#fd: law & order svu

[saiilorstars]

The A-Team

Fandom: SVU; Sonny Carisi x OFC

Emilia’s Masterlist

Summary: Sonny is nervous about his first solo trial and so his girlfriend tries her best to help him out.

taglist: @ocappreciationtag​ @arrthurpendragon​​​​​​ @anotherunreadblog​​​​​​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​​​​ ​​ @stareyedplanet​​​​​​ ​​​​​@averyhotchner​​ ​​​​ @foxesandmagic @kmc1989 @caplanbuckybarnes​​​​​​​

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

Emilia was nose deep in her laptop when Sonny walked in through the door. Her eyes flickered up from the screen and watched him drop his things on the couch. He didn't need to say a word — Emilia could tell whatever work he had going on had been terrible.

"Should I get that wine bottle now?" She asked him. "Or we could go the other route and relax?"

Sonny gave her half of a smile but shook his head. He wanted to calm down before he ended taking out his stress on her. Emilia didn't deserve any of the crap he dealt with at work.

Emilia was intuitive, however, and so she continued the conversation. "It's bad, isn't it? What's the case?"

"I don't" — Sonny shook his head —"want to ruin our good streak."

Emilia snorted and chuckled. "Good streak?"

"You know — we had a good Christmas and New Years. We had good holidays…"

"And now we're both back at work," Emilia said slowly, giving him a rather 'duh!' kind of look. "That's why it's a vacation. It's like an escape from reality and unfortunately we are all done with that, so…" She closed her laptop and motioned him to take a seat with her at the table, "Why don't you tell me what the case is?"

Sonny still hesitated. With a sigh, Emilia rose from her seat and walked over to him. She was gentle when she helped him out of his jacket.

"What are you working on?" Sonny asked her instead. He gave her a soft 'thanks' as she folded his jacket and left it on the couch for him.

"Me?" Emilia mused. "Oh, you know, vacation's done and so online school started again. I'm just finishing up my first lecture of the semester. But c'mon, don't change the subject." She took his hand and walked him to the table to sit down. "What's the case?" She left him to go to the fridge.

"It's this woman — she left a big billboard message on the streets for everyone to see." Sonny eyed the books left on the table and felt even worse knowing he was interrupting Emilia's studies.

"Billboard?" Emilia closed the fridge door with a leftover bowl in her hands. They had made pesto pasta yesterday. "Ooooh, I saw that! We all did! Alice showed it to me at work a few days ago. You're taking up the case?"

"I guess I am," Sonny said, sounding like he was only just realizing the implications. Luckily, Emilia was quick to understand too.

"That'll make it your first case in the courtroom — on your own…" She popped the leftover inside the microwave and turned to look at Sonny. "That's the nerves, isn't it?"

Sonny nodded at her. "Monica — the girl behind the billboard — she's not making the case easy at all."

"Monica Russo? Yeah, we saw the whole thing online as well," Emilia crossed her arms. It had been a whirlwind of a mess concerning the girl making public accusations about a celebrity and then getting arrested herself. "God, Sonny, why didn't you tell me that was your case? It's been days since all that stuff came out!"

The microwave beeped three times before turning off.

"I didn't want to burden you, alright?" Sonny leaned back in his chair, taking the moment to actually start de-stressing from the day. "The things I see…"

"That's the thing, Sonny, you see them…" Emilia walked over to the table and set the pasta in front of him, "I just hear about them from you. It's very different. Sorry about the leftovers tonight…I was a bit stressed myself."

"You're heaven sent," Sonny assured her, reaching for one of her hands. He laced his fingers with hers and kissed the back of her hand. "Never forget that." Emilia smiled at him and handed him a fork. "What were you stressed about?"

"Ah, no, you don't get to change the subject on me," Emilia chuckled and returned to her seat. She opened her laptop and picked up her pen on the side. "I'm listening. Keep going."

"It's the usual stuff, Em. You hit the mark earlier — it'll be my first case in trial on my own. I guess it's just getting to me a bit more than I expected."

"Well, that's natural," Emilia said, taking down some notes in her notebook. "It's like my first day of teaching. Well" — she scrunched her nose — "except for the fact that I was nervous about handling 25 five year olds on my own and you're talking about rapists so…I guess it's not the same at all."

Sonny smiled at her despite her futile comparison. "I bet you were still very nervous."

Emilia hummed. "That I was. You'll be fine, Sonny. Eat, unwind, and then we'll go to sleep."

