Disclaimer - Maria Frank is my own creation.

Chapter 7: Presents Ahoy!

Around midnight that night, a knock at the door awoke Alex from his deep slumber. Hearing another knock, the large black dog started growling, baring his teeth. When a third knock sounded, Alex jumped up, giving out sharp, small barks. Maria's head snapped up and reached for her jeans.

John lifted a tired head and made an attempted to get up, but Maria's fingers on his lips made him stop. "Don't move. If it's one of the other detectives, I don't want them to know that you're here." She whispered, grabbing her Glock and slipped it into her back pocket. Watching as she closed the door behind her, he laid back down, listening for all sounds.

"Who's there?" Maria demanded.

"It's me, Kay. I hope I'm not disturbing you."

Holding Alex back, she opened the door, greeted by the bushy red head detective. "I wasn't doing anything important. Just sleeping." She released her hold on Alex's collar as Kay walked in.

"Oh, I forgot that it was midnight. I just have a little something to give you. Gee told us at the bar that you were leaving soon and I wanted to give you an early good bye present." Kay held out a small square box. "I was surprised that John wasn't there. He's been awefully quiet the last few days."

Maria's brain worked to think up an excuse. "Who knows. Maybe he has a new woman in his life." Wow. How close to the truth is that?

Kay shrugged, seeming to accept that. "I wouldn't be too surprised. Anyway, just wanted to give you that and hope you have a good night." She turned, giving a small wave.

"Thanks, Kay and good night." Maria said, closing the door as Kay left down the stairs. Placing the little box on top of a shelf, she headed back to her room, feeling her exhaustion taking over again. Entering, she placed her Glock on top of a box and slipped back into bed. Alex took his respectable spot by their legs. There is no way John fell back to sleep that fast, she thought as she stroked his hair out of his face. "You asleep yet?" She whispered close to his face.

"Not yet. That Kay?" His skills of non-complete sentences never surprised her. "Yeah, she wanted to give me a little present as they just got word that I'm leaving. She wondered where you were. I told her that you might be with a new woman."

"Right," He mumbled. "Sound like good point. You right." Chuckling softly, she pressed her lips to his forehead, nose and mouth before drifting off again.

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

The next morning, the three rushed to work, knowing that sooner or later, someone would figure them out. Wanting to finish the last of her paperwork, Maria hid behind the stacks, signing and pre-reading. By 10 in the afternoon, Lewis leaned back in his seat and tapped her on the shoulder. "I know you might not like this, but I got you little something when you leave." He placed a hand size box on her desk, giving a small wink.

Maria picked up the small box, admiring it for a moment. "Thanks Lewis. Should I really ask what it is?"

"You might want to wait for that later when you open it." He said, leaning forward again. Smiling, she took the box and placed it into her bag.

Throughout the day, mostly all the detectives dropped small gifts or cards onto her desk. Maria was also starting to feel a little overwhelmed by all the attention. She honestly didn't expect this.

As she was getting ready to head home alone, Gee came out of his office, carrying a flat box. "Here. I normally never do this, but this is me saying thanks again." Maria took it and held it in her hands. It felt a little heavy. "What is it?"

"A picture frame. Well, two really. In case you take a favorite picture or two of our little charm city."

Thank you, sir. This last week has gone by very fast. Next week might go just as fast, I'm afraid."

"These last months have gone past faster then I really expected. I'm sure that you won't be leaving quietly, though. They do like to involve alcohol, in large amounts, if they can."

She could only smile at that comment. "I can believe it. For all I know, I'll need as much as possible when it gets closer. Night, sir."

"Night, Ms. Frank."

As she headed out and flagged down a cab, she started thinking of when she would get that hammered. She had not been that drunk in a long time.

For the first time since learning that she was going back, John decided to give her the space that she needed that night. He felt like he was going to regret being without her for one night, but she agreed that it would be a good idea. She was going to have to make a few calls and she knew that hearing her talk about the murders and getting ready to go would upset him.

Back at her apartment, she was busy placing phone calls to whom she had to contact. In between calls, she made silent vows to love John as long as she could.

To be continued...