Montserrat walked into the SVU bullpen with half her things in her hand. She was digging through her purse, searching for her chapstick. She seemed out of it, which was why when she heard all the significant noises from the bullpen she quickly looked up and found quite a busy scene in front of her.
Desks had been rearranged so that there was only one row where the familiar detectives were huddled at. To the left was a young UC pretending to be a 14 year old for, what Monsterrat imagined, were live cameras.
"Welcome back," she mumbled to herself as she dropped everything from her hands into her purse. At Olivia's request, and partially her own idea, Montserrat had taken a week off from SVU. It'd done her some good to be away from work and just everything in general. After things with Jonah...a break was needed. Montserrat felt rejuvenated and ready to go back to her world.
She just had no idea what she walked into.
"Ah, redhead, you must be Detective Novak," a man - who hadn't been sitting like the rest of the detectives - said as soon as he spotted Montserrat. He had shaggy brown hair with obvious signs of gray streaks.
Montserrat's dark eyes were wide from utter confusion. "Aha…" was all that came out of her mouth as the man shook her hands.
"Declan Murphy, acting commander of SVU" the man introduced himself then swiftly turned back to the scene like Montserrat had never even come in.
"...how long was I gone?" she said louder than she had wanted to. Her eyes immediately began to search for Olivia. When she didn't find her quick, Montserrat had a brief panic attack thinking Olivia had quit or something. "What the hell is going on here!?"
"Welcome back, Novak," Rafael came to stand beside her, holding a cup of coffee in his hand.
"I am so confused," she passed a hand through her hair. "Why do we have a new commanding officer? And where's Liv?"
"You didn't hear, did you?" Rafael asked after taking a moment to study her blissful expression. He almost didn't want to tell her what she missed out on.
"Hear what?"
"William Lewis escaped from prison. There was a whole manhunt for him," and yet as Rafael explained this, he could easily tell this was the first time Montserrat was hearing any of it, "He took Liv and held her hostage."
"Oh my God," she blinked. "I didn't - I shouldn't have left."
"You had nothing to do with it. Liv is...better, but 1PP thought it was a good idea to put Murphy in charge for a while."
"And yet you don't look like you think it was a good idea," Montserrat said soon as she caught him giving Murphy a glance.
"What makes you say that?"
"You're doing that thing where you crinkle one side of your nose."
Rafael blinked at her when he saw her pointing at him, specifically his nose. His own hand moved up just slightly until he caught himself. "What thing!?" he demanded.
"That thing you're doing right now! You always do that when you're annoyed."
Rafael dropped his hand on his side. "Welcome back, detective," he muttered and turned towards the others. "Liv's getting coffee, by the way."
Montserrat nodded. "Thanks." She hurried to leave things at her desk and find Olivia. She could not believe she missed so much. "Olivia! Oh my God! I am so sorry for being away!" she burst into a fit of rambles when she ran into the break room.
Olivia seemed to have been expecting that sort of thing from the detective because all she did was smile and nod until Montserrat ran out of breath. "You're good, Novak. You were on a much needed vacation-"
"-but you were held hostage!"
"I'm good," Olivia reassured while languidly mixing in the sugar into her coffee. "And there were no charges filed against me anyways."
"Charges?" Montserrat gaped. "What charges!?"
"Never mind."
"Wait, what hap-"
"-c'mon," Olivia brought the woman out of the break room. "Did you meet Murphy yet?"
"Sort of. Seems kind of curt…"
"He's new-ish, but he's the one who helped Amanda out."
"Oh, he's that Murphy!" Montserrat made that connection fast. "Well, he can't be that bad, then." All Olivia did was hum in return. "So what exactly is going on over there?"
Olivia followed Montserrat's gaze and nodded. "Undercover string for any online pedophiles."
"Oh. Welcome home, I guess," Montserrat concluded. Secretly, she wasn't upset. Being away helped finalize where she was in her life. Plus, putting some distance might have been a good idea for...other reasons.
Their operation, while successful, only left SVU with one perp in their district. And that perp wasn't exactly what SVU had been looking for when they thought of worldwide operation.
