Time jump:

Olivia had dragged Stabler to the upper parking level. She needed some air and was sure Stabler did too. Barba's words kept playing over and over. She had seen him angry a few times, but the look in his eyes threw her off. Disappointment with flashes of anger clouded his green eyes. The worst part was that they had been directed at her. "I should have never let you in that room."

"I knew what I was doing."

"Yeah?" Olivia scoffed. "So did he. He was baiting you, Elliot. Look, you're raw. I get it. Your wife is in a hospital bed, but you have been long gone, and we don't do-"

"Don't tell me that we don't do it that way anymore please!" Elliot shouted. "I've been living in Europe, not under a rock."

"Okay, hey!" Olivia snapped, trying to get his attention. "Even if he is good for it, a victim's spouse in interrogation? Whatever confession we elicit-"

"Gets thrown out, I know!"

"Do you also know that the cameras are always on in interrogation?"

Elliot nodded with a sarcastic chuckle. "Brave new world, I got it."

Olivia tossed her head up staring at the dark sky. "Rafael was right."

"What?"

"You should have not been in the office, to begin with." Olivia sighed. "I should have-"

"He calling the shots now?" Elliot snapped. "Here I thought you were the captain."

"Don't." Olivia pleaded. "I don't know what the problem is between the two of you, but this has nothing to do with it. This case is delicate enough, without us making it even more difficult for him."

"I don't even know if I want him leading this case." The words blurted out before he could stop them.

Olivia knitted her brows. "What? Elliot, Rafael is one of the best ADA's we have had in a long time."

"You don't know him as well as you think."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Whe-"

"Dad!" His oldest son stood at the door. "Don't you know how to answer your phone?"

"What is it? What's going on?" Elliot suddenly began to panic.

"Mom's awake." He laughed. "Let's go!"

Time jump:

Fin turned at seeing Olivia approaching them. "How that go?"

"Well, the good news is that Kathy Stabler is conscious."

"Can she make a statement?" Carisi asked.

Removing her jacket, she draped it over her chair. "Stabler's on the way to the hospital."

"If she can tell us anything, another detective needs to be in that room." Carisi emphasized the last part of his statement.

"Carisi, he's not gonna blow the case." Fin jumped to Elliot's defense. "End of the day, he's a good cop."

"Stop, look, I know you guys have history." Carisi sighed. "But like Barba said he can't be anywhere near this. And Jacob here, now he's claiming that he was just following some Antifa thug who threw a Molotov cocktail into Kathy's car."

"It wasn't a Molotov cocktail."

"And he doesn't know that." Carisi continued. "Barba is going to press charges for the first two, but not for Kathy Stabler."

Olivia ran a hand through her hair looking down at her desk. She spotted two white pills over a napkin, next to a glass of water. "What's this?"

"Barba left them there." Fin replied. "They are aspirin for your headache."

Picking up the two pills, she tossed them back followed by a sip of water. "Where is he?"

"Left didn't say where to." Carisi muttered. "I will be back, seems UNIs found something at the crime scene."

"How was he when he left?" Olivia asked Fin.

Fin clicked his tongue taking a seat across from her. "He seemed fine, up until he walked into interrogation room three." Seeing the confused look on her, he elaborated. "We need to put a work order and have Maintenance fix the new hole in there."

"He-" She gaped as he nodded his head. "I need to-" She glanced down at her vibrating phone. Elliot's name flashed on the screen. "After the hospital."

Time jump:

Olivia stepped into the loft, surprised to find everything off. Flicking the foyers lights on, she placed the keys in the bowl and tossed her purse on the table. She had seen Rafael's car parked in the garage and Lucy's car was gone. Grabbing a glass of water Olivia made her way up the stairs and into her son's room. It has been two months since she and Noah had officially moved in with Rafael. Stopping at the top of the stairs and looking down, she noticed how quickly they had taken over his home. How easily they transitioned to their new lives with him. Rafael had done the most to make sure they felt at home with him. Not that he needed to.

Pushing the door open slowly, she poked her head into the room. Rafael laid on his back asleep, with Noah sleeping on his chest. Rafael's arm in a protective hold around her son. His hand was wrapped in a bandage. Not wanting to disturb them, she closed the door quietly. By the time she finished taking a shower and entered the room, she was startled by Rafael sleeping in their bed.

"Rafa?"

"Hmm?"

"You asleep?"

"Yes."

Changing into her nightgown, Olivia climbed into bed. By his tone alone she knew he was still angry. Not wanting to push him even more, she turned her back to him and closed her eyes. It wasn't too long before his arm laid over her waist and pulled her into his arms.

"I thought you were asleep?" She whispered.

Barba buried his face into her back. "I was, but I know you can't unless I'm holding you."

Olivia snorted. "That's you."

"Shh." Kissing the back of her neck, he settled back to sleep.

"I'm sorry."

Rafael sighed. "Forget it, Olivia."

"Ra-" She yelped at being pushed to her back.

