A new take post finale, hope you all enjoy!

It was Friday night and Mary was inwardly praying that a witness called with a situation. There was a long lonely weekend awaiting her, which should've made her ecstatic, but Norah was going to spend the weekend with her father, Mark.

This would be the first time Norah spent a weekend away from her. When she agreed with Mark's pleading to let her come stay with him for the weekend, she really thought she would be okay with that, but apparently she hadn't thought it through. Now, the thought of coming to an empty house, which was the one thing she had prayed for-for a really long time when she had a full house, made her uneasy and lonely.

Mary was so busy contemplating what to do to pass the time throughout the weekend that she hadn't seen Marshall leave his office and walk towards her desk.

Marshall had seen her private struggle and sadly sighed deeply, they hadn't been close since he spoke to her on the balcony. He never thought their friendship would take a plunge so deep down that there would never be light upon it. He was afraid to lose his best-friend, but he knew that it was happening.

Ever since 'the talk' where she swore that she was happy for him and Abigail, she had taken a step back from their friendship. At first he was grateful that she had understood, but now it seemed like she was shutting him out. She hadn't brought Norah back to the office, instead she would call to let him know she was running late or just call out to take care of her.

That morning Abigail had convinced him to invite Mary to dinner, he was glad that his fiancée was coming around, making an effort to include Mary in their lives. A life that he saw with a wife and his best-friend.

Mary leaned back on her chair and pinched the bridge of her nose with thumb and forefinger. She was thinking of hitting a bar for a few drinks, but thought against it almost immediately.

She opened her eyes and cerulean eyes locked with hers, she jumped and cursed under her breath.

"Hey, Mare, you have any plans with Norah this weekend?" he stood with hands on hips looking down at her.

"No plans," she muttered as she straightened her paperwork.

"I'm sure with a little girl you must have something to do, maybe the park?" he asked nonchalantly.

He caught her off guard asking about her weekend and her daughter that she answered without thinking, "She's spending the weekend at Mark's."

"Mark moved out?" he asked surprised, she hadn't shared that information with him. What else have you kept from me?

"Huh...yeah, I guess," she murmured as she signed a few reports, she had forgotten that she hadn't told him that little tidbit.

Marshall just stared at her in disbelief, shaking his head he asked the question he had dreaded to ask since Abigail asked him.

"Well then, if you have no plans you're coming home with me tonight," he announced with a huge smile on his face, the smile not reaching his eyes.

Mary dropped her pen in surprise and arched an eyebrow at him, "Am I really?"

"Yes, dinner at Casa de..." he was cut off.

"No way in hell am I coming home with you for a family dinner. Nuh-uh, not in a million years," she argued shaking her head furiously. "I don't even have dinner with Jinx and Brandi."

"Come on, Mare, we haven't hung out in...uh...quite a while," he started strong, but at the end he just muttered the rest.

"Nope"

"Please...don't make me beg, Mare. Free food."

Mary looked up at him and the pleading in his eyes, as much as she hated to spend family time with anyone, she didn't have anything else planned. And in her books, free food always trumped lonely empty house.

"Fine, but I'm warning you now. As soon as the last bite crosses my esophagus I'm out of there," she threatened as she stood up pointing a finger at him dangerously.

But he took it in stride, "Yes, whatever you say. As soon as the pie crosses your esophagus you are out of there. Thanks Mare."

She looked up at his expectant blue gaze, he looked at her like an excited child that finally got what he wished for.

"Alright, I'll see you in a bit then," he walked away smiling brightly.

Marshall walked into his house with a wide smile on his face, he hung his jacket on a hook by the door as he dropped the keys on the table against the wall. His smile froze in place when he turned into the living room. He came to a halt as he saw several couples sitting around and chatting with Abigail.

As soon as his fiancée spot him against the threshold she smiled up at him and gingerly walked towards him, "Honey Britches! We've been waiting for you."

"Uh, I thought this was supposed to be a quiet dinner with just us and Mary," he whispered angrily at her.

Abigail's expression fell slightly before she turned to the group, "Hey guys, dinner will be served shortly."

She pulled him into the kitchen and closed the door, "What is wrong with you? Those are our friends and you just embarrassed me!"

