CHAPTER SIX
The precinct was always peaceful in the early mornings. Years ago Olivia would pride herself in coming into work early most days of the week. But since Noah was brought into her life, that became an unreasonable expectation. Today was different. She got up abnormally early this morning, especially regarding how much alcohol she consumed the previous evening. She expected one hell of a hangover but when Olivia woke up her body was still thrumming. Her mind kept wandering back to the encounter with the mystery man last night, she had vivid flashes of a smirky grin, gruff whispers, and his head nuzzled into her neck. Every time she thought about it, her stomach twisted pleasantly, and there was a lightness that invaded her whole routine. She was practically giddy smiling over her coffee cup. She's been in the office for 45 minutes, it was already well past 8 AM, and none of her detectives had shown up yet. This would typically be surprising but knowing how much alcohol each of them partook in last night, she expected some delays. The first to come in was Amanda with Carisi following closely in tow. Olivia got up from her desk to greet them, she saw that Amanda still had her sunglasses on and Carisi was definitely disheveled - his shirt was on inside out. Olivia chuckled garnering Amanda's attention.
"And how the hell do you look so chipper," Amanda took off her sunglasses and Olivia chuckled lightly again, the girl looked positively pale. "You drank just as much as we did." Defensively, Amanda crossed her arms and leaned against her desk.
"Well, I guess I can hold my alcohol better than you." Olivia's eyes gleamed over her coffee cup. Amanda scoffed, reluctantly putting back on her sunglasses. Both women turned when they heard Fin enter the precinct, he sat down at his desk chair with a sluggish, sickly grunt, quickly covering his eyes with his hands.
"I'll order some food," Olivia headed back into her office to place an order at the breakfast spot the team loved around the corner. She was halfway through reading her order when she heard clipped footsteps and muffled voices outside her door. She assumed it was Chief Dodds with his pretentious Italian leather shoes, but when she turned around, she saw the profile of a man dressed in a familiar suit, with a familiar haircut, standing familiarly. She stared at him. Tracing the lines of his well-tailored suite feeling that all too familiar tightening of her core. Then it hit her; suddenly, shockingly, and the pleasant tightness simmered away, being quickly replaced with pockets of dread that invaded her chest. She panicked, hanging up the phone unceremoniously and all but hiding behind the door, listening intently to that familiar voice. Every intonation and rhythmic inflection brought her back to that busy sidewalk in the middle of Midtown; His mouth nuzzled into her neck, her hands seductively gripping his sides. She started to sweat. Her heart beat so fast she could feel it in the back of her throat. "What the hell is he doing here?" Her head was throbbing, and she brought her hands up to her temples in an attempt to relieve the pain.
Olivia quickly shut her door softly and sat on her couch, worrying the well-worn brown leather under her hands, allowing the cool material to calm her slightly. "Why the hell is he here?" Olivia repeated to herself. Suddenly she feared that maybe he tracked her down here, but she quickly dismissed that idea as utterly improbable. She wondered if she should just walk out and greet him, cut in and try to manage the situation before it got any worse. But as soon as she opened her door to do so, she saw Chief Dodds turn the corner into her precinct; he waved a brusk hello to the mystery man who was still chatting with her detectives and made a bee-line for her. Olivia couldn't bear to look him in the eye; instead, she focused on his shoes. Settled her breathing into the obnoxious click-clack of the wooden soles, they were Italian leather; he told her multiple times.
"Lieutenant." Olivia's eyes snapped up from her superiors shoes, "We've got a new ADA." Olivia's heart sunk. Her head turned cold, and she stared blankly at the chief.
"Shall we introduce ourselves?" Dodds interjected. Olivia just nodded mutely barely able to make eye contact. When he shifted towards the rest of her team, she inhaled sharply, suddenly remembering to breathe. She poised herself against the doorframe placing her weight against it, to steady herself.
"Rafael" Chief Dodds signaled the man over. Olivia angled her head to the side, hiding her face from view.
"Rafael this is Olivia, the Lieutenant for SVU. Olivia, this is Rafael Barba the new ADA assigned to your division." The moment he caught her eye her heart fell. Olivia could feel sweat building on the back of her neck, and she shifted tensely, adjusting her suit jacket to get her hair away from her neck. They just stared at each other. Olivia could see the realization slowly dawn on his face; it seemed to work its way up from the neck, the muscles in his jaw tensed, his eyebrow quirked up imperceptibly. He stammered slightly "Uh, n-nice to meet you." Rafael plunged his hand out mechanically, and Olivia's chest tightened seeing him so caught off guard. Timidly, Olivia shook Rafael's hand and immediately remembered the feeling of him touching her. She looked down at their joined hands and could stop picturing them in that alley, oh what that man could do with those hands. She shivered, quickly pulling away. Olivia tucked her hands awkwardly in her pant pockets, backed up a couple of feet into her office, once again partially shielding her body from view.
Oblivious to the resting tension, Dodds spoke up "Shall we sit a bit and talk over some logistics?" Neither of them moved. Neither of them spoke. Dodds shifted his weight, eyes darting between the two of them, "Lieutenant?" Dodds nudged Olivia's arm to get her attention.
"Yes - sure," Olivia said softly, openly gesturing to her office. She walked in first and quickly slinked into her desk chair. It scarped on the linoleum, and she cringed at the intrusion.
Olivia didn't register much of their conversation. Sitting at her desk, she just watched Dodds and Rafael talking amicably on her couch. Rafael. She said the name over and over again in her head. That didn't seem to register much either. Olivia didn't like that he now had a name. She was enjoying him as a mystery; an elusive character. But now he was sitting in her office, talking with Dodds and becoming very much a part of her real world.
She looked at him intently. Maybe it was just the professional setting masking his features, the crispness of his suit added that necessary layer of distance to where Olivia could no longer see the man that felt her up at 2 am in the middle of midtown. She just saw his slicked back hair, his professional and expensive tie, and those shoes. Those damn shoes. They were exactly like Dodds's. The same hallow noises, the same Italian leather. Olivia cringed. Looking at the pair talking on the couch all she could think was "I can't believe I made out with someone who wears the same shoes as Dodds."
Thanks for reading! I've been in quite the creative slump recently. I have so many grand ideas for this story but am having a hard time pinning them down. If you have any fun situations you want to see Barba and Benson engage in please leave a comment and let me know! You may inspire me.
