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saiilorstars · 4 months ago

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Ch. 63: Behind the Curtains

Previous chapters // Montserrat’s masterlist

Fandom: SVU // Pairing: Rafael Barba x OC

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

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

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

Author's Note:

I just want to thank everyone who's been reaching out about this story. The amount of comments I get on this particular fic is so amazing. So many people are invested in this story and ask me when I'll be updating again. I really love all YOUR love for this story so I've gone back to keep writing more chapters for this (I think you'll r e a ll y love the next chapter btw, it's got some good angst ;)). Again, thank you soooo much!

Olivia would only be surprised with Rafael's sudden visit to the precinct for about five minutes. It was completely him to pull this kind of stunt when he still had plenty of time to rest before returning to work. She was guilty of doing the same thing in the past.

"You know you're supposed to be resting, right? Like in a bed and in a room...?" Olivia closed her office door then went to help Rafael reach the couch, an action he shooed her away for.

"Officially, I am at home," he replied, managing to sit on his own with no problem. Olivia liked to see the good sign.

"Officially?" she raised an eyebrow at him. "How'd you pull this one?" There was no way in hell that Montserrat would allow this if she knew.

"Montserrat's got a therapy session and I told her my mother was coming over anyways. She won't ever know that I was here if you help me out..." To his credit, Rafael did seem genuinely guilty when he explained himself.

"I see…" Olivia nodded as she took a seat on the couch beside him.

"I hate it, I know," Rafael said, as if Olivia was reproaching him for his lie. He hated himself for lying to Montserrat. She had been nothing but helpful and so concerned about him. He hated doing this... "I needed to talk to you without her around."

"I could have just as easily gone to see you. There's no need to push yourself more than you have to right now."

"Now you're sounding like Montserrat."

"Well, you know, she kind of has a point."

"She usually always does," sighed Rafael, "Lucky for me, the peanut gallery wasn't out there," he made a nod at the bullpen.

"There's an ongoing case," Olivia explained the absence of her squad. "So, how are you?"

Rafael raised a hand at her and shook it. "I'm not here for me. I want to know about the case." He had a limited window here and wanted to use every minute he had.

"But you also need to take care of yourself," Olivia said, and Rafael rolled his eyes at her. "You were shot — there were moments where we thought you weren't going to make it. Speaking from my experience, you have your own issues to handle too."

"I understand, but I promise that I'm okay," Rafael said, "I'm not traumatized — I have seen worse."

"What's worse than getting shot?" Olivia said incredulously.

"Not knowing when the person responsible will finally go after his real target: the woman that I love." Rafael had maintained a straight face when he responded, not even fazed with the gaping look on Olivia's face.

"Uh…okay…" Olivia tried her darn best to get past the vital information she just learned, for the sake of her two very good friends and the circumstances that were surrounding them. "Well…officially, the case has gone cold…"

"But unofficially?"

"Unofficially, we're still working it."

"And who's this 'we'?" Rafael demanded.

Olivia let it slide because she knew how troubled he must be with zero answers in his pocket. "Finn. I trust him completely and he won't say anything to anyone."

Rafael could agree with that choice. "So…no one else knows, then?"

Olivia shook her head. "Carisi, Rollins and Amaro think the case is cold and even though we knew beforehand that it looked like a hit, none of them will say anything to Montserrat."

"They better not," Rafael said warningly, "Because that's the last thing she needs right now. I already talked to Clara too so that we have the same story."

"And she's okay with that?" Olivia had only spoken to Clara a few times and sent her right to a counselor because the young girl had been terrified about what happened.

"Yeah," nodded Rafael, "So we can get back to work on this quickly, please."

"We can't rush these things, Rafa," Olivia reminded him, "The case isn't 'cold' but it's not very open either. There's not much to go off by."

"I know that but we can't stop looking either," Rafael said, "Because I know that this was one of the last blows before he goes after what he really wants."

Olivia didn't want to openly admit that Rafael was right. She had worked SVU for too long to not know the usual patterns criminals — including rapists — exhibited. It just so happened that this criminal was waiting a bit longer than usual. She detested that in this situation, what the man wanted was her friend. The ultimate target was Montserrat, and she had no idea about it.

In all the time that Olivia spent thinking silently, Rafael had not stopped looking at her. He was waiting for her to admit it because once it was out in the open they could move on and work towards the solution. It was the only way they could continue to work. His insides twisted each time he thought about that man.

That man wanted Montserrat. He thought about her like he had some claim on her. He thought she belonged to him.

"We need to find this guy," Rafael said, his jaw clenched, "Fast."

Olivia sensed the growing anger and so treaded carefully. "We have to be smart about this—"

"I know—"

"—because according to the little that we have—"

"I know."

"—there's no reports of any Daniel in the black market."

"I know, Olivia!" Rafael exclaimed. "But we have to at least try to keep searching!" Olivia remained calm in the face of his anger. "Because I know he's going to do something else soon. We already got lucky once—"

"Lucky?" Olivia repeated, her brows raising incredulously. "I don't know if I have to keep reminding you but you got shot," she gestured at him, "That's not 'lucky' in any book."

"You know what I meant," Rafael snapped.

"I don't think I did…"

"Olivia, please. Help me. Help me help her — because that's all that matters here. She is the only thing that matters here!"

Olivia nodded slowly. "I know, and you have to know that I will do anything I can to keep Montserrat safe. At the same time, though, I'd like to make sure you are also safe."

