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Home Sweet…Mess

Mary glanced at the clocked and sighed. It was almost 9pm and Marshall still was not home. She reached across and checked her cell phone but there no new messages or any missed calls.

The last six months had been a whirlwind since she had given birth to her son, Jackson James after Brandi's cancelled wedding. The night he was born, Mary had watched her partner holding him; she knew she did not want to deny her feelings anymore. In a moment of high emotion and lack of sleep, she told Marshall she was in love with him and had been for a long time but never said anything out of fear she would lose him. She then told him that she was tired of being scared and she wanted to be with him. He had just smiled and leaned across to kiss her softly. Despite her confession, she had been confused and asked about Abigail. Marshall then told her, how after the incident in the courthouse; they had decided to break up.

Since that night, Marshall had moved into Mary's place (neither of them noticing until most of his stuff had made its way there and he started spending very night there.)

Marshall officially adopted Jack (Mark had disappeared straight from the wedding and Mary only spoke to him finalize the paperwork.)

They had got engaged (Mary told him, he would have to marry her because she refused to have a different name to her son…Marshall agreed willing.)

That had happened in the first five month but for the past month; she had begun to worry about Marshall. She was still, reluctantly on maternity for another five weeks and since her time off Marshall's case load had seemed to have double but in the last week, alone it seemed to have tripled. She was worried he was pushing himself to hard. Not only was he working but he made sure he was there for her and Jack too. Even the nights when he had to work late, he would come home for an hour before Jack was put down for the night before going back to the office.

She never thought she would be the type of girlfriend that would care about their boyfriend working too much. She had mostly been relieved when Raphael had to go out of town to play baseball or put in extra hours selling cars because it gave her time to herself that she used to crave so much.

Now she was sick of being alone, she had had enough of that after Brandi moved in with Peter and Jinx found her own place. At first, she had loved it but now she had finally admitted she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Marshall, she wanted to able to do that. Their relationship had not changed much apart from physically and Mary realized just how much of a couple they acted like before but what surprised her was that she wanted more of it. She wanted to talk to him. Wanted to watch movies with him. To share meal times with him. To watch their son grow with him. She also worried that once she returned to work that it would become harder. She was pretty sure that they would not able to be partners like they were before and it was probably a good thing, since they would have to juggle their schedule around taking care of Jack.

Her train of thought was broken by the sound of the front door opening and closing.

"Marshall?" She called out, standing out.

"You were expecting someone else at 9pm?" He answered, coming into view.

"Considering the times you've been coming home the last month, 9pm is early for you." She shot back.

"Yeah, well I discovered a neat trick…if you get injured and they grant you freedom." He quipped, lifting his right arm and she saw blood on his white shirt. He regretted the joke as soon as he saw the concern in her eyes.

"What happened?" She rushed towards him.

"It's nothing, I'm fine." He tried to assured her and he pulled his arm away from her as she rolled up his shirt sleeve.

"Marshall, what happened?" She looked up at him.

"The Martins' eldest been getting into trouble lately, he freaked out tonight after spending all day drinking and getting high." He sighed and let her lead him to the couch. "When Stan and I turned up, he started waving a knife around."

"Jesus…"

"He was getting too close to his Mother with it so I had to disarm him…the knife caught me when I did."

"Let me see."

"Mare, it's nothing…Stan made the paramedics check me out at the scene…" He said but she already had hold of his arm again and was gently pulling off the dressing.

She lightly ran her fingers over the wounded. "God, if it had been a few centimeters to the left he would have hit an artery, he could have killed you."

"Not deep enough." He replied. "Just a scratch, didn't even need stitches."

She continued to stare down at his arm silently and after a few seconds she felt him place a finger under her chin and lifted her head so she was looking at him again.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, just…" She stopped, wondering what to say. Scared...angry...frustrated...confused...lonely.

"Just what?" He questioned when she paused

She sighed. "Just feeling a little out of the loop, I guess."