Gordon Montlieff wasn't going to lead to a huge discovery. That much they got from 5 minutes of observing his interrogation with Fin and Amanda.
"Why are we talking to this guy?" Montserrat tore her gaze away from the interrogation and gave Murphy side-glance. It was getting tedious watching the interrogation get nowhere. Rafael and Nick seemed to share the sentiment by their similar irritated looks. "We can just charge him and lock him up already."
"Detective, you've been gone for a while so you might have forgotten how things need to run here," Murphy's words already moved Montserrat further into Nick's corner. Within the hour of her arrival, she could tell that Nick didn't really like this guy. "This squad needs to evolve. Little cases make big cases."
"I may have been away for a week, but I know exactly how this place runs. You, on the other hand, have only been here for how many days?" Montserrat found herself saying in response. Behind her, those who shared her feelings smirked.
Murphy seemed surprised at her snap but, with his experience, he had an easier time ignoring what he looked at as disrespect with commands.
"Look, lieutenant, we're not dealing with a mastermind here," Nick stepped up to back up Montserrat.
"We don't know what we're dealing with," Murphy insisted. "TARU still working on his computer?" All the detectives nodded their heads. "Find out where they are. Meanwhile, Fin and Rollins will walk him up the ladder, see where he leads us."
"You're the boss," Nick sarcastically said and turned to leave. He prompted the others to follow him.
"Is it too early for me to say I don't like him?" Montserrat asked quietly and quickly in case Murphy re-opened the door behind them.
"Nope," went Nick who made a direct beeline for his desk, though probably not to do as Murphy asked.
"Just give him a chance," Amanda said. "He's not what we're used to but he is a good guy."
"No one's debating his morals, Rollins," Sonny began, but Rafael had to chime in.
"Some of us are. I've done my due diligence on this guy and some of the things I found have left me… quite perplexed." Rafael had a mini-stare down against Amanda, but eventually the blonde detective looked away.
"Let's just go," Amanda muttered to Fin before taking the lead out.
"What things did you find on Murphy?" Nick had to ask Rafael after the other two were gone.
"I'd rather not say," the ADA cleared his throat and looked, clearly, uncomfortable.
"He's speechless?" Montserrat pointed his way. "It's gotta be bad. Why can't Olivia just take the lieutenant's exam and be the official commanding officer here?"
"Because that would be too easy," Nick begrudgingly answered.
After getting nothing from Gordan, Murphy decided to up the game. He passed himself off as another pedophile caught by SVU and practically scared the crap out of Gordon which motivated him to talk. And when they found what he led them to...they really wish they hadn't.
But their job required not only to them to see it, but their ADA too as well.
"I would brace myself, Councilor," Sonny patted Rafael's shoulder once the latter had sat down at the conference room.
Rafael rolled his eyes at the detective but did notice the others' uncomfortableness while Amanda pulled up their evidence. Even Fin looked rather shaken and he hardly showed any shock after his time at SVU.
"Kids without shame?" he read off the bold title of the web screen.
"It's a chat room for pedophiles. So here's the guy that Gordon tipped us off to," Olivia motioned Amanda to move down the screen from her laptop. "He calls himself 'Erastes."
"I see him from my window playing in the P.S. 27 school yard…" Rafael started reading from the screen when he heard Montserrat clear her throat.
She was looking quite pale. "I wouldn't read that out loud…"
Rafael gave her a look but, as he was meant to, he kept going and soon realized what she meant. "Sweet faced, chubby. I imagine stringing him...up…" he swallowed hard, "...hearing him squeal. How long do you think it would take for the blood to run out if I hung him upside down?" He had to take a moment for himself and shake that off. "That's horrifying, but-" and he really hated having to point this out, "-but it is on a site that explicitly says it's fantasy."
"He's talking about a real boy that he's seen," Nick countered.
"And you know this how?"
"We're giving you a heads-up, counselor, not asking for your blessing," Murphy declared and outright ignored Rafael's sharpened look. "I'm talking about one undercover meet. If it's just a fantasy, we walk away. And if it's not, do you want to be responsible for missing this?"
