Her Everything Ch 16

Warnings:Language.
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**

The next day Rafael welcomed you into his apartment warmly, you’d texted saying you were a little behind schedule, not that he minded the bit of extra time. Cat was on the couch happily munching on some cheese and crackers her attention completely taken over by Elena of Avalor.

“So?” You quirked a brow, accepting the cup of coffee from him, “How was it?”

“I..have learnt so much about mythical countries that don’t exist and I have no idea how I’m supposed to keep them all straight.” You let out a hearty laugh, missing the way Rafael’s eyes warmed at the sight of you truly happy for once.

“You’d be surprised how easy it is to figure out, I’m sure it won’t take you long Mr Ivy League.” You teased, “She was good though?”

“Yeah.” He hummed over a sip of coffee, “We played about fifty rounds of Candyland, there was lots of colouring, some dancing along to Elena, and someone seems to have inherited your obsession with tater tots…” He grinned at you over the rim of his coffee and you rolled your eyes.

“Potato counts as a vegetable…and if you air fry those cauliflower or broccoli cheddar ones they’re pretty good. Don’t judge me.”

“I could never.” He offered you a small smile,  “I commend you. It’s been less than a full day and I’m exhausted…four years..doing this full time plus a full time job? I honestly don’t think I could do it alone.”

“Well that’s the thing…I’m thankfully not alone. The squad helps out whenever they can, your Mom’s always more than willing to spend time with her, and…now she has her Dad.” You squeezed his arm softly, “think you could handle her for a full weekend?” He let out a huff of a laugh,

“Might need a few extra pots of coffee, but at least she goes to bed early.”

“I’m sure you could manage it.” You finished off your coffee, “I’ll chat with her, see how she feels about it. If she’s down and you’re free maybe you could take her next weekend? Friday after school to Sunday dinner? I added you to the approved pick up list, I can send a bag of essentials with her to school so she’s got everything she needs.”

“I’d like that.” Rafael warmly smiled, a relief spreading through him knowing that you were comfortable with this, that you were ready to actually do this. “You sure you’re okay with me having her two weekends in a row?

“I’m still on desk duty…remember? I’m literally just doing everyone’s paperwork, I could use the extra free time. Then we can start with alternating weekends? It’s not like Holidays will be a problem, we’re at Lucia’s for all of them anyways.”

“What about compensa—“ He was slightly surprised when you cut him off.

“No. I’m not about to talk legalities with you right now. You’re a lawyer, you have an unfair advantage if mine isn’t present.”

“Carisi?” You laughed, the smile still on your face as you turned back to him.

“You really think I’d let a junior A.D.A who chugs Pepto like water with a custody issue against a senior attorney?” He laughed, thankful for the playfulness still evident in your voice, “I didn’t know if you were coming back, and if you did how you would…behave…over the matter. Once your name was on that birth certificate I called Calhoun.”

“Rita? Really?”

“She’s the best of the best.”

“You’re not wrong.” He smirked. You sighed, glancing over towards the living room where Cata was still heavily entranced with the t.v.

“I don’t want you to think that I lawyered up to try and weasel you out of anything, I just wanted to do what was best for Catalina, it’s what she deserves.”

“I know..” internally you jumped at the sudden feeling of his hand on yours, giving it a reassuring squeeze, “but like you said, this is a conversation for another day.”

“Thanks.” You prayed your cheeks were as hot looking as they felt as you smiled, “I’ll swing by the firm and we can hash it out.”

“Sounds great.” His hand quickly dropped from yours as he turned towards the living room, his voice louder as he called out to your daughter, “Cata, time to go.” She turned with a pout on her lips,

“But ‘Lena..”

“No..” Rafael softly warned, “I’m sure Mami has Disney+, you can finish your episode at home.” You smiled at the way they interacted, and honestly, you were eager to be witness to more of it. Rafael really was stepping up into his role as a father. Still slightly pouting Cat jumped down from the couch, pattering towards the door where her bag was packed and ready to go. You helped her into her coat and shoes (that she insisted on velcro-ing herself).

