Title: Unexpected, Chapter 2

Author: Sorsha711
Fandom/Pairing: Fin/OFC; Munch/OFC, O/E
Rating: M, for language and references to violence; some adult situations
Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to Dick Wolf. Sigh!
Summary: Across a crowded squad room… Yadda Yadda Yadda… a Fin-centric sequel to Making a Connection. The oh-so-sexy Fin, a beautiful ACS counselor, a heartbreaking case, and Munch/Arwen playing matchmaker. What more do you need? OK, a little OE.

A/N --- I have to admit, I'm getting a little discouraged by the lack of response to my stories. I'd really appreciate some feedback… PLEASE!!!

Unexpected, Chapter 2

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Fin tossed the empty Styrofoam container that had held his takeout dinner onto the coffee table and emptied the last of his beer. Flipping through the channels on the television, he felt his irritation level spike as none of the shows managed to capture his attention. Discarding the remote onto the couch next to him, he considered going into the kitchen for a second beer.

Knowing the second would lead to a third and a fourth… that he and John were the team on call for the night, Fin slouched back into the cushions. /Just my luck we'd get a call if I did. IAB would love to get me for responding drunk. Bastards got no idea what we see!/

That thought resurrected the images of a crime scene they had been called to over the past weekend. The memory of the three small children huddled under the covers of their beds, told to stay there by their drunk, abusive father, haunted him. They had heard their mother's screams as she was raped and brutalized by her husband… their father, her body left in a pool of blood under the covers the bastard had tucked around her lifeless form before he left. They had remained in their beds, paralyzed by fear and dread, the rest of the night and well into the next day before worried relatives arrived to find out why the family had missed church services.

Those three children had been the reason Christine Dupree had been in the squadroom earlier in the day. Children's Services had appointed her as their liaison after several high profile cases had reflected badly on the agency. It had been a good fit for both organizations. Chris had won the grudging respect of the street-hardened detectives in their squad with her fierce determination to protect and help the children that came into her care. They had won an ally at ACS that appreciated the horrors that drove them.

Chris had come to gather the details of that case so that she could help structure the necessary counseling the children would need to begin to rebuild their lives. /Shit… how do kids rebuild their lives after hearing…/

Refusing to dwell on that case, Fin rose and began to search through his music collection for something to divert his thoughts. He wasn't ready to face the questions Munch had posed to him about his personal life… or his growing attraction to the beautiful ACS counselor. He knew his feelings had evolved as much from his respect for Chris' dedication to her work as from an undeniable physical attraction he had been struggling to ignore since the day he first laid eyes on her.

The buzzer at his building's entrance interrupted him before he had made it half way through the hundreds of CD's he owned. Relieved at the prospect of company, Fin stuffed the stack he had been sorting through back into the rack and went to see who had come to see him. At that moment, the possible distraction from his thoughts was more important than the actual identity of his visitor. A bolt of white-hot energy shot though his body as Christine Dupree's voice greeted his request that his visitor identify themselves.

Taking a deep breath in hopes of controlling his sudden arousal, Fin opened his door to admit the leggy brunette a few minutes later. "Chris… come in. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Her smile did not quite manage to cover her distress. "I'm sorry to disturb you at home, Fin. I wouldn't have bothered you if this could wait. If you're busy…"

Motioning her into the living room, he followed her to the couch. "You're not interrupting anything. I just finished supper and was at loose ends. Can I get you a drink or something?"

"A drink would be great, but I can't this time. I'm still working," she admitted. "I need your help."

Taking a seat near her, he held her gaze as he asked, "What's up? It's kind of late for you to still be working isn't it?"

Taking a deep breath to steady her racing nerves… both from her distress over the report that had brought her to Fin's apartment and the uncertainty she felt at his reaction to her arrival, Christine let her eyes sweep the apartment for clues about its occupant. She had heard the rumors of the steady flow of women through his bedroom door and the thought of finding him with another woman had nearly kept her from coming. She wanted to be the one that shared his bed… his life. She had almost gone to John or Olivia instead to avoid the possibility of arriving to find another woman with him.

Chris had berated herself for weeks that it was well past the time to get over her feelings to him. She had made her interest clear and he had failed to respond. Common sense told her he wasn't interested. Telling herself to be sensible and move on with her life hadn't made her desires go away. She sadly suspected she wouldn't get over him any time soon.

"Do you remember Candi and Thessa Bryant… the sisters that disappeared from their foster home last summer?" she asked, looked down at her hands as they fiddled with the strap of her purse.

Confused by her obvious discomfort, Fin nodded. "Yeah, 'course I do. Do you have a lead on where they went? We couldn't find any indications they were unhappy with their foster parents. I still think they were taken."