Oh, great, so now it was on him. This squad really liked squeezing him until he gave into whatever the hell they wanted. "Fine," he spat and got up from his seat. "One time. And you better get something good out of it."
There was an immediate debate about who would be going undercover and what the ruse would be. And some of them disagreed with the way things were chosen and handled.
"I need some drinks," Nick spat once Murphy, Amanda, Fin and Olivia had gone off for the undercover gig. He had complained about the entire gig to the remaining, including Rafael who had stuck by to listen to Nick's complaints. He sat at his desk and was practically ignoring the pile of work in front of him.
"You mean bottles?" Montserrat countered since she knew his mood stemmed from the one and only Declan Murphy.
Nick side-glanced her with a 'stop it' kind of look. "On me. Anyone?"
"I'll take some," Sonny rose from his chair with a finger raised in the air. He didn't complain out loud but he wasn't entirely devoted to Murphy's way of leading. "Councilor?"
"Sure," he gave in pretty easy, prompting the last detective to remark about it.
"Wow, you all will look lovely complaining about one Lieutenant," Montserrat smirked from one man to the next.
"You're free to join too," Nick gestured. "I know you don't like Murphy either."
"I didn't say that," she corrected but instead of believing her, all three men scoffed one after the other. "Oh shut up."
"C'mon, Montse," Sonny moved to her side of the desk and smiled down at the woman. "We can call Kara and make it a nice night out."
"Alright fine, since my presence is so desperately needed," she dramatically sighed and got pushed herself up from her seat. She grabbed her coat and purse and walked out with the trio.
~ 0 ~
Kara was ecstatic to have a night out. She was front and center even before the others arrived to their usual place.
"You look lovely," Sonny complimented her as soon as they met her outside. She was dressed in a nice tight, red dress.
"Thanks," Kara gushed and accepted his chaste kiss on her cheek before greeting the others.
"That looks familiar," Montserrat made a languid point at the outfit. She tilted her head and stared at it for a second before her eyes widened. "Hey, wait a second - that's my dress!"
Something akin to a snort came out of Nick's mouth. "You own that?"
Montserrat glared at him. "Not a word, Amaro."
"Oh don't argue," Kara hushed them both. "I just thought it would look nice. And it does."
"Here's to having that self confidence," Montserrat muttered and followed inside.
They found the bar counter empty towards its end and gladly took those seats. Kara, Sonny and Rafael ordered their drinks first whilst the remaining two deliberated on their choices.
"I just want to try something new," Montserrat shrugged after being practically commanded by the others to stop being so picky. She was not, in fact, going to end up picking the same thing she usually did as stated by Kara.
"Try this one," Nick said before clearing his throat and calling to the bartender. "Mojito, please."
It was safe to say Montserrat had no idea what that was. "What...what did you order?"
"Something new," Nick smirked all too proudly.
"Am I going to get drunk in two sips? Because that's not what I was going for."
"Relax, it's a Cuban drink. It's literally just rum and lime juice."
Montserrat gave Nick a long stare before flickering gazes to Rafael for some extra confirmation. He gave a silent nod but it was good enough for her.
"Fine. But next time give me a heads up. I have no idea what's in your people's type of drinks."
"My people's type of drinks?" Nick laughed. "What does that mean? That I'm Cuban?"
"And you drink. And so does…" Montserrat made a not-so-subtle nod at Rafael. The man in question narrowed his eyes on her but rather than being offended, he seemed amused. Where she was taking this, he had no idea.
"Now you're just being purposely mean," Kara was the one to say.
"You know they say the same thing about Slovaks?" Nick countered. "You guys drink way too much."
"Point taken, but it's not true."
"Mm, I've seen you drown scotch," Rafael spoke up only to get a glare from Montserrat.
"Yeah, every time you offered some. You own the bottle."
"And yet you drank most of it."
Montserrat glared at him for a full minute before uttering, "Oh, shut up."
Rafael smirked, and soon did the others. Montserrat just settled into her seat and waited for her drink to come by. Luckily, it did along with the others'.
