whispered against his neck. Moments later, their clothes were scattered on the floor and Olivia was sinking onto his hardened length, seeking the release both her body and mind needed.

Olivia collapsed against him once they were both spent. "Have dinner with us and stay the night." It was equal parts a question and a statement.

"Of course, mi amor," Rafael replied. "I'll even do the cooking."

They allowed themselves awhile longer to regain their energy before donning their clothes and readying themselves for Noah's eminent arrival home from pre-school.

…

A few days later, another case came in – a doctor at the hospital treated a young woman he suspected of being trafficked. An older woman accompanying her claimed to be the young woman's aunt, but her responses to generic familial questions were odd and unreasonably vague. Despite their best efforts, the medical staff could not get the 'aunt' to leave the room so the doctor could speak to the young woman in confidence. Hence, Manhattan SVU was called in.

Given the nature of the report, Olivia and Amanda took the lead and arrived at the hospital to speak with the reporting doctor and the young woman in question.

"Lt. Benson, I'm Dr. Mark Jirgal," the doctor reached out a hand. "Thanks for responding so quickly. I'm not sure how to explain it, but I just got a vibe from the woman claiming to be the patient's aunt. Something seems very… off."

Olivia continued speaking with Dr. Jirgal to gather more information as Amanda moved around the corner to peek into the patient's room. The young woman was on the hospital bed, leaned back with her eyes closed and a grimace marring her features. Amanda could not see any immediate evidence of abuse from her viewpoint. Shifting her discerning gaze to the room's other occupant, Amanda frowned. The woman claiming to be the 'aunt' was glaring at the patient, her mouth moving as she pointed a finger sharply in the young woman's direction. Clearly, something was going on.

Amanda glanced over her shoulder as Olivia and the doctor approached, watching as the doctor slipped Olivia his card and smiled.

"I'm going to tell the 'aunt' that there is some paperwork for her to go over and sign before we can do anything further," Dr. Jirgal explained. "That should give you some time to speak with the patient… her name is Anna Lathe."

"Thank you, Dr. Jirgal," Olivia replied moving off to the side away from the room as Dr. Jirgal entered. They did not want to appear as if they were waiting for the woman to leave, so Olivia and Amanda busied themselves in conversation about the kids.

A few minutes later, Dr. Jirgal led a very disgruntled 'aunt' from the room. "I just don't see why the paperwork can't be brought here to the room. Why should I have to march half across the hospital for it? I really don't want to leave my niece, she has been through a lot lately, what with her parents dying and all."

Olivia caught the Doctor's eye as he walked by and suppressed a smile at his eye roll. She agreed, the 'aunt' was laying it on a bit thick.

Amanda led the way into the room once the pair was gone and spoke softly to the young woman. "Hi Anna, I'm Detective Rollins and this is Lt. Benson, we are with the NYPD Special Victims Unit. Do you mind if we speak to you real quick."

Anna's eyes darted nervously around the room, expecting the other woman to burst through the door at any moment.

"Don't worry, your aunt won't be back for a little while," Olivia soothed, noting Anna's anxiety. "You can speak freely with us. We will not share any information with your aunt unless you want us to."

Anna's eyes widened momentarily before she squeaked out "She's not my aunt."

Suspicions confirmed, Amanda and Olivia tread carefully to gather more information without spooking the girl further. Through soft conversation and gentle prodding, the detectives gathered that Anna just recently turned 18 and was visiting friends at Hudson University when she was drugged and abducted. She wasn't sure how long ago that happened, but thought it was probably a week or so. The day before, Anna began feeling sick with severe pain in the left side of her abdomen, so the woman reluctantly brought her to the emergency room today. She hadn't seen anyone else besides the woman, yet, and she wasn't raped or abused. Just abducted.

"I know this is a lot, Anna, but you are doing great," Amanda encouraged. "We will do everything we can to get you home safely."

By the time Dr. Jirgal returned with the other woman, who claimed her name was Ashley Washington, uniformed officers were waiting to take Ashley to the precinct for questioning. This did not go well as the woman practically frothed at the mouth, she created such a scene about being taken away from her niece. One look at Anna further confirmed the ruse Ashley Washington was trying to pull.

"Now that matter is taken care of, can you tell us how long Anna will need to stay in the hospital?" Olivia asked the doctor. "We may need to arrange a protective detail in case Ashley Washington or one of her associates attempts to return."

