Disclaimer: Maria is my own creation. John Munch belongs to Law and Order: SVU All places/roads/names mentioned are just a figment of my imagination.
Set a week after Carry on, Wayward Hound.

Ignoring the sound of the train whistle that traveled through the car, Maria allowed her mind to wonder aimlessly to unimportant subjects. In a specially padded bag above her head, Ace's ashes sat in a white and blue urn, wrapped in bubble wrap and double wrapped by a few pieces of her clothing. Thanks to Cragen, Maria was able to get a week off to travel to Boston to bury Ace and to just get away from the city. Also, thanks to much paperwork, Cragen was able to let John go as well to keep her company.

John, sitting next to her, kept his hand on her thigh and his piece hidden well at his side. Watching her from the corner of his eye, he kept his eyes forward as someone came up the aisle with a cart, asking if anyone wanted drinks. Moving his hand to grasp her fingers on the arm rest, he leaned over as she snapped her head to look at him. "Do you want something to drink?"

Giving a small shrug, Maria gave a very low, "nothing alcoholic," before turning her head back to stare out the window. She knew John was trying to help her, but at that moment, she was feeling small tension of what she was going to see and meet when they would arrive. Feeling a cold cup being placed in her open hand, she turned her head to see him placing a small cup of ginger ale with ice on her palm. Glancing over at what he had, water with one little ice cube, Maria took a small sip before placing it down on her tray. "We need to talk about what's going to be happening."

"There's going to be more then just the burial?"

Shifting in her seat to get closer to him, Maria linked her arm with his and lowered her voice. "There are a quite a bit of questionable characters that you might be meeting when we arrive. First one is Captain McKern, my former captain and the father figure I had when I first arrived here."

"What's he like?"

"He calls me kiddo and he's as old as the dinosaurs," she smirked when he raised his dark eyebrows. "I'm serious about that. He's never going to retire from Special Victims and he already knows he's going to die at his desk. He's one of the rare good guys and the one picking us up at the station."

"And the bad guys?"

"That would be Bern Sullivan - also known as Sullie. He's a fellow K-9 officer, but he works narc with his dog, Crush. He's the main one I would worry about at this point."

"Crush?" He stared over his transitions at the name of the dog. "Could they have come up with something more romantic?"

"He wanted to name him Cruncher, but they wouldn't allow him to do that since the name was too...well...suggestive." Picking up the cup and taking another small sip, she placed it back down and started back up again. "Sullie trains his dogs differently then what we were told to train. He trains them with sharp hand motions. For instance, he can have a drug boss talking back at him, standing really close to him as well, and he will flick his wrist so the dog will jump and bite the person. He can get away with it by saying he grabbed for him."

"Sounds like a sleaze bag, to me." John sat back in his seat and stretched out his long legs. "How is that man still working there?"

"because he has many recommendations under his belt and seems to connect with recovering drug addicts who hand over their former suppliers." Maria took a hold of his hand, where it rested on her knee, and followed along his knuckles to the tip of his fingers and finger nails. "The guy cheats on any and all women he has relationships with, possibly has fathered a wild array of children and give people he doesn't like nicknames."

John frowned at the reputation she was telling him about as he watched her fingers glide over his. "I take back that sleaze comment...he's a pig and a half at this point. I may not want to know this, but what nickname did he give you?"

"He calls me Frankie Fray and got a kick to the shine from yours truly." Maria linked her fingers with his and leaned back in her seat, her head resting against his shoulder. "He found it funny that my first name is a woman name while my middle and last names work well for men only."

"You're just lucky, sweetheart." John sighed as he squeezed her fingers. We may end up meeting him, right?"

"Yep," Maria mumbled with her mind drifting off at the sound of the steadying clunking of the train wheels on the tracks. "Wake me up when we get there?" Nestling closer to him to get comfortable and inhaling the familiar smell, Maria allowed herself to relax for the first time in days.

