Disclaimer: Maria Frank and Ben Munch are from my own creation. John Munch and others belong to Law and Order: SVU. Adult content...Maria needs some comfort and John gives what he knows to comfort her.

Two month old Ben cooed happily and waved his arms as John Munch continued to carefully wash his small amount of dark hair. Hearing Maria's voice in the other room, the baby paused and cooed even louder to the sound of his mother. John laughed and Ben smiled up at him. "I think he's calling for you, Mar."

"I can hear that!" Frank called from the kitchen, placing bottles of pumped milk in the fridge. In the early morning, she nursed Ben on one breast and held a pump to her other in attempts to give John what he needed while she was away at work for half the day. Don Cragen had managed to get her new schedule in with 1-PP and her retirement was still being planned for the next month. Just one month, Maria. One more month.

Coming out of the bathroom with towel wrapped Ben in his arms, Munch kissed her temple and whispered, "Thanks for last night."

She blushed slightly and screwed the cap onto the last bottle. "You're welcome. I know these past few weeks were getting hard for any intimate moments because Ben's been fussy and all that. I figured giving you what you want was the best thing to do before I head out." After pushing the bassinet out into the living room once Ben was asleep, Maria had given John want he had needed and wanted for weeks. A half hour into their bliss and he had to stop himself from crying out - they both agreed Ben didn't need to hear their intimate moments, even at a very young age.

"Are you sure you have enough bottles in there? He does eat like there's no tomorrow." He asked, observing the five bottles in the fridge door rack.

"I'm sure. Only one or one and a half should do it. I'll nurse him once I get home of course, so the rest could be used for tomorrow when I go to work." She picked up her Glock and slipped it into her leather harness. Ben looked down at it when a look of curiosity. "What? You staring at mommy's gun?" She cooed with a smile and kissed their son's forehead. "Going to be good for daddy?" John made a sound that could have passed as a nervous chuckle and a whine. "You'll be fine, John. If you start feeling swamped, call Kathy Stabler and either she'll come over or she'll send Maureen over."

Shifting his hold of the baby, he pulled her into a hug. "Just be careful, okay? Ben and I don't need you going into a dangerous situation on your first day back or any other day before you retire." Munch tucked a dark strand of hair behind her ear and sadly smiled at her. "How long's your shift again?"

"Five hours - give or take." She patted down his rumbled hair since he hadn't had a chance to take a shower and kissed him. "You'll be fine and I'll be at my desk ninety-nine percent of the time, okay? Play with him, talk with him and call the Stabler house if you need to."

Wishing her a safe shift and taking Ben's hand to wave to her, John Munch was left alone for the first time with their son. Sighing, he glanced at the boy and earned a well respected gurgle with a trail of drool trailing from his small mouth. "Well, how about we order pizza and drink some beer?"

Ben cooed and smiled in response.

M*M*M*M*M*M*M*M*M

Two hours into her shift, Maria continued her normal work with D-D5s and listened to the sound she was used to - phones ringing. Watching her clock carefully, she mentally told herself John and Ben were fine without her for a new hours. To make it easy for herself, she had placed a photo of Ben at a month old on her desk, next to John's photo.

Her boys. Smiling softly to herself, she went back to her D-D5s.

Hearing a loud thud, she and others in the room jumped as Fin tossed a man into the holding pen and cursed at him with various words Cragen sometimes turned away from. "That royal piece of shit! Thinkin' he can do something like that and get away with it? Who the fuck does he think he is?"

"What's the matter, my loyal and dark partner?" She asked, knowing it couldn't be any worse then what she had heard or seen.

Fin gave her a look and asked carefully, "Are you sure you want to know?"

Tilting her head a little, she motioned for him to sit and leaned forward. "Fin, I've worked a lot of terrible cases in my life with every terrible doing done to human kind. What's the matter? Is it because I had a baby two months ago and have weird hormones going crazy? What? Tell me."

Exhaling a slow breath, Tutoula lowered his voice and said, "The bastard learned his newborn daughter wasn't really his, but his neighbor's. His wife had been having an affair and the daughter was the product of it."

"Let me guess: he killed the baby."He nodded slowly and she closed her eyes for a moment. "Was it at least quick?" She didn't want to know the details, but she had to ask. When he shook his head, Maria clenched her jaw and pressed her thumb and forefinger to her eyes. "Jesus Christ..." Fin opened his mouth to say something, but she stopped him. "Don't. I asked out of my own stupid curiosity, so don't say anything."

Standing up to type up his case, Fin left Maria alone with her thoughts.

