Title: One of Their Own

Author: SVUFanatic611

Rating: PG

A/n: Chapter 3 up! Well, I got my email back up, so if you have any comments, you can actually send them to me. I read your reviews and well, it was pretty unanimous. This one's going to be in Munch's POV. I was a little nervous. I'm not too good at Munch speak, so I tried my best. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: SVU and its associated characters are not mine.

---
SVU Squadroom
Same Day (Dec. 4, 2003)
-10:23pm-

John Munch's POV

When Olivia told me it was Elliot's address, I was left speechless and, trust me, that's a big deal for me. I've always been able to come up with some sort of clever, witty retort, no matter what the situation might be, but I just couldn't find any words for this one.

Maybe because there was nothing to laugh about. Maybe because this one had hit not just close to home, but right on the target. This one hit home like a ton of bricks. This child I knew. This child was one of our own.

Olivia, Fin, and I headed over to Elliot's house and, before we left, I caught a glimpse of a picture on Elliot's desk. It was a photo of Kathleen, professionally taken. She looked like an angel. Her smiling face almost brought me to tears, but I hid my feelings well. I was never one to cry. I knew it wouldn't be the first time I would have these kinds of feelings on this case. I knew the only way I was going to successfully contribute to the investigation was to disassociate myself.

We arrived at their house, and when Olivia told us that she was the one who needed to talk to Elliot, I was a little relieved.

I knew Elliot was feeling one of two ways – one: whether he was a raving father, demanding to know where his daughter was and handing out commands like he was a Navy sea captain, which wouldn't be completely off character for Elliot, or, two: he was in complete shock. In such shock, that he was numb. I guess I could understand that feeling. There are times when you're just beyond tears – when you become so numb, that it is impossible to cry or to feel anything in general. I knew that either one had to be dealt with in a special way and Olivia was equipped with dealing with each one.

We walked in the house and I immediately knew how Elliot was feeling. He was beyond tears. He was in shock. Before I could even say anything beyond 'hello' my cell rang. It was Cragen, telling me that, as much as he hated to take us away from the case at hand, we had a lead on a case Fin and I had been working on for about two months. I told Fin, and although I knew he was feeling like he was abandoning our colleague, we both knew Olivia was ready to deal with it on her own. It was probably for the best.

Fin and I drove to the station house. We didn't have too much to say to each other. Really, what could we say?

"We should've been allowed stay," I said to my partner.

"Olivia can handle it. Plus, he probably doesn't want too much of a crowd. I know Liz and Dickie don't know anything."

"How do you know that?"

"Liz kept givin' me weird looks, like I wasn't supposed to be there or something. If she knew, she would've expected us. And what Liz doesn't know, Dickie doesn't know."

I nodded. Maybe he was right. "She's probably already figured it out by now. That girl's too smart for her own good. She'll probably end up working for the government. The world isn't going to waste a brain like that. I bet they're going to train her and everything."

He laughed a little. I was back to my regular self; making witty comments, always lightening a mood. "Sure, Munch, keep thinking that."

Our conversation was terminated by our arrival at the precinct. We walked into the building, took off our coats, and met up with Cragen.

"Hey, guys. How are things going over there?"

We both gave mediocre answers. "Elliot looks like hell, and we can just leave how Kathy looked out of the conversation," I said.

"Olivia is there now," my partner pointed out.

He nodded and moved onto the case at hand. "Well, we got a lead on Sanchez. Eyewitness puts him at this address," he began, handing me a piece of paper. "She said that she saw cocaine and marijuana. He could be dealing."

"Are we going to have to call in Narcotics?" Fin asked. I had hoped not. I hated when we had to call on other precincts for help. Everyone thinks that all cops and precincts get along; that it doesn't matter about who catches the bad guys, as long as they're put to justice. Whatever they're drinking or smoking, I want some of it. We were already thought of as the scum of the NYPD. Why make it worse by proving that we couldn't handle a few drug dealers without calling for help?

"I don't know," replied my captain. "I'll call over there and see what they say."

Before we could say more, Olivia walked in. She looked just as tired as the Stablers did. I didn't know if it was because she hadn't been to sleep in twenty hours or because of the emotional toll the case was already starting to take on her…take on all of us.

I got up, moved to the coffee pot, and poured her a cup. It was something Elliot always did, but because he wasn't there, I figured I'd take over the responsibility for now.

"Here," I began, pushing the cup toward her. "You need this. It's gonna be a long night."

She smiled. "Thanks, John," she said, just a little absent-mindedly. I could tell something was bothering her.

"Penny for your thoughts?" I asked, hoping she'd give in.

"Not even worth that much," she answered.

"Well, then you're getting a fair profit. You wanna talk?"

"I just…it was hard seeing Elliot like that," she admitted.

"How are they holding up?"

"They're better than I'd expected, but still…their daughter is missing. They're pretty distraught."

I didn't reply. I didn't know how to. I could tell the effects of the case were beginning to return. Thank God, if there really was a one, she spoke up again. "So, what did the captain call you back down here for?"

"We got a lead on the Sanchez case. Witness claims she saw drugs inside the apartment."

"So, I'm guessing we're going to have to call in Narcotics."

Cragen came out of his office with a somewhat of a disappointed look on his face.

"What's up, Cap'?" she asked.