The only reason Sonny didn't protest was because of hunger. The pasta smelled delicious and he was truly eager to just forget it all until it was absolutely necessary to start thinking about it again.

~0~

Emilia knew something was wrong when she didn't hear from Sonny at all. The morning of his first trial, she had sent a few texts wishing him good luck — even a voicemail where she wished him all the luck in the world and reassured him that he would be fine — but he never responded. He was gone before her that day and she was back before him. With a quick call to Olivia Benson, she learned what happened. Emilia drove down to the D.A.'s office to find her boyfriend cooped up in his office. The door wasn't properly closed so she gave a light tap with her fingers and stepped inside.

"Hey there," she approached him with slow steps. The room was barely lit — it was a wonder how Sonny was managing to write on his notepad. "I was waiting for you to come home tonight…"

"Sorry, I was a bit busy…" Sonny mumbled, his pen working furiously on the notepad. Emilia eyed two crumpled balls of paper on the desk and wondered what he was working so hard on.

"I spoke to Olivia — she said the trial didn't go so well…"

"More like I got slaughtered out there," Sonny spat. He stopped writing and finally looked up at Emilia. "I'm writing my resignation letter."

Emilia's first reaction was to laugh. "You are not…!" The way Sonny was looking at her, though, made her stop altogether. "Stop — Dominick Carisi, you are not writing your resignation letter."

"Em, I'm gonna lose this case. Ms. Hadid already knows! She has her spies in the courtroom! I'm done!"

"No you are not," Emilia plopped down in an empty chair and leaned her arms on his desk. "You had a bad first day. It happens!"

"Yeah, but…Em, what if I'm not cut out for this?" The devastation in Sonny's eyes just imagining that he made the wrong career choice was heartbreaking. Up until now, he had always been so animated about his new job. It was what he wanted to do from day 1.

"Okay, Dominick, listen to me," Emilia reached for his hands and gripped them tight in hers. "Remember my silly little comparison before about my first day at my job? Well, I'm gonna use it again but just bear with me. There's a point." She scooted closer to the desk. "My first day on the job, I had 25 kindergarteners in my care. I was responsible for them — I had to make sure that they survived the day!"

"And you did it beautifully," Sonny said, prompting Emilia to snort.

"I wish! My circle time was a disaster! I had four of them draw on the tables while I was doing an art lesson! I miscalculated how much time they would actually pay attention and so they got bored and started drawing on the tables, others started painting on themselves because that's another thing — I didn't plan on how to give them the supplies. And then that same first day, one of my kids had an accident on the playground. It was horrible. I had to call the parents and…agh, it was just awful. A really awful first day."

Emilia let go of one of Sonny's hands to then take his other hand in both of hers, urging him to listen to her words.

"But do you know what I did? I went home and I came back the next day with a new lesson plan. I came up with a new art project, a better system to watch the kids outside — I learned and I kept going. And now here I am, trying to go for a new credential."

"And I am very proud of you for doing that," Sonny said, smiling fondly at her. She adored her students every day, even when some of those days weren't all that great.

"The point is you can't quit. If you did, you'd end up regretting it," Emilia said sternly, yet softly.

"It's hard knowing that I failed, Emilia…"

"I know it is, baby, but you can't stop now. You can still get up and try again. Do it better."

Sonny squeezed her hand, loving her more in that moment. "What would I do without you?"

"You'll never have to find out. So then, what time is court tomorrow?" Emilia let go of his hands and leaned back in her chair. "No school tomorrow."

"You do not have to come," Sonny said. As much as Emilia loved her job, she also loved sleeping in. She took advantage of her days off to the fullest and that meant getting up past noon.

"I want to see the bitch lawyer who's making your life miserable and, I don't know, trip her or something."

"Emilia—"

"On accident of course."

Sonny playfully rolled his eyes at her. He still laughed, though, which just gave Emilia more fuel to keep her story going.

Emilia soon rose from her chair and moved around the desk until she was standing behind Sonny's chair. She planted her hands on his shoulders and gave him a light massage. "I'm taking that resignation letter, by the way."

Sonny chuckled. "Sure. You can take it and go home to rest. I'll probably be in here all night."

Emilia shook her head. "I'll stay here, give you all of my support."