"My initial diagnosis is appendicitis, but I will need to run some tests to assess severity and treatment." Turning to Anna, the handsome doctor smiled encouragingly. "I am hopeful that Anna will only need to be here a few days at most."

Conferring with Amanda, Olivia decided to go back to the station to check in on Ashley Washington's interrogation while Amanda took the first shift of protective detail. She called Rafael on her way back to the precinct as this case was already looking to be more than meets the eye.

…..

Rafael slipped into Olivia's office to find her alone in the room watching Carisi and Fin speak with Ashley Washington. "Mi amor," he spoke softly, not wanting to interrupt her focus. He stood close but not too close, since they still hadn't disclosed yet. "What are we looking at?"

"This woman is definitely involved in something, but she's not giving much away," Olivia replied. "Rollins is taking first watch with the victim now. I don't want her left alone until we figure out what is going on."

"Do you think this is part of a larger ring? Or something isolated?"

"I'm… not sure. All I know is that something is off. I feel it in my gut," Olivia gazed at him with earnest eyes, pleading with him to trust her instincts.

His green eyes blazed with trust, but his tone was realistic. "I believe you that something is off, but we need more to go on. We've been through this before – I cannot present your gut feeling as evidence in court."

Understandably frustrated, Olivia heaved a deep sigh. "We're working on it." Staring resolutely through the observation window, she wouldn't meet his eyes. She knew it wasn't Rafael's fault that they had nothing to go on yet, he was just the current, unfortunate recipient of her frustration.

"Ok, call me when you have something," Rafael murmured, feeling like he had pissed her off and it was best to give her space. Their relationship was still so new, and he hated how tough cases tested it and their resolve sometimes.

He was nearly through the door when her voice cracked. "Rafa." He spun around, hopeful. "Yeah, Liv?"

Her expression was all Lt. Benson, none of his Liv, as she shot him a brief glance before turning back to the observation window. "I'm going to relieve Rollins and take the next shift watching over the victim at the hospital this evening. Lucy is going to keep Noah for the night. Let's do spaghetti night with Noah another day."

He stood frozen for a moment processing her words. He wasn't sure how to respond as her statement seemed a pretty clear dismissal. Quite frankly, he was a bit hurt that she didn't ask if he'd join her for the protective detail – not that he'd be much protection, he admitted to himself, but he would be good company – or even consider that maybe he was really looking forward to spending time with Noah. He would have happily taken on Noah watching duties if Olivia was going to be working all night. There was no sense paying for additional childcare when he was available and more than willing.

Not knowing how to verbalize any of his thoughts without causing a fight at such an inopportune time, Rafael resorted to self-preservation mode. "Gotcha," he uttered, closing the office door behind him with a tad more force than he really intended.

Women – well, specifically, that woman – were so baffling. While he knew that something about this new case struck a chord with her, Rafael had no idea how to handle her when he couldn't figure out if she was upset with him as ADA Rafael Barba or as her boyfriend Rafa. Or, most likely, he had to admit, she wasn't even upset with him, just the nature of the law and the frustrations of trying to pull answers from thin air. It was all difficult to reconcile when they were so busy and could not speak freely.

Olivia was so focused on gleaning some vital detail from Ashley Washington's interactions with her detectives that she didn't pay much mind to what or how she was speaking to her boyfriend in his role as her ADA. It wasn't until she registered his clipped "Gotcha", an already unusual response from him, followed by the slamming of her door behind him that she realizes she must have been unnecessarily rude. Her heart clenched at the idea, but she didn't have time to dwell on it as Carisi breezed through the door from the interrogation room.

"Hey Lieu, I think I have an idea on this case," he stated. "Fin is going to continue speaking with her while I look into something."

"Ok, keep me posted on what you find, Barba too. I'm going to head back to the hospital to relieve Rollins." Olivia trusted her team to keep digging into this case until they found something to work with.

…

Rafa, I'm sorry about earlier. This case just has me frustrated,Olivia texted Rafael as she left the precinct heading to the hospital. She would say more whenever they spoke. He hadn't responded by the time she arrived outside Anna's hospital room. She hoped he was just busy and not truly upset with her. For two successful adults whose careers required them to speak a lot and read between the lines, neither of them was good at communicating sometimes. That had been the downfall of many of her past relationships, his too, probably.

