Prosecutorial Misconduct // Rafael Barba

09 || A LITTLE BROTHERLY ADVICE

It wasn't that much of an uncommon occurrence for Barba to have Melanie show up at his office unannounced for one thing or another.

Most of the time it was for warrants, as the others would often send her in their stead due to the rather impressive fact that she never once returned to them empty handed. Little did they know, however, that it wasn't because of her persuasive negotiation skills or her way with words when it came to describing why they needed a warrant for the DNA of an entire fraternity or whatever other crazy situation they'd found themselves in.

No, the only reason Melanie got what she wanted every single time she asked for it was because of none other than her eyes. And I'm not talking about her batting her lashes and using her charm to flirt a warrant out of someone, I'm talking about the immense terror that her gaze could rain down over a person when she really put her mind to it.

The way she would simply stare at them as she stood silently in the corner of their office was haunting. Her eyes would fall cold. Hard. Her pupils would fully dilate and the way in which they darkened, as though a demon had emerged from hell and possessed her was truly horrifying and it didn't usually take long until the poor ADA couldn't stick it any longer and went personally to find themselves a judge.

The amount of times he'd heard that same story from his co-workers was more than Barba could count on both hands, although he was yet to actually experience it for himself. He'd never had Melanie annoy him, or linger in the shadows until he gave in from the intense fear she brought up with her from hell, as he'd simply never been able to say no to her.

No matter how weak their reasoning for a warrant may have been, all Melanie had to do was ask once and Barba was like a child running after their parents in need of a signature to consent to a school trip, with the way he'd hound the nearest judge to sign off on the warrant. And whilst it may have annoyed him previously: how easily he seemed to have rolled over for a gruff detective with major anger issues, when it came to Melanie he didn't mind one bit. He knew he was all but wrapped around her little finger but at the same time... he'd grown to enjoy doing things for her if he knew it would make her smile.

It's all he'd ever wanted, after all, to see Melanie's smile widen to the point where her dimples bloomed and even her eyes joined in as when he did, it very easily helped to brighten the otherwise dull and depressing day he knew he'd have without it. He may have loved his job, but being a sex crimes ADA was no easy feat and if Barba could make things at least a tiny bit better by seeing his favourite smile in the world then he would, and honestly, if he could... He wouldn't have hesitated for a second to ask Melanie to move into his office with him simply to make sure he'd never miss it.

Come to think of it, actually, he already had asked her to move in...in his own sneaky little way, that is, as he couldn't just say it outright. No, instead, after the first time she'd come to him in desperate need of a little break from the never-fading chaos of life, he'd pretty much declared his office a safe space for her to venture into whenever another moment like that arose, as he, along with everyone else in the justice system, knew well that Melanie could get very easily overwhelmed at times.

Overstimulated, even, as her refusal to take her medication meant she often found herself drowning in the murky depths of her busy mind and the world around her. But if she'd rather do that than actually make use of the one thing that could truly help her, then there wasn't really anything anyone could do other than try their best to accommodate her needs, and it was because of that that Barba had happily opened his office to her.

However today, instead of laying on his couch and drowning out the world like she normally would, Melanie was the exact opposite in that she hadn't sat down since the moment she appeared before him. Instead, she opted to pacing the entire width of the room relentlessly, all but wearing treads into the fibres of his cream carpet as she ranted on...and on...and on about all things Campesi.