*Grab some peppermint pie (or some Christmas cookies) and some eggnog. It's the end - enjoy!

To distract herself from what else Marshall was planning for Christmas, Mary bought a tree on Saturday for her house. The people at the tree lot were perky and persistent – they wanted to help her find just the right tree to make her holidays "merry and bright". After she snarled and snapped at them enough times, the staff finally left her alone to attend to the families with happy children or the couples who were celebrating their first Christmas together, and Mary's holiday suddenly was much merrier. She perused the lot at her own pace, clutching her small cup of hot cocoa, fighting off the melancholy feeling that persisted from the absence of having Marshall by her side. What was happening between them anyway? Not only had he kissed her this past week but yesterday she had kissed him! And she found herself wanting more – was that just because she was lonely, because she hadn't had sex in over six months?

Or could it possibly mean that she wanted more with Marshall?

At the back of the lot, she found her tree. It wasn't quite as scraggly as the one in the Charlie Brown special but if it lasted this final week until Christmas, it would be a miracle. The small three foot tree was already dropping its needles and Mary saw that it was next to the wood chipper, ready to meet its fate. Just then, a red nosed staff person came around the corner and Mary got his attention.

She waved at the little tree. "I'll take that one."

The youth looked at her in astonishment. "Oh no, ma'am, not that one! It's ready for the chipper! We have plenty of nice tress here to choose from."

"I want that one." Mary pronounced each word clearly and slowly as if speaking to someone who didn't quite understand English.

"I'll have to get my manager, ma'am."

"You do that – I'll wait right here."

When the youth returned with his equally young manager, she smiled sweetly and repeated her request. The manager had already tried to be helpful to Mary and knew that this lady wasn't going to be talked out of her decision.

"I'll just ring up this tree for you right now. Jack, you carry it to her car."

Mary smiled in satisfaction. Maybe there was something to this magic of the season.

She spent the rest of the day decorating her little tree and Saturday night she made popcorn and watched Speed 1 & 2. She laughed at the special effects but again was missing her partner. It just wasn't the same when he wasn't there to share her laughter. She went to bed thinking heavy thoughts.

Sunday morning she was pulled from sleep by the persistent ringing of her cell phone.

"This is Mary," she mumbled into it.

"Good morning, sunshine. Did you miss me?"

"Marshall! Are you back in town?" Mary shoved some hair out of her face and sat up in bed, leaning against the wall.

"I got in really late or really early, depending on how you look at it. So what did you do yesterday?"

"I got a Christmas tree."

His laughter came over the phone. "You really did it? This I'm going to have to see to believe, Mary Shannon."

"Well, give me about an hour to make myself presentable and come on over, if you don't have any plans for the day."

"Actually, Brandi and I were hoping you were free for brunch. My treat this time."

Mary felt her heartbeat quicken at the phrase 'Brandi and I'. Had he been with her sister yesterday? Ridiculous! Squish was engaged to Peter. And what did it matter to her who Marshall spent his time with anyway? She was his partner, his best friend, not his lover.

"Oh? What's up?" she asked.

"Okay, you dragged it out of me – we've got a surprise for you."

Mary felt like she couldn't breathe. They had a surprise for her? Marshall and Brandi? Yes, they had been spending extra time together but he had seemed so happy about her sister's engagement to Peter. What if they had spent the day together yesterday? What if their surprise was – she couldn't even finish that last thought. She had no claim to Marshall. He was free to do as he pleased. But with her own sister? Why did that hurt so much?

Was it because he had kissed her? Was it because she had kissed him? Was it because she wanted more of his kisses?

Was it because she wanted a claim to Marshall?

"Mary? Are you there?"

She gulped in a mouthful of air. "I'm afraid I can't today – something's come up. I'll have to call you later. Bye."

Mary hung up the phone and buried her face in the pillows.

Marshall tore around a corner, two wheels coming off the ground at the speed in which he took it. His hands clenched on the steering wheel and he tried to control his breathing. He tried to tell himself that he was imagining things – that Mary wasn't thinking what he thought she was thinking.

