Kara Mackie was a talented hairstylist and, in her opinion, a good friend. When she met Montserrat, the two were just being introduced to each other as their older brothers' little sisters. They were, essentially, dumped together so that the older brothers could have fun without having to babysit. Despite being different, Montserrat and Kara got along well in their teen days. Kara loved using Montserrat as her experiment person for hair styles and nail designs - though Montserrat never let Kara come anywhere near her with scissors - and Montserrat just liked how carefree Kara was in general.
So, when Montserrat found herself in need of a temporary living arrangement, Kara was more than happy to offer an empty room in her apartment. She knew that Montserrat's brother was already occupied raising his two daughters on his own and Montserrat would probably feel more comfortable away from the hectic life that was parenthood. She didn't know what brought Montserrat to move to Manhattan since her brother and father lived in Queens, but Kara was happy to have her closest friend become her roommate.
After her surrogacy pregnancy, Kara expected Montserrat to be over the moon not having to deal with pregnancy in general. In Kara's opinion, it seemed to be doing more harm than good for Montserrat. There were times when Kara would catch Montserrat staring into nothing yet progressively getting tears or pale in the face. In a short time living together, Kara noticed Montserrat had strange ticks - she would do strange things and then give some bad excuse.
Tonight was one example. Kara had made dinner and decided it would be a Netflix night. Unfortunately, Montserrat never showed up. She even called the SVU station and - though answered by that cute Detective Carisi - she didn't get much relief.
"Montse left two hours ago," Sonny explained, sounding just as confused as Kara was. "She hasn't come home?"
"No," Kara bit her lip anxiously. "I don't know where she is. She's not answering her phone and - oh my God, what do I do?"
"Hold on, hold on," Sonny cut in before she hyperventilated in some ramble of concerns. "It's only ten, so let's give her another hour. She may just be out or something. If she's not back by eleven, you give me another call, alright?"
"What if it's not you that answers?" Kara knew she'd dialed Montserrat's desk number and that was all she had to get in contact with Montserrat at work whenever the ginger didn't answer her cell phone. "I'm gonna have to explain all over again and that would be wasting time!"
Though she didn't see it, Sonny smiled on the other line. She'd raised her voice during her moment of concern and it was frankly amusing. "Don't worry, I'll give you my number. But try not to worry so much, Montse is probably out having a drink. We did handle another troubling case."
Kara wanted to believe in the cute detective's story. Just as she'd written down Sonny's number - and being promised that he would be attentive to her call - she heard the doorknob rattling from a key. Montserrat walked in a couple seconds later, looking perfectly fine.
"Oh, she's here! Thank you, Sonny!" Kara happily hung up and hurried up to her friend, throwing her arms around Montserrat. "I'm so glad you're okay!"
"Why were you talking to Sonny?" Montserrat scrunched her face in confusion as Kara practically bounced up and down while she hugged Montserrat. "And what do you mean you're glad I'm okay? Why wouldn't I be okay?"
Kara suddenly pulled away from Montserrat and glared. Without warning, she smacked Montserrat on the arm, ignoring the great big 'OW!' Montserrat gave. "Where the hell were you!? You said you come out of work at eight—"
"Conditional," Montserrat reminded as she rubbed her arm where Kara hit her. "Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. SVU is like that."
"Well, Sonny said you got out two hours ago so where the hell were you?" Kara crossed her arms.
Montserrat started taking off her coat, clearly avoiding Kara's gaze as she moved around the blonde. "I was...having some drinks with Casey."
"Really?" Kara turned after Montserrat but stayed in her spot.
Montserrat left her coat on the couch and dropped her bag on the floor. She glanced back at Kara and nodded her head. "Yes, why?"
"I called Casey after I called your brother, neither of them knew where you were."
Montserrat made a face at her roommate. "Don't you think you overreacted?"
"That is not the point!" Kara snapped, startling Montserrat. "You just lied to me! Where were you?"
"What does it matter?" Montserrat picked up her bag after deciding fast she wouldn't be having time out in the living room. "I was out."
