He looks around him, and finds dozens of sullen faces surrounding him. He stares at the scene before him in complete disbelief. Nick stands next to him in uniform. He looks to his right, and finds Amanda squeezing his hand. He takes a deep breath, and glances at his shoes. He swallows hard as they stand in a huddle all wearing their dress uniforms. His chest rises and falls, but he feels as if all air has been sucked out of him.
Nick shifts his glance to his right, finding the situation too uncomfortable to look straight ahead. Fin stands next to him with a look on his face that sums up the way that he, himself feels. He swallows hard, and reminds himself not to cry. He looks past Fin to Amanda. He sees her chin clench.
Her jaw tightens, and she squeezes Fin's hand again. She takes a deep breath, and the cold morning air hits her lungs. She curses herself for breathing so deeply. She exhales, and against her will the tears begin to fall.
Munch takes a step forward. He faces the crowd full of fellow officers. He grips the podium before him, hoping to find enough strength to get through what needs to be said without crying. The words pour from his mouth. As he faces the crowd he watches as veterans, and rookies begin to break down in front of him. He watches as Fin's stoic expression fades away. The tears flow effortlessly from him face. The tough, seasoned cop doesn't even attempt to hide his emotions.
Munch steps away from the podium into the crowd. He watches as twenty one guns salute. A flag is laid on the coffin, and folded meticulously. He stands in the cemetery on cold, hard ground. Nearby is a pile of dirt, and hole that is approximately six feet deep. He stares at the dark brown casket. He refuses to look at the picture behind it, knowing it will prove too much to handle.
They all watch as the casket is lowered into the ground. The group slowly diminishes until only a few of them are left. Fin looks to his left, and finds that Cragen has materialized from somewhere at the back of the crowd. The huddle around the gravesite. The wind blows, and stings their cheeks, only adding insult to injury.
Finally Fin breaks the silence, "This isn't how it was supposed to go."
"We got our guys," Nick adds.
"One in the morgue, and one facing maximum security for the next twenty years," Amanda continues.
"It was supposed to be a win," Munch summarizes.
"How could this happen? She could have moved on with her life," Nick shakes his head.
"Instead she's six feet under," Cragen purses his lips.
"She made it through everything, and she couldn't make it out of the hospital," Fin's nostrils flare.
"She didn't go out in a blaze of glory, or a hail of bullets," Amanda adds.
"A damn pulmonary embolism," Fin shakes his head in disbelief.
"What are we supposed to do now? She was the glue that held all of us together," Nick wonders.
Munch finds himself at a loss for words for the first time in his life, "I don't know."
"How do we move on?" Amanda questions.
"What are we going to do to honor her memory?" Fin queries.
"Keep fighting. Keeping bringing justice," Cragen suggests.
"She didn't get justice. She died before she could see it," Nick points out.
"What about those two little girls? What is going to happen to them?" Amanda quizzes, "She fought like hell to bring them into this world safely, and now she's dead. It just doesn't seem fair. How could this happen? What is going to happen to them? Are we going to let them go into foster care, or…"
Fin speaks up, "No."
"What are we going to do? How do we fix this?" Nick asks.
"We raise those girls," Fin answers.
"It takes a village," Amanda agrees, "but who would maintain guardianship?"
"Fin," Cragen speaks up, "she would want you to do it."
"Why me?"
"You're more like her than either of you would ever care to admit."
"That's probably true," he admits.
"We'll help you," Nick vows.
"Whatever you need," Amanda adds.
"I'm retired, I'll give you a great rate on babysitting," Munch adds.
"I'll babysit for free," Cragen insists.
"Aren't they supposed to be discharged today?" Amanda speaks up.
Fin looks down at his watch, "I should go."
Fin enters the nursery. The charge nurse finds him standing over the basinets. She approaches him, and he flashes his bracelet.
"Mister Tutuola, I see you're back. I am so sorry for what happened to happened to Detective Benson."
"I appreciate that."
"Our social worker is asking where the girls are going to be discharged to."
"I am taking them."
"There is some paperwork that you'll need to sign."
"I'll sign whatever you need me to."
"I see that you brought your entourage," she points to the window.
He glances out the nursery window, and finds his colleagues standing outside, waiting on him.
He nods, "It takes a village."
"Let's get you started on the paperwork."
"What kind of legal documents do I need to get in order to take them home?"
"Miss Benson filled out a last will, and testament after she was readmitted to the hospital. The document had just been filed when she coded. She named you as legal guardian should anything happen to her."