Alrighty, don't beat the writer, but I'm taking a step forward with this one. Doing something I really thought I would never do, but I guess I am. Maria and Ace are my own creation. John Munch belongs to Dick Wolf.

Maria had no idea how to word what she had going through her mind. Twice they had made love to release the stress that had piled up for the past few days and Maria was still running on high, sensing John was still awake and still had those crime scene photos going through his mind. His back to her, John had his arms crossed and he couldn't get the images of the crime scene out of his mind. Squinting his eyes shut and tensing his shoulders, he jumped lightly when an arm draped over his waist and brought him back to reality. "John?"

He glanced over his shoulder, he could see her face clearly in the dark, "yeah?"

Maria took a deep breath, kissed his shoulder and said, "Can you lay on your back, please?" He continued to stare at her with his depressed frown. "I know you're upset from the case, but I want to help you relax so you can at least get some sleep."

Giving a sad smile, he rolled over onto his back and watched with interest as Maria pulled the comforter and sheet down his body, exposing him in all natural. Grabbing an extra pillow and placing it under his head, Maria stood to light some candles and grabbed for her secret stash of lotions she had hidden under the bed. Tilting his head to one side, he watched her check out a few bottles she had and the light went off in his head. "Wait...I know what you're doing," she paused at what she had been doing and looked up at him. "Are you sure you want to do this? I've never seen you do something like this before."

"I'm sure," she went back to looking for the right bottle. "Is is bad enough that I've looked up this kind of thing? I mean, you know where ever single one of my 'buttons' are and you know the right way to push them. I want to be able to do something that can help you calm and relax without really having to do anything...except breath." She gave him a sly smile and watched him blush slightly when she mentioned all he needed to do was breath.

Finding the right bottle, she moved to sit between his legs and warmed a small amount of the lotion in her hands. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, her eyes locked with his and could see the deep trust he held for her. Gently grasping him and tracing her thumb down the shaft, John inhaled a sharp breath and let it out in a shuttered breath. Watching the effect she was causing him at that second, Maria smiled to herself as her hand started to slowly move over him, her free hand tracing up his stomach to his neck where the pounding pulse could be felt.

Feeling the sensation of her tracing her thumb over the tip, John grabbed the bedsheets under his hands and let out a gasp when the hand by his neck joined it's partner and she used her palms to stroke him gently. Shifting her hand positions, Maria kept one eye on him and the other on her hand when she placed her thumb and forefinger on either side of the organ and did a slow, twisting motion.

"Oh, God," He threw his head back and tried hard to buck, but a hand on his waist stopped him. Smoothing the hand over his stomach, Maria kept a firm yet gentle hold of him from bucking into her hand. Opening his eyes and watching her motions, he inhaled a deep breath when he saw her dip her head down and kissed the tip of the head. "Oh, sweet Jesus."

Maria lifted her head and smiled at him and blushed hard when he reached a hand down and his fingers glazed over the hand that held him. "I'm going to guess you're perfectly happy, yes?" Her other hand moved to tickle the inside of his thigh, where it connected to his hip and he released a deep moan.

"You have no idea right now," he gasped out she moved to kiss, nip and gently suck his neck with her mouth and did the twisting motion once again. With that added pleasure, and from holding in more stress from work, he fought to keep himself under control.

Watching him struggling to keep control of himself climaxing, a sly smile spread over her face at a small idea. "John, look at me, baby." Forcing his eyes open, he watched her dip her head once more, covering the complete head of the organ and ran her tongue of it, while her hands continued to gently stroke him.

That's when he lost it. Arching his back, Maria pulled back but didn't release her hold as he released more stress, leaving him breathless. Feeling a hand smoothing through his hair, he opened his eyes lazily and smiled when Maria placed a small kiss on his lips. "Hmm, when were you going to tell me you had been practicing that?" He braced himself up in his hands, but fell back down from exhaustion. Who knew that short of a session would wipe me out like that.

"If I had told you, it would have not been a surprise," Maria disappeared into the bathroom, brushed her teeth, washed her hands and damped a towel. "See, I had been doing some studying on this, since I had never done it before, and I wanted to surprise you." She sat down and began to clean him off, her cheeks blushing when she knew he was admiring her. "Not to mention, you seemed to have needed it."

Taking the damp towel from her hand, John tossed it into the hamper and pulled her down for a gentle kiss. "You didn't have to, but thank you and I love you." Climbing over him, Maria made them both comfortable and curled up next to him. Tracing small designs on her back, John felt relaxed for the first time since the case ended and had a feeling he had been selfish since making love twice had not helped him release the stress nor did it make him feel relaxed. Sure, he had enough sexual tension and stress flowing through his mind, but he felt like he had taken advantage over Maria and he regretted enjoying what she had done. "Maria...can I say something?"

"Yeah," She lifted her head and gave him her full attention. "What's the matter?"

"Listen - I feel like I have...taken advantage of you to release what I have held in for the past few days and I'm really sorry for that." He watched her face for any signs that would tell him he was right for what he had done, but her smile said different.

"John, you never cease to surprise me. I know you feel like you did, but you didn't. With all that tension being held in so tight, it can take more then one climax to release it. Maybe even two or three at this point. Watching you loose yourself at my hands, it...it made me feel satisfied and seeing you relaxing made me relaxed." She sat up on her knees and couldn't stop smiling at him as his eyes roamed over her. "Besides, the more I study it and work on my own courage, I think I can make it more satisfying and fun for you."

Wrapping his arms around her and holding her close, he nuzzled the top of her head and closed his eyes. "I love you and thank you."

Maria placed small kisses along his chest and sighed in content. "I love you too, John and thank you for letting me help."

-End!