Coming home after her five hour shift, Maria Frank unlocked the door and slowly opened to the door in case either were asleep. Placing her work coat on the coat rack and kicking her shoes off, she came across an image that made her smile.

Fast asleep on the couch was John and, resting comfortably on his chest, was Ben. Both were in deep sleep and the baby looked very content sleeping on John's chest. Smiling, she bent down and kissed Munch's sleeping lips and draped a thin blanket over them both. She wasn't going to leave them alone in case Ben woke up, so she grabbed a book to freshen up on and settled down in the chair closest to the couch.

An hour into reading, she was pulled away from the paragraph when she felt long fingers caress her arm. "When did you get back?" John asked softly when she looked down in his direction.

"About an hour ago. I didn't want to wake you two up since you both looked so content."She combed her fingers through his hair and he closed his eyes in content. "How did you get him to fall asleep?"

Carefully sitting up and holding Ben to his chest, John replied, "I played with him, fed him and then he was out like a light. Like you told me; sleep when the baby sleeps." Maria cracked a smile, but he could tell something was bothering her. "What's the matter?"

Struggling to find the right words, she took Ben into her arms and held him tightly to her chest. Minutes past before she said anything. "It was the case today. It involved a newborn baby girl."

Sighing, Munch motioned for her to stand up and moved the bassinet against the wall, watching her place him into it. "C'mon, let's go lie down together." Making sure Ben was comfortably where he had been placed, they both walked into the bedroom hand in hand. Laying down together on their bed, he tried to think of something to distract her from the terrible case. "Do you know how much I love you?"

"I could guess," She replied back softly, linking her fingers with his. "How about you show me."

Tilting his head a little, Munch sat up a little more and asked her gently, "Are you sure? Does your body feel comfortable to do this?" When she nodded in response, he leaned down and kissed her slowly at first and only deepening it when she pulls him closer. Rolling over to hover over her body, he lifted her shirt over and off, tossing it to the floor. His shirt followed shortly after.

It didn't take long for them to shed every last piece of clothing, but John paused for a moment when his hand traveled down below her navel. It didn't take long for him to become fully aroused, but his concern was for Maria to be one hundred percent comfortable since giving birth to Ben and not earning his well loved climax making love to the woman he loved. Placing her hand over his, Frank locked with him and they shared a well understood expression - she was ready and wanted to be comforted by him with love. "I love you, John."

Softly smiling, he passionately kissed her and answered, "I love you, too." Reaching into her side table, he pulled out Maria's stash of non-hormonal contraceptives. They had vowed, after figuring out Ben had been conceived because a condom broke, to both use contraceptives. With her nursing, non-hormonal ways were the best way. Opening the box, he extracted a cervical cap and raised his eyebrows. "Mind if I do the honors?"

Giggling and biting her bottom lip, Maria nodded and allowed him to lift her hips up to scoot a pillow under. Reading the box for a moment, she read out loud to him and it wasn't long until he had sent it into place. Pressing his lips to the area below her navel, John ran his hands along her legs and attempted to make her fully relaxed and calm under his hands. "You're nervous about harming me, aren't you?" She asked, running her fingers through his hair to make him look up.

Yes, he had to admit - he was stalling because he didn't want to cause her any discomfort or pain. He had watched her flinch with every movement she made while in the hospital and got a glance at her area when she chose to lay down fully unclothed on the bed just to get comfortable. It made him flinch seeing what shape she was in. Now, she felt and looked normal to him, but he feared causing some inner pains. "Not going to scold me if I admit it?" She shook her head and sadly smiled. "Then okay. I'll admit I'm nervous harming you."

"Oh, John. Remember the first time we made love?"

He nodded slowly. "Of course I do."

"Let's do that then." He frowned slightly with confusion. "You know," She sat up to wrap her arms around his shoulders and whispered into his ear. "You very slowly entered me and backed off when I told you to pause. You were so patient with me, love, and I know you still have that compassionate patience with me. Just do what did back then."

Closing his eyes at the memory of them connecting together for the first time, he nodded with a heavily swallow and laid her back down on the bed. "Okay, that's what I'll do." Reaching for a condom packet, he opened and eased it on faster then he normally did.

Watching for any signs of discomfort, he eased into her and paused when she placed her hand on his stomach. "Just wait a second." He nodded and waited until she nodded for him to continue. Licking his lips, he eased forward even more until he fully enclosed with her presence. releasing a passionate sigh, Maria placed one hand on the back of his neck and pulled him down for a kiss, her other hand traveling to his backside. With a nudge of her hand, he began to slowly move to have them last as long as possible.

