Hi, In Plain Sight people! I'm obsessedwithstabler, and while I've seen the show a handful of times, I've had a bit of a time getting into it. Until tonight's episode. Wow. I was always a fan of MaryMarshall, but now... wow. LOL. I know I'm articulate. They are absolutely amazing! This is my first shot at a fic for this show, so I'm a little nervous. But hopefully I won't get kicked back to my other shows. LOL. Enjoy, and please remember to review!

Disclaimer: Not mine!

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In Marshall's opinion, the night time was the cruelest time.

The night time had nearly brought about his demise, and now the night time loomed over him, threatening to take his partner from him for good. The night had never been his friend, and until now, had never been his enemy. Until now.

He swiped his hand through his messy hair as he waited for news of Mary. Raphael had convinced her mother and sister to finally go home after Mary had been rushed back into surgery, and now he was the only one who remained.

He had to see her. And he wouldn't walk out of the hospital until he did. They knew who shot her. They had the son of a bitch in custody, and he knew that there was nothing more he could do there. So he was going to stay right where he was until Mary's doctor found him and told him that she was going to be fine.

But when he finally did appear, Marshall suddenly wasn't as sure as he had been. As long as no one was looking for them, Mary was still in surgery, and still alive. But with her doctor approaching him, there was a chance that she was already gone. His shoulders slumped noticeably. God, he just wanted her to be okay. That was all he cared about.

Her doctor stopped in front of him, and Marshall demanded, "Is she going to be okay?"

"The next twenty four hours are going to be crucial," the doctor stated bluntly. "But if she survives them, I expect her to make a full recovery."

That was all Marshall needed to hear, and when the doctor offered to take him to her room for a few minutes, he felt overjoyed and relieved. If he could just see her, touch her and know she was alive, maybe he would be able to get her through this. What was he thinking? Of course he had to get her through this. She needed him to help her.

They finally reached her room, and everything else slid away as he approached her bed. There were too many monitors and incessant beeping to count, but he was afraid of the consequences brought about if one of them stopped. He finally reached her side, hesitating before he ran his fingers along her arm. "Mary..."

The ventilator by her bed hissed, and he watched in morbid fascination as her chest slowly rose and fell. Without thinking about it, he reached out and smoothed his hand over her hair, which was fanned out over her pillow. She had to be okay. She was too tough and too stubborn to die. She just was.

There was a chair behind him, and he slowly collapsed into it, then leaned forward and rested his head on her chest, just below her chin. He had shed more tears over this woman than any other person in his life, and she wasn't even his. But he loved her, more than anything.

"Stay with me, Mary," he whispered, sliding his hand into hers. "Just... keep fighting. Please."

A few minutes passed, and before he knew it, his exhaustion caught up with him. His eyes closed, and he slept.

As he slept restlessly, with his head still on her chest, Mary began to dream, too. And in that dream, she felt Marshall there with her. Her hand slowly moved from her side and buried itself in his thick, dark hair.

Neither one was ready or willing to give up the other.

And the night finally gave way to dawn.

The End

A/N: I know, short. But I felt like it was done, and hopefully I'll come up with another post ep for this ep soon. Thanks for reading, and please remember to review and tell me what you guys thought! And for those of you who are taking this jump with me, thanks! All of you guys are wonderful, and I hope that my style of writing will be enjoyed by other IPS fans. Thanks again!