Greetings, everyone! Happy fall! Sorry to have left you hanging for 2 months - RL has been crazy again. So curl up with a blanket and enjoy this latest installment in the 'We're having a baby' series. There should be one more part after this. As usual, I own nothing except the plot and the character of Joey, who debuts in this episode - er, part!

"Say the word and I will be your man, your man
Say when
And my own two hands will comfort you
Tonight, tonight
Say when
And my own two arms will carry you."

-The Fray

Present Day (Aug. 1st)

I awoke with a start to discover that I was still sitting in the uncomfortable plastic chair by Mary's bedside. My neck had a nasty kink in it, my right leg was asleep from the knee down, and my left hand was still wrapped around Mary's fingers. I couldn't help the moan that escaped as I shifted in the chair, and wiggled my fingers. Noticing that her grip had gone slack, I retracted my arm with another groan and rubbed it vigorously, trying to restore the blood flow. One of the nurses came in while I was doing this and smiled at me.

"Good morning, Mr. Mann," she said softly.

"Good morning, and please call me Marshall. You're probably going to be seeing quite a bit of me over the next couple of days."

"All right then, Marshall, and my name is Sarah – if you or Mary need anything, I'm on duty until 2 o'clock this afternoon. She's still asleep?"

I glanced down at my partner, silently observing that she was no longer breathing deeply. "I think she's coming around, but she's not fully awake yet."

"I'll come back in a few minutes then to take her vitals and see how she's feeling. The night nurse said she had a good night – better than you did in that chair, I'll bet."

I chuckled. "Yeah, I don't think I'll be sleeping there again tonight."

"Well, we'll see if we can't fix something up for you – after all, I'm sure you'll want to stay close to your baby." Sarah smiled as she left.

My mouth opened to call her back, to correct the mistake the staff was still under when I felt Mary grab my hand. I looked down to discover her jade eyes looking up at me from the bed.

"Why'd you stop me?" I whispered.

"I slept so good last night after you sang that lullaby to the rug rat, doofus. I'm not letting you escape until we're back under the same roof," she smirked up at me.

I smiled back. "How you feeling this morning, Sunshine?" I asked as I sat beside her on the bed.

She made a face at the nickname but didn't comment on it. "Like I said – that was the best night's sleep I've gotten since this kid started moving around." She rolled onto her back and gently pushed herself up a bit.

Wordlessly, I handed her the remote and waited while she pushed the button and the bed lifted her into a sitting position. She watched as I began rubbing my neck and frowned at me. "Sore?"

I shrugged. "A little – you were the one curled up in a bed while I had to make do in that instrument of torture." I waved at the orange monstrosity drawn up to her bedside.

She laughed. "I would have shared, Marshall."

I swallowed nervously, unsure of how to respond.

She poked me in the stomach. "Come on, it's not like we haven't shared a bed before."

I sighed. "Things are different now, Mer."

She tilted her head. "Oh? Why?"

Had I dreamed our conversation last night – the part where I made it pretty plain that I was in love with her, that I had been in love with her for six years? The seconds ticked by as my exasperation mounted and just when I thought I was going to have to go back to pretending and burying my feelings down deep, I looked into her eyes. They were dancing with mirth even as she tried hard to keep the rest of her face blank.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "You want a list?" I said lowly, letting my own eyes tease her back.

"You know how much I love lists, Marshall."

I nodded before I said, "Well, to start with – this is a single bed. We've always shared queen beds at the very least, if not king. You like your space, so you can sprawl out while sleeping. If I had shared the bed with you last night, you very likely would have fallen out of bed – which brings me to the second point."

I paused and noticed that her mouth was twitching at one corner. "What's that?"

I gestured toward her belly. "You're pregnant."

The twitching grew more pronounced but she wouldn't surrender. Instead she rolled her eyes. "That's kind of obvious."

"True, but it's still a valid point. Single bed, very little room, and you'd be hogging most of it with your belly."

"Hey!" Her mouth fell open in mock outrage as she hit my shoulder.

