Sam Adams and JFK
Chapter 1: A Shoulder to Cry On
Within the Timeline this happens after Season 5's "Loss"
Summary: Corrine Sidle has taken over some of the cases for SVU, after
Alex's death. After an unfavorable verdict, one of the detectives has to
comfort the young attorney. A romance starts, but a case that comes up in
Special Victims threatens to tear the couple apart before it ever really
gets off the ground.
Rating: PG
Feedback: Always welcomed- arwen2117@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: I don't own any the characters, except for Corrine Sidle, she
is of my imagination. Anyone else belongs to the talented and I'm sure
rich Dick Wolf. No infringement is intended.
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"Foreman, has the jury reached a decision?" the judge asked the man standing in the jury box.
The middle-aged man stood up and responded, "We have, Your Honor."
"Then what say you?"
"We find the defendant, Jeremy Carlyle, not guilty on one count of rape and not guilty on one count of assault with a deadly weapon."
Once the words "not guilty" left the lips of the foreman, Assistant District Attorney Corrine Sidle's heart dropped in the pit of her stomach. She had felt that the case against Jeremy Carlyle for the rape and assault of Anna Nunez was solid. But when the Medical Examiner got on the stand, the defense attorney managed to get the jury to question whether it was possible that someone else had infected Anna with herpes besides Jeremy. Jeremy didn't test positive, but a test can return a false negative if someone wasn't suffering from a outbreak. Because of this, Mr. Carlyle would walk away today a free man.
A wide, Cheshire cat grin spread across Jeremy Carlyle's face as he shook hands with his defense attorney. Corrine's head dropped in a sign of defeat when she gathered up her files on the table. When she turned around to leave, Corrine saw Anna Nunez standing a few feet away. Tears were welling up in her eyes.
"You said that you would put him away!" Anna spit out as tears began streaming out of her eyes.
"I thought we would, but jury deliberations are unpredictable," Corrine coolly replied, trying to maintain her composure in front of this distraught victim.
"I don't care! That monster has been let back out on the street to attack again! How am I supposed to sleep at night knowing that?" Anna asked.
"Ms. Nunez, I honestly don't know."
"I don't want to hear it. Because of you I feel like I was raped all over again. Get out of my face!" Anne interrupted with such anger that Corrine took a step back.
With that last statement, Anna spun away and Corrine hurriedly walked past her, barely containing the tears welling up in her own eyes. Most of the people in the courtroom took little notice of the Assistant District Attorney's quick exit. They thought that she would leave quickly after such a sound defeat on what seemed to be an open and shut case. But one pair of eyes took special note of Corrine Sidle's emotional frailty. The brown eyes framed by wire-rimmed glasses followed the young ADA as she left the courtroom. Detective John Munch had seen more murders, rapes, and other heinous crimes in his lifetime than he cared to admit. He knew all too well about the case that becomes personal. He picked up his dark overcoat and left to catch up with the attorney and possibly offer some words of solace.
"Ms. Sidle!" Munch shouted as he trotted down the courtroom stairs.
Corrine kept walking. She thought she heard someone yelling her name, but Corrine figured that it was just some reporter looking for a sound bite. Not wanting to face the firing squad while crying, Corrine quickened her pace and decided to cut through the park. Detective Munch noticed that Corrine was going to cut through the park and sped his walk up to a jog. By the time Corrine got to Central Park, Munch had shorten the distance between them to about 20 feet.
"Corrine!" Munch yelled again, this time eliciting a response.
"Look, I would really appreciate if you just leave me alone. I have no comment for." Corrine started to shout as she turned to rip whatever low life reporter had decided to follow her.
She stopped in mid sentence when she saw the detective standing behind her, breathing ever so slightly heavy.
"I'm sorry, Detective Munch. I thought you were a reporter."
"Yeah, I get that all the time. I think I need to get 'cop' tattooed across my forehead."
Corrine smiled at the joke before the tears started welling up in her eyes again. Suddenly, her legs couldn't support her anymore and she started to fall to the ground. Munch lunged forward and managed to catch her arm and lift her back up before she hit the ground. He led her over to a nearby bench and helped her sit down.
"Are you okay?" Munch asked, concerned.
"Yeah, I just lost my balance there for a moment. I'll be fine in a minute."
"I meant are you okay about what happened back there in the courtroom. You seemed pretty shook up after that little confrontation with Ms. Nunez."
"You saw that?"
Corrine thought that no one had seen her crying. Apparently, she had been wrong. How embarrassing, the detective must think that she is emotionally unstable. A lawyer that can't even keep it together for an unfavorable verdict and the subsequent chewing out by a victim.
"You must think pretty low of me. I couldn't even keep it together when Ms. Nunez started yelling at me," Corrine said, with almost a laugh in her tone.
"On the contrary. I would have been surprised if you didn't have a strong reaction to the outburst. Anyone would have crumbled even just a little bit, even me. The cold heartless detective," Munch said, raising his eyebrows from underneath his dark glasses.
Corrine gave a genuine laugh to the last comment.
"You know, I got into the law to make society better. I thought that putting the bad guys away would be my contribution to society. That's why I became a prosecutor. When they assigned me to Narcotics, I felt that I could make a real difference. I always thought that justice would always prevail. I guess I was wrong," she said, dropping her head to her chest.
"Listen, I know I might not be the best looking company, but if you could use a shoulder to cry on, I'm free all night," Munch said, smiling.
Corrine couldn't help but smile.
"I don't know about necessarily needing a shoulder, but I could certainly use a drink. I would love some company, I don't feel like drinking alone tonight."
