Thanks for the reviews everyone! I finally got this proofread and it's ready to go! I hope you enjoy it!

P.S. Dick Wolf owns everyone (even Sergeant DaCosta), but I own Amy and all the characters I make up. Peace out everyone!

SVU Squad Room

Wednesday November 2nd, 2005

Fin walked into the squad room surprised to see Amy and Munch already there. Usually they were the ones running late. However, when he saw them running about, he became concerned.

"What's going on?" he asked to Munch.

"We're going to interview the Mario, but we have a little problem," said Munch.

"What?"

"We can't use Amy as a translator. When Cragen put her on desk duty, he also took her off the case for the time being until she finds accommodations for Mario."

"So? What's the problem?"

"The problem is," snarled Munch, "that I can't find anyone who understands a word of Spanish. Granted, I did take some when I was young, but do you think this old brain of mine is going to remember every single rule of grammar and vocabulary at this age?"

"What about Olivia?" asked Fin.

"She's gone on a different case in Brooklyn with Elliot. We're fing screwed."

"Old bastard," said Fin, "We're not screwed. Haven't you learned anything from me?"

"Well yes and no and I am not an old bastard by the way," Munch grumbled.

"We don't write her name on the paper. We'll just put it down that he told us in English."

"Are you crazy? If the Captain finds out, we're screwed!" exclaimed Munch.

"Who says the Captain has to find out?" said Fin and he winked at his partner.

"What about the lawyers when it comes to trial time?"

"We'll simply not ask her to go with us to trial."

"What if he has formed an attachment with Amy, hmm?"

Fin looked at him. Usually, Munch would have said yes by now, but there was something wrong here. He'd never acted so protective over a partner.

"What is your deal man?" asked Fin.

"I just don't want Amy to get in trouble, okay Fin?"

Amy came downstairs from the crib and saw Munch and Fin.

"Boys, what's wrong? Mario's ready and you guys are looking like you're arguing over something that's pointless."

"We can't find a translator," said Fin, eyeing Munch suspiciously.

"Well, for once you argue about something reasonable. I would have been perfect, but Cragen put me on desk duty and he took me off the case for the time being. I don't want to look like we made the kid say something…"

"I know, I know," said Munch, "but we really need a translator."

"You're telling me that no one in this precinct speaks a word of Spanish, John?" asked Amy disbelieving.

"Well everyone we know that speaks it is either taken some kind of leave or it's their day off."

"So? Tell Cragen and have him called them in."

"Didn't think of that," said Fin.

"Like Cragen is going to call someone in just for an interro…I mean interview," said Munch.

"You'd be surprised," said Amy as she made her way to the coat rack, "I'm counting on you two to make Mario comfortable. If he starts feeling uneasy and I find out you kept pushing him, I will, and I promise this, kick your asses until they're black and blue. Got it? Now I'm going to meet Casey at the courthouse so that way the lawyer on the defense side can't give us a hard time that I was around when this happened. Hopefully, I'll get this mess straighten out today. I hate desk duty."

With that, she left the squad room and Munch let out a sigh of relief. Fin looked at him strangely and he blew it off. They both walked to Cragen's office.

"At least she won't get in trouble," thought Munch.

Fin knocked on Cragen's door.

"It's open," said Cragen from behind it.

Fin opened the door and they both went inside. Cragen looked up at them.

"What's wrong?" asked Cragen.

"We need a translator, Captain…," began Munch.

New York City Court House

Manhattan

Amy ran up the steps to meet Novak as she was coming out of the court house.

"Yo, Casey! Over here!" shouted Amy.

Novak looked up and walked down the steps to meet her.

"Hey Amy. What's up?" asked Novak.

"I need a favor, Casey," said Amy.

"Usually I ask what kind, but judging from the look on your face, I'm going to ask how big?" asked Novak.

"Pretty big," said Amy, "Can we talk somewhere more private?"

"Sure."

So they both made their way to Amy's car and got inside.

"Now what's so important that you couldn't tell me outside?" asked Novak.

"How much power does the D. A.'s Office have over Children's Services?" asked Amy.

"Well depending what the case is about and if it is in the best interest of the child, we do have some power over them."

"What about a case that deals counterfeit money and a boy who can barely speak English and is almost parentless?"

"Counterfeit? Almost parentless? What are you getting at? Since when was a counterfeit crime consider a sexually-based crime!" exclaimed Novak.

"When someone cuts your…um…unit off and leaves a boy who is not old enough to take care of himself," said Amy.

