Manhattan SVU
Tuesday, September 12, 2006

"Hey, Kathleen," Elliot called, not sounding angry, but anxious to have her stay.

She was already storming off to the elevator, but she paused long enough to get the last word in. "I hate you!"

Then she pushed the button to make the doors close, ending the argument before anything could be resolved.

"Everything ok?" Fin asked.

"Man, you're lucky you don't have daughters," Elliot said. He looked a little angry, a little hurt, and a little worried. "Cragen wants us to interview Janey's family."

He sounded a lot defeated.

Stabler Residence
2402 265th Street
Glen Oaks, Queens, NY
Friday, September 15, 2006

Fin sat in his car for maybe five minutes arguing with himself about whether he should go through with it or not. He'd even left the engine running to make it easier to drive away if he decided it was a bad idea. If his plan worked, he would get none of the credit. If it failed, he would get all of the blame. Stabler's problems with his daughter were none of his damned business, but he knew from his experience with Ken that this kind of thing would never get better if it was allowed to fester. That night when they'd returned from Speer Towers with Greg Hartley in custody, Kathy had been there, waiting for him, apparently to give him hell, and it had seemed as if she hadn't gotten any satisfaction out of berating him because she was even more pissed off when she left.

He laughed sardonically to himself. I'll be asking for enough trouble as it is just by talking to his daughter. Munch has had plenty of experience with divorce. I'll let him handle the marriage counseling.

Sighing, he cut the engine and got out of the car. Might as well do it. If a guy who looks like me just sits around long enough in a neighborhood like this, one of the neighbors is bound to call the cops. Stabler couldn't get anymore white-bread if he turned Baptist, drove a minivan, and coached his kids' soccer team; and he doesn't even realize it!

Crossing the street, Fin quickly ascended the steps to the Stablers' front door. His last thoughts had put a smirk on his face and he consciously had to sober his expression before he rang the bell. Luck was with him when Kathleen opened the door. At first she frowned to find an unfamiliar black man standing on her stoop, then she went white with panic as she recognized one of her dad's coworkers.

"Relax, your dad's ok," Fin assured her after letting her experience about five seconds of stark terror. "But I want you to remember what it felt like to see me standin' here and I want you to think about what you expected me to say."

Kathleen gasped and placed a hand over her heart. For a moment, all she could do was stand there catching her breath. Finally, she said, "Uh, um, my mom's out shopping for art supplies with the twins. They have a project due next week. You can come in and wait if you want."

Her hand was shaking noticeably as she gestured into the house.

"Actually, I'm here to see you," Fin said. "And so the neighbors don't gossip, I think it might be better if we went for a walk."

"Um, ok. Just let me get my jacket and my phone," she said.

Fin nodded and waited on the stoop as he heard her feet pounding through the house. A moment later, she stepped outside and locked the door.

"Did you leave your mom a note?"

She nodded. "I always do."

"Good." He gestured for her to precede him down the steps and followed her through the front yard to the sidewalk.

"So, uh, where are we going?" she asked hesitantly.

Fin shrugged. "I don't care," he said. "We're just walkin' and talkin'."

"Um, there's a park a few blocks away," she told him. "Sometimes when my dad visits we go there to play basketball."

"What makes you think I care about basketball?" he scowled at her. "Is it because I'm black?"

She backed away a step. "What? No! Um, I, uh . . . That is . . . It's . . . it's just that's why we go there."

Soooo freakin' white-bread! Fin started to chuckle and grinned at Kathleen. Knowing she would find his dimples charming and disarming, he used them to his full advantage and held his smile as he spoke.

"You don't have to be afraid of me, Kathleen, I was just messin' with you. The park sounds fine to me."

She gave him a reluctant smile that still showed she was a little annoyed, and she turned to head down the street. They walked in silence for about a block and a half, Kathleen wondering why he wanted to talk to her and Fin letting her wonder.

Finally, she asked, "So, it's Detective Tutuola, right?"

"Yeah, but you can call me Fin," he told her.

"Ok, Fin, not to sound rude, but why are you here? Did my dad send you?"

"No, he didn't, and he would probably kick my ass if he knew I was here, so I would appreciate it if you didn't tell him."

Kathleen looked at him suspiciously, but she nodded. "Okayyy. So, what do you want?"

Well, here goes nothing. "I want to talk to you about that argument you had with your dad the other day at the precinct," he said.

"What? He did send you!" she said in shock. "Well, you can tell Daddy Dearest he got what he wanted. Kevin dumped me because he's afraid."

She turned to storm away, but Fin grabbed her by the wrist. "Now, hold on, baby girl, I don't know who Kevin is, or why he's afraid of your dad, or whether your dad had a good reason to want to scare him, and I don't need to know. I wasn't lyin' when I said your dad didn't send me, but I am here because he's my friend."

Kathleen had stopped pulling away, but she still looked pissed off. "I am not a child," she said.

Fin resisted the urge to roll his eyes, figuring that would piss her off, too. Elliot wasn't kidding when he told him he was lucky he didn't have daughters. It almost seemed like Kathleen wanted everything he said to be an attack on her so she could be righteously indignant.

"You live with your momma, you don't have no job, you don't pay no bills, and you ain't tryin' to raise a family," Fin pointed out. "You are still a child, but it wasn't meant as an insult. And that's not the damned point anyway!"

