A/N: We're getting down to the end, folks. I'm thinking one more chapter and then an epilogue to wrap things up. Thanks so much for your patience as I slowly work to unweave this mess of a web that I've created for myself. As always your views and comments mean the world!

It was late when Olivia was finally shown to Rafael's room. Visiting hours had long ago ended, but luckily her years of work finding justice for their patients had earned Olivia some clout with the hospital staff.

She stopped outside of his door, taking a deep breath and steeling herself for what she might see before she walked inside. Even though she'd prepared herself, her breath still caught in her throat at the sight of him.

He was still asleep, looking relatively peaceful given the extent of his injuries. There was a white gauze bandage near his right temple, and even in the dim room she could see where a dark purple bruise bloomed beyond its borders. His right leg wasn't covered by the blanket, his knee in a complicated looking brace, and his right arm was in a sling, resting across his chest. A cannula delivered oxygen to his nose and an IV was inserted in his left forearm, the tubing connected to a bag of clear liquid—saline, she assumed—hanging on the pole near the head of the bed.

But even with all of that, what steadied her, what reassured her, was the steady rhythm of his heart beat on the monitor and the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. That was all that mattered. The rest would heal.

Doing her best to be quiet, she pulled the only chair in the room over to the left side of the bed, scooting it as close as space would allow. Once seated, she reached out to gently take his hand and she felt the relief once again bubble up in her chest as she felt his warm skin on hers. The doctors had told her that he'd be okay, her own eyes had seen that he was okay, but touching him, feeling his hand beneath hers, made it real.

He stirred and she looked up at his face just as his eyes slowly slid open. His pupils were dilated from the medication he was on and they weren't as sharp as they normally were, but she'd never been so grateful to look into that beautiful shade of green.

"Liv," he smiled, a loopy, soft smile that he didn't seem to have full control over.

"Hey," she said softly, reaching out to brush back the curl of hair that had fallen over his forehead. "I'm so happy to see you."

He stared at her for a moment, head rolling to the side to face her. "You're pretty."

Olivia laughed. "And you're on good drugs." She'd been at the hospital for so many hours she'd lost count, she was sure she looked like a mess.

"No, no, no. You—" He tried to wave his right arm in protest, but looked down at the sling with confusion. "Why is my arm in a hammock?"

Olivia genuinely thought about recording him because Rafael Barba high out of his mind on pain killers deserved to be immortalized, but she knew he'd kill her once he found out about it, so she just committed the scene to memory instead.

"You, well we, were in an accident," she told him, using the same soft tone she used with victims. She had a feeling when the drugs wore off she'd have to explain it again. "You were hurt."

He looked at her, eyes narrowed like he was trying his best to remember. "You were mad at me," he said finally and looked distraught at the thought.

Olivia sighed, thinking that now was definitely not the time to get into all of that. "Yes, I was, but what's important right now is that you get better. We'll worry about all the other stuff later." She knew it wasn't entire true. There were things she had to worry about now, like stopping Willard from continuing to terrorize them, but that was on her.

"I'm tired," Rafael said, even as his eyes started to close. "But don't leave, okay?"

Olivia smiled at him softly, squeezing his hand. "I'm not going anywhere."

Carisi was pouring a cup of coffee, much needed after a night spent in the crib, when Rollins stuck her head into the breakroom. "DiCarlo's here," she said before ducking back out again.

Whatever Willard was paying Lafferty, it must not have been much because he hadn't been able to get a lawyer down to the precinct until that morning. Not that it bothered Carisi any. He was pretty sure one night in holding would be enough for a guy like Lafferty to realize that he wasn't cut out for prison.

It had also given them time to process some of the evidence found at his apartment and despite his lack of sleep, Sonny had a feeling that they were all finally going to have a good day.

Bringing his paper coffee cup with him, Sonny walked out into the bullpen, finding ADA DiCarlo speaking with Rollins. "Appreciate you comin' in on a Sunday, Counselor."

