#rafael barba x natalia barba

[thefanficfaerie]

Have a Very Merry Ficmas!!

Avengers A Christmas Carol by @red-5

Steve Rogers Mini-Matchmaker by @avengerofyourheart Christmas to Remember by @avengerofyourheart So You’re Y/N by @ruckystarnes Come Home by @vibraniom Nostalgic in New York by @hellomissmabel The Christmas We Never Had by @pleasecallmecaptain All I Want For Christmas by @steves--starsandstripes The Christmas Song by @fantastic-fantasy-fanfics Garland and Mistletoes by @lumifuer Christmas Candy by @imagines-for-the-fangirls-soul Christmas Olives by @september-stardust Saps by @promarvelfangirl Please Come Home by @meganlpie The Coffee Cup by @sarahwroteathing A December Deception by @aubzylynn

Tony Stark Stark’s Secret Santa by @sherrybaby14 A Family for Christmas by @butlikethisonetime Santa Baby by @whotheeffisbucky NSFW Santa Baby by @marvelous-fvcks NSFW Santa Baby by @fantastic-fantasy-fanfics Christmas Guac by @nerddface A Not So White Christmas by @avengerofyourheart A Birthday Surprise by @redlipstickandplaid 5 Seconds to Christmas by @vulpe-fox

Steve Rogers x Reader x Bucky Barnes Christmas Decorating by @stucky-and-reader-au   I’ll Be Home for Christmas by @siren-kitten-his NSFW Oh, Christmas Tree by @imagine-assembling-the-avengers

Law and Order: SVU Rafael Barba Christmas Magic by @ohbelieveyoume Perfect Portrait by @rauliskafan The Greatest Gift by @rauliskafan The Barbas Finding a Christmas Tree by @ohbelieveyoume Skipping Christmas by @imagines-for-the-fangirls-soul Silent Night by @teatimewithtiya Baby It’s Cold Outside by @vintagemichelle91

Star Trek The Crew Surprising You on Christmas by @imaginestartrek The Cure for Mistletoe Fever by @starshiphufflebadger Jingle My Bells by @star-trekkin-across-theuniverse

Jim Kirk Waking Up With Jim on Christmas Morning by @youre-on-a-starship Snow Dogs by @goingknowherewastaken  Authorized by @iguess-theyre-mymess Good Things Always Happen at Christmas by @iguess-theyre-mymess The Hat by @mybullshitsensesaretingling

Leonard McCoy Baby Jim- Christmas by @mission-enterprise The Inauguration of Tradition by @outside-the-government For All to Hear by @outside-the-government An Early Christmas Gift by @outside-the-government Walking In a Winter Wonderland by @starshiphufflebadger All I Want by @theunholygrails   Wrapped in a Big Red Bow by @musingsongbird Seeing Joanna In Christmas Pageant by @youre-on-a-starship Bones Driving to You in a Snow Storm by @imaginestartrek Spending Christmas in Georgia by @imaginestartrek Having Bones Stay For Christmas Eve by @imaginestartrek  Christmas Gift by @imagineangryspacegrump Wrapped in a Big Red Bow by @musingsongbird White Knight by @annathewitch

McKirk A Very McCoy Christmas by @auduna-druitt Of Mistletoe and Misunderstandings by @auduna-druitt Going Home for Christmas by @imoutofmyvulcanmind A Merry Little Christmas by @imoutofmyvulcanmind The Christmas Card by @thevalesofanduin KItchen Conversations by @pinkamour1588 All I Want For Christmas by @pinkamour1588 Ribbon and Bows by @pinkamour1588 Counting Stars by @its-life-jim

NCIS Tony DiNozzo Christmas Eve by @spaceemonkeyyxd Christmas Excitement by @spaceemonkeyyxd Fireplace by @of-badges-and-guns Christmas with the Dinozzos Part 1/Part 2 by @itswitchcraft-not-googlemaps Tomorrow by @imagicana Under the Mistletoe by @whydontyouallf-fadeaway

Chris Evans Light ‘em up by @mightyshieldevans Guilty Pleasures by @forever-rogue Christmas Eve with Chris by @ohevansmycaptain

Misc Fandoms Every Year, Every Christmas by @callingmrsbarnes Bucky Barnes Christmas Morning by @ncis-criminalminds Aaron Hotchner Little Lesson in Expecting Part 4 by @vintagemichelle91 and @rauliskafan Violetta’s First Christmas by @vintagemichelle91 and @rauliskafan Natalia and Rafael Barba A Hard Lesson in Holiday Cheer by @vintagemichelle91 and @rauliskafan A Hard Lesson in Miracles by @vintagemichelle91 and @rauliskafan Holiday with the Starks by @meganlpie Robb Stark With My Life by @becaamm Bucky Barnes Hanukkah Menorah by @becaamm Castiel A box inside a box inside a box by @becaamm Pietro Maximoff The Edwardian Nightgown by @siren-kitten-his Chris Evans Bittersweet Hanukah by @officialheroesofolympus Wanda Maximoff Everything Special by @rauliskafan Frederick Chilton Wickedsingularity’s Christmas Stories by @wickedsingularity  The Last Christmas by @becaamm Dean Winchester

[vintagemichelle91]

A Hard Lesson in Discord: Chapter 2

Authors’ Note: Happy Saturday!! What will Ashtonja say to Rafael and Natalia’s proposal of adopting her? Read on and find out!! Thank you so much for the comments and likes and reblogs on last night’s first chapter! It is really meaningful, especially when you tell us your thoughts!! Keep them coming and @rauliskafan and I hope you enjoy this chapter!!

           “Here she comes.”

           Leaving the window, Natalia started to settle on the sofa when she saw Rafael pacing near the bar, still wearing the suit from his day at Hogan Place. He thought it best to start catching up on some of the many things he missed while out of the loop. The Chief said it was only a matter of time…

           …but Natalia knew that the worried steps he took now had nothing to do with his job.

           “Are you okay?” she asked.

           “I… guess I am just a little nervous,” he admitted. “I… I hope this doesn’t… you know. Offend her or anything.”

           “Why would you think that, Atticus?”

           “Because she was… I mean she still is someone else’s daughter.”

           And Natalia knew he still felt responsible for his witness slipping away in more ways than one. Her hands found his shoulders, and she kissed his cheek.

           “You… we will help her to remember that,” Natalia promised. “But she can have this, too.”

           To that, he smiled and returned her kiss.

           “I still need a quick drink,” Rafael said. Natalia ran her fingers down his back and called out for Ashtonja when she heard the door open.

           “Ash?”

           Natalia watched and waited until the girl appeared, dropping her bag.

           “What’s up?” Ashtonja asked.

           Smiling, Natalia waved her over when Ashtonja hesitated in the doorway.

           “Is there… like a problem or something?” Ashtonja asked.

           “Why would you say that?”

           The sound of Rafael’s voice as he poured out a scotch seemed to startle the girl, and Natalia grabbed her hand.

           “Ashtonja, don’t be---”

           “If you both want to talk to me… must mean I’ve done something wrong.”

           “No, no, no!” Natalia insisted, winding an arm around the girl’s shoulders as they sat.

           “Not a thing,” Rafael reiterated, finishing his drink before he perched on the edge of the coffee table with his elbows on his thighs, his fingers folded together. “But we do want to talk. It’s important.”

           “Wait… is this about the Fourth Harold?” Ashtonja asked, and Natalia saw Rafael’s green eyes grow wide.

           “A Fourth Harold?” he echoed. A small smile played across Natalia’s lips. She pictured her husband imagining another hippo to go with Harold, Jr. and Harold III. No doubt Rafael thought that if this was truly on the table, Ashtonja would require something closer to the original recipe Harold… and as spacious as the townhouse was…

           “Yeah,” Ashtonja continued, rolling her eyes. “V says I need a hippo, too.”

           “Well do… do you want one?” Rafael asked, and Ashtonja released a little laugh.

           “No offense to V or any of the hippos, but like it’s really not my style.”

           Spying a wave of relief wash over Rafael’s face, Natalia playfully tapped her toes to his and drew Ashtonja a little nearer.

           “No offense taken,” Natalia said. “Harolds aren’t for everyone.”

           “Right?” Ashtonja agreed. “Like I’m sorry, but I don’t think Hazel really digs hers.”

           “Well the fact that she keeps tossing it out of her crib is kind of a dead giveaway,” Rafael agreed, his tone dry. Natalia watched them share a smile, and she inhaled a small breath.

           “Okay,” she started. “So the Fourth Harold is out.”

           “Thank God for that,” Rafael muttered.

           “But,” Natalia said, shooting him a sharp glance, “it is sweet that Violetta doesn’t want you to feel left out of anything.”

           “Yeah,” Ashtonja said. “Nice.”

           Looking to Rafael one more time, Natalia saw him completely recovered from the hippo shock, and she took hold of Ashtonja’s hand again.

           “Plus, it kind of cuts to the heart of the matter,” she continued. Ashtonja appeared confused as their eyes and locked, and Natalia just tightened her grip.

           “Ashtonja, I… I asked you something on Christmas Eve,” Natalia said. “Are you… you are happy here with us? Right?”

           “Sure,” Ashtonja muttered, averting her eyes and pulling her hand from Natalia’s. Slumping over slightly, she stared at the floor, and Natalia exchanged another look with her husband. Had she… had they entirely misread the situation? Was it possible that Ashtonja, while happy to have a roof over her head, saw their home as little more than a stopover to wherever life would lead her next? Was she counting the days until it all came to a close?

           “Well, we… we want you to be happy,” Natalia said. “And if there’s anything else that we could do to make you---”

           “Ashtonja? Hey. Are you…?”

           Rafael’s voice trailed off as they both looked at the girl trying and failing to blink back her tears. Instinctively, Natalia reached for her face. She shuddered some when Ashtonja flinched and looked to Rafael for guidance. At first, he shrugged his shoulders, but then he looked as if a lightbulb clicked to life. In that sudden glow, he reached for his pocket square, the silver-gray speckled with white leaves. He cleared his throat and held the spoils from his suit so close to Ashtonja. Even as she accepted the gift worlds’ away from a hippo, even as she tried to dry her eyes, she lost the battle and broke down into more tears than any of Rafael’s accessories could every capture.

           “Oh, sweetheart,” Natalia said, folding the girl into her arms, and sighing softly when she did not resist. “We’re sorry. Was it something that we said?”

           “Had to be the hippo,” Rafael said. “Sometimes they make me want to cry.” Natalia hissed, and he held up his hands, looking apologetic when Ashtonja suddenly clung to her neck.

           “It’s not what you… I mean it is… it… it’s just…”

           Her sobbing started anew, and Natalia rubbed her back, kissing the top of her head while she kept glancing at Rafael. He looked sick, like he’d rather hear any sound than the girl’s weeping, and Natalia nodded when Ashtonja’s head suddenly shot up.

           “Ash?” Natalia whispered. “What is it?”

           She sniffled a few times before blowing her nose with the pocket square.

           “I… I’m sorry,” she blubbered.

           “Honey, there’s nothing to be sorry for,” Natalia swore.

           “And it… it was nice that V wanted me to have my own Harold.”

           For a second Rafael hung his head, but just as quickly he straightened his shoulders and held Ashtonja’s other hand.

           “It could be arranged,” he said. “Whatever that you want, Ashtonja.”

           “I… what I want… doesn’t matter.”

           “But it does!” Natalia said. “Anything---”

           “It won’t happen,” she said. “I’m not like V. Or Hazel or Holly. Maggie’s baby is gonna have the good genes. I’m just like a guest.”

           “We’ve never thought of you like that, Ash,” Natalia promised, cupping Ashtonja’s chin in her hands, needing to make this right.

           “That’s… that’s nice,” Ashtonja said, blowing her nose again. Her eyes glazed over, and her features started to grow hard as she inched towards the other end of the sofa. “But… it doesn’t change anything. I’m not really part of the family.”

           “Would you like to be?”

           Rafael cut right to the point, and Ashtonja said nothing as he reached for her hands.

           “Ashtonja, you already are part of this family,” he said. “And Natalia and I… we want to make it official.”

           “Official?” Ashtonja choked out, her voice trembling.

           “If… if you’ll have us,” Natalia told her. “We want to adopt you.”

           The air in the room froze. Ashtonja gasped, the pocket square at her mouth hardly stifling the sound. Her eyes darted between Rafael and Natalia, and when she finally dropped the silver lined with leaves, her lip quivered.

           “Ashtonja?” Rafael carefully asked, abandoning the coffee table to kneel before the sofa.

           “Are you alright?” Natalia asked. “We weren’t trying to take you by surprise or anything. We just---”

           She stopped speaking when the sound of Ashtonja’s sob filled the room. Would she fall apart on the spot? Was this the wrong---?

           “It’s… it’s the only…”

           The girl took a few seconds to catch her breath. Natalia draped an arm around her once more, and Rafael retrieved the pocket square to wipe the fallen tears from her cheeks.

           “It’s… I mean… I want to be your daughter… like more than anything in the world.”

           Natalia felt her own tears spill, and she pulled Ashtonja into a hug, whispering into her hair.

           “Us, too,” Natalia murmured. “So what do you say?”

           “It’s… it’s really just some paperwork,” Rafael said. “Nothing that---”

           “No,” Ashtonja cut in. “It’s… it’s really everything.”

           Natalia’s eyes brimmed with tears, and Rafael’s green eyes glistened as he held them both.

           “To us, too,” he said. “We… Ashtonja, we love you. All of us. And we would never try to… we only…”

           His speech stalled, and Natalia took up where he left off.

           “The past had doesn’t have to disappear,” she said. “But we… we can’t picture a future if you’re not a part of it.”

           A few more tears left her eyes, and Natalia mopped up what she could with the pocket square.

           Finally, Ashtonja breathed deeply, her smile broad.

           “How… how soon?” she asked.

           “Very soon,” Rafael promised, scrubbing a hand over his face and shifting modes. “We have to call Trevor Langan.”

           “Who’s that?” Ashtonja asked.

           “The lawyer who helped Liv with Noah,” Rafael informed her. “The man needs to work his magic a second time around.”

           “Really no need. This… this is…”

           Ashtonja looked like she might cry again, but she stayed calm. Holding Natalia’s hand, she linked it to Rafael’s, her fingers surrounding their joined palms.

           “This is so much magic all at once. Thank you.”

           Natalia’s head fell to the girl’s shoulder, and Rafael pulled them both into his arms. They stayed like that for several seconds. Until…

           “And, Ash?” he asked.

           “If you really would like a hippo, we---”

           “I’m good showing the twins… showing my sisters how to play with theirs. Especially Hazel.”

           No more tears. The room erupted with laughter.

           Which was magical.

Tagging: @skittle479 @rafi-esparza @fortheloveofallthingsraul @mrschiltoncat @delia26 @minidodds @yourtropegirl @dreila03

[vintagemichelle91]

Hello all!!! Glad to bring in some little lessons for you all!!!! 💕 Enjoy!!! ✨✨

Little Lessons in Healing: Chapter 1

Happy Saturday, sensational readers!!! We hope that everyone had a fantabulous holiday!!! @vintagemichelle91 and I are so excited to bring you the first in a series of new “Little Lessons!!!” As Rafael recovers from his attack with Natalia by his side, we juxtapose his healing process with the many moments when Atticus was there for his hermosa flor. Read on for more, and if you need a refresher or you are a new reader, check out our very first “Hard Lesson” where we dealt with Natalia’s assault and Rafael’s caring response!!! Enjoy!!!

