Chapter Text
Olivia's shoulders went slack when she saw Rafael Barba enter the restaurant and give her a smile that warmed her heart. She had to lock her ankles together to keep herself from getting up and hugging him, she wondered what had taken them so long to arrange an excuse to meet again.
Once he sat down on the cushioned seat, his familiar cologne found her nose, and she watched him lay his suitcase down. "You gave up on the beard," she said as he took off his coat, saw him grin at her words before facing her.
"Actually, I'm still deciding on what to do with it," he replied. "It does depend a little on when you're going to need me in a courtroom again."
The SVU captain tipped her head, mouth gaping for a second. "I do appreciate the thought," she said, "but I'm afraid Carisi might not take it well if I involve you on yet another trial against him."
The attorney sneered. "What makes you think I care? It's good practice for him."
Their young waitress approached and laid two glasses of whisky down, which earned Benson a slight narrow of Barba's eyes along with a wide smirk. He opened his mouth to comment on it, but the young woman touched her hip to the wood of their table and turned her body to the lawyer, she had a pen and a notebook in hand and batted her eyelashes at him. "Is there something else I can get you?" her tone was sweet, high-pitched.
Rafael stole a glance at his dinner companion when he caught her sitting up straight and her eyebrows raising. His eyes met the big blue ones of his waitress. "At the moment, the menu would be fine, thank you."
She nodded at him, then spun to face Olivia, the lightness on the young woman's energy disappearing in a blink. "And you?"
"The menu too," Benson said, then watched as the girl, who she calculated was barely above legal age strode away.
"That was something," Rafael observed, he eyed the captain and found her running a hand through her hair and sighing. "Hey, do you want to go somewhere else?"
Her eyes widened. "No! No, no need," she assured, releasing her body a bit. "It's just... It's been a long week," she confessed.
He shook his head, stretched his arm across the table to give her hand a squeeze. "Don't worry, you're in good hands." He let go and leaned back on his seat. "Tell me: what can I do for you?"
Olivia waved her head, dismissive. "This isn't about work," she informed, leaning forward. "I really wanted to check in with you."
The lawyer beamed at her. "You do look like you could use a friend, so, go on, spill."
She exhaled and Rafael saw this warrior of a woman hesitate before letting go, her shoulders releasing part of the tension he had noticed on her since he arrived. "Complicated week," she repeated, brown orbs meeting his green ones. "There was a hostage situation," she said, "which we seem to have once a year like a formal police event." She snickered at her own comment. "And," she added, "my old partner is back."
Barba blinked, frowning for a moment. "Amaro is in town?"
Olivia shook her head, biting her lower lip. "Elliot Stabler is," she declared.
The furrow in the man's brow deepened. "I thought he had retired from the force years ago."
"So did I," said Benson, she shifted on her seat, taking a moment to allow her gaze to wander as she decided how to explain the situation. "I'm driving to this event one night, and a call comes in on the radio, there's an emergency, they need people there," she met his eyes. "I drive there and I find a blown-up car and the paramedics taking a woman to the ambulance. It's Kathy Stabler, Elliot's wife. They were meant to be on their way to see me at that event. Apparently, Elliot texted Fin, who told them about the event, and they were planning on paying me a surprise visit."
Rafael inched forward on his seat. "What happened to her?"
The captain lowered her eyes. "Someone planted a bomb in their car, we don't know why, but we caught a guy. Organized Crime is investigating what happened, my squad and Stabler have been taken out of the investigation after Elliot got physical with a suspect." She licked her lips, shook her head. "Kathy died in the hospital."
"Liv, I'm so sorry."
She gave him a weak beam. "You know, I've waited for this day when Elliot would come back and I'd have some answers, but, God, Rafael, she didn't deserve that, not for a second did Kathy Stabler deserve that. And her kids..." she trailed off, rubbed a hand against her face. "They have five kids, Elli is still fourteen, he shouldn't have to do without his mother."
"How is your old partner doing?" he asked.
A humorless chuckle escaped the captain. "Elliot's daughter called me the other day, he has been acting strange and she wanted me to be part of an intervention to try and talk to him." she rubbed her chin, "but Stabler hasn't changed in this, he's still stubborn, he'd barely listen to us, and try to get that one to see a therapist." She shook her head, hid her face behind her hands before running them through her hair. She crossed her arms in front of her. "When Elliot left, he didn't say anything. I heard he was retiring from Captain Cragen." she faced Barba. "He was my partner for over twelve years and one day he was just gone."
Her moment of silence stretched and, as if on cue, the waitress approached once more, neither of them paying her much mind as she handed them the menus. When she stood by, waiting for their orders, Rafael intervened. "Give us a moment, please. We'll order in a minute."
The young woman shifted on her feet. If his lack of attention disturbed her, Barba wouldn't know, Benson had him watching her attentively, waiting.
