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Unplanned Life

"I'm going to go…" Marshall leaned closer to Mary to say.

"What?" She turned to face him. "We're here because we haven't been out for a beer in months…"

"I know…But this is just weird…"

"Why?"

"Because you're on a double date and I've tagged along!" He nodded his head towards Brandi, Peter and Raph who weren't paying the partners any attention.

"Technically, they crashed our night out…"

It had been a long couple of weeks and Mary had been feeling guilty about keeping her engagement a secret so long from Marshall. Since he found out there had been distant between the two of them and Mary missed her best friend.

Now it was Friday night and she managed to convince him to grab a beer with her, except when Raph had found out, he invited himself along with her family and instead of the Irish style pub they liked to go to, they ended up in a Mexican restaurant, ordering dinner.

"Hello…." Jinx's voice sang out as she walked towards the table.

"See, Jinx is here…So, you're not the odd one out." Mary patted his arm then noticed the look on his face. "What now?"

"You do realize that you just turned this into a triple date…With me coupling up with your mother?"

Mary stared at him for a few seconds before wincing. "Yeah, there's an image that'll haunt me for life…"

"I'm going to go." He said again, standing up but he didn't notice a woman and ended up colliding with her. "Oh, I'm so sorry..."

"It's my fault…" The woman started but then trailed off. "Marshall?"

He looked up quickly and his mouth fell open. "Tia?"

"Oh my god…" She stared at him. "I can't believe it's you…"

He was still stunned to see her when she stepped forward and hugged him tightly. When she pulled away, he shook his head slightly, telling himself to get it together.

"You look amazing…" He told her, his hand automatically finding hers.

She let out a small laugh. "So do you…What are you doing here? Last I heard you were in Boston."

"I moved a few years ago…I work here." He replied. "What about you?"

"My niece is looking at colleges….She wanted to check out New Mexico State University." She explained.

"You have a niece?"

"Yeah, Tayler…She's just about to turn 16." Tia gave him a small smile. "Jo and I took the summer off so she could see some colleges but I think she's more interested in getting out of Michigan."

Marshall's struggled to listen after she said 16…Realizing that a long time had passed since he last saw her. Tayler must have been born, not long after he left…He was suddenly hit with the memory of Emily. He still thought about her most days but over the years the memories became less raw. Except for times like this when it suddenly sneaked up on him and his mind starting working in overdrive…He would try and imagine what she would be like now…She would be 19 years old…A college student. She said she was going to be a doctor when she grew up…He wondered whether she would have kept her three-year old dream or think of another career she loved more.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to interrupt your evening…" Tia said, breaking him back to the present, recognizing the grief on his face.

Marshall glanced back when he saw her looking past him to the table. "You're not…This is my partner…Mary Shannon."

Mary stood up, looking between the two of them curiously. She had never seen Marshall so thrown by another person before.

"Mare, this is my…." Marshall started but then stopped suddenly, remembering he hadn't told Mary about his past and was guessing her finding out he had secrets would not go down too well. "This is Tia Wytte…"

"Nice to meet you…" Tia smiled slightly at her, noticing him stumbling over who she was.

"You too…" Mary replied, looking at Marshall again. Any other time, she would tease him about how nervous he seemed to be about her meeting a girl from his past but there seemed to be something different this time.

"How do you know, Marshall?" Brandi questioned, leaning forward eagerly.

Mary rolled her eyes. "Sorry, my sister likes to know everyone else business..."

Tia laughed quietly. "My sister is the same…"

"I'm Raphael…Mary's fiancée…" Raphael stood up and shook her hand.

"Fiancée?" Tia repeated. "But I thought…"

"She's my work partner." Marshall corrected her quickly. "I…uh, I joined the Marshal Service after leaving Michigan."

"You did?" She suddenly hugged him again. "Oh, I'm so happy you did."

It took him a second but then he hugged her back, remembering how perfectly she fitted into his arms.

"Wait…You didn't know he was a marshal?" Brandi asked. "So, you know him from a long time ago…."

"We went to college together." Tia explained taking a step back but still didn't pull her hand out of his.

"Wow, you must have some good stories on him…" Mary tried to lighten the mood. "Tell me, was he a bigger geek then, then he is now?"

Marshall sighed. "Mary…."

"I don't know…" Tia shrugged. "He's a pretty great guy…"

"Oh, you guys have a history…" Jinx waved a finger between the two of them.

"Come on, dish the dirt." Brandi teased. "We know hardly anything about Marshall's past."

"This is probably not the time or place to talk about this…" Marshall ran a hand through his hair.

"Why don't you join us?" Jinx invited, pulling out the empty chair beside her.

"Sorry… We were just about to leave…" Tia said quickly.

"Aunt Tia?"

