"Soo...someone found out," Montserrat cut straight to the point once her therapy session started.
Dr. Weslin was surprised at first until she realized Montserrat hadn't chosen to disclose. "What happened?"
"I tried being supportive but it backfired on account of my weakness and my incredibly intelligent sergeant," Montserrat drew in a deep breath which she exhaled in the very next second. "I mean, really, did I think I would be able to hide it from Olivia Benson? A cop who's worked for more than 10 years as a Special Victims detective? Ha!"
Montserrat leaned against the leather couch and looked to the side. Her mind raced with the memory of Olivia's confrontation. It wasn't so much a confrontation than it was a questionnaire. As it was Olivia's nature, she wanted to find out what happened and how to make things good.
"When did it happen?"
"Last year. I was on the job, undercover, and he caught me off guard," Montserrat couldn't find it in her to face Olivia. Her eyes kept darting to the side each time she attempted to meet Olivia's gaze.
"Did you tell anyone?" Even without looking at her, Montserrat knew Olivia wasn't staring in a pitiful manner, she was trying to help as was her nature.
Montserrat shifted on her couch. "Only a few. Just...just the necessary people. My Lieutenant, my doctor's...and Casey."
The last bit made Olivia pause for a second. "Casey? And she didn't encourage you to come forwards?"
"I told her no," Montserrat clarified before Olivia got any ideas. "I talked with my Lieutenant and...we both agreed that the undercover mission was too important to ruin."
"Ruin?" repeated Olivia with wide-eyes. "Is this the same Detective Novak I'm talking to? Did you both agree to that or did your lieutenant make you agree?"
Montserrat bit her lower lip as if it were chewing gum. "My Lieutenant reminded me it had been a 3 year operation. My accusation would abruptly end it and we wouldn't have caught Hallie D'Amico."
The name was a well known one considering D'Amico was famous for her drug empire.
"Did he at least come down with a drug charge?" Olivia asked, hoping there was at least some retribution for what that man did.
But Montserrat shook her head. "Most of the operation was based on Hallie, and a lot of her men went down with her...but he didn't. I don't know how he did it, but he escaped. We don't know where he is now. He hasn't resurfaced since last year."
"Montserrat…"
"Please don't," Montserrat shook her head, gaze falling again. "I don't want to keep talking."
It was at that moment that Montserrat realized she wasn't ready for an anonymous group. She didn't feel capable of sharing that horrible moment with anyone else. "That was last week and so far Olivia's still insisting I press charges against him."
"And, if given the opportunity, would you consider it?" Dr. Weslin asked.
Montserrat wanted to think about it, but the more she did the ickier she felt. It may have been ridiculous, or maybe not, but it was just the way her body reacted. "Any thought about...him...makes it hard. If I press charges then everyone will know, and everyone will ask questions...I'll have to relive everything again. And it might be for nothing since no one knows where he is."
"Would things be different if his location were known? Or if he was already in custody for the drug charges?"
Montserrat scrunched her face, bringing her hands to cover herself. "I don't know," she answered tiredly. "I just don't know."
~ 0 ~
"...I've got it set up, trust me…"
As Montserrat neared the bullpen, she could hear Kara's voice carrying out. It was rare of Kara to make a visit at work, so when Montserrat walked in and found Kara at Sonny's desk the world made sense again. She'd come for Sonny, not Montserrat.
In retrospect, Montserrat thought she should've seen it coming. They were basically dating, as annoying it was.
"Montserrat!" Kara jumped from the edge of Sonny's desk, looking far too startled for her.
"Hey, what's going on?" Montserrat pulled her jacket off and draped it over the back of her desk chair.
"Nothing!" Kara said too quick.
Dammit. Montserrat believed she knew why Kara had dropped by in the middle of the day.
"I should go," Kara said, swiping her purse off Sonny's desk. "See you later," she said to the two detectives before making a quick-paced exit.
Montserrat dropped into her chair with a weary sigh. "Sonny, for the love of God, make her stop all of her birthday party plans."