"He apologized," she resumed. "For leaving without a word, we discussed it. Briefly, but we did, still I..."
"Olivia, it's okay to be angry," reassured the lawyer.
She kept her eyes closed for a long minute. "He lost his wife, he's hurt, confused, and I'm worried, but sometimes..." she denied with her head, "Sometimes I want to have nothing to do with him."
Barba observed her. "Just because years have passed, it doesn't mean it doesn't hurt anymore," he said.
She blew air out. "He needs help, he's likely to be taking matters into his own hands, he could get himself in trouble. Still, Garland doesn't want me near it, he has warned me already. Stabler himself told me to back off, but... And there's Noah to think about." She rubbed her hands together. She met the attorney's gaze. "The good news is that Garland dismissed me for a while after the hostage situation, the bad news is that it isn't as if I'm giving myself any peace over this, nor is he."
Rafael studied her. "Stabler told you to back off, so did you boss and, honestly, Liv, I'd have told you the same. I understand he has been going through a lot, but he shouldn't be digging into it on his own. I know we've seen that time and time before, but if Organized Crimes is on it, it's not something small."
Olivia sneered. "He told me to back off, but he keeps coming and going, you know? He can't help himself, we've got a complicated history."
"You could get a boyfriend, something of a commitment," he said, "act busy, get your head off it. If he's as stubborn as you say, there's little you can do to stop him."
Benson smirked to herself. "A boyfriend, Rafael?"
He shrugged. "It's a good excuse for being busy, and to stay away a little. You have a little boy to think about and a boyfriend who's worried about you, especially because you've been told to stay away more than once."
"Well, it is a good idea," she said, "but it's not like I have the candidates and the patience to go through the trouble to find one."
"He doesn't have to be real," Rafael suggested.
"You want me to get an imaginary boyfriend?" she could hardly hold back a full blow smile. "Sure, because Elliot would totally buy it."
"Is he likely to show up at your house in the middle of the night?" He questioned.
She shot him a look.
"Hijo de—"
"Yeah," Olivia said, arms crossed once more, "so unless you decide to play fake boyfriend or have another brilliant idea, I'm going to have to find a way to get myself together and deal with this."
Barba considered, tipped his head. "I could play fake boyfriend."
She snorted. "Rafa, no, I wasn't being serious."
"Why not?" he prompted, shrugging. "It gets you 'busy' so you don't have to deal with all of this at once and it helps me get mamí off my back about finding someone."
She held his gaze. "You can't be serious."
The attorney opened the menu and started reading it. "Your call. What are we having?"
Benson opened her own menu. "I need to check," she said. "This is crazy."
"It's a solution," he corrected, going through his options.
"Well, a crazy one. We're not teenagers," she replied.
"You're not setting boundaries," Rafael said, "you're going along with what he throws at you, as he did before." He lowered his menu and searched the place for their waitress, who was quick to notice him and start approaching.
"He was a close friend, he has been through a lot, it's normal for him to turn to me when stuff happens," she said as if to herself.
"Is this okay with you, though?" Barba questioned, "Because a moment ago you were frustrated about it." He faced the waitress. "Hi," he smiled at her, "tell me, are you having this?" he indicated something on the menu.
"Absolutely, would you like one?" her pen was ready in the notebook.
"Yes."
The blonde faced Benson. "And you, ma'am?"
Olivia gave up on deciding, handing the girl her menu. "Whatever he's having."
A quick nod and she left them.
"How would we even do this?" the captain questioned, holding her hands together.
Rafael sipped at his whisky, raising an eyebrow at her. "We're considering it now?"
She scoffed. "Elliot and I, we're complicated and we've got baggage and if this keeps on going like this I'll either need a plan or to go back to therapy. Likely both."
The lawyer sighed, he leaned towards her. "We come up with a story and go along with it, can't be hard, we've known each other for over six years. I have to ask, though, do you think he'd respect that? Because there's no point in doing this if he's just going to act as if it's nothing."
She rubbed her palms together, inspected her surroundings. "I didn't have many relationships back in the day, nothing serious. He'd comment, if he found out about them, but usually just some remark."
"Jealous type?" Barba crossed his arms in front of him.
Olivia trapped her lower lip beneath her teeth. "He could be, yes."
"Thought he was married," commented the attorney.
"It never really stopped him from being overprotective," confessed the captain.
"I see," Rafael sipped, glad to contain any remarks of his own he might have about Stabler. "So, do you want to do it?"
She met his eyes, rubbed the back of her neck. "I don't know. It sounds silly, but, honestly, I'd feel a little better having someone to talk to and to put some distance between me and Noah and this whole situation."
The former ADA leaned forward. "I'm here for you, Liv. I'm in if you need me, we can figure things out as we go."
A small smile appeared in the corner of her lips, Benson raised her glass to him. "To a silly plan?"
He grinned. "To a silly plan."
Their glasses clicked together.