When she had practically hung up on him, he had stared at his phone in disbelief. He had looked at Brandi, who had just arrived at his front door and said, "I just had the weirdest conversation with your sister."

"Tell me."

So Marshall had repeated word for word their conversation and by the end, Brandi was biting her lip and trying not laugh.

"Men!" she exclaimed, throwing up her hands. "She thinks you and I are having an affair!"

"WHAT!" he croaked. "No, no I'm sure she doesn't."

"Ok, let's go over it again and I'll give a woman's point of view this time."

So Brandi had walked him back through it and by the end Marshall was staring at her in shock. "But that's ridiculous! That's not what I meant – and Mary's not a – I mean-"

"Are you trying to say Mary's not a woman?"

He blushed.

Brandi smiled triumphantly. "Now that we have that established, there's only one thing to do. You need to take Nana's box and explain to my thick headed sister what's been going on."

He shook his head. "That's your present to Mary – I'll not horn in on it."

"She can thank me later – and besides, without you the box never would have been found. So really it's from both of us. So get going, Romeo."

Now, as he parked in Mary's driveway he still couldn't understand why Mary would jump to conclusions about him and Brandi and be so upset by them. True, she wouldn't like him dating her sister but that didn't explain the hurt he had heard in her voice. He paused before knocking on the door.

Was it possible she felt something for him? Something more than friendship? Something that had been awakened by their shared kisses? Hope bubbled in his heart, but he quickly squashed it as Mary opened the door, an unreadable look on her face.

"What are you doing just standing out there?"

"I was trying to decide whether to knock or use my key."

She rolled her eyes and walked back into the house, leaving the door open. He followed and shut it behind him.

"What are you doing here, Marshall?"

"I've come to see why you turned down the best pancakes in town."

She shrugged. "Not hungry."

He snorted. "You must be sick then." He noticed her plate of burnt bacon and charcoal toast and smiled. "I would be too if I ate that."

"I like my food well done," she said defiantly.

Marshall sat on the couch. "I came to give you this," he said, holding out a brightly wrapped package.

She looked at him in confusion. "You already gave me my present."

"It's from Brandi – and me," he added.

She bristled. "Both of you?"

So she was right. "It's a present from your sister and your best friend. Open it."

Mary's whispered. "So you're not-"

"Your sister is engaged to Peter and I think you know with whom my heart lies," Marshall whispered. "Open the package, Mer."

She joined him on the couch, taking the present in shaking hands. He watched as she removed the paper from the outer box, waiting for the treasure that lay within to be revealed. When Mary lifted the simple cardboard box lid she drew her hands back as if a snake was inside.

"No, no! How could you do this?" she cried, shoving the box into his hands and running from the room. He heard her bedroom door slam followed by the sound of quiet sobbing.

Marshall was thunderstruck. True, he hadn't been sure what Mary's reaction was going to be but he hadn't expected her to not to even fully unwrap the present. It was like her brain was protecting her heart by refusing to even admit the possibility that this was the real McCoy. His stomach rumbled, reminding him that he had not eaten. Since making breakfast would give him something to do while he waited, he moved into her kitchen, taking the box with him.

Mary emerged from her bedroom half an hour later, fully expecting Marshall to be gone. Instead she found him at the island in her kitchen, eating a stack of pancakes, sipping coffee and reading the Sunday paper.

"You're still here," she stated dully.

He lowered the paper until their eyes met. "I didn't have anywhere to be today – and you didn't finish opening your Christmas present." He gestured towards the box on the island.

She cringed when her eyes fell on it. "That is not Nana's box."

"Yes, it is."

"Nana's box is gone, Marshall! Do you know that I went to the shop every day for a month, saving up my money until I had enough to buy it back and the very day I did-" she paused to breathe through her tears. "It was gone! So that can't be her box! Which means - how could you get me a replica?"

Marshall had moved around the island to stand in front of her as soon as Mary had started to cry, and before she was done speaking, he had drawn her into his embrace. "It is her box, Mer, really it is. Brandi and I wouldn't torture you with a copy. Open it up and look inside. Your initials are there. The ones you carved – MES squared."