"What?" Sonny raised his eyebrows, clearly surprised she knew of their plans. "How did you-"
"-don't insult my intelligence, Carisi," Montserrat warned. "Just tell her I don't want it. I thank her for it but I don't want to celebrate anything this year."
"Oh c'mon, you're turning 30 and I know that might not sound appealing but-"
"-it's not the age," Montserrat stopped him. She sighed again. No one understood why she didn't want anything to do with her birthday this year, and she couldn't tell them why. "I just don't want it. So please, make her stop."
"Why don't you just tell her yourself?" Sonny offered the only alternative that wouldn't end with his own head.
"Because she won't listen to me!"
"I'm-"
"Novak," Olivia called as soon as she walked into the bullpen, "My office." She went straight for her office without glancing back at any of her detectives.
Montserrat fiddled with a pen on her desk for a few seconds while the others kept staring at her. Eventually, she let the pen drop and looked up. "What? Is this high school now?"
"You better gooo," Nick's teasing voice helped no one.
Montserrat got up from her chair and walked towards Olivia's office. She promptly shut the door and turned to face her Sergeant.
"Have you given any thought of what we talked about?" Olivia went straight for the point.
Montserrat sighed and gave a shake of her head. "My answer is still no. It's buried and there's no point in bringing it back."
"But there is still something we can do," Olivia persisted. She got up from her seat and moved around the desk. "You did everything right, meaning you can still press charges."
"And do what?" Montserrat raised an eyebrow. "You're not listening, Olivia, he's not here anymore. He could be off in Brazil for all I know. I'm not putting myself through that."
"I understand that, but I just want to help you-"
"-if you want to help me, then stop that damn birthday party from happening!" Montserrat gestured to the bullpen as of Olivia would know. "Otherwise, just leave it. I'm tormented enough."
"Montse-" Olivia called but the detective was already out the door. Olivia walked towards her open door and closed it again. She turned to her desk and remained still while she thought of some things. Eventually, she got an idea. Whether or not it was a good one, she wouldn't know until she did it.
~0~
It was late at night when SVU got a call. Nearly 3 am saw Olivia and reporter Jimmy MacArthur arrive at the scene. Police sirens flashed in the night, reflecting off the bright yellow tape sealing the street off.
"Couple of tourists walking along said they heard moaning from the other side of that wall around 2:00 A.M," Fin walked Olivia down the park, stopping by a cemented wall. "The vic is Heba Salim, 24, clothes muddy and torn, scratches on her face, bruising on her body."
"You get a statement?"
"Novak and Amaro are doing it right now," Amanda walked towards them. "But she seems pretty out of it. She told the two responding unis that she had been raped by two male whites."
"Okay, we set up a grid search?" Olivia asked though she knew her detectives were of course already on it.
"From the park entrance, and we've got Carisi leading a canvassing endeavor for hotel doormen on Central Park South. So far, no witnesses," Fin said, spotting Jimmy nearing Montserrat and Nick. "What's that guy doing down here?"
Olivia glanced back and saw Jimmy, frowning. "Don't even start. One PP gave him full access. Nothing we can do."
Unfortunately, Montserrat and Nick would be the first ones to meet Jimmy that night, since he was practically breathing over their shoulders while they attempted to keep up with their victim's gourmet. Heba was semi-conscious but the fact the two ERs rushing her towards the ambulance were louder than Montserrat and Nick made it difficult for both detectives to get a good, clear statements.
"Could you do us a favor and back off?" Nick nearly exploded on the reporter after Heba's ambulance drove away. "We were trying to get a statement!"
"Sorry, but I have full access," Jimmy was proud to announce, much to the annoyance of Nick.
"Who are you?" Montserrat scrunched her face, partially from confusion and the other part from genuine cold. She felt the tip of her nose freezing.
"Jimmy MacArthur. You know me," the man said with such assurance it almost made Montserrat doubt herself. "I hope you guys know by now that we're looking at a hate crime."
