Time jump: 10 months.

Barba jumped at the raid knock on his door. Looking around his loft, he made sure it was all prepared for the day. Ordering his dog into the kennel, he pulled the door open.

Olivia offered him a wide grin. "Hey."

"Hi." Giving her a kiss on the cheek, he allowed her into his place. "Hello, little man."

"Hi!" Noah grinned up at him, with a small wave. "Desoto?"

"Desoro." Barba correctly softly. "In the kennel. You can let her out." Without another care, he took off towards the tail-wagging dog.

"You really shouldn't have done any of this." Olivia was amazed by the view he had of their city. "Nice view."

"If you say so." Barba had grown used to seeing it every moment of the day. It got dull after a moment. But seeing her standing in front of it, gave him a new appreciation for it.

Olivia rolled her eyes, biting the remark back. "Thank you. This was more than I expected."

Barba held his hand out to her, pulling her into his side when she took it. "For you and that little boy, I'd do anything." And he wasn't lying either. In the months he has been on standby, Barba has grown to like his tempt job. The SVU squad was an entertaining bunch, that much he will say.

But Olivia? He has seen her grow into the woman she was now. From detective to Sargent, to lieutenant. When he first met her, he noticed a certain sadness in her eyes. He later found it, it had been caused by her previous partner. Elliot Stabler. Now Rafael had done his homework on the former Detective. Let's just say he isn't a fan of the man. But, now looking down at her, he no longer detected any sadness. It was just pure joy and love.

Rafael had yet to confess his feeling for the woman, but he was content with the friendship. There were many reasons as to why he hasn't and the primary one being her safety. He already lost his family because of his job, he wasn't about to lose another. Of course, he knew Carmen was constantly checking in with James. And if he knew James at all, there was already an agent assigned to Olivia and Noah.

"Noah no running baby!" Olivia called after her son. Who at the moment was being chased by the dog. "Noah."

"He's fine liv." Barba pointed to the rug. "He won't slip. I had those put in after Desoro kept slipping."

"Thank you." Placing a hand on his chest, she nearly gasped at the radiating heat coming off him. "I really am grateful."

Covering her hand with his, he pulled it up to his lips and kissed the inside of her wrist. "None needed. Besides, it's not every day a boy turns three."

When Olivia had ranted to him the struggles of finding a place to have Noah's birthday, she never expected the man to offer his loft. Her apartment was too small to take in the entire squad and their families. Not to mention she didn't want anyone getting hurt feeling, due to cut-offs. She had offered to help plan it, but Barba insisted on making it a surprise for both her and Noah. She did however make him promise under oath, he would not be getting Noah a puppy.

Hearing the doorbell, she pulled out of his grasp. "I'll get it."

Carrisi and Amanda were the first to arrive with Jessie. The girl wasted no time in hellos, before taking off after Noah.

"Is this what an ADA makes." Carrisi whistled taking a twirl around. "I think I might just enjoy becoming a lawyer."

"No, unfortunately being an ADA doesn't pay as well as you would think." Barba patted him on the back. "I have done some investments that have turned out pretty good."

"Please don't get him started on that." Amanda grumbled. "I just got him to stop after a week. Where do I put this?" She held a large gift, looking for a table.

Barba knew he had forgotten something. "Ahh, on the dining table should be fine."

"So, about those investments?"

"Carrisi!"

Amaro was the next to arrive with his two kids. Followed by Fin and Munch. Cragen came along with his two grandkids. By the time everyone had arrived Barba's loft had turned into a kid's playground. He had made sure to put anything that mattered away before they had arrived. Not that he paid for it, but still no reason to piss off his supervisor.

Barba spent most of his time near the kitchen. It wasn't that he didn't want to join, but it has been a while since he has been in a large group. For years it was him and his dog. Get a job, do the job and wait for the next one. This, this was all new to him. The laughter and screams of the kids. The conversation and laughter between the adults. It was overwhelming. Tossing back his glass of scotch, he snuck around the group and out to the balcony. Leaning over the rail, he stared over the city. New York never did sleep day or night.

Barba jumped at a hand landing on his back. His hands griping at the railings to avoid reacting. Glancing over his shoulder, he relaxed at seeing Olivia. "Hey."

"Hey." Olivia mimicked his moves, leaning her hip against the railing. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing, why you ask?"

