A/N: I DO NOT own any part of the Law & Order franchise, nor do I own the rights to the song Hallelujah, which is property of Leonard Cohen or American Woman by Lenny Kravitz. I also do not own the song Animals which is property of the band Nickelback or the absolutely fantastic show The Tudors which is property of Showtime Entertainment.

Hallelujah

John heard the distinct sound of someone knocking on the door downstairs just before he fell asleep. Jodi was already in an undisturbed sleep so he quietly crawled out of bed before picking up his clothes and throwing them on.

Thinking for a second before he went down, he went back and grabbed his gun before quietly sneaking out of the room and down the stairs.

The knocking on the door became more persistent as he neared the door. Anita was on her way to answer it but he shooed her away before looking through the peephole.

With a black hood covering her face, he recognized the slight hint of red hair before opening the door.

"Elizabeth." he said as he opened the door.

She nodded before stepping in just in case anyone was around.

"Hi John." she smiled before lowering her hood. Her bone-straight hair was up in a ponytail and she looked around wildly.

"Jodi's asleep." John let her know before lowering his gun and leading her to the kitchen.

"I didn't come here to see Jodi. I came to see you."

He looked at her in momentary surprise before flicking the kitchen lightswitch on.

"Can I get you anything?" he asked as she sat down at the island bar.

She shook her head before crossing her legs the same way Jodi did.

"No...I wanted to talk to you about the wedding actually."

He sat down across from her and waited anxiously to hear what she had to say. The atmosphere was much less tense without Jodi there glaring at Elizabeth as though trying to kill her.

"Go on." he urged her.

"Well John...no matter how much my daughter hates me, I need to be there. I can't miss this. I've missed so much of her life, and having that burden....I don't really think I can handle it anymore. I need to be there."

***************

Jodi opened her eyes groggily as the sounds of the song American Woman sounded from her phone. She felt around for it before answering in a sleepy haze. She noticed John's absence and figured her had to go to work.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Ms. Standford? This is Dr. Hansen. I have some news about your brother."

She sat up, eyes half open before trying to wake herself up.

"Yeah? Is he doing better?"

"He's awake." Dr. Hansen informed her.

Jodi's brain seemed to explode at the news. She jumped out of the bed before running to her closet and pulling out clothes to throw on.

"I'll be down there as soon as possible." Jodi chirped before pulling on clothes.

"Alright then. Bye." Dr. Hansen said the slightest bit bitter before hanging up the phone.

Jodi slid into a pair of sweatpants before grabbing a tank and hoodie and her shoes. She continued to dress as she ran down the stairs before she ran into Anita.

"Hey, do you know if John went to work?" she asked.

"No. He's in the kitchen." Anita replied before making a beeline for the stairs, not wanting to be near the explosion Jodi would experience when she found John and Elizabeth in the kitchen.

Jodi walked down the hallway towards the kitchen, still pulling on various items of clothing. As she neared the door she stopped when she heard the sound of quiet conversing.

"John?" she asked turning the corner into the steel room while pulling the tank top over her flat stomach. John and Elizabeth both looked up from where they were sitting. Almost immediately, a tense layer of emotion filled the room as Jodi struggled to hold back the powerful feelings that came up whenever Elizabeth was near.

"Jodi-" John began, not quite sure of how to explain himself. After making polite conversation, Elizabeth finally let on that she wanted to be invited to the wedding. John could see in her eyes the pain of having missed her child's life, and the detestation that Jodi exhibited whenever she was near. He took pity on her, and agreed to let her come. Just as he was giving her the date, place, and time, Jodi strolled into the room half-dressed.

"Anthony is awake. John you can come with me if you want. Elizabeth...you have five minutes after we leave and if your not out of my house by then, we'll have an issue." she stated coldly before spinning on her heel and walking back down the hall.

John and Elizabeth both glanced at each other before jumping up. John knew it would be awkward, but Cragen would kill him if he found out that John had gotten the chance to interview Anthony and didn't. Beside that, he needed to be there for Jodi, no matter how angry she was.

Jodi opened the front door, trying to push back the tears that were pricking her eyes. She really didn't even care what Elizabeth and John were talking about, all she knew was that she wanted nothing to do with that woman and John knew that. She felt slightly betrayed and completely angry with the fact that Elizabeth was now showing up at her home.

She opened the door to her car, which hadn't been driven in close to a month before turning it on to let it warm up. John emerged with Elizabeth in tow and Jodi pursed her lips, wondering how she was going to keep in what she had to say to him on the way to the hospital.

They exchanged words before he crossed the street to the car, knowing that he was going to get it. He got in, ready to say something but instead Jodi turned up the radio volume as loud as it would go, until the sound of the song Animals flooded out everything in her mind.