Montserrat was both stunned and confused on how he'd gotten that when both she and Nick hadn't even gotten a proper retell from the victim. "How did you-"
"-you better not publish any of that yet," Nick warned, already scowling but all Jimmy did was smile and go on his way.
~ 0 ~
The next morning had SVU busy with Heba's family, more so them than actually her.
"I don't think this is the way to get to our vic," Sonny told the other detectives around him while they watched Olivia and Rafael go back and forth with Reverend Curtis, who was acting on behalf of Heba's family.
Olivia's office was filled with the detectives, Heba's family and the Reverend. It was a loud commotion and the only person who nattered wasn't even in the room. She was in the interview room, trying to wish it all away.
"Reverend Curtis, Heba is in good hands here," Olivia followed the Reverend around her office. "I hope that we can stay focused on this case."
"As do I," Reverend Curtis raised his hand, showing them he was on their side but with more important endeavors. "This is just her family. Her brother Fareed is on his way."
Rafael barely contained the urge to roll his eyes right there. This was a complete waste of time. "Have we even interviewed her yet?" he spoke up just to stop Olivia from following the Reverend.
"Sort of," Montserrat muttered, crossing her arms as she remembered the interruptions from last night.
Amanda cleared her throat and gave her co-worker a glance to warn her to keep quiet. They didn't want Heba's family to know about Jimmy Mac. "Yeah, she was completely out of it at the scene. She was freezing. She spent all night in the E.R. I mean, this is the first chance we've had to talk to her."
"And we can't talk to her in front of her parents or you, reverend Curtis," Olivia put her hands together in exhaustion. They were making their case so much more difficult.
"This is more than just a rape. She was singled out because she wore a hijab," the Reverend spoke slowly as if none of the group were competent to understand his point.
"We're exploring that possibility-"
"Possibility? She was called a 'Muslim bitch.' Am I misinterpreting that?"
"Nobody is saying that you are-"
"-good. Even so, this community doesn't trust the NYPD-"
"-oh, but they trust you?" Rafael scoffed.
The Reverend shot him a look. "That's right. They reached out to me to be their advocate."
"Advocate? Any chance you told them that's exactly what the D.A.'S office is?"
"Heba's parents are concerned with her honor and the family's reputation."
"Go ahead." Olivia had enough of the nonsense. Every second they wasted arguing with the Reverend was another second Heba spent in torment. She went back to her detectives, pushing Amanda and Nick towards the interview room. "We understand that. So how about my detectives go in there with Heba - please get everybody else out of there…" She closed the interview door after Amanda and Nick then turned back and walked Rafael and the Reverend out of her office, "While you two work together in reassuring the family?"
Rafael's expression indicated no chance of that. The Reverend was working his last nerve and it wasn't even noon.
~ 0 ~
"So what are we looking?" Olivia asked the group once they were at a decent peace in the bullpen. They'd been able to get a proper statement from Heba, but it'd been quite the challenge to get them all out of the precinct without losing it.
"The rape kit exam confirms vaginal tears and the presence of semen from two different men. And remnants of torn hymen tissue," Amanda read off the results their M.E had sent them so far.
"And where are we on the hate crime aspect?"
"Well, they ripped off her head scarf and they taunted her with racial slurs," Montserrat said what Heba's statement had been. "That's pretty much the definition, isn't it?"
"Well, it's according to her," Nick leaned back on his chair. "We still haven't found any witnesses."
"Oh, come on. That time of night? Right by the park?" Sonny raised an eyebrow, smiling just to be obvious. "Somebody should have seen or heard something."
Olivia seemed to agree with his thoughts. "Okay, well, then go back up there, re-interview everybody. Doormen, street people." Sonny nodded and looked at Montserrat to see if she was ready to go.
"I hope it's not a chase," the ginger got up from her chair.
"And where are we with the security footage?" Olivia looked at the remainder of her detectives.
"We have the D.O.T. Traffic cam, but we're still checking into a couple other things," Fin promptly answered.
"Let me stop you all before you divide and conquer," Rafael stopped the entire group in time. "The family says Jimmy Mac called them. He had details from the case."
