Blood is Thicker than Water: Part 7
Summary: You’d grown up around the SVU squad room. The members of your sister’s squad had been your family and helped Liv raise you. You left them and your sister behind ten years ago for school and just never returned. When you get a call saying she’s been kidnapped by William Lewis, you rush back without a thought. What you find is a very different squad, a broken sister, and a snarky ADA. When you decide to stay things begin to change, and maybe, just maybe you and your sister each find your own happy endings.
( Just a warning that there is a rape warning, for the usual mentions of it in the storyline. There will be no graphic descriptions here.)
Also big shout out to those who helped with the Spanish in the chapter! It meant I didn’t have to use google translate. I’m very grateful for their help in the picking out phrases, terms of endearment, and their opinions. You guys rock!
Part 6
“I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
You pop a carrot into your mouth, and Rafa shoots you a glare. He’d been complaining about the dinner with Rita for over a week now. You swallow, “You’re hot when you cook. Did you know that?”
You watch as his tongue pokes out the side of his cheek, “No intentes distraerme, estoy cocinando para el diablo, y la culpa es tuya.”
“I have no clue what you just said, but it’s almost as hot as you cooking.”
“I’m not only cooking, I’m cooking one of my Abuleita’s best recipes. Her Pernil Asado Con Mojo is famous in the Bronx.”
“A perfect peace offering, and a wonderful start to renewing an old friendship.”
Rafa rolls his eyes, and nudges you off the counter. He really is hot like this; he’s still dressed in slacks and a button down, but there’s no vest, no tie, and the top three buttons of his shirt are unbuttoned. He turns to look at you, “It must be nice, to be so young and naive.”
“You want to find a front porch to sit on and some kids to yell at?” He swats at you, and you swoop in for a kiss. “Don’t be grumpy.”
“I’ve only had three cups of coffee today. Grumpy is my default.”
You wrap your arms around his neck, “What can I do to help the situation?”
“Cancel dinner?”
“Something else.”
He smiles, “Just kiss me again.”
You do just that, and a moment later there’s a knock on the door, “Espero que al menos haya traído un buen vino.”
You ignore him in favor of the door. You open the door to find Rita and her husband on the other side. She grins, “On a scale of one to ten, how grumpy is he?”
“About a six.”
She laughs, “That’s not bad. I can deal with level six in my sleep.” She holds up a bottle of wine, “Plus, I brought booze.” and with that she makes her way in yelling out for Rafa, and you watch her go with a smile. You turn to face her husband. He’s an older gentleman, older than Rita and Rafael. He smiles and offers his hand, “Brian Calhoun, it’s so nice of you to do this.”
You shake his hand and usher him inside, “It’s my pleasure, really.”
“My Rita tends to be a workaholic, especially with the kids almost grown. She needs a friend, and she and Rafael used to be so close. He was at our wedding, ya know?”
“Really?”
“Yep, stood in for Rita’s maid of honor when she cancelled at the last minute. I was sad to see them drift apart.” There’s bickering from the kitchen, and the man smiles kindly, “They always do that. It’s a good sign.”
“As long as they don’t ruin dinner. The only time I get home cooked meals is when Rafa cooks.”
Brian laughs, “Rita is hopeless in the kitchen. She can burn water.”
“Well, she and I have that in common then.”
You enter to find them arguing in the kitchen, “All I want is the recipe Barba.”
“Not going to happen. My Abuelita swore me to secrecy.”
“Who’s going to tell her?”
You listen to the bickering with a smile, as you grab the bottle of wine and pour two glasses. You hand one to Brian and the two of you just watch. It’s like a game of tennis, they go back and forth. Occasionally, there’s a compliment, but overall it’s a mash of insults and lawyer speak.
You call a truce when it’s time to eat. You expect more bickering, but instead Rafa asks Brian about his work, he’s apparently a college professor at Hudson, and then he asks about their kids. They have two boys; Peter and Joey.
“Peter’s fifteen, Joey’s thirteen.”
Rafa takes a sip of wine, “That’s hard to believe.”
Rita grins, “You remember when I brought Peter into the office, after he was born?”
Rafa groans, “I remember. I’d taken on all of your cases while you were on maternity leave.”
“And I’d just grown and pushed a human being out of my body. Trust me, I’d take arraignments all day over labor.” She turns to look at you, “If you ever have kids, ask for an epidural as soon as you get to the hospital. Do NOT wait.”
You can feel Rafa’s eyes on you, “Got it, but what happened when you brought Peter by the office.”
