Time jump:

Feeling the woman beside him snuggle in closer, he lowered his arm around her. She released a content sigh, before settling down once more. He dreamt about this moment for so long. To have her in his arms. Feel the warmth radiating from her. Her breath soothingly tickled his neck. With each inhale, he took her scent and invaded his senses. Leaning closer to her, he pressed his lips against her forehead.

"What must I do to make you understand me?" He closed his eyes for a moment. "Show you just how much I'm willing to do for you and Noah. Make you see how much I love you both." The door creeping open had him glaring at the nurse walking in. The man was pulling in the folded bed. "We won't be needing that anymore thank you."

"Hospital policy." Ignoring Rafael he placed it by the foot of the bed. "We can't have her sleeping in bed with you. You could get hurt."

Barba raised a brow. "I'm fine."

"I'll leave it here, just in case Olivia wants to use it."

"That's fin-what did you call her?" He saw the reflection of the silver barrel before actually seeing the gun. Out of pure reflex, he rolled onto Olivia and off the bed, in an attempt to cover her. His back took the blow as he landed with Olivia in his arms. "Fuck!" The pain shooting up his back was worse than getting shot at. It had him arching it off the ground, growling when it tighten his muscles.

"Rafa!" Olivia placed a hand on his chest, trying to give him some comfort as she ducked another round. "Hey, talk to me."

"I-I'm fine." He lied.

Looking over the bed she cursed at seeing the shooter run out. "He's running."

"Go." Seeing her not move, he shoved her hand off his chest. "Go! I'm fine!" With a low curse, she took off. Barba glanced down at his side, laughing humorlessly at the blood flowing onto the ground. Failing miserably at trying to put pressure on the wound, he laid his head back with a groan. "I'm not fine."

"Mr. Barba?" Shepherd ran into the room, turning the lights on. "Mr. Barba?!" Walking around the bed, he was startled to find his patient on the floor bleeding out. "Get a gurney in here!" Kneeling he opened the gown to inspect the wound. "Get an OR ready!" Opening one of the drawers behind him, he pulled out some gauges and bandages. "This is going to hurt, but we need to stop the bleeding."

"It's fine." Barba muttered numbly. "Can't feel it."

"Where's that gurney?!" Shepherd held the gauges in place, checking Barba's pulse at the same time. It was dangerously low. "Can no one find a fucken gurney in this hospital?!"

"Here!" Diaz rushed in with a team of nurses. Sliding it between Shepherd and Barba, they lifted the man onto it. "OR 3 is open and ready for you."

"Have someone clean that room and have them prepare another room with Rafael." He ordered.

Diaz nodded. "Yes, Doctor."

Outside:

The man doubled over at getting kneed in the stomach. The contents in his stomach littered the alley by the hospital. "I don't know who hired me!"

"I don't believe that." Olivia hissed. "I want a name." Before she could touch him again, her name was called. Looking over her shoulder she spotted Elliot and Anaya walking toward her.

Elliot glanced at the heaving man, then back at her. "I suppose he tripped?"

"Took a tumble as he was running from me." She shrugged. "He tossed the gun behind the dumpster."

"How's Barba?" Anaya asked.

Olivia shrugged once more. "He was fine when I left. I'm about to head back inside and check on him."

"What happened?" Elliot asked.

"I don't know." She placed her hand on her head in a sign of desperation and anxiety. "I was asleep when Rafa rolled us out of the bed as the firing happened."

"Rolled out of bed?" Elliot raised a brow, waiting for her elaborate.

"He was the only one?" Anaya asked.

Olivia nodded ignoring the questionable look on Elliot's face. "So far yes, but he couldn't have been working alone."

"What makes you say that?" Anaya was genuinely curious. "He was the only one in the room, was he not?"

"He walked into the room with a folded bed." Olivia said it as if that would explain everything. "Before this happened, nurse Diaz had walked into the room. She saw me in the bed and said she'd be sending up a bed for me."

Elliot still hung up on the bed shared bed and asked for her name. "Where is she now?"