John watched her as she drove, her jaw clenched, knuckles white on the steering wheel. He wanted to say something, but at the same time knew that wouldn't be for the better. As they slowed down to a halt behind strange three-a.m. traffic, John tentatively turned down the music before turning to her. As he dead, she looked at him and gave him a glare so fierce it would have scared the devil himself.

"I'm sorry." he apologized gently before placing a hand on her thigh. He felt her body relax underneath his hand the tiniest bit and watched her face soften slightly.

"I just...I mean John...you know my feelings about her. Then again...I can't chose who you talk to, nor do I have any right. Just...please...not in our home. I don't want her there. And if you're going to meet with her for something, don't tell me. I don't want to know about it, see it, hear about it...I want absolutely nothing to do with her."

"Jodi...she really feels bad about not being there. I mean...you've got to understand. She just wants to be there for you."

"Yes John but, I spent my whole life crying and feeling it wasn't fair not to have a mother, then out og the blue she decides to show up and tell me that because of her mistakes she had to lie and pretend she wasn't there. I'm big when it comes to owning up to your mistakes and taking responsibility, and that seems to be something she's unable to-fuck!" she screamed as she slammed on the brakes. as some drunken idiot turned the a corner during a red light.

"Maybe we should talk about this later. I'm not really in the mood to have my face planted in the windshield and have to be pulled out with the jaws of life tonight."

"Maybe we should just drop it completely." Jodi muttered before turning the music back up to let him know that she didn't want to talk about anything.

**************

"Jo, your out of your goddamn mind if you think I'm gonna let you press rape charges." Anthony protested weakly from his hospital bed, barely awake and heavily sedated.

"Ant, finding out who did this to you will help us find a way to get dad out." Jodi argued.

"I can tell you everything you need to know to get dad out." he persisted.

"Then why don't you?!"

"Are you crazy?! Do you know what they'll do to me?"

"Then why not help on this case?"

"I already feel bad enough having had some guys dick up my ass. You do realize how much of a pussy I'll feel like if I run to the police?"

"This is bigger than your ego. Besides, if they already tried to kill you...well it's safe to say your out right?"

"No baby girl. Your not out until The Don says your out, and when that happens...what they already did to me will look like child's play."

Jodi crossed her arms and shifted legs. John sat in a chair on the other end of the room, taking in the entire situation. Anthony understandably didn't want to continue his case, seeing as to how he felt like his masculinity would be undermined, something that Jodi understood surprisingly well. He also couldn't give them direct information knowing what they would do to him. So how exactly was he going to help them?

Anthony looked back and forth between his little sister and John. Even through the drug-induced haze, he could see the evident tension, and found his opportunity to change the subject.

"Trouble in paradise?" he croaked.

"What?" Jodi asked looking up.

"You two don't look happy."

Jodi rolled her eyes before walking over to his bedside.

"Go to bed." she grinned before kissing him on the cheek.

John stood up, figuring that it was her signal that they were leaving. As they walked out of the room, Elizabeth came down the hallway towards them, coming to do the same thing. Jodi said nothing to her, making her way down the hall. John gave her a small smile before catching up with Jodi.

As they walked through the parking garage, he grabbed her hand. She squeezed his back tightly, still angry but not wanting him to let go. They got in the car and Jodi sighed. Why did all these things have to happen when she was trying to plan her dream wedding? She was usually as selfless as humanly possible, but her wedding was supposed to be her day, and it just wasn't fair that everything was getting in the way of that.

A flash of silver caught John's eye as he buckled his seatbelt. He narrowed his eyes, trying to find the place where it came from. The flash moved again, and his heart pounded, knowing what it was. As if in slow motion, he grabbed Jodi and pulled her down just as the bullet came flying towards where their heads had previously been.

Several more shots rang out, piercing through the glass windshield and coming to rest who knew where. There was the sound of voices as the security fled toward the scene to find the commotion, and a car speeding off. John grabbed Jodi's upper arm and slowly lifted his head up.

She let out an indescribable sound as she looked at her windshield.

"You okay?" John asked.

"Am I o-" she stopped when she looked up at her damaged windshield. Before he could stop her, Jodi sat up and got out of the car before slamming the door shut and staring at her damaged car in horror. Three bullets pierced the windshield, and one had skimmed the roof of the car, leaving a mark.

"Jodi!" John exclaimed, grabbing her arm. Several night guards ran towards them, trying to find out what all the commotion was.

"My baby. My baby. They shot my fucking baby!" she screamed before running to the car and running her fingers over the shattered glass.

John stood there, slightly shocked by her reaction. Out of all the times he had been shot at, this had shaken him up a bit because of the fact that Jodi could have been hurt, but she seemed more concerned about her car.

"Everyone alright here?!" one of the guards asked as he ran towards them with two others in tow.

