A/N: Here's another installment, there is some smuttiness at the end, nothing graphic.
Things proceeded as normal after Rafael's homecoming, Olivia and Noah went off to work and school while Raf stayed home to rest and recuperate. Rafael had his stitches removed from his arm, started physical therapy with Olivia there to see the stretches she would need to help him with, and he saw the doctor to check that things were healing properly. Everything was shaping up nicely for the family.
Deciding to ease himself back into work Rafael did what he could from home and consulted over the phone when necessary. After a week of doing this though Raf was more than ready to return full time. He was becoming stir crazy.
Two weeks after the shooting, on a Wednesday, Rafael decided he was ready to be back in his office. He and Olivia had discussed things yesterday and she said that if he was ready to go back then she would support his decision. Both Rafael's boss and Brandi knew he would be in Wednesday and had likely alerted everyone else to his impending arrival.
That Wednesday morning Noah and Olivia were the first to wake and begin their morning routines, Rafael didn't take long to stir once Olivia began to make the coffee.
Dragging his feet slowly across the floor and scratching his chest while he yawned Rafael entered the kitchen.
Scrubbing a hand over his face Rafael gave his family a tired, "good morning."
Olivia reciprocated in kind while handing him a mug of coffee, "morning Rafa."
"Bueñas dias!" Noah greeted after finishing his bite of cereal.
Rafael pressed a kiss to the cheek of each Liv and Noah. Bringing his coffee mug with him Raf made his way back to his bedroom to put on his clothes for the day. Having picked what he would be wearing the night before he returned to the kitchen quickly to refill his coffee. Figuring there would be enough time to return to the apartment Rafael left his belongings by the door.
"Noah ven aquí! We have to leave for school." It had been Rafael's daily reprieve to take Noah to and from school while we wasn't working.
In moments Noah appeared at his father's side, "ready Daddy!" Placing his hand in Rafael's Noah pulled the door open, "bye Momma, have a nice day."
Olivia called back, "you too sweet boy!"
Outside Noah's classroom Rafael stooped to Noah's eye level pulling him into a hug, " adios hijo I will see you tonight."
Baffled by the comment Noah pushed away to see Raf's face, "what do you mean, you're not picking me up?"
Shaking his head Rafael tells his son, "no Lucy will be here this afternoon to collect you, I will see when I get home from work."
A look of horror crossed Noah's face, "no! No! You can't go, I don't want you to go!" The boy shouts in the hallway full of children, their parents, and teachers. All of whom turn to try to understand where the outburst came from and why.
Noah is crying by now and Rafael is totally caught off guard, "Noah breathe, what's going on?" He keeps his voice soft hoping to bring the conversation to a more appropriate volume.
Hiccuping Noah whips his head side to side ferociously, "you can't! I won't let you!"
As he shouts once more Noah clings to Rafael as tightly as he can manage. Without thinking Rafael returns the gesture and stands. Noah continues his crying while he rubs his face on the coat Rafael wears.
There is a continuous mantra coming from both father and son.
Rafael repeats, "it's okay baby, just breathe. You're safe, I love you." Over and over.
While Noah keeps saying, "please don't go. I don't want you to go."
The hallway clears as the two hold onto each other, only Noah's teacher and them remain. Rafael makes eye contact with the teacher signaling they need a moment.
She nods and whispers, "come get me when you're ready."
It's Rafael's turn to nod.
Eventually Noah stops crying and Rafael sets him on his feet. Putting his hands on his son's shoulders Rafael asks, "what's going on Noh?"
Swiping his shirt sleeve under his nose Noah stares at the floor and tells Rafael, in a quiet voice, "I don't want you to get hurt again."
Rafael hadn't even considered the possibility of Noah reacting in such a way to him returning to work and now he wishes he had, to have at least prepared and assured him.
Cupping the boy's cheek Rafael says, "oh Noah I will be alright, I promise." He thinks his heart might just be broken by his son's words and the look he is currently directing his way.
"You promise?" His voice is so small if Rafael hadn't been so close he wouldn't have heard it.
He knows he can't guarantee anything but Rafael nods anyway, willing to do anything to clear the fear out of Noah's thoughts.
"I love you Noah." Rafael whispers in Noah's ear hugging him once again.
Breathing in deeply Noah answers with, "te amo Papí."
Standing again Rafael raps his knuckles gently against the glass on the door to Noah's classroom. His teacher joins them in the hallway, smiling softly at both of them.
"Is everything okay?" She asks.
"Yes Ms. McGrath, it's just this is my first day back at work after getting hurt and Noah is a little nervous that's all." Rafael tells her his gaze shifting between teacher and child.
