Disclaimer - Maria Frank and Scott Frank are my own creations. John Munch belongs to Law and Order: SVU. All other characters were created for this fic. Rated M for language and adult situations.
A continuation to the 'what if?' fic "Back to Charm City". John Munch's divorce is finalized after two years and finally gets a chance to see the one woman he trusts and loves and the son he never knew existed.

After two long years, the day had finally come. The divorce papers were signed and finalized, life had finally settled down and the chance to take two paid weeks off had become available for John Munch. Two years of sending letters, emails and having endless conversations on the telephone to keep in touch with the one woman he loved and trusted had finally led to the trip he had been waiting for. He couldn't want to see her again and the son he hadn't known until she had told him in the midst of an emotional breakdown he had been dealing with. Since then, he had been corresponding with them both since Maria left to head home to Boston again.

He wasn't the only one who was excited. Maria Frank had arose early that Friday morning to get five-year old Scott's breakfast ready before he awoke for his morning routine. She had explained to him what was going on and even had him talk with John over the phone, but she wasn't sure if it had sunk in completely. Part of her feared if he was going to accept John as his real father and someone who wanted to be involved in his life, but the other part of her knew everything was going to be all right. Scott was John's blood after all. The small child was far too much like him in so many ways, there was no way Scott wasn't going to accept John as his biological father. Shaking her head with a small chuckle and reaching for an egg in the fridge, she quickly made a scrambled egg with toast as Scott appeared around the corner in his pajamas. His dark hair was sticking up from sleeping heavily and his dark eyes had the tell-tale signs of being barely awake. "Hey, sport. Ready for the fun day ahead of us?"

Sighing as he slipped into his chair and using both hands to get a good grasp on his fork, Scott slowly chewed on some egg before it began to really sink in. "Fun? What are we doing again?"

"We're going to be meeting someone at the train station around ten this morning. Do you remember who we've been talking to for a while now?" Frank fully knew he didn't have memory issues, but making sure he knew what was happening was happening that day was important.

Tilting his head up and making the best thinking expression, Scott swallowed what he had and answered, "Is it the man I have been talking to on the phone?"

"Yes, it is. Do you remember his name?" She watched him make a face from thinking before shaking his head. "His name is John and his last name is Munch, like the munchkins in the movie Wizard of Oz. Does that make it easier?"

The five-year old nodded his head and took a large bite from his toast. He continued to hum to himself and kick his legs back and forth in his chair for a few minutes before stopping and frowned slightly. "Hey, Mommy?"

"Yes?"

"Is this man really my daddy?" He looked up at her with huge brown eyes full of curiosity and an innocent face to boot. Complete with John's facial features - but with Maria's dark brown hair - there was no way he wasn't Munch's son. "How do you know I don't have a different daddy then what you are saying?"

Sighing softly, Maria placed her mug of coffee down on the dining table and closed her eyes for a minute to think. "Remember that talk we had about where babies come from?"

"Yes. About how a mommy and daddy would love each other so much, they would make a wish and a baby would be created in the mommy's tummy."

"That's right. I had never made that kind of wish to anyone else except him. The sad part is, I moved away before the wish was completed and he never got to see you. I know you're scared about meeting someone new since I have taught you 'stranger danger', but since he has tried so hard to talk with you for a long time, he's not going to feel like a stranger too much." She tilted her head to the left and smiled down at her son. "It's normal to be scared meeting someone you have never seen before, but he's going to be so happy to see you."

"He's not scary?"

Maria smiled warmly at the child and was reminded by how much he did look like his father with his innocent expression. "Not at all. He's a very tall person and may seem scary, but he's not scary at all."

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

John Munch waited until the train came to a complete stop before standing and reaching for his bags. Swinging one over his shoulder and holding the other in his other hand, he made his way off the train and into the bustle of people making their way to meet with family or out to waiting cars for their next destination. Looking through the crowd for a familiar face, Munch spotted a woman kneeling down to tie the shoe of the child next to her. He waited until she turned her head before approaching her, a smile on his face.

When he got closer, the child took a hold of her hand with an unreadable expression on his face. Maria sensed it and pulled her hand from his, placing it on his shoulder. "It's okay, Scott. Why don't you say hi?"

Before greeting Maria, John kneeled down at the boy's level and patiently waited for him to make the first move. Scott tilted his head slightly as he thought of what to do. He didn't have a fearful feeling in the pit of his gut since he had a chance to talk with John for the past two years, but meeting him in person was different. After a few long minutes passed, Scott slowly smiled and walked over to John, wrapping his arms around him. Frank heavily swallowed as she watched the two finally meet in person and blinked a few times when the tears started to come. Munch wrapped his arms tightly around the boy and squeezed his eyes shut to hold in his emotions. "It's great to meet you, Scott," He whispered with a shaky voice. "It's really great to finally meet you."