Surprising none of them, Lafferty's lawyer had started tossing around the word 'deal' not ten minutes after he'd sat down with his client.

"It's the least I could do after what happened to Mr. Barba." DiCarlo told him.

"Well, let's get this party started," Carisi grabbed a folder off of his desk and gestured with it, indicating that the ADA should lead the way.

"My client wants immunity before he tells you anything," Lafferty's lawyer, a skinny man with sharp features, demanded before Sonny had even shut the door to the interrogation room.

Danielle scoffed, pulling out one of the metal chairs before taking a seat. "I get that it's the Sabbath, but your client won't be getting any miracles out of me, Mr. Fletcher. We have enough to charge him with murder. There's no way he's walking out of this unscathed."

"Murder? Don't be ridic—"

Carisi, who had settled into the chair next to DiCarlo, cut the lawyer off by pulling an evidence bag from the file and sliding it across the table. "We found the letters that Willard sent you, his instructions. I gotta admit it was a good move, two tech geniuses like yourselves going old school. Willard knew that only incoming mail is inspected. Too bad you weren't smart enough to get rid of them."

"All this does is prove even further that my client was a pawn in all of this," Fletcher argued.

Sonny ignored him and continued to speak directly to Adam. "We also have the communication that you sent to Swain and BX9, passing along Willard's orders. That makes you responsible."

"That's impossible! I dele—" Lafferty stopped when he realized his mistake, but Carisi still counted it as a victory, raising his eyebrows.

DiCarlo leaned forward, looking Lafferty in the eye. "You know, in prison you get very few choices. When you eat, when you sleep, when you shower, hell, even when you piss, is decided for you. So before you're locked in a cell for the better part of the rest of your life, I'll do you a favor and let you make one of my decisions for me. Am I filing first degree murder charges against you, Mr. Lafferty, or merely manslaughter charges?"

Sonny couldn't help but think that Barba would approve of the line as he watched the true weight of what he was up again settle on Lafferty.

Fletcher leaned in and whispered in his client's ear while Danielle looked over at Sonny and rolled her eyes. They both knew what the outcome would be. Adam mumbled something back and Fletcher nodded, turning back to Danielle and Sonny. "Fine, but he'll need protection. You've seen what Willard is capable of."

"That can be arranged," DiCarlo acquiesced before sitting back in her chair, waiting for the deluge of information to come pouring out of Lafferty.

Despite lack of sleep, a shower, or a real meal, Olivia was feeling better than she had in days. Her detectives were finally making headway on the case and Rafael was doing well. After his knee surgery, which was scheduled for the next morning, he'd be completely on the mend. They'd dialed back the dosage on his meds, so that, while he still wasn't in much pain, he was more himself. Which really just meant that he was very grouchy, but Olivia would take grouchy over unconscious any day.

"Mami, my pillow is fine, can you please just leave it alone?" He was grousing as Olivia walked into his room, which was now full near to overflowing with balloons, flowers, and gift baskets. It seemed that everyone who had ever had contact with Rafael had sent their well wishes (even Buchanan had sent a fruit basket), and it seemed to Olivia that Rafael's surly demeanor hadn't worked as he'd hoped to keep people at arm's length.

"You can't be comfortable at that angle." Lucia reached for the pillow anyway and Rafael fixed her with a withering look.

Lucia had arrived early that morning, the agent at her side looking a little rough around the edges as he'd left her in Olivia's care. Olivia could only imagine how the long drive had gone and didn't blame the agent for nearly jogging out of the hospital.

"My neck is fine," Rafael insisted. "It's practically the only thing on my body that isn't injured and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Lucia, here's your tea." Olivia held out the paper cup, hoping to spare her any additional biting words from her son, but also to stop her from fussing over him. It wasn't good for Rafael to get all worked up and so far that's all Lucia's presence had done.

"Thank you, Olivia." Lucia took the cup from her and sat back down in the chair by the bed.

Olivia just raised her eyebrows at him when he mouthed a silent 'thank you,' taking a sip of her own tea. She noticed her mistake when he narrowed his eyes at the cup.