Sonny closed his eyes as she pressed a kiss on his temple. "I'd like nothing more than that but I know you're as tired as I am. Besides…" He opened his eyes and reached back for Emilia, tugging her around his seat while he scooted his chair back at the same time. He brought her down on his lap and pushed some of her long hair behind her shoulder. "I know you'll be there tomorrow and that means the world to me. And on your day off…"

"On my day off," Emilia agreed, "So are you sure I can't trip the bitch or something?"

Sonny rolled his eyes at her. "No, you can't."

"Damn. Fine, I'll settle for seeing you kick hers and her rapist client's ass."

"That I can try to do."

Emilia gazed at him fondly. "You'll be great tomorrow, I know it." Her confidence was unwavering and Sonny took it to heart.

He leaned forward and kissed her. However bad his day had been, one kiss from hers was enough to change it around.

~ 0 ~

Like promised, Emilia had been there for the next trial. She sat in the rows and watched Sonny handle the victim and the rapist in one go. She had never really been in a courtroom and truthfully she did not like the tension in the room. She couldn't imagine doing this 24/7. Sonny was right to only ever tell her bits and pieces about his cases, even as a detective it had always been somewhat of an unspoken rule.

But today Emilia was amazed by her boyfriend. He who was absolutely distraught with how the previous day had gone was now a very different, more confident, man throwing questions at the culprit. She was proud.

After the jury was sent out, Emilia stepped out of the courthouse to make a few calls and to give Sonny whatever time he needed with his colleagues. When she returned, she was a little lost. The courtroom was empty of course save for a few lingering reporters. She ventured the hallway until she came across the squad.

"At the risk of looking like a bigger idiot for just wandering around, could somebody please tell me where I might find my boyfriend?" she chuckled nervously.

"Might want to try the restroom," Fin said, "Or wait outside…"

Emilia raised an eyebrow at him, the idea donning on her in a few seconds. "Oh, that man and his weak stomach…"

The others chuckled.

"Where's the men's restroom?" she ultimately asked.

They were kind enough to show her the way. She got lucky as Sonny was just coming out of the restroom when she arrived.

"Hey," she hurried to meet him, "There you are! Are you okay?"

"Not really, no…" Sonny didn't hesitate to say, "Jury's been out for days."

Emilia smiled sympathetically. "Babe, it's only been 3 hours…give or take." Sonny actually stopped and checked the time on his watch. Emilia felt even worse for him. "Were you throwing up in there?"

"No…yeah…" Sonny sighed, "Waiting for the verdict, it's-it's different when it's your case."

Emilia laughed softly and offered him some gum. Sonny couldn't take it any quicker

"Oh, hun…" She stepped closer to him and touched his face. "If it's consolation, I think you did great back there. You definitely got that guy to show his real self."

"Thanks for being here," Sonny said, lowering his forehead against hers. Her mere presence had been enough to boost his confidence.

"Anytime," Emilia said, kissing his cheeks. "You want to take a walk or something?" But not a moment later, Sonny got the news that the jury had finally come back.

Their walk led them back to the courtroom. Once gathered together, they learned that the jury had found the defendant guilty. Relief washed over the right side of the courtroom as the defendant was taken into custody. Sonny looked back at the squad and more precisely his beautiful grinning girlfriend.

~ 0 ~

Later in the evening, Emilia walked out of the bathroom after a much needed shower and immediately smelled the delicious scent of her boyfriend's cooking. She practically floated to the kitchen.

"Okay, I thought we agreed on some take-out?" She laughed seeing Sonny busy in the kitchen. "My shower wasn't that long, was it?"

Sonny shook his head at her and lowered the flame of the stove. "I wanted to treat you right tonight."

"Me?" Emilia's eyebrows raised together, another laugh slipping through her lips. "You're the one who did amazing today. The take-out was my treat."

"I wasn't all that great with my moods," Sonny said, leaving the stove for a moment and walking up to her. He could smell her freshly wet hair's lavender scent. "And I just want to say thanks for sticking it out with me."

"You say it like I wasn't supposed to," Emilia said, taking his hands in hers. "Like I was supposed to let you wallow on your own. Never gonna happen."

"Oh, I know," Sonny said with a long sigh. He wrapped his arms around her and brought her body flush against his.

"We're like a team...except that I don't know the first thing about lawyering and I'm sure you'd lose your head trying to entertain 25 five year-olds." Sonny looked down at her then, making her laugh. "Yeah, who am I kidding? You're great with kids. You could probably do my job with your eyes closed. Not that you should because that would make you a horrible teacher."

