Disclaimers: None of the SVU characters of mine, axcept for Michelle Mendicez. References to other shows are meant as a crossover, but nothing heavy. All songs used in this chapter are property of their owners, not me.
Author's Note: Here is Chapter 4, (obviously), and I hope you enjoy it. SandraLeigh, I couldn't E-Mail you back, so I will tell you now -- You are right about what you sent me!
After a fruitless search for Huang, Cragen had settled for a visit with Lenny Briscoe. The two hadn't talked in a while, and catching up seemed like a good idea.
"Soda, huh?" Lenny asked, referring to the can in Cragen's hand.
"Yeah," Cragen nodded. "I'm sticking to my plan." AA had been a turning point in his life, one that he would have been happier to not have gone through. He had driven himself into the hole, had seen the light, and crawled back out. Now, all that was left to do was keep his balance, and not stumble into another hole.
Lenny smiled. "Which plan is that?" he questioned, knowing already what Cragen's answer would be.
"The one where I don't wake up every morning and pour vodka on my Wheaties." Cragen shook his head. "God, it's good not to drink."
"Tell me about it," Lenny laughed. His trip to the bottle had cost him more than what he have ever intended to lose; his mind had originally been the only thing on the list. The wives and kids were just unintentional add-ons. "Hey, you seen my nephew around here anywhere?" Lenny had been looking all night for the kid, but couldn't track him down. Cragen just shook his head.
"Not yet. Want me to tell him your looking?" Lenny nodded. "I've gotta' visit the can, so I'll catch you later." Lenny burst into laughter, causing Cragen to begin his inquiry. "What now?"
"Classy, you know that?" Lenny laughed. "We're at a big, social, holiday function, and you can't come up with anything better than 'I've gotta' visit the can'?" Lenny continued to laugh, and Cragen rolled his eyes.
"Catch you later," he sighed, heading for the men's room. He knew it was funny; there were about six thousand other, more appropriate things that he could have said, but it was all over, now. No use weighing in on what should have been.
As he continued to make his way to the bathroom, Cragen passed Michelle and Brian, who were having a conversation. He only heard one sentence, and that was enough to scare the hell out of him.
"There's only one way you can be the girl tonight," Michelle said to Brian, a huge, mischevious smile creeping across her face. Cragen stopped to look at them for a brief second, but then continued on to the bathroom. Whatever they did was their business, and he didn't want an explanation.
...
Back at the table, Alex had sat back down, leaving Olivia out on the floor to dance away the rest of the song. The music had switched to "La Bamba" by Los Lobos, and Alex didn't think that she could continue to dance without a break. Resting back against the chair, she kept her eyes locked on Olivia, who had since pulled Elliot out to dance with her. The two appeared to be trying to do some sort of choreographed dance, but, at the moment, it just looked like they were tripping over each other.
"What's the matter, Alex?" came John's voice from beside her. "Wear yourself out?" They smiled at each other.
"How ever did you guess?" Alex asked, sarcastically, allowing her breath to finally catch up with her.
John shrugged. "I must be psychic." He picked up his drink, and took a sip.
"Psycho is more like it, don't you think?" Alex whispered, not sure if he would here her over the music. When he didn't respond, she figured that he hadn't heard her comment, and let her eyes wander the room. She was looking for someone specific; Jack McCoy, to be as specific as possible. She had seen him earlier, walking in with another, taller guy, but she was on the floor, and wasn't about to leave Olivia alone so early. Sweeping the room once again, she came up empty. "Oh, well," she thought. "I'll find him somewhere."
Sighing, her sounds full of contentment, Alex looked back at John. She became concerned, noticing that he was surrounded by three empty beer bottles, working on a fourth, and he looked like hell. She hadn't noticed earlier, but there they were, now.
"John, how much have you had to drink?" John thought for a minute, trying to decipher where the question had come from.
"Two," he responded, holding up two fingers, realizing what Alex was referring to. "Just two. The other two belong to Elliot and Fin." Alex nodded, relieved that John hadn't already begun to get drunk. It was too early, in her opinion, to be smashed; he hadn't even danced, yet.
