Montserrat awoke under a soft, fuzzy blanket. It smelled kind of good - was that an ocean scent? I don't own that type of detergent, she thought. Kara always bought the fresh nature scented one.

The bed shifted a bit when she turned to her other side. Her legs were tangled in the same fuzzy blanket, but she felt a little more exposed. With a groan, she opened her eyes and when her vision cleared...she realized she wasn't in her room. She sat upright in a second, letting the fuzzy blanket fall to her waist. Her eyes quickly scanned the room and confirmed that it was - for sure - not hers. It was too clean. And she did not own a sea breeze scented fuzzy blanket. "What in the hell…?"

She crawled to the edge of the bed and saw that her heels were neatly placed below. She got up from the bed and realized she was still in her blue dress from last night. She grabbed the fuzzy blanket off the bed and wrapped it around herself. It was kind of cold. She quietly made her way out of the room and came into a familiar hallway. She stopped for a few seconds to gaze at a few picture frames lining the walls and smiled - she knew exactly where she was. She tiptoed into the living room and smiled again.

Rafael was sleeping on the couch, completely unaware that she was around. Montserrat moved over to the couch and bent down beside him. "Rafael? Wake up," she gently shook his arm a bit. He scrunched his face and moved slightly but he didn't wake up right away. "Raf, c'mon," she tried again.

"I'm up, I'm up…" he said in a hoarse voice. He took in a deep breath and slowly blinked awake.

Montserrat chuckled at him. "I didn't know you actually slept. There were rumors you weren't human. I owe Fin $20."

Rafael was too sleepy to roll his eyes just yet, so he waved her off with a hand and started pushing himself upright. "What time is it?"

"I don't know. Really early?" Montserrat straightened up on her feet. "I can't find my bag."

"It's...it's somewhere…" he made a gesture in no particular direction while he shook off his grogginess.

"Why'd you sleep here?" She nodded at the couch. "More to the point, why did you let me sleep on your bed? I didn't even realize when I fell asleep last night."

"Some point during the movie," he rubbed his eyes in hopes of finally waking up for real. They had started watching a movie at some point during their dessert binge but now Montserrat realized that she had no idea when the movie ended.

"You should've just woken me up."

"I didn't have the heart."

Montserrat blushed with his gaze. "Well, thanks. And, um...this blanket?" She tugged the fuzzy blanket closer to her body. "I didn't take you for the rainbow, polka-dotted blanket type of guy."

Now Rafael could roll his eyes. He pushed himself up to his feet, meeting her teasing face. "It's not mine. It's my grandmother's. She gets cold very easily so I keep one around for her."

"Mm, and how do you think she'll react when she hears you just let me borrow it?"

"I think…" Rafael reached to stroke some of her hair, "She wouldn't mind. She'd like you too much to be upset about anything."

Montserrat laughed. "Okay. How mad would she be if I kept it? Because it smells so good."

"That might be a little bit more difficult. How about I just buy you one and keep it here?"

Montserrat blushed when she thought of the implications. Staying over more times at his place sounded really nice. "I...might like that offer."

"Yeah?"

"Mhm." Montserrat looked down at the coffee table and saw their various remains of dessert. She picked up the last piece of coffee bread and dropped it into her mouth.

"That was mine," Rafael tried to point but she chewed faster and grinned at him. "That...was not nice."

"Here, have some brownies," she bent down to pick up some leftover brownie bits.

"I don't want it—" She dropped the bits into his mouth and had to hold her laughter at his reaction. "Highly unhealthy," he said in-between chewing and this time she had to laugh.

"Oh please! I dread to think what you have for breakfast everyday. Scotch or chocolates?"

His face was flat. "You know, you're not that funny."

She had a response to that but her cellphone cut in. "Where's my bag again?" The two spent a few minutes searching for the forgotten bag until Montserrat found it behind the couch. She turned the lock screen on and saw a text from Liv. "Ah, it's the boss. Oh, you do remember that you're arraigning Tensley Evans today, right?"

"No, but thanks for the lovely reminder." Rafael had seen plenty of the girl on the news and he had no desire to deal with celebrities, especially in the mornings.

