Chapter Text
As the temperatures outdoors fell, and the leaves on the trees changed colour, tinged with scarlet and gold, the fall season settled down inside the walls of the brownstone too. Olivia had taken to lighting a small clementine-scented seasonal candle in the hallway, and the warm amber lamp near the front living room window welcomed each of the family back from their days at school or work with its golden glow, as the light began to fade on the street.
As Rafael lit the first fire of winter in the living room fireplace, he considered that before the time when he had his own family, one time of year had seemed much like any other in most respects, albeit with variations of weather and the associated different clothing requirements. With Noah and Isabella in the house, however, now September was all about book lists, sign up sheets and new school supplies. Between the new shoe fittings and painstaking selection of this year's backpacks, the new family were also settling back into a quieter routine after all the excitement of summer and the wedding.
The clock was slowly ticking down towards the day when he and Olivia could, all going well, finally formally adopt Isabella, though still a small part of him was waiting for something to go wrong in the process. Since his childhood, he had approached most situations waiting for the other shoe to drop, and it had turned out to be too hard a habit to break, even now.
Work proved to be a wonderful distraction, and he found himself taking on a new pro bono harassment case partly to stop himself ruminating too much over what could possibly go wrong.
As the evenings began to shorten, talk around the kitchen dinner table turned to Halloween, which naturally enough meant costumes. Noah was attending a school friend’s party and a group of them were dressing in a group costume as the Ghostbusters, which seemed straight forward enough.
Isabella, on the other hand, was entirely insistent that she had to dress up as a bear, and no other costume would do.
After school one evening, Rafael had taken her to a local pop-up Halloween store, and together they had examined the aisles for the perfect bear costume.
‘You’re sure this isn’t going to be too warm for you, pequeña?’ He asked her gently, dubiously picking up the package which contained a plush, brown child-sized bear costume and raising it slowly to guess the weight.
Isabella shook her head stubbornly. ‘Solo quiero ser un oso.’ (I only want to be a bear)
From the rear of the store, an older saleswoman approached with a friendly smile.
‘Hello there, young lady, can I offer you any help at all today? We have some beautiful princess costumes on that shelf right over there.’ She pointed out the pink and purple display with a persuasive grin.
Rafael looked on with amusement as Isabella spared the princess dresses no more than a scathing glance.
‘No thank you Señora,’ she said politely. ‘I like this one.’ She pointed at the bear.
The lady gave a slow nod and looked at Rafael appraisingly. ‘What do you think, Dad? You want me to ring this up, or do you two need a little more time to talk things over?’
Rafael sighed. ‘I think you better just ring up the bear. She knows her own mind.’
The saleswoman nodded approvingly. ‘Good for you, sir. So many parents insist on their little girls being princesses, like there isn’t more to life, really.’
Rafael smirked and gave a nod. ‘Once she’s happy, I’m happy.’
As the saleswoman turned towards the cash register, he felt Isabella tugging on his sleeve.
‘What is it, sweetheart?’ he asked her.
‘What about the costume for you, Rafa?’ she asked, with round, serious eyes.
Rafael laughed. ‘Oh no, honey. I’m way too old for wearing Halloween costumes.’
Isabella shook her head. ‘No es cierto, Rafa. Billie’s dad is wearing one for the party. He’s going to be Batman.’
Inwardly, Rafael cursed Carisi. Did the guy ever take a day off? ‘Oh he is, is he?’
‘Yes for the party at Billie and Jesse’s house. You said you’d take me, remember?’
Rafael looked at her solemn, hazel eyes with a sinking feeling.
‘I do remember that, honey, but nobody said anything about me needing a costume. Liv never said anything.’
He felt his jacket pocket for his phone, wondering if there was any point in calling in Liv for backup at this point.
‘Billie’s dad dresses up every year, and his costumes are always a-mazing,’ Isabella told him, and he guessed she was repeating Billie’s words verbatim.
