A/N: And the moment of truth awaits!

December 7th – 5:37 a.m.

Liv sat drooped in a chair in the ER, hands shaking as she hit the end call button her phone screen.

Her third attempt to get a hold of Lucia Barba was unsuccessful, so she left a voice mail and hoped she would get it sooner rather than later. She knew, through many phone conversations with the woman, that she was a complete wreck, thinking the worst with Liv doing her best to reassure her with a calmness she didn't feel.

They'd taken Barba to the back as soon as they arrived and she hadn't heard a peep yet. The only thing she could get from the nurse after a hefty dose of threatening persuasion tactics, was that he wasn't in surgery. His chest x-rays came back negative for any internal injuries other than a few fractured ribs. That's all she knew so far and that scared her.

All she wanted to do was be close to him. She needed to see him, to hear his voice to know he was truly ok. He looked like hell lying on the hard floor of the precinct lobby and she knew, without a doubt, he had tried to fight back against them, if not with strength then with words. She expected nothing less from him, either.

Liv leaned forward and with her elbows on her knees, resting her face in her cupped hands. They'd arrived over an hour ago and they still hadn't finished with him yet? She made sure the doctors were to report to her immediately after they were finished and they had better follow her orders. She was this close to losing her shit on someone and she'd rather it not be on a doctor.

"Liv."

She looked up from her cupped hands to see Amanda striding towards her, two coffees in her hand and she thanked the her, gratefully accepting the liquid. Amanda dropped down into the chair next to her.

"What's the word?"

Liv shook her head, "Nothing yet. All I know is that he has some fractured ribs but he doesn't need surgery. I don't know what the fuck is taking them so long, though. It's been over an hour."

Amanda nodded, not used to hearing her use such language, but she knew the detective was understanding of the frustration. Hospitals liked to keep them waiting for answers and they'd dealt with this on more than one occasion. It was different this time, though. This time they were here for almost more personal reasons than professional. Especially in her case.

"Well, hopefully he's resting," Amanda sipped at her cup, "God only knows what he's had to go through."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, staring off into space and in their own thoughts. Liv finally cleared her throat, needing to think about something other than what was happening just down the hall from them.

"Where are Fin and Carisi?"

"They both volunteered to stay back and talk with Zeke."

"Was that the kid standing there?"

"Yeah," Amanda replied, "Looks a little different than the mugshot but I knew right away who he was. Plus, he turned himself in."

Liv was a bit shocked by that fact. The kid was an affiliate in BX-9 and gang members just didn't go and turn themselves in. They also didn't go near police precincts, let alone step into one and they also didn't voluntarily help their victims escape. Honestly, Liv would have expected to feel a familiar hatred bubble in her stomach at just the mention of the kid since he was a part of this entire situation.

But she didn't. He helped Barba and now…maybe he was the missing link to find out how and why this all went down. Why Rafael Barba? Who wanted to hurt him and who wanted him dead? It was a question she'd been asking herself ever since he went missing. Even when the death threats were happening during the Munson trial, she was beyond confused. She knew tensions between the D.A.'s office and Ryker's were high, with correctional officers feeling personally attacked by the public because of the actions of one of their own.

But was Munson being arraigned and going through a trial enough to warrant killing the ADA working it? Something was off to her. There was something going on behind the scenes and this Zeke kid might know just what it was.

"Lieutenant…Benson?"

Both Liv and Amanda immediately stood as a tall, young man strode out into the waiting room holding a clip board. He met them halfway and shook Liv's hand, nodding at Amanda.

"I was told to report to you right after- "

"Yeah, how is he?"

The doctor looked a little peeved at being interrupted but he held his professionalism and sifted through some papers on the board in his hands.

"Well, Mr. Barba has some suffered some rib fractures, but luckily his there has been no internal organ damage. His right arm was broken in two places and we're working on getting that casted for him. The biggest wound on his forearm is a vertical slice that cut about an inch from the bone. There was a good amount of blood loss but we narrowly missed an infection spreading which was our main concern. He's being stitched up as we speak and he will be released into a room within the hour. He does have multiple lacerations and bruises, but those will heal over time."

Liv nodded along and let out a sigh of relief when she realized nothing that happened to his health was beyond repair. He would be in pain and bruised and beat up, but he was going to live and make a full recovery. Amanda patted her back discreetly, smiling when they locked eyes.

"He's asleep right now but I judge he'll be awake in about an hour and a half. We had to put him under for the stitches."

