'With only 12 days left until New York's mayoral election, the latest polls show state senator Alejandro Munoz still holding on to his lead. The time has come to fix our broken schools. The time has come to provide affordable housing for the hard-working people of the city. The time has come!'

"Ouch - Kara that hurt!" Montserrat scrunched her face after one particular strong hair pull from Kara's hands. "Are you even paying attention to what you're doing to my hair or are you watching TV?"

Kara pulled her hands from Montserrat's fiery orange hair and cheekily smiled behind Montserrat's chair. The two were in Kara's salon, before opening, and while Kara was attempting to try a new hair style using Montserrat, a lot of her attention seemed to be going towards the television up on the wall.

"I swear to God," Montserrat muttered as she decided to end this impromptu hair modeling gig by pulling out the bobby pins in her hair.

"Sorry, it's just elections are coming up and I wanna stay informed," the blonde hair stylist replied with, not even bothering to help Montserrat undo a knot on her hair. "My vote's going to Muñoz for sure. What about you?"

"Don't know, don't - OW!" Montserrat angrily glared at her reflection after feeling like she'd pulled skin off during the unknotting process.

Kara remained unfazed. "You don't know who you want for mayor?"

"Hasn't been on my radar yet but I've heard things about all parties. Can I go now?" Montserrat dropped the last bobby pin onto the salon table and turned to find Kara engulfed in her cellphone. "Nice to see the attention you give me."

Kara sarcastically rolled her eyes. "It's Damian. We were gonna get lunch but he's at your cousin's right now."

"What? Casey?"

"With Gael too," Kara put her phone in her back pocket. "Something about a client gone wrong? Issue? Not sure."

"Hm, I guess they're still having trouble. Maybe I can stop by," Montserrat said as she got up from her chair.

"What are you going to do? You're a cop not a lawyer!"

"Thanks, really. I haven't talked to Gael in weeks and I was meant to babysit his girls last week but he cancelled in a very short text," Montserrat turned to the mirror to fix her hair as best as possible. "I'll say hi to Damian for you."

"And while you're at it, remind him that he owes his little sister $20," Kara pointed in a serious, mocking, manner.

Montserrat playfully rolled her eyes. "Hair model is gone!" she announced as she swiped her purse off the table.

"But coming back!" Kara reminded because she certainly had more styles to try out and as it turned out, Montserrat had very smooth hair.

~0~

On her way towards the D.A's office, Montserrat heard the distinct voice of her partner calling her name. Montserrat paused and looked back to see Sonny speeding to catch up with her, with, due to his long legs, was done in a quick stride.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Montserrat asked him.

"Warrant," Sonny said the magic word that could answer almost everything.

"Case of Jamil?"

"We got him this time," Sonny promised then motioned Montserrat to walk ahead.

"I sure hope so cos I'd love to see the smirk get wiped off his face already," Montserrat thanked him for opening the door for her but as she was about to step in, she bumped into a man. "Sorry," she apologized dutifully.

"Oh don't worry about it, bonita," a familiar man responded with.

Montserrat stepped back, accidentally bumping into Sonny at the same time. "I know you," the redhead said within the second. "My roommate was talking about you earlier. Alex Muñoz, you want to be our mayor."

The man in question smiled the same charming smile Montserrat saw on the television. "Sounds like I got her vote. What about you?"

"I... don't know yet," Montserrat shrugged then looked up at Sonny behind her.

"Don't know either," he admitted.

"Psh, you'll vote for whoever Kara will," Montserrat waved him off, missing Sonny's face of offence when she looked back to Alex. "But I have to say I'm surprised a candidate for mayor is here…?"

"Just visiting an old friend," Alex left it brief.

"K, well, promise I'll do my research," Montserrat politely reached for the door again.

"If you need any help deciding, you can always call me," and the man surprised her with a small card. "Always happy to help a citizen, especially cuando toca ser una linda mujer."

Montserrat slowly took the card from him, eyes glued to Alex's returning smile. It was cocky no doubt even when he walked off.

"Okay, I skipped Spanish class a lot in highschool but I'm not that bad to miss the fact he just made a pass at me," Montserrat turned to face Sonny with a wide grin, close to laughing.

"You're so not voting for him," Sonny ushered her inside, instigating her full laughter.

"What? Why not? You're not actually thinking that being overprotective of your crush's roommate will score you some good grade points?" Montserrat levelled an amused glance his way, one that made him roll his eyes.