Montserrat picked up her glass and eyed its flashy green contents. "It just looks like a bunch of leaves."
Her complaint made Nick smile after taking a sip of his own glass. "It's good, just try it."
"I wouldn't try it," muttered Kara who then received a jab from Sonny. "What? He's poisoning my friend-"
"-I resent that," Nick pointed at her. "I'd do a much better job if that was my intention."
"Oh, well, thanks," Montserrat huffed.
"Just take the damn drink, Montserrat," Rafael was close to groaning in annoyance with her. "If anything, it'll be weak."
Montserrat raised her glass again and peered over its top. She shrugged in the end and took a big drink. Her face immediately scrunched when she tasted the acidic lime. And she shivered. "What is that!?" she put her glass down and refused to touch it ever again.
"That is a Mojito and you are wasting it," Nick promptly responded with.
"Uh, no," Montserrat cocked her head to the side. "That is overpriced lemonade. And it's not even good."
When Rafael thought Nick had gotten enough of her scolding, he chimed in for Nick's sake. By now, he had a pretty good idea of what Montserrat would like for drinks. "Would you like some of that scotch now?"
Montserrat smiled sweetly in a sarcastic manner, one he came to like admittedly. "Yes, please."
"The whole bottle?" and he gave her that smug face she pretended to hate but secretly craved more for.
"Shut up and order me my drink." Montserrat pretended to huff and look away while Rafael did order for her.
"Que débil eres," Nick's mock, though in a foreign language, pulled Montserrat's deadpanning glance.
"Nu-uh, don't you start using Spanish on me to mock me." Montserrat meant to sound offended, but after trying to be the bigger person she found herself uttering something else, "Ty hlupák."
Nick paused just as he was about to drink and thought of what he heard. Even Rafael and Sonny were having trouble making out Montserrat's words. The only one who seemed unsurprised was Kara.
"What…" Nick lowered his glass and turned to face Montserrat, "...what did you just say?"
"You moron," Montserrat said proudly. "Anyone else have something to say in a foreign language?"
"If I say something nice in Spanish, will you say something nice in Slovak?" Nick flashed her a smile that elicited a laugh from her.
"Alright, I'm gonna need y'all to stop flirting," Kara's remark affected Montserrat more than it should, and perhaps Rafael too. The latter stayed quiet but he was watching Montserrat's every movement. Who knows...it's almost as if Kara planned such a comment.
Judging by Sonny's disapproving glance, she just might have.
"I-I wasn't," Montserrat shook her head. "...just playing a game."
"Aw, and here I was hoping for something," Nick smirked and leaned closer to her. It was just too much fun to stop, especially since half of what he was doing was pissing Montserrat. "La pelirroja más ardiente que he conocido."
Montserrat raised an eyebrow at him, unable to keep a blush from reaching her face. "Goddamn you, Amaro. Is this how you pick up women? Because if it is...well done." She raised her hands, indicating he definitely won.
Nick couldn't help the big grin that took over his face. He really was just playing a game too and it got even more fun when it made an actual effect on her.
"A ty si ten najhladší muž, akého som kedy stretol," Montserrat returned, her Slovak tongue sounding far different than what everyone was used to hearing from her. There was a sharpness in her words, yet something...alluring about it. "And you are the smoothest man I have ever met," she repeated her words but translated.
Least that's what Rafael thought and figured Nick did too. It was ridiculous how angry he got in such a short minute, but it was real. He hadn't even realized how tightly he was gripping his glass, but Kara did. And she elbowed Sonny so he could see the same.
"Get your flirty friend out of here before your other friend commits murder and has to try his own trial," Kara told him in a hushed tone.
"Well, actually, he wouldn't be able to try his-" but Sonny stopped on account of Kara's hardened gaze. "Yeah. Sorry."
"Mhm," she said with a straight face.
"You gotta stop playing this game," Montserrat was telling Nick. "Save the Spanish and the looks for a woman who doesn't know you're as stubborn as a mule."
"Scotch?" The bartender stopped by with a glass for Rafael. He pointed the drink was for Montserrat and so the glass was slid down to her.
