A/N: Many a hug for the reviews! If I could give you all one in person, I would! :)

XXX

It seemed impossible anymore that Mary might be able to escape to her OBGYN's office without being tailed by someone in her life. First, it had been Jinx and Brandi when they'd discovered her pregnancy and they'd ambushed her the second she walked in the door. Today, it happened to be Marshall, which Mary couldn't help thinking constituted a bold move for him. She had never neglected to notice that he kept himself at arm's-length most days – this was what she liked about him. He knew when to sit down and shut up.

Apparently, things were different on what was fast-becoming a dismal Monday.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Mary barked when she saw him sitting with that obnoxious smirk on his face across the room.

Her loud timbre caught the attention of a few other women waiting for their appointments, but she ignored them as she marked the sign-in sheet, during which Marshall discarded the magazine he'd been browsing to join her at the front desk.

"Are you stalking me?" Mary wanted to know, and this time the receptionist looked suspicious, earning her a narrowed glower from the patient.

"Far be it from me to have qualms about your integrity, but I can't help thinking that – unless there are documents to be signed – that you might try to sneak under the wire and relay to Stan and I that flying is absolutely acceptable…"

"Maybe it is," Mary shot over her shoulder, not having the faintest idea if there was any fact in her phrase. "What do you know?"

This, of course, was a foolish question. Marshall knew just about everything. In truth, he constantly shocked Mary with just how extensive his knowledge was, and given his pregnancy fetish, she had every reason to believe he knew the ins and outs of what was harmless and what wasn't.

"In my experience, cruising at thirty-two-thousand feet is often nixed, particularly for as late as you are in that fated third trimester…"

"In your experience?" Mary repeated skeptically. "Have you been knocking up broads without me knowing about it?"

"Your political correctness is staggering," Marshall remarked dryly as Mary gestured him to a set of free chairs where they both sat down, Mary looking over her shoulder the entire time as though afraid of being spotted with him. "But, this is fairly textbook. Few doctors will let you fly at thirty-five weeks, and while I am well aware of this, it is Stan who I fear could be snowed if you made the choice to lie about it…"

"His fault for being a pregnancy nimrod," the woman claimed, though she too wished she were still ignorant about all the workings of her uterus. "If he wants the truth, he can look it up himself."

"Fortunately, I've spared him the trouble," the taller stated brightly. "In any case, I have never been given credence to attend one of your ultrasound appointments, so this shall be invigorating…"

"Just hold the bells and whistles," Mary butted in, raising one of her large hands to suspend in front of his face. "Who says you're being 'given credence' this time? I don't remember telling you-you could tag along."

Marshall was unfazed and continued his grinning, "I am not worried. The ladies – they love me."

"Not this lady," she muttered under her breath, though she didn't mean it.

What she did mean was a little difficult to discern, and Marshall couldn't help reflecting on her statement, though knew it was best that he didn't. Mary was grumpy and being made to feel incapacitated; her comment had no goal except to get him to be quiet. He knew Mary loved him in her own way – the way she loved anybody.

It was Marshall whose adoration was more unique, but that was nothing to be thinking about while his partner sat stony-faced and surly beside him. She was reminding him at this very moment that her passion and no-nonsense outlook were key players in his feelings for her, however big or small.

He thought about offering to leave just to please her, but he really did have misgivings about how forthcoming she would be concerning their travel plans. No matter how she hated it, keeping Mary from harm was always Marshall's number one priority.

"It isn't going to take long anyway, right?" he figured, referring to the ultrasound. "Just a scheduled check-up, not a full-on exam?"

"So I hear," Mary huffed. "God knows Doctor Reese will probably find somewhere to stick her fingers, just for kicks."

Marshall did his best not to blush, "I don't think physicians really get their jollies that way," he tried to reassure her. "Unless there's a problem."

"Hasn't been so far," Mary still would not look directly at him; he picked up on the fact that she was trying to conceal her enormous breasts from him when he was sitting so near to her. "Unless you count putting on more weight than a binging college freshman."

Marshall opted for sympathetic, "It is a hassle, I would imagine, not that I would know," being such a rail, he had no frame of reference. "But, again, it is temporary. This entire situation is."

For most people, no, but for Mary – at least at this point – there was nothing everlasting about having a baby. Short of the nine months she spent carrying little Mango, the connections would all evaporate the minute she handed the child over to whatever deserving family she deemed fit. And then it would be back to business as usual. In spite of her transparent reservations about the adoption, Marshall did believe one thing about Mary. Normalcy would be one thing she would be glad to achieve again. Change was not her friend.