"Good to meet you, too." The five year old replied back. Taking a step back from hugging his father, Scott stared at him with curiosity and flat-out asked, "Are you really my daddy?"

John grinned from the child's question and placed his hands on his shoulders. "I certainly am, Scott, and I'm very sorry for not being around." Accepting Munch's answer easily, Scott turned to see his mother walking closer to them with a smile plastered on her face. "Good to see you again, Maria."

"Same here," Frank whispered as he pulled her into a tight hug. Burying her face into his shoulder and not wanting to let go, she could feel Scott grabbing a hold of her shirt to let her know he was still there and shifted her head to see him watching her with his dark eyes. She didn't want him to see the tears in her eyes and quickly wiped them away when they pulled apart reluctantly. Inhaling a deep breath to steady herself, she asked them both, "What should we do first? Go home for lunch and settle down or give you a tour of the town, John?"

Juggling the ideas for a minute, Munch allowed his exhaustion from the day take over. "How about lunch and settle down. We can do the tour when I'm not tired."

"Would be a good idea. I don't want two cranky boys on my hand later on." She smirked, glancing down at Scott as she rubbed the top of his head. When he frowned and attempted to bat her hand away, she offered the help John with his luggage and showed him the way to her car. "Scott, can you unlock the trunk?"

The five year old opened the driver's side door and popped the trunk with both hands. He grinned up at Munch's expression. "Mommy taught me that last week!"

"Did she now?" He turned to admire Maria's teaching abilities as she loaded the trunk. "Teaching him car tech stuff all ready?"

She pressed her lips together in a tight smile and waved for Scott to get into the back seat. "Yes, I did. He wanted to help with the groceries one day and, since my hands were full, I told him how to do it and he did it." Frank closed the trunk lid and reached into the backseat to help with the the car seat straps. "You are a smart little bugger, aren't ya?"

"I am not little! I am a big boy." He stated firmly, holding his chin up high to emphasis his words.

"Yes, you are right," She replied back with a smile. Shutting the door, Maria almost collided with John - he was standing awfully close. "Do I need to strap you into your seat, too?"

He raised his dark eyebrows and glanced at her over his glasses. "Maybe." Tilting his head one direction and placing his hands on her shoulders, John gently kissed her on the lips and wasn't even surprised when she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. Once her mouth opened to welcome him in, his arms moved to wrap around her firmly and gently sighed into the now-heated passionate kiss.

Completely oblivious to their surroundings and where they really were, Maria softly moaned in Munch's mouth and ran her fingers through his hair when he pulled her closer. A hand smacking against glass quickly pulled them back to Earth and they gradually broke the kiss. Frank glanced down to see Scott's hand on the car window and his attempting to see what was going on. "I'm glad those windows are tinted," She whispered softly, her arms still around John's neck.

"I am, too," he whispered back with a grin. "I missed you so much." Moving his hands up to her shoulders, Munch gazed deeply into Maria's eyes and said those words he had wanted to say since seeing her once more. "I really love you, too."

Much to his surprise, Maria grinned up at him at his words and placed her hands on his chest. "I know you do. I still love you," her words slipped out with ease and they began to move forward for another kiss when the hand pounding against the window started up again. Sighing, she exhaled a heavy breath and tapped the window with her fingernails. "We're coming, buddy."

"What is taking you?" He asked loudly so he could be hear through the window. "I am getting hungry."

"Okay, we're comin'," She sighed back and nodded her head in the direction of the front passenger seat. "Door's unlocked for you. Stretch out, get comfy and I'll take care of the traffic."

Turning to the left and heading down a quiet street, John scanned the buildings as he took in where Maria and Scott were living - four level apartments on a quiet and clean road. Two children ran down the sidewalk as they followed a ball and he smiled to himself at the thought of this area being a safe place for the two. He had worried about where they were living and whether it was a safe neighborhood or not.

"Here we are," Maria Frank happily announced as she pulled up in front of a pleasant-looking apartment building and shifted the car into park. "Let's pop the trunk, get your stuff out and you can get settled in." Turning in her seat and seeing the five year old was fast asleep in his car seat, she chuckled to herself and added, "And let's get bucko upstairs and he might wake up for some food before passing out again."

"Does that happen all the time?" John asked with his voice at a whisper. His lips had pulled back at a small smile at the sight of Scott out cold in the backseat asleep - his arms hung down at his sides and his head was tilted to one side. "He looks so peaceful."

