Hey, I'm back with an all new multi-chaptered story.

Now that the season is over – for a whole summer! – many fanfics will have to be home-made, in a sense, since there can't be a whole of post episode or between episode fics as there was before.

So, here's my own home-made fic with the same characters we all know and love, especially together.

Mary's Confrontation

Mary fidgeted in the chair, making the plastic cover squeak loudly. She cringed. Weren't therapist chairs suppose to be comfortable? She sure as hell wasn't comfortable. She was ready to bolt but, under Stan's suggestion, the shrink had locked the door.

Mary gave up on trying to settle herself and glared at her therapist instead. Maybe she could scare the shrink just enough to cancel the cession.

But Stan had thought of that too. He had hired a tough female who seemed to be just as defiant as Mary, and possibly as strong: literally and figuratively. This woman wasn't going to let Mary off the hook in even the slightest way. Even her name – Dr. Stone – denied such thoughts of escape.

Man, as soon as she was done here, Mary was going to hunt down Stan and disembowel him. Of course, this cession was to talk her out of such things and dig deep to see why she really wanted to kill Stan. Please, the only digging she was going to do was to make a grave.

"So," Dr. Stone sighed, adjusting her notepad on her leg. "What do you want to talk about first? Your job or you family?" Dr. Stone paused to examine Mary. "Or should I just let you relax until this cession is over?"

All right. This woman got Mary. Finally.

"Option three," Mary said with a faint smirk.

"Too bad," Dr. Stone sneered. "We'll start with your family."

Mary smirked right back. This woman was tough and reminded Mary a little of herself. She had earned a little of Mary's respect, but not enough to get her to talk about her feelings.

"According to your file, you have a mother, a sister, and a missing father as your family," Dr. Stone said as she flipped through a file that had so conveniently been placed on her desk by none other than Stan.

"No, I have a drug dealer, a whore, and a gambler as my family," Mary shot back.



Dr. Stone nodded thoughtfully. "There's a lot of anger there."

Mary met Dr. Stone's steady gaze. "There's a lot of other stuff too."

"Talking about it helps," Dr. Stone offered in a tone that told Mary she didn't have a choice in the matter.

"I'm not much of a talker," Mary replied casually.

Dr. Stone sighed. "Let's get this straight. Your boss has hired me to talk to you for two hours. With people like you, I just sit and watch the time go by and collect my pay at the end."

"Must be tough," Mary snorted.

"But with you," Dr. Stone continued, unfazed, "there's a lot of stuff going on with you, that much I can tell. And, seeing as you are already somewhat of a dangerous character, the feelings you bottle up will erupted upon innocent bystanders."

Mary stared at Dr. Stone intently. This woman could see all that?

"And when that happens, you're going to lose all that are close to you, which I'm guessing aren't too many anymore."

Mary looked away with mock-disinterest. Her mask was set in place. She would show no emotion as this woman picked apart her heart to expose her fears.

"You hate your family, you have to handle a lot on the job, and you have no companion; no boyfriend or husband to look out for you or to talk to."

It was all true. How could this shrink see so much in Mary in just the first ten minutes? Maybe that was why Stan hired her. Dr. Stone was experienced with hard heads like Mary. She had seen what they could do and what they had become.

"But it seems you do have a partner," Dr Stone said, giving Mary a meaningful glance before looking back down at the file. "A Mr. Marshall Mann, I believe."

Mary looked up to meet Dr. Stone's smug gaze.

"What about Marshall?" she spat.

"It seems you two have been partners for a few years now," Dr. Stone said. "I'm surprised you haven't pushed him away yet."

Dr. Stone looked back at Mary and her eyes widened slightly. Mary kept her mask on, betraying no emotion that could hint at her relationship with Marshall.



"Unless," Dr. Stone mused, placing her finger thoughtfully on her bottom lip, "unless he's immune."

Mary's mask fell for only a second as her mouth twitched into a smile and her eyes softened.

Yes, Marshall was immune to her constant pestering, her sarcastic remarks, her harmful way of keeping him at a distance. She had convinced herself that she was protecting him from herself and her family but really, she was protecting herself from him.

If she let Marshall too close, if she depended on him too much, then she would fold. She would lose her strength and yearn for a simple life. He couldn't have that, not with her background.

And if Marshall were to leave her… she would be crushed, unfixable. No, she couldn't risk getting close to anyone that could hurt her, not even Marshall: her best and only friend.

"I see," Dr. Stone said as she tapped her chin. "So you like Marshall Mann?"

Mary inhaled sharply. How did the conversation go from her family to her relationship with Marshall? She should have just talked about how she was tired of cleaning up her family's messes to avoid such a subject. But now she was trapped. She would have to talk or sit for another hour and forty minutes.

"In a professional sense, yes," Mary answered carefully. "He's my partner."

Dr. Stone nodded as she scribbled something down on her notepad. Mary cringed. Hopefully she didn't give too much away. What if someone else saw that notepad?

"You trust him?" Dr. Stone asked, not looking up from her notes.

Mary looked away. Why wasn't there a window in the room? She could at least distract herself if she could look out a window. It felt like the walls were closing in on her.

