A/N: FILLER. I had to punch this little bit out so I could get to the juicy stuff. Also, I'm proud of myself for getting this typed up while I had my nieces and nephews running around my house and raising hell. This chapter may seem boring, but I kind of wanted to dive into their minds and see where they are emotionally before I put them through more hell. Anyway, next chapter will be soon, hopefully! I don't own SVU or its characters. Enjoy!

Monday – 12:43 a.m.

"Here's the last of it."

Carisi grunted as he dropped the bags in the hotel room, his arms feeling like they were going to rip off.

He chanced a look over at Liv and Amanda, who sat on the bed by each other, Liv's arm around Amanda's back as they both looked out at the cruise ship departing from the dock. The crew had helped Carisi and Fin pack up all of their stuff and deposited it right in front of the resort, who willingly comped a few nights for them given the circumstances.

Fin walked in behind him with Rita's last bag and dropped it by the rest, looking exhausted and emotionally worn out like the rest of them. The police were still working down on the streets, scouring for anything that could give them clues to the abduction, but they had yet to see any of them actually do anything much of importance. The Captain, who had made his presence known, hadn't talk to any of them about the details of what happened. Instead, he strutted around down there, dealing with the hysteric tourist from Russia whose husband was shot and killed within the restaurant. So far, that was their only casualty.

Apparently, if Carisi heard correctly, that was strange for a cartel abduction.

"This is ridiculous…why haven't they said anything to us? We're sitting here waiting for some information and all they've done is talk amongst themselves."

Carisi eyed Amanda and Liv, who still hadn't moved or hadn't made any sound period. He rubbed at his eyes, feeling pure exhaustion creep up on him. He could pass out now, but it would be a fitful rest, and he wasn't going down until he talked to someone.

Fin wasn't either, but Rita looked dangerously close to passing out on the double bed. She had taken a pretty hard hit, and her eyes had been drooping for the past half hour. Fin noticed too, so he helped her up off the bed and lead her into the adjoining room, announcing he was going to get her settled. Carisi watched them go, glad he left the door open just in case.

With everything that had just transpired, he didn't feel safe anymore. Not one bit. He felt helpless and out in the open, almost like they all had targets on their backs. It didn't feel like a random crime either. It almost felt set-up in a way.

"Sonny," Amanda called from the bed, her voice still thick with tears. He jumped to attention immediately and leaned over on the bed, getting close to her, "Can you get us some water, please?"

"Yeah," he said quickly and jumped off the bed. There were a few spare ones they took with them in Amanda's bag and he got them one of each, handing placing them in their hands rather than passing them over. Both of them had red-rimmed eyes and solemn expressions, neither one saying much of anything.

It was scary how unfamiliar it felt to see them both like this. Quiet, meek…they weren't like this in everyday life. They were strong women that handled tough shit. But, when it came to their kids…

His hand clenched into a fist thinking about Jesse. That girl had come to be like a daughter to him and if anyone ever hurt her he'd-

The loud knocks on the door broke his strain of thought and he hurried over to the door, looking through the peep hole. Two men stood outside, but they were dressed in jeans and button-downs with badges around their necks. Carisi furrowed his brow but opened the door anyway.

"Yeah?"

"Hi, how are you?"

Carisi was skeptical, looking at this man who had his hand outstretched towards him. He took it hesitantly, until he got a closer look at the badges and looked back up at them. They were American, that was for sure. The first man spoke with a heavy southern accent, and a blonde mustache that resembled an 80's pornstar more than anything. The second man had dark skin and a shaved head, both dressed down in clothes that were typical of undercover officers.

"DEA?"

"The one and only," the man with the accent smiled and nodded towards the room, passing by Carisi with a pat on the shoulder. Carisi let the other man threw, who didn't say anything and closed the door behind them.

"Who are they?"

Fin closed the adjoining room door behind him, a guarded expression on his face. The two men had caught the attention of Amanda and Liv, who stared them from the bed. "Name is Garver," the southern said cheerfully, "and this is Barnes. We're agents with the U.S. DEA."

Fin and Barnes nodded at each other, before he turned his attention to Garver, who had pulled cellphone out of his pocket and was tapping away at it. Carisi and Fin shared an unsure look before Fin decided to ask another question.

"You guys undercover out here or something?"

"Yep. Have been for a good two years now," Garver answered, typing something in on the screen. Barnes moved around the room, nodding at both women who didn't even acknowledge it. They were looking at him warily, and with, "You all the tourists who got their kids taken?"