I lifted my hands in surrender as I explained myself. "I'm just saying that there were already two occupants in the bed. You know the saying, 'two's company, three's a crowd?'" I smiled in triumph.

She blew an exasperated breath and didn't say anything for a few moments. But then her eyes got a suspicious gleam in them that set my heart racing again. "You only listed two points – that hardly constitutes a list, Marshall. Are you sure you aren't forgetting something? Some other reason why things are different now?" She placed her hands on my shoulders and drew me into her personal space.

I lifted a hand and brushed some hair back from her face. "You know that I love you – I'm not going to stuff those feeling back inside the box and pretend that I don't." I smiled gently at her as I lifted my other hand and cradled her face. "But what happens next is completely up to you."

I felt her tremble underneath my fingertips. "What do you mean?"

"I know that you feel like your life has spun out of control. You feel like you've entered some crazy parallel universe where everything is backwards. Brandi is now the responsible, steady one with a job and a fiancée. Your mother also has a job and is about to celebrate two years of sobriety. And then there's you: within the last year and a half, you've called off your engagement to a great guy, had unprotected sex with your ex-husband and gotten pregnant."

Mary flinched and tried to remove herself from my hands but I wouldn't let her. "That's how you see yourself, Sunshine, but that's not how I see you. I see a woman who nearly died from a fatal gunshot wound and fought like hell to stay alive. I see a woman who had the guts not to marry someone because he didn't have a clue about who she really was, even if he did know what she did for a living. I see a woman who is battling her own childhood demons because she desperately wants to give her child the life she never had – two parents who love him and each other."

The tears were streaming down Mary's face; running over my fingers faster than my thumbs could wipe them away. As her tears built to sobs, I moved to sit next to her and she laid her head on my shoulder. As she cursed her hormones under her breath, I handed her a clean handkerchief from my pocket and she smiled through her tears.

"Who carries these anymore?"

"A knight must always be prepared, milady."

She snorted. "No, really, handkerchiefs?"

I shrugged my free shoulder. "I always wanted to be a cowboy and when I was little, my mom made sure I had the entire outfit. You know, hat, boots, rope-"

"And a handkerchief?" she finished in disbelief.

"Yep – of course it went around my neck at the time, but still-" I stopped as she dissolved into giggles against my neck.

"Someday you'll have to show me a picture of little Marshall Mann dressed up as cowboy."

I looked down into her reddened eyes and smiled. "That's Sheriff Mann to you."

"I thought you wanted to be a cowboy?" she asked in confusion.

"I did – but the boys I played with needed a sheriff for their games so I gave up my aspirations of riding the range and became a sheriff instead."

"And your career in the Marshal Service was born," Mary sighed.

We sat in comfortable silence for several minute before nurse Sarah came in to check Mary's vitals. If she noticed her patient's reddened eyes, she was discreet enough not to ask. She merely asked Mary how well she had slept, how she was feeling this morning, and then said breakfast would be up shortly.

"What do you think the odds are that anything on that breakfast tray will be edible?" she whispered to me once we were alone again.

I sighed. "I'll try to sneak you in something later. I have to go into the office for awhile anyway – check on our witnesses, and let Stan know what's up with you."

She groaned and buried her face in my chest, a move that surprised me. "Do you have to tell Stan? He'll overreact just like Dr. Reese and I'll never get to go back to work!"

"Mary," I said sternly, gripping her shoulders and forcing her to look at me. "You have to stay off your feet and take care of yourself and the baby. This was serious – do you realize what could have happened if I hadn't been so close? My God, Mary! When I think of you on that floor, bleeding - if I hadn't gotten to you – " I stopped, unable to stop the shudder that coursed through me.

"Hey, hey!" she shook me slightly. "I'm fine, the baby's fine. You got to us in time – I knew you would, Marshall."

I couldn't help it – I crushed my lips to hers in a bruising, desperate, needy kiss. She kissed me back just as fiercely before I regained my senses and pulled back.

Leaning my forehead against hers, I apologized. "I'm sorry, Mer. I told you before that whatever happened between us would be your decision but you scared the hell out of me last night."