Sonny couldn't help his chuckle. He was the lawyer but Emilia always seemed to know exactly what to say to make things alright. "Dinner?" He pecked her lips.

"Yes, please!" Emilia made to go around him but he caught her head and turned her back for another kiss, this one longer.

When they broke apart, Sonny mumbled a soft 'thank you' and tugged a pleasantly dazed Emilia into the kitchen with him.

[arrthurpendragon]

👤 + Law & Order: SVU?

This makes me want to bring my JJ back. lol. BUT @saiilorstars also writes for Law & Order SVU!

[kendelias]

POLL GIVEAWAY: eleanor bailey poster for @guardiansofheroes!

[eddysocs]

Introducing: Whitney Scofield

Fandom: Law & Order: SVU

Face Claim: Hilary Duff

Full Name: Whitney Lynn Scofield

Nickname/Alias/Pet Names: Whit

Age: 30

Myers Briggs Type: ESTJ

Hogwarts House: Gryffindor

Love Interest: Olivia Benson

Occupation: Detective

Collections: Shell Casings

Style/Clothing: She loves button down shirts with high waisted pants and belts. Combat boots are pretty common for her. She’s also partial to long coats in various neutral colors.

Signature Quote: "I could hunt down a million perverts and it wouldn’t be enough. It’s never enough."

Plot Summary: In Los Angeles, Whitney started her own Special Victims Unit from the ground up. And while it was her crowning achievement, she knew it was time to move on, trusting her team to run it efficiently in her absence. Packing up her life in LA, she moves across the country to join the NYPD's Special Victims Unit.

Forever Tag: @vivis-ghost-wife, @randomfandoming1, @perfectlystiles, @ocfairygodmother, @oreostars, @foxesandmagic, @butcherofblackwater, @boyiega, @itsjustgracy, @anotherunreadblog, @fiercefray, @misshiraeth98, @malice1329, @reggiemantleholdmyhand-tle, @codenamekryptonite, @bravelittleflower, @witchofinterest, @raith-way, @farrradays, @annibunnysworld

Whitney Tag: @ghostsunderstoodmysoul

[raging-violets]

For @missjanuarylily

Jillian “JJ” Jacobs + Name Meaning

People with this name tend to be orderly and dedicated to building their lives on a solid foundation of order and service. They value truth, justice, and discipline, and may be quick-tempered with those who do not. Their practical nature makes them good at managing and saving money, and at building things in the material world. Because of their focus on order and practicality, they may seem overly cautious and conservative at times.

Fic: She Will Be Loved

Fandom: Law and Order: SVU

Summary: Harvard Law School graduate Jillian “JJ” Jacobs gave up everything and eventually became an SVU detective in New York City. All she ever wanted in life was to have a real family and for years work filled that need. But that just isn’t enough anymore, especially after she meets A.D.A. Rafael Barba. Will she be loved?

Read on FFN | Wattpad | AO3

[fandomtrashpandasposts]

Katherine Wells-Stone

Kat didn't talk about her past often, too much damage was there.

The squad knew two things for certain she was seperated but the divorce papers haven't been signed by her (ex)husband and the job she worked before coming to Manhatten SVU was far more dangerous.

The squad also knew that Barba was determined to discover all her secrets especially when it could potentially be used against them in cases.

What Barba didn't know was just how hard he would fall for Kat and how hard she would fall in return. When Barba makes a decision that changes not only his life but Kat's and her (ex) husband Peter Stone's as well everything comes crashing down in an instant.

Law and Order SVU: Seasons 14 - ??

Peter Stone X OC: Katherine Wells-Stone X Rafael Barba

TROUBLE

[shipcestuous]

I learned about two episodes of Law & Order: SVU that involved incest that I hadn't heard about before. The first is the most recent episode – 19.17 “Send In The Clowns”. A 16 year old girl piano prodigy disappears while on a school trip. In the end it turns out that she ran away, and was hiding out with her music teacher. They were in love. (They both said that a bunch of times.) But then the girl's mother drops a bombshell: she had also slept with this music teacher fellow, and he was the girl's father! The girl was actually really happy about it – it was hilarious. Because she looked down on the man she had always believed was her father and she was excited to learn that her father was a man she had always looked up to and respected. She was not traumatized at all. She also mentions that she had always felt a connection to him, and that they had so much in common. The father didn't take it so well – we learn he's on suicide watch. But that's not necessarily because of the revelation – he's also facing quite a few criminal charges and his life as he knew it is definitely over. (Including, somehow, incest...even though the detectives all know that he didn't know it was incest. Hopefully his lawyer can get him out of that one, at least.) He was married too – his wife was really pretty. Detective Benson even mentions that it was GSA.

