I own nothing.
They always say that you should expect the unexpected. But that makes the unexpected expected. And while you are sitting around, trying to figure out what you should and should not expect, something happens that you didn't, well, expect. Today was one of those days…
Mary Shannon glanced up from her paperwork when she noticed her partner moving.
"Where are you going?" She inquired as he stood and smoothed his shirt and checked his watch for the time.
"Checking on one of my witnesses." Mary nodded
"Hold on a sec, I need to get some stuff for one of mine. Which one is it? I'll drop you off." Marshall sighed.
"Your favorite." He shoved his hands in his pockets as he watched Mary close everything on her computer and put on her jacket
"Ugh" She looked at him, wrinkling her nose "That one?"
"Yup" Marshall answered simply "The one and only Lesley Peters."
"Good thing she's the only one." Mary muttered under her breathe. Marshall smiled as he followed her to her car.
"You're just jealous" He teased playfully.
"Of that little slut? Ha! No way!" Marshall sighed, as if she had disappointed him.
"She isn't really that bad."
"She's always hitting on you. It's sickening
"I told you, she's not that bad." Marshall's lips twitched into a smile, earning himself and solid hit from Mary.
"You are such a pig!" She scowled. He laughed and rolled his eyes as he ducked into the front seat of her car
As they backed out, Mary began to talk.
"I'll drop you off and then run to the convenient store and pick up some stuff for my witness. Then I'll take it back to her place and come pick you up. Should only take 45 minutes at the most. Just long enough for you to do your inspectorly duties and not end up getting laid by that slut."
It's funny how we say things that we think would never happen and never even think about the possible likelihood of them happening. Even when we know it could happen. And it happens to be that this happens a lot…
One Hour Later…
"Hey Marshall, so how was the infamous slut?" Marshall didn't respond, only leaning his head back against the headrest.
"Hey, Earth to Marshall." Still her partner remained strangely quiet. She looked in him in the rear view mirror as she changed lanes.
"Marshall?" He looked at her confusedly, his face flushed and moist with sweat. She could see him trembling.
"Marshall, what's going on?"
"I…I don' remember." Mary pulled the car into a parking lot and turned to look at Marshall closely. His eyes fluttered shut.
"Marshall. Wake up!" The trembling that Mary had noticed originally had become even more noticeable. He groaned and leaned forward, holding his head in hid hands.
"Marshall…Marshall what's wrong?" She opened her door and ran around the front of the car, opening his door. He turned his head and threw up. She jumped back, avoiding the splatter.
"Marshall?! What the hell is wrong with you?" He looked up at her, his hair matted to his forehead.
"I…I'm…not"
"Not what?" She demanded, trying to hide the fear in her voice.
"Not…sure" He mumbled as his dull blue eyes rolled back in his head.
Of all fears, the fear of the unknown is the greatest. It is the scariest. The most utterly terrifying. Some places more than others are filled with this fear. Hospitals are the worse. The unknowns there could be nothing, or they could be fatal. They could have minimal impact or be life changing. But you don't know which one…
After four long, terrifying hours in he hospital waiting room, a nurse stepped out and over the noise called
"Who is here for Marshall Mann?" Mary felt her heart begin to pump faster.
"I am" Her voice shook slightly, surprising herself. She walked over "What happened?" She asked in a hushed voice. The nurse bit her lip, brushing a strand of wavy brown hair away from her face.
"I can't tell you, since you're not family bu-"
"I'm his emergency contact. I'm all he's got." Mary might have stretched the truth a little, but she was desperate for information. She also wasn't in the best mood. Glancing at the clock on the wall she noted that it was 9 at night. She sighed and ignored the pains of hunger in her stomach. The young nurse bit her lip.
"I'm really sorry ma-am-"
"Mary" The nurse nodded and continued.
"I understand how you must feel, Mary. I think the doctors plan on releasing him, but they need to talk to you." Mary shrugged
"OK. Fine." The nervous nurse led Mary out of the waiting room and down a long hall to the office of Dr. R. Carrison.
"Have a seat please; Dr. Carrison will be with you in a moment." Mary nodded numbly. What had Marshall gotten himself into? She remembered the sight of his eyes rolling, lids closing until only the whites were visible. She shuddered at the thought.
After a few minutes a woman about Mary's age walked in. She was dressed professionally, her chin length brown hair pinned back out of her face.
"Hello. I'm Rhonda Carrison. You must be Mary Shannon." Mary nodded and shook the hand that Dr. Carrison had offered.
"You must be so worried. I apologize for the wait." She sat down across from Mary.
"How much have you been told of Mr. Mann's condition?"
"Nothing." The doctor nodded thoughtfully biting her lip as she carefully put the words together in her head.
"Well, it appears that Mr. Mann was drugged, most likely with GHB, but we will not know for sure until the tests come back." Mary's mouth fell open and then she remembered to speak.
"GHB that's a-"
"Date-rape drug, yes. I think you can see what happened." Mary closed her eyes. 'Oh God,' She thought 'Poor Marshall'. The doctor continued. "We need to know who he was with before you brought him here."
"He was visiting a friend, um, Lesley Peters. Here" Mary wrote down her address and contact information. Dr. Carrison nodded.
"Thank you…Ms. Shannon?...We need a sample of DNA from you. Just in case." Mary's eyes widened.
"You think I raped Marshall?!" Dr. Carrison closed her eyes for a brief moment.
"No we don't, on the principle that you brought him here and that is atypical behavior for a rapist." Mary sighed. "And also your eyes." Mary gave the doctor a questioning look. "After a while, you can tell which ones are lying and which aren't" Mary nodded.
"We're both in law enforcement; we have to do that a lot." Dr. Carrison nodded
"So you understand the reasoning behind taking a DNA sample." Mary nodded. She understood, but it still hurt.
But what hurt worse was seeing Marshall, hair still wet from the shower he had just taken, dressed in scrubs and wearing surgical booties. His clothes were considered evidence. Everything had been sent to the Albuquerque Police Department. He looked drowsy still. The doctor talked warning the two of them about possible nightmares and effects of the drug. But she didn't listen. She could only stare at her partner, unable to pull her eyes away from his vulnerability.