Glancing back up meet his steady gaze, she quickly looked down again before she offered, "You know I agreed with you about that. I understand that Olivia and Elliot had other ideas… that it was their case, but… I need your help, Fin."

Sliding over so that he could take her hand, Fin pressed, "You know I'll help you all I can, Chris. What has you so spooked? You're not uncomfortable being here at my place are you?"

Her head shot up, her surprise at his question clear in her eyes. "Of course, not! I… I was worried I might have arrived at a bad time… but…"

An unexpected rush of relief washed over him as he teased, "So, when you asked if I was busy, you wanted to know if I was getting busy! Sorry to disappoint, but I'm all by myself. Relax. I'm glad you came by… though it seems you came for work, not a personal visit."

Her vivid purple-blue eyes held his gaze for an awkward few seconds… long enough for him to see the momentary confusion and cautious hope in their depths. /Damn! Munch is right! She is interested. Do I go for it or…/

"I… I did come for work. I didn't think you would want me making personal visits," she whispered.

Shifting a little closer, he reached over to tuck a wisp of soft chocolate-brown hair behind her ear so that he could see her eyes without the thick curtain hiding her reactions. "Why would you think that? I always thought we got a long pretty well... respected each other."

Fin didn't miss the disappointment his words caused. Clearly, she had hoped he had meant something beyond their professional relationship. Kicking himself mentally for playing with her emotions, he found himself adding, "I have to confess… I've been thinking about you a lot lately… asking if you wanted to go out for a drink or dinner, but…. I wasn't sure if that was a good idea for either of us what with our working together."

Chris's expressive eyes held his in a searching gaze. A multitude of emotions raged in their depths… confusion, hope, hurt… desire. "You have?"

Fin felt a little guilty to realize he had obviously hurt her with his avoidance of her hesitant overtures. /Hell… time to be honest. I didn't need John to point out the fact she's been flirting with me for months… or that I want her, but he sure a hell made it impossible for me to continue to ignore either fact. Damn! What do I do? Do I want to be in a relationship… be with just one woman… this woman?/

With this thought came another; Munch had nailed him between the eyes with his observations. He was sincerely attracted to Christine… liked her as much for her tenacious personality as her beauty. A certainty that defied logical explanation settled over him as he finally acknowledged his simmering desire to pursue her… see where this attraction led them. He had wanted her for months… likely for as long as he had known her, but he had refused to act on that need out of fear of another failed relationship… one that could undermine their working relationship.

His dissatisfaction with his life was all to clear to him; he was lonely and bored with the empty, emotionless encounters he had used as an outlet for his sexual needs since breaking up with his last serious girlfriend. Chris's arrival at his apartment had underscored that fact. There was no way he could ignore the second truth her arrival had revealed … his Spartan, one-bedroom flat seemed a lot more inviting now that she was there.

Focusing on her hesitant question, he nodded. "Yeah, I have. I haven't asked… not because I wasn't attracted to you, 'cos I am, but… the thing is, I've been avoiding relationships for years now… settled for easy and convenient. I've been ignoring the attraction between us until I was sure I had something to offer."

Fin felt the tremor that shivered through her body… his fingers had lingered of their own volition to caress the soft skin beneath her ear. In a shaky voice, she whispered, "What are you saying, Fin?"

Closing the last of the distance between them, he reached out to cup her face between his hands. Ignoring the fact that he was staking a claim… actually inviting a relationship with uncharacteristic impulsiveness, he offered, "I'm saying… if you're willing, I'd like to have the chance for us to get to know each other outside the office and see where it leads."

The spark that lit her purple-hued eyes turned them to amethyst and reminded him of a ring his grandmother had worn when he was a child. He had spent most of his days with her while his parents worked; she had been the one to raise him… to inspire him… to nurture him. He had learned the most important life lessons from his Gran. Fin had learned to love with his whole heart as a small boy held safely in her arms. He had always associated amethyst with her unconditional love and support. Finding that unique color in Christine's eyes seemed to confirm the rightness of having her in his life.

"I didn't expect this when I came here… it's so sudden," she admitted, "but, I want a chance to be with you more than you know. I didn't think you were interested in me, so I've been telling myself I needed to get over you."

Grinning slightly, Fin gently teased, "Ask Munch if you want to know if I'm attracted to you. He says I look at you like a man dying of thirst looks at a tall, cool glass of water. That doesn't sound like I hadn't noticed you!"

An answering grin curled her lips, erasing the doubt from her eyes. "John said that?"

"John will be impossible to live with once he knows we're seeing each other. He's bound to claim credit for getting us together," Fin replied, before dropping his head to capture her lips in a tentative first kiss.