The second episode is from a much earlier season – it's episode 5.15, called “Families”. It's about a young woman (a high schooler), Shannon, who is found dead, and she was several weeks pregnant. They test the DNA of the baby and figure out that she must have been related to the father. It turns out that Shannon's father was living a double life and had another family, and that her boyfriend, Aidan, was actually her half-brother. Shannon and Aidan had a nice relationship and were in love. They went to the same school and had been forbidden to date (without much explanation) but were secretly together.

The nice thing about this episode was that Aidan and Shannon weren't the killers and were in a nice relationship. But we never get to see them together, since she's dead in the first scene, with no flashbacks. And Aidan really overreacts to the incest. He acts like sleeping with his half sister was the worst thing that had ever happened to anyone ever, even though his sister/girlfriend who he loved is dead, and his fetus baby is dead, and his father was just murdered. But omg, he slept with his sister.

[saiilorstars]

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.

[arrthurpendragon]

⌨️ - she will be loved - @julieelliewrites

She thought that maybe Liv and Amanda would try to catch her up on the case as they made their way to Barba’s office, but Amanda wanted to talk about Barba instead. “So, he brought you food? That was sweet of him. I think he likes you.”

“He broke into my building,” JJ retorted.

Send me ⌨ + title to one of my fics and I’ll write a sentence for that fic!

[enchanted--roses]

OC Halloween Challenge — Day 26 — Fairytale AU!

Bryony Collins -> Rapunzel

Avery Martin -> Thumbelina

Forever Tag: 💠@fiercefray​ 💠 @eddysocs 💠 @wokenhardies​ 💠@ochub​ 💠@ocappreciationtag​  💠  @robertdowneyhiddlesbatch (wanna be on any of my taglist? ask me!)

[ada-r-barba]

Firstly, thanks for the questions!

Secondly;

1. Sophie shows affe tonight through hand holding and Cuddles. She doesn't really like PDA, especially when it's her showing it, but hand holding she can do. When she properly Cuddles someone, not just a quick hug, she listens to their heart beat and squeezes even harder.

2. One thing Katherine can't live without? Sophie. Corny I know because they feel best friends but Sophie saved her life once + Katherine knows if Sophie wasn't there after a hard day or a break up, she wouldn't be living any more.

3. Ophelia spends her free time practicing with her sword. I know that's cliche for a merlin OC but Ophelia is a ruler, a woman following in her fathers footsteps who will have to protect her country one day. She knows that when it gets down to it, shell have to pick up a sword and muck in!

4. Honesty. Eleanor believes that honesty is the most important thing. She doesn't care qhat you've done or what you want forgiveness for, as long as you're honest about it.

5. If Rosaline could do anything, she would travel back in time. With her family gone, she would want to travel back - not to stop what happened - to spend more time with them. She'd tell her brother that she loves him, tell her father she doesn't care that he drinks a lot and tell her mother that despite everything she says, she does love her and is grateful for her. She would want to make things right, to make it easier to live with herself.

Questions for @ada-r-barba

​How does Sophie show affection?

What is one thing Katherine can’t live without?

How does Ophelia spend her free time?

What is the most important thing to Eleanor?

If Rosaline could do anything in the world, what would she love to get the chance to do?

[curious-kittens-ocs]

wbw for abigail munch??

send me the name of a character, and i’ll reply with:

B A S I C S

full name: Abbigail Jane Price-Munch

gender: Female

sexuality: Bisexual

pronouns: She/Her

O T H E R S

family: Cassandra Price (Mother), John Munch (Father), Steven Marshall (Step-Father)

birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland

job: NYPD SVU Detective

phobias: Phonophobia & Claustrophobia

guilty pleasures: People Watching, Take-out, Falling asleep to watching TV

M O R A L S

morality alignment?: ENFJ-T The Protagonist

sins - lust/greed/gluttony/sloth/pride/envy/wrath

virtues - chastity/charity/diligence/humility/kindness/patience/justice

T H I S - O R - T H A T

introvert/extrovert: Extroverted

organized/disorganized: Organized

close minded/open-minded: Open-Minded

calm/anxious: Calm

disagreeable/agreeable: Disagreeable

cautious/reckless: Reckless

patient/impatient: Impatient

outspoken/reserved: Outspoken

leader/follower: Leader

empathetic/unemphatic: Empathetic

optimistic/pessimistic: Optimistic

traditional/modern: Modern

hard-working/lazy: Hard-Working

R E L A T I O N S H I P S

otp: Abbigail x Sonny

ot3: Abbigail x Olivia x Amanda

brotp: Abbigail x Fin

notp: Abbigail x Nick

[eddysocs]

