Author's Note: This story is set in and around the season 9 finale "Cold" and the season 10 premiere episode "Trials". It is part of my "Spaces In Between" Series; please see my author profile for an index of all stories in the series.
May 2008
Donald Cragen hadn't enjoyed a particularly restful weekend. In fact the "weekend" had barely qualified as such, given he'd spent most of it in his office or at 1PP answering to the upper brass and dealing with endless questions, interrogations and damage control in the wake of Chester Lake's arrest.
Don hadn't even left the precinct Friday night when the call had come in about the shooting. They'd all rushed to the crime scene only to see Lake led off in handcuffs, Thomas Crane's body bleeding out on the ground. What little time the captain had managed to find for himself since then had largely been spent resisting the urge to fall straight into the bottom of a bottle.
At least he'd had the sense of mind to know that would only make a bad situation much worse. But these were the kind of days when he yearned for someone other than his AA group members to lean on—an old friend like Lennie, who had known the job as well as shared the addiction.
He made it in to work early that following Monday, as usual. Sleep had eluded him to the extent that staying in bed any longer was futile. He knew he would still have plenty to deal with at 16th, particularly managing the remaining members of his unit.
As hoped for, everything seemed quiet when he first entered the precinct building. He returned a few quiet, somber hellos as he headed to his office, everyone knowing what had happened but not daring to comment upon it. A small favor, but he'd take it. He fished out the key to unlock his office door but was surprised when it opened readily at his touch. Had he been so preoccupied that he'd forgotten to lock up after himself?
He was doubly taken aback as he stepped inside and found someone had, in fact, let himself in.
"For God's sake, John. What the hell are you doing here?" Sergeant Munch sat facing Don's desk, settled in as if he had been waiting there for some time.
"I have the key, remember?"
"I gave that to you when I was suspended, then took it back."
John shrugged. "I'm lousy with keys so I made myself a spare copy."
Don sunk into his chair with a sigh. "Do I want to know why, precisely, you let yourself into my office this morning...or do I even need to guess."
John indicated the blinking light on the captain's telephone. "Message from Fin there, just so you know. He's taking a few days of personal time, visiting family out of town."
"That's understandable. By himself?"
"I figured we'd be short staffed around here right now. And truthfully he needs some time away from everything and everyone associated with this job. Even yours truly."
"Also understandable. But I assume you didn't let yourself in to tell me what I could hear for myself in my voice mail."
"No. I wanted to see if it was still here."
John's eyes fell upon the paperwork front and center on Don's desk, leaving no question (not that there had been any) as to the "it" he meant. John was talking about the forms Fin had submitted Friday afternoon, which Don hadn't even had the chance to contemplate—let alone complete and submit to 1PP—before everything else had happened that night.
"Things have been rather busy here, as you know," Don answered. "And I was hoping to speak with Fin first, so I suppose that will have to wait until he gets back."
"Going to try to talk him out of it?"
"Well, I seem to recall that working several years ago when another one of my detectives was ready to make a rash and foolish decision like this." John's lips pursed in a tight smile. "Even so...in this situation I'm not sure Fin will be so easy to dissuade."
"No, he won't. He feels pretty hurt and betrayed—by Elliot, primarily, but he's not sure he can really trust anyone around here."
"You know that's not true."
"Do I? Some days I'm not so certain, given the way this office plays favors as far as turning a blind eye to certain detectives' errant behavior while coming down hard on the rest of us. But anyway..." John exhaled loudly before continuing on. "I don't ask for many favors, Captain. You know that. I keep my nose clean, play by the book more than anyone else here...most of the time. But I'm asking you for one favor today. Bury Fin's transfer request. If you can't talk him out of it, make sure it doesn't get approved."
"John...you know I can't do that."
"I know you can't afford to lose two experienced detectives right now. First Lake, and now Fin?"
Don had to admit, "The prospect certainly contributed to my agita this weekend."
"I'm not asking this because of my personal relationship with Fin. Whether he works here or elsewhere, it's not going to affect us. I'm not worried about that. But I do worry about him as a friend and fellow officer, and knowing him well enough to know that wherever he goes right now, he's going to be in full-on cowboy mode with a chip on his shoulder the size of a Redwood. Moving into some other unit thinking he's got to prove himself all over again, convinced there's no one he can trust to have his back? I don't want to see him in the back of a squad car soon, in handcuffs like Lake."
John got to his feet, pacing the narrow space between the door and the desk while Don waited for him to continue. "Captain, this has been a difficult year for Fin, since Darius' trial last May. He needs the stability of SVU whether or not he realizes it himself. And I do worry about our unit being understaffed and potentially having to break in not just one but two rookies. As your sergeant and doing my job to assist in the management of this unit, I'm telling you, we can't afford to lose Fin."