He held her; let her tears wet the fabric of his shirt until his words had time to penetrate her grief. Marshall knew the instant they did, for Mary pulled away to look up at him.

"How do you know about that?"

"Brandi told me."

Mary smiled softly. "I didn't think Squish would remember that – and the initials are there?"

He nodded. "Look and see for yourself."

Mary wiped at her tears and picked up the package. "Help me?" she asked.

Together they unwrapped Brandi's package and revealed Nana's box. Mary took a deep breath before she lifted the lid, her eyes instantly falling on the initials she had carved into the rosewood years ago.

"Oh, Nana," she breathed softly as she leaned against Marshall and let more tears fall.

Brandi came over to finish off Marshall's pancakes with Mary and tell of their adventures in recovering Nana's box.

"But all the credit really goes to Marshall," Brandi said, when she had finished telling her sister about meeting Marie yesterday. "If it wasn't for his friend Sam, we never would have found Nana's box."

Mary's eyes turned to her partner, who was busily wiping down the griddle. He looked up, flushing uncomfortably from Brandi's praise. "I told her from the beginning it was a long shot – that's why I didn't say anything to you, Mer. I didn't want to get your hopes up that we could find it after all these years or that the owner would give it back if we did." He shook his head. "If Olivia had owned the box instead of Marie, I don't think she would have given it to us so easily."

"You don't think so?" Brandi asked, as she munched on her last piece of bacon. "I think she definitely thawed towards us once I proved to her that the box really was ours and that I wasn't out to rob them."

Mary's eyebrows rose. "Marie's sister thought you were going to rob them?"

Marshall placed the griddle back in its place in her dark cupboard. "I thought surely you of all people would understand Olivia, Mer."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He smirked as he leaned against the counter. "She's overprotective of her sister because of the accident that took Marie's hearing – just like you're overprotective of Brandi because you were more like a mother than a sister to her growing up."

Brandi laughed while Mary rolled her eyes. "I'm not overprotective – but Squish certainly needed plenty of looking after when we were growing up."

Her baby sister scooted around the island and threw her arms around Mary. Marshall tried not to laugh as he saw the shocked, uncomfortable look that passed across his partner's face. "And that's why I wanted to get Nana's box back for you so badly, Mary. I wanted to get you something this year to show you that I appreciate how much you've done for me over the years. I love you, Sis."

Mary relaxed into her sister's embrace. "I love you too, Squish."

Marshall cleared his throat. "I should be going and let you-"

The girls broke apart and Brandi said, "Oh no, don't leave, Marshall. I have to be running home to Peter now anyway. You guys spend the day together since I spoiled Mary's plans for yesterday."

Mary showed Marshall her tree and he complimented her choice while admitting that it needed some finishing touches. She pretended to be insulted but was secretly pleased as he dug around in her meager box of decorations, before shaking his head and declaring that she didn't have the "right stuff". Off they went to the store to find that certain something that would make her Christmas merry and bright. It was funny, she reflected silently as he drove to the store, that when he was the one making the suggestions for a festive holiday and not some chipper youth at a tree lot, her desire to shoot someone completely disappeared.

The day passed quickly as they finished decorating her tree and watched un-Christmas movies together. Marshall cooked a simple meal of spaghetti with meat sauce, but to Mary who could count the number of times she had had a home cooked meal in the last six months on one hand, it might as well have been a gourmet feast. She leaned back in her chair, playing with the stem of her wine glass.

"What is it?" Marshall asked. "You're staring at me. Do I have sauce on my face?"

She smiled. "No, I was just thinking-"

"About?"

It's now or never. "This past week. You. Me."

Marshall's fork clattered against his plate, the sound loud in the sudden silence. "Really? What exactly were you thinking about, Mer?"

She interlaced her fingers and rested her chin on them, leaning towards him over the table. "I was thinking about all the times this past week you kissed me."

His Adam's apple bobbed nervously as he said, "I seem to recall you kissing me once."

She smiled lasciviously at him. "So I did – would you like me to kiss you again, Marshall?"

What a loaded question!

"What's going on here, Mer?"