"Not such a surprise since he was at the crime scene," Olivia sighed.
"They think someone from SVU is talking to the press," Rafael's eyes flickered from one detective to the next. "Be aware of what you are saying."
"We got it, councilor," Sonny ushered Montserrat towards the hallway, but the ginger stopped just to make one remark.
"What is this, high school? We know how to keep our mouths shut," she rolled her eyes and went on out.
~ 0 ~
Following Olivia's instructions, Montserrat and Sonny talked to as many people that could've been at the scene last night, but it seemed they weren't going to have luck because everyone told them the same thing. There were no screams. There was no girl. They'd gone home earlier.
"I was working late last night," one construction worker was in the middle of saying, missing Montserrat practically ball her fists on her sides.
Sonny was more professional at the moment. He just kept the questions coming. "How late?"
"1:30. I'm trying to log in as many hours before De Blasio phases us out."
"And you were here, right by Central Park?"
"Yeah."
"You or any of your friends hear screams or see two guys take this woman down?" Sonny showed the man a picture of Heba on his phone.
The worker shook his head. "I heard about it this morning. Must have happened after I left."
"Okay, thanks," Sonny turned to Montserrat with the same disappointed expression she had.
"That's like the 20th person we speak to who has no idea of what happened," Montserrat groaned. "My feet hurt. And my mind."
"Yeah, well the mind thing isn't from this case, is it?" Sonny meant the birthday plans and just the mere reminder made Montserrat groan.
Luckily for her, or unluckily judging who was thinking, they were interrupted by Jimmy Mac.
"Are you kidding me?" Montserrat glared at the man she was losing respect for even when she hadn't even properly met him yet.
As soon as Jimmy saw them, he walked over (while stuffing the last bit of his hot dog into his mouth). "Detectives Carisi and Novak. So how's your vic?"
Montserrat had to bite her tongue so that she wouldn't respond with a curt 'none of your business'.
"You find that head scarf yet?"
"You think we're gonna talk to you about an open investigation?" Sonny derailed the answer cleverly, but Jimmy saw it as a mediocre attempt to cover the truth.
"So you got nothing. That's okay. There may be nothing to get!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Montserrat raised an eyebrow at the reporter. "Maybe you have something you want to share?"
Jimmy laughed in a condescending manner. "Jimmy Mac didn't become famous by sharing his sources with the cops. You can read about it like everybody else in the city in tomorrow's paper."
"Don't count on it," mumbled Montserrat when he left. "Who the hell does he think he is? He doesn't know anything." She would've said more had it not been for Sonny becoming focused with his phone all of a sudden. "What's up?"
"Uuh…" Sonny's look become concerned, bringing Montserrat to peer over to his phone and see the image causing problems.
"That's Heba on the street…"
"And look at the time stamp," Sonny pointed to the corner of the picture.
"It's 1:54 am and...she's walking toward the park. Clothes torn, no head scarf," Montserrat pursed her lips as they both knew that was quite a big contradiction to Heba's statement.
~0~
With further confirmation that Heba's statement was not quite true, the detectives took it straight to Heba herself for clarification. However, it turned out to be a waste of time because it only ended with HEba reaffirming her initial story and getting her family to throw the detectives out.
"How'd it go?" Olivia asked Montserrat and Sonny as soon as they walked into the bullpen.
"We are no longer welcome at that house," Sonny plopped down at his desk, more or less irritated.
Olivia motioned with a finger for Montserrat to follow her into the office. Montserrat dutifully followed but was already wear of where their conversation would end up at.
"Amanda and Finn went to Warner yesterday for further analysis and it's pretty much coinciding with the time stamp," Montserrat started first, thinking it would give her an advantage to lead the conversation towards her favor. "She said something about red and gold fibers being found under Heba's nails."
" So the benefit ended at midnight, and the security footage shows her walking towards the crime scene at what time?" Olivia rubbed her temples as she moved to her desk.
"It's 1:54," Montserrat paused for a second. The images of the distraught Heba was something hard to process. "Heba got defensive saying we didn't believe her but the truth is right there. We do believe something happened to her - the video proves it, but...not where she says or when she says."
