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Dinner the night before is very quiet. Sonny eats with single-minded intensity and stares across the room. Rafael watches him to make sure he eats enough but doesn't try to get him to talk until they've finished with dinner and Rafael's lifted the champagne out of the bucket room service delivered it in.
"We should toast," Rafael says.
"Seems like bad luck," Sonny replies. He fidgets, rubbing the knuckle under his left ring finger with his right hand.
"I didn't say we should toast to anything about tomorrow," Rafael says, giving Sonny a soft smile when Sonny looks at him. "We could toast about anything. The weather. My new tie. The fact the train ran on time today."
Sonny laughs, a quick burst that seems to surprise him. "I'm making you crazy, aren't I?"
"No," Rafael says because it's true. "I've never been at this level with an appeal, but I know the stress you're under for the most part." He peels the foil from the neck of the champagne bottle and drops it onto the room service tray. "Going over your arguments again and again in your head. Wondering if that point you discarded two weeks ago was maybe the very best idea you had the whole time."
Sonny breathes in slowly, then breathes out hard. "Yeah."
"And I know you're thinking you should have talked them into a settlement."
Sonny watches Rafael untwist the wire holding the cork topper in place. "I haven't mentioned that to you."
Rafael gives him another soft smile. "I know, but I like to think I know you well enough to know when you're second guessing yourself."
Sonny's laugh is looser this time, some of the tension going out of his body. "No argument here. I'm just--" Sonny stops short as the cork leaving the bottle echos in the room for a moment. "--worried that I made the wrong choice."
"They voted unanimously to have you refuse an out-of-court settlement and take it to a jury," Rafael points out, pouring them each a glass of champagne. "They want to help put the precedent on the books."
Sonny sighs and stands, walking over to the picture window and staring out at the view of DC. Or more accurately, Rafael thinks as he walks over and hands Sonny a champagne flute, staring at the Supreme Court building. "What if I fuck it up tomorrow, Rafael? What if the Court doesn't uphold the ruling and dismantles everything those women have managed to build by agreeing to openly and aggressively sue an MLM in the first place? I didn't go into law for this."
"Yes, you did," Rafael replies, touching Sonny's arm to give him some small comfort. "Don't think I forgot the big speech you gave me when you told me you were leaving SVU. I could probably quote it back to you."
Sonny looks away from the Supreme Court building and smiles at Rafael. "Oh, yeah? It's been a few years. You sure it's still in there?"
Rafael gives Sonny an arch look, then clears his throat. "It's gotta be religious abuse law, Rafael. There's so many ways people being abused in the name of religion makes things so much harder. They're betrayed daily by their own families--you put a lot of emphasis on families, by the way--and they don't learn about boundaries, and a lot of them don't even know how to pay their own bills--"
"Okay, yes, your memory is as good as ever," Sonny says, turning so he and Rafael are face-to-face.
"Let me just quote my favorite part then," Rafael says holding up his champagne flute. "I don't want to convert anyone. I just want them to get a chance to learn how to be themselves with a little less pain and confusion."
"And somehow that turned into a class action suit against the largest MLM in the world," Sonny replies.
"And tomorrow, you'll do the best you can to kick them in the balls one more time," Rafael says. He tips his champagne flute towards Sonny. "Those women gave up a huge out-of-court settlement because they want--for maybe the first time in their life--to see some justice done for themselves and every other woman like them who got out of a terrible life and got intentionally lied to by people who knew they were vulnerable. If you didn't go into law for exactly that, I don't know how you ever managed to get here."
Sonny looks at Rafael for a long moment. He lifts his champagne flute and taps it against Rafael's. "To getting here," he says.
"To getting here," Rafael agrees, and they turn as a team to stare down the Supreme Court building and take their first drink.
*
Rafael waits on the steps of the court the next morning. Sonny had walked through the doors at nine forty-five, jaw set and nerves tucked away. A few reporters had tried to talk to him, but he'd given them a polite smile and a shake of the head. The opposing attorney had spent a solid twenty minutes with reporters. Rafael hadn't been able to hear him, but he'd seen enough theatrical gesturing he'd rolled his eyes.
