A/N: Greetings, friends! I come bearing a completely new tale (Sam seems to have died, unfortunately; but I won't count him out completely just in case.) This story, 'Independence Day' is set two months post-finale. Now, I have no desire to get into a discussion on this but I was not disappointed in the finale. Whatever actually happened, I thought it was beautifully acted and written and they sailed out with style for me. BUT, that doesn't mean I wouldn't be happy to see it end a different way! What is fan-fic for! ;)

So, this starts out (kind of minus this first chapter) as a 'tale of two sisters.' I really hope you loyal followers of mine will give it a chance, even though it is Mary/Brandi heavy but I promise that Mary and Marshall have a significant undercurrent that sweeps upward in a hurry as the story progresses. It pulls in all sorts from the final episodes and creates my own version of what might've happened two months after that fated conversation on the balcony. Hope I start it off right!

XXX

Fourth of July weekend never made Mary happy. Then again, few things made Mary happy but she supposed holidays always formed a little more of a sore spot. Even being in law enforcement, she wasn't what you would call especially patriotic and she well-remembered Independence Day as a child, which wasn't a big help this year.

James had given her a sparkler the summer after she'd turned four. They'd had too-sour lemonade and Jinx had spiked hers with liquor. That was the July before Brandi had been born; one of Mary's earliest memories not counting the trips to the race track. Days as a family of three weren't pertinent in her mind anymore, but they lurked nonetheless. Once upon a time, they'd been real but there was no one left to hold them dear anymore. Mary had been too little, Jinx too sloshed, and whatever James had hung onto had died along with him.

And so, Mary strained her brain when she saw the date on her computer calendar, trying to conjure up the spark and flare that little lighted stick had thrown onto the pavement. She felt it in her fingers, could feel James thrusting the handle into her palm, closing in and gripping tight.

"Make sure you don't let go, partner."

"Daddy, come on. I'm not scared."

"I know, sweetheart," the fondness of the grin flashed in her mind's eye. "My little girl's not afraid of anything."

Shaking her head, Mary blinked and focused on the paperwork on her desk once more, but found that she was probably done for the day. Six-thirty was fast-approaching and she knew she should probably get home and relieve Brandi of Norah. With just two weeks until her due date, Mary wondered if she was going to be able to rely on her sister as much as she'd come to after she had her hands full with her own baby. The four of them, Jinx mingling among it all, were going to be quite a sight.

Sighing and putting away her papers, Mary hit the sleep button on her computer and stood, shouldering her tote and striding across the room to tell Marshall she was on her way out. His head was bent over Stan's old desk in the office, working by the hush glow of a lamp with an off-white shade. Since taking over the position of chief two months before, he'd been insanely busy – so much so his wedding plans had taken a little bit of a backseat.

Knocking and sticking her head in, Mary called her goodbye.

"I've gotta get going," she informed her semi-new-boss, still trying to get used to that among other things. "I fear if I leave Norah with Brandi too long she'll be trussed up in some God awful Easter dress."

"Easter in July?" Marshall quipped without raising his head. "That's a new one."

"You get the idea," Mary replied. "She can corrupt her own kid when the time comes. There might still be hope for Norah if I intervene now."

"There's always hope…" Marshall murmured distractedly. And then, deciding he might engage more appropriately, he looked up to face her. "How's she doing, anyway? Brandi, I mean. I haven't seen her in awhile."

He hadn't seen anybody lately that wasn't on the other side of a conference room table, and his features were starting to show it. Mary often wondered how much sleep he was getting trying to keep up with all the aspects of being in charge, because his cheeks were starting to go sunken and his eyes were beginning to lose their liveliness. She continually told herself he would be fine as soon as he got the hang of things, trying to do her best to be supportive as she'd promised.

"Attempting to stay on the straight and narrow…" Mary finally answered his question in regards to Brandi, half-hoping she didn't sound overly cynical. "Kind of sweet having a live-in baby-sitter though, and now I don't feel like I'm mooching off Joanna all the time."

"She's your daughter's grandmother," Marshall reminded her. "She moved here from Jersey to help out; I don't think she considers it mooching."

"Marshall, she was a principal for some forty years…" Mary reminded him, her feet taking her further inside the office, boots clacking on the linoleum. "And she caught Mark and I making out in the back of her station wagon when I was sixteen," she recalled. "Pretty sure if I let her stick around she'd have her eye on Norah like a hawk making sure she didn't repeat the transgressions."