"No chance of talking to her today," Olivia presumed after what Montserrat said.
"Not unless we want to be thrown out twice in two days," Montserrat crossed her arms and walked up to Olivia's desk. "She's too defensive, meaning she's lying. And if she's lying, then she doesn't want our help that much."
"Montse," Olivia brought her hands to the desk, looking disapproving. "It means she's hiding something because she's scared."
"Or mine, or yours…" Montserrat decided to leave it at that.
Olivia stayed pensive for a while before laying eyes on Montserrat. "Is this why you debate about pressing charges, then?" Montserrat visibly stiffened in her spot. "Because of the back and forth thing?"
"I don't want to do this right now, Olivia," sighed the ginger.
"I...I just don't understand," Olivia admitted. "You work for SVU. You of all people know how this works, the benefits of going forwards...the freedom you have afterwards."
"You say that because you knew exactly where your tormentor was. He's been in prison waiting trial, but I have no idea where the hell he is," Montserrat fervently shook her head. "I'm not opening myself to that type of trauma if I know there's not going to be any closure. Not happening."
"Hey Sarge?" Sonny poked his head into the office, essentially ending that conversation without knowing it. "We got a problem."
Olivia exchanged a look with Montserrat, both wondering what it could be now. "And what is it?"
Before Sonny could answer, Rafael pushed way into the office. He looked angry as hell as he raised a newspaper in his hand. "Who the hell has been talking to Jimmy Mac?" Because the newspaper's headline was all about the hoax that Heba's case was thought to be.
Perhaps it was the effect of the repeated conversation, or the fact she just felt plain offended, but Montserrat responded with a decent dripping sarcasm, "Oh yeah, all of us. We took turns."
That was all it took to infuriate Rafael. If Montserrat hadn't been in her own mood, she would've been amused by the way his face scrunched in utter anger. She'd come to learn some of his mannerisms since she was so good at irritating him. When he scrunched his entire face just for a blip of a second, it meant he was frustrated and a good amount of angry.
"Hang on," Olivia rose from her chair, making a motion with her hands for them to calm down. "None of us are talking to Jimmy-"
Rafael let the newspaper drop on the desk. "Then where the hell is he getting it from?"
"I wish I knew, but we don't." Olivia picked up the newspaper and reread the headline at least twice before forcing herself to skim the article. "But I'm going to talk to him."
"And do what?" Rafael scoffed, snatching the newspaper from her hands. "There's no point. Someone is talking."
"I will fix it," Olivia reassured then looked at Montserrat and Sonny. "Leave us, please. Montserrat, we'll talk later."
Montserrat did a double-take before outright saying, "No we're done. I made my decision." She gave Olivia no room to argue by leaving with Sonny.
"Can I ask what the hell is going on?" Rafael wished he could get at least one question answered that day.
"...she just doesn't like her birthday," Olivia found herself answering within the second.
Rafael rolled his eyes. "I have never met someone who put that much hatred into their birthday. You all need to focus."
"We will," Olivia's reassurance meant nothing to him at the moment.
"You better because I will be coming back tonight to see your progress."
Olivia leveled his intense look with her own, studious one. "How hard is the D.A. breathing on you right now?"
The question only made Rafael slightly shift. He kept his cool facade as best as he could. "My concern only."
It was then Olivia's turn to scoff. "Okay."
Rafael pointed a warning finger her way as he started to leave. "I'll be back later."
Olivia nodded him off and picked up the newspaper again. She would mark Jimmy's office as the second place she would be heading to today.
~ 0 ~
"Captain Carroll?" a tall, dark haired man stepped into a woman's office.
The woman in question was an older woman, probably fifty or so. Her grayish hair was tied into a tight bun and her blue eyes, though bright, were dimmed by the stack of papers on her desk. "Yes, Sanders?"
"You have a visitor," Detective Sanders said.
"Do I?" the Captain thought for a second before shaking her head. "Can't be. I don't have anything scheduled."
