Instant family
Munch had been clock-watching all afternoon. The end of his shift couldn't come fast enough. He and Soledad had been dating for two months and she had Munch feeling like dumb love-struck kid again. In the past he had had a habit jumping into relationships head first. The word "love" had been thrown around so freely it momentarily lost all meaning. For the first time since Gwen he really cared for someone.
In the beginning he had had trepidations about the 18 year age gap, he thought they would have nothing in common but she was the funniest most engaging person he knew. When they were together he smiled wider than he usually allowed himself to and laughed louder than he thought he could.
Tonight they had planned a low key night in with a couple rentals and chinese take out. He had been contemplating movie choices when his phone interrupted his thoughts.
"Munch, SVU."
"John?"
"Sunny, what's up?"
"I'm so sorry" With those words he could feel the bottom fall out of his stomach. Soledad continued. "I can't make it tonight. Something's come up"
"Something came up last time we had plans too" he said.
"I know I know, I'm sorry. I don't have any control over the situation."
Munch heard a note of desperation in her voice.
"Can you at least tell me why you're canceling on me again?"
"I'm sorry, I can't"
There was a click as she hung up the phone. Munch pulled the receiver away from his ear and stared at it with disbelief as if it had just slapped him in the face.
*
There was blood every were. Munch's eyes were was focused on the floor as he took long strides to avoid stepping in the large pools of red that snaked down the hall toward the bedroom. The room was a buzz of activity, CSU techs were all over dusting for prints and collecting evidence. The victim had collapsed at the foot of the bed, Melinda was standing over him writing something on a clip board. A tech was crouched next to the body examining a series of small stab wounds in the back.
"So what have we got here? Munch asked.
"Frenzied attack, probably unplanned. From the ligature marks on the neck I'd say the perp tried to strangle him first. They probably resorted to stabbing him when they strangling took to long."
" Are you sure the two are even related? It could have just been kinky sex that turned violent."
"Not likely, they did way to much damage for this to be just simple foreplay. I won't know until autopsy but it looks like they crushed his larynx."
"Ouch."
Melinda walked away and Munch turned his attention to the CSU tech who was now measuring the length of the wound track.
"Any sign of a murder weapon?"
"We bagged a tie that I'll bet money was used to choke him. As for what was used to kill him, I'd say it was something short and jagged like a corkscrew but theirs no sign of it." As the tech stood John felt a fleeting sense of nervousness. He recognized the voice. "Sunny?"
"Don't look so surprised John, I didn't join CSU yesterday."
She laughed and he felt his tensions ease. She had that effect on him.
"Hey look, I'm really sorry again about the other night. I've still got the movie for another couple days so why don't we reschedule? Tomorrow night okay?"
"No good, I'm dying my hair that night."
Sunny punched him lightly on the arm.
"Careful!" said Munch feigning disgust, "You've got dead guy on you gloves and I just had this suit dry cleaned."
"It's a date then. By the way I can't believe you've never seen Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Existentialist comedy based on Hamlet, sounds like it would be right up your alley."
"I can't believe you've never seen Citizen Kane. It's a classic." John said feeling a smile creep across his face.
"It's overrated."
Sunny looked from side to side to makes sure no one was looking before pushing herself up on the tips of her toes and kissing him.
*
The pizza was on its way and the wine was already chilling when Munch got the call from Sunny saying she wasn't coming. Once again she refused to give a reason, she just said she was sorry.
He hung up the phone and kicked the wall in one swift motion. She had blown him off-again but the anger was only fleeting. It was soon replaced with a vague sense of panic. He wondered if she had come to senses and realized she could do better. Maybe another tech had made a sly comment about Munch being old enough to her dad. Maybe she was just going to keep blowing him off until he got the hint.
The more he thought about it the more he found himself getting worked up, he couldn't sit still. He decided to go to Sunny's apartment and confront her. He had only been once before but had only been as far as the front door. When he had tried to come in she had pushed him back and said "good night." The memory of that night only added to his panic.
*
Munch's hand was halfway to the knocker when he realized he had no clue of what to say if she answered the door but it was as if his hand had a mind of its own. He watched in horror as it grabbed hold of the small brass knocker and swung it back and forth three times.
A minute or so elapsed and Munch considered knocking again until he head the locks click on the other side. The look on Sunny's face as she opened the door was a mixture of exhaustion and mild surprise.
"John, what are you doing here?" she could do little to mask her exasperation. Munch took it as his cue to get angry.
"Look if you're going to dump me do it, just don't jerk me around in the process. You probably realized you were wasting your time when you could be with someone closer to your own age and"
"Shut up."
"What?"
She looked behind her quickly before grabbing his hand, dragging him inside and guiding him over to the couch. A little girl was lying on the couch with a blanket pulled up to her chin. Sunny knelt at her side and put her hand on her forehead.