"I will be just fine," Rafael promised. "All I want is to be working on this case. This is the most important case I've ever dealt with. Nothing can be left to chance."

Olivia would have liked to point out that if this case actually went to trial, Rafael would not be allowed to prosecute it. He wouldn't be allowed anywhere near it. She suspected that he may have either chosen to forget it or he was filing it under 'deal with later'.

"Well, looking into the details, I can tell you right now that we don't have a lot," Olivia repeated, sighing, "The guy who shot you—"

"It wasn't Daniel," Rafael said immediately, waving a hand dismissively. "He was just a hired hitman."

"Okay, right," nodded Olivia, "but that guy was wearing a mask. Clara wasn't able to give anything unique about the guy. Could you?"

"No," Rafael muttered, "He was all covered up. If I heard his voice again, I'd be able to recognize him."

"How about we start small then," Olivia's suggestion was met with a blatant rejection.

"We can't do that, not when we have a clear path," Rafael said, prompting Olivia to ask what he had in mind. "Let's go after the one clear name we do have."

Olivia raised an eyebrow at him. "Who's name do we have?" she asked, puzzled.

Rafael didn't think twice with his answer. "Hallie D'Amico."

Olivia's eyes widened, her mouth opening with shock. "I know you were shot but are you insane?" She stood up from the couch, taking a few steps away to contemplate such an absurd idea.

Rafael took the opportunity to lean back on the couch and adjust his position to ease his side. It didn't hurt as much as it used to, although Montserrat loved to exaggerate. "I've thought about it, Liv—"

"Oh, really?" Olivia spun around, shooting him a sharp look. "So I bet you told Montserrat about this already?"

Rafael's silence was answer enough.

"Rafael, c'mon, what are you thinking!?"

"Of course I wasn't going to tell her!" Rafael exclaimed. "Because I know exactly what she's going to say—"

"That you're crazy?" Olivia tilted her head. "Gotta say, I might have to agree with her on that one."

"Olivia—"

"Visiting Hallie D'Amico in prison is a crazy idea!"

"Oli—"

"She's in jail for a reason, she's not going to give up Daniel—"

"Liv!" Rafael yelled over Olivia's words to get her attention. He looked at her sharply. "I know that my idea isn't easy, but it is the most logical. If this were any other case, one of you would have already coined the idea. Lie to me and say I'm wrong."

Olivia wouldn't take his challenge but she didn't want to admit that he was right either. She shook her head and started pacing. "This wouldn't work," she said, sounding like she was starting to consider the idea. "Montserrat testified against her. Hallie knows that Montserrat was a UC — for all we know, she could have put the hit on you as revenge."

"No," Rafael said on the spot, "I know it was Daniel. I know it was him."

Olivia sighed and stopped pacing, looking at Rafael with a certain sympathy. "I know this is hard for you—"

"Don't," Rafael warned her to stop, "Don't…don't do the empathy talk."

"That's not what I'm doing—"

"It's what you always do for the victims. I know you, Liv," Rafael said, "And you don't need to do that with me. Montserrat's told me about this woman and I've looked into her case. D'Amico went down for drug trafficking but there was never any sexual assault accusations about her ring."

"A drug dealer with some scruples? Am I supposed to congratulate her on that?"

"I'm not saying she should get a medal but it does go to say that she has something against those kinds of crimes," Rafael said, shrugging, "That's a line she didn't cross. Montserrat said that she confided in D'Amico about Daniel's advances towards her and that D'Amico tried moving Montserrat away from him."

Olivia hadn't known about that detail and as such became interested. She slowly returned to her seat on the couch, listening attentively.

"We could believe for a moment that D'Amico wouldn't stand for that kind of stuff from her own ring — the fact is that she's in jail and Daniel is in possession of her work." Rafael smirked widely. "If we piss her off the right way, she'll give us his full name and we build a case from there."

Olivia always knew that Rafael was a fantastic prosecutor making cases and arguments, but this one took the cake. He took a crazy idea and morphed it into the only logical, sensible thing to do. She let out a long sigh and leaned back on the couch. "If Montserrat finds out about this…she's going to shoot us both."

"Well, I already got shot and you're her boss so we might get off with a warning," Rafael shrugged. "Me, probably a smack — and you a stink eye."

Olivia couldn't believe that was his argument; she laughed. Hearing her laugh, made Rafael laugh. For a split moment, they were friends just saying nonsense.

~ 0 ~

Montserrat was livid when she returned to the apartment and found it empty. "Oh, if you weren't dead before you will be now!" she said as soon as Rafael walked in through the door.

"I'm sorry," he apologized with a little smile, "I couldn't help it." Things ran a little later at the precinct than he had expected, but it was all for a good reason. He and Olivia were working to find the right moment to visit D'Amico. He wanted to be present, despite Olivia's reluctance, and so that meant he would have to find an opportunity to get away from Montserrat. That was the major problem at the moment.

"You lied to me," Montserrat accused, striding over to him, immediately looking him over, "You're not supposed to be out on the streets yet."

"Calmate," Rafael said, resting his hands on her arms, "Calm down. I just went to the office. I had to, I'm sorry, but I had to."

"No, you didn't," Montserrat sighed, "But that's what I get for daring to believe you'd be intelligent about this stuff."

"Intelligent?" Rafael frowned. "Are you implying that I'm stupid?"