"Won't be long until your back causing mayhem in the office." He replied lightly.

"Yeah and you can stop working like a crazy man." She commented. "I thought Stan was getting someone if to help with the load?"

"He did."

"So, why is it that some nights you don't even come home?" She questioned. "Why are you working yourself to near exhaustion?"

He let his head fall back against the couch and sighed. "We've been assigned two temporary wit-sec deputies from Texas to help cover your cases."

"But?" Mary prompted.

"They're both pretty new to witness protection so I've had to help out." Marshall told her. "Delia has been thrown in the deep end too but she's getting there."

"That still doesn't explain why you've been working so much, you always helped me out too." Mary replied and looked at him closely. "What aren't you tell me?"

He sighed and ran a hand down his face. "Allison Pearson has given me three top priority cases to handle."

"How top priority?"

"The kind where only Stan and I know the details." He said vaguely.

"What is her problem?" Mary fumed. This wasn't the first time Pearson had chosen Marshall for cases what would not normally cross paths with the Albuquerque office and she would never give an explanation for why.

"I don't know but I spoke to Stan earlier…He's going to talk to a few people and see what he can find out." Marshall closed his eyes. "He thinks she's testing me."

"For what?" Mary frowned.

"I don't know but it needs to stop…I'm pretty much dead on my feet."

She watched him for a few seconds and wondered whether he had actually fallen asleep.

"I don't want to be like my Dad." He mumbled, tiredly.

"What?"

He forced his eyes opened. "I don't want to always to be working…to always put the job first."

"Marshall…"

"I know I shouldn't complain because he did try and I know he loves me but…I want Jack to have better…"

"He will." Mary couldn't help but get lost in his eyes. "We'll make sure of it."

He smiled a little and sighed as his eyes closed again. Mary studied him closely; he really did look like he was nearing breaking point.

"When was the last time you ate?" She questioned.

"I don't know…around two."

"You need to eat."

"Are you going to cook me something?" He asked amused but kept his eyes shut.

"I'll order you something." She corrected.

"Don't bother; I'm going to jump in the shower then head straight to bed." He forced himself to sit up properly and rubbed his eyes.

"Take your shower and I'll make you a sandwich." She told him, getting to her feet but then noticed the look he was giving her. "What?"

"Nothing, just… I don't think you've ever made me a sandwich."

"Are you complaining?"

"No, just stating a fact." A smiled played on his lips. "I kind of like the domesticated side of you."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Well, don't get used to it…I'm only doing it so you don't end up in hospital because you can't stay awake and then I'll have to take care of you even more."

He stopped up and kissed her forehead. "I won't end up in hospital."

"You better not."

"Seriously though, I'm too tired to eat."

She rolled her eyes. "Go shower."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Mary watched him and wasn't surprised that he walked past the bathroom and instead entered Jack's room; she knew he would want to check on him before he did anything else.

She started pulling out the ingredients to make the sandwich five minutes later when she heard the shower running. The phone ringing startled her and scrambled to grab it before it woke Jack. She prayed it wasn't Stan, calling Marshall back to work but if it was, she was going to give him hell for it.

"Hello?"

"Oh…Mary?" The female voice on the other end guessed. "It's Sarah Mann."

Mary had to force herself not to groan; Marshall's Mom.

"Mrs. Mann, hi…How are you?"

"How many times have I told you to call me, Sarah?" She replied. "You're meant to be marrying my son, after all."

Mary sighed and leaned back against the counter. She had not met any of Marshall's family apart from his father and since Marshall had moved in, she had spoken to his mother on the phone a few times. She was pleasant enough but Mary could not shake the feeling the woman did not like her. Marshall had laughed at her and told her, his mom liked everyone and she was over the moon, he had finally found someone to settle down with. It was the comments, like 'you're meant to be marrying' and 'when you have children together' that made Mary doubt the woman acceptance.

"Speaking of which, is my son around?" Sarah questioned.

