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saiilorstars · 4 months ago

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Ch. 62: The Little Big Words

Previous chapters // Montserrat’s masterlist

Fandom: SVU // Pairing: Rafael Barba x OC

Warnings: Due to the nature of the series’ plots, I do have to rate this as ‘mature’ for constant mentions of rape.

Taglist: @ocappreciationtag @arrthurpendragon @maaaaarveeeeel @stareyedplanet @averyhotchner @abzidabzy @hellofutur @foxesandmagic @xovalliegirlxo @sam-i–am @kmc1989 @midmourn @choosejoyangel @rebeccapineapple @duckybird101 @caplanbuckybarnes

[If you’d like to be added to this specific OC’s stories/edits, send me a message

"Didn't I say no working?" Montserrat thought it was too early to be this kind of mad but Rafael had found a way each day since they left the hospital. Each morning he would find a different way to do something he shouldn't be doing; today's attempt was trying to work on a case in the living room.

"Did you?" Rafael didn't even attempt to sound surprised by Montserrat's presence and reaction to him. He was flipping through pages on the couch.

Montserrat walked up behind the couch and reached over Rafael to take the papers out of his hands.

"Hey!" He went to reach for them when his side said absolutely not. "Ow…" he jerked back in place.

"It's like you want to be stupid on purpose," Montserrat shook her head at him. She skimmed a few of the lines on the first paper in her hands. "Wait, is this the Avery Jordan case we dealt with months ago?"

"Yeah," Rafael said, struggling to get up on his own. He refused to let Montserrat do that for him. She already did so much for him, this one was on him, one way or another.

"I've been so negligent keeping up with her," Montserrat said, scrunching her nose. "She's how far along now?"

"About 7 months," Rafael said, coming around the couch slowly. He was putting his best efforts not to place his hand over his injury. It had become like a custom that he really wanted to break. It would be less of a reminder of what happened. "Her trial's finally got a date."

"Finally," scoffed Montserrat. "Meanwhile, this woman's been living a constant hell."

"Which I'm trying to put an end to," Rafael said, plucking his papers out of Montserrat's hands. "But you won't let me."

"Nice try," Montserrat said, promptly taking back what he stole. "But you're not working until you get an 'all clear'. So put it away before I start hiding them."

"A challenge I'm more than willing to take."

"Stop," warned Montserrat, pointing at the stupid grin on Rafel's face. She hated it. He was smug at all hours and it was getting on her last nerve. Her scotch bottle was almost done and it had only been two weeks since she bought them.

"Buenos dias," Rafael said promptly, leaning over to place a kiss on her lips. "Breakfast?" He moved around her and headed for the kitchen.

"I hate you," Montserrat nodded to herself and followed after him, ignoring his very proud "No you don't".

It was an hour after breakfast — and more bickering about the things Rafael should and shouldn't be doing — that someone knocked on the door. Montserrat practically stalked up to the door and opened it up. The sight of the young waitress Clara took her by surprise.

"Clara?" Montserrat blinked at the woman.

Clara sheepishly waved. "Hi, morning. I'm sorry for being early — I have class later. Were you guys asleep?"

Montserrat scoffed. "Yeah, he's a bat," she said, nodding back to Rafael who rolled his eyes in response. "He doesn't sleep. Come in."

"Thanks." Clara walked in slowly, both hands on the top of her purse — a sign of nervousness. "How are you feeling?" She asked Rafael.

"Good, thanks," he replied, "I'm better than what everyone else thinks."

"Don't start," Montserrat warned him. She looked at Clara suddenly. "Are you going to stay here?"

"Uh, well, I suppose —"

"Great," Montserrat nodded, "Because I need a break."

"What?" Clara watched the redhead rush over to the coffee table to grab her purse.

"Thanks so much for this!" Montserrat exclaimed. "What do you say — 17.50 an hour?"

"Montserrat," Rafael deadpanned the woman he so called his girlfriend. The title was in jeopardy.

Montserrat stared at him thoughtfully then looked at Clara again. "For your trouble…$25.50."

"Huh?" Clara blinked.

"Montserrat!" exclaimed Rafael.

"Oh, pipe down," snapped Montserrat. "I need a break from you. Your mother was right. You're driving me nuts."

"As are you to me," Rafael promptly replied. "Have a nice break."

Montserrat smiled sarcastically sweetly at him. "Likewise." She left the place without looking back.

Clara watched after Montserrat, having no idea what just happened. "Um, are you guys okay?"

Rafael laughed. "Yeah, don't worry. She's right, we do need a break. We're driving each other insane."

Clara still had no idea what to make of that. "I thought you guys were good…?"

"We are," nodded Rafael, "We're not afraid to tell each other our truths. It's against our programming. She has a big mouth, I can't stop countering. Nothing else."

Clara nodded slowly. I guess that's a good kind of relationship…

She would decide later.

"So, what's going on?" Rafael asked her. "Are you okay?" He'd given Clara his address in case she needed something in the future. After what happened, he owed her a lot.

"Sort of," Clara said, moving along as he proposed to, "I stopped by the precinct taking care of your case."

Immediately, Rafael knew why Clara was there. He was eternally grateful Montserrat left.

Clara didn't notice his expression changing. She was too busy being confused. "And I spoke to Sergeant Benson. She said the case has gone cold."

"Yeah…" Rafael said slowly, calculating Clara as much as he could. He was sure the meds he was taking were causing him to be slower. He couldn't be exactly sure what Clara was going to say next.

"After she explained what that meant, I thought I should come see how you're doing with the news," Clara said, offering him a small smile.

It was fairly quick how much guilt settled on Rafael's shoulders. He already carried another load for lying to Montserrat about it. Up until now, all she knew was that the case was simply going slow. He offered Olivia the chance to tell Montserrat himself that the case was "officially" a cold case.

"I'm…I'm okay," he told Clara. "You don't have to worry about me, Clara. I'm sure you have a lot more things to worry about given your career choice. Lots of exams…?" He looked at Clara until she smiled.

"Midterms," she corrected.

"There we go. You have enough on your plate."

Clara's shoulders rose together. "Maybe but I can't just forget about this either. You're sort of like my first real patient. It's my duty to make sure you're feeling okay."

"I appreciate the sentiment, and believe me you have done your obligations with me. I'm still here." Rafael smiled when Clara chuckled. She seemed far younger when she did. It was nice. "Look, you should just focus on your midterms and your work. I'm okay."

Clara wasn't entirely convinced. "But can't they do anything else about this?"

"I will be looking into it," Rafael lied swiftly and easily. "But if you need anything else from me, please feel free to call or stop by. Montserrat told me you're not working at the coffee shop, anymore?"

Clara shook her head, smiling sadly. "Too traumatic. I got a job at a little restaurant two blocks from there. Maybe you'd like to stop by. It's Chinese."

Rafael chuckled. "You don't say? We love that."

Clara chuckled. "Yeah, well, you can stop by anytime you'd like."

"We will," Rafael promised, "Once I'm out of house arrest." As it turned out, Montserrat was a lot stricter than he previously thought.

~0~

Montserrat picked at the plate in front of her, making a mental note to pick up strawberries before leaving. Across from her, Kara laughed at Montserrat's unfortunate tales.

"It's really not funny," Montserrat said, picking up her fork to try the pasta Sonny had graciously made for them for lunch.

"It's funny that you thought this wouldn't happen," Kara said with a shrug. "You've been staying with Rafael for, what, a week?"

"Two weeks,"Montserrat corrected. "Two weeks straight and I discovered we are complete opposites. He is a morning person — a very early person — and I'm normal. He likes his coffee as black as the frikin night and I'm…normal."

Kara laughed again. They even heard Sonny laugh to himself in the kitchen.

"Shut up, Carisi," called Montserrat, leaning back in her seat, "And where's the sides you promised?"

"Oh calm down," Kara waved a hand at her best friend to get her attention. "You're just learning more about Rafael."

"Well if he doesn't stop showing me so many new things about him, I might kill him," Montserrat said, scrunching her nose.

Kara laughed, even more delighted now that Sonny was coming around with a fresh new serving of pasta. "You should follow my lead," Kara said to Montserrat, "Mine just likes to cook."

Montserrat rolled her eyes. Kara grinned up at Sonny and happily accepted his kiss.

"Hey genius," Montserrat called, "your boyfriend's about to spill blazing hot pasta on your lap."

The way Sonny was holding the sizzling pan was indeed threatening to drop the pasta on Kara's lap.

"Whoops! Sorry, doll," Sonny said, quickly dumping the pasta on Kara's plate. "Little distracted…"

"I'll say," Montserrat shook her head. "Can I get more for take out? I need to bring Rafael something back."

"Thought he was pissing you off," Kara reminded.

"He is," Montserrat nodded. "But he still needs to eat."

Kara had to laugh. "You're ridiculous. Both of you. But you do have to learn how to live with each other if you're actually living together."

"We're not living together," Montserrat said quickly, sounding defensive about it too. "I'm just staying with him until he's okay."

"So you're coming back?"

Montserrat deadpanned her best friend for a long minute. "Please, try to be more disappointed about it."

Kara chuckled.

Sonny came back around with a to-go dish for Montserrat. "I think Kara's right," he said, ignoring Montserrat muttering 'of course'. "You need to learn how to live together. It's very different from just staying the night to being together for 2 weeks straight."

Montserrat's shoulders slumped. "I guess." Her hand tugged at a few of her curls. "I don't know, I guess I'm just not used to this kind of stuff anymore. Plus, none of my boyfriends have ever been shot before. I'm still coming down from that whole experience."

Sonny and Kara agreed with that statement.

"You said you talked to Olivia today, no?" Kara asked.

Montserrat nodded, her whole demeanor changing again. "I went before coming here." She let out a long sigh. "The case has gone cold."

Kara's eyes widened and she immediately looked at Sonny. The latter nodded. "That's terrible," Kara gawked. "Why?"

"The guy never showed his face and neither Rafael nor Clara can identify anything special about him," Montserrat explained. Her fork went in circles in her pasta. "Liv said they're trying but there's only so much we can do, right?"

"We are trying," Sonny assured her. "Sooner or later we'll get something."

Montserrat managed a little smile. What would she do without her partner? "Anyways, I should just focus on making sure Rafael's okay in the meantime." And learn how to manage my overall anxiety. Montserrat supposed those were really big things she should work towards.

~0~

Montserrat's trip to SVU was a complete bust since Olivia had not been around and no one else seemed to know what was going on, she didn't blame them. They were short staffed again and with new cases coming in every day. On her way back, she got a call from her father asking her to come over. When she tried to explain she was heading back to Rafael's place, her father insisted that it would just be for a moment. Either Montserrat went over, or he would find a way to her instead.

Montserrat arrived within fifteen minutes at her father's home after that. She certainly wasn't expecting to find her brother there as well, along with her two nieces.

"Don't look at me, he was just babysitting," Gael said when Montserrat threw the idea that this had been a set up. Of course when her five year old niece Ivannah came running up to her, Montserrat forgot all about it in favor of the little girl.

"Auntie Montse! You're here!" Ivannah very easily jumped into her aunt's arms.

Montserrat laughed lightly at the excited girl. "Well, if everyone greeted me like this, I wouldn't mind."

"What, your new boyfriend is tired of you already?" Gael smirked.

Montserrat deadpanned her older brother, keeling her not so nice words to herself solely for the five year old in the room. "Dad, what is this?"

"It's just a coincidence, I promise," Thomas said with his hands raised in front of him. "He stopped by with the girls afterwards."

"Yeah! Are you going to stay with us and grandpa!?" Ivannah bounced in Montserrat's arms to get the woman's attention.

"Uh, no sweetie, sorry," Montserrat gave a light pat on Ivannah's back. "I've got to head back soon. Dad, what did you need?"

