I do not own any of the wonderful characters of In Plain Sight and this is strictly for non-profit entertainment value.
Mary Shannon was seven months pregnant. She still couldn't believe it herself. She didn't like kids and she hated the idea that people were now seeing her as a fragile flower, too delicate to hold a gun and much too fragile to go out in the field. "Never again," she vowed, "will I have a passionate, one-night stand with an ex without using protection."
She spun around in her chair. Stan had found paperwork for her to do. Mounds and mounds of it. Mary was almost caught up in paperwork for the first time since she started in Albuquerque.
Stan poked his head out of his office. "Mary, would you fax the Teresa Andersson's records over to the Tulsa office? Marshall and Delia are moving her today. That classmate that saw her probably has nothing to do with the drug cartel that is after her, but it'll be better to make sure that she's safe."
"She's my fucking witness, Stan, and you sent the two bimbos off to make sure she doesn't get killed on the way? Christ, Stan." Mary scowled at her boss.
"Mary, I'm serious. Fax those records now."
"Stan, I'm not your fucking secretary. Get a fucking secretary and stop bothering me." Mary shot back.
Stan strode out of his office, looking less than pleased with his inspector. He loomed over her desk with a glare to match her own.
"Mary, you're ticked because you're stuck here while Marshall and Delia move your witness. You know that it's not possible for you to go on a potentially dangerous trip while you're in this condition," Stan logically pointed out. "So, while you're here and have very little to do, I need you to fax Teresa's records to Tulsa. That's an order."
Mary looked at Stan for a moment. "Go to hell, Stan. Fucking go to hell."
"That's it, Mary. I've had enough of your whining and insubordination. Everyone in the office is sick of you and your bad attitude. I'm sick of it. Delia's sick of it. Even Marshall can't wait to get away from you. Your attitude is bringing everyone down. You're suspended for three days."
Mary had turned pale. Even Marshall can't wait to get away from you. The words kept circling in her mind. Everyone is sick of you.
"Oh gee, Stan. I hadn't realized that being pregnant made me completely incapable of independent thought. I hadn't realized that being pregnant automatically made me your secretary. I thought that's what secretary's were for. Where's Eleanor when you need her? Oh, that's right, she left, Stan. She didn't want to be in a relationship with you, so she left. So, until you get someone else, do your own damn paperwork, Stan." Mary had stood up, pulled on her jacket, and was almost at the door when Stan interrupted her.
"Don't even bother coming in on Thursday, Mary. You're done for a week."
"Fine by me, Stan. Fine by me," Mary yelled as she stalked out the door.
Only in the elevator did Mary begin to lose her rage. She ran a hand through her hand and wiped her eyes. The whole situation was a mess. Mary never intended to get pregnant. Ever. But it had happened and now she needed to deal with the consequences.
The plan was to give the baby up for adoption. There were thousands of women praying for a baby. One of them would be a much more capable mother than she could ever be. Just look at her mother.
The elevator doors opened and Mary hurried to the purple Probe that Peter had found to replace the replacement Probe. She recklessly drove home, blowing through at least red lights. Stan's words had unnerved her.
Even Marshall can't wait to get away from you. Her best friend. Her only friend. Even Brandi couldn't really be considered a friend, only a sister. She would always suspect Brandi of falling back to her old ways and Brandi would never be able to forgive her for it. Anyways, Brandi was getting married to Peter in three months and then she wouldn't come over as much anyways. Mary wasn't even Brandi's maid of honor. Some floozy twenty-something year-old friend from school got that honor. Mary couldn't blame Brandi because the other girl, Suzy, or something, showed much more interest in wedding planning than Mary ever could. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt.
Even Marshall can't wait to get away from you. He had gotten more distant lately, but she'd attributed most of it to time spent with Abigail. Mary only got to visit the most stable witnesses, so she'd spent less time with him at work, too. Abigail and Marshall seemed to getting pretty serious. They'd been going out for seven months now, and Marshall had been talking about asking her to move in with him soon. Mary knew that Marshall deserved someone to love him but that didn't stop her from feeling jealous. Everything was changing.
Even Marshall can't wait to get away from you. It wasn't true, was it? It couldn't be true. After all, Mary had dinner planned with Marshall on Thursday. He was taking her to that Mexican place that they both liked. Stan was wrong. Marshall didn't want to leave her.
Mary pulled into her driveway and parked in the garage. She had no idea what she would do all week. Jinx was in Colorado for some kind of ballet convention. Brandi was in town, but she was probably too busy having sex with Peter to come entertain her bored, pregnant sister. Brandi could manage to get her sister kidnapped by a drug dealer and almost die, but God forbid she repay her sister back with any small favors.
Mary settled down on the couch to watch Die Hard again. She'd only seen it a million times, but it always cheered her up. Something about shooting lots of bad guys and lots of swearing made her heart glow. She would call Marshall later. He'd smooth things over with Stan. He might even be able to talk Stan into letting her come in to work on Wednesday or Thursday. Mary lay down on the house and resigned herself to yet another lonely day in an empty house.