"When is your next meeting with the adoption counselor anyway?" he posed, bouncing off his own thoughts. "Surely it's about time you narrowed your options…"

"No questions," Mary sniped, proving her discomfort with the path she'd chosen for her offspring. "You don't get to drill me. I'm still pissed that you followed me here. It is so Jinx-and-Brandi of you and that loses you many points."

Marshall went for politely curious, "How many points did I start out with?"

"Zero," she claimed spitefully, making the number up on the spot. "Now you're in negative digits, doofus. Bad move, pulling a fast one on a pregnant woman."

"Well, as it isn't often I can put one over on you; I suppose I will take the compliment for what it is."

The blonde frowned deeply at him taking her insult and turning it into something positive, something her friend often did that seriously annoyed her. Lucky for him, she didn't have any more time to scold him, because a nurse hollered her name from the door that would grant her admittance to the exam rooms. Knowing that there would be no shaking off Marshall now that he was acting as her shadow, she decided she would simply pretend he was not there as he followed her back with the smile of a giddy little boy.

It was more bad news for Mary once Doctor Reese finally joined them, because Marshall's undeniable charm meant there was no way she was going to kick him out regardless of the fact that he'd never accompanied her to an appointment before. Nonetheless, things did get sticky just due to his appearance alone.

Doctor Reese held out her hand for introductions, glancing to Mary for an explanation as to who this newcomer was. Given the fact that her patient had made it clear that Mark was not in the picture, it was obvious that she was having trouble putting the pieces together.

"I don't believe we've met; Raquel Reese…" she pumped Marshall's fingers up and down and he responded in kind, Mary looking murderous from her spot on the inclined table.

"No, it is quite a boon that I have been let in to observe the magic that is the sonogram…"

Doctor Reese chuckled with yet another glimpse Mary's direction; evidently, she couldn't understand how someone as acerbic as this woman would have an acquaintance that was so cheerful.

"Marshall Mann," he finally got around to giving his name. "I'm a friend of Mary's…"

"Oh…" Doctor Reese breathed pleasantly before Mary mounted her courage to button his trap.

"He's just my partner," she knew if she downsized his position in her life that it would hurt him, and while it was mean, Mary's claws often came out when she found herself in a place where she wasn't in power. "At work," she clarified further. "And he's being an insufferable busybody, just like a rubbernecking old woman next door."

Because Marshall laughed, Doctor Reese clearly thought it was okay that she do so as well, skating over Mary's criticisms like the professional she was.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Marshall," she bestowed. "This meeting is pretty routine – just the ultrasound, blood pressure check, and then I have a few things I want to go over with Mary, but that's pretty much it…"

"Splendid," he really was enjoying this, while Mary drummed her fingers and just tried to feel glad that she hadn't had to don a gown for this particular rendezvous. "I'll try to stay out of the way."

And with that, he leaned against the back cabinets, arms folded behind his head, shooting Mary devilishly humorous looks the entire time. She, however, did not smile, mostly because his presence was starting to make her nervous. She was becoming a pro at wrangling the doctor's office anymore, but she'd never had anyone – not even Jinx – come with her to an appointment, and it was hard to know what to expect. Self-conscious without warning, she just hoped she would be able to maintain her angry façade so Marshall wouldn't view what she was feeling underneath.

"I'll try to be quick here, Mary, I know you're not crazy about coming in after work…" Doctor Reese commenced as she rolled the ultrasound machine over, where its wheels squeaked and made the hair on Mary's neck stand up. "If you could just hike up your shirt, we can get started…"

This direction was enough to make Mary want to spew forth every obscenity she could think of; why did it sound so stark, so invading when Marshall was in the room? Fortunately, he took her insecurity and humiliation for mere frustration and gave an exaggerated shrug as if to say there was no way out.

Because of this, Mary felt perfectly justified in giving him orders.

"You turn around!" pointing her finger to the cupboards he was leaning against.

"What?"

"You heard me," Mary was unrelenting. "Avert your eyes, Poindexter."

"Mary, I'm not going to see anything except…"

"No, except," she stabbed his final word viciously to signify there would be no negotiating. "I let you in. I didn't say anything about letting you look."

Disappointed, but knowing Mary meant business, Marshall decided he would grant her whatever portion of her dignity she still possessed, and revolved on the spot to face the wall. Once she was certain he couldn't even peek, Mary reluctantly bunched up her shirt, to many amused looks from Doctor Reese.

