Summary: They make things official at work, then disaster strikes as Liv and Rafa leave the courthouse after dark.
"Are those disclosure papers?" Deputy Chief Dodds sighed as Olivia placed paperwork on his desk. He was surprised it took the Lieutenant this long.
"They are. Is that a problem?" Olivia inquired; one eyebrow quirked challenging her boss.
"I assume these are for you and ADA Barba?" At her nod, he added, "Well, it's about time! I have no problem as long as your work remains impeccable and above board."
"Of course… wait, what do you mean 'it's about time'?"
Chuckling, Dodds replied, "I meant, that we have all been waiting for this to happen for years. I can't believe it took you both this long."
Surprised, Olivia stared at her boss for a moment. "I wasn't aware that so many people were concerned about my love life."
"We couldn't help it. You two were so obviously perfect for each other."
"Mmhmm, more like you all have too much time on your hands!" The pair shared a laugh for a moment.
"I trust you both to be the consummate professionals you are. We will address any perceived conflicts of interest as they arise."
"Thank you, Dodds," Olivia responded gratefully. She really hoped that neither of them would have to give up their beloved positions.
"Good day, Lieutenant," Dodds dismissed her with a smile and nod.
As she departed the Deputy Chief's office, she hoped that Rafael was faring as well as she did. He was the best prosecutor that the DA's office had. There was no way Jack McCoy would willingly let Rafael go or transfer him over their disclosure.
…..
"Rafael, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Jack McCoy greeted the younger man. Rafael Barba was the fiercest prosecutor he worked with, and they had great mutual respect. However, Rafael did not visit his office often, unless there was a problem.
"Good morning, Jack," Rafael replied. "I was hoping to have a moment of your time to discuss this." He placed the disclosure papers on the desk in front of Jack.
"I wondered when you would submit these," Jack stated as he filed the papers in his desk drawer. "You know this office leaks like a sieve."
Rafael blushed momentarily. "I thought we were doing a good job of keeping it quiet."
"I think that the whole of the NYPD and DA's office thought you and Lieutenant Benson would get together far sooner than this."
"I think you all need to find hobbies if everyone has the time to be so concerned with my personal life," Rafael grumbled.
Jack tried not to laugh at the ADA's grumpiness. "Perhaps we do. In any event, I have no problem with you maintaining your current position and duties, provided there is no impropriety, and any conflicts are addressed appropriately."
Rafael nodded, grateful to not have to take a transfer or find a new job. He truly enjoyed working with SVU. "Understood. Thank you, Jack."
"On a more personal note, I wish you both happiness and a long future together. You complement each other well."
…..
Whew, I'm glad that's done. It went well thought. How did it go for you? Liv texted Rafael once she was back at her office.
Rafael responded almost immediately. That went better than I thought. I have voir dire today. I'll see you for dinner at yours?
Ok, good luck.
Jury selection took hours, but he was satisfied with the demographic spread of the final selection. Rafael returned to his office to work on his trial preparations. Things were moving fast, and he needed to meet with the victims to go through their testimony the following day and get them comfortable on the stand. Courtrooms tended to cause a lot of anxiety during the first experience. Hell, even Rafael still got nervous before and during big cases.
Even though the case seemed pretty cut and dry, Rafael poured over the case details for hours, developing his opening statement along with questions for each of the witnesses. Given their disclosure that morning, he would not call Olivia to the stand. Instead, Rollins would be called as the responding detective for Anna Lathe's report.
The sun set long before Rafael pulled his head up from his notes to look at the time. It was already past Noah's bedtime and he missed dinner at Liv's. Picking up his phone, he called his girlfriend to apologize.
"Rafa," Olivia breathed his name when she answered his call. "Where are you?"
"I'm sorry, Liv. I lost track of time while prepping for this trial. I didn't mean to miss dinner with you and Noah."
"'Tis okay," she yawned. "You didn't miss much, just takeout and cuddles on the couch."
"You know how I love cuddles on the couch," he replied, wishing he was there cuddling with her right then. "You sound tired, mi amor. You should go to bed early. I'm going to work a while longer and just go back to my place."
"I'm exhausted, but you can still come here, if you'd like. You have a key now."
He loved that Olivia gave him a key to her apartment and told him to treat her place as his own. "I know, but I'm going to be really late, and I don't want to disturb you. I'm going to just catch a few hours and come back to the office early anyway."
Olivia sighed into the phone. "I'll miss you. I sleep a lot better when you're next to me."
Rafael smiled warmly. "I know, so do I. Good night, mi amor. I'll see you tomorrow – you'll join me for Anna's testimony preparation, right?"
"Of course, she asked me to be there. Good night, sweetheart. I love you."
"Te amo, Liv. Sweet dreams," he whispered. Putting his phone down, Rafael dove back into his notes, organizing his thoughts and plans for the next few days.
…
The following afternoon, Olivia slipped into the empty courtroom a few minutes later than intended. She found Rafael perched on the prosecution's table, legs swinging as he hummed to himself.
"Hey Rafa," she murmured, not wanting to startle her boyfriend. He jumped slightly anyway and turned to smile at her.
"Hi Liv. Anna's just using the ladies room." He jumped down from the table and leaned in to place a gentle kiss on her lips. He missed her last night – his bed was cold and lonely compared to hers.
Anna walked into the room as the couple stepped away from each other. "Hi Olivia," the young woman greeted her pleasantly.
"Hi Anna. How are you feeling about this?" Olivia asked gesturing at the courtroom.
The young woman considered for a moment. "A little nervous, but I just want to get it all over with so I can go back to my normal life."
