The Precinct Jukebox

COUPLES:

Elliot/Olivia

Fin/Munch

SUMMARY:

Cragen installs a jukebox in the precinct to boost morale. Hilarity and romance insue.

NOTE:

This contains slash, and OOC. It's sappy, silly, and I know this would never happen on the show. But it's my story, so they do what I tell them.

DISCLAIMER:

Dick Wolf owns the show, I don't. Just using them for fun. I also do not own the music or artists I mention in this story. They are the property of the artists, not mine. But they are damn good songs. Please don't sue.

"What the hell is this?" Olivia Benson asked as two delivery men set a large multi-colored jukebox in the corner of the precinct.

"This looks authentic." John Munch said approvingly, running his hands over it. "It's got CDs in it, but God, this brings back memories."

Odafin Tutuola came up with a quirked eyebrow. "But why is it here? Is it evidence?"

"No, it's for the office." Donald Cragen came up with a remote. "Other precincts have been trying this to boost morale, they say good music can make even the grumpiest of souls happy working."

Elliot Stabler rolled his eyes. "Happy in SVU? Can't be done."

"Give it a week. If it doesn't work, I'll remove it. I've organized a playlist for the first day. Bring in CDs if you've got them."

John grinned. Fin sighed. "He's got billions. Expect him to bring some."

"What the hell is that?" Olivia asked in disbelief as John plopped a large, heavy box on her desk.

Fin came up behind him. "John's CDs. He couldn't decide on one. Hell, he couldn't decide on five." He sighed.

Elliot flipped through them. "Beatles...Elton John…Electric Light Orchestra…The Greatful Dead…verified proof that Munch is a hippie."

"I've been telling you that for years." John said as he opened the jukebox and placed a few CDs in. "I wanted to get mine in before Fin got in his rap crap."

Fin glared. "You've been having a break with reality, old man."

John grinned at him. "I don't listen to that kind of talk outside of bed."

Elliot and Cragen shuddered. Olivia smirked. John and Fin were out in the precinct, but very rarely did they advertise except when they were trying to freak the others out. And with that, Get Back by the Beatles blared into the precinct.

"Oooookayyy, I've had far enough of the best of Bread for one day." Olivia huffed, changing the CD to Carrie Underwood and other country hits. John shuddered, but knew he'd had his turn. He did notice that he finished his paperwork in record time, though…

Casey came in and started singing along softly to Before He Cheats. Olivia joined in and soon they were full on shouting the song with glee. Fin and Munch covered their ears and Elliot gazed at them. Fin nudged Munch and pointed. They decided to take matters into their own hands.

"Elliot, you've gotta tell her someday. You and Kathy are officially divorced, it's time to face facts." Munch said. The girls didn't hear him.

Elliot sighed. He knew Munch was right. "I just haven't found the right moment…"

Munch grinned and reached back into his box. He pulled out a CD titled 'Crooner's Mix'. "It's got everything. Sinatra, Vinton, Bing, never fails. Get her in a secluded spot, cue this, and watch the magic."

"It even worked on me." Fin admitted reluctantly. "He snuck in some R&B."

Munch smacked him playfully on the ass. Fin grinned. "You'll pay for that."

Elliot didn't hear him. He was forming a plan in his mind….

Elliot invited Olivia to the precinct, so she wouldn't grow suspicious. After much thought, he knew that they would both be happier if she knew how he felt. Olivia walked in. "Where is everybody?"

"Home…I wanted this to be…special." For the first time, Elliot was at a loss for words.

Olivia was a bit surprised by the somewhat lost look in his eyes. "What's up, Elliot?"

Elliot gestured toward a chair and she sat. Reaching back he managed to hit a play button on the remote and The Way You Look Tonight by Frank Sinatra came into the room. She looked around, pleased but hopelessly confused.

Elliot sat down on the desk. "Olivia…I've been hiding this for a long time, but now that Kathy and I are divorced, I realize that there was another woman that I had feelings for all along."

He took her hand. "I love you, Olivia. I know this is a bad time to admit it, but I've loved you for as long as I can remember." He kissed her hand gently.

He looked up and was startled at the tears in Olivia's eyes. "Liv? What's wrong? Oh, God, I-"

She reached out and kissed him fiercely. She pulled back and gazed at him. "I've been waiting for this for so long…I didn't think I could hope…" She kissed him again. "I love you too, Elliot."

They stood up and began to dance. Now was a time to celebrate.

The next day, Munch found flowers on his desk, with a note.

"It worked. Lunch is on me."

Fin came up behind him. "Ooh, flowers. Someone I know?"

"Little thanks from Elliot. Worked like a charm."