"I'm gonna go get that warrant," Sonny decided to avoid another teasing round which, thanks to Montserrat, the squad now partook in.

"Sure, sure," Montserrat waved him off and headed for Casey's office. She was only a couple feet away when the office door opened. Damian was the first to emerge, letting Montserrat notice his face expression. Whatever problem they were having didn't seem to be getting any better.

"Hey," Montserrat walked towards them, but the closer she got the better she could see Gael's grim face. "Woah, what problem have you two got?"

"None of your business," Gael snapped at the same time Damian had answered "It's just business".

Montserrat raised her eyebrows in confusion. "What the hell's your problem, Gael?"

"Seriously?" the older brother snapped again which only confused Montserrat even more. "You're asking me what's my problem after what you said about Dad?"

"Wait, you're actually mad about that?" Montserrat didn't know whether to laugh or not. It was plainly absurd. Though now she supposed it made sense why Gael cancelled her babysitting day.

"You said Dad was a bad parent-"

"-I did not say that!" Montserrat couldn't believe they were actually going to have this argument.

"Yes, you did!"

"No, I didn't!"

Damian looked back and forth between the siblings as their argument got louder and louder. He tried to cut in but it didn't work. It rarely did. And it just seemed to attract more people out from the offices.

"How could you be so insensitive towards Dad!?"

"How could you be so stupid!?" Montserrat mimicked her brother's tone without a care in the world. "This is why you didn't let me babysit the girls last week?"

"I was afraid you'd call me a bad father too," Gael promptly said, and it honestly became hard for Montserrat not to smack him right there.

"Would you quit being such a baby!? I didn't say anything about our father that wasn't true! But that doesn't mean I said he was a bad father!"

Casey flung open her office door and fixated an incredulous glare on her two cousins. "Would you two quiet it down?" her input only seemed to make things worse.

"No, I will not 'quiet it down'-" Gael mimicking Casey as well earned himself another glare from the woman, "-when my sister is being so ungrateful to our father!"

"I'M NOT!" Montserrat outright shouted, which then called forth her partner.

"Montse, what's going on?" Sonny emerged from Rafael's office, along with the ADA himself.

"The entire building can hear you," Rafael added.

Montserrat, frustrated, motioned them all to be quiet. "I'm not doing anything except defending myself from ridiculous accusations by my dear big brother!"

"You got a lot of nerve, Montserrat," Gael got face to face with his younger sister. "You want to call our father a bad parent when he worked his ass off to get both of us through? While Regina was out probably partying, he was there reading you stories and helping me with my homework-"

"-but I never said anything! And you know damn well that I know what Regina did."

"Well it doesn't seem like it-"

"-Gael-" Casey once again stepped in but the man went over her words anyways.

"-but of course you'd never understand. You're still thinking Mommy is coming back. You always thought that-"

"-screw you, Gael," Montserrat felt there was nothing left to say.

"Montserrat!" Casey hissed.

"Montse, why don't we head back to the station together?" Sonny made his own attempt as well.

"Yeah, go back to work and act like you didn't insult our father," Gael spat and finally moved around Montserrat to head for the exit.

"I'm so sorry," Damian felt like he needed to apologize to Casey at least for the siblings' brawl but it wasn't like Casey was new to it.

"We're good, go," Casey gave him the nod that it was alright for him to leave.

"No, we are not good!" Montserrat turned with the intention of catching up with her brother. "If he wants to talk about Regina then let's have it!" But of course she was stopped by both Sonny and Rafael. She fought the two for a bit before she finally backed off. "Taking his side?" she snapped at both of them.

"Easy there, Novak," Rafael pointed a finger at her to keep her from trying again. "You've got the whole building watching you."

"I don't care," she snapped. "If he wants to talk about Regina then I can do it."

"At another time," he snapped this time. "I'll find her myself if that'll shut both of you up."

That seemed to trigger her. "You know what, if you think you can find Regina Ramos then be my frikin guest because I haven't been able to find her in 25 years!" This particular spat startled Rafael due to the ferocity lacing her words. Even her expression had gone ballistic and he'd seen quite a lot of things in his line of work.

"Montserrat," Casey once again attempted to calm her cousin but Montserrat waved Casey off and took off in a storm.

"What the hell was that?" Sonny jerked a thumb over his shoulder, completely lost on the show they'd seen.

"What do you think? Another sister-brother brawl," Casey sighed. "How many siblings do you have again?"

Sonny playfully rolled his eyes. "My sisters and I have never argued like that."