Olivia shrugged. "You haven't really been here. Raf, if this is too much we can always le-"

"No!" He hadn't meant for it to come out as desperate as it did. "No, of course not." Taking her hand in his, he brought it to his lips. "I wouldn't have offered if I didn't want you here. I'm just in one of my depressing thoughts. Nothing a Liv hug can't cure."

"That's a high-order counselor." Olivia teased. "What do I get in return?"

Rafael turned sideways to face her. "I can always just take it." Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulled her flush into his chest. In that moment, having her in his arms he couldn't help but feel safe. She was his confidential friend. All jokes aside, he leaned down resting his head on her shoulder. "I just-please."

Olivia instantly wrapped her arms around his neck. Without a word spoken between them, she placed a hand over his head. His hair in between her fingers. Glancing over his shoulder towards the others, she was met with worried looks. Giving them a shake of her head, she pulled Rafael closer in. She knew about the death of his family. He was vague about the details. But in those deaths were his nephew and sister. The same nephew that would have been three this year. She should have known this would have been hard for him. "Raf, we can always cut the party short. I'm sure the kids have had enough sugar."

"No." He leaned back just enough to look down at her. "Noah is having fun, I'm not about to stop that. Besides…" Raising his hand up to her cheek, he pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "As I said, a hug from you is enough."

Amanda sighed softly at seeing the exchange between their ADA and Olivia. "When are those two going to notice it."

Fin scoffed. "Knowing Liv like I do, until she is at risk of losing it."

"And Barba is not going to risk losing their friendship." Carrisi added, getting looks from the others. "We may have talked about it a couple of days ago."

"Oh, do tell." Amanda grinned scooting up to the edge of the couch. "What did he say?"

"I-uh-I am not going to say anything." Carrisi cleared his throat. "If he finds out I said anything to you, he will kill me."

"Come on, what did you mean losing their friendship?" Amaro asked.

Carrisi sighed, tossing a glance at the two on the balcony. "Alright, you didn't hear this from me."

Amanda made a zip across her lips. "Not a word."

"It was after the two-rape homicide, a week ago." Carrisi began. "I went out for a beer and bumped into him at the bar. We drank and got to talking. I told him about my current relationship. Somehow we jumped into Liv and I asked why he hasn't made a move."

"And?!" Fin snapped, causing the others to jump.

Amanda chuckled. "Damn Fin."

"He told me he has tried so many times, but you know how hard it is for us to date within." Carrisi stated. "Besides, he also said he refused to ruin their friendship."

"The man is an idiot." Amanda muttered.

"Who's an idiot?" Olivia walked back in with Barba trailing behind her. "Anyone, I know?"

A knock on the door gave the squad an excuse to avoid answering.

Barba frowned already making his way towards the door. "Are we missing anyone?"

Olivia shook her head. "No, we are all here."

Opening the door, he did not expect who he saw. "Cassidy."

"Counselor." Cassidy snipped. "I'm looking for Liv."

"She-" He glanced at Cassidy with a curious look. "How did you get my address?"

"The pho-"

"It's not listed, try again." Barba glared at the ex-detective. Last he heard Cassidy and Liv had called it quits and not on the best terms. "Did you check up on me?"

"I needed to find Liv."

"I don't think she wanted to be found, by you that is."

"Not your call." Cassidy glanced over Barba's shoulder, spotting Liv with the others. "Liv!" Pushing past Barba, he stormed into the loft. "Liv."

"Brian, what are you doing here?" Liv's eyes landed on her son, who was happily playing with the other kids. "How did you find me here?"

"I needed to talk to you." Brian ignored the others, backing Liv into a dead end. "We need to talk about us."

"Brian, not now." Liv whispered harshly. "It is my son's birthday."

"Oh. I forgot It was today." Brian smiled. "Where is the little man?" Turning towards the group of kids, he called for Noah. "Hey, buddy!"

Barba was quick to intercept Brian from getting close to the boy. "How about you leave the boy alone, let him celebrate his birthday without issues. Pretty sure he won't be interested in seeing you." Desoro was already on alert, standing in front of the group of kids. Her tail raised and growled lowly. Her eyes glanced at Barba every few seconds awaiting her command.

"That boy is like a son to me." Brian snapped. "I have every right you don't."