"Ooh, transgressions…" Marshall seemed pleased and actually slid his work to the opposite side of the desk, which pleased Mary as well. "That's a big word for you, inspector. Don't tell me I'm rubbing off on you."

"Yeah, enough with the 'inspector' bit," Mary scoffed, walking all the way inside and leaning a hand on his desk. "I told you, you may be able to order me around like some power-hungry dictator but you're not gonna get away with addressing me as some kind of underling," she wagged a disciplinary finger in his face.

Marshall only smirked at this, and seemed relieved that they had fallen so easily into their groove. Although Mary didn't often bring it up because she feared it would make him feel guilty, she missed it. She was very proud of his promotion and certainly conceded he deserved it, but the banter they'd felt as partners had lost some of its vigor. It wasn't as though it had vanished; it just didn't have the opportunity to come out of the woodwork as often.

"Getting back to Brandi…" Marshall segued neatly away from Mary's request. "Although I am heartily happy to hear she is recovering nicely, I was thinking more in the physical sense of the 'how is she?'" he clarified. "I imagine thirty-eight weeks gestation is nothing to sneeze at, and you and I both know you don't have a lot of experience in that area," now his grin had gone insufferable. "Considering your own little moppet didn't make it past thirty-two," he finished.

Mary shook her head, unable to argue the point and also trying to find the best way to smack that ridiculous simper off his face. At the same time, she was glad to see him ease up. He could get very tense these days attempting to do the best job possible and not blow the Albuquerque division of WITSEC all to hell.

"She seems pretty routine to me," Mary shrugged. "She keeps whining about how much her back hurts, but something tells me she doesn't know the half of it," she fought sounding smug. "I was twice her size six weeks sooner."

Marshall chuckled, "Always the competitor," his eyes ventured back to his paperwork, knowing he had to get on it and couldn't afford to play around much longer.

Mary was a little disheartened to see this and wondered that if she perhaps kept talking he would do the same. He deserved a break just like the rest of them, and she was enjoying the here and now with just the two of them; Delia already having packed it in for a holiday weekend at her brother's.

"I just can't believe I'm practically going to have two kids soon," Mary huffed, drumming her fingers absently on the top of his desk. "Norah doesn't even turn one for another month. I swear my life…"

Marshall didn't let her finish, "Brandi's kid isn't yours," he reminded her rationally, trying to do two things at once, talking and scratching his pencil. "If she stays sober and you can get through the first three months with a newborn, she can start looking for a job and really get back on her feet…"

"You just used the words 'Brandi' and 'job' in the same sentence," Mary snarked. "I believe those are conflicting phrases and don't mesh."

"Well, I won't say anything as typical as, 'Give her a chance,' but…"

"Because you know what's good for you," Mary slipped in-in an undertone.

"But," Marshall cut in very distinctly, raising his eyes once more. "I think having your support is working wonders for her. A place to stay and a home where she can begin to rebuild…"

"Enough with the philosophic jargon," Mary held up a hand to silence him. "I just want to get her worked out so I can legitimately boot her to the curb. I've got enough to deal with."

"Ah, sisterly love…" Marshall mused, seeming to think it was safe to only pay partial attention again. "In its purest form."

Mary went quiet then, trying to contemplate how best to continue or if she should just leave him to his devices for the evening so he could get home to Abigail at a decent hour. But Abigail penetrating her mind brought on another topic of discussion she could pose, and she didn't hesitate. Marshall certainly didn't seem to mind.

"You and the detective have plans for the fourth?" she questioned, hoping she seemed casual. "She whipping you up some heavenly-scented apple pie you won't share and buying you matching flag T-shirts?" it was so easy to tease aspects of Abigail, but she was usually careful not to go too far.

Usually.

As it was, Marshall chuckled, "Provided we can both steal away for the afternoon, we may head up into the mountains on Sunday – maybe go for a hike."

"I didn't know your bride-to-be was an Annie Oakley type," Mary quipped. "You better take that mutt of yours in case she needs hauling up the slopes."

"What are your plans?" Marshall ignored Mary's josh and continued writing, but she could still see the smile on his face.

"Oh, you know…" Mary shrugged. "The usual. Wrangle an eleven-month-old and try to keep Jinx from singing the star spangled banner."

"Did you know…?" he looked up again, ready to share. "Come 2014, that song will be an even two-hundred years old. Francis Scott Key wrote it in 1814 after he saw the British Royal Navy bombard Fort McHenry in the War of 1812…"

"Think that covers my history lesson for the day…" Mary sighed. "What's tomorrow? Earth science?"

