The weekend passed by in a flash; between running around the house to catch up on belated chores, spending time with each other and stocking up on groceries, the two days had gone by. The Sunday night before Savina's first day back to school was tense; Olivia was trying to stay calm for her daughter's sake, not sure if she should be the one to broach the subject of her return tomorrow, or if she should give her the space.

She wasn't sure Savina would come to her with any doubts or thoughts she was having about her return to school or not. Savina more or less seemed the same, nothing out of the ordinary. She still let loose with Noah in the park, sang and danced with him at home, and was joking and giving as good as she got with Barba.

But Olivia couldn't help but worry.

"You spoke to the school board, right?" she asked Barba as she threw her shirt into the hamper.

He nodded. "Don't worry, it's been handled." He assured her.

"And they understand the situation?" she sought confirmation, and he smiled reassuringly at her.

"Yes, mi amor," he replied, "they arranged a day with Dr. Lindstrom to talk about the subject last week. They weren't talking about Savina's situation specifically, they simply educated them on how to support a friend in need, and the kind of support any survivor needs. Of course, they took their age into consideration, but he made sure he talked about triggers, sudden movements, sudden touches and such," he assured her, as he watched her pull his old Harvard t-shirt that she'd claimed so long ago as hers over her head. "Don't worry, Liv. Lindstrom covered his basis, and the school can't treat her any differently because of what happened, or they won't know what hit them!" he soothed, as he closed the gap between them, and snaked his arms around her waist, kissing the side of her head when she dropped it against him. She smiled at his not-so-subtle threat, knowing that he meant every word.

"Rafa, I came back to a squad room full of SVU detectives who were veterans at how to handle survivors, and my heart was in my throat the entire time. Teenagers can be vicious, or they can trigger her without knowing." She said in dismay.

"I know," he whispered into her hair, "and I wish there was an easy fix to it, or some way to shield her from it all," he continued, tightening his arms around her waist when she took a shuddering breath, "but as you unfortunately know, we can't eliminate every trigger that might come in her way. And we can't hover over her for the rest of her life," he told her, and she looked at him thoughtfully.

"Well…." She trailed off, and he shook his head in amusement.

"If she's anything like you, mi amor, she'll hate every second of it, and won't be quiet about it," he reminded her, "let's just show her we trust her, and trust that she'll come to us with anything that bothers her." He suggested softly.

"Oh, she may have my hatred for hovering, but her mouth is all you," she chuckled, and he made an unconvinced sound.

"Rafa, look at me," she said softly, as she turned around in his arms to face him. He looked up from the spot he'd been focused on and met her eyes. It pained her that he still doubted his place in Savina's life, doubted how she viewed him…. doubted his own abilities as a parent. She could understand where the last part was coming from, and she knew that the first two could only be healed through time and assurances.

"You have been in her life as long as I have, and she was so much like you, that Eddie was calling her 'Harvard Jr.' long before he knew." she reminded him, "and I am almost certain he's convinced you and I had a drunken one-night-stand eighteen years ago that we don't remember," she quipped, and he laughed.

"I doubt I would forget such a night," he commented lovingly, and she blushed as she brought one hand to cup his cheek, her thumbpad grazing the stubble that formed over the weekend.

"You've been calling her your own since we found out about her," she reminded him, "what changed?" she wondered.

"Nothing," he quickly assured her, "I feel the same way about her, and nothing will change that."

"You're her father, as much as I'm her mother," she said gently, "And she doesn't care about DNA any more than I do." She added.

"You don't know that." he shot back sadly.

"Actually, I do." She disagreed, and he frowned at her. "Remember the session she had me attend with her a couple of days ago?" she wondered, and he nodded. "The gist of it was that she was scared with the stress of having her around, you and I might get fed up and leave her," she started, and he was horrified. "After we were done with the session, and I had finally managed to convince her that we won't just send her back. I told her that I do know who her biological father was if she wanted to contact him," she recounted, and Barba's heart sank. He knew the imbecile had signed away his rights, but if Savina was the one to approach him, and he wanted to be in her life, they can't refuse. And he was scared that man would end up meaning more to Savina than him. Olivia saw the panic flash across his face, as his brain immediately rushed to a scenario where Henderson was back in Savina's life, and Savina was treating him more like a parent than Barba.

