He wasn't used to waking like this – slowly, languidly, with no phone buzzing or alarm beeping him out of a somewhat medium sleep. This morning he was slowly coming out of a very deep sleep. A deeper sleep than he had had in quite some time. Maybe since after finals in law school. He rolled his head to the side of the bed and had this feeling like someone was staring at him. He cracked one eye.

"Raf… Raf!" It took him a minute to remember… the Keys… Olivia… Noah…

"Raf. Raf I hungry."

He rubbed his eyes, willing himself to function just a bit more. "What?"

"Raf, I hungry. You get me some food?"

"Noah?"

"Shhh… I hungry and mommy sleeping."

He rolled his head back over to the other side of the bed and there she was… Olivia Benson… asleep. With a look on her face that he had never seen – one of pure relaxation. He found her sexy and frustrating and amazing most of the time, but he's not sure he's ever seen her look more beautiful than she does when she is asleep.

"I never see mommy sleep. So shhhhh." He looked back at the little boy and for a second, started to freak out in his head. Noah woke him up. As he slept next to his mother. And he was just looking at Barba like it was the most normal thing in the world. Barba wasn't sure if that should scare him or if it was the universe's way of saying 'wake up dipshit… here's your life now that you are finally willing to look it in the eye'. But Noah stood there, looking at him like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Ok little man. Ok. You head out to the kitchen and give me a minute, OK?"

"Raf. We get donuts?" Noah smiled brightly at him and he knew he was being played. And strangely, he was ok with it.

"Ok. Ok. We can walk down and get some donuts. You need to go get dressed? Go back to your room and pick out some clothes and I'll be right there." Noah nodded and tip toed out of the room, looking back to give Barba the universal 'be quiet' sign and pointed at Olivia. He nodded and looked at her as he pushed himself out of bed. He was all in. Whatever that meant. Wherever this lead. He was all in. And apparently, right now, it was leading to donuts with a 3-year-old.

Olivia stretched her arms over her head and reached out, feeling an empty side of the bed where she knew he was supposed to be. She looked over and the door was shut, but she could hear a quiet murmur coming from the front of the house. She pushed herself out of bed and just stared at the clock – 9:15. She can't remember the last time she ever slept that late. Ever. Maybe after graduating for college. Once. She had always been the early bird. She padded into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked at the shower and thought back onto the night before and laughed to herself – no wonder she slept so long this morning. She saw the linen shirt he had been wearing the night before still on the floor in the bathroom. She grabbed it and held it up to her nose – it was him and he was everywhere and she was ok with that. More than ok with that. She knew the path would be rocky. Hard. They would fight – it is what they did. But more now than ever, she planned to still be squabbling with him at 85.

She made herself presentable and headed out to the living room.

"Mommy!" They were sitting on the floor in front of the TV and Noah turned toward her and she laughed. Chocolate all over his face and eyes bright from morning sugar. She looked over at Barba and he just shrugged as he got up off the floor. Noah turned back to the TV as he walked over to her.

"I may have been played this morning" he said, placing his hands on her hips, pulling her into his body.

"May have been played? How many donuts did you buy?"

"A dozen."

"And how many have you let him have?"

"Three."

"Oh joy" she said, smiling at him, resting her arms lightly on his shoulders. She glanced over at her son, but he was too involved with the latest Bubble Guppies to pay them any attention. She felt Barba place a light kiss on her neck and she sighed.

"Liv, last night was…"

"Yeah" she breathed out. She tightened her arms around his neck as he dug his fingers into her hips. She closed her eyes as he lightly ran his lips up and down her neck in a maddening, slow fashion. He slowly wrapped his arms around her waist and proceeded to…

"BUBBLE BUBBLE BUBBLE GUPPIE GUPPIE GUPPIE!" They both looked over to see Noah jumping on the couch, singing along to the theme song of the show. She looked back at Barba.

"We are going to have to get him out of this house to burn off some of that donut energy" she said, giving him that 'don't worry you will learn' look.

He looked out the back door at the dark skies. "It's supposed to rain most of the day."

"Well then you better get creative Counselor. You created this monster" she said, giving him a quick peck on the lips and heading to the kitchen for coffee. He looked back at the boy jumping on the couch and pulled out his phone.

He ran his fingers through her hair over and over again, enjoying the feel of her laying against him, relaxed and at ease. After a full half day of indoor activities, Noah had finally passed out and they came out here to lounge in the oversized chair, listening to the rain fall. He knew she wasn't asleep, but she was at rest, arm thrown around his waist, head on his shoulder.

"This may just go down as one of the most perfect moments in my life."

"Yeah?" he asked. "How so?"

"I can't remember the last time I just laid around on a Wednesday afternoon, listening to the rain, while a handsome man slowly plays with my hair. This is pretty perfect." He smiled and pressed a light kiss to the top of her head.

"You often find yourself in a tropical locale with an adoring man who can't keep his hand off of you?" She looked up at him with look of pure love. His heart beat double time in that moment.

"No. Never. Don't really plan on it again unless the man is you." She pulled his face down to hers and kissed him with abandon. They were lost to each other in that moment. With the rain beating down and everyone in doors, it was like they had the world to themselves. And they planned to take full advantage of it. She threw her leg over his waist, straddling him. He ran his hands up the back of her shirt, thinking he would never tire of the way her skin felt on his hands. With some minor clothing adjustment, they were joined together, looking at each other. While last night was about them, learning about each other, cementing what they had been walking toward since he shook her hand in that courtroom, this moment was about conveying to the other that this was it for each of them. He kissed her intensely as they fell over the edge together, just like they always had.

"I don't like the idea of you being here alone" she said as she threw some popcorn in her mouth. After Noah got up from his nap, they had spent the afternoon and evening watching movies. It was a popcorn for dinner kind of night, as they sat on the couch behind Noah watching Sing.

"Worried that this handsome man is going to have all the ladies of the Keys banging down his door?" She threw popcorn at him, which he promptly picked up and put in his mouth smiling.

"I'm serious, Raf."

"Me too, Liv. I thought I was going to have to put up a sign, saying…"

"Ass."

"Mommy!"

"Yeah. Watch your language." She glared at both of the men in her life.

"Plus, I'm not going to be alone. Mom flies in about two hours after you all take off on Friday." He wrapped his hand around the back of her head and pulled her in for a quick kiss. "But I love the concern that you have for me, Lieutenant. Makes me almost think you are going to miss me." He shifted over to her, nuzzling her neck with his nose.

"I might. A little bit."

"Just a little bit?" he said softly, kissing her under her ear.

"Ok. Maybe more than a little bit" she replied. He dropped one last kiss on her cheek and sat back, pulling her into his side. Noah looked back at them and crawled up on the couch, plopping down on the other side of Barba. He threw his arm around the child and felt his heart swell as the little boy snuggled into his side. 'This is what you fight for from this moment on' he thought to himself as the three of them sat there as a small, dare he hoped family, unit. He did agree with her earlier statement. This moment in time would always rank in his top 5 moments of his life.