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Two Marshals and a Baby

"Okay, bath time is done." Mary said as she finished putting Jessica into her PJs. "Now time for a story."

"Uncle Marshall reads me two stories."

"Uncle Marshall isn't here." Mary replied, determined not to get sucked into negotiations with her three year old daughter…again.

"And he sings me a song."

"Two stories but no song." Mary compromised but knew she would probably be asleep by the end of the first story.

"Okay." Jessica grinned as Mary's cell buzzed.

"You picked a book and I'll be right back." Mary told her as she stepped out into the hallway. "Shannon."

"Mary?"

"Hey, Stan…What's up?"

"It's Marshall…"

"What?" Mary felt her heart stop.

"He's going to be okay but he's a bit banged up." Stan added quickly. "He said he was planning on stopping by on his way home and he didn't want you to worry…"

"What happened?" Mary cut in, moving further down the hall so Jessica did not over hear.

"Tommy Hillman." Stan sighed. "He's back to his old tricks."

Tommy Hillman was Marshall's witness and had to enter witness protection after seeing a murder taking place in a nightclub back in New York City. The problem was, he was a 22 year old guy, who liked to party hard and the reason he was in the corridor where the murder took place was because he was looking for somewhere to shoot up.

Part of the deal along with protection, was a promise to help him get clean of drugs but about three months ago, Marshall had expected he had relapsed. Tommy denied it and Marshall could not find any evidence so settled on keeping a closer eye on him.

"Stan, what exactly happened?" She asked. "How banged up is he?"

"Tommy was high as a kite when we got there; threatening to jump out of his apartment's window and Marshall managed to talk him down." Stan explained. "We made a few phone calls and arranged for him to see a doctor…We were on our way out when he flipped again, started saying he didn't want to go.. We tried to restrain him but he hit Marshall…he stumbled and went head first down the stairs."

Mary winced, she had been to Tommy's apartment block many times and knew the staircase were concrete. "How bad?"

"Doctor is with him now, he was unconscious for a good 10 minutes or so but he woke up before they put him in the ambulance."

"Jesus…"

"He was groggy but he was with it enough to tell me to call you." Stan tried to assure her.

"And Tommy?"

"Sleeping it off at ABQPD…After that it'll either be rehab, new location or out of the program."

"MOM!" Jessica shouted from her room, obliviously getting impatient.

Stan chuckled when he heard her. "Listen, they're probably not going to let him out of here tonight...So, go put your daughter to bed and I'll keep you updated."

"I should be there."

"Mom!"

"Mary, he's fine…just took a knock, that's all." Stan told her. "He wouldn't want you rushing to his side and leaving Jessica…I'll give you a call in an hour or so."

"You better." Mary snapped the phone and walked down the hall. She paused outside her daughter's room to take a deep breath before entering.

"I got three books… but two are really short." Jessica told her, sat up in her bed.

Mary just stared at her for a few seconds deep in thought but then shook her head slightly.

"We'll take them with us." She announced and reached underneath the bed to grab the bunny slippers that Marshall had brought her. "Come on, we're going to find Uncle Marshall…"

"Yay!" Jessica threw off the covers and sat on the edge of the bed, shoving her feet into the slippers.

Mary lifted her off the bed and carried her into the hallway, deciding to just put Jessica's coat on over the top of her pajamas.

"Are we going to Uncle Marshall's house?" Jessica asked, when Mary placed her on the floor and helped her put on her coat.

"Nope, Uncle Marshall and Stan have got themselves into a bit of trouble." Mary replied. "We're going to have to go look from them."

"Oh no." Jessica gasped dramatically. "Are you going to shout at them?"

"I might." Mary couldn't help but smile at the concerned look on her daughter's face.

"Poor uncle Marshall."

XxXxX

"Stan?"

"Mary, I told you stay put." Stan sighed as he turned away from the coffee machine and saw his Inspector walking towards him with her daughter in her arms.

"Did you think that was really going to happen?" Mary rolled her eyes. "Where is he?"

"I'm still waiting to hear."

"I thought we were coming to find Uncle Marshall…" Jessica whispered, looking around.

"We are." Mary placed her down on the row of seat. "I need you to stay here with Stan while I go find him."

"I want to see him to!" Jessica pouted and crossed her arms.

"I know but someone needs to stay here and keep an eye on Stan."

Stan raised an eyebrow but did not comment.

"Okay." Jessica sighed loudly.

"I'll be right back." Mary glanced at Stan before heading towards the nurses' desk.

"You okay, kiddo?" Stan asked, sitting beside Jessica.

"Mom's going to shout at Uncle Marshall." She whispered.

Stan laughed a little. "I'm sure she won't."

"Yeah-huh…she said that you and him got into some trouble."

"Why are you whispering?" Stan questioned but couldn't help but whisper himself.