The globe was a true sight to behold. Instantly, Mary was grateful she had banned her partner from witnessing such a thing, because it was worse than she remembered. Whenever possible, she avoided analyzing her new body at all costs because it was just too depressing, but there was no skirting the reality here. She was a triple-decker bus, her skin stretched and tight with unsightly stretch marks. The image alone made her prickle all over but, at least she'd had enough foresight to make Marshall hide his eyes.

"Still five weeks away…" Doctor Reese observed as she administered the cool gel that would aide during the sonogram. "But, I'm sure you're getting uncomfortable…"

"You could say that," Mary grumbled, hoping she would dispense with the small talk and hurry up. "I don't think it would be half as bad if this kid would learn to simmer down once in awhile. It never stops moving."

"That's normal…" the other woman assured her. "Another week and a half or so, and it'll start to settle in to prepare for delivery."

This wasn't a line that was going to help Mary's anxiety. For the most part, she disregarded the fact that she was going to be faced with conquering the tumultuous labor contractions; if she didn't think about it, she was much happier. There was no denying it was fast approaching, however.

"Let's just take a quick look here…sounds like this little one is still doing just fine though…" Doctor Reese turned her attentions to the monitor, navigating her wand back and forth on Mary's belly, taking her word for it that the child was as active as ever.

Patient as she could be while the physician gathered the particulars, Mary did what she always did when it came to visiting the OBGYN. She took calculated glances to the screen, just enough to make sure that she believed in what she saw, and then wrote the rest off until the next time. There was no reason to get attached when the kid was going to be shipped off hours after being born. There was no bond to be made – no bond that would ever exist outside of yearly letters and photo updates.

"Everything looks good…" Raquel reported after a moment or two, at which point Mary distinctly saw Marshall try to turn his head a fraction of an inch.

"Ah!" she bellowed, seeing to it that he snapped back to attention. "Don't even think about it!"

What Mary didn't know was that if Marshall kept his head tilted slightly to the right, almost cocked like he was trying to hear better, he could spot the smallest sliver of the display using his peripheral vision. Granted, it wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. Marshall could only just make out a flat, splotchy shape that stood out white against the mass of black. The picture made a gentle, back-and-forth swishing motion each time Doctor Reese maneuvered the wand. A steady, sound and beating heart throbbed throughout the small room to accompany the dancing figure.

"Like I said Mary, everything looks fine…" Doctor Reese reiterated. "There's a nice strong heartbeat, and the little one is plugging along – even as we speak."

"Way to do it, Mango," Marshall called over his shoulder, just for the pleasure of listening to Mary attempt to explain what he was talking about.

In hindsight, it was probably a good thing he couldn't see her at this point, because his corniness in front of others would have his partner wanting to pummel him. And so, he heightened his ears to determine how she was tripping over the newly-minted nickname.

"Using food to identify this kid is the professor's idea of a joke," Mary huffed irritably. "Probably because he knows I wolf down anything in sight; it's his way of taking his jabs at me."

Truthfully, Marshall had spouted the title on a whim in his kitchen that morning because he'd had a bowl of fruit sitting on the counter – pears, nectarines, peaches, and finally, mangos. Of all the available choices, he'd thought 'Mango' was the least offensive, plus since it began with the letter M it reminded him of Mary. Her reasoning wasn't so outlandish though; Mary didn't always have faith in the best of people.

"Well, you're eating for two, so I would say you're entitled," Doctor Reese commented placidly in response to Mary's conclusion. "And, of all the names I've heard parents give their children prior to the birth, this has to be one of the most creative."

"Or moronic," Mary supplied. "One of the two," she decided to pay no heed toward being called a parent because even though Doctor Reese was well aware of her plans for the baby, apparently there was little else she could call her on the fly.

"Well, as we've seen everything we need to on this front…" Doctor Reese wasn't kidding about her speediness, and began dismantling the machine as soon as Mary nodded and gave her the go ahead. "Let me just get a read on your blood pressure and we'll wrap things up."

Maneuvering her tent-like shirt back where it belonged, Mary reflected that this was one of her more painless adventures to the OBGYN, contrary to her past – and probably future – occurrences. Five weeks shy of predicted delivery meant she was going to have to be in Doctor Reese's company a hell of a lot more, something that definitely didn't thrill her, and so she sought to savor the solitude while she could.