"I would murder someone for a cup of coffee."

"Rafi," Lucia chided and Rafael rolled his eyes.

"As soon as the doctor says it's okay," Olivia promised. "Speaking of, did I miss rounds?" She'd done her best to stay nearby, hoping to get any update on Rafael's condition, but she'd ducked out quickly to make a cafeteria run when Lucia had expressed a wish for tea.

Rafael shook his head, frowning. "No. I've seen hide nor hair of anyone with an MD this morning. I thought this was supposed to be one of the best hospitals in New York. I can only imagine the neglect going on at the less reputable ones."

"Maybe I can go see what the hold up is," Olivia offered, ignoring his overdramatic reaction, but Rafael stopped her.

"Actually," he turned to Lucia. "Mami, would you mind checking for me? I'd like to speak to Liv alone for a moment."

"Of course," Lucia said easily and Rafael was grateful.

When Lucia was out of the room, door closed behind her, he looked over at Olivia, his expression softening for the first time. "Hi."

"Hi," she smiled, leaning down to kiss him softly on the lips before taking the chair that Lucia had vacated. It was the first time they'd been alone since he'd woken up. Well, the first time when he wasn't high as a kite. She still hadn't gotten a chance to tell him about that, but it could wait.

He reached out his free hand to her and she thread her fingers through his. "I love you. Thank you for being here. Thank you for putting up with my mother."

She squeezed his hand. "I love you, too, which is why I put up with your mother." It was a joke and he took it as such. Olivia and Lucia got along quite well and Rafael was convinced that his mother liked Olivia more than she liked him. "And where else would I be?"

He was truly grateful for Liv's presence, both here now and in his life, and he'd love to spend all day telling her that, but he knew he only had moments before his mother returned and his expression slipped into something more serious.

Olivia had seen that look hundreds of times, usually in court or in an interrogation room. She started shaking her head before he'd even opened his mouth to speak. "No, we're not talking about the case right now."

Any other time he might be amused that she could read him so well, but not right then. "Liv."

"Don't 'Liv' me. You need to worry about getting better. We can deal with the rest later."

"Please?" It was word he so rarely spoke, at least in the soft, pleading tone that he was using now, and Olivia felt her resolve crumbling.

Finally, she sighed heavily and Rafael smartly kept the victorious smile off of his face, waiting instead for her to give the information that he was after. "We really don't have that much yet. DiCarlo came through with the search warrant on Adam Lafferty's apartment. They're still sifting through everything. Rollins texted me when I was down in the cafeteria that Lafferty was about to spill his guts in exchange for a deal."

"What kind of deal?" he asked sharply.

"I honestly don't know. Does it matter? If he gives us what we need to stop Willard?"

It did matter. To him it mattered, but he dropped it. "I didn't get a chance to tell you," he said instead, both of them quiet for a moment, thinking about why he hadn't had a chance to tell her whatever it was. He cleared his throat finally, continuing. "I don't know if it will help, but I think I know why Willard had Swain killed."

"Oh?" Olivia wasn't expecting that.

"He was too flashy, theatrical, with the notes and the knife and all that. It annoyed Willard, so he had BX9 take him out and then take over. Their methods were more efficient." Rafael explained as if he were talking about any other case.

Why didn't it surprise her that Willard wanted the murders to be straightforward, quick and to the point? It just fit in with what she already knew about his personality. She didn't get to say as much because Lucia returned, a sharp knock on the door the only warning before she pushed it open.

"The nurse said they're running a bit behind this morning, but that the doctor will be in to see you soon," she explained.

"Well, if she doesn't come soon it won't matter. I'll be dead from caffeine withdrawal." Rafael nearly whined.

"Dios mio, Rafi." Lucia rolled her eyes. "You're so dramatic."