"You weren't answering your phone…" Thomas said, giving his daughter a sharp look. "I got worried."

"I'm sorry. I've been a bit busy," Montserrat said, "But we're okay. Rafael's doing better now. He just…can't move a lot…"

"Would he be okay if we visited some time?" Thomas saw the way his daughter stiffened, alarmed with his question.

"What?" Montserrat was speechless.

Gael laughed at her. "You're that afraid we'll embarrass you, huh?"

Montserrat sent her brother another glare. "Shut it!"

"Dad, can you stop being so mean to aunt Montserrat?" Juliana walked out from the hallway. She came straight to Montserrat and hugged her aunt. "Hi auntie."

"Hi there sweetheart," Montserrat greeted the teenager with a warm smile. "How are you?"

"Okay," Juliana shrugged.

Montserrat playfully rolled her eyes — it was the universal teenage response. "What about Abby?"

"We joined Key Club," Juliana said, "Getting volunteer hours. It looks great on college applications."

"That's great. Are you two—"

"Is it true you have a boyfriend now?" Juliana cut her aunt right off.

Montserrat blinked at the girl then went back to glaring at Gael. "You really have the biggest mouth in the world — no, galaxy."

Gael smirked. "You told dad I was dating Marlene Forbes!"

"Settle down you two," Thomas said, motioning his children to stop yelling.

"So, aunt Montse, do you have a boyfriend?" Juliana asked again, more curious than ever.

Montserrat sighed and gave in. "Yes. Thanks to your dad, I bet the whole of New York knows it by now."

"Give me half an hour," Gael said with a mischievous grin.

"Dad," Montserrat called, leading Gael to snicker.

"Go sit down," Thomas ordered the two. "And give me my granddaughter before you influence her the wrong way."

"No! I want to stay with my aunt Montse!" Ivannah clung her arms around Montserrat's neck.

Montserrat walked over to the couch and sat down with Ivannah on her lap. Juliana scurried to her aunt's side and plopped down on her knees.

"So who is it!?" She leaned on Montserrat's arm, absolutely eager to find out the answer. "Do we know him!? Is he a stranger!? Where'd you meet!?"

"You seem a bit too knowledgeable here," Montserrat remarked and gently pushed Juliana back. "Maybe you should tell us if you're seeing anyone."

"Not until she's 30," Gael said promptly. Juliana rolled her eyes at her father. "And in all seriousness, Montserrat, I'm happy to hear Rafael's doing better. Also glad he's the one you're dating."

Montserrat scoffed. "Please, you just like him because he put up the 5 grand for your bail."

"Not true," Gael said, shrugging. "It's a contributing factor but not a big one. I like his attitude."

"I honestly don't know if that's a good or bad thing," Montserrat said, shaking her head.

"Wait," Juliana said suddenly, scrunching her nose, "I remember that guy. He works with you and aunt Casey. He used to make you mad a lot."

Montserrat scoffed again. "'Used to'? He still does. Eighty percent of the time."

"Bet that's what he says about you." Gael walked up to Montserrat and gently took his daughter out of her arms to carry her himself. "The guy gets s-h-o-t and you're the nurse? Poor guy."

"Gael!" Montserrat exclaimed.

"Oh my God," Juliana made a horrified face, "Aunt Montse, is he okay?"

Montserrat shot her brother a look for his loose lips. "You want to keep going while your daughters are here?"

Gael motioned Juliana to head for the hallway. He then set Ivannah down and told her to go wash her hands for dinner.

"No, wait," Juliana said despite getting up from the couch, "Aunt Montse, is your boyfriend okay?"

"Yes, thankfully yes," Montserrat assured her.

"But was he like, shot-shot…?" Juliana leaned closer to her aunt's side, "As in like a lot of blood and—"

"Juliana, go help your sister wash her hands, now," Gael ordered her.

Juliana rolled her eyes. "As if I won't find out sooner or later," she told Gael before ushering Ivannah into the hallway.

"Great going," Montserrat turned on her brother, "You and your big mouth."

"It slipped," Gael frowned. "You think I wanted my daughter to know that somebody went and shot your boyfriend?"

"I'd believe you if you didn't keep saying it out loud!"

Gael raised his hands in front of him. Montserrat shook her head at him.

"I need to get back," Montserrat said, "Dad?"

"Yeah! Here!" Thomas made way to the kitchen. Montserrat glanced at her brother helplessly then followed after Thomas. He had come up to the kitchen counter where a paper bag stood. "I know that you're probably stressed and still coming out from all that's happened so I thought you could take some ready-to-go meals."

"What?" Montserrat blinked. Thomas motioned her to take a look inside the bag. When she did, she saw a couple trays with sweet smelling food inside, many of which she recognized from when she was a child. "Dad, you made all these?"

"I had the time," Thomas smiled at her, "And I figured that's what you don't have right now. Take 'em."

"Where's my cooked dinner?" grumbled Gael.

"Oh be quiet," Thomas said, "Your sister needs the help. And listen," he looked at Montserrat, "When Rafael is all better, I think it would be great if we could all sit down over some dinner."

"Oh, Dad…" Montserrat breathed in, "That's…that's a while away…"

"I know," Thomas said, assuring her that he didn't intend on that dinner being tomorrow. "But I want you to have the idea in your head so it's not a complete surprise when I force you to do it later on."

Montserrat's smile waned the more her father went on about their future plans. She couldn't be more grateful when he has to go tend to a phone call from work. Only then was she able to breathe again…until Gael spoke up.

"What's with you?" He eyed Montserrat's demeanor with bemusement. "Don't tell me you're that nervous about dinner?"

"No, I — it's not that," Montserrat sighed. "I can't believe I'm going to tell you this." And even then it took her another minute to be able to explain. "Rafael and I are in a bit of a…struggle."

"Struggle how?"

"Struggle as in we are close to not standing each other," Montserrat said, her face scrunching, "He is getting on my last nerves. He's as stubborn as they come. He doesn't want to stop working, he doesn't want to take his medication when he should and he wants to keep moving around when he should be resting. I'm so close to grabbing duct tape."

Gael smiled for a moment before the laugh won out. Montserrat did not appreciate it.

"I shouldn't have told you anything," she muttered. She moved to leave Gael alone but he grabbed her arm and gently pushed her back to her place.

"It's just funny," he told her, "Because I bet that's exactly what he's saying about you right now."

"Me?" Montserrat pointed at herself, indignant of such an accusation. "Why? I'm helping him."

"Except by the way you describe him, and the little that I know about him, it sounds like he's the kind of person who doesn't like help. He's not used to it."

Montserrat lowered her head. Those were some familiar thoughts she had herself a while back. It just went to hell when Rafael was shot and he was close to death.

"Montserrat, ever think of just being a bit more laid back nurse?"

"I can't be laid back with this," she argued, "He has a bullet wound, Gael. He just can't do some stuff. Period."

"Okay, but working from home isn't exactly lethal—"

"Physically no but mentally?"

"Have you ever considered that without his work, all Rafael has on his to-do list is think about what happened to him?" Gael knew the answer as his sister ducked her head. "What happened to him was pretty traumatic. I bet he doesn't want to think about it so he wants to bury himself in work."

"I don't want him to think about that stuff either," Montserrat mumbled. She more than anyone knew how moments like those could consume the mind.

"Find alternatives," Gael suggested, "And just take it easy. Coddling is no good either. Bet you would have less stress too if you weren't such a stickler right now."

Montserrat deadpanned her brother. "Gael."

"Living together is no joke. You have to compromise somewhere," Gael patted Montserrat's arm.

"We're not living together, I'm just…staying over until he's okay…"

"So you're living together right now," Gael concluded, "Compromise is key. Trust me."

Montserrat felt like she had no choice, not when Gael made sense. Maybe her nurse-mode was too strong right now and that's not what Rafael needed right now. He certainly didn't need the constant bickering.

"Thanks, Gael," she ultimately said to her brother. For once, he was just helping her out.

"Anytime," Gael said, "I already told you I like the guy and not—" he pointed at Montserrat, "—because he helped complete my bail money. Think it's about damn time someone puts you in your place every so often." Montserrat shoved him back, but no one could deny the smile that marked her face. Gael fixed his crinkled shirt with a laugh. "Just saying."

"Well stop saying more stuff," Montserrat playfully berated him and after a moment she added: "But thanks for your help."

Gael nodded and brought a hand over Montserrat's arm. "Of course. And I can't wait for that dinner."

"Mm," Montserrat's brow raised. "That's still up in the air." She patted her brother's cheek and side stepped around him.

~0~

On the way back to Rafael's, Montserrat couldn't stop thinking about her guilt. She felt absolutely horrible by the time she unlocked the door. She stepped inside quietly, immediately scoping the living room out. She didn't immediately see Rafael so she placed the bag of food on the coffee table. Rafael came out of the kitchen with a mug in hand soon after that.

"Hey, you're back," he remarked, his smirk widened and present, "Get your break? What, too short?"

Montserrat felt her stomach churn. You're horrible. She felt horrible. "I-I'm sorry, I'll be right back." She hurried into the hallway, leaving Rafael puzzled.

Had he said something wrong? For some reason, he felt like he needed to go check on her.

~0~

Montserrat had dumped her bag on the dresser and paced back and forth for a bit. "Calm down, calm down, you're making things worse!" She hit her head with her hands and forced herself to stop. "Get changed, and go out and talk."

She needed to follow her own advice before things got worse. Things couldn't get worse. She couldn't ruin things, not when her feelings had grown tenfold.

Her heart already hurt just thinking that she could end up pushing Rafael away from her. Was this self sabotage?

Dr. Weslin had already mentioned that a little after Montserrat admitted to being in a new relationship. Self-sabotage was a form of escapism in which victims often tried hard to push away people for fear that things wouldn't work out for them.

"No, no, no, no," Montserrat told herself over and over. She headed for her drawer and pulled out a t-shirt for sleep, along with a pair of pants. She set them both on top of the dresser then grabbed her own shirt from the bottom. She was pulling the strap of her bra when the bedroom door opened.

Rafael had come inside to check in on Montserrat. She whirled away from him, clutching her shirt against her chest.

"Montserrat! Sorry!" In his attempt to turn away immediately, Rafael felt his side communicate once again that he wasn't ready for which movements. "Argh!" His hand moved over his side while the other sustained his balance on the doorknob.

Montserrat instinctively turned back to now see his back, hunched over with his injuries. "Raf — what's wrong!?"

"Fine! Fine!" He waved a hand at her to stay put. "I'm sorry for coming in without knocking. I thought — you seemed upset — I didn't know —"

Montserrat felt her face warm up and quickly turned herself away from him. "It's my fault," she muttered.

"What? No it's not, you're…" Rafael looked over his shoulder and saw Montserrat had turned away again. He was going to do the same, by God he really was, but something on her back caught his eye.

At first glance it would be like a normal mark on skin — almost an odd birthmark — but with his experience he knew well enough that it wasn't the case. And he just couldn't help it. The instinct to protect overwhelmed him…along with a familiar anger.

"Montserrat, what's that on your back?" Even when her back was to him, Rafael saw the way Montserrat's body stiffened.

"I-I need to get changed now," she said, or rather sounded like she was pleading with him to forget about it.

Rafael couldn't do that — they would literally have to finish the job and kill him for that to happen.

Montserrat let out a light gasp when she felt a finger gently graze her lower back. Rafael had come up behind her to see the mark better.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" He asked quietly.