Noah seems a bit embarrassed by this but Rafael comforts him, brushing his curls away from his face.
Ms. McGrath nods once showing her understanding, "I see," bending down to look at Noah, "would it make you feel better if we called your dad at lunch?"
Smiling at this idea Rafael looks to Noah to find he is already looking at him, "sí?"
Seemingly settled by the thought Noah manages a small smile, "sí."
Quickly Rafael jots his cell number on a slip of paper and hands it off to Ms. McGrath before bidding Noah one final goodbye and exiting the school.
Once outside Rafael pulls out his phone to call Olivia.
"What's up Rafa?" She says in greeting.
Sucking in a harsh breath he blows it out before answering, "Noah freaked out a little about me going to work again. He didn't want me getting hurt."
Rafael tries to pace his breathing so as to keep from crying, he's not sure it's working.
On the other end of the line Olivia sucks a breath between her teeth, "shit, I don't know why I didn't think about this happening. I'm so sorry you had to deal with that before going back to work for the first time."
Blinking the moisture out of his eyes Rafael clears his throat, "why are you apologizing Liv? This isn't your fault, it's no one's fault, who could predict something like this.
"I just needed to talk to you. I felt so guilty leaving him like that, I was tempted to say 'fuck it' and take him home and tell work I wasn't coming in yet today.
"His teacher, Ms. McGrath, she was the one to calm him down, not me. She thought of having him call me at lunch to make sure I was okay. I don't know, does that make me a bad parent? I didn't even know how to comfort my own son!"
By the end of his speech Rafael is close to tears, throat constricting with the effort of keeping them at bay. He stands over to one side because his vision is blurring more each moment. Coughing Rafael begins to cry, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes underneath his glasses and down into his well kept beard. Angrily he rubs a sleeve along his cheeks and under both eyes, in much the same way Noah had used his sleeve to clear his face earlier. Just as he pulls him arm away from his face though a sob breaks free from him and connects to Olivia's ear.
Feeling helpless not being near him Liv simply asks, "where are you Rafa?"
Checking out his whereabouts he says, "a couple blocks from home."
"I haven't left yet, I'll be here when you get back. Do you want to stay on the phone until then?" Olivia asks him.
In a broken tone a "no," slips from Rafael's mouth, he hangs up with no further conversation.
Upon opening the door to their apartment Olivia pushes off the couch, having been anxiously awaiting his return home. In long strides she is at Rafael's side. Without waiting Olivia takes Rafael's face in her hands and kisses him soundly, sucking his bottom lip into her mouth. Raf doesn't wait to respond, he places his hands on Liv's hips and drags her into his body. Pulling back from her kiss Rafael instead nips at Olivia's neck, working his way down to the collar of her shirt. When he arrives at the material Rafael drops his head to her shoulder breathing heavily. Liv cradles his head against her body for a moment before pushing at his shoulders so that she can look into his eyes.
Liv stares at him, looking into his green eyes that are shining with tears. This lighting allows her to see the hazel that traces along his pupils and Olivia can't help but get lost in his stare for a moment, the beauty of his eyes never fails to captivate her, they show such emotion when he is comfortable sharing them with another person, they can also harden to steel if need be. There has never been a time she can recall that meeting his eyes hadn't mesmerized her, at least for a short time. When she looks into his eyes now she sees the uncertainty of his interaction with Noah still affecting him.
"Rafa just because you weren't the one to resolve this one situation does not make you a bad father. No parent is able to deal with every situation ever. Not to mention the fact that you are also dealing with the stress of going back to work the first time yourself. Please don't beat yourself up about this. Noah absolutely adores you and there is no father he could imagine that he would want more that you." Olivia runs her fingers through the greying hair at Rafael's temple as she does her best to comfort him.
Reaching up Rafael takes Olivia's hand and presses it to his face, leaning into it, "you're right nena, I just got so scared seeing him so upset. And I am emotional since this whole situation started."
While he holds her hand to his face Olivia strokes her thumb along Rafael's cheekbone under his eyeglasses.
Now holding her gaze Rafael takes in the stunning look of Olivia, she is the most gorgeous woman in the world to him, "I love you so much Olivia."
She uses the hand still against his face to bring him into another kiss, much softer this time, "I love you too Rafael Barba," her lips still brushing his. "And so does our son, never doubt that."
Nuzzling his nose with Olivia's Rafael nods, "no, I won't."
Standing in the comforting presence of the other for a few moments they don't speak, eventually they do pull apart to make their way to work for the day.