"Yes," she said simply. "We've been through a lot together. I trust him to get the information I need and to back me up." She trusted him with her life.

"And does he do everything you ask of him?"

Mary thought about it then answered, "Yes," to her own surprise. Marshall always did what she asked and he always pulled through. She had never noticed before.

"Does he listen to you?"

"Yes," Mary answered curtly.



Marshall was always there, always available to lend a helping hand or an unbiased view of a situation. When Mary had a question, he would look for the answer. If she had a story to tell, he would be waiting to hear.

"Do you talk?"

"No."

Despite Marshall's uncanny ability to listen without discrimination, Mary never confided in him. Sure, she might tell him little bits about how she was feeling but she never completely dropped her shield and told him everything. She just wasn't that strong.

Dr. Stone nodded and wrote on her notepad.

"Do you want to talk?" she asked.

"Yes," Mary whispered.

She wanted so badly just to tell Marshall everything: how she felt about her family, her job, Raph; everything. But she just couldn't do it. She couldn't bring herself to sit down in front of Marshall and talk. She was afraid if breaking down in front of him, of revealing the scared little girl that she kept locked away from everyone.

And the sad part was, she knew that he would listen. She knew that he would silently listen; without judging her, without fearing her, without hating her. He would offer comfort when she needed it and keep a distance when she needed it. He would offer advice – which she probably wouldn't take – and then offer to take her mind off of things by doing something fun. If she wasn't ready to carry on, then he would pat her on the back, get some coffee and movies and stay with her until he felt she was well enough to be on her own.

"But you're afraid of scaring him away or saying too much. Is that right?" Dr. Stone said gently, as if reading Mary's thoughts.

Mary nodded, her mask falling away as her vision blurred with oncoming tears. She blinked them back.

"I see." Dr. Stone placed her notepad and pen on the desk over Mary's file. She leaned forwards, placing her elbows on her knees and resting her chin on her hands. Mary involuntarily leaned forward as well as if preparing to share a secret with a shrink who had promised confidentially.

"Do you like Marshall Mann?" Dr. Stone repeated in a serious tone.

"Yes," Mary answered automatically. She didn't need to think of an excuse this time. "He's my best friend."

"Does he like you?" Dr. Stone asked in the same serious manner.



"I don't know," Mary admitted. It wasn't like he brought her flowers and chocolate. He never openly said he loved her and he hardly touched her like the lovers on Jinx's soap operas did.

"He doesn't say that he does," Mary said submissively. "But I'd like to think so."

"Actions speak louder than words," Dr. Stone said with a knowing smile.

Mary nodded slowly. Marshall did more for her than pass a joke or relay information. He drove her when her car was broken. He brought her coffee on days that she felt like crap. He smiled when everyone was glaring at her. He researched everything she asked for and than some. He provided back up even when he was busy. He had even saved her life by risking his own. And then, he had kissed her.

To Mary, the kiss had merely been a way to smear some lipstick on Marshall's face in order to fool the jewel thieves that were threatening her witness, Trina's, life. But Marshall had taken a different course of action, he had kissed back.

Mary had instantly pulled away of course. They were on the job. But that didn't mean that she didn't feel anything. Kissing Marshall had been… kind of nice. She might have actually enjoyed it if they weren't two bad guys with guns several stalls away.

"Well done," Dr. Stone said, standing.

Mary looked at her quizzically.

"I think we've made a breakthrough," she said with a warm smile.

"But… I hardly said anything," Mary said in complete puzzlement.

"Maybe not with your words," Dr. Stone smiled. "Actions do speak louder you know."

So, Dr. Stone had read Mary's words, not with her ears but with her eyes. With her mask gone, Mary was sure that her emotions were clear on her face. Dr. Stone had seen everything Mary had been thinking. She was sure of it. So that was why Stan had hired her. Maybe Mary would hold off on his funeral for a while.

"I say we take a quick break for a few minutes and then come back to finish our talk," Dr. Stone said as she unlocked the door and held it open for Mary. "I'll even let you choose the topic this time."

Mary smiled. Dr. Stone wasn't so bad. Mary was even coming to like her a little. Understanding could often make two people friends.

Mary stepped out of the room, relishing the freedom it provided.



"Don't think about running off though," Dr. Stone threatened with mock-intimidation. "Stan has already put guards at all the exits."

Mary grimaced. Count on Stan to think everything through.

"The lounge is on the second floor, the third door on your right," Dr. Stone explained. "It would be best to go there. You probably shouldn't go walking around. Ruins the secrecy of other people's cessions."

Mary nodded in understanding. "Ok. Thanks."

Dr. Stone returned the nod. "There should be snacks so help yourself."

Mary gave a wave and started walking down the hall towards the elevators. Maybe she would consider talking to Dr. Stone. She seemed like a reasonable person. She was no Marshall but Mary figured she could trust her with a few details about her life. It couldn't hurt right? It wasn't like she was ever going to see Dr. Stone again after today. She would make sure of it.

Who needed a therapist with a degree when she had Marshall. Who knew? Maybe she would even talk to Marshall about a few things. Unlikely, but still a nice thought.

There's chapter #1

Next chapter is Marshall's turn with his own shrink.

Stay tuned!