"Well, why am I surprised?" Marshall asked himself, but it was clear he wanted Mary to hear what he was about to say. "Holidays aren't really your thing. Anything that requires the gathering of more than one person and spawns decorations gets your blood pressure up."

"Very funny," was Mary's snide remark. "I'd much rather be sitting on my couch with my kid than foraging for geologic stones in the Sandia Mountains. Get. Real," she pressed distinctly, hoping to see his face go red, and it did just slightly under the glow from the lamp on the desk.

Perhaps hoping to see the same reaction from Mary, Marshall slid in with his inquiry, "No plans with Kenny?"

Mary's response didn't exactly prompt the desired or intended result. She did not blush, but became slightly evasive but also attempted to go for laid-back, wanting Marshall to know that what was about to come out of her mouth was not a big deal. She was fine with it – with all of it. She had enough going on as it was with Brandi scheduled to pop in fourteen days time.

"Kenny and I aren't seeing as much of each other these days."

Marshall raised his eyebrows, "Oh…" he articulated blandly. "No?"

"Nope," she shook her head. "He and Oliver and Company have got other hot moms to pursue."

"Oliver and Company?" now his brow was wrinkled as he tried to decode.

"His kid…" Mary waved this away as of little importance. "His kid's name is Oliver. And he was a nice guy and we had fun for awhile, but I think it was just too soon after…"

Christ almighty. She hadn't meant to go there. Her mouth got ahead of her mind far too often. And besides, James wasn't the whole reason her and Kenny had parted ways. He just wasn't her type. If she even had one.

But Marshall was nodding coolly, playing along with her feelings of carelessness.

"Sure…" he agreed. "Makes sense. Maybe you can stay friends."

"'Cause I do friends so well," Mary retorted in a low voice, finding that her gaze was suddenly straying from Marshall as though she were embarrassed. It appeared they had run their limit on enjoyment for the evening and she was quick to wrap things up, "Anyway…I should probably head out…" she gestured indistinctly at the open door. "Brandi's gonna wonder what's up."

"Right…" Marshall nodded, knowing they were done. "Give her my best; I hope her back starts to feel better."

"She's not an invalid, Marshall…" Mary reminded him, as though she were taking up for herself rather than her sister. "Two weeks and she'll have combusted like every other pregnant broad and have a nice little munchkin to show for it."

"Nice image…" Marshall nodded approvingly. "Just the same."

Mary also nodded her understanding, telling him without words that she would relay his concern to Brandi. She strongly suspected his interest in her sister came from craving contact with the outside world. He'd been on ostrich-status lately, burying his head in his new and much-more-important responsibilities, and a life beyond his work had taken a backseat as of late. She thought about asking how Abigail was dealing with this, but thought better of it and rearranged her words on her way back to the door.

"Hey…" she called from the frame, leaning and waiting for him to look up, which he eventually did. "Don't hang around here all night. You've got a fiancée at home waiting to make you some frou-frou, hoity-toity romantic meal…" she assumed. "Throw her a bone."

The light seemed to sneak back into Marshall's eyes at hearing how hard she was trying to be on his side. Since their conversation about how they needed to take a small step back from their tightly-wound connection, she'd definitely attempted to give him what he was asking for. He believed her when she said she just wanted him to be happy, and hoped he was fulfilling that somewhere in life.

"Plus, the air conditioning goes off at nine and you'll be a big puddle of sweat by a quarter after," Mary threw in while her new chief thought about all this.

"I will bear that in mind," Marshall assured her. "But I never thought it'd be you telling me to lay off the work."

"Eh…" Mary gave a nonchalant shrug. "Priorities," she grinned. "See you Monday."

"Enjoy your uneventful weekend…" Marshall called.

But she was already gone, and Marshall listened until the elevator doors closed, until the office was almost dark but for his little beam and quiet once more. And when he considered his options, either going home to Abigail or staying and finishing what needed to be done, Marshall knew that one choice should be infinitely more appealing than the other.

And yet, he scolded himself over and over again for knowing the preferred destination was not a candlelit dinner at home. It was riding downstairs at this very minute, soon to be walking through a door to a sweet, bouncing baby girl.

XXX

A/N: I had to start out with these two to get you guys rolling, but Mary and Brandi become the focus pretty quickly. I know a Brandi-centric story won't interest as many people, but c'est la vie, right? But, I have promised you Mary/Marshall in some way and you will get them throughout, I swear it!