||{Barba's Student}|| COMPLETED

New Home, New Life

     I walked into the apartment, shocked at how nice it is.
     "Wow Barba. I'd think you'd have a mansion or something." I chuckled.
     "Are you crazy? I have food to buy. A mansion on its own would probably take most of my income to maintain. This is just a temporary money saver." He put his stuff down and took off his coat and his blazer.
     "Better than what I can uphold at entry level. I've still got loans to pay off." I smiled and made my way over to the couch to sit down. He shrugged and chuckled.
     "I'll go get your stuff, okay? I wanted to help you up the stairs first."
     "Sure, thanks."
     "Mmhm." He went down to grab my stuff and returned a few minutes later.
     "Here, I'll set up your stuff and you can use the guest room." He put my stuff down in a bedroom in the back.
     "Guest room?" I was curious so I turned to see where he went. He came back a couple seconds later.
     "Yeah, it was just an extra room that came with the place, so I used it as a guest room when my Abuelita would visit. Since she passed, I've just tried to keep it cleaned up as much as possible."
     "Oh my gosh I'm so sorry for your loss."
     "Don't worry about it, it was expected. I've gotten over the emotions." He smiled and helped me up. I smiled sympathetically as he took my hands to give me support to stand.
     "Well, that's good to hear, you know, that you've coped with it all." He walked with me to my room.
     "Believe me, it wasn't easy." He held the door for me and nodded to the room as I walked in.
     The room had a very nice and simple queen sized bed with sheets that seemed to be frequently washed, a lamp on a bedside table, a small television, and a very nice closet.
     "Wow it seems very homey. Thank you so much Barba!"
     "Don't worry about it, it's nothing trust me," he pointed out my bags, "I'll leave you to yourself, let me know if you need any ice or anything."
     "Thanks Rafael." I smiled.
     "My pleasure (Y/N)."
•
I sighed as I pulled one leg of my pants up. I tugged the other leg, slowly but I flinched in pain as it pushed over my cast. After I got the sweatpants and a t-shirt from Harvard that I got at graduation on, I grabbed my crutches. I was taught how to pull myself up, but it wasn't easy as I naturally put pressure on my bandaged foot. I slowly stood up and walked over to the door. I opened it, tipping over a bit due to the excess weight on my right side.
"Woah..." I huffed as I pushed the door open. I slowly made my way over to find Barba. I needed to grab my case file.
"Barba?" I looked and saw he was in the kitchen at the table.
"What's up?" He looked up at me and stood up.
"Can I take a look at my case file for Belken? I've got some calls to make."
"(Y/N), you're hurt. The precinct will get back to you when they come across anything."
"I've got work to do, Barba. I'm gonna do it whether you like it or not. It's my job to bring her family hope and closure for her murder. I know that if it was someone you were fighting for, you would work if you were in my position. I can do it." I spoke seriously. He nodded and pulled out a manila folder from a case that was on the floor next to him. He said it over to me.
"Thank you." I smiled. He grinned a bit and we both got to work.
•
"Dinner?" He looked up at me a few hours later as I closed the folder and my notebook.
"How long have we been working out here?"
"It's been about," he looked at his watch, "3 hours. It's already 7:00. I can order in or we can go to someplace."
"With my foot?"
"Oh yeah," he chuckled, "but I think if you want to I can arrange something, put a pillow to rest your foot on in the car, pull up an extra chair or something for a footrest at the restaurant. Whatever you want."
     "That would be amazing, thanks so much Barba." I smiled.