Glancing down to see her asleep and very comfortable, John's lips pulled back at a small smile and reached for the New York Times that was sticking out of her shoulder bag, knowing fully well he would have wanted to read it. Seeing something shiny in a small bag, he carefully leaned down to pick it up and noticed it was small Reese's cups she had secretly packed for him. Sneaking a small kiss on top of her head, he kept his fingers laced with her's while he opened the Times and proceeded to unwrap the small treat with one hand.

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Waking with a start at the feel of John gently shaking her awake, Maria raised her arms over her head and stretched out her legs. "We there yet?"

"About ten minutes or so to go," he removed his glasses from his face and rubbed his eyes. "I drifted off myself for a little there. Never realized the sounds of a train would cause me to drift off." Stretching his long arms and draping one arm around her shoulders, he watched out the window of the rising skyline of tall buildings as the train started to slow and pull into the North Boston Train station. "Okay, well, that's less then ten minutes."

Smiling, Maria picked up her shoulder back and slung it over her right shoulder, grabbing for her coat. "Ready to meet the town?" Once the train went to a complete stop and people started to move off of the train, John kept a hold of Maria's sleeve so he wouldn't be separated from her in the thick crowd. Moving at a slow pace, Maria reached back and took a hold of his hand to make sure he was really there. Moving out of the way for other folks to get by, Maria took a seat on a bench and glanced at her watch, John standing over her with their two pilot bags on his strong right shoulder. "Now all we need to do is wait for Gene."

"This McKern has a first name?" John scanned the crowd, his eyes darted around at all the faces. "Do I need to be aware of the weird Boston slang?"

"Folks are easy to understand here, John. Don't worry," Maria watched as a woman was swept up by a male companion and hugged tightly. "And, yes, Gene is his first name. Gene McKern - old as the dinos, knows how to kick a wise-ass's ass, and keeps a stiff upper lip." Taking a hold of his suit jacket and giving a firm tug, John sat down beside her and leaned back with legs stretched out. He was still people watching, even though he looked relaxed. "He loved Scott like he was his own son or his grandson, for that matter."

"Maria!"

Turning their heads at the sound of her name being called, John spotted a short, frail looking man working his way over to them. "I'm going to guess that that man is McKern?" John kept his voice low and Maria's face breaking out into a smile.

Standing as the man neared and pulled into a tight hug, Maria let out a tearful, "Oh, Gene! So good to see you again,"and didn't both to wipe away her tears. She didn't care at this point - she was seeing an old friend for the first time in a long time.

John couldn't help but smile at the notion she was reunited with a man she had not seen for a long time, but he also felt left out. He could tell they both had a close bond, having survived the horrific case that torn McKern's team apart and left three detectives dead, one that had been given lethal injection and one who John was madly in love with. Standing to shift the pilot bags on his shoulder, John locked eyes with the Gene, who was observing him with interest. Breaking the hug and holding his hand out for Munch to take, Gene flashed a grin with surprisingly white and well taken care of teeth. "I'm going to take a guess and say you must be John Munch," He started, his hand shake firm. Scott sure did look like him, he thought. "I'd say let's head to the car, maybe pick up some coffee and/or dinner and drop you both off at the inn?"

"How about coffee and dinner?" Maria started, her head tilting a little with a smirk on her lips. "Maybe a peach danish for later on? I'll buy." Removing a pilot bag from John's shoulder, she hoisted it onto her shoulder to relieve John from holding it.

"Yeah, like last time you said you would pay for the place we stopped at once for a quick lunch..." Gene said, his voice giving a tale of a singsong tone. "You only did the tip and leaving us to do the rest, Frank."

"Well, at least I did something," Maria smiled back, knowing it was playful bantering they were doing. "I swear, on my pension, I'll pay for it."