"He's in the shower at the moment."

"Oh, I was hoping to catch him before I went out for dinner." She sighed.

"Is it anything I can help with?" Mary asked, hoping Marshall would not have to return the call later because knowing him; he would force himself to stay awake for another couple of hours so he could do.

"It's nothing, last time I spoke to Marshall he invited his father and I down to visit next week but I don't think we'll be able to get away."

"Oh?" Mary was surprised that she actually felt slightly guilty for being relieved; she had been dreading it since the moment Marshall had mentioned it to her.

"Yes, well Daniel, our eldest Grandson has been getting into a bit of trouble lately…his parents just don't know what to do with him so we agreed it's probably not the best time to leave town…Seth is trying to get through to him not that it seems to be doing any good.." Sarah told her. "I was actually hoping Marshall would have a word with him…Punishing him and getting angry doesn't seem to work so, maybe Marshall's approach will."

"I'm sure, that wouldn't be any trouble." Mary replied. "Should I get him to call you tomorrow about it?"

"Yes, yes, that would be fine," Sarah answered.

Mary only half listened as the other woman carried on talking about the missed vacation and how much she missed Marshall. She tried working out in her head, when the last time Marshall went home for a visit but could not remember. She was about to ask Sarah when the last she saw him was when she got an idea.

"We'll come to you." She cut Sarah off mid-sentence.

"I'm sorry?"

"Marshall, Jackson and I will come to visit you." She told her. "Marshall could do with some time away, I can't remember his last vacation…plus he can talk to Daniel in person."

"Oh, well that would be wonderful." Sarah said, excitedly. "Are you sure it's possible? I know how busy he must be at work."

"I'll talk to our boss, see what I can arrange and Marshall will give you a call tomorrow to finalize the details."

"I'll be looking forward to it."

"Okay, great."

As soon as Mary hung up the phone, she began to regret her decision but then remembered she was doing this for Marshall. He needed a break and would love the chance to see his family. It was time she showed him how committed she was to their relationship by doing this for him. He had always been there for her and her family dramas and there had been a lot of them. From day one of their partnership, he was by her side, supporting her, even when she tried to push him away.

She grabbed the phone again and hit speed dial number two.

"Hello?"

"What the hell is Pearson up to now?" She demeaned.

"Mary?" Stan questioned.

"No, it's the Queen of Sheba…" She rolled her eyes.

"I take it, you've talked to Marshall?"

"I don't need to talk to him to see he's doing too much." She claimed. "Why are you letting her treat him as her personal Wit-Sec Inspector?"

"It may be hard to believe, Mary but I have bosses…and at the top of those bosses is Allison Pearson." Stan replied. "She's taken an interest in Marshall and is putting him to the test to see how good he really is."

"But for what?"

"I've been asking around but no one knows why." Stan replied. "All I've managed to find out is that there's been a lot of talk about him lately with the higher ups…"

"What does that mean?"

"It's possible they're considering him for a promotion…I don't know." Stan sighed.

"Well, he's going to no good to anyone if he carries on like this." Mary claimed. "Can you cover him for a week or so?"

"I think I can arrange something….Why? Is everything okay?"

"Apart from him practically falling asleep on his feet and almost getting stabbed tonight?" Mary leaned back on the counter. "He'll be fine after some time off."

"You're right…"

"So, I'll tell him as of now, he's on vacation?"

"And that I don't want to see or hear from him for two weeks." Stan added.

"You truly are the man, Stan." Mary grinned.

"Just rest up, the both of you…The office is too quiet without you here and your partner misses you."

"Thanks, Stan." Mary said softly. "We'll see you soon."

Mary sighed when she hung the phone; everything was set now all she had to do was tell Marshall.

"Who was on the phone?" Marshall appeared, his hair still wet from the shower.

"Stan." She replied and he groaned, thinking he would have to go back to work. "Don't worry; nothing has happened…I called him."

Marshall looked at her cautiously. "What did you do?"