"He does and this does happen all the time. When he was an infant and had a hard time sleeping at night, I would drive him around until he fell right to sleep." She answered him back as she undid her seatbelt and reached down to pop the trunk. "Go ahead and get your stuff and I'll get him." Making their way up the stairs to her second floor apartment, Maria fished out her keys and managed to keep her other arm securely around Scott's sleeping body as she shifted through the keys with one hand, pushing the right one in the lock. "This is a talent all in of itself, John," She explained when she noticed his expression at her skills. "I had to learn this on my very first time bringing him home."

Reaching around her to turn the doorknob, Munch looked around the well-light apartment and instantly felt at home. It wasn't crystal clean, but it wasn't a huge mess either. Papers laid scattered on the dining table and rectangle coffee table. Toys from a toy box in the living room area were scattered throughout the place and the morning dishes sat in the sink, waiting to be washed. A rather large dog lifted his head from a pillow in the corner of the living room and gave a small 'woof' before laying his head back down. Another one came out of a room from down the hall and stood there, trying to consider whether to bark at the unknown man or not. John instantly recognized the large dog on the pillow and approached him carefully. "Hey, Alex. You look good, ol' boy."

Maria laid Scott down on the couch and smiled when she saw Alex slowly getting up from his dog bed to see John. "Seems like he recognizes you, John. This one over here is Ace," She explained, motioning to the younger dog standing in the hallway. "He's Alex's replacement since he retired."

"Is retirement doing good for him?"

"More or less. When he had been retired, they wanted to move him into a different home once he was retrained, but he didn't do too well in that new place. I was contacted and I took him back. He's getting up there with age, but he's taking the quiet life well." She knelt down beside John and reached a hand out to rub an erect ear on the black German Shepherd, earning a groan in reply. "He's more into laying under the shade in the park then going for a walk."

Munch glanced over in Maria's direction and swallowed slowly. He could practically feel her body heat wrapping around him and reach a hand out for his fingertips to touch her arm. When she turned her head and locked her eyes with his, he took the chance to rest his entire hand on her arm and smiled when her eyes closed at the contact. "I'm not making any moves on you, by the way," he whispered gently, hoping Scott was a deep sleeper.

"Sure looks like it," Maria smirked when she opened her eyes. "How about I show you where you'll be sleeping before I do something in front of our son."

"I won't be bunking in your space?" He asked as they stood up.

Picking up one of his bags and making sure Scott was still napping away, she beckoned him to follow her down the hall to a closed door where he office was located. "I want you to as much as the next person, but maybe you can stay in here just for the next few nights until Scott relaxes. He's never seen a fully grown man in my bed before and I know it would drive me up the wall with his questions."

"Questions?"

"Questions! It's one of the many things he got from you. Right from the second he could talk, he asked questions and questioned everything other people did. If he doesn't grow up to do what we do, I'll go ahead and dance on my parents graves." She made a hand motion with one hand of dancing. "He may be five, but there are moments when he acts like a full grown adult." Exhaling a sharp breath, she opened the door and allowed John to walk in first. "It may not look like home, but I hope it feels like it."

Munch laid his eyes on the futon that had been set up for him and smiled. "It's perfect." His eyes laid upon Frank and smiled at her warmly. "Just as you are."

Her face went pink and she licked her lips nervously. "Thank you."

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

Later that night:

"So, I was talking to Flynn and he told me that Micky Jones and Dickie Smith got to fly in a plane! Flynn then told me they did not get to have any food on the plane, just yucky water. Oh! And then Flynn told me about the time him and his dad got to go in a boat on a huge lake and they caught big fish!" Scott was happily telling about his weekly tales while in between taking bites of his chicken. "It said it was this big," He held his arms out with fingers out straight, showing the fish was longer then his arms. "But they did not keep it! He dad told him they were going to let it go back to his family in the lake." He pulled down his sippy cup and took a long drink from it, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Do you think a fish has a family, John? Like a mommy and a daddy and a big kid and a small kid?"

Throughout the entire time the child had been talking, John hadn't even had a chance to take a bite of food out of fascination from his speed of talking. Thinking about his question of the fish, he finally took a bite of the chicken with a dab of mashed potatoes. "Well, someone has to watch the little baby fishes, right?" Scott nodded his head and forked up some potatoes into his mouth. "It only seems right the fish who has the baby fishes is the one to watch them. Like a mommy or a daddy."

Scott smiled at the explanation and went back to his meal for a second. "Flynn's Mommy works with my Mommy. His Daddy works with cars. Do you go after bad guys like Mommy?"