"She's on shift and..." Her eyes widen. "Alone with Rafael." Pushing past the two detectives, Olivia ran back into the building. Getting impatient waiting for the elevator, she took the stairs. Running down the hallway, she turned into Rafael's room. Her blood ran cold at finding it empty and seeing the blood on the ground.

"Ms. Benson?" Diaz squeezed past the woman with a bucket of cleaner. "If you're looking for Mr. Barba he is in surgery at the moment."

"Surgery?"

"It looks like he took another bullet." Mopping up the blood, she sprayed something over the spot. "After surgery, he will be moved to another room."

Olivia watched the nurse go about her job. Something was not right. As she took a step towards her, a hand stopped her. Looking back she growled at seeing Elliot. "Let go."

"We got it from here Captain." Elliot gave her a pointed look. "Stand down." With a tsk of the teeth, she stepped aside and let them in. "Ms. Diaz?"

"Yes?" She turned with a look of worry.

"We are going to need you to come with us." Elliot took her arm in a gently, but firm grip.

"What? Why?" She planted her feet down, refusing to move from the spot. "I didn't do anything."

"No one is saying you did." Anaya tried calming the woman. "But we have some questions. It's best if we head to the station."

"Bu-but I didn't do anything!"

Elliot gripped her arm tighter, pulling her along with him. "Come on."

"Please, please let me go." Diaz began crying, falling to the ground. "You take me and they will kill my daughter!"

Olivia gapped at the balling woman. "What?"

"They have my daughter." Fumbling with her phone, she pulled up a picture of a little girl. Couldn't be any older than five. "Please, if they see me being taken by the police they will kill her."

Handing the phone to Elliot, Olivia kneeled in front of her. "Come on, get up." Helping her up she sat her down in the chair. "I need you to tell me everything you know."

"I can't, I can't risk my daughter." Diaz shook her head, wiping the tears away angrily.

"We can't help you if we don't know everything." Anaya stated.

Seeing the woman shake her head once more, Olivia snapped. "You either help us and tell us everything you know, or I will personally drag you out of here in handcuffs and parade you in front of the media."

"Captain!" Elliot snapped.

"Those bastards have tried to kill Rafael twice now." She gripped the armrests on the chair, looming over the scared woman. "May have succeeded this time because you allowed them access. So unless you want to be charged with attempted murder, start talking."

Anaya shot out her hand to stop Elliot from approaching the two females. At that moment nothing good would come from Elliot intervening. Olivia was hurt. She was mad and she was desperate. A deadly combination in someone like Benson.

"I don't know his name." Diaz gave in. "The day Mr. Barba was brought in I was on shift. My daughter was supposed to be picked up by the nanny. I got a call minutes after his arrival. It was him. He told me he had my daughter and that if I ever wanted to see her alive again, I'd do everything they asked of me."

"What did they ask for?" Elliot asked.

"Updates on Mr. Barba." Diaz winced at meeting the raging eyes of Olivia. "When Mr. Barba woke up I called them and told them. They asked for the information on the officers watching the door."

"And you gave them the access for tonight." Olivia sighed, pushing herself away. "How was Rafael when they took him into surgery?"

Diaz picked at her nails, refusing to look at her. "He passed out as soon as they placed him on the gurney."

Closing her eyes for a moment, she glanced up at the ceiling before walking out of the room. "I need some air."

Stepping outside she inhaled the nightly air. She had begun to feel suffocated in the room. A part of her wanted to hurt Diaz. Because of her, Rafael had been hurt once more. Because of her, Olivia was feeling powerless once more. She was the one supposed to protect him, not the other way around. In protecting her again he got hurt.

"Damit Rafael." Running her hand down her face, she exhaled slowly.

"Liv?" Fin jogged towards her with the rest of the squad following. "We got a call about shots fired. What happened? You okay?"

"Rafael?" Carisi asked.

"Surgery."

"They got him?" The young ADA yelped, his eyes darting to the building. "Is he okay? What happened?!"

"Carisi!" Olivia snapped. "I don't know how he is. All I know is that he was shot in the side and they took him into surgery once again."

"Liv, what happened?" Fin asked.