Rafael eases himself back into his workload, answering emails that have so far gone unanswered, returning phone calls, and tidying up loose ends until it is lunch time. At this point in the day Rafael's focus is constantly shifting from what he needs to be doing to his cell awaiting his son's call.
Finally his phone rings, "Hello?" Rafael answers.
"Hi Daddy!" Noah sounds very relieved at the sound of this father's voice on the other end of the line.
"Hola hijo, que pasa?" Rafael holds the conversation for ten minutes before reminding Noah he will see him as soon as he is home from work and that Noah has to return to his lunch with his classmates. (what's up?)
Once again Noah isn't pleased at the prospect of leaving Rafael while he is working, even if it is just speaking to him, but does as he is told.
At the end of the call Noah has one final request to make, "when Lucy picks me up can I call you again?" There is still anxiety lacing the young boy's words.
Rafael concedes, "claro Noah, hablar entonces. Te amo." (Of course Noah, speak to you then. I love you.)
"Hablar entonces, tambien te amo." Noah repeats back.
Three hours later Rafael is back on the phone with Noah checking in again. He also speaks to Lucy to check that everything went okay at pick up. Lucy assures Rafael that everything went fine, that Noah was his bubbly, smiling self when she arrived to bring him home. She also tells Rafael that Olivia told her she expected to be home in about an hour and a half so she would likely not see Rafael that evening.
"Thank you Lucy, I appreciate the update. Please call me if you need to, or if Noah wants to talk again, it's no bother." Rafael reinterates.
Lucy smiles at the man's words, "you're welcome Raf, I don't think that will be necessary but I will keep it in mind." Knowing that it isn't just Noah that is struggling with Rafael returning to work Lucy adds, "I can send you some pictures from the park this afternoon if that makes you feel better."
Laughing to himself Rafael nods, "I would love that Lucy, thanks."
With that they end their call and go about their afternoons. As Rafael prepares to leave for the day he stops by Brandi's office, "good night Brandi, it will be nice seeing you more often again."
Looking up from her work Brandi offers a smile, "it'll be okay, I guess." She sends a wink his way.
Shaking his head and chuckling Rafael moves to turn away before recalling something Olivia said, "oh, I nearly forgot, Liv wanted me to pass her number along to you. She thought it might be nice to get to know one another, and of course impart her wisdom as your icon."
Throwing her head back Brandi laughs while waving him over so she can program Olivia's number into her own phone.
"Well I definitely won't be passing up this opportunity!"
Rafael notices Brandi has saved Olivia's contact in her phone with an exclamation point at the end of her name and smiles to himself. Turning on his heel Rafael says goodbye to Brandi again over his shoulder, hearing her send one his way as well.
He makes it home in record time, calling Olivia on his way to see if there is anything he should grab for dinner, "do we need any wine?"
"No, we have a bottle of white still, and I made chicken for dinner tonight so that's fine. I should warn you now though, prepare yourself, the second you walk through the front door you will have a seven year old missile launched at you." Olivia's voice holds complete sincerity as she tells him this.
Rafael barks out a short laugh, "I can't wait."
Her prediction comes true, hearing keys turn the lock Noah instantly perks up and gets to his feet. By the time Rafael has the door open Noah is there waiting for his father to step into the apartment. His first step in the house Rafael is met with Noah holding his arms up to him.
Taking Noah under his arms Rafael lifts him into a hug, "hi hijo, I missed you today."
Noah rests his cheek on Rafael's shoulder and burrows into his neck, his words tickle Rafael's skin, "yo tambien Papí."
From that point on things seem like any other night of the week, unexceptional and routine. All three settle into this feeling, welcoming it after a turbulent couple of weeks. Once Noah is sleeping in his bed Rafael and Olivia are left to themselves.
Before Rafael sits down on the couch he goes to his briefcase and pulls a card from it, handing it to Olivia as he nears where she rests on the couch. There she sits with socked feet tucked under her, wine in one hand while the other is propped on the back of the couch bent at the elbow, head in hand facing to the side Rafael sits.
The light green envelope has Olivia's name in very neat and tidy handwriting, below her name she sees Rafael's printed in smaller letters held within parentheses. Smiling from one side of her mouth Liv opens the envelope reading a short but thoughtful note and turns to Rafael.
"Brandi is very sweet, she is congratulating us on our 'pending nuptials' as she put it." Olivia leans to place the card on the coffee table in front of them.
"I passed along your phone number today, so I am sure you will be hearing from her soon. Although she does get self-conscious easily, she thinks she can be too much." placing a hand on her knee Rafael begins to massage his fingers over Liv's leg.