"Thank you doctor," Liv smiled politely and waited until the man left back to the desk before Amanda dared to speak. Her tone was positive and relieved.

"He's going to be fine, Liv," she spoke with a reassurance that Liv felt deep in her body now. He was safe and secure now, getting help and within her reach. Three hours was going to go by fast and she hoped Lucia would get her message before then.

"I know," she finally responded and took the seat she was occupying before, slumping down tiredly.

"Coffee?"

Liv nodded at Amanda's suggestion, closing her eyes and feeling sleep starting to seep into her body and she didn't have the energy to fight it. She slipped into unconsciousness, listening to the sounds of Amanda's boots clicking against the tiled floor. She wouldn't be able to stay in this position for long and she was way too wound up to take a nap longer than ten minutes, but she would take what she could get.

Barba was safe, and maybe now, she could finally rest.

December 7th – 5:00 a.m.

Zeke shifted uncomfortably in the metal chair and clutched a styrofoam cup of water in his hand, watching the liquid bounce and tremble with every movement he made.

The silence was deafening in the room but he was thankful for the alone time, even though it was only for a short amount of time. The detectives, Tutuola and Carisi, told him they'd be right back, giving him some excuse about paperwork they needed to get before they were going to question him.

It sounded like bullshit and it probably was. They were more than likely trying to make him sweat. At least, that's what he was told in his training when he first began. He scoffed angrily and his nails but into the cup, leaving half-moon indents.

Fuck his training. Fuck BX-9. He was considered a traitor now. He was wanted and his face was probably being circulated around the city, members on look out to pop him if they see him. Kill on sight. He was a target because he did the worst thing he could have done. No one turned their back on BX-9 and he did just that.

He was happy to be in this small, windowless room with the lights beating down on him. He was safe in this room. He could spill his guts to those two detectives and give them all the information they wanted. He already drove off with BX-9's money load and walked him to safety…why not finish the job?

Zeke sat back as a heavy door to his left opened and the two detectives walked into the room, greeting him softly as they took seats straight across from him.

"Alright, Zeke," Carisi starts, clasping his hands and resting his arms on the table, "We just want to ask you a couple of questions."

He nodded, eyes finding the half-moon marks on his cup. He could feel their eyes scrutinizing him, watching his every move like it was going to give away something. He supposed they were trained to pick up on those subtle movements anyway.

"So…why don't we start from the beginning. How did you get involved in this?"

Zeke glanced over at Detective Tutuola and took a sip from the cup, feeling his mouth go dry at the prospect of having to tell the entire story. It wasn't that long, but it was a daunting task.

But, really, he had nothing but time now.

"I was initiated three months ago and this was considered my first big time gig. They put me with two bosses who were handling the client's request- "

"Client? You have clients?"

Zeke nodded, looking at Carisi who had pulled out a small notebook when he started talking, "Yeah, we take requests from outside clients. Kind of like hit-men I guess."

"Do you know who this client was? Name?"

"No, I wasn't allowed to know that much honestly. They told me second-hand information or what they thought I needed to know. But…uh…. there were some guys form Ryker's last night…I thought that was weird."

"Rykers?"

The two detectives shared a loaded look, almost like they were silently talking with one another without words. He hated when people did that. Too many times was he privy to those types of interactions between people when he wasn't supposed to know something and it pissed him off.

"Yeah. Rykers. Correctional officers. BX-9 has tons of informants in there and not all of them are prisoners."

Carisi wrote quickly, not wanting to miss much of what he was saying, "…ok, let's get back to where we left off. This was your first big gig…"

"Yeah, and I didn't know who the target was. They just called me, told me to meet up with them, they gave me a mask and we took off. Ended up in some apartment building. We paid security to let us in the backway, bribed him to cut footage of us from the cams. Normal routine, is what Romero said.

We waited until Mr. Barba was in his apartment for a few minutes before we went through with it. Knocked a few times and as soon as he opened the door, we attacked him and pushed him around a bit. Then we forced him to come with us. Shoved him the back of the car trunk as soon as we got out of the building, tied up his arms and legs and knocked him out for the ride to the warehouse.

After that, we held him for a day. Kept him locked up in the trunk. Victor sent that picture to that one female detective just to mess with her. The notes said those two were close."

"Notes," Fin perked up at that tidbit of information. He'd been quiet and attentive to what Zeke had to say, but that sent a chill down his spine. If they had notes concerning Barba's work relationships (and alluding to personal relationships as well), then someone had been watching him long enough to observe that.

