Life Barson Story

Chapter 2

Rafael walked into his apartment, immediately placing his keys on the key rack attached to the wall by the front door.. He quickly glanced at his watch. It was 12:45AM. After Olivia Benson left the table at The Night Owl, he bought another cup of coffee, and sat alone, drinking it slowly, thinking that for a man in a serious relationship he spent a lot of time alone "Adria!" He called, there was no answer. He walked quickly into the bedroom they shared, she wasn't there. The apartment was eerily quiet. He strode into the living room, turned on the TV. in order to avoid his loneliness, sat down on the white couch he hated, and waited.
At 4AM, the front door opened, and a female voice called."Rafi, did you just get back?" Adria stepped into the apartment.
"No." Rafael answered, in a low voice, he sighed. "I got home at 12:45." He said, feeling guilty that he arrived home that late. "Are you OK?""I'm fantastic, I got so much work done!" Adria replied."I'm happy for you. He replied, quietly."How was the fashion show?" She asked, enthusiastically."I didn't stay, I was going for you.""Can you buy tickets for next week?""No, I spent $800 on that show.""It's only money. I had to work." Adria whined."Going to this show would have been good for your career, you could have made a lot of connections. I'm not spending another $800 on a fashion show, you have no intention of attending.""I will attend it. Rafi, please." She reached behind her back, quickly unzipping her orange dress. She pushed it down, and stepped out of it. "I'm sorry. I can make it up to you?""Adria, I had a motion to write. I was going to that fashion show for you. You could have called earlier to let me know you couldn't make it." Rafael stood up.
Adria, put her hands on his shoulders. "I'm sorry. Let's work this out, I love you." She kissed him.
"Go to sleep, Adria." He said, when the kiss was broken. She poured for a moment, picked up her dress, and strode into the bedroom.Rafael worked his desk until 6AM, when he stopped and made a large thermos of coffee.

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2 weeks later, Rafael found himself sitting at The Night Owl, bent over some paperwork. After an hour, he looked up to see Olivia. She was sitting at the table across from him, a look of pain plastered to her face. A second later, she looked back down at her own paperwork. Rafael grabbed his coffee, and rushed over. "Hey, Olivia, may I sit down?" She glanced up, and waved him into the seat."What can I do?""Do you always run up to comfort strangers? In this city that's not smart, Barba." He saw there were tears in her eyes, she quickly wiped them with her finger. Rafael quickly retrieved a handkerchief from his suit pocket. He held it out to her. Her honey-brown eyes stared at him in disbelief, before she took hold of it. A moment later, she dabbed her eyes with the soft purple material, and spoke."You carry handkerchiefs around? I don't know anyone who does that."Rafael held back the comment on the tip of his tongue. "What's the matter?" He asked, instead. He took a sip of coffee, and waited."I worked... so hard to get into my unit." He waited for her to speak again, and after 3 full minutes, she did. "I failed.""How?""I was looking for this little girl for 3 days, when I found her it was too late. She was raped, she died in my arms."As soon as the words left her month, Rafael spoke. "I am so sorry. That is not your fault, it is the fault of the murdering rapist who took her." Olivia stopped dabbing at her eyes. She squeezed the soft purple material.
"This job is who I am. I know that sounds crazy." She said.
"No, it doesn't.""How am I going to do it?""You're going to talk about it, because you need to. You're going to go home, you're going to eat something, you're going to get some sleep, and then you're getting up to help the next person who needs you. You are not going to fail."She gave him a hint of a smile. "I don't wanna go home yet.""I have some time." He replied."How's your girlfriend?""Good." He answered, convincingly, luckily for him, Olivia wasn't convinced. They talked for 3 hours, before Olivia stood up, ready to go home.