Montserrat wasn't sure if it was better that he didn't sound angry at her for it because the alternative was that he felt sorry for her. She swallowed hard. "It wasn't important to any of our conversations…you already know what happened…"

"But this is different — this is a literal scar from…from what?" Rafael didn't want to think about the movements that led to such a mark on Montserrat's skin. It was medium-sized and oddly shaped like whatever Montserrat was pressed against had been broken in some way and ended up in a sharp piece. The pain of something like that had to have been unbearable…

"There really is no point in discussing it anymore," Montserrat said, raising her arms to bring her shirt over her head.

Rafael was incredibly sorry for it but he pulled her arms down. He couldn't just let it go, not this time. "Montserrat," his voice was stern, "what is this?"

"It's just a mark, what else?" Montserrat whirled around, clutching her shirt to her chest. "None of that experience was pleasurable. Did you think a scar would be?" As soon as the words left her mouth and she heard them, she knew she'd been harsh.

Yet, Rafael didn't look the least bit phased by her attitude. He seemed used to that kind of stuff, and he was. It just made Montserrat feel even worse.

Instead of speaking, his fingers hooked under her chin and tilted her head up at him. Her breath hitched when his other hand came around her bare back, stopping precisely over her scar. His hand dropped from her chin as he pressed his forehead against hers, eyes shut.

Montserrat felt herself calm with his warmth against her. Her eyes fluttered close the more she focused on them and their closeness. It didn't even matter the way she was, her hard attitude — Rafael made her forget about it all. And without even having to speak too.

His talent is undeniable. She felt herself start to smile.

"You're okay," Rafael finally spoke a few minutes later, his voice quiet and soft. "You're here with me. You're safe."

Montserrat opened her eyes to see him already looking at her. The fondness in his eyes almost made her break down there and then.

Rafael offered her a little smile of encouragement. Believe me, he said. "There's no more danger." Not on his watch. He'd take another bullet for her anytime, anywhere.

Montserrat actually felt an ache in her heart when his fingers lifted off her back. She longed for his touch again, even if it was over the scars she would rather forget about. He could make even that seem pointless.

"I'm going to get you something to drink, okay?" Rafael said, giving her a small kiss on her cheek. "Just relax and finish getting changed."

Montserrat nodded silently and watched him step back until he turned to leave. Something was caught in her throat and the fact he was about to leave her made it feel even more urgent. His touch, his wordless help, his fondness and his care — she wanted all that. She wanted him.

"I love you," the words tumbled out of her mouth.

Rafael froze in his spot. The first thing that popped into his head was the blaring idea that he had absolutely heard wrong. Those little words — those little big words — had been a long lost notion to him. The last person who said that to him had promised so many things with that confession and in the end, she left him aside for an allegedly better man.

But the stretching silence helped warm him up to the idea that he wasn't insane. He had heard right which meant Montserrat was waiting for him to react. Silence probably wasn't viewed as a good lead.

He turned around and met her nervous eyes. She felt nervous and almost sick standing in her spot, still clutching her shirt to her chest. She was at her most vulnerable, and yet she'd somehow mustered the courage to say words she didn't think she would ever be able to say again.

Without saying anything, Rafael strode back (as much as he could in his condition) and slid his hands over Montserrat's cheeks to kiss her. He tilted her head up to deepen their kiss, not wanting her to get away for anything.

Montserrat wouldn't consider such a thing. She brought an arm around Rafael's neck, pulling him down. At the same time, Rafael lowered a hand down to her waist, his fingers pressing against her sides. Little by little, they traveled around her back until they splayed against her skin. Everything about her was so soft and warm — it was a whole temptation that Rafael wasn't sure he could resist.

He parted from her lips enough to speak but kept his forehead pressed against hers. "I love you too," he whispered.

Montserrat's breath hitched. Her heart raced about a thousand beats in just a minute. "You mean that?"

Rafael smiled at her. "Yes."

There was a moment where Montserrat wondered if this was real. "I'm — are you sure?"

Rafael had to laugh. "Yes. Why do you keep asking?"

"Because I've been so mean," Montserrat sighed, drawing away from him.

"Mean?" Rafael gave her a look. "What are you talking about?" He was close to laughing.

With a sigh, Montserrat pulled her t-shirt over her head to finish getting dressed. "I've been snarky and just plain ole mean to you while you're, you know…" She made a gesture at his side. "I'm sorry."

As much as Rafael wanted to laugh, and he did, the fact Montserrat looked pretty serious about the matter left him confused. "Again, what are you talking about? I'm okay. I know I'm a pain in the ass. Frankly, I'm surprised you've lasted this long without murdering me."

"Raf, I'm being serious," Montserrat crossed her arms. "You're hurt. I'm supposed to be helping you—"

"And you are," Rafael said, smiling out of sheer confusion. "You're doing more than you should. I told you from the start that you didn't even have to stay with me."

"Don't say crazy stuff," Montserrat rolled her eyes at him.

"Then you shouldn't either," Rafael countered, "Do you know why I like you so much? Why I love you so much?"

Montserrat faltered. "Why…?"

"Because I can't get enough of your personality. Where I'm mean — and I am mean — you're more. You always have something to say, especially when I say something first. You don't let me get away with anything. You keep me on my toes and I love that."

"You do?"

Rafael felt like this was a conversation they already had at some point. "Yeah, why wouldn't I? It would be boring if this was just one sided." He gently tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Where is this coming from?"

Montserrat drew in a small breath. "Just…thinking…" She gave a light shrug of her shoulders. "I felt awful for how I left this morning. I was so mean and—"

"Tired? You've been taking care of me non-stop. I assume you're tired, Montse. You're right. You need breaks. No one in their right mind could be my nurse and survive…except for you."

"Oh, shut up…"

"It's true. You're the only one who can handle me and keep me in my place," Rafael insisted, grinning. "You might find this hard to believe but there are women out there who think I'm a little scary."

Montserrat laughed on the spot. "You don't say?"

"Yeah, I don't get it…" Rafael shrugged, "But in truth, I'm scared of you."

"Stop," Montserrat pointed at him, barely holding her next laugh in. "You're trying to be funny with me."

"Not right now, promise. It's just the truth. This would be a very difficult relationship if things weren't so easy."

"You think this is all easy?"

Rafael chuckled. "For the most part, yeah. I didn't have that before — now I know what it's like and I can't get enough of it. You gotta believe me here." He took Montserrat's hands in his and squeezed them. "Do I need to make a case or something?"

Montserrat scoffed. "Nu-uh, you're not going to use me as an excuse to keep working."

"Well then I hope it stuck now," Rafael said, gently tugging her close to him. "Would you like some dinner then?"

Montserrat nodded. "I'd like that." She made to leave but Rafael pulled her right back into a kiss. Her squeak barely made it out before his lips crashed against hers.

It took her a second to catch up with him and even then Rafael was in control. She felt his fingers subtly creep under her shirt, gently crawling around her back. He'd found a new favorite place for sure and she didn't have any protest. She could stay like that forever…

But she also needed air.

She parted slightly, taking in an immediate breath, and blinked up at him. "Dinner?"

Rafael remembered his idea and had no choice but to nod. "Yeah." He pulled his hands off Montserrat and passed a few fingers through her hair. "Are you okay?"

Montserrat gave a nod of her head. "I will be now."

Rafael loved to hear that. "I love you."

Montserrat felt her heart skip. She bit her bottom lip, growing excited in just a few seconds. "I love you too." The words were such a novelty to her that she wanted to say them over and over, get her tongue used to them.

Rafael could see the joy practically radiate from Montserrat's eyes. He always wanted to see that, no matter what the reason was. She deserved to be happy. No one had any right to take that feeling away from her, not her happiness nor her sense of security.

#ocapp #fd: svu #svu #rafael barba fics #rafael barba imagines #rafael barba x oc #rafael barba imagine #rafael barba fanfic #rafael barba fanfiction #svu fics #svu imagines #svu fic #svu fanfiction #svu imagine #rafael barba fic #oc: montserrat novak #fic: dare to forget me #ochub #allaboutocs

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moonchildsthoughts · 2 months ago

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@choosejoyangel 🤍 this is for you.

I wish you the happiest birthday, lots of love, many hugs, health, kind people, hope for a bright future, and much more. I wish for your dreams to come true. Thank you for all the love in our conversations and in general. It's nice having you here. Have a lovely day, and celebrate yourself. You deserve it 🫂❄️🫶🏼

With love and hugs 💖🌺✨️

#happy birthday #🩷#love #💖#with love #🫂#enjoy your day #🫶🏼#moodboard #aesthetic #winter #beautiful winter #winter love #❄️#moodboard aesthetic #winter moodboard #winter aesthetic #❄️❄️❄️

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choosejoyangel · 3 months ago

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Someone to Live For

When I ask myself

How it is no surprise

That what they have escaped from

They welcome here with open arms

And I shy away

Pulling my hand away from the flames

What gets them high as a kite

Is pulling me under

My foot is stuck in the coral

Of the deep, dark ocean

That is calling my name

My heart weighted down

For me to swim ashore on my own

No, not anymore

It is hard to believe

That a just world is obtainable

When pitchforks become the norm

Seeking solace in ruins

And the artificial grass is greener

Than the stars in the sky that shine

For you and I

Are dancing together

On a broken record player

Playing the same old song

Do you like it?

I heard it is your favorite

Trying our best to please

The needle drags us around and around

Bearing witness to of what was

And what will be

As long the music plays

God takes a backseat

To the clowns

Wearing makeup to blend in

The devil laughs as drinks are shared

From the well of poison

As time goes by

So much for freedom

Your hand waits for me

Pulling me into your arms

Someday

We will matter more than fifteen minutes

Someday

We will matter more than surprises come October

To the clowns

Wearing makeup to blend in

The devil laughs as drinks are shared

From the well of poison

You and I

With hope and prayers

That we never forget the land

That made us to fly

As we dance together

Surrounded by clipped wings

Tarred and feathered

Spent matches on the floor

As we continue to dance together

We cry ourselves to sleep

And awake to bitter coffee

Finding a silver lining when our soul smiles

Somewhere

You are waiting for me

My hands grip you tightly

And the flowers rain on us

I am in love with someone to live for

In a world on fire

Selfish is much of humankind

For worshipping the golden calf

Hurt people hurt people

Ducking the stones as they fly

For the fifteen minutes they are high

And I am sober and numb

To the clowns

Wearing makeup to blend in

The devil laughs as drinks are shared

From the well of poison

Peace and solitude

It is there for you and me

And for all of the souls

Who weep for freedom

#thoughts #choosejoyangel #my writing #🖤

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moonchildsthoughts · 1 month ago

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@choosejoyangel & @noellez-best-life23 especially you both 🫶🏼

But I love every single one of you all 💖

REBLOG THIS IF YOU THINK THAT YOUR INTERNET FRIENDS DESERVE THE WORLD AND EVERYTHING BEYOND THAT.

#mutuals 🫶🏼

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saiilorstars · 6 months ago

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Ch. 61: What Comes After...

Previous chapters // Montserrat’s masterlist

Fandom: SVU // Pairing: Rafael Barba x OC

Warnings: Due to the nature of the series’ plots, I do have to rate this as ‘mature’ for constant mentions of rape.

[If you’d like to be added to this specific OC’s stories/edits, send me a message

"Just be careful. Slow steps, okay?" Montserrat guided Rafael into his apartment.

"I got it," he muttered for the third time since they walked into the building. The only reason he didn't yell is because he physically couldn't do it without bursting his stitches and, well, it was Montserrat. She got lucky on both sides and she knew it.

And she knew it too.

It wasn't like she was doing it entirely on purpose. She was just so ecstatic to have him out of the hospital and on the road to recovery.

"Welcome home," Montserrat said, truly content. For the first time in a long time, she felt like she could actually breathe. She had to kiss Rafael on the spot, just to solidify the fact that they were home and together.

