Being pregnant and taking care of three children was exhausting and she was glad this was her last baby. Neither she or Rafael wanted to change any more diapers. Kiera was excited about having a baby sister and she talked to Jayde's bump. After having two brothers, she needed another girl in the house.
"¿Cómo está mamá?", Rafael asked her.
"Lo estoy haciendo bien. Tan feliz este es nuestro último bebé".
This made him smile. He could tell this pregnancy was slowing her down more than usual. They were both getting older and they weren't as active as they used to be. Rafael was nine years older and he was approaching 50 while Jayde was 35. They were sitting on their couch with her head on his shoulder. Their children were playing on the floor in front of them.
Rafael had been going over case notes. He was representing a wife who had accused her ex-husband of domestic violence. It was a messy he-said/she-said and he hated the case. He didn't know who was telling the truth. He looked over at his wife and smiled. He thought about how smooth her divorce was when she ended her marriage to Johnny.
"One thing I hate about this case, is that I can't tell whether or not he's guilty. We're never getting divorced, Cariño".
"Good. I don't think I could go through that shit again. You need any help?"
He sighed. "You could take this case for me".
"I don't have your legal experience, amor. I'd probably fuck it up somehow".
He laughed to himself as he put the paperwork away. It wasn't important at that moment. He looked at the kids and he noticed how happy they were and this made him smile. Jayde rubbed her hand over her stomach. Lucia had decided to be active again and had started kicking her. Two weeks, she thought. Two weeks until her due date. Since she was 35, she was considered high-risk and the doctor wanted to do another c-section for her and the baby's safety.
Last time she went into labor, she ended up needing a c-section since RJ had been breech. It had been a scary moment for Rafael as he didn't know if his then finance was ok, but when he held his son in his arms, he knew everything was fine.
Lo mejor que aprenderás es amar y ser amado a cambio.
She sat there content until her cell phone went off. Rafael got up and handed his wife her phone. "Gracias". She looked at the caller ID and didn't notice the number. It was one of her kids calling her in tears. Her stepfather had just raped her. She got up off the couch and went into the kitchen away from the kids. "Oh, honey. I am so sorry. Where are you?" After talking to the girl, she told her that she was sending her friends over to help her.
Rafael wanted to ask her what was wrong but he noticed she was still on the phone. Jayde thought of what to do and she decided to call Olivia, who was still at the precinct. "Jayde, what's going on?"
"Hey Liv. One of my kids called me. She told me that her stepfather raped her. She gave me the address". After giving her the address, she was told that she would send someone over there. Jayde rubbed her stomach as she walked back over to her husband. His face showed concern. "One of my kids called me. Her stepfather raped her". Rafael didn't know what to say, all he could do was hold her.
The next day, she was at the precinct to see what had happened. There were signs of sexual assault and the girl had been crying when they found her. Amanda and Olivia took her to the hospital and were waiting on the results of the rape kit. "How old is she", Sonny asked.
"Twelve", Jayde answered. "She just had her birthday". Everyone was silent and Jayde rubbed her stomach.
"And she called you", Amanda asked her.
"Yeah. I give my cell phone number to all of my kids just in case of an emergency and I always leave my phone on, even during the night".
Rafael came home later and he told her that he had been assigned to the case. He was upset as she was and he wanted to put him in prison for life. "Even if they claim it was consensual, it's still statutory", she argued.
He nodded. "I know. How's she doing?"
"She's in foster care. Her mother claimed that she didn't know her husband was abusing her and other bullshit".
"If anyone did that to Kiera or Lucia, I don't know what I would do".
Jayde nodded. "I know".