"Liv just wants us to go over the case again. She feels like Tensley isn't saying everything." Montserrat sighed sadly. "Well, I guess this lovely date had to end right? Of course a crying, sleepy girlfriend isn't exactly the date anyone would want, huh?"

"Don't do that," Rafael warned. "We are not doing that." He moved around the couch and had half a mind to take her phone and her back and make her stay with him all day. He would love to have the entire day to dote on her and comfort her.

"I heard what you said, I did, but this was also supposed to be a nice date," Montserrat smiled sadly.

"It was," Rafael insisted. "I have never felt so peaceful in my life. Last night was...calm. I haven't had that...ever." Montserrat sighed but, for this time, she would believe him. "C'mon, let's go get you your shoes."

"Did you take them off, or did I take them off? I can't remember," she said as he turned them for the hallway.

"I did."

"You're kind of a neat freak, you know that?"

"Sure."

"But you know," Montserrat slowly came to a stop a few feet from the bedroom door, "I noticed something about this place." The few times she'd been at his place she never really went past the living room except for the occasional trips to the bathroom, but now that she had made it into his bedroom - an act that left her with blushing cheeks - she got a glimpse of new things.

"You did?" Rafael watched her with amusement as she looked around like she'd just walked in. "What is it?"

"You don't have a lot of pictures," she pointed to the rather empty walls around them.

"That's because...I don't really like putting pictures up?" he tried to smile his way out of it, but she wasn't having it.

She shook her head at him and went on into his bedroom. Her shoes were still placed next to the side of the bed. "I'm just saying, it's normal to have a few pictures of yourself in your own home. Maybe even some of your family."

"I'm just not that type," he shrugged his shoulders. "My mother is the one who has all the albums anyways."

"Yeah, my Dad does too but I also have my own." She finished strapping the laces of her shoes on and stood up.

"Tell you what, you let me see some of those proud pictures and I will consider showing you some of mine."

Montserrat's shoulders dropped when she sighed. "Somehow, I don't quite believe you."

Rafael feigned offence at her disbelief. "Why would you think that?"

"Because you're a lawyer," Montserrat said in a way that indicated it should've been obvious. "You lie."

"Says the detective," Rafael was pretty fast in his comeback, even more proud that it had been a good one.

"Don't make me get mad at you," Montserrat warned him and promptly walked out of the room. "It's too early."

"My deal is very much true," Rafael went after her, following her back into the living room.

"Mhm," she started cleaning up the remainders of their dessert from last night, dropping the plastic cases into the bag left on the table. She picked up fast and brought to the trash in the kitchen.

"Montserrat," Rafael took hold of her after she came back. "Seriously. You let me see some of your pictures and I'll bring some of mine."

"Okay," she took him on with a nod. "But I'll have to find specific ones because this-" she made a gesture to her hair, "-was not always tamed." Rafael laughed at just the image of her possibly unruly ginger curls. "It's not funny," she pushed him on the chest.

"I bet you were adorable," he tried to touch one of her curls but she swatted his hand away.

"Don't even try it! You'll see what I mean, later on." She heard her phone buzzing again inside her bag, reminding her that she did have a job to get to. "I really have to go before Liv fires me." She pressed her lips to his for a small kiss, sweet nonetheless. "And...thanks. Really."

Rafael nodded. "Just remember what I said, okay? I'm here. Always."

"Thank you," she smiled softly. She grabbed her bag and left before they got sucked into another moment.

Montserrat was fast when she got home. She went straight to her room, threw off her dress and put on some more appropriate clothes for work. She redid her makeup to look more natural then tamed curls into something decent. The only part that took her a few extra minutes were her shoes - where the hell did the shoes go!?

"Oh, you're back," Kara eventually emerged from her room and found Montserrat going around the kitchen in search of something quick for breakfast.

"Yup, morning, where are my chocolate chip granola bars!?"

"Uh, I think Sonny took the last one…"

Montserrat stopped looking and glanced at Kara. "Well." She slammed the cupboard shut. "If he's going to eat my breakfast, the least he can do is restock."

"Duly noted," Kara chuckled. "He was on the run too. He just grabbed whatever was closest."

