Chapter 28
Cragen booked his flight to Dallas and made his way to the airport. He hated to fly and wasn't looking forward to the twelve hour flight ahead of him. The plane was due to take off in twenty minutes and Cragen quickly made his way through the JFK.
He found his departure gate and handed the flight attendant his ticket. Once that was taken care of he made his way down the long hallway that connected the plane to the airport. Cragen made it to the end and boarded the plane. A blonde flight attendant showed him to his seat and he stored his carry-on in the overhead compartment.
Cragen sat in his seat and could feel the sweat building up on his forehead. He was thinking about taking a sleeping pill to get him through the flight but then decided against it. He didn't exactly want to be groggy when he landed in Dallas.
Fifteen minutes later the plane was full of passengers and the pilot was ready for take off. The engines started and Cragen could feel his heart beating in his throat. Maybe he should have let Jamie go instead, but on the other hand he really wanted to be there himself for Nicole.
The plane finally took off and they started their long flight to Dallas.
/Chung Chung/
Munch and Lee were sitting in the cafeteria of the hospital. Munch was drinking tea and Lee had coffee. "Why did these guys target Nicole's family?" Munch asked and took a sip of his tea.
Lee looked across the table at Munch and sighed. "Before Nicole went to New York, we worked a case that went down bad. It started out as a single homicide but ended up involving one of the biggest drug kingpins in all of Texas. Me and Nic went undercover and we ended up being found out. The guy went down but he swore revenge on us. I guess when he found out that Nicole left Dallas, he decided to get back at her by murdering her family."
"How did he get out of prison?" Munch asked.
"He didn't. He's doing life." Lee replied. "He must have got the orders out through that asshole Boivin."
"Who?"
"He was a cop that used to work along side of us. Now we find out he was as dirty as they come."
Munch just shook his head. He couldn't believe what had gone down in the last couple of days. At least the assholes that killed Nicole's family and shot her were all dead. Now he just prayed that Nicole were make it through her surgery alright.
/Chung Chung/
Jamie was sitting at her desk when Fin walked into the bullpen. "Hey, I thought you were gonna talk to Cragen?"
Jamie looked up at the sound of Fin's voice. "I did. He decided to go to Dallas himself."
Fin sighed and leaned against the edge of Jamie's desk. "Look, I know you really want to go down there but truthfully I still wasn't comfortable with the idea."
Jamie leaned back in her chair and looked at Fin. "Yeah, I know. I just want her to be okay."
"She's gonna be fine, Jame." Fin said. Then he reached down and took her hand. "Come on, let's go home. There's nothing we can do here."
Jamie stood up and looked around the empty bullpen. "This place is not the same without her." she said as tears formed in her eyes.
Fin pulled her into a hug and whispered in her ear. "Hey, she'll be back here picking on you before you know it."
Jamie looked at Fin and gave him a small smile. "You know, I really can't wait for that day."
"I know, baby. But let's get out of here. You haven't eaten today and that's really not good for the baby." Fin said looking down at Jamie's stomach.
Jamie nodded and then sighed. "Okay, let's go home."
/Chung Chung/
Twelve hours later, Munch and Lee were sitting in the waiting room, waiting to hear news on Nicole. Munch looked up when he heard someone calling his name. "John?"
Munch stood up when he saw Cragen making his way down the hall. "Captain? What are you doing here?"
Cragen stopped when he entered the waiting room. "Why wasn't I notified about how serious Nicole's condition is?"
"I'm sorry, I should have called you." Munch replied.
"Yes, you should have." Cragen stated. "But right now I want to know how Nicole is."
"She's still in surgery. We're waiting to hear from the doctor." Lee stood up and walked over to Munch and Cragen. "Captain, this is Lee...?"
"Neuman." Lee finished and held out his hand to Cragen.
Cragen shook Lee's hand and looked at Munch. "He was with Nicole when she was shot." Munch said and looked at Lee. "This is Don Cragen. He's the Captain of SVU back in New York."
Cragen looked at Lee. "Why did this happen? You should have been protecting her." Cragen stated angrily.
"Look, I was shot myself. I was down when she got shot."
"Did you still have the gun in your hand?" Cragen asked. Lee looked at Cragen dumbfounded. "Well?"
"Yes, I did."
"So, you could have taken him out and prevented this whole thing from happening?"
"With all due respect, I did the best I could." Lee said defensively.
"Yeah, well your best was not good enough. Now, Nicole might die because you screwed up!"