Wrapping her legs around his waist, Frank pulled him closer and they began to move together as one. Nothing else mattered in that moment except them together. Holding her close to his chest, John made sure he didn't touch her breasts or what he would normally do in case he caused Maria any discomfort.

Softly moaning his name and running her hands down his shoulders and back, Frank's body began to tremble the closer she came to climaxing. After going through two months without a release, she was far from ready to enjoy John climaxing with her.

Closing his eyes to concentrate, John shifted his position to reach even deeper into her depths and groaned as he neared his release. Moving faster and faster, he released his hold of her and placed his hands near her shoulders to concentrate. The feel of her lips traveling for his neck to his collar bone drove all thoughts from his mind. Slightly arching his back and grunting, John climaxed and Maria followed him a second later.

Trembling and holding him close as their bodies shuddered with their release. Still holding him, they waited until their breathing calmed down enough to be able to talk. "That...was amazing," Maria commented with a smile, touching John's face as they kissed softly.

Grinning with pride, Munch held her close and asked, "Do you feel better?"

"Much. Thank you." She pulled him down for another kiss at the same time Ben started crying. "Oh, shit. The baby's awake." Glancing at the clock, it was the right time for his colic to appear. "Colic time."

Extracting himself and reaching for the box of cervical cups, John quickly read how long to keep it in. "This says it has spermicide, so we're going to have to wait before removing it." She nodded and began to get up to fetch Ben. "Oh, don't get up. I'll get him for you." Rushing to the bathroom for a few minutes to get cleaned up, he pulled on a robe and picked up the baby from his bassinet.

Handing him to Maria and sitting down beside her, they both shared a glance of what was going to be another long night.

Week later -

"How are you feeling today?" George Huang asked Maria during one of her weekly sessions for her postpartum depression. Instead of going to his office, he came over to their apartment to see and observe the environment the three were in and found no reason to be concerned for Maria's well-being. John had taken Ben with him to do laundry to give Maria's body a break from watching their son and leave them alone during her hourly session.

Crossing her right leg over her left, Maria replied, "Good. I'm doing better day after day. Those calming sessions you told me about are helping a lot, by the way. We've figured out a way to calm Ben's colic sessions, John's taking over caring for him when I'm feeling overwhelmed or exhausted and we share the responsibility together. He enjoys taking care of him when I'm away at work for a few hours a day, too."

Nodding with her improvement, George asked her a personal question. "Are you and John being intimate again?"

"Not as often as we used to be, but I'm not blaming Ben for that." They shared a chuckle. "John's very gentle with me each time so it doesn't cause me any discomfort. Only once did we stop because...I had a flashback."

He leaned forward with interest. "How far along with were you two when it came?"

Maria glanced down and crossed her arms. She was starting to feel defensive.

Flashback to the night before -

Eyes flying open when she heard an unpleasant voice in her ear, Maria placed her hands on John's shoulders and gasped, "Stop."

Instantly stopping, Munch extracted himself and cupped her face with his hands, trying to get her to look at her. Squirming away from him and getting up, Maria stood by the wall with her arms wrapped around herself. She had begun to head into a dark place where John couldn't reach her. Hastily cleaning himself up and tossing his protection, John slowly walked towards her with caution. He learned from experience if she started heading down a dark place, she would hit if he touched her. "Maria? Are you still with me?"

Not responding to him the first time he called, her green eyes shot up to look at him the third time he called her name. Something dangerous was in her eyes and John could see it in the small amount of lighting in the bedroom. He had her attention and had to keep it. "Maria, can you hear me?"

Shifting her eyes around the room like she couldn't understand how she got there, Maria blinked a few times and softly began to cry. "John?" Grabbing for the comforter and wrapping around them to keep them warm, John held her close to her chest as she cried. "Oh, God. I'm so sorry."

"Shhh. It's okay, sweetie." He whispered softly in her ear. Her cries becoming stronger, he began to hum a tune Maria had hummed not too long ago when they put Ben down for the evening. Much to his surprise, she began to calm down to just sniffles. Resting his cheek on the top of her head, John closed his eyes and kept rocking her slowly.

"I-I guess you could consider it a mild case since I snapped out of it faster then I normally did. We were practically in the middle of making love when it happened."

"When did this happen?"

Softly sighing, she replied, "The night before. Ben had fallen asleep for the evening before his colic session and we've worked out a schedule to make love when we felt up for it before he woke up." Maria uncrossed her arms and stared at her hands. "I'm still afraid I'm going to look at Ben and think he's Scott. Scott's long gone and I know that, but there are times when I look at this baby and think 'you could be Scott reincarnated' and call him Scott."