Montserrat smiled as she innocently pressed out his shoulders. "Because I said that I was going to be nicer while you're injured, I won't answer that...right now."

Rafael deadpanned her for a long while. "Strangely, that wasn't a nice answer either."

Montserrat's smile widened. "Where the hell did you go?"

"I already told you — the office. I have cases that are piling up."

"No," Montserrat said sharply, "Those cases are being handled by a substitute prosecutor. You, my dear, have no reason to be at that office right now. I don't want you exerting yourself."

"I promise you that I'm not," Rafael said, bringing his hands to her face, "Just doing a walk here and there. Besides, you promised me that you wouldn't get so worked up about me picking up a few cases here and there."

"From home," Montserrat reminded him. "We agreed that you could work from here."

"Right, but I still needed to pick some things up," Rafael said, and dealt with the less than believing gaze Montserrat had on him. She was too smart for her own good and in this case, he really needed her to not be anything close to that. "C'mon," he insisted, "I stopped by and saw Liv too. Had a nice normal conversation. Distractions, you know?"

Montserrat shook her head disapprovingly. "You know what? Let's just move on before you give me gray hairs — oh, and by the way—" She had just pointed at Rafael when he warned her to stop right there. Montserrat laughed right in his face. "It's alright, you only have a couple—"

"Montserrat!"

"Kidding! But I mean, I think you'd look very nice with a few gray hairs here and there."

Rafael rolled his eyes. "You know what? I'm actually very tired. Whether I like to admit it or not, the walking and moving altogether did exhaust me a bit."

Montserrat dropped the laughs and jokes when he said that. "Are you—?"

"I'm okay," Rafael cut her off, knowing damn well her concerns had returned in a second. "Just tired, that's all."

"Do you want to go rest?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "I think I actually do. Turn in early."

"Okay—"

"With you."

Montserrat blinked and slowly started to smile. Her entire body relaxed within minutes. "Okay," she nodded, "I like that idea."

They left their things in the living room, Rafael being very careful not to leave his "paperwork" out in the open where Monsterrat could accidentally come across it. He would come back for it later when she was asleep.

~ 0 ~

"You know I talked to your mother earlier. I bumped into her at the grocery store," Montserrat confessed once they were settled in bed. She snuggled up to Rafael's side, careful not to hurt him in the process.

Rafael groaned. "Oh God, what did she say now?" He could just see his mother being nitty-gritty about the things Montserrat picked up in the store.

"Nothing," Montserrat chuckled. "She's been real good to me ever since we brought you home from the hospital. I mean, she has her moments but it's been okay overall."

"She better be." Rafael was not afraid to have another go with his mother. Although, he was glad that the first "go" had been successful. He didn't like arguing with her either. "So, if she wasn't being mean, what did she say?"

"She asked about you, how you were doing and all that stuff. She also mentioned that you haven't called her once since you left the hospital." Montserrat tilted her head up to look at him. "Says maybe I'm distracting you."

"And there it is…" Rafael had to draw in a breath to ease himself. Of course his mother would say stupid nonsense like that, especially if he wasn't around. "I'm sorry," he said, sighing.

Montserrat chuckled. "Don't worry about it. She caught me off guard but it's nothing." Course she wouldn't tell him how she reacted at the store, how her been a sputtering mess for five minutes right in public. "I told her you were just resting most of the time."

"I'm still going to talk to her," Rafael decided, because knowing his mother this wouldn't be the last time a comment like that left her mouth.

"Your choice," Montserrat shrugged. She rested her head on his chest again, beginning to feel the wisps of sleep coming for her. "Also called my dad."

"Oh, and how'd that go?" Rafael heard Montserrat's faint intake of breath. He moved his hand on her back, gently rubbing up and down.

"Okay," Montserrat yawned, "Wants to have dinner with us soon."

"We still haven't done that," Rafael actually laughed. It hurt less now. "Seems like we've been planning that for ages now."

"I know," Montserrat mused, "Maybe we can make it a dinner/'you're all better' celebration? That way we can invite everyone, not just my family?"

"Would be a lot better for me…" Rafael said, thinking it over. It would at least give him excuses to talk to Olivia and Fin about the ongoing case. "I like it," he decided. "We can do it this week, if you want."

Montserrat scoffed. "Nice try. You're still out from work for at least another month."

"You really want me to stay on the couch all day, huh? You realize you're going to have to sustain my lifestyle, right?"

Montserrat rolled her eyes at him.

"I mean — I like expensive scotch, you know that. And there always has to be sweets in the cabinet and let's not mention—"

"If you value your life, you'll go to sleep right now."

Rafael laughed to himself. "So much for my lovely nurse."

"Be quiet."

Rafael held Montserrat closer to him. He suspected that she had no idea just how much he actually loved her. He pressed a kiss on the top of her head. "Thank you for everything."

Montserrat thought his sudden gratitude was questionable — perhaps it was a tactic to appease her when she sounded so annoyed by him?

"I really don't know what I would do without you," Rafael continued, absent-mindedly running his fingers up and down Montserrat's back.

"Are you okay?" She had to ask. She shifted her head enough to catch his eye.

Rafael smiled at her. "I can't tell you 'thank you' without you questioning my health?"

A bashful smile crossed Montserrat's face. "Sorry, you're just not very talkative sometimes which is quite the contradiction to you when you're at work."

"You always say that I have a big mouth."

"Yeah, to give sass and snark, but you're not exactly the kind to talk about, you know, feelings and stuff like that."

