Yay I finally updated! I know it's been longer than I thought but I was playing around with an idea and midterms kicked my ass. Finally I decided to go for it with my idea and I hope you don't hate it! But it's better than when I almost started writing a chapter where I killed off Rafael, I promise!

Starts off with a bit of angst then happiness then back to angst. I hope I don't give you whiplash!

Enjoy!

Olivia got home that night with a smile on her face. It honestly felt good to get back to work and she was glad they had caught a case. It had taken all day but finally they got a confession and a plea deal, one of those rare one-day cases.

She let herself into the condo and called with a hint of sarcasm, "Honey, I'm home!"

Rafael appeared in the doorway to the kitchen and Olivia immediately took in the tension in his body. "Well look who finally decided to grace me with her presence." Rafael said loftily and Olivia raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"You're not excused. Have you glanced at the time lately? Or in the past, oh I don't know, five hours?" Rafael snapped and disappeared back into the kitchen. Olivia glanced at her phone and nearly groaned when she saw it was nearly midnight.

"I'm sorry, Rafael, we caught a case and then Munch brought us dinner…"

"You already ate?" Rafael demanded, sticking his head back into the doorway.

"Uh…yeah…" Olivia said slowly, attempting to gauge his mood and the reason behind it. Rafael just clenched his jaw and went back into the kitchen. She followed him and saw him dumping plates into the sink, muttering in Spanish under his breath. "Look, I'm sorry I'm so late and that I didn't call but I won't apologize for doing my job." Olivia stated and Rafael replied in a dry voice,

"Yes, yes, I know, your job is your life."

Olivia stood her ground, replying heatedly, "And you know that better than anyone! Or at least you should."

"Yes, I do, Olivia, I understand quite well that your order of priorities goes work and then me."

"That's not true…" Olivia tried to argue and Rafael whipped his head around to glare at her.

"Yeah right," he snorted in derision and turned back to his furious task of washing the dishes.

"Again I won't apologize for doing my job, doing what I love. You've known that from the moment you met me, what's changed?" Olivia snapped and Rafael rinsed his hands off.

"My problem is that I'd like to have a few moments of my fiancée's time every once in a while but that is obviously too much to ask for." Rafael barked, turning to face Olivia.

"A few moments? We spend a lot of time together, I'm sorry if that's not enough for you and if this one night that I work late is going to bother you so much then…" Olivia trailed off with a shrug and Rafael demanded,

"Then what? What?"

"What is wrong with you tonight?" Olivia said in exasperation, throwing her hands up in frustration.

"Wrong with me? Well I apologize for trying to make tonight perfect and now because you obviously care more about your precious work than your own fiancé it is ruined. I'm sorry for even trying to make an effort!" Rafael shouted and Olivia raised her eyebrows.

"Perfect? What for?"

Rafael stared at her and then dug something out of his pocket, flinging it across the room at her. Olivia caught the small object and her breath caught in her throat. "My ring," she breathed and Rafael muttered,

"Finally got it from evidence. Bastards hold onto that crap for forever," he pushed past her and called over his shoulder, "Go ahead and chuck it if you decide you don't want it anymore."

Olivia stared at the ring for a while and then heard the bedroom door shut with a firm snap. She shook her head and muttered, "You stubborn, stupid man."

She marched up the stairs and flung the bedroom door open, finding him sitting on the bed with his head bowed. "Really Counselor? You're just going to throw me my ring and walk away from me like that?"

"Liv…" Rafael said quietly, not wanting another argument. He was surprised to find her kneeling on the ground next to his legs with her hand outstretched, the ring lying on her palm. His heart stopped, thinking for a moment that she was giving the ring back and walking out of his life.

"Nu uh, you're not getting away that easily. Are you really gonna make me put it back on my finger myself?" Olivia asked with a raised eyebrow and a smile grew on Rafael's face as he slipped to the ground and kneeled across from Olivia. He took the ring and her hand, gently sliding it onto her finger.

"Back where it belongs." Rafael murmured as he kissed her hand. "I promise I made sure they cleaned it, Liv," he added, making sure she knew there were no traces of William Lewis left on the ring.