"She looked at me like I had grown another head and asked why she would care about someone who clearly had no interest in being a parent," she said, and he was confused.

"Did you tell her the story?" he asked, and Olivia shook her head.

"She said that she was never really interested in finding her biological family anyways, but if it was a misunderstanding like it was with me, I either would've mentioned him by now, or I would've had her lay flowers at a grave. Since I did neither, it meant that only one of us was interested in becoming a parent all those years ago," she repeated what Savina said, and Barba couldn't help but smile proudly at how perceptive she was. But he wasn't quite sure how Olivia took that to mean that she doesn't care about DNA.

"She then said that that day in the hospital there were two parents in the room with her, that DNA didn't matter to her any more than it mattered to me."

Barba's eyes stung with tears. "She said that?" he inquired in disbelief, and Olivia nodded.

"Why are you surprised?" Olivia inquired, "she didn't even flinch when Lucia said 'your Papi', she simply grumbled a 'thanks a lot' at your because Lucia now knew her middle name, and she knew she would get middle-named whenever she was getting reprimanded," she recalled, and he chuckled at the memory. "And when I told her that Noah called you 'Papi' she knew you freaked out, despite Noah not being wrong to call you that," she remembered, and he sighed.

"Liv, what I have with you, and with them is something that I gave up even fantasizing about years ago," he confessed, "after Yelena, and what she said…" he was interrupted by Olivia's confused voice.

"What she said?" she repeated in confusion, and he realized that despite telling her about his history with Yelena, he never told her how she played on his insecurities.

Olivia saw the pain flash across his face at whatever memory he was recalling.

"Rafa?" she called gently, tightening her arms around him.

"When I found her with Alex," he started, "her justification was that she was sure he'd make a good father, because he would model his own," he took a shuddered breath, and Olivia's nostrils flared in anger. That woman better hope she didn't run into her soon. "But she couldn't be sure of the same with me, because of my father, and as good of a person I was, how was I to know how to be a good husband and father." He finished.

The irony of the situation was not lost on Olivia.

"Rafa, she knew she was at fault, and she was trying to hurt you to come out on top," Olivia soothed. "But the man that she cheated on you with and chose over you because he had a good model to copy," the disdain in Olivia's voice was increasing with each word, "he not only cheated on her with many women, but some of them were underage," she reminded him. "He was neither a good man, nor can he even hold a candle to you when it comes to being a father." She assured him.

He kissed her gently, to convey the depth of his love to her, and to assure himself that she truly was there with him. "I love you so much, mi amor," he spoke softly, "all three of you. And that's why it's all scary for me, because after that, I never allowed myself to even fantasize about something like this. Not just because of what she said, but because I was scared I'd be like him," he told her.

She smiled, not entirely sure how she waited three years to be with him. "We love you too." She assured him. "And you're nothing like him." She added.

"Papi!" Noah's squeal came over the baby monitor, followed by Savina's desperate, "guys!". She had been the one to give him his bedtime bath, and it seemed the toddler had given her a run for her money.

"Let's go save her," Olivia suggested, and he smiled. He followed her out of their room and headed towards Noah's room.

They found the toddler in his diapers, twisting and turning on his bed as he resisted his sister, who was trying to get his onesie onto his body.

"Help!" the teen pleaded desperately, her hair frazzled, and her top drenched in water. "I don't know what's gotten into him."

"Donuts!" Olivia remarked, glaring playfully at a cheekily grinning Barba. The toddler squealed at the sight of them, and immediately squirmed out of his sister's hold, sprinting towards Barba, squealing 'Papi' as he flung himself at the crouching Cuban.