Before Detective Sanders could say anything, Olivia pushed the office door open and strode inside. "You'll have to make time then because I'm not leaving until we talk."
Captain Carroll raised an eyebrow at the woman, clearly taken aback by Olivia's bluntness. Being an older woman, Carroll was used to a different type of lifestyle. "Excuse me?"
Olivia ignored Carroll and glanced at the detective with them. "Leave us."
Detective Sanders briefly looked to his captain, wondering what he should do. He hadn't been very open to Olivia's sudden visit to their precinct, but as a detective there wasn't much he could do.
"Leave us, Sanders," the Captain ultimately said, making a motion for the man to leave.
Olivia waited till they were alone before speaking, and even when she did she was careful to speak in a quiet manner. "I'm Sergeant Olivia Benson, acting commander of Manhattan's SVU squad."
"Yes, I've heard about you several times," Captain Carroll rose from her desk and straightened up her blouse. "To what do I owe this visit? It's not everyday we get a Manhattan SVU Sergeant in Queens' Homicide."
"I'm here unofficially," Olivia walked slowly towards the desk. "I was the one who received one of your detective's transfer papers. You remember Detective Novak, right?" Olivia scrutinized the Captain for every expression she gave, and it was quite easy to see that the mere mention of Montserrat's name made Carroll stiffen.
Carroll cleared her throat and once again patted her blouse down as if it'd gotten crinkled in the one minute since the last time. "Detective Novak? Of course I remember her. She's the reason many of our drug missions were successful. You know Hallie D'Amico, right?"
"I do," Olivia gave a slight nod of her head. "And I think we both know at what cost D'Amico went down...right?"
Once again, Carroll's forehead creased at the middle. "I...don't know what you mean."
"Let me put it to you this way, just so that we don't waste time," Olivia pressed her hands onto the desk and leaned forwards, "I know what happened during your undercover mission for Hallie D'Amico. I know what happened to Detective Novak and I know that you did nothing about it. You, Captain-" Olivia spat the title like venom, "-are a true disgrace in this department."
Carroll's eyebrows knitted together as anger flourished through her. "How dare you-"
"-no, how dare you call yourself Captain while you let your detectives go through hell?" Olivia pushed herself off the desk, thinking it was better to put some distance between her and the Captain.
"I have no idea what you are talking about," Carroll attempted to say, but Olivia was heated.
"Quit playing! I know about everything! Montserrat told me!"
Carroll was stunned. "She did what-"
"-and don't you dare-" Olivia pointed a sharp finger in Carroll's way, "-have the audacity to be angry about that! How could you - how you could trade in your detective's well being, her entire self, for one measly operation?"
"Measly operation?" Carroll's eyes nearly bulged from her eyes. "That was an undercover mission of 3 years!"
"I don't care!" snapped Olivia. "Because no mission is worth any detectives' lives!"
"Now wait a minute!" Carroll raised her hands, hoping to slow things down for her benefit. "I don't know why Montserrat would ever choose to disclose to anyone, but I'll have you know I never forced her to keep quiet."
"No," Olivia agreed, tilting her head, "But you sure did remind her that the mission was important. It'd been years' work and it would be a shame if her pressing charges about a rape would cut the mission short. Hallie D'Amico couldn't get away, right?"
"And she didn't."
"At Montserrat's expense!" Olivia practically yelled in the woman's face. She didn't even notice how far she'd gone over the desk. "You know she goes to therapy because of what happened to her? It's the only place she can talk freely because she doesn't want to press charges. You manipulated her into keeping quiet just so you could get your name on the headlines."
"I did no such thing," Carroll said, but Olivia swore it sounded like the woman was trying to convince herself of her own statement. "Now get out of my office, and don't you ever come back. If Montserrat would like to argue, then by all means she's welcome to return."
Olivia shook her head. "You're cynical. That's why Montserrat left Queens, and your precinct in the first place. She couldn't stand living here, working in a place where no one cared for her."
"I tried to ease her pain the best I could-" Carroll attempted to argue but Olivia quickly walked up to her to cut her off.