"I know. I wasn't afraid of that, I've never been afraid of that. He can't touch this ring, us. I won't let him." Olivia's voice was firm and Rafael looked up to see tears coursing down her face.

"Liv," he said apologetically, reaching up and cupping her face, wiping the tears away.

"I'm so sorry, Rafael, I should've come home earlier…"

"No, no. You were back in your element, I get that. I do. I just…wanted tonight to be perfect." Rafael finished lamely, dropping his hands back down to his sides.

"It was. It still is." Olivia promised him, leaning forward and kissing him.

"You should've thrown the ring back at me after that argument." Rafael muttered and Olivia chuckled.

"Nah. You're stuck with me. No take-backs."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," he promised her before pulling her close and kissing her. "I…I honestly thought you were giving the ring back to me when you came up here." Rafael admitted and Olivia's eyes went wide.

"Rafael, we've fought before and I can pretty much guarantee we'll fight again. That doesn't mean either of us are walking away. Were you thinking of walking away when you came up here?"

"Hell no." Rafael said immediately and Olivia smiled.

"Me neither. I think at this point we're stuck with each other."

"Good," he said firmly and pulled her to her feet. "So I seem to remember something important that comes after the fight…"

"Didn't we just do that? Kiss and make up?" Olivia said innocently and Rafael framed her face with his hands.

"I'm not pressuring you, Liv, I was just joking…"

"No, it's okay," she said softly, slipping her arms around his waist.

"Are you sure?" Rafael wanted to know, stroking his thumbs over her cheeks.

"Yes. Just don't…"

Rafael pressed his lips to hers with a silent promise not to treat her any differently than before. And that was all Olivia wanted.

The next morning Olivia managed to drag herself away from Rafael to get the work only a few minutes late. It only took a little while for Fin to notice the ring back on her finger and he quickly pointed it out to Amanda and Nick.

"Look out, Sarge is back off the market." Nick called with a chuckle and Olivia leveled an unamused look his way.

"Yeah better watch yourselves, Barba'll kick your ass." Fin warned the uniforms milling around the precinct and Olivia had to chuckle.

"Seriously, Liv, you…you look good." Amanda told her quietly and Olivia smiled at her.

"Thanks. I feel good."

Olivia headed into her office and started to work on some paperwork. That night she made an effort to go home on time and found herself home before Rafael. She fixed him a nice dinner and he was pleasantly surprised when he came home. Pleasantly surprised that he didn't have to order a pizza or get the fire extinguisher.

It was a few days later that Olivia got a call from Rafael's secretary. "Sergeant, I…I'm calling because Mr. Barba came into his office this morning to prep for opening statements this afternoon but…"

"But what?"

"But they were supposed to start a half hour ago but he hasn't come out. I've tried knocking but…"

"I'm on my way." Olivia said shortly, hanging up and getting to her feet. There wasn't a pressing case that required her attention and Rafael was never, ever late to his courtroom proceedings. Something was wrong.

Olivia made her way to his office and quickly walked up to the door, bypassing his secretary without a second glance. She gently tapped at the door and called, "Rafael? Are you okay?"

There wasn't a response so Olivia shot his secretary a look and pulled out the key to his office. She would've had to go to the DA to get the key but Rafael had given Olivia a copy. Olivia remembered teasing him about it when he'd given it to her, saying this was more important than when he gave her his condo key. Then she'd warned him she wouldn't be his gofer and he'd laughed.

Olivia swung the door open and found Rafael sitting on the floor with his back to the wall, his cell phone gripped tightly in his hands and a completely blank look on his face. She stepped in and shut the door behind her, approaching him and kneeling next to him.

Gently she pried the phone out of his hands and pressed her palm against his cheek. "Rafael," she whispered and this time he blinked. She squeezed his hand and was relieved when he squeezed back but his blank stare still didn't meet her eyes. "Rafael what happened?"

He swallowed hard and opened his mouth and then shut it again before finally saying, "That was, uh, my mom's neighbor in Florida. She-she didn't show up for her book club meeting so she went to check on her." Rafael trailed off, finally turning his head until his grief-stricken eyes met Olivia's.