Olivia covered her mouth to hide a smile, but it didn't work and Rafael narrowed his eyes at her. "You know, I've been severely injured here." He gestured with his good arm at the sling, the knee brace, and finally at the bandage on his head. "I'm not asking for pity, but if you could refrain from the outright antagonism, I would appreciate it."

"He has a point," Olivia told Lucia. "You would not believe how many times the ME has come back with caffeine withdrawal as a cause of death. It's an epidemic really."

It wasn't that funny, but coupled with the their lack of sleep and overabundance of stress and worry it sent both women into a fit of giggles and Rafael rolled his eyes, even though he was fighting a grin of his own. "You're both insufferable."

"You don't understand," Adam Lafferty began. "I didn't want to do any of this. He made me."

"We get it, you're a victim in all this," Sonny tried his best to sound sympathetic, but felt he missed the mark. "How did he make you do it? He's in prison."

"You should know by now that doesn't matter." Lafferty spit out, but then took a deep breath. "Willard is a paranoid bastard, he dug up dirt on everyone he ever came in contact with. He had folders on all of his employees."

Carisi's forehead wrinkled. "We had warrants for all of the his and the company's electronics. We never found anything like that." Admittedly they hadn't found anything damning at all.

Lafferty scoffed. "Like he would keep it anywhere the likes of you could find it."

"Adam," Fletcher did his best to temper his client's smugness.

Lafferty sighed. "Whether you all found the files or not, they exist and Willard has...something on me," he hedged, smartly so, given that his deal likely wouldn't extend to whatever it was. "Something that he promised to make public if I didn't help him."

Carisi was curious as to what it was, but figured pushing further on the issue at the moment might cause Lafferty to stop talking, so he stayed silent.

"I need you to tell us how you helped him," Danielle nudged. "We need specifics, everything."

With a glance at his lawyer and another heavy sigh, Lafferty turned to her and the floodgates opened.

It was interesting, Sonny thought as he listened to Adam speak, how it all seemed so simple. Vague letters mailed to him from prison with just enough information to make his instructions clear, but not enough to be entirely damning on their own, the names and addresses written in a code they'd established at Attention Inc when disseminating proprietary information so competitors couldn't decipher it should they try to hack their servers.

From there Lafferty would contact Swain, and later one of the leaders of BX9 with their instructions, using a program he'd designed himself that deleted texts as soon as they were read (the reason Willard had called on him, no doubt). He claimed to not know who in BX9 he was actually in contact with, saying that he only had the number. They'd do their best to trace it, but it was likely a burner.

"I just—" Adam said once he'd finished explaining the process. "I want you to know that I didn't know at first— that he was going to have anyone killed. I thought he was just going to screw with them like he did your prosecutor."

DiCarlo and Carisi both stared at him, stone faced, years of training on both their parts keeping them from strangling him.

"And then after the first one, it was too late, I was a part of it and was too afraid to try and stop it. But I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that they died."

The break in his voice seemed genuine, but Sonny couldn't muster any sympathy. "See, that's the thing, Adam. They didn't die. They were murdered, and you played a direct part in that. And I hope you think about that every day that you spend in prison and then some."

He decided they were done, they had what they needed, so he shoved his chair back with a screech against the concrete floor and Danielle followed him to the door.

"You okay?" Rollins, who had been watching through the two way mirror in the hallway, asked him.

He nodded, turning to the ADA. "Tell me you're going to get him the maximum for manslaughter?"

DiCarlo nodded. "That's my intention." She shook her head. "I can't believe he let all those women die just to save his own skin."

The speaker was now off to protect attorney client privilege, but they watched as Adam put his head in his hands, tears flowing, as his lawyer awkwardly tried to comfort him. Sonny had a feeling he was crying because he was afraid of what was going to happen to him, not because he was sorry for what he'd done.

Trying to shake it off, knowing that they could call this a win even if it didn't feel like it, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket. Hitting his contact for the Lieutenant he put the phone to his ear, happy to have good news for once. "Yeah, Lieu, sorry to bother you at the hospital. Just wanted to tell you that we got what we needed. Willard's gonna go down for this."