"Detective Munch, Special Victims. Someone squeezed off a few up there." he pointed to where the shots had come from.

"Are you okay miss?" the other asked Jodi.

"Do I look alright to you?! Do you know how much this fucking car fucking cost?! Look at it!!! Look!!!! Does that fucking look alright to you?" she snapped so loudly that everyone turned and stared at her.

She let out a loud screech before walking in the opposite direction of the parking garage.

"Wait!"John yelled as he broke into a run to chase her down. He grabbed her hand, pulling her back. "Where the hell are you going?" he asked.

"Where am I going? I'm going to go kick their asses myself. MY FUCKING CAR!!!!!" she screamed. John backed away, watching her face. It was a growing mixture of fury, panic, and despair. Was she really this upset over her car?

"Jodi...just calm down."

"No John! That's my goddamn Camero." her lip trembled before she sunk to the ground and buried her face in her knees like a pouting toddler.

"Jodi, get up!" he demanded firmly. He needed to get them inside somewhere out of the open.

She stood up with her arms crossed before walking back to her car, opening the door and getting inside. She sat in the front seat, rubbing the dashboard gently.

"We need to get inside, now." one of the officers looked back and forth between Jodi and John.

"I'll have to drag her out of there." John replied before digging his phone out of his pocket to call Cragen.

*******************

"Are you really going to sit there pouting all day because of your car? They said it would be good as new in a week." John said as he walked into their bedroom suite.

As soon as everything had been settled, both Cragen and Claudia Williams had gotten them moved to a hotel despite their protests and Elliot and Olivia had been reassigned as the major detectives on Anthony's case.

As soon as they had arrived, Jodi had curled up in the bed and stared blankly at the wall as she mourned the injury of her prize car. All the time she had spent working on it, replacing the engine with something that had a little more...oomf! It was like a pet to her. A trusty steed, and now it was hurt. She was like one of those men who were married to their cars,.

"You don't understand." she muttered into the soft sheets.

He rolled his eyes before getting into the bed with her and sighing. He was on an unofficial vacation, and he was loving every second of it.

"No I don't. Most people would be freaking out about the fact that they were shot at, but all you care about is the car."

"It's not a car, it's a Camero, and his name is Nikita."

He looked at her before letting out and uncontrolled laugh,

"As in Nikita Kruschev?"

"Yes." she mumbled before turning around to face him, her face blotched with red spots and her eyes puffy. Outside, a loud thunderclap made her gasp and she jumped up about a mile.

"You okay?" John asked.

"Yeah, just scared the shit out of me." she said placing a hand on her chest. She giggled bashfully before wiping her face. "Is it really doing this in January?" she looked at the gap in the curtains at the orange-tinged sky.

"What do you expect? We're putting more toxins in the air than gases in the atmosphere."

"I hope it doesn't go on like this all night."

John returned his attention to the TV, where a repeat of The Tudors was playing.

"So we know he's going to end up killing Anne, we know he didn't look that attractive in real life, and we know he was a world-class jerk. So what more is there to put on a show?" John asked while watching Henry and Anne Boleyn have sex in the woods.

"To entertain me." Jodi replied before snuggling into John. He stroked her thigh gently,feeling some of her muscles unclench and her tense body relax.

Jodi smiled as his fingers ran over her bare thigh. For some odd reason, watching two other people have sex paired with John's fingers on her was kind of a turnon. She looked up at his intense face and planted a small kiss on his jawline. He looked down at her and smiled before pressing his lips to hers.

The thunder sounded loudly outside as ran began to patter the window. Jodi ignored it as John rolled on top of her and continued to kiss her.

Between their loud breathing and hands roaming over each others body, neither noticed the lights flicker ominously in the room. They also didn't notice the weather warning on the television that had just interrupted the show.

His lips moved to her neck and Jodi bit her lip before wrapping her arms around his body. She began to unbutton his shirt before pressing her lips to his shoulder. He moaned into her neck, causing her a similar reaction.

Just as he pulled away to get undressed there was a loud whir before the room went dark. They both froze where they were, unsure of what just happened.

John immediatly jumped out of the bed and rushed to the window. He peeked through the gap in the curtain to the blackened New York streets. Across the sky he saw a lightning bolt flash followed by another loud crack of thunder.

"It's the storm." he confirmed before crawling back into bed where sat shivering against the headboard.

"You okay?" he asked, feeling her body tremble.

She nodded and gave a small and whimpery reply. Another flash of lightning decorated the sky and room and Jodi jumped.

John suddenly realized that she was afraid of storms. He had finally found her one weakness. Somewhere in their suite came the sound of Sadie whimpering as well, and John had to repress a chuckle at the similarities in both of them.

