Disclaimer: I do not own Law and Order: SVU or any of its characters.

S16E17: Parole Violations

Rafael looked over her shoulder,
"What are you writ... drawing?"
Annie hid it.
"Just doodling"
She closed her sketchbook and got off the couch. Rafael was already in his undershirt and pajama bottoms.
"One of the interns at work has written a haiku collection. Erica from Artwork showed her some of my sketches from when I was an assistant to her and now the intern is begging me to design her cover. I can't believe Erica still has those"
"You sketch?", he followed her into the bedroom, "You never told me"
Annie looked for her overnight bag, then remembered she lived with Rafael now. He sat on the bed with his hands in his lap.
"Can I see it?"
She was brushing her hair by the mirror.
"My sketches?"
"Yeah"
"In the album called Etch", Annie pointed to her phone on the dresser. Rafael flipped through the pictures, his brows rising in surprise.
"These are really good"
"Not good enough to get me in art school", she scoffed.
"Maybe not back then", he smiled, "Who's this guy with the wings?"
She turned to him in her seat.
"It's supposed to be my ex"
"You can say Michael"
Rafael put her phone on the night stand. He lay in bed on his side, leaning on his elbow.
"Can you do me?"
Relief swept through Annie, coming out in the form of a short laugh. She said,
"I can do you, baby. Imma do you all night long"
He said,
"I meant the sketch, perv"
"You want me to make you a sketch?"
"Yeah", he batted his lashes, "Draw me like one of your French girls"
Annie had a hearty laugh before she grabbed her sketchbook and pencil. Their little art session was disturbed by the ringing of her cellphone. Rafael handed it to her, commenting on her ringtone,
"Elvis, seriously?"
Annie nodded with pride. The screen said 'Sonnshine'. She answered with a smile,
"So you're not dead afterall"
"Is this a bad time?"
"Depends. What's goin' on?"
"Can we go get some drinks? I don't wanna be alone right now"
"Now?", she looked at the alarm by the bed, "Is everything all right?"
"It's about Bella. So I can't talk to Mom, let alone the guys. And I can't not talk about it"
"Okay. Where?"
"That sports bar a spot from your place - Hayden's"
"Uh, sure. I'll be down in a while"
Rafael asked when she put away her phone,
"Someone's downstairs for you?"
Annie was already looking for her clothes and jacket.
"My friend thinks I'm at my place"
"Kyle?"
"No, Kyle is in Vancouver. I haven't told this one yet that I moved", she put on a plaid shirt, "I'm really sorry but he would never call me unless it was something important"
"It's okay. I understand"
His tone said otherwise. Annie leaned over him in bed,
"You going to be okay?"
He played with a strand of her hair,
"I'll survive"
Feeling her soft hair between his fingertips, Rafael returned Annie's kiss. She took her time. His lips were ridiculously soft. It took some resolve for her to break away, but she did.

Sonny sighed, putting his glass down.
"Bella's engaged and pregnant"
Annie smiled,
"Let me guess - Tommy"
"Yeah"
"Wow, man. They are still together?"
"He's on parole. And he got in a situation with his PO. His parole officer"
"Bella knows?"
"Yeah", he said, "And now she's considering abortion"
"Cause he got in trouble with his parole officer?"
"It's a very fucked up kind of trouble, Annie. I can't talk about it but I'm going out of my mind here. I tried to help them and now Bella doesn't even wanna talk to me"
"Well, Bella was always the hot head of the family"
He smiled, taking another swig from his whiskey,
"And you always had a way with her"
"Like Michael did with you"
"Yeah"
They watched the game for a minute. Sonny asked,
"Could you talk to her?"
"I don't even know what this whole thing is. Plus, it's been too long. We met that Christmas and it was like we...", she reminisced, "We were acquaintances. There are years between us now"
"I know. She really used to look up to you though"
"We were kids, Sonny. She was like the baby sister I never had. And she liked me better than Gina & Theresa"
"My Sergeant's going to talk to her but I just wanna do everything I can to make this easier for her"
"I know", Annie rubbed his arm, "You're a good brother"
"Thanks for coming down. I really needed this"
"Yeah, actually...", she trailed off.
Sonny waited. Annie gave him a sleuth smile.
"I don't live here anymore"
"You don't?"
"I moved in with my boyfriend"
"You... when were you gonna tell me?"
"You've been kinda busy with school and the job. This is like the first time since your transfer that we've hung out"
"I know. It gets crazy at work", he admitted.
"How's school?"
"It's good. I got my first A last test"
"Sonny Carisi getting A's - the world's sure changing"
He turned to her.
"So tell me about your guy"
Her guy. Annie smiled. Where does one start when discussing Rafael Barba?
"He's a lawyer"
"No kidding. Really?"
"Yeah. He works in Manhattan"
"What's he specialize in?"
Rafael didn't like her discussing his work with her friends. She shrugged,
"I don't know. I am just with him for the sex"
"Your jokes", Sonny shook his head, "Mom always used to say Annie has no faults but her mouth"
"Well, my boyfriend would disagree"
"Jesus!"
Annie laughed as he turned his face away. But he was grinning too. His smile faded soon.
"Ah, hell. Why'd we ever grow up, Annie?"
He glanced at his empty glass. Annie said,
"Cause you wanted to be a priest and you prayed you'd turn 18 overnight"
Sonny changed the topic,
"This the same guy you wouldn't talk about when we met last time? That costume party at your office?"
"Yep"
"That party was a bust"
"You lost Mark Anthony's sword"
"And you looked like Cleopatra's mom"
"Hey", she said, "Cleopatra was a full-bodied woman. I have painting evidence. And she was older than Mark Anthony"
Sonny signaled to the bartender before saying,
"Does your boyfriend let you go out after 10?"
"He's not the boss of me. I actually left him in bed"
"I'm sorry", he paid his tab, "I'm really glad you came though. I missed you"
"I missed you too"
They kissed each other's cheeks. Sonny put his arm around her shoulder while retrieving his coat from the back of his chair. Annie saw it.
"My boyfriend's got the same coat"
Sonny wasn't even peeved. He put it on, beaming,
"I saw one of our lawyers wearing one. Liked the color. So I found one just like it online. He's a real stylish guy"
"You're too blonde for this shade"
"What are ya talking about? I look great!"
"My boyfriend wears this so much better"
"Now you're just bragging"
They walked arm in arm out of the bar.