Barba stepped closer to the man. "You lost that right the moment you decided to fall in bed with a hooker." Seeing the anger flash in his eyes, he smirked inwardly. "Forgive me detect-oh right-Officer but I did not invite you into my home. So, unless you wish to be arrested for trespassing into the ADA's house, I suggest you leave."

"I came here to talk to Liv." Brian huffed.

"Brian now is not a good time." Liv had moved to stand between the two males. "Leave, please. We can talk later when Noah isn't listening." She noticed the way her son held onto the dog, his eyes wide with fear. She always made it a priority Noah was never around when she argued with anyone.

"Liv, we need to talk about this." Brian continued, completely disregarding her plea. "I never meant what happened to happen. It was a stupid mistake. I was undercover and-and I had to."

"You had to?!" Liv scoffed. "The girl was underage. You didn't have to."

Brian's hand reached out for her arm, pulling her towards him. "You have to believe me."

Liv was hit with the smell of whiskey heavy on his breath. "Have you been drinking?"

"What? No." Staggering back, he ran a hand over his head. "I had maybe one drink."

"You need to leave." Liv ordered.

"Liv pl-"

"That's it." Barba grabbed Liv's arm, gently pulling her behind him. "Leave, now."

"And if I don't?" Brian challenged.

Barba clenched his fist, glancing back at Liv. "Rollins."

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you take the kids outside."

Amanda shared a look with the others, before getting up. "Come on kids, let's go play in uncle Rafael's pool."

Olivia had never seen that look in Rafael's eyes. His sweet almost sad eyes of his were clouded with rage. The light green tuning into a dark emerald color. His shoulders rising and falling with heavy breaths. She took notice of his clenched fist, the veins on his hands popping.

"Desoro stay with Noah." Waiting for the kids to be out of earshot, he turned back towards Cassidy. "You have five seconds to get out of here before I drag you out myself."

"You want to try it?" Brian egged him on. "You know, I always knew you had a thing for Liv."

"Leave." Barba was getting fed up. Ever since he was put on standby, he had been unable to release the pent-up frustration he has. And believe him, he has tried everything. This job did nothing but add even more. Cassidy was on the verge of tipping the glass and he was in range. "This is the last I am warning you. Leave."

"I bet you must hate it." Cassidy whispered. "That I got to her fir-" Cassidy was knocked to the ground after Barba's fist connected with his jaw.

Barba was losing sight of what was in front of him. All color bled away, being replaced with a blood red. "You want to repeat what you just said, hijo de puta!"

"Rafael!" Olivia was both in shock and rage. Shock a passive man like Barba would react in such a way. Raged that Cassidy was the one to push him this far. "Fin!"

Barba knew he needed to get ahold of himself, but the dam had been opened. Reaching down he fisted Cassidy's shirt, lifting him off the ground just enough to punch him once more. "If you ever come near her again, I am going to beat the shit out of you. Me entiendes?!" Before he could give the man another punch, a pair of arms wrapped around his waist and hauled him away. "Dejame ir, le voy a partir su madre!"

"Get ahold of yourself, Barba!" Fin struggled to keep his hold on him. The man was like the fucken hulk, making it hard to keep him at bay. "Noah is watching!"

Hearing the little boy's name, all rage disappeared. "I'm alright. I'm alright." Raising his hands up, he took in a shaky breath. "I'm fine."

Fin refused to let him go until Amaro and Carrisi kicked Cassidy out. "You good?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm good." The moment he was let go, he rushed out to the balcony. "Noah?" The little boy was standing by the pool with wide eyes. He cursed under his breath at seeing the unshed tears in his eyes. "Mijo, ven." Noah refused, his eyes falling on the bloody knuckles. "Noah, come here. It's alright love."

Noah didn't know what to think. He was scared. He was mad. He knew who the tall man was. He used to live with them, but he would always make his mother cry or yell. He saw his uncle hit the man, but what scared him was the yelling. He had never heard his uncle Raf yell before. "Tio?"

"Yeah." Knowing the boy wouldn't make a move, he stood up. Walking over to him slowly, he scooped the boy in his arms and held him tightly. "Estas bien? You okay?"

"Yes." Noah wrapped his arms around Raf's neck, burying his face in the crook of his neck. "You bleeding."

"I'm fine." He exhaled softly. "Noah?"

"Yes?"

