Early in the morning court had commenced to hear the ruling. Most of the squad was confident that things would go their way but Evie Barnes would prefer to see it to believe it.

"Members of the jury, have you reached a verdict?"

"We have, your honor."

"What say you?"

"On the charge of rape in the first degree, we find the defendant Daniel Pryor guilty."

Evie released the air she'd been holding. The courtroom broke into murmurs all around her but she was only listening to the detectives immediately around her.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the state of New York thanks you for your service. Mr. Pryor, you will remain out on bail until sentencing."

"Your honor, I'd like to file a motion to set aside this verdict," Buchanan was quick to say as everyone started gathering their things to leave.

"So noted. I'll reserve judgment until sentencing."

"What does that mean?" Evie inquired, slightly put on edge that somehow this still wasn't over.

"It's pro forma. If the jury reaches a verdict, judges don't overturn it," Olivia assured her.

"Nice work," Montserrat said to Rafael on their way out of the courtroom. Behind her, the squad and Evie agreed with similar nods.

"Thanks," he let a moment's pause pass before he spoke again, "I'm thinking I'll celebrate with a nice dinner tonight."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. I was thinking Japanese."

"Hm, that sounds nice." Montserrat bit her lower lip as a smirk threatened to mark them. Rafael didn't bother hiding his. His smirk was out in the open.

"Evie Barnes…" A young woman stopped the group by the elevator.

Evie was puzzled with the stranger. "Yes?"

The woman handed Evie a folded paper. "You've been served."

Evie blinked and looked down at the paper in her hands. She fumbled to unfold it and read its contents but as she started to read, the others watched her eyes widen.

"What is that?" Olivia asked her.

"It's from the president's office at Hudson. I'm being expelled for violating the code of conduct?"

"No, they can't do that," Amanda said, glancing at Olivia for some backup. Unfortunately the Sergeant was more than used to the behavior of Hudson university.

"They just did," Evie said, lowering her arms to her sides. "I have to move out by the end of next week."

Not on Olivia's watch. The Sergeant took Evie and scurried out of the courthouse.

~ 0 ~

At a safe distance from the courthouse, Rafael and Montserrat were able to walk together for a few minutes before work would get in the way.

"I have to be back at the office to finish up some paperwork but just for a few hours," Rafael was saying. "But I promise that afterwards, I am all yours." Montserrat loved hearing those words together. He stopped walking and turned to face her, his smirk promising exactly what he'd said.

"Someone's really happy," she remarked as if she'd only just noticed.

"I am, actually, and I want to celebrate with my favorite person." His free hand reached for hers and interlocked their fingers.

She gladly let him pull her body to his. "Yeah, I'm pretty happy too. I'm glad that Daniel's not getting away with it." There was a heavy tug at her heart as soon as she'd heard her own words.

Rafael noticed the faint cringe on her face. "You alright?"

Montserrat cleared her throat, pushing away those ugly thoughts in her head. "Yeah, yeah, just...worried about Evie's situation at the university."

"Ah, I think Liv will do what she can for her." Rafael brought their interlocked hands up to his lips for a kiss. "Now, I have to go or else I won't get through the paperwork by tonight."

"Raf, if you're too busy we can go out another night. I really don't mind, you know that."

"Yeah, but I'm doing this for selfish reasons."

"What?"

"I'm doing it for me. I want to spend some time with you," he grinned. She laughed at his confession but her blush pretty much summed up how she felt in regards to it. He could be all types of selfish if it involved thoughts like those. He let go of her hand and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I'll pick you up at eight. I promise."

"Okay," she nodded. She watched him disappear down the street with a small smile. Eventually, though, it faded.

Those thoughts of hers…

~ 0 ~

The sentencing ruling came up much quicker than anyone would've thought. Since Evie was still fighting with the university to let her stay, she didn't realize the sentencing was coming up. Luckily, she made it right on time.

"Daniel Pryor, please rise," the judge instructed the young man standing beside Buchanan. "Before I speak to your sentencing and other motions, I understand you'd like to make a statement."

Daniel nodded. No longer did he wear the confident face of someone knowing they would get away with a crime. He seemed to have adopted the same shifty behavior that Matt had during the trial, as if it would help him now. "Your honor, I'd like to apologize to my family and my school for any embarrassment I've caused them. What happened that night is something my friend Matt, Evie, and I will have to live with for the rest of our lives. I showed poor judgment. And I know, if given another chance, I would never do anything to dishonor another woman again."

"Thank you. I see genuine remorse here," the judge noted. "What I did not see during the trial, however, is behavior rising to the level of the criminal charges brought against you."

