WARNING: mentions of sexual abuse and rape of a child
It had been a long day filled with court, paperwork and meetings and all Rafael wanted to do was get home. He was in a bad mood and the drive home seemed to take forever. Slowly he walked to the door and opened it to find his fiancée and Kiera dancing to Rent. He stared at them then burst out laughing. They heard him and they turned around with smiles on their faces. "Cariño, that is exactly what I needed after a long day". He gave her a kiss. Kiera held out her arms wanting him to hold her. Rafael set his stuff down then took Kiera. "Where's your brother?"
Kiera pointed to his room. "He tired". Rafael nodded as they went to the couch and sat down.
"How was your day", Jayde asked him.
He shook his head. "Victim won't testify. She's scared. I was thinking of getting Liv to talk to her". Jayde nodded sympathetically. "How about you?"
"The usual chaos and anarchy that is SVU. I've been thinking of finding a job for my major. Something as a forensic psychologist".
He nodded. "You said that's what you wanted to do".
It took a few months but she finally got an interview for her dream job. After doing the initial interview, she was told that they were still interviewing and they would let her know in a week. Waiting drove her crazy as she thought over and over about every potential scenario: they loved her, were going to hire her or they hired someone else. A week later, she was at the precinct when she got the phone call. "Hello, yes this is Jayde Ramirez. Thank you so much! Alright –", she wrote down what the woman on the other end was telling her. "I got it. Thank you".
"What happened", Amanda asked.
"I got the job!"
"Congratulations", she told her giving her a hug.
Just found out today that I got my dream job! I'll be working at Mercy General as a forensic psychologist. I am walking on clouds right now. I'll be working with children who have been abused in some way. I'm so thankful for my time at SVU because it gave me the experience I needed and I've made friends I'll have for life (and my hubby-to-be).
Rafael was excited for her after she told him the good news. He hugged than kissed her. "When do you start?"
"I start in two weeks. I told them I have to give my lieutenant a two week notice".
"Wow. I am so happy and excited for you! We should go out to celebrate. Us and the kids".
Her last day the squad threw her a going away party. "Congratulations again. We'll miss you", Sonny told her.
"Thanks, Sonny but I might be working with you all on some cases so I won't be gone forever".
"Well, we'll miss you. It won't be the same. You'll have to come and check in", Olivia told her.
"I will, for real. I'll bring the kids".
Later as she packed up her desk, she looked at everything she had: an old picture of her and Johnny, a picture of her with the squad, the list that Rafael written when she was going through her depression and other mementos. She thought of everything she had experienced and learned while at SVU. She had not only made friends but gained a family. Olivia came over as she was packing up. Everyone was out on a call. She sat on her desk and watched her. "I just wanted to say congratulations again and it's been a pleasure having you here. It's going to be different not having you here".
Jayde gave her a smile. "It's going to be weird not arguing with Sonny every day".
This made Olivia laugh to herself. "When you walked in for the first time, I saw someone who was eager to learn and eager to please. Then I got to watch you grow up to be a mother and friend to the whole squad. I know you'll do great things".
Last day at SVU was filled with memories and laughter. I'm going to miss them but I'm also excited to start my new job.
Jayde's first day she was introduced to the staff and she saw her office. The woman in charge said she could decorate it however she wanted so she put stuffed animals on the floor to make it kid-friendly and pictures on her desk of her kids and a picture of Rafael. Her caseload was 10 kids who had been admitted to the hospital and the staff suspected abuse. The kids were scared and they didn't open up easily. She sighed knowing that she would have to earn their trust but she was determined to do it.
Just checking in to see how your first day is going. – Rafael
I've got 10 kids and I have to earn their trust before I can talk to them which I totally get. They're scared and I'm just another adult to them. – Jayde
Remember you can do this. I love you. – Rafael
It took a couple weeks before her kids opened up to her. One of them described sexual abuse by her mother's boyfriend. The girl was only 10 but had been raped multiple times. Her mother knew about it but did nothing. Now she was in the hospital because her mother's boyfriend had got her pregnant. She remembered what Olivia and the squad told every victim: it's not your fault. "You didn't do anything wrong, ok? This should have never happened to you and I'm sorry that it did".
The girl nodded and started crying. Then she gave Jayde a hug. "What about my baby?"
"I can't tell you what to do with your baby, you'll guardian will do that with you. I promise I will do whatever I can to make sure this never happens again".
That night she came home emotionally exhausted. After putting the kids to bed, she looked at them wondering how anyone could hurt them or any child. Rafael saw her and took her hand. They went to their room and laid down on their bed. He saw sadness in her eyes. "Cariño, what's wrong?"
"A 10 year old is pregnant from her mother's boyfriend raping her repeatedly". Rafael looked down and he wiped the tears that were coming from her eyes. "I told her that I would do everything I could do to make sure that it never happens again".
He kissed her forehead not knowing what to say. "You promised to do the best you can do and that's all you can do. You can't undo what happened to her or all the other kids, all you can do is get justice for them". She nodded and laid her head on his chest.
