Melanie Jackson

**Detective Melanie Jackson-Barba,** (born March 8th 1986) is detective and IT specialist with the Manhattan Special Victims Unit.

## Biography

### **Childhood**

Melanie's parents, Carlos and Carrie divorced when she was 3. Despite being divorced, her parents stayed on good terms with each other. Melanie lived with her father and his wife, Katarina, until her fathers death when she was 15. Melanie always said she got along with Katarina because she felt like an older sister to her.

### **Teenage years**

Melanie moved in with her mother, where she was physically and sexually abused by her step-father, Alex Decker. Eventually, he got Melanie pregnant at 16, and she called the special victims unit in an attempt to seek help. This lead to Alex being arrested.

While she had briefly considered an abortion, her mother hadn't allowed her to get one, and so she gave birth to her daughter, Chloe, on October 3rd 2002.

### **Adulthood**

(Season 10) When she was 23, Melanie started working at the special victims unit as a junior detective with a specialty in IT. Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson recognised her and helped her adjust to the job.

#### Mini-fic 1

After the guilt of not being able to find the kidnapper of a 6-year-old girl started taking a toll on her, Melanie dedicated herself to solving the case. This took a physical and emotional toll on her, and she was sent on mandatory leave after collapsing at work.

Two years later, she finally caught a lead in the case, and ended up saving the girl.

#### Mini-fic 2

As she was working a case with Elliot Stabler, she moved her sleeves up, revealing a number of self-harm scars from her childhood. Stabler confronted her about this, and the two had a long conversation about their pasts.

#### Mini-fic 3

Melanie went undercover in a Bulgarian sex trafficking case. However, just as she had gotten the evidence she needed to convict them, they made her out as a cop. She was orally sodomized and raped.

#### Mini-fic 4: A very Stabler Christmas

Melanie's daughter, Sofia, told Olivia Benson that her family would be spending Christmas alone at home, maybe ordering takeout. Benson, finding this unacceptable, invited Melanie and her daughters to spend Christmas with her and the Stabler family.

#### Undercover with the Kosta Organization

When SVU got word of an Albanian sex trafficking ring, Melanie was assigned to go in undercover as Monika Rama. Melanie had learnt Albanian from her stepmother, Katarina, as a child, and was therefore successfully able to infiltrate the group. While undercover, she worked at a restaurant in Little Albania. However, her cover was nearly blown when she saw Elliot Stabler in the restaurant while he was undercover as Eddie Wagner.

## Relationships

### Trevor Langan

Melanie had a one-night stand with Defense Attorney Trevor Langan, which led to them having a casual friends with benefits relationship. Eventually, Melanie found herself pregnant. Her daughter, Sofia Langan, was born on May 21st 2010. Her and Langan have shared custody.

### Rafael Barba

After months of dancing around each other, Melanie decided to pursue a relationship with Rafael Barba. The two had met on the job, and after 18 months of working together, had finally given into their chemistry.

Melanie gave birth to their daughter, Isabella "Isa" Barba in 2016.

After 4 years of dating, the two had a small and quiet wedding ceremony for their closest friends.