"Who the hell is this Regina and why is she making such trouble?" asked Rafael. He'd certainly like to know why he'd garnered such a snap from Montserrat.

Casey knew what he was thinking and decided to answer only to clarify what Montserrat was dealing with. "Regina is Montserrat's and Gael's mother. She...sort of walked out on them when they were just kids." Casey sighed when she saw the sorrowful expressions on the men's faces. "And that's why Montse doesn't talk about that because she hated the pity faces she would get afterwards. She doesn't like talking about it, period. I mean, you guys got a firsthand look at what happens, and you-" she gestured at Rafael, "-got a firsthand taste."

"Wouldn't be the first time I accidentally probed where I shouldn't have," the ADA shrugged, though inside he was feeling a tad remorseful (which he didn't like one bit).

"I would just tread lightly," Casey parted with that warning and returned to her office.

"How the hell do we 'tread lightly' after that?" Rafael was left with an unanswered question.

"We take slow steps," Sonny decided it was as close to a proper answer as they could get to.

~0~

Montserrat practically stalked into her apartment that evening with a white paper bag in one hand, and a half eaten brownie in the other. Kara looked up from her dinner plate with a mouth full of spaghetti, one noodle in particular dangling below her chin.

"What's...wrong with...you?" Kara said while she swallowed the whole food in her mouth.

"My brother's an idiot," Montserrat spat and trudged into the living room to take her coat and shoes off. She stuffed her mouth with the remainder of her brownie. Kara watched her ginger roommate chuck the paper bag (aggressively one should add) to the couch before plonking down to take off her boots.

"Uh, my brother's an idiot too. All big brothers are. Didn't you get the memo?" Kara's light joke was met with a cold deadpanning look. "Okay. Um, I know I'm going to regret asking but shouldn't you be at work?"

"I asked Liv for a personal day. She's very understanding," Montserrat threw her boot across the living room, missing how Kara winced when the hell of one boot hit the television furniture piece. She then pulled her phone out of her back pocket and let it drop (not so gently) against the glass coffee table.

Kara feared for her furniture's safety. "Um, okay, so...would you like dinner…? I made spaghetti," she motioned to her plate which was half empty already.

"Since when?" Montserrat unceremoniously snorted. "You always complain how you never got that one."

"Sonny gave me a recipe," the blonde shrugged.

Montserrat shot her roommate a look. "You're trading recipes now?" but she decided in that second that she didn't even want to get into that potential romance that was sure to make her gag. "Never mind. No, I don't want dinner."

"Right, cos stuffing your face with brownies is the better way to go," Kara's sarcasm was once again responded with a cold glare. "What's going on, Montse?"

"You mean Damian didn't call? Not even Sonny?" Montserrat grabbed her paper bag and reached for another brownie.

"No...should I call one of them…?"

"Oh, right, like you need another reason to call Sonny - stop with that!" Montserrat pretended to shiver, making Kara roll her eyes, and took a bit of her new brownie. "Gael's still mad at me for what I said about our Dad leaving us alone sometimes. He thinks I actually called my father a bad parent."

"But I'm sure you didn't mean it like that-"

"-yeah, I know," Montserrat's sudden cut in sounded rude but Kara knew Montserrat needed to vent right now and this was how she did it. "He even went ahead and brought in Regina, like I don't know what she did to us."

Kara wouldn't even try to say anything about Regina Ramos. That topic had always been a delicate one that usually resulted in arguments between Gael and Montserrat. Their mother abandoning them as kids had left raw pain that hadn't really see any healing.

"Gael is an idiot. And more than that, he's…" Montserrat couldn't even finish without getting furious all over again. "We argued outside Casey's office and...we got loud."

"...how loud?" Kara raised an eyebrow, knowing well where this was headed.

"Pretty loud."

"Were there people?"

"...when we were finished…"

"Oh, Montse. How mad was Casey?"

"I don't know. I didn't ask her when I stormed out of there after threatening Sonny and Rafael."

"Oh Montse," Kara shook her head disapprovingly.

"Gael made me so mad!"

"That's not an excuse, that's just a sister-brother relationship," Kara dug her fork into her spaghetti. "Only now you're actually held responsible for your actions."

Montserrat hated when Kara was right. She just hated it. Thankfully, someone knocked on their door, preventing Kara from continuing with her lecture.

"It's probably the Andersons downstairs complaining about your stomping," Kara warned as Montserrat went up to answer the door.