Hearing the sounds of retrieving the blood pressure cuff from its hook on the wall, Marshall opted to press his luck another time, though he was on thin ice with his fellow inspector already.

"Might I rejoin you now?"

Mary wasn't feeling charitable, even though she was covered once more, "No."

"Must you be so difficult?"

"It's the price you pay for showing up to a party you weren't invited to."

At least Mary could content herself with the fact that, if Marshall disobeyed and snuck a glance that there wouldn't be anything degrading for him to see any longer. That was why she found herself able to relax a little more freely while Doctor Reese pumped all the blood vessels out of her arm trying to get an accurate reading. Whatever numbers she reported didn't mean anything to Mary – just that they were slightly higher than she would like, which meant she was going to be chastised to 'watch her step' in the thirty-five days to come.

"So…" once all was said and done and the professional was back on her stool, Mary's legs dangling over the edge of the cot, it appeared the time for questions was upon them. "Before I delve into my part…" eyes flickering to a file folder in her lap. "Is there anything you need to ask me or are we up-to-speed?"

Mary knew if she didn't bring up the subject, then Marshall would no matter how she threatened to beat him. After all, it was why he'd followed her in the first place. She could only take a minimal amount of savage pleasure in the fact that he still had his eyes boring into the cabinets that lined the walls.

"Something's come up at work…" Mary began, trying to sound off-the-cuff, like she wasn't just dying to get out of town.

"With your maternity leave?" Doctor Reese took a guess.

"No," the other shot her down. "You know I'm a US Marshal, and we go when they sound the alarm; you can't waffle or rearrange…"

"So you've told me," Raquel acknowledged. "Are you being put in a situation that might have you or the baby in jeopardy?"

Mary wouldn't go that far, "Not exactly, but I'm not sure what parameters I have at this point. Basically, I've just been told I'm due to travel back east sometime next week, by which point not even a blimp would hold me, I'm guessing."

It was her way of showing Doctor Reese she recognized that it was an awkward state of affairs – perhaps it would gain her some leniency. But, she could tell almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth that she was about to be shot down. Doctor Reese was almost too understanding, her eyes softening and a pitying smile playing on her lips.

"Flying in the third trimester is really not a good idea, Mary," she disclosed, which had the pregnant one internally cursing Marshall's name because he'd been right. "Technically speaking, I don't suppose I can actually stop you if you manage to worm your way onto a plane, but there are a lot of airlines who won't let you through the gate if you don't have some kind of proof that you're less than thirty-six weeks…"

"But, I'm thirty-five," Mary interjected, clinging to whatever influence she still retained.

"By next week, you won't be," Doctor Reese reminded her. "Even you weren't as far along, I would advise against letting you fly. You're high risk and your blood pressure is already starting to spike…"

"What do you suggest I do then?" the blonde was getting impatient with the ropes she constantly felt were binding her wrists. "There's such a thing as contempt when you don't show up in court…" that was as much as she could say without giving away her job title, but Doctor Reese appeared to have the same proposition as Marshall and Stan.

"There's always the old minivan."

The woman's tease extracted an uncontrollable chuckle from Marshall, something that didn't boost Mary's spirits in the least. She shot him a filthy look, as thinking of herself in some soccer mom vehicle was stroke-inducing.

"Is this your way of telling me that I've got the go-ahead to drive?" she pretended she had not been offended by the jab.

"Provided someone goes with you," the physician only had one stipulation. "Something tells me you already have a road-tripping buddy," referencing Marshall.

"I am designated chauffeur," he granted himself, forgetting all about Mary wanting him to stay out of things. "I would estimate the journey, as it were, taking about six days there and back."

"I can put you in touch with a few OB's on the path if you like, should an emergency arise," Doctor Reese offered. "Other than telling you to make sure you keep hydrated and take scheduled stops to stretch your legs, there's no reason you can't drive."

"Joy of joys," Mary grumped, not enthused at all, even more exasperated that she was being expected to be grateful for the flexibility when it was nothing but being knocked a rank lower.

Still, this might very well be her last blast as a Marshal before the baby was born. In spite of deciding not to become a mother, Mary had trouble picturing her life beyond that point. She was anxious to get on the road and put the thought of haunting, potential Albuquerque nurseries behind her.

XXX

A/N: I neglected to mention that even though the road trip is the bulk if this story (without question!) I take a little while to actually get them on the road LOL! With how long the story is, I don't think it'll seem like a long time in the grand scheme of things, but I do set the stage first. ;)