"All lies!" she spat and straightened herself up. "When push came to shove, you threw Montserrat under the bus. You decided she was not important enough-"
"-that's not true-" Carroll's face fell, but Olivia felt no sympathy for her.
"-it is. The only thing I'm glad about is the fact that Montserrat is with us now. Because in my squad, we care about each other and we always look out for each other. Sadly, yours doesn't share the same sentiment," Olivia gave Carroll one look-over before storming out of the office.
Detective Sanders watched Olivia leave their precinct and had the curiosity to see his Captain. However, when he attempted to speak with Carroll, she basically threw him out.
~ 0 ~
You work for SVU.
Montserrat fervently scrolled down her computer screen, switching tabs every now and then. No matter how hard she tried, she kept hearing Olivia's words from their most recent disagreement. Despite her failed endeavors, Olivia just wouldn't give up on pressing charges. Montserrat was getting weary, and yet even through that she had never really thought about her work at SVU as she was now.
What Olivia said was true. Montserrat worked at SVU, the place where it was encouraged to come forwards about rape. And yet there she was, doing the exact opposite. How could she continue working there when she herself wouldn't come out and say what happened to her?
"Are those...transfer applications?"
Montserrat nearly jumped out of her chair. Of course when it hit her that she was no longer alone, she quickly closed all the tabs at once. But it was too late.
Rafael moved around her desk slowly, eyes flickering between her computer and her. "Are you thinking of transferring out of SVU?"
Montserrat cleared her throat while racking her head for a plausible explanation. She hadn't even concluded on her own if that's what she wanted to do. She'd just...perused. But boy was it going to cost her. "I...I was...I was just looking," came out of her mouth a few seconds later.
Rafael took the seat beside her desk. "Really? Just looking? Why?"
Montserrat's mouth opened several times but in the end a small laugh slipped through. "It doesn't matter. I was just looking. And why do you care? If I were to transfer, wouldn't that just be a relief for you?"
For a second it looked like Rafael would smile out of amusement, but he kept it well hidden. "Well, contrary to the popular belief, your big mouth is actually helpful sometimes. And...you do good work around here."
Montserrat looked at him for a second before smiling herself. "Are you trying to say you'd miss me if I were gone?"
"Stop," Rafael warned, though he did shift in his seat like he'd been outed.
Montserrat still smiled ever so proudly. "It's okay, councilor, I know it's hard to admit it-"
"-seriously, stop. Where are the others? I came back to see Olivia," he looked around at the empty bullpen, making it harder for Montserrat to keep from laughing.
"Olivia's been gone all afternoon. Nick and Finn went to talk to Heba's family again, and Amanda and Sonny went for some take out."
"Oh, so you waited for everyone to be gone to go through transfer papers," Rafael noted. "You're serious about this."
Montserrat brought a hand to her hair, nervous fingers looping around one curl. "I'm not. I'm just...considering."
"That's the same thing. I transferred as well, so I know the process very well. What is going on?" Rafael was beginning to get tired of asking the same question with no answer available.
"Nothing. And I would appreciate if you didn't say anything about this to anyone else," Montserrat sighed. If this was the reaction she got from someone who rarely showed any emotions, she didn't want to know what the others would do.
"Fine," Rafael said after concluding that despite her assurances it was a serious matter. For some reason, things weren't fine. It bothered him.
"Hey!" Amanda's voice drew their attention, though one more than the other. "We got the food!"
"Great! Sonny hand me mine and don't touch it!" Montserrat's demeanor changed drastically, but of course in Rafael's mind it was all for show. He knew exactly what she was doing. Faking it. And she was doing a pretty good damn job at it too. No one could know what she was doing on the side.
But he did.
Author's Note:
P. S: I have created a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's also a place where I thought anyone might want to comment about a story or even just talk! I'll probably drop some aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "noble-crescent" and the tag I created for any posts having to do with my work is # noblecrescentedit.
And since the two reviews were similar, I'll just thank y'all together! Hope you liked the new chapter!