"Well I'm sorry Abigail, but you made this dinner out to be just something to include Mary in our lives, not a damn dinner party!" he scowled as he swirled around and leaving her in the kitchen alone.

Entering his bedroom he pulled out his cell phone to call Mary and cancel, but the cell phone was pulled from his grasp, "Those are our friends and it'll be good for Mary to get to know new people. She needs other friends other than you, Sugar Britches."

He never thought her southern voice would annoy him, but apparently she finally reached the point. She came around to face him and touched his cheek, "Come on, Marshall."

"Fine," he knew it would be a mistake to bring Mary into that sort of situation without any fair warning, he also knew that it would cost him. He just hoped she would forgive him without inflicting any pain.

The doorbell rang and he jumped as Abigail left their bedroom with a squeal.

Mary stood outside Marshall's house waiting for them to open the door, a bottle of wine in one hand and the other in her jacket jingling her keys. Muttering in frustration when he took long, then suddenly light spilled out and there on the front door stood Abigail Chaffee.

"Hey Detective," she muttered as she thrust her hand out holding the wine out to the other woman.

"Hello Mary, come in, come in. You can call me Abigail, we're not working. This is just dinner with friends," Abigail said cheerily.

Mary groaned as she crossed the threshold and closed the door behind her. She followed Abigail to the living room and froze as she rounded into the room, much like Marshall. All she saw was red when she saw all the couples sitting around in the living room, she smiled at the group, the smile coming out like a grimace.

"Hey guys, this is Mary Shannon, one of Marshall's Inspector. Mary, this is our friends," the last words grated on Mary's last nerve, she was annoyed that the detective had dismissed her friendship with Marshall. It hadn't been her fault that the friendship was on a shaky ground, she wanted to turn and run out of this farce of dinner party. Mary knew that everyone there was judging her for not playing dress up.

Marshall walked out of his bedroom into the awkward moment, he looked on as everyone stared at her funny, something that really upset him. Looking at Mary he cringed at her expression of rage, "Hey Mare, I'm glad you finally made it. Abigail is about to serve dinner."

Mary rolled her eyes without meeting his eyes, she looked away from him and shrugged out of her jacket, throwing it across the only empty chair. All the women turned to look at each other at her actions and hid their smiles behind their wine glasses. The men stared at her in amazement, in appreciation, something that Marshall still wasn't used to, something that really bothered him.

She was wearing curve hugging jeans and a red tank top that hugged her chest as it enhanced it, her boots along with her posture making her almost as tall as him by a few inches.

Abigail saw the awkward situation and announced cheerily, "Why don't we all move to the dining room? I'm going to start serving dinner. Hope you all like chicken fried steak, mash' potatoes and vegetables."

All the women aww'ed and oohh'ed at the food as Mary sat as far away as she could from Marshall, she wanted out of there and the sooner the cheerleader served dinner, the sooner she could get out of dodge. What the hell did I get myself into? she thought.

Then the doorbell rang yet again, Abigail's face lit up and she practically sprinted to the door. Marshall turned to look at his former partner, but she avoided his gaze as she answered the man across from her. He knew that she had made the conscience decision to sit as far away from him as she could, which already told him where her emotions lay.

"So, how long have you known Marshall?" asked the man across from her.

"Eleven years," she muttered, her ear towards the front door.

Turning into the dining room Abigail came in with another man, Mary looked behind them for the man's wife, but no one followed them. The man was slightly shorter than Marshall, with blonde wavy hair that curled into the nape of his neck, a chiseled jaw with a five o'clock shadow and bright blue eyes, if you liked that type. He was bulkier than Marshall's scrawny body, but she knew otherwise, she had seen him many times with only a wife beater. She knew that Marshall only had a scrawny body appearance, but underneath all that clothes lay a man made of slick steel. She turned back to the man across from her, but was interrupted when she saw Abigail approach her through the corner of her eye.

Abigail walked straight to her and said excitedly, "Mary, this is Jefferson Morris, he's a new detective in the department. He just started working here in Albuquerque a few weeks ago." turning back to her guest, she pointed to a chair next to Mary.

She mumbled a greeting as she took a sip of her water, praying that her hair covered the blush creeping up her neck, never had she been embarrassed as she was at that very moment. A set-up! This is a God damn set-up? I'm going kill Marshall!

TBC