"Oh," said Novak, "Okay then that changes things. How is the boy almost parentless?"

"His mother is in a hospital in Panama for cancer treatment. He has no other living family member and usually in the cases of when one parent is too sick to take care of a child and when the other parent is dead, Children's Services takes the child into the state's custody. However, this boy, Mario, barely speaks English, and I'm, besides Olivia, but she is working on another case in Brooklyn, the only one who can understand his language, which is Spanish."

"So what do you propose doing, Amy?"

"Can you find anyone to represent the child's interest and let us hold him until the end of the trial, Casey? I'm afraid this kid might know something he's not supposed to know and he might get killed for it. I know someone who can take care of him for the time being that knows his native language just as well as I do and they bring him to your office for trial prep…"

"Okay, okay, okay! I get the picture. There is someone I do know and she is really, really, really good. Remember that Billy Tripley case and how the father wouldn't produce the son in court?"

"Well, I heard about it, but what does this have to do with our case?"

"The father, who's still in jail, is still there because of her. Her name is Mary Conway Clark and she is the best of the best," and Novak took out her pen and memo pad and scribbled a phone number down.

"Call her and tell her I referred you to her, alright? And by the way, nice car girl. Are you letting the boys drive it yet?"

"Hell would have to freeze over before I let them drive this baby," said Amy and Novak laughed as she climbed out of Amy's car.

Novak waved to Amy as she turned on the car and left the court house. Amy looked at the number Novak had given to her and sighed.

"I hope for my sake and Mario's that this woman is as good as Casey says she is," said Amy to herself as drove back to the squad room.

SVU Squad Room

Up in the crib, Munch, Fin, Mario, and a translator sat at a round table. Munch and Fin were letting him play with some toys while the translator Cragen had called, Officer Traylor Powers, sat near Mario translating what they said to him.

"Now Mario, do you remember any men coming to your house the night before your father died?" asked Munch.

"¿Ahora Mario, usted recuerda a cualquier hombre que viene a su casa la noche antes de su padre muerto?"

"Ningunos hombres vinieron sobre a nuestra casa la noche que mi papá murió, pero un días de la pareja hace ellos hicieron. Ellos eran mis amigos de papa," said Mario.

"Um… he said no men came over to his house the night his dad died, but a couple days ago they did. They were his dad's friends," said Powers.

Munch looked at Fin.

"Does he know their names?" asked Fin.

"¿Sabe usted sus nombres Mario?" translated Powers.

"Sólo un nombre," said Mario.

"He says he knows only one person."

"Ask him who it is," said Fin.

"¿Quién es la persona que usted sabe el nombre de, Mario?"

"Señor Mark Sanders."

Powers looked at Munch and Fin. Munch looked at Mario.

"Now Mario, this is really important. Do you know what they were doing by any chance?"

Again, Powers translated. "Ahora Mario, esto es realmente importante. ¿Sabe usted lo que ellos hacían por casualidad?"

Mario shook his head and stopped playing with the toy he had in his hand. "No, no lo hago. Mi papá siempre me mandaría a mi cuarto cuando él siempre encontraría con sus amigos. El nunca me dijo lo que ellos hicieron o hablaron acerca de."

"No, he doesn't. His dad would always send him to his room when he would always meet with his friends. He never told Mario what they did or talked about," said Powers.

"Probably they were talking about where to meet their next client without getting caught," said Fin.

"Or they didn't want Mario to rat them out if anything happened to his father," said Munch eyeing Fin.

"Hey Mario," said Fin, "Do you know where Mark Sanders lives or any other of your dad's friends?"

"¿Oye Mario, usted sabe donde Mark Sanders viven o cualquier otro de sus amigos de papá?" asked Sanders

Mario shook his head. "Yo no sé la dirección exactamente, pero sé el edificio que ellos viven en y eran también en la misma región que vivimos en también."

"He said he doesn't know the exact address, but he could recognize the building and he also said the building was located in the same region he lived in," said Powers.

"Region being counties of New York City?" asked Munch.

"¿Esta región es un condado de la Ciudad de Nueva York?" asked Powers.

"Creo que sí. Pienso a mi papá y yo viví en una región llamó a Reinas," said Mario.

"He said they lived in Queens," said Powers.

Munch and Fin looked at each other.

"Hey Mario, you wanna go for a ride?" asked Fin.