They all turned around and again Marshall froze. He guessed the teenage girl was Tia niece because she looked exactly like Joanne and Tia; which meant she looked like Emily. She was the image of what he dreamed Emily would look like. He noticed Tia shooting him an apologetic look and he knew she had read his mind.

"Honey, why don't you give your Mom a call and see if she wants us to bring her back any dinner?" Tia suggested.

Taylor nodded slowly but her eyes were on Marshall. "Okay."

"Sorry about that." Tia turned back to Marshall once Taylor had walked back to their table.

"She looks like…"

"I know." Tia cut him off. "Look, I've ruined your evening…I'll leave you to get back to your dinner."

"But you haven't told us any stories yet." Brandi piped up, earning a glare from Mary.

"Sorry, I promised Taylor we would get some ice cream for dessert and my sister is back at the hotel with a headache, so…"

"They have ice cream here." Brandi stated.

"Brandi, stop it." Mary told her. "She doesn't want to stay…."

"I'm sorry…" Tia smiled politely. "Thank you for the offer though."

"There's a diner about 10 minutes from here…" Marshall told Tia. "They have the best pistachio ice cream…"

"My favorites."

"I remember…"

"Okay, there is definitely something between the two of you…" Jinx grinned. "College sweethearts? First love? The one that got away…"

Tia looked to Marshall again to allow him to decide what to tell the group that seemed interested in her.

The only thing that was holding Marshall back from telling them the truth was that Mary didn't know. He didn't know how she would react to finding out in the middle of a busy restaurant in front of her family. Their friendship was complex…special…It wasn't a normal friendship. They didn't have to talk a lot to know what the other was thinking and they knew each other's weakness and strengths.

Then there was Tia…The love of his life…Jinx's three suggestions were correct and he knew Tia would not say anymore then Marshall wanted to but he also knew it would hurt her feelings by not admitting just how much they meant to each other.

"We used to be married…" He said quickly before he could change his mind and avoided looking at his partner. "We got married when we were 19…"

"Married?" Mary repeated, her mouth falling open as she stared at him.

"It's kind of a long story." Tia added and then glanced back to see Taylor stood by their table waiting. "I really have to go."

Marshall nodded and leaned forward to kiss her cheek. "It was really nice to see you."

"You too." She squeezed his hand before pulling it away and then hesitated to before speaking again. "Do you…do you want to join us?"

"What?"

"Come get ice cream with us…" She shrugged; trying to act like it was no big deal. "We could catch up….I've missed you."

"That would be great." Marshall answered without allowing his mind to come up with reasons why he shouldn't. He glanced back at the table behind them. Raphael and Peter, talking quietly with each other, seemingly not interested in them. Jinx and Brandi were grinning at him and Mary was looking back and forth between him and Tia. He knew she would want answers but he wasn't in the mood to give them to her tonight. "Mare, I'll see you tomorrow…"

"We were meant to hang out." Mary finally found her voice.

"I know but we can anytime." He replied. "I'm sorry…You guys have a great night."

"Marshall?!" She called after him but he was already gone.

"What the big deal?" Raph asked, looking up at her. "They've probably got a lot of catching up to do…."

"We had plans!"

"Well, we can still have a good night…" He frowned. "We don't need Marshall…"

She sighed and sat down but didn't say anymore. She didn't want to cause trouble by seeming to prefer to spend time with Marshall then her fiancée.

"How cool would it be if they got back together?" Brandi commented causing Mary to scowl.

"Don't be ridicules…" She told her sister. "That's not going to happen."

"I don't know…There was a spark there." Jinx added.

Mary rolled her eyes. "This is not some kind of lifetime movie…I know Marshall and that is not going to happen."

"You didn't know he used to be married…" Raph muttered.

"What?"

"I'm just saying, that maybe you don't know him as well as you think you did if he ever told you, he used to married."

"He's my best friend." Mary glared at him. "We don't need to know every detail of each other's past to know each other and I know there is something more there…I know there's something off about that woman."

"Oh, Mary…" Jinx sighed. "You have such a suspicious mind."

"No, Mom…I have a realistic mind and don't look at things through rose tinted glasses."

"Why don't we just move and order dinner?" Raph suggested, knowing Mary was growing more annoyed with each second.

"Fine." She muttered, picking up her menu.

She didn't want to discuss it any more than Raph did because she knew he wouldn't react well to her apparent jealous feeling towards the woman her partner just left with. She was not used to feeling jealous and had no idea why she felt like this. Marshall was her best friend and she was engaged to a great guy that she loved…She wanted her partner to be as happy as her…Happier than her. There was just something about Tia that Mary couldn't put her finger on. There was more to their story and Mary was wondering what happened that was so terrible that Marshall never spoke about this girl or his marriage. The only thing that she could think of was that it hurt him…that she had hurt him and if that was true, there was no way she was going to stand by and let her do it again.