"It's fine," Montserrat opened the fridge and grabbed an orange instead. "I'm in a rush too, so…"

"Yeah, you are." Montserrat dreaded when Kara smirked - she always dreaded the smirks. "You just got back?"

"Yes," Montserrat pressed the button of the trash to open its lid. She quickly peeled the orange's skin. "And don't even start—"

"—I didn't say anything!"

"No, but you want to!"

"Yeah." Kara wouldn't waste time on denials. "I have to say that it took you guys longer than I thought. My money was on a week, max, based on all that tension. It just - it had to be released."

"Kara, it is way too early to think about murder but you tempt me sometimes," Montserrat dropped one piece of orange into her mouth. "And for your information, nothing happened."

"Oh," Kara frowned. "What did you do, then?"

"Talk, watch a movie...you know those things you and Sonny just forgot about long ago?"

Kara rolled her eyes. "You guys are old, that's what it is."

"No. It just...it wasn't the right time," Montserrat said quietly. She shook her head and left the kitchen in a hurry. "And I'm not talking about it anymore."

She only got the last of her things and left the apartment. On her way down, though, she called someone. "Dr. Weslin? Hi, um, I know I'm not due for another few days but is it possible to squeeze me in earlier please?"

~0~

Tensley sat across from Olivia, along with her mother and their lawyer, with no remorse of what she had been charged with. The only thing she knew was that her time was being wasted yet again. "I don't get why I'm in trouble, okay? Like I told that shrink, guys did way more to me than I did to that...geek."

Olivia had brought in both Montserrat and Amanda to overhear the interview so that there would be no mistakes later on, as well as any other false accusations by Tensley. The two detectives sat beside Olivia's desk, listening in to Tensley continue on about how she did nothing wrong.

Somehow, the conversation steered into Donna's path where she felt offended. "You saying I'm not a good mother?" she narrowed her eyes on the two detectives and the Sergeant.

Montserrat knew it was awful to say about a potential victim's mother, but she really couldn't stand Donna Evans. She was a terrible woman in general and, by the looks of it, an even worse mother.

They only got to a better place when Olivia finally requested Donna and their lawyer to leave Tensley with them.

"I'm no victim," Tensley insisted once it was just her in the office. "It's part of the business, I did what I had to do."

"Fair enough. So... what was that?" Olivia treaded carefully. Tensley was making a clear hard effort to make everything seem casual. It was denial.

"It's no big deal. The first time, it was at a producer's pool party. Mom said it would be good for my career if I went."

"And whose party was that?" Amanda asked, ready to take note of whatever name Tensley gave.

"Adam Brubeck."

"And who is he?"

Tensley stared at Amanda like she was crazy. "Hello? He's like an a-list movie producer."

"Very famous," agreed Montserrat then looked at her co-workers. "I've watched a couple of his movies."

"Well, this was one of his casting parties at his place in East Hampton," Tensley said but seemed to be talking a bit more to Montserrat since she was the only one with good taste it appeared. "I was in the hot tub, I got too drunk, woozy. He took me into his bedroom, toweled me off, said I had a beautiful body and that if I made him happy, he'd find a role for me in his next movie. So I did. Next time he brought in two more guys, first to watch, but then they said fair is fair, so... I did them, too."

The three women were horrified at such a story, even more so at Tensley's casualness.

"And how old were you?" asked Olivia.

"13, 14, I don't know. It went on for a couple of years."

"And you're...you're 24 now, right?" Amanda was making another note. "Not 23?"

"Tensley, how often did this happen?" Montserrat wondered.

"I don't remember. I'd drink. Or they had coke, ecstasy. Blur the edges. Open your mouth, spread your legs, different guys. But it worked. I got that role and I got bigger roles. My mom was right."

Montserrat's eyebrow went up in disdain. "Your mother knew you were having sex with your producer and his friends?"

Tensley shrugged. "I mean, we never talked about it, but she put me on the pill a couple months later. You don't see me complaining like that pansy-ass Gregory, okay? I gave Adam what he wanted and he gave me what I wanted. Oh-bla-di, oh-bla-da."