"I've still got some colorful words left if you're interested," Montserrat said before opening the door. "Great, what are you doing here?" her initial whine made Kara lean to the side to try and see who was at the door. If it was Gael, she'd take cover for sure.

"Seriously, I don't get paid enough to be your partner," Sonny said with a straight face.

Montserrat deadpanned him but took his sarcasm to heart. He probably came around trying to see if she was okay, not for Kara nor for the sake of their work... but to be a friend. Those thoughts softened her expression and made her remember some politeness. "Come on in, Sonny."

"Careful, she bites when she's angry," Kara said while Montserrat shut the door.

"I come bearing gifts," Sonny raised his hand that held a white plastic bag.

"You didn't have to," Montserrat was now feeling exceptionally guilty for her behavior earlier in the day.

"After that kind of fight, yeah, I had to," Sonny held the bag for her to take.

"I heard plural which just makes me feel awful," Montserrat admitted as she rummaged through the bag. A smile came to her face when she caught whiff of the familiar peanut butter cannolis inside one box. "And I guess Kara gets to enjoy my guilty moment."

"Why?" asked the blonde in question. She scarfed down her spaghetti and looked in their direction.

"Peanut butter cannolis," was all Montserrat had to say for Kara to jump out of her seat.

"Sonny, you didn't!?" she zipped towards them and practically yanked the bag out of Montserrat's hands to see for herself. She squeaked when she confirmed the cannolis and suddenly planted a kiss on Sonny's cheek.

Montserrat nearly laughed when she saw how red Sonny had become in less than a minute. She honestly didn't think Kara even realized what she'd done.

"You better apologize to him right now," Kara wagged a finger at Montserrat.

Montserrat rolled her eyes but did know when it was time to give in. "I am sorry, Sonny. I got carried away and I...it was not the place."

"Look, I get it, siblings can be…" Sonny wouldn't even finish that sentence because they all knew what he meant. "I just hope you're feeling better about things. Casey told us about...your mom? She said few things-" he said quickly before Montserrat assumed the worst, "-and I want you to know that Barba and I understand you were in a...special type of moment."

"Very special moment…" Kara muttered under her breath.

"Shut up," Montserrat warned her. "Go eat your spaghetti already."

"You made spaghetti?" Sonny's attention was momentarily driven towards Kara. "Did you use the recipe I left you?"

"Of course," Kara smiled. "And it really was better than that frozen crap Montse buys."

"Hey," went the ginger with offence. Now it was Kara who motioned for silence. "I'm going to my room," Montserrat announced and snatched the cannolis from Kara's hands. "Thanks Sonny. And just so we're clear, Kara's not getting any."

"Rude," Kara frowned and watched her roommate go off into the hallway.

Sonny chuckled and offered to buy more another day. That perked Kara right up. Montserrat's phone started buzzing against the glass coffee table, cutting short Kara's beam.

"I really hope it's not Gael trying to continue the fight," Kara mumbled as she went to get the phone.

"Maybe he's calling to apologize?" Sonny offered another alternative but Kara shook her head.

"Looks like we're both wrong," she grabbed the phone off the table and waved the phone at Sonny, letting him see the caller ID on the screen. "Your friend's calling to check up on Montse, maybe?"

Sonny made a face that Kara found difficult not to laugh at. "Barba would never call to 'check up' on anyone."

"You came to check up on Montse, why can't Rafael do the same?"

"Because he just doesn't."

Kara's face clearly said that wasn't an answer.

"He doesn't do that sort of stuff, trust me," and that left Sonny wondering why Rafael would choose to do start doing it now.

"Hm, then Montse must be special enough to catch his attention," Kara made way for the hallway but the phone stopped buzzing. "But apparently I'm slow to help." She turned back with a disappointed expression.

"You might be right about the first thing," Sonny conceded as he thought back to the various moments of strange behaviors between Montserrat and Rafael. "But that could also be because she nearly had a kid in his courtroom."

Kara laughed. "One of Montse's finest moments. Whatever, if he meant to check up, he'll call again and this time I'll be ready." She bit her lip and looked back to the kitchen where her lonesome plate remained on the table. "I've made enough for two but it looks like Montserrat's already got dinner so...you want to stick around? Give me some feedback on the spaghetti."

"Okay," Sonny nodded. "But I doubt you got anything wrong. You're a good cook."

Kara chuckled. "I like to think that I am. C'mon, I'll get you a plate." She walked past Sonny and tucked Montserrat's phone in her back pocket to be on red alert in case Rafael were to call again. She probably should have given the phone to Montserrat but, truth be told, she was curious herself about her roommate and the ADA.