Rafael gripped her chin and hovered over her. "I get it. It's stabler. The prodigy son." He shook his head, stopping her from talking. "To me, he is none of that. I don't know him as you do. Therefore I am not going to treat him any differently than I do any other husband of a victim. If you want him in the loop that is fine, but he cannot interfere with the case. And he sure as hell can't be in or around any interrogation."

"I know." She sighed. "I screwed up, I thought that after all these years he would have learned some self-control."

Barba chuckled, settling back into bed. "A tiger never changes his stripes."

Time jump:

"Half these cases I can't talk about." Elliot was sitting across from Fin. He had gotten a call from the detective asking them to meet for lunch. As soon as he sat down the questioning began. Turned out one PP and Arson were asking questions about him. Wondering what he was involved with.

"How's Kathy doing?" Fin decided to steer away from that for a moment.

Stabler gave a sad smile. "Hanging in there. You know, Kathy was the one who insisted we go to Liv's ceremony."

"And Liv did not even know you were coming. Didn't know you were in New York." Fin shrugged. "Thought you told me you were gonna call her."

"I know I told you that I would, and then I meant to..." Stabler chuckled, like a child who was caught in a lie. "I just felt that so much time passed that I couldn't reach out to you both."

"I get it." A total lie, but he wasn't about to say that. "Look, let me bring you up to speed. Liv moved on. It took her a minute, but she moved on. She has a son now. She's had a couple of relationships. In a solid one right now."

"Son." Stabler wasn't sure why that didn't bring him as much joy as he thought it would. Liv had always wanted to become a mother. He should be thrilled for her. Then why was his chest feeling heavy? "Good for her. Who's the guy?" Something he already knew but wanted confirmation.

Fin chuckled. "You have to ask her that."

"Of course."

"But I will tell you this." Fin leaned in closer. "I haven't seen her smile in such a way. She's happy and she's loved."

Time jump:

"A DA drives all the way to Green Haven to talk to Yuri Lenski."

Barba leaned back in the chair with a bored look. "Not my first choice at how I wanted to spend my Friday morning."

"I must have something you want."

Leaning forward he entwined his hands on the table. "You have any cousins or nephews who went into your line of work?"

"Gambling." Yuri laughed. "You didn't come here for slot machines. The guard tells me that you are SVU." He turned to Fin. "That cop's wife who got blown up, that was your unit wasn't it?"

"Whatever you tell us, no one will ever know it came from you." Fin swore.

Yuri chuckled. "People still fall for that?"

"You help us and the DA helps you." Fin tried once more. "You are up for parole in 79 days, right?"

"I already did 4 years; I can do 3 more in my sleep." He turned his cold eyes at Barba. "I don't turn on family."

Barba stood up buttoning his jacket. "No point in wasting our time." Following Fin out of the area, he stopped and groaned. "Shit forgot my briefcase. You go on and start the car. I will only be a moment." Getting a few nods from Fin, he waited for a moment before walking back into the visiting area. Handing the money to the guards, he waited as they turned the camera off and walked out. "I am going to need a name."

"I guess you didn't hear me earlier. I don't turn on fa-ah!" Yuri fell to the floor clenching his arm. Blood flowed in between his fingers. "You fucker!"

"I nicked an artery, giving you exactly 15 minutes to live." Rafael sat at the table watching the man struggle to stop the bleeding. "Give me the name and I will allow the guards to help you. Or don't and bleed to death. Either way is fine for me." Glancing at his watch he clicked his teeth. "10 minutes left."

Yuri groaned. "Sacha Lenski."

Waving the guards in, he stood to leave. "I find out you lied to me; you will wake up to a missing tongue." Meeting Fin just outside the gate, he climbed into the truck and called Olivia. "Sacha Lenski."

'How'd you convince him?'

"Asked nicely."

Fin pretended not to see the single blood drop on his sleeve. Or the blood on his briefcase. Instead, he laughed at his lame joke and continued to drive on. He wasn't about to dive into something that had nothing to do with him.

Time jump:

Barba laid back in his chair with his eyes closed, hoping for a moment of sleep. Just a moment to clear his thoughts. But he was reminded the world didn't stop for him at the knock. "Come in."

Fin walked in with a grim look. "Kathy Stabler didn't make it."

"I'm sorry." Barba sighed. "How is he?"

"Not good."

"Liv?"

"As best as you would imagine." Fin replied.

Barba leaned forward. "I can up the charges to murder on Sacha, but you and I know they won't stick. His lawyer will not let him make a deal with us. Look, Fin, this is all wrong. I just got a call from the top, we are off the case. SVU is off the case."

"They can't do that." Fin scoffed.

"They can and they did." Barba threw his hands up. "Nothing I did change their mind. This is now an international case."

"So, that's it?"

"That's it."

Time jump: A week

For the past week Barba had been out of the state dealing with a few assignments. In the week he had been moving between Germany and Bolivia. With his tight time schedule, he hadn't been able to call Olivia, only sending a few text messages here and there. One thing he was sure of, was that he was going to have major making up for.

"Yes?" He answered his phone.

'You done?'

"Yes."

'Good, listen go home. You did good Rafael.'