Barba happily gathered him in his arms, kissing him on the cheeks as the toddler wrapped his arms around his neck.

"You deal with him then," Savina declared, as she got to her feet, and jokingly slapped the onesie into Barba's chest. "I was supposed to shower like half an hour ago, but now my hair will definitely be wet tomorrow," she grumbled.

"Why don't you blow dry it?" Olivia wondered.

Savina hesitated, suddenly looking out of place and playing with the hem of her shirt. She looked like she was trying to think of a way to phrase her next thought, and both adults frowned. Why would Olivia's suggestion cause this reaction in her?

"I don't know how to," she finally confessed, and they looked quizzically at her. She sighed; Lindstrom did tell her that she needed to open up a bit more to them about herself. "I never really had one, and whenever I needed it, Diana usually did it for me." She elaborated.

"How about I help you with it?" Olivia suggested.

"You're not too tired?" Savina asked, and Olivia shook her head.

"Thanks." Was all Savina said.

Olivia smiled; she was half expecting Savina to ask her if she won't 'mind' doing it for her or make some comment about how she didn't 'have' to do that.

Half an hour later, the kitchen was packed, Barba had managed to wrangle a sugar-high Noah into bed and after a couple of stories, he was finally down for the night. He shuffled into their bedroom, and found Olivia crouched, and partially hidden behind her vanity.

"Liv?" he called questioningly.

"I'm trying to detangle the cord for the blow-dryer from this fire hazard," her groan was slightly muffled.

"Why?" came Savina's questioning voice from behind Barba, and Olivia pulled back from her position behind the vanity.

Her hair was pulled to one side, as she squeezed the towel around the drenched brown locks. Olivia immediately let go of the mess of cords, and took Barba's offered hand, standing to her feet. "Just in case you wanted to do this in your room," Olivia said gently, giving her the option if she wanted it.

"No, I'm good to do it here, if Rafa won't mind the noise?" she wondered, looking at Barba.

"Of course not, mija," the moniker slipped out, and his brain was about to go into panic, when he saw something flash in Savina's eyes. It wasn't anger, it wasn't a feeling of being uncomfortable, it wasn't panic. But he wasn't sure what it was either.

Olivia knew Barba's internal panic, and she saw the fleeting look in Savina's eyes. But unlike Barba, she knew what it was. But she knew Barba needed more than Olivia's word for it.

Savina walked over to the small chair and plopped down, and Barba walked over to the bed, grabbed his book off the nightstand before settling into bed to read.

Olivia grabbed the heat-protectant spray, sectioned off Savina's hair and set to work. Savina's hair was a shade lighter than Olivia's was at her age. It was the only obvious feature she got from Henderson, the rest was Olivia; her eyes, her complexion, the resemblance….and judging by how those who knew them both often commented on it; her mannerism as well.

That gave Olivia an idea.

"You know, sweetheart," she started, and Savina's eyes met her own in the mirror, "you always joke about how you do a double take when someone mentions Noah's adopted, because he's the perfect mix of me and Rafa," she said smiling, and Savina chuckled. Olivia saw Barba look up from the book and study Savina in the mirror.

"Yeah, since I knew him before you two, I didn't think twice about it when I saw him with you at the hospital. Until Abuelita told me that you two had only been together for a few months, then you said Lanagan helped with his adoption, so I assumed Rafa adopted him." She recounted, and Barba chuckled.

Both Olivia and Barba pushed down their slightly hurt feelings that Savina was already calling Lucia 'Abuelita' but they were still 'Liv' and 'Rafa'.

"If you'd seen me with him when your mother first had him, you would've definitely known," he quipped and she frowned, especially when Olivia laughed.

"He used to hold him like he was a ticking bomb," she recalled, and Savina's eyebrows shot up her forehead in surprise.

"I can't even picture it, you're a natural at this," Savina chuckled.

Olivia knew Savina meant every word she just said, and she saw the effect they had on Barba.

