Disclaimer:I do not own any rights to the characters used in this story. I just borrowed them.
Synopsis: This is a Third Watch / Law & Order SVU crossover, so I hope you enjoy!
Black Sheep
Rain was pouring outside the hospital window, leaving its drops on the window pane where they were running down, joining other drops and becoming bigger and faster on their way down. It looked like they were creating streets on the pane and two streets led to a highway.
But she wasn't seeing any of this. Her stare went through the window without noticing anything. The weather outside resembled her insider very well. She felt grey inside, empty, drained of all emotions except shame. Her body and mind were felt numb.
When the door opened, she didn't turn her head at all. A nurse entered, accompanied by a man and a woman.
"Honey, these two are Detectives," she told her who they were.
"Miss Goldstein, I'm Detective Benson, this is Detective Stabler. We understand you were raped?" the woman introduced herself and her partner and waited for a response.
The woman in the hospital bed turned her head slightly and barely moved her head up and down to indicate that Benson was right.
Laughter filled the bar. In the back, an old music box was trying its best to be heard. Above the counter, there was a muted television set, presenting colorful pictures of a music clip. Glasses were clinging together in toasts, while the bartender willingly refilled those who went empty. The light was dimmed to create a cosy mood, but the laughter and chatting painted a different picture. A group of people were obviously celebrating some event. They were filling the better part of the back space of the bar.
One man and a woman came up to the bar ordering another round.
"Hey, Jimmy! Bring us some peanuts too!" another man shouted from the back.
The man at the counter waved back that he had understood and repeated the order to the bartender as well, although every other customer in that bar had surely heard it as well.
The man in charge of the beverage got out several green bottles, filled with Dutch "Heineken" beer and two middle sized bowls of peanuts.
"Who's paying?" he asked before the man named Jimmy and his female companion could return to the party they were having.
"Joe, over there," Jimmy returned, pointing towards a man with already thinning brown hair.
"Baby party," he gave some more information and returned with the ordered beer and peanuts. The woman beside him was helping him carry. They hadn't even reached the tables when some people from the group became impatient.
"Geez, Jimmy, what's taking you so long?" DK asked, playing with his almost empty beer bottle.
"You know, there are other customers here as well," Jimmy returned.
"You got the peanuts too?" Nieto wanted to know.
Jimmy felt like he was a zoo keeper and this was the feeding of the beasts when everybody grabbed for a beer and some peanuts.
"What other customers? We're practically alone in this joint!" DK laughed and took the last gulp of his old beer before he helped himself for a new one.
"To Joe, Linda and the little one!" Walsh held up his beer and waited for the others to join the toast.
"To the Lombardo family!" Alex joined in. Bottles were put together.
"To the kid having more hair than its Dad already!" Jimmy teased and together with the others, he went on with the party.