"Oh my God." Olivia said in shock and Rafael wet his lips before adding,

"She-she went peacefully in her sleep according to her doctor."

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, sliding her arms around his waist and hugging him tightly, pressing her face into his neck. After a moment his arms wrapped around her tightly and she heard him murmur,

"We-we just Skyped with her a few days ago, she-she was so happy to finally fly up and meet you in person and get ready for the wedding…" Rafael trailed off as he squeezed his eyes shut, fighting back tears.

After a long moment Olivia drew back and pressed her forehead to his. "C'mon, let's go home okay?"

"Okay. My case…" Rafael's eyes snapped open as he remembered his opening statements and Olivia shook her head.

"Don't worry about it."

"But…"

"Don't. Worry about it." Olivia said forcefully as she climbed to her feet and held her hands out to pull him up too. He took her hands and when she pulled him up he wrapped his arms around her. She settled into his embrace for a long moment and then drew back, giving him a small smile and turning to the door. Rafael got his coat and briefcase while Olivia told his secretary what had happened and got confirmation that she would inform the DA and the judge presiding over his trial later.

Rafael just gave his secretary a tight smile when she offered him her condolences and he gripped Olivia's hand tightly as they walked out together to Olivia's car. Once they got to the condo, Olivia sent Rafael to take a shower and put comfy clothes on.

Olivia dialed Fin while Rafael was in the shower. "Liv, where'd you go?"

"I had to take Rafael home. Fin, can you take over for me for a while?"

"Sure, Liv, but what…?"

She sighed and said heavily, "Rafael's mom died."

"Oh my God, that's terrible. Yeah, I can take care of things around here, don't worry about it."

"Thank you, Fin, I owe you one."

"Nah you don't. But listen, let me know when the service is, if there's gonna be one up here. I know she all but lives in Florida now."

"Yeah, I'll keep you posted. Thanks again."

"No problem." Fin told her and then hung up. She trusted that he would let the others know and also tell them not to bother Rafael.

Over the course of their relationship they'd shared their pasts, Rafael knew about her parents and she knew about his. His abusive father and less-than-adoring mother. But besides all that she knew that he loved his mother and losing her like this was going to hurt him terribly for a long time. Olivia did know one thing: he helped her get through Lewis and she was going to help him through losing his mother.

She stood in the living room, lost in thought when a pair of arms slid around her waist from behind. Olivia was startled but relaxed when the scent of Rafael's body wash hit her nose. "Hey," she said quietly, linking her hands with his over her stomach.

"Hey back," he replied softly, resting his chin on her shoulder. They stood there for a long moment and then Olivia turned in his arms, reaching her hands up and running them through his wet hair. "I still…can't believe it. Is this real life?" Rafael weakly joked but Olivia could see the pain in his eyes.

"I wish it wasn't," she said quietly and then added, "Want some lunch? I'm pretty sure I can handle grilled cheese."

A small smile crossed his face as he shook his head. "I'm not hungry. Or eager to burn the condo down."

"Hey," she said with narrowed eyes and he just sighed. She gently pushed him back until he sat down on the couch and she curled up next to him. "We'll book our flight later tonight," she murmured quietly and Rafael started to say,

"Liv…"

"We will book our flight later tonight." Olivia's tone left no room for argument and Rafael just sighed as they sat there, ignoring the occasional ringing of either of their phones. They didn't need the outside world, they only needed each other.

Chapter 57 has reached its conclusion! Again I'm so sorry it took longer than I thought to post this but I kept going back and forth on whether I was going to kill his mom or not, and then I watched December Solstice and since I haven't mentioned his grandmother I decided to use his mother instead. Shift the focus from Olivia to Rafael a little bit. Plus I felt really bad about how I started bringing her up and then never mentioned her again, a bit of a plot hole for this story really.

So again I thank each and every single one of you readers and reviewers, you lovely people are absolutely the best! I will definitely keep updating, I can't promise you a timeline but it won't be too long before I post the next chapter!