Rafael could feel her anxiety. It didn't help his state at all. "You need to relax, Montserrat. Please." He cupped the side of her face. "I'm the one on meds but you're the one freaking out."

"Can you blame me?" Montserrat said, bringing her hands over his shoulder. "You've gone through the ringer these past days."

"I'm good," Rafael insisted. "You might be the one who needs a rest."

Montserrat shook her head. "No, I'm good. I'm just going to head to the precinct to grab some of my stuff and the paperwork piling on my desk. If I can, I'll talk to Olivia about your case—"

"No," said Rafael immediately, "Because I asked you to keep your admittedly nice nose out of it."

Montserrat deadpanned him for a couple seconds before smiling. "Thank you for the backhanded compliment, but I still want to know."

"You are not allowed to know, my dear, because you're my girlfriend. Did you forget that?"

"Nooo, but I can still ask as your girlfriend and not a detective."

"All you do is keep talking and twisting my words and I don't like it."

"Why not? That's literally your job. I'm just learning from you."

"Oh," Rafael laughed very lightly as it still hurt his side, "You're learning from me now?"

"Mhm," nodded Montserrat, beginning to smile as she battled a laugh. "Aren't you proud of me?"

"You are something else," Rafael shook his head at her, simply loving the moment now. He reached a hand over to take Montserrat's hand, using his hold to bring her up to him.

Montserrat had no problem with that. Any chance she had to be close to him was like God's gift. He brought his hand to her cheek, his fingers brushing over her skin.

"Can I ask you something?" Rafael said in the moment.

"Anything at this point," Montserrat blurted, then laughed with a flushed face.

Rafael pulled his hand off her cheek then took one of Montserrat's hands. At first, she basked in their continuing touch. A couple minutes later, she realized he was studying her – her hand.

"What are you—?"

"Have you gone to therapy recently?"

The question came out of nowhere for Montserrat. "What?"

Rafael hated to have to ask her this but just seeing her hands pained him. Her fingers were practically destroyed with how much she'd been picking at her skin. "Montserrat, you know I don't stick my nose into that part of your life. I listen whenever you want to share about those sessions and I'm okay with that, but this…?" He raised her hand between then, moving his fingers around hers to show what he was talking about. "This right here tells me you've been neglecting that – you've been neglecting yourself."

"You're crazy. I just haven't had time recently," Montserrat said, pulling her hand out of his.

"So when is the last time you went?" Rafael asked, making it a point that he would wait to hear her accurate answer.

Montserrat did not like it one bit. He was right. She was so used to him not directly asking her about her therapy sessions, only making it his point to make her aware that he would listen and talk with her about those sessions whenever she wanted to.

"I'll go soon," she said with a shrug.

"'Soon' is not an appointment," Rafael replied, knowing word tricks very well.

"What, you want me to make the call right in front of you or something?"

"I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to," Rafael said, "I think we're way past beating around the bush here. I'm so sorry that my situation made you feel bad enough to do that to yourself."

"Don't say that—"

"I'm saying that you need to take care of yourself. Don't stop for anyone, not even for me."

"You were shot," Montserrat said unusually hard, all shyness and smiles gone. "Don't you stand there and tell me that I shouldn't have stopped doing anything because you don't know what it felt like when I got that call! You don't know what I felt not knowing whether or not you were going to make it!"

"Okay, okay, that's not what I meant," Rafael cut in quickly, seeing Montserrat getting worked up. Ironically, this is exactly what he meant about neglecting herself. She was clearly more anxious than usual, more easily anxious.

"I'm sorry," Montserrat took a long breath. "I'll give you one point because I haven't been sleeping well."

"I figured, but you realize this is very important. It's important to you and it's important to me. Por favor," Rafael cupped her face, "Please, start taking care of yourself again."

The last thing Montserrat wanted to do right now was argue, and especially over something that she knew he was right about. "Okay," she relented, "I-I know I've ignored some things, I'll start focusing again."

"Thank you," Rafael said, pressing a gentle kiss on her lips.

"What if I don't go to the precinct today and instead go to the store to buy some things for dinner?"

"Tempting…" Rafael said, beginning to smile again.

"And then we can turn in early," Montserrat finished, "I think we can both use it."

"Yeah." Rafael at the memory of the stupid hospital bed he was confined in just earlier. He was already a terrible sleeper and that bed was made of bricks. It had to be. "I can go with you—"

"Absolutely not," Montserrat wagged a finger at him. "You want me to take care of myself? I'm going to ask that you do the same. You have stitches and you're on medication, so you're taking it easy. That means no work, no excessive walking and definitely no alcohol."

"Yes, ma'am," Rafael said, giving a mock salute. "Not like I can beat you to the door or cabinets anyways."

Montserrat chuckled. "No you can't," she teased. She was about to give him another kiss when someone knocked on the door. "You expecting anyone?"

"Yeah, because I definitely invited people over in my spectacular condition," Rafael retorted, smirking when Montserrat deadpanned him.

"...you're lucky you're on medication," Montserrat muttered after nearly losing the battle against the urge to smack him. She turned and headed for the door. When she opened it, she found Lucia and Catalina on the other side. "Hi!" Montserrat greeted them slightly louder than planned, completely thrown off guard.

Lucia barely gave an audible greeting. "Hello," she said rather coldly on her way in, which she didn't exactly wait to do.

Montserrat glanced just as Lucia walked past her. "Hi…" She was sure that Lucia either ignored her or walked by too fast (on purpose) to hear it.

"Hola," Catalina said sweetly, in turn. She reached a hand on Montserrat's arm, giving the woman a gentle squeeze. "How are you?"

Something about Catalina just seemed to ease Montserrat's nerves. Montserrat had noticed it these past few days while Rafael was in the hospital. The elder woman was just so sweet and kind — nurturing. Montserrat was very aware of the lack of female nurture in her life but…she just couldn't find it in her to put boundaries. Catalina was not her grandmother nor anything of the sort. She had her own grandmothers, one in Slovakia and the other…in an unknown location.

"How'd you know I was out of the hospital already?" Rafael asked his mother who'd already sat him down on the couch.

"I called the hospital," Lucia replied. She threw a quick, brief glance in Montserrat's direction. "That's the only way I would find out, of course."

Montserrat pursed her lips together. There was the first jab. There were sure to be others on the way.

Rafael glared at his mother. "I just got out an hour ago. Both of us were a little busy to call straight away."

"Mhm," Lucia disregarded the explanation. "Ya comiste? Did you eat already?"

"We just got here," Montserrat said. She helped Catalina come in and saw Lucia giving her a sour smile. After that, Montserrat figured there was no point in talking much. Her voice alone seemed to irritate Lucia.

"Lo sabía, I knew it," Lucia went straight into the kitchen.

"Don't listen to her," Catalina whispered to Montserrat. Of course it was impossible for Montserrat. How could she not listen?

"Mamá," Rafael wanted to go after Lucia but it was such a challenge getting up from the sofa.

"Sit down," Montserrat warned him, knowing what he wanted to do.

"I forgot my bag downstairs," Lucia came out of the kitchen shaking her head. "I'll be right back." Once again, she ignored her son's call. Rafael suspected she was taking advantage of the fact he couldn't keep up with her at the moment. He didn't expect anything else from her.

"Maybe I should go do some grocery shopping right now," Montserrat said, keeping her sigh as quiet as possible. She helped Catalina walk over to the couch, helping her sit down beside Rafael. "I don't think she'll want me around."

"You do not have to run out of here," Rafael told her, reaching towards her arm. "I will talk to her right now and get this fixed."

Montserrat chuckled. "There's nothing to fix here. Your mother hates me. That's my fault. I messed up."

"It's not your fault," Rafael said slowly. His eyes kept flickering down to Montserrat's hands — more precisely her fingers. Another suspicion he had was his mother's role in Montserrat's anxiety levels rising.

"Lucia's always been more hot-headed. No le hagas caso. Don't worry about her," Catalina said, offering another sweet smile towards Montserrat. The latter appreciated it.

"It's fine. I had to go do those errands anyways," Montserrat insisted. "She's probably one of the few people I can trust to take care of you. I'll be back soon, okay?"

It was a sticky situation no matter what Rafael chose to do. He did tell Montserrat to go take care of herself and one of those errands was (hopefully) her taking time to herself. On the other hand, she was now going to use that time to practically run away from his mother.

Montserrat could see the cogs working in head and chuckled. "I'm okay," she reiterated to him, "Call me if anything happens or if you need anything."

Rafael had no choice but to agree. He squeezed Montserrat's hand. Montserrat smiled as he gave a gentle kiss on the back of her hand. It was ridiculous what that one gesture did to her — it was something she missed dearly.

She cupped his face, smiling softly. Certain words wanted to slip out but she bit her tongue to make sure that didn't happen. She settled for placing a simple kiss on his lips. "I'll be back soon," she promised, then straightened up. She looked at Catalina and before she even asked, Catalina knew.

"I'll keep an eye on him."

Montserrat thanked her for it and grabbed her things to go. She had only been gone for a few minutes when Lucia walked back in.

"She left," she said in a musing way, like she'd known that would inevitably happen, and went back to the kitchen. It just irked Rafael more.

As much as it physically pained him, he pulled himself up from the couch (ignoring Catalina's calm warning).

"You don't have anything," Lucia remarked as she went hunting through the cabinets.

"Montserrat actually went to go do some shopping," Rafael said, watching how his mother reacted to the information. Montserrat was being helpful and yet all Lucia did was give a shrug. The verbal response is what got him.

"Not like she'll know what to get." She had just opened up a new cabinet when Rafael slammed it shut. The jab he felt on his side didn't even hurt.

Lucia blinked at the action then very quickly looked at her son. "That was rude. Don't you dare do it again," she warned like only a mother would do. And she had done it plenty of times before.

Still, Rafael planted a hand on the cabinets just as Lucia went to open them again.

"Qué—"

"Stop it," Rafael said sharply. The glare was on command, and brazen. It was the last part that Lucia focused on.

"I don't know who you're talking to like that, much less looking at like that, but it better not be me," she warned. They were like mirror reflections of each other.

"It is you," Rafael confirmed. "Because you know exactly what I'm talking about."

Lucia rolled her eyes. "Y qué quieres que haga? What do you want me to do? Forget about it?"

"You have nothing to 'forget' because you are not a victim here. Leave that for my cases."

"She didn't tell me anything!"

"Because she was a little perturbed with the situation! You can understand that she wasn't thinking about much details in those moments. Truthfully, I wouldn't either! My only focus would be about whether or not she was okay!"

"I am your mother. I have a right to know when you're in a hospital."

"Agreed," nodded Rafael, "Which you did know about when Montserrat had a chance to breathe."

Lucia looked away, obviously not wanting to concede.

"Ya están peleando otra vez?" Catalina walked slowly into the kitchen. "Fighting again."

"I am not arguing, I'm simply telling her to stop treating Montserrat the way she is," Rafael said, "Otherwise, you can forget about coming over."

Lucia gaped. "Qué?"

"My body is literally aching. I'm not going to add more nonsense stress to the situation. I plan on healing from these stitches as quick as possible so I can get back to my pending work so either you get a new attitude or you can't come over."

It was like Lucia had heard blasphemy. "Qué te pasa!?" He'd never spoken to her like that, not even at his angriest.

"No, what's wrong with you?" Rafael responded. "I'm not dealing with that and I'm letting you know beforehand. You're making her feel bad and for nothing."

"I would hardly call this 'nothing'," huffed Lucia. "You were shot. Imagine my reaction to that and then hearing it happened hours before I got the call?"

"Fair enough," Rafael conceded and would only do it for that point. It, of course, didn't mean Lucia had won. "But you're missing the big picture here."

Lucia scoffed. "And what would that be?"