Bronx homicide Squad Room

36th Precinct

Bronx

Amy walked inside her old stomping grounds. As usual, the desk sergeant gave her nod like he always had when she was still working here. When she got to the elevator and pressed the up button, someone in the next elevator she knew really well, stepped off.

"Well, well. Look what we have here, a little Munchkin on the loose," said a man as he stepped off the elevator.

"Well if it isn't Sergeant DaCosta," said Amy grimacing.

"I see Sex Crimes sent you back to us. Couldn't take the pressure?" said DaCosta.

"Actually, no. I am here to see an old friend. Sex Crimes is actually more…hmmm…what would be a good word to use here? Ah yes, more jovial than homicide will ever be with you around as a sergeant." Seeing that her ride up to the sixth floor was coming, she added, "I might also add that they have better coffee. It's good enough to rival Star Bucks."

Sergeant DaCosta gave her an angry look before the doors closed. As soon as the doors closed, Amy muttered, "Ass." Amy looked up at the floor indicator above her. Second, third, fourth, fifth…

When it reached the sixth floor, the doors opened and Amy walked out of the elevator. She took a right and walked into her old squad room.

It was still busy as usual when she left it and in desperate need of repairs. Some lights were not working and the tables and chairs were about as old as the building itself which was built in 1978. In this dark, dank, and somewhat small room, sat her old partner and friend, Detective Leena Jones looking at a case file with her desk lamp on.

Detective Leena Jones had help Amy become a detective herself. Amy had taken the test to become a police officer when she was seventeen years of age and still in the orphanage. Unfortunately, the police force only hired people who had taken the test and passed it at the age of twenty-one. Amy did pass her test at the age of seventeen, but could not be hired because she was four years under the age limit. When Amy left the orphanage, she began to drive around New York City and somehow got lost. Then she met Leena Jones in a diner.

Amy had stopped to get some food and asks for directions when Leena overheard her conversation. They began to chat and that's when Amy let it slipped that she always wanted to become a cop. They said goodbye and Leena went back to the station to check to see if Amy had taken the test. When Leena found out she passed it and at the age she passed it, she asked her lieutenant to see if he could call in a favor for her and request the brass to admit Amy to the force. Since her lieutenant knew some people on the brass, they agreed to it. Through some searching, Leena found Amy and told her she was on the force. She would start working as an officer in the 36th Precinct of the Bronx.

Then the rest was history. Amy took the test to be raised to the rank of detective at the age of twenty-one three years later. She passed it and was partnered with Leena. Amy still had problems finding an affordable place to live, so Leena extended her graciousness by letting her live at her place. It seemed almost perfect until Detective DaCosta got promoted to sergeant the next year and then for the last two years it was downhill from there. DaCosta was always jealous of Amy because she got in at such a young age and after six years of taking nothing but ridicule and very crude comments, Amy applied for a transfer somewhere else.

Leena understood why Amy wanted to leave and when she left, she applied for a partner. Since May, Leena had gone through five partners, none of which had been a good replacement. They were either too emotional or too serious, neither of which who had a good balance between the two.

"Partnerless, again? What the hell have you been doing to your partners! Running them out of town as usual?" asked Amy.

"Ha ha, very funny. We didn't seem to find anything in common we like," said Leena.

Amy rolled her eyes, grabbed a nearby chair and sat down.

"Hey, I need you to do me a favor. I know you can speak Spanish just as well as me. Can you watch a kid that maybe a potential witness for my uncle's case?"

Leena looked at her. "You came all the way here, risked meeting DaCosta…"

"I met him at the elevators. I guess I haven't missed much," said Amy.

"You definitely have not missed much, I guess. But the point is…"

"Look, I brought some lunch so we could talk about the arrangements and discuss old times as well, but not about DaCosta. Our ADA knows somebody who can help me get a halt on Children's Services from taking him. I haven't talk to her, but I know the defense is going to bring up that if he stays with me or around my precinct that either I or my squad made him say something on the stand. Not only that, my captain put me on desk duty until I find accommodations for him."

"So let me get this straight. Your witness is a kid and in order for you to get back on the case with your uncle and partner, you have to find accommodations that are not in or near your precinct, otherwise the defense will give you a hard time about it."

"Yeah."

"Well, I have some vacation time coming up. I'll think I can persuade the Lieu to grant a couple days extra so I can watch him. How long do you need him to be watched?"

"Month tops, at least."

"Correction, I think I can persuade the Lieu to grant me a whole month off."

They both laughed and Amy took out some Chinese food.

"So did you finally get your new car?" asked Leena.