As she waited to catch the tune of the new song, which was slower than the others that she had danced to, Alex stood up. Holding out her hand to John, Alex smiled.
"Care to dance?" The expression that lined John's face was one that she had expected; surprise, and fear.
"Alex, you know I don't dance!" John whined, not wanting to move from his chair.
"Do I?" Alex asked, her tone serious. "Prove it." She kept her hand in its outstretched position, and John took it.
"Fine," he mumbled, with a laugh. "Don't say I didn't warn you, though." Alex laughed, and lead John out to the floor. Just because it wasn't his holiday didn't mean that she was going to let him get away with not having fun.
...
Fin sat at the bar, alone, sipping on his third beer. The holidays really got him down; his family wasn't exactly the picture of perfection. It was more like waking up from a bad dream, and finding out it was all real. He just wanted to skip it all this year, not just the part about going to his parents', but the whole damn day. If Christmas Day would disappear, it might make up for the horrible Thanksgiving the month before.
As he continued to think about the mess between his mother and his brother-in-law, Fin felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see George Huang, wearing a dark blue suit, standing beside him.
"Hello, detective," George greeted. "Mind if I join you?"
"Not at all. Take a seat," Fin said, motioning to the empty bar stool beside him. "And, it's Fin. None of that 'detective' crap tonight, alright?" George nodded.
"Fair enough," George agreed, as he picked up a piece of paper, which had a list of drinks on it. Nothing on the list actually sparked his interest; he didn't drink. He was just looking to be looking. He set the paper back down on the counter, and returned his attention to Fin. "I see everyone is drinking beer tonight," he said, observing Fin's beverage of choice. He had seen at least twelve people that he knew drinking the same thing.
Fin shrugged. "Yeah, well, maybe we're all having bad nights." He took another sip of his beer, and looked over his shoulder. He could see John dancing with Alex, and he saw Olivia's arms wrapped around Elliot's neck. He was shocked, on both counts; John was never the dancing type, and Elliot's wife would have his head on a plate before the night was over. Fin wondered to himself about where Kathy and the kids would be, but didn't put much thought behind it. He didn't really care tonight, because, no matter how he twisted it, it was still Christmas, and he would still be facing his family in the morning.
George, too, was staring out at the floor, watching Alex and John. Alex was laughing, a rare thing to be coming from her mouth, and John seemed to be enjoying himself, as well.
"It appears as though John and Alex are having fun," George observed, smiling. He was happy that eveyone rom the SVU could have a little fun in their lives, even after seeing all that they had to.
"Good for them," came Fin's response. George looked at Fin again, and raised an eyebrow.
"Are you alright, dete - Fin?" he asked, quickly correcting himself. "Is something bothering you? You know I'm here to listen." Fin sighed, and put his beer down.
"I just don't want to deal with my mother tomorrow. Plain and simple." He looked at George. "Got any advice for me on that?" he asked, with a smile. George laughed.
"All I can tell you is to not let it get you down. The holidays are like trying to suck up water through a straw with a hole in the side; seems impossible. However, you can always plug that hole, and get the water, regaurdless." Fin just blinked.
"What in the hell did you just say?" he asked, George's words making absolutely no sense to him.
"I have no idea!" George laughed, not believing for himself the words that had just come out of his own mouth.
"Have you been nippin' at the bottle, there, Doc?" Fin asked, beginning to join George's laughter. The two almost fell out of their stools, laughing at nothing, other than George's words. Fin was finally beginning to feel like he was getting into a good, festive mood, where all he wanted to do was to sit back, tell jokes, and have some laughs. "Maybe the night won't be so bad," he thought to himself. "Maybe tomorrow will be better."
Author's Note: Confused, yet? What do you think is going on with everyone? As always, reviews are much appreciated! If you think the story is getting dull, don't worry! I promise that things are about to pick up! This chapter was meant as a fill-in for all of the characters -- I don't like to leave any of them out! Thanks again for reading! Until the next chapter...