NOTE: Flashback to previous events in the series are italicized…

          The Christmas decorations still lingered in Alessia’s parlor. Standing before the brightly lit tree, Natalia let her finger graze the needles and play with the ribbons securing a shimmering silver ornament in place. Something about the way the shine caught the evergreen sent her mind in the direction of Rafael’s emerald eyes. The image made her smile, thoughts of him finding her on the 24th, of waking up the next morning in his warm embrace. He had been nothing but attentive, making sure that she ate, bestowing light kisses on her brow, and watching with her as the old year slipped into the new. All of it meant to put her at ease…

           …and yet, the doubts remained.

            Natalia still shivered at the memory of Robert Emerson, of his rough hands and rank breath sending her to a place from which she feared she might never escape. Yes, Rafael had returned to her. But what came next? Now that the adrenaline of their reunion must be fading fast? Did he still like what he saw? A damaged woman who barely slept and sobbed several times a day, nothing in particular and every minor detail a trigger all at once? These thoughts plagued her until she had to move or drown in the flood of bad feelings.

Keep reading

[theenchantedgalleryofstories]

12 Days of Holiday Mood Boards

Star Trek Jim Kirk A Smoky Mountain Christmas A Russian Christmas Christmas in New York for @auduna-druitt Christmas in California 

Leonard McCoy A Disney Christmas for @auduna-druitt Christmas Lights  A Doggie Christmas for @bkwrm523 Ski Trip for @outside-the-government

McKirk Christmas in Georiga for @pinkamour1588 Christmas in New Zealand

The Avengers Steve Rogers Christmas in Asgard for @tilltheendwilliwrite A Christmas to Remember for @avengerofyourheart A Winter Holiday at the Cabin for @emilyevanston from @4theluvofall

Tony Stark  Winter In New York A Bostonian Christmas Christmas in Poland

Steve Rogers x Reader X Bucky Barnes  Christmas Markets in Germany for @emilyevanston

NCIS Tony DiNozzo Christmas in D.C. It’s a Wonderful Life  Mistletoe A Roman Holiday for @itswitchcraft-not-googlemaps

Law and Order: SVU Rafael Barba A Chance Encounter Christmas for @vintagemichelle91 Christmas in the Alps for @vintagemichelle91 All Work, All Play Christmas for @ohbelieveyoume Christmas Cooking Holiday in France for @rauliskafan Christmas in Charleston for @ohbelieveyoume

Misc. Fandoms Winter Wonderland with Spock for @bookcaseninja Christmas in Disney for @vintagemichelle91 and @rauliskafan Natalia and Rafael Barba  Our First Christmas for @rauliskafan from @vintagemichelle91 A Downton Christmas for @vintagemichelle91 from @rauliskafan Snowball Fight with Clint and Natasha for @travelwithwords and @courtneychicken Bucky in a Winter Wonderland for @4theluvofall

tags: @rauliskafan @pinkamour1588 @auduna-druitt @captainsbabysitter-blog @randomlittleimp @viioletdelights @eyeofdionysus @tilltheendwilliwrite @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan @4theluvofall @outside-the-government @medicatemedrmccoy @ohbelieveyoume @starshiphufflebadger @star-trekkin-across-theuniverse @imoutofmyvulcanmind @a-legion-of-benedicts @bookcaseninja @xemopeachx @thatgirlwhosalwayssinging @paige-writes-things @mrsrafaelbarba @mrschiltoncat 

[thefanficfaerie]

Weekly Reading List 52

This is it guys. This is the last reading list of the year. Thank you for indulging my lists and reblogging them. I hope you all found some awesome new writers to enjoy and some amazing stories along the way.  

Stay tuned because I will have a Ficmas list that will come out on Christmas with Holiday and Christmas Stories galore. So please make sure you tag me in them. I will also have a recap list on New Year’s Eve with all my favorites from the year. 

Graphic is done by the awesome @wonders-of-the-multiverse. And see you next year!!! 

Star Trek Jim Kirk The One That Got Away by @pinkamour1588 Lose You by @unicornladyimagines The Baby by @unicornladyimagines Let It Snow by @star-trekkin-across-theuniverse

Leonard McCoy Annoying by @unicornladyimagines Injury by @unicornladyimagines Loss by @unicornladyimagines Need Part 2 by @unicornladyimagines Too Sober by @unicornladyimagines Like Them by @goodnightwife Rescuing Bones by @star-trekkin-across-theuniverse Cocoa by @star-trekkin-across-theuniverse Well Adjusted Adults by @mybullshitsensesaretingling

McKirk The Christmas Card by @thevalesofanduin Of Mistletoe and Misunderstandings by @auduna-druitt Kitchen Conversations by @pinkamour1588 Back from the Edge by captainnperfecthair

Jim Kirk x Reader X Leonard McCoy

Tropes AU The Young Lion and the Fatling Together by slashsailing McKirk

Soulmate AU Can You Feel That by @propertyofpoeandbucky

Daddy!Character Staying Quiet Part 5 by @shitty-imagines-95 Tony Stark

A/B/O Dynamics Christmas Decorating by @stucky-and-reader-au  Finding Pack by Naferty Stony Warm by @not-close-to-straight Stony Kirk’s Omega by @izawrites and @reigningqueenofwords

Modern AU Locked Out by @haveyouseenmymind McKirk Double Trouble Part 3/Part 4 by @captainsbabysitter-blog McKirk Guardian Part 7 by @auduna-druitt McKirk Christmas to Remember by @avengerofyourheart  Steve Rogers  Our Two Dads and the Smores Experiment by @randomlittleimp McKirk Honey Sweet Sunshine by @needles-and-ink  McKirk If You Survive First Impressions, You’re Good to Go by itsallAvengers Stony Snow Dogs by @goingknowherewastaken Jim Kirk  Of Tiaras and Drama Queens by @thevalesofanduin McKirk

Avengers Steve Rogers Nightmares by @dumbchickwrites I Want You Bad by @captain-rogers-beard NSFW Rise Up Part 12 by @tilltheendwilliwrite NSFW Happy Birthday Baby by @taylorjacksonandtheolympians Criminal by @breenieweenie NSFW Revelations Part 2 by @forever-rogue In Sickness and Health by @a-splash-of-stucky  All I Ask by @honey-buttered Garland and Mistletoes by @lumifuer

Tony Stark Helping Tony Through a Panic Attack by @imamotherfuckingstar-lord Any Day Can Be A Bad Day Part 2 by @superfandomdqueensnook Santa Baby by @marvelous-fvcks NSFW Santa Baby by @fantastic-fantasy-fanfics Christmas Guac by @nerddface

Steve Rogers x Reader x Bucky Barnes Baby Names by @stucky-and-reader-au

Stony Goodnight and Goodbye by Randigzebra

Stuckony Smitten Kitten by @not-close-to-straight

Law and Order: SVU Rafael Barba Forgive and Forget by @writefasttalkevenfaster Impossible by @writefasttalkevenfaster A Heavy Amount of Trust by @locke-writes Skipping Christmas by @imagines-for-the-fangirls-soul

NCIS Tony DiNozzo

Chris Evans Found You by @honey-buttered The Avengers Blankie by @i-dont-do-rpfs Old Time Rock and Roll by @mycapt-ohcapt-writes Getting Ready for Bed by @theycallmebecca

Misc Fandoms A Vanity Project by @xemopeachx Rafael Barba x OMC  A Little Lesson in Healing Part 3/Part 4 by @rauliskafan and @vintagemichelle91 The Edwardian Nightgown by @siren-kitten-his Chris Evans Short Noodles by @eyeofdionysus John Kennex 800 Follower Celebration #4 by @imoutofmyvulcanmind John Kennex

[vintagemichelle91]

A Hard Lesson in Discord: Chapter 6

Authors’ Note: There seems to be a question of what the judge will decide when it comes to Ashtonja...read on to see what happens in court! Thank you for the likes, reblogs, and comments! @rauliskafan and I hope you enjoy this chapter!! 

         “Barba! Natalia! Over here.”

           Hand-in-hand, they walked a few feet to where Trevor Langan stood.

           “Are we late?” Natalia asked.

           “Not at all,” Langan assured them. “Everything alright on the home front?”

           “We wanted to keep Ashtonja home,” Rafael said.

           “But Violetta thought that school might help her take her mind off things,” Natalia interjected.

           “Smart girl,” Langan said. “Besides, you want to keep up the appearance of normality throughout the proceedings.”

           “It’s more than window dressing, Langan,” Rafael hissed. “We have a happy home. All of our girls are---”

           “Atticus,” Natalia tenderly soothed, rubbing his back. “You know what he means.”

           “Exactly,” Langan agreed. “Let’s stay on the same page. And we’re going to play nice”

           “As long as nothing else catches you by surprise,” Rafael said. Right on cue, Ines Abreu appeared, flanked by the smirking Lionel Granger.

           “Trevor,” Granger began, extending his palm.

           “Sorry,” Langan said. “I just washed my hands.”

           With a wicked laugh, Granger started into the courtroom, and Rafael grabbed Langan by the arm.

           “That’s playing nice?” he demanded.

           “I said you have to play nice,” Langan reminded him. “Do I really have to tell you that it’s different for lawyers?”

           Langan seemingly had him there, and Natalia began to ease him back when Ines paused and turned on her heel to face them.

           “This could get ugly,” she said.

           “Get?” Rafael echoed.

“But you left me no choice,” Ines continued. “You know, it’s not too late.”

           “No, it’s not,” he said. “You could walk out right now. Since that’s your style.”

           “Now listen to me you---!”

           “Save it for the courtroom, Ines,” Granger cautioned, guiding her inside and looking back to Langan one last time. “And watch yourself, Trevor. Or don’t. Wouldn’t mind an easy day’s pay for a change.”

           His chuckle caused Natalia to cringe, but she sucked in a deep breath and started to reach for Rafael’s shoulders.

           “Are you even listening to me?” Langan demanded. “You’re not trying this case, and you’re not helping.”

           “I’m just supposed to stand by and let her---”

           “Yes, you are,” Langan warned. “Unless you want this whole thing to blow up in our faces.”

           “That’s rich coming from you,” Rafael started, looking like he wanted to say so much more when Natalia forced him to face her and narrowed her eyes.

           “Atticus, calm down,” she said.

           “How can I when---?”

           “When you think of Ashtonja and the fact that we’re doing this for her.”

           Something in those words seemed to reach Rafael, and he hung his head, pressing his brow to hers.

           “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have.”

           “I didn’t say that,” Natalia said. “But let’s leave this to the lawyers.”

           “And what am I?” he challenged.

           “Today, you’re a father.”

           He smiled softly, and they locked hands. Entering the courtroom, Natalia kept Rafael close as they sat near Langan, and she alternated between wanting the hearing to get underway…

           ...and already be over.

           At last the judge entered and signaled for their lawyer to start. With a confident smile, Langan rose and buttoned his blazer.

           “Good morning,” he began. “Your honor, the facts of this case are really quite simple. The minor in question, Ashtonja Abreu, was living with her supposed primary caretaker.” Langan made a point to glance at Ines, his face a mixture of contempt and amusement. Would that his confidence could prove contagious? But Natalia still felt nervous, her legs just trembling under the table…

           ...and Rafael was faring no better, his palm shivering in hers.

           “But Ines Abreu had better things to do with her time,” Langan continued, slowly shifting his attention back to the bench. “This so-called loving grandmother abandoned Ashtonja. And it wasn’t the first time. Hardly a surprise considering the fact that her modus operandi was to take the money that my client sent her way for the minor’s care. That became Ines’ personal piggy bank for God knows what. With God knows whom.”

           Out of the corner of her eye, Natalia saw Ines fidget in her seat as she rolled her eyes. Good. Let her look like the spoiled child that Ashtonja never was or could be. Let her look petulant because Trevor Langan was turning the tide away from what she wanted most. Let the judge take note.

           So she would never send Ashtonja back to such an unworthy woman.

           “Who knows what might have happened to Ashtonja had Mr. and Mrs. Barba not taken her into their home,” Langan went on. “I suppose any number of foster families could have done as fine a job when it came to the essentials, food and clothing and the like.”

           Rafael raised one eyebrow and tilted his head. Natalia saw into his mind, knowing that he was silently calling into question the implication that Ashtonja should fall into the hands of the state. Why even put that idea into the judge’s mind? Why---?

           “But no other family could have given Ashtonja the love, the sense of safety and security and the hope for the future that Rafael and Natalia have.”

Langan gave them a warm smile.

           “And now, all my clients want, if you’ll pardon the cliché, is to dot the I and cross the T. No piece of paper, no judgment from this or any court is required to make her a member of their family.”

           For a brief instant, the judge bristled.

           “All due respect, your honor.”

But just as quickly, Langan brought her back around.

“Still, in the interest of fair play, we ask this court to recognize the rights that the Barbas have already earned. For them. For their other daughters who already adore Ashtonja as their sister. And, most importantly, for Miss Abreu herself. Thank you.”

Smiling as he sat, Langan looked to Rafael who nodded his approval. How Natalia wished that Langan’s opening was enough. That the judge would simply throw up her hands and decide the matter in their favor so they could head home and share the good news with Ashtonja once school was out.

But if fair play was the name of the game, Ines Abreu at least had the right to plead her side of the story.

Or rather her oily lawyer did. Natalia nearly choked on his cologne as he stood proudly and thanked the judge for taking the time to hear him, to hear his client out.

“Judge,” he started. “There is some truth to opposing counsel’s version of events. My client was not a perfect guardian when it came to her granddaughter. Her blood relation.”

           The way he punctuated the last two words made Natalia want to leap from her chair over the table and smack him soundly across his smug face. Naturally, that would do nothing to aid their cause, and she settled for just digging her nails into her lavender pencil skirt.

           “Now did Ms. Abreu make some mistakes?” Granger continued. “Absolutely. Was she reckless? Also a fair characterization.”

           From the place at her table, Ines clasped her hands so tightly that Natalia saw the bones threatening to poke through the flesh of her knuckles. Granger was hardly painting the most flattering of portraits.

           “But let’s not accuse her so rashly without looking to the man who took Ashtonja in.”

           Or was he? Running his hands over his red tie, Granger looked back to the place where they sat, and Natalia clutched her husband’s hand even tighter.

           “Before we sanctify one side and vilify the other, let it be duly noted that Rafael Barba’s actions led to the death of Ms. Abreu’s daughter, Marianna.”

           “I object to that,” Langan chimed in.

           “It’s an opening argument,” Granger stressed. “Try to prove me wrong. Try to tell her honor here that Ashtonja is better off with a couple who lead one David Willard right to the girl’s door. And once they got out of that jam, Rafael Barba was arrested for the murder of his mistress!”

           “That’s not what happened!”

           “Don’t!”

           Langan raised one hand but---

           “Hasn’t my husband been through enough without these vile---?”

           Stopping herself short, Natalia sank back to her chair, hanging her head when she felt Rafael’s arm around her shoulders.

           “You said to keep calm,” Rafael reminded her.

           “I know. I’m sorry.”

           He kissed the top of her head, and Natalia forced herself to listen as Granger described Rafael as the villain in the darkest narrative.

           “But Mr. Granger,” the judge began. “I have it on good authority that Mr. Barba was set up for the crime in question. Michael Cutter is presently serving time for the murder of Eve Selby.”