Nodding, Olivia smiled. "I completely understand. Well, I'll let you and Rafael get started. I'm here for support, if you need it." She stepped back and took a seat in the gallery. Her gaze lingered on Rafael as he walked the young woman through what to expect during the trial.
Anna handled herself well once Rafael started rehearsing the questions he planned to ask. She only tripped up a few times, which was expected, and she kept her emotions from creeping towards hysteria. Olivia was impressed. Anna was showing incredible bravery and strength through the whole process.
After Rafael peppered Anna with a series of questions he thought the defense might ask, they called it a night. He could tell Anna's energy was draining and they had a long day ahead of them tomorrow as the trial was set to begin at 8:30 in the morning.
"I think you're ready, Anna. You did really well this evening," Rafael praised as Anna stepped down from the witness stand. "Try to get a good night's sleep and remember to be yourself on the stand tomorrow."
"Thanks, Mr. Barba. I really appreciate your help and how seriously you are taking this case."
Rafael nodded at the praise. "Of course. Now, let's get you home." Turning towards Olivia, he added, "You ready, Liv?"
Olivia looked up from her text conversation with Fin and smiled. "Let's go." She led the way out of the courtroom towards the exit of the courthouse, Anna and Rafael followed quietly, minds preoccupied with tomorrow's trial.
Holding the main door open for them to pass through into the dark evening, Olivia looked at Anna. "Is someone taking you home or do you need a ride?"
Anna smiled gratefully. "A ride would be wonderful, actually. My best friend was going to pick me up, but she's running late at work and won't be here for a while."
"It's not safe to let you wait and I'd feel much better if we made sure you arrived home safely," Rafael said as they moved down the steps of the courthouse. Olivia's cell phone chimed with an incoming message, and she nodded in agreement with Rafael as she looked at the phone in her hand. It was a message from Fin: Be careful. Word on the street is BX-9 greenlit Anna. I sent back up to the courthouse just in case.
Olivia only had a moment to look up and see two men dressed in dark clothing step out from behind a sleek black SUV parked across the street from the courthouse. She pulled her service weapon with lightning reflexes, her training guiding her movements as she shoved Anna and Rafael down behind her. They were exposed on the steps and out of time to hide. The men had their hands in the pockets of their hoodies, no doubt hiding at least a weapon each.
"Olivia!" Rafael shouted as she pointed her weapon toward the men. In the blink of an eye, one of the men pulled a gun out of his hoodie pocket and fired at the group. Without hesitation, Olivia fired six shots at the men, striking them both center mass.
Sirens immediately sounded as two patrol cars rounded the corner. Nice timing, she thought and sent a silent thanks to Fin for his forethought. Slowly, Olivia turned to check on Anna and Rafael. Her brain took a moment to comprehend the sight of Rafael sprawled on top of Anna, a pool of dark blood gathering on one side of them.
Anna's head lifted up to stare wide-eyed at Olivia, but Rafael did not move. "Rafael!" Olivia screamed. Another moment passed before her brain caught up with her and she shouted for the unis to call for an ambulance. "Tell them to rush it, an ADA has been shot!"
"Olivia, help him!" Anna cried, panicked at the bleeding man's dead weight on top of her.
"Can you tell if he's breathing?" Olivia asked as she knelt next to them, assessing where the gunshot wound was on Rafael's body. Pulling his jacket aside, she saw the blood-soaked vest indicating he was hit in the right side of his abdomen.
"It feels like he's breathing, and I can feel a pulse. It's weak though," Anna replied with a grunt, the weight of the man starting to become too much as it pushed her back against the hard edges of the concrete steps.
Working quickly, Olivia shoved back the panic over the fact that her boyfriend had just been shot and unwrapped her scarf, using it to apply pressure to Rafael's wound. "Help will be here soon, mi amor," she murmured to him. "Stay with me, Rafa. I can't lose you!"
Anna pushed aside her discomfort as she watched the fearless Lieutenant try to stay strong and fight the tears building in her eyes. The young woman could tell that the ADA and Olivia were close, but now she knew just how close. She could not imagine how horrible this was them. "Tell me what I can do to help, Olivia."
"Just keep an eye on his breathing and pulse, Anna, please," Olivia choked as sobs erupted from her throat. She could not fight it anymore. "Where the fuck are the medics?"
Seconds later, an ambulance pulled up, closely followed by a police cruiser containing Fin and Carisi. Olivia stepped back as the medics attended Rafael, carefully loading him onto a stretcher and radioing back to the hospital on their immediate needs.
"You alright, Lieu?" Carisi called as he and Fin sprinted up the steps. She was covered in Rafael's blood, hair a mess and skin blotchy from crying.
"I… I'm not sure. I'm going with Rafa to the hospital. Take care of Anna for me? Make sure she's ok and stays somewhere safe," Olivia blurted as she ran after the medics and climbed into the back of the ambulance.
"We'll meet you at the hospital. I'll have to take your statement at some point," Fin called as the rear doors of the ambulance shut.
Knowing they needed to get Anna checked out at the hospital, Carisi spoke with the young woman to assess her injuries and whether she could walk or not. Meanwhile, Finn checked in with the uniformed officers regarding the status of the shooters. Both men were dead – Olivia was an excellent shot, which was a good thing. Who knows how much worse it would have been?
Although she was covered in blood, Anna did not appear to have been shot. The blood was likely Rafael's. She was able to walk with assistance from Carisi – she felt bruised and sore from being knocked over on the concrete steps. "Fin, let's go. You drive, I'll call Dodds and McCoy on the way."