She sighed. "What does that mean, exactly, it's my decision?"

"I know that you're feeling overwhelmed with all the decisions you have to make about the baby – you said as much last night, remember?"

She nodded.

"I want to give you back some of that control you feel has been taken from you – and I don't want to put any more pressure on you by starting a relationship between us right now. If and when you decide you want something more with me, just say when."

"Marshall," Mary breathed softly, shaking her head.

"I mean it, Mer. I don't want you to be thinking about us when you should be focusing all your energy on the baby." I leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

She grabbed my wrist, keeping me close. "Wait, that's not-"

"MARY!"

We jumped apart and I leapt to my feet as Jinx threw herself onto the bed, cooing and sobbing over her daughter. Mary screwed up her face in disgust and threw me a look, silently begging for my assistance.

"Are you all right, Sweet Pea? How's my grandchild? I've been calling and calling but I just keep getting your voicemail!" Jinx was babbling and petting Mary's stomach.

Mary's hands were swatting at Jinx's, trying to get her mother off her. "Mom! I'm fine and so is the rug rat. Will you please sit down in that chair over there and stop touching me."

Jinx reared back as if Mary had slapped her. "I just wanted to see if I could feel him moving!" she pouted as she looked around for the chair.

Mary's eyes narrowed at the word "him" and she glared daggers at me suspiciously.

"Well, I should be going," I said hastily, as I grabbed my wallet and keys. "I'm sorry, Jinx, I turned off Mary's phone last night. It's not supposed to be on around all this equipment."

Jinx glared at me and Mary rolled her eyes as she rubbed her stomach.

"Can I have it back?" she asked, holding out her other hand.

"Why? I'll call you on the room phone if I need you," I reassured her.

Mary narrowed her eyes at me and I caved. But when I held the phone out, she snagged my wrist and brought me close to her.

"Don't leave me alone here!" she hissed lowly through clenched teeth.

I chuckled. "I have to go check in with Stan, remember?"

She groaned. "You better hurry back – and smuggle in some contraband while you're at it!" she threatened.

I kissed the top of her head, noticing that Jinx's mouth dropped open in surprise as I did so. "Behave, Sunshine."

When I turned on my own cell phone, I found a cryptic message from Delia saying that I needed to get to the office as soon as possible because "we have a situation."

"Damn it," I swore as I ran a weary hand over my face and once again floored the accelerator, this time heading for the office. "There goes my hot shower and change of clothes."

Delia was the only one there and she jumped when I burst into the conference room ten minutes later. Her eyes raked over me in concern.

"Marshall, did you sleep in those clothes? You don't look so good, sweetie."

I pinched the bridge of my nose and turned away to pour myself a much needed cup of coffee, barely taking the time to sweeten it before I downed half the cup in one swallow.

"What's going on, Delia? Where's Stan?"

She sighed. "Are you all right? Seriously, you-"

I waved her concern away as I poured myself another cup of coffee. "Mary's back in the hospital."

She gasped. "Is she – what about the baby?"

I sat down across from her at the big table. "She and the baby are fine, Delia. Last night was touch and go but the baby's a fighter."

She snorted. "With Mary's blood coursing through its veins, of course it is!"

I smiled weakly in acknowledgment. "So what's the situation?" I echoed the words she had left on her message.

Delia took a deep breath. "It's your witness, Joey."

"Junior or Senior?"

I had two Joey's under my care in WitSec and around the office we referred to them as Joey Junior and Joey Senior. Joey Senior had actually been a rather infamous mob boss from the East Coast that had undergone a change of heart when he went through his midlife crisis. He sold out his 'business partners' and was relocated. But Joey Senior was a lamb and I couldn't imagine a "situation" having come up regarding him – unless one of his old partners had found him.

But Joey Junior. . . .

I held up my hand to preempt her answer. "Scratch that – what's happened to Joey Junior?"

"He's left Albuquerque – we think he's headed back to Chicago."