“Say goodbye to Daddy.” Rafael crouched down so he could give her a proper hug, wrapping his arms tightly around her, kissing her cheek gently. There were small murmurings of goodbye and I love you’s between them before she retreated to you, grasping your hand. “I’ll call you later.” You gave him a soft smile, “Bye Raf.”

“I’ll see you soon.”

*

Not surprinsgly, Catalina was more than enthusiastic about her sleepover at her Dad’s, rattling on the entire way home about how much fun she had. You delved into the idea of spending an entire weekend with him and she was very excited at the concept. Once Rafael had spent his first full weekend with her and managed to make it through unscathed, you took the time to sit down and figure out all the details. Rita really was there more as a technicality, you and Rafael agreed on pretty much everything, there were just certain legalities that even he wasn’t sure of, not having a lot of experience in family law.

The next few months were spent peacefully co-parenting, much to the joy of everyone involved. The three of you always got together with Lucia on Sunday nights for dinner like before, making the Sunday night switch off even easier. There were some not so frequent during the week trade offs when you got swamped with cases, an overnight shift or undercover op that Rafael would end up picking Cata up from school for a day or two during the week. You were thankful she didn’t do too much bouncing around, sticking to a pretty regular schedule. You were also eternally grateful at how well Rafael was doing with her, you couldn’t help but smile at how much he’d grown, not just since returning to New York, but even longer. Back when you’d been together you’d both agreed that you didn’t want kids, you never thought the sassy brash A.D.A you’d been engaged to could ever be as incredible of a father that he turned out to be. You each had your solo days with Catalina, but also made sure to start including more whole family events, you’d meet for dinner out in the city, or have a little movie night at one of your apartments, in an attempt to make things as normal as possible for your daughter.

A few days before Christmas Rafael found himself at the 16th precinct working through a plea with Sonny and a client. Indulging with some small talk with Carisi on his way out, his hand had just hit the elevator button when he heard a shout coming from the entrance to the bullpen.

“Raf!” You jogged through the door, slowing as you approached them. You may have been completely unaware of the nickname used but he didn’t miss it (and honestly…neither did Sonny).

“Yeah?”

“Kat’s out with the flu and—“

“Is she okay?!” He instantly jumped into Dad mode and your face scrunched in confusion before you realized.

“Oh, fuck. Yeah, Catalina’s fine…Tamin’s out with the flu. I’m stuck covering her Christmas Eve shift, can we swap things around? You take Cata for Christmas Eve and I’ll just meet you at your place in the morning for presents like we planned before going to your Mami’s once mass is done? You can still have her Christmas night.”

“Of course! And you can keep her on Christmas, she deserves a Christmas night with her Mom.” You chuckled lightly in response,

“She’s had four years of that. It’s what we agreed upon, and…you can finally suffer through three watches in a row of the Muppets Christmas Carol.” Both Rafael and Sonny laughed at that,

“Okay.” Rafael smiled across at you, “I’m basically off from now ‘til New Years, let me know if I can help.”

“Thanks.” You gave the two of them a quick wave before turning and heading back to your desk as they stepped into the elevator.

“Seems like things are goin’ pretty good then?” Carisi asked, a smirk on his face as he turned toward the older man.

“Despite..everything..we’re making it work.”

“Well, for what it’s worth..and I never thought I’d say this to ya…from what I hear you’re a pretty incredible Dad.”

“Thanks Carisi…” There was only a slight tinge of sarcastic sass laced through Barba’s response as the two men stepped out of the elevator, heading their separate ways through the city.

*

Rafael picked Cata up from your place in the morning on the 24th, giving you plenty of time to relax a bit before you had to head into work. You normally would’ve been bored out of your mind in an empty precinct, instead smiling at the array of photos you got throughout the day. Rafael took Catalina through Central Park, playing with her in the snow, there were a few shots of her making tiny snow angels. A shot of a somewhat derpy snow man they built together, and Cata with a dollop of whip cream on her nose as they stopped for hot chocolate.

Once she was changed into Christmas PJ’s, and a plate of cookies and glass of milk left out for Santa, she curled up against Rafael on the couch for the Rudolph movie. In that moment, the Christmas decorations surrounding his living room, an old childhood favourite on the t.v, and his daughter snuggled up into his side giggling at the reindeer’s antics every so often, he felt like nearly everything had finally fallen into place, that nearly everything was perfect.

