Author's Note: This story takes place at some indefinite time during the series. This incident could occur any time. The details of what happened prior to this moment are not important. All that matters is that John Munch arrived too late to prevent a tragedy. Anyone who doesn't know him well might think he would brush it off, as he does any similar incident, with a shrug and a cynical joke. But some people know him better...

Disclaimer: I do not own Law & Order: Special Victims Unit or any of the characters. I get no financial compensation for my stories. I do this purely for my own amusement, and the amusement of anyone who may read this.


Fin walked into the hospital waiting room. Munch barely glanced his way. "She didn't make it." His expression encompassed grief, guilt, and something deeper, haunted. Everything he couldn't say. It nearly broke Fin's heart to see his partner like that. He approached tentatively, unsure how to help. Fin rested a hand on Munch's shoulder. A little girl was dead, and Munch was...shaken. Hurt to the core. Munch looked away, sniffed. A shudder ran through him, and he sighed heavily, turned to his partner. "We better go. Capn's waiting." The mask dropped back into place. Fin followed him out.