To her surprise (and Sonny's), Rafael did call again that night.

~ 0 ~

Montserrat gripped her coffee cup all the way to her desk. She saw Olivia and Nick heading out, probably to continue questioning their latest victim. She plonked down at her desk and went back to her paperwork which seemed to get bigger every time she paused to look.

"You sure you don't want to take a break?" Amanda stopped by her desk with Fin beside her. "Our comfy Chinese place is always open for a third guest."

Montserrat smiled at the two. "No, I'm good. I'll get lunch later."

"And I'll make sure she actually does," Sonny reassured since they learned fast that Montserrat tended to skip meals when she felt swamped by work.

"Your call," Fin nodded to Amanda towards the hallway.

"You are getting lunch, right?" Sonny asked after the other two were gone.

"Yes, at some point," Montserrat dug her nose into a particular file.

Sonny rolled his eyes and went back to work at his end. He paused, though, when he noticed Montserrat picking at her hair every minute or so. "What are you doing?"

Montserrat put her pen down and groaned. "Kara keeps using me as her hair model and today was apparently a big ole crown braid." Her ginger hair was picked up with a large-sized crown braid adorning her her head from ear to ear.

"It looks nice," Sonny's compliment was met with a loud scoff.

"You're only saying that because Kara made it."

"You know, not everything I do is dependent on Kara."

"Sure."

Sonny decided to just keep quiet from now on.

Fifteen minutes passed and Montserrat finished her coffee - or drowned it - so she got up for a refill.

"Sonny, you want one?"

"Nah, let's head out for lunch already," his suggestion flew over Montserrat's head as the ginger went to get more coffee.

Montserrat returned two minutes later, surprised that Sonny hadn't continued calling her name out. Of course when she saw him talking to Rafael she understood why.

"They went to go talk to her, I promise," Sonny insisted yet Rafael still looked rather doubtful. "We're doing what you asked, alright? You can call Liv right now to confirm if you want."

Montserrat awkwardly cleared her throat as she neared her desk, gaining both men's attention. "Are we finished…?"

"You're one to talk," Rafael scoffed, but Montserrat took that with a nod. She deserved it.

"C'mon councilor," Sonny gave a disapproving tilt of his head towards Rafael.

"No, it's totally fine, Sonny," Montserrat shrugged her shoulders, though her casualness seemed to end at her fingertips since she was once again gripping her coffee cup. "I was rude, so...you two get a free pass."

"It shouldn't be like that," Rafael was the one to say as he considered once more the circumstances of her outburst.

"I wasn't professional and I accept that," Montserrat nodded. "You were the one to tell me, after all. Leave my problems at home and any other thing related to my personal life. Work is a place for work only."

And as she said all that, Rafael felt that twinge of guilt knowing he was virtually doing the exact opposite of his words right now. Because of that, he felt obligated to let her episode go. More than that, it was the right thing to do.

"Montserrat it's fine." The usage of her first name made Montserrat smile - it was a sure sign he forgave her completely.

"Thanks," she whispered.

Rafael nodded at her in return. His eyes gazed at the pretty empty bullpen and figured no one would be returning anytime soon despite the cases going on. He watched as Montserrat pull her desk chair to sit back down. Even as she tried to get back to work, it was easy to tell the problems with her brother weren't letting her focus.

He honestly felt that.

And maybe it was because he felt they were in a similar place at the moment, or...maybe for another reason he didn't know of, but he spoke up with a request. "Montserrat do you want to get something to eat?"

Montserrat paused and looked up, momentarily surprised since they hadn't had a meal together in a while now. The fact Sonny's eyes were flickering from her to Rafael - not so discreetly - made it all a little more on the spot.

Was her face warm?

"I would…" Montserrat was in the middle of making her answer when she recalled Sonny's insistence to get lunch together already. She quickly looked at the lanky detective with wide eyes. "But I told you I'd get lunch with y-"

Sonny raised his hands to show it was fine. "No, no, I've still got work to do." A lie. He was starving. "You go ahead."

"O-okay," Montserrat reached for her bag tucked in one of her drawers then looked to Rafael with a growing smile. "My turn to pay?"

"No, it's on me," he smiled right back at her. He felt awkward with the staring eyes of Sonny so he hoped Montserrat would get a move on already.

"I'll see you later," Montserrat told Sonny as she got up to leave.

"Hey, when is Kara's lunch hour?" Sonny's question earned him a deadpanning look from the ginger woman. "Hey, if you get to go on a date, then I get to go on a date."

