I do not own Law & Order: SVU!

Rafael was released from the hospital five days after Lewis attacked him. Olivia was already home before he was released. She didn't have really anything wrong with her physically, it was just going to be a long uphill emotional battle. His doctors warned him to take it easy and stay away from alcohol while on his medication. Like either of those things were ever going to happen. When he got home, he flushed the pills down the toilet. He didn't need Vicodin in his home.

After a few hours of sipping on scotch and watching TV, he began to grow incredibly restless. He wasn't going to be able to last another week and a half. He needed something to work on. Grabbing his phone off the table, he texted his boss asking if there was literally anything he could do, even from home. He texted back with a simple "No." Groaning, he gently tossed his phone back onto the table. "What the hell am I going to do?" He thought, plopping his head back onto the pillow.

Without meaning to he slipped off to sleep. While he was recovering well, his body was still prone to bouts of exhaustion. Even if he wasn't doing anything extraneous. It was a quiet dreamless nap, at first. The nothingness of dreams turned to Olivia's living room. This dream had repeated multiple times before but it still happened the same way: He was trying to help Olivia escape. He always managed to get the tape off her mouth and her hands untied, but then Lewis would appear. Despite the creepy smile on his face, he would always be furious. He grabbed Rafael by the hair and punched him hard in the face. Barba would struggle of course, despite the pain. He would manage to crawl away from him but only to be yanked back toward him. Lewis would then kick and stomp on him any way he could. While his back was turned Olivia would escape the chair she was tied to. She picked up the chair and hit Lewis. As if he was unscathed by getting hit by a pretty sturdy chair, he would turn his attention to Olivia. He pounced on her, his hands around her neck. All Barba could do is watch as Lewis drained the life out of Olivia.

Rafael woke up sweating and breathing heavily. Despite having the dream a few times before, it always felt real. The helplessness bore a hole into his chest each time. Getting off the couch, he made his way into the bathroom. He washed his face, reminding himself that it was only a dream. She was okay. He didn't want to even imagine what her nightmares were like. After he was back on the couch, he decided to check up on Olivia. They haven't seen one another since she was first admitted into the hospital. He was worried about her but she wasn't one to be babied.

"We should have dinner." After hitting send he put the phone down next to him as he flipped through the channels on the tv.

Her response was prompt, she was probably bored out of her mind too: "When and Where?"

"My place, around 8." The clock read 6. There was plenty of time to cook.

"Sounds great. I'll be there."

Without hesitation, he went out into the kitchen to get started on their meal. Spaghetti with homemade vodka sauce and garlic bread was the only thing he had all the ingredients for. So that's what he decided on. After almost an hour passed of prepping and cooking, there was a knock at the door. Before answering, he hesitated. While he doubted it would be anyone going to do him harm, fear still fluttered in his chest.

"Come in." He said, watching the door closely.

Olivia came in with bags in her hands. Relief filled him. "What did you get? I hope it was implied that I was making something."

She came into the kitchen and began unloading the bags: lettuce, onion, tomato, cucumber, and a few other food stuffs. "Good thing you're making spaghetti because I'm making Caesar salad with my recipe for the dressing."

They made small talk over the dinner they were making interrupted by small bursts of them singing along to the songs playing softly from Olivia's Pandora station. After dinner was done, they set up the table. Olivia picked the wine and poured it. Rafael looked down at himself. "I feel like I'm much too underdressed to be eating such a great dinner." Olivia nodded in agreement.

Despite being underdressed they enjoyed the meal regardless. There was a few moments of silent in the talking department but not in the slurping one.

After eating they both complained about how full they were and vowed to never eat like that again. He invited her to stay for a little longer to let her food rest. They both plopped down onto the couch. Olivia grabbed the remote before he could. "Hey! I'm the commander of the remote."

"I know you need to have everything in your control but you aren't winning this one." She was trying to remain serious but she couldn't help but crack a smile.

After a few minutes of bickering on what to watch, they finally settled on a rerun of an old cop show.

During a commercial, Barba turned to her. "You don't have to say anything but I need to say this: I came to your apartment that night to reconcile with you. I know that it's been implied by now, but I wanted you to know that I'm sorry for the way I acted towards you beforehand. It was immature of me. Your friendship is invaluable to me, no matter how much I may act like it isn't."

Olivia nodded but didn't say anything. He knew she wouldn't. She wasn't one for talking about how she was feeling. Talking wasn't hard for him. Admitting that he was wrong is the hard thing.

"There's something else bothering you. I can tell by the look on your face. What is it?"

Multiple emotions rose up in his chest: fear, sadness, and anger. "I…" He shook his head, getting up off the couch. Olivia turned the tv off. She grabbed him by the hand before he could walk away. Pulling him back down she said gently: "Tell me."

"The nightmares won't stop. I thought that maybe being out of the hospital and off the pain meds would help but if anything they're even worse now." He dared to look at Olivia. There were tears forming in her eyes. Her eyes unfocused and turned glassy. Barba's heart sank. "Liv." He pulled her close to him. "I can't even imagine what yours are like."

She sobbed into his chest. "They're horrible. Every time I close my eyes, he is there lurking in the shadows. He's like some kind of phantom panther that paces back and forth. Waiting for me to let me guard down in the dreams."

"That's how many of mine start too. I have this reoccurring one that he makes sure he doesn't beat me unconscious just so I can watch him strangle the life out of you." He blinked away his own tears. "They all feel so real, just like I'm reliving that moment over and over again. The helplessness is the worse part. It always borrows this deep hole into my chest after I have that dream. And the feeling lingers for hours. I…I don't know how to get this to stop."

Olivia sniffled. "I don't think they will ever completely stop. I'm sure years from now we will still have nightmares with him in them. Sure, they won't be as frequent or powerful, but he will haunt us for the rest of our lives. We have to learn to live with that."

He nodded, giving her a gentle squeeze. "At least we aren't alone in this." Looking down at her, he offered his best, strong smile. She returned the smile. Something was glittering in her eyes. He wasn't sure what it was exactly but it was much different than how she looked at him before. He felt his chest constrict and butterflies flutter in his stomach.

I hope you enjoyed some Barson fluff! :)
I know this chapter wasn't all that long nor exciting, I just figured they needed some down time for them before they go back to work (which will be the next chapter, I promise!) and things start picking up again for better or worse.
I have lots of interesting twists to offer while still mostly sticking to the show's storyline.
Until next time, beloved readers ~