I shook my head. "Why? The trial starts in a couple of weeks and he was all set to testify but he wasn't itching to go back to visit-"

This time Delia interrupted me. "Mrs. Keller's foster home was burned to the ground Thursday night, Marshall."

"Damn it. How are Mrs. Keller and the kids? Did they get out in time?"

Delia bit her lip. "Just as she was getting the last baby out, she was hit in the head by the collapse of the ceiling. She and the baby are still in critical condition."

I raked a hand through my hair. "And you told Joey about all this?"

"Stan thought it would be best if he heard about it from us – you know that he still keeps tabs on the news from Chicago and he would have heard about the fire sooner or later."

"How'd he take it?"

She shrugged. "Joey is one cool kid, you know that. Trying to get a read on him is like trying to get blood from a stone. He thanked us for letting him know and then said he had to get to work."

I looked at her in astonishment. "And you just left? Without-"

"Of course we kept tabs on him, Marshall! We broke the news to him on Saturday morning and then I followed him to work. Stan picked him up after work and followed him to Saturday evening Mass and then home. He stayed home all night. I followed him to Sunday morning Mass and to the soup kitchen where he volunteers. Stan was going to follow him home after he was done but-"

I held up my hand. "Let me guess, Joey was gone."

She nodded. "Nobody at the soup kitchen seems to know where he went – he went outside to take out the trash early in his shift and never came back. Stan went and searched his apartment and all his stuff is still there, including his cell phone."

I groaned. "So much for tracking him that way."

Delia nodded. "Stan was going to go by the restaurant this morning to see if his boss knew anything-"

The phone rang and I eagerly scooped it up.

"Marshall? Did Delia fill you in?"

"Yeah, I'm all caught up. Tell me you found Joey Junior, Stan."

Stan sighed. "No, I didn't. But Joey's boss said he asked for the week off so he could go camping at Lake Tucumcari with some friends."

I snorted. "Stan, that's a just a ruse – we all know where he's heading!"

"I know, Inspector, but Delia and I have been checking the major airports, bus lines, and train depots since yesterday and nothing have come up."

"He's smart, Stan. He left his car and cell phone behind because he knew we could trace him that way. I bet he hitch hiked out of state and then hopped a bus or a train the rest of the way."

There was a pause before Stan answered. "So what do you suggest, Marshall? He's your witness."

"It's pointless to try and cut him off along the way because we might just miss him – especially since we know his final destination anyway. I suggest we go to Chicago and wait. You and a couple of Marshals at the hospital, Delia at the bus station, and I'll take the train depot."

"You really think he'll be on the train, don't you?"

I could feel the certainty building in my gut that came from knowing my witness. "Yeah, Stan. I do."

"You should have told him, Mary."

"Squish, I'll tell him when I'm ready, ok?"

"When's that going to be? When the baby pops out?"

"Will you shut up before I pop you?"

"Now ladies, is that any way to talk to each other, especially in a hospital?" I teased as I strode into Mary's room, freshly showered and holding a bouquet of yellow daisies.

"Oh, Marshall!" Brandi breathed. "How pretty!"

Mary rolled her eyes but not before I saw that she was glad to see me. "Is that all you brought me? Something that smells nice but is going to drop petals everywhere and be dead in about a day because I forgot to water them?" she smirked.

I set the vase on her rolling tray table with a flourish. "Sunshine for my Sunshine," I said as leaned forward and kissed the top of her head, as Mary swatted me and Brandi giggled. I stood back up to meet Mary's flashing eyes.

"Seriously, that's all? I'm starving!" she pouted.

I laughed. "Oh, that's right. I did promise to bring you back something of sustenance, didn't I? Perhaps this will be more to your liking-" I let my voice trail off as I pulled the hand I had been concealing beneath my jacket to reveal the little Starbucks paper bag.

With a glad cry, Mary grabbed the bag and pulled out the piece of banana nut loaf. She took a huge bite and closed her eyes in bliss.

"Is that low-fat?" Brandi asked wickedly.

Mary gave her the finger with her free hand and Brandi laughed and left to go find Peter.

