The victim, Hayley Connors, lived a rowdy nightlife. As it turned out, there were various accounts of misconducts that made her story a bit unbelievable. She'd been beaten and raped, there was no doubt about that, but the defense would have a field day with all her prior misconducts. Still, she'd been able to give more details on her attacker which corroborated with what Montserrat had told SVU as well. Between the two statements and a couple pieces of evidence, the squad was able to track down the suspect. With that came the ID sessions.

Montserrat was tapping her boot against the floor when Olivia walked into the interview room. "Hayley finished. You can ID next," Olivia soon noticed the jittery action of the ginger and wondered if there was something wrong. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, sorry, this kid thinks my bladder is a squeeze toy," Montserrat awkwardly smiled as she pushed herself up from the chair. "I just have to use the restroom."

Olivia smiled and told her it was fine. Montserrat felt embarrassed enough. Twice she'd been to the restroom since her arrival. Once she returned, Olivia took her straight to the line up where she met Rafael and also had the (un)fortunate pleasure of meeting the suspect's lawyer, a Mr. Buchanan.

"Detective Novak," Rafael nodded her to step towards the window. "You know what to do, right?"

A sarcastic smile spread across Montserrat's face. "I think I might." She gave the nod to Olivia that she was ready and so Olivia knocked twice on the glass to get the lineup. Montserrat's eyes trailed from one man to the next until she spotted the familiar lanky monster. "It's number four. He was attacking Hayley Connors and then tried to do the same to me." Olivia knocked against the glass to get the line up taken out.

"Which is not part of the charges," Buchanan was quick to say.

Montserrat side glanced at him with a straight expression. "Doesn't matter. He's going down anyways. We'll see your client in court." The twitch of her smirk elicited quite a glare from Buchanan but he kept to himself and took off first.

"I have to warn you, Detective, that antagonizing Buchanan is only going to make his cross examination even more difficult for you," Rafael warned once it was just the three of them.

"Please, either way he'll want to destroy me."

"Which is why you need to know exactly what you're going to be saying."

"And Hayley," Montserrat suddenly chuckled. "I know that look."

Rafael exchanged a confused glance with Olivia, but neither knew what she was talking about. "What look?" he then asked.

"You have the same look that the ADA I worked with would give me when he thought I didn't know what I was doing."

"Montserrat, we both know that you are equipped for court," Olivia started off kindly, but Montserrat knew exactly where she leading up to. "But you worked Homicide. The cases are very different at SVU. In homicide, everything is concrete but here...you have to prove that what the victim claims is true."

"So one wrong word and you could throw Hayley's case out the window," Rafael held nothing back unlike Olivia. He needed Montserrat to understand the implications before she would take the stand. "Maybe I am giving you that look your old ADA did but in my case, don't I have a right?"

Montserrat upheld his gaze for a couple seconds before giving in. She wasn't there to argue. This division was new to her, and despite filing her transfer papers months ago she still needed actual experience to know what SVU really dealt with. "Sorry," her answer was met with suspicion from Rafael, but she just smiled. "You're right. I'll listen."

He opened his mouth to retort but closed it instead. His tilted head made her smile even more. "If all the detectives here were like you, I'd have less headaches."

She laughed at the comment with closed eyes. Her laughter couldn't last for long lest she wanted to make another trip to the restroom.

"My office tomorrow afternoon. We'll go over what you'll say," Rafael said and waited for her to nod before taking off.

Montserrat waited until he was gone before speaking to Olivia. "Well, I like him better than my old ADA. He at least takes me serious."

Olivia started walking her towards the bullpen. "Uh, Rafael's...something. You're the first person I've heard him compliment since he transferred." Then, with a straight face, she looked at Montserrat and added, "He's been here for a year."

After that, Montserrat laughed until she needed to visit the restroom again.

~0~

One week later had both Montserrat and Hayley practicing in the courthouse. Out of the two, Hayley seemed to be the most nervous. Since she didn't want to even be there, Olivia accompanied - specifically walking Hayley through things - them just in case Hayley backed out at the last minute. Things seemed to be going okay but when Rafael started hitting Hayley with the questions he was sure Buchanan would, the girl frantically got off the stand, shouting the entire thing was too much.

