A/N: Alas my friends, we've come to the end of another tale. But never fear, my plot bunnies are already hard at work on another IPS fic. So keep your eyes peeled for Revive - coming this fall. Thank you all for reviewing and getting this fic to an awsome 100 reviews - not too shabby for a show that's no longer on the air! ;) Enjoy the supersized chapter of fluffy love.

I've only been in love with one woman my whole life.

I know how that sounds – that I'm a dick, especially since I'm on my second marriage. It doesn't mean that I didn't love my first wife. I did, truly, even though she turned out to be a certifiable nut job that tried to kill the love of my life, the woman that I cannot live without – the one that I would kill for, die for, and at the same time drives me absolutely insane.

I can't live without her. The world just doesn't make sense if she isn't by my side.

God knows I've tried. For years I was her best friend, her loyal sidekick, her punching bag, the faithful puppy yapping at her heels that she kicked to the curb time and time again without understanding just how deep my feelings ran or knowing that she was trampling on my heart every time she walked away to go fuck another cowboy in a stall in some dive.

But when we finally came together, when I finally told her how I felt and she finally stopped running from her feelings – it was magic. It was everything all the songs and books have talked about for centuries and then some. Oh, I'm not saying our marriage was peace and harmony – that wouldn't have been us. Mary and I have always had a passionate partnership- one filled with fights, verbal and physical, and that didn't change after we said our vows. The only difference now was that our make-up sessions were so much more satisfying, for both of us.

"Mary, I'm just saying you need to stop pulling your gun on our witnesses," I sighed as I slid my card through the reader, waiting for the buzz. "Jenkins was going to wet his pants-"

Mary brushed past me into the office. "He so deserved it, Marshall! The man's a child molester, for God's sake!"

I ran a hand through my hair. "I know, but it's our job to protect-"

She whirled on me in a fury. "Don't you dare! I know you hate protecting that SOB as much as I do!"

I threw out my hands in exasperation. "What do you want me to say, huh? It's our job! We don't get to pick the witnesses. Jenkins has vital testimony that will put away a member of the Sanchez cartel for a long time-"

"So we just let him get away with the fact that he molested his five year old niece?"

"I can't –" I swallowed. "We can't do anything about that! He signed a deal with the FBI before entering WitSec-"

She slapped my chest, her open palm striking me hard. "You'd be singing a different tune if it was Nora-"

I grabbed her hand, pulling her into me. "Don't do this here, Mer." I darted a glance to the side to see Stan watching us from his office, frowning. "We have to toe-"

"Fuck, Marshall!" Mary yanked her hand free. "I can't – how can you be so – I need-"

"Shh-" I whispered, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her against me in a side hug. "I know, I know. Just – I can't give you what you need here and now."

"Marshall!"

I pulled back from my wife as if burnt and both of us turned to see Stan standing in the doorway to his office.

"Yeah, chief?"

"Can I have a word?"

Mary turned and all but ran out to the patio, her head tucked low as I went to face the music. "Stan, I'm sorry but Jenkins really got to Mary today. He had the nerve to ask for-"

Stan waved my words away. "That's not why I called you in here. I'm going to forget what I heard and saw out there just now because the two of you have been doing such a good job of being professional since your marriage. Jenkins is a first class bastard and it sticks in my craw that he got accepted into the program."

I sighed. "Thank you, chief. Why did you call me in here then?"

He tossed a large manila envelope across the desk. "This came for you while you were out visiting witnesses – straight from the court."

I swallowed hard and ripped it open, pulling out the official papers. Scanning the sheets, I grinned. "Georgie's adoption – I'm a father, Stan."

Stan grinned back. "You've been a father for over a year now – this just makes it legal in the eyes of the law."

I nodded.

"How did you get the papers so fast? You and Mary only applied three months ago."

I shrugged. "I called in a favor."

Stan's eyebrows rose. "Must have been some favor."

"So I can call you Daddy now?"

I laughed as I swung Georgie up to my shoulders, the sound of his childish squeals filling my heart to overflowing. "You've been calling me that for months now, Sport."

"Yeah, but-" Georgie's words came to a stop and I swung him back down so I could see his face.

"But what? What's wrong, Son?"

His eyes flooded with tears as he threw himself against me. "Does this mean you won't leave me? Ever?"