~0~

Since their focus was now shifted on the top-notch producer, Adam Brubeck's entire life story was plastered on pin boards and clear boards.

"Now Adam Brubeck was the biggest teen producer out there. "Summer Days", 'Five ways to play Hooky", "Farcity Blues'...the list truly goes on," Amanda said before she got stuck reading some not-so-nice titles of more mature films. "And according to Tensley, Brubeck passed her around like a sex toy party favor."

"Explains why she's such a train wreck," Nick remarked from his desk. "If IF she's telling the truth."

"Nick, I'm glad you're back, but really, you should have heard her," Montserrat said. "Trust me. I know I was on the fence about this girl but...you just...you just needed to be there." She brought Amanda's findings to Rafael by the table.

"Well, she's an actress," Nick wanted to remind them all of that small detail that could make a huge difference for their case.

"Amaro's right," Rafael spoke up after a quick reviewing of the board. It was a good case but it all fell back on Tensley. "She could be playing you."

Montserrat, who still stood by his chair, looked down at him, her expression akin to offence. "We're not stupid, councilor," she sarcastically said in a whisper.

She whipped her head back at the board but a few seconds later she felt his fingers brush over her hand. They were a bit behind her so no one would really be able to see him do it. She barely managed not to roll her eyes at him. Instead, she glanced back at him with a knowing smile. He was covering his bases. He didn't want to make her mad, after all. It was probably just her sarcasm that was a huge part of her, but Rafael was very serious about making sure he didn't ruin anything. It'd only been a few weeks of dating but he just knew that he didn't want to lose Montserrat, drive her away. As long as it didn't annoy her, he'd continue being extra cautious. His naturally smartass mouth would surely get him into trouble at some point so he might as well start making an effort now.

"We had to pull it out of her, guys," Amanda went on. "This girl doesn't even know that she's been victimized."

"Gregory's father thinks that his son was, and there's video to back up that charge. I have to indict her," Rafael got up from his seat. He knew there would have to be a minimum one-minute argument with Liv about this.

"Hold on, you do?" There it was. Olivia had matched him and gotten up from her seat as well, shooting him an incredulous look.

"You do?" Montserrat said the same thing yet it sounded more disappointed than incredulous.

"It's my job!" Rafael reminded the two women, feeling that was an adequate reason for his decision. It might have quelled Olivia's question but Montserrat was still giving him a particular stare that did not bode well for him.

"This is textbook mitigating," she said after a moment.

"And Exley is free to bring that up, when he tries to cut a deal," he tried to keep his tone away from something that would make him sound like he was arguing. His expression was a pleading one with her. He was lucky that she long ago learned to read his face.

"Look, the point here is that even if something did happen to Tensley, she still committed a crime too," Nick's voice went over the others. "And besides, the statute of limitations ran out on Brubeck a year ago."

"So he doesn't deserve to do time and Tensley does?" Olivia challenged. Nick said nothing but looked away, pretty much answering anyways.

"Whatever he did to Tensley, dollars to donuts he's still doing it to other girls," Sonny said, warning himself an amused look from Montserrat.

"Dollars to donuts?" she repeated, raising an eyebrow at him. He rolled his eyes in return.

"Great, are we going on a fishing trip now?" Rafael asked, his tone flat.

"Barba, how about we pursue two tracks?" Olivia suggested before they got into further arguments. "You pursue yours, we'll pursue ours."

"Fair enough," he conceded. "Give me a call if you actually find something interesting." His eyes lingered on Montserrat until she noticed him. With a nod directed at the squad, he left.

There was a feeling in Montserrat's stomach warning her not to let Rafael leave like that. Dammit. She took the chance that the squad was getting back into researching Bruebeck to catch up with Rafael.

Luckily for her, he was waiting for the elevator when she hurried into the hallway. She called to him in a low voice so as to not attract unwanted attention.

"Something wrong happened back there?" she asked him. "You had that face of yours…"

"I could say the same thing about your face," he returned, making her pause for a second. "You had your angry face on, like I messed up."

"What - no! That was...that was the 'you're annoying' face and I always do that to you," she shrugged.

"Well, it felt like I was on thin ice with you and I'm frankly not interested going down that path again."