“Barba had one of my cases open on his desk. I’d prepped the hell out of the thing, but it was still a little tricky, and I knew he hadn’t had enough time to get ready for it.”
“Not true.”
“Shush. So, before he could comprehend what’s going on, I plopped Peter down in his arms, made sure he had the right hold. . . “
“Which I did. I have quite a few cousins, and I’ve babysat many times. . .”
“I stole the file off the desk and went into court. The Judge was very confused, everyone knew I was on maternity leave, my water had broken in the middle of closing statements. I came back two hours later, and he has the baby resting on his shoulder like a champ, while arguing with a defense attorney about how he’s not going to plea out a slam dunk of a case. His words, not mine.”
“And now Peter’s in one of the best gifted programs in the city. You’re welcome.”
Brian has to step out to take a call after dinner, and it’s while you’re clearing the table that you hear Rita say, “I’ve missed this.”
“I haven’t gone anywhere Rita.”
“You were mad when I left Rafi.”
“Yeah . . .I was.”
“I tried to take you with me.”
He laughs, “The private sector isn’t for me Rita.”
“Well, if you ever change your mind, there’s always an open spot at my firm. I’d really enjoy seeing Bucanan’s face when he realizes that you chose my firm over his.”
“What are you talking about Rita?”
“You don’t know?”
“Know what?”
“The firms have been talking about trying to steal you away for years Barba. You’re a thorn in their side. You’re a damn good lawyer, and if you went the private sector route, you’d bring in a lot of money. You know that.”
“I’m good where I am Rita.”
There’s another moment of silence before she asks, “Does that mean you’re not willing to do this again?”
“Cook or dinner in general?”
“Be friends?” The question is said with so much honesty it almost makes you cry, “The boys still ask about you, ya know? They ask how uncle Rafi is doing. I tell them you’re a pain in my ass, but you’re good.”
He sighs, “We’d have to leave work at work.”
“Please, we already do that.”
“I’ll never understand why you went to the private sector, but I’m willing to give it a shot.”
“I think, Rafael, that one day . . .you will understand.”
You come out of the kitchen with plates of pie, and do your best to show that you hadn’t just listened to their very intimate conversation, “So, it’s from a box, but I've got pie.”
They both stare at you before Rita turns to your boyfriend, “She has no poker face.”
“I know.”
“Her sister has a poker face.”
“Liv has also been a detective for quite a few years.”
Rita turns to you, “Never commit a crime. Your emotions and thoughts are just written right on your face.”
You blink a few times, before turning to Rafa, “What?”
He pulls you into his lap, “Ignore her, Rita is just being Rita.” He kisses your cheek, and the two of them share a conspirtal grin. What evil hath you wrought on the world?
At around eleven Rita and Brian head out, and the two of you collapse in bed. “I’m exhausted.”
You nod into your pillow, “People are exhausting.”
“But I had a good time. I’ve missed that friendship. I was stupid to let it go in the first place.”
You shrug, “You two were just in different places in your lives. I don’t think any true harm was done.”
“Maybe.” He rolls over so he's on his side and watching you, “Thank you for forcing me to do this.”
“No problem, that’s what I’m here for.”
“Do we have a dinner party with your long lost friends next?”
You shake your head, “I never really had many; friends that is. The few I had in high school or even college have moved on; you know marriage and kids. And I work from home, so no work friends either.”
“What about childhood friends?”
You shake your head, “The parents wouldn’t let their kids come over. My mom had a reputation. She was a drunk, and the house was far from spotless. And when Liv took custody, Cragan allowed me to hang around the squad room, because Liv couldn’t afford after school care. And they all worked SVU, they weren’t going to let me stay home alone.
“If it was a late night, Elliot’s wife would come and get me sometimes. I actually spent a lot of time with his family.”
“Elliot was Liv’s partner?”
“For around thirteen years. Closest thing I had to a father figure. He left about a year or two before you got there. The emotional toll finally got to him.”
“Good cop?”
You consider your words carefully, “He and Liv have one of the highest records for completed cases. To watch them work, was a weird thing. It was this seamless transition. They’d fight sometimes but . . . they always worked it out, right up until he left. She came down to see me after he left, it tore her apart, that he didn’t say goodbye.”
You watch Rafa’s lips purse, “I don’t think I like him.”
You smile, “Oh Lord, I hope the two of you never meet. You’d go for each other’s throats.”
He nods, “Good thing I’ll never have to meet him then.”
“That is a good thing. It’s also a good thing that you never had to go to the old precinct. You would have thrown a fit.”
Rafael decided he doesn’t want to know.
