Strong [A Barson Fan Fic]

- 4 -

Olivia was in the middle of her shorter Sunday shift, when a very put together older blonde approached her. Olivia was in the middle of cleaning out the dressing rooms when she was approached.

"Olivia Benson?" The woman sighed, and Olivia turned around and smiled, but her smile faded when she realized who she was.

"Mrs. Mount, how can I help you?" Olivia spoke.

"Is it true that you are pregnant?" She asked, and Olivia nodded slowly.

"Just shy of three months. Why?" Olivia sighed.

"Because it's my son's child, and he wants nothing to do with it."

"Yeah, I know. We talked yesterday. He told me that he didn't want to mess things up with Gillian. So I told him that it was fine and that I wouldn't let anyone know that he's the father. Danny doesn't have to be anything that he doesn't want to be." Olivia spoke, as she hung up a dress shirt before moving to put the jeans back in their spots.

"Well, I would like a say in this all. Are you still living at home with your mother?" Mrs. Mount asked.

"No, ma'am. I have an apartment of my own. Plenty of space for my baby." Olivia sighed. Danny was eighteen and could sign away his rights without his parents' say. And Olivia was nearly eighteen herself so the Mounts didn't really get too much of a say unless they went to a judge.

"You are a child, Olivia. Don't you think that a child shouldn't be raising a child?"

"Actually, I think that my child will help me grow up more. I will love him or her no matter what." Olivia sighed.

"That's not what I-"

"Mrs. Mount, your son wants nothing to do with the baby. The baby was an accident, but I will love this baby and make sure it knows that I wanted it even if their father wasn't ready."

"We will be willing to pay you money if you-"

"You will not be buying my child! It's my baby! I will be it's mother and as far as I'm concerned, it will not have any grandparents! So back off and leave me alone!" Olivia cried, as she wrapped her arms around her midsection. 

"My husband and I will not back down easily. So either-"

"Either get out of my store or I'll call the cops." The manager on the schedule spoke, as he moved between his employee and the woman that was harassing her.

"Olivia, you are too young and dumb to raise a child."

"And you are too focused on your life and money to warn your son that unprotected sex can lead to babies. He didn't even think that it could ever happen."

///

Olivia was in tears by the time her shift came to an end. All she could think about was getting offered money to give her child up. Her baby wasn't up for sale, and never would be. She planned on raising her baby, and making sure he or she was loved and taken care of. She had wanted to be a mother for so long, that thinking about losing that chance scared the shit out of her.

"Uh, are you Olivia?" A man asked, as she came up to Olivia and gently touched her arm. She was standing in a deli near her apartment and was picking up something to eat, but had been too out of it to hear when her name was called.

"Y-yeah... what's wrong?" Olivia breathed, as she wiped tears from her cheeks. 

"Your sandwich is ready, I think. Do you want me to grab it for you?" He asked, and Olivia shook her head as she forced a smile.

"No, but thanks for offering. Sorry." Olivia spoke quickly, before stepping forward and grabbing the bag that had her name scrawled on the front.

Olivia moved out of the busy restaurant before moving to a bench on the side of the building. She sat down slowly and tried to calm herself down enough that she could walk home and get there in one piece.

"Olivia... sorry to bother you. But are you okay?" The man from inside asked. Olivia looked up and bit her lip as she looked at him.

"Just having a really bad few days... thanks for asking." Olivia breathed.

"Do you want me to sit with you?"

"You don't have too." Olivia replied with a sigh. She felt incredibly embarrassed since she drew so much attention to herself inside that a complete stranger was worried about her.

"My mother always told me that when you see someone in distress, that you should see if they could use someone to talk too."

"Oh really?" Olivia said with a weak smile.

"Yeah. She always told me to feed them if I could, but I can't cook anything compared to what she can cook... and you already have food." He chuckled.

"What's your name?" Olivia said with a little bit of a stronger smile.

"Rafael. Rafael Barba." He spoke, as he reached his hand out to Olivia.

"Olivia Benson... it's nice to meet you."

"You too... wanna dig into our sandwiches?" He asked, and Olivia nodded slowly.

"Yeah. Might as well."

///

Olivia and Rafael ate in silence for nearly an hour before they were finished. Rafael gathered up the trash before throwing it away and moving back to the bench.

"Olivia, I know that we just met and all... but would you want me to walk you home? Make sure that you get home safely?"

"Thank you for offering, but I already took up too much of your time. Thanks for sitting with me, but I should let you get back to what you are doing." Olivia spoke softly. She stood up slowly, as she raked her fingers through her hair.

"Of course... uh, I'm going to give you my number just in case." He smiled. Rafael quickly dug through his brief case for his card, before handing it to Olivia. 

"You work at a law firm?" Olivia asked, as she read the card before shoving it into her pocket.

"Yup. I'm going to law school at night and being an assistant during the day."

"Can I ask you for advice sometime? Legal advice? I can pay-"

"No need to pay! I'm more than willing to help." Rafael smiled. Even if their first meeting was when Olivia was crying and having one of the worst days of her life, he still thought she was cute and liked the way she wanted to ask him questions. He liked the tiny bit of attention he was getting from her.

"I'll keep that in mind... I just have a lot of questions, but don't know if I'll ever need them answered."

"Ask when you want, Olivia. I'm always ready to answer."