two years later
i sat at my desk, vetting everything with the current case, cup of coffee in my hand, as i did my job like i did for the past six and a half years as a manhattan svu detective.
"you good over there?" elliot asks as i yawn.
he was a long time friend of my older brother, danny's, so when i joined the squad, he not only had my back, but teased me all the time.
"oh, yeah, all good." i flash a smile in his direction.
before i could finish my answer with why i was exhausted, our stand in captain, walked into the squad room with olivia benson, who had been at svu for fourteen years now and amanda rollins, who had just joined svu from atlanta.
"reagan, amaro, our new ada wants all the information on this rape case. you two took the outcry, so bring him whatever you can and then report back here before you guys go home tonight."
nick amaro was also a new edition to the svu squad.
"right away captain." i reply getting up from my desk as nick and i start walking out of the room.
as we were leaving, my cell phone rang.
"give me a minute." i say as nick tells me he's gonna get the car.
"reagan."
"how's the detectives of the sixteenth precinct doing?"
"well, commissioner it's a surprise to hear from you." i answer after hearing my father's voice through the phone. "are you calling as my father or the commissioner?"
"both." my father replies to my question.
"well, as my father, i can't give you anything as we're still working the investigation. as the commissioner, this investigation is getting more and more complicated by the minute."
"how so?"
"the victim wrote a book full of sexual foreplay, in which, the suspect is claiming consensual sexual contact, that they were 'acting' out scenes from the book."
"does the victim want move forward with investigation?"
"not really, but we're going through the investigation without her. my partner and i are meeting with our new ada now to give him the facts of the case so far."
"good work." my father says. "now, as your father, i'm expecting to see you at family dinner on sunday."
"i'll be there dad." i respond before hanging up the phone and going downstairs to meet nick.
"you know, i read the masterpiece last night," nick says as i get into the squad car. "it's graphic, i'll tell you that."
"yeah, i know i was up last night reading it too. i don't get the thrill of it all, to be honest."
"me either, but for some people i guess it spices it up." he shrugs. "but, something's not right about this."
"the belt around the neck thing, that's insane, along with many other things in that book. i get it, people are into s-and-m, but, when it's rape, it's rape. cain can fight this all her wants, but by the way jocelyn's neck looks,"
"i know, i know. that's not what i mean." he interrupts. "what i mean is, something else is up. i can just feel it."
"when we get back, we'll ask the captain if we can look further into it."
"but, you got strings to pull in the nypd though, right? we could probably get more information,"
"before you finish that sentence, not really, i don't, no. i have been on the job long enough for people to trust me that i won't go to my father every time something isn't by the book." i correct him. "if you ever think internal affairs is hard on you, i get it ten times harder just because of who my family is."
"sorry, i shouldn't have said that."
"don't worry about it, amaro. just, don't think because my father is the police commissioner, i have pull. i worked my ass of to get to where i am."
"understood, partner." he says before we park and enter the manhattan district attorney's building. "so, i heard you guys go through ada's like revolving doors."
i laugh at his comment as we get on the elevator.
"you aren't wrong. but, it isn't easy to prosecute either so that why i'm wondering who our ada is."
"no one told you?"
i shook my head.
"me either. all i know is that he has big, brass ego."
"well, incase you didn't know, that's a lot of lawyers. i would know, my sister is one of them." i say as he then lets out a chuckle.
as we reach the floor, we show the assistant outside our badges.
"the detectives are here." she says to ada as she opens the door as we walk into the office.
"thanks carmen."
that voice.
it was a voice i heard and woke up with for the past ten years, the one i had missed so much for four months.
as i turned around from where i was looking by the sofa and the table, there he was.
my husband, rafael barba, reading over a file. he hadn't looked up yet.
and he was still wearing his wedding ring, shit.
i have time to run and avoid this, right?
as that thought went through my head, he had looked up and his face dropped as we just stared at each other.
"kelly?" he let out a breath, he didn't know he was holding.
"rafael."
"you two know each other?" nick asks, clearly confused.
"um, yeah, yeah we do actually." i reply. "nick, this is assistant district attorney, rafael barba. rafael, this is my partner, detective nick amaro."
the two men shook hands before rafael looked at me once again.
"how've you been?" he then asks.
why was this happening right now?
"fine, thank you, how are you?"
"getting through."
"you alright there partner, you look a little pale?" nick then interrupts this awkward conversation i didn't want to be having.
"i'm actually not feeling all that well, i must have had a bad bagel, so i think i'm just gonna head home and get some rest." i quickly said, handing nick the files in my hand. "uh, nick, tell the captain,"
"yeah, i will." he says before i practically ran out of the room.
i took a taxi to the precinct and from there, got in my car and drove to where i was currently staying, which was my twin brother's apartment.
as i walked in, erin, my older sister was there.
"hey, you." erin smiled before it dropped. "what's wrong?"
"nothing, i'm fine."
"you aren't fine." jamie says dragging me to the couch, where they were sitting. "what's going on?"
"erin, did you know?" i turn to her as she looks at me confused.
"did i know what?"
"that rafael had transferred to the manhattan office?" i reply.
"i'm sorry, he what?" jamie asked.
"no, i had no idea. if i did, i would've told you." erin responds.
"this was the first time in four months since i've seen him. we haven't spoken or seen each other since then." i say. "and he still wears a ring."
"well, you two are just separated, not divorced." jamie points out.
"exactly and knowing barba, he's gonna fight for you. he's just giving you your space right now." erin then says.
"wait, doesn't he know you've worked in manhattan for basically your whole career as a police officer?" jamie then asks.
"before we separated, i told him i was thinking of transferring to brooklyn or staten island. i guess he thought i made the transfer."
"you put in transfer paperwork?" erin asks.
"yes, but i changed my mind though." i sigh.
"you're gonna have to talk to him at some point." jamie points out.
"thank you captain obvious." i answer sarcastically before sighing. "after the whole thing went down, i don't know if i'm just not ready to face it."
there was silence as my siblings attempted to comfort me before i spoke up again. "so, anyone wanna tell me about their day?"
"i don't even wanna talk about it. i spent the whole day in court." erin says taking a sip of wine as i grab a glass from the kitchen.
"i'm working in an hour and apparently i'm getting a new partner." jamie replied, taking a sip of water since he obviously couldn't drink now.
"night shift huh?"
"someone's gotta do it." he says as i laugh a bit.
"you're not wrong there."
"i'm so glad i didn't become a cop." erin then says.
"night shifts can be fun." i try to convince her.
"yeah, when you've got a partner, otherwise it sucks." jamie says as we laugh, knowing he wasn't wrong either from the stories we've heard from pop.
"i love you guys." i say as they hug me.
"you'll get through this. it's just a bump in the road. you and rafael will work it out." jamie says.
and right at that moment, danny walked in.
"did i miss a mandatory sibling meeting or something?"