"Does John know about this?"

Maria nodded slowly. "Yeah, he does. I tell him everything from the smallest paper cuts at work to the big things, like our intimate moments together. You know, what feels good for me or what doesn't."

"He considers that the big stuff?"

"Of course. There are a lot of big things he cares about but that was the first thing that came to mind. Sex is very important to both of us since it's suppose to be a beautiful thing between two people." She linked her fingers together like it was her and John together. "That's how we are. He was the first man who showed me the kinder side of human sexuality during my darkest of times and I can't thank him enough. My flashbacks and episodes don't seem too lonely anymore with him home and around more and he's...he's still the sweetest and gentlest man to this day." Huang tilted his head slightly. Once she started talking, he knew not to stop her. "He could witness the worst murders in the history of Baltimore and I'm the one he opens to more then he did to his colleagues. Meldrick would tell him to shut up during his rants and he never liked that. He needs to vent when something bothers him."

"Like you need to talk when something's on your mind?"

Maria Frank nodded her head. "He's on my mind and I talk to get it out. I talked about Ben being like Scott and I got that out."

"How's work going?"

"It's going better then I thought. I'm restricted to working desk work unless I'm needed, working five to six hour shift days and, if John needs me, I'm allowed to leave early. I can keep doing this up to my retirement, too."

George nodded with a smile. "Wonderful. I like how that's been worked out. Get your paperwork yet?"

"Not yet, but it's coming. We don't want it in a bar, but more at like a restaurant type of club where we can reserve a room with an open bar for those who want a drink. If we didn't want Ben there, we would be at a bar. But, we want him there to see people and interact with as much as he can." Giving a small smile, she motioned with her hand and added, "You're more then welcome to come, by the way."

Accepting her invitation and hearing talking from the other room, they turned to see John carrying the basket with Ben leaning back on the clothes, cooing happily. "Well, looks like it's time for me to head out. See you next week?"

Scooping Ben up with a huge smile on her face, Maria nodded and held the door for him as Huang left. "Good session?" John asked, placing the basket down to sort.

"It was good. Talked about the usual things, including my mild episode the night before." She noticed Munch straightening up and thick silence filled the air. "He's impressed by how mild it was." They shared a look for a split second, until Ben spit up on Maria's shirt. "Oh, crap."

Grabbing for a washcloth, he took the baby from her arms while she removed her shirt to wash it off. Wiping Ben's chin and mouth, John placed him on his floor pad to wave his arms at his new activity center. Gurgling and cooing happily, little Ben raised one arm and attempted to grasp a hanging toy. "Well, at least everything's good so far with your postpartum and your PTSD. How about we pack a lunch and take it up the roof? I think Ben will like it and it'll give us a chance to talk about your retirement and our wedding, since we still need to plan that."

Placing the newly wet shirt on the counter and reaching for one in the basket, Maria agreed and walked into the bedroom to fetch some clothes for the baby. Changing Ben on the floor, she swapped his onesie for pants and a long sleeved shirt. Slipping on his socks and shoes, she watched John in the kitchen, packing up a lunch for them and several bottles of milk for Ben.

Sucking on his binkie in content, Ben allowed Frank to put a coat and hat on. "Ready?"

Nodding, John held the door open for Maria to walk through with the car seat in hand. Making their way to the roof, they chose a quiet and shaded place and Munch handed her a sandwich. "No seasonings, just like you need." He smiled softly.

"Thanks." She sat down cross-legged and rocked the car seat as Ben continued to suck on his binkie, looking up as a small flock of birds went by. Maria looked up and chuckled. "I think Ben likes birds."

John looked up and watched a crow land on the ledge, cawing. "Once we move into a real home and give him his own bedroom, we'll design it with animals and basketball hoops. What do you think?" Maria Frank nodded between bites. "Cool. That place in Queens in still available."

"Yeah?" She turned her head with a smile. "Is it the one with the fenced in back yard and three bedroom with two bathrooms?" Munch nodded, too busy chewing to talk. "Hm. Maybe that will be the place to look at." Slipping a finger in the baby's fist as he continued to look around, she said as an added thought, "Would be nice to move into a house before he really needs to be in a crib. I don't think we have the space for a crib in the apartment as it is."

"That's one thing I'm worried about, Mar. I'll call the Realtor tomorrow and work something out for a meeting. Once he starts moving on those chubby legs of his, we'll need a yard for him to run around in."

Sighing and glancing down at their son, Maria broke out a small smile at his sleepy eyes, the binkie moving slower and slower until he was out. "We'll figure it out, John. We're not totally hopeless to give him the best."

To be continued...