Prologue:

"Damn it!" John Munch groans as he sneezes once again. "Geez John, 5th one in a row?" Olivia Benson teases as she heads to her desk just as she's putting her cell phone back in her pants pocket. "7th, this guy just won't quit it." Odafin "Fin" Tutuola pipes in, rubbing his forehead. "Wow, you think you could use a break Munch?" Elliot Stabler adds, walking out of Captain Don Cragen's office, Cragen right behind him as well.

"Not a chance. Anyway, I'm fine…damn it!" Munch responds, grabbing a tissue off his desk as he sneezes for the 8th time. "Well I think not. Damn it Munch you've been wheezing all day. Take off 3 days, at least. I'll find Fin a temporary partner for the next few days." Cragen intercepts. "Get out. John hasn't missed a day since I started workin' here." Fin looks from Cragen to Munch. "First time for everything I guess." Olivia says curiosity, looking over at reluctant John.

Over in the Bronx:

Just as the Bronx Precinct is starting to wind down from a hectic day of nabbing men involved in a giant sex trade, Bronx Captain Suzette Sullivan receives a phone call. The phone rings twice before she picks up. "Hello Cragen. How could I possibly help you?" she answers in a bitter-sweet tone. She'd known Don Cragen since she was in the 3rd grade, while he in the 5th. She'd always had a crush on him but was jealous of his work in the force.

"Sullivan. I need you to send over one of your finest. I've gotta guy out sick for a few days and figured I'd call someone who speaks my language. Doesn't that new one, Carradine, work there?" Cragen asks quietly on the other line. "Ah, yes she does. And a very good detective she is Don. I'll send her over tomorrow." Suzette responds seductively. "Um, thank you Suzette. Have a good night ma'am." Cragen says back nervously. "As do you sir." She smiles to herself, hanging up the phone. Slowly walking out of her office, Captain Sullivan's eyes wander for one of her recent imports, 32-year old Joan Carradine.

"Joan, you will report to Manhattan's Special Victims Unit tomorrow." Suzette says sternly. Joan's partners all look at her confusedly. "What for Captain?" Joan asks, just as confused. "They've gotta man out for a few days so I'll need you to show them your stuff. Who knows? Maybe they'll offer you to stay." Sullivan explains in a motherly tone. "Um, sure Capt." Joan replies; scooping up her leather jacket, preparing herself to head for home, which happened to be right down the street from the Manhattan Precinct.

The Next Day:

Joan's alarm wakes her up at 6:30 am. Slowly but surely, she crawls out of bed and heads for her kitchen to brew some coffee. Suddenly, nudging the side of her leg is her dog, a German shepherd named Sirius. After getting her coffee started, she walks over to her fridge and snatches a bag of dog food off of the top and empties some of it into Sirius's food bowl. "Good boy." She murmurs as he starts eating it. Leaning against the counter where her coffee pot is, Joan stares into it, watching the coffee pour into the pot slowly, as if it doesn't want to. "I hate waking up but I love a good sunrise." She says glumly to herself.

Once she gets herself a decent 2 cups of coffee, Joan heads for her bathroom, strips naked, cuts it on and jumps right in; and just stands there. Stands there in the semi-cold water, thinking. Yeah, it's been a fucked-up week. But when isn't it? You'll be alright kid. She smiles. The water continues pouring down her back, through her semi-wavy brown hair with black roots, but she dyed the front strands on the left side of her head dark red. It all pours down her face like never-ending tears. And boy was she a ball of energy on the inside. This part of her only came alive when she was working on "close-to-home" cases like rape, domestic violence, or even random shootings that happened to women.

After finally gathering the spirits to take a shower, when Joan stepped out, she glanced at herself in the mirror. Stared at her own reflecting green eyes in the mirror, a little brighter than caramel skin complexion, along with her average 5'8'' frame. She did this every morning however; gaze into the mirror at herself, wondering why she got the color eyes that she did, the skin she got, or why her hair was the way it was. Ha…What were my parents thinking? Joan laughs at herself. Whatever. I've gotta quit meeting with myself like this before this becomes a relationship. She laughs some more and heads into her bedroom to dress.

This'll do. Joan stands in front of her body mirror. Black tennis shoes, black pants and belt with her navy blue short-sleeve tucked in, her signature black leather jacket, a little eyeliner on, and her hair in a decent bun even though the red strands were hanging out. Swiping up her cell phone to deposit in her pocket, Joan notes that the time is 7:25. Walking out of her room and through the living room to the front door, she swipes her car keys off a coat hanger, along with her purse. It should only be like a 10 minute walk.

After locking her front door, Joan slides her car keys into her purse. Even though she was walking, in case there was a break-in at her apartment, she wanted the car keys to be secure with her.