"What reminded you of it now?" Savina wondered.

"Same could be said about you; you have his hair, and his mouth," she drawled, and Savina chuckled.

"Yeah, that's why Eddie is almost convinced you two had a one-night stand eighteen years ago that you can't remember," Savina laughed, unknowingly confirming Olivia's words from before. "And I'm totally fine if that's the case, by the way," she quipped, resting her head against Olivia's stomach, and lifting it so she could look at her through her lashes.

"I wish it were, baby," Olivia confessed sincerely, taking Barba by surprise, as she bent down to kiss the top of Savina's head.

"He can't come and try to take me away, can he?" Savina inquired, worry evident in her voice.

"No, baby, he can't." she assured her, as she placed the blow-dryer back on top of the dresser, and wrapped her arms around Savina's shoulders, resting her head on top of hers.

Savina shifted on the chair without breaking out of Olivia's hold so she could look at Barba. "Don't the courts give more weight to the biological parent?" she asked him, her worry still not subsiding.

Barba put the book back on the nightstand and moved closer to them. "They do," he told her truthfully, as he crouched down in front of her, the fear in her eyes shattering his heart, "but there are other considerations that are taken into account, not just biology." He added.

"Like what?" she asked.

"Like the fact that only your mother was interested in becoming a parent," he said coyly. He wasn't going to tell her the imbecile signed away his parental rights, it was Olivia's decision.

"But you can't really prove that." She pointed out, her voice small, the growing fear inside her now evident.

"Yes, I can." Olivia interjected.

Savina broke out of her hold to look at her questioningly, and the older Benson sighed. When Savina didn't press the subject during their last conversation, she thought that was the end of it. But it seemed that despite not caring to know the man, she was scared he'd try to take her away.

"When it became clear he wasn't interested in becoming a parent," Olivia started, there was no need to tell her the man asked for an abortion, "I had him sign away his parental rights." She finished.

"And this whole mess doesn't somehow make it null and void?" she asked, looking back at Barba, who shook his head.

"I saw the document, whoever drew it did a good job," he soothed, "he signed away his rights to the child Olivia was carrying at the time; you. Everything with the nuns, the swapped babies, and foster care doesn't affect it. He still has no claim to you…..unless you approach him," he added after a beat.

Savina snorted. "Yeah, that's not happening."

The finality in her voice made Olivia smile, her heart warming even more when she saw the unbridled love shining in Barba's eyes as he looked at Savina.

The next morning was a stark contrast to the quiet evening they had; the entire house was buzzing with activity. Lucy had arrived earlier than her usual at Olivia's request, helped him with his breakfast and was now trying to wrestle the toddler into his clothes. Olivia and Barba were getting ready for their day, and Olivia was on the verge of having an anxiety attack. She'd changed her shirt about five times, while Barba had to stifle a laugh at how nervous she was.

If someone was to look in from the outside, they'd think it was Olivia's first day of work, not Savina's first day of school.

The latter hadn't emerged from her room since they checked on her and made sure she heard her alarm and was awake. None of the adults had had any breakfast yet.

When Olivia went to yank off the sixth blouse she'd pulled on that morning, Barba quickly grabbed her hands and stilled her motions.

"Changing your shirt won't help you, Liv," he stated softly, his hands easing her own away from the hem of the blouse, "why don't you go check on her? See if she needs anything and is too nervous to ask for it?" he suggested, and she wordlessly nodded.

She gave him a quick peck on the lips and left the room. He sighed and headed towards the kitchen to make the three of them something to eat before they leave.

Olivia knocked on Savina's door but didn't receive any reply. She tried again, "Savina?" she called.

Still nothing. She tried the door, and found it unlocked. She pushed it open slowly, frowning at the empty room. "Savina?" she called once more.

"In here," Savina's voice came from the closet.