           “I… well yes, Judge. But that doesn’t mean---”

           “What it means is that you are wasting time trying to inflame the situation. So, let’s say we take a short break so Mrs. Barba can get a drink of water, and then we’ll come back and stick to the facts of young Ashtonja.”

           Even as the judge rose with a huff, Natalia still felt a sense of victory, and she stayed close to Rafael, tuning out the sound of Granger conferring with a fuming Ines.

           “The judge is with us,” Rafael whispered into her ear, his lips quickly moving to her cheek.

           “After that stunt I pulled?”

           “Wasn’t exactly wise, Natalia,” Langan said.

           “No one gets to throw what happened in Rafael’s face like that.” She felt her husband’s hand on her shoulder and started to sink into his touch when two voices coming from around the corner added to the army that only seemed real in the space of her mind.

           “Problem, Langan?”

           “Why does my sister-in-law look upset?”

           Standing side by side, Fin and Dodds folded their arms across their chests. Langan’s swagger melted ever so slightly, but just as swiftly he cleared his throat and lengthened up the back of his neck.

           “I’ll let her fill you in,” Langan said. “We’re still in the black. But maybe Mrs. Barba should watch her step.”

           He tried to leave, but Fin grasped his arm.

           “You still have this in the win column?”

           Swallowing hard, Langan nodded his head. Only then did Fin release him from his hold.

           “Let’s keep things moving in that direction.”

           Once Langan was gone, Natalia caught her breath.

           “Liv says he knows what he’s doing,” she said. “She has Noah…”

           “And you’ll have Ashtonja,” Dodds promised, patting her arm as Rafael kissed her other hand.

           “Are you alright?” he asked.

           Shaking her head, letting her lips meet her husband’s, Natalia smoothed her hands down her skirt and looked at Dodds.

           “You’re here… with Fin?”

           “OCCB is on the light side these days,” he said with a shrug. “Maybe we should stick around…”

           “Yes,” Rafael agreed. “Hermosa?”

           Just nodding her head, Natalia patted his cheek with a smile and tasted the tears on her tongue.

           “It can’t hurt,” she said. “If Granger has something else in store.”

           “Man’s scum,” Fin said, and Natalia gave him a quick hug.

           “That’s why I love you,” she said. “Always telling it like it is.”

           Feeling better, she turned to Rafael.

           “I’m fine,” she said. “Just let me get cleaned up.”

           “Don’t be too long.”

           Natalia took a few steps in the direction of the ladies’ room. Standing before the porcelain, she twisted the faucet and felt the cool stream pour between her fingers. She splashed her face once, twice, a third time, and paused with her palms over her eyes.

           Relax. Don’t play into Granger’s hand… into Ines’. Langan will make this work. And Atticus…

           Lowering her hands, Natalia felt a small smile spread across her lips. Rafael was there, having come after her. She kept eye contact in the space of the mirror, finding a towel to dry her hands when…

           “Hola, mi mariposa.”

           Her eyes were dry. Her vision clear. And when she whipped her head around, when she peered into that pair of green eyes, she knew…

           “Nevada…? No!”

Tagging: @dreila03 @minidodds @letty-o @lyssa1385 @skittle479 @rafi-esparza @fortheloveofallthingsraul @yourtropegirl

[thefanficfaerie]

Weekly Reading List 45

Weekly Recommendations get posted every Thursday. All stories are character x reader unless otherwise stated. Graphic by the awesome @wonders-of-the-multiverse.

Tropes Royal AU The Heroes of Our Kingdom by @lame-lozer Steve Rogers

Soulmate AU What Happens to One by @shitty-imagines-95  Stucky Late by @kaitymccoy123 Leonard McCoy

Daddy!Character Just a Little Crazy by @fandomsandsuch Tony Stark

A/B/O Dynamics Coming Home by @not-close-to-straight Polyavengers To Keep You Safe & Sound Part 1 by @chaoswandas Stucky

Modern AU Hold That Thought 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 by @itsanerdlife Steve Rogers Scorch My Soul Part 8 by @thevalesofanduin McKirk Bake-Off Part 13/Part 14 by @kaunis-sielu Steve Rogers  Eager Lovers: Horny Devil/Two-Hearted/Brewing Darkness/Anti-Hero by @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan Steve Rogers NSFW Fuel to Fire: Tattoo Virginity by @avasparks Stucky Moving in by @arrowsshootyouforwards Leonard McCoy

Wonder Woman Steve Trevor American Spies by @imamotherfuckingstar-lord��

Game of Thrones Robb Stark Mine by @becaamm NSFW

Jon Snow

Avengers Steve Rogers The Fourth Time by @merdelera Shoulder to Lean On by @ruckystarnes Don’t Cry by @my-emtional-self Come Home by @vibraniom You’re Not Alone by @floatingpetals Cracking Ice by @ginger-rae1991 Ticking Time Bomb Part 25 by @itsanerdlife Being There For Steve at Peggy’s Funeral by @imamotherfuckingstar-lord Starshine by @a-splash-of-stucky Touchdown by @princess-evans-addict

Tony Stark Friday, I’m in Love by @avengerofyourheart Five Stages of Love by @secondxreality

Steve Rogers x Reader x Bucky Barnes Stucky x Reader Imagines by @stucky-and-reader-au I Promise to Love You Both Forever/Chapter 1 by @shitty-imagines-95 Deepest Secrets Part 2 by @floatingpetals Sweet as a Sour Peach Part 2 by @melonshino NSFW Every Rose Has Its Thorn Part 4 by @bucky-plums-barnes and @writemarvelousthings​

Steve Rogers x Reader x Tony Stark I Never Want to See Either of You Again by @shitty-imagines-95

Law and Order: SVU Rafael Barba Designer Duds by @writefasttalkevenfaster Better Man by @hiddndaydreams Silent Night by @nobodys-baby-now Delicate by @ohbelieveyoume​

Star Trek Jim Kirk Marriage Material Part 19 by @enterprisewriting Lose You by @blossombarnes Delicate by @omg-imagine You Did What? by @imaginesofeveryfandom 7 Minutes in a Turbolift Heaven by @imamotherfuckingstar-lord NSFW

Leonard McCoy Five Year Long by @writingsformuse The Wooing of Leonard McCoy Epilogue by @janeykath318 Night on the Town Part 15 by @all-sortsa-stuff Keep Your Hands to Yourself by @dirajunara

McKirk A Very McCoy Christmas by @auduna-druitt Nightmares Part 2 by @pinkamour1588 Mama’s Pride by @captainsbabysitter-blog The Great Candy Caper by @iguess-theyre-mymess McKirk-Tober Masterlist by @goingknowherewastaken Teach Me by @pinkamour1588​

Jim Kirk x Reader X Leonard McCoy Imagine by @multi-fandom-daddies

NCIS Tony DiNozzo Safety by @central-city-meta-pocalypse

Misc Fandoms A Hard Lesson in Incrimination Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/Part 4/Part 5 Rafael & Natalia Barba My Eyes Part 18 by @invisibleanonymousmonsters  Bucky Barnes The Doctor and His Doll: Date Night by @rauliskafan  Frederick Chilton

Chris Evans

Mood Boards

tags: (strikethroughs I cant tag) @thelawschooldiva @outside-the-government@isaxhorror @rayleyanns  @sistasarah-sallysaidso @grumpykate @auduna-druitt @engineeringtrashcan @impalaanddemons @dirajunara @the-space-goddess-16 @catbutsfurrever @a-girl-who-loves-disney@pinkamour1588 @fangirlinglikeamentalpatient

[vintagemichelle91]

A Little Lesson in Healing: Chapter 2

Authors’ Note: Happy Sunday dear readers! Back with another little lesson on Rafael and Natalia’s healing process. We are so glad you guys enjoyed the first one, now here is another after Adam Conway and their trip back from Venice. Thank you so much for your amazing support!!! @rauliskafan and I hope you continue to enjoy!!!

**Italicized bits are from the past. 

           Freshly returned from Venice and jet-lag aside, Natalia somehow found the time to unpack and settle everything into place. Not wanting to put it off any longer, she sorted through some things that needed to be sent off to the dry cleaners. Maybe on his way to work, Rafael could drop the items off.

           Consumed with the task at hand, she still wasn’t ready to leave the enchanting city on the water behind. Because coming back meant that she had to face all the memories of those terrible days before Italy. The days where Adam Conway and Francis Devenue had reentered her life, had terrorized her… and her family.        

The violet gown remained in the same spot where she had left it. On the floor in the back of the closet. Natalia felt a shiver run up her spine when she laid eyes on the piece of purple fabric. In her heart, she knew she would never wear that dress again. Too many painful memories… not the sweet scenes of Venice but memories from her distant past, a troubled past she wished to forget and never think on again. She swore she would forget…

…but now she stood in the middle of the walk-in closet gripping the laundry basket tightly, turning her knuckles white.

How could she ever truly flee the images flickering through her mind?

She felt as if Devenue still had her in his power, his fingers digging deeply into her throat. Was the window closed? There was no air circulating around her, and she could feel her skin beginning to burn.

“Natalia?”

Struggling to find her voice, in desperate need of a fresh breath, Natalia let the basket fall to the floor, the voice of Adam knocking her down, of Devenue vowing to punish her for the other man’s crime flooding her mind.

“Stop it!” Natalia screamed as she bolted out of the bedroom, almost running right into Rafael.

“Natalia… wait!” Rafael called out, but she made a beeline for the front door. “Where are you going?”

“I have to get out of here,” she said weakly, grabbing a sweater and disappearing into the night without any further explanation, needing to escape the cage that seemed to reassemble, to trap her all over again.

           Rafael sighed against the door before entering. The outcome of the morning was not what he had expected. His name was cleared, and yet it was less than enough in the eyes of his new superiors at the DA’s office. A part of him thought it was ridiculous to head down there in his best three-piece suit and think they would automatically offer his old job again as if he had simply been away on some extended holiday.

           And yet, he hoped that he could right the ship and resume his life, to provide for his girls.

           Not to be. Not yet. Maybe never? Feeling like a complete failure, he wondered how he could face his girls now. Seemingly without a choice, Rafael let out an unsteady breath and opened the door before regret could get too tight a grip on him.

           “Atticus?” Natalia greeted as she descended the steps and flashed him a warm smile. “How did it go?”

           The eagerness in her voice set him slightly on edge. The last thing he wanted was to disappoint her. But…

“Not the news I wanted to hear.” Rafael loosened his tie with unnecessary force and walked straight over to the bar in need of a drink.

           “What did they say?” Natalia asked innocently, setting a few toys aside and watching her husband intently.

           “The powers that be are still in a flux, and they won’t lift the suspension anytime soon.” Rafael took a swig of the single malt scotch and immediately served himself another glass. All the while he avoided his wife’s concerned gaze.

           “Rafael, they’re probably just trying to sort some things out,” Natalia began to reason, but he shook his head.

           “There is nothing to sort out. I didn’t do anything wrong. But I’m the one still being held accountable for everyone else’s crimes!” Rafael’s voice grew louder, and he ran his hands through his hair as Natalia tried to quiet him.

           “Shhh… the girls are down for their nap.” Natalia moved closer and took the empty glass from his hand. “Atticus, even if you don’t back to Hogan Place, there will be other opportunities.”

           “No, my reputation is tarnished,” Rafael whispered harshly. “And the longer this lasts, the worse it gets.”

            “Atticus,” Natalia started, cupping his face in her small hands. “Everything will sort itself out. In the meanwhile, spend time with us.” She kissed his cheek sweetly. “I rather like having you around.”

           Unable to fight a strange feeling bubbling in his soul, Rafael glanced up and inched away from his wife. “I can’t… Natalia, I can’t do this. I can’t just sit here and stay idle forever.”

           “It’s not forever,” Natalia said. “Just a few more days in our ivory tower.”

           “It’s more like a cage,” he hissed. “And I don’t like feeling trapped.”

           “But, Atticus---”

           “Not now, Natalia!”

           She seemed taken aback as Rafael marched out of the townhouse, back into the chilly air without another word.

           He had no sense of direction as his feet pounded the pavement. The wind suddenly filling his lungs began to clear his head, and when he turned a corner, not realizing where he was, Natalia’s hurt face appeared in his mind’s eye. Along with the sharpest pang of guilt.

           He didn’t mean to snap at her like that. But this was his career, a career he had worked so hard for. Now it was slipping away through no fault of his own. Before the beauty that was Natalia entered his life, it was all he had to hang on to. And with it came a sense of purpose, a way of making wrongs right.

           It seemed the only way he could make a mark on a place called Earth, in a city named Manhattan.

           No longer true. Life was more than trials and motions and prepping witnesses for hours on end. His purpose was the beautiful schoolteacher, the family they had built. How could he ever lose sight of that?

           How could he say that he was sorry now?      

           Lacking an answer, he continued to trudge down the sidewalk when a storm broke out, and suddenly he was drenched. As the rain cascaded over his sorrowful form, Rafael ran across the street to a shop, ducking under the awning to avoid the deluge.

           Only when the door swung open did he realize it was a vintage record store. From which flew the strands of a familiar song. Hearing O soave fanciulla, he remembered the first night he took Natalia to the opera, the way her eyes lit up as she watched the stage and the way her pink silky dress felt against his skin in the moments when they skipped the second act.

Somehow even then, he understood that she was the missing piece to the puzzle that was his heart.

           How could he have walked away from her? A sudden waved of sadness washed over him as a cab sped off, the splash from a puddle staining his shoes. Even if the rest of this day existed as a testament to his other failings, he had to fix the one thing that mattered most lest the puzzle becomes a jumble of mismatched pieces once more, the organ only beating to keep him alive without the joy that was such a wonderful woman at his side, in that same heart.

           Running, growing wetter with each step, he finally found himself back before the townhouse for the second time that day.

           Ever so slowly, he entered.

           The warm, comforting scent of meatloaf filled his nose, and he saw the older girls setting the table for dinner.

           “Papi! You home just in time!” Violetta cried excitedly, rushing towards him as Rafael knelt to take her into his arms.

           “I missed you, muñequita,” Rafael said with a kiss to her cheek.

           “Me, too!” Violetta beamed. “But why you take an umbrella if you go out?”

           “Papi made a mistake,” he sheepishly admitted. “One he won’t make again.”

           Accepting the answer, Violetta returned to folding the napkins. And Rafael shuffled into the kitchen in search of his wife.

           “Mi hermosa flor?”

           Turning to face him, her face was soft, her lips a straight line. No doubt she wanted to give him a piece of her mind, and while he had no real excuse for his actions…

            “I’m so sorry for lashing out at you,” he began. “I was upset. Angry. But still, I never should have---”

           Shaking her head, the line of lips forming a smile, she circled her arms around his neck. “Nothing to apologize for,” she said. “You needed a moment to yourself. Now you’re home. Where you belong. That’s all that matters.” She kissed him sweetly and leaned her forehead against his.

           “It was still unfair of me to---”

           “What’s unfair is that you’re so soaked!” Natalia laughed, kissing him again.

           “You’re too good to me,” he murmured, seeking out her lips again. “I don’t deserve your forgiveness.”

           “But there’s nothing to forgive,” Natalia assured him. And in that moment, Rafael felt his soul soothed, the bad feelings left out in the rain, and the perfect puzzle in place and the picture complete.

           Upon returning to the townhouse, Natalia noticed Rafael sitting on the steps, waiting. Knowing her husband, the man would have held vigil all night if necessary.

           “Are you alright?” Rafael asked, quickly approaching her the second their eyes locked. Suddenly feeling shy, she wrapped her sweater tighter around her body.