I sighed as I looked at Mary over his shoulder. How did you reassure a four-year-old that you never meant to go anywhere when that same child had already lost his birth mother? I held him close to me and whispered. "I have no intention to leave you Georgie, now or ever. I love you."

"I love you too, Daddy."

Nora hugged Georgie from behind. "You know, this means you're my little brother now."

Georgie released me so fast that I nearly fell over. "It does?" he gasped, his mouth open and his eyes huge in his face. "I always wanted a sister."

Nora's nose crinkled. "And I guess I could get used to having a pesky little brother-"

"Nora!" Mary chastised.

Nora giggled as Georgie threw himself into her arms, before turning to look at Mary. "Does this mean I can call you Mama?"

My eyes flew to Mary's in time to see her eyes go still and her face lose color. "Georgie, I-" she cleared her throat. "You had a mother."

I stood up slowly and crossed to her side. "Brandi's gone." Mary flinched at my words. "You're still here. I don't think she'd mind, love, having her sister, her second mother, raise her son."

Nora broke in, trying to ease the tension. "He could call you Mama Mary."

My lips twitched as Mary frowned and shook her head. "I don't think so, Bug."

"Did I say something wrong, Aunt Mary?"

"Oh no, Georgie," Mary knelt by his side. "It's – just a big thing you asked me. Let me think about it, OK?"

"OK."

"I just don't want him to forget her."

I rubbed Mary's back soothingly as we lay in bed that night. "It's never going to happen. You're going to see her every time you look into his face, my love. And you won't let him forget her, either. You'll tell him stories about her, about the two of you growing up together, about how much you love and miss her. He will be one of the luckiest boys on the planet to have a mother and an aunt all rolled into one."

She frowned down at me. "Don't you think it will confuse him – to think of me as an aunt and his mother?"

I shook my head. "He's old enough to remember Brandi as the mother who birthed him and you as the one who will raise him – he can handle this."

She shook her head, closing the distance between us. "How did I get so lucky?"

"What do you mean?"

She breathed the words against my lips, the air from her mouth making me shiver in desire. "Not only did you wait for me to be ready to love you but you love and are raising two children who aren't biologically yours with me-" she shook her head slowly. "I think I fall in love with you a little more each day, Marshall Mann."

I waggled my eyebrows. "Then my plan is working."

She laughed and lowered her mouth to mine.

"MAMA!"

Georgie's scream had both of us scrambling out of bed but Mary was faster than I was and she reached his bedside first, pulling a sobbing half asleep boy into her lap. "Shh, my beautiful boy, I'm here, I'm here, you're OK, you're OK, what's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?"

Georgie nodded and shuddered and hiccupped and sobbed against her breast while Mary soothed and cooed and rubbed her hands up and down his back until the storm passed. When his little body finally went slack, Mary laid him back against the pillow and he smiled sleepily up at her.

"Feeling better, Bean?"

"Mama used to call me that," he murmured.

"I remember," Mary whispered.

"Mama?"

"Hm?"

Georgie's eyes popped open. "Can I call you Mama?"

Mary's eyes met mine for a moment before she leaned down and kissed Georgie's forehead. "You can call me anything you like."

"I like Mama."

Mary took a deep breath. "Mama it is then."

Georgie rolled to his side, taking his stuffed dog with him. "I love you, Mama."

"I love you, Bean."

Father's Day – 6 months later

I rolled over in bed, my hand reaching out for Mary before my eyes were even completely open. When my questing fingers encountered nothing but empty space and cold sheets, my eyes flew open and I listened, my ears catching the muffled sounds from the kitchen as my nose smelled breakfast.

"Mary?" I called sleepily.

"Stay in bed, Doofus!" She yelled at me. "We're making you breakfast – it's Father's day, remember?"

I grinned and buried my face in the pillow, trying not to think of the burnt offerings that would soon be in front of me. But if Mary stayed on the sidelines and actually let Nora do most of the cooking, breakfast would be edible. Nora had been shadowing my every move in the kitchen ever since I had moved in, even before Mary and I had become a couple, and my goddaughter had somehow inherited my cooking ability. Mary didn't think Nora was old enough to cook on the stove or use the oven but I maintained that as long as one of us was there to supervise her and make sure she was being safe, she was ready.