Walking them back into the living room, he sat him on the couch. Olivia took the seat neck to her son, pulling him into her arms. Noah kneeled in front of the two. "Baby boy, I need you to listen to me. Can you do that?" Noah clutched to his mother but responded with a nod. "Okay, first predoname mijo. You were never supposed to see something like that. I got mad and lost my temper, but I want you to understand something. I would never harm you or your mami. I will never lose my temper with either of you. Me entiendes?"

"Si." His voice was a mere whisper.

"Secondly, what I did was wrong." Rafael was directing himself to not just Noah, but Olivia as well. "And I am sorry about that." Running a hand over Noah's head, he cupped the boy's jaw. "Perdoname?"

"I forgive you." He leaped out of his mother's lap, wrapping his arms around Rafael's neck. "Te amo tio." Giving him a big sloppy kiss on the cheek, he snuggled into his neck once more.

"Te amo mas Mijo." Meeting Olivia's intense stare, he took her hand in his. Giving it a light squeeze Rafael brought it to his lips, kissing the inside of her wrist. "Same goes for you Liv, forgive me. I lost my temper when he spoke those words. I saw red and I couldn't stop."

Keeping their hands entwined Olivia sat forward, resting her forehead against his. "You did nothing wrong, Raf. I have nothing to forgive." Tilting her head to the side, she gave him a kiss on the jaw. "Thank you. As always, looking out for me."

"Can we have some cake now?!" Jessie yelled over the silent loft. "Please."

The adult chuckled, slipping into an easier vibe. The bloody situation from early long forgotten. Everyone settled down for cake and ice cream. Cragen had thrown out the idea of a movie in an attempt to calm the sugar-high kids. Even Desoro was worn out. Barba and the others herded the kids into the living room, as Amanda set up the movie.

"What are we watching?" Barba walked in with two bottles of wine and a few wine glasses.

Olivia jumped to her feet taking the glasses from him and handing them out. "Bambi."

"One or two?" Serving Fin, he looked up to see all eyes on him. "What? Noah is obsessed with Bambi at the moment."

"It's true." Olivia shrugged. "Last week it was the lion king and the week prior-"

"101 Dalmatian." Barba finished.

"It's Bambi 2." Amanda replied, raising her hands up in surrender. "Is that the correct one or should I change it?"

"That's the one." Both Olivia and Barba replied at once.

Amanda raised a brow, slowly nodding her head. "You would think it was you two wanting to see the movie."

Barba flopped down on the couch, draping his arm around Olivia's neck. "Just put the movie on Rollins."

Somewhere halfway through the movie, Cragen turned to ask Olivia something, only to shut his mouth at the look Rafael tossed him. Rafael sat on the corner of the couch; his feet rested on top of the coffee top. Olivia slept curled up into his side. Rafael's arm wrapped around her in a protective hold. His fingers ran through her hair in a soothing motion. Olivia's arm draped over his abdomen, tucked into his side. His eyes landed on the pile of sleeping kids on the floor. "How about we call it a night? The kids are out and so is Liv."

"I with the captain on that." Fin whispered. "I got Liv."

"No." Rafael muttered. "I got a guest room. No point in waking them up."

"Alrighty then." Carrisi bent down, picking up Jessie in his arms. "Let's get this monkey home."

Rafael waved them off as they trailed out of his loft. As carefully as he could, he wedged himself out of his spot. Holding her head from falling on the seat, he reached for a cushion. Placing it below her, he gently lowered her head onto it. Making sure she hadn't woken up, Rafael walked into the upper guest room. Prepping the bed and getting out clean sheets, he rushed back down to the living room. Picking up Noah first he carried the boy up to the room. Before making his way back down, he grabbed a t-shirt and sweats from his room.

"Liv." Getting nothing, but a groan he chuckled. "Liv, hey." Pushing her hair away from her hair, he ran his thumb across her cheek. "Liv wake up."

"Hmm?"

"We need to get you into bed." Kissing her on the head, he whispered. "Come on, let's get you changed."

Stretching with a loud groan she noticed they were alone. "Where is everyone?"

"Well, Detective you fell asleep halfway through the movie."

Dropping face-first into the cushion with a groan, Olivia pushed herself up into a sitting position. "Where is Noah?"

"Guest room." Grabbing the clothes and handing them to her, he gestured to the bathroom down the hall. "You can change in there."

"Thank you." She whispered closing the door behind her.

"Mommy!"