"Yeah," Carisi jumped in, giving the man the evil eye, "Why do you need to know."

"Well, we deal with anything and everything cartel related. This was a cartel hit. We just don't know which one yet and why."

"How are you so sure?"

"Well, first off, we've had reports all day of cartel soldiers within the city limits, walking around. We also have a mostly confirmed citing of a well-known Sicario, with ties back to the Knights Templar." Garver turned his phone to the side as a video loaded up and he turned it around so both Carisi and Fin could see the screen. "Also, a video was uploaded a little over a half hour ago to Facebook, and it's already been view a good million times from an untraceable account."

The video took a minute to buffer, but when it did finally load, they were staring at Barba, who was passed out cold on the ground, cuts and bruises loitering his face. The camera did a slow zoom up and down his body, showcasing the various bruises that had marred his skin.

A bare foot appeared out in front of the camera and kicked his head over to the other side, revealing one of his eyes swollen shut. They could barely hear an audible groan coming from him, the only sign that he was still alive and breathing.

"Jesus," Carisi covered his mouth and Fin just stared at the screen grimly. Liv and Amanda chose that moment to join them, and Liv choked on a sob at the sight that greeted her. The camera zoomed in on Barba's face, showing fresh blood oozing from a large cut on his cheek. He looked like hell, and like he'd been through something none of them wanted to imagine going through as the camera panned up and revealed a bunch of masked men, holding knives and guns and baseball bats.

"Oh my God," Liv said and turned away, tears escaping from her tired eyes. Amanda placed a hand on her shoulder as the screen went black, a hand obviously covering the lenses as footsteps were heard. They all stood there, staring at a blank screen for a good thirty seconds, before the hand was lifted to reveal both Noah and Jesse, sound asleep in a bed.

They all gasped, and Amanda turned Liv around to show her the screen, where both of their children were unharmed and sound asleep.

Then the camera cut off, and the screen went black on the phone. Garver shoved it back in his pocket, and turned to look at both Amanda and Liv, who stood in shock in front of him. "Those your kids?"

They nodded, and then, "Who's the man?"

"He's a friend of ours. He was taking Noah to the bathroom when this all went down," Carisi answered. His stomach was churning at the thought of Barba being nearly beaten to death while the kids were just a few feet away, or that's what it seemed like. Whoever was operating the camera covered the picture so they couldn't see the surroundings.

"Alright. Well, we've got our work cut out for us. U.S. Government has already been alerted and I suspect this video will hit mainstream media any minute now. The FBI and the CIA are gonna be lighting this place up like a fuckin' Christmas tree, so be prepared to be questioned."

With that Garver and Barnes turned to walk back to the door, prepared to leave. Barnes reached into his pocket and pulled out a card, holding it to Carisi, who snatched it from his hand. "We'll be in touch. Don't talk to anyone until we give you the go ahead."

With that, they were left standing in stunned silence by the door to the room, unsure of what to do or what to say. Liv was the first to break away, doing her best to keep her sobs at bay as she crawled into the bed and covered herself with the blanket.

Amanda, Fin, and Carisi stood there for a few minutes after, listening to her muffled sobs before they all crawled into bed as well, falling asleep within minutes of each other.

There was nothing else they could do now but wait.

Monday – 1:23 a.m.

"Wakey, wakey."

Rafael groaned as a sharp, stinging slap woke him from his fitful sleep.

There was so much pain radiating from his face, he could hardly think straight. For an odd second, he had trouble remembering where he was and how he got there, but the memories weren't far from his mind, and came back with startling clarity.

Juan, who was standing over him, flicked some of the ash from his cigarette on him and then leaned down over, pressing the cherry right into the skin of his neck. Rafael scrambled away, hissing in pain as he slid over dirt and rocks just to get away from the man.

Juan chuckled and grabbed him by the back of the shirt, one-handed, and forced him to stand on wobbly legs. Rafael forced the dizzying sensation to stop as he focused in on his surroundings with just one eye open. The other was swollen shut and he could feel fresh blood dripping from his face.

"I may have lied when I said we weren't going to hurt you, amigo."

"Fuck you," Rafael spat, feeling blood in his mouth. He literally spat it out on the ground and leaned forward, with his hands on his knees. He was in so much pain it was unbelievable and all he wanted to wash the blood from his face and pass out from exhaustion. He felt like he had a mild concussion, as well, but he doubted they even cared about that.