Freezing with the fork halfway to his mouth, Munch's eyes glanced over in Maria's direction. She took the hint and cut in for a moment. "He does the same work I do. That's how we met before you were born, Scott." When Scott opened his mouth to speak again, she tapped the table to get his attention. "Hey, how about letting him eat his dinner before it gets cold. Be sure to eat your peas, too."

The boy made a face at his peas and poked at them with his fork. "Do I have to?"

"Eating your peas will help you be big and strong like me someday," John encouraged gently. He didn't notice Maria staring at him with an astonished look. "Eat them all and you might just get as tall as me, too." He reached over and scooted a pea close to the edge of Scott's plate and waited. The child gave him a skeptical look. "I promise it will. I know they might taste pretty yucky now at your age, but how about a little bit of cheese on them? It might just make it a little easier for you."

Scott looked at his mother and asked, "Can I put some cheese on my peas, pwease?" When she nodded her head in the direction of the fridge, he scrambled from his seat, opened the door and returned to the table with the bag of cheddar jack cheese in his hand. "Help me?" He held the bag out to John with a smile on his face.

John glanced at Maria with an expression of slight surprise on his face. When she smiled warmly at him and slightly nodded her head, he turned his head to see the little boy shaking the bag slightly to get his attention. "Sure, Scott." He took the bag and sprinkled a small amount of cheese on the pile of peas. "There you go. Try that."

Frank observed their son carefully as he tried some peas with a sprinkle of cheese on. When he smiled and nodded his head happily, it felt like a huge weight was lifted from her shoulders and she took a chance to eat her dinner with a tune in her heart.

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

Later,

"I have to thank you for what you did with Scott. I've been struggle for the past few years to get him to eat his veggies. He'll shovel down fruit like there's no tomorrow, but veggies have always been his hardest struggle with food." Maria was sitting on the edge of the futon after Scott was tucked into bed for the night and watched John unpack his bags into empty drawers she had fixed up for him. "Did your parents do that with you and Bernie when you were little?"

He nodded his head and reached for his black sleep scrubs. "Mom had a hard time as well with the two of us. Dad showed her how to do it one night after we had enough with her begging and locked ourselves in our bedrooms." He heard a sound and turned to see Maria's tisking him. "I wasn't exactly a perfect gentlemen at that age I was at, Mar," He smirked and was playfully smacked in the forearm. "Hey!"

"Locking yourselves in your rooms to avoid eating veggies. That explains a lot now." She crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall. "Scott's done that to me already. This evening's little glare fest was just a mellow moment."

"Ah, okay. Felt like he was holding back a hissy fit." He lifted his shirt over his head and got ready to change. "So, is Flynn a friend or something?"

Tearing her eyes from staring at his bare chest, Frank swallowed heavily before answering him. "Flynn is his best friend in kindergarten. Those two grew up together from the moment they were born. His mother works the front desk at the station department - the same one I work at - and his father does work on cars in an auto-body shop. He's a month older then Scott and just as bright."

Sitting down beside her and removing his transition glasses to rub his eyes, John spoke in a rather soft voice. "I'm glad - very glad - Scott has a best friend. He was certainly excited at dinner to talk about practically everything."

Maria laughed and uncrossed her arms to lean on her knees. "Yes, he does that. I try to get him to eat in between sentences since he does forget to eat his meals sometimes." She felt a hand on her back and inhaled a slow breath. "He's reminded me so much of you from the moment he was born, it made me miss you so much more." His hand froze for a moment until she felt him moving beside her. Next thing she felt was his lips on the back of her neck and his hand moving up to push her dark hair away. "I'd dream you were right next to me in bed, but would wake up to only have my arms around a pillow instead."

"I'm here now," his whispered softly in her ear, taking her earlobe into his mouth. Grinning to himself when she gasp and gripped his knee, he gently took a hold of her chin and turned her head to look deeply into her eyes. "Sleep with me?"

Sadly smiling and straightening up, she placed her hand on his chest and licked her lips nervously. "I want to, John, but there's something telling me I can't. I mean, seeing you sitting here without a shirt on is already driving me crazy-"

"We can stay quiet if you're afraid we'll wake Scott." He placed his hand over her's that rested on his chest, gripping her fingers firmly.

Maria shook her head and lifted her head enough for him to see the tears were coming. "It's not that."

"What is it?"

"I-I just don't want us to move so fast to the point we hurt each other again. The first time we met, we moved so fast it took a while for my head to really comprehend what we had done. Before I understood it, all I wanted was you because I was addicted and didn't want it to stop." She inhaled a deep breath to steady herself before continuing. "Then, when I was to report back here due to an emergency, we ended up hurting each other emotionally and mentally. I cried every day during my pregnancy because I wanted to tell you, but was too damn afraid what you would say."