"I should have thought that was obvious. You've been wanting more with me for months now-"

"More like years," he muttered under his breath, but she heard him all the same.

"Ok, years then. And I'm beginning to realize that maybe I want more too," she licked her lips and stood.

Marshall watched her approach warily. He didn't think he'd used any ingredients that had aphrodisiac qualities in tonight's menu, but from Mary's behavior he was beginning to wonder.

Without hesitation she leaned down and attacked his lips. This kiss was nothing like the others they had shared so far. Mary ravaged his lips, cheeks, and chin; hardly keeping still as she bit and sucked his face while Marshall sat rooted to his chair in shock. He had no doubt that she was trying to arouse him and where she wanted this to go. But this didn't even feel like kissing to him – it felt more like the "lipstick smearing" he had received that night in the barn when they were chasing the diamond smugglers who were after Treena. In a desperate attempt to prove his theory and control his libido, he grabbed her head and forced her lips back to his in an attempt to slow things down. Mary instantly broke away with a smile and began to lift the hem of her shirt but his wrists closed around hers.

"Don't," he whispered.

"You're right – let's move this into my room."

"Mary! What the hell has gotten into you?" he hissed, releasing her wrists and standing up to get some distance from her. "Shouldn't we talk about some things first?"

"What's to talk about? I know you want me and I thought I was doing a pretty good job of showing you what I wanted before you stopped me."

"I think you know that I want you for a lot longer than one night, Mer," he growled in frustration.

She came close and tried to kiss him but he turned his face away so her kiss landed on his ear. "We can have more than one night," she whispered against his skin, leaving a trail of kisses from his ear to his chin.

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "I refuse to be another Mark, Epps, Raph, or Faber. When and if we do this, I want it to be about love, not just getting laid."

Mary rolled her eyes and pulled away. "Geez, Marshall, did you just step out of the 1800's?"

He pushed on, ignoring her taunt. "I want to be different from every other guy you've been with – I want to show you that I can think with the head on my shoulders rather than the one in my pants." Marshall took a deep breath. "I can wait for your body, Mary Shannon, because I want your heart."

"What?" she looked up at him in astonishment, taking a couple steps back.

He reached out and captured her hand in his. "I want your heart – something you've never given to another man. It's been broken and shattered so many times that for you to trust it in another person's hands would be like committing suicide. But what you don't understand is that by never giving yourself to someone, you're condemning yourself to a bitter, lonely life alone."

Mary wrenched her hand free, wrapping her arms around herself. "I can't."

He sighed. "Do you trust me?"

She closed her eyes, knowing that the answer he wanted was one she was unable to give. "With my life," she admitted softly.

He kissed her cheek and said good night, once again walking out into the cold night.

The week before Christmas was a tense one at the office. Charlie and Stan were oblivious to the icy atmosphere as the two of them joked and even sang carols on coffee breaks. Mary glared at them from her desk, envious of the restoration of Stan's good mood. Eleanor showed up to take Stan to lunch daily and spread more holiday cheer around the office.

"And how's the Grinch today?" Eleanor asked as she dropped a tin of fudge on Mary's desk.

"Bah, Humbug," Mary growled.

"That's Scrooge," Eleanor laughed. "You know, you seemed happy at the holiday dinner last Friday – well, happy for you. I wonder what happened between then and now." She mused aloud and glanced at Marshall, who was studiously typing and avoiding eye contact with her.

"Buzz off."

"Aren't we testy today?" Eleanor leaned down and whispered in Mary's ear. "He loves you, you know."

Mary's head snapped up. "What the hell, Eleanor? Can't you mind your own business?"

"Why? I don't work here anymore."

Mary huffed and buried her head again.

"Look, I guess since I'm so happy I just hate to see anyone else look so miserable – especially Marshall. Haven't you kicked the poor guy enough, Mary? Love him or let him go – that's my advice," Eleanor whispered fiercely before she moved away to Charlie's desk.

"Yeah, well, who asked you?" Mary yelled after her.

