Chapter Text
CHAPTER 9 COINCIDENCES
The cold was beginning to settle in again. Olivia thought she had seen Rafael. She could have sworn she saw a man in a black coat turn the corner, but she shook her head when she heard the dog's bark again and Maureen's voice. Maybe it was just her subconscious playing tricks on her.
"Olivia!"
"I'm coming," Olivia replied, slipping her hands into her coat pockets to take out her keys.
"I don't know how you put up with my dad, Olivia."
Olivia didn't answer. She simply raised an eyebrow.
She climbed the first few steps of the building, while Elliot, after making sure both women had gone inside, started the car.
Rafael walked slowly; his clenched hands hidden inside the pockets of his coat. He was fighting a battle with himself.
Of course, that was it. He had mistaken courtesy for interest. How ridiculous. He barely knew her.
His mouth felt dry. He spotted the small convenience store. He needed something strong.
Elliot gripped the steering wheel tightly. He was turning onto a main street when his phone vibrated.
"Elliot..."
"Kathy, did they get there all right?"
"I'm glad to hear it."
"Everything okay?"
Elliot could hear his children's voices arguing in the background.
"Yes... I think so," Kathy replied with a sigh.
"Could you bring home a box of our usual cereal?"
"Let me guess. Dickie."
"Yes."
Elliot turned the steering wheel again. He remembered the convenience store near Liv's building. It would be quicker to stop there.
_____
Rafael decided to keep wandering through the aisles of the convenience store. He stopped at the coffee machine and picked up a cup.
"Convenience store coffee," he murmured, thinking that this was hitting a new low.
The store's automatic doors slid open. Stabler was quietly humming an old song as he walked in. The store clerk greeted him.
"Hello, Detective."
Only one aisle separated the two men.
Rafael decided to keep walking through the store. He felt rather foolish leaving empty-handed.
A short elderly woman was making her way through the aisles with a shopping basket. She stopped, trying to reach a box of Graham crackers.
She stood on tiptoe, but it was still out of reach. Elliot noticed. Rafael, who had just turned into that aisle, noticed too.
The elderly woman barely brushed the box with her fingertips. It tipped forward, and several boxes began tumbling down.
Barba pulled the woman out of the way, while Elliot caught the remaining boxes with both hands, though a few still hit the floor.
The loud clatter echoed through the store, drawing the attention of the other customers.
"Are you all, right?" the attorney asked the elderly woman.
"Yes, thank you," she replied, still holding on to Rafael's arm.
"You're welcome."
"I only wanted one box of Graham crackers," the woman said, still shaken.
Elliot stepped over to her and began picking up the boxes.
"Is your mother all right?" Elliot asked.
"I'm afraid she's not my mother," Rafael replied.
"He was just helping me. My daughter is over there," the woman said, pointing to a blonde woman hurrying toward them.
"I'm sorry. I thought she was your mother," Stabler said.
"I thought no one helped strangers in New York anymore," the elderly woman remarked.
Rafael smiled.
"It was nothing," he said.
The blonde woman reached them, thanking both men for helping her mother before she started gathering the boxes.
"I'll take care of it. There's no need," Rafael said as he crouched to pick up the boxes scattered across the floor. Elliot did the same.
"I wish all men were like you."
Barba and Stabler exchanged a glance before continuing to gather the boxes.
______
Elliot studied him openly; the man beside him looked far too elegant: a tailored suit, perfectly polished shoes, and a tie—the kind of outfit worn by someone in a high-ranking position at some corporation. Then again, he also reminded Elliot of a courtroom and the lawyers inside it. He could almost picture him as one of them.
Rafael noticed. Accustomed to reading juries, he knew exactly when someone was sizing him up. He simply cleared his throat.
"Are you new to the neighborhood?" Stabler asked.
"Is it that obvious this isn't my neighborhood?"
"Hmm, I don't know... You look like you work in Midtown."
Rafael let out a laugh, and the two of them continued picking up the boxes.
"Do you work nearby?"
"That depends on the case."
"Then you're a lawyer."
"Is it that obvious?"
They both laughed.
They picked up the last box.
"They're pretty dangerous," Elliot said.
"I think these crackers are a public health hazard. I'm beginning to understand why they should be sold under supervision."
Stabler smiled.
"Elliot Stabler." He held out his hand to the attorney, who hesitated for a moment before accepting it.
"Rafael Barba."
The handshake was firm, yet restrained and genuine. Neither of them tried to assert dominance over the other.
Good guy, Elliot thought.