John listened intently to her words. It was true - they did move too fast and ended up hurting each other drastically. "You didn't want to tell me since we never did mention our thoughts on children."

She nodded her head. "Now I have Scott and I want him to know you better then I ever did before we slept together. I don't want him to catch us sleeping side-by-side in my bed or here on the futon. He's only known me having no one by my side when in bed and I know it would freak him out seeing you there." Frank placed her free hand on the side of his face. "It would make it harder for you two to get to know each other more. He's already starting to like you and I don't want that to be tainted. Does it make sense to you?"

"I get it and it's all right." He flashed a smile and pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry if it feels like I'm moving too fast, but you've seen that side of me and it's hard restraining myself when I think of myself with you."

"I know." She pulled back and ran her fingers through his dark hair, feeling the smooth and clean feeling she always remembered. "I remember all of that. You're a smooth talker, but I was easy to lasso because I just wanted to trust someone and I was tired of running."

Cupping her face gently, Munch smiled warmly at her. "I'm glad you trusted me and still do."

"Well, you still trusted me when I returned. I don't know anyone who would have turned up on their former lover's hotel room door in the rain and drunk off their rocker."

He gave her a cocky smile and turned slightly red. "I still feel pretty embarrassed about that. It's not the first time I've done that, but I don't want it to happen again, either."

"Don't worry about it, John." She chuckled softly and pressed her lips to his nose. "Don't worry about it at all. I'm glad you did, though. It explained everything that was happening with you."

He closed his eyes at the contact and leaned in slightly. "God, I missed you."

"I missed you, too."

"Just stay with me for a little bit?" John wanted her to stay with him for a little while that night before heading into her own room. After her last explanation about why they couldn't have sex, he knew better then to ask for that. All he wanted was for her to stay that for a small moment of the night. "Please?"

Biting down on her bottom lip and lowering her eyes as she began thinking about it, she took a hold of his hands in her's and looked at their connected hands. "I'll stay for a few hours, but I'll have to get back to my room before morning or Scott will begin to wonder. I don't want him to freak out on you."

"That's fine and I'm sure we'll get more chances to be alone together during my time here as I get to know Scott more." He gripped her fingers in his hands before releasing them to get fully changed for bed. Turning his back to her as he undid his belt to remove his slacks, he chuckled to himself. "Maybe we can also take a shower together?"

Maria laughed as loud as she could without waking Scott and leaned back against the wall. "Maybe we can. Scott has school during the mornings, so we can fit that in if you want. One step at a time though, hun."

"Oh, I know." He pulled on his black night scrubs and took the time to place his clothes in a hamper she provided for him. "Just thought I would ask."

She grinned and moved aside for him to sit beside her. "It's always good to ask," she whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Want to lay down together?"

"I would like that." Moving to stand up and helping Maria up to her feet, he kept his eyes on her as she reached under her shirt and undid a piece of clothing to toss into the hamper and make herself more comfortable. Keeping their eye contact, Munch removed her glasses and laid down on the futon with Frank following right behind him. They fit perfectly together in each other's arms and they both held onto each other as tightly as they could. "I've had dreams of us doing this," he whispered a few minutes into their cuddling.

Maria slightly smiled and closed her eyes as she settled down deeper into his arms. "I always figured you would have had dreams of us making love instead."

"That too, but I have more dreams about this then that." Munch slipped his hand under her shirt and felt her warm and soft skin under his fingers."I miss this," he muttered, lifting her shirt slightly and taking a peek at his long lost two best friends. "I have missed these two as well."

Giggling and wrapping her arms around his neck, she didn't stop him from lifting her shirt up and peering down at her breasts with a gaze that made her face grow red. It had been so long since she had felt him touching her, let alone a man. Since becoming a mother, Maria had been overly protective about Scott due to what she worked with and had never allowed any other man into her life. Trembling slightly when his fingers touched her lightly, she pressed her face into his neck and sighed. She didn't want it to end.

An hour later, Maria slowly and carefully extracted herself from John's sleeping arms. She had drifted off for a moment and had woken up a few minutes ago to discover he was in a deep, deep sleep. Gently kissing his lips and tucking the blanket around him, Frank took a moment to gaze down at him and run her fingers through his hair - something he always had done when she slept. When he sighed at her touch and leaned in unconsciously, Frank very slowly removed her hand and quietly closed the door to sleep in her own bed.

To be continued...