"I don't really know." She swallowed the lump in her throat. "I had fallen asleep and the next thing I know is, Rafael, rolling over me and pulling me off the bed. Shots were fired and the shooter ran. I chased him into the alley and that's when Elliot showed up."

"Where the hell were the guards?!" Amaro growled. "They had orders not to leave their post."

"I didn't see any of them." Come to think of it she hadn't seen them at all. Usually, there were two guards by the door or in the hallway. "Rollins and Amaro go look for them. Carisi I need you to meet up with Elliot and Anaya, they have Nurse Diaz in custody."

"The nurse why?"

"She claims whoever hired the hit on Rafael is holding her daughter hostage." Olivia explained. "I want all of this done by the book. That includes any deals or pleas."

"On it." Running for the doors he paused. "Cap?"

"If I hear anything I will let you know first." Olivia had seen the look of plea on her former detective.

"Are you okay?" Fin asked for the third time.

"I'm fine."

"Mmm, no." He shook his head. "I know that look. Something's eating you up. Spill Liv."

"He got hurt because of me again." Liv muttered. "Trying to protect me from the shooter he got hurt."

Fin snorted. "That's what's eating you? Come on Liv, you know damn well that man would jump in front of a cannon for you."

"I don't ne-"

"Need anyone's protection. Yeah, I know." Ducking his head down to catch her eyes, he sighed. "It's not about needing it. But when you love someone, that's what you do. You protect and love them. You don't love him and he knows that, but that doesn't mean he will stop looking out for you."

"What do you mean he knows?" Olivia glared at her partner. "I never said I don't."

"You never said you did." Fin retorted. "Elliot comes back and he's suddenly pushed second. You picked Elliot's side against him. Forgave Elliot for walking out ten years. Ignored him for a year because he took a case. How did you expect him to see it?"

Now Fin had long forgiven Elliot because Olivia had. He holds no feelings for the man. As for Barba he never felt betrayed by him. From an outsider's view, he was doing everything he could, to keep Olivia out of the crossfire. But the woman couldn't take a hint, and it didn't help to have Elliot in the background dragging her into his drama. But he had seen the way Barba was around Olivia. The number of times he got nearly fired or scolded out of her sight. After the incident with Noah being taken, Barba had everyone in his office mobilized. Apart from making another lawyer break the confidentiality between her and her client, he was reprimanded for threatening a few others. Fin had to bail the idiot out after he punched one of the lawyers.

"I screwed up didn't I?" Taking a seat on one of the benches, she rested her elbows on her legs. "Now what?"

Fin shrugged. "Fix it."

"How?" She scoffed. "How do I fix this? It's been too long."

"Elliot was gone for ten years Liv. I seriously doubt you can't fix a year's worth of distance." Fin chuckled. "Besides you owe him that much."

"When did you become so grown?" Liv teased him.

"Since you and Barba want to act like children."

"Liv?" Amaro walked out of the building with a laptop in hand. "Check this out." Taking a seat beside her, he opened the laptop. "The guards were here this morning, but sometime after midnight they got a call and left." Hitting the space bar the video began to play.

The guards were at their posts by the door. Right at 1 am they both received a call. Each one answered, spoke for exactly ten seconds, and hung up the call. The feed changed to the elevator camera where you see the officers toss the phone in the trash and take the elevator.

"No one can find them." Rollins stated. "Their families haven't heard from them. And they haven't checked in at the station. I did some digging around and I found some movement in their bank accounts."

Liv glanced at her tilting her head. "Movement?"

Showing her the phone, she pointed at the section highlighted. "Right when they received the call a sum of 1.5 million was transferred to their accounts."

"They were paid off." Olivia muttered her rage boiling in the pit of her stomach. "Find them. I don't care who we have to piss off or blackmail into helping, but I want those two locked up as of yesterday."

Amaro smirked pulling his cellphone out. "On it Captain."

"Ms. Benson?" Liv glanced over to find Dr. Shepherd standing by the doors. "A word please."

Sharing a look with the others, she handed the laptop to Fin. "Of course."

Fin watched as Olivia and Shepherd stepped to the side. He recognized the look of pity on the doctor's face. The 'I'm sorry' hand on the shoulder. "Oh, man."