Lee shook his head. "She's not going do die."
"What are you God now?" Munch asked.
Lee glared at Munch. "Did I say that?"
"No, but you implied it." Munch stated.
"What the hell's your problem?" Lee asked.
Munch looked at Lee. "You know I was giving you the benefit of the doubt but my Captain here put a few things in perspective for me."
"Oh really? And what might they be?" Lee asked curiously.
"For one, you never mentioned that you still had the gun in your hand."
"You're going to believe that guy that looks like a turtle?" Lee asked. "So I had the gun in my hand, I did the best I fucking could. It's not like she died there in that mad house. She made it to the hospital and is still alive right?"
Cragen looked at Lee. "What the hell did you just call me?"
Before Lee could respond, Munch jumped back in. "Yeah, she did make it to the hospital but it never should have come to this at all."
"Well, it was her choice to come down here and deal with it. I never told her to come, it was her own stupid choice." Lee replied.
Munch grabbed Lee by his shirt and pushed him up against the wall. "You unfeeling, shelfish son of a bitch! You called and told her, her family was murdered! What did you expect her to do, stay in New York and go about her everyday life?"
"John!" Cragen yelled as he grabbed Munch and tried to pull him away, but not before Lee's fist connected with Munch's nose.
As Munch fell backwards Cragen grabbed Lee and shoved him hard against the wall. "Get the hell off me!" Lee yelled.
"You're way out of line!" Cragen yelled back.
"Me? What about him?"
"Get out of my sight." Cragen said in a stern voice. As he handed Munch a handkerchief for his nose. Lee never moved. "Out Ranger."
Lee straightened his shirt and stormed out of the waiting room. Munch slowed the blood that was gushing from his nose and walked over and stood next to Cragen. "There's something suspicious about him."
"I was just thinking the same thing." Cragen replied.
/Chung Chung/
Jamie was sound asleep in Fin's arms when her cell phone went off. She growled as she rolled out of Fin's arms to get her cell. "Yeah, what do you want, and it better be good." Jamie said as she ran her hand through her hair.
"Jame, it's Cragen. I need you to do me another favor."
Jamie was taken back by the sound of Cragen's voice. She wasn't sure what to expect by this point. "I guess, what's going on?"
"I need you and Fin to do some digging around about a Texas Ranger named Lee Neuman. But keep it low. So only you and Fin. Got it?"
"Sure thing, Don. But why?"
"Munch and I think there is something suspicious about him."
Jamie nodded. "We'll get what we can, and get back to you right away."
"Thanks." Cragen replied and hung up.
Jamie hung up her cell phone and placed it back on the night stand. Fin rolled over and looked at Jamie. "Who was that?" he asked.
"Cragen. He wants us to do some digging into a Ranger."
Fin sat up in bed. "Why?"
"He didn't specify. He just gave me a name and asked that we dig up as much info on him as we can."
Fin nodded. "I'll call Liv and Elliot." he said and reached for his phone.
Jamie reached out and stopped him. "No. He wants this on the DL. We can handle it on our own."
Fin looked at her. "This can't be good."
/Chung Chung/
Cragen looks at Munch. "Your nose going to be okay?"
Munch nodded. "Yeah, I had it checked out. It's not broke. Did you get a hold of Jamie?"
"Yeah. She and Fin are gonna look into him for us."
"There's something this guy is hiding."
"Whatever it is, Jamie and Fin will find it."
Just then the doctor walked into the waiting room and approached Munch and Cragen. "Excuse me?" the doctor said.
Munch stood up. "Is Nicole okay?"
"We've removed the bullet and she should have mobility in her arms and legs in a few days."
Munch and Cragen both let out a sigh of relief. "Can we see her?" Munch asked.
"In a little while. But I think there's something you should know."
Munch looked at the doctor worried. "What is it?"
"Is she going to be okay?" Cragen asked, worried about his detective.
The doctor nodded. "She is just fine. But we also found out that she was pregnant."
"Pregnant!?" Munch and Cragen both asked.
"Yes. She's about three weeks along. Do you know how to get in touch with the father?"
Cragen looked at Munch. "Do you know who the father is, John?"
Munch nodded. "I am." he confessed.
Cragen looked at Munch, surprised. He turned to the doctor. "Can I have moment with my detective. Also can you come back when we can see her?"
The doctor nodded. "Sure thing."
As the doctor walked away, Cragen pulled Munch aside. "You wanna tell me when this happened?" Cragen asked.
"We started seeing each other when she came back from D.C." Munch said.