"I know," Rafael sighed, admitting defeat to that one. "And I should be more but—"

"It's alright," Montserrat chuckled lightly, "I like the way you are. And even though sometimes you don't say the words, you do what you want to say. I understand your language and I love it. Just like I love you."

Everything she said just confirmed what Rafael already knew and felt. He felt so lucky with her at his side. "And I love you." He pressed a kiss on her forehead but Montserrat beat him to it and instead kissed him on the lips. Much sweeter indeed.

He wished he could move more easily to kiss her more but it just wasn't possible.

Montserrat pulled away from him wearing another smile. "You should rest now."

Rafael didn't take her suggestion with the most enthusiasm. She laughed in response. She grabbed the sides of his face and kissed him again. She could honestly kiss him for hours but alas, he had to rest and like the good nurse that she was, she drew away again.

"Sleep," she patted a hand on his chest. "Now."

"Something tells me it's not a suggestion," Rafael said, feigning suspicion.

"Mm, smart man," Montserrat wagged a finger at him.

"Stay with me?"

"Always." Montserrat snuggled closer to him and rested her head on his chest. She would end up falling asleep with him in no time.

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saiilorstars · 16 days ago

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Ch. 64: In One Special Evening

Previous chapters // Montserrat’s masterlist

Fandom: SVU // Pairing: Rafael Barba x OC

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

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

"Are you still working?" Montserrat groaned when she walked into the living room and found Rafael surrounded by papers. "I know you thought I was joking, but I am not above burning all those papers while you're asleep."

Rafael smiled to himself while he finished reading from a paper. "It was just while you were getting ready."

"I'm done," Montserrat spat, putting her hands on her hips. She was tired of his excuses to work when he shouldn't be.

"And now I am too," Rafael announced, putting down his paper on the coffee table. He kept his smile hidden from her, knowing it would be the last straw for her.

Montserrat had been on a short fuse ever since she learned he would finally be going back to work. They had argued about it immediately after Rafael told her about his plans. She didn't agree that he was ready, even when Rafael told her that he would still be restricted from doing various things. His hours would be shortened, as were his cases. It was the first step to going back to normal and for some reason, Montserrat didn't agree with it. She didn't want him to go back to work so "early" even though it had been a month since the incident.

"Put it away," Montserrat told him in a plea, "You don't have to work."

Rafael knew exactly what she meant. You don't have to go back to work. "I do," he said, getting up from the couch with a lot more ease than before. That alone was one of his argument points. Even now, he heard her huff. He turned around, intending to try and persuade her again that he was more than ready to go back to work, when he saw her completely.

She wore a tight halter-neck black dress. The dark dress brought out the fiery redness of her hair. Suddenly, Rafael felt like Montserrat could scream her head off if she wanted to. In fact, she could do whatever she wanted. He wouldn't be able to get mad at her. Maybe staying at home wouldn't be the worst thing either…

Rafael shook his head fast. It was dangerous for him when Montserrat looked like that. The sound of someone's cellphone ringing helped him get himself together. Montserrat walked around him to pick up her phone left on the coffee table and answered the call.

"Yes, we're on our way now," she assured the person on the other end of the line, eyes fixated on Rafael and still none too pleased. "See you later." She hung up and tossed her phone to the couch. "That was Kara. She and Sonny are already at the restaurant, along with everyone else. We're almost the last ones. You ready to quit working yet?"

"That depends, we're talking about just tonight, right?" Rafael knew better than to answer with that kind of quip but sometimes he just couldn't help himself.

Montserrat's eyes blazed with newfound ire. "It's like you want to be dumped."

Rafael sighed with a small chuckle. "You know I love to poke at you."

"Keep poking and you're going to find the bear."

"With lipstick on?"

Montserrat actually made a move towards him, losing herself for a moment until Rafael's laughter set her back. She groaned. "Sometimes, I really hate you!"

"I know," he nodded, reaching for her hand and tugging her close to him. "But you don't. I'm all good to go now, just wanted to get a head start on some cases I have coming up."

Montserrat sighed when she looked at the table beside them. It was covered in papers. "Just looking at it exhausts me. It's too much, Raf. Don't go back yet, please."

Rafael gently threaded his fingers down her hair. "I'm fine now."

"No, you're not. You're still recovering."

"Doctors have already cleared me to start working. I'm doing half of my hours just to compromise with you."

And yet it didn't make Montserrat feel any better. "You can stay here, and I can take care of you."

Rafael cupped her face and pressed a kiss on her lips. "You do not need to 'take care of me'," he told her afterwards, "I can take care of myself."

"You were shot," Montserrat whispered, her eyebrows knitting together, confused. Why didn't he understand that? Why didn't he see that he was safer at home?

"And believe me, I will never forget that," Rafael promised her, "But I can't stay cooped up in here forever. I love you, but I need to do things for myself too."

Montserrat only stared at him for a couple seconds before she pushed his hands off her and muttered that she forgot her bag in the room. Rafael sighed to himself. The evening was sure to be an interesting one if this was how Montserrat would be. He just didn't get her opposition.

~ 0 ~

The restaurant was already crowded when they arrived and the moment they entered, they were greeted by multiple people. Who knew their friends could be so ecstatic to see them?

"What, you guys missed me this much?" Rafael laughed at their usual group of friends. Not one of them shared the sentiment but weren't surprised with the way he reacted. Many of them were surprised when Rafael had agreed to their small get together in the restaurant, especially since it not only included them but Montserrat's family as well. It was the whole meeting-get-together in all.