“Yes, I’m a little better,” she said.

           Rafael offered his hand to her, and she took his palm quickly. “You want to talk about it?”

           Natalia let out a shaky breath and sat beside him on the steps.

“I… when I saw the dress… it all came back,” she started. “It was just too much to take So I ran. And I… I’m so sorry.” Tears began to stream down her cheeks, and Rafael immediately held her to his chest.

           “Hey, shhh,” he whispered. “There’s nothing to forgive. You’re back. You’re home. And that’s all that matters.”

He tenderly kissed the top of her head, and Natalia released a heavy sigh, happy to have him close, longing to leave the past behind…

…and knowing that her heart would always mend when it beat in time with his.

[vintagemichelle91]

A Hard Lesson in Incrimination: Chapter 10

Authors’ Note: Happy Sunday dear readers! I want to leave you with a word of warning on this chapter. It is not for the light-hearted for sensitive subject matter happens in this chapter. That is our disclaimer. Trigger warning for highly sensitive material...violent and in somewhat explicit in detail in this chapter. As always @rauliskafan and I enjoy your feedback and we look forward to hearing from you!

           “Atticus… what happened to you?”

           Waiting behind the glass with her hands in her lap and her toes tapping, Natalia smiled when she first caught sight of her husband clad in orange coming towards her, close enough to touch and yet still so far away. The telephone receiver was already in her hand before he sat. And then she noticed the bruise adorning his cheek. Her first instinct was to shatter the barrier between them, to soothe the mark with her fingers and kiss the pain away.

           “It’s nothing, hermosa,” Rafael assured her, dropping his head even as he kept his eyes on hers.

           “Nothing?” she echoed. “Rafael, did someone hurt you?”

           “Please, Natalia,” he stressed in a quick whisper. “I’m fine.”

           “No, you’re not,” she said, her free hand quivering as she touched the glass and he shifted in his seat. “What aren’t you telling me?”

           “Nothing you need to worry about,” he said.

           “You’re really going to keep this a secret from me?” she asked.

           “Because you’ve never made that move?” Rafael challenged.

           His tone was curt, and Natalia sat up straighter, gripping the phone until her knuckles went white and furiously blinking back tears when his sigh poured through the phone and he shook his head.

           “I’m sorry,” Rafael murmured. “Don’t listen to me right now. I’m not really sleeping in here.”

           Her heart softened at the sound of his sigh, and she wiped the wetness from her cheeks.

           “I can imagine,” she said. “Who hurt you?”

           “Someone shoved me in the showers,” he said. “I’m not exactly a popular guy around these parts.”

“Can you say anything to… anyone?” Natalia asked.

           “Trying to keep as low a profile as possible,” he replied.

           “But Liv… last time I saw her she said---”

           “Can we not talk about Liv?” he pleaded. “Or… or the case? I’ve already done that much with Ms. Pond.”

           “And you know about Brenna Harker?”

           His lips curled into a small smile, and he released a light laugh.

           “Trevor’s really pulling out all the stops,” he said. “Suppose that’s some comfort.”

           “But it’s not enough,” Natalia said. “You should be home.”

           They stared at one another in silence, and Rafael swallowed hard as he slowly pushed his hand to the glass. And Natalia followed suit.

           “Tell me what I’m missing,” he said. “With the girls. At home.”

           “I so want… but if it’s too much for you to take---”

           “No, Natalia,” he insisted. “Please give me something to smile about.”

           What should she say? That she tossed and turned in the bed that felt like a cold desert without him? That Violetta was more than miserable in his absence? And what of the twins, obviously sensing that something was amiss and looking at one another in confusion before searching her face, Ashtonja’s, and her parents… looking for but never locating the father that had been in their line of sight from day one. Wondering where he was now.

           “I… I got the brochure for the Met’s upcoming season today,” she started, feeling foolish for trying to make small talk but needing to say something.

           “Oh?” he asked. “What looks good?”

           “All of it,” she said. “A new Norma. Always La Boheme. I was thinking about ordering tickets for us but…”

           Her voice gave out, the tears spilling down the glass as she pressed her brow to the clear surface and tried to focus on the sound of his breath while her broken heart pounded in her ears.

           “Order them, hermosa,” he suggested. “We need something to look forward to.”

           “I know,” she said. “This is just so hard…”

           “It won’t… it can’t be much longer,” he promised. “Because I didn’t do this.”

           “I know that, Atticus,” she wept, meeting his eyes again and tracing his profile through the screen. “But Brenna and I came up empty-handed. And if it wasn’t Amanda, then---”

           “It wasn’t,” he reminded her. “Still the truth has to come out. Until then… while I’m in here… I’ll just try to keep my eyes open. My mouth shut.”

           “The latter has to be tough for you,” she quipped, trying for a joke and sharing his smile.

           “I’m learning all kinds of things about myself,” he said. “I hope you’ll still like me once I’m out.”

           “Always, Atticus,” she promised. “Any way that I can have you.”

           Throwing caution to the wind and ignoring the rules, Natalia pursed her lips and kissed the glass. Rafael’s mouth crept closer, the transparent surface a poor substitute for his warmth.

           “Hey! Watch yourself, lady!”

           The guard keeping watch banged his baton against the wall on Rafael’s side of the visit, and Natalia tensed when her husband whipped his head over his shoulder.

           “Don’t talk to my wife that way,” he threatened.

           “Atticus, don’t---”

           “Not your call, pal,” the guard warned. “You can hang up the phone right now or get in line.”

           His jaw just dropped as he hung his head.

           “I’m sorry,” he said. “It won’t happen again.”

           “See that it doesn’t,” the guard cautioned, staying close by.

           “I’m changing already,” he muttered under his breath.

           “How does it feel?” she asked. Rafael sighed heavily, trying to hide his free hand on the tabletop and inching it towards the tips of Natalia’s fingers.

           “Worth it if I get a few more moments with you, mi hermosa flor.”

           Still, the visit ended too soon. Lead away from Natalia’s side, Rafael looked back one last time and saw her force a smile, knowing that she would break down before she left the prison. He hated being the cause of her sorrow and fought the urge to whirl around and make a play for the guard’s gun. He would only shoot to wound, racing to Natalia and finally, truly, taking hold of her hand. In his mind, they would make their way to the outside world and run. Should they have made that move sooner, his confession coming from some faraway place? No. Days and nights on the run were no kind of a life for his family. Better to hold his tongue, hard as it was, and bide his time. Miranda Pond was working the case; maybe Brenna Harker had another trick up her sleeve. The waiting was the hardest part. But he was up to the challenge. Anything for---

           “Not that way!”

           Feeling the guard’s fist suddenly lodged in his lower back, Rafael winced, gritting his teeth as he was forced into a darkened room that was most certainly not his cell. He stumbled forward and grasped the edge of a table.

           “What is this?” Rafael demanded once he caught his breath and recovered his stance.

           “Someone broke the rules,” the guard chided, looking at Rafael with the same eyes as the bullies from long ago playgrounds. He couldn’t go for the other man’s gun, didn’t have a friend like Eddie hurrying to help and land the perfect punch, to save him from the inevitable beating. Fearing more than one mere mark crossing his cheek, Rafael vowed to stand strong.

           “So this is where you end up,” the guard continued.

           But the beating never came. Taking a step back, the guard slammed the door shut, and Rafael heard a lock click into place. Hardly any light in the room, and he was on the verge of calling for help when the futility of the act crushed him into a corner. And there he sat, feeling like the little boy in the moments when Eddie was far away… when even his mother could not spare him from his father’s wrath.

           No. He wasn’t that sad child anymore. Whatever came through that the door when the lock finally lifted, he could face it, handle it, outlast and come out the other side. Where Natalia would be waiting…

           “He’s in here.”

           Standing slowly, Rafael held one hand over his eyes to block the glare from the hallway, and he blinked through the shadows beginning to melt away.

           “Sure it’s him?” a familiar voice muttered. Where did he know that sound from?

           “ADA Rafael Barba in the flesh,” the guard said. “Official story is I’m giving him a talking to. Someone was a bad boy during visiting hours.”

           “I can’t remember the last time my wife came to visit,” the other voice said, the face starting to take form. Rafael felt his fingers curl into fists at his side. He tried to keep them from quaking as he finally recognized the source of the sound.

           “Neil Alexander,” he said.

           “Doctor Alexander,” the dentist stressed, slipping a slim envelope into the guard’s waiting hand.

           “How long have I got?”

           “Ten minutes,” the guard said. “Maybe twenty. You better make ‘em count.”

           “No worries,” Alexander said. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this chance.”

           Smirking and locking the door once more, the guard was gone, and Rafael’s eyes adjusted to the dark as the dentist took a step forward, and Fin’s files from that night in the squad room flashed through his mind. Once well-manicured, now every hair was out of place, a beard coating the man’s smug face… barely hiding the scars. If Rafael looked hard enough, he could see the marks extending down his neck.

           “Looks like the welcome wagon came calling,” Rafael spat.

           “What did you think would happen to me?” the dentist challenged. “Locking me up after my niece lied? Do you know what goes on inside?”

           “It’s exactly what you deserve,” Rafael said, his fear fading away as he narrowed his eyes. “You assaulted your niece. So many other young women. You---”

           “It never happened!” Alexander bellowed. “And my life ended after the trial.”

           “Good!” Rafael shot back. “Let the punishment fit the crime.”

           “We’ll see about that.”

           His voice faded as he shoved one hand into his pocket, and Rafael tried to catch a glimpse of what he was hiding when he was suddenly stunned by Alexander’s other fist slamming into his face.

           “We shall see!” Alexander screamed, his heel crashing into the back of Rafael’s leg. Somehow staying on his feet, Rafael lunged forward and gripped the dentist’s neck. Driving him towards the door, hoping that someone would hear the scuffle, he tried to land a punch to Alexander’s gut.

           “You’re not going to sucker punch me again, Mr. Barba!”

           And Alexander brought his own blow to the back of his head. Crashing to his knees, Rafael couldn’t stop from crying out in pain, and he struggled weakly when the dentist hauled him to his feet, his lips at the lawyer’s ear.

           “As soon as I heard that you were in here… I thought maybe it was enough,” he said, slamming his knuckles into Rafael’s back and pushing him into the table before he could cry out again. “Thought it was poetic justice.”

           “Like… like what happened to Jerome Jones?” Rafael managed to ask before suffering another smack upside the back of his head.

           “That wasn’t on me!” Alexander bellowed. “I didn’t deserve any… any of…”

           His speech came to a halt once more, and Rafael recovered to the point where he could try to fight back… only to be stopped by the feel of something small and smooth pressing against his side.

           “But you deserve this and more, Mr. Barba.”

           Striking him again with the foreign object, Rafael was too dazed to move or speak, too stunned to battle back as Alexander tore at his trousers…

           …and pressed the object at the small of his back, perilously close to…

           “No!” Rafael cried out, finding his voice and starting to thrash. With his free hand, Alexander seized his wrists and pressed them to the tabletop. He fought back, felt his heels just meeting Alexander’s shins. “Don’t do---!”

           But yet another strike rendered him too weak to move, to think. The dentist spit on his exposed flesh and Rafael froze, unable to believe, desperate to dismiss what was about to happen when the foreign object spread his ass. One thrust and he heard his father’s laughter, saw Natalia’s face falling farther and farther away until she was in a place that he could no longer reach. The object moved in a frightful rhythm, his flesh breaking, bleeding as his eyes burned with tears and what was meant to be the word no became nothing more than an unintelligible moan.

           “I’ve had to endure this since day one,” Alexander hissed. “Let’s hope you’re in here for a long time so I can keep returning the favor.”

The idea turned his heart ice, brought the bile up his throat until it dribbled out of the corner of his mouth. But he couldn’t dwell on it now. Only… he only wanted this… the violation to end when his legs began to give out…

…and he finally managed to call for something like help when the door flew open.

           “Back off, you fucking prick!”

           Who was that? Struggling to recognize yet another voice, he heard Alexander groan. But not before another smash. Glass cascaded down his bare legs, and Rafael cut his eyes to see the broken bottle and felt one more hit, cold and sharp before he collapsed to the ground.

           “I’m not done!” Alexander screeched like the madman he was. “He needs to suffer!”

           “That’s your bag, you son of a bitch.”

           Lifting his eyes, trembling to see through his tears, the other figure slowly took shape.

           “Fin?”

           Rafael’s breath came out in gasps as he saw the sergeant in a guard’s uniform. Why was he… how… his mind couldn’t complete the thought as he watched Alexander dragged away, heard the offending guard’s name muttered beyond the walls.

           “Barba?” Fin asked. On the floor beside him, he grasped Rafael’s shoulder and slowly steadied him against the table.

           “I… I can’t...”

           “Should have been here sooner,” Fin sadly stated. “Are you okay?”

           It was painful to sit. Fighting against the source and starting to nod his head, Rafael felt something warm and wet slipping from his side…

           “Christ!” Fin cried. “We need a bus in here.”

           The broken bottle. The ragged edge must have sliced into his skin leaving a stream of blood that showed no signs of stopping. Rafael reached for Fin’s hand, fighting against the agony as he spoke, his voice faint but the words crystal clear.

           “Natalia… I need Natalia…”

           And he said nothing else before his mind delved into darkness.

[vintagemichelle91]

A Hard Lesson in Incrimination: Chapter 6

Authors’ Note: Happy SVU Wednesday!!! Time to check back in on the squad and Rafael and Natalia!! Just what exactly will be the ramifications of Rafael’s sudden confession? What about Mike and IAB?? What of Natalia and Maggie!?! So many questions!!! Read on and find out!! As always, @rauliskafan and I LOVE LOVE LOVE hearing what you guys have to say!! So thank you!! 

           “I need to talk to you. Right now.”

Seeing the rage in her sister’s eyes, devastated as she watched her husband taken away, unable to even touch him, Natalia felt faint. For the smallest of seconds, her eyes locked with Michael Cutter, who departed without a word. Looking to Liv, her gaze begged the lieutenant to rouse her from this nightmare. It was not within her power. What of her own? Was it possible to rescue her husband? To collect the girls and flee to parts unknown where they could escape these shadows?            No answer to those questions and Natalia was left with only the harsh tone of Maggie’s voice…

…and the ballerina’s eyes threatening to set fire to the spot where she stood.

“How long, Natty?”

The words sounded foreign as Natalia let them sink into her brain, straining to comprehend, almost on the verge of asking her sister to repeat herself when Maggie pushed her into another room and slammed the door shut.

“How… what do you mean?”

“Don’t do that,” Maggie hissed. “How long have you had my husband mixed up in all this?”

Seeing her sister’s lip start to quiver, Natalia forgot her fear and moved forward to hold her, to promise that everything would be alright even if it was a lie she barely believed while her breath hammered rapidly in her chest. But before she could begin the embrace, one of Maggie’s delicate hands flew into the air and swatted her back. Still so close to her sister and yet feeling many miles away, Natalia was reminded of the girl she first came across after too many years dancing in a fog of drugs, of domineering men and mothers.

But that wasn’t who she was any---

“Answer the damn question, Natty!”

Maggie’s voice grew louder, and Natalia swallowed hard before she spoke.

“I… since the night Eve died,” Natalia slowly confessed.

“Since the… unbelievable.”

“We didn’t call him, Maggie,” Natalia quickly continued. “He… Mike knew we were both on our way to Eve’s… I was following Rafael.”