"It's only what's coming on the actual day," Rafael was close to losing his already thin patience. "I'm not asking you anything Buchanan won't."

Hayley glared at him, probably thinking that at the moment he was a much bigger enemy than Buchanan. "It feels like I'm the one to blame!"

"You're not," Olivia answered before Rafael could. She warned him not to say anything else for the moment. "But it's usually a defense tactic to make it look like you are."

"Of course," Hayley crossed her arms. "I go out and have fun so it must mean that I wanted to be attacked."

"No one here thinks that. But you have to be calm," Olivia's words only seemed to agitate Hayley more.

The young woman dug her hands into her messy blonde hair. "That's easy for you to say! You're not the one who's going to have to be up here!"

Montserrat silently checked her phone while Olivia tried to calm Hayley down. She wouldn't say it out loud, but she thought Olivia's attempt was turning out to be counterproductive. And by the look on Rafael's face, she was sure he would agree.

"Maybe I can go next?" Montserrat finally spoke up. However, her own attempt was met with the same hostility Olivia had to deal with.

"Yes, let the pregnant lady have her go!" Hayley stormed towards the doors. "If she's not too busy gagging over my perfume!"

"I wasn't gagging at your perfume," Montserrat made a face. "It was a combination of everyone's." Yes, her nose was that sensitive and she'd let all three of them know.

Olivia was going to go after her but she stopped by Rafael, "She'll just need some time—"

"You think?" Rafael's snap didn't seem to phase Olivia. Montserrat praised the Sergeant for her dutiful patience with all these people.

"She'll be back," Olivia reassured him. She glanced at Montserrat, and seeing the look on Olivia's face made Montserrat speak up.

"I am fine, trust me." Olivia smiled lightly and went after Hayley before she actually left the court building altogether. Montserrat checked her phone again before rising from her seat. "I don't mean to be a downer on your work—"

"Let me guess, is that something you said to your old ADA?" Rafael asked, though he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.

Montserrat didn't bother hiding her smirk. "Aah, but here's the difference: I actually mean it this time." Rafael actually chuckled. "It's just this case seems difficult to make when the victim herself doesn't seem to want to be here."

"Liv said you were in the process of transferring into SVU?"

"Yeah…"

"Then you would know that in this division, it's pretty much how it goes most the time."

"Yes, I do, and that's why I don't think coddling her is the way to get her to talk." At her words, Rafael stopped sifting through his papers and looked over at her. "I know Olivia and the squad and you are more experienced in this division but...I don't think Hayley is going to respond to Olivia's kind tactics."

The look on Rafael's face implied he had long ago reached the same conclusion. "And how would you handle the situation, detective?"

"Honestly, I would lay down the facts. You want to see the person who raped you behind the bars? Then you need to work with us."

Rafael stared at the woman, assuming she would retract or at least apologize for being bold in the tactic. But, she didn't. "That's a bit harsh, don't you think?"

"Some people don't respond to warmth and closeness," Montserrat plainly said. "It's cold but it's the truth."

"Didn't take you for a psychologist," Rafael made a nod for her to head to the stand.

"Ooh, I am many things, Mr. Barba," she sucked in a breath and crossed the room with a hand on her stomach. "But right now the only thing I wish I could be is a woman who could get up from a chair on her own," she said as she went through a small struggle of sitting down on the stand. "Fair notice, you'll be helping me out of this afterwards."

"Of course," Rafael then motioned they were going to begin. He needed to have at least one of the major witness get through the practice or he really would lose it.

Thankfully, Montserrat once again proved she indeed wasn't new to the process. Her words were a little misplaced due to the fact she worked in homicide instead but with the proper guidance, she could be as good as any other SVU detective. He just noticed there was an impulse for her to snap back whenever a particular intrusive question was asked. He got a good taste of it when he made the wrong move and made a comment Buchanan most likely would about her.