"Hey! I was being nice." She protested and folded her arms across her chest.

"Uh-huh."

"I was being a nice, caring, loving girlfriend."

"Fiancée." He corrected, putting his arms around her, so she would know he was only teasing. "So, what did you do? Convince Stan to let you come back early? Blackmail him into hiring more staff? Threatened to put a hit out on Allison Pearson?"

"Actually, smartass I got you two weeks' vacation."

"What?" He looked at her in surprise. "How?"

"I talked to Stan." She replied. "And it didn't take a lot…He's been working with you, he can see for himself how much you need a break."

"I get two weeks off?" He questioned. "Two whole weeks? No one is going to call me and ask for help with anything?"

"They will have me to deal with if they try."

"When?"

"Starting from right now…Stan said he didn't want to see or hear from you at all while you're off."

"I can't believe you did this." He grinned widely.

"Well, if I'm not allowed to work then why should you be?"

"What do you want to do?" He questioned. "We could hang out here just the three of us…or we can go on a trip…We could visit Brandi."

After Brandi had taken off during the wedding, she ended up in Colorado. A friend who she attended college with had recently moved there and offered her a place to stay while she got her head together. Marshall knew that Mary was worried about her and missed her. He also knew she was disappointed that her sister hadn't met her nephew yet.

"We already have plans."

"Not only have you got me some vacation time but you've also arranged something for us to do….How long was I in the shower for?"

"Before I spoke to Stan, your mother called about their trip here…"

"Mare, we cannot leave town when my parents are due to come." He told her, half-jokingly but half concerned she was ready to skip town during his parents' visit.

"Something has come up…Something to do with one of your nephews and they can't get away." She explained. "So, I said we would go there."

Marshall stared at her in silence and after a few seconds Mary shifted, uncomfortably.

"What? What is it?" She asked. "Do you not want to go? You could call her and say you couldn't get the time off."

"No, no…It's just…you're willing to go to Phoenix to meet my family?" He asked.

"Yeah, what's the big deal?"

"You never want to meet boyfriends' family and for you to suggest it…"

"Fiancée." She corrected like he did earlier. "And the way I see it, we head down there, I meet your family so it won't be awkward at the wedding, you can straighten out your wayward nephew and we can get back here with time for you spend man time with Jack so I can do normal things like take a bath, watch a movie, shot people…"

"Shot people?"

"The fake people at the shooting range." She shrugged.

"You're amazing." He stated and before she could reply, he pulled her closer to him and kissed her.

When he broke the kiss, she stared at him a little dazed. They had been together officially for the last six months; their relationship had changed and they had done a lot more then kissing but it still stunned her when he did it without warning. She was pretty sure he knew that too and that's why he kept on doing it.

"Where's my sandwich?" He questioned.

"What?"

"My sandwich…You said you were going to make me a sandwich."

Mary shook her head a little to clear it and then glanced down at the bread, ham and lettuce on the counter. "You said you didn't want one."

"Whenever have you ever listened to me before?"

"You said you weren't hungry."

"You said I needed to eat…" He replied. "Besides, I was thinking about it in the shower and got hungry…"

"You said you were too tired to eat."

"Yeah but now I know I've got nowhere to be tomorrow, I've suddenly got a burst of energy."

"Oh really?" She said suggestively and moved closer to him.

"Oh yes…" He grinned back at her. "But after I've had a sandwich…"

"Oh for the love of…" She turned around and grabbed the bread, slapping two slices down on the counter then throwing some ham and lettuce on one piece before slamming the second slice on top. "Here!"

Marshall went to say something but before he could, she shoved the sandwich into his mouth just as they heard Jack crying from his nursery.

"Eat your sandwich while I deal with our son, and then get your ass into the bedroom!" She slapped his butt as she stalked past him.

Marshall just laughed as he watched her go. He could defiantly say that his life had got a whole lot better since he had got together with Mary Shannon.

TBC

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