If Rafael thought toddlers woke up early on a regular basis, he was not prepared for the barely seven a.m. wake up call as Catalina raced through the room, jumping onto the bed, and successfully him in the process.

“It’s Christmas!!!” Her tiny excited voice rang through the room with a shrill, “Daddy wake up!”

“Oh-Kay..” He chuckled, rolling over as he sat up, snuggling against her deeply as she giggled. “Merry Christmas Cata.”

“Merry Chrismis.” Her teeny voice replied, another giggle echoing through the room as he tickled her sides softly, the laughter getting louder as she collapsed over onto the bed, his tickling fingers moving faster, one grasping at her foot as she flailed. “Daddy!”

“Okay, okay.” He surrendered, ducking to kiss her head gently, “You want some breakfast?”

“Presents!” Thankfully she still had her bear in her arms, struggling to crawl off the bed in her speed to get back to the living room.

“Uh-uh. Cata. You get your stocking from Santa right now that’s it, we’ve got to wait until Mami gets here for the rest.” She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest with a pout and God Rafael knew he was staring at a carbon copy of you in that instant. It was honestly lucky she didn’t push it, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stand ground otherwise.

“Otay.”

She reached her hand up, linking around his finger as they walked out to the living room, a surprised squeal escaping her lips at the extra decorations Rafael had put up after she went to bed. He flicked the switch to turn on the Christmas lights, smiling at the way her face shone in the glow, silently taking it all in. Catalina bounded into the living room towards the stockings as Rafael turned on the coffee pot, pulling a few things out of the fridge into the oven so there would be food ready when you got there.

“This one?!” He straighted up, looking over into the living room to see his daughter holding the stocking with the C embroidered into it,

“That’s right! Good job sweetheart!” He made his way into the living room as she giggled, tugging the stocking to the couch where she sat herself facing him. Her tiny hands digging into the fabric, gasping and squealing as she pulled a variety of small toys, trinkets and treats out. Rafael snapped a few photos on his phone to document, feeling like his cheek were about to split at just how happy Catalina was, and in turn, how happy he was to witness it.  

About twenty minutes later he was tugging food out of the oven, placing it on hot pads on the counter while pulling down some plates. Catalina was sat at the kitchen table, a mug of warm hot chocolate in front of her, loaded with marshmallows and whipped cream while Elena played on the iPad to keep her occupied. Your knock on the door came earlier than you’d stated, but Rafael had been expecting it, remembering how much you loved Christmas.

“Merry Christmas.” He greeted, pulling open the door.

“Merry Chris— Jesus it looks like Santa’s elves threw up in here, holy shit Rafael, you really went all out.”

“Well…you did say it yourself, Christmas is the only holiday that matters…” Your eyes shot up to his, a sudden softness in them he hadn’t seen in years, you felt your breath catch in your throat, knowing exactly what his words meant.

“Raf…” You could feel the bristling of too much emotion in your eyes, and honestly, you surprised both of you as you nearly launched into a tight hug, your voice muffled into his shoulder, “thank you.”

“You deserve it…both of you do…” your gaze drifted over to Catalina, eyes still trained on the iPad, blissfully unaware of the hot chocolate moustache gracing her face. You snorted at the view, squeezing Rafael’s arm in thanks as you made your way into the apartment.

“Momma!” The movement finally dragged Cata away from Elena, “presents!?” She looked excitedly between the two of you. You laughed, nuzzling against her face, kissing her cheeks, pausing to wipe away the moustache with a napkin.

“In a minute baby. Can we eat first? Momma’s starving!”

“Momma plleeeaaase?” You rolled your eyes, glancing over at Rafael, a grin on your face.

“Can I at least get a coffee first?”

“Yes.” Catalina proudly answered, jumping down from her chair. She not so patiently waited while Rafael poured you a mug, letting you dress it how you’d liked, you swiped a cranberry orange muffin from the tray as you made your way into the living room. You weren’t going to starve just because your child was a overly impatient and dramatic.

