Chapter 4: Progress

Summary: In which things return to semi-normal in Liv and Rafael's friendship.

Notes: Although some of this story is AU after Season 17, some of the canon cases and subplots will be included.

In mid-September, SVU caught an intriguing case. An overdose at The Strathmore hotel in which text messages revealed that the victim accused someone of rape. Olivia and the team discovered that the woman thought she was hooking up with a high-level admissions person at Hudson University to get her son into the school. In reality, the man she slept with was cunning campus security officer Tom Metcalf.

After Carisi and Rollins found Metcalf in the act of impersonating Alden Kessler at a bar, questioning led them to believe that the man had done this multiple times. In fact, Metcalf claimed it was a brilliant strategy for bedding women.

Marching up the steps to the courthouse, Olivia ran the facts of the case over and over in her mind. Barba would want the details to determine if they could proceed with filing charges.

"Lieutenant Benson," Carmen greeted with a generous smile as Olivia approached Barba's office.

"Carmen, how are you?"

"Very well, my boyfriend and I just got engaged!" The young women eagerly thrust her left hand toward the Lieutenant.

Delighted, Olivia leaned forward to ogle the gorgeous marquis cut diamond inlaid in a ring of braided platinum. "Oh my, that is a beautiful ring. Congratulations! I am so happy for you," Olivia gushed.

The women chatted for a few short minutes before Olivia gestured at Rafael's closed door. "Is he in?"

"Oh! Yes, of course, go right in," Carmen said, bowing her head in realization that she probably kept the Lieutenant from important business with her boss.

Olivia rapped her knuckles in a soft tap on the door and entered the room. Rafael was seated behind his desk, head bent as he perused documents in his hand. His skin still gleamed with the remnants of the tan she noticed upon her return from Paris.

"Hey," she murmured when he failed to look up.

Dropping the papers and raising his eyes, Rafael drank in the sight of the woman before him. Her hair fell in gentle waves around her face and shoulders, and she was dressed in her classic detective clothing consisting of black pants, bright blouse, and black blazer. He noted how she always wore her armor at work just like he did.

"What can I do for you, Lieutenant?" His intense green eyes gazed at her as he leant back in his chair. He could not help the nervous tapping of the pen in his hand to the desk surface.

Olivia blanched at the use of her title when they were clearly alone. He was maintaining the chilliness between them, though it defrosted a bit since her first day back. She still did not understand it.

"I can't just come visit my friend anymore?" She crossed her arms and remained standing halfway between his desk and the door.

Rafael's eyes flashed with something indiscernible. "Of course, you're always welcome to stop by. Have a seat."

Olivia moved forward and slipped into one of the chairs in front of his desk feeling like the ice was thawing some more. "Thanks. I do have a case to speak with you about, but first, I have something to admit."

Looking down at her hands briefly, she missed how Rafael froze and his eyes shuttered.

"I didn't know you sang," she blurted with fascination.

Braced for the dreaded news he thought was coming, he was caught by surprise when those words left her mouth. Shaking his head to clear his jumbled mind, he said "Wait, w-what?"

Olivia chuckled at his baffled expression. It was not often that she caught the dapper ADA unaware. "Amanda and I went to the new karaoke place in Tribeca the other day. It's a great place. I was surprised by the range in clientele that evening. We definitely enjoyed it."

Understanding alight in his eyes, Rafael blushed. "Singing is a stress reliever for me, sometimes. Not many people know that, though."

"That was pretty clear that night. Your voice was hauntingly beautiful," Olivia admitted, the memory of his melodies ringing in her ears warmed her soul.

"You really think so?" His eyes softened and his heart swelled. Even if she was engaged to Tucker and it was too late for him, he still cared deeply for Olivia. For his friend… best friend, even. And her opinion of him mattered a great deal.

"I do, Rafa," she replied with soft earnesty. "Maybe you could sing for me sometime?"

Tamping down the thought that he would have loved to sing to her every damned day of his life if she was his, Rafael tilted his head and smirked. "Maybe, someday, if you're lucky."

She beamed at her friend. And just like that, Olivia felt things between her and Rafael shifting toward normalcy once again.

"So, you said you had a new case?" he inquired, ready for a change in topic. The past few minutes had been a whirlwind. "Fill me in on the way to the coffee cart?"

…..

"I imagine you could use a drink." Glancing up from her computer, Olivia spied Rafael leaning casually against her office doorway, briefcase in hand. "I heard about Justin Collett."

Grimacing at the thought of the teenage boy committing suicide over his mother's bad decisions, Olivia nodded. "I definitely could, but I'd like to go home and see Noah."

Before Rafael could respond, she added, "Would you like to come over? We could have a drink and order in. Noah will probably beg you to read a bedtime story since he insists you do the best voices."

He smiled at the thought of the little boy, but it faded with the next thought that came to mind. "Will Tucker be there? I don't want to intrude." He did not want to intrude on or even witness their domesticity.

Gathering her things to leave the office, she absent-mindedly waved her hand. "Nope, you don't have to worry about him. It's just us now."

Knowing Amanda, Olivia imagined the blonde woman already spread the word about her breakup with Tucker in Paris and thought little else of Rafael's comment.

For his part, Rafael shrugged and allowed himself to relax at the thought of spending the evening with Olivia and Noah. He would take it for what it was – spending time with his best friend and her son. They did it a bunch of times before, it was nothing special, he tried to convince himself.

"What cuisine strikes your fancy?" Rafael asked. "I'll pick it up on my way over to give you a chance to get home and settled before I pop in."

"Hmmm, I could really go for Italian – maybe chicken parm?"

Pulling his phone from his pocket, Rafael pulled up the menu from his favorite Italian place. "As you wish," he said with a crooked smile, walking her out of the precinct.