Gwen's Hospital Room
"Thanks for bringing my own things Olivia," Gwen said as she gingerly got back into the hospital bed with Olivia's help.
"No problem, you want some help with your hair and makeup? I notice you seem to be having a bit of trouble lifting your arm," Olivia said.
"Yeah, these cracked ribs are really uncomfortable," Gwen replied.
"Do you want the nurse to bring you something?" Olivia asked.
"No, it's not that bad, but I will take you up on the help with my hair and makeup. I'd love to get rid of the battered woman look."
"Here, let's see what I can do about that," Olivia said, as she spread out Gwen's makeup on the hospital tray table and started working on covering Gwen's bruises. As Olivia worked she chatted with Gwen, soon the conversation turned to John.
"How is he, really?" Gwen asked.
"What do you mean?" Olivia asked.
"Is he happy? Does he have someone special in his life?" she asked sincerely.
"Well, I don't about happy but he seems content with his life," Olivia answered, purposely avoiding Gwen's last question.
"You didn't answer my last question. Is there someone special in his life?" Gwen asked again.
"Not that I know of, I think John's sort of given up on relationships. I mean if someone just sort of wandered into his life, I don't think he'd chase her away, but I don't think he's looking very hard, anymore," Olivia answered and then added, "what about you, is there someone special in your life? I mean should we have been calling someone in here for you?"
"No, no there isn't anyone special in my life. My employees at the diner are sort of like a family to me, like brothers and sisters and the children I never had," Gwen answered, a little wistfully Olivia thought.
Just then the door to Gwen's hospital room pushed open. "Hi Olivia," Fin said.
"Hi Fin, who you got with you?" Olivia asked.
"Olivia Benson, this is forensic sketch artist Nancy Myers," Fin said by way of introducing his companion.
"Nancy, huh, well I'll try not to hold your name against you. Gwen Munch," Gwen said and offered the other woman her hand before Olivia could finish the introductions.
"Please to meet you. What did you mean by not holding my name against me?" the sketch artist asked.
"Nancy was the name of my ex-husband's second wife, just about the time I came to my senses and realized I wanted him back, Nancy had her claws in him," Gwen sighed, "story of my life, bad timing."
"After working with Munch all these years, I can't believe that once you got shed of him you'd want him back," Fin said with a smile.
"And just who are you?" Gwen asked, pretending to be stern.
"Odafin Tutuola, Fin, I'm John's partner," Fin answered.
Gwen smiled at Fin. "It's good to know he's got a partner who won't take any guff off of him," she said.
"Yeah, well speaking of my partner, I have to find him, get him to go home and get some rest, or the Captain will have my hide," Fin said.
"I see you get all the easy assignments," Gwen teased.
"Yeah, point me in the right direction and wish me luck ladies, lots of luck" he said.
"Elliot took him to the cafeteria for some coffee," Olivia volunteered.
"Good luck Fin," Gwen called out.
After Fin left the sketch artist set to work with Gwen to see if they could come up with a good composite sketch of her attacker. As Olivia watched the artist sketch in the things Gwen had told her about, she stifled a yawn.
"Maybe Fin should be taking you home instead of Johnny," Gwen observed.
"Well, I have the sense to take myself home, but John may not, at least not this time," Olivia replied.
"Yes, but at least I know John got some sleep last night," Gwen countered.
"He did?" Olivia asked puzzled.
"I didn't think I could sleep without having nightmares, so I asked Johnny to hold me. I've always felt safe in his arms, and well, we both drifted off to sleep. I think we must have gotten about 4 hours of good uninterrupted sleep," she explained.
"Hm, that means Fin's going to have an even harder time convincing him to follow the Captain's orders," Olivia guessed.
"Yes, and John Munch can be a very stubborn man," Gwen added.
Hospital Cafeteria
"Ah, there you are, right were Olivia said you'd be," Fin said as he approached Elliot and John.
"Hey Fin," Elliot said.
"Oh, if it isn't my keeper. I suppose you've come to make sure I go home like a good little boy?" John said to his partner, his usual sarcastic tone coming through loud and clear.
"Yeah, and don't make my life anymore difficult than it already is, OK? Just cooperate, let me take you back to your place, you can crash for a few hours, get a shower and some fresh clothes and maybe by then we'll be somewhere on Gwen's case," Fin said, trying to cajole his partner into cooperating.
"How about a compromise? I'll let you drive me home, so I can get a shower and change clothes and then I'll come into the station help you work on Gwen's case," John countered.
"You better take the offer, it's probable as good as you're gonna get from him," Elliot added.
"OK, you ready to go then?" Fin asked.
"Almost, I'd like to stop by and say goodbye to Gwen, and check and see if they've got a dismissal time scheduled for her," John answered.
"I'll check with her doctor for you while you say goodbye. How's that?" Fin suggested.
"Great, meet you at the nurses station in about 15 minutes?" John suggested and Fin nodded his head.
John headed to Gwen's room while Elliot escorted Fin to the nurse's station.
"How's he doing?" Fin asked inclining his head in John's direction.