Marshall looked up at her outburst and she blushed, burying her head in paperwork again. She knew she was being childish. There was no reason to freeze her partner out and not talk to him just because she couldn't give him what he wanted. She still couldn't believe they hadn't had sex the other night – no man had ever been able to resist her. But Marshall had walked away, claiming that he wanted her heart first. Did he understand how guilty she felt when his words had made her realize that she had never given Raphael, the man she had agreed to marry, her heart? What did that say about her? Was she really just a cold, heartless bitch?

But then she thought about the brief kisses she had shared with Marshall – those kisses had made her feel things she had never felt with all the fiery kisses with Raph. Again, what did that say about her?

Peter was surprised when he opened the door to see a shivering Mary standing on the doorstep.

"Mary! What a pleasant surprise! Come on in," he said, opening the door wide.

"I'm sorry I didn't call first-"

He waved her apology away. "You're always welcome here, you know that. Brandi will be thrilled to see you. She's baking cookies."

"She's what? Are you trying to turn my sister into a Stepford wife, Peter?"

He chuckled. "No, this is all her idea, I swear. They're the slice and bake kind, so I figure she can't go to wrong."

Mary smiled. "Nope, just burn 'em to a crisp like all Shannon women do."

He grimaced. "She did that with the first package but I think she's got the hang of it now."

They had reached the kitchen and Brandi looked up from the counter at the sound of their voices. She rushed to throw her arms around her sister while Peter beat a strategic retreat with a handful of warm cookies.

"What are you doing here? You hardly ever come to visit me," Brandi exclaimed as she returned to slicing dough and placing the slices on a cookie sheet.

"I – uh, just thought I'd drop by."

Brandi laughed. "Liar, liar, pants on fire! Does this have something to do with you and Marshall?"

Mary collapsed into a chair. "Squish, there is no 'me and Marshall'. At least not anymore," she muttered.

Her sister set down her knife and wiped her hands on her apron. "Ok, start at the beginning and tell me what happened."

With a few false starts, Mary told her about the 'sex that didn't happen' at her house the other night.

Brandi wrinkled her forehead. "Did he say why he wouldn't sleep with you?"

Mary shifted in her seat and snitched another cookie.

Her baby sister pointed the sharp knife at her and Mary reeled back. "Don't make me threaten you – tell me."

So the rest of the story tumbled out.

"Oh Mary!" Brandi sighed. "That's the most romantic thing I've ever heard – well, next to Peter's proposal to me, of course. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know."

"What do you want to do?" Brandi persisted.

"I don't know!" Mary snapped.

"Yes, you do. You said it yourself – you want more."

"Brandi – I can't give him what he wants."

"Why not?"

"Because-" she bit her lip.

Brandi covered her sister's hand. "It'll get broken?"

Mary nodded.

"It's been broken before and you've survived."

"I didn't even give my heart to Raph, Squish, and I was going to marry him. What does that say about me?"

"It says that you weren't in love with him – because when you are in love, your heart belongs to him before you even know it's gone," Brandi said dreamily, as she looked at the diamond sparkling on her left ring finger.

Mary smiled, leaned forward and kissed Brandi's cheek. She grabbed one last cookie and headed for the hall. "Thanks for your help, Squish!" she cried over her shoulder.

"You're welcome!" Brandi shrugged as she resumed her slicing. "I only hope she tells me someday what it was I said."

Marshall opened his door on Christmas Eve to see Mary standing on his doorstep, holding a pie box in her hands. He folded his arms across his chest. "Why didn't you just use your key?"

She ignored him. "I come bearing gifts: your yearly peppermint pie, Mr. Mann."

He smiled and let her precede him into the house. She sniffed the air appreciatively. He had been cooking – no baking, before she arrived. His TV was on the Christmas Music Choice channel and holiday hits were playing softly in the background. She grinned when she saw a plate of cookies and a glass of eggnog on the coffee table.

"Is that for you or Santa?" she teased, motioning to the plate of goodies.

"Let's just say Santa will be glad you brought me pie." He took the box from her and disappeared into the kitchen.

She removed her coat, sliding the small present from her pocket. She hid it behind her back as she sat on the couch and waited for him to return. When he came back with two plates of pie, she protested.

"Marshall, this is your pie – you aren't supposed to share it with me."