"But of course. My uncle likes it too. He finally gets to ride in a government look-alike car."

Javier Ramos' Apartment

47th and Greenpoint Street

Queens

Munch and Fin were driving Mario around the surrounding areas of his house to see if he recognized the house that his father took him to. They had stopped over five times for gas, to get Mario a snack, and to take turns driving. It was now Munch's turn driving and they were on 23rd Street, driving north and they were almost out of fuel again.

"Oh damn," mutter Munch under his breath, "We're almost out of gas and I don't have enough money."

Fin looked at him. "But you have the pension and I don't," he said, "How could you run out of money?"

"I only carry fifty some-odd dollars on me, Fin. Who do you think I am, the Manhattan State Bank?"

"I paid last time!" exclaimed Fin.

"But I'm near the point of broke."

"So, I paid for gas last time! It's your turn!"

"¡Señors Munch y Fin¡Mirada!" exclaimed Mario and he pointed to what look like an abandoned building.

Munch slammed the brakes sending Fin into the dashboard and Mario into the passenger seat.

"Sorry," said Munch sheepishly.

Fin glared at him as he turned around to look at Mario.

"This the place?" he asked.

Mario nodded and Fin looked at Munch.

"How the hell are we going to do this?" Fin asked Munch.

Munch pondered for a while until he came up with a solution.

Inside the building, Mario walked up the stairs to the second floor and stopped three doors from the stairwell. Munch and Fin remained hidden on the stairwell and were waiting for Mario to give the signal so they could bust the Mark Sanders.

Mario knocked three times on the door and waited. Sanders open the door and was surprised to see Mario.

"Mario! What are you doing here?" asked Sanders puzzlingly.

"Mí papa is waiting dow…dow stairs."

"He is? Did he say why?"

Mario shook his head and Sanders looked at Mario. He grabbed his gun and followed Mario who took off down the stairs shouting, "¡Oye Papá¡El viene!"

Munch and Fin got their guns out and as Mario ran passed them, they both sprang from hiding. They ran toward Sanders.

"WHAT THE…!" began Sanders and began to take aim.

Fin tackled Sanders and wrestled the gun from him. He turned him on his stomach and handcuffed him.

"What the hell I do!" cried Sanders.

"How about trying to shoot two cops?" said Fin and showed Sanders his badge.

"Sons of bes!"

"Go John! I got him," said Fin as picked him up from the ground.

Munch jogged down the stairs and saw Mario was waiting for them.

"You okay, Mario?" said Munch.

"Sí, Señor Munch. Estoy bien."

"Okay," said Munch and he ruffled Mario's hair.

Fin marched Sanders down the stairs and Munch grabbed Mario's hand and they walked out the apartment building. Sanders looked at the corner of a nearby building, but then quickly returned his gaze to the sidewalk. Munch and Fin didn't notice, but Mario saw a glare on the building from the sun shining on it.

BANG!

The first shot rang throughout the neighborhood and hit the lamp post in front of the car. Glass shattered everywhere. Fin had just put Sanders in the car when he slammed the door. Munch grabbed Mario and tossed him in the passenger front seat.

"STAY DOWN!" shouted Munch to Mario.

Mario didn't need telling twice for a second shot rang out into the neighborhood. Fin scrambled to the front of the car and got down. He pulled out his radio.

BANG!

"This is Detective Odafin Tutuola! I have a 10-33 on North 23rd Street! Request back up immediately!"

He got down and looked around for Munch, but he couldn't find him. A third shot rang out into the neighborhood and Mario screamed from within the car.

BANG!

"Stay down Mario!" shouted Fin.

Fin was getting desperate. He couldn't see Munch.

"Where is he?" thought Fin frantically and that's when he saw something that made his heart stopped, a hat on the sidewalk.

"No!" thought Fin, "Anything, but that."

He got out from his hiding place. He didn't care if the shooter was still around. Hell, he didn't care if their main suspect was shot. He just didn't want…

Munch lay next to the building, his eyes half-way open. Blood was pouring everywhere. Fin got down on his knees and crawled to him.

"John! John! Come on man! Stay with me! Wake up!" shouted Fin.

Munch laid still. His eyes began to close.

"No!" shouted Fin and grabbed his radio, "10-52! 10-52! Officer down! I repeat officer down!"

Fin dropped his radio and looked around for his wounds. Fin grabbed him and laid Munch down on the sidewalk. He saw Munch shot in the shoulder and began to apply pressure, but Munch kept bleeding.