I sat on the edge of Mary's bed and watched as she finished her treat, making every bite count, down to the last finger lick. She caught me looking at the clock and sighed.

"What time's your flight?"

"Soon."

She sighed again. "What happened?"

As quickly as possible, I filled her in about Joey Junior. When I finished, she was frowning thoughtfully and rubbing her stomach. "Joey's old gang members are going to be waiting for him – you know that."

"I know – I'll be careful, I promise."

She bit her lip, rubbing her stomach harder. "Wear your vest."

I covered her hand with mine, stilling her motions. "I will." I felt a gentle kick under our hands and I smiled. "You stay off your feet, rest, and don't worry."

She snorted. "How the hell am I supposed to do that? You're not going to be here to sing to the rug rat so I can get some sleep. You're going into a dangerous situation without me there to watch your ass. How am I-"

Framing her face with my hands, I leaned in and claimed her mouth with mine, stopping her frantic flow of words. I moved my mouth over hers: deeply, lovingly, and slowly, as if we had all the time in the world, as if I wasn't going to be late if I didn't break this embrace right now.

I broke my lips away, and leaned my forehead against hers. "I love you, Mary Shannon," I panted softly.

She stared glassily into my eyes for several seconds before I saw her gather her wits.

"Is that going to be your solution for my pregnant emotional ramblings from now on?"

I smiled back. "If I say yes, would you have a problem with it?"

She shook her head and reclaimed my lips with her own. I groaned and deepened the kiss before I reluctantly pulled away.

"I really do have to go."

"I know. You'll call me?"

I nodded and kissed her forehead. "Be good, Sunshine, and try not to give everyone hell while I'm gone."

Union Station (Chicago, IL)

I scrubbed a weary hand across my face and prayed that my instincts about Joey were right – that he really would come by train. Not that Delia or Stan couldn't handle him, I knew they could. But Joey was my witness, my problem to deal with and I wanted to do it myself.

Spending a night in Union Station wasn't much better than spending a night in an uncomfortable chair by Mary's bedside. I hadn't gotten much sleep either night. I was looking forward to this ordeal being over and getting back home to Albuquerque, getting home to Mary and our baby.

Wait, our baby?

I sighed. I really was tired. Much more tired than I thought. I really couldn't afford to think of Mary's baby as mine – especially since I knew she didn't think of the baby as hers half the time. She was still seriously considering adoption. When I had talked to her on the phone last night, she had told me all about her meeting with the adoption coordinator, Mrs. Thomas. Mary now had a short stack of potential parents who were ready, willing, and excited about the prospect of adopting her baby.

All Mary had to do was choose and sign away her parental rights – and somehow get Mark to do the same.

And I had absolutely nothing to do with it. I wasn't a father – I would barely qualify as an 'uncle' if she decided to keep the baby.

But last night she had said, "You'll help me decide, won't you? When you get home – you'll look over the files and help me choose? Otherwise, I'm thinking about just throwing darts or playing spin the bottle or something."

"Mary! You can't decide o – I mean, your baby's future on a game of chance!"

"So you'll help me decide?"

In the end I had agreed to look over the files. Mary had also insisted on putting me on speaker phone to sing to the baby. I warned her it might not work as well over the phone but she said she was desperate and would put the phone right by her belly. I sang the lullaby four times through before I realized that she had fallen asleep. I hung up the phone and for the next hour I tried desperately not to cry because I have nothing to do with her decision.

I'm not the father.

I scratched the day old growth on my face as I waited for the coffee from the vending machine. Just as I picked up the cup, I heard the announcement over the loudspeaker that the latest train from Ft Worth was arriving on Platform D. I spoke into the walkie talkie on my waist, alerting the other Marshal team to look sharp and headed for the platform.

Most of the passengers had disembarked before I saw him. Even though Joey isn't very tall, he is well built and his upper body is covered in tattoos. I always wondered how someone who grew up in the foster care system managed to get the money for tats; but he just smiled and said he had 'friends'.