“How’d you figure out where the counselor was?” Maggie asked through clenched teeth.

“Well… that was Mike, too. He knew where I was heading and---”

“And then there the two of you were with a dead woman!” Maggie cried, touching her sister’s arms, the feel of her fingers sending a sharp charge through Natalia’s skin.

“Yes,” she admitted. “It looked… you must understand what everyone would have thought. So Mike---”

“Exactly what they’re thinking now!” Maggie bellowed as she turned her back and scrunched her fair hair between her fingers. “Maybe then you could have explained it. Do you see that happening anytime soon?”

Peering through the blinds, unable to see what was happening outside the room, Natalia’s heart sank to the pit of her stomach. She found herself standing at Maggie’s side, struggling to stare through the smudged glass when her sister touched her again, giving her no choice but to look into the other woman’s eyes.

“What the hell is the matter with you?” Maggie asked. “Didn’t you know how this could go down?”

“Yes,” Natalia said quietly. “But Mike said---”

“Don’t you dare blame my husband for any of this!” Maggie spat, shrugging away with her face flushed and nostrils flaring. “Where was the voice of reason, Natty? Where was… where was the payback for all the times I’ve helped you?”

For an instant, Natalia’s mind flashed back to the tortured days before she knew the truth of the twins, and her mind grasped that idea like a lifeline in icy, unforgiving waters.

“Mike was doing what you would have done!” Natalia argued. “Keeping a secret to keep us safe.”

“Right,” Maggie scoffed. “And having me rattle on like a fool at your poor excuse for a dinner party was just the icing on the cake, right?”

“No!” Natalia swore. “Mike did this for you, too! For our family.”

“Family?” Maggie echoed. “I’d love to see your definition of the word.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Natalia challenged.

“It means that in your mind it starts, stops and altogether ends with Rafael,” Maggie said.

“I… he’s my husband---”

“And does that defy every other word in the dictionary?” Maggie demanded. “Any other concept? Keep quiet about the twins or your husband might get hurt. Cover up the fact that he’s at a dead woman’s apartment. Hell, even Carmen had to wonder what was wrong with you when you went charging into the night after that Ramirez prick.”

“Don’t do that,” Natalia said, backing Maggie into the wall and taking a few seconds to catch her breath before releasing the rest of her voice. “Someone didn’t make the smartest choices in London either.”

“Someone was taken by surprise,” Maggie shot back. “You knew the score. Then and now. But Rafael always comes first. I figured that out on day one.”

“When you treated him like something you’d stepped on and forget about just as fast?” Natalia accused

“When you defended him in that restaurant! He got a free pass, and you scolded me like a child.”

“Which is how you were acting,” Natalia reminded her.

“But Rafael can do no wrong.”

“How can you… after all that he’s done for you?”

“He’s left my husband vulnerable to internal affairs!” Maggie said. “I have a life too, Natty. We want a family. But you… you could care less about that. What’s going to happen one of these days when your daughters realize that their father is more important than they are? I pity those sweet little---”

Without stopping to think, Natalia raised her hand and brought her palm across Maggie’s cheek. The ballerina fell back and seemed too stunned to move. But just as quickly the wrath returned to her eyes. She lunged forward, pushing Natalia into the edge of the nearest table, and as a chair crashed to the floor, the door swung open.

“Hey!” Dodds yelled, reaching for his wife and holding Maggie back as Natalia sank into another seat and brushed a few fallen strands of hair from her face. “Why are the two of you fighting?”

“I don’t---”

“Because she’s a self-centered martyr who has to always be the star of the story,” Maggie sneered. “With Rafael as her leading man. The rest of us can go to hell.”

“Maggie,” Dodds started, slowly turning her to face him. “He gave you away at our wedding. You don’t mean---”

“I know what I mean, Mike!” she quickly fired back. “Don’t make excuses for them. Other people have lives, too. Not that she cares one fucking bit about it.”

Racing from the room, Maggie left Natalia alone with Dodds, and he glanced down at her hand.

“I’ll thank you not to hit my wife again,” he warned in a whisper.

“Sorry,” Natalia muttered. “What’s come over her? It can’t be just this.”

“No,” Dodds admitted. “This morning… we had another false alarm with the whole… the whole baby thing.”

“Oh, Mike, I---”

“This is all just coming at the worst time.”

And then she felt as guilty as Maggie’s words intended, reaching for Dodds’ hand and hanging her head.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have… I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“I get that,” Dodds said. “But right now, we don’t have a lot of time.”

“What do you mean?” Natalia asked, back on her feet.

“They’re taking Rafael to Rikers.”

The words fell on her shoulders like two weights that she could barely balance, already crushing her. Not wanting to let them seep into her mind followed by images of cages and chains…

“Can’t Liv do something?” she pitifully asked.

“Maybe a delay,” Dodds said. “But Cutter doesn’t want this to look like anyone’s playing favorites. I’m sorry, Natalia.”

A clock started to tick in her mind. Come the morning, she would have to contact a lawyer, find a way to make any bail that was set, do whatever was necessary to get her husband back…

“My sister knows me too well,” she muttered under her breath.

“What?” Mike asked.

No time for an explanation now.

“I have to see Rafael.”

“That’s why I’m here.”

He almost opened the door when Natalia grabbed his hand.

“Are you in a lot of trouble?” she asked.

“I’ll be okay,” he promised.

“Your father must be a beside himself.”

“He’s already calling in favors… please don’t worry about me right now.”

But she was worried about the whole wide world as Dodds led her down a staircase and just past Liv.

“Natalia, my hands are tied here. Cutter---”

“I know,” Natalia said, her desire to argue squelched by the fact that she needed to be near Rafael and Dodds guided her towards a dark cell.

“Oh, Atticus.”

He sat on a cot, his head in his hands. Even in the dim light, Natalia still saw a faint gleam in his eyes when she spoke, and as she grasped the bars his fingers followed suit.

“I’ll give you guys a few minutes,” Dodds said.

“Thanks,” Rafael replied, and Natalia held their breath until they were alone.

Only then did she…

“Atticus, why… you were a victim, too. I found you knocked out cold and---”

“No proof of it. Cutter has my… conversation with Eve on tape. And after what Mike did… these waters are too muddy.”

“I don’t want you to drown,” she whimpered.

“I won’t,” he assured her, his breath moving through the bars so they could steal the smallest of kisses.

“Atticus…”

Suddenly a light went off her head, and she held his hand tighter.

“Eve had enemies.”

“Hermosa, it couldn’t have been Rollins.”

“There are others,” she said, her confidence growing, her focus on nothing but setting him free. “I’m going to look into it.”

“No,” he said. “I don’t want you to.”

“And I don’t want you trapped like this,” she pressed.

He appeared ready to argue when his shoulders sagged, and he leaned his head against the steel.

“I suppose I can’t stop you,” he said. “But don’t go it alone. Talk to Liv… maybe Mike.”

“I think Maggie wants me to keep away from him.”

“Is there a problem?” he asked, his voice sounding as normal as if they were in bed and ready to tie up the loose ends of their respective days before sliding into sleep. But now, on this night, they were doomed to endure the darkness alone…

“Don’t worry about… oh, Atticus… I don’t want to go,” she said, tears springing to her eyes. Her arms slipped through the bars, and she clung to him, Rafael’s nose buried in her hair as his lips made their way to her ear.

“Think about it; when this is all done, I’ll know how a case feels from every side,” he said. “Might make me a better lawyer.”

“You don’t need to be better… you just need to come…”

Home. Natalia never got a chance to speak the word when Fin and a uniform appeared.

“Sorry, Barba,” he said.

“Nothing personal,” Rafael said. “Please… if you could… see that Natalia gets a ride.”

Nodding, Fin took her aside, and Natalia watched as the door opened, and another pair of metal cuffs were affixed to Rafael’s wrists. She saw him shiver for a second and rushed forward to hold him once more when he suddenly stood up straighter and glanced down at his hand.

“My wedding ring, hermosa.”

“I… you want me to…?”

“They’ll only take it from me,” he continued. “Keep it safe. Until this is over.”

The act felt like a kindness and a crime in the span of the same motion. But still, Natalia took the ring, recalling what it felt like to place it on his finger the first time… swearing then that nothing would ever tear them apart.

“Soon,” she said through her tears, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him one last time until he was snatched away and forced down a long corridor.

“Te amo, mi hermosa flor,” he called out before he disappeared from her line of sight. Sinking to her knees and feeling Fin close, Natalia stared down at his ring and clasped it to her chest.

“Very soon, Atticus. Whatever it takes.”

[vintagemichelle91]

A Hard Lesson in Incrimination: Chapter 2

Authors’ Note: Happy Saturday everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the very first chapter!! @rauliskafan  and I so loved the feedback from chapter one and it feels so good to be back!! Now, let us check in on the Barbas! As always your feedback is very much appreciated!! 

           “I don’t know how it’s possible, but they get cuter every time I see them!”

           With Hazel in her lap as Dodds cradled Holly, Maggie pinched the twins’ two pairs of rosy cheeks one after the other, her giggles growing louder when Hazel reached past her sister and tried to take hold of the sergeant’s nose.

           “Hey watch it!” Dodds gently chided the baby girl. “I need that.”

           “Another girl with a thing for Roman noses!” Maggie chimed in. “Must run in the family. Right, Natty? Natty?”

           From her seat at the other end of the table, Natalia traced the rim of her wine glass with one finger and stared into the pool of scarlet liquid at rest in the crystal.  Her sister had to bring red wine; Natalia could only picture the apartment from five nights ago stained with Eve Selby’s blood… with her husband’s. Five nights… five sleepless sets of hours in bed. And Rafael was faring no better, his green eyes bleary, the sheets twisting and turning as he struggled and failed to find rest. At least he found her; even now, Natalia clasped his hand under the table as she had throughout the meal she barely touched. The feel of his flesh against hers was one of the few things keeping her grounded.

           “Earth to Natty!”

           Along with her babies.

           Releasing Rafael’s hand and managing a smile, Natalia reached for Holly and cuddled her close, kissing the top of her soft head and basking in her clean scent. Maybe it would all come out alright in the end. Rafael had done nothing wrong, and with each second that went by, trails had to grow cold…

           “Now, now, Hazel,” Maggie said to the other twin. “Tio Mike does need that big, beautiful nose. He has to sniff out the bad man who took an even worse woman down.”

           Holding Holly tighter, Natalia saw Rafael fidget in his chair, and Dodds took a quick drink as he waved one hand in the air.

           “Come on, Maggie,” he started. “Not tonight.”

           “I know, I know,” she said. “SVU is unofficially on the case since no sex crime was committed. But you’re being so unfair! What���s the point of being married to a cop if I don’t get the gory details now and then? Especially when it comes to the likes of her.”

           Dodds’ face flashed a brighter shade of pale. He laughed nervously and played a version of keep away Hazel’s nose which made Maggie chuckle. Just as quickly her eyes seemed to narrow, and Natalia bit her lip, fearing another litany of questions…

           “Look what we do!”

           A voice from on high or at least knee level when standing entered the room with Ashtonja at its side. Sighing in relief, Natalia saw Violetta balancing four cupcakes on one platter.

           “Easy, V,” Ashtonja cautioned. “Let me help.”

           “I got it, Ash.”

           Her words came true as she stood on the tips of her toes and placed the pastries on the table, sighing when the job was done and wiping her little hands together.

“For dessert, these are the blue velvet cupcakes!”

“Blue velvet?” Rafael echoed. “And the summer of David Lynch continues.”

Natalia had to smile at that, and she watched him take a bite followed by her brother-in-law.

“Delicious!” Dodds commented. How'd you manage it, Little V? Make it with some magic?”

“Oh, Tio Mike,” Violetta moaned. “Please. It done with food coloring. Next thing you say that Hazel and Holly bake them. But they can no even hold anything yet.”

“His nose would beg to differ,” Maggie quipped while lifting a treat to her mouth.

“What you mean by that?” Violetta asked.

“Never mind,” Maggie said, her lips tinged with frosting as she leaned in to kiss her husband’s cheek. “But when he’s right he’s right; this is scrumptious!”

Looking beyond proud of herself, Violetta raised her small hand and slapped Ashtonja high five.

“Now you, Mami,” Violetta insisted. “You not eating enough lately.”

“Natty, why’s that?” Maggie asked.

“It’s nothing,” Natalia said. “Time to take a taste.”

Not magic… all in the food coloring. In the darkness, it would pass for red velvet, and in another time, she would have popped the entire cupcake into her mouth and asked for another. But nothing tasted right with a belly full of fear.

“Natty,” Maggie pressed. “Is there something wrong?”

           “All good,” she said. “It’s wonderful. You girls did a fantastic job.”

“But you not finishing it,” Violetta observed.

“More for me then!” Rafael said as he polished off the cupcake and hugged his little girl when she raced forward to wrap her arms around his ankles.

“You really like, Papi?” Violetta knowingly asked with the smallest, slyest of winks.

“Everything you make is magic,” he stressed before mouthing a quick thank you to Ashtonja.

“Tell Mami to eat more!” Violetta demanded, bouncing up and down before Ashtonja placed one hand on her shoulder.

“Come on, V,” Ashtonja tenderly warned. “A good chef never puts pressure on the patrons.”

Natalia followed her husband’s lead and smiled. For Violetta’s sake, she was willing to try to at least finish off the frosting…

…but again, her eye caught the glass of red wine. Which she sipped while trying to push away other images cloaked in crimson. The wine did nothing but rush to her head, and she shuddered where she sat, taking some comfort in the feel of Rafael’s fingers just dancing across her thigh.

           “No pressure needed here, Violetta,” Maggie said, finishing her cupcake and taking a dollop of Dodds’ frosting with one finger. “Does my Hazel want to try some?” The baby’s eyes grew wide, and she made for Maggie’s hand as if it was Dodds’ nose when Natalia passed one twin to her husband and grabbed her other baby.

           “It’s not good for her,” Natalia said.

           “You’ll make Violetta even sadder,” Maggie said, and Natalia’s shoulders started to sag.

           “I’m not trying to do that.”

           The wine began to take over, and Natalia wobbled when Maggie dropped the joke along with her plate.

           “Hey… I was only kidding,” Maggie said.

           On her feet, she heard Hazel fuss and felt Maggie take her back into her arms.

           “Are you really okay?” the ballerina asked.

           “Hermosa?” Rafael quickly said, his hand at the small of her back.

           “Fine,” Natalia swore. “We just need some coffee. After the twins… go to bed…”

           “Let me help, Natalia,” Ashtonja said, taking up Holly.

           “Me, too!” Violetta chirped. Blinking fast, Natalia watched her babies in other women’s arms. For a second she was seized with the fear of being ripped away from them, the sounds of doors closing as she was cast into darkness.

           “Mami?”

           Shaken from her shadowy reverie, Natalia glanced down to see Violetta standing before her with arms stretched towards the ceiling.

           “Don’t look so sad,” Violetta said. “I a big girl now, but you can still carry me if you want.”

           “Oh, sweet pea…”

           She sank to her knees, gathering Violetta in her embrace and trying to keep her tears at bay when Rafael’s hands settled on her shoulders. He helped her to her feet, and they exchanged a quick glance.

           “Alright?” he quietly asked.

           For his sake, she had to be, and Natalia started for the steps.

           “I’ll put the coffee on,” Rafael called out.

           “Thank you, Atticus,” she murmured, glancing back, hating seeing him scared when Violetta tweaked her nose.

           “Don’t drink a lot of it, Mami,” Violetta said. “You up too much at night now.”