"Bold of you to assume you know more about me than me." The ginger was now narrowing her eyes on him.

Rafael stopped and leveled her with an irritated expression. "You know better than to fall for cheap tricks like this."

"What kind of lawyer would ask that?" she frowned deeper. "It's ridiculous—"

"You'd be surprised with what Buchanan can come up with."

"Then he's not a very good lawyer and probably should just go to he—"

"Detective," Rafael's sharp tone made her stop her sentence.

"First of all," Montserrat raised a finger at him, "I'm not on the job so I'm not a detective at the moment. Second of all—"

"No, no, there shouldn't be a 'second of all'. We are getting off track—"

"I'm only responding to what you're asking!"

"But I'm not asking you anything right now!"

Montserrat scowled at him. "Then why are you shouting!?"

"I'm not!"

Montserrat watched him pinch the bridge of his nose, apparently irritated now. "You know, you and my old ADA would get along just fine."

Rafael dropped his hand and shot her an incredulous look. Was she really continuing? Apparently so. "Well, we'd certainly have something to talk about!" He gave her a significant stare.

"You know what—" Montserrat suddenly stopped when she felt a particular jab near her lower abdomen. The sudden yelp of pain was enough to make her squirm and jerk forwards on her chair. "Woah!"

"Miss Novak?" Rafael forgot about his irritation with her. "Are you okay—?" Montserrat scrunched her face in clear pain, making the answer very obvious. He rushed over to the stand to help her.

The first jab of pain was followed by a second and third within the minute. Montserrat did a series of breathing exercises Leah had talked about with her weeks ago. They suddenly didn't seem so stupid anymore.

"Miss Novak" — Rafael's voice got through to her between one of her breaths — "I'm going to call for a bu—"

She was sure what he was going to say so she waved the hand that wasn't gripping the wooden bar in front of her. "No! Don't bother!"

"What do you mean!?" Rafael practically shouted at her. "You're about to—"

"Nooo, I'm not!" Her breathing was spacing out. "It's just false labor. I've had it twice already, just give me…" she sucked in another breath, "Give me a moment, please. Just...silence! Just stop talking!"

Rafael would have pointed out that he had not said a word but he supposed he would let her have this point if it made her feel better. He swore he would make the call to 911 if she wasn't better by the next minute. He had one hand on her back, ready to help her stand if things got worse.

Montserrat took a couple more breaths in and out, just like Leah made her practice for a full hour, and monitored her pains. Like the stupid book said, the 'false contractions' gradually decreased. Montserrat finally opened her eyes and met a wide-eyed ADA beside her.

A light smile graced her lips. "Get some color back into that face, Mr. Barba. I told you I was going to be fine."

Rafael's natural response was to frown. He pulled his hand off her back and stepped away from the stand. This was too much for him. It seemed like he would snap but out of decency he forced his mouth to remain shut. That just made Montserrat laugh.

"Have you had any kids before?" she asked.

"No."

"Then this is your practice," her small laughter didn't help his restraint. "You failed. Big time. Like...totally big time."

"You're actually serious — okay." Rafael felt it was better to end the session there and then because he was not going to have an argument with a woman about to give birth. That was just wrong. "Just please work on the snark."

"I will if you will," Montserrat chuckled, much to his dismay. "Before you storm out, could you help me?"

Rafael honestly thought she'd been kidding about needing help getting up from a chair. After the spectacle she just gave, he'd need some aspirin for sure. She made Hayley Connors feel like a day at the park. She's pregnant. Just let her do what she wants. She was about to push a human being out of her body so perhaps leeway was something she deserved. God knows his mother would have his ear if she ever found out he refused to help a pregnant woman. He didn't even want to think what his grandmother would have to say.

"Please consider taking it light until the court day," he spoke much calmer when he returned to the stand to help her. "The last thing we need is for you to go into labor before or during the—"

"Let's not jinx it," Montserrat shuddered and preferred to be optimistic she would have luck with her due date.

