Author's Note: So, here it is, my next IPS story. I was going to wait until I got a few chapters written before starting to post this, but I got too excited. I figure this way you guys can tell me whether to give it up completely or keep trying. I hope you enjoy!

MARY'S STORY

Mary glanced around the overly decorated reception hall. Everywhere she looked, she was assaulted with hearts, lights, and pink. It was exactly the type of wedding that she pictured the cheerleading detective would have. It was not, however, what she pictured her former-partner-now-boss-and-kinda-sorta-best-frien d-though-they-didn't-talk-outside-of-the-office-an ymore having. Mary supposed that was the point, though, that she no longer knew what type of wedding that Marshall Mann would want to have. She no longer knew much about him at all.

"Mary, we need to talk," Stan growled, startling her by seemingly coming out of nowhere. He didn't wait for Mary to respond before grabbing her arm and marching her out of the hall and into an empty room.

"Stan, what the hell?" Mary demanded when he finally released her.

Stan put his hands on his hips, the vein in his forehead visibly throbbing. "So, I just got an interesting phone call." Mary froze. "It seems that your transfer was approved. Here's the funny thing: I don't remember seeing a transfer request coming across my desk. So, you tell me, Mary, what the hell?"

Mary lowered her gaze to his collar. "I called in a few favors. Got around the chain of command."

"Why?"

"Why?" Mary repeated, stalling for time. She wondered if she could ever fully explain to her former boss and secret mentor the torment that she felt every time she drove around Albuquerque; how it felt that the entire city was closing in her; how she couldn't escape the ghosts of her past that haunted her at every turn. "There have been a lot of changes in my life lately, Stan. Some of them you know about; some of them you don't."

Stan rubbed his jaw. "Marshall hasn't mentioned anything."

Mary's face grew into stone and her voice flat. "Marshall doesn't know. I'm a big girl. I can live my own life."

"I didn't mean to imply otherwise," he told her, slowly, knowing to cautiously wade into Mary's emotional waves. "Why don't you tell me what's going on?"

"It started with my dad dying and Brandi returning," Mary explained. She didn't want to tell him, but it was as if some unseeing force was propelling her to do so. "Things seemed to be settled for a few months after all of that, but… ever since then, it's been one disaster after another."

Stan sat down in one of the chairs and motioned for Mary to do the same. "Go on."

Mary rubbed her eye. "You know that Brandi came home pregnant, right?" She waited for Stan to nod before continuing. "She had a little girl, Teagan, in October. Motherhood… did not come easy to Brandi, and it only got worse after Mark moved to Atlanta in November."

"He got a job there, right?"

"Yeah. I needed to focus more attention on Norah's adjustment and I couldn't quite be there for Brandi the way that she needed." Mary took a deep breath. "I came home in the middle of December to find her in bed with Kenny."

Stan frowned. "Kenny? The guy you brought to my going away party?"

Mary nodded. "I knew he was scum. I just let myself get blinded by his charm after my father passed away. I mean, the first time he tried to pick me up, he used his kid."

"Ugh," Stan moaned.

"Yeah, well…" Mary's voice trailed off there. "Anyway, Brandi took off a few weeks later, leaving Teagan. It's been hard, Stan. Really hard. I mean, my mom's been helping, but the girls are nineteen and five months. They're really just too much for her all the time. And with these hours, you can see the problem."

"I thought Mark's mother was watching Norah?" he asked, confused.

Mary shot him a half smile. "She had to leave in September when Mark's sister found out that she was having twins." Mary paused, licking her lips. "This job, the one in Baltimore, it's protecting a judge in a courtroom. I'll hand her off to other marshals at the end of each day. I'll be home to make dinner for the girls every night and there's no weekend work. I have to make some changes for my kids."

Stan sighed, knowing she was right. He had reservations enough when it was just Norah, but throwing another one into the mix definitely complicated things. As much as it killed him to lose her from Albuquerque and from WitSec, it was the right choice for her situation. Still, one thing bothered him.

"Why didn't you discuss this with Marshall?"

"I-" Mary swallowed hard. It was the question that she had been dreading since Stan dragged her into the room. "You know that Marshall and I have redefined our friendship, right?"

Stan nodded, thinking about all the agonizing calls that he had received from Marshall last summer over the decision to put Abigail first instead of Mary as he had for the last nine years. "But you're still friends."

Mary shrugged so slightly that if Stan hadn't been watching her closely, he would have missed it. "Sure. The thing is that if I tell him about what's going on, he's going to want to fix it. You and I both know that Marshall can't just sit back. He had the wedding and Abigail. I couldn't bring him back into my problems." Mary brushed a piece of hair from her face. "I had a friend who owed me a favor and got me the posting. I figure that with Marshall out of the office the next month, it will be best to leave then. Less drama."

"Mary, he's going to be devastated," Stan countered.

"Not anymore," she whispered. Mary felt her ire grow when Stan opened his mouth to protest further. "Look, you can go in there and tell him, screwing the happiest day of his life and his honeymoon or you can let me handle this the way I want."

Stan rubbed the top of his head. She had backed him into a corner just as he should have known that she would do. There was no way he was going to screw up Marshall's day. "Fine. We'll do it your way, but I don't like it Mary. I think it's a crummy way to end a ten year friendship."

Mary sighed in relief. "Thank you. You know, Baltimore is pretty close to DC. We can have dinner." Mary's phone rang and she held up a finger. "Hello? Hi, Mom. No, it's fine. Well, did you take her temperature? Okay. I'm on my way. No, don't worry about it. I'll be home soon." Mary stood and waved good-bye as she continued to talk on the phone.

"Hey, have you seen Mary?" Marshall asked when Stan re-joined the festivities. "Abigail's about to throw the bouquet and really wants her to catch it."

"Um, yeah. Mary had to go home. Norah's not feeling well," Stan explained, his stomach dropping as he withheld the rest of the information from Marshall.

Marshall deflated slightly. "Oh. Well, I guess I'll just have to harass her when I get back. Can you believe it, Stan? An entire month of no responsibilities!"

Stan chuckled as Marshall bounced off. He hoped the younger man had a good time on his honeymoon. He was going to be blind-sided when he got back.