Obsession

Mary floored the gas pedal on the Probe. She had fifteen minutes to get to the airport. If she was late he would be complaining for the next three weeks. Marshall had insisted that she let him take a cab home and she had pushed until he finally relented to allow her to pick him up. She promised to not be late. Stan had given her a new witness that morning and she had been settling them in. Marshall would understand but would point out the fact that he had been correct. She wanted to prove him wrong. If she admitted it to herself she had been rather smug about that fact that she would be there and he could buy her lunch for the next several days. Free food was always inspirational.

Marshall had phoned her before leaving the airport to let her know the flight was scheduled to leave on time and to not forget him. She could hear the fatigue in his voice. He sounded tired and Mary knew he wouldn't sleep on the plane. She had to admit she didn't get the whole family get together thing but than again her family hadn't put any space between them. Marshall didn't get to see his that often and tried to jam everything in while he was there. This in return makes him exhausted upon his arrival.

Mary wasn't sure who was happier that Marshall was returning, Stan, Eleanor, or herself. She had a tendency to get bored and without her partner around to relieve her boredom well she just had to use Stan and Eleanor. Neither had been very amused. Marshall was at least good for keeping her entertained and taking it in stride. Mary hadn't decided if she should tell Marshall about Stan's admit refusal to let Marshall take another vacation if Mary was left behind. She'd see what kind of mood he was in.

She was down to a stop light and a right hand turn before she would be able to park at the terminal. Smiling as she had five minutes and that meant she would win the debate. Two seconds later she was cursing the driver in front of her and the light. Mary had to slam the brakes to avoid rear ending the car in front of her. Muttering under her breath she began to tap her hands impatiently against the steering wheel. The light finally changed and as the car in front of her began to pull forward when it suddenly stopped. Mary rolled her window down and was about to yell when she heard the tell tale signs of a car trying to turn over. Putting her car in park she got out and went to help. By the time they were able to get the car out of the intersection Mary was stuck at the red light again. When she hopped back into the car and saw the time she dropped her head on the steering wheel and knew he would complain. Grabbing her cell she dialed his number.

"Should I get a cab?" Marshall asked.

"Good afternoon Marshall!" Yep he wasn't thrilled. "No you do not need a cab I will be there in two minutes. She parked the Probe and headed in. "Where are you?"

"Baggage claim."

She walked in and took a quick look around. His tall lanky frame was leaning against a wall. His eyes were closed but he was aware of his surroundings. She knew when he realized he was being watched by the way he casually looked around to see who it was. It was a habit to not make it look evident when they are working. Smiling she walked over towards him. "Welcome back and how was the family? Have a good trip?"

Marshall groaned. Her being nice could only mean one thing. "What did you do and how am I getting punished for it?"

"You wound me Marshall." Mary replied.

"Not yet but will see. You didn't answer my question."

"Let's just say Stan and Eleanor are thrilled that you are back although they were wishing you would start today and I doubt if you want any more time off that Stan will approve it in the near future unless I go with you or go somewhere while you are away." She had to stop herself from laughing at his facial expression. "You know what I'm like when I get bored. It's not my fault."

Once they were in the Probe on their way to his house Marshall looked over. "What did I miss?"

"Actually it was pretty quiet while you were away. I got a new witness suddenly this morning. Her name is Kelsey Adams. Average height, red hair, blue eyes, and the typical girl next door who managed to witness the wrong thing. The FBI has not given us the complete file on her and they seem to do not want to talk about something. You will get to meet her tomorrow when we do out rounds. She isn't supposed to stay very long. Your witnesses are all safe and sound just like you left them."

Mary followed Marshall into his house. She called for the pizza while he put his suitcase away. He plopped down on the couch and Mary filled him in on the latest office gossip and Marshall told her stories from his trip. They ate their food and continued to talk. Mary had gotten up to get him another drink and when she came back he was sound asleep on the sofa. Smiling at the image she picked his legs up and laid them out on the couch and pulled a blanket over him. "Welcome home partner." She whispered before locking the door and leaving the house. She climbed into the Probe and missed the car parked across the street watching the house with their binoculars.

Marshall strode into work a little later than normal. He noticed Stan and Eleanor's cars were already there. He would have been in on time but figured he needed to bring a peace offering if Mary's comments from yesterday meant anything. Grabbing the doughnuts he headed up. Stan and Eleanor looked up as the elevator doors opened and much to their relief Marshall came out. "Welcome back. How was the trip?" Eleanor greeted. Stan had come out of the office than.

Marshall beamed. "It was great thank you. I brought doughnuts." He handed them the box. "How bad was she?"

Stan smiled and said. "Don't plan any trips anytime soon."

Marshall looked to Eleanor. "Was it really that bad?"

"Let's just say we missed you and are thrilled to have you back and leave it at that." Eleanor smiled at him.

Mary strolled in an hour later. "Come on Doofus, we have places to go and witnesses to see. Are those doughnuts?" Mary went to the box and grabbed a few.

They got into the Probe and she looked at him. "You sugared up the boss?"

Marshall shrugged. "I figured he needed it after dealing with you last week." He smiled and attempted to dodge her jab.