"I know just the place."
Corrine and Munch got up from the bench and started to walk off in the direction of a bar that the detective. As they walked off, John tentatively reached to put his hand on Corrine's shoulder, but at the last moment, decided instead to put his hand in his pocket. John Munch was nervous, an emotion that he never felt and it scared him.
To Be Continued.
"Foreman, has the jury reached a decision?" the judge asked the man standing in the jury box.
The middle-aged man stood up and responded, "We have, Your Honor."
"Then what say you?"
"We find the defendant, Jeremy Carlyle, not guilty on one count of rape and not guilty on one count of assault with a deadly weapon."
Once the words "not guilty" left the lips of the foreman, Assistant District Attorney Corrine Sidle's heart dropped in the pit of her stomach. She had felt that the case against Jeremy Carlyle for the rape and assault of Anna Nunez was solid. But when the Medical Examiner got on the stand, the defense attorney managed to get the jury to question whether it was possible that someone else had infected Anna with herpes besides Jeremy. Jeremy didn't test positive, but a test can return a false negative if someone wasn't suffering from a outbreak. Because of this, Mr. Carlyle would walk away today a free man.
A wide, Cheshire cat grin spread across Jeremy Carlyle's face as he shook hands with his defense attorney. Corrine's head dropped in a sign of defeat when she gathered up her files on the table. When she turned around to leave, Corrine saw Anna Nunez standing a few feet away. Tears were welling up in her eyes.
"You said that you would put him away!" Anna spit out as tears began streaming out of her eyes.
"I thought we would, but jury deliberations are unpredictable," Corrine coolly replied, trying to maintain her composure in front of this distraught victim.
"I don't care! That monster has been let back out on the street to attack again! How am I supposed to sleep at night knowing that?" Anna asked.
"Ms. Nunez, I honestly don't know."
"I don't want to hear it. Because of you I feel like I was raped all over again. Get out of my face!" Anne interrupted with such anger that Corrine took a step back.
With that last statement, Anna spun away and Corrine hurriedly walked past her, barely containing the tears welling up in her own eyes. Most of the people in the courtroom took little notice of the Assistant District Attorney's quick exit. They thought that she would leave quickly after such a sound defeat on what seemed to be an open and shut case. But one pair of eyes took special note of Corrine Sidle's emotional frailty. The brown eyes framed by wire-rimmed glasses followed the young ADA as she left the courtroom. Detective John Munch had seen more murders, rapes, and other heinous crimes in his lifetime than he cared to admit. He knew all too well about the case that becomes personal. He picked up his dark overcoat and left to catch up with the attorney and possibly offer some words of solace.
"Ms. Sidle!" Munch shouted as he trotted down the courtroom stairs.
Corrine kept walking. She thought she heard someone yelling her name, but Corrine figured that it was just some reporter looking for a sound bite. Not wanting to face the firing squad while crying, Corrine quickened her pace and decided to cut through the park. Detective Munch noticed that Corrine was going to cut through the park and sped his walk up to a jog. By the time Corrine got to Central Park, Munch had shorten the distance between them to about 20 feet.
"Corrine!" Munch yelled again, this time eliciting a response.
"Look, I would really appreciate if you just leave me alone. I have no comment for." Corrine started to shout as she turned to rip whatever low life reporter had decided to follow her.
She stopped in mid sentence when she saw the detective standing behind her, breathing ever so slightly heavy.
"I'm sorry, Detective Munch. I thought you were a reporter."
"Yeah, I get that all the time. I think I need to get 'cop' tattooed across my forehead."
Corrine smiled at the joke before the tears started welling up in her eyes again. Suddenly, her legs couldn't support her anymore and she started to fall to the ground. Munch lunged forward and managed to catch her arm and lift her back up before she hit the ground. He led her over to a nearby bench and helped her sit down.
"Are you okay?" Munch asked, concerned.
"Yeah, I just lost my balance there for a moment. I'll be fine in a minute."
"I meant are you okay about what happened back there in the courtroom. You seemed pretty shook up after that little confrontation with Ms. Nunez."
"You saw that?"
Corrine thought that no one had seen her crying. Apparently, she had been wrong. How embarrassing, the detective must think that she is emotionally unstable. A lawyer that can't even keep it together for an unfavorable verdict and the subsequent chewing out by a victim.
"You must think pretty low of me. I couldn't even keep it together when Ms. Nunez started yelling at me," Corrine said, with almost a laugh in her tone.
"On the contrary. I would have been surprised if you didn't have a strong reaction to the outburst. Anyone would have crumbled even just a little bit, even me. The cold heartless detective," Munch said, raising his eyebrows from underneath his dark glasses.
Corrine gave a genuine laugh to the last comment.
"You know, I got into the law to make society better. I thought that putting the bad guys away would be my contribution to society. That's why I became a prosecutor. When they assigned me to Narcotics, I felt that I could make a real difference. I always thought that justice would always prevail. I guess I was wrong," she said, dropping her head to her chest.
"Listen, I know I might not be the best looking company, but if you could use a shoulder to cry on, I'm free all night," Munch said, smiling.
Corrine couldn't help but smile.
"I don't know about necessarily needing a shoulder, but I could certainly use a drink. I would love some company, I don't feel like drinking alone tonight."
"I know just the place."
Corrine and Munch got up from the bench and started to walk off in the direction of a bar that the detective. As they walked off, John tentatively reached to put his hand on Corrine's shoulder, but at the last moment, decided instead to put his hand in his pocket. John Munch was nervous, an emotion that he never felt and it scared him.
To Be Continued.