           “Something you need to tell me, Natty?” Maggie asked before her lips curled into a smirk.

           “No,” Natalia remarked, her eyes cutting back to Dodds. She saw the sergeant as good as his word when it came to keeping the secret for Maggie’s sake, for theirs. Staying silent, she carried Violetta up the stairs and wondered if this might be the night when she could give into sleep once more.

           “So… coffee?”

           Rafael waited and watched until Natalia ascended the steps and disappeared into the nursery, turning slowly at the sound of the door closing to see his brother-in-law searching for filters.

           “Not there,” Rafael said. “To your left.”

           “Ah,” Dodds declared, opening another cupboard to reveal several bags of black walnut, toasted almond, and vanilla cream. “Someone’s moved a few things around.”

           “Violetta speaks the truth,” Rafael said, fishing through the fridge for the cream and milk. “We’re not sleeping.”

           “I get it,” Dodds said once the coffee began to brew, and he gestured for Rafael to follow him to the balcony. The breeze scattered a few fallen petals from Natalia’s untended flowers, and Rafael looked over the railing, sighing heavily at the stars when Dodds stood at his side.

           “What can you tell me?” Rafael asked. “I’m completely out of the loop.”

           “Not forever,” Dodds assured him. “Which is why we’re doing this. Bet you’ll get a call from Cutter any day now.”

           “Wishful thinking,” Rafael snorted. “Tell me something.”

           With a quick look over his shoulder, Dodds spoke in hushed tones.

           “Here’s what I know,” he said. “Liv is going to call you.”

           “She is?” Rafael asked. “Haven’t heard anything from her since that day at---”

           “You have to see it from her side,” Dodds cut in. “Eve was our ADA when this went down. And no one knows the Frost case better than we do.”

           “Except maybe for me,” Rafael challenged. “So is the director a suspect?”

           “Waiting for a new trial and on the list,” Dodds said. “So is Marcia Brown.”

           “Guessing her show is a non-starter,” Rafael said.

           “Not happening,” Dodds confirmed. “Had to be one of them. And Liv wants this all above board. When she reaches out, you should go and talk to her.”

           “Giving me orders now, Mike?” Rafael asked. The sergeant stood up straighter and folded his arms across his chest.

           “Would you have rather I called her to Eve’s place when her body was barely cold?” Dodds asked.

           “Thought you said you didn’t think I---”

           “I know you didn’t do it,” Dodds said. “But we got to stick with this story. Any day now, we’ll make an arrest, you’ll get back to work, and everything will be fine.”

           “But not yet,” Rafael said. “My wife is a wreck. She can’t sleep.”

           “Maybe listen to your daughter and cut out the coffee.”

           Meeting his weak attempt at a joke with a sad smile, Rafael longed for a cup but stayed on the balcony and shuffled his feet.

           “I hate that she’s caught up in this,” he muttered. “And you.”

           “I’m touched, counselor,” Dodds sincerely stated. “But you’ll do none of us any favors if you crumb the play.”

           “I hardly know what that means,” Rafael said, raising his eyes.

           “Have Violetta explain it to you when she wakes---”

           “I said no more, Maggie!”

           Looking towards the crack in the French doors, Rafael saw Natalia’s silhouette staring Maggie down. With Dodds at his heels, they rushed back inside to find the sisters locked in a kind of combat.

           “Natty, what is wrong with you?” Maggie demanded. “I mean sure it’s sad… I suppose…”

           “You so sound like your mother right now,” Natalia sneered.

           “Low blow,” Maggie shot back.

           “Someone has died!” Natalia exclaimed, and Rafael tried to shush her with a quick look up the staircase.

           But Natalia would not be swayed.

           “I don’t appreciate you making a party game of it,” Natalia continued. “It’s unseemly.”

           “Um… sorry, Natty,” Maggie said. “Maybe I should take a page from your book and be a horrible hostess. Of course, you were all smiles when Eve Selby came around.”

           “Maggie---”

           “Same goes for you, Rafael,” Maggie said. “Why? Even then I knew that she was bad news.”

           He said nothing and hurried to Natalia’s side as her lip quivered, her hand rolling into a frustrated fist and unfurling just as fast.

           “Good on you,” Rafael said.

           “So why does this whole night feel like a wake?” Maggie asked. “Why are we in mourning?”

           “For Christ’s… I didn’t wish this on Eve,” Rafael said. “I want whoever did this to pay.”

           “Does Rikers have a luxury suite,” Maggie joked. “Because the killer deserves the best---”

           “Stop it!” Natalia screeched. Turning on her heel, she hurried up the steps, and Maggie cried after her when Rafael caught the ballerina in his arms.

           “Let me---”

           “No,” he said. “She’s tired.”

           “She’s my sister,” Maggie said, her eyes fixed in determination, Rafael feared that he would lose the battle and the house of cards would come toppling down until Dodds took his wife’s hand.

           “You can give her a call her later,” Dodds said.

           “Now you’re telling me what to do?” Maggie asked with eyes blazing. Holding his breath, Rafael watched the sergeant bring Maggie’s hand to his lips. He kissed her tenderly there, and pressed his brow to hers.

           “Never,” he said. “But Rafael has a point. All that red wine and… and blue cupcakes.”

           “I can’t just go without saying goodbye,” Maggie protested

           “I will have her phone you,” Rafael promised. “Thank you for helping get the girls to bed.”

           Raising an eyebrow and stamping her small foot, Maggie sighed dramatically and pushed Dodds towards the door.

           “If you did something, you have one night to make it up to her,” Maggie warned. “Fix it.”

           “Will do, little sister,” Rafael said, and Maggie rolled her eyes before blowing him a half-hearted kiss.

“Maybe let’s try this again some night next week,” Maggie murmured.

           Waiting until they were gone, Rafael locked the door and slowly climbed the steps. Peeking in on the twins and kissing them one after the other, he proceeded to Violetta’s room where Ashtonja sat on the edge of the bed, braiding the younger girl’s hair.

           “But why they fight?” Violetta asked.

           “Who knows?” Ashtonja said. “I’m sure it wasn’t the cupcakes. Because they were fabulous.”

           “I know that, Ash.”

           Laughing, Ashtonja looked up and met Rafael’s eyes in the doorway. Her gaze told him that a million hairdos and as many sweet words could not keep this at bay forever. Better to talk to Liv when she called, to tread lightly and hope that she would solve the crime. But that was for tomorrow. As for this night…

           “Hermosa?”

           He found Natalia huddled in the tub, and he pushed the shower curtain aside to join her in the bath.

           “You need to call your sister,” he said. “She’s gone but---”

           “She thinks it’s all a gag,” Natalia said, rubbing her hands over her face. “But she has no idea.”

           “A good thing,” Rafael tried to reason. “Dodds said we have to see this out.”

           “Even if it kills us?” Natalia asked.

           Seeing her pale and choking back tears, Rafael quickly pulled her close and kissed the top of her head.

           “Mike says that Liv is going to call,” he said.

           “Are you going to…?”

           “To feel her out,” he continued. “Mike swears there are other suspects.”

           “And you didn’t do it,” Natalia said. Cuddling closer, she winded her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. His lips met her fallen hair, and he kept her near until their eyes locked and he wiped the tears from her lashes.

           “You should get some rest tonight,” he said.

           “You, too.”

           “Me, too.”

           Helping her to stand, they made their way to the bed and shed their clothes. Easing her into a nightgown and wearing nothing but his boxers, Rafael joined her under the sheets. Their hands locked together, and Rafael looked up at the ceiling. The sounds of Violetta’s giggles courtesy of Ashtonja made him smile. Then there was only silence.

           “Are you awake?”

           And then there was the sound of Natalia’s voice nowhere near a dream. Pulling her to his chest, he kissed her, stroked her sides.

           “Te amo, mi hermosa flor,” he repeated over and over again, his heart falling when he heard her sniffling, whimpering. And when the dawn started to peek through the window and the twins stirred---

           “I have them,” Natalia said, beginning to leave the bed. He watched her slip into her robe as rays of sunlight streamed through her hair.

           “I’ll come with you, hermosa,” Rafael said, taking her hand and grabbing his own robe. She lingered in the doorway and helped him cinch the belt before kissing his lips.

           “Never leave me, Atticus,” she whispered.

           “Never,” he vowed.

Because even a sleepless night with Natalia was still a dream come true.

[vintagemichelle91]

A Hard Lesson in Incrimination: Chapter 12

Authors’ Note: Happy Halloween dear readers!!! Has Natalia cracked the case? What does Cutter have to say for himself? Once again @rauliskafan and I love and appreciate the feedback and we look to hearing from you!!

           “How did you know about Rafael in the alley?”

           Forcing a laugh, Cutter began to back away, but Natalia saw to it that the smallest of gaps stayed between them.

           “No, Mr. Cutter,” she continued. “How did you know? Rafael didn’t say anything about... And Ms. Pond wouldn’t…”

           Narrowing her eyes, she searched Cutter’s gaze. His stare darted towards the shadows of the night, and she felt her breath starting to catch in her throat, swallowing hard before her words came out once more.

           “What about it, Mr. Cutter?” she asked. “How did you know?”

           “The… the DA’s office does have their own investigators, Mrs. Barba,” he slowly reminded her.

           “You think I’m unaware of that?” Natalia countered, her legs quivering where she stood as she held her ground. “I’m Rafael Barba’s wife… I know the score.”

           “Guess you do,” Cutter said, sheepishly hanging his head. “Well… it’s been a long night. Maybe you need to get home to your daughters.”

           “Soon,” Natalia said. “I want Rafael there with me.”

           “Mrs. Barba, I already told you that---”

           “And I wonder,” Natalia said. “I wonder why you were so quick to believe Eve’s claim that Rafael forced her into bed. Why would he do that? He was working his way back to first chair. Why take Eve’s word over my husband’s?”

           “Careful,” Cutter warned. “Are you really blaming another woman for Rafael’s sins? I understand that a certain Dr. Alexander’s wife once made a similar move.”

           “Don’t do that,” Natalia hissed. “I’ve survived… I’ve been on the other side of this.”

           “Yes, I’ve read Robert Emerson’s trial transcript,” Cutter said, trying for an empathetic tone.

           “But that does not mean that I’m blind to the women who make it worse for the real victims,” Natalia said.

           “Now you sound like Lieutenant Benson,” Cutter quipped, looking ready to flee the scene. “I really don’t have the time for---”

           “Eve emailed you the audio file from her apartment,” Natalia pressed, stepping fast to stop his flight and glaring into the DA’s eyes.

           “Old news, Mrs. Barba.”

           “But why you?” she asked.

           “I don’t… maybe to bolster her case against your husband,” Cutter said, his voice growing more frustrated. “Isn’t that obvious?”

           “Then why not play that card as soon as Eve died?” Natalia challenged. “You sat on it for almost a week while the squad scrambled. When Amanda was in the crossfire.”

           “I… well I…”

           While he struggled for an answer, Natalia scanned his face, and a million possibilities flickered through her mind.

           “Because you didn’t want to play that hand just yet,” she said. “You know Rafael. And you had to be pretty sure that he would fall on his sword for Amanda. For Mike.”

           “Well, I suppose that’s in his character but---”

           “Exactly,” Natalia continued, cutting him off. “You knew that then. You know that now.”

           She shuddered while speaking the words and saw Cutter start to explain but pushed forward.

           “If you were on the side of truth, you would have revealed it the next morning,” Natalia argued. “No. You wanted to drive the final nail into my husband’s coffin when he was at his most vulnerable point. To… to save your own skin.”

           For a second, Cutter looked ready to contradict her claim, but Natalia intensified her stare saw him fall silent.

           “Did that hit a little too close to home?” she asked. “I really always did wonder why you took her side so quickly.”

           “Because… because Rafael had every reason to---”

           “Because you had every reason,” she shot back. “Why did Eve think that she could get away with the case against Julian Frost? Maybe because she was close to someone on her side of the aisle?”

           “Well… Carisi…”

           “No!” Natalia insisted. “Not Sonny. It… it was you. Were you sleeping with her? Did you… was it your idea to stage the case against Julian Frost?”

           “No,” Cutter said. “I wouldn’t… I studied at the feet of Jack McCoy for Christ’s sake.”

           “Heard he was creative on occasion, too,” Natalia said.

           “Not like that!” Cutter bellowed. “And Eve swore that there was no way it would go wrong…”

           His voice trailed off, but Natalia never left his eyes as Cutter seemed to shrink before her.

           “You were there,” she said. “That night. What did you do? Step over Rafael while he was bleeding in the alley? Hide in the closet when Amanda ran? Did you watch us go back inside? Were you giddy as all get out when Mike came by and---”

           “Stop it, Mrs. Barba! Right now!”

           Natalia gasped as Cutter lunged forward, his hand on her arm as he pulled her close to his chest, his eyes wide and wild, licking his lips and sputtering before he spoke.

           “I… you… you think you know me?” he challenged. “You think I liked being the next in line and then getting demoted to SVU bureau chief?”

           “I don’t care about the politics,” Natalia said as she tried to break away from him. “It wasn’t the same as having your whole reputation decimated.”

           “You wouldn’t know!” he spat. “Having to teach when I should be---”

           “Nothing wrong with teaching,” Natalia said.

           “Fair enough! And after Collier Ward, I clawed my way back in. But then there was Eve...”

           His hold weakened, and his back hit the short wall surrounding the rooftop as he scrubbed one hand over his face.

           “I made a mistake,” he continued. “Okay? I should have just sat in the big chair and let that be enough. But Eve…”

           Biting back the bile rising in her throat, Natalia forced herself to focus on his contorting face and saw his knees start to buckle before he stood up straighter and gritted his teeth.

           “Color me a cliché, Mrs. Barba,” he said. “She had a sad story, and I fell for it. For her. She snapped her fingers, and I showed up at her place. That night. And she wanted Rafael to pay… would you believe me if I told her it was a road too far? When she said she’d have my head if I didn’t leak the tape it to save her career?”

           Recalling every second of Eve, the syrupy smiles actually laced in arsenic, Natalia pressed her palms to her sides and drew in a deep breath.

           “She was… damaged,” Natalia said. “Maybe I could muster some sympathy if she hadn’t tried to frame my husband.”

           “More than that,” Cutter murmured.

           “What do you mean?”

           The DA glanced over his shoulder, his stare shifting to the city street before he met her eyes once more.

           “Don’t go soft on me now, Mrs. Barba,” he scoffed. “Who do you think scampered down the fire escape and knocked you husband before planning to stage a crime scene in her very own home?”

           Never Rollins. Cutter wouldn’t have wanted to get his hands that dirty just yet. But Eve…

           “So she… and you just left him down there bleeding?” Natalia asked with teary eyes. “He… what if I hadn’t---?”

           “What if she’d lived and dragged him down even lower?” Cutter demanded.

           “Lower… my husband was raped!” Natalia said, her anger rising as her hands curled into fists. “How much worse---?”

           “No worse if he had just taken a plea!” Cutter said. “Manslaughter maybe! Your youngest daughters might not have even missed him that much.”

           “You have no idea,” Natalia seethed.

           In the moonlight, the color drained from his face, and Cutter’s breath came quick.

           “Fine. But believe this, too; I just pushed her. She hit her head. It was an accident. And maybe I would have… but your cab showed up… and then Detective Rollins… so I’m a coward, okay? Hate me.”  