For a moment there, Rafael thought he'd heard wrong. "Excuse me, your honor?" There was something he wasn't seeing straightaway and the feeling was shared by his co-workers sitting behind him.

"I do not do this lightly. Due to the lack of sufficient evidence, I accept the defense's motion to set aside the jury's guilty verdict."

Evie did a double-take at Daniel who suddenly seemed to gain his confidence back. The wide grin on his face gave her chills. "What's he doing?" She quickly asked the detectives around her.

They were as dumbfounded as she was.

Rafael had skipped that phase and went straight to the fury. "Your honor, this is an outrageous abuse of your power-"

"Mr. Barba—"

"There is no basis to overturn this conviction. Her testimony, the corroborator's testimony…"

"You don't need to approach the bench," the judge motioned Rafael to stay back, but he hadn't even noticed that he was moving towards the judge in the first place. His ears were ringing, actually, because he'd just heard the most absurd thing in his life!

"Your honor, you are making a factual determination. That is the jury's job, not yours!"

"Sit down, Mr. Barba!" The judge's voice had risen in volume to create the sharp demand.

Even though Montserrat couldn't see his face right now, she was sure that it was Rafael's most murderous anger. It was almost scary but quite understanding. She was trying to get Olivia's attention to see if this was really something that could happen because she'd never seen it with her own eyes. Olivia, however, was trying to keep Evie from completely freaking out. There was a cause for chatter amongst the courtroom and with each second that passed by, things only got louder and more chaotic.

Even the judge seemed overwhelmed as he was making things happen. "Young lady... I don't know if you desire the recently popular status of victimhood or if this was a publicity stunt to jumpstart your porn career, but given the evidence, there is no way to conclude beyond reasonable doubt that your "no" in this incident truly meant "no." I hope, going forward, you find a way to respect your body and yourself."

Evei fervently shook her head. Her tears were fast in rolling down her face. "No, I wasn't lying!"

"What you are doing is giving men permission to assault a woman based on her sexual history!" Rafael was yelling above the courtroom. His hands were shoving his things into his briefcase, not noticing the way papers were getting folded and twisted. "You're setting the clock back on rape law 50 years!"

"Last warning, Mr. Barba. I will hold you in contempt—"

All feelings aside, Montserrat would've liked to see how that would go. Right now, though, she just wanted to pull Rafael back before he did something stupid. He was positively burning with anger and she had no idea what to do for him.

"I'm making an immediate motion to appeal!"

"As is your prerogative," the judge's plain dismissal didn't do any favors. "Mr. Pryor, you are free to go!"

Daniel celebrated with his family and Buchanan while Evie was left distraught. The detectives around her tried calming her down before they had to leave and face the media that would no doubt be waiting for her outside. Montserrat wanted to stop Rafael from leaving on his own, or at the very least to help him with whatever she could. But when she tried catching him on his way out of the courtroom, he just crossed down the aisle without so much of a glance her way nor the others'.

Yes, it was scary and she had no idea what to do at that moment...so she just let him go.

~ 0 ~

"How can a judge overturn a verdict?" Sonny made the question when everyone was back at the precinct.

"It's called "judgment notwithstanding the verdict." It's pretty uncommon, but it does happen," Olivia sighed.

"I've heard of it but I've never seen it happen," Montserrat shook her head. "What the hell went through that judge's head?"

"You won't like the answer," Fin said.

"Not as much as Evie," Amanda remarked, leaving the air even more terse than before.

"How's she doing?" Nick specifically asked Olivia. She'd gone after Evie when court was adjourned.

"Not well," Olivia's tone was a flat one. "School isn't taking her back."

"She must feel like she lost everything," Montserrat lowered her gaze to her desk. She understood that feeling perfectly.

"Isn't there anything we can do for her now?" Sonny inquired.

Olivia shook her head. "At this point, not really."

"I'd still like to check in on her," Amanda languidly raised a finger to the air. "I mean, someone should right? No parents, no school?"

"Yeah," Olivia exhaled a heavy breath. The feeling of incompetence had filled each of her detectives and then herself. They were at a complete loss.

"Sergeant," Dodds stormed into the bullpen, not sparing anyone a look as he made a direct beeline for Olivia's office.

"My office, I guess," Olivia mumbled as she followed him.

"Great, what more can go wrong?" Nick watched as Olivia shut the door behind her.

"Please don't challenge whatever force is behind this," Amanda shot him a pointed look.