"It's not a date," went Montserrat and Rafael simultaneously, quickly exchanging glances with each other to make sure the other knew they didn't think it was a date.

"Fine," Sonny picked his battles carefully and decided Kara would probably have a much better idea on how to go about this. "But seriously, when is her lunch hour?"

"Carisi, leave her alone," Rafael motioned Montserrat to walk ahead, and the look he gave Sonny just made things even more suspicious for Sonny.

Oh, Kara was definitely going to have something to say about this.

~ 0 ~

Steak. Steak was unofficially declared as the favorite meal.

"How could you get barbecue on that?" Rafael crinkled his nose when Montserrat practically savored her barbecued drenched steak.

"The real question is how could you not put barbecue on it," Montserrat smiled widely after swallowing.

"Some of us have taste," Rafael's straight answer made her laugh.

"And some of us are just plain rude. Guess who's who?"

Rafael took that as a tie between them and took more of his plate. It was refreshing to have someone who could keep up with his 'sharp mouth' as Olivia often said he had. As he ate, he watched her cautiously like he was waiting for something. And it seemed like Montserrat knew just what he was waiting for.

"I'm not gonna shout at you again. Gael's not here," she reminded him and reached for her glass.

"But are you...are you doing better now?" he asked slowly, now fully taking Casey's warning to tread lightly on the subject.

Montserrat appreciated his concern. "I'm...better in that I don't feel like shouting at anyone. But Gael's still not speaking to me." And even as she tried to smile a little, it was easy to see how big of a struggle it was.

There were probably plenty ways to start, but for some reason Rafael couldn't think of the right way. "About...about your...your…"

"This is the first time I've seen you speechless, councilor," Montserrat's smile widened, becoming a genuine smile in the process. "Have to say, I like it. But don't do that in court."

Rafael rolled his eyes at her, though her small-time humor did make things easier sometimes for them. "I meant about...Regina?" he watched the sarcasm fade from her face all too fast.

"I have nothing to say about that woman," Montserrat grabbed her glass again, drinking as a form of retreat. It pretty much said the opposite of her words.

"Except it looks like you do." And that was the thing about Rafael, he was trained to be observant. "And the things Gael said…"

"Look," Montserrat tinkered with her glass on the table, "Gael hates our mother. He despises her because she walked out on us when we were kids. Now, h remembers more since he was older, so naturally he has more reason to hate her. He remembers the love and warmth Regina deprived him of...I don't." Her attempt at a careless shrug failed. "I was four. I can't remember her that well except she knitted me this little pink sweater that I used to wear everywhere. And I mean, mothers don't make things like that if they didn't love you, right?"

She knew it was an unfair question to make, putting Rafael on the spot like that (not that he wasn't used to it) but it was something that always nagged at her mind. If her mother went through the trouble of knitting that sweater then it had to mean she did it because she wanted to, because she loved her daughter. It was right... right?

"I shouldn't have asked that," she said once she'd gone through her thoughts twice and realized how out of line it was.

"Yeah, maybe you shouldn't have," Rafael's agreement elicited quite a look from Montserrat. "I mean, it's not like my answer is going to make a difference." He smirked when Montserrat understood his point. "Is it?"

"Sometimes I actually hate you," she muttered though he laughed it off.

"And yet you're still here. How's your lunch by the way?" His not-so-subtle reminder that he was paying for their lunch wasn't made for bad intentions but if not to remind her in general of their little agreements.

You didn't go out for meals with someone you actually hated.

"It's actually very good, thanks…" Montserrat debated whether or not to be very specific about what she was thanking him for since it borderlined a different line of their friendship. "Thank you," she ended up saying anyways, nervously fidgeting in her chair afterwards.

Rafael completely understood her and nodded. "Anytime."

Montserrat found herself smiling more than she should have and quickly looked to her half-eaten food on her plate. "Okay, we're done with the unprofessionalism for now I promise."

"Novak, you don't have to keep worrying about that. Trust me, I finally understand it's not that easy being so detached."

Now that pulled Montserrat's gaze off her food in a millisecond. "I'm sorry, are you saying you were wrong?"

Rafael deadpanned her but even that didn't stop her from looking so wide-eyed. "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about," he warned.

"But I'm not acting…"

Rafael searched her face for any indication that she knew of their recent case's problem, but there was nothing. "H-how...you do know about our case at the moment, right?"

"With the shoe model? Yeah, I've been following it like everyone else. Why?"