Everything was conveniently wrapped in specific wrapping paper, Catalina knowing that the ones in princess paper were for her (though, to be completely honest, 90% of the presents were) not that she was getting spoiled this year, but everything was wrapped individually to make her feel that way. She tore through them faster than you’d expected, a flurry of chattering coming from her as she opened each one, you casually reminding her to say thank you when needed. When she reached the end of it, she surprised you by instead of tearing open the packaging to start playing she tumbled over to the mantle, picking up the other two stockings, bringing them over to the couch where you and Rafael were seated.

“Here Momma.” She handed you one, passing the other one off to Rafael before returning back to her pile of new things, her attention fully on them.

“Raf…” you glanced across at him, “you didn’t have to-“

“Santa must’ve known you’d be here Christmas morning. Didn’t want you to feel left out.” He shot you a friendly wink that you playfully rolled your eyes at.

“Thank you.”

A few moments passed while your eyes moved between the t.v playing the Disney Parks parade and Catalina exploring her new presents (though her attention was on the t.v the second a princess showed up). Then your gaze turned to the tree in the corner and your brow scrunched,

“You get distracted with the other decorations or something?” You asked, nudging Rafael’s leg with your foot.

“Hmm?”

“Your tree’s a little on the bare side.” He glanced up, the pine had a strand of colourful lights, and a trail of silver garland wrapped around it but nothing else.

“I believe it was you who told me the first ornament on the tree needed to be the most important. All things considered…it’s the first Christmas with the three of us, I figured I’d wait.”

“Raf…” he shot you a smile as he leant forward, grabbing a gift in pink wrapping paper from under the tree.

“Catalina, would you like to come open this?”

“Yes!” She nearly shrieked, bounding toward him quickly, tearing the paper from the box, “Elena?!”

“Yes.” Rafael replied, opening the box and pulling the ornament out, “she goes on the tree. And I think you should pick the best spot for her.” He glanced over his shoulder at you as he scooped her up into his arms, standing to walk towards the tree.

Catalina hummed and hawed for a few minutes, babbling half English half toddler speak through the room. You’d moved from the couch to her other side, brushing some loose hair from her face as she picked the perfect place, wrapping the string of the ornament around a tree branch with an assist from you.

“Perfect job baby.” You kissed her cheek softly, smiling at the way she snuggled agaisnt Rafael. You couldn’t help your hand coming up to his shoulder, resting gently a moment before giving it a squeeze, “I’m sure Papi has some more decorations for the tree, would you like to help us finish decorating?”

“Yes!”

The rest of the morning went just like that, Catalina passed between you and Rafael as she picked spots for the rest of the ornaments, successfully bringing the Christmas tree to its full potential. You all munched on some Christmas delicacies and far too many treats, and way too much coffee for the grown ups. Cata passed out in your lap just after noon as a mindless Christmas movie played on the t.v, Rafael moved from the couch to start tidying up as you stayed snuggled with your daughter. And for once, for the first time in a very, very long time, everything felt right, everything felt so domestic you couldn’t help it. The two of you knew deep down it truly was just because it was the Holiday season, and neither of you had had a true family to spend it with in god knows how long, but for now, you’d take it.

A few hours passed and you nudged Catalina awake as it was time to head to Lucia’s for dinner. The family feeling extending into the evening as you indulged in incredible food and delicious wine. Cata showed off as many of her new presents to her Abuelita as she could, babbling on about how great this Christmas was and Lucia warmed at the thought of all three of you spending a very civil holiday together.

This time Catalina passed out in Rafael’s arms, which he warmed at even more than anything else. You reassured him that, as previously stated, she was to spend the night at his place. You gave Lucia a tight hug, kissing your sleeping daughter on the head, giving Rafael’s hand a gentle squeeze of reassurance before you bid them goodnight.

You knew the whole co-parenting thing had potential to be a fucking disaster, but you were more than happy with the way it seemed to be going so far. Sure, you still had your hesitancies every once in a while, but things were looking pretty damn good. You both respected each other’s schedule’s (it helped that you knew how demanding your jobs were), and there was never any fighting when you had to shift things around, everything was always kept equally balanced. To say that things were finally looking up…would be 100% accurate.