"It's no force, it's the system," Montserrat mumbled under her breath. She leaned against her chair to think. She soared her phone on the desk another glance - the fifth one in the last 10 minutes - and just like before, it was void of any texts. She had the smallest of hope that Rafael would text her with at least a couple words assuring her that he was okay. She wouldn't believe him but at least that would show her that he was choosing to make contact with someone. But no. He wasn't reaching out which meant that he was seeking to be alone and wallow in his grief.

She'd have to pull him out herself.

So she did.

That night would have her relentlessly knocking on his door until he opened up. Thankfully, it only took a few to get him to open up and avoid her the embarrassment of having neighbors think she was a clingy ex or something.

"Before you say anything," she started when Rafael opened his mouth, "I'm not leaving. I did bring some food, though." She pulled one of her arms from behind her back to reveal a familiar bag from her favorite dessert shop that was now his favorite too.

He appreciated her intentions but he didn't feel like making her spend time with him when he was the worst company at the moment. "Montse, I'm just not in a very sweet mood. Literally."

"Okay, then we go the other way." She then pulled her other arm from behind her back to reveal a second bag. Though he couldn't see exactly what it was, he caught a glimpse of a bottle's lid peeking out on top. "Scotch, anybody?" Rafael said nothing but the faint twitch of his lips told Montserrat which way to lean towards. "C'mon, you know that was funny," she lowered her arms in front of her, each holding their contrasting options for the night.

"You're unbelievable," he concluded with the fondest of smiles on his face.

"Does that mean I can stay?"

He reached out and tugged her up to his body. "You're always welcomed here." He tucked a few of her bright orange curls behind her ears. It'd been a very crappy day so far but having her there suddenly gave him the energy to smile. "Mi corazón."

Montserrat's face lit up. "Oh, you're my heart too. My snarky, tough heart." She bopped him on the nose.

"You just couldn't help yourself, huh?"

"Nope!"

Rafael took the bags from her and brought her inside. He actually couldn't stop smiling because of the bags. It was a sign that Montserrat truly knew him, for better or worse. The sweet tooth and the cursed alcoholic tooth.

"So, what exactly are we doing first?" Montserrat made scarce of her coat on his couch, revealing a short-sleeved, loose blue tunic dress underneath. It swung with her as she turned to face him.

Rafael didn't know why but seeing the ballerina necklace he'd given her for her birthday sitting around her neck made him feel that much better. He left the bags on the coffee table and walked up to her. His arms slipped around her waist then he swiftly pulled her against him for a kiss.

Montserrat brought her arms over his shoulders, her hands clasping behind his neck. She'd been waiting for a moment like this ever since the trial. Whether it was right or wrong to feel such exhilaration watching him nail criminals, she didn't care. All she cared about was getting to have him this way and being the only one to have him that way.

She pulled away only slightly to speak. "Oh, I think I'm selfish too." Her words were accompanied by the tickling of her lips over his.

"Why do you say that?" He could barely string the words together. She was teasing him with her open-mouthed kisses.

Her hands slipped from the back of his neck to the edges of his face. Her smooth fingers gently tapped against his skin. "Because I don't want anyone else to have you but me."

A smile drew across Rafael's lips. "That is a type of selfishness that I'm okay with."

Montserrat matched his smile for a second before she bit on her lower lip. "You're supposed to discourage this type of behavior."

"Not when you're looking at me like that while doing this," he poked her bottom lip with his forefinger. It earned him a wider smile from her. "I agree. I don't want anyone else to have you but me." And if he wanted things to stay the way they were between them, he had to make sure that he was appreciating her like she deserved. He glanced at the bags on the table and realized he could do better for her.

"Raf, you okay?" Montserrat wondered if he was falling back again. She couldn't let that happen.

Rafael met her anxious gaze and nodded. "Yeah. I was just realizing that maybe we could add a little something to the scotch over there…"

"Like what?"

"Dinner."

Montserrat hummed in delight. "I'd like that! What are we thinking? Chinese? French-"

"Home-cooked," he surprised her with. "Here."

"What...are you going to cook for me?" She lifted an eyebrow at him.

"I did say I cooked, right? Let me show you."

"Okay, what are you thinking?"

Rafael didn't answer her. He let go of her body only to take her hand and lead her into the kitchen. Montserrat felt the butterflies in her stomach as he guided her through the steps of whatever dish he'd decided on. She couldn't remember it because most of her attention had been specifically trained on his movements.

She'd never seen him act so relaxed. It made her feel a little bit special knowing she was the reason his entire demeanor had changed in such a short span of time. A long time ago she could never see herself having a night like this and much less with—.

"Montserrat, I really need you to pass me sauce," Rafael was holding his hand out for said sauce.

