Objection | SVU

Chapter 5

Well, today was the day.

Today was the day that Rafael and I were disclosing our relationship to the SVU and to the District Attorney's offices. We knew that the news would make it's way around to 1PP and IAB, but right now, we weren't even remotely worried about that. We were just nervous about how the people close to us would respond.

I walked into the squad room at the SVU and saw Benson, Rollins, and Amaro sitting and talking together. Rollins saw me and said, "Morning, Jess!" I smiled widely, and Fin saw me as he entered the squad room. He jokingly teased me about my mood being better ever since I had gotten a boyfriend, and I smiled again. Fin added, "Man, I wanna meet this guy! I haven't seen you this happy since I was in Narcotics and you were at Staten Island!" I laughed and sheepishly replied, "I think he's stopping by today."

The entire team started going insane. Rollins and Benson started hounding me with questions, and Amaro and Fin started teasing me and thinking of ways to embarass me. Munch finally came to my rescue, laughing as he said, "Guys, leave poor Jess alone..." He got completely serious as he asked me, "But out of curiousity... When is your boyfriend coming?" I laughed at everyone's sudden attentiveness, and I answered, "He should be coming a little after lunch, at around 1:00 or 1:30." Everyone smiled widely, and I laughed at everyone's enthusiasm. I couldn't even begin to imagine the team's faces when they realized that it was Barba who I was dating.

The first half of the day went by quickly, and it was lunch already. Rollins brought back the pizza that we had ordered from down the street, and we all began to eat. I grabbed two slices of cheese pizza, and I felt my iPhone vibrate. All eyes were on me as I took out my phone, and I saw a text from Barba.

Hey, am I good to come up now? You can come back to the DA's office with me after I talk to you and the team.

I immediately responded to Rafael and locked my phone so that nobody could see it. I told Rafael that he was good to come up now, and my stomach immediately started getting queasy. I started to get nervous, and I had no clue why. I knew that the team already loved Barba.

A few minutes later, I got a text from Barba saying that he was in the building and on his way up to the squad room. The uneasy feeling in my stomach had subsided, and I was actually relieved that he was coming up. Maybe a minute later, I heard Captain Cragen say, "Hey, Barba. The squad's in the conference room, help yourself to some pizza." I looked over and saw Rafael walking toward the room that we were all in; it was me, Munch, Fin, Rollins, Benson, and Amaro. Barba entered the room and helped himself to a slice of pizza, and he sat in the empty chair next to me. Fin said, "You came just in time, Barba. Jess' boyfriend is coming to finally meet us."

It took all of my self control and effort not to start laughing hysterically. I peeked over at Barba, and he seemed amused, too. He smirked and played along, saying, "When's he supposed to get here?" Amaro replied, "He's supposed to be here any minute, right Jess?" I smirked and nodded, and I heard Benson finally whisper, "Oh my god..."

We all looked at her, and she looked blankly between Barba and I. She managed to string together words as she asked, "Is it...?" I blushed deeply, and Barba smiled triumphantly. I nodded, and Benson smiled widely. Rollins was starting to piece everything together, but Fin and Amaro were clueless. Munch had gone into Cragen's office to talk about a case, so it was just us. The lightbulb finally went off in Rollins' head, and she loudly exclaimed, "No way!" It wasn't out of protest, but out of excitement and shock. She smiled at the both of us, and now Fin and Amaro were looking at us with surprised expressions. Benson and Rollins came over to me and hugged me, and Benson said, "I never realized until today how perfect you guys are together." I smiled sheepishly, and Rollins added, "I never realized until today that you guys were a couple!" We laughed, and Fin and Amaro were still in shock that Rafael and I had completely played them.