The smile dropped from Juan's face and he drew closer to Rafael, the men that had gathered around him, masked and carrying weapons, backed up and grew silent. Juan bent down right next to him, close enough that Rafael could smell the man's cologne and feel his breath hitting his ear.

"I would watch what you say to me. What just happened…it was because I was a little annoyed. You don't want to see what happens when I get pissed, ok?"

Rafael glanced over at the man, seeing him floating in his peripheral vision. It took him a second, but eventually he nodded, knowing not to press his luck any further. Juan stood and walked away from him, signaling something to his men.

"Here," Juan said, and threw a bag at him, "Take a shower and look presentable in the morning. We'll be filming again. We might have to rough you up some more to make it really dramatic, but not as much as we did tonight." There was a low murmur of laughter and voices as the men retreated, hopping into their jet-black trucks. Rafael stood there, bent over at the waist until the red lights disappeared into the night.

He stood up and limped back to the house, bag dragging along the dirt. The door opened, bathing him in yellow light and Rafael jumped, until he recognized the figure standing in the doorway as Noah, who was looking at him with sleepy eyes.

"Uncle Rafa?"

"Go inside," he croaked, coughing a little on the blood in his throat.

"Are you hurt?"

Rafael struggled to make it inside, and once he did, he practically collapsed on the sofa, face first. He was smearing blood into the fabric and he hurt like hell everywhere, but he didn't have the willpower to move just yet. His vision kept blurring, fading in and out, and he was almost positive he had a concussion.

"I scared," he heard Jesse's little voice from the bed, and he tried lifting his hand in some sort of calming gesture that he knew she wouldn't understand. He breathed heavily, darkness pulling at the edges of his sight.

"Uncle Rafa?"

Rafael murmured something unintelligible into the couch cushion, his hand landing against Noah's cheek before it fell limply on the floor. Everything went black after that.

Monday – 7:21 a.m.

Liv sat straight up in bed, gasping and gripping the comforter covering her lower half.

She was sweaty and her eyes felt puffy and sore, and she was desperate to kick the covers away from her body. Her skin felt dirty and her hair was greasy; she needed a shower badly, but she almost didn't want to move. She wanted to lay there and stare at the ceiling, avoid the cameras and reporters and the government that was surely going to come knocking, wanting to know about her son and how old he was and what color his hair and eyes were.

Visions of missing posters and her son's face, along with Jesse's, and Rafael's face plastered across global media, talking about them like they were dead and gone, rather than just waiting to be found.

She couldn't stomach the thought that she would have rather this been another Sheila situation. At least with Sheila, she was caring for Noah. She wasn't out to intentionally harm or, worse, kill him. These men…

God only knew what their intentions were, but she knew they weren't good. Cartels didn't care for their victims. Cartels strung them from overpasses, naked, for all to see. They chopped them up into tiny pieces, and sent videos of it to their families. They didn't let their victims go back to a happy, normal lift.

They didn't let their victims leave at all. It was that thought that kept her tossing and turning all night, terrifying nightmares of having to ID his body or seeing pictures of him…she couldn't even think of it anymore. Her stomach was turning and all she wanted to do was crawl back under the covers and go to sleep, despite the heat in the hotel room.

She heard the bed creak next to hers and she locked eyes with Amanda, who looked worn with the same puffy, swollen eyes as she had. Carisi sat in the bed next to her, transfixed on the image of his phone. She noticed the adjoining door was open, and she could hear the faint sounds of Fin and Rita talking.

Unfortunately, she knew she wasn't going to be able to stay in bed and wait until this nightmare was over. It was apparent the local police weren't going to do anything, and these DEA guys…well, who even knew if you could rely on them. The only positive they all had as of right now was the storm of media attention that was going to be brought down on this place, followed by the political hell that was brewing underneath their feet.

They were all going to have to face the day, and Liv dug down deep to feel that drive and determination she felt when Sheila had taken Noah. It spurred her through the entire investigation, even through that mini-breakdown in her office, when Rafael had caught her in his arms and gave her every bit of his reassurance.

Her lip trembled with a shaky sigh at the memory, but she slid out of the bed anyway and forced herself into the bathroom.

Outside, Amanda pressed herself against the headboard, leaning against Sonny. She drew her eyes away from the screen when she saw he was re-watching the video from last night. "How many times have you watched it."

"At least fifteen times. I'm looking for clues."

"And?"

"…nothing."