"Ready?" Rafael took her nod and helped her up from her chair. "Be careful with the step—"

"What step?" Montserrat saw a glimpse of the step before her right foot inadvertently slipped.

Rafael instinctively blocked her fall and caught her by the waist. Montserrat's brief moment of fear was evident across her face. It was very close to Rafael's face, enough so that they could both notice traits from each other that weren't so obvious at first glance. He, for example, had flecks of brown in the middle of his green eyes. She, on the other hand, had very light freckles sprinkled below her eyes.

"There we go," Rafael soon helped her get back on her feet, purposely avoiding her gaze. "You're alright."

"Thank you," Montserrat straightened up and made way for her things. She was right on time because her phone went off just a second before she reached it. "It's Casey. She's probably outside. We were done right?"

"Yes, yes, completely," Rafael only briefly looked up from his own things. There was absolutely nothing he wanted to do than to leave the room, and her. "Thank you."

"Uh, can you let Olivia and Hayley know I said goodbye?"

"Of course."

Montserrat didn't think he'd be willing to look at her again that night. She supposed the brief moment was enough to put any ADA on alert. The last thing he needed - and her for that matter - were rumors.

She instead met Casey outside the court building. Her cousin was waiting with a brown paper bag in one hand which she rose in the air as soon as she saw Montserrat. "Thought you could use some brownies," Casey smiled.

Montserrat raised an eyebrow of suspicion. "You know, every time you do something nice it's because you did something bad to me."

Casey sarcastically snorted. "That's when we were kids." Montserrat still didn't stop giving her a sharp look. "Alright," Casey lowered the bag and shrugged, "I know how tough Rafael can be so I figured you might want some dessert after your practice."

"That sounds more like Casey," Montserrat happily took the bag from her and opened it up to be greeted by the sweet chocolaty scent of brownies.

"So," Casey turned them down the street, "did things go well?"

"Um, I've no idea," Montserrat admitted she wasn't sure what the odds were for this case to go well. "The victim is...really frantic. She's emotionally unstable. She screamed at Olivia and stormed out."

Casey hummed. "Yeah, that happens sometimes. Patience is the true key in SVU."

Montserrat took a bite of a brownie which turned out to be very chewy. "Mm, this is so good!" Casey smiled and shook her head. "My day needed to get better and this was the perfect way."

"So it didn't go well for you either?"

Montserrat tilted her head and thought about her own practice. "No, I think I did. I know how to do this stuff, Casey. But I did get into a mini-argument with Rafael somewhere along the way."

Casey scoffed. "With you there are no 'mini-arguments'."

Montserrat feigned an offended gasp. "How rude."

"But honest," Casey's smirk remained irritating as when they were kids.

Montserrat rolled her eyes and continued to eat her dessert. Her playfulness faded by the time she spoke up again. "Casey, do you think you could come with me when it's time to testify? I know you're busy and I know I've said that I'm not new to the process but…"

Casey put a hand on her cousin's arm. "I will be there."

Montserrat smiled in relief. "Thanks. I would just feel better if family was there."

"Of course," Casey smiled back. She put an arm around Montserrat's shoulders and continued to walk. "You hungry? Because I am."

"I'm always hungry these days!" Montserrat laughed.

~0~

The day of court Montserrat made her best to be on time and look as ready as possible. It was just to her unfortunate luck that she felt sick after eating breakfast. Leah made her a light, fruity breakfast just like the doctor suggested. Montserrat ate as much as she could then retreated to her bedroom to change. She went with a cream-colored short-sleeved dress appropriate for court and for her general uncomfortableness. Her hair was left down but with two pieces clipped back. It was a struggle fitting on her shoes when she couldn't exactly see her feet. Leah would laugh each time she was called in for help.

When Casey arrived to take Montserrat, she immediately noticed there was something off about her cousin. "Are you sure you're alright?" Casey asked for the third time now that they were arriving at court.

Montserrat seemed a little pale and, sure, she did feel just a little extra uncomfortable but what was unusual about that? She reassured Casey everything was just fine. "And please don't ask me again," she warned just as the elevator doors slid open for them to leave.