"Novak you're not kidding me, are you?"

"No, I am not. What did I miss?"

Rafael wondered how out of it Montserrat had to have been for her not to know what their case was doing to him and the squad. So, he began to tell her just how close he was to the suspect in their custody at the moment.

"Wait a minute, so you're friends with our mayor-to-be Alex Muñoz?" Montserrat chuckled at the irony. "Kara loves him. She has me and Sonny already lining up to vote for him."

"Well, Alex is a pretty good candidate," Rafael said as impartially as possible.

"Yeah, and a flirt," Montserrat's statement did not pass well with him.

"Excuse me?"

"I met him outside the DAs building just before meeting with Gael. I only talked to him for like two minutes and it was enough to confirm he is a flirt." Montserrat reached for her glass on the table. "He gave me his number and everything."

"He's married," Rafael said with a deep frown on his face, though the fact Montserrat nearly choked on her drink made him believe she didn't know that detail.

"What?" the poor woman reached for a napkin to dry her mouth. Her big wide eyes looked at him for some explanation.

"He's married and has three daughters. How did you not know that?"

"Because I work a ten hour shift?" Montserrat snapped and cleared her throat. "Hey, I did not flirt with him. You can ask Sonny - he was there. I didn't do anything."

"Maybe you misunderstood Alex's intentions," Rafael said alternatively, though there was something in the pit of his stomach that told him something else that was wrong was already brewing.

Montserrat would have argued that she most certainly did not misread his intentions but he already looked so...conflicted about the case. She didn't want to make things worse. "So, you grew up with these guys?"

Rafael slowly nodded his head. "Yeah…" but even then he still wasn't shifting away from the other topic.

Montserrat tried again and hoped for some luck. "Were you really close? Or was it like a hello-bye basis thing?"

"N-no, um…" Rafael shook his head and got back into the topic at hand. "We grew up together. The three of us. Los tres mosqueteros de Jerome Avenue. The three musketeers of Jerome Avenue."

Montserrat laughed. "Like the three musketeers, that's adorable. And I will be sure to remind you of that whenever you need it. Or when I feel like it."

A smile came to Rafael's face whether he had wanted it or not. "The joy."

"So you guys were like a close a team, then?"

"Mhm. Alex had the heart. I had the mouth, of course-"

"Of course," Montserrat smiled so widely it might have cracked her face in two.

"Eddie had the muscle to protect us when we got into trouble."

"And what kind of trouble did our young ADA get into?"

"Stop it."

"Impossible." Montserrat leveled his look until her lips curled into a smile, which was done in a pretty impressive time. Anyone else would have looked away out of sheer uncomfortableness. Eventually, she gave in but only because she wanted to get to something really important. "I hate to bring it up but please tell me you're not actually wanting us to...look the other way in this case because you happen to know the perp?"

The sheer 'perp' mention made Rafael uncomfortable. He never wanted to believe any of his friends could be capable of some atrocity. "I would never do that. I am only asking that you all get the facts before taking any action."

"...fair enough," Montserrat conceded with a small nod of her head. "But can I ask you something now?"

"Of course."

"How did you know the perp was a friend of yours? My understanding is you don't get involved until we call you and...I distinctly remember you being there when we first brought Eddie in."

"Alex came to talk to me," Rafael said, shrugging his shoulders and missing Montserrat's moment of pause.

"So...our mayor-to-be had time to do all this when he's near the elections?"

Rafael was about to take a drink but paused midway to give Montserrat a look. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm sorry to say but people in Alex's situation don't really have time to look for anyone's back but their own," Montserrat expected some type of reprimand for her words judging by the look on Rafael's face.

"Eddie's been volunteering for him. He's been driving him around during the campaign and since - like I said before - we are all childhood friends, it's natural we try to help each other out."

"Right," Montserrat was smart enough to know it was time to keep her mouth shut. She didn't know who these men were so she should probably leave that up to Rafael for when the case gets further made. Still, now that she knew more details about the case there were some conflicts she could see coming into play very soon.

Just as they were finishing up their lunch, Rafael heard his phone go off. Soon as he fished it out of his pocket, he saw Olivia's name on the screen. "It's Liv." His tone of voice radiated anxiety so Montserrat assured him she was all done with lunch.

The two returned to the precinct quickly and listened - just like the others - as Olivia and Nick relayed their latest visit to Lindsey. Apparently, she was taking everything back and even adding new details...ones that didn't fit really well.

