15Author Note: So the first time I heard the song Bulletproof Angel by The Goo Goo Dolls I was thinking of this in my head. I'm not sure if anyone else will see it but if you haven't heard the song listen to it close your eyes and think Olivia Benson. Tell me it doesn't give you a chill.
Anyway hope you enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 2: Bulletproof Angel
Barba spent his day's working quietly in his office. He avoided the squad room and the squad somehow successfully. He didn't wanted to work with them right now. They were always disorganized when Olivia was away. Fin had taken charge of the unit. And as far as he knew they were mostly working on old cases.
He made nightly calls to Olivia. The one highlight of his day. She always sounded happy to hear from him. But it had started to hurt his heart that the last time he had seen her had been almost three weeks ago. He kept trying to go over. But he would then mentally kick himself knowing that only two weeks ago he had almost slipped up on the phone.
There conversations these past weeks had mostly been him telling her about his day. What he had for lunch. The meeting he had. She didn't talk much about what she was doing. He assumed she didn't want to talk about sitting around in her apartment, so he never brought it up.
He looked down at his case files realizing he had spent half the day daydreaming about Olivia instead of actually working. The day was over now anyway. And although there were several things he needed to get done he felt no urgency to do them.
Barba stood from his chair and began to shuffle his papers together. Placing them in the correct folder and then shoving them into his briefcase. He laid his briefcase down on his desk and walked behind his chair and grabbed his jacket. He put it on and grabbed his briefcase and made his way out of his office.
He walked down the hall and then down the stairs. He needed to drop off a file for one of the judges. He had avoided the court house. He had no trial prep and no cases set to go to trial until next months. As much as he dreaded leaving his office and going to the court house he set off in that direction.
When he reached the court house he slipped into the side door. He dropped off the file and quickly made his way out of the court house. Unfortunately it was inevitable to come out anywhere but where he had been standing almost three weeks ago.
Barba closed his eyes for just a moment as he stepped out of the court house. A cool early winter breeze rushed over him. Goosebumps ran over his body. He opened his eyes and looked down the court house steps.
His eyes scanned the steps and froze in one spot. Her back was too him. Her jacket pulled tight and her dark brown hair swirling in the wind. He couldn't see her face. But it was her. He knew it was. The color of her hair. The way she stood. It was her.
Her head was tilted slightly. She was looking up. Maybe at the building across the street. Or perhaps at the sky. It was grey today but a strange color of grey for this part of the year. Almost a white grey. A shocking white. Like the sun was trying to break through the winter clouds.
She was beautiful. Barba was in complete aw of her. He watched her for a moment. Watched the way her hair danced around her. He also watched the way everyone else around her buzzed past too busy with their day. Staring at their feet. But he saw her.
She was something to see. She had a glow to her. It was her personality. He had noticed it the first day they had met. She pushed his buttons and he pushed hers. Yet somehow it was always for the best. He felt like he not only become a different person knowing her, but a better person, a better lawyer, a better man. He looked at the people he represented. Not just the case number. He knew the victims, knew their families. He got to know their stories. Not just the facts of the case. He wanted to win for them. Not just to win for the sake of winning. She had opened his eyes to all of that.
His heart raced. What was she doing here? He reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone. He had no missed calls and no texts. He always called her; at least these last few weeks. She never wanted to interrupt his day. He had always insisted that she wouldn't interrupt his day and that if she ever needed anything just to call.
To his slight horror he realized she was standing in the same spot she had been when she had been shot. He gathered himself and quickly made his way down to her.
When Barba reached her he reached a hand out and touched her shoulder. She turned and smiled at him. It was a beautiful and brilliant smile. Even her eyes smiled. They seemed to light up even more when she saw him.
"Hey." She said
"Hey yourself. What are you doing here?" He said his voice a mix of concern and joy.
"Needed some fresh air…figured I'd come and see if you wanted to get a coffee?" Her words are light and seem to float through the air.
"Yeah, that sounds great. Come on I'll buy you a cup. How long have you been out here? You must be freezing." Barba said as he ran his arm around her back and guided her down the rest of the steps and on to the side walk.
It was something he had never done; At least with her. They hadn't had much physical contact. But somehow this seemed right. She didn't pull away or tense up so he left his arm wrapped around her as they ducked into a diner just pasted the court house.
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