Just as she took it, Nick's cell phone started buzzing in his pocket. When he pulled it out, he saw it was his ex-wife, Maria. "Gotta take this. Be back in a bit."
"Oh, we got lucky," Kara said in a dramatic relieved tone.
"Oh, c'mon, you can't be taking this that serious," Sonny gave her a look. He of all people knew how badly Kara wanted things to work for Montserrat and Rafael, but she also failed to take in what reality had done. "It's harmless flirting."
"Well, it looked like Rafael wanted to inflict some real harm on Nick," Kara said quietly. "And you know, just because he's not a cop like you guys doesn't mean he can't make things look like an accident. If anything, being a prosecutor means he's seen exactly how to do it."
Sonny rolled his eyes at her and reached for his drink. "You're being over-dramatic."
"Am I?" Kara let a humorless laugh slip from her lips. "Look at that," she nodded ahead.
Without being interrupted by flirts or friendly banters, Montserrat and Rafael had found a moment to start conversing. At some point, the two had scooted closer to talk better.
"No, I'm serious. He's 7 months and he already had his two front teeth very much present," Montserrat was saying as she took drinks from her glass.
"So your vacation consisted of you visiting the family you were a surrogate mother for?" Rafael's strange look wasn't the most inviting but Montserrat just nodded her head.
"Yeah. I hadn't seen Leah or Michael in a while and I wanted to see Andrew too. He's 7 months, almost 8." Montserrat's face softened the more she talked about Andrew Saunders. She'd pulled her phone out and revealed some of the pictures she'd taken while she was away. "Leah and Michael moved to Brooklyn and they showed me around the city. It was a win-win."
"I can't believe that's really where you spent your vacation," Rafael continued to disbelieve and shake his head.
"You're one to talk. When's the last time you had a vacation?" Montserrat raised an eyebrow at him and didn't waver in her stare until he smiled in defeat. "That's right. Now c'mon-" she held her phone between the two with a picture of Andrew and herself on the screen, "-you're going to tell me this little guy isn't worth visiting?"
A pout. She was actually giving him a pout. It was a sarcastic pout, but a pout nonetheless. She could be such a child and yet...so goddamn attractive. Captivating.
Rafael resisted the urge to touch one of her ginger curls framing the side of her face. Instead, he focused on what she was showing him. It seemed like she'd gone to a park with Andrew and no doubt his parents. She held Andrew on her lap, looking down at him with a laugh. Andrew seemed ecstatic being given her absolute attention.
"Sounds like fun," he found himself saying. "...he has red hair," he noticed after a moment's watch.
"Michael's a redhead," Montserrat said dismissively. "Anyways, glad you see my point. We don't always have to bicker, you know."
"That's a choice? I have a choice?"
Montserrat deadpanned his sarcastic surprise.
From her spot, Kara saw Nick returning after finishing his call. "Oh no, he's not ruining this. He can flirt with me if he needs to!"
Sonny's face scrunched at that idea. "N-n-n-no, wait a minute-" but he was too late because Kara had already gotten up from her stool to retrieve Nick before he could reach his seat.
"Sit with me flirty detective," she cheerfully pulled him to the empty stool on her left.
"O-okay," Nick could only blink as he was sat down in his reassigned seat. "What are we doing?"
"I don't know," Sonny answered while giving Kara an unamused look.
"What?" she looked between the two detectives oh-so-innocently. "Feel free to speak in Spanish and Italian to me. Take turns, even."
"Kara," Sonny shook his head disapprovingly, but Kara could care less.
Something funny had been said between Rafael and Montserrat because the latter was laughing hard. She leaned her head back on his shoulder in the process. Rafael stopped for a second to look down at her, but she was too busy laughing to notice. He couldn't even remember exactly what he'd said to make her laugh so much, but he wasn't complaining.
Author's Note:
First and foremost, if anyone speaks/write Slovak please let me know so we can coordinate these lines I wrote in. I only speak/write English & Spanish so for the Slovak parts it's just google translate. And second of all, I loved writing that bar scene.
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.