"She made me the priority. She made me her priority." Rafael laughed at the irony (up until it physically hurt him to laugh). "She didn't think about anything else, no one else, except for me. No one's done that in a very long time, or maybe ever…"

"Don't you say that," warned Lucia, crossing her arms. "Of course I would make you my priority. Soy tu madre. I'm your mother, it's a given."

"Then can you please listen to what I'm saying?" Rafael challenged. It was funny how even when he was off the clock, he could still twist words around to suit him.

Lucia hated that. Her eyes narrowed. "Eres un—"

"I don't care what I am, but I will care if you keep being rude to Montserrat. She's going to come back later and if you're still planning on being here, I suggest you change your treatment. This is the only time we're having this conversation." With that, Rafael turned and started walking – with a limp – away.

"Where are you going?" Lucia called after him.

"To shower — I smell like a hospital!"

"You can't—you can't shower! You just got out of the hospital! You have stitches!"

"Watch me!"

"¡Oh por Dios!" Lucia groaned, throwing her hands up in frustration. "I have the most stubborn son in the world."

Catalina smiled wryly. "He gets it from somewhere, right?"

Lucia didn't appreciate the comment. "I don't have time for this."

"Don't even try it," Catalina said when Lucia went after Rafael. "He's doing it and that's that. You have bigger problems to handle."

"Oh, what? Tu tambien me vas hablar de la —"

"Careful," Catalina raised a finger, "He has ears like a hawk."

Lucia scoffed. "So, what? All of a sudden I'm supposed to cater to his caprichos?"

"Esto no es un capricho," Catalina said sharply, "It's not a tantrum we're dealing with. He's not a child anymore. You know him, and if he says something it's real. If you keep this up, he won't talk to you anymore."

"Am I not supposed to be upset!?"

"You can be," nodded Catalina, "But at the same time, what are you so upset about?"

"Did you not hear?"

"Yes, but you did get the call. It doesn't matter when, the fact that Montserrat remembered about us in those moments is touching enough. She's sweet, Lucia," Catalina said, "All the things she's done for us and without even knowing us — you're just going to forget that because of this? Doesn't it seem pointless?"

"I am upset and I shouldn't feel invalidated for it," Lucia insisted, crossing her arms once again.

Catalina shrugged and shook her head. "Well then, deal with the consequences but don't include me in this," she raised a finger, "I like her. She's very different than the last one – remember?"

Lucia's arms uncrossed to dangle on her sides. "Oh c'mon, Yelena wasn't that bad."

"She left Rafael for his best friend," Catalina reminded Lucia of the 'small' detail with a huff. "That alone marks a huge difference, don't you think?"

"Oh, you never liked Yelena anyways." Lucia let out a long sigh. "It's just…ella era mas…" her hands couldn't make a specific gesture to help explain herself, "She understood us. She came from the same place that we did. This one—" she made a pass to the side, "—is from the other side of the world. She doesn't have the same customs, the same values."

"Y para qué le sirvieron los valores a Yelena si de todos modos traicionó a Rafael, hm?" Catalina moved past her daughter, wearing the most disgusted expression she could form. "Yelena had all the same values as us and she still betrayed Rafael. She cast him aside for ambition. At least 'this one', as you call her, bothered to go to the hospital. Bothered to show some tears too."

"Mama," Lucia turned around, frustrated once again.

Catalina smiled proudly knowing what she was doing. She came around the couch and sat down slowly, leaving her cane on the side. "Que? You know what I'm saying is true. Stop being so stubborn already. You're going to lose here. I like Montserrat and I personally can't wait for the day they get married and maybe even a grandchild."

Lucia groaned. "Mamá—!"

"Oh, just one!" Catalina exclaimed, raising a finger in the air. "I'd be fine with just one!"

~ 0 ~

Montserrat knew that she was late coming back. She honestly didn't intend on spending so much time out even if it meant dealing with Lucia's jabs every so often. She knew Rafael perfectly well enough to know that by now, he had done something that he wasn't supposed to do – whether it was exertion or working or something else, she didn't know, but he did something.

"I'm sorry I'm late," she said upon coming into the apartment and finding Catalina in the living room. She struggled to close the door with her arms full of bags and a couple folders stuck between her left arm and side. "Turns out I fell a bit more behind than I thought."

Olivia was too kind to tell her that stuff. Montserrat stopped by the precinct to pick up her paperwork and ask (very kindly) if she could work from home. Olivia agreed on the spot and even offered Montserrat some time off. Montserrat refused saying her income couldn't possibly stand more time off and stuck to her paperwork routine.

"Don't worry about it," Catalina smiled kindly at the redhead. "Let me help you."

"Oh God no!" Montserrat exclaimed as soon as Catalina attempted to stand up. "I've got it." She did, however, have to sort of wobble over to the coffee table to let down her papers. They sprawled over the table, making Catalina chuckle. Montserrat sighed. "I swear I'm more collected than this."

"I'm sure you are," Catalina nodded. "But you've been under great duress, haven't you? Taking care of my grandson."

"I—I really haven't...I mean...that was the hospital..." Montserrat set the bags down on the floor beside the table and took a moment to breath in and out. "But nothing a good night sleep won't fix for me." Her eyes swept over the quiet apartment. "Where is he?" She asked suddenly, eyes narrowing.

"In his room, sleeping," Lucia answered as she emerged from the hallway. As much as her presence made Montserrat nervous, Lucia's answer struck Montserrat even more.

"Sleeping?" Montserrat checked the time on her phone. It was too early for Rafael to ever turn in. "Are you sure? I wouldn't put it behind him to stick paperwork under his pillow to do it while we think he's 'sleeping'."

Catalina laughed softly. "You know him so well."

Montserrat bobbed her head. "Learned some of his tricks pretty quickly."

"Don't worry, I checked," Lucia said sternly, though Montserrat swore she saw a ghost of a smile on Lucia's face. "He's not hiding any paperwork in that room."

"...thanks," Montserrat said quietly, clearing her throat. "I'm going to, um, put these things away…" She started picking up the bags she left on the ground, making sure not to spill anything.

"That's a lot of things," remarked Catalina, "What did you buy?"

"Oh, things to eat, things to, I don't know, keep him entertained?"

"Is that scotch?" Lucia recognized the bottle all too well.

Montserrat flushed. "Uh, yeah. It's for me…" she bit her bottom lip, "I figured I'm going to need a glass here and there if I'm going to be arguing wtih Rafael about what he can and can't do."

Catalina laughed again. She looked at Lucia with an 'Didn't I tell you?' expression. Montserrat knew him well.

This time, Lucia had to crack a smile. "That's…that's a fair point. So…you're staying here?"

"Um, well, I mean…yes. I'm going to make sure that he doesn't push it until he's ready," Montserrat said, "I know you're working full time at the school and, well…I want to."

Once again, Catalina glanced at Lucia and mouthed 'See?'

Lucia sighed. "I can do some evenings," she said suddenly.

Montserrat almost spilled what was in a shopping bag. "Huh?"

Lucia made another noise akin to a groan and walked around the couch to help Montserrat with the bags. The redhead was like a statue as Lucia pulled some shopping bags from her wrist. "I can do Wednesdays and Fridays during the evenings. If I know my son, and I like to think that I do, he's going to drive you nuts. You're going to need a break."

Montserrat openly gaped at Lucia. "Umm…"

Lucia started for the kitchen, leaving Montserrat behind to process things.

Montserrat's eyes flickered to Catalina on the couch. The latter made a motion for Montserrat to follow Lucia, and so she did. Whatever was happening didn't involve jabs which was a thousand times better.

Lucia was already putting things away in the cabinets and the fridge. "What are you cooking tonight?"

"What?" Montserrat had absolutely no idea what was happening.

Lucia closed a cabinet and looked at Montserrat. "Look, I'm still upset, but…I'm trying to be appreciative. I…don't think I've really noticed what-what you do for my son."

"Uh, thank you…?" Montserrat still wasn't sure where this conversation would end. She could never know when it came to Lucia, apparently.

Lucia sighed. "Look, how about we try to just keep each other informed about this situation? Maybe I overreacted — of course I won't be getting the first call anymore…" she looked Montserrat over, noticing the light flush on the latter's face. "But could I at least get a call within the same day?"

"Y-yeah," nodded Montserrat, "That seems fair…"

"Well c'mon," Lucia gestured Montserrat to hand over more things from the bags, "If you're going to be here for days straight, you'll have to cook or something. Do you know how?"

"Yeah, of course," Montserrat said, "Just because I didn't have a mother growing up doesn't mean I never learned menial stuff."

"That wasn't my intention," Lucia said, keenly aware of her mistake and genuinely trying to backtrack from it. "Just want to know where to start."

"Start what?" Montserrat eyed the older woman suspiciously.

"Rafael does have favorite dishes. You could try making some of them…?"

"Oh…" Montserrat blinked, "Uh, I mean…are you–are you offering to teach me…?"

Lucia nodded slowly. "Yes, what else?"

"Right…" It took a lot for Montserrat to realize this was actually happening. Once she did, she accepted the offer.

While they finished putting things away, Montserrat asked Lucia for one favor. "I just need someone to come in this Thursday afternoon. I, uh, have an appointment that I really can't cancel."

Lucia nodded. "Yeah, alright. I can leave work early one day."

"Thanks," Montserrat said, still weirded out about this 180 behavior from Lucia. I'll be stupid if I question it. She would just take it and hope that it stayed this way.

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choosejoyangel · 2 months ago

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My friend, Jasy (@moonchildsthoughts) combined their artwork with my poem in their journal. It touched my heart. All I want is for people to know love and peace. With love. 🤗🌺🫂🩷

#moonchildsthoughts #choosejoyangel #with love <3 :)

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saiilorstars · 11 months ago

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Ch. 60: The Waiting Game

Previous chapters // Montserrat’s masterlist

Fandom: SVU // Pairing: Rafael Barba x OC

Warnings: Due to the nature of the series’ plots, I do have to rate this as ‘mature’ for constant mentions of rape.

Taglist: @ocappreciationtag @arrthurpendragon @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel @stareyedplanet @averyhotchner @abzidabzy @hellofutur @foxesandmagic @xovalliegirlxo @sam-i–am @kmc1989 @midmourn @choosejoyangel

[If you’d like to be added to this specific OC’s stories/edits, send me a message

When Montserrat woke up from her Nyquill-induced nap, she very quickly realized she slept way more hours than she intended to. It was past noon, almost four. Granted she was truly well rested but that was not the point. She still felt mentally exhausted and wasn't equipped for what had to come next. She had to finally call Lucia and tell her what happened — it was the worst conversation she ever had with the woman. Lucia was livid with Montserrat, to say the least.

"How could you not tell me before!? Why are you barely telling me!?"

Montserrat could barely give her reasons when Lucia went on a rampage in the Spanish and English language to the point where Montserrat couldn't dream of understanding. The only thing Montserrat managed to hear was that Lucia was on her way to the hospital and pretty much cut all ties with his son's girlfriend.

Great. That would be fun explaining to Rafael when he woke up. It was definitely about the last thing he needed in his life right now. After that, Montserrat soon found out that somehow Casey had gotten involved with the whole thing.

"Yeah, that was my fault," Kara said with a hand raised in the air. "I suggested it."

"Why?" Montserrat couldn't understand what a robbery had to do with her cousin at the moment. Then again, she was only really thinking with about a 50% capacity.

Kara understood her mistake too late and was left squandering for a reasonable excuse (otherwise this time Sonny would have a true reason to kill her). "Well, uh, Casey's another prosecutor and she'll maybe take the case? If they find the guy?"

"It's just not her case yet," Montserrat insisted, although it seemed like the heat was now going more towards the situation rather than Kara (or Casey for that matter). "Nobody's been murdered."

