Strong [A Barson Fan Fic]

- 6 -

Olivia felt a little better about her situation the next morning. Rafael was going to help her, and she prayed that his boss would agree to help her and make the Mounts go away for good. Olivia still didn't understand why Danny's parents thought that they had any claim to a child that they didn't help create and why they couldn't just work with Olivia instead of trying to rip her child from her grasp.

"We need to talk." Danny grumbled as soon as he saw Olivia walking towards the front doors of the store. She was opening, so no one else was there yet. 

"Why are you here?" Olivia sighed as she tugged her beanie down over her ears.

"My parents... they want the kid."

"Yeah, I know. Your mother just loves coming here and demanding that I give her the baby. The baby that is still growing inside of me." Olivia sighed.

"Can't you just give it to them? So they can back off of me?" Danny sighed. Olivia's eyes went wide as she ran her fingers over her forehead.

"Danny, my baby isn't for sale. It's custody will remain mine because I'm its mother. I could give less of a fuck if your parents are on your back because of this all. You and I created this baby, but then you just walked away. You said you wanted nothing to do with it, but you still told your parents." Olivia said as she jingled the keys in her hand.

"Olivia, they deserved to know that they were going to have a grandchild running around."

"I am keeping my promise. I'm not telling anyone from school about the baby. It's not yours in my mind. Why can't it be the same in yours and your parents minds?"

"Olivia-"

"Danny, I have to open. Please, just leave me alone. My manager will be here soon, and I don't need to get in trouble because you are here."

"Olivia!"

"My baby is my baby. I have plans on raising this baby. I will stay up all night and take care of him or her while they are sick. I will love it no matter what and with my whole heart. So leave me alone and pass that message on to your parents."

///

That night, Rafael was home alone since his mother and grandmother were helping out with some function at their church, when someone started pounding on the apartment door.

Rafael sat his pencil down before quickly moving to the front door. In between knocks, he could hear sobbing, so he knew it was Olivia. He opened the door and frowned when he saw her.

"What happened?" He asked gently, as Olivia quickly shoved a large orange envelop into his hands.

"T-this is what happened... I-i got this on my l-lunch break." Olivia struggled to speak.

Rafael nodded as he helped Olivia into the apartment and over to the sofa. He opened the envelop and sank down beside Olivia as he read through the paperwork.

"Did you read this at all?" Rafael asked, and Olivia swallowed hard as she nodded a bit.

"Kinda. It says that the Mounts are requesting custody of the baby... right?"

"It does. This is their petition to adopt the baby and to terminate your prental rights. The judge will see this as a bad attempt to scare you. You aren't even close to your due date, and this is just them showing you that they have money and power." Rafael spoke, as he reached out and gently rubbed Olivia's back.

"S-so I haven't lost my baby yet?" Olivia sniffled, as she wiped the tears from her cheeks with the sleeve of her shirt.

"No, you haven't. My boss is still at the office... do you want to go talk to him tonight?" Rafael asked, and Olivia shook her head.

"No... like I want to get more advice and see if Danny's parents can be shut up, but I'm so tired... I just want to sleep forever." Olivia breathed.

"Well, then let me show you my room. You can crash here so then you aren't alone." Rafael spoke, and Olivia shook her head.

"N-no, Rafa... I can't do that. I'm not taking your bed when I have my own on the otherside of town."

"You are upset. You need to sleep and I don't want to worry about you possibly getting into a car accident on the way home because you are too upset and tired."

"But-"

"You can change into some of my pajamas and I'll make you some tea. Does that sound good?" Rafael asked, as he looked at Olivia. She gnawed on the inside of her cheek for a moment before nodding slightly.

"It sounds great... no one ever takes care of me."

"I can take care of you when you allow me too." He smiled weakly, before his eyes went wide as Olivia pressed a kiss to his lips. Rafael made Olivia lean back before shaking his head.

"You are upset and I will not take advantage of that. Now, follow me. I'll get you all set up in my room and then get to that tea."

///

Rafael's grandmother and mother got home around eleven that night. When they got home, Rafael was still up and working on homework in between checking on Olivia. She passed out even before she got to drink the tea that he made for her.

"Is the heat not working again? It's making a rumbling noise." Lucia sighed, as she came into the apartment and kept her jacket on.

"The heat's working. It's just snoring." Rafael yawned.

"Who's snoring?" Catalina asked, as she walked passed her grandson and gently patted his shoulder.

"Olivia." 

"Olivia's sleeping here?" Lucia asked, and Rafael nodded.

"She came over tonight and was crying again. The grandparents had her served with papers for their adoption request and her rights terminated. It's nothing for her to worry about. They are just trying to scare her, and it worked. I'm taking her to work tomorrow to talk to my boss and see if he can get those people to back off." 

"Are we just going to ignore the fact that you have a big crush on her, love?" Catalina asked, as she walked out of the kitchen and smiled at her beloved grandson.

"Abuela..." Rafael breathed as he blushed.

"Did she kiss you?" Lucia mused, as she passed her son a tissue.

"Huh?"

"You have lipstick on your lips." Catalina chuckled.

"Okay... yes she kissed me. She's overwhelmed and said that no one has ever taken care of her before. She's confused and I stopped her. I wouldn't take advantage of her, and I think that once I'm done helping her... that she'll be done with me too."