16th Precinct, Monday, August 28, 2006
Lieutenant Christine McKeon aka Chris McKeon scowled as she entered the 16th precinct. Her long curly dark brunette hair tumbled in waves down her back as she walked through the first floor hallway. At 5'4 she didn't seem like a force to be reckoned with but her attitude more than made up for her height. She hid her dark brown eyes behind a pair or dark sunglasses and strolled through the precinct. Her high heeled boots clicked along the tile floor and her tight medium wash jeans framed her long legs. She wore a V-neck black sweater and on her belt her gun and shield displayed.
Fucking Cragen. She couldn't help but think to herself. She bit the inside of her lip as she stopped and waited for the elevator. Fucking Cragen gets to go on vacation and I get the honor of babysitting his perv squad. She growled lowly which earned her a puzzled look from the officer standing next to her also waiting for the elevator.
"What?" She snipped, her voice laced with a thick Brooklyn accent. His eyes immediately darted to the floor and he shifted on his feet uncomfortably. Chris rolled her eyes and shook her head. The doors to the elevator opened and she stepped in, the uniformed cop remained where he was.
"I'll wait for the next one." He said sheepishly.
"Good idea." She answered as she hit the button for the third floor. The doors slid closed and she rested her head against the cool metal of the elevator behind her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Calm down. You can kick Cragen's ass when he comes back. Chris chuckled softly to herself at that thought.
This had all started a week ago when Donald Cragen had taken her to dinner to catch up. They had first met nearly 19 years ago when Cragen had been the lead detective on her rape case. He had been on loan to Brooklyn SVU when homicides in Manhattan had apparently slowed. When she had been put into foster care Cragen had kept tabs on her and did what he could for her. He had become sort of a father figure and mentor to her. Like I need another father after what my real father did to me. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter trying to avoid any thoughts of her childhood.
When Cragen and she had started eating he brought up the topic he knew she would do anything to avoid.
"When are you going to come work SVU?" Cragen asked as he took a bite of his burger.
"Never." Chris muttered without a second thought, shoving a french fry in her mouth.
"Are you going to make me beg you until the end of time?" He asked leaning back and taking a sip of his diet coke.
"That's the plan." She said with a sigh. The table fell quiet for a minute and Chris tried to pretend she didn't notice the awkward silence.
"You are perfect for this job Chris." Cragen told her. "With your past…" Chris huffed in annoyance and leaned back in her chair crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at Cragen.
"Stop, okay? I get it, you've been bugging me about this for years. I'm perfect for SVU because I can relate to the victims I know this." She muttered her eyes moved to focus on an ugly painting on the other side of the room. "I like vice okay? I get along more or less with the assholes I work with." She took a breath and Cragen shook his head and chuckled to himself. "God knows that's an improvement from Narcotics and Transit."
"Guess you aren't sleeping with anybody in your unit yet? That's what happened with your other two assignments right?" Cragen asked. Chris rolled her eyes and took another bite of her burger.
"I was promoted." She answered after a minute in mid chew.
"Don't talk with your mouth full." Cragen told her. Chris went to open her mouth again and Cragen shushed her. "We both know that's bullshit so don't even argue with me." Chris shrugged and went back to eating. "So are you going to spend the rest of your career dressing up like a hooker and trying to lure Johns?"
"I'm really good at it." Chris said sarcastically.
"Chris, you have talent and you shouldn't be wasting your time in Vice. You're a 30 year old female and a lieutenant in the NYPD, not many others, if any have done that." Cragen told her as she continued to pick at her food ignoring him. "Look I'm going on vacation in a few weeks and…." Chris snapped her head up from her food and nervously looked at Cragen before cutting him off.
"Oh no, no, no." She told him as she pulled her wallet from her back pocket. "I know where you are going with this and no, I'm not doing it, I'm not going to be the commanding officer of the perv squad while you lay on a beach somewhere." Chris frantically opened up her wallet and pulled out a 20 dollar bill and left it on the table.
"I'm actually going on a trip to the poconos- no beach involved." He told her with smirk.
"Yeah well you enjoy that, give me a call when you get back." Chris stood up and pulled her jacket on.
"It's already done Chris, I put the request in to One P.P. that you take over for two weeks." Cragen told her. Chris frantically ran her hands through her long hair.
"Well undo it. I'm not doing this." She growled at him. He looked up at her and shook his head. "You are so lucky I left my gun at home." She snarled, Cragen chuckled in response. Chris glared at him for a second longer. "When?" She asked.
"In a week." He answered. Chris allowed her head to tilt back as she took a breath, her eyes focused on the ceiling.
"I'm going to One P.P. now to get this changed. I'm not doing this." Chris told him one of her hands on her hip.
"Do you know a Tom Cosgrove?" Cragen asked her.
"Why?" Chris asked her eyes falling to the floor.
"He took the papers from me when I requested you be transferred into my unit. When I mentioned you may not be all that willing he smiled and told me not to worry, that he'd take care of it." Cragen told her.
"Shit." Chris muttered, knowing that things with Tom hadn't ended well during the brief period they were hooking up and that she was now in fact stuck with SVU for the duration of Cragen's vacation, if she was lucky.
"Another colleague whose bed you spent the night in?" Cragen asked with a small smile.
"Something like that." She grumbled in response.
"I told you not to shit where you eat." He replied taking the last bite of his now cold burger. Chris scowled at him and stomped out of the bar. Cragen shook his head and leaned back in his chair. He knew this was for the best.
The elevator doors to the third floor opened and she walked into the hallway and down to the SVU squad room. She had been here once or twice late at night to talk to Cragen, but never when anyone was around. She took one final deep breath before stepping into the large room to see the empty desks of the detectives who would be working under her. Chris had decided to get there early to get the lay of the land before any of the squad got there.
She turned to the right and walked into Cragen's office and threw her messenger bag on the floor next to the desk and sat down in his chair. Chris closed her eyes and rubbed her temple, still unable to believe she was here. She glanced down at the desk to see a note from Donald Cragen written in scribble. The word "behave" was written in all capital letters with several exclamation points next to it.
"Asshole." She muttered, before pushing away from the desk to get some coffee.
A/N: Thank you for reading! I really enjoy reviews so drop me a note if you want. I've had this story bouncing around in my head for a while and finally decided to put it down on paper! In the coming chapters we learn more about Chris's past and how she handles SVU. I'm also looking for a beta, let me know if you are interested!