"And it'll stay like that," Kara jumped on the chance to provide actual support to her friend. It was hard thinking this could turn into a homicide case rather than attempted murder. "You'll see."

Montserrat would've been more convinced if she didn't have other things on her mind. She kept getting voice-mail for Lucia's number, only reiterating how angry the woman was with her.

"She'll come around," Kara kept insisting as well, "She's stunned, like you were when you first got the call. It's just different. She's his mother, after all. Give her some days."

Montserrat nodded only because there was nothing else she could do, but it didn't mean it wasn't nagging at her in the meantime. "I need to go back to the hospital," she told Kara after lunch. She did Kara the solid of sticking around for that mealtime but it was about all she would do now. She'd been away from the hospital for way too long.

"What are you talking about? It's only been a couple hours," Kara pointed out. She would rather Montserrat stay for a bit more until she was less anxious and stressed.

"It's past noon now!"

"So?" Kara would love to hear an adequate reason why the time even mattered. "Montserrat, you need to rest."

"I already did!" Montserrat exclaimed. "Way more than I planned!"

Kara's eyes flickered to the side for a moment. The nyquil was still under wraps. Her phone started ringing and seeing it was Sonny, she urged Montserrat to wait for another 5 minutes. "Just let me take the call and see what's happened, okay?"

Montserrat groaned. "Fine! But I am leaving as soon as you're done, with or without you!"

Kara nodded and hurried to take the call. Montserrat took the first seconds to try and calm herself down. She didn't want to actually fight with Kara, not with anyone for that matter. They were all walking on eggshells around her already, thinking she was a ticking time bomb. It was hard staying afloat not knowing what the next day would bring, or even the next hour. Tears stung get eyes just thinking about the uncertainty.

Hearing the knock on the door somehow startled her greatly. She went to open it, presuming it would be Sonny on the other side only to find her father instead.

"Dad!" She gasped, stumbling back a step.

"Montserrat, how — woah! What's happened to you?" Thomas of course referred to his daughter's face of anguish.

Immediately, Montserrat whirled around, eyes wide as she took a few steps away from her father. She tried wiping her eyes quickly. "Dad, what are you doing here?"

"I got the day off and since it's been a while, I thought we could have lunch,, but..." Thomas trailed off, reaching forward for his daughter's shoulder. He gently turned her around and saw the same face as before, only this time it was slightly redder from the fervent rubbing at the eyes. "Now I'm seeing it's longer than I thought. Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Dad," Montserrat shook her father's hand off her shoulder. "Just a rough day, that's all."

"No, no, no," Thomas shook his head, "Don't try to kid me. I know you, Montserrat. You've been crying and it looks like it's been going on for a while. What's happened?"

"Nothing, sheesh!" Montserrat exclaimed. Of course she would've been more convincing if her voice hadn't shaken towards the end. How the hell am I a detective? "Look, I can't do lunch today. Can we schedule another day?"

"I'm not going anywhere," Thomas declared, crossing his arms, "It looks like you've got explaining to do, young lady."

Montserrat glared at her father. This was the last thing she needed right now. Despondence, anxiety, and anger mixed into one did not bode well for anybody in the room. "Dad, I don't have time for this. Can we do this another day, please?"

Thomas raised an eyebrow at his daughter. Usually it was all he needed to warn her she was crossing a line with him.

She still knew that.

But she didn't back down this time.

"You've got 5 seconds to tell me what's going on with you," Thomas warned. "Five…four…"

Montserrat gawked at her father with incredulity. "Dad, you can't treat me like I'm five—"

"Three…two—"

"Dad, seriously!"

"One—"

"I SAID STOP!" Montserrat unintentionally yelled at her father.

Thomas was dumbfounded with such a frantic reaction from his daughter. Tears were coming to Montserrat's eyes and though it was partially out of guilt, there was something deeper going on. "Montserrat," he tried again, softly, "Sweetheart, what's—"

"Can you just go? I'm actually leaving right now too," Montserrat gestured to the door behind Thomas. "I have to—"

"Montserrat!" Kara called from the hallway seconds before emerging. "Sonny says he'll be by in 15 and he can take us to the hospital."

"Hospital!?" Thomas exclaimed.

Kara's eyes widened. She had no idea they were no longer alone. "Oops…"

Montserrat let out a heavy sigh. "Dad—"

"Why do you need to go to the hospital!?" Thomas started demanding. "Are you hurt?" He went to check himself but Montserrat swatted his hands away.

"Dad, stop!"

"Why do you need to go!? Do you feel alright? What am I saying — it's obvious you're not feeling well! You've been crying!"

"She has," Kara agreed solemnly.

"KARA!" Montserrat said loudly enough to make Kara flinch. "SHUT UP!"

"Don't yell at Kara like that," Thomas reprimanded his daughter, "Answer my question. Why are you going to the hospital right now?"

"Because…" Montserrat racked her head for a good answer that wouldn't give away such a terrible situation.

"Are you hurt?"

"No!"

"Then why—"

"Oh, just stop!" Montserrat resorted to pleading, something downright shocking to her father. "Please! Just stop!" Tears rolled down her cheeks as the weight of each of her problems finally culminated into one heavy load on her shoulders. "I'm not hurt! At least not physically because trust me, everything else right now hurts! I'm going to the hospital because my boyfriend's there because he's been shot, okay!? He's been shot and he hasn't woken up since it happened and I want to be there when he does — if he does! Now please stop berating me and just—" Montserrat ran into her father's arms where she finally burst into tears.

Thomas was utterly stunned. For the first couple of seconds, nothing of what Montserrat said had sunk in so while she hugged him, his arms were awkwardly on either side of him. Eyes wide, mouth hanging open, he met Kara's gaze. She nodded to confirm everything Montserrat had said. Her grim expression helped sell it too.

"When...when did you get a boyfriend?" Thomas looked down at his daughter but at the question, Montserrat only whimpered and retreated further into him, desperate to be hugged back. Thomas slowly did so, bringing one hand over her back and the other behind her head. "O-okay, um…that's...that's...bad..." He sighed. He was terrible when it came to things like these. Montserrat's teenage years had been quite an adventure in terms of boyfriends and dating but now at 30? He didn't know which age was worse. "I'm—I'm so sorry, sweetheart," he ultimately said, "Really. I — how did this happen?"

Montserrat pulled away to take a deep breath. Her face was stained with tears. "A robbery. The guy was trying to rob the shop Rafael was at and then he just shot...he shot…"

Kara remained absolutely silent and lowered her head. It killed her to keep the truth of the situation a secret from Montserrat. But if she knew the truth, it would make her feel even worse, she reminded herself.

"Okay, okay," Thomas cupped Montserrat's face, "Wipe those tears. We can go to the hospital right now."

"You'd come with me?" Montserrat sniffed. "You're not mad I didn't tell you—"

"It does not matter right now," Thomas said, "Besides, you're a grown woman — as tough as that is to deal with — and you can make whatever choices you want."

"I was going to tell you. That's why I asked about having dinner, remember?"

Thomas nodded. "Yeah, and I told you I was going out on a trip for a whole month. Okay, that was my fault then."

"Dad, you would really like him. I mean, he's sort of a smart-ass but then again so is Gael."

Thomas let out a low laugh. "Oh, is it just Gael?"

"Of course, why do you ask?"

Thomas barely held his next laugh in. "Right." He gave Montserrat a kiss on the forehead. "Are you ready to go?"

Montserrat nodded fairly quickly. "Yes, please, let's go!"

"Kara?" Thomas looked at the blonde behind them.

Kara waved them off with a hand. "I'll wait for my boyfriend. He was already on his way. Plus, I think there'll be a lot of talking done on that drive."

Thomas wholeheartedly agreed with her. His eyes drifted over to Montserrat who had the energy to appear more nervous than before. "Ready?"

Montserrat wasn't so sure anymore. Still, a ride to the hospital meant she would practically do anything.

~0~

Thomas started slowly, cautiously, and for that Montserrat appreciated but it didn't make things any less awkward nor tense.

"Dating your co-worker — isn't that against the rules?" Thomas wondered out loud. He stopped at an upcoming red light, giving him the opportunity to glance at his daughter.

Her tear-stained face was finally getting a glimpse of light. She had stopped crying for the moment — she just needed to clean her face.

"Not if you disclose," she answered quietly, "Which we did."

"Ah, okay, um...when was that?"

"Dunno, two months ago? Time sort of blurred…"

"Time 'blurred'?" Thomas let out a small chuckle.

Montserrat glanced at him, eyebrows knitted together. "What?" Her voice couldn't go any louder than a quiet tone. If not, she would've demanded the explanation.

"Nothing...it's just...usually when you feel like time has 'blurred', it's because you've been having a good time," Thomas explained. At the green light, he was no longer able to look at her.

Maybe it was for the best.

Montserrat shifted in her seat. She was not about to go into detail about her relationship to her father. "It's been different," she left it at that. It wasn't a lie but it didn't outright expose her either.

Thomas hummed. "I can see that. I've never seen you so distressed over someone like this."

"To be fair, none of my other boyfriends have ever been shot."

Thomas let out a small laugh. "True, but I also meant in general. I've noticed you've been more, uh, content lately. Because I don't know what made you leave behind your old job and place in Queens, but I know that you haven't been happy in a while. I like the change."

"I'm sorry for that," Montserrat mumbled, eyes downcast. However painful it was for her, she imagined it had to have been hard for her father as well. She wasn't the kindest to him in the beginning. She did what a victim typically does: push people away. She thought she did it perfectly. She left her old friends in Queens, her job. She put distance between her father, her brother, even her nieces, and Kara. She became a good liar, indeed.

"I wasn't expecting an apology," Thomas clarified, "And I certainly didn't need one. I'm your father. I just want to know that you're okay."

Montserrat smiled lightly. "I can tell you that before all of this, I was more than okay."

Thomas nodded. "I believe it. You were...happier, more than I'd seen you in a very long time. I would love to say that you were your old self again but it still isn't like that."

"Dad, I don't think I'll ever be the same as before," Montserrat said, figuring it was best to shatter that dream right now than let it keep going without a future. "But that's okay because the way I felt before all this, it was damn great." Her breathlessness was enough to take her word for it. It sounded like even she couldn't believe it.

Truthfully, sometimes she still couldn't.

It took very little for Montserrat to become accustomed to the idea of always feeling miserable on the inside and overall like she was simply floating through life. She had resigned herself to the idea that it would always be like that from now on. But things changed again and she couldn't be more grateful. It would be beyond cruel to lose it all again. Actually, Montserrat couldn't see herself getting past it all over again if she lost Rafael.

"No more tears," came Thomas' voice.

Montserrat snapped out of her thoughts to find there were new tears rolling down her cheeks. "Sorry," she sniffed, wiping the tears off with the backs of her hands.

"No need to be," Thomas told her, "I'm so sorry this is happening, sweetie. But let's have some faith that it'll be okay in the end."

"To be honest Dad…" Montserrat let out a low sigh, "I don't really do the 'faith' thing a lot anymore."

Thomas nodded silently. It wasn't much of a surprise. "The things you see at your job can't leave much hope in the world, I know."

"Mhm," Montserrat nodded. She could let her father believe it was all because of her job. It would be easier for him that way.

"But in times like these...who do you turn to for strength?" Thomas asked curiously. "People pray to God, or other saints or something. What do you pray to?"

"Nothing," Montserrat admitted. It had been a very long time since she turned to any type of religious prayer. She was non-practicing Catholic at this point. Don't tell Lucia. "Right now, I just think about Rafael and how he's strong enough to come back. You should see him in action, Dad. If I were that guy who shot him, I'd run. I've been on the receiving end a couple times and Rafael doesn't play. And I've only gotten a small taste of the real thing. He's scary. Ask Kara."