Whitney Scofield Masterlist

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[ocappreciation]

~*~Mobile Friendly~*~ ocappreciation Law & Order: SVU OC Masterlist

Daniel ‘Dani’ Danvers // Fic: Confidentiality Issues // by: marvul-imagines

Jillian “JJ” Jacobs // Fic: She Will Be Loved // by: missjanuarylily

Rikki Wilde // Fic: Crossing A Line // by: curious-kittens-ocs

[tvrundownusa]

tvrundown USA 2021.10.21

Thursday, October 21st:

(exclusive): Jellystone! (HMax, cartoon bonus ep), Snoop & Martha's "Very Tasty Halloween" (Peacock, baking competition), The Girl in the Woods (Peacock, YA supernatural drama series, all 8 eps), The Next Thing You Eat (hulu, chef David Chang series premiere, all 6 eps), Insiders (netflix, Spanish candid reality competition, all 7 eps), Life's a Glitch with Julien Bam (netflix, comedy limited series, all 4 eps), "Sex, Love & goop" (netflix, Gwyneth Paltrow reality series, all 6 eps), Couple Trouble (SundanceNow, season 2 available, all 8 eps), A Closer Look (AllBlk, music docuseries, new ep "Trina")

(documentaries): "The Green Wave" (Crackle, high school basketball), "Introducing, Selma Blair" (DSC+), "Reign of Superwomen" (HMax), "Flip a Coin" (netflix, "ONE OK ROCK" concert)

(streaming weekly): ----- One of Us Is Lying (Peacock, next 2 eps, season 1 finale), Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol" (Peacock), American Ninja Warrior Junior (Peacock), Frogger (Peacock), Top Chef Family Style (Peacock), The Kids Tonight Show (Peacock, next 2 eps), ----- DC's Young Justice (HMax, season 4 "Phantoms" opener, first 3 eps), "Aquaman: King of Atlantis" (HMax, part 2 of 3), Doom Patrol (HMax), Titans (HMax, season 3 finale), The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo (HMax), ----- Tyler Perry's "Bruh" (BET+, season 2B opener), Covenant (AllBlk), ----- Dead Places (SundanceNow, penultimate), Creepshow (Shudder|AMC+, penultimate), One Lane Bridge (SundanceNow|AMC+), Kin (AMC+, penultimate), Fear the Walking Dead (AMC+, "Episode Diaries"), Walking Dead World Beyond (AMC+, "Episode Diaries"), ----- Guilty Party (Para+), The Harper House (Para+), ----- Komi Can't Communicate (netflix, anime series premiere), Reflection of You (netflix),  The Problem with Jon Stewart (apple+, skipping this week)

(also new): "Framed by My Husband" (LMN original movie, 2hrs)

(earlier - hour 0): Young Dylan (NICK) /   / That Girl Lay Lay (NICK)

(hour 1): The Blacklist (NBC, season 9 opener, new timeslot), Station 19 (ABC), Young Sheldon (CBS) /   / United States Of Al (CBS), Coroner (theCW, season 3 finale)

(hour 2): Law & Order: SVU (NBC), Grey's Anatomy (ABC), Ghosts (CBS) /   / B Positive (CBS), Legacies (theCW), America's Big Deal (USA), Project Runway (BRAVO, 90mins)

(hour 3): Law & Order: Organized Crime (NBC), Big Sky (ABC), Bull (CBS), Tacoma FD (truTV), Cake (FXX, ~35mins), What We Do In The Shadows (FX, ~40mins), Indefensible (Sundance, regular timeslot), While the Rest of Us Die (VICE, season 2 opener), Project Runway (BRAVO, contd)

(hour 4 - latenight): Desus & Mero (SHO, season 3B timeslot resumes)

[tabloidtoc]

TV Guide, March 18-31

Cover: Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco of The Big Bang Theory 

Page 2: Contents, Editor’s Letter

Page 4: Ask Matt -- The Neighborhood, Counterpart, Your Feedback, TV Guide’s April 1 issue will cover Game of Thrones 