Cragen shook his head. "First Fin and Jamie and now you and Nicole. What am I running a dating service?"
"Captain..."
Cragen sat down in a chair. "You know if I.A. finds out about this I'm gonna lose my four best detectives. Which I don't want to happen."
Munch sat down next to Cragen. "Don't worry, Don, as long as no one says anything we should be fine." Munch stated. Then the situation started to sink in and he started to feel a little light headed.
Cragen looked at Munch. "You okay, John?"
"I just realized, I'm gonna be a father."
/Chung Chung/
Jamie was sitting at her computer. She tried to talk to the guys down in Dallas about Lee but had no luck. The next thing she could think about was to hack into the system. Fin walked over and handed Jamie a cup of coffee. He looked over her shoulder. "Just what are you doing?"
"Hacking into the Ranger system to get some information... enough to see if Casey can get us a warrant to get the information." Jamie said as she went back into hacking the computer system.
Fin's eyebrows rose. "You can hack into computers. What else don't I know about you?"
Jamie glanced at Fin. "Just grab a chair and watch me work my magic."
Fin sat down next to Jamie and rested his arm on the back of her chair. "Okay, so what are we looking at here?"
"Just a minute and I should be in." Jamie said as she gained access to the Texas Rangers computer database. "Alright we're in."
Fin looked at Jamie. "You should be working in computer crimes."
Jamie smiled at Fin and then looked back at her screen. "Okay, Lee Neuman, let's see exactly who you are."
Jamie punched in his name and was surprised at what popped up on the screen. "Error: File does not exist." Fin said out loud.
"What the hell? I'm pretty sure that's the name Cragen gave me." Jamie stated.
"Maybe you misheard. I mean you were half asleep when you were talking to him."
"No, I know that's the name he gave me, cause I heard Nicole talk about him."
/Chung Chung/
Munch sighed, he and Cragen were worried at how long it was taking for them to see Nicole. Munch was getting tired of sitting; he stood up and started to pace the room. Not only was it the fact that he was worried out of his mind about Nicole it was just how Lee acted. Something about Lee just did not feel right, his stories were not adding up. The more he thought about it the more things just did not feel right.
Cragen was sitting in a chair watching Munch pace back and forth. "John, sit down. You're wearing a groove into the floor."
Munch stopped and looked at Cragen. "I can't help it. This whole situation doesn't feel right to me."
Cragen stood up. "Listen, let Fin and Jamie worry about that. We'll concentrate on seeing Nicole."
Munch shook his head. "I don't think it was an accident that Nicole ended up here. Or her getting hurt."
"What do you mean?"
"That asshole Lee. His stories kept on changing."
Cragen nodded. "Yeah, I got a bad vibe from him too. Well let's just wait to see what Jamie finds out."
"Whatever it is, I have a feeling it's not gonna be good news."
Just than the doctor walked into the waiting room. "Gentlemen, Ms. Green has been moved into a private I.C.U room. Now only one of you can see her at a time. Which one would like to go first?"
Cragen looked at Munch. "You go first, John."
Munch gave a half hearted smile and nodded, "Thanks, Don."
"If you would please follow me." The doctor said as he started to lead Munch towards Nicole's room. Once there the doctor opened the door and showed Munch in. "Take as much time as you need."
"Thanks." Munch said as he entered the room.
Nicole was laying in the bed and opened her eyes when she heard the door. "John?" she asked weakly.
He walked over to her bedside and pulled a chair close to the bed. He sat down and took her hand. "Hey, honey. The doctor said you're gonna be fine."
Nicole slowly shook her head. "No, I'm not. I can't feel anything."
"Don't worry. The doctor said it's only temporary."
She looked at him worried. "I can't move let alone feel you holding my hand."
Munch looked at her softly, "It'll be okay, it's temporary."
"Don't tell me it'll be okay, John. I don't even know what happened to me and why I can't feel anything."
"You were shot working on a case here in Dallas. The bullet lodged in your spinal column. The doctors were able to remove it and said that feeling will return."
Nicole's eyes went wide. She remebered the case and what happened up until that point where she was shot. She didn't know what to think or say. So she said the first thing that came to mind. "John, I'm sorry about all this." She said referring to what happened on how she left New York. "I didn't want you guys to get hurt. I'm sorry."
Munch leaned forward and brushed the hair from her eyes. "I know baby. But for future reference, come to me if you need help, okay?"
Tears formed in Nicole's eyes as she saw the love in his eyes. "I promise, I won't do anything like this again."