"Lindsay told you Eddie came into the store with his wife?" Rafael raised an eyebrow at Nick. "No chance. He hasn't seen her in three years. She's partying in Miami…"

"Are you sure?" Nick had still decent suspicion towards their perp and wasn't going to be letting it go just because said perp happened to know their ADA. "Cause he still wears his ring."

"I'm sure. Eddie's... eh, he's just catolico, loyal."

"So Lindsay saw the ring, tried to make up a story," Olivia was on the boat of keeping peace amongst them. "Yeah, then she says that she'd be more comfortable just talking to Nick."

"Because she thinks she has a better chance of working the male partner," Amanda made a face of disapproval, shared by the rest.

"So she's lied to you, tried to manipulate you…" Rafael almost started listing off with his fingers when Nick cut in.

"So did Eddie."

"I know Eddie's story," Rafael said all too quick, warning a mini-glare from Nick. "What's hers? Find out. Now." He gave all of them a sharp look before heading out.

"Great going, I had him relaxed twenty minutes ago," Montserrat made it as a joke but some of them took it to heart.

"Yeah, we heard about your impromptu date from Sonny," Fin said with a tiny of a smirk on his lips.

"It was not a - wait, where's Sonny?" Montserrat looked around for the lanky detective.

"He's with that roommate of yours," Amanda answered her and almost laughed at the wide-eyed look Montserrat did.

"I'll kill him." She huffed and went for her desk to get started on their work.

"Not until after 10 you won't," Olivia said a she passed Montserrat. "I need everyone working on this right now."

Montserrat huffed but obeyed. Of course it didn't help one bit when Sonny returned fifteen minutes later wearing a big smile on his face. Clearly he had a good time. And when she got home that night, Kara would be up and ready to tell Montserrat how much of a good time she had too.

"He just, like... surprised me! He finally brought me to that place he goes to when he brings cannolis! Let me just tell you that they are better fresh at the store - Montse?" Kara paused when she saw the ginger rubbing her temples. Montserrat had a laptop set in front of her but it appeared whatever she'd been looking at was no longer her interest.

"Kara, this is not a good idea," Montserrat dropped her hands to the kitchen table.

"What isn't?"

"You, Sonny...whatever that even is - it's not a good idea."

Kara's eyebrows knitted together. "Why not?"

"Because of it doesn't work out, guess who's gonna be the one that'll be stuck in the middle?" Montserrat swirled her index finger before pointing at herself with it. "Me."

"That's kind of selfish, don't you think?" Kara plopped down at chair next to her.

"No, just being mindful of a potential future."

Kara playfully rolled her eyes. "Well, thank you for your concern but as far as I'm concerned, things are going just fine. It is, after all, my life." Montserrat sighed not so quietly but did concede with Kara on that point. "Besides, if anyone should be mindful of who they go out with, it should be you."

It was Montserrat's turn to be thoroughly confused. "Me? What for?"

A smirk tugged at Kara's lips as she answered the question. "Sonny mentioned that you basically dumped him at lunch today for the ADA."

"I'm seriously going to kill him," Montserrat shook her head. "We won't have to worry about things not working out because he'll be found dead tomorrow morning."

Kara laughed at her roommate's dramatics. "Oh c'mon, he did you a solid. Anyone else would've been on your ass for leaving them right before lunch."

Knowing exactly where Kara was headed at, Montserrat decided to beat her to it and explain the famous lunch she has today. "I still needed to apologize and Rafael suggested we go to lunch-"

"-suggested or asked because Sonny mentioned it was more of an ask-"

"-stop! I'll kill him!"

Kara laughed again. Montserrat slammed her laptop lid shut and moved to get up, prompting Kara to sober quickly. "Okay, okay, I'll stop!" she put one hand over Montserrat's arm. "I honestly thought it was kind of sweet he asked you, even when you've been avoiding him for days. Anyone else would've...well...avoided you too."

Montserrat sighed realizing Kara was right. She let herself fall back into her chair. "Yeah, it was. Rafael has his moments."

"A lot with you," Kara muttered not so quietly. Montserrat practically growled and got up from her chair. She made a beeline for her room. "I'm sorry!" Kara laughing didn't exactly help Montserrat believe her.

"You're a child!" Montserrat shouted before slamming her bedroom door shut.

Author's Note:

Hi! I'm back! I had to take a pause on my work due to family visits and my own personal health issues. Hope to be back now, though!
And for the reviews: thanks so much guys! Glad you're liking the story and hope you liked this chapter as well ;)