"You, not so much," Nick was the first one to say, "But we do owe Novak over here, so…"

Montserrat smirked with him. Now she was the one laughing.

"Obviously that was a joke," Olivia said, though she swore Nick was shaking his head behind her. "We are very eager to have you both back at work."

"Mm, yeah…" Montserrat's excitement was a bit hard to fake and she did try her best. The squad was not at fault for her disagreement with Rafael.

"Trust me, I am too," Rafael said, very careful with the words he had chosen.

"Hey Montse," Kara called from another table. She and Sonny had gotten themselves drinks.

"I'm going to talk with Kara for a bit," Montserrat said, ready to excuse herself when her father came around. "Dad…"

That was the cue to everyone else and they so happily left the couple.

"Happy you guys made it," Thomas smiled at the two. "And happy we can finally meet on better terms," he said to Rafael.

Rafael smiled politely, something Montserrat vowed to make fun of later on, and shook hands with Thomas. "It's good to meet you too. Thank you for sticking around when, uh, things got a bit tricky for us."

"'Bit tricky'?" Thomas chuckled lightly. "That's one way to put it."

"Oh, he is very good at his word choices, trust me," Montserrat said, leaning on Rafael. It was hard to tell whether she spoke out of bitterness or not.

Thomas didn't see it initially until Montserrat subtly shifted from Rafael. "So…how have you two been?" He knew better than to expect the truth.

"Better," Rafael was the one who answered. "We're both going back to work after a very long time of doing nothing."

"It wasn't entirely 'nothing'." Montserrat reminded him of the work he tended to do throughout his 'bedrest'.

"Well, that's normal," Thomas said, "It's hard doing absolutely nothing at home. I know from Casey's stories that your hours at work are very long most of the time."

"They are," Rafael nodded, "I didn't do the same work, obviously, but just something to keep my mind occupied."

"That helps, trust me," Thomas said, "Well, I'm glad to know everything's getting better. Montserrat was very scared when…when all this happened." He specifically looked at his daughter, urging her to pay attention to his words. "She was afraid of losing you."

Montserrat was a stubborn woman and both men knew it.

Rafael learned to live with it, even admired it sometimes just like Montserrat claimed to admire him for it. He wrapped an arm around her waist. "Truth be told, I was afraid of losing her too."

Montserrat's head flipped in his direction. That was the first time he ever said anything like that. Up until now, he never showed any sign of fear over what happened. Why didn't you say that before? Her eyes urged him to answer her.

"Being in that moment…I didn't know what was happening," Rafael said, "So I just didn't really say it."

"You should have," she said quietly, "Because I was very afraid too."

"There we go," Thomas affectionately passed a hand over Montserrat's hair, "She's a stubborn one."

Rafael smiled at Montserrat who was now rolling her eyes. "I know."

"Well, from here on out maybe we can start planning some normal get-togethers," Thomas suggested, "It's honestly been a while since we've had someone new in the family."

"Dad," Montserrat warned him to watch what he said.

Thomas chuckled. "I'm your father, it's my job to embarrass you whether you're 15 or 30." He then looked at Rafael. "She's never forgiven me for scaring off her high school boyfriend. He was a pot smoker."

"Dad!"

Rafael laughed lightly. He looked at Montserrat who was growing livid by the minute. "Worked out well for me, then."

"Don't help him," she told him, "My dad makes a habit of that. I didn't see you scaring off Gael's girlfriends."

"Don't worry, I'm all done now," Thomas promised her, "You seem very happy now. A lot happier than you've been, and you know it."

With his arm around her waist, Rafael felt the moment where Montserrat's body stiffened. Of course her father had no idea why her mood and demeanor had changed so drastically and suddenly.

"Would you two like something to drink?" Thomas asked.

"I would love a scotch but…" Rafael said with a bitter smile that made Thomas chuckle.

"We'll save it for the next time," Thomas said.

"We'll go up to the bar in a bit," Rafael said, unwinding his arm from Montserrat to take her hand instead. "It was good meeting you officially."

"Likewise," Thomas agreed, eyes flickering to Montserrat. "Smile, honey."

Montserrat only nodded as he walked away from them. When it was safe, she let out a sigh.

"Are you okay?" Rafael asked her, turning to face her. She nodded at him like she had with her father. "Montserrat, seriously. It's us now."

Montserrat shrugged. "What do you want me to say? This is how it always goes with my family. They don't know what happened and I definitely don't plan on letting them in on the secret. I just have to be better with my reactions."

"You know I would never say anything to them but you know that they do notice. Kara's told me on occasions how drastically you changed…she's your best friend."

"Raf, I…I don't want to talk about this," Montserrat said, shaking her head, "Especially not here."

"Okay," he agreed fairly quickly. He didn't want to push her and, as she said, this was definitely not the place for that conversation. He brought a hand up to the side of her face and leaned forwards to kiss her.

Montserrat's eyes closed with the contact and she kept them that way when they parted. "Suddenly, I wish we hadn't agreed to this get together," she whispered. "Is it weird to say that I've grown used to it just being us two?"

Rafael chuckled. "No, I felt it too. It's a nice bubble but we do have to go back to work, and you know it."

Montserrat opened her eyes at him. "Well, I hate it."

