I do not own Law and Order: SVU.

After the letter incident, Barba became paranoid. He knows what he saw, even if no one else saw it. He wasn't able to pinpoint what happened exactly but he'd be damned if he didn't do anything to protect himself. He had a high tech security system installed in his home. Not only was there a minute and thirty second window to disable the alarm upon entering the house there was a new passcode texted to him daily. On top of the new system he purchased a new phone and got a new number. Even if it was just Lewis messing with him, he wasn't going to take any chances. Not that he'd ever admit it but the incident with Lewis had scarred him.

/ / /

Feeling safer with his upgraded security system, Barba decided it was time to get back into the swing of things. His boss was throwing his annual mid-summer bash the upcoming weekend with the option of bringing anyone you wanted. After the crazy month he's had, he deserved to let loose and have a good night. The idea of inviting Olivia (and the squad) along for the wild night popped into his head. The next down time he had, he was going to invite them. Though with the current case they were tackling, it might take a while.

The current case at hand is involving a young boy being kidnapped. It has the same MO as a kidnapping ten years ago that Olivia had been a part of. Not only were emotions running high but Olivia had just returned to work. She was desperate to prove to everyone that she was ready and capable of working. After the first night of working on finding the boy, Barba and Benson met up at a bar. Barba's request.

Olivia is sitting in a booth with two files in front of her. Both of her hands are pushed up against the sides of her face, massaging her temples. Barba flops into the booth, setting his suit case next to him. Olivia manages a weak smile. She's already so exhausted but giving up isn't an option.

"I'm so angry that no one else will let me prove that I'm ready to be back on the job. They act like I've never faced trauma before. I hate it when they treat me like I'm broken."

Barba nodded, watching her body language closely. Her muscles had tightened when she started talking.

Before Barba could say anything, the waitress came over. She asked if Olivia wanted a refill on her wine, she said yes. Barba ordered fish fillet and whiskey. After they ordered, Olivia started talking about the case and the parallels it shared with the previous one. Barba sipped his whiskey, simply listening. Usually he was the one to talk and argue but he was always the listener when he was with her. Though as he was eating, she said something that took him off guard:

"How have you been since …that night? You haven't really talked about yourself and how you're doing."

He swallowed hard, thinking of the right thing to say. The letter that was sent to his office was never mentioned to her. She was still on leave when he received it. He didn't want her to worry about him, so he kept it to himself. Right now, her well-being was more important.

"I've been fine, Liv. Don't worry about me. I just got a bump on the head and a few bruises. I've dealt with worse in high school." He did his best to play it off as a joke.

"Have you talked to a psychiatrist or anything? Even if you weren't kidnapped you still suffered a trauma that could affect your work." The smile on her lips was tight and professional.

Barba narrowed his eyes. "I don't need help Olivia. I'm fine. You don't like it when your squad babies you so don't do it to me."

"I'm not trying to baby you, I just—"

"No. You're treating me like a victim. I'm not a victim. It was just a concussion and some bruises. I wasn't traumatized. My psyche isn't damaged. I sleep fine at night. I don't need to be taken care of." Barba's voice trailed off into more of a growl than words. Instantly, he regretted being so defensive. All she was doing was showing that she cared about his well-being.

Her whole body tensed. "I should be going. I have a lot of paperwork to do." She laid a ten dollar bill on the table, getting out of the booth and heading for the door.

Barba swore under his breath, putting a twenty on the table before going after her. Luckily, Olivia didn't get far. He caught her by the hand, pulling her toward him. How hard he pulled was underestimated. She collided into him, almost causing him to lose his balance. To prevent them from toppling down onto the pavement, they both awkwardly wrapped their arms around the other. Once stable, Barba flushed. He had to look up at her. It's been so long since they've been face to face like this.

They both awkwardly took a step away from each other. "I'm sorry Olivia. I didn't mean to get so defensive. Letting go of pride can be…difficult."

Olivia diverted eye contact since they took a step away. She silently nodded as he spoke. Gently, he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Olivia. Please look at me."

Reluctantly, she did.

There was a rare vulnerability radiating from her. Usually hard hazel eyes were softened with the threat of tears and some much needed sleep. The strong body that fought tooth and nail against anything and everything, seemed so small and fragile, like it was closing in on itself. Those perfect, usual smiling lips quivered with uncertainty. "I need to find this boy Raf. I can't let him slip through the cracks. I just can't."

Rafael closed the gap between them. She put her face in the crook of his neck and shoulder. Her breath was hot against it. A tight squeeze enveloped his torso, he returned the same. "You'll find him Olivia. Out of everyone in the entire world, it would be you. You will always be the hero. Never doubt that about yourself. No matter what is done to you, you will always come out stronger than before."

Olivia nodded into his neck. In the back of her mind she wondered why she always ended up in Rafael's arms every time they were together outside of work. Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, and thrice is just a habit. Their raw, emotional connection was growing stronger each time they were around one another. One of them usually ended up having their soul bared by the end of the night. Why is this happening? She ended the embrace, but wondered why she didn't feel this way about Cassidy. Or even why she never even felt this way with Elliot. Their relationship continued to perplex yet excite her.

Olivia thanked Barba for his encouragement and left to hail a cab.

