A/N I don't own In Plain Sight but I have a lot of fun with the characters. Melissa and Dorrie I do own.
It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The time
Mary knew it was a bad idea in the beginning. But somehow she'd been talked into driving around a pint sized Hannah Montana and Cinderella as well as one six foot tall cowboy while they raided the local neighborhoods for any and all kinds of candy. Of course Marshall claimed he was only making sure the girls go to and from each house safely but she swore she'd seen more than one candy bar end up in his hat and eventually in his pockets
"Who in the world do folks think you are? A ten year old with a growth spurt?" Mary asked as she watched him climb into the passenger seat.
"Just for that remark I won't share my candy with you," Marshall replied starting to put the chocolate bar in his pocket.
"Hey, gimme that!" Mary said, making a successful grab for the candy.
"You know you need to unwrap it before you eat it," he reminded her.
From the backseat Dorrie aka Hannah Montana spoke up, "What time is it, Marsh?"
He quickly checked his watch and replied, "Nearly 7:00."
"Hey don't forget we wanna go to the Trunk or Treat," her twin sister Melissa added.
"We'll make that pour next and last stop," Marshall told the girls.
"Trunk or Treat?" Mary asked with raised eyebrows.
"Yeah. It's sort of Halloween tailgating. The New Life Baptist Church is holding it. Kids go from vehicle to vehicle collecting candy and what ever folks hand out," he explained.
"Don't forget the free picture and popcorn," Dorrie reminded him.
"Hey, you wanna have your picture taken with us?" Marshall asked.
"They're your cousins and unlike you I didn't want to dress up in no freaking costume," she answered. "Now give me more chocolate."
"Here, you can have mine," Melissa said handing a candy bar over the back of the seat
"Ah, come on, it'll be fun," He said giving her his puppy dog eyes.
. Against her wishes, she found herself coaxed into being in the photograph, Marshall draping his arm around her shoulders and the twins in front. Once the photo was snapped, the girls were all ready to drag Marshall off to collect the candy. "Come on, Marsh," Dorrie was saying.
"Okay, okay," he said letting the girls lead him to the door. "You coming with us?"
"You're not gonna make me wait in the car are you?" Mary asked.
"What would be the fun in that?" he joked.
Yeah, sure." she muttered as she followed the trio toward the parked vehicles.
"More fun than terrorizing the trick or treaters?" he asked.
"I leave that task to Jinx," she replied.
"Hey, when we get finished here I'll take you by this haunted house I know about. No one lives there anymore though," Marshall told the girls.
"Can we go up and take a look at it?" Melissa asked.
"Ill let you go as far as the gate and no farther," he replied
By the time they had hit every vehicle in the parking lot the girls' sacks were bulging and even Marshall had acquired a few candy bars which he gave to Mary. Sliding into the passenger seat he gave her directions to the haunted house and sat back eating a candy bar.
"We're hungry," Dorrie abruptly announced.
"You can't be after all that candy," Marshall protested. "Okay, when we get home I'll order in a pizza."
Now I know what kind of women can wrap Marshall around her little finger, the young ones Mary thought as she watched him chasing after the girls as giggling they dashed toward the entrance of the haunted house.
"Dorrie, Mel, enough is enough," Marshall was saying as he caught up with them on the porch. "Let's go home."
"But we wanna see the spooky house," Melissa cajoled giving him the puppy dog eyes.
"I said we'd take a look at Albuquerque's famous haunted house but that's it," he said firmly. "Now let's get back to the car. He withdrew a small flashlight from his pocket. Making sure the girls had carefully navigated the stairs he turned to follow them. Suddenly his foot struck a weak spot in the boards and he felt in cracking as he sunk through the sudden hole. Caught off balance he felt his ankle twist as he landed awkwardly. "Damn it!"
Uh oh Mary thought hearing the yell and quickly exited the car. "Marshall!"
"Marsh!" The girls said together as they started back up the stairs.
"Hey, just go get Mary," he told them trying to move where he could gingerly extract his leg.
"Marsh hurt!" the girls were saying as Mary approached the stairs.
"I'm okay. Just fell through a hole. But I think I twisted my ankle some," Marshall replied, the pain evident in his voice.
"I told you it was a bad idea," Mary said as she knelt beside Marshall.
"Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time," he replied. "Can you help me back to the car so I can go home and put some ice on my ankle?"