It's just after eleven now. Rafael looks up as the door to the Court opens, and Sonny walks out, head high. He goes straight to the reporters, and Rafael can't hear him, but he reads the way Sonny's standing. He's still determined, still certain in his case. He has both hands on his briefcase handle, and Rafael smiles at it. It's an old trick so Sonny doesn't accidentally gesture directly into a microphone. He looks intelligent and authoritative and also kind. There's a sharp flash of anger on his face, and Rafael knows he must be speaking of the predatory practices of the MLM. No doubt he's dropping his usual list of resources on the reporters hoping that at least one of them runs the full interview and provides the information.
Rafael stands up straight when Sonny gives the collected reporters a nod and steps away from them, walking towards Rafael with a bright smile. "How'd it go?" Rafael asks.
"It went," Sonny says with a shrug. "I reserved a little time for rebuttal and used it."
"You did everything you could," Rafael says. He's not surprised when Sonny's phone goes off. "I'll get us to lunch," he tells Sonny, curling a hand around his elbow and leading Sonny down the street as Sonny answers the phone and immediately reassures someone that things are as good as they can be.
"The judges are going to go into chambers and argue with each other," Sonny says into the phone. "Just like we planned. Tell everyone we're exactly where we expected to be, and tell them to keep an eye on decisions for the rest of the session. That's all we can do. There's no telling which Monday they'll hand it down." Sonny listens for a moment, and Rafael watches his entire face soften. "Thank you," he says quietly. "Please tell them all that means everything to me."
"I assume that was Rebecca," Rafael says when Sonny hangs up. Rebecca was the first person to approach Sonny about losing what little money she had to the lies of the MLM. She's been tireless in helping Sonny find other women with similar stories and in keeping the women up-to-date and encouraged as they've fought this out for the last three years.
"It was," Sonny says. "They all told her to thank me for believing them and doing what I've done."
Rafael doesn't reply with words. He takes Sonny's hand and squeezes. Sonny squeezes in return.
*
It's four Mondays later when the decision comes down. Rafael's watching the running of the aides live and yells in victory when a reporter announces that the Court has chosen to uphold the previous rulings in Townsend, et. al.
Carmen bursts into Rafael's office. "OH MY GOD," she yells.
"RIGHT?!" Rafael yells back. His cell rings at the same time as his office phone. Carmen grabs his office phone while Rafael answers his cell.
"WHAT THE FUCK," Sonny says in greeting. "RAFAEL."
"I SAW." Rafael says, still unable to lower his voice.
"Fuck. I need to call Rebecca, but. Fuck. Rafael. This."
"You did it," Rafael says. "You got them justice. You laid the groundwork for other people to seek the same. This is a huge hit to pyramid schemes, Sonny. This is game-changing."
"I'm buying champagne on the way home," Sonny says. "We're gonna Facetime Rebecca and and the others and toast them."
Toast them, Rafael thinks, shaking his head in amazement. "Sounds great," he replies. "I'm so proud of you."
"I love you so much. You got me through this, Rafael."
"I provided the same emotional support I'd have given you for any other case. Don't try to add my name to the credits here."
Sonny laughs. "Fine. Okay. I have to go. See you tonight."
"Love you," Rafael says, and then he ends the call.
"Rita Calhoun is holding for you," Carmen says, the smile on her face as wide as Rafael's feels. "She wants to give you personal congratulations for marrying up."
Rafael laughs. "We're not married."
"If you don't propose tonight, when will you?" Carmen asks, looking pointedly at the bookshelf where Rafael's had a ring tucked away for two months. He's been waiting until the case was fully decided, not wanting to shift Sonny's focus when he's so clearly been worried he won't be able to do enough.
"All right, all right," Rafael says. He gestures to the shelf. "Could you get it polished this afternoon?"
Carmen moves the books that are hiding the ring and walks out of the office as Rafael pushes the button to take Rita's call. "He's more successful than both of us," he says. "Seethe in jealousy with me."
Rita laughs and congratulates him, and Rafael flicks off the television. The other decisions can wait until later. Right now, he's celebrating.