"I know that too." How could he possibly not know it? "But we both know that reality is something we can't escape. We need to go back, Montserrat. Why is it so hard for you?"

Montserrat shook her head and with that pushed his hands off her. "I love you," she said, "But thinking about that…it makes my stomach go into knots. I don't want to talk about it here."

Rafael would prefer not to talk about it there either. He would much rather discuss it from home but he didn't think the location is what stopped Montserrat from talking. "Whatever it is—"

"I don't want to talk about it anymore," Montserrat insisted, softly, which did stop Rafael that time.

"Okay," he relented. For now.

They went to go mingle with the rest of their friends and family and eventually separated for a bit. Rafael left Montserrat chatting with Casey and he took the opportunity to speak with Olivia. It was hard finding a moment with each other after that, and perhaps it was for the best in that moment.

~ 0 ~

"Montserrat, hey." Damien had come around the standing table and surprised her.

Montserrat immediately smiled at him. "Hey! When did you get here?" Amongst the people she and Rafael talked with was her brother, Gael. And where Gael went, Damien went. It was vice versa too.

"Been here a while," Damien chuckled, "Got caught up with Kara and Sonny for a bit."

"Well, I'm happy you made it," Montserrat said. "It's been a while."

"Yeah, I know," Damien nodded, "It's been a long time because last time I heard, you, uh, weren't…dating."

Montserrat's brows raised. "Right, right, um…sorry, it…it was sort of on the downlow for a while."

"Long while," Damien sounded like he was correcting her but Montserrat never took notice of it.

"Let me introduce you — properly, you know." Montserrat moved to go find Rafael when Damien stopped her.

"I already did actually," he said, smiling very widely.

"You did?" Montserrat blinked. She must be really out of it not to have noticed that.

Damien nodded. "Yeah, um…he seems like a nice guy. Helped bail Gael out, right?"

Montserrat agreed, sighing. "Yeah, he does many nice things for me."

Damien tilted his head, following Montserrat's every movement no matter how minimal it was. "You don't seem very happy…did he do something wrong?"

Montserrat smiled slightly at his concern. He already looked like he was mad at Rafael. "Not…not really. I think it's my fault, actually."

"I doubt you would make a mistake," Damien said so confidently that Montserrat laughed.

"You would be surprised. Rafael wants to go back to work next week — doctors cleared him to start doing some light hours — but, uh, I disagree. I strongly disagree, actually."

Damien straightened himself up. This wasn't something he had mentally prepared himself for. And before coming to this place tonight, he did a lot of mental preparation. "I heard what happened to him and I genuinely am sorry about that. It must have been traumatic for him."

"You would think," Montserrat nodded, "But Rafael is a whole other type of person. He doesn't look traumatized. He's mad — furious — instead."

"Well… I'm not a psychologist but I think being angry is also another proper reaction to what happened to him," Damien said, "But why are you so angry?"

"Because I'm scared that he'll go back and try to go overboard with his work to prove that he's fine," Montserrat said in an angry stride, "He's competitive and stubborn. I know him."

"And that's it?"

"What do you mean 'and that's it?'" Montserrat frowned.

Damien looked at her intensely. "Because I know you and even though I believe you, I know there has to be more to this. You're not just angry, you're scared too."

Montserrat shifted in her spot. She didn't like admitting it to herself, much less hearing it from someone else. "So, so many things have happened in my life that…I could not stand something happening to him."

Damien nodded silently, his eyes seemingly flickering to something on the side. He let out a sigh. "Guess you really like the guy…"

"That's an understatement," Montserrat blurted, "But I am terrible with my words, Damien."

"Yeah, me too," he agreed, "Believe me, I've learned my lesson."

Montserrat smiled lightly at him. "What do you mean?"

"Don't worry about it," Damien gave a casual wave of his hand, "This is unsolicited advice but I think you should tell Rafael everything you just told me. Even if he does go back to work — because let's be honest, he has to go back to work at some point — he'll know why you're acting like this."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then you dump him."

Montserrat took Damien's words as a joke and chuckled. He didn't have the heart to tell her it was most definitely not a joke.

~ 0 ~

Later in the evening, Montserrat found Rafael chatting with Nick and made it known that she was thoroughly shocked that they hadn't killed each other already.

"You're not funny," Nick told her, "At all."

Montserrat still laughed. "I had to point it out. Of course, now that I have…I'm sure something will ignite the fuel."

"Not until Monday when we see each other again," Nick said, smirking at Rafael, "You know, work hours."

Rafael rolled his eyes at Nick. "In your own words: you're not funny."

Nick still smiled pretty proudly. "I'll leave you two now to catch up…" He moved around the couple and walked off.

"You've been a stranger," Rafael said to Montserrat a moment later, turning towards her. "To me, of course. You seem to have no problem talking to everyone else around here." He'd watched her all night and felt just a tad irritated that she seemed to have a better time with everyone else except for him.

"Yeah, I know," Montserrat sighed, "I'm sorry for being so…" Her hands waved in front of her as she tried to come up with a good description for her behavior. "I'm just sorry. I have a couple things I want to tell you about…why I'm being like this. Damien helped me out."

"Yeah, I know," Rafael said rather shortly, "I saw you talking with him for a while." Those minutes had been an eternity for him. He wouldn't put it behind that man to try something while Montserrat was upset with him.

"We weren't talking all about you," Montserrat said, "He told me you guys already talked anyways."