I was just glad that I had made it home in time. Nora and Georgie had been talking about Father's Day for two weeks – and had been bitterly disappointed when I came home earlier in the week and told them I needed to go out of town for work. Delia and I had to go to New Orleans to pick up a witness and since she was eight months pregnant, we had to drive back. We drove day and night, with our witness sleeping in the back of the rented sedan most of the time, so that I could be home for Father's Day. Delia had dropped me off at two o'clock this morning and I had collapsed in our bed fully clothed, not even bothering to wake Mary for a kiss.

But my wife had awakened me a couple of hours later with her hands caressing my skin and her lips brushing mine.

"I missed you."

I grinned sleepily. "I missed you more."

She kissed me deeply, the fire igniting in both of us and that was the last thing either of us said for quite some time.

"Do you think it will always be this way?"

"What way?" I whispered, my hands caressing the top of her shoulders.

"This – intense. Every time with you takes my breath away, Marshall. Do you think it will always be that way or do you think it will eventually get –" she bit her lip and I laughed.

"What – boring? Routine? Stale?"

"Well? Do you?"

I rolled her under me, pinning her gaze with mine. "Do you realize what you sound like right now?"

She shook her head.

"You sound like one of those eighteen century woman who get 'the talk' from their older and wiser women about performing their wifely duty – what are you really worried about, Mer/"

She sighed. "We've been married for nine months, Marshall, and I –" She blushed. "I don't want you to take this the wrong way – but my only frame of reference is to bring up my past relationships and I don't want you to get mad or think I'm comparing you to them because I'm not and-"

"Mary-" I shifted to the side, taking her with me. "Say what you need to say – I'm listening."

She rested her head on my chest. "Well, my marriage to Mark only lasted two days – and I have no regrets about its demise, you know that. And if I'm being honest here, in a lot of ways, I was bored with Raph after the first couple of months – he was a good fuck but not someone I wanted to spend–"

I huffed out a breath. "Do you have a point to this jaunt down memory lane?"

She rolled to her stomach, locking our eyes again. "Yes – I was quickly bored in my other relationships but with you – you always leave me wanting more. I miss you when you're gone. When we're not together, I feel like part of me is missing." She shrugged and dropped her eyes. "I know you've had this before, with Abigail-"

"You're wrong."

Green met blue. "But – you married her, Marshall – you loved her, I know you did."

My eyes fluttered shut as I took a deep breath to gather my thoughts. "Abigail was my rebound from you, Mer. She was my futile attempt to move on from you – to try and release you for good. I tried to love Abigail and yes, I suppose I did." I opened my eyes to meet her tear filled ones. "But there has only ever been one woman in my heart. I've only been in love with one woman. And that woman wasn't my first wife."

"Marshall-"

I cleared my throat and sat up. "So if that makes me less of a man in your eyes or disgusts you, I'm so-"

Her lips cut off my words and I groaned as I pulled her into my lap, her legs wrapping around my hips. When my lips left hers to trail a line of wet kisses down her throat, she murmured in my ear, "Actually, it makes me love you more."

"DADDY!"

I sat up in time to be tackled by two flying bundles of pajamas. Mary watched from the doorway, holding a breakfast tray as the three of us fell backwards on the bed, laughing and tickling and talking over each other. My eyes met hers over their heads and we shared a smile.

"Is that for me? I'm starving!"

"I made the pancakes!" Nora announced proudly.

"I made the juice and helped Ray with the 'cakes!" Georgie put in.

I grinned. "And what did you do?" I asked Mary as she set the tray down across my knees.

"I made the coffee and supervised, just like we talked about."

"She put the blueberries in the pancakes too, Daddy," Nora added.

"Well, that's a very important job," I nodded.

Mary rolled her eyes. "Yes, and one I can't fu- mess up."

I winked at her, acknowledging her attempt not to swear in front of the kids. "Wow, look at all this food. I can't eat all this – who's going to help me?"

Mary snorted. She knew that I would have no trouble eating this spread – I still had the appetite and metabolism of a twenty-five year old. But she grinned as she pulled extra forks out of her pocket. "I came prepared."

The four of us dived in and Mary went back to the kitchen twice to get more blueberry pancakes before we'd all had our fill, but finally, the Mann family lay on the king-sized bed in our pajamas, both kids snuggled into me and Mary spooned up with Nora. Both kids were drifting back to sleep and Mary smiled over her daughter's head at me.

"Thank you for rushing home – they were so looking forward to making you breakfast."