Olivia closed the door behind her and headed to the walk-in closet. She chuckled when she saw Savina yanking what seemed to be the latest in a series of discarded tops over her head and tossing it on top of the pile on the shelf. She huffed in frustration as she turned around to face Olivia. "I can't…." she trailed off, not entirely sure what to say.

She can't what? Get dressed? She can't go? She can't face her peers?

Olivia used her hands to push her hair back from her face, before pulling her into her arms. She still hummed contently when Savina didn't tense up or hesitate in accepting Olivia's embraces. She hasn't yet initiated any physical contact beyond holding her hand, liking their arms together, or dropping her head onto her shoulder; but she didn't tense up or hesitate when Olivia or Barba would offer more.

Savina dropped her head onto Olivia's chest, resting her head under the latter's chin as her arms snaked around her waist.

"Why is it this hard?" she mumbled, and Olivia closed her eyes at the flood of tears pricking at her eyes.

"If you're not ready to go back, you don't have to," Olivia assured her.

"Will it help?" Savina shot back.

"It might." Olivia was honest.

"I don't think I'll ever be not nervous to go back, no matter how much time I take," Savina confessed. "How did you do it?" she murmured.

Olivia tightened her arms around her, one hand moving to stroke the hair covering her temple gently. "You're actually handling it better than I did," she told her truthfully.

She could feel Savina frown. "How so?" she wondered.

"You have pants on," Olivia deadpanned, smiling when Savina's chest rumbled against her with laughter. "I'm not kidding," she chuckled, "five minutes before I had to leave for work, I was still in my bra and underwear," she recalled, grinning at Savina when she lifted her head to look at her.

"Did you at least have someone to go through it with?" she asked softly, and Olivia melted at the concern she saw in her eyes.

"Yeah, baby, I did." She said softly.

"Good." Savina declared, dropping her head back under her chin. "Diana texted asking if I needed a ride," she started, and Olivia's heart sank. "But I told her you and Rafa were dropping me off, if it won't make you both late."

"We'd happily be late for you, sweetheart," Olivia cooed softly into her hair, "but don't worry, we both arranged our schedules around your drop off time."

Olivia wasn't going to miss Savina's first day for anything. It's true this wasn't a traditional first day, and Savina wasn't a toddler, but rather a fully grown teenager. But in a sick twist of faith, they were both nervous for her first day back at school, just as Olivia was nervous about Noah's first day of daycare. She'd missed enough of Savina's firsts, and she was determined not to miss anything more in her life.

"Will you help me?" Savina asked.

"Of course."

Barba was in the kitchen plating the last of the eggs, while Lucy was in the living room keeping Noah busy while he finished breakfast, filled their travel mugs with coffee, and packed a lunch for Savina. He was about to off in search for the Benson women, when he heard their footsteps approaching the kitchen.

They both appeared in the doorway, fully dressed for the day, and he smiled. Savina was wearing something that matched Olivia's outfit.

"Come on, breakfast is ready. And I packed lunch for you," he directed his last statement at Savina, as he handed her the lunch-bag. "And there's money in your account at school if you want to get something from the cafeteria, they also have my card on file, so you don't have to worry about it running out," he added. "And you have your mother's card, right?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Thanks." Though she wasn't sure what exactly she was thanking him for.

It was all still strange to her. She never had someone pack her lunch, and Linda always told her how much money she had, and how long it was supposed to last. She knew that as time went by, more and more things will be her new 'normal', but she was finding herself reacting more to the little gestures that she was sure they don't think twice about doing, more than the life-altering ones.

Twenty minutes later, they were done with breakfast, gathered their things, pulled their coats on, and with one final kiss to Noah's cheek each, they headed out the door.

"Looks like it's back to just you and me, kiddo," Lucy sighed, as she headed back into the apartment with the toddler anchored on her hips to start their day.

Okay, yes, I know, I know. It's been a year...LITERALLY. But I had the biggest block about this chapter. I know how the story goes, but this chapter was refusing to come out at least half decent.

Hopefully now updates will be more frequent and closer together.

Reviews are much appreciated.