I think this is a new Buble song. I've never heard it before. But my Amazon Prime Music is kind of obsessed with this song and I finally heard the lyrics the other day.

After all I'm excited
That you're in my life again
After all I'm delighted
To be back where we began
I believe that you can
Fall in love with me again

-Michael Buble f/ Bryan Adams (After All)

The courtroom had emptied a while ago. But she still sat there on the bench, hands clenched, staring off. The anger rolled off of her. Everyone could feel it. She was bitter and angry and ready to rip off someone's head.

Fin came running up to her as she walked into the courthouse.

"Liv, what are you doing here?"

She pocketed her phone. "No, Fin. What I'm trying to figure out is why no one told me court was in session on this today! If Dodds' assistant hadn't mentioned something in passing, I would have completely missed this! Why didn't you all tell me?"

"He thought maybe it would go better if you weren't in the courtroom today."

"Who? Stone? Stone thought I would want to miss this?" Fin didn't answer her. Olivia narrowed her eyes at her sergeant and took off, walking as fast as her legs would carry her. She took the steps two at a time, hearing Fin behind her trying to catch up.

"Liv!" She didn't stop. She started to reach for the closed door when Fin stepped in front of her.

"What are you doing? Move!"

"No."

"What do you mean no? Fin, get out of the way. Why aren't you letting me in? What doesn't Stone want me to see? Is he pleading out or something?"

Fin shook his head. "The opposite. He brought in an expert witness. Someone who he thinks will bring all this home and get the conviction."

"Why didn't he tell me!?"

Fin sighed. She just stared at him until he met her gaze and gave up. "I told him this was a bad idea. He didn't want me to tell you. He specifically told me what he was doing and said to not tell you."

Her eyes got wide. "Who's in there, Fin?"

"It's Barba." He stepped out of her way as she grabbed for the door, throwing it open. She stepped in against the back wall and stopped. There he stood, on the stand, swearing to tell the truth when he met her gaze. Stone turned to look at her and she glared at him, taking a seat in one of the back rows. Neither man met her eyes again as Stone and Barba did their thing and defense tried to knock him down but failed in spectacular fashion. As the judge called the day over, she knew Stone had been right – that Barba helped the case with his testimony, even though she was livid at both of them. Stone tried to talk to her on his way out, but she refused to even look at him.

She heard one of the doors open, but she still didn't move. Almost a year later and she knew what his presence felt like even before she saw him.

"Did you hear it's take your daughter to work day?"

"Fuck you" she whispered, closing her eyes and dropping her head down, tears threatening to fall.

"Yeah" she heard him reply as he sat down in the bench right behind her. She kept her eyes closed, head down.

"Liv, don't be mad at Fin and Stone. I begged them not to tell you I was coming. I just…"

She whipped her head around, laying eyes on him in almost a year. She was too angry to take in his appearance or demeanor.

"What? What!? You just WHAT!"

He stared at her. "You hate me."

"Honestly? I didn't think I did till today." He nodded. "How dare you!?"

Barba sighed, looking at his hands clasped together in his lap. "I've been asking myself that question for months."

"Why. Are. You. Here?" she spit out. He looked back up at her and she paused, taking him in. His hair was longer on top, shaved up the sides short. His hair was greyer, but the dark circles under his eyes seemed to get gone. A weight seemed to have been lifted off his shoulders. The suit was there, but not the normal expensive, custom made suit she was used to seeing him in while in court.

He glanced down at himself. "Can you believe I bought off the rack?"

She started to smile, but she stopped herself. "No. You don't get to be charming. Not yet."

"Sorry." But there was a twinkle in his eyes and she couldn't stop a slight smile from forming on her lips.

She leaned into the bench, resting her right arm across the back. He leaned forward, toward her, forearms placed on back of her bench, framing her.

"You need to tell me why you are here, Rafa." He closed his eyes for a moment, relishing in the use of his nickname off her lips. He was scared there was no hope left, but the glimmer had just broken through. He planned to take advantage.

"Stone emailed me about three weeks ago. Asked me to call him. It took me a few days to work up the nerve. But then I did and he ran this past me. I guess Carmen had given him some insight into a case I worked in Brooklyn years ago. He asked me if I would come be an expert witness. He told me what the defense was going with and… well, I knew I had to come."

"When did you get here?"

"Two days ago." Anger flashed on her face and he was scared to death she was going to pull away, so he lightly gripped her arm. The first time in a year they had touched each other. It was like a jolt of electricity.

"You have to know that you are all I've been thinking about, Liv. Being here and not being with you? I sat in my old office, going over my testimony, and all I could think about is how I wanted you to walk in that door and not walk in that door at the same time. Does that make any sense?" She just nodded.

"You sent Fin yesterday."

She nodded her head again. "It's hard to walk in there. The first time I saw his name on the door instead of yours…" She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"When Fin walked in… let me tell you, Liv… the riot act. Up one side and down the other. What I did. How I left. What it did to you. He lit me up like a Christmas tree. After he was done, I told him he was right. How I needed to concentrate on this and then after my testimony, I was going to come find you. I promise I was. Please believe me on that. I was going from here to your office or your apartment or whatever ball field Noah was practicing on. I wasn't leaving without seeing you. Talking to you. Making this right. But then you walked in and… it was all I could do to spit out sentences that made sense."

She pushed herself off the bench and for a moment, he thought that was it. She was walking out on him like he probably deserved. But she moved into the row, sitting down right next to him. She turned toward him, resting her hands on his arm.

"I hate you a little bit for leaving me like that. You say these things and then you are just gone."

"But you don't hate me a lot?" She shook her head. "Good. I can work with a little bit. A little bit means there's hope. That's all I need."

"For what?"

"To win you back. To maybe… to get you to fall for me again. To finally see about crossing that line that held us back for years."

He rested his hand on her face and she leaned in, closing her eyes for a moment. "So, you aren't leaving?" she asked.

She opened her eyes to see him shaking his head no. "No. Not right now. I probably would be if you had punched me in the face and told me to drop dead, kind of like what I was expecting."

She pulled on his arm, forcing him closer. "Never. Well, the punching you in the face thing… maybe. If I didn't think Barth would have held me in contempt or that it would have blown the case, I probably would have done it the moment I walked in." He laughed, threading his fingers in her hair. "That's fair" he replied.

"Where are you staying?"

"For now, I'm crashing with my mom in my old room and wow… that sounds very pathetic."

"VERY!"

"Thanks, Liv."

She smiled back at him. "Rafa?" He looked at her, memorizing her face and feel of her hair on his fingers.

"Yeah."

"Are you going to kiss me?"

"I was thinking about it."

"Stop thinking." He nodded and pulled her in for a light, chaste first kiss that was full of promises for other things to come. They broke after a moment and she rested both of her hands on his face as he dropped his to her shoulder.

"Can I take you and Noah out to dinner tonight?" She nodded. "Only if you are ready for one million questions about everything you have been doing for the last year."

"Absolutely." She dropped her hands and stood up, pulling him up with her.

They started to walk out of the courtroom when she turned back quickly. "You aren't off the hook, Rafael Barba. You better bring your A game. I'm still angry."

"Consider me warned."