Disclaimer: This is my second "In Plain Sight" fanfic. I hope you like it just as much as the first, but I warn you… it will be different, and longer. Since the show's titles are all a play on sayings, I decided to give it a go myself. And remember, reviews can only help an author so please leave some to let me know how I'm doing and if you want more. Thank-you and enjoy.

Vacation's All I Never Wanted

"So what are we doing here again?" Mary whined for the umpteenth time.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking that question?" Marshall asked smugly.

Mary shot him her deadly glare. Marshall held up his hands defensively in surrender with a light chuckle.

"Come on," he urged, "Stan's right. You need a break."

"A break doesn't mean coming here to this pigsty," Mary retorted.

"Is that how you describe your home?" Marshall asked with obvious sarcasm.

Mary shot him another death glare.

"Hey, eyes on the road," Marshall said quickly, pointing at the street that led to Mary's house.

Mary moved her eyes back, slowly, to the road. She also slowed the car to a crawl. She wanted to stall as long as possible. She really didn't want to spend her day off at home with her boy-crazy mom and ignorant sister, but it wasn't like she had anywhere else to go.

"Still don't know why I'm here," Marshall muttered to himself.

"Hey, we're partners," Mary countered. "We suffer together."

"This isn't how I'd spend my day off," Marshall sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly.

"Really? What would you do?" Mary asked with a small edge in her voice.

"Oh, the usual," Marshall answered nonchalantly. "You know, go out to lunch, maybe watch a movie. Something fun."

Marshall paused. "Not that going to your house isn't fun," he said hurriedly.

Mary snorted. She never did any of those things. Work was her excuse: one she could always count on… until now.

It had been an exhausting week. First there was some crazed serial killer to capture before he could kill the witness she and Marshall were protecting. Then, once the first killer was in jail, the killer's brother had gone after the witness. Mary couldn't imagine how her witness had gotten into so much trouble 

with that certain family – or maybe she could – but that wasn't her job to figure out. No, she had to do the harder work of keeping the witness alive until he could be transferred.

It had been a lot of work and the killers never gave up. Luckily, Mary had Marshall to watch her back, keep her informed, and keep her sane. There were a few times when the killers got just a little too close to making Mary snap. Oh yeah, by the end of the second day, she was ready to wring their necks. Thank god for Marshall.

Now here he was again, tailing after Mary to her house because Stan had ordered that she take the day off. It probably was the best thing for her body but not for her nerves. Her family had a special way of driving her up the walls, a way that not even the most irritating witness or assassin could duplicate.

For her family's safety, Mary had swallowed her pride and asked Marshall to come with her. Stan thought it was a good idea and Marshall agreed – although it may have been more out of fear than chivalry. Either way, they were together and Mary figured she could survive a day with her family.

Sometimes, it paid off to have a friend.

"Do you realize that we're no longer moving?" Marshall asked as he looked out the window to examine the street.

Ok, it paid off to have a tolerable friend.

"Shut up," Mary spat and reapplied pressure to the gas pedal.

The car started moving again, creeping ever closer the Mary's house and the hell that awaited within it.

"You know," Marshall began, making Mary clench her jaw, "if you really don't want to come here, we can go somewhere else."

Mary gave him a disbelieving sidelong glance.

"I know you're not the most social person," Marshall explained, "but there are places where that's ok."

Mary found that she was nodding and stopped. She'd rather be at work but if she had to choose a different place to be, it would, unfortunately, be home. She didn't really belong anywhere else: not in public, not in some business building, not even in another house. She felt accepted only at home or at work. No need to search for new and fun ways to irritate her.

"You can't hide forever," Marshall murmured, leaning his head back against the headrest.

Mary gave him a quizzical glance but he wasn't looking at her. "That's part of the job," she replied just as quietly.

"Maybe, "Marshall mused, "But-"

"We're here," Mary interrupted as she pulled into the driveway.



How was that for a first chapter? Hope you enjoyed the comedy. It's not going to last for long… Anyway, the story's already completed. I just need to post. So, no waiting!