"How is she?" Olivia murmured to Amanda as she slipped into the room to find the young woman asleep on the hospital bed.

"She's a trooper. It's definitely appendicitis and they plan to remove the appendix this evening," Amanda explained.

"Poor kid," Olivia whispered. "Any trouble while I was away?"

Amanda shook her head as she gathered up her coat. "All has been quiet."

"Good. Go home to Jessie and Frannie. Get some sleep while you can. I have a feeling this case is going to require a lot of time and effort." Olivia quietly moved a chair just outside Anna's room and checked her cellphone as she sat. Still no response from Rafael.

Hospital staff took Anna for her appendectomy an hour later with a promise from Dr. Jirgal that she was in good hands, and they would not let anything happen to the young woman. Olivia used the downtime to call Rafael. Her call went to voicemail after four rings, she didn't leave a message. She checked in with Lucy to see how Noah was doing next. Again, there was no answer. What was up with everyone?

….

"Hi Lucy," Rafael greeted with a crooked smile when the young woman opened the door to Olivia's apartment.

"Hi Mr. Barba, come on in," Lucy replied. She wasn't sure why the handsome ADA was there, but she certainly didn't mind the eye candy. Lucy previously questioned Olivia's taste in men when the older woman was dating Ed Tucker. She thought Mr. Barba was a much better match for her boss between their looks, brains, and personalities. Heck, if he wasn't over 20 years older than her, Lucy might have gone for the man herself.

"Lucy, please call me Rafael, or Rafa like Noah does, if you prefer." Rafael slipped off his coat, placing it on the coat stand by the door. "I understand that Olivia will be working overnight, so I figured I would give you a break."

"Oh! You don't have to do that, Rafael." She blinked in surprise. Liv didn't tell her that Rafael would be relieving her.

"Nonsense. I'm sure you have work to do or friends to spend time with," he said. Realizing that she might have been looking forward to the extra money, he added, "I'll happily pay you whatever Olivia would have for the night, regardless."

"You don't have to do that!" Lucy replied hurriedly. "I actually do have some studying to do and there is a study group meeting I can attend if you're really sure you don't need me."

Rafael slipped a handful of cash from his wallet into Lucy's hand. "Take this and treat your study group to some good brainfood. I won't take no for an answer."

Lucy smiled broadly at Rafael. Yes, she really did like him. "Well, thank you Rafael. Have a great night with Noah. He's eaten but hasn't taken a bath yet."

Once Lucy was gone, Rafael peeked his head into Noah's room to find him intently focused on a Lego set, El Tiburon at his side.

"Hi mijo," Rafael said.

"Rafa!" the little boy exclaimed jumping up from his spot on the floor and rushing at him. "What are you doing here? Are you staying over? Do you want to play Lego with me?"

Chuckling, Rafael ruffled the child's blonde curls. "Slow down, mijo. I'm going to take care of you while Momma is working, and I thought it might be fun to go on a little adventure. What do you think?"

"Yes! I love adventures!"

A short while later, Rafael led Noah into the hospital, the young boy's tiny hand clutched in his. Thanks to Rollins, he knew which room to go to and used his ADA credentials to bypass the security desk. Within a few minutes, they approached the right room and found Olivia sitting on a chair right outside the door. She looked exhausted but came alive the moment she saw her boyfriend and son approaching.

"What a happy surprise this is!" she blurted, rising to hug Noah and kiss Rafael. "I thought you were mad at me," she whispered into his lips.

"Never. I was a bit hurt at first but understand that you are under a lot of stress with this case. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and bring Noah to see you."

She hugged him close. "You're too good for me, Rafa. I'm sorry for not realizing how rude I was earlier."

"No, mi amor, we are perfect for each other. And that's all water under the bridge. We won't always communicate perfectly but we'll just keep trying."

Leaving it at that, Olivia and Rafael focused on the young boy and his excitement to see his momma. The little family chatted for a long while as Olivia waited for Anna to return from her surgery. Rafael ordered dinner to be delivered for Olivia so he could make sure she ate. After a while, the hospital staff brought Anna back to her room and the boys left Olivia to do her job.

"Be safe, mi amor," Rafael said. "I love you."

"I love you more, Rafa."