           She wanted to. She wanted to smack him across the face and let her screams fill his ears at the thought of her husband hurt and nearly destroyed. But before she could make the move, she heard two voices floating in the air behind her.

           “Natalia?” Fin called out. “You---?”

           “Fin!” Natalia cried out. “It was Cutter! He killed---!”

           “Steady on!”

           Harker aimed her gun, and Natalia looked back to see Cutter pull a pistol from his pocket. She had said too much, part of her wanting to dial the moment back. But his weapon was locked and loaded.

           “Wait!” Natalia screeched. “Please don’t---”

           Her skin turned to ice as she watched his finger curl around the trigger. Out of the corner of her eye, she swore she spied the light from Rafael’s hospital room, and she pictured him shattered, scared and counting the seconds until he could see her again. Would she leave him, lose him like this? How would he ever recover?

           “I should have known,” Cutter said, his forehead dotted with sweat as he took a few steps back and kept the gun poised. But before she could plead for her life, for her family, and for their future, Cutter twisted his wrist…

           …and pressed the barrel of the gun to his beaded brow.

           “Don’t do it man!” Fin called out, creeping closer with Harker at his side.

           “Why not?” Cutter asked. “I mean… she figured it out. Probably only a matter of time. It was me, okay? I killed Eve Selby.”

           “And what was the plan?” Fin asked, inching closer to Natalia and gently pushing her towards Harker who tried to bring the other woman behind her back. But on that point, Natalia wasn’t budging. “Send Barba up the river and go on with business as usual?”

           “Barba or Rollins or someone!” Cutter said. “Everyone almost bought it. All he had to do was allocute.”

           “Do you honestly think he would have done that?” Natalia asked.

           “Doesn’t matter now,” Cutter spat. “Time to check out.”

           “Wait!”

           Pushing past Fin and finding herself perilously close to the man with the gun, Natalia reached her fingers up and just touched the steel.

           “Natalia, get back!” Fin ordered.

           She held her other hand behind her back, her palm pressed to the air as she looked into Cutter’s eyes.

           “You think I should let you do this,” she whispered. “That it’ll fix everything.”

           “Won’t it?” Cutter asked.

           Her anger still circled the rooftop, but Natalia let her eyes drift back to Rafael’s room. After everything that had happened, he was still alive. Rollins was safe at home with Jesse. And maybe Carisi. Dodds still had Maggie who loved him forever and always.

           “No,” Natalia said. “This has to stop. No one else needs to die.”

           Her stare shifted towards his hand starting to shake, and Natalia held her breath as she grabbed the gun and guided it away from his temple. Cutter sank to the ground, and Natalia felt Fin pull her back before slapping handcuffs on the DA.

           “How much did you hear?” Natalia asked.

           “Plenty,” Fin said. “Soon as it started to sound shady, Brenna here got her phone. And got it on tape.”

           “You did?” Natalia eagerly asked as Harker showed her another audio file.

           “Not just your word now, Natalia,” Harker said. “Or ours. Now the truth is unburied. And stays that way.”

           Cutter’s eyes were glazed as the blonde and Fin started to take him in. Was that relief in his eyes? His lips curled into the smallest of smiles as they lead him back to the stairwell.

           And there was only one place where she needed to be.

           Rushing back to her husband’s room, longing to hold him and tell him that the case was cracked, she stopped short at the sound of the phone buzzing in her purse. Fishing through the bag and seeing her mother’s number, Natalia swiftly answered the call.

           “Mommy?” she asked.

           “No it me!”

           “Sweet pea!”

           Trembling with joy and steadying herself against the nearest wall, Natalia nibbled her lower lip and listened to her little girl talk a mile a minute.

           “Mami! Where are you now? You not going away, too?”

           “No,” Natalia whispered, choking back a sob. “I’m sorry if you woke up scared. I…”

           She couldn’t finish the thought, coiling her fingers around the phone and feeling the tears start to stream down her cheeks.

           “Are you crying, Mami?” Violetta asked.

           “No… no more tears, Violetta,” she promised, wiping her face with her sleeve and climbing back to her feet. “And so soon now I’m bringing your Papi home.”

           “Really?” Violetta hopefully asked. “You telling me the truth, Mami?”

           Picturing her daughter’s hopeful smile paired with nervous tears, Natalia spoke fast.

           “Always, sweet pea,” she assured her. “We’ll both be home before you know it.”

           “Oh, Mami, yay!” Natalia squealed. “I have to tell Ash… can I talk to Papi right now?”

           She had made her way to Rafael’s room, and Natalia was ready to call his name, to tell him that his daughter was desperate to hear his voice. But his battered form shivered under the sheets leaving Natalia to grasp the doorframe and lower her voice to a whisper.

           “Papi… he’s resting,” she said.

           “He been gone so long he must be tired,” Violetta said. “Will he get some sleep tonight?”

           “I promise,” Natalia said, telling her little girl that she loved her and slipping into the bed to hold Rafael through a sudden night tremor until he relaxed.

           “I’m here, Atticus,” she whispered.

           And she ran her fingers through his hair, her hand falling down his face to touch his bruises. She quaked at the thought of all that he had endured, and her eyes glided towards the silver cuff chaining him to the bed. What did she want more? The brutal bracelet was gone or simply to stay with him? Opting for the latter, she held him tighter and together they bolted upright when he woke and wildly glanced about the room.

           “Shhh,” Natalia soothed, rubbing his back and feeling the sweat seeping through his hospital gown. It took several seconds bordering on an eternity for his breath to return to the realm of normal, for him to stop thrashing in the sheets, and finally, he focused on her face.

           “Natalia?”

           His voice came out in a shriveled croak, and she cradled his chin in her hands, kissing between the bruises, winding her arms around his neck, and letting her lips draw close to his ear.

           “I’m here,” she said. “It’s alright. Everything is alright now.”

          ��Cuddling into her shoulder, Rafael’s body started to go limp. Somehow, he found the strength to attempt his own embrace. But compromised by the handcuff, his stare moved to his shackled wrist, and he released a heavy sigh.

           “Not when they send me back,” he muttered.

           “No,” she quickly said, turning his gaze back to hers and furiously shaking her head. “You’re never going back to that cell. It’s over, Atticus.”

           “Natalia, you can’t know that,” Rafael reasoned.

           “I can,” she said softly. “It… it was Cutter.”

           Blinking fast in disbelief, her husband started to talk several times, the words slow to come as his free hand finally moved to her cheek.

           “Cutter?” he echoed. “Are you sure?”

           “I am,” she told him.

           “But why… how…?”

           “He was in bed with Eve,” Natalia said. “In more ways than one. And I got the confession out of him.”

           Her lips curled into a prideful smile, and Rafael’s face melted in relief.

           “Truly, hermosa?” he asked. “You did that?”

           “I learned from the best,” she said. Quickly kissing his lips, Natalia guided him back to the pillows and caressed his face. “You’re here for the night. But tomorrow… Atticus, it is over. You’re coming home to me. To our sweet little girls.”

           Expecting his smile to brighten despite the dimly lit room, she watched his face cloud over as his bottom lip began to quiver.

           “Hermosa… I…”

           No more words came as he gave into his tears and broke down against her body. Natalia felt her eyes glaze over and tried to ease the tension from his back, kissing his temples and telling him that he was safe.

           They were only words. The same words that he had spoken to her forever and five odd years ago underneath a Christmas tree. How hard he had tried to drive the demons away; she would trace the same path now. He needed time. Time to weep and rage. Still, Natalia believed that the day would come when he would start to forget.

           Until that instant, longer if necessary…

           “You can cry all you want, Atticus,” she whispered. “I promise I won’t let you go.”

[vintagemichelle91]

A Hard Lesson in Incrimination: Chapter 4

Authors’ Note: Let us start the beginning of the week with some answers...or more questions? Just what does Rafael have in mind? Read on and find out! Thank you so much for your amazing feedback as always! @rauliskafan and I so look forward to it!!

                 “What are you going to say?”

           He had no answer. Looking out the window, Rafael saw his breath turn to fog against the glass. He raised a finger and sketched a path that went nowhere but still somehow smiled as Natalia’s head fell to his shoulder.

           “Please tread lightly,” she begged. “Amanda wouldn’t… but you didn’t either.”

           “Too bad we didn’t take pictures of my bruises,” he said, trying for a joke. “Would be one thing on our side.”

           “Those images are burned into my mind,” Natalia whispered. “I hate them.”

           “I’m sorry,” he said.

           “It’s not your fault… and I can always speak up,” she suggested.

           At that he turned her towards him and grasped her shoulders.

           “Hermosa, please,” he began. “I’m letting you come along, but I---”

           “Letting me?” she echoed. “Atticus, you were never stopping me. We’re seeing this though. Together. We’ll put it to bed once it’s all over.”

           Stroking her face, his mind filled with other images, their bodies buried under blankets and cuddling close with the weight finally lifted away. Might this be the moment to sort the mess out? He had his doubts, worried for Rollins, but he could still hope.

           “We’ll be home again before you know it.” Saying as much could make it so.

           “To listen your daughter become all things British in preparation for Miss Harker’s visit,” Natalia said.

           “Let’s leave all that to your father.”

           “Fair enough, Atticus.”

           She clung to his arm as their cab traced an all too the familiar route. Rafael’s lips repeatedly drifted to her brow. Natalia winded her arms around his neck, rubbing his back and telling him that she loved him until the cab came to a halt.

           “Here we are.”

           Ignoring the driver, thinking for a split second of turning back, packing up the girls and racing away to parts unknown, Rafael let the fantasy slide into some unseen mist and paid the cabbie before pausing at the sidewalk.

           “What?” Natalia asked.

           “I… I am glad you’re here,” he admitted. “But just let me do the talking.”

           “Atticus, I am more than capable of speaking for---”

           “Let me protect you, hermosa. Please let me do that much.”

           Nibbling on her lip, Natalia finally nodded before her head sank back to his shoulder.

           “Watch your words, Atticus,” she said. “You did nothing wrong.”

           “Thank you for believing that,” he said.

They walked through the main door and took the elevator up, catching sight of Fin pouring through a few files.

           “What’s the good word, Sergeant?” Rafael asked.

           “Hey!” Fin left his chair and shook Rafael’s hand, kissed Natalia’s cheek, and gestured at the pages littering his desk.

           “Old home week,” Fin said. “Remember this asshole?”

           Fin pressed the papers into Rafael’s hands.

           “I know you’re not back on the job, but what do you think?”

           Seeing this certain perp’s fate, Rafael could not help but savor a sense of satisfaction. An eye for an eye never actually solved anything, but it was some justice seeing the man who had destroyed two families suffering in the realm of turnabout as fair play.

           “Guess he’ll want some protection soon,” Rafael said, handing the file back.

           “Solitary would be better,” Fin grumbled. “No pit low enough for that scum.”

And then he met Natalia’s eyes.

           “Sorry,” Fin continued. “Hope you don’t think any less of me.”

           “Of the man who helped my sweet pea into the world?” Natalia said. “Never.”

           Fin smiled as Carisi brushed by them without a word of his own.

           “Sonny?”

           The detective turned on his heel when he heard Natalia call out his name. Rafael saw his wife reach for the other man’s arm. And Carisi’s face like slate.

           “What brings the two of you by?” he asked in a hoarse voice.

           “I think you know,” Rafael said. “Liv told me what was going down.��

           “Told you about Rollins?” Carisi quickly questioned. “There’s no truth to it. There… there just can’t be.”

           “Of course not, Sonny,” Natalia carefully stated as he sank into his chair. Rafael searched for some sign of Liv in her office, flinching at the sound of a set of fingers drumming without rhythm atop Carisi’s desk.

           “Not that she didn’t have reason to be… I never should have…” Struggling, he slowly met Natalia’s eyes.

           “Wouldn’t blame you if you never invited me to a dinner party at your place again,” Carisi continued.

           “Sonny, don’t be silly,” Natalia soothed.

           Sighing heavily, Rafael returned to his wife’s hand.

           “I’m sorry that I didn’t see it sooner,” he murmured.

           “You’re sorry?” Carisi said. “No one drank more of the Kool Aid than me. But… but Amanda wouldn’t---”

           His voice cut out as Rollins entered the squad room at Dodds’ side. And Liv finally appeared.

           “Amanda? A word,” she started. “Fin? You want to sit in on this?”

           The second sergeant looked as if he would rather gargle with acid than take Liv up on her offer, but he pushed away from his desk, his files, and Rafael’s fingers slipped from Natalia’s as he drew Dodds aside.

           “Did she say anything to you on the way over?” Rafael quietly asked.

           “Not a word,” Dodds said. “And what could I… I mean it’s not like we saw her there.”

           “Has to be a mistake,” Rafael agreed, starting to turn away from his brother-in-law when Dodds grabbed his arm.

           “She won’t go down for it… but just let Liv figure it out,” Dodds said.

           “Really?” Rafael challenged. “That’s your Plan B?” Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Dodds shuffled his feet as his gaze fell on his wedding ring.

           “You know why I… let’s just ride out the storm before we do anything rash.”

           “Like conceal evidence?” Rafael snarked, leaving Dodds’ side and holding up a hand when Natalia tried to join him.

           “Stay here a minute,” he gently ordered.

           “Atticus, you shouldn’t go---”

           “I’ll keep quiet,” he assured her. “I promise.”

           “Want some company?” Carisi asked. “Don’t worry, Natalia. I’ll see that he stays out of trouble.”

           “Gonna hold you to that, Carisi,” Dodds said, lowering his head to speak to his sister-in-law. Her face stayed worried as the other two men turned the corner to peer through the two-way glass.

           “Amanda,” Liv began. “We have testimony that you were spotted at Eve Selby’s place on the night in question.”

           “Is that a fact?” Rollins asked, keeping her eyes on the table as Liv and Fin exchanged a look.

           “Amanda, your babysitter said that you didn’t go straight home after… after everything that went down here with Eve.”

           “You checking up on me, Lieutenant?” Rollins asked, her laughter without a hint of mirth.

           “Just asking some questions,” Liv replied. “Did you know that Carisi called her?”

           “What if I did?” Carisi muttered as Rafael shushed him.

           “What if he was?” Rollins asked. “Sonny saw her true colors.”

           “But maybe… maybe were you worried that she would sway him back to her side,” Liv suggested. “Thought that you should have a word with her? Perhaps put her in her place?”

           “Is that how we’re playing this, Liv?” Rollins asked. “You think I went there with my gun drawn to scare some sense into her?”

           “You tell me,” Liv quietly fired back. “Because I think you were there. And you need to tell us why right now.”

           Carisi grinded his teeth, and Rollins leaned back in her chair.

           “Fine,” Rollins said. “You think you have me dead to rights? I went to her building.”

           “Why, Amanda?” Fin asked. “What were you thinking?”

           “That she needed to stop playing Sonny,” she said.

           “But you heard him when we learned that---”

           “And he told me that he was calling her!” Rollins shot back. “When I phoned him. If anyone was going to give that witch the benefit of the doubt…”

           Her voice trailed off as she glanced at the mirror, and Rafael watched Carisi tense as he placed one hand on the sheet standing between them.

           “Maybe I should have gone to him,” Rollins continued. “To talk it out. At the time I… it seemed better to go the source.”

           “Christ,” Carisi said as he pushed away and slumped against the nearest wall. “I should have just… she sounded drunk… but I was three sheets to the wind myself.”

           And Rafael froze, unable to offer Carisi anything in the way of comfort as his stare flashed back to Rollins.