"Yeah. They have a file with handwritten notes. I'm not sure who ordered it, but they had some guy following him for a few weeks before this even happened. I think they have pictures of him, too, but I've never seen 'em."

"Ok…ok, go on," Carisi seemed to be just as perturbed but kept some face and gestured for him to continue.

"Anyway…we had him in the warehouse for a day before had to move him. Victor drugged him with something…I'm not sure what, but uh, we moved him then to the safe house. Took him down to the basement, they beat on him a bit and then we left. We didn't go back for three days."

"Yeah…we have video footage of you guys showing up and dragging him out of there."

Zeke nodded, remembering back to the gruesome task he had to do before they bugged out. He could still here the screams of agony. He hadn't ever heard someone in that much pain before and he never wanted to hear that again, for as long as he lived.

"Where did you guys leave to? Out of the city?"

"Yeah, New Jersey. We stopped for an hour because Victor and Romero wanted to pick up some drugs and shovels and shit. Then we drove for another three hours and ended up somewhere…Vineland I think? We were in a wooded area and we stopped near a river."

"Is this where the Ryker's officers come in?"

"Yeah, they were waiting for us," Zeke drained the rest of his cup and Fin took it from him, refilling it quickly from the water cooler sitting in the corner of the room. Carisi waited until the kid took a few more gulps of water before he urged him to continue. He was surprised Zeke was so willing to spill on everything, but then the kid had done something that basically casted him out of the gang and that was huge.

"So, they started talking and shit and Romero started digging a hole…and they wanted me to wake Mr. Barba up and bring him out there. And they were talking about how they needed a tongue and a couple of fingers as proof. Then I hopped in the car and drove away. Got back into the city and…you know…"

Fin and Carisi didn't say anything for a good long minute, the room silent with only the sounds of his styrofoam cup rubbing a pattern against the metal table. Zeke didn't need to look at them to know they were trying to process the entire story. Hell, he was still trying to process it and he was part of it.

"Alright…," Carisi said after some time, closing the small notebook he'd been writing in, "…we appreciate your honesty, Zeke. We truly do."

The kid nodded, biting his lip as he finally looked up at the two of them, "What's gonna happen to me?"

Fin leaned forward and rested his arms on the table, "Well, we're going to hold off on booking you and place you in a holding cell downstairs. Based on the information you gave us…it's best we talk to the commanding officer before we proceed with anything."

Zeke looked him straight in the eye let go of the cup to rest his palms on the table. He could feel a trembling beginning in his body, fear that had been simmering beneath the surface beginning to take hold, like a vice grip in his body.

"Don't leave me alone."

Carisi and Fin shared another look, "You think you need protective custody?"

"I don't think…," Zeke trailed, still staring Fin down, "I'm a traitor. I'm a snitch, now. They have my face and name plastered all over the city. I know for a fact the NYPD is crawling with rats…please…I don't wanna die."

Hot tears slid down his face he had no control over. He felt pathetic, sitting in an interrogation room and crying his eyes out, but the fear was real and it was hanging over his head. It was mixing with the guilt and the regret he'd been feeling over the past couple of days.

"Ok…hang tight in here…we're gonna make some calls," Carisi walked around the table and patted him on the shoulder, offering him a little bit of comfort before he left the room with Fin and left Zeke to hide his face in his arms on the table.

December 7th – 5:50 a.m.

Liv's prediction about only getting a ten-minute nap was right, but mostly because Amanda shook her awake and thrust a cup of terrible smelling coffee in her hands. It tasted even worse but she was in no position to be picky.

She wanted to thank the woman, but she had her cell phone pressed to her ear, listening intently to whoever was on the other line. Liv rubbed the inner corner of her eyes and then stretched out her back, feeling and hearing the satisfying popping of her spine.

"Liv…," Amanda nodded at her and put her phone against her shoulder, "Carisi and Fin got a full confession."

"That's great," she breathed with a small smile.

"Yeah, but they want to hold off on booking him or even putting him in a holding cell because they think something could happen to him."

"What does that mean?"

Amanda took a seat next to her, "They want to put him in protective custody but they want to keep him on our floor, in one of the interrogation rooms. It's probably against policy-"

"Way against policy," she bit her lip, considering the situation, "Set him up in my office. We'll keep him there until we can get a hold of a DA. State's going to charge him but we can get him a nice deal and hold him in a safe location outside of jail with the right judge."