"Okay then. Munch, you are the viable witness to this deal." He said, pointing a finger at the tall man, who was actually enjoying the show. Making ways to McKern's car, John placed the bags into the truck, sat in the backseat and held his hands out for the bag holding the urn Maria handed him. Pulling out of the parking lot and heading down the road, Gene hit the off button on his radio and turned his head to Maria, sitting in the front passenger seat."How's New York treating you, kiddo?"

"Really well. Same awful cases, same sleepless nights, totally different people." Her green eyes stared into the review mirror, seeing John looking out the window and observing the buildings and people they passed by. Smiling when his dark eyes moved and locked on her's, Maria turned her head to McKern and said, "Let's just say that the city hasn't changed."

"Here or in New York?"

"Both," She inhaled a heavy breath, watching people zipping through traffic to get across the road. "Last time I saw Boston, Ace and I had left in the middle of the night, booked a train ticket under my alias the week before and just left." McKern pulled into a small spot in front of a diner. "Never thought I would come back, but I had to."

"And glad you did, Kid. Now, let's think happier thoughts and grab some dinner." Turning in his seat, he spoke to John. "Hope you like burgers and the best fries in town, John."

Entering into the comfortable atmosphere and taking a seat near the back, something that had become a habit between Maria and John, and ordered three burgers with fries and coffee. Taking a sip from his coffee mug, John nodded with satisfaction of how well the coffee tasted. "Hm, this is good coffee. Is it true this is the best place for fries?"

"Sure is! At least in this neighborhood. Most of the money they get goes into the support of the main homeless shelter on fifth street. They are trying to make it bigger and better to accommodate the amount of families they have had stop in." Gene's bright eyes shot over to the door and saw someone come in that caused him to groan. "Oh, great."

What?" Maria strained her head up to see a woman heading towards them. "Don't tell me she's still around," She lowered her voice as she weaved through crowds and placed her hands on the table, startling John who hadn't been paying any attention to the woman coming near. His eyes were scaling over the designs on the wall, wishing he could get that type of design in his place.

"Gene, is your phone off or are you loosing your hearing?" The woman demanded, ignoring the huffing sound coming from Maria. "I have been calling you for the past half hour and trying to get a hold of you about the Franz shooting on Edmonton."

"Sharon, did you read your mail this morning?" McKern kept his voice steady and his eyes locked with her's. "I had specifically told you that I was meeting an old friend and going to be out of the office most of this week." The woman's shoulders slacked, but kept her glare up. "Sharon, I'm sure you remember Maria Frank? She's going to be here for this week only and I have already made it be known I was going to be busy."

Sharon's eyes darted to look at Maria and her face whitened. "You," was all she said as her jaw clenched.

"Yeah, it's me, Tindal. You still pushing pencils into the sharpener or have you provided services to reach the top?" She remarked, her face blank and her head tilting in one direction. John, hiding behind his coffee mug, couldn't hide the chuckle that was trying to burst out of him. Sharon, glaring and lowering her head like a charging bull, she ground her teeth and left the restaurant. "Well, that was fun," Maria smiled as she picked up her mug and took a long sip.

"That's the reason why I love you," John whispered, chuckling while Gene tried hard to not laugh out loud. "Guess she and you go way back?"

Gene snickered as their foo arrived and requested refills on coffee, "Sharon is the kiss ass of my department. she has tried to rise from desk duty of your basic shootings to following my new detectives on the streets. Thing is, she keeps making mistakes with the simplest of cases."

"How is that crazy bitch still working for you?" Maria asked, taking a bite from a fry. "We go way back, John. She frowned upon the fact I was unmarried and pregnant," Gene and Maria shared a glance. "She called Scott as a bastard child and me a whore."

"That's cruel," John growled. "How is she still working there?"

"We believe the system is corrupt, but then again," Gene folded his fingers. "So are all the other systems."

Rolling his eyes, John took a bite from his burger and exhaled a heavy breath. "Figures."

"Welcome to Boston, John." She sighed. "It's all the same here."

To be continued...