"You do make a strong argument."
"I should, I've been practicing what I intended to say to you all weekend."
Don had to smile at that. "I'm not going to make any promises. But I will see if I can stall things long enough for Fin to cool down and for you to talk some sense into him."
"I'll take it. Thanks."
"How are you holding up in the middle of all of this?"
John shrugged and made a face. "It's a cliché to say it after the fact, but truthfully I never trusted Lake. Something about him always rubbed me the wrong way, but I tried to put it down to my own neuroses...and maybe a touch of jealousy. I wanted to give him a chance after my promotion, let Fin take on a senior role in a partnership. Fin was pissed off enough about that at the time, so I tried to keep my concerns about Lake to myself."
"Pity, given it seems you were right."
"Yeah, well. Hindsight is always twenty-twenty."
Don picked up Fin's transfer request and moved it to the pile of paperwork on his desk he intended to deal with...later. But not today. "Might not be in the budget to bring in someone new at this time—or 1PP might want to stick it to me after the scandal Lake has brought on. I suppose it would be no hardship asking you to go back out in the field with your old partner again."
"Go on and twist my arm," John answered with a smirk. "In the meantime, I suppose I should go over Lake's caseload and reassign it, see if I can take a couple on myself. And dump a few of the most annoying ones on Elliot's desk."
"Try to play nice, please?"
"I'll try, but no promises."
Don supposed that was the best for which he could hope. "One more thing before you go?"
"Yes?"
"Give me back my damn key."
September 2009
"So you were caught macking on the ex-wife of a fellow officer in your squad?" John shook his head at Fin in teasing disbelief, then tossed back the last of his beer. "That kind of behavior doesn't seem like the Fin I know and generally find tolerable."
Fin rolled his eyes. "I wasn't mackin' on her. That woman wouldn't leave me alone. Even before the divorce she was always trying make a move, any time she had reason to get near me."
"Can't say I blame her." John's words earned him a weary look, although the last did finally manage to bring a small smile to Fin's face which had otherwise been set in a scowl all evening. They were at a table in the bar, waiting for Olivia to mark the end of another strange case for the books. Elliot was off dealing with the latest drama with one of his kids and that was perfectly all right with John and Fin; neither had any great desire to socialize with Stabler outside of work these days. "In any event, sorry that means your transfer got turned down and you're stuck with me at SVU."
"You know that's not the part I mind, man. Never was."
"I know, love." John placed a hand on Fin's shoulder and squeezed lightly. He knew Fin was upset but John fully intended to celebrate his own relief by getting happily toasted tonight—two beers in and he was only warming up.
"Guess it'll be all right," Fin said. "Maybe I was overreacting at the time, too pissed off to be thinking clearly. Even if I can't trust Elliot, I know you've got my back."
"Always." John leaned in closer, not certain he could refrain from a quick kiss despite Fin's usual distaste for PDAs. "Your back, your front, your sides, your..."
"Are we interrupting?" Olivia said as she walked over to join them.
"Fin would say you saved him just in time." John saw she wasn't alone and grinned happily at their other guest for the evening. "Captain, joining our revelry tonight?"
"Olivia said dinner would be in the plans, so why not, if that's all right."
"Of course."
"I'll see about getting our name in for a table on the restaurant side now that we're all here," Olivia said, heading back to the hostess at the door.
"I'm gonna get myself another one of these." Fin slid out of his chair with his empty beer bottle in hand. "Captain?"
"Club soda and lime, thanks."
John cast a wry look at the captain now that they had a few moments alone. "So...Greg Burkle from Narcotics, huh? Who would have imagined an old nemesis of Fin's would be the one standing between him and a successful transfer?"
"Quite a coincidence, isn't it."
"Indeed. I suppose that means he's the one I owe thanks to over at 1PP, huh?"
"If Detective Burkle actually worked there. Which he doesn't." The captain paused while he took a seat upon one of the bar stools. "There's a note in Fin's jacket regarding confrontations the two had over the ex-Mrs. Burkle. So when he asked about the transfer today, I took a little...creative license in explaining why his request never got approved. I left out the part where it never actually left my desk."
"I could kiss you right now."
"With all due respect, John, you're not my type. But you can buy me dinner tonight."
"A small price to pay for a not so small favor."
"Just don't make it a habit."
"I wouldn't dream of it, Captain."
"Table should be ready for us in ten," Olivia said as she returned, having stopped at the bar to get her own drink first. "You don't think we should have invited the new ADA to join us after all, do you?"
"No," John and the captain answered in near unison.
Fin rejoined them with drinks in hand and asked, "Did I miss anything?"
"Nothing of importance," John answered, taking a beer from Fin and raising it to salute his companions. "Cheers."