Love is Blind

Couples:

Fin/Munch

Elliot/Olivia

Summary:

John and Fin decide to adopt a child. They find a baby girl who they love and adore, but as she grows up, tragedy strikes. Can they help her through it?

Disclaimer:

Dick Wolf owns, I covet. Don't sue. If I did own, show would be a shipper's dream.

John Munch and Odafin Tutuola sat in the adoption agency with anticipation. A month ago, they had made a big decision: They wanted to adopt a child.

The two had been partners for two years. After talking to an agency, they learned there was a baby there waiting for a home. After a month of paperwork and strings being pulled, the month-old baby was ready for the couple. It was a little girl, who had not yet been given a name. John sighed, remembering the conversation…

"I've always liked the name Michelle." John said, straightening up what would be the baby's nursery. They had finally moved out of the apartment and into a house.

"Michelle is nice…what about Michelle Charlotte?" Fin suggested. "I had a grandmother named Charlotte."

John pondered. "Michelle Charlotte? I like that. I like it a lot."

Fin got up and kissed him. "Michelle Charlotte Tutuola-Munch."

John echoed the name, as though it were destiny.

A woman came out carrying a bundle in her hands. "Mr. Munch? Mr. Tutuola?"

They held their breath as she showed them the bundle in a pink blanket. "Here she is…"

"She's beautiful." John whispered. "Can I hold her?"

"Of course." The nurse handed her to him with a smile. "You'll be her daddy now, after all."

"We can take her home?"

"Yes. I just need her name and address for the records."

Fin smiled. "Michelle Charlotte."

"That's a beautiful name."

John almost cried when the baby gripped his finger in her tiny fist. He knew he would love her for the rest of his life.

"Ohhhh, she's so CUTE!" Olivia squealed, leaning over the bassinet where the baby girl lay. "Hello, little girl!"

John and Fin looked down proudly. "Yep. There she is."

"What's her name? You never told us."

"Everyone, may I introduce, Michelle Charlotte Tutuola-Munch."

They all sighed happily. "She's beautiful, you guys." Elliot said, putting an arm around Olivia. He looked to them. "Call us if you need anything. I've been through four infants, it's no picnic."

"Thanks Elliot." John picked her up. The baby squirmed a little. "Hello, Michelle..." Fin cupped her head gently. "She's so cute."

Everyone agreed, and the baby was the talk of the day.

John was awoken by a wail in the middle of the night. He put on his robe and went to Michelle's crib. "I guess you're hungry, huh? Come on." He picked her up and got her bottle ready. Sitting down in a chair and getting her comfortable, she sucked the bottle greedily. As tired as John was, he was having the time of his life. He'd always wanted to be a father.

"Hey." Fin whispered. He kissed John gently. "How is she?"

"She's just hungry."

"She's our little munchkin, eh?" He quipped.

John chuckled softly. "Yep. She is."

THREE YEARS LATER….

"Daddy John! Daddy Fin! Wake up! Wake up!" Michelle called out excitedly. "Wake up! It's time for preschool!"

John turned over and gave her a tired smile. "Morning, munchkin. Okay, go get ready. I'll be right up."

As Michelle exited the room, Fin sighed. "Who would've thought that we had adopted a morning person?"

John laughed. He kissed Fin. "Good morning to you too. I'll take Michelle to school and meet you at work."

"Okay." It was Michelle's first day at preschool. At first she was nervous, but then they mentioned it had books. Ever since John started reading her Dr. Seuss books as a little girl, she'd loved reading.

Everyone was amazing at her reading skills. She could read Dr. Seuss without messing up once by her third birthday. John got dressed and got something out of his closet. It was a little gift for her first day.

He went into the kitchen and saw Michelle in a pretty school outfit. "Morning, Daddy John." That was what she called them. Daddy John and Daddy Fin. "What's that?"

John looked at the package as though he didn't notice it. "Oh, this? I don't know. Let's read the tag. To Michelle, from your daddies."