Thomas let out a small laugh. "Knowing you, you probably kept it going."

Montserrat nodded. "Hell yeah. He's not right until I say he's right." She shifted in her seat. "Although right now, I'd give anything to hear his smart-ass remarks. An argument. Anything."

Thomas stretched a hand out until he was able to find Montserrat's. "It'll be okay."

Montserrat didn't say much after that. She couldn't wait to see the end of the drive and be at the hospital again. Nick had tried sending her messages but it didn't look like the service in the hospital was doing so well. All his texts were coming in as 'incoming message'. It left Montserrat even more anxious. What if something happened while she was away!?

She practically ran through the hospital, leaving her father to do his best to keep up. "Nick!?" She called as soon as she saw the man in the waiting room. "Your messages weren't coming through! Did something happen?"

"Yeah," Nick nodded, eyes flickering past Montserrat to her father.

"That's my Dad," Montserrat said dismissively. She had no times for introductions right now. "What happened!? Is Raf—"

"He's awake," Nick thankfully cut Montserrat off. He presumed that she had assumed the worst with his answer.

The relief that washed over Montserrat was monumental and yet so short-lived. Nick didn't understand why.

"I wasn't here," she whispered, eyes falling, "I wasn't here for him. God — I told you people I shouldn't have left!"

"Montserrat, you needed to rest," Nick said, "Besides, he woke up like 15 minutes ago. His mom's in there with him right now." Apparently, he'd something really bad because Montserrat's face had paled to a ghostly shade.

"What?" She asked, sounding like she'd lost air as well. "N-n-n-n-no, tell me she just got here too. Please."

"Uuh…" Nick was utterly confused but he still had to answer with the truth and it was not what Montserrat wanted to hear. "She got here an hour ago."

"Crap," Montserrat let out a heavy sigh.

"Montserrat, what's wrong?" Thomas asked her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You should be happy!"

"I am," Montserrat clarified, "But you don't understand. Lucia got very upset with me because I didn't call her immediately when this happened. I called her this morning instead because I thought there was no reason she should lose sleep when I was already here, waiting to hear how the surgery went. She didn't agree. She thought she should've been notified immediately."

"Okay, well, that was then, this is now. Things will change now that Rafael's awake. She was probably very scared too."

"I bet she was," Montserrat agreed, "But she's Rafael's mother. Where do you think he gets his temper from?"

Nobody would answer her. It was better to stay quiet and to help move things along, Olivia arrived shortly afterwards. She'd gotten the call from the doctors themselves as was protocol.

"Is he capable of answering?" She asked the two detectives.

"He might be too tired to remember things right now," Nick said, "I was with him for 10 minutes and he barely said anything about what happened."

"Maybe he doesn't want to talk about it," Montserrat said. "And he shouldn't if he's not ready."

Olivia nodded with her. "Yes, but it's worth asking, don't you think?"

The detective in Montserrat would make her agree but the civilian side of her made her shake her head. That was the part of her that wanted everyone to stay the hell away from Rafael until he was all better.

"There's his mom," Nick said when he saw Lucia emerging from the hallway.

Montserrat immediately pressed her clothes down as if Lucia were going to point them out and add to her fuel against Montserrat. She made herself front front center when Lucia joined them.

"How is he?" She immediately asked the older woman. "Is he — is he talking? Does anything hurt?"

"He had a bullet in his body so yes, he is in pain," Lucia answered sharply enough to have Montserrat wincing each time.

"Excuse me," Thomas cut in just as Montserrat was about to go on. He moved around Nick and Olivia to stand beside his daughter. "There's no need to be that kind of rude. You're both stressed and frightened."

"And who are you?" Lucia demanded, eyebrow raising.

"This is my father," Montserrat said hastily, truly wanting to avoid any kind of confrontation.

"Thomas Novak," Thomas introduced himself, "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't speak to my daughter like that."

Lucia didn't appreciate the tone used on her either. "Lucia Barba," she introduced herself in the same tone as Thomas, "And your daughter knows exactly why I'm upset." She crossed gazes with Montserrat.

"I'm sorry," Montserrat reiterated, sighing. "I didn't want you to go through a sleepless night. You nor Catalina."

"Don't take decisions that don't belong to you," Lucia retorted, "When it comes to my son, I need to be informed about everything that happens to him. I don't know why I didn't get the call in the first place. Do you?"

Montserrat lowered her head. She preferred not to answer for the moment.

"There's no need to argue," Olivia stepped in as well, "We all want the same thing, don't we? For Rafael to get better?"

"Of course," Lucia said incredulously. How dare they think otherwise?

"Okay," nodded Olivia, "Then I'd like to see him right now. I think Montserrat as well."

Montserrat nodded fervently. "I do," she said.

"Don't bother him with the unnecessary, please," Lucia warned as the two women started walking around her.

"I would never," Montserrat said sharply. "But I do want to catch whoever did this to him. And I will."

She followed Olivia down the hallway, preferring not to look back. She couldn't take whatever look Lucia must be giving her right now. She didn't have the head for it either.

"Montserrat," Olivia called twice before she was heard, "Forgive me for intruding but, have you taken some time for yourself with all this going on?"

"Are you kidding? I slept way more than I should have!" Montserrat exclaimed. "He woke up and I wasn't here!"

"I don't mean that," Olivia shook her head. "With this kind of stuff, I presume you would want to go see your therapist?"

"I don't have time for that!" Montserrat said dismissively. "I need to be here!"

Olivia suspected that mindset long before she got the courage to ask Montserrat. "It's important that you take care of yourself first. I'm sure Rafael would say the same thing."

It honestly didn't matter to Montserrat right now. She just wanted to reach the damn room herself and see with her own eyes that Rafael was awake. That's all she wanted. Olivia must have seen it because she didn't mention therapy again for the rest of the walk.

They didn't make a sound when they finally entered the room. If Rafael was really asleep, neither wanted to wake him. Questions would wait. But, as soon as they were in sight, Montserrat saw Rafael wide awake. He seemed a bit dazed but lucid enough to recognize them.

Montserrat forgot all about her conversation with Olivia and rushed forward. "Hii…" She said breathlessly, "You're still awake! You should be sleeping."

"I've done enough sleeping," Rafael muttered, sounding a lot more like himself than Montserrat (and Olivia) expected. He was definitely irritated enough to be himself.

Montserrat grinned widely at his response. She absolutely loved seeing him act like he usually would — it meant he was getting better! She reached for his hand, immediately gripping it. "I'm sorry I wasn't here when you woke up. I-I should've been, I know, but…"

Rafael watched Montserrat in a more dazed manner again — his mind went in and out with all the meds he was on.

This, Olivia presumed and since Montserrat seemed too upset with herself to notice, Olivia decided to cut in and help them both out. "Now, Montserrat, I think it's okay," she started slowly, watching Montserrat lower her head out of utter guilt, "You had to go home and rest too." Olivia looked at Rafael who was still trying to make sense of Montserrat's long ramble. "She was here all of last night and Carisi and Amaro and sent her home to sleep and eat."

"Well — why are you apologizing then?" Rafael glanced at Montserrat, eyebrows knitting together with confusion. "It's not like I noticed, right? I was in surgery. At least that's what my mother told me?"

"Is that all she told you?" Montserrat asked rather curiously and slightly worried. She grabbed a chair and sat down beside the bed.

"She said a lot of things but honestly, I tuned her out," Rafael drew in a breath, "The mess might be a blessing in disguise, you know."

"Ha…" Montserrat smiled lightly. That sounded a lot more like him. It truly relieved some of her anxiety. "Still, I'm really sorry. I did want to be here but I…I sort of overslept and…"

"I promise you that I am okay with that," Rafael said, smiling for the first time. "I don't want you forgetting about yourself because of me."

"I'm good, I promise," Montserrat assured, nodding her head fast. She brought their interlocked hands to her mouth, kissing his hand. "I just want you to be okay now. I've been a little crazy."

"A little?" Rafael's smile widened.

"Shut up," Montserrat said hushedly, letting out a small chuckle. She missed this so much. All the nerves were washing out as a familiar warmth flooded her insides.

At the same time, Olivia's phone started buzzing. "I'll be back," she told the two before taking the call.

Montserrat scooted her chair closer to the bed. She held onto Rafael's hand, still keeping her smile. This is all she wanted. Rafael was awake, seemingly recuperating and already taking jabs at her. In all her thoughts, she missed Rafael studying her. He noticed something he truly wished he hadn't. It led to his question.

"How are you?"

Montserrat blinked at first, puzzled with the question. "What — me?" She laughed. "Môj drahý, I'm fine. I'm absolutely fine."

"I'm on some strong medication but I assume you just spoke Slovak but even then…I don't buy it," Rafael said, shaking his head. "You went crazy over me."

"You were shot," Montserrat said, still frazzled having to say that. "What did you think I would do? Happily pass the night with your scotch?"

"Did you save me some, by the way?"

"Rafael," Montserrat warned him not to play jokes right now. "You were shot. It's not funny."

"Oh, I'm not laughing at that," agreed Rafael, "But I am trying to lighten the mood here. I don't want you to worry about me."

"Not right now," Montserrat shook her head, "Don't ask me not to do that when you're here. You have no idea how scared I was when I got the call."

"They called you…" Rafael said, as if realizing something.

"Um, yeah…" Montserrat cleared her throat, "Why did the hospital call me first? Your mother, uh, she was pretty pretty confused about that too."

"Yeah…" Rafael nodded, "Uh…I was going to tell you sometime…definitely not here but…"

"I don't think I've ever heard you ramble so uselessly…" Montserrat laughed almost immediately after saying that.

Rafael deadpanned her for a straight minute while she laughed. "I think I deserve to be cut a little slack, right?"

Montserrat nodded as she did her best to sober from her laugh. "Of course, dear."

It was too late as Rafael was already properly annoyed. "You're my emergency contact," he said in a huff.

Montserrat gasped lightly then, eyebrows raising with pleasant shock. "Am I really?"

"Yes, but you're making me regret it—"

"No, no, I promise I'm good! That's nice to hear, I…" Montserrat could feel the familiar spread of butterflies in her stomach. "When did you…when did you decide to do that?"

"I don't know, a bit back? Is that — are you okay with that?"

"Of course! Yes!" Montserrat was a smiling mess, a deep difference from the past day. She leaned over, carefully, and pressed a kiss on Rafael's lips. "Thank you for that trust in me." There was something else she wanted to desperately say to him but she felt the timing was off and perhaps even imprudent on her part.

Even if Rafael said nothing of it, Montserrat still noticed the subtle scrunch of his nose and the twitch of his mouth every now and then from the pain he obviously felt. He just didn't want to tell her about it — it wasn't shocking for her. He barely got used to the idea of asking her for help in far less serious situations so this situation would require a lot more effort from his side and she wanted to make it as easy as possible for him.

"Do you need anything?" She asked him, "I don't know, like a drink or something? And by that I mean water, of course."

"Damn, and I was just about to ask you for some scotch…"

"I would smack you right now if you weren't hurt!" Montserrat sighed and shook her head. "So listen, I really hate asking you this right now but I need to help so…about that night…"

Rafael already started turning his head away from her. He knew exactly what was coming.

"Do you remember what happened?" Montserrat wanted to be as cautious as possible for his sake. It was physically painful enough and now he would have to deal with any mental trauma he suffered from that evening.

"...a little," he did answer albeit in a low mutter.

"Okay, um, well there is that cashier — Clara?"

At the mention of the young woman, Rafael immediately looked back at Montserrat. "Is she okay!?" He truly didn't remember much after hearing the sound of the gun firing. He was in and out of consciousness but he did have slight memories of the young woman terrified in the shop.