She didn't say anything, just curled in closer to his side. After a moment, he clicked out of the video and locked his phone, bringing his arm around her. He pressed a kiss into her hair and sighed, feeling his own tears well up in his eyes. He couldn't sleep much the night before. None of them really could.

He heard Fin pacing around the adjoining room, while Rita moaned and tossed and turned in her sleep. Liv did much of same, but Amanda had stayed still and silent, only shifting every now and then like anyone did naturally in their sleep.

He blinked away his tears, refusing to cry, at least in front of anyone. Amanda and Liv didn't need to see him in such a vulnerable state. He had to remain strong for them, for Jesse and Noah, and for Rafael, who was cut up and bloody and it scared him to think that that was how he was going to remember the man for the rest of his life.

Maybe re-watching that video over and over again for clues wasn't a good idea. It painted an ugly truth over the optimism he had been trying to keep for the past few hours.

"Carisi," Fin said suddenly, appearing in the doorway of the adjoining room. He disappeared just a second later, and Carisi untangled himself from Amanda without a word. Once he was in Fin and Rita's room, he looked directly at the flat screen television, a CNN broadcast displaying the video he had just been watching. They all stared silently at it, the English subtitles making it easier to understand what the anchors were talking about.

"It's very clear to me they wanted the world's attention, and what's a better and faster way to do that other than social media? The video hit 10 Million views within two hours, when it was uploaded and subsequently taken down by Facebook. This was an intentional move by a Mexican cartel, yet to be determined by our foreign correspondence."

"But the question is why now and why Cabo San Lucas, one of the biggest tourist traps in along the west coast of Mexico? We've learned from prior incidences by these cartels, that none of their moves are made on a whim. There's a reason why they've kidnapped three American tourists, and the answer we're looking for may be steeped in terrorist activity."

Monday – 8:00 a.m.

When Rafael woke up again, he was still face down in the couch, and he was still in intense pain. He groaned and forced himself to sit up, disoriented, with his back strained and his neck tensed up.

It took him a full minute of staring at the distorted television screen, showing some Mexican news channel with subtitles and no sound. He blinked hard once, and then twice, and then brought his hand up to rub at the eye that had been swollen shut, but he could open now. His mind was still hazy and the bloody cuts were beginning to scab over, but he was OK. He was OK.

Jesse. Noah.

He stood up too fast and nearly fell over, but he staggered away from the couch, grabbing onto the arm, croaking out their names. He found them seated on the bed again, sitting up and staring at him. There was an open chip bag in front of him and two bottles of water, and Rafael had to wonder just how they were able to find food and water by themselves while he had been passed out cold.

"Uncle Rafa, are you ok?"

Rafael breathed heavily and nodded, stumbling over to the bed where they sat. He grabbed a bottle of water and took a drink from it, savoring the liquid wetting his incredibly dry throat. He didn't bother with the chips, not even remotely hungry.

"You sleep," Jesse said, her little still red-rimmed and slightly puffy. She wasn't crying hysterically anymore, and he attributed that more to Noah's presence rather than his own. He could see they were both looking at him with wary eyes, and he realized he must have looked like a true and utter, chaotic mess.

"Did anyone come in here while I was sleeping?"

They both shook their heads, and he let go of that little bit of worry that suddenly cropped up in his stomach. It seemed as though he'd been out for quite some time, and he cursed himself despite the circumstances. He was relieved to hear they'd been left alone, and that Juan was somewhat true to his word so far. He would take the beatings so long as those two were left alone.

"Can we go home yet?"

Rafael didn't respond. Noah and Jesse waited, looking at him, but he turned away, knowing he wasn't going to be able to answer truthfully. So, instead, he set them up in front of the television with one of those random kid's DVD's. They were all in Spanish, but they didn't seem to mind. They were transfixed on the television within minutes and he hurried to the bathroom, needing to get in the shower to clean away some of the blood.

It took him a minute to figure out how to work the shower. The curtain was missing and the water pressure was nearly non-existent, but it worked in washing away some of the dried blood on his skin. The hot water cascading down his sore muscles and cuts and bruises felt good, though.

He took a few extra minutes to himself, letting the water scald his face as his mind raced over the events at the restaurant. One minute, he'd been happy and content with his life for the first time in months. The woman he loved, loved him back. They were together with good company and enjoying the beach and being alone and making love and…

Fresh tears spilled from his eyes, and he allowed himself to weep. He wouldn't do it in front of the kids, because he had to be strong for them. They were counting on him, whether they outwardly showed it to him or not.

He couldn't fail them.

He wouldn't fail them.