The first stop was the new witness. They knocked on Kelsey's door and Mary informed her it was her. The woman opened the door slowly and peeked through the gap before unchaining it and letting them in. "Kelsey this is Marshall Mitchell, my partner."

Marshall shook the hand she offered, while Mary continued. "I wanted to make sure you have everything that you need. Any questions or any concerns."

"I'm good so far." She stated. They turned to leave after Mary reminded her if there were any problems to call her.

Marshall looked at Mary. "She is skittish. Do we know her story?"

"She is one of the innocents who accidentally witnessed a gang killing a drug dealer. There have been several attempts on her and she was doing pretty well but something happened at her last location and we haven't been able to find out what it was. The D.O.J. and F.B.I. aren't being overly informative." Mary grumbled.

They spent the rest of the day checking on both of their witnesses. Marshall stayed late to catch up on his e-mail and other paperwork from last week. Stan and Eleanor had already left for the night. Mary looked at him and tried to get him to leave when she did but he stayed. Mary shrugged and told him to call if he needed anything.

Mary walked into the house to another family drama and not wanting to deal with it went straight to her bedroom. Raph was out of town visiting his mother and would be back shortly. Collapsing on the bed she was about to go to sleep when her cell rang. Picking it up she heard Kelsey's panicked voice. Telling her to stay inside and keep the doors locked and they would be there shortly. Mary called Marshall and he would meet her there.

Mary and Marshall both arrived at the same time. They headed to the side of the building. Kelsey had stated someone was trying to get in through the bedroom window. There was a teenage boy trying to open up the window. "U.S. Marshall's freeze!" They ordered.

The teen faced them. "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" The window next to the one the boy was trying to enter opened up.

"Evan shut up you are going to wake my parent's" The girl hissed and then looked confused when she didn't see him. "Evan?"

Mary flashed a huge smirk at Marshall as the boy told her where he was. "What are you doing over there? I said the fourth window."

"You said the third." He hissed back hands still up in the air.

Mary and Marshall were both trying not to laugh as they lowered their weapons. Mary grabbed the boy by the collar and led him over to the window. "He belongs to you?"

The girl saw the badge and nodded. "Are your parents here?" Mary asked. The deer in the headlight look answered that question. "Get them." They had a nice chat with the girl's parents and than the boys parents picked him up. Both sets of parents apologized profusely for the incident.

Mary called Stan and they decided to move Kelsey for a few days to be safe. They then went to inform her of what was going on. She was less than thrilled and had no problem vocalizing it. She was frightened and not taking the news well. Kelsey was beginning to fray on Mary's nerves so Marshall talked to her and reassured her that the boy wasn't trying to kill her. It was just a mistake in the location he was looking for. Kelsey responded better to Marshall's coddling than her abrasiveness. Soon they had her packed up and ready to leave. After securing the hotel room and making sure everything was okay they both headed home.

Over the next few weeks Kelsey began to call every night. She seemed to always think someone was coming after her. Mary was beyond frustrated and could tell Marshall was getting agitated and that spoke volumes. They reassured her time and time again. She barely would talk to Mary and would try and go to Marshall with her problems. Kelsey had requested that Marshall become her inspector and Mary the backup instead of the current way. Stan sent them over to explain that Mary was in charge of her case and her primary contact. It worked for about two days and then she started again. Finally they had agreed to leave Mary to visit on her own. Kelsey would ask about him but began to learn to deal with Mary as her protector.

Mary drove back to the office and filled Marshall in. The two were relieved and had decided to celebrate with a piece of pie. Mary followed Marshall back to his house. They would unwind there before she went home. What they arrived there was a box sitting outside Marshall's door. Mary looked at him. "New pajamas or more gadgets?"

The concerned look on his face worried her. "I didn't order anything. My family would have just given me it before I left" He looked at the box and there was no return address just his information. There was also no postage on it.

Mary called Stan. She waited for him to answer. "Stan. Marshall has received a box on his door with no return address or postage. He hasn't ordered anything either." Stan told her he would have a team sent over. Stan showed up with the team. The package was scanned and nothing explosive appeared. When the box was opened there were heart shaped cookies that stated you are my heart and an envelope that had a letter. They opened the letter. The paper contained letters cut from newspapers and stated: Sweets for my Sweetheart! Till next time all my love.

Mary looked at Marshall confused. "Do you have a girlfriend we don't know about?" He shook his head and looked equally confused.

Stan didn't like it. "Let's have the lab check them out to be on the safe side."

They quickly agreed. The lab took the cookies and promised to have them tested right away. The letter had them all a little concerned. Stan left the two of them after Marshall promised to call if anything else happened or more packages arrived. Mary and Marshall went into the house. It was getting late. "You want to stay?" Mary nodded. He double checked that the guest room was supplied and then headed off to bed. Marshall was about to change when he saw the picture of him, Mary and Stan lying off to the side. He shrugged it must have fallen down. Setting it back up on his dresser mirror he went into the bathroom and changed.

She watched through binoculars as the scene unfolded. Confused as to why he didn't open the package. When the other's showed and scanned her box she began to get angry. When she saw them take the box away she was furious. How dare he send her gift away? When Mary walked into the house with him and the lights turned off she grabbed the knife and slashed the seat of the car in a blind rage.