Por Siempre Y Para Siempre: A Sequel to Take Your Time

Ch. 13 - Be Patient with Me. Please.

"Thank God that's over," Carisi lets out a sigh of relief as he walks out of the courtroom with the rest of the squad, Peter, and Rafael, "that was a long trial. I'm glad that bastard's going away for life, though. Do we know how the mothers and the children are doing?"

"I spoke with social services last week," Olivia explains, "they told me that three of the seven mothers we found are regaining custody of their children soon, Aubrey being one of them. I was also informed that one of the other mothers had a missing person file for her in Washington state. Apparently, Jacobson kidnapped her when he was first starting his cult. She and her two daughters are being flown back to her parents' home. That's all I've heard so far." She sighs when she finishes filling her team in on their witnesses. The six of them all share a sympathetic sigh and make their way outside in silence.

When they step outside, Peter and Rafael are greeted immediately by the press asking questions regarding the Jacobson Trial that had just ended. They branch off and start addressing different reporters and the questions being thrown at them. Olivia and her squad stand back as photographers take their photos to be released in articles covering the case. They all escape the pandemonium after about 45 minutes of fielding questions and dodging tabloid reporters and decide to head to their usual bar down the street from the precinct.

"To Rafael," Peter holds up his glass of scotch for a toast, "I couldn't have taken this guy down with your help, Raf. Thank you for agreeing to come back to work with the NYPD." Rafael knocks his scotch against the ADA's and thanks him for his kind words.

"Thank you, Peter," Rafael responds, "it was an exciting case, that's for sure. It reminded me why I went into this career in the first place. I'm glad to be back at work with my closest friends, and most importantly, my extraordinary wife." He smirks at Olivia who is blushing behind her glass of cabernet.

"Cheers!" Fin, Carisi, and Amanda all yell joyously in unison. They all fall into different conversations, Fin and Peter making small talk, Carisi discussing law with Rafael, and Amanda and Olivia discussing what they just went through with the trial.

"I was seriously worried for a second," Amanda says, "I thought that it would either end in a mistrial from deadlock, or they'd find him not guilty somehow."

"I never doubted it," Olivia says in a sure tone, "we had him dead to rights, Amanda. There was no way that the jury would've found him not guilty for all three charges. He did all of those things and we had both circumstantial and physical evidence of him doing it." Amanda nods, agreeing with her Lieutenant. After Olivia finishes her sentence, Carisi, Fin, and Rafael jump into the conversation with the two women.

"Hey babe," Carisi looks over to his girlfriend, "I thought they'd deadlock too, ya know." He throws an arm around Amanda and pulls her in closer. Amanda smiles and melts into his warmth, wrapping her arm around his torso to hug him. Olivia and Rafael share a smile, both reminiscing about when they first got together. It felt like it was eons ago, but also that it was just yesterday. Fin cuts through the romantic moment with a question.

"So, how are you two holding up since the unwelcome visitor the night before the trial started?" His voice is different than his normal sharp attitude, the four of them can hear the genuine worry in his tone.

"We're uh," Olivia pauses, trying to put on a brave front, "we're good. CSU got everything cleaned up that night, so we didn't have to deal with that. I'm glad we were able to still stay there that night. Even though none of us really got any sleep."

"Yeah, we're good," Rafael confirms, "the first week was rough, you know, too nervous to sleep. But we pushed through."

"Are you guys gonna stay there, though?" Carisi can't contain his nosy nature any longer, "Or are you gonna move?" Olivia and Rafael share a brief look, neither of them had thought much more about moving since they initially talked about it so long ago.