XxXxX

"So, do you like it here?" Tia questioned Marshall as she sat opposite him in the diner's booth. Taylor had gone to the bathroom, giving them the first chance to talk.

"I do." He said truly. "It feels like home."

"Well, at least you're closer to your family here…"

"I do get to see Mike and Tommy a bit more." He referred to his brother. "But they both have families now and busy with work, it's not very often."

"What about your parents?"

Marshall sighed and shrugged. "My mom…she tries, I guess…but she acts like it never happened…that Emily was never here and I hate that…And Dad, well…He doesn't really talks to me…Which is fine by me because I don't think I could ever forgive them for how they acted…"

"Marshall…" Tia whispered, reaching across the table and placed her hand on top of his.

"Forget about all that…that's all old news." He forced a smile. "Taylor seems like a great kid..."

Tia grinned. "She is…It was hard at first, you know being around her…watching Jo being a Mom after everything we went through but in a way she helped me…I do miss being a Mom but I love being an aunt too…"

"I'm glad." Marshall said softly. "You could have called me, you know…If you needed to talk…"

"It was time to move on…for both of us." Tia stated. "And sadly, we needed to be apart to do that…"

"Yeah…" Marshall agreed with a sigh.

"Still didn't stop me from missing you though…" She added. "Or wishing things were different."

"Do you ever wonder what our lives would be like now if Emily was still here?"

"Something..." she admitted, looking down at their joined hands. "Sometimes it feels like it was someone else's life…"

"I know." He replied then ran a hand across the back of his neck nervously. "I'm sorry about earlier…With Mary…. I never told….She didn't know I used to be married."

Tia gave him a small smile. "I guessed."

"I don't like to talk about it to just anyone." Marshall continued. "And when she first transferred here, she wasn't too friendly…I mean, we got on well after our first job together but I think a part of me liked her because she didn't want to know about my personal life…."

"The problem is, Marshall…You're a likeable guy." Tia told him. "I bet it didn't stay like that for long."

"No, it did…She didn't asked many questions…Still doesn't…but I don't know, I guess she's going to be upset that I didn't tell her myself." He said. "She's not just my partner…She's my best friend….The closest person I've been to since you and I bet she's pretty pissed at me right now."

"You didn't have to say anything," Tia claimed. "I wouldn't have cared."

He laughed quietly and shook his head. "You always were a crappy liar…"

"Okay, I might have cared but still…Mary is your friend…And I'm just someone you used to know."

"You're wrong." He told her. "You're more than that…Always will be."

Before either of them could say anymore, Taylor dropped down into the booth beside Tia. Marshall pulled his hand away from Tia's and sat back.

"So, Taylor…Your Aunt says you're looking at colleges… New Mexico is on your life?"

She nodded. "Yeah, they have a good Clinical Law program."

"One of the best in country." Marshall replied, impressed. "You want to study law?"

She shrugged. "At the moment, I do…It seems interesting."

"Well, if you need someone to give you a tour of Albuquerque then I'm your man…"

"Really?" Taylor looked at Tia quickly before back at him. "You would do that?"

"Sure…"

"You don't have to…" Tia told him.

"No, it'll be fun." He assured her. "When are you leaving?"

"We're here until next Friday but we're going to University on Tuesday."

"Well, how about tomorrow afternoon…It's quiet at work at the moment and I could take a half day."

"Are you sure?" Tia questioned.

"Of course I am." He smiled at her. "Besides, I'm sure your sister can't wait to see me again."

"Mom hates you."

"Taylor!"

Marshall laughed again. "You thought I wouldn't remember that?"

Tia sighed. "She's going to think we planned this."

He shrugged. "Who knows, we're all older and haven't seen each other in a long time…things might be different now."

"This is Jo-Anne we're talking about."

"Well then we can just do what we used to do and sneak away from her…"

"Oh and that won't make her suspicious at all…"

"If she doesn't like it she doesn't have to come." Taylor remarked. "But I would love to look around…Albuquerque looks like such a nice place."

"It's great." Marshall turned to her. "And New Mexico State University has so much to offer…"

Tia sat back and watched the two of them talking with a small smile on her face. She could easily say that they were two of the most important people ever to her. Even though she hadn't seen Marshall in over 16 years, she never stopped thinking or caring about him. Then there was Taylor, she had a special relationship with the teenager. She babysat a lot for her while her sister went to work and they had always been close.

Watching them now, did make her a little sad, feeling the absence of Emily. Marshall had been an amazing father and even at the age of three, Emily had a Daddy's Girl…She knew if she was here now, they would probably be even closer. There was a selfish part of her that was actually happy that Marshall had re-married and had kids…She wanted him to be happy, she just glad no one had replaced her or Emily in his life.

TBC

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