"Yeah." Hanging up the call, he dialed Olivia's number.

'Benson.'

"Hey."

'I'm sorry? Who is this?'

"Liv." Barba whined.

'You know you sound like my fiancé or ex-fiancé, still haven't decided on that. You know he left a week ago and I have yet to hear from him.'

"I'm sorry Amor." Barba lowered his tone, knowing that was one of her turn on's. "My service and constant moving made it near impossible. I sent you a few text messages."

'I didn't get any,'

Putting her on speaker he pulled up his messages. Taking a screen shot, he sent it to her. "I texted you every day, at least four times a day."

'Didn't get them.'

"Does this mean I am still the fiancé or..."

'For now.'

"Listen I am on a plane back now. Get dressed, we are going out to dinner." Barba ordered. "I should be there at 8, pick you up at 8:30."

'Dinner?'

"Only the beginning of my apology for not calling."

'Okay.'

"Okay."

Time jump:

Knocking on the door to his own loft, Barba laughed. 'Why the hell am I nervous?' Dropping his eyes down to his shoes, he tensed at hearing the door open.

The first thing he saw were her painted nails matching her red heels. Trailing up her legs he groaned inwardly at how smooth they looked. His view of her legs was cut off by her short red dress. Her legs were forgotten as he trailed up her body. The outline of her body causing his slack to suddenly feel tight on him. Reaching her eyes, he was sure he was smiling like an idiot.

"Now I know why I was nervous." Barba huffed out. "You look stunning."

"Not too bad yourself counselor." Olivia stepped out into the hallway, locking the door. "Lucy is here and Noah is down for the night."

"This early?" Barba offered her his arm.

Leaning her head on his shoulder, she inhaled his scent. "I missed you."

"I doubt as much I did." He planted a kiss on her head. "But we have all night."

Olivia was having the time of her life. Barba had rented out the back half of the restaurant to give them the privacy they wanted. He had asked the staff to fill the restaurant with her favorite flowers. Soft music playing in the background. After asking her dance with him for a few moments, they sat down to eat.

"Rafa, why didn't you tell me you had met Elliot?" It had been one of the many questions swimming in her mind. She guessed this one was the least harmless.

Barba stopped his fork halfway, lowering it back down. "Liv, when I left Rome, I wasn't exactly in the clearest set of minds. My only thought was to get back. It slipped my mind. Besides it's not like we talk about Stabler for me to jog my memory."

"You never told me how it was you found. Subdue Lewis and why no one could know why you were there." By answering her question, she now opened the door he always kept locked.

"Liv, drop the subject please." Barba pleaded with her. "There are many things I can't tell you. Can you just see this for what it was. A madly in love man doing the impossible to save the woman he loves?"

"I can't." She whispered back. "I need answers."

Barba leaned back in the chair, resting one hand on the table he tapped his thumb. "I will not be able to tell you everything, but I will tell you what I can. Don't ask for more. I won't tell you. So, let me know now if that's good enough for you. If not, we drop it now."

Olivia mauled over his offer. This was the best she was going to get. "Very well counselor, you have yourself a deal."

"Alright." Barba's little hope of her declining was smothering in that moment. "You know most of my backstory. I was born here in El barrio. My father was your typical gets drunk and beats you after type. After the death of my mother, I hit the streets at the age of 10. Did odd jobs here and there, nothing illegal. Well to an extent, I mean giving a job to kid of only 10 was breaking a few laws. I made friends here and there, some were military that thought me how to fight, shoot, survive." He took a sip of his wine. "I survived the streets for up until I was 15. At that age I was taken in by a group of...men."

"Men?" Olivia was starting to worry this was taking a turn for the worse. "Rafa were you r-"

"No." Barba was quick to shut her down. "No, it's nothing like that. They took me, clothed, feed, cared, and taught me. From the ages of 15 to 25 I was sent off to studied and train with different people and cultures. I came back when I hit 26 and was deemed ready for assignments."

"What kind of assignments?"

Barba shook his head. "Just some find and grabs. Interrogations. Overseas assignments. Nothing out of this word, but I am not free to go into detail."

"This was what you were afraid to say?" Olivia chuckled. "You made it sound as if I was engaged to some international spy."

Barba raised a brow tilting his head to the side. "Something like that."

Olivia sobered up staring at him. "Seriously?"

He just shrugged. "Drop it Liv, please."

"Rafael."

"Liv, you don't understand. The more I say, the more you get suck in." He leaned forward taking her hand in his. "I am not going to risk it. I am not going to risk you or Noah. So pleas, this is all I'm saying and you are getting. We had a deal, Captain."

Olivia sighed. "You're right. Sorry."

Barba gave a small smile turning his attention back to his food. This wasn't the way he had hoped the night would have gone. He wanted just a quite them alone dinner. Not him telling her part of his life. He still had a lot more to tell her, but if he had any control over it, she wouldn't know. not until he was out and done with them. And he was so close to leaving. Just a few more assignments and he would be able to live his life. Hopefully before Olivia found out the entire truth about him.

But life never was one to give a free pass.