"I think so but instead of home I'm gonna take you to the nearest ER so they can see if it's sprained or broken," Mary said firmly. Getting a hand under his shoulder she helped him to his feet.
"What about the girls?" Marshall asked, holding onto her for support.
"They'll be fine. Hey, this is a Halloween they're not likely to forget," she said carefully helping him down the stairs and to the car.
By the time he reached the car his face was white from the pain of the effort of walking and he just sank down in the passenger seat and stretched his leg out as far as possible. "We're gonna get my ankle looked out and then I promise we will go home," he told the twins.
"What about the pizza, Marsh?" Melissa asked.
"I'm afraid that it's probably going to be too late for pizza delivery, kids. But I'm sure I have something that Mary is willing to fix." Marshall answered giving her a look.
"Me?" she asked starting the car.
"You don't expect me to try and cook with crutches do you?" he asked in return.
"I am beginning to think terrorizing trick or treaters would have been a more fun evening," was the reply.
The ER was busy so they were forced to wait. The girls amused themselves looking at a book and after an hour had passed Mary had said for the fifth time, "Where is that damn doctor?"
"Relax. They'll get to us," Marshall said wearily.
"Well, I hope it's soon," she replied.
It was almost an hour later by the time the nurse came with a wheel chair to take Marshall to an exam room. Helping him up on the bed she asked "Where are you hurt?"
"Right ankle," he answered.
"I'll just get that boot off so the doctor can take a look at it," she said picking up a pair of heavy duty shears.
"Hey, that's my favorite pair of cowboy boots," he whined as the footwear was cut off to remove it.
"Oh, stop whining. You say every pair is your favorite," Mary told him.
"Okay, Mr. Mann, now tell me where it hurts," the resident said as he probed the ankle.
"The top…and side," Marshall replied wincing with the pain
"Well, I can't tell if its broken so I'm going to send you for an x-ray, meanwhile I'll have the nurse give you something for the pain," Dr. Madison said. "Are you allergic to any painkillers?"
"Not that I know of," Marshall replied.
"Okay, I'll have the nurse give you a couple of vicodin for now and we'll send you on up," the ER doctor decided making a note in the chart and conferring with the nurse.
"Weren't you watching the girls?' Marshall asked suddenly realizing Mary was still in the room.
"They're fine. One of the aides has them occupied with crayons and paper in the lounge. I think they're making you Get Well cards," Mary assured him.
"Hey, I'm sorry you got stuck with all this," Marshall said after a moment.
"We'll it has been an interesting evening. I always wanted to see an ER on Halloween night. All the puking kids from eating too much candy," Mary said sarcastically.
The nurse returned at that moment with the meds and a cup of water. Handing them both to Marshall she said, "Here you are"
"Thanks," he said quickly downing both.
It was close to midnight by the time Marshall was released complete with a cast on his ankle crutches and a bottle of pain meds as well as a list of instructions. A nurse wheeled him out to the car and helped him into it. He leaned back and closed his eyes.
"You okay?" Mary asked, having gotten the twins back in the car.
"Yeah. I was just thinking how I'm gonna explain this to Stan," he replied. "Somehow he's not going to like the real explanation."
"Well, you got all weekend to come up with something," Mary replied starting the car.
"Once they arrived at his house Marshall slowly made his way inside and collapsed on the couch putting his foot up on the ottoman. "Hey, could you get me a glass of water please?" he asked Mary.
"Do I look like your slave?" she mock griped. "Hey, where are the girls sleeping?"
"Out here. But I'm too tired to unfold the sofa. They can sleep in my room tonight," he replied.
"Yay," Dorrie said as she and Melissa skipped off.
"Just don't bother the magazines under the mattress," he called out after them.
"Marshall Mann reading porn? I am shocked," Mary joked.
"Actually they're comic books I picked up at a flea market," he said.
"Somehow comics seem even worse," Mary replied walking off to get the water.
"Hey, see what's in the fridge while you're in there" he added.
"Yes, Master. Anything else, Master?" she muttered under her breath but did as he said.
"Anything worth fixing?" he asked when she returned.
"I found hot dogs a can of chili buns and some cheese. I guess you'll be wanting that for supper?" she asked.
"Sounds good to me," Marshall commented
Later as Mary sat by Marshall on the couch eating chili dogs and drinking sodas, she said, "Okay except for the ER and the broken ankle it wasn't such a bad idea after all.
"I told you it seemed like a good idea at the time," he replied.