"What? Raf, c'mon-"

The elevator opened up for them and since Rafael went in, so did Montserrat.

"Look, Montserrat, I just want to make sure that we're not arguing again," Rafael sighed as he pressed the first floor button. "I'm trying hard, okay?"

Montserrat chuckled and turned to him, grabbing him by the lapels of his jacket. "Hey, you're doing fine. I was just doing what we always do at work? Bantering and riling you up. You just didn't do it back like you were supposed to."

"I was trying not to make you mad…"

"You don't have to always 'try'," she chuckled. "Just be yourself. Didn't think I'd ever have tell you that."

Rafael rolled his eyes, but he had to agree. He never had issues with himself about how to act around people. Usually, he never cared. He'd act the way he wanted to. "I'm just being careful…"

"Well don't," Montserrat leaned on him with a growing smile on her face. "Because I want you to act how you always act. You're more fun that way. Plus, I like you that way."

"So...you want me to banter with you?" Rafael asked slowly, watching her cautiously just to make sure he was hearing right. "Because I had so many comments earlier…"

Montserrat laughed. "And I look forward to snapping back at those comments."

"Right," Rafael rolled his eyes, but he was smiling now. He needed to stop being so frantic about things. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry that you felt like you had to change. You don't ever have to do that with me, ever." She leaned forwards and gave him a small kiss on the lips just before the elevator would stop. "You want to have dinner tonight?"

"Only if it's nothing barbecue," he warned, making her laugh.

"One day you're gonna end up liking it," she called as he walked out of the elevator.

"That'll be the day," he smirked on his way out.

"I've made you do other things before," she quietly told herself as she pressed the elevator button to go back up.

~0~

"I have to admit that I was a little concerned when you called to schedule an earlier session," Dr. Weslin admitted once Montserrat had taken her usual seat across her.

Montserrat sheepishly smiled. "I didn't mean for that, I just...I just needed to be here."

"Well, the floor is yours," Weslin motioned for Montserrat to start the session.

"Well, ever since I started dating Rafael I had this need to make it clear that I was okay, that I was GOOD good with…" Montserrat bombed her head until Weslin understood what she was trying to say, "You know, my past? And it was stupid because Rafael asked me several times if I we really okay. He told me it was alright if I wasn't, but as usual I wanted to do things my way. And my way sucked."

Weslin did her best to be professional and not smile out of amusement. Sometimes, Montserrat just had a way with words.

"I had to learn on my own that I wasn't always good. And I think that's been the hardest thing to accept." Montserrat raised her gaze from the floor to look at Weslin. "I'm not always going to be good. It's been over a year now...when will I always be good?"

"Montserrat, you know that is a question with many different answers. It all depends on the person," Weslin watched as Montserrat's face slowly fell. "But it doesn't mean it lasts forever."

"It just feels like it's taking forever. I want to be better…"

"And that's a very important step," Weslin wanted to point out so that Montserrat would see she truly was making progress. "The very first time you met me, you didn't express that desire. In fact, you couldn't care less about the future."

Montserrat stayed silent as she thought about those days. The early days were truly dark days. She barely left home, barely left her bed actually. Most of her days were taken up by her relentless sobs. The fact she even made it to Weslin's office that first day was a miracle. Actually, it was also because Casey took her. Casey encouraged her to seek help and she offered Montserrat her 100% support to do what she thought was right.

"Do you see the huge difference now?" Weslin asked after a moment. "You are not the women you were last year. That is getting better too. Sometimes, it's taking a look at the small wins you've had because those wins eventually bring you to where you want to be."

Montserrat nodded. "I get it. It takes me a while but I always end up getting it." Weslin smiled at her. "I'm not good but I do like where I am, what I have, who I have. Maybe next year I'll be even better than right now."

Author's Note:

I have to say that I really liked this chapter for some reason. And it's funny because I just finished writing a later chapter that sort of picks up where this one (from the first scene) left off. I like trying to connect things xD

For the reviewer:

mars: Oh my goodness thank you so much! It's always so nice seeing these types of comments (especially when I just finished getting through a writer's block for the story) so seriously...thank youuuu!