/ / /

Just as Rafael predicted, Olivia did end up being the one to find the boy. Barba was grateful for the boy's safe return to his parents. But what he was really after was getting Olivia to go to his boss's party. He managed to catch her as she was leaving the squad room.

"Great job finding the boy." He smirked, reveling in the fact that he was right all along.

"If this is your version of and "I told you so" I don't want to hear it." She rolled her eyes but the smile forming told a different story.

"Oh no, this is me being genuine. If I wanted to rub your face in something, I'd just say so. However, that's not the reason I'm here. How do you feel about parties that involve expensive champagne and over-priced food?"

"I feel that parties like that are where know-it-all lawyers go to talk about their yachts and how much money they spend on shoes." Olivia smirks, glancing at Barba's feet.

"I don't have a yacht." Barba deadpanned.

Olivia giggled. "Bet you never hear the end of that one."

"Trust me, you have no idea. Though if you come with me to my boss's party you'd get a pretty good idea. That way I also wouldn't be the only one without a yacht. It's on Saturday. My boss insisted that I invited the squad." This was actually true. His boss was trying to get more cops to come to his parties. He said it was to improve the relationships between lawyers and cops but truly it was just so he could gain more favors and cases from police departments.

After their ride in the elevator, Olivia finally nodded as they stepped out. "I'll come only if I can get some of my cop buddies to go. I'm not going to get gussied up just for a bunch of lawyers."

Barba nodded while rolling his eyes. "Hey, lawyers have feeling too you know."

"I doubt it." Laughing, she waved bye to Barba as she headed off in the opposite direction.

/ / /

The day before the party Barba got a text from Olivia saying that he rounded up some cop friends to go to the party and to expect them there.

/ / /

His boss's house was on the upper eastside. It wasn't exactly a mansion but pretty damn close. There were five bedrooms four of which belonged to his kids who were forced to go to their grandparent's house. Of course there was a balcony, a pool, two jaccuzis, several bathrooms, and plenty of drunk people. Barba arrived to the party around 10. Much to his surprise, Oliva was already there talking it up with some of the ADAs. He noted that Rollins, Amaro, and even Fin made it.

Fin noticed him first. "Hey, thanks for the invite, man. Much appreciated." He raised his eyebrows, holding up a glass of wine.

As he approached Olivia, his breath hitched. She was breath-taking. This was the first time he's seen her outside of her usual attire. While it wasn't a little black dress, it still was a dress that revealed all her curves and feminine features that usually hid behind work clothes. Before closing the gap between them, he grabbed a champagne and chugged it. Liquid courage was going to be needed tonight.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in." One of the other ADAs said motioning to Barba.

Olivia turned around to see who he was talking about. When she saw Barba, she grinned as she motioned him into the group. She introduced him to Alex Cabot. He had heard great things about Alex, though never had the opportunity to meet her.

"Olivia says that SVU is in great hands thanks to a Rafael Barba." Alex was sizing him up but being polite while doing so.

"It takes a special brand of lawyer to be able to step up to the plate known as SVU, as I'm sure you know. While they're big shoes to fill, I'll sure as hell give those perps a run for their money." Barba flashed a smile.

They exchanged pleasantries and small talk but eventually everyone dissipated into different groups. Olivia stayed behind with Barba. "Leave it to you to invite me to a party but show up later than everyone you invited."

"Being best dressed doesn't happen in an hour or two. This took hours of careful consideration and planning. I also had to check the prices on everything to make sure I was wearing the most expensive of each article of clothing I own." Barba made a "duh" face.

He got an eye roll in return. He wanted to stay at Olivia's side for the remainder of the evening in hopes he'd gather up the courage (aka drink enough alcohol) to ask her to dance but his boss ended up pulling him away to introduce him to various people in different positions of power. By the time he was able to pull himself away, it was nearly midnight. With help from various drunk people, he was able to find Olivia. She was sitting outside in the gazebo chatting with a lesbian couple. Soon after Barba entered however, one of them ended up running out sick. Her faithful girlfriend went after her.

"I have no idea who they were. All I really caught was that one was a cop and the other was a lawyer. It's strange how cops and lawyers are almost like different species." She was studying him closely as if he was a foreign specimen caught underneath a microscope.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I wouldn't say we're that different. We both want the same thing: justice for victims."

Olivia leaned against his shoulder, nodding. Their conversation stilled. They closed their eyes, simply listening to the party around them. Laughter, clinking glasses, the soft hum of music. Tranquility ended when a group of loud drunks stumbled past the gazebo. Olivia patted his arm. "We should dance before I decide to leave." Barba let her lead the way.

They danced, not too close though. Just a typical waltz on the back patio. Though it meant the world to him to see her face beam with the excitement of dancing. She was tipsy, so her movements were over the top at some points but she completed the dance none the less.

After the people watching their dance, diverted their attention elsewhere, Olivia hugged Barba to say goodbye. It took everything in his power to resist the urge to kiss her. This night had been so dream-like that he had nearly forgotten she was not his to kiss.

Though despite how tame their exchange seemed to strangers, it was a different story to Fin and Rollins who exchanged wide-eyed glances during the whole dance and now intimate hugging. Fin's surprise quickly turned into devilish curiosity. Rollins smirked.

Soon the whole world would question the true nature of the secret relationships of lawyers and cops.

YES. Some much needed fluff.
Not all that much action but there's some relationship development going on.
It'll only get stronger from here on out ;-)