"I just got off the phone with Narcotics. They said they've been investigating Sanchez for the past month. We can't go in."

"What about the rape charges?" Fin asked.

"They said that he'd probably get more for the drug charges than with the rape case, but…"

"That's bull. He needs to get every available year we can jam up his ass."

"Listen, Fin, if you let me finish, I could tell you what else they said. From what I hear, they've got a couple of rookies on the case. They didn't think that it was going to get as far as it did. It was supposed to be something to keep them busy. Now that it's gotten to this point, they need somebody with experience, but all their other veterans are assigned on other equally important cases. Now, Fin, they said that if you are willing to lend a hand and take the lead on the case, they'll let us interrogate him about the rape and we might be able to add in the charge. You in?"

My partner considered it for a minute. "Isn't this a little unorthodox?"

"You wanna catch this guy?"

"Yeah," he replied with a little uncertainty.

"Than get on the phone and tell them you're on your way."

"Captain, what about Kathleen's case?" Olivia spoke up. We all knew where her thoughts were.

"You and Munch are now on the case. Try to keep your questioning under the radar, okay? An SVU detective's daughter has been kidnapped and has become the squad's newest case. The press is going to be all over it. I can already see the headlines."

Olivia and I nodded to each other. "So, where does this case take us first?"

"Well, we have two people to talk to, her best friend, Greg Dean, and her ex-boyfriend, Phillip O' Brian."

"Ah…ex-boyfriend. Reminds me of the term, 'ex-wife'."

She tried to laugh, but she couldn't. She wasn't doing a good job of disassociating herself. But, can you blame her?

"Alright, well, let's get going. We can't waste time," I said, as we walked out of the building and into the car.

O' Brian Residence
-10:37pm-

We arrived at the teen's house and walked up to the door. We knocked and a woman of about 40 years old answered.

"Hello? Can I help you two?"

"Yes, I'm Detective Benson, and this is Detective Munch. We'd like to speak to Phillip. Is he home?"

"Of course he is," she started, in an annoyed voice. "Do you two officers realize that it is about 10:30? What can be so important that it can't wait until morning?"

I took control of the comment, knowing if Olivia did, she might lose it. "We have watches, Miss. We know it's past your bedtime, but a girl was kidnapped and we have a ticking clock. We think Phillip might be able to help us. Can we please just talk to him?"

She gave us an awkward look and reluctantly invited us in. "His room is upstairs, first door on your left."

We followed her directions and made our way to his room. I banged on the door, trying to make some sort of audible knock over the blaring stereo. After no answer, we opened the door, and walked into his room. We was sitting at a computer, looking at some 'interesting' pictures. Kids were accessing pornography easier and easier these days.

"Well, well, well, what would your mother say if she found out her little boy is all grown up?" I said, startling him. He tried to exit the program, but he wasn't exactly the quickest boy on Earth.

"What d'ya want?" he asked, in a defensive voice.

"For children to have a good grasp of the English language."

Olivia wasn't in the mood for my little remarks. "We're here to talk to you about Kathleen Stabler."

His face changed into a disgusted look. "What d'ya wanna know about the bitch?"

I tried to contain my anger toward the kid. The way he tossed around the word just didn't sit well with me.

"Well, let's begin with why you're calling her a bitch," she replied.

"She broke it off with me. Nobody breaks anything off with me."

"Is that it? We heard you roughed up a locker pretty well after she broke the news."

"I got a little angry. I'm fine now. She's not worth it anyway."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. I can get so many other girls who are willing to give me whatever I want without my begging or persuasion," he said, with an evil smirk. I tried hard to not to punch the sick son of a bitch.

"So, you wanted a sexual relationship with Kathleen and she wasn't going to give it up, was she?"

"Said that she wasn't ready. Her father would get so mad if he even found out. I told her to grow some balls. If she really loved me, she wouldn't have cared."

"So, it's safe to say she didn't love you?"

"I guess," he said with a shrug. "It's too bad; she was a nice piece of ass." I couldn't stand it anymore. I couldn't stand the way he was talking about Kathleen. I lunged at the kid, throwing him up against the wall. I wasn't doing a very good job of disassociating myself.

"I don't ever want to hear you talk about her like that again," I said, with gritted teeth.

"John…" Olivia started, trying to persuade me from causing trouble. I ignored her attempts.

"You hear me, you arrogant, selfish, little twerp!?" His face was one of complete fear and he didn't reply.

"John, come on, get off of him. Don't do anything you're going to regret," Olivia started up again, putting her hands on my arms.

I stared into his eyes and they were empty. He didn't care about anything that was going on. I let go of him, with a little push, causing him to fall back against the wall. I tried to control my emotions and backed away from the sociopath.

Olivia decided to end the questioning. "Thanks for your time, Phillip."

We walked out of the room and we let ourselves out. "What was that all about, John?" she asked as soon as we got outside.

"I just hate kids like that."

"Well, so do I, but you can't lunge at every single one that pisses you off. It's not going to help."

"I'm sorry, it's just…"

"Just think before you act next time. It's my ass, too."

"I'll make sure it's covered, don't worry. I promise I'll back off."

We got in the car and Olivia told me where we were off to next: the Dean residence.

Disassociating myself was going to be harder than I thought…

---

a/n – well, how did I do portraying Munch? I'm not that great with him. Tell me what you think…please? Until next chapter, Jessica.