I watched as Joey swung down from the last car and glanced around before moving towards the exit. He had covered his brown curly hair with a cap and was wearing a long sleeved shirt despite the heat to cover his tattoos. I spoke into the walkie talkie, letting the other Marshals know that I had Joey in sight and to watch for any activity as I was moving to intercept.

Joey was constantly looking over his shoulder to the left so it was easy for me to slip up on his right and fall into step with him.

"Hello, Joey."

He whirled to face me, shock evident on his face, even as his hand reached for something inside his coat.

I clucked my tongue at him. "Joey, you're in a heap of trouble, please, please, don't tell me you've somehow managed to get hold of a gun."

Before he could deny it, screams filled the air as shots rang out. A bullet whizzed past my ear as I knocked Joey to the concrete, dragging him with me as we ducked for cover behind some trash containers.

I looked over to see if any of the bullets had hit Joey only to see a gun in his hand. "Put that away, Joey! Do not make things worse for yourself!"

"But you're bleeding – it's just you and me against who knows how many!" Joey protested.

My hand shot to the side of my head and I was surprised when it came away bloody. "It's just a scratch, I'm fine. And do you honestly think I came here alone?" I peeked around the corner only to have to pull back when another round was fired. I glared at Joey. "But you came alone – back here, where you knew your old friends would be waiting, why?"

Joey's jaw tensed. "You know why, Triple M."

"Yeah, I do – but I hope it was to see Mrs. Keller and not to get revenge on those who burned down her house."

Joey glared at me defiantly. "And what if it was? Mrs. K was the only one who ever believed in me and now she's fighting for her life. Those bastards deserve to be taught a lesson."

"How do you think she'd feel, Joey, if she knew you came back here to kill people on her behalf? When you came into WitSec, you told me you weren't a killer – that killing was the one thing you hadn't done. Are you going to become one now?"

Joey's shoulders slumped and he slapped the gun into my outstretched hand. The walkie talkie on my belt crackled to life. The other team of marshals said they had the gang members in custody and the area was safe.

"Well, how about it, Joey? You want to end up like your friends out there? You could still take this gun and go shoot them. Of course that would mean you'd end up in jail and you'd break Mrs. K's heart. Or you could come back home, make something of yourself and prove her right. It's up to you."

Joey gave a small smile. "I want to go home, Triple M."

I smiled and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Sounds good."

"But could I see Mrs. K. first?"

I groaned. "Do you have a death wish? It's too dangerous-" I held up my hand as Joey started to protest. "She's still unconscious anyway. Your trial's in a couple of weeks. I'll see if something can be worked out then, all right?"

"You promised."

I bit back laughter as Mary's jade eyes flashed angrily at me. "I'm sorry, Sunshine, but I was careful. I was wearing the vest and everything – but it doesn't cover my ears."

She grunted at me and her eyes flicked in disapproval at the gauze surrounding my left ear. "You swear it's just a scratch?"

I held up my fingers in the famous salute. "Scouts honor."

She snorted. "You were never a boy scout. You were too busy with science club, math club, French club-"

I sighed. "And none of them had a cool salute."

"I'll give you a salute-" she threatened as she held up her hand.

I laughed as I grabbed her hand, pulling her into me. "I missed you."

Her eyes softened as they met mine. "God help you, I think you mean that." She ran a hand over my bandaged ear softly. "I missed you too, Doofus. If you'd been gone much longer I think I might have chopped off Mom's hands."

"Was she getting touchy feely with your stomach?"

"I swear, Marshall, I'm going to have you buy me a T-shirt that says 'Do not touch'."

I laughed again. "As long as that T-shirt doesn't apply to me."

I watched as a light flush spread over her face. "No, I – it's different with you."

"How?"

Her flush deepened. "He likes you," she whispered.

I leaned into her personal space, stopping when my lips were just centimeters from hers. "What about you?" I breathed against her skin.

The heat flared into her eyes and she smiled wickedly. "I like you too."

"So who's ready to go home?"

We jumped apart to see a smiling Dr. Reese standing in the doorway, studying Mary's chart. She looked up to see our flushed faces and close proximity and her smile widened. "I'm sorry – am I interrupting?"