"Montse, this is the 21st century, I could honestly care less if you met some guy and had a random quickie. The point is, you don't have to lie to me!"
Montserrat laughed. "First of all, that is not what happened. Second of all, not everything I do is your business." Kara squeaked with offence. Montserrat snatched her coat from the couch and started for her bedroom. "Goodnight, Kara!"
She slammed her bedroom door shut, locking it in case Kara had intentions of continuing the fascinating argument. She walked to her bed and sat down then pulled out her phone. Her finger tapped the screen to bring it to life. She went straight to her gallery of photos and started swiping through the most recent ones she'd gotten. A light, warm smile started spreading across her face with each photo she saw.
~ 0 ~
Montserrat figured that the issue of her whereabouts would have been left at home with Kara, but apparently her co-worker was just as irritating as her roommate. Montserrat rued the day she gave Kara her work number, because thanks to her Sonny hounded Montserrat about the previous night. Even when they had so many cases to go through - a lot of which consisted of paperwork - she still couldn't free herself of the overbearing lanky man.
Montserrat dug her nails into her hair and groaned. "Carisi, please, for the love of God, leave me alone!"
Next to their desks, they heard Fin's low chuckle. Even Amanda was trying to hide her own smile behind her laptop. If Nick wasn't with Olivia in her office, he probably would've done something along the same lines.
"She was just worried," Sonny continued to reuse his excuse for his insistence of her whereabouts.
Montserrat let her hands drop to her desk. "Believe me, I know how Kara is. You don't have to follow her game."
"I'm only trying to help—"
"I know," and Montserrat thought it was pretty clear that she found it incredibly annoying. "And you know what, I was going to have lunch with Casey who encouraged me to invite co-workers but now you're not allowed." Her wagging index finger at him was the first thing Olivia, Nick and Rafael saw as they emerged from Olivia's office.
That and Sonny's big scowl.
"What do you mean I'm not allowed?" the lanky man repeated with laced offence.
"Just what I said, Carisi," Montserrat pulled her coat from her chair to put on.
"Uh, what's going on?" Olivia's question was directed more towards Fin and Amanda since it was obvious they were both enjoying a show.
"Carisi's being annoying and Novak is close to popping," Fin's answer earned himself similar glares from the two detectives in question.
"I am not ready to pop," Montserrat spat.
"Kinda looks like it…" Amanda's input only further annoyed Montserrat.
"You know what—"
"Okay," Olivia started with her hand motion that Montserrat had come to learn was the beginning of the woman's attempt to calm everyone down. Olivia Benson was the mother hen type of woman. "Let's just calm down. We're in the middle of a case, remember? We need everyone to be working together if we want to catch the guy."
Beside her, Rafael was observing the group meant to collect all the evidence he would need later on. "This scene looks promising for success," his comment made Olivia sent him a sharp look. Here she was trying to calm things down and there he was poking holes.
"Sergeant, I'm really only trying to help," Sonny said before Montserrat loudly scoffed.
"You're in my business. And frankly, I don't know you that way yet. I don't know anyone here enough to talk about what I do after work."
"Is that what we're arguing about?" Rafael rolled his eyes. "This one's easy: Carisi, you're wrong. What she does after hours is none of our concern."
"Thank you! See? That's why I like him," Montserrat's moment of triumph was cut short because Rafael was not finished.
"And Novak, you're right, we don't know you enough to even care what you do after work. Leave that at home. When you're here, you're here to work."
Olivia inwardly sighed but kept silent. It was brutal, but effective in clearing the air. Both detectives in question mellowed out.
"I'm taking my lunch," Montserrat made her final comment before pulling her bag over her shoulder and turning to leave.
"Guys, c'mon," Olivia motioned the remaining detectives to get on with their business. "We still need to talk find the Oswell girl and maybe re-canvassing the crime scene for that murder weapon wouldn't come by as bad. We need this done before the day's gone."
"Can we do the former while having lunch?" Finn asked but was already reaching for his desk phone to make the call to their trusty Chinese restaurant.