"Yes, she is," Montserrat nodded, smiling lightly. "Did you know she's a med student? I was told she helped keep you stable while the ambulance got to you guys. She called 911. I absolutely love her."

It was Rafael's turn to smile. "Should I be worried?"

Montserrat let out a weary sigh but her broad smile defeated any attempt to sound annoyed. "Shut up."

"I want to tell her thank you," Rafael said a moment later. "She was so scared. I may have yelled at her."

"Lots of people react differently in situations like those. It's a flight or fight thing — you chose fight, she chose flight. All involuntary of course. But please, don't ever choose to 'fight' with a robber."

"Oh, but you can?" Rafael countered on the spot. His smirk didn't help. "You carry — you do that for a living. The way you feel right now is what I always feel about you..."

"I know, I know," sighed Montserrat. This was a conversation she didn't like having because Rafael always had the right. His concerns were right, his points made sense.

Rafael gripped Montserrat's hand as much as he could, which wasn't very much if Montserrat was honest with him. She wouldn't tell him. "I'm not arguing, I'm just telling you this is something we can't control," he told her. "I'm sorry I worried you. I didn't…I didn't see the guy getting up…"

"So you do remember some things, then?"

"Yes…but it's still mostly fuzzy…" If there was one thing Rafael didn't want to do right now, it was having to lie to Montserrat. His gaze lowered to their interlocked hands, which fueled his reasons all over again. "I don't know what they put in my body but I couldn't even tell you my birthday right now."

Montserrat smiled sweetly at him. "I'll make a full list about you when you get home. We can go over it together." She scooted her chair even closer to the bed. "Because when you get out of here, you have two choices about what's going to happen."

"Oh, do I?" Rafael blinked, bemused with the revelation.

Montserrat nodded. "Yup. You have a bullet wound and you need to take care of it. You won't be able to move around so easily — you won't be working," she said the last part as a full on threat in case he had the idea of even discussing the matter. "So, when you get out of here, you can either come home with me where I can help you out."

"Not happening," Rafael said on the spot. "You live with Kara and by extension Carisi. Haven't I been through enough already?"

Montserrat deadpanned him for a short minute. She was honestly expecting a response like that. "Then your other option — and your only other one — is that I come stay with you at your place for a while."

"You'd be willing to do that?"

"Yes, of course. I want to help you and I can't do that if I'm at my own place."

"Montserrat, that's sweet of you and I appreciate it but I don't need help —"

"Yes, you do," Montserrat nodded. This was also something else she anticipated and was well prepared to handle. "Raf, you can't live by yourself right now. Until you can go up and down the stairs on your own, I will be staying with you."

"It's not that the idea of having you around isn't pleasant — because it is — but I don't need you giving up your time just to take care of me." Even as he said it out loud, Rafael thought it was ridiculous. "I can manage on my own. I always do."

"Tough luck because it's not just about you anymore," Montserrat countered with a wry smile, "To your misfortune, and mine, I like you very much. With all your sarcasm and hard attitude, but I like you."

Rafael rolled his eyes at Montserrat. It was, of course, nice to hear something like that but it still didn't take away the feeling of impotence either. There were many things out of his control and Rafael was not used to it.

"Montse—"

"Let me do this, please," Montserrat insisted earnestly. "You're right. I was dead worried about you and, yeah, I want to be close to you for the next couple days because of it. I promise I'll try not to bombard you, okay?" She squeezed his hand in hers. "Please?"

This was a battle he had already lost and Rafael knew it. For all he knew, half her things were already in his apartment. That's not the worst thing that could happen. No, no it absolutely wasn't. Rafael sighed. What he would have given for this conversation to be part of a much better situation than the one they were in right now.

"You can go back home anytime, alright?" He said, instantly earning a beam from Montserrat. "You don't have to stay more than you want and you definitely don't have to do anything for me."

"I don't understand how you graduated from Harvard. You're seriously so stupid," Montserrat said quite honestly, which prompted a hard deadpan from Rafael in return. Montserrat let out a laugh in the next second. "But I want you just the way you are! I missed it all!" She leaned over to give him another kiss. "I missed you," she whispered afterwards. "I know it's insane to say that when we saw each other — what, yesterday? — but I really did miss you so much."

Even while saying it, she still sounded so afraid like he would fall under again. Rafael felt so guilty even while knowing this was way out of his control.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," he insisted for her sake. He wished he could get up from the stupid bed and show her — ease her fear and worries. "I don't want you worrying anymore, okay? Calmada."

"I cannot be calm when you're in this situation," Montserrat promptly huffed. "You went ballistic when I had a scratch on my back! I have every right not to be calm about this. Who did this to you? Do you remember anything about the guy?"

Rafael's mind was slow with all the medication, so coming up with a good excuse was even harder than usual. Luckily for him, Olivia returned at that moment.

"Sorry, that was Rollins," the Sergeant said, "She and Fin are going through some possible witnesses." She approached the foot of the bed slowly, both hands in front of her. "Do you think you can give your statement right now?"

Rafael shifted, and in doing so felt a jab of pain on his side.

"Or we could wait…" Olivia said, mistaking his shift for uneasiness.

"I'm good," he said immediately. He glanced at Montserrat, and a moment later he was asking her: "Maybe I do need something after all."

Montserrat nodded. "Anything," she encouraged, "What do you need?"

"A damn glass of water," he said, "They pump meds all night and day and I don't get to eat anything. I'm so thirsty."

"I'll go see what I can do," Montserrat smiled slyly, "Flash my badge and all."

Rafael smiled at her. He knew very well that she would. "Thank you."

"Of course." Montserrat gave his hand a pat then stood up, turning to Olivia. "Keep an eye on him?"

"Oh yeah," Olivia pressed a finger to her cheek then pointed at Rafael.

Montserrat still left with some reluctance, especially when Olivia mentioned that Lucia was asking for her.

"My mother's still here?" Rafael asked, eyebrows raised.

Olivia nodded. "Oh yeah, she's made it clear she's not stepping away for a while."

"She should go home, like you all. I don't need babysitters," Rafael said, shaking his head.

"Oh no, you're not paying Montserrat with that coin when she's had to deal with your mother."

At Olivia's words, Rafael turned his head slightly. "What do you mean by that? Has she been giving Montserrat a hard time?" He wouldn't put it behind his mother given the situation.

Olivia reluctantly nodded. "Yeah. Novak made the call to inform your mother about the situation earlier in the morning. She didn't want Lucia going through a sleepless night like her, much less your grandmother. Lucia didn't like that."

"Is she kidding?" Rafael snapped, not at Olivia but at the situation. "She just told me she hasn't told my grandmother anything about this." He loved his mother, he did, but sometimes she could be a…

"Montserrat didn't tell you?" Olivia assumed with Rafael's reaction. "She probably didn't want to add to your stress."

"Of course," groaned Rafael, although he soon stopped when he discovered it hurt him. "I'll have a word with my mother."

"Sorry," Olivia said guiltily, "I didn't mean to…you know…"

"No, I'm glad you did," said Rafael sharply, "Because Montserrat wouldn't tell me." Nobody would make her life harder than it had to be, not if he could help it. "Don't even tell her that I know."

"Understood," nodded Olivia. "So, about the case…"

"I need you to do something for me," Rafael said out of the blue, startling Olivia.

"Uh, yeah, of course…" Olivia nodded slowly, "What-what do you need?"

Before answering, Rafael's gaze flickered to the door. Montserrat would be away for a while, hopefully. "I need you to close this case."

"Excuse me?" Olivia tilted her head, presuming she heard wrong.

"You heard me," Rafael said, meeting her gaze. "I want the case closed. Cold case, if it must be."

"I don't — I don't understand…" Olivia rubbed her temple, "You want us to…"

"Close the case, yes," Rafael nodded. 'That's exactly what I want you to do. It's my case, and that's what I'm asking for."

"Why?" Olivia never thought she would have to have this kind of conversation with him. If there's anyone who always said what he wanted, it was Rafael. This made no sense. "Are you still processing what happened? Do you need —"

"I already processed it and this is what I need to happen," Rafael said, sounding very sure of himself. "I know what happens next and I'm not doing that."

"Because of a trial? Rafael, you know that's the natural order of thi—"

"I know," Rafael cut Olivia, his sense of impatience growing. "Believe me, Liv, I know what happens next. I know that you will eventually catch this guy and it will go to trial. I know that their defense attorney will start playing tricks and turn things around for their benefit."

"So you're afraid?" Olivia guessed. "That's also normal…"

"I'm not afraid," Rafael clarified, "I would gladly go along with every part of the process but this isn't about me. It was never about me."

Olivia was utterly lost. She rubbed her forehead relentlessly, leaving faint red marks on her skin. "You're going to have to explain this a little better because I'm not understanding. You don't want us to proceed with the case, you don't want a trial, but you're not scared?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Rafael confirmed, "And you, as my friend and more importantly the Sergeant here, need to help me."

"Why? Why do you want me to do that!?"

"Because that man worked for someone I get the feeling has been watching us for a while now."

Olivia presumed that the struggle she saw in Rafael was for himself. His hands balled into fists on either side of him. His lips pursed together enough to scrunch his nose automatically. But once again, Olivia was wrong because as Rafael had said earlier, this wasn't about him.

"He's been watching Montserrat," he spat darkly. The idea sent him into a frenzy and the only thing stopping its full fledged form was the aching throb he felt on the side of his stomach.

Olivia looked at Rafael both curiously and alarmed. "Why…why would you think that?"

"Because that man told me," Rafael replied, giving the impression that he remembered exactly what happened last night.

Olivia raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean?"

"You and I are the only ones who know what happened to Montserrat before she transferred here, so this should be easy to understand," Rafael said, only taking a moment because he abhorred what he had to say next. "That man who hurt her — he's watching her. I don't know how, I don't know when, but he's still got eyes on her."

Olivia was keenly aware of the rising noise from the machine beside the bed. One of them was connected to Rafael's finger — a blood pressure measure. "I think you need to—"

"It makes sense now, what Little Tino told Montserrat when we visited him in jail. He told Montserrat that there was a rule in place…"

The beeps got slightly louder.

"Raf—"

"Nobody lays a finger on the redhead," Rafael repeated the words he now hated himself for. He completely missed them at that moment. A deep scowl marked his face. "He has rules, Olivia, about her, about Montserrat — in his eyes, she belongs to him. I can't — he's just—"

"Rafael!" Olivia snapped to get his attention. She moved to his bedside, urgently motioning him to calm down.

"Liv, we can't let him keep watching her," he told her, finally sounding what he truly was: frightened. He was scared, but not for him. "We can't let this keep going. He's—"

Olivia nodded and once again motioned him to calm down. "You need to take it easy. You have stitches. They can burst," she reminded him. She grabbed Montserrat's chair to sit down. "Okay, you're going to have to walk me through this so that we're on the same page about what happened. Only then we can decide how to proceed from here."

"Fine, whatever, but you can't tell Montserrat anything about this."

"I can't promise that but we can work together to come up with the best solution," Olivia said.

It wasn't good enough for Rafael. He needed to hear it out loud…but he knew he was asking the impossible from Olivia. He'd been on that side plenty of times. It was hypocritical of him to be asking the same thing he denied so many times before.

Yes, he was being hypocritical.

Yes, he was being unreasonable.

But he just didn't care.

He didn't care about anything, not even the frikin stitches throbbing on his side right now. The only thing he cared about was currently outside, getting something he asked her for. She was all he cared about. So damn everything else.

#ocapp #allaboutocs #ochub #fd: svu #Rafael Barba fics #Rafael Barba imagines #Rafael Barba x oc #SVU fics #svu imagines #law and order fics #law and order imagines #original characters #oc: Montserrat Novak #fic: dare to forget

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