He must be a cop, Rafael thought when he noticed Stabler's badge clipped to his belt.
The store clerk came over to thank them, giving each of them a bottle of water.
The two men left the convenience store at the same time. Stabler got into his car, while Rafael continued walking toward the main street to catch a taxi.
______
Olivia Benson's Apartment
Olivia let out a sigh as soon as she stepped into her apartment, which was already beginning to feel different.
Maureen hurried into Olivia's bedroom to unpack her things.
For a moment, Olivia felt that this space, which had always been so personal, no longer felt entirely like hers.
For years, she had complained about the silence, but that night she realized she missed it.
She opened the refrigerator to put away the food Kathy had sent with them. The refrigerator's small white light illuminated her face as she reached for the carton of orange juice.
She grabbed a glass, but only a few drops came out of the carton. Olivia simply took a long breath, letting the air escape through her mouth, and placed her hands on her hips.
Maureen came out of the bedroom and walked over to the kitchen island.
"Liv... I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
"We can go to the convenience store. Look, I..."
"There's no need. It's already late."
"Let's go together. I insist."
"And so do I," Olivia said, taking both of her hands.
"Am I a burden?" the girl asked, biting her lip.
Olivia watched Maureen carefully for a few moments. For an instant, she noticed the childlike features that still remained on her face.
The Stablers had always been there for her; they had been there during that reheated Christmas dinner, with Dickie and Kathleen’s drawings, and during the afternoons when that house had been the only place where she did not feel alone.
But they were not her family. Maybe they were the closest thing she had besides her team at the precinct. She also wanted someone waiting for her at home, someone who would ask how her day had been.
Maybe Maureen simply needed a place where she could feel safe.
Olivia’s irritation slowly began to disappear.
The coffee, the date with Rafael... she preferred to think that maybe he had never shown up. It wasn’t certain, but it was a possibility that hurt less.
She hugged the girl, who began to cry in her arms. Olivia shed only a few tears herself; she didn’t know if she was crying for Maureen... or for everything she had kept buried inside.
After a few minutes, Maureen went to the bedroom to sleep.
As Olivia took out the pillow and some blankets again, she looked at the couch and shook her head. Another night of torture for her neck.
She sighed and turned off the living room light. She settled onto the couch and turned off the lamp, but not her thoughts.
For a moment, she thought about Andy Eckerson and Nick Ganzner. They had been important at the time, but she had not thought about them for a long while.
But Rafael...
No one had ever taken up so much space in her mind, especially not someone she barely knew. It felt different, even though they had only shared a few cups of coffee.
And Elliot? She didn’t want to keep thinking about that.
She turned over once more on the couch and closed her eyes, forcing herself to sleep.
Maybe he hadn’t gone. Maybe he had. Tomorrow, she would walk past the café again.
______
Olivia hadn't slept well. Her thoughts kept returning, over and over again, to the night she might have shared with Rafael.
The couch had been uncomfortable. Far too uncomfortable.
She decided to make breakfast, something she rarely did just for herself. A few minutes later, Maureen joined her.
They got everything ready to leave; it was a new routine for both women.
They had just stepped out of Benson’s building when her phone vibrated.
"Elliot."
"Olivia, I'm nearby. Uh... I was wondering if I could pick you and Maureen up."
Olivia turned to look at the girl waiting beside her.
"Elliot, it'll take you quite a while to get here, and..."
She considered her response for a few seconds. If Elliot kept pushing the situation with his daughter, things wouldn’t get any better.
"We're already in a taxi," she lied.
"But..."
"I already told Cragen I'll be late."
Olivia ended the call before Elliot could say anything else.
A taxi was passing nearby; Olivia waved it down and got in with Maureen.
Elliot was approaching in his car, the sound of the engine growing closer to Olivia’s building. He watched as they got into the taxi.
"What is it, Liv...? You too?" Stabler whispered, hitting the steering wheel.
______
On the Upper West Side, Rafael stepped out of his building. He had left his apartment with plenty of time to spare.
"Soho," he thought, considering getting a coffee before starting his day... or maybe seeing Olivia as well.
Benson got into a taxi, but this time without Maureen.
"Where to, miss?" the driver asked.
"To the apartment of..." Olivia paused. "You know what? Take me to Soho instead."
Maybe he wouldn’t be there, but Olivia didn’t change her mind. It would be quick; the chances of seeing him were almost nonexistent.
It would only be a coffee.
Olivia rested her head against the window, watching the buildings pass by.
The taxi continued moving through the crowded streets, surrounded by New York’s usual traffic.