"Have I ever mentioned how much this squad radiates professionalism?" Rafael's joke was met with a deadpanning look from Olivia.
~ 0 ~
Montserrat repeatedly sighed as she went through Kara's texts on her phone. She only looked up once to press the elevator button. Kara was as relentless as Sonny and it was frankly annoying. She wasn't used to all this coddling for something that concerned no one but her.
Her finger hovered over Kara's number. God can't she just leave me alone? It suddenly felt like a perfect moment to visit her therapist. After all, Dr. Weslin was the only person she could really talk to about it.
She stepped inside the elevator and pushed the button for the first floor. She leaned her back against the wall and had about two seconds to take a deep breath in and out. Before the elevator door was able to slide shut, someone stuck their shoe in.
Rafael smiled as soon as he could at Montserrat. "Detective," he greeted and walked in. Montserrat said something and merely looked to the side. He pressed the first floor button then stepped back beside her.
Not a second later did Montserrat's phone start buzzing. Kara's name flashed across her screen. Very swiftly, Montserrat slid the ignore option and turned the screen to black. Though she tried - and she really did - to stay quiet, she just couldn't. "I do my work," she said, putting in her best effort to not sound defensive. "I know how to be professional."
"Okay," Rafael shrugged and said nothing more.
Montserrat shifted in her spot, keeping her gaze on the closed doors. "I do."
"Alright."
Montserrat had no idea what was driving her, but whatever it was it made her mouth keep going. "...I am professional, alright? And just so you know, I wasn't doing anything bad—"
Rafael chuckled and side-glanced her. "Why are you telling me?" His amusement made her feel even more out of place.
"I don't know," she huffed and looked away.
The elevator doors pinged as they slid open. Rafael motioned Montserrat to go out first, and despite her huff, she headed out.
"Detective?"
Montserrat stopped and turned back. "Yes?"
"In my experience, Carisi can be exceptionally persistent - which in this line of work is a good thing - but he usually means well."
"I...know that," Montserrat sighed. It only took her a week to know that every member of SVU was a good person. "But there are some things about my life that I don't want to share. Simple as that."
"I understand. I wouldn't want anyone prying into my life," Rafael stuffed his hands into his pants' pockets. "I don't need explanations, Novak. I just need you to work like the rest."
Montserrat nodded her head. "I will. Now if you'll excuse me, I have lunch pending with my cousin. You might know her." She caught a brief glimpse of his smile before continuing on her way out.
"I do, and I should warn you she's stuck in a hostage situation," Rafael's revelation made her stop once again. "Making plea deals is kind of her afternoon today."
"Great," Montserrat rolled her eyes.
Now it was Rafael's turn to shift, and he didn't even know why. He didn't exactly have plans - it was actually one of the rare slow days ADAs could only dream of - and he did know of Casey's plans. There was also the fact Montserrat was still new to the city and the squad. Why am I making so many reasons?
"I know a good place, if you're interested?" he pulled one hand from his pockets and hesitated towards the entrance doors of the building. Montserrat's questionable look was understandable. "Don't want you to fall back on that self confidence issue we talked about two weeks ago."
Montserrat involuntarily smiled. "I will not because as we established I am a badass. And what kind of place you have in mind?"
"Ironically, Italian."
"Oh my God," Montserrat languidly turned for the doors.
"He follows," Rafael sarcastically said as walked towards the doors.
"I'm not telling you where I went," Montserrat warned him, but it didn't seem to do much to him.
"Wasn't gonna ask," he smiled.
~ 0 ~
Montserrat's phone continued buzzing even as she focused on the delicious Alfredo sauce of her pasta. With a groan she reached for her phone in her bag and pulled it out to once again see Kara's name on her screen.
"Here's an idea - and I usually come up with good ones - but why not go ahead and answer?" Rafael put his fork down for a moment. He wouldn't say but it was rather annoying to continuously hear the phone buzz. At least his non-stop buzzing were answered on the spot.
Montserrat deadpanned him while her thumb pressed the off button of her phone. "Your sarcasm gets tiring after a while. And you said you wouldn't start like Carisi did."