"Are you feeling any better?" the little girl nodded slowly. "Hey, I want you to meet someone. This is my friend John. He and I work together." She stood up to face Munch "John, this is my daughter Cassidy."
Munch knew that a myriad of questions should have been running through his mind at that moment, that he should have been overcome with feeling of anger or disbelief but that wasn't the case. In fact he felt nothing. His mind was a complete blank. He became increasingly aware that Cassidy was looking up at him.
"You help my mom catch bad guys?" she asked.
He nodded his head, he might have even mumble "yes", the room was swimming so he couldn't be sure. Sunny grabbed his hand and brought him back down to earth. She led him into the kitchen were she had him sit down at the dining room table. She took the chair across from him and looked at him with worried eyes.
"So what's going through your mind right now?" she asked.
"I had a partner named Cassidy once."
It was all he could manage to say but it seemed to be enough. She laughed as the relief washed over her face. She reached across the table and grabbed his hand.
"I really didn't want to cancel on you but last night Cass came down with a fever and today she had to stay home from school."
"I can undertand that, though I wish I'd known that before I got it into my head that you were thinking about dumping me. How old is she? She's got to be in at least grade school and you're only 29, you would have had to have had her at-"
"21. She'll be 8 in January. He father and were together all through college. I got pregnant near the end of my junior year. My parents were really great about the whole thing and put in some time babysitting and helping with the costs provided I still graduated on time. I wish I could say the same thing about her father though, I came to him about a month into the pregnancy and told him and the first words out of his mouth we're 'So have you scheduled the abortion yet?' Sad to say he was my last real relationship. Guys who can deal with fact that I have a kid can't put up with my job. Guys who can deal with the job, freak out when they find out I have a kid."
"Is that why you didn't tell me about her? You thought I was going to leave?"
"I was going to tell you, I just wanted to make sure we were going to last first. See if it was even worth my time. But I don't blame you if you want to run away scream-"
"Shut up."
Her eyes went wide with surprise as Munch leaned over the table and kissed her. He was beginning to pull away when she leaned in to meet his lips again.
"I love you" he said
"I love you too," she whispered "We can still have that movie night if you want. It's not Citizen Kane but I've got Toy Story and a pretty comfy couch."
"Sounds good."
Sunny got up and made her way to the couch and motioned for Munch to follow. She sat down on the couch, laying Cassidy's head on her lap and Munch sidled in next to Sunny. She leaned back into his chest and craned her head up to look at him.
"Ok, lets start the movie."
In the beginning he had had trepidations about the 18 year age gap, he thought they would have nothing in common but she was the funniest most engaging person he knew. When they were together he smiled wider than he usually allowed himself to and laughed louder than he thought he could.
Tonight they had planned a low key night in with a couple rentals and chinese take out. He had been contemplating movie choices when his phone interrupted his thoughts.
"Munch, SVU."
"John?"
"Sunny, what's up?"
"I'm so sorry" With those words he could feel the bottom fall out of his stomach. Soledad continued. "I can't make it tonight. Something's come up"
"Something came up last time we had plans too" he said.
"I know I know, I'm sorry. I don't have any control over the situation."
Munch heard a note of desperation in her voice.
"Can you at least tell me why you're canceling on me again?"
"I'm sorry, I can't"
There was a click as she hung up the phone. Munch pulled the receiver away from his ear and stared at it with disbelief as if it had just slapped him in the face.
*
There was blood every were. Munch's eyes were was focused on the floor as he took long strides to avoid stepping in the large pools of red that snaked down the hall toward the bedroom. The room was a buzz of activity, CSU techs were all over dusting for prints and collecting evidence. The victim had collapsed at the foot of the bed, Melinda was standing over him writing something on a clip board. A tech was crouched next to the body examining a series of small stab wounds in the back.
"So what have we got here? Munch asked.
"Frenzied attack, probably unplanned. From the ligature marks on the neck I'd say the perp tried to strangle him first. They probably resorted to stabbing him when they strangling took to long."
" Are you sure the two are even related? It could have just been kinky sex that turned violent."
"Not likely, they did way to much damage for this to be just simple foreplay. I won't know until autopsy but it looks like they crushed his larynx."
"Ouch."
Melinda walked away and Munch turned his attention to the CSU tech who was now measuring the length of the wound track.
"Any sign of a murder weapon?"
"We bagged a tie that I'll bet money was used to choke him. As for what was used to kill him, I'd say it was something short and jagged like a corkscrew but theirs no sign of it." As the tech stood John felt a fleeting sense of nervousness. He recognized the voice. "Sunny?"
"Don't look so surprised John, I didn't join CSU yesterday."
She laughed and he felt his tensions ease. She had that effect on him.