"Ooh! What is it?"

"You're going to school, so I thought you might want something to keep busy."

She took it and opened it. It was a Nancy Drew mystery book. "Yay! A book! What's it about?"

"It's about Nancy Drew, a little girl who does detective work."

"Like you and Daddy Fin?"

"Like me and Daddy Fin."

She ran up and hugged him. "Thanks, Daddy John. I love you!"

John always felt his heart melt when she said that. He hugged her back. "You're welcome, sweetie."

Fin came in. "I see she likes our present?"

"I do!" Michelle grabbed the book and put it in her backpack. "I already finished those other books, I wanted a new one."

Fin shook his head. She had an entire shelf of books in her room, she had already read them to tatters. "Alright, sweetie. Time for school."

John kissed Fin goodbye, then lifted Michelle so she could kiss Fin. "Bye, Daddy Fin."

"Bye, Michelle. See you at work, John."

John parked the car and took her to the classroom. Opening the door, he found a room full of laughing, chatting children. The teacher came up. "Hello! I'm Ms. Marcus. Who are you?"

"I'm Michelle! Look what I got!" Michelle held up her book.

"Oooh, Nancy Drew! That's a great one! There's a beanbag chair over there you can read in."

"Okay." Michelle smiled. "Bye, Daddy John."

"Bye, honey." He hugged her again and she ran off. He turned to the teacher. "Hi. John Munch."

She shook his hand. "Nice to meet you. Michelle was her name?"

"Yes. She loves reading. If you have books, be sure to let her know."

Ms. Marcus smiled. "I can tell I'm gonna like teaching her. Class ends at four, who will be picking her up?"

"Either me or my partner Fin." He hesitated to see if she would be surprised.

She smiled. "That's fine. A parent is a parent, right?"

John smiled. He liked her. "Right." He checked his watch. "I have to go. If there's anything else, call me." He handed her a card.

"NYPD? My father was. He retired a few years ago. See you later, Mr. Munch."

He smiled and gave a last look at Michelle, who had her nose buried in the book, before walking out.

Fin greeted him with a cup of coffee and some folders. "How'd she like the school?"

"She couldn't wait to get started. The teacher seems really nice." They began to start work, trying not to gaze at her picture on their desks every chance they got…

Fin was waiting outside the school to pick up Michelle. He smiled as she spotted him, running up with a paper in her hands. "Hi, Daddy Fin! Look! I drew you a picture!"

He looked at it. It was a few rosebuds in a circle. It looked almost as if an adult did it. "It's beautiful. You're such a little artist. Come on. Let's go home."

John looked at the picture which was now on their fridge. "Wow, Michelle really is a great artist."

"Isn't that great? She gave it to me after school."

Fin smiled as Michelle sat at the kitchen table with the book. "What's the story about, sweetie?"

"It's about a girl who solves crimes. This is one about hidden treasure, and they're looking for a key." She started reading again.

John peered at it sideways. "Wow, you're quick." She was almost done.

He looked at Fin, who winked. They had expected this. They had bags full of books in their closet. "How was preschool?"

"I liked it. Ms. Marcus is really nice to me. I got to draw, and there was cookies, and a girl let me play checkers with her." They sat down to eat dinner, letting her talk about her day. They would never get tired of hearing her happy.

TWO YEARS LATER…

"Happy Birthday, Michelle!" Olivia said to Michelle as she entered the house. "How old are you now?"

"I'm five!" She said happily, holding out her palm. "I'm a big girl now."

"You sure are!" Elliot said, hiding her present in his jacket. "Where's your daddies?"

"They're in the kitchen, Uncle Elliot."

Elliot grinned. He was Uncle Elliot and his wife was Aunt Olivia. He went into the kitchen, where the table had a few gifts on it. He laid his on top of the stack. Cragen, Huang, Steven, Casey, and Adam were all there. Michelle invited them all, saying that she wanted her 'family' there. They all loved Michelle.