On their way out, they immediately spotted Hayley Connors coming out the courtroom with Olivia. As predicted, Hayley seemed naturally upset.

"Did something happen?" Montserrat asked but Olivia shook her head, pushing Hayley forwards.

"Defense just made her talk about her nightlife, but it's fine. You're next and—"

"Basically you're damage control," Casey kept Montserrat moving in the opposite way. It was best for her and Hayley not to speak until Montserrat had her turn on the stand.

"Oh, no pressure," Montserrat put a hand on her stomach. The bailiff re-opened the door and exchanged a mutual nodding with Casey. "Oh yay," Montserrat glumly said as she was brought towards the doors.

"Now are you sure you're fine?" Casey stopped her just for a second, even though everyone was already waiting for Montserrat. "You seem extra—"

"I'm uncomfortable," Montserrat gestured to her state. "That's it. I promise."

Casey had no choice but to let her go. She slipped into the courtroom after Montserrat and took the nearest seat she could.

Montserrat did her best not to put on a show when she sat down. She was thankful that Rafael was a straight forwards prosecutor who didn't do the usual fake "how are you" or the coddling by announcing he'd be asking her questions right before asking the questions. She found that incredibly annoying.

"How did you meet Miss Connors?"

"I didn't meet her persay, I heard her screams."

"Why was she screaming?"

"Because there was a man attacking her."

"And do you see that man here today?"

Montserrat dutifully pointed her index finger at the man sitting next to Buchanan. "He's right there."

"Let the record show that the witness has identified the defendant, Noel Oakes," Rafael paused when he noticed Montserrat scrunch her nose. He learned to recognize that as a warning something caught her nose in the wrong way. The last thing he needed - and for her - was her throwing up because someone chose the wrong cologne. "Miss Novak?" his call brought her gaze back up. "Can you describe what you saw on the night of March 29?"

"I saw the defendant push Miss Connors against a wall. He was angry about something—"

"Objection!" Buchanan stopped her so suddenly she blinked. "Lay witness opinion. The witness can't possibly know in what state of mind the defendant was in."

Montserrat inwardly groaned. She didn't need to be a rocket scientist to know anger when she saw it. Still, she took in a light breath and rearranged her words. "He smacked her head and then threatened her with a knife."

"And how were you sure it was a knife?"

"He pointed it at Miss Connors' face when he pushed her up against the wall. Its silver reflected under the street lights. Plus, when the defendant dropped it, it landed beside me." In that moment, Montserrat wished charges for Oakes' attack on her had been added so she could also spew out that information and get a definite guilty verdict. If she hadn't ran away from the scene, she could've. It was her punishment.

Dread became palpable when Rafael finished questioning her. It didn't help when she unexpectedly in-took a shaky breath. Her body jerked upwards but not enough to get up from the chair.

"Miss Novak, are you alright?" the judge was the one to inquire.

Montserrat gave a quick nod of her head. "Y-yes." Still, getting comfortable on her chair seemed to be impossible now. She had the collective stares of Casey, Rafael and Buchanan. The first two were the wary ones...

It didn't help when Buchanan started the cross-examination by asking "how are you?" He was that type of lawyer.

"I'm fi-ine," she said but her 'fine' came out just a bit high pitched. "Uncomfortable, but fine."

"Yes, I can imagine," Buchanan cleared his throat and, thankfully, got on with his questions. "Can you explain where you were coming from on the night of the alleged attack?"

"Objection - relevance?" Rafael's confusion was shared by Montserrat. The hell did Buchanan want to know about her life for?

"It goes to the credibility and the state of mind of the witness during the alleged attack," Buchanan explained with an air of confidence Montserrat was hating. And since the judge allowed him to continue, it got worse.

Montserrat licked her lips and looked to the side. "I was coming from an appointment."

"What kind of appointment?"

Montserrat's dark eyes met the man's, clearly not impressed by the direction of his question. She knew what he was going to try and do after she answered. "A therapy session."

