This was meant to be posted after Xmas/before New Years, but alas, RL had me by the neck and it wasn't finished yet. I'll probably have time to post once a week unless I have more time during the week. Please enjoy!

December 29, 2014...2am

"Hello", she croaked into the phone, still half asleep as she tried to will herself awake.

There was a pause before the caller asked, "Mary?"

"Yeah, who's this?" she asked in a low growl, it was like waking a bear from hibernation.

"Mary Shannon?"

"Yes!" Mary sat up and rubbed her eyes to clear the remnants of sleep, her marshal training had her trying to remember the voice. It wasn't any of their witnesses, she was sure of that. None of the office employees either.

Another long pause, "I-is...do…I…Marshall?"

Mary finally realized that there was some static on the phone line, "Marshall? What about Marshall? Did something happen to him? Hello!"

More silence.

"Answer me!" she jumped up and started for her closet, pulling out jeans and a sweater. She held the phone between shoulder and ear, "Hello!" She didn't want to panic, but why would they call about Marshall if something bad hadn't happened.

"Yeah, still here, sorry about that. The hospital has terrible reception," said the person on the line, now she realized through her near panic that it was a man's voice.

"What happened to Marshall? What hospital is he in? Is he okay?" she demanded as she fell back on her bed trying to pull up her jeans, the phone fell away onto the bed and she scrambled around, reaching for it before placing it back on her ear.

"Nothing happened to him…" he was cut off.

"Oh God, did something happen to Abigail? Is she okay?" she asked as she reached for the sweater and tried to pull it over her head and keep the phone pressed to her ear. She knew how much it would affect Marshall if he lost his fiancée; she felt a pang in her heart at the fizzle of pleasure she felt.

"It's not Abigail either," the voice said in exasperation, "If you'd let me fi…"

"Jesus! What the hell is this? This better not be a freaking joke…" she stopped struggling with her clothes and sat on the edge of her bed, running shaky fingers through her hair. The thought that something bad could happen or could've happened to Marshall left her on edge.

"If you'd let me finish, I would be able to tell you. How the hell did my brother end up with a grouch like you as a partner? He's definitely good for sainthood," the man grumbled before saying, "My brother gave us your number in case of an emergency…and no, nothing's wrong with him or Abigail. Its…its…*sniff*…It's our mother."

Mary sat up straight and her heart ached as she thought the worst, whispering, "What's wrong with your mother?"

She knew how much Marshall loved his mother and how close he was to her, she also knew that if something happened to Mrs. Mann and he wasn't around, he would never forgive himself and he'd feel guilty for not being there.

"She…uh…*clear throat*…collapsed and she's unresponsive in the ICU at Texas General," Marshall's brother explained.

She frowned as she lay back on her bed, confused as to why Marshall's brother would call her and not her former partner, "This is going to sound insensitive, but why'd you call me and not your brother?"

"We've been trying to contact him, but his phone is either off or he's off the grid," the brother explained with an exasperated sigh.

"Yeah, he's definitely off the grid," she murmured as she sat up again, "He was going into the mountains to spend New Year's weekend with his fiancée."

"Oh, is there a way…I mean, I hate to ask, but is there a way you can call or contact him? We really need him here," the brother sounded exhausted and running on fumes. She turned to the clock on her bedside table and noted the time, 2am.

She inwardly sighed sadly and murmured, "Which brother are you?"

"Oh my God, I'm so rude! I'm Andrew, but you can call me Andy," he said apologetically.

"No problem Andy, I'll find him for you and let him know," she said as she sat up again and went to check on Norah.

"Thank you so much Mary, I'm sorry about the grouch comment, you're exactly what Marshall has always raved about," the brother thanked her again before hanging up.

Mary pushed end on her cell and tucked it into her jeans pocket, she went into Norah's bedroom to check that the baby was asleep and grabbed her diaper bag, feeling it up with diapers, wipes and extra sets of clothes, as soon as she was done she pulled her cell phone out again.

The phone rang on the other end a few times before a female answered, "Mary?"

"Yeah, wake up, we have a little situation," Mary said as she strolled back to her bedroom, looking for the pair of long johns that Marshall had once given her when she bitched and moaned about the cold getting through her jeans.

"I'm up, what's the situation?"

"Operation: Where the hell is Marshall?"

There was a long pause before Delia said, "I don't know where he is."

"Bullshit! You know everything, this is an emergency"

"What kind of emergency?"

"His mom, she's really sick"

"Ha! Good one, I don't know where he is. I can't believe you would use something like that Mary, that's a new low, even for you. Leave the Chief alone. You know how hard he's been working to keep the office and his relationship afloat at the same time," the other woman was protesting on her end, thinking that Mary was just trying to pull a fast one on her.

"Look Delia, I'm really serious here. His brother just called to ask me to find him. Either help me if you can, or I gotta go and try to figure out where he's at, if it takes me the rest of the night and me knocking on every hotel room door…" Mary hated to beg, but she was pleading for him, just in case something did happen to his mom.

Another lengthy pause, "You swear on all that's holy to you that you're not just trying to screw around with the Chief?"

"Yes!" she rolled her eyes at the dramatic rant.

"Fine, he's in the Sandia Mountains, there are some cabins that cater to honeymooners and/or just a couple trying to rekindle something or other, not sure exactly which one though," Delia sighed heavily and Mary could hear a thud, she guessed that her partner had gone back to bed. "You better make sure he doesn't find out that I told you this!"

"Bye!" she closed her eyes, she didn't want to know how well he was spending his vacation with his fiancée, and it was enough knowing that they were together at that moment to cause her heartburn.

It hadn't been easy for her to see it, but after he had given her the 'you need to release me' speech, she had really truly seen him for what he was. Not only had he been her best friend and her rock, he had become so much more for her, without the – losing your best friend and partner veil – things all became clear to her. And now it was too late for her to voice her emotions, not that she would ever admit to feeling anything but friendship towards him. He deserved to have a happily ever after.

And with that heavy note Mary went to her closet for a thick coat, if she was going to go traipsing around in the icy New Mexico Mountains, she would gear up. With the heavy cold weather that this season had brought, she knew she would need as much warmth as she could muster.

She went back to Norah's bedroom and started to wrap her sleeping daughter in some warm clothes, the toddler didn't even wake. At a year, she was all of Mary's daughter, she was grouchy when woken up from a deep slumber, it was hard to wake her once she was out and she was loud when she needed to be heard.

She grabbed for her cell phone as soon as she finished dressing the child, after a third ring Mark picked up, "Hey, what's up?"

"I have to go somewhere, emergency…can you come get Norah?" Mary asked without preamble.

"Uh…I would, but…hmm…did you forget that I would be back in Jersey, visiting some family?" he asked gruffly, not mad at her for forgetting.

"Oh, shit! I'm sorry Mark, I totally forgot…look don't sweat it, I'll figure it out. Bye!" she didn't wait to hear another word from him; she hung up and dialed Brandi.

Brandi had moved in with Peter after the baby had been born, he had forgiven her for running off and they were as settled as Brandi could get. After a while, Mary gave up and ended the call, knowing that Brandi and Peter wouldn't be picking up. She groaned in frustration and grabbed the car seat, putting Norah in it and fastening the safety straps. The child barely moved throughout the whole ordeal.

Mary jumped into her minivan and jumped right out, went into her garage and brought the chains, she knew she would need them.

TBC...Will she be able to find him?