Fin began to run his fingers through John's salt-and-pepper hair. John shivered slightly. He never identified himself as a gay man, but Fin seemed to have an effect on him. He trusted Fin, as a partner in and out of fighting crime, and he would only let him touch him this intimately.

John and Fin were out in the precinct, but they still hid it well. They lived together, but that didn't arouse much suspicion. They'd been 'partnered' romantically for at least two months. And what John liked best was it was someone he knew he could trust. John was nearly scared to death of these feelings, Fin helped him through them. John was nervous when Fin and him began to talk about sex, but when they first did it, John was at ease. It opened a new door, it showed his partner was someone he trusted with his life and his heart.

Except he didn't really show it.

John wasn't an emotional man, neither was Fin, except when they were alone together. John reached up and touched Fin's hand gently. He did this often, showing his feelings with actions, not words.

He began to think he needed a dose of his own medicine…

Fin met him in the precinct. He was confused, John usually wasn't this affectionate, especially not here. John sat on the desk as More Than Words by Extreme came on. He sat up and extended his arms to Fin. "Come dance with me?" The man smiled and moved in to embrace him.

They didn't really dance, just swayed to the music, but they listened, and realized how much it applied to them:

"Saying I love you, is not the words I want to hear from you,

It's not that I want you not to say it, but if you only knew,

How easy, it would be to show me how you feel…

More than Words, is all you have to do to make it real,

Then you wouldn't have to say, that you love me,

Cause I'd already know…"

Fin and John touched foreheads as they danced. John began to speak. "Oda…" That was his petname for Fin. Fin knew he said it when he was either serious or when they were alone. He loved it, but only when John said it.

"Oda, I'm happy." He sighed. "It's taken a long time, but I'm finally happy. You made me happy…I just want you to know." He looked into his eyes. "I love you."

Fin looked at him. He didn't have to say it, but he knew he meant it. "I love you too, John." They kissed gently as the song ended.

They began to pack up to go home. "Fin?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks. For everything."

Fin rubbed his neck. "I should be thanking you."

The next day, Cragen thought he would scream. If he didn't want to have to re-pair up his detectives, he would've put a stop to the high-school antics of the team. Elliot and Olivia were passing love notes, thinking they were being private. John and Fin were stealing glances and brushing against each other every chance they got.

Cragen knew he had to put a stop to it somehow. He cued a song on the jukebox, American Idiot by Green Day. He knew that this would cue John on a conspiracy theory, causing the others to break their lovey-dovey mood.

"You know this is one of the songs from today I can really relate to. Did you know that the government is going to…"

Cragen looked on in shock as they listened to John without so much as a complaint. The jukebox was a godsend. It worked.

The jukebox passed the test. They had kept it for over a month now. Cragen said the two couples could stay partners if they didn't let their love get in the way of their work. So far, they had kept that promise.

It was two months after the jukebox entered their lives. Elliot and Olivia were dating, finally. John and Fin weren't bickering as much. And it seemed like all was right with the world…until one fateful day.

John and Fin were in the car on one of the coldest days of winter. Christmas was coming soon. John and Fin were sipping coffee, shivering from the cold, waiting for a perp to exit his apartment. "If he doesn't come out in the next five minutes, I'm goin' home." Fin said, trying to keep his teeth from chattering. They had been there for nearly an hour.

John nodded. "Wait…is that him?"

The man spotted the car and started to run. Fin kicked it into high gear and sped after him. He ran down an alleyway, Fin put the car in park and John proceeded to run after him. Fin tried to follow, but slipped on a patch of ice and fell on his side. Wincing and groaning, he froze in place when he heard a gunshot and a shout of surprise and pain. "Oh, God…" He prayed it wasn't what he dreaded.

"John…" He called out. "JOHN!" Still no answer. He pulled out his radio.

"This is Detective Tutuola, requesting a bus and police assistance on 24th and Johnson…"

After making the call, he managed to pull himself up and hurry over into the alley. The man was long gone, John was bleeding on the ground.

Fin ran to him and put pressure on his stomach to stop the bleeding. "JOHN! John, c'mon, stay with me, stay with me…c'mon John, please, please, don't go out on me, please…stay with me…please..." He babbled over and over. Tears won their battle for escape. "Damnit, John! Please! Don't leave me! I can't lose you! Stay with me, c'mon!"

John winced and opened his eyes with difficulty. "Oda…" His voice was raspy.

Fin looked at him, eyes pleading. "C'mon, John, stay with me! Please! I need you to hang in there, okay?"

John nodded weakly. Then the ambulance came and began their treatment, Fin riding close behind.

Everyone was up in arms trying to find out how John was doing, and where the man was now. Olivia was getting coffee for Fin, who looked strangely calm. He just sat there on the waiting room bench, staring off into space. She walked over to him. It took him a moment to register that she was handing him a cup of coffee. "Thanks." He murmured, taking it, but didn't take a sip.