"It's gonna be okay, John. Help's on the way," said Fin, "Please John, just a little longer."

But Munch did not stay awake long enough for the bus to come. He past out and everything slipped into darkness.

SVU Squad Room

Benson and Stabler were talking with Cragen about their case they had picked up a couple days ago. They were eating lunch and looking at the board.

"So you said our vic was raped here but manages to walk all the way to here?" asked Cragen as he looked at the map.

"Well that's what Alicia is telling us, but I…" Benson began to say but stopped when she heard her radio

"This is Detective Odafin Tutuola! I have a 10-33 on North 23rd Street! Request back up immediately!"

Stabler nearly dropped his fork and spat out his salad. He looked at Cragen and Benson who were both looking at the radio. They were sounds coming from it that sounded like a war zone. But then Fin said something that made their hearts stop in unison.

"10-52! 10-52! Officer down! I repeat officer down!"

They all looked at each other, then Cragen grabbed Benson's radio and they all headed out the squad room.

Bronx homicide Squad Room

36th Precinct

Bronx

Amy and Leena walked out of the lieutenant's office, laughing.

"See? I told you I could do it," said Leena.

"Well I must say, I couldn't pull that stunt with my Captain whether with a good clearance rate or not," said Amy.

"Yeah, but if you remember what he said Munchkin, I was one of his best detectives."

"He's still a softy even after I leave," said Amy, but before she could add more, her cell phone rang.

"Amy here. Huh! WHAT! YOU'RE JOKING! Okay, where! I'll meet you there!" and Amy hung up and ran over to Leena's desk and grabbed her coat. Leena followed her.

"What's wrong? What's with rush?"

"I gotta go. I'll drop Mario off tomorrow at your place, okay Leena?"

Leena grabbed Amy's arm.

"Amy, what's wrong?"

Amy looked at Leena.

"It's my uncle, he's been shot," said Amy with a shock look on her face.

Elmhurst Hospital Center

Broadway

Queens

Fin jumped off the ambulance and ran with the paramedics into the ER with the stretcher that contained his partner. Mario was being held by an officer. Fin looked at him and they met eyes. Both had a shock look in them. The nurse stopped Fin from going to the operation room.

"I'm sorry sir, but you can't go in there," she said.

"But that's my partner!" cried Fin.

"Sir, if you just please go and wait in the waiting room…"

Fin looked at her until someone called his name from behind him.

"Fin! What the hell is going on here?" shouted Cragen.

Benson had Mario in her arms and Stabler was talking to the officer. Fin walked slowly over to Cragen.

"What happened?" asked Cragen again.

"We were driving Mario around to see if he could find a person he named during the interview. When we arrested the guy and brought him outside, someone began shooting at us. I threw the suspect in the car, Munch threw Mario in front seat. I got down behind the car; I didn't see where Munch went. Two more shots followed the first one and then I saw his hat and then I saw him on the sidewalk. There was blood everywhere, I called the paramedics. They arrived, loaded Munch onto a stretcher and checked on the suspect and Mario. I called you guys and told you where we were heading…" said Fin with a dazed look in his eyes.

Benson ran over with Mario in her arms.

"Captain, I'm gonna take him into the waiting room. He's a little shaky about what happened."

"You do that then," said Cragen, "As a matter of fact, take Fin with you."

"Okay," she said, "Come on Fin."

With her free hand, she extended it and Fin grabbed it. She led him to the waiting down the hall. His expression had not changed one bit.

No sooner than they had disappeared into the waiting room, Amy came running into the ER at full speed. Stabler grabbed her.

"Whoa! Where do you think you're going?" he asked her.

"Elliot, let go! I need to see how he is doing!" shouted Amy.

Cragen walked over to them. "He just went into the ER. We don't know how he is."

"What do you mean you don't know! What was his condition before he went in there?"

"When Fin phoned me, he said they were trying to stabilize him. He was losing too much blood," he said.

Amy looked from Stabler to Cragen, neither of them were giving her comforting looks.

"But he has to be okay!" she said and fell into Stabler's arms, "This is all just a nightmare!"

"I wish it were, Amy. I'm sorry," said Stabler.

"He has to be okay. Uncle John just has to be okay," said Amy with tears in her eyes.

Stabler nearly dropped her and Cragen looked at her. Amy realized what she said and clasped her hands around her mouth. She looked at them both with a shocked look in her eyes.

Uh oh! The secret finally comes out! What happens now! I'm working the next chapter which will be from Cragen's point of view again. R&R plz and thank you!