Amanda quickly relayed the info and hung up, mulling over the simplified version of the load of information the detectives learned. She fully expected the kid to give them something, but Carisi sounded apprehensively overjoyed with what they had now.

"You know Dodd's and the DA are going to find out. They might try- "

"Oh, no they won't. I'll deal with the both of them when the time comes. They're not going to bully me into carting him off to jail just so they could set an example."

Amanda knew Liv was still pissed over the press conference situation, as were they rest of them. It was plainly obvious they were using Barba's abduction as a platform for gang violence awareness, completely manipulating it to their advantage.

She hoped she wasn't going to have to break up a fight between her Lieutenant and Chief in the future.

"You don't have to stay here, by the way. You can head back to the precinct."

"No," Amanda shook her head, getting comfortable in the seat, "That's fine. I'll stay here."

"I gave you an order, Rollins."

Amanda knew that tone and she bit her lip, knowing it best not to argue. In truth, she was torn between trying to be a friend to the woman, with whom she had a tumultuous relationship in the past, and listening to her boss's orders.

"You sure you'll be ok?"

"I think I can handle myself," Liv laughed humorlessly, wanting the blonde woman to leave. She knew what she was trying to do and she was grateful, but she just wanted to be alone for now.

"I appreciate it Rollins…but I got it."

Liv didn't need to say anymore. Amanda nodded, sparing her no word because it wasn't needed. Liv watched her leave until she disappeared around the corner to the exit before she settled back into the chair, getting comfortable with her phone in her lap in case Lucia called.

December 7th – 7:02 a.m.

Liv had drifted off again into a fitful rest but woke up with sound of her name being called and a hand gently shaking her shoulder. She heard soft thud hit the floor by her feet and she opened her bleary eyes to see the doctor she spoke to earlier trying to catch her eye.

"Lieutenant Benson," he called again, bending down by her feet to pick her phone up after it slid off her leg and hit the floor. He handed it to her, waiting until she slowly took it back and woke up more.

"Sorry," Liv apologized, blinking a few times to clear her vision and held back a yawn.

"No worries," he smiled and stood back up, "I just wanted to inform you that Mr. Barba is awake, if you wanted to see him now."

Liv was at full attention now, the sleepiness she felt dried up in seconds. She stood up and nodded, following closely behind the doctor as he lead her through the double doors she was barred from entering when they first arrived.

It was a short walk back to a room with the door opened, a nurse nodding at both of them as she walked out.

"He's just woke up so he's going to be a little loopy, but it'll fade the more you speak to him," Dr. Neville walked around her and kicked the door jam free and gestured for Liv to walk through, "I'll be back around in a bit to check up on him."

"Thank you," she said softly, taking a few hesitant steps into the room and waited until the door was completely shut behind her. She could hear the soft rustling of fabric and a little sigh, sending her heart into her throat.

Walking further in, she could see the bed and the blanket covered form of Rafael Barba, looking at the ceiling and blinking his eyes. Had this been any other situation, she would have found the action humorous, but it just left her feeling sad yet happy at the same time.

Her shoes shuffled against the floor, drawing his attention from the ceiling to her. It took him a few seconds before he fully recognized her and a big smile spread across his face. It was a smile she was familiar with and it filled her with so much fucking love it was unbearable.

"Liv," he sighed, moving his right arm from underneath the blanket and holding his hand out to her, "I knew you'd find me."

She didn't say anything or correct him to say he technically found her, and instead, took his hand and shuddered at the touch. He gripped her hand almost painfully and tugged her closer to his bedside, to which she complied. She carefully sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to jostle him or his injuries any.

She sniffed back the oncoming tears, not wanting to turn into an emotional wreck. Barba didn't need to see that she didn't want him to. Liv needed to be strong for him. She knew he had a hell of a story he was going to have to tell them and God only knew what he'd been through.

"Hey," she greeted him, voice thick and breathless while she gathered his hand in both of hers, bringing it closer to her body.

"Hey," he greeted back, eyes glazed over as they traveled over her face. He squeezed her hand a little, still smiling as he said, "I missed you."

There went her composure, straight out the window.

She choked out a mixture between a sob and a giggle, turning her head away from him to press her mouth and nose into her shoulder, trying to calm herself down. She waited till she could feel the tears subsiding in her eyes, thankful they hadn't fallen, and turned back to meet his eyes again. The smile fell a little, but he still looked happy.

"You don't know how much I've missed you."