"I'm not. But, just for reminder's sake, Kara's the one from the bar right?" Rafael barely hid his smile as he recalled the blonde drunk.
"She's my roommate," Montserrat nodded. "Temporary living situation while I find my own place in the city."
"Casey mentioned you had an older brother in the city…?"
"Queens. And he's got a load with his two girls. I was not going to enter that kind of world."
Rafael made a face at her. "That kind of world?" he repeated with confusion. "What do you mean?"
"The world of single parenthood, preschool, and teenagehood," Montserrat sarcastically shuddered.
"Right," Rafael agreed there and then it was probably easier to deal with that from a distance. "You didn't opt to stay with Casey?"
"No room," Montserrat picked up her fork to continue eating. "Plus, Kara's an old friend. I thought it would be fun."
"And is it?"
Montserrat's fork stopped just an inch from her mouth. He was smirking again. My god she learned to hate it but at the same time it gave her a type of thrill that she couldn't quite explain. Never let Kara know that. "I plead the fifth."
"Okay," Rafael laughed lightly. Her choice of words usually made him laugh even when he didn't want to.
He learned in a short time that Detective Montserrat Novak was a woman who would go the extra mile to get evidence, to make a case work, and - often - she went an extra mile just to pull at his strings. Still, he admitted she pulled the right ones. He wasn't sure what that meant exactly - he was still trying to figure that out - but she didn't irritate him in the way most people did. Even when she did manage to irritate him, it didn't last typically long. He wondered if it was just because of her unique start in SVU, and even backtracking to her first appearance in Manhattan.
"So do you just have random lunches with the squad?" Montserrat unknowingly brought him back to the present. She was back to eating and by the looks of it, she really did love the pasta. "Because I have to tell you, they have a lot of things to say about you."
A smirk came automatically to Rafael's face. "I bet they do. How bad is it?"
Montserrat shook her head at him. "Oh no, I am staying quiet. I'm new here and the last thing I want is to make enemies."
"I won't say a word," his promise seemed more or less honest. Montserrat didn't really take him for a man to care about others opinions. He wouldn't be able to work as a lawyer if he did.
Montserrat cleared her throat as she remembered the last thing she heard about him. "You're a pain in the ass, basically. And, on occasion, you're an extra type of a royal pain in the ass." She watched him carefully as he took in the comments.
"Let me guess, Fin?" he ended up responding with. He knew he guessed right when her lips stretched into a wide smile.
"Amanda thinks you get the job done but she honestly, firmly, believes that you don't like anything."
"That's not true," Rafael leaned forwards on the desk, rather serious that Montserrat believed he would be upset about Amanda's comment. "I love putting people in jail."
She laughed and made a hand gesture to the side. "Of course that's your argument."
"It's the truth," he shrugged and returned to his plate.
"I know. I've seen you, remember?" she paused then leaned forwards like he had. A devious smile came to her face. "The belt?"
He let his fork drop to his plate and garnered a deadpanning expression. "Stop." But even after repeating it twice he could not stop her from laughing. That was another thing he learned about her: she loved to laugh. He admitted she had a nice laugh, but sometimes it was unnecessary. Like this moment.
"Oh, I am never letting that go," Montserrat's warning was a promise and Rafael knew it. "You can thank Casey for that."
Judging by the look on his face, Rafael would've liked to do something else. Still, he let the matter go, though fully aware it wouldn't be the last time he heard about the stupid belt.
Later on when Montserrat checked her phone - more or less to dodge one of Kara's calls - she noticed she had a message from Olivia. "Oh, we may have caught a breakthrough in the case. Liv wants me back at the precinct."
"And you're going back with the intention of working right?" Rafael smirked when the woman mockingly glared at him. "I'm only checking."
"Mhm, sure," she shook her head and pulled her bag onto her lap. "Thanks for showing me this place. I only know about three places and one of them is just a cafe shop."
"You're welcome. I hope you cooled down enough to rem— you don't have to pay," he had stopped her just as she'd taken out her wallet. She raised an eyebrow at him, as if asking if he was serious. "I got it, alright?"