           “Look I just went to talk to her,” Rollins insisted. “Last I heard that wasn’t a crime.”

           Rafael knew that much was true. But suddenly he flashed back to a figure rushing from the building, taking off in Natalia’s cab. On the night in question, he had no idea who it… could it have been?

           “Amanda,” Liv said. “I want to believe you. And I almost could. But Eve Selby’s apartment…”

           “What about it?” Rollins asked. “What do you think you found?”

           “A cleanup job that could have only come from a cop,” Liv said. “It wasn’t amateur hour. It was someone covering their tracks. You were there, Amanda.”

           “And I left her place as soon as I saw the body!” Rollins cried. “Found a cab on the street! Maybe that makes me a coward. A drunk on that night. But not a killer.”

           “Sounds convenient,” Liv said.

           “Find the driver!” Rollins demanded. “He’ll back me. No time to clean up… you’re wrong about it. Wrong about me.”

           Rafael’s heart began to pound in his chest, threatening to explode and shatter his ribs. Forgetting Carisi, he looked for Dodds, knowing that he should find the sergeant when a uniform rushed by and rapped on the glass.

           “Yes?” Liv said.

           The woman in blue entered the interrogation room, and Fin looked sick as he took the lab report.

           “What’s that?” Rollins asked. “Your so-called smoking gun?”

           “Amanda, I think I should advise you to contact a---”

           “Liv, hold up.”

           Fin said nothing else as he passed the folder into Liv’s hands, and Rafael watched her eyes grow wide while she read the document.

           “One fingerprint,” Liv said.

           And she started from the room.

           “Lieutenant?” Carisi asked, up on his feet the second that he saw her. “What’ve you got there?”

           “A problem,” Liv said, seemingly shocked as she started to her office. Looking over his shoulder, Rafael saw Fin trying to reassure Rollins, saw Carisi rushing into the interrogation room speak with her. But he was drawn to Liv, desperate to catch her ear when the sound of furious footsteps barreled into the squad room.

           “Dad?” Dodds asked, stepping away from Natalia when he saw Maggie with his father. “Is something wrong?”

           “Can we talk somewhere in---?”

           “Mike, do you want to tell me why I’m having dinner with your father when he gets a call that IAB is about to investigate you?” Maggie asked.

           IAB? Oh Christ. Rafael found it hard to breathe and saw Natalia’s anxious face as Liv stepped back into the fray.

           “IAB?” she asked. “How do they already know about this?”

           “Already… so there’s actually something to it?” the Chief queried. He snatched the report from Liv’s hand, his shock audible as Maggie fidgeted where she stood, and Natalia looked ready to faint.

           “Michael, tell me that this is a mistake.”

           The sergeant said nothing in the wake of his father’s words, and Dodds placed his hands in his pockets.

           “Maybe we should just wait for IAB,” he said.

           “Why, Mike?” Maggie asked. “Who’s setting you up? It’s all a lie, right?”

           Rafael remembered walking Maggie down the aisle to her happily ever after. The groom erasing evidence on his behalf was never part of the bargain.

           “Of course it is,” the Chief said, slapping his son’s back. “What we need to do is get out in front of this. Find out who has it in for you and why. Liv, let’s talk for a moment.”

           “No, Bill,” Liv said, retrieving the report.

           “Excuse me?” the Chief challenged. “Last I heard, I was still overseeing---”

           “Yes. But I’m telling you that there’s nothing dirty in my labs.”

           “Do I have to remind you about one Carl Rudnick?” the Chief dared.

           “Don’t do that,” Liv cautioned.

           “I’m just saying that there’s a precedent here. And my boy would never---”

           “Dad, leave it alone,” Dodds said, his eyes darting between Natalia and Rafael as his shoulders slowly sagged. “Maybe… maybe I was there.”

           “For Rollins?” Liv asked. “Mike, you should tell us right now. Before the atmosphere isn’t quite so friendly.”

           “He has nothing to hide!” the Chief maintained. “I resent the fact that you’re implying that my son---”

           “And I resent the fact that you don’t think I can run my unit,” Liv said. “Something is going on here.”

           The bottom was falling out from under all of them, the ground threatening to swallow any hope of moving away from this moment. From the night in question. Not knowing where to look first, last, or always, Rafael saw Liv and the Chief locked in combat. Maggie’s eyes brimmed with tears as Dodds hung his head, and Fin emerged with the other detectives.

           “Liv, I swear I only saw Eve’s body,” Rollins insisted. “I took off, and I don’t know what happened after---”

           “But I do.”

His eyes were on his shoes as he spoke. Rafael thought he heard Maggie gasp and Carisi mutter something to Fin. When he finally shifted his eyes upward, Natalia appeared horrified. Maybe he could still take it back. Point a finger and flee with his wife. Hope that Dodds would come out unscathed. But that wasn’t the definition of family. And as much as he wanted to return home with his hermosa flor at his side, these people deserved far better than his failure to rise to the occasion.

           “Liv, I was at Eve’s place. I saw someone… I guess it was Rollins getting into a cab.”

           “Rafael, don’t,” Dodds warned stepping towards him. “That wasn’t part of---”

           “The plan,” Rafael said, completing his thought. “I know.”

           Straightening his tie, he looked to Liv…

           …and even as he saw Natalia’s heart break in the space of her brown eyes, he couldn’t keep the secret any longer. It was shredding too many souls.

“But I can’t let this go on.”

           Because each and every one of them deserved so much better than his sin of silence.

[vintagemichelle91]

Question for my readers...

How would you guys feel about me writing Peter Stone x Reader??

Obviously I am still hard at work on Rafael and Natalia with @rauliskafan! And I know I need more Miss Fashionista in my life...how about you???

But I want to take a crack at Peter Stone! What do you think??

I want to get back into my writing groove and get out of this slump of the heart and just get lost in something I've always found comfort in!!

[thefanficfaerie]

Weekly Reading List 46

Weekly Recommendations get posted every Saturday. All stories are character x reader unless otherwise stated. Graphic by the awesome @wonders-of-the-multiverse.

Tropes AU Mafia Princess Part 3/Part 4 by @4theluvofall Steve Rogers Unexpected Changes by @captainsbabysitter-blog Vampire!Jim Kirk

Soulmate AU The Fallacy of Fate Part 5 by @imagine-assembling-the-avengers Stucky

Daddy!Character Halloween by @promarvelfangirl Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers

A/B/O Dynamics Coming Home Part 2/Part 3/Part 4 by @not-close-to-straight Polyvengers

Modern AU All for You by @caplansteverogers Steve Rogers Nailed It: Decisions, Decisions/Easily Amused by @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan Steve Rogers Eager Lovers: Boxer’s Revenge by @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan Steve Rogers Running Wild Part 1 by @captain-rogers-beard Steve Rogers Hold That Thought 22 23 24 25 by @itsanerdlife

Wonder Woman Steve Trevor

Game of Thrones Robb Stark

Jon Snow

Avengers Steve Rogers Once a Witch by @tilltheendwilliwrite Nights by @kaunis-sielu Angel by @4theluvofall My Girl by @pocmarvelworks Black!Reader The Girl from the Village Part 2 by @hellomissmabel Coincidences Part 2 by @persxphxne Baby Steve by @dammitparker Hocus Pocus by @writingwithadinosaur Beautiful by @sorryimacrapwriter Kiss Me Until I’m OK by @timeforsmut Rise Up Part 5 by @tilltheendwilliwrite Steve Wanting You to Stay With Him by @imamotherfuckingstar-lord

Tony Stark More Than Anything Part 3 by @uncpanda Angel by @arrow-guy Stranded by @iwillbeinmynest

Steve Rogers x Reader x Bucky Barnes Home by @becaamm I Promise to Love Both of You Forever Part 2 by @shitty-imagines-95

Steve Rogers x Reader x Tony Stark  I Never Want to See Either of You Again Part 2 by @shitty-imagines-95

Law and Order: SVU Rafael Barba Missed You by @mrsrafaelbarba The Wrong Time by @locke-writes Cuando está enfermo by @teatimefortiya Charity Event by @lt-sammi-matthews

Star Trek A Night In Your Arms by @musingsongbird

Jim Kirk Water Under the Bridge Part 2 by @janeykath318 Marriage Material Part 20/Part 21 by @enterprisewriting Jim Fixing Your PADD by @imamotherfuckingstar-lord

Leonard McCoy Pregnant by @star-trekkin-across-theuniverse The Hunt by @red-shirts-always-die4444 Late Night Reports by @pythonees Swapping Bodies With Bones by @star-trekkin-across-theuniverse How You’ll Scream by @outside-the-government Some Wounds Take Longer To Heal by @galaxycharmed

McKirk McKirk-Tober Masterlist by @goingknowherewastaken

Jim Kirk x Reader X Leonard McCoy

NCIS Tony DiNozzo

Misc Fandoms A Hard Lesson in Incrimination Part 6-13 by @rauliskafan and @vintagemichelle91 Rafael and Natalia Barba  First Meetings by @iwillbeinmynest Legolas  Centuries Passed by @meganlpie Legolas Guardian Angel by @esparzart Rafael Barba  All Hallow’s Eve by @rauliskafan Frederick Chilton

Chris Evans When Mother Calls by @superheroabc Frank Adler And I’ll Be Your Safety by @not-moose-one-shots Hiking and Hypocrisy Parts 1-5 by @avaalons Anticipation by @avaalons NSFW Boston by @my-emotional-self He Just Followed Me Home Part 3/Part 4 by @sian22redux

Mood Boards have been removed from the weekly reading list

tags: (strikethroughs I cant tag) @thelawschooldiva @outside-the-government@isaxhorror @rayleyanns  @sistasarah-sallysaidso @grumpykate @auduna-druitt @engineeringtrashcan @impalaanddemons @dirajunara @the-space-goddess-16 @catbutsfurrever @a-girl-who-loves-disney@pinkamour1588 @fangirlinglikeamentalpatient

[thefanficfaerie]

Weekly Reading List 35

Weekly Recommendations get posted every Thursday. All stories are character x reader unless otherwise stated. Graphic by the awesome @wonders-of-the-enterprise .

Wonder Woman Steve Trevor Change is a Good Thing by @goingknowherewastaken

Game of Thrones Robb Stark Untitled by @letsasoiaftogether  Tenderness by @swimmingbyrd Falling for the Enemy by @imagininggameofthrones

Jon Snow Day In by @certifiedskywalker

Avengers Steve Rogers Captain’s Girl by @immostlyconfused NSFW I Hate Pants, and I Want a Nap by @knittingknerdy My Eyes Part 3/Part 4/Part 5 by @invisibleanonymousmonsters  Hazy by @papermoon2719 Heaven by @kellieabro NSFW Something to Someone by @imamotherfuckingstar-lord Touch and Go/ Part 2 by @bovaria Sledgehammer 2* 3 4* 5 6 7 by @tilltheendwilliwrite NSFW I Want You by @super-shield Mrs. Captain by @becaamm

Tony Stark Someday by @corolux We’re a Joke by @crazefantwins In the Hot Seat by @bigeyes-redmouth Secrets by @blog-of-a-multitude-of-fandoms I Have Loved You by @writers-square Iron Man and Mrs. King Part Four, Part Five by @goodnightwife

Law and Order: SVU Rafael Barba A Winter’s Gala by @writefasttalkevenfaster Just Dandy by @writefasttalkevenfaster Threats: What’s New by @writefasttalkevenfaster A Misunderstanding by @minidodds Mistake by @hiddndaydreams Barba and his Scruff by @xemopeachx NSFW  Too Late Now, Kitten by @ghostofachancewithyou NSFW Critical Part 3 by @miamorbarba

Star Trek Jim Kirk A Kiss to Build A Dream On by @mybullshitsensesaretingling Jim’s Problems by @coyoteimagines Rock, Paper, Scissors by @enterprisewriting Marriage Material by @enterprisewriting Meant to Be by @atari-writes  Night Terror by @7ouroboros6

Leonard McCoy Night on the Town Part 12 by @all-sortsa-stuff Leonard and the OTP Part 2 by @goodnightwife Don’t Argue by @medicatemedrmccoy Tattoo by @arrowsshootyouforwards Bad Attitude by @imamotherfuckingstar-lord Make Me by @pinkamour1588 Sorry by @coyoteimagines A Dance to Forget by @kaitymccoy123 Who is She Part 3 by @imagines-in-progress  Someone’s in Tribble by @the-space-goddess-16   5 Stages of Falling in Love with Leonard McCoy by @janeykath318

McKirk Space Princesses and Coffee Dates Part 3 by @captainsbabysitter-blog Among the Trees, The Fallen Rise Again Part 3 by @goingknowherewastaken Whatever it Takes to Get You Out of My Hair by @mustanglegends

Jim x Reader X Bones

NCIS Tony DiNozzo Dinner With Senior by @whydontyouallf-fadeaway Surprise by @of-badges-and-guns Sleep Next to You by @spaceemonkeyyxd Breaking Rule Twelve by @spaceemonkeyyxd  And She’s Nice by @make-me-imagine Too Late by @make-me-imagine

Tropes AU Viking!Kirk by @lt-sammi-matthews NSFW Licking Wounds by @lt-sammi-matthews Steve Rogers The Curtain Part 8  @imamotherfuckingstar-lord Steve Rogers

Soulmate AU Just A Glimpse by @sarahwroteathing Steve Rogers  Colourless by @kaitymccoy123 Leonard McCoy Heart Skip Part 10 by @after-avenging-hours Steve Rogers

Daddy!Character Lullabies by @emilyevanston Tony Stark  A Very Merry Unbirthday by @xemopeachx Rafael Barba Sick!Reader by @ohbelieveyoume Rafael Barba  The UnKnown Stark by @reigningqueenofwords Tony Stark 

A/B/O Dynamics Keep You Close by @kittenofdoomage Steve Rogers 

Modern AU Not Your Typical Frat Boy Part 4 by @i-dont-do-rpfs Chris Evans Zee & The War Machines Part 2 by @imamotherfuckingstar-lord Steve Rogers Finding Home Part 2 by @promarvelfangirl Steve Rogers  Billion Dollar Man Part 5 by @marvelous-fvcks Tony Stark Boundaries Part 8 by @imamotherfuckingstar-lord Steve Rogers The CEO by @ptersparkers Steve Rogers For The Better by @captainrogerss Steve Rogers

Misc Fandoms A Hard Lesson in Vanity Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/Part 4/Part 5/Part 6 by @rauliskafan and @vintagemichelle91 Rafael and Natalia Barba Mistakes by @writefasttalkevenfaster Aaron Hotchner Untitled by @thenewmrsweasley Eomer Puppy Love by @papermoon2719 Stucky I Saw Her First by @imagine-assembling-the-avengers Steve Rogers & Clark Kent South HIlls 2-5 by BeccaAnne814 Bucky Barnes 

Chris Evans Home at Last by @theycallmebecca Digital Get Down by @theycallmebecca NSFW Think a Little Less by @not-moose-one-shots Disney Princess: The Ugly Truth/ Decisions/ Auditions by @avaalons Imagine by @manawhaat Being in a Relationship with Chris by @ohevansmycaptain

Mood Boards A Cozy, Comfy Birthday 

tags (crossed out won’t let me tag): @thelawschooldiva @outside-the-government @isaxhorror @rayleyanns @sistasarah-sallysaidso @grumpykate @auduna-druitt @pinkamour1588  @engineeringtrashcan @impalaanddemons @dirajunara @the-space-goddess-16 @catbutsfurrever