"Fin…are you okay?"

Fin sighed. "Of course not. My partners in there, I can't find the guy who did it. And why the fuck aren't they telling us anything?!" He snapped at whoever would listen. His look softened. "Sorry."

"It's okay. Emotions are running pretty high right now."

Fin nodded. Olivia noticed something about Fin. A side she hadn't seen. The gentle side. The look in his eyes, the quiver in his hands…

"You really care about him, don't you?"

Fin sighed. "He's more than my partner. You know that."

"I know. I think that once this is over, you guys should take some time together. Put things in perspective?"

Fin looked to her, knowing what she meant. "Yeah. Thanks, Liv."

Elliot came up. "Hey, I just spoke to the doctor. John's out of surgery."

Fin stood up. "And?"

"Bullet hit him in the stomach, missed all the internal organs, they were able to stop the bleeding. He'll need time off, but he's gonna be okay."

Fin let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Good."

A nurse came up. "Are you with Detective Munch?"

"We work with him."

"Are there any family members here?"

They looked to Fin. He shrugged. "I don't know of any blood kin, his parents are dead. I am his partner though."

"You just said you were his partner."

Fin sighed. "I'm also a…partner."

The nurse nodded as it clicked. "I see. We have domestic partnership benefits for couples, but if you're not registered, I'm afraid I can't let you see him just yet. When he wakes up, I'll let you in."

The nurse walked away. Fin shook his head. "Figures."

Elliot shrugged. "I'm just throwing it out there, but have you two considered…commitment?"

Fin threw him a look. First it started as anger, then confusion, then of something completely untraceable. He walked away, leaving Olivia confused and Elliot thinking he had said something wrong.

"Fin, I'm not made of glass okay? I can walk." John protested as Fin led him into their apartment. He had just been released after a weeks stay in the hospital.

"John, you just got out of the hospital for a bullet wound. At least let me help you to the bedroom."

John grinned. "Ah. You want me in full form, do you?"

Fin chuckled. "Not tonight. You need to rest."

"I rested for a week in that hospital." John sighed. "I hate hospitals. Always have. Spend too much time in them."

Fin helped him sit on the bed with him. "I just…want to relax tonight, you know?"

John saw the look in Fin's eyes. "I know." He took his hand. Fin sighed.

"Okay. It's now or never." He thought.

"John…I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh?" John said, taking off his shoes and unbuttoning his shirt.

"This is going to sound…oh, fuck, I'll just say it. Do you want to be my partner?"

John looked puzzled. "I am your partner."

"I meant…my partner." He sighed and held up two gold bands. John looked at them in shock. Fin closed his eyes and let his mouth take over.

"John, I was terrified when that bastard shot you. I could've lost you. Then the nurse wouldn't let me see you right away, and probably wouldn't even have talked to me if we weren't cops, because we weren't a registered couple…I realized that I want to take care of you. I know you've had bad relationships, but I…I love you. And I want to be with you." He finally looked at John, who had a hand over his face to hide his tears. "Fin."

He panicked. "John, w-we don't have to, I mean it probably is too soon…"

"Fin."

"I mean, we can stay like this, I don't want you to leave me-"

"ODA!"

The name snapped him out of it. John was smiling. "Oda, I want this. I love you. Yes, I'll be your partner."

With that, the two slid the bands onto each other's fingers and had their own 'ceremony'. The paperwork could wait for later.

By tomorrow, word had already leaked that John and Fin were getting 'married.' Cragen congratulated them, but was worried that IAB might consider it a problem.

"Oh, yeah! This I can do!" Elliot shouted in approval as It's Still Rock and Roll To Me by Billy Joel played on the jukebox. He jumped up and began to dance and sing to the music, Olivia fawning, the others cracking up.

He ended on a high note, skidding on his knees…right into Cragen. He looked up with a look and got back to his desk, as though nothing had happened.

Cragen rolled his eyes. "John, Dr. Huang's here, he wants to see you."

Fin gave him a look of confusion, which his partner shared. "Why?"

"He says he might be able to help you with your domestic partnership license."

John nodded, but wondered how he could help…

Dr. Huang greeted him warmly. "Congratulations on your news."

"Thanks, but how are you here to help? Can psychatrists perform ceremonies?"

Dr. Huang chuckled. "No. I'm here to help you with the ceremony, and talk to you about the process…I've already got a license with my partner, Steven."

John's eyebrows threatened to climb off his face. "You never mentioned that."

"You didn't ask. Did you want a justice of the peace to perform it, or a religious leader?"

John shrugged. "Justice works for me, but I'll ask Fin."

