blues and greens (barson)

vi.

The apartment was alive with children laughing and food cooking.
Rafael stood at the bar, chopping onions small to slip into meatballs as Liv stood at the stove stirring sauce.
On the way here, they swung past his apartment so he could grab some clothes and a few files to work on in case he had time. He was wearing an old Harvard hoodie and his black slacks.
Liv was wearing a grey t-shirt with some jeans and had her hair pinned up.
"Aspen, look!" Noah yelled as he finished whatever he was building with his portion of Legos.
"Wait, how did you get that to fit?" She asked, astounded.
And he launched into an explanation, lowering the structure to show her where each piece went to make it happen.
"Look what I built," she said proudly following the lesson.
"Hang on, you're missing something," he said and he started digging through his little bucket.
"Is it bad?" Aspen asked.
"No it's great, it just needs," he began, once he found whatever it was he reached over and poked it into her structure, "a flag! It can't be a pirate ship without a flag."
They both laughed.
"Can I take a picture of both of you with your creations?" Rafa inquired.
"Please, Uncle Rafa!"
"Yeah!" Aspen cheered.
Liv watched as they both held them up and Rafael moved to take the photo of them with his phone.
Once the photos had been taken, the two of them got to work disassembling what they'd built, talking about what they were going to build next.
"You should go join them," Liv said, moving to stand next to Rafael who'd returned to the cutting board.
"I'm helping with dinner."
"The water is almost boiling and the sauce is almost done."
"I'll go once the meatballs are in the oven."
She sighed and conceded and they worked together to get everything ready for him to go join the kids.
They decided to throw some garlic bread into the oven, too.

Once the meatballs were in and the pasta was on, he turned, "you're sure?"
"You'll be right there and if I need anymore help I'll ask."
"If I get down on that floor I might not get back up."
She laughed, bumping her shoulder against his, "just go, Raf. It'll be fine."
Rafael smiled and headed toward the living room, "can I play with you guys?"
The kids cheered and immediately started redistributing Legos so there were enough for all three of them to build with.
Liv stirred the pasta and set the sauce to simmer before leaning against the bar to watch the three play.
"What are you making?" Rafa leaned toward Aspen.
"It's a secret, this one's a competition."
"Wait, a competition?" Rafael sounded shocked, "you didn't warn me? Who is the judge?"
"Momma," Noah said, his eyes not leaving the project he's working on.
"I don't remember signing up to be a judge," Liv added.
"We decided it would be you and Rafa but since he's playing now too, it's just you," Aspen explained matter-of-factly.
Liv nodded.
When her phone started ringing, Noah looked up and his face fell.
Rafael noticed, "what's wrong, kiddo?"
"The phone ringing usually means work."
Aspen looked over.
"Well, even if momma has to go to work for a bit, I'll stay here with you both. Would that be okay?"
Noah looked at the older man and contemplated, "only if you'll read a bedtime story with the voices like you used to for me and Aspen."
"Of course."
Liv answered Amanda's call and went a few steps down the back hall as she answered it.
"Benson."
"Hey, Liv. Wanted to update you on what we've found."
"Go ahead."
"These financials are seriously outta wack," Fin said, his voice a bit further away.
"How do you mean?"
"Well, we have not been able to determine a set price for anything, or even a set starting price. Everything is different. It's not like for sample freezing it starts at like a grand. It's like you're paying four grand, Fin's paying eleven hundred, I'm paying eight hundred grand, Barba is paying eight grand. Like, no two people are paying the same price and some things are completely out of left field," Amanda explained.
"There's one statement here for three quarters of a million for IVF and a half a mill for equipment but we looked up the equipment retailer and it's a private LLC overseas," Fin added.
The more Liv heard, the more concerned she got.
"When did this start?" She inquired.
"In 2015."
"Month?"
"Well, January. With some research it looks like the previous owner of the facility passed away in October of 2014 and then her two kids took over. Seems like things have been slowly growing more and more shady since," Amanda offered.
"Alright. Reach out to Carisi first thing tomorrow for a facility-wide subpoena. Head home, all three of you, get some rest."
"Alright, Cap," Fin said.
"Have a nice night, Liv."
Distantly she heard something from Velasco but the call was done before she could say anything else.
She made her way back into the kitchen and finished making dinner while Rafael and the kids built their Legos. She could hear quiet bickering and laughter but she just focused on the food and the whole feeling in her chest.