"Well, then, what is the 'damned point,' and why are you here if my dad didn't send you?"

"Kathleen, dear, is everything all right?" a nosy neighbor called out her front door.

Fin held his breath. If she really wanted to be a pain in the ass, Kathleen could just say no and tell the woman to call 911.

"It's fine, Mrs. Greevey," Kathleen called. "This guy's a cop. He just wants to ask me about something that happened at school today. Some girl had her fundraising money from Homecoming Court stolen out of her locker, and since it's next to mine, they thought I might have seen who did it."

"Are you sure?" Mrs. Greevey asked. "We don't usually see his kind in this neighborhood."

I guess there's white-bread and then there's white-bred, Fin thought, and he was glad his colleague was more the former than the latter.

"I'm sure," Kathleen replied. "I know him. He works with my dad."

"Ok, if you're sure," the old woman replied, but Fin noticed that the old woman decided she needed to putter around with the flowers growing in hanging pots around the edges of her porch just then, too.

"Sorry about that," Kathleen said in a low voice as she began walking toward the park again, just a bit faster than before. "Mrs. Greevey's really old, and really stupid. She doesn't know any better."

Fin shrugged. "I've been called worse. You lie pretty easy, don't you?" he asked.

"That wasn't a lie," Kathleen laughed. "It really did happen, but the vice principal just asked me about it in school."

"Ok, if that wasn't a lie, what do you call it when you don't tell the truth?"

Kathleen gave him an irritated look and said, "If you're going to play cop and interrogate me like my dad does, I'm going home."

Fin held up his hands in surrender and said, "Ok, no more questions." Before she could reply, he started walking again and she fell in step beside him.

They went a little further in silence, and when they were sure Mrs. Greevey couldn't overhear, Kathleen asked again, "So, why are you here?"

Fin sighed. This wasn't going as smoothly as he had planned, but he was determined to make his point.

"Last time I saw you, I was just comin' around the corner as you were finishin' your argument with your dad," he said. "You said you hated him, and then you got in the elevator and left."

"So?"

"So, your dad doesn't deserve that," Fin said. "I know your parents are goin' through a rough time and you're caught in the middle, but takin' it out on him doesn't make it easier for anybody."

Kathleen rolled her eyes. "It was just an argument," she said. "He was mean to me, too."

"Did he tell you he hated you?"

"No. So what?"

"So, you can't do that to him," Fin told her plainly. "Arguin' and getting' mad at him is one thing, but you didn't see the look on his face after you left. You hurt him."

"Oh, what's the big deal? He knows I didn't mean it," Kathleen said.

"Maybe he does," Fin agreed, "but you still hurt him, and you can't just do that and then walk away."

In a snotty tone, Kathleen asked, "Why not?"

"Because your dad is a cop, Kathleen," Fin said in a tone that said he wasn't playing with her this time, "and you never know when one of us is gonna come to your door and tell you that you will never get another chance to apologize for things you wish you hadn't said."

Kathleen stood before him with her mouth open as if she wanted to say something but couldn't. He saw the tears pooling in her eyes and knew his words had found their mark.

"Think about how it felt when you saw me standin' there on your stoop before I told you your dad was ok," he suggested. "Then call your dad. You can still be mad about Kevin if you want, but tell him you're sorry about the rest. Then tell him you love him."

Before she could answer, Fin walked away. He smiled and nodded at Mrs. Greevey as he passed her house, and when he got to his car, he climbed in and drove away.

Manhattan SVU
Friday, September 15, 2006

It was after hours, but there was always something for Fin to do at his desk. He wasn't surprised to see Elliot still at his. Since his wife had left him, he seemed to spend most of his off-duty time pissing around at his desk. They greeted each other, and when Elliot asked, Fin made an excuse about catching up on some paperwork; and then they both settled down to work.

They'd each been occupied with their own things for about twenty minutes when Elliot's phone rang.

"Stabler!" he answered sharply. Then he glanced at Fin and turned slightly and lowered his voice to keep the call private. Fin never would have heard a word if he hadn't been trying to listen in.

"Hey, sweetheart, how are you? . . . I'm fine . . . Of course, I know you didn't mean it," he said with a laugh in his voice, "but thanks for telling me. . . I'm sorry, too. I handle it badly . . . He did? Well, I'm sorry you were hurt, but I'm not going to pretend to be sorry he's gone . . . You can be mad if you want, but I think you deserved better than Kevin, and when the right guy comes along, you'll feel that way, too . . . Breakfast? Yeah, I can make it. What time? . . . Eight? You must really want to see me . . . Because that's awfully early for you on the weekend . . . Kathleen, I know you love me. I never doubted it for a minute . . . Ok, I'll pick you up at eight tomorrow, and Kitty Kat? . . . Nothing you could say would ever make me stop loving you, you know that, right? . . . Ok, then. I'll see you tomorrow at eight . . . Love you, too . . . Bye."

Elliot hung up the phone and started to whistle as he shut down his computer. "It's Friday night," he told Fin, "Don't work too late," and he grabbed his jacket on the way out.

Fin smiled as he heard his friend whistling his way down the hall.

Disclaimer: SVU is property of Dick Wolf. No profit is being made from this story.