"I might be able to snag the same place I had…and I brought the paperwork here. If you need help, you know where to find me." He handed him some folders.

"Thanks, doc. How long have you been partnered?"

"Four years. I hope you two have that and more." He smiled as he walked away. John sighed. "The more you know…"

"So, Munch and Fin really seem to be hitting it off, huh?" Olivia said over coffee the next morning.

"Yeah, this is a big step for them." Elliot said, grabbing some files.

"You support domestic partnership in same-sex couples?"

"Yeah, I think if the couples love each other, they should have that right."

"Good. Because Casey and I-"

"YAAAAAAAA!" Elliot shrieked, causing people to turn and stare.

Olivia giggled awkwardly. "Just kidding."

"John. Fin. In my office. Now."

"What's up, Captain?" Fin asked, closing the door.

"There's something on you guys in the paper." They picked it up, it wasn't the front page, but it was a big article:

"Gay NYPD Detectives to Wed in December Ceremony"

"I'm a little pissed that they didn't hide our names, but why should this matter? We've taken shit before."

Cragen sighed. "They listed the place where you're having the ceremony. There's going to be press, protesters, the works."

"Aw, man! Huang went into a lot of trouble getting that place for us!" Munch argued. "We can't just back out!"

Cragen nodded. "I'll put a protective detail at the ceremony. See if I can keep them at bay."

It was December 10th, the day of the union. They had a bit of an argument over the dress code. John wanted tuxes, Fin wanted casual, they compromised on suits. Elliot, who had been picked as Fin's best man, walked in, along with his son.

"Hey." His son had a grin.

"Hey." He gave him a hug.

Elliot checked his watch. "Five minutes. You ready?"

Fin let out a huge breath. "Ready as I'll ever be. How bad is it out there?"

The usual crowd of press, and a small group of protesters. You should be okay."

Olivia poked her head in. "Fin…we're ready."

Huang had set up a judge's chambers into a lovely room set with gold and silver highlights. The justice stood on a small platform, and John was standing there with Cragen, Casey, and Olivia. Elliot and Darius walked to the other side. Dr. Huang and his partner were there, too.

Fin caught his breath as he stood beside John, and slid his hands into his. He saw John in a suit every single day, but…this was different.

They nodded to the justice.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are here to unite in partnership, Mr. John Munch, and Mr. Odafin Tutuola. They are partners on the job, protecting citizens, and now they will be partners in life, protecting each other."

Olivia cracked a sob. They turned to her. "Sorry!" She mouthed, while smiling through tears. They chuckled.

"First of all, if there's anyone who objects to this union, please leave now."

They chuckled again at that comment. "John Munch, do you promise to love, respect, and cherish Odafin, and be his true and faithful partner?"

John's breath caught. His eyes were watery as he said, "I do."

Fin's grasp tightened on his hands. "Odafin Tutuola, do you promise to love, respect, and cherish John, and be his true and faithful partner?"

Fin nodded. "I do."

"Then, by the power vested through me in the state of New York, I pronounce you partners in life."

They slid into a kiss as everyone cheered. They had to sign a few forms, but it was a blur. "Okay, everyone down to a reception at the precinct!" Elliot called out, to the approval of the others.

They heard the shouts coming from outside. John and Fin held their breath, grabbed their hands together and walked out proudly, thinking to make a point…

They were shocked at what they saw.

There was a small group of anti-gay protesters there, yes. But there was an even bigger group of gay rights activists cheering. They even saw a few officers there. They looked shocked, then happy. They waved to them and went to the 1-6.

John and Fin had the first dance, to More than Words, Olivia, Warner, and Casey were squeeing over how cute they were. Then Elliot moved into a dance with Olivia, as Unforgettable by Nat King Cole, came over the jukebox.

"It was a beautiful ceremony." Steven said to them.

"Thanks you guys. That was sweet of you." John had his arm around Fin, who seemed to be drunk, drowsy, and happy with his head pillowed on his shoulder.

Huang smiled warmly. "I'm glad you're happy, John. It's about time."

John smiled at his partner. "Yeah. It is."

Elliot and Olivia managed to escape from the crowd and head to Olivia's apartment. They professed their love by making love for hours on end. Everything was going well.

Cragen sat in the precinct alone after hours. The party was over, the confetti still on the floor. He just marveled at how much had changed. Elliot and Olivia were together. John was married again, to Fin at that. The squad wasn't the wrecked mess it was before.

You're my Best Friend by Queen came on the jukebox. Cragen smiled, got up and rubbed the jukebox affectionately. "Thank you." He whispered before turning off the lights and leaving.

He didn't hear it, but the jukebox made some sort of a purring noise. It almost sounded like 'Welcome'.

-THE END-