That tentative first kiss quickly evolved into a long, intense release of the emotions that had been building for months. Neither wanted it to end, but the need to breath finally forced them to break the kiss. Gathering her to him, Fin allowed them both only a few seconds to grab a quick lung-full of air before seizing her lips in a second demanding kiss. As her slim arms wrapped around his neck, he eased her back against the pillows of his couch and shifted his body to blanket hers.

The sudden ringing of his cell phone caused them both to freeze. Burning brown eyes lifted to meet the passion-glazed eyes of the woman in his arms. They had gone from confused colleagues to almost lovers in a matter of a very few minutes and the suddenness of their changed circumstances left them both feeling stunned.

Groaning, Fin pulled away from the warmth of her body and snatched up his phone from the coffee table. "Tutuola."

"My, you're in a good mood!" John's voice announced. "Did I interrupt a twinkie snack?"

Still lost in Chris's remarkable eyes, Fin demanded, "What the hell do you want, John?"

Chuckling at the obvious distraction in his friend's voice, his partner replied, "Just being friendly. Arwen and I were thinking of renting a few movies to watch this week and wanted to see if you wanted to join us for dinner Friday night… maybe inspire you to give Christine a call and see if she might be free. Interested?"

A wicked grin lit Fin's face as he retorted, "Thanks for the inspiration, bro, but I'm way ahead of you. I'm doing a pretty good job of that on my own."

"She's there??!!"

"As a matter of fact… it's none of your business!" Fin taunted. "But since you seem so curious, Chris came by a little while ago. She needs help with something and your call interrupted us before she could tell me what."

"A conversation? That's what I interrupted?" John countered, an amused chuckle underscoring the fact that he knew he had interrupted more than talk. "Give me a break! You're breathing heavy from a conversation?"

"Good night, John. Tell Arwen hello for me," Fin concluded, amused by the smug tone of his friend's voice. "I'll ask Chris about Friday night and let you know tomorrow."

With a final satisfied laugh, John countered, "Don't blow this, Fin. She's a wonderful woman and I think she may actually get you. Not everybody finds your surly, snarky attitude charming."

Flipping the phone shut, Fin grinned at his companion. "John says hi."

Happily allowing him to pull her to his side, she observed, "I somehow doubt that was what he said. I guess that means you're really interested in pursuing this since you all but told John."

Tilting his head to look down into her eyes, he questioned, "You OK with that? I'll tell him to keep his mouth shut for now if you want. He can keep quiet when it matters… especially, if I threaten him enough. All else fails, I'll get Arwen's help in keeping him quiet."

"He's welcome to talk all he wants!" she retorted, snuggling her head into the curve of his neck. "I'd given up hope you might be interested."

"John can play town-crier for both of us then," Fin agreed, pulling her a little closer.

Sighing, he added, "As much as I want to pick up where we were interrupted, I think we need to take things a little slower… don't you? I want something here, so I don't want to screw it up by letting it become all about sex."

"I thought that was my line," she teased, tilting her head to give him a mischievous grin. Growing serious, she nestled back against him. "You're right. I want more than sex with you too… though I wouldn't have been too upset if John hadn't called and we had ended up in bed tonight."

"Remind me to hit John when I see him," Fin agreed, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Needing a diversion from further discussion of moving things along into his bedroom, he prompted, "So… tell me what brought you here. You looked pretty spooked when you arrived."

The pleasure that had lit her beautiful face but seconds before died away. "I can't believe I got so distracted… What was I thinking! They're depending on me and I let them…"

Surprised by the guilt that swamped her features, Fin interrupted. "Forgot what, baby?"

"The girls!"

"Relax," Fin urged, squeezing her shoulder to focus her away from her guilt. "You've been here less than twenty minutes, so you haven't let anybody down. Tell me what's going on."

"One of the other caseworkers from my office came to see me late today, hoping to avoid involving our boss in this too soon. You know what an incompetent jerk Tandy is." Twisting to face him on the couch, she continued. "Anyway, Mike heard a rumor that Candi and Thessa are being held with several other children in a rundown tenement in Manhattanville… near that land Columbia wants to develop that's been so controversial."

"Held? Held… why?" Fin demanded, a knot forming in his stomach as the possibilities began to play through his thoughts.

"Mike didn't have much in the way of proof, but he's heard that the children are being prostituted by a gang that controls that area." Taking his hand in a fierce grip, she concluded, "We ran down several leads… enough to know the rumor is probably true… found a couple leads for possible addresses of the building… but… this is out of our league, Fin. It's a police matter, so we need SVU's help in finding them."

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