I grinned. "I wouldn't have missed it for the world." I looked down at Georgie who was curled up asleep in my arms. "This father's day is different from anything you or I had growing up, isn't it?"

Mary snorted. "Don't go there, Marshall."

I reached out a hand and captured a wrist. "You must have one nice memory before your dad went away."

"Went away," Mary repeated the words bitterly. "You make it sound like he died or didn't have a choice instead of deserting his family."

I released her wrist. "I'm sorry I brought it up."

She grabbed my fingers. "No, I'm sorry. You don't deserve my bile." She dropped a kiss into my palm. "You are truly the best man, the best father I've ever known, Marshall Mann. And to answer your question, yes, I do have one or two good memories of Father's day – he used to take me to the track."

My eyebrows rose into my hairline. "That's not exactly for kids."

Mary smiled. "No, but somehow James made it seem like Disneyland." She cleared her throat. "So what about Seth? Do you have any good memories of Father's day?"

I dropped my eyes. "He was never home."

Her mouth fell open. "Never?"

"Nope. Always on assignment – he did usually manage to call but-" I shrugged.

"Oh babe," Mary's eyes were full of emotion and I could tell that she wished we didn't have a pile of kids between us. She dropped my hand and reached out to caress my cheek. "That's – wow. I don't know what to say. I know you two weren't close but to never make it home for his kids? No wonder you did that saliva DNA test."

I shrugged. "It was a long time ago, Mer."

"But it still affects you, don't pretend it doesn't."

I nodded. "It affects me insomuch as I've made a promise to be there for all the important events in Nora and Georgie's lives – and I knew today was important."

"See what I mean? The best father I've ever known."

"Nora? Keep an eye on Anna! Don't let her fall in the monkey pit!" Mark called after his daughter.

"I've got her, Daddy!"

"Me too, Uncle Mark!"

I smiled as Nora reached Anna just before she leaned too far over the railing and pulled her sister back from the ledge. I turned back to see Mark, wiping the sweat from his brow, shaking his head.

"Two girls, Marshall, two! What on earth am I going to do with two girls? Just think about when they're teenagers!"

I clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Take it one step at a time, Mark. Enjoy them now – don't go borrowing trouble. And remember, you're not alone. You have your mom, and Jinx, and Mary and me. And Nora is six years older – just like Mary and Brandi were."

Mark nodded. "You know, I think that makes Mary sad. Sometimes, I catch her looking at the two of them and she gets this look on her face – you know the one – where she's trying not to cry?"

I nodded.

"Perhaps it would be better for everyone if Anna and I-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence! It's done Jinx and Mary a world of good to have little Anna around and Nora would be crushed to lose you and her baby sister again."

"You're right. I just don't want to impose on all of you."

"You're not. Mary and I need all the sitters we can get for our work – so I think we've got a good thing going here."

Mark laughed. "Well, when you put it that way. We certainly have an interesting family tree, don't we?"

Squeals of delight made us turn to see that the kids had found one of the zoo's sprinklers. Georgie and Nora had each taken one of Anna's hands and were running through it with her.

I grinned. "I know the saying is 'blood's thicker than water' but I've always believed that there's more than one definition of family. And we have a great one, Mark."

I stood for a few moments in the doorway, watching Georgie sleep, his face relaxed and oh so innocent. The top bunk was empty as Nora was staying overnight with Mark and Anna; Georgie had fought going to bed tonight, not wanting to go to sleep without his adopted sister but I also think he was enjoying having the extra time with Mary and me all to himself.

I jumped slightly as Mary's arms wound around me from behind and her breath tickled my ear. "Are you going to stand here and watch him sleep all night?"

I shook my head and turned off the light, shutting the door. When I turned to face her, my breath caught in my throat. Mary was fresh from the shower and she was once again wearing nothing but one of my dress shirts with her damp hair piled in a messy bun on top of her head.

"What if Georgie had still been awake?" I hissed at her.

She smiled. "The shirt's buttoned all the way up, Marshall. I'm perfectly decent."

I snorted. "That's debatable, Mer. Your skin is still damp, which makes the shirt cling to you and-" I swallowed.

She moved into my personal space. "And what?"

"And it's practically transparent – you're far from decent," I growled as I captured her lips in a hungry kiss.

She broke away from me, her breath hot against my cheek. "Don't start something you can't finish."