"What? You can't take a woman who pays for her lunch?"
Her mild joke hadn't sat well with him. Rafael frowned and put a hand on the table, motioning her to listen well to him. "Listen, Novak, I've got no fragile ego. I've got no problem if a woman wants to pay for lunch or dinner or whatever the case is but in this situation I invited you and as they say 'él que invita paga'."
Montserrat's expression was a mixture of confusion and amusement, for she had no idea what just happened. "Okay. Um, could you...could you repeat that last part?"
Rafael mellowed out as she gave no indication of wanting to argue it out. "Whoever makes the invite pays," he translated. It was simple really, whoever invited someone to lunch paid. It had nothing to do with who was the man and who was the woman. Simply courtesy. "I invited you, therefore I pay."
"...sounds fair," she shrugged then noticed his surprise of how easy he'd won. "I've got no fragile ego either, Mr. Barba," she smirked. Her phone buzzed on the table, reminding her work was pending. "But I do have a boss, so…"
Rafael laughed. "Of course. And, not that I'm prying or anything…" he paused to smile, or rather it came without his permission, "Despite meeting Kara while she was drunk, I imagine if she is a childhood friend then she was honestly worried. You don't have to tell her anything - no one is owed nor entitled to anyone's secrets - but maybe a good talk might make her leave you alone."
"As long as you're not prying," Montserrat mimicked his tone before laughing. "But I will take that into consideration. Thank you." She got up from the table and was about to go but momentarily stopped beside the table. "They're wrong you know. You're not a royal pain in the ass. You're only mild one."
"That's good to know," Rafael pretended to be oh-so-relieved over the admission. She rolled her eyes and took off.
Montserrat genuinely felt a lot better when she stepped out of the restaurant. Her shoulders felt lighter and the closer she got to the precinct. On her way towards the building, she spotted the tall figure of Nick who seemed to be talking on the phone.
"Yes, Zara, I promise I will pick you up," he laughed. "No, I won't forget. Alright, goodbye sweetie."
Montserrat moved up to him when he hung up the phone. "Hey," she greeted him.
"Oh, hey, back from lunch?"
"Yeah. I didn't mean to overhear, but sounds like you've got plans tonight," Montserrat shot him a teasing smile.
"Oh, no! I was talking to my daughter, Zara. She's coming into the city and she was afraid I would forget to pick her up," Nick laughed. As if he would ever forget his daughter.
"My bad," Montserrat made a face. She thanked him when he opened the door for her then walked right in. "I didn't know anyone in the squad had kids."
"Uh, yeah - well, it's just me and Fin but Fin's son is an adult and Zara's only eight."
"I didn't know that," Montserrat became pensive while they waited for the elevator. She actually didn't know much about her co-workers. She didn't expect to know every last detail about them since it'd only been two weeks since she started at SVU but she supposed she hadn't exactly made a move to actually get to know anyone.
It seemed like Nick picked up on where her thoughts were. He was knowingly smiling at her as they walked into the elevator. "You could ask questions, you know. We don't bite."
"But I bet someone thinks I will," Montserrat's guilty carried into the station with her. She walked up to her desk and dropped her purse over it. As she began to shake off her coat, someone cleared their throat behind her.
"Novak, I would like to wave my white flag," Sonny stood with a white box in his hands. Montserrat was already fairly amused with the way he was shifting so she let him continue on. "Barba was right earlier…"
"Yeah, he seems to be…" Montserrat mumbled and Sonny nodded.
"What you do outside of work is none of my concern." He held the white box between them and opened the lid. "As a sign of my surrender, I brought—"
"Dessert?" Montserrat chuckled after peering into the box. "What are those?"
The question might have seemed like blasphemy for Sonny. "What!?" he almost shrieked, further amusing her. "You don't know what cannoli are!? Montserrat Irene Novak—"
"When did you learn my middle name?" frowned Montserrat but Sonny was far too gone to listen.
"You need to sit down and try one right now! I can't have you walking in the city without knowing what a cannoli tastes like!"
