Objection | SVU

Chapter 10

It was 11:30pm, and I was sitting on the floor in the living room, with my back leaning against the couch. I was flipping through my notes and my Bar exam review books, and I was on what had to have been my 5th cup of coffee since I started studying at around 8pm. I was starting to look at the Rape Shield Law, and I heard keys rattling in the door. I completely disregarded the sound, and I looked back at my notes.

I heard Rafael greet me, "Hey, Jess... You're still up?" I nodded, not even looking at him. He sighed and advised, "You should take a break. Get some sleep. Maybe get up early in the morning if you feel like you really need to study." I scoffed and replied in an agitated tone, "Raf, please leave me be. I need to study tonight." Rafael sighed again; he already knew that simply getting me to put down my review materials would be one hell of a fight... But he tried anyway.

I felt Rafael sit on the couch, and he moved over so that he was sitting right behind me. His legs were crossed so that he was sitting with his left leg crossed and tucked under his right leg, which was hanging over the side of the couch. I felt him comb his fingers through my hair. I huffed out a breath in frustration, warning Rafael that I didn't want to be bothered. "I want to help, cariño." He said caringly. I snapped back, "Fine. You want to help? Leave me be, Rafael."

The first day of my 3-day Bar exam was tomorrow, and I was freaking out. I had been studying since I had graduated law school, and I had been reviewing everything I could at every possible moment. I was extremely stressed, and Rafael knew that. For this reason, he complied with my demand and backed off. He went into the bedroom, and a small pang of guilt struck at my heart as I watched him walk away. I felt bad for yelling at him, but I needed to study.

*

The three days that I had taken the Bar exam were finally over, and now I had to wait for the New York State Board of Law Examiners to release the pass/fail list online. I had stayed in a hotel in Albany, and Rafael had taken the day off to come and meet me after the exam, and drive us back to the city. I had no clue how he managed to get the day off, but he told me not to worry about it. I looked up from my phone to see his black Mercedes pulling up to pick me up. I smiled in relief as I opened the car door and got in with Rafael, immediately smiling. I looked behind me and saw that he had already gotten my bags and belongings from the hotel, and the next thing I knew, we were on I-87, beginning the 2 hour drive back into Manhattan.

As Rafael drove, I suddenly blurted out, "Rafi, I'm so sorry." He looked over at me with a confused expression, and I continued, "I'm sorry that I lashed out on you in the weeks following up to the Bar... I know that you were just trying to calm me down, and I'm so sorry." Rafael's right hand gripped my left one, and he squeezed it. He said plainly, "Jess, I know how stressful the Bar is... I understand." I sighed and replied, "That didn't give me a reason to yell at you. I'm sorry." He smiled over at me and replied, "It's okay, Jess. I knew that you were under alot of pressure, and that you were going to snap... I could tell." I still felt guilty, and I said, "Okay... I'm sorry." Rafael scoffed, rolled his eyes, and replied, "Jess, you can stop saying sorry now." I blushed, and Rafael laughed as he continued to drive.

After a few minutes in silence, he asked the question that I knew he was dying to ask. "How do you think you did?" I squirmed in my seat, and I answered, "I feel good. There was an essay about the Rape Shield Law, and since we've had so many cases that used that in the SVU, I knew how to apply it and use it... I'm just nervous." Rafael used his thumb to rub the back of my hand, like he always did when I needed some calming down. He smiled back at me proudly and said, "I'm sure you did great, Jess."

Eventually, after a 2 hour long car ride, we were back in Manhattan. Now the real wait began. As we entered my apartment, Rafael took my bags from me and held the door. I had to admit, I missed his chivalry. I tried to snatch my bags back from him, but he pulled them away and walked toward the bedroom. He put everything from my travel bag into a hamper, and he went into the laundry room and put everything in the washer. He walked back out into the kitchen, and I was following him like a little puppy dog. He reached into the fridge and grabbed a bottle of wine, and I followed his lead and got two wine glasses. He popped the cork, poured the wine, and said, "To being done with the Bar." I smirked as we hit our glasses together, saying, "Cheers to that."

As we sipped our wine, Rafael smirked widely and said, "I know what will get your mind off of the Bar results..." He slid a catalog across the table, and I saw it- it was a wedding catalog. I hadn't even thought about the wedding since I had been studying for my Bar exam. I smiled up at Rafael and replied, "That's tempting, but right now, I want to spend some quality time with you." Rafael shrugged his shoulders and asked, "What can I do for you, cariño?" I felt butterflies in my stomach as the Spanish rolled off of his tongue. I sauntered over to him, wrapping my arms around his torso and leaning my head on his chest, saying, "Just stay like this." He laughed, and I felt the laughter reverberate through his chest. I felt his arms wrap around my neck; we fit together perfectly.

We stayed in this position for at least 10 minutes, and I felt so at home. Rafael was my refuge and my strength, and being with him was something that I had learned to value more over the years. When we separated, Raf asked me, "Do you want to make celebratory waffle sundaes?" I sighed and began, "I'd love that Raf, but we don't have anything that we-" Rafael cut me off as he opened the freezer. I saw everything that we needed: multiple different kinds of ice cream, frozen strawberries, frozen blueberries, and toppings galore. I looked on the top of the fridge and saw brownie mix, along with some other toppings. "You didn't..." I trailed off, smiling like an idiot. He smiled back at me, grabbed the brownie mix, and put it in the waffle maker.

Tonight would be interesting.

*

My return to the squad was anything but subtle. Captain Cragen was in his office when I entered the squad room, and I saw the entire squad sitting around a table eating breakfast. I snuck up behind them and sarcastically asked, "Save any for me?" Liv jumped in surprise, and she snapped around and smiled as soon as she saw me. She gave me a big hug, handed me a donut and a coffee, and asked, "How was the Bar?" I sighed as the entire squad looked at me. I admitted, "It was really hard." Fin piped up, saying, "I'm sure you did great, Jess. When do you get the results?" I told them that I had to wait a few weeks, which meant over a month, maybe two, to get my results. Rollins asked, "How do you feel like you did?" I answered, "I feel like I did good, it just challenged me."

Captain Cragen came out to meet all of us, and he gave me a brief welcome back. He then proceeded to tell us that there was a case evolving this morning, and he sent Munch and I to check it out. As Munch drove us through Midtown Manhattan, he must have sensed my nerves and my uneasiness, because he said, "Jess, you'll be fine. I'm sure you did great on the Bar. I'm glad you're back though, because I've been stuck going with Fin and Cragen everywhere. I'm glad to have my partner back." I smiled at Munch and said, "Thanks, Munch. You're the best."

We arrived at the scene to see the victim being transported to the closest hospital. CSU hadn't gotten here yet, but the precinct officers had done a pretty good job of preserving the crime scene. We flashed our badges at them and stepped over the yellow tape, examining the scene. There were trace amounts of blood on the sidewalk, and I found what looked like some parts of the vic's clothes that were torn off. Munch said, "Well, we know that something definitely happened here... The question is, what does the rape kit say?"

Munch and I continued looking around the crime scene, and Liv and Amaro were on their way to the hospital to meet with the victim. Rollins and Fin were back at the office, going through databases and previous cases. After we got an update from Amaro, Munch and I returned to the squad room back at the precinct to help Fin and Rollins weed through the previous cases.

Even though I was nervous about my Bar exam result, I ws happy that I was back at work, helping people who need it.

[A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, but the next one will be slightly time-hopped, and Jess' Bar exam results should come in! There might even be a little bit of wedding planning...]