Montserrat blinked twice before reality struck her and she was able to hand over the sauce bottle. "S-sorry."

"What were you thinking about?" He laughed and dumped the sauce into the pan. As soon as he stirred it with the other ingredients, Montserrat smelled its delicious scent.

"Honestly? You," she answered with a coy smile. As soon as she saw his smirk, she set out to challenge it. She simply couldn't resist. "I just never pictured myself having a home-cooked dinner date with the likes of you."

"Oh, so it's like that?" He sent her a sharp glance. He absolutely loved her giggle. Those were so rare.

"Convince me that I'm in the right place, then."

"I'll do my best," he promised her to the fullest extent. It'd been a long, difficult path to get to where they were now and he would not waste it. He leaned over and pressed a small kiss over her lips.

Montserrat smiled at him afterwards and helped with whatever was left to do which, by that point, was simply to set the table. She was eager to try his dish—it smelled absolutely fantastic and she was rather hungry too. She did, though, make Rafael promise her that they would get to the dessert she brought.

Once they were sitting together and she had the opportunity to take her first bite of dinner, she took it. Rafael keenly watched her for any sign that she would dislike what he made. She might try to lie to him and spare his feelings, he wouldn't put it behind her.

"Oh God this is amazing!" She hummed as the last bits went down her throat. "What the hell is this and why am I only just now being introduced to it?"

Rafael laughed at her accusatory eyes. "It's picadillo and it's not that rare, darling."

"For you!" Montserrat exclaimed.

"It is Mexican too, you know."

Montserrat lightly sighed. "Right, but I don't know everything. I mean...I didn't exactly get to learn everything, did I?"

"No, I guess you didn't," Rafael gave her a guilty smile. "Sorry."

"Nothing to apologize for," she leaned over to kiss his cheek. "I bet if I had my Mom's side of the family I'd be much more educated." She grabbed another forkful of rice and took it in one go.

"Well, have you ever tried looking for them?" Rafael wasn't surprised at all when she froze. He almost felt guilty again when she didn't get to take a bite of the raisins she liked so much.

"What'd be the point?" She shrugged. "Mom walked out on us years ago."

"That's the point right there. Your mother left, but her family didn't. They could be out there—"

"I have no doubt that they are, but I just don't know what I'd do if I found them. I mean, what would I talk about with them? 'So I know my Mom left and all but we're still good, right?'" Montserrat shook her head, almost feeling the second-hand embarrassment just by thinking of that moment happening.

"You're not the least bit curious to know who's out there?"

"Maybe, I don't know…"

"I know," Rafael reached for her hand on the table. "I know that you're curious. You wouldn't be you if you weren't."

Montserrat ducked her head to avoid his gaze. "I might be but...to be honest, I'm not all that good with following through on things."

Rafael swore there was double meaning in her words. "Well, I can join that sentiment. The case with Evie? I...probably won't be filing again." Montserrat's head raised in a snap. "There's no point, right?"

Montserrat would always hate his talented mouth for turning things around on her and making sense. "You could keep fighting," she said quietly.

"But I don't want to put Evie into another battle that might just end up like this one. I don't think she can handle that."

With a sigh, Montserrat nodded. She didn't think Evie had a lot of fight left in her either. "Yeah…"

"I'm just sorry I couldn't give her the justice she deserved."

"No, you did everything you could," Montserrat wouldn't let Rafael fall into that dark place again. That's the whole reason she was there, after all. She turned her hand around so that she was able to squeeze his. "You have no idea how proud of you I was."

Rafael looked doubtful. "Really? I didn't do anything differently - except lose you know…"

"Stop that. You did your best and you did get Evie her justice...the judge was just a jerk. You did what you always do for victims." Her eyes were the softest brown Rafael had ever seen. She truly believed what she was saying.

"Thanks," he said, uncharacteristically quiet. He lost a bit of air just looking into her eyes.

"I have to confess something though," Montserrat took a breath in as she prepared to say her next words. "It's probably terrible of me but I...I had a bit of trouble towards the end of the case - the trial, specifically."

"Why's that?"

Montserrat met his gaze, her lips curved into a bitter smile. "His name was Daniel." Rafael stiffened in his seat. Suddenly, his hand was being squeezed again. Montserrat wasn't looking at him anymore. Her plate had turned into the most interesting thing ever. "I know it's horrible to do that type of stuff and I'll definitely be mentioning it to my therapist the next time I see her but I just...I couldn't help feel this satisfaction seeing you snap him shut when he testified. It's terrible, I know, I'm terrible." She was anxious to hear what he would say about it but for the longest time things were silent. She finally gathered the courage to look at him and discover whether or not he was disgusted.