Montserrat knew everything would be alright between them after that, even more so when she decided cannolis were delicious.
~0~
Kara shifted on the couch when she heard the apartment doorknob turning. She forced her gaze onto the television where she had Netflix turned on. From the corner of her eyes she saw Montserrat walking in holding a bag in one hand. Montserrat pulled her coat off and left it draped over a kitchen chair.
The ginger woman cleared her throat as she turned to Kara. "Hey...can we talk?"
Despite really wanting to say 'yes' a sour scoff came through Kara's lips. "Dunno, you gonna ignore my last twenty calls?"
"Seventeen," Montserrat blurted the accurate amount, soon receiving a glare from Kara. "Sorry."
Kara pulled her legs onto the couch and draped her blanket over her. "You can watch the Office with me."
Montserrat took that as a green light for talk. She came to the couch, put the white bag over the coffee table and sat down next to her roommate. She briefly watched the television before she started off with her excuse. "I'm sorry, Kara. I overreacted last night and I continued to be an extraordinary bitch all day today."
Kara reached for the control on the coffee table and paused the show. She glanced at Montserrat and saw the ginger looked genuinely sorry. "Montse, I didn't mean to bombard you. I just got worried."
"I know," Montserrat nodded.
"You've been doing this a lot lately. You just go somewhere and you don't say what it is that you're doing."
Montserrat nodded again, acknowledging that perhaps wasn't the best way to do things. "Kara, I can't tell you where I go. It's...it's my thing, alright? I'm not - I'm not ready."
"Is it something bad?" Kara set a hand on Montserrat's arm. Whatever Montserrat was off doing didn't look to be easy for her. "I know you're seeing a therapist...is it that?" She was fully aware that Montserrat had been seeing a therapist for some time now but Kara never asked what it was about. It wasn't her business, after all.
Montserrat fiddled with her fingers on her lap. There was a clear strain on her face. "No, um…" even her voice had gone quiet, to a whisper, "It's just something that I have to do - that I want to do."
"Okay," Kara nodded. She comfortingly rubbed her hand on Montserrat's arm. "I won't ask again. Just...give me a heads up so I know that you're okay. I mean, you're a Detective for God's sake. You know how many crazies would want to go at you?"
Montserrat quietly chuckled. "Yeah, I can do that."
"Thank you," Kara threw her arms around her roommate and grinned. "See how easy things can be when you sit down and talk to me?"
Montserrat wriggled in Kara's tight hold. "Yeah, yeah, I was a bitch, I know."
"An extraordinary bitch," Kara laughed and sat back in her spot. "I'm surprised you change minds in one day. Usually when you get into one of your moods, it's a minimum three day streak."
Montserrat playfully rolled her eyes to the side. "I had some help."
"God bless them and their talent," Kara noticed the white bag on the coffee table. "Ooooh, what's that? Peace offering?"
"Yeah, but they're not mine," Montserrat watched as Kara pulled out the white box from the bag, opening its lid to see leftover cannolis inside. Kara didn't even hesitate to pick up one pastry and bite into it. "See, I was a bitch to everyone today, more so Sonny since he kept asking me about last night."
"So he bought these for you?" Kara's words were muffled due to her chewing. When Montserrat nodded to confirm, Kara groaned and tilted her head back. "God that guy's a complete package."
"You don't even know him!"
"Honey, with the face that man has I don't need to know him," Kara made a pass with her free hand. She went inside the bag to pull out a napkin for herself.
Montserrat took another cannoli and looked around for the remote control. "Two weeks ago you were hounding me for a meet with Rafael and now you're onto my partner. Is there no stopping you?"
Kara's wide smirk was answer enough. "Don't worry, I'm a one-man type of a girl. And the Italian" — she raised her half eaten cannoli — "wins. Besides, the lawyer met me while I was drunk. I was at my worst and first impressions are everything."
"Please stop," Montserrat laughed and nodded towards the television. "Let's just watch Jim screw with Dwight and forget about detectives and lawyers and everything else."
"Except the cannolis."
"Sure."