Rafael's brows raised, mildly surprised. "We did…?" Montserrat was too engrossed with her problems to notice it. "Right, we talked. Met and all."

"Raf, please just give me a minute to explain myself." Montserrat touched his arm, her eyes begging him to give her the moment she requested.

Rafael looked exhausted when he smiled at her. "You always have the floor with me, Montserrat."

"Maybe, but I haven't been using it and that's my fault."

"Come here," Rafael took her hand and led her further down the restaurant to a less crowded corner. "What is it? For real this time."

"I want you to feel like you're back to normal again but I…I don't want you to feel like you have to prove it," Montserrat said, swallowing hard, "I-I don't want you to take on more than you have to just to make a point."

"I…I wouldn't…" Rafael said, his face scrunching as a chuckle slipped out of him.

"Yes, you would! Because you're not used to being forced to stand down. It's normal, I guess, but I want you to be aware of that. I want you to take it easy. Go slow. I'm afraid that on Monday, you're going to leave for work in the morning and you won't be back until 2 or 3 in the morning. I don't want you to coop yourself up in your office, ignoring your medication, forgetting to eat. I don't want that."

Rafael let Montserrat's words sink in because, truthfully, he had not thought about those details yet. He was so eager to go back to work, to leave the apartment — to finally be productive again. Looking at his track record, and knowing himself very well, ignoring medication times and forgetting to eat was something that was likely to happen while he got caught up with his cases.

And Montserrat looked terrified of the thought.

"Calmada," he said softly, cupping her face, "Calm down. I hear you."

"Do you?" Montserrat all but cut him off. "Do you really hear what I'm saying?"

"Yes, I do now," he nodded. "And I guess my record's never been that stellar with this kind of stuff—"

"I know," Montserrat said, "Which is why I don't want you to go back yet. I want to know that you're going to be home no later than seven pm."

"I know…"

"Then promise me that won't happen."

"Yeah, I…" Rafael was about to promise her when a new thought occurred to him.

Montserrat didn't know what to make of the abrupt smile that spread across his face, except that maybe he was about to tease her for overthinking things. "Promise me," she reiterated.

"I could…but that won't be enough for you," Rafael said, rubbing circles over her cheeks, "So I have a better idea."

"You do?" Montserrat raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's kind of crazy, though…"

"Why?"

"Because it's kind of a big deal." He pressed a gentle kiss on her lips then spoke his idea. "How about you move in with me?"

It took Montserrat several seconds for the question to fully register in her head. She blinked a few times at Rafael, who was very patiently waiting for her to sort his words out. "M-move in with you?"

Rafael nodded. "Yeah, move in with me. If you're there, then I will have a very big reason to come home early every night."

Montserrat swallowed hard on instinct. Her heart started hammering in her chest. "Move…in…like…like live together?"

Rafael chuckled. "We've technically already been doing that for a while, haven't we?"

"Y-yeah, but…but it would be different now…" Montserrat started digging her nails into her own skin.

Rafael looked down at her hands and gently pulled them from each other. "I know that it's a big deal, that it's scary after…everything. You don't have to be nervous around me, Montserrat. Nothing — listen to me—" he cupped her face again, leveling her gaze with his—, "Nothing you don't want will ever happen."

Montserrat's breath was shaky. "I…I know that. You've been so patient with me and trust me, I won't ever forget that. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I'm just afraid that you'll get tired of me if…if I'm around all the time."

Rafael laughed gently. "Funny, that's been my fear for weeks now."

Montserrat shook her head. "You're horrible."

"I am," Rafael agreed, "But you still love me so why wouldn't I love you?"

Montserrat bit on her bottom lip. "Because I hate mornings and if you wake me up before my alarm clock, I'm gonna kill you so…so you better not wake me up earlier, got it?"

Rafael looked at her for a few seconds, his mind racing to the conclusion he really wanted to hear. "So…is that a…"

Montserrat started nodding her head. "Yeah, yeah I want to do it. Let's live together — officially!"

It genuinely was not possible to be any happier. Rafael was sure about that. He brought Montserrat's lips to his for a hungry kiss.

~ 0 ~

Sometime later, Rafael had come up to the bar to order a drink for himself. Montserrat made him swear he wouldn't try to sneak even a sip of alcohol tonight and because he was not interested in crossing her in any way after their big moment earlier, he was going to abide by her "request".

"Club soda and lime," the bartender came by and set the glass on the counter.

Rafael wasn't exactly very excited about his drink yet he still lifted the glass and made a mock salute in the air with it. God, what he would give for a nice glass of scotch — just one would be so nice.

Someone walked up to the counter beside Rafael and called to the bartender. "Scot, neat please."

Rafael's lips thinned into a line as he lowered his glass on the counter. If he turned around right now, he would avoid any and all kinds of accidental —

"Club soda and lime — didn't take you for that kind of guy." Damien turned slightly at Rafael.

"I'm on a strict diet," Rafael said, preferring to stare at the shelves ahead of them.

"I imagine a diet reinforced by one strict woman," Damien said with a small smile on his face.

"Mm, you're like a mind reader," Rafael mumbled, picking his glass up. "Along with other things."

There was the first accident.

Damien's brows raised and turned his head away, facing the bartender who'd returned with his drink. "Thanks."

Rafael gave up trying to avoid "accidents". "You're an excellent liar, by the way."

"Liar?" Damien said, lowering his glass for a moment.

"You told Montserrat we already met and talked and that we're basically friends now."

