"No, Mr. Grant. Not THIS Time!"
- by Ennon
A/N- An AU that explores the possibility that Mary was on the verge of overcoming something more than Lou's nagging in 'Sue Ann Gets the Ax'.
After Sue Ann showed up in the WJM Newsroom looking every bit the wilted and trampled bloom from the puppet show, Lou demanded Mary once again to hire her.
"Mr. Grant, you have got to realize that when you take on responsibilities sometime it isn't an easy thing to do. You have got to make decisions that are tough and unpleasant- and. . " Mary started to gulp and took a look at Lou and then at Sue Ann then knew what she had to do.
"Sue Ann, good luck on your future endeavors. Goodbye!" Mary proclaimed.
"Mary?! You can't mean that," Sue Ann gasped.
"Yes, I do," Mary said quietly as she looked at the floor.
"No, she doesn't! Mary, in my office! NOW!" Lou yelled.
Mary knew that it wasn't going to be pleasant but she had to face her fears sometime .
"Yes, Mr. Grant," Mary sighed- while Sue Ann did her best to hide a smirk.
As soon as Mary entered the office, Lou slammed the door quite loudly.
"Mary, what the Hell has gotten into you?! Why has your new title gotten you all power hungry?" Lou snarled.
"Mr. Grant," Mary sighed.
"Don't you remember how I took a chance on you seven years ago? " Lou pleaded.
"Don't start trying to guilt trip me again," Mary groaned.
"What make you think. .?" Lou asked.
"Because that's what you always do, that's what everyone does when they think Mary isn't going to be as 'nice' and a 'pushover' like they'd like!" Mary boiled.
"That's not . .." Lou started to say.
"Isn't it?! And to think, I actually naively thought you promoted me because you had confidence in my abilities and decisions but all you wanted was a puppet!" Mary seethed.
"Mary," Lou sputtered.
"Oh, it's not just you. Remember Rhoda's sister's wedding?" Mary asked.
"Brenda got married?" Lou asked.
"No, not her. Rhoda's other sister Debbie," Mary corrected.
"I don't recall meeting her or her husband at Rhoda's wedding," Lou said in puzzlement.
"Anyway, I already booked a nice hotel room overlooking Central Park but what happened? I went with Rhoda to the Morgensterns' apartment to say hello to her parents and immediately Mr. Morgenstern insisted I had to stay there! And rather having them think I wasn't 'nice', I agreed," Mary fumed.
"Was that so bad?" Lou asked.
"Not really- if you don't think having your luggage stolen while your hosts flap their gums is bad, if you don't think losing your entire hotel room deposit is bad, if you don't think getting caught in the crossfire of an argument between Rhoda and her mother and having no where to retreat is bad and if you don't think having Mrs. Morgenstern put you up in the living sofa because there's no other spot to sleep then gossiping about your sleeping before Mr. Morgenstern does a rooster crow to wake you is bad," Mary seethed.
" I never knew all that. I thought you liked them," Lou said in astonishment.
"I DO but I didn't like how they ran roughshod over me and I'm not happy that I never made the slightest objection because I was all too worried about them not thinking I was 'nice'," Mary groaned.
"So, this is about Rhoda's sister's wedding?" Lou asked.
"No, Mr. Grant. Think of all the parties Ted ruined because I didn't just stand up for myself and tell him to buzz off- all because I was afraid he wouldn't think I was nice. Can you believe that?!" Mary gasped.
"Why should you care if he doesn't think you're nice when you're just standing up for yourself against his . .. balderdash," Lou asked.
"Exactly. When I was five, I was at my Aunt Millie's and her cat ran across the mantle to chase a mouse and knocked off her favorite vase- and Aunt Millie insisted that *I* broke it and told Mom to make me scrub her tub for a solid month to 'pay her back and teach me a lesson'," Mary shuddered.
"Didn't you tell your Mom what really happened?" Lou asked.
"Oh, I sure did and you know what Mom said ? I was wrong to upset Aunt Millie to hurt her feelings and that if I ever did that again, it showed I wasn't nice or worthy of love," Mary started to cry.
"I'll bet Aunt Millie just wanted someone else to scrub her tub and the cat couldn't do it," Lou pondered-as he started to hug Mary.
" That's what I always thought. No, Mr. Grant don't try to hug me out of my stance," Mary said swallowing her tears and straightening her back.
"Mary," Lou sighed.
"Mr. Grant, you put me in charge of this and that means you're going to have to accept my decisions even if you don't always like or understand them- just like I'm going to have to learn to accept you being unhappy with my decisions," Mary sighed.
" You're right, Mary. I don't like your decision and don't quite understand it but. … I accept it. Can you accept me being sore over it for a time while I stew in my own?" Lou asked.
"You bet I can, Mr. Grant. Our friendship's weathered other storms, it can weather this one," Mary purred as she hugged him.
"Well, even though I'm not happy with your decision, I'm proud that you took your first real step in management and independence by standing up for what you believe in even when you thought it might risk friendship," Lou beamed.
"Thank you, Mr. Grant," Mary sighed.
"So what happened with Debbie Morgenstern's wedding anyway. I don't recall you saying much about her or even mentioning the groom," Lou pondered.
"You know, I'm not quite sure. With all the frustration over Rhoda and Mrs. Morgenstern's argument in that apartment, I barely even remember meeting Debbie, don't recall meeting the groom and virtually nothing about the wedding itself," Mary said in puzzlement.
"You think she and the groom just never returned from their honeymoon? "Lou asked.
"It's possible," Mary replied.
"And where was Brenda when all this went down?" Lou asked.
"Something tells me I'm going to have a great deal to ask Rhoda the next time she phones me," Mary laughed- as they walked out of Lou's office together while each knew the other would have a brighter future.
As for Sue Ann? What she said to Mary and Lou afterwards cannot be repeated [even almost 40 years later] but know that she landed on her feet and soon found another workplace to rule and terrorize.