The sirens again filled the air with a rapid, somber cry; the sounds of the ambulance arriving on the scene were accompanied by the murmurs of bystanders and the croaks of walkie-talkies. Sonny began to wonder if it was troubling for him to be accustomed to such a frightening sound. For normal people, this sight would cause everlasting trauma; but for him, it's just another day's work.

But now wasn't time for him to work. It was early morning and he was still definitely drunk. But when Amanda said 'rape,' Sonny knew he had to tag along. If this had anything to do with Rafael, this was his problem too. He had trouble connecting Raf's name with the word rape. It was sobering and sickening and he just wanted to go home and be held and pretend that it was only a dream. But a dream it wasn't. And it wasn't for Rafael either who was dragged along by Liv.

The victim was pronounced dead shortly after arrival by the responding officers who had tried to resuscitate him. As much as Liv didn't want to bring Barba into this, she needed somebody to confirm the identity and right now, he was her best choice.

"You sure you're good for this?" She looked over at the ADA who was sat in her passenger seat, writhing his hands as his mind raced.

"Not at all." He forced a slight smile in the midst of his anxious nerves, which concerned Olivia greatly. "But someone's got to do it."

"Do you want to know who it is before we get there? I could probably ask one of the EMTs, I'm sure they checked his wallet prior to-"

"Liv. Don't sugarcoat this. I know what's happening. This guy's trying to get into my head. Unfortunately, lives will be lost. I can't help what he does-"

"But we can."

"Liv." He barked at her and she immediately stepped down, focusing on the road. Off in the distance he could see the flashing lights and he sighed, trying to slow his breathing. "Bad things happen. It's awful and I don't know why god does it, but they happen. Right now we're in one of those cycles where everything bad is happening at once, but we'll get this guy. Okay? Just- just don't treat me like I'm a child. This is our job. Things like this happen all the time. We deal with things like this all the time. It's my job to be indifferent."

"Yeah, but Barb-"

"Don't." He reached a hand out and set it on Olivia's shoulder as soon as they pulled up next to a curb. She turned her head and their eyes met for a short moment before Liv looked away. She mumbled in defeat. Rafael took that as his cue to leave.

The area was taped off. A grizzly scene across the street from the pub he frequented was laid out. Again, an alleyway assault had occurred. He looked around when he noticed several officers, including Rollins, standing around a body. He knew it wasn't the body, but he was intrigued nonetheless.

As he made his way closer, he noticed the all too familiar loafers and blonde, messy hair. He started to worry; his pulse increasing as he moved closer. Rollins caught him in his eyes, and like a doe on a freeway, they grew three times their size as she made her way closer. "H-hey, Counselor! Why don't we head this way?" She reached out for his shoulder to turn him around and he powered through her and took her place in the now depleting huddle.

On the ground was the one and only Sonny Carisi who was sitting on the asphalt, half drunk but pretending to analyze the surrounding area, which the forensic team found hilarious. They dispersed and Rollins found it best to keep an eye on the two.

"This is literally the most unprofessional thing you have ever done and I've seen you do some pretty unprofessional things, Carisi." Rafael stared down at the detective and did his best to ignore the snicker emitting from the southern belle to his right. He looked at her and eyed her suspiciously. "You couldn't have run him home or called him a cab? You're not off the hook either. You bringing your intoxicated colleague to an open crime scene has got to break some sort of protocol- also pretty unprofessional."

"Hey, we're all on-call and the misses told us to sober up. I hope she gave you that same advice on the way over as well, counselor." She smirked, noting a slight wine stain on Rafael's shirt. "Regardless, I couldn't stop him from tagging along."

Rafael's glare shot back to Sonny. "Don't you have a test this week? Uh, I'm sure I heard you whining about it at some point yest-"

"Save it, Raf. She's in on it."

"You told her?"

"No, I guessed." Rollins smirked. "But if you don't pipe this lover's quarrel down, the entire squad is gonna be in on it too." Rollins rubbed the back of her neck and turned to Olivia who was slowly approaching.

"Two things: one, why aren't we consulting with CSU and secondly, why is my detective on the ground?" Olivia squinted at Carisi who looked up with a quick shrug before standing. "Carisi, what are you doing here? You're off."

"Rollins said we're all on call, so I left with her." He cleared his throat and fixed his hair.

Olivia silently read the two of them before the light scent of booze shook her out of her trance. "Well, if you're here, you might as well help. Search the general area. Murder weapon is not at the scene, but it could be." Amanda took off to get information from the first responders and Sonny started walking off to who knows where. Rafael was sure to keep an eye on him at all costs before Liv's voice brought him back. "Barba, you ready?" She pressed her lips together and tilted her head. Rafael nodded and felt a caring hand on his shoulder guide him to the body.

The ME had come and done her initial testing, and the photos were taken, so the body had been covered with a tarp. The lifeless lump could've been unnoticed if there weren't evidence markers and impromptu lamps peppering the alleyway.

The world went silent as Rafael approached the body. He was a squeamish guy. When he knew he wanted to help people, he became a lawyer so he only had to see these scenes on paper. He frowned because something told him that he should feel something other than disgust when approaching a dead former loved one. A part of him was hoping that this was one of the ones who had hurt him deeply in the past so it wouldn't hurt as much to see him go. But another part of him couldn't bare to open his eyes to find out.

Olivia crouched down and removed the tarp from the John Doe's face with gloved hands. She exhaled softly and said, "when you're ready."

Rafael's eyes opened as Olivia's words echoed in his ears. For a moment he was dumbstruck; his feet were firmly planted and his lips were pursed in their classic fashion. But then it struck him.

In a matter of seconds, he was hurling into a trashcan several feet away, much to CSU's dismay. Olivia rubbed his back as he choked out the wine from earlier and muffled, heart wrenching sobs. She frowned and stepped back, letting Rafael come to. She tried to ask him a few questions but all Rafael could hear was a sharp ringing sensation.

His world had completely shattered in a manner of seconds and he soon passed out on the cold ground near where his ex-lover lay slain.

He wasn't prepared to come to in Olivia's office next to a sleeping Carisi and an eagle eyed Amaro.

"Liv, hey. Yeah, he's up." Nick walked to the door and called out to her before sitting on her desk and staring at Rafael.

"What?" He sneered.

"You good, amigo? That was quite the fall." He tried his best to show actual concern, but Rafael took it as a light hearted burn and rolled his eyes.

"Jesus. Can't a man get an aspirin or something around here? I'm dying."

Olivia rushed in with a harsher concern and Rafael shook his head. "I'm fine. Just, please. Somebody find me some pills?" Nick obliged and took off. Rafael frowned at the sleeping detective in the chair next to him and looked at Olivia. As he rubbed his head, everything came back to him and he felt his nausea returning.

"Counselor, you're looking a little pale. Are you sure you're alright?" Olivia frowned back at him and fiddled with her necklace. "You never gave the ID, so we can't confirm the body's identity." She sighed, "if you'd like to take another-"

"Robert," Rafael bluntly stated. He shook his head slowly and looked up at Olivia with a queasy expression as his face paled. "Uh, his name is Robert Ellis."

And immediately, the rest of Olivia's most expensive wine was on Sonny Carisi's shoes.