"Oh, right, um, I just—"

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining."

Damien nodded silently. He seemed like he was on the verge of saying something but at the last moment, he backtracked. Where he failed, Rafael did not.

"I'm going to be honest," Rafael said, shifting to lean his arm on the counter and face Damien, "I am a straightforward, blunt kind of man. It's my best weapon. although many think it's actually a flaw."

"Yeah, I…I've heard," Damien said, abandoning his drink for the moment.

Rafael took note of the slight nerves on Damien's face. He treated it exactly like a courtroom — and by God he missed it. "So then you know that I know exactly why you told Montserrat that lie. And, like I said before, I have absolutely no complaints there. I don't like having unnecessary conversations."

"Then I fail to see why we're doing this whole thing here…" Damien said, finally meeting Rafael's eye.

A glint of a bemusement flashed across Rafael's eyes. "Do you — are you asking me to say it? Fine." Like Damien, he left his glass abandoned on the counter. A strange smile crossed his lips. "I know that you have feelings for Montserrat and before you give me a crappy lie, I'm going to tell you that I've known this for a long time now. So, can we skip that avenue?"

"Wow, you really are blunt," Damien said, clearing his throat uncomfortably. "Alright, if it's out in the open between us, then yeah. How'd you know?"

"Does it matter?"

"I'd say 'no' but I don't want it to become public knowledge…"

"That makes two of us," Rafael said curtly, "Not for my sake. Montserrat's very particular about her feelings and everyone else's feelings towards her. Let me make this clear, I don't want her to feel any kind of remorse because she can't return those feelings."

Damien frowned at him suddenly. "I would never make her feel guilty about this."

"Unfortunately, my faith in people has long been gone," Rafael said, "So, no, I don't believe you. I believe in the worst of humanity because that is what I see on a daily basis. I believe that only a few people still possess genuine kindness. You and I," he pointed between them, "are not one of those people."

"I'm confused," Damien said, eyebrows knitting together, "Are you insulting me or both of us?"

"Oh, definitely both of us," Rafael said, raising his hands in front of himself. "But the thing about an unkind person is that they follow through with what they threaten. So when I tell you that I will gladly retaliate if you make any move towards my girlfriend, believe it."

"Got it," Damien nodded, "But like I said, I would never do that. She…she really likes you. I was talking to her and whatever you guys were arguing about had her really upset."

"We fixed it, thanks for your concern," Rafael said curtly.

Damien sighed. "I know that whatever I say won't change your opinion about me and I'm okay with that. I…I guess I would do the same if I was in your position."

"Glad we understand it then," Rafael said, turning back to the counter. "And don't worry, from my end Montserrat will never hear a thing about you."

"Thanks," Damien said, reaching for his scotch, "But hey, in the spirit of being blunt, mind if I join in?"

"Not at all. The floor's yours." Rafael picked up his club soda and drank from it, immediately regretting it. It was disgusting. Montserrat owed him big time for this.

"I don't hate you, but I don't like you either. I respect you because outside of this whole situation, I know you're a decent guy. Gael's my best friend; I won't forget how you helped him. But like I said, I don't like you. For Montserrat's sake, I'll be civil."

"Sounds good to me," Rafael said, taking another drink. "Floor's mine again."

Damien agreed silently. He didn't think he would get the floor for longer than a minute anyways.

"How long have you been in love with her?"

"Excuse me?"

Rafael glanced at Damien with a 'you heard me' kind of face. Damien begrudgingly answered with the traditional 'long time'.

"So how come you never did anything?"

"Why do you think? I'm her brother's best friend," Damien said, "Not easy telling her that I love her in a more serious way."

"Maybe you needed to be more straightforward."

Damien let out an involuntary scoff that almost had him choking on his drink. Rafael smirked but not for the obvious reason; if anyone heard this conversation they would have a thing or two to say about how he should've been more straightforward with Montserrat about his feelings. Damien didn't need to know that.

"Yeah…I guess so," Damien ultimately had to agree. "Missed my chance. But you know, the thing about having to wait for so long is that it's made me patient."

Rafael's hand began to grip his glass.

"And I will continue to be patient," Damien said, once again meeting Rafael's eye, "Because in the spirit of being straightforward again, I promise you that I learned my lesson. If I get another opportunity, I'm going to take it."

"Touche." Rafael was milliseconds away from ordering a scotch now. "But there'll be no more opportunities. I don't care how long you've loved her, you'll keep doing it silently and from afar. I'm not letting her go. You know why?" He leaned slightly towards Damien, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Because I learned my lesson too. I just learned it quicker than you."

Game, set, match.

Damien nodded, his lips pursing together as so many words wanted to come out of his mouth in that moment. He managed to let go of the only few that wouldn't immediately cause trouble. "Apart from being straightforward, you forgot to mention you're overly arrogant. She's not a competition."

"Believe me I know that," Rafael said immediately, "But I'm telling you right now what happened so you don't get any ideas. I believe you when you say you love her but believe me when I tell you that you don't actually know her. I know her. I know everything about her so trust me, I am never letting her go. So long as she wants me, I'm going to be there with her. In all honesty, you really should start looking somewhere else. There's nothing here for you." He grabbed his disgusting soda and walked away.

Later when Montserrat would ask him why it took him so long to get one measly drink that he didn't even bother finishing, Rafael would simply say that he had been having an interesting conversation with one of her friends. Her friend.

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