I arched an eyebrow at her. "Is that a challenge, Mrs. Mann?"

"No, just a reminder that we're not alone in the house tonight."

"We weren't last night either-" I nipped the side of her neck as I swept her into my arms bridal style.

Her arms tightened around my neck. "What are you doing?" she demanded as I set her down just on the other side of our bedroom doorway.

I grinned at her. "I just realized that I've never carried you across the threshold – on our wedding night, by the time we made it in here, we'd already christened the kitchen and the hallway and you had me far too distracted to think straight."

She laughed as she pulled me into the room. "Oh, and you think I had the corner on distraction? The things you did with your hands that night, Marshall." She shuddered against me. "I think I forgot my own name there for a few minutes."

I shut and locked our door before I pounced on my wife, falling with her on the bed, sending buttons flying in all directions. "Don't ever waste your money on lingerie."

Mary's cell phone began to ring and for a few seconds, we ignored it. But finally, she swore and pulled away from me to reach for it. "Somebody better be dead," she growled. "Mark? What's wrong? Is Nora-?" she paused and listened. "I understand – we'll see you soon." She sighed and rolled over to meet my eyes. "Anna's spiked a high fever. Mark's taking her to urgent care and he wants to drop Nora back here on the way."

I sighed and kissed her softly. "To be continued."

She pulled away from me with a groan. "What did I say about turning me on and leaving me to idle?"

I laughed. "You're kidding, right? You're not alone in that department, love."

After we had gotten Nora settled for the night and had heard back from Mark that Anna had an earache infection and was home with antibiotics, we were once again back in bed, but the moment was gone. Mary was snuggled into me, her hands tracing random patterns on my chest and I was playing with her hair and neither one of us was wanting anything more.

"Do you know what I missed the most while you were gone?" Mary whispered.

"Hm?"

"This – just lying here in bed with your arms around me, your hands in my hair, my hands on your chest. I'm not one to cuddle and God knows I like my space once I fall asleep but do you know that I need your arms around me until I do?" Mary shook her head. "I didn't – not until this week – not until you were gone and I had to hug your pillow instead. How pathetic is that?"

I chuckled. "I didn't sleep well without you either."

She wrinkled her nose. "Does that make us co-dependent?"

I shrugged. "What if it does?"

She slapped my shoulder. "I don't want to become one of those lovey dovey, cutesy couples that coos and finishes each other's sentences and can't make a move without checking with the other first! I don't want to lose my identity, Marshall."

"OK, first, I don't think we're losing our identities just because we had trouble sleeping apart this week. I think it means we're still catching up on all the time we've missed out on being a couple – and second, I hate to break it to you, but we've always finished each other's sentences."

She grimaced. "I guess you're right about that – but I'm not going to start watching chick flicks with you and batting my eyelashes."

I smiled. "Deal."

"And I'm not going to stifle my own opinions and agree with you all the time."

"I wouldn't want you to – I like our fights. And then we can have make up sex."

She giggled and wound her arms around my neck before her expression sobered. "But you do have to promise me one thing."

I quirked an eyebrow. "I've already promised better or worse, sickness and health, to love, honor, and cherish, for richer or poorer – what else is left?"

Mary swallowed hard as she sat up and swung her leg over my hip, pinning me to the mattress. "My confidence in us is growing by the day, Marshall, but I still get scared. I want forever with you – but I don't know that I believe it's possible yet. So I need you to promise me that if I ever run, you'll run after me. That if I ever ask you for freedom, for breathing room, that you won't give it to me – because that will just give me time to get lost in my own head and panic. You keep me centered and focused and prevent me from flying off the handle – just like when we were partners." She took a deep breath. "So, can you do that for me?"

I reached up and cupped her face. "Mary, that all falls into the better or worse category. I know you still get scared and that as much as you love me you still have these niggling doubts at the back of your mind about the future, because the future isn't something that's worked out for you. But that's going to change – we're different. You and me and Nora and Georgie – we're a family and nothing and no one is going to break us up. I'm never letting you go again, I promise."

She rocked her hips against mine as she crashed her lips over mine and for several moments I forgot to breathe as my wife poured all her heart and soul into our kiss.

"I'm going to hold you to that," she gasped when we parted for air.

"You do that," I grinned up at her.

A/N: I'd love to hear any final thoughts you all have - and I'll see you all again in my next story. XOXO