"Hey." Elliot said approvingly. "That looks good." He was eying the cake.

"Go get the birthday girl, we'll have cake and presents." He turned to get Michelle. They turned out the lights and lit the candles.

After singing to her, she blew out the candles in one big blow. She ate a piece of cake before opening Cragen's gift. It was a book of fairy tales. "Yay! A book! Thanks, Uncle Don!"

He smiled. George handed her a package. "This is from me and Steven."

Everyone murmured approvingly as she uncovered a few drawing pads and a very nice set of drawing utensils. "Wow! Thanks, you guys!" George hugged her. "You're welcome, Michelle. Draw me a picture, okay?"

"Okay!" Elliot handed her a gift. "This is from me and Aunt Olivia."

She unwrapped a copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. "Wow, this looks cool! I've heard it's good."

John smiled. "Wow, 300 pages. That might last almost three days."

"Ten bucks she does it in two." Fin whispered.

"You're on." Elliot whispered back.

Casey got her a few books of Mad Libs for kids, and John and Fin got her a big teddy bear with a red bow. "It's soft." Michelle said, rubbing her face on it. "I love it."

They smiled. They all had a great time the rest of the party.

Soon, Michelle was done with preschool. She was now six years old. It was time for first grade. She was excited to move on to bigger things. She had already finished all seven Harry Potter books, but read them on a regular basis. Goblet of Fire and Half-Blood Prince were her favorites.

The first day came. She looked very mature with her long brown hair and black-and-white vest and slacks ensemble. John dropped her off at the elementary school. "Good luck, honey. I love you."

"I love you, too, Daddy John." She kissed him. "Bye!"

He watched her run into the building with a smile. He drove to work with a light heart.

Michelle got into the car after school when Fin picked her up. He noticed that she was staring off into space, and she was very quiet.

"Something wrong?"

She didn't look at him. "Daddy Fin?" She asked. "What's a faggot?"

His chest immediately tightened. In the back of his mind, he knew this was coming, but he didn't really like to hear it. "Where did you hear it?"

"A boy at school said that you and Daddy John were faggots. What does that mean?"

He sighed. "That wasn't very nice. A 'faggot' is an offensive word for two men who love each other. Like me and Daddy John."

"So it was mean?"

"Yes, honey, it was mean. If he does it again, tell the teacher. That is never an okay thing to say."

"Okay." She started talking again. "I had a good day today. There's a big library there."

He grinned. Now she was getting back to her old self.

John dropped Michelle off at school again the next day, a little unsettled by what Fin told him Michelle heard. She kissed him goodbye and went inside. He drove to work, still a little distracted.

Fin and Munch were working on files when Elliot went up to them. "Cragen wants you two in his office."

"Why?"

"I don't know, but he looks pretty upset."

They looked at each other worriedly. It couldn't be that something happened to their daughter? They went inside.

"Captain?"

"Close the door." They got even more worried.

He turned to them. "I just got a call from the elementary school. Michelle's at Mercy Hospital."

John's knees started to shake. "What happened?"

"We don't know. She was on the playground and started screaming. The teacher went up and heard her say, 'My eyes, my eyes!' Later on, she said that the last thing she remembers was a man with a bottle of liquid."

"Are you saying that someone tossed some shit into my daughter's eyes?" Fin said, his voice shaky.

"The doctor wants to see you. Go to Mercy Hospital and let me know."

They rushed up to the desk. "Hi, we're looking for a Michelle Tutuola-Munch, she's-"

"Detectives?" A man said. They went up to him. "I'm Dr. Wagner, I treated your daughter."

"What happened?"

He sighed. "Something burned her eyes. She has minor burns on her face, and she's pretty badly shaken up…and, I think you might want to sit down for this news."

They collapsed into chairs. "What is it?"

"I'm afraid your daughter has gone blind."

They immediately felt their hearts shattering in their chest.

-TO BE CONTINUED-