"Hey look, I'm really sorry again about the other night. I've still got the movie for another couple days so why don't we reschedule? Tomorrow night okay?"
"No good, I'm dying my hair that night."
Sunny punched him lightly on the arm.
"Careful!" said Munch feigning disgust, "You've got dead guy on you gloves and I just had this suit dry cleaned."
"It's a date then. By the way I can't believe you've never seen Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Existentialist comedy based on Hamlet, sounds like it would be right up your alley."
"I can't believe you've never seen Citizen Kane. It's a classic." John said feeling a smile creep across his face.
"It's overrated."
Sunny looked from side to side to makes sure no one was looking before pushing herself up on the tips of her toes and kissing him.
*
The pizza was on its way and the wine was already chilling when Munch got the call from Sunny saying she wasn't coming. Once again she refused to give a reason, she just said she was sorry.
He hung up the phone and kicked the wall in one swift motion. She had blown him off-again but the anger was only fleeting. It was soon replaced with a vague sense of panic. He wondered if she had come to senses and realized she could do better. Maybe another tech had made a sly comment about Munch being old enough to her dad. Maybe she was just going to keep blowing him off until he got the hint.
The more he thought about it the more he found himself getting worked up, he couldn't sit still. He decided to go to Sunny's apartment and confront her. He had only been once before but had only been as far as the front door. When he had tried to come in she had pushed him back and said "good night." The memory of that night only added to his panic.
*
Munch's hand was halfway to the knocker when he realized he had no clue of what to say if she answered the door but it was as if his hand had a mind of its own. He watched in horror as it grabbed hold of the small brass knocker and swung it back and forth three times.
A minute or so elapsed and Munch considered knocking again until he head the locks click on the other side. The look on Sunny's face as she opened the door was a mixture of exhaustion and mild surprise.
"John, what are you doing here?" she could do little to mask her exasperation. Munch took it as his cue to get angry.
"Look if you're going to dump me do it, just don't jerk me around in the process. You probably realized you were wasting your time when you could be with someone closer to your own age and"
"Shut up."
"What?"
She looked behind her quickly before grabbing his hand, dragging him inside and guiding him over to the couch. A little girl was lying on the couch with a blanket pulled up to her chin. Sunny knelt at her side and put her hand on her forehead.
"Are you feeling any better?" the little girl nodded slowly. "Hey, I want you to meet someone. This is my friend John. He and I work together." She stood up to face Munch "John, this is my daughter Cassidy."
Munch knew that a myriad of questions should have been running through his mind at that moment, that he should have been overcome with feeling of anger or disbelief but that wasn't the case. In fact he felt nothing. His mind was a complete blank. He became increasingly aware that Cassidy was looking up at him.
"You help my mom catch bad guys?" she asked.
He nodded his head, he might have even mumble "yes", the room was swimming so he couldn't be sure. Sunny grabbed his hand and brought him back down to earth. She led him into the kitchen were she had him sit down at the dining room table. She took the chair across from him and looked at him with worried eyes.
"So what's going through your mind right now?" she asked.
"I had a partner named Cassidy once."
It was all he could manage to say but it seemed to be enough. She laughed as the relief washed over her face. She reached across the table and grabbed his hand.
"I really didn't want to cancel on you but last night Cass came down with a fever and today she had to stay home from school."
"I can undertand that, though I wish I'd known that before I got it into my head that you were thinking about dumping me. How old is she? She's got to be in at least grade school and you're only 29, you would have had to have had her at-"
"21. She'll be 8 in January. He father and were together all through college. I got pregnant near the end of my junior year. My parents were really great about the whole thing and put in some time babysitting and helping with the costs provided I still graduated on time. I wish I could say the same thing about her father though, I came to him about a month into the pregnancy and told him and the first words out of his mouth we're 'So have you scheduled the abortion yet?' Sad to say he was my last real relationship. Guys who can deal with fact that I have a kid can't put up with my job. Guys who can deal with the job, freak out when they find out I have a kid."
"Is that why you didn't tell me about her? You thought I was going to leave?"
"I was going to tell you, I just wanted to make sure we were going to last first. See if it was even worth my time. But I don't blame you if you want to run away scream-"
"Shut up."
Her eyes went wide with surprise as Munch leaned over the table and kissed her. He was beginning to pull away when she leaned in to meet his lips again.
"I love you" he said
"I love you too," she whispered "We can still have that movie night if you want. It's not Citizen Kane but I've got Toy Story and a pretty comfy couch."
"Sounds good."
Sunny got up and made her way to the couch and motioned for Munch to follow. She sat down on the couch, laying Cassidy's head on her lap and Munch sidled in next to Sunny. She leaned back into his chest and craned her head up to look at him.
"Ok, lets start the movie."