"Right, so after your session you were probably dealing with feelings that could cloud your memory—"

"No," she calmly cut him off. She'd been able to see Rafael's mouth opening to probably object to the nonsense Buchanan was spewing. "I was in a normal state and my therapist would be able to confirm that if you'd like."

"Forgive me, Miss Novak, but a woman in your state is undergoing so many changes. Isn't it possible that, due to one of these changes, you may have just imagined or mistaken what was happening?"

Montserrat raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you implying my pregnancy is inhibiting my ability to see and hear? Because I know what a beating and a rape look like."

From the benches, Casey knew her cousin was about to snap. And since her emotions were already unstable, it probably wouldn't end well if unleashed.

"Not at all," Buchanan answered in an annoyingly calm manner. "But you were clearly not in a right state after you fled the scene—"

"Objection!" Rafael thought the man was going far even for his usual standards. Montserrat was squirming in her seat every minute or so and he assumed it was because Buchanan was pushing her too much.

"Withdrawn," Buchanan made a wave of his hand. He took another stab at his game, this time going into Montserrat's flee of the scene. He just hadn't been counting on Montserrat snapping that his client had scared the living crap out of her - and her baby - when he brandished a knife at her.

In the end, though pale faced and rigid, Montserrat did more good than bad. Her "damage control" endeavor was dealt with just fine. It was just the damn chair that continued to be her enemy in that room. The court took the lunch recess after her testimony, and so as people were coming out Casey personally came to help her cousin out the room.

"Montse, you did good," she assured Montserrat as they exited the room.

"Did I?" the ginger doubted herself for a moment.

"No, you did," Rafael came up behind them. "Your snaps - which I told you to control - were said with the right words."

"And by that you mean…?"

"You're kidding? You're nine months pregnant - that alone gives you sympathy from a jury. Buchanan dug his own hole when he implied you weren't competent because of that."

Montserrat didn't even want to remember that, but there was something she wanted to address before leaving. "Casey, get a head start please."

"You really earned some brownies this time," Casey smiled and started heading towards the elevators, promising to wait for her there.

"Yeah, I don't think I'll be eating anything for a while," Montserrat's mumble went unheard by anyone. "About the whole therapist thing - I'm sorry I didn't mention that. I didn't think Buchanan would bring it up—"

Rafael scoffed. "It's classic. And you don't have to explain anything. That was completely irrelevant to the case."

"But I should have informed you so that at least he didn't get to surprise us with it," Montserrat shifted on her feet, scrunching her face. She reached for Rafael's wrist, startling him with the action as she gripped it. "Just tell me I helped the case."

"Yes, you did - are you alright?" He was tired of wondering why there was no color in her face. At first, he thought it was because she'd smelled something that made her nauseous again, but now he was thinking it was something else.

"I-I am," she seemed to struggle even swallowing. "I, uh, I just have it on good authority that I've been in labor for the past fifteen minutes."

The calm way she said it didn't stop the stunned expression from forming across Rafael's face. It was his turn to lose color in his face. "Excuse me?" Now suddenly he was gripping her wrist. "You're in what?"

"Oh, you didn't think my water breaking was going to be the first sign of labor, did you?" Montserrat took in a decent-sized breath. "Only about 8% of women actually go through that."

"I-I-I don't - you just sat there and testified!?"

Montserrat smiled - or smirked - with her own air of smugness this time. "I told you I was not having a baby before I testified. I'm a badass in general, didn't you know?" She had to stop for another deep breath. "Ooh yeah, I think the contractions are starting now. Good luck with your case." She pulled his hand hand from his wrist and turned to meet Casey by the elevator.

Rafael had done his job for plenty, and plenty, of years but this was just...shocking. It definitely explained why she kept squirming in her seat towards the end. Now it definitely made his blood boil that he hadn't been able to cut into Buchanan's jabs. Still, he was first and foremost stunned by Montserrat, and that alone was hard to do with the kind of job he held. He'd let her know that the next time he saw her.

Unfortunately, he didn't know it would take him months to see her again.

Author's Note:

Yeah, Montserrat did that and I'm so proud of her *claps for her*