Shrugging Olivia picks up her phone, "well there is no need for me to wait to hear from her. I am going to text Brandi to thank her for the nice card she gave me." She feels Rafael squeeze her knee at the implication the card wasn't at all for him, even though she's correct, it really wasn't for him.
Liv shoots off a quick text.
O: Raf just gave me your card, that was very thoughtful of you!
Nearly immediately she gets a response.
B: Oh my pleasure, Rafael always talks about you, how much you do to help people and tbh I just think you are kind of incredible!
O: You're very sweet, he speaks very highly of you too. If you are free this weekend I would love to be able to get lunch with you.
B: That would be just the best thing ever.
O: How does Saturday afternoon sound? Noah and Raf can handle themselves and we can meet up and do our own thing.
B: Perfect! 1:00?
O: Great, we can meet here and figure out what we want to do from here.
B: I can't wait!
By the end of their text conversation Olivia has wormed her toes underneath Rafael's butt to warm them up.
"I have a date on Saturday," Olivia taunts Rafael.
Running his hand up her thigh, under her shirt, and to her hip, "well what do you need me for then?" Rafael questions.
"What else would we talk about?" She is feeling very playful tonight, grabbing the hand he has on her skin she pulls it further under her shirt then jumps ahead a few steps and straddles him. "Besides, as much as I like to appreciate the looks of women I wouldn't give you up for anything."
Sinking herself into his lap Olivia cuts to the chase and swipes her tongue into Rafael's mouth. Moaning Rafael begins to push Liv's shirt up off of her. She worries his bottom lip between her teeth before sinking into it forcing a growl from Rafael's throat.
In her bra and pants Olivia stands and pulls Rafael to his feet and drags him to their bedroom.
"Get those clothes off baby, I'll show you just how much I need you," Olivia shoves him toward the bed as she closes the door behind her.
"Aye dios mio, te amo nena." Rafael's voice is deep and gravelly with want as he strips himself down.
Olivia shimmies herself out of her remaining clothing and saunters over to the bed where Rafael has laid himself down. Settling over him Liv rolls her hips against his.
Pressing their bodies together from hips to shoulders Olivia takes one of his earlobes in her teeth and hisses out, "tambien te amo Rafa."
Pressing open mouth kisses Liv travels down his neck to Rafael's collar bone where she bites down hard, leaving an impression of her teeth, sucking that same spot and soothing it with her tongue when she is done. Repeating the process one more time.
Hands gripping her hips roughly, in a bruising grip, Rafael groans out a warning, "Olivia, you're going to leave a mark."
She continues her journey down to his nipples where she sucks and nips for a few moments feeling him grow hard beneath her, "that's the idea baby."
Pushing himself up to rest on an elbow Rafael takes some control bringing her mouth to his once again and using the hands he has on her hips pushes her to her knees so he can bring a hand between them. Rafael finds Olivia's center and feels how wet she is.
"I want to be inside you Olivia, I know you want me there too, stop torturing us," he begs.
Liv doesn't respond verbally, instead taking his erection in her hand she position him at her entrance and swiftly impales herself on him to the hilt. She shudders at the feeling while he falls flat to the bed already panting at the sensation of being inside her hot, tight body.
After a short moment she begins to bounce up and down on top of him, setting an easy pace for the two of them, Rafael meeting her thrusts with his own. She is moaning and crying his name as he pants for breath. Knowing the signs that tell him she is close Rafael snakes a hand between them and plays with Olivia's clit. She begins to seize over him the instant he touches her. The pace of their movement speeds up and soon they are both hurtling to a shattering climax.
Coming down from their high Rafael spreads his hands along Olivia's back, relishing in the sweat he touches, and rolls them, pulling out of her as he does. With an empty feeling Olivia whimpers and her eyes flutter open to find his as they both lay on their sides facing each other.
"Good lord that felt good." Liv tells him, eyes hazy from her orgasm lids dropping nearly closed ready to rest.
Rafael kisses her chastely and agrees, "mmm, you always feel good mi amor."
Liv stands and makes her way to the master bath to use the restroom and clean herself. Returning to the bedroom she finds Rafael on his side waiting for her, eyes following her every move. He has settled himself near the center of the bed so Olivia slips in the blankets behind him and spoons her front to his back, palm flat to his stomach. Peppering kisses to his neck and shoulder blades she feels sleep pulling her under.
"Good night Rafa, I love you so much."
Lacing their fingers together over his ribs Rafael returns the sentiment, "night 'Livia, I love you too, always."
Squeezing their fingers together Olivia feels the ring that adorns his finger against her own and lets sleep take them under, together.
A/N: Should I end it here? Let me know what you all think. I do have more ideas if you want to read them, not sure if this is still holding people's interest.