Rafael knelt down to look Isabella in the eye. ‘So, you think I need a costume, is that it.’
Isabella nodded with a small grin. ‘That way then we’ll both be dressed up, together.’
‘Well, I can’t be a bear, anyway. They don’t have my size,’ he told her, feeling relieved.
Isabella shook her head sternly. ‘No, Rafa, I’m the bear. You cannot be a copy cat.’
Rafael cast a cautious glance across the store. What looked easy?
‘I don’t suppose you have any ideas for me, do you, pequeña?’
Isabella bit her lip as she gave the matter serious consideration. ‘I think you should be a pirate. You’re always the best when we play pirates.’
Rafael nodded. ‘You know how to use flattery, I have to hand it to you,’ he told her with a smile. Isabella narrowed her eyes, not quite understanding, as he scanned the walls, and quickly settled on a basic pirate costume, and pulled it off the wall.
‘Okay, honey, let’s pay for these, I need to get home and started on dinner.’
‘What about Olivia, Rafa? She needs a costume too.’ Isabella reminded him.
‘Let me guess, Billie’s Mom also wears an a-mazing costume, does she?’ Rafael asked wryly.
Isabella nodded gravely.
‘Well, be that as it may, Isabella, I am far too clever of a man to try telling Olivia Benson what to wear. If she wants a costume, she can pick one out herself,’ he told her firmly.
He took her small hand in his and led her towards the register. ‘Now let’s settle up and get out of here, before I have time to change my mind about all this pirate business.’ He held up his hand in the shape of a hook and winked, and Isabella giggled as they walked up to the register hand in hand, to pay.
When they arrived back at the brownstone, the scent of basil and tomato was already in the air.
Rafael helped Isabella take off her red hooded coat, and hung up his own, before they ventured into the kitchen.
Olivia, who had been standing over the stove, turned to face them with a smile.
‘Welcome home you two,’ she said warmly, as Rafael came forward to kiss her hello.
Olivia knelt down to give Isabella a welcoming hug. ‘Hi there, sweetheart. How did it go with your costume, honey? Did they have a bear?’
Isabella nodded with a smile ‘Si el perfecto.’
‘Oh, that’s terrific, I can’t wait to see it. Will you try it on for me after dinner?’
Isabella nodded. ‘And Rafa has a costume too.’
Olivia raised an eyebrow and glanced at Rafael in curiosity. ‘Oh he does, does he?’
Rafael flushed under her scrutiny. ‘Well, apparently Carisi is wearing one, which means I have to,’
Olivia snorted. ‘I can’t believe the way you two still compete with each other. How many years has it been since you two worked together?’
Rafael shrugged. ‘The bad news for you is that Rollins is getting in on the act too.’
‘Why should that affect me?’ asked Olivia, confused.
Rafael looked across to Isabella, gesturing for her to help in explaining.
‘Billie’s Mom and Dad are both dressing up,’ said Isabella, gazing up at Olivia with wide eyes. ‘Billie says everyone in her family dresses up for Halloween, even Nicky.’
Olivia sighed, turning to stir the sauce.
‘Even little Nicky, huh?’ she asked shaking her head. ‘That's just super.’
‘Liv, if you want me to head back to the store right now, and pick you something up, I’d be happy to,’ said Rafael slyly. ‘I’m pretty sure I saw one or two things that would look pretty… incredible on you.’
Olivia laughed out loud. ‘Oh, I'll just bet you did, Rafa, but I don’t need any help from you in picking something out.’
‘But you’re wearing a costume for the party, Olivia?’ asked Isabella eagerly. 'Promise?'
‘For you, honey, of course I will wear a costume. Once I don’t get called in to work. You remember we talked about that, right?’
‘Si, I remember,’ said Isabella solemnly. ‘Thank you, Olivia.’
Olivia leaned over and pressed a kiss to Isabella’s temple. ‘You don’t need to thank me, honey, this is just what families do.’