"I'd be lying if I said he was fine. He's torn up about this. Thing is I think maybe he's still in love with Gwen and he's thinking maybe this assault will bring them back together, and well you know how that could go," Elliot replied.
"Yeah, he could really get his heart beat up, again," Fin looked down the hall towards the direction Munch had walked, a worried look on his face.
Gwen's Room
"Excuse me ladies, I just came in to take my leave of this lovely lady," John said.
"Oh, well we were just through here, Gwen's provided Forensic Artist Myers here with really good details for a sketch so we were just going to see about getting transportation back to the station," Olivia commented.
"I think Elliot might be able to give you a lift. Can I see the sketch?" John asked.
"Sure," Myers answered and held the sketch out so John could see it.
"Damn! It can't be," John said, as he stared at the sketch.
"John what is it?" Olivia asked.
"Gwen, honey, describe the guy to me," John requested of Gwen ignoring Olivia's comment.
"He was white, about 5' 7" 140lbs, very muscular and tanned, about 50. His hair was sort of salt and pepper and he had very blue eyes," she replied very concisely having given the description several times now.
"John, do you know this perp?" Olivia asked, hoping he'd answer her this time.
"It can't be the same guy, he's dead. I know he's dead. But he looks so much like him," John said sounding a bit spooked.
"Who does he look like? Maybe he's a relative of the guy," Olivia said.
"He looks like Gordon Pratt, a guy who shot my partner Stan Bolander and two other Baltimore homicide detectives," John answered.
"When did that happen?" Olivia asked.
"A little over ten years ago," John replied.
"But the guy's dead?" Olivia asked, wanting to be certain of the facts.
"Yeah, we didn't have enough to charge him with the attempted murders of the three detectives, so we had to kick him loose and within a few hours of his release he was found dead in his apartment building," Munch explained.
"Did they find out who shot him?" Olivia asked, vaguely remembering a rumor she'd once heard about John.
"No, but Bayliss, the primary on the case, didn't find a lot of cooperation when he tried to investigate the case and he wasn't all that enthusiastic about closing it," John explained.
"Why not?"
"His chief suspects were all cops," John answered.
"Including you?" Gwen asked.
"Yeah, including me," John answered.
"Did Pratt have family?" Olivia asked.
"He was the only child of an older couple. I don't know if there was any other family," John replied.
"I'm going to see if I can find Elliot, and we'll add this sketch and your information about Pratt into the mix see what we've got," Olivia said, and she and the sketch artist left.
John waited until the door had closed.
"Oh God Gwen, if this is some relative of Pratt's seeking revenge on me by going after you, I'll never forgive myself," he said.
"Did you kill this Gordon Pratt?" Gwen asked quietly.
He didn't answer her immediately. He walked away from her bed, and leaned on the windowsill, pretending to look out the window, but really he was seeing the events leading up to Pratt's death.
"We were out after this guy who we were sure had molested and killed a little boy. He lived in the same apartment building as Pratt. We had an arrest warrant to serve, but there was a typographical error and so we went to the wrong room. He'd seen us coming, me and Stan and Kay and Beau. He had gone out of his room and up the stairs. When we went to serve the warrant, he opened fire on us with a couple of semi-automatic pistols. Stan was shot in the head, Kay in the heart; Beau took one to his leg and another to his shoulder. All those bullets flying around and not a one hit me. I tried to return fire, but I couldn't get my gun out, I kept slipping in their blood," he paused, trying to regain his composure.
"We went after the wrong guy at first, the guy we were trying to serve the warrant on in the first place, but then we finally realized it was Pratt we wanted. Pembleton and Bayliss couldn't get a confession out of him, and we didn't have the weapons, so we couldn't make a case. Pratt walked, and a lot of people were angry about that, me included. I went to see how Stan was doing, and then I went to see Pratt, when I got there, he was dead, very recently dead. I just turned around and walked away; glad someone had saved me the trouble. No, I didn't kill Pratt, but only because someone beat me to the punch," John admitted.
"Oh Johnny, I can't believe you would have pulled the trigger," Gwen said.
"You don't know how much Stan meant to me," he replied, and she nodded her head in understanding.
"Fin's waiting for me at the Nursing station, so I better get going. I just dropped in to say bye and let you know that I'll be back in time to take you home. OK?"
"OK."
John hesitated for a moment and then he bent over and gave Gwen a gentle kiss. He touched his forehead to hers and said very softly, "I still love you."
He started to pull away but she held him with a hand to the back of his neck, she reached up with her other hand and took his glasses off so she could look directly into his eyes, "And I still love you," she replied, and then she lifted herself up a bit to kiss him. The kiss was deeper than the first kiss, but still on the side of being sweet and chaste. She put his glasses back on his face.
"Go on now, I'll see you later."
As John Munch left his ex-wife's hospital room he wondered when the last time was he'd been on an emotional roller coaster ride like this if indeed he'd ever been on one as turbulent as this one. He'd been through anger, guilt, sadness, and falling in love all over again in what felt like the blink of an eye.
"Take me home partner," he said to Odafin Tutuola. "I need a stiff drink and a hot shower."