"No," I said, clearing my throat.

"I am so ready to go home. Are those my discharge papers?" Mary asked.

Dr. Reese chuckled and then proceeded for the next ten minutes to tell us in no uncertain terms exactly what mandatory bed rest meant.

"I don't want to see you in this hospital again until you're in labor, Mary. So please, please, stay off your feet, follow your diet, and listen to Marshall."

Mary nodded. "Can I go now?"

Dr. Reese rolled her eyes as she signed the papers. "Marshall, I know that Mary wasn't really paying attention, but you were, right?"

"Yes, Dr. Reese, I was. Peter and Brandi have already moved some things around in Mary's house to make it easier for the next several weeks and my clothes and personal effects are already there. If I have any questions, I promise I'll call."

Dr. Reese beamed. "I know I'm leaving her in capable hands." She stood to leave but then added, "I'm sure I don't have to mention this, but I will just in case. For Mary and the baby's safety, you two shouldn't have sexual intercourse until after the baby is born."

I felt my face grow hot even as I heard Mary giggle behind me. I turned to glare at her but for some reason that only made her giggle harder.

"Oh dear," Dr. Reese stammered. "Did I say something wrong?"

Sept 6th

"Get off me, you mongrel! Marshall!"

I stepped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around my waist and stuck my head out of the bathroom door. "Oscar!" I called. A moment later the dog padded into the bathroom. "Sit," I commanded, and he obediently curled up on the rug. "You know better than to wake Mary up in the morning anymore. She is not amused."

"I heard that."

I smiled as I hurriedly donned my work suit and clipped my badge to my hip. On my way through the living room I stopped by her bed to give her a proper good morning kiss.

"Did you sleep well?"

"No – what time did you get in last night anyway?"

"Four."

She groaned. "And you're leaving again already?"

"Yes. Stan called about twenty minutes ago. The FBI and the DEA are bringing in some important witness this morning."

She opened her eyes for the first time and really looked at me. "You look exhausted. Try and come home early – the three of us can take a nap together."

I laughed. "You just want me for my lullaby."

She pulled me down to her. "Not just for your lullaby." Her mouth moved over mine, hot and hungry.

I moaned. "I have to go, Sunshine." I caressed her belly lovingly and felt a couple of kicks in response. "And when I get home, you've really got to decide on those adoption files. You've had them for a month now."

She frowned and rolled away from me. "I know, but-"

"But what? Mer, why are you hesitating on this? Are you having second thoughts about adoption?" Hope, tenuous and fragile rose within me.

"I thought you had to go. You're going to be late, Marshall."

I sighed, realizing that she was shutting me out for the moment. I leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I'll be home later, Sunshine."

I walked into the office carrying a coffee caddy for me, Stan, and Delia. Delia smiled her thanks and motioned me towards her tray of muffins set up on Mary's desk.

"How is she?"

"Tired – mad I wasn't there to sing to the baby last night."

Delia laughed. "You are so that baby's daddy, Marshall."

I sighed.

"She's thirty weeks today, right?"

I nodded. "Two more to go and she's through the danger zone."

Delia crossed her fingers. "So, any ideas who this big mystery witness is?"

"Nope – but I hope we get things wrapped up here soon. I'm an old man and I need my sleep."

Delia laughed as Stan joined us from his office. "So here's the deal, kids. Our witness had been installing those new fangled solar panels in several different casinos in Vegas. Well, a couple of nights ago, he got a call that something had gone wrong and he needed to come down and check it out. While he was there working on it, he witnessed a murder and seconds later the casino was raided by the DEA and the FBI. We're being called in to protect him until the trial."

As Stan was wrapping up his spiel, I heard the elevator doors open and Delia scurried over to open the security doors for our guests.

"Marshall?"

I tensed at the sound of my name coming from a voice that was vaguely familiar and turned to meet the eyes of our new witness.

"Mark?"

Oh crap - Mark? As in Mary's ex, the baby's father? What the hell is going on? (evil laugh) Reviews are LOVE.