Page 6: Tributes -- Luke Perry, 90210 gets a reboot 

Page 7: Tributes -- Katherine Helmond 

Page 10: Alex Trebek battles cancer 

Page 11: The finale of The Masked Singer gets big ratings, Hallmark Channel’s When Calls the Heart starring Lori Loughlin (pictured...oops) Season 6 premiere was its biggest opener to date 

Page 12: The Roush Review -- What We Do in the Shadows starring Kayvan Novak 

Page 13: Mrs. Wilson starring Ruth Wilson, The Act starring Patricia Arquette and Joey King, Shrill starring Aidy Bryant 

Page 14: Cover Story -- The Big Farewell to The Big Bang Theory 

Page 20: History channel retools Knightfall starring Mark Hamill 

Page 22: Bill Hader on season 2 of Barry

Page 23: Barry’s best baddie Noho Hank played by Anthony Carrigan 

Page 25: What’s Worth Watching Week 1 -- American Housewife starring Katy Mixon and Diedrich Bader

Page 26: Monday, March 18 -- The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, The Fix, 9-1-1, Beauty and the Beast, Mental Samurai, Restored by the Fords 

Page 27: Tuesday, March 19 -- The Village starring Frankie Faison and Lorraine Toussaint, If Loving You Is Wrong, The Rookie, Lost Gold of World War II, One of a Kind, The Jim Jefferies Show 

Page 28: Wednesday, March 20 -- Buble star Michael Buble, Let’s Make a Deal, Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists, SEAL Team, Figure Skating 

Page 29: Thursday, March 21 -- Will & Grace starring Megan Mullally and Samira Wiley, Journalism in the Movies, Gotham, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Law & Order: SVU, College Basketball 

Page 30: Friday, March 22 -- Nightmare Tenant starring Lauralee Bell and Heather Hopkins, Last Man Standing, Animal Cribs, Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives, Proven Innocent 

Page 32: Saturday, March 23 -- Alpha starring Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Meg, Saturday Stack: Grateful Dead, Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards, Love to the Rescue, The Atlanta Child Murders, Jesse Stone: Stone Cold

Page 33: Sunday, March 24 -- The Monkees, Prince Charles at 70, Epic Yellowstone, Mission Declassified, Into the Badlands, Black Monday starring Andrew Rannells and Casey Wilson 

Page 53: Stream It! 

Page 54: Netflix -- The Highwaymen starring Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson and Thomas Mann, The Dirt starring Daniel Webber and Douglas Booth as Motley Crue 

Page 55: Arrested Development, Santa Clarita Diet, Amy Schumer Growing, The Legend of Cocaine Island, Abducted in Plain Sight, Evil Genius, Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, Holy Hell 

Page 56: Hulu -- Patricia Arquette in The Act 

Page 58: Prime Video -- Catastrophe, Hanna 

Page 59: Little House on the Prairie, streaming searches made easy 

Page 60: Comprehensive guide to films coming and good 

Page 63: What’s Worth Watching Week 2 -- Major League Baseball 

Page 64: Monday, March 25 -- Jesus: His Life, According to Jim, One Nation Under Stress, Bull, Treasures from the Disney Vault 

Page 65: Tuesday, March 26 -- MasterChef Junior with Aaron Sanchez’s adobo recipe, The Young and the Restless, The Kids Are Alright, black-ish, Miracle Workers, Juliet, Naked 

Page 66: Wednesday, March 27 -- Jane the Virgin, Million Dollar Mile, What We Do in the Shadows, Happy!, Documentary Now! 

Page 67: Thursday, March 28 -- Abby’s, College Basketball, Flip or Flop Vegas, Tacoma FD, Friday, March 29 -- The Blacklist, Strike Back, Kin 

Page 68: Saturday, March 30 -- Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, The Killer Next Door, A Brush With Love, Animal ER Live, NAACP Image Awards, Tigerland 

Page 70: Sunday, March 31 -- Veep, The Spy Who Dumped Me 

Page 71: Oprah’s SuperSoul Sunday, American Idol, The Simpsons, Call the Midwife, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Masterpiece: Mrs. Wilson, Madam Secretary, Major League Baseball 

Page 96: Cheers & Jeers -- Cheers to John Mulaney, Grey’s Anatomy, Suits, Project Blue Blook, Jeers to MTV, off-camera chaos, American Idol