A trip to the dentist
Mary sighed for the hundredth time, as she turned the page of the magazine she was holding, but not reading. How long does it take to get a cap, damnit! Just as she was about to hurl the magazine at the wall, the door opened, and a nurse walked out in Mickey Mouse scrubs. Now I see why Marshall comes here, she thought, picturing him in his airplane pajamas.
"Are you here for Marshall Mann?" she asked Mary.
"Yep, that's me. Is he ready?"
"Please follow me," the Mickey lover said, starting down the hall. Mary quickly got up and followed her. She shivered at the sounds of the drills in the rooms they passed by. Mary looked into the room when they stopped and laughed at the sight before her. Marshall was sprawled out in the chair, baby blue bib chained around his neck, and his mouth wide open. Wait, was he snoring?
She looked at ML (she decided Mickey lover was too long) and quipped, "Oh, so dentist is now code for taking a nap in the middle of the day?" ML looked at her and grinned.
"Sorry about that. The cap was proving more difficult than we first thought, so we had to give your partner nitrous oxide. In layman's terms, laughing gas," she explained. "He's going to be very groggy for the next couple of hours, so just let him sleep it off when you get him home. Oh, and don't be surprised if he doesn't remember anything," she added.
"Why?" Mary looked at her suspiciously.
ML laughed, and explained, "Laughing gas is like a truth serum. It can make you tell all your secrets, and helps you forget you even told them!"
"Really?" Mary smirked. I'm going to have some fun with my partner now.
After helping her partner into the passenger seat, she leaned over him to help him buckle his seatbelt. She froze, when she felt his nose brush up against her neck. He inhaled, and sighed. "Smell good," he mumbled. Mary jerked up so quickly, she smacked her head on the roof of the car.
"Son of a bitch," she yelled.
"You ok?" Marshall asked, his words slurring together.
"Yep, I'm freakin fabulous," she shot back. She rounded the car and slid into the driver's seat, slamming the door. She sat, unmoving, for a moment, wondering why her neck still burned where is nose brushed up against her. Oh, get over it, she thought to herself. It's been so long since you had sex, even your partners nose has got you hot. That's sad.
"Where we going?" his question brought her out of her inner dialogue.
"Home, doofus."
"Why?"
Mary shook her head. You have got to be kidding me. I have to spend all afternoon babysitting my partner? What did I do to deserve this? Then, she remembered what ML had said. Truth serum, huh? Let's test that out…
"When did you lose your virginity?" she blurted out.
"Hmmm?" was her answer.
"Marshall, hey, wakey, wakey. I need to ask you a few questions."
"Why?" he asked her.
"Uh, we have to fill out a survey for Stan, so just answer truthfully, ok?"
"Sure, Mare. Whatever you say."
"How old were you when you lost your virginity?" Mary asked, glancing over at her partner. His head was leaning against the window, and he didn't flinch at her question. She smiled and waited for his answer. This is going to be so much fun, she thought.
"23. I was at a Star Trek convention and she was so hot. Trekkies aren't supposed to be that hot. I mean, wow, she was…"
"Ok, I get it, she was hot," Mary interrupted. "So, how many women have you slept with?"
"Not enough," he grumbled.
"What does that mean?"
"I am sen…, senti…, oh hell, I'm a sap. I think you should only sleep with someone you truly love. So, after the trekkie, I wasn't with anyone until…" he paused.
"Until when?" she asked, now curious about what he would say.
"After I kissed you."
"What the hell?" Mary shrieked. "When did we kiss?" She asked, knowing full well, he was talking about the time in the barn.
"The barn. You said you were smearing lipstick on me, but it felt like more than that to me. Bet you don't even remember."
Mary pulled the car up in front of Marshall's house, and quickly got out. After closing the door, perhaps a little too hard, she leaned backward and took a deep breath. What the hell am I doing, she wondered. I don't need to know anymore. I'll just take him inside and let him sleep it off. He won't remember this later, and I need to forget it too. She walked around and opened the door to help her partner out. She leaned down, slipping her arm under his, to help him up. He leaned on her and they stumbled up the stairs to his door.
"Where are your keys?"
"Pocket," was her answer.
"Well, can you get them or do you want to stand out here all day?" She snapped. He tried to slide his hand into his pocket and kept missing. "Oh for goodness sake," she reached down and slip her and into his front pocket, feeling for his keys. He moaned, as her hand searched. She found them quickly and jerked them out, almost hitting herself in the face. Her cheeks reddened as she fumbled to open the door.
Once inside, she lead him to the couch and helped him lay down, sliding a pillow under his head. As she turned to make her way into the kitchen, she heard him quietly ask, "Do you?"
She turned around and walked back to his side. "Do I what?"
"Do you remember the kiss?" He answered.
"Oh, of course I do." She thought back to the conversation in the car, that she was trying to forget. She paused for a minute, before continuing. "Ok, so why did you start having sex after that?"
"Because I had to get you out of my head," he replied, rolling his head to the side to look up at her.
"What the hell does that mean?"
"Well, I couldn't have what I really wanted, so I used others to try and forget. Terrible, I know, but I couldn't help it," he answered, breaking eye contact and turning to look at the back of the couch.
"Did it help?" she whispered.
"Hell no. Nothing did. God, you are like a…"
"Wait," she interrupted, causing him to look back at her with heavy lids. "What did you really want?"
"You." He paused. "Always you." He began to drift off then.
"Hey, Marshall, stay with me." Mary encouraged "I just have a few more questions, ok?"
"K," he said, not opening his eyes.
"How did you feel when Raph and I got engaged?" She began spewing off questions before she lost her chance.
"Like the earth opened up and swallowed me whole." She could hear the pain in his voice without having to see the look on his face.
"Why couldn't you look at me the night of the bachelorette party?"
He opened his eyes then, and they darkened. "Because I was afraid I'd jump out of the car and ravage you right then and there." When had his voice become husky?
"Do you, do you love me?"
"God Yes…"
"Were you really going to leave?"
"I don't know."
"Why?" She asked, afraid to hear his answer.
"Because being around you every day and not being able to touch you was driving me crazy." He finished, and closed his eyes again. They were both quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry Mare, but I gotta sleep now…"
"Ok Marshall, sleep now. I'll be here when you wake up." She leaned down and kissed his cheek gently, then brushed her lips over his. The jolt she felt scared her. What the hell was that, she thought. He's probably got me all hot and bothered with all the talk about wanting to ravage me. Yep, that's it.
She ran her fingers through his hair, and he moaned, and leaned into her touch. She shivered, but didn't stop. He began murmuring quietly, and she leaned in to hear him. It was then, she heard her name, "Mare." She started to withdraw her hand, but stopped when he whispered, "Don't leave, please."
She felt a twinge in her stomach, realized then and there, she would never leave him, could never leave him. God help her, she loved him too. She gently lifted his head, pulling the pillow out and slipped onto the couch, settling his head on her lap. In his laughing gas induced haze, he snuggled his cheek to her thigh and slid his arm around her hip, holding her to him.
She smiled to herself. Would he remember anything when he woke up? I could always pretend it never happened, she thought. But how could I face him everyday, knowing what I know? Knowing that he loves me, and that damnit, I love him too.
Although she wasn't sure where they would go from here, and that they had a lot to talk about after he woke up, she realized she was looking forward to it. And THAT scared her more than anything.