Munch gave her a small smile and kissed her gently on the lips. "I have something to tell you. Something you really need to know."
"What is it?" Nicole asked worried.
"When I spoke to the doctor, he told me that you're pregnant."
"Pregnant?" Nicole asked dumbfounded.
"Yeah. You're three weeks along."
"The shooting didn't do any damage to the baby?"
"No. I'm sure if it had he would have told me."
"I can't believe we're having a baby." Nicole said, still shocked from the news.
"I know. I can't either. But at least something good came out of this whole mess."
/Chung Chung/
Fin and Jamie were still working on the computer when Lieutenant Steve Barrett, who was filling in for Cragen, walked into the bullpen. "I have a case for you two."
Fin looked at Barrett. "We're already on a case."
"Really? Authorized by who?"
"Captain Cragen." Jamie said and looked back at the computer.
Barrett tried to look at the screen when Fin stood up and blocked his view. "Get out of my way, Detective." Barrett ordered.
"I can't, Lieutenant, this is confidential. Orders from the Captain."
"Yeah, well, we'll see about this." Barrett said and stormed off.
Jamie looked up at Fin. "You think that was wise, pissing him off like that?"
Fin sat back down. "I don't give a shit. Don wanted this on the DL and we're gonna keep it that way."
/Chung Chung/
Munch went to get a cup of tea as Cragen made his way to Nicole's room. He entered and couldn't believe how weak she looked laying in that hospital bed. He walked over and sat down in the chair that Munch had just vacated. "Hey, Don, what are you doing here?" Nicole asked surprised.
"I needed to make sure you're gonna be okay." Cragen said as he took her hand.
Nicole sighed. "I would say that I am but right now I don't believe that. I can't feel anything."
"The doctor said that was only temporary. But there's something I need to talk to you about."
"Oh?"
"You're ex-partner Lee Neuman."
"Lee? What about him?" Nicole asked curiously.
"How well do you know him?"
"I'd like to think I know him really well. Why?"
"It's just his account of what went down in that warehouse isn't adding up. There's something off about him."
Nicole shook her head. "No. There has to be an explanation for it. I mean from what I sort of remember, it was pretty hectic in there."
Cragen sighed. "Listen, Nic, I know you're not gonna want to hear this but we think he may be involved in this."
"No, that's impossible. He would never hurt me."
Before Cragen could respond his cell phone went off. He took it out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID. He looked back at Nicole as he stood up. "Excuse me for a minute." he said and answered his phone. "Cragen."
Nicole watched Cragen walk across the room and stop by the door. She couldn't help but wonder who was calling him and why he was asking all those questions about Lee.
"Captain, it's Steve Barrett. I have a problem here."
"What is it Barrett?" Cragen asked as he glanced back at Nicole.
"I just assigned a case to two detectives here but they told me they were working on a case for you."
"If you're referring to Detectives Tutuola and Roenick, then yes they are. I assigned it to them before I left." Cragen said, stretching the truth a little.
That really got Nicole's attention. She tried to sit up in bed as Munch walked into the room. The feeling had started to come back into Nicole's hands and arms and she was trying to push herself up. When Munch saw her, he ran to her beside and helped her up. "Nic, what are you doing?"
"Shhh, I'm trying to hear what Don's saying." Nicole replied.
"Captain, I thought I was in charge here." Barrett said on the other end defensively.
"You are, Steve, but I really need them working this case."
"Well, they're gonna have to brief me about it."
"I'm sorry but they can't do that." Cragen said.
Now both Nicole and Munch were listening in. "What the hell is going on?" Nicole asked.
Munch looked at Nicole. He didn't exactly know how to tell that Cragen had asked Fin and Jamie to look into her ex-partner. But then he decided that it's just best to come out and tell her. "Listen, Nic, there's something you need to know. Cragen asked Fin and Jamie to look into Lee."
"What? Why?" she asked shocked.
Cragen was still by the door on the phone with Barrett. "Well then, Captain, I'm gonna have to go over your head about this." Barrett said and hung up.
Cragen closed his cell phone and turned back to Nicole and Munch. "Why are Fin and Jamie investigating Lee?" Nicole asked Cragen.
Cragen sighed and walked back over to the bed. "Like I was saying before Nicole, we think he may be invovled in this whole mess."
Nicole shook her head. "No, you're wrong about him."
"I hope for your sake we are but we'll just have to wait to hear what Jamie and Fin find out."
TBC...