"Montserrat, I've been trying to find the right moment to tell you this but I've sort of looked into the case." He coughed awkwardly. Her eyes were widening to the brim and before she would interject, he had to get it all out. "I couldn't help myself. I needed to know what happened and why you never came forwards." Like her, he expected a very specific reaction from her that never came.

"Did you see him?" Her stomach was turning into knots, making it so that she would feel like she had to throw up even though she was eating one of the best dishes she'd ever tried.

"...yeah, I did." He heard her breath hitch. Her hand around his had gotten a bit clammy. She was nervous and the last thing he wanted was for her to have some type of anxiety attack.

"I-I don't...you shouldn't have!" She squeezed her eyes shut and yanked her hand from his. "You shouldn't have! I didn't ever want you to see him!" If he had seen Daniel's face then it meant he knew exactly who'd gotten the best of her, who'd taken a part of her.

"Montserrat, it's okay, it's okay! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." Rafael had to practically wrestle for one of her hands.

She relished in his touch but she still struggled to get back to a regular breathing pattern. When she opened her eyes, they were shining with tears. "Why would you go looking for the case?" She swallowed hard. "It's a literal file of the worst moment of my life. My weakest moment. I never wanted you to look through that. It's bad enough that Olivia went through it too." She wouldn't realize what she said until after she said it.

"What?" Rafael blinked. "Liv knew too?"

Montserrat shifted in her seat again. "She realized it during one of your trials. She knows and she confronted my old Captain about it. She retired early because of Liv."

There was an actual deep satisfaction hearing that. If there was someone Rafael could always count on it was Olivia Benson. "I'm glad she did that," he said. "It's not just me who's watching out for you. And I'm really sorry, sweetheart. When I went through it, I wanted to know exactly who had failed you in the system. And…" Rafael fought hard not to let his anger show. This wasn't the moment at all, it just wasn't an easy task to do. Each time he thought about the man who'd hurt Montserrat, a surge of fury flourished within him. It was the type of fury that left his body shaking and a feeling of doing some things he would've never thought about. "I was selfish, I'm sorry. I wanted to know who hurt you."

"You know who he is," Montserrat closed her eyes, letting her tears finally fall down her face.

"Yes."

"And what did you think?"

"I think that he should rot in jail along with whoever coerced you into staying quiet." He felt her flinch when his fingers found her face. They cleared the tears off her cheeks. "I won't lie, I am incredibly furious with all of them...and my feelings towards...him...are beyond any anger that I've ever felt. You only deserve to be cared for, you deserve happiness, and nothing less than that."

Montserrat opened her eyes to meet his. "I think...I think I found that with you. I'm sorry I keep going back and forth, but it's never about me doubting you."

"I know that," he assured her. "And I want you to know that I'm here. I will always be here for you, whether it's to talk about it, to hold you...I'm here."

"I know," Montserrat felt absurd with her feelings. She was incredibly lucky to have Rafael with her. "I'm here for you too, even though I don't look like I'm capable of it…" She gestured to her current state. "But I promise I'm here too."

Rafael chuckled. "You being here shows me. You have no idea how much I appreciate it."

"Well," Montserrat sniffed and cleared off any remaining tears off her face, "I would love to finish this dish and move onto the scotch and dessert. Think we can fit it all in one night?"

"Yeah," Rafael was halfway nodding when a new idea popped into his head. He looked at Montserrat in a different way, one that soon caught her attention.

"What?"

"I was thinking...we could start the scotch tonight...and maybe some of the dessert but if not...we could continue in the morning."

Montserrat raised an eyebrow at him, her heart skipping a jolt at that moment. "What?"

"N-not that way just...you can stay here for tonight, just spending time together."

"What would we do, exactly?"

Rafael cleared his throat. "I don't know, talking? Whatever you want."

Montserrat leaned towards him, her eyes narrowing a bit. "I have one condition."

"Anything."

"I get to borrow your grandmother's blanket again."

Rafael couldn't but laugh. "Of course."

"Then you have yourself a deal."

Author's Note:

Some angst but with a nice ending is always the best way to go right? Too bad it can't always be like that **le sigh.

As always, I have a tumblr account dedicated to my fanfic works! It's a place where anyone can comment about a story or even just talk to me! I often drop aesthetic work belonging to my stories too! Feel free to check it out, my URL is "saiilorstars"

For the review:

caitiebird: Wow, thank you soo much! I'm glad you like the story enough to do all that xD. Hopefully you were still able to get work done!