"It's okay, your safe." he whispered soothingly in Jodi's ear before pressing his lips to the back of her neck. He wrapped his arms around her protectively, trying to stop her shaking. She buried her face in his shoulder as the storm blew horrifically.

He ran his fingers through her red hair softly as he held her. Hotel staff would be going around checking on every room, but they were on the top floor. They had awhile to wait.

"Would story time help?" he asked. Many times when she would wake up in the middle of the night with nightmares (which was often), John usually coaxed her back to sleep with stories of his less-disturbing cases. To his surprise Jodi loved them. She loved hearing all about what he did, what he saw. It was actually have someone to talk to the cases about.

"Go for it." she sniffled before attempting to compose herself.

"Okay so...let's dig into the archives. I've got a more recent one. Actually, I sort of brought it up to you once. Do you remember me mentioning a guy named Dale Stuckey?"

She nodded.

"Well, we had found this girl's body in Central Park, and the murder pointed back to this psychopathic paranoid freak named Peter Harrison...."

The story had taken about ten minutes, after he omitted some of the more disturbing details and the part about Gwen. As he thought about her for a moment he felt guilty. Back last year when he had seen her, she had told him she had hopes of getting back together. Was it really fair to her that he now loved another woman? One nearly three times younger.

"Better?" he asked.

She responded by seeking out his lips in the dark before kissing him. As the storm continued outside, he found himself laying on top of her seconds later as he fumbled clumsily to get her clothes off.

Rain beat against the window loudly, sounding like hail. The lightning illuminated the room in intervals followed by the loud crack of thunder.

John pressed his lips to Jodi's collarbone, knowing it was one of her more sensitive areas. She dug her nails into his skin and moaned softly. His lips continued to work their way down her body. He kissed the diameter around each of her nipples, pressing his thumb lightly to the raised skin.

Jodi closed here eyes as John continued to press his lips to her smooth skin. The heat in her body pooled in her nipples and below her waist, and every touch he made caused her body to twitch in arousal.

He wrapped his hands around her firm thighs before sliding his tongue inside of her, tasting her sweet slickness. She grabbed a fistful of his hair, whimpering softly as he probed her spot with his tongue. As he continued to work her over with his mouth, he dug his fingers into her thighs, feeling himself begin to pound.

As he listened to her moans, everything else disappeared except the feel of the sheet on top of his head,and the warmth of Jodi's body.

"John." she repeated softly, grasping the sheets and clenching them tightly. Her chest rose and fell heavily and her body flushed brightly.

He continued to pleasure her before removing his tongue and focusing his attention back on her mouth. She kissed him hungrily, her nails digging into the back of his neck before he gently and in anticipation slid himself into her.

He positioned himself for a moment before he began to thrust into her slowly. Her moans escalated to loud cries and she ran her fingers over his back.

He quickened his pace, feeling her legs wrap around his waist. She wrapped her arms around his back tightly as sweat began to bead on her skin. John felt her walls began to pulsate as her body neared its climax.

Over the sound of her loud moans and their heavy breathing, Sadie began to bark loudly as someone knocked at their door.

"Someone....is at....the door..." Jodi said in between gasps.

"Ignore it." John panted as he continued to moved inside of her.

The knocking persisted and so did John. Jodi's cries got louder and louder until they were heard all the way on the other end of the room. Outside the door, one of the many hotel workers who were running around checking on everyone backed away from the door awkwardly as he heard the sounds of passion going on inside.

"Harder." she moaned into his ear.

He complied by quickening his pace once more. Lightning struck, outlining her body. Her shaking breasts, her hair spread around her face like a halo.

She suddenly dug her nails into his shoulders as her body tensed around him. At the same exact time he shuddered before spurting inside of her. He hovered over her for a moment before collapsing beside her.

Jodi closed her eyes, another waves of fatigue and nausea passing over her and was grateful that she was in the bed. Over the past week she had been having these bizarre dizzy spells and she couldn't figure out why.

"What would you say to us getting out of here tomorrow?" John asked her suddenly.

"Like where?" she looked over at him.

"Out of Manhattan. Just for a bit, to get away from all of this."

"Will your captain be fine with that?"

"Considering that fact that our live are at steak here, I'd say he'd be okay with it."

She cuddled up next to him in response before closing her eyes and drifting off to the sounds of John's breathing and the storm outside. Sadie came in and jumped up on the bed before finding a spot between them both. John smiled and stroked her tiny head gently before kissing Jodi on the forehead.

His life may have been at risk, but all he cared about was having her here in his arms.


So, I wrote these chapters a few weeks ago, and if you've happened to see that Kay commercial where it's storming outside all romantic dadadadada, I wrote this chapter before that first aired, therefore they are now stealing my "ingenious" romantic fantasies that no one else on this planet has. No no I actually did think of it before the commercial though.