Unfortunately I don't own the characters those rights belong to the USA network.
Sequel to Bruised Not Broken and parts of this story refer back to the original one.
Thanks to Jamie for being my beta reader for this story.
Finding Happiness and Contentment
Mary and Marshall had just finished handing over their former witness to the Billings Montana Marshal Service. Due to some of the fun and excitement they ran into on the way there the witness was delivered a few days early. Stan had given Mary and Marshall the go ahead to take some extra time off since they were close to Marshall's parent's house. It had been almost six months since the doctor cleared her to fly home after the whole Raph, Joey, and Wayne incident.
While waiting at the airport for their flight to leave Marshall decided to call home and let them know they'd be arriving sooner than originally expected. Grabbing his cell he dialed the number and waited for someone to pick up.
"Mann residence." Elizabeth answered not paying attention to the caller id.
"Hi Mom." Marshall greeted cheerfully.
Elizabeth was thrilled to hear from Marshall but worried he was calling to cancel their visit. "Please tell me you're still coming."
Marshall couldn't help but smile; his mother knew what it was like for him to have to cancel trips because of the job but it never made it easy on any of them. "No actually the opposite. We're done early and are flying in around three o'clock this afternoon if that's okay."
"Really that's great. Is Mary still coming with?" She questioned.
"Yes but you have to promise to behave. You gave her enough damage to last awhile before you left my house." Marshall rolled his eyes. Both of his parents had become very fond of his partner and had no troubles giving her a rundown of his life's most embarrassing moments.
Elizabeth laughed at that. "I'll let your father know so he can get off work early."
"Don't rush him on our account I've got the rental and want to make a stop on the way before getting to the house." Marshall cautioned.
"Alright I'll let him know what you're doing; call and let us know when you've arrived. I love you Marshall." Elizabeth hung up after Marshall told her the same and then called Ryder to let him know the change in plans.
"Marshal Mann" Ryder answered the phone.
"Hi Ryder." Elizabeth greeted.
"To what do I owe this honor dear?" Ryder smiled.
"Marshall called and they got done early and are arriving this afternoon. They're making a stop before coming to the house thought you would want to know."
"I'll rearrange my schedule and take the extra days off." Ryder paused concerned. "How does he sound?"
"He sounded happy to be getting here early and Mary is still coming, but he made me promise to keep the memories to a minimum." Ryder laughed at Elizabeth's statement.
"Well I do believe you gave her enough ammo to last awhile. I'll be home around four." Ryder stated before hanging up looking forward to the visit.
Marshall strode back towards Mary and sat in the seat next to hers as they would be boarding shortly.
"How are Mom and Dad?" Mary asked smiling.
"Mon's fine and has been cautioned to be on her best behavior and Dad is working at the moment." Marshall stated flatly.
Mary glared at Marshall. "Are you trying to ruin my fun by keeping your parents in check?"
"Would I do that to you?" Marshall feigned innocence.
"As a matter of fact yes you would if it was at your expense." Mary shrugged but couldn't hide the smirk.
"Why do I put up with you again?" Marshall questioned.
"Because that's what best friends are for." Mary was enjoying the light banter with Marshall. It had been six months since he returned her badge and gun to her. Their friendship had not only returned to normal but had been made stronger.
Their boarding was announced and Marshall stood up. "Here we go."
Three hours after leaving Billings Mary and Marshall landed in Cheyenne Wyoming and were getting their rental SUV before heading out. Marshall quickly stopped at a florist and bought two bouquets of flowers one was red and white roses and the other was lilies and Mary looked at in silent question.
Marshall shrugged. "I wanted to stop by the cemetery and see Emily if you don't mind."
Mary figured that explained one batch of flowers. "I don't mind but why two flower bouquets."
"Mom likes lilies. I wanted to bring some for her."
"Is that a bribe for her silence?" Mary couldn't resist.
"Nope just a thanks for being a great mom." Marshall blushed a little under the questioning.
"Mama's boy." Mary laughed.
"You'll thank me when she makes the ribs for us later." Marshall knew how much Mary loved ribs.
"Ribs? Is one bouquet enough? Maybe a second is called for." Mary stated enthusiastically.
Marshall laughed and promised they were fine. He drove in silence to the cemetery. Mary kept glancing at him out of the corner of her eye to make sure he was okay. She noted his one hand laying on the arm rest between them and she linked her fingers with his giving his some support.
Marshall had been surprised by Mary's hand linking with his but noticed her glancing at him periodically. "I'm okay Mare. It's just been a long time since I've been out here."
"Were red and white roses Emily's favorite flower?" Mary wanted to keep Marshall talking his silence worried her.
"Emily loved roses didn't matter what kind these are more for the symbolism. Red obviously means love while the white rose traditionally stands for purity, innocence, spirituality and sympathy, as well as remembrance, honor and reverence. It seemed like a fitting statement for her." Marshall's words were soft spoken.
They pulled into the cemetery and Marshall parked the SUV opening the door to be stopped by Mary.
"Do you want me to wait here or can I come?" Mary wanted to go and support him, but would give him the space if he needed it.
"I was hoping you might want to come with." He smiled at her.
"Lead the way." Mary stated getting out and joining Marshall as he walked to the grave. He lay the flowers down before sitting next to the headstone Mary sat down next to him and took his hand in hers. "Do you want to talk about her?" She asked unsure.
Marshall smiled at Mary; since they began repairing their friendship she had been trying really hard to be a more attentive and caring friend to him. It was nice to be able to see this side of her, but sometimes it was still a little unnerving for him. He was slowly getting used to it since it was brand new territory for Mary. He was afraid she'd retreat back into herself, if she pushed.
"She was determined that we would both become marshals; we'd become the first sibling partners and would take the department by storm. Emily was as fierce as she was kind and gentle a lot like mom is we were both overprotective of one another. If anyone tried to hassle one of us the other watched out and helped take care of it." Marshall smiled remembering. "It didn't happen often since most of the kids were told to stay away from us by their parents for safety reasons. I think I mentioned the attempted kidnapping before so it was the two of us against the world and we had fun pretending to protect mom and dad from some unforeseen enemy or we'd pretend to be cowboy and cowgirl when we were off riding the horses."
"It sounds like I would've liked her." Mary admitted. She could picture Marshall playing cowboy.
"Oh yeah, the two of you would definitely get along. She had a lot of my mother in her but she was definitely a Mann. The marshal blood didn't seem to escape any of us. She was a unique mixture of tomboy and girl." Marshall smiled but it faded slowly. "I miss her Mare."
"I know I wish there was something I could do to take away that pain Marshall but I'm willing to listen any time you need to talk." Mary spoke with sincerity.
"Thanks Mare. I think we better head to my parents or they will send a search party for the two of us." Marshall stood up and brushed his jeans off before offering a hand to Mary and pulling her up.
"Can we discuss those ribs again?" Mary asked and was delighted to hear her partner laugh.
"You're so easy to bribe." Marshall joked as they headed out of the cemetery