He leaned over and kissed a corner of her mouth, whispering against her skin. "I want to."

The brief contact sent desire shooting through her and Mary struggled to control her breathing as she took her plate from him. The two of them ate in comfortable silence, enjoying the lights from his tree and the music. When he took her empty plate and set it aside, he looked into her eyes.

"What are you doing here, Mer?"

She licked her lips nervously. "It's Christmas Eve - I needed to bring you the pie."

"That's all?"

"I didn't like how we left things the other night."

He smiled sadly, remembering how harsh he had been with her and how he had just walked out the door. No doubt she was feeling like he had rejected her, even though he had tried to make it clear what he really wanted.

"Mary, I hope you know that I wasn't saying I didn't want to-"

She lifted her hand and placed her fingers against his warm mouth. "Sh. Let me try and say this, okay?"

He nodded and she removed her fingers, but he captured them in his.

She smiled. "I think that you, and Brandi, have given me the best Christmas I've had since the one I spent with Nana. You will never know how much it means to me that I have her box back, Marshall. It's like having a piece of her and my father back. So – thank you." Her throat constricted with emotion and she paused.

He nodded, to show he was listening and she squeezed his hand trying to draw strength from his touch.

"You have been closer to me than any of the other men in my life – Mark, Raph - Epps and Faber don't even count because they were one night stands. They had my body, as you so adeptly pointed out the other night, but you knew the real me. When you got shot and I realized I could lose you that scared me more than I ever admitted to anyone. Then, these past six months when you were right next to me but not with me – I realized that there was more than one way I could lose you. You were alive and breathing but I'd still lost my best friend and - I can't lose you, Marshall."

He released her hand so that he could cup her face. "You won't lose me, Mer – well, not willingly, anyway."

She nodded. "I know, I believe you. But the fear of losing you, of losing people I care about, is what keeps me from opening up to them. That's why when you said you wanted my heart the other night in my kitchen, I panicked."

"But-"

"Let me finish."

"Sorry."

"It wasn't until I was talking to Brandi last night that I realized-" she took a deep breath, knowing the next words would change her life, "that my heart was already yours. I don't know how or when it happened-"

Her words were cut off as his mouth covered hers. Unlike the other night, Marshall was in complete control of this kiss. It wasn't one of his pecks and it wasn't one of her ravaging kisses. This kiss was slow, sweet, smoldering, and left Mary reeling. When Marshall pulled away several moments later so they could get air back in their lungs, she looked at him with a slightly confused expression.

"What were we talking about?"

Marshall laughed. "And I didn't even need the mistletoe this time."

She punched his shoulder. "I knew that was an excuse!"

"It worked, didn't it?"

She nodded. "Kiss me?"

He complied.

"So, are you going to give me what's behind your back?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Did you peek?"

"Guilty."

She pulled out the thin package and placed it in his hands. "Now, it's not much and it's kind of corny – though I know you like corny. I just thought you'd like a tangible reminder that you have my heart."

Marshall's eyes were sparkling. "Are you going to stop talking so I can open it, Mer?"

She punched his shoulder again and he laughed as he tore into the paper, and she watched his expression closely as he opened the box to reveal a handmade heart ornament.

"Mary," he breathed.

"Now, I know it's not that pretty – especially since I made it," Mary babbled. "But I wanted it to be a representation of my own heart. See, I broke it in half and then glued it back together and it's got nicks and scratches-"

He gave her a swift, but intense kiss to silence her rambles. "I love it, Mer."

"And if you shatter it into tiny pieces, I'll get my glock and shoot you and scatter your tiny pieces in the desert."

He laughed. "That's my girl. Now, help me find the perfect spot on the tree for this."

Mary found an empty spot right near the top, and together they hung it on the branches. Marshall drew her into his arms, swaying her gently to the music in the background.

"Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas this year, Mer?"

She smiled up and him. "You're all I wanted, Marshall."

He pulled her closer, whispering in her ear the lyrics of the song that was playing on the TV:

"Oh I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
Baby all I want for Christmas is . . .
You."

So ends my first IPS Christmas fic - Happy New Year, everyone!