"Mom said we have to quiet because we're in a hospital where people are sick." She told him quietly and then frowned. "Is Uncle Marshall sick?"

Stan looked down the corridor in hope that Mary would come back so he wouldn't have to answer but there was no sign of her and Jessica had tears already in her eyes.

"No, honey…He'll be fine." Stan put an arm around her awkwardly. "He bumped his head but your Uncle Marshall is strong and brave, he'll be okay."

"I hit my head on the table last week." Jessica sniffed. "It really hurt."

"I bet it did."

"And I cried and Uncle Marshall kissed it better and gave me a lollipop but we weren't allowed to tell Mom because it was before dinner." She continued and Stan smiled. "Did Uncle Marshall cry too?"

Before Stan could reply, Mary walked back over to them and Jessica jumped off the chair. "Mom, I want to get Uncle Marshall a lollipop so he feels better."

"Oh, okay we'll bring him one tomorrow." Mary replied a little surprised by the request but there were lots things that both Jessica and Marshall said, that she didn't quite understand.

"Did you find anything out?" Stan asked.

"They're sending someone out to speak to us."

"Did you threaten anyone?" He questioned. "Do I need to smooth anything over?"

She rolled her eyes. "I was nice."

"If you say so…"

"Here comes the doctor now." Mary looked past him, towards the man heading towards them.

"Are you here from Inspector Mann?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm his boss and this is his partner." Stan replied.

"And I'm Jessica…he's my Uncle." Jessica added before anyone could say anything.

The doctor looked down at her and chuckled lightly. "Well, it's nice to meet you Jessica…"

"How's Marshall?" Mary asked impatiently, resting her hands on Jessica's shoulders, gently.

"His right wrist is fractured and will need to be put in a cast. He's also suffered broken a rib and cracked three others." He informed them. "We had to stitch a laceration on the side of his head and he has a mild concussion but he's going to be fine…"

"Thank god…" Mary sighed.

"He'll be in cast for at least six weeks and will be sore for a few days but as long as there is someone stays with him, he will be released in the morning."

"Thank you, Doctor." Stan said before looking at Mary. "I told you there was nothing to worry about."

"Mom, I want to see Uncle Marshall." Jessica spoke before she had chance to reply.

"Can we see him?" Mary asked the doctor.

"Only for a little while but he needs some rest and visiting hours are over." The doctor replied. "I'll ask a nurse to show you to his room once he's settled."

"Thank you." Stan repeated as the doctor walked away.

"Can you watch Jessica for me again?"

"Where are you going?" Stan frowned.

"To call Brandi to come pick her up." Mary replied. "She can't stay here all night and I'm not leaving."

"Mary, relax…This is nothing." Stan tried to assure her. "They're probably only keeping him in because it's coming up to 10 at night…"

"Stan…"

"You know he'll tell you to take Jessica home." Stan continued. "He's fine, Mary…A little banged up but he's been a lot worse off."

"I know but…"

"No buts…no arguing." Stan interrupted her. "You will go and see him…Tell him you're glad he's okay but then you're going home."

"Oh really?" She raised an eyebrow at him challenging.

"You want to go there?" Stan stepped up to the challenge.

"I do." She replied, wondering what his plan was.

"Okay…" Stan crouched down in front of her daughter. "Hey, Jessica…I need you to do me a huge favor."

"Stan!" Mary shot him a warning look.

"Sure!" Jessica grinned widely.

"I want you to tell Uncle Marshall that your Mom is planning on staying with him tonight…"

"No fair!" Jessica looked up at her. "I want to stay too."

"You get to have a sleep over at Aunt Brandi's."

"Uncle Marshall is more fun." She crossed her arms and pouted. "He sings to me."

"Now look what you've done." Mary glared at Stan and threw her hands in the air.

"I didn't know she would react like this." Stan stood up. "I just wanted her to tell Marshall what you were up to."

Mary sighed and turned Jessica around to face her. "Uncle Marshall is going to be going to sleep very soon but you can go and say goodnight to him and then tomorrow he'll come to our house."

"Why is he going to sleeping?" She asked, frowning.

"Because he's not feeling very well and is tired." Mary explained. "Tomorrow when he comes over…You can look after him and make sure he gets better."

"Who's going to look after him tonight?"

"The doctors and me."

"But…but…"

"Come on, Jessica…please just be a big girl for me tonight and then tomorrow you spend all day with him."

"Okay…" She sighed but still didn't look happy.

"Excuse me; are you here for Inspector Mann?" A nurse approached them.

"Yes."

"If you would like follow me…" She smiled at them.

Despite being upset with Mary, Jessica still reached up and took her hand as they followed the nurse down the corridor.

"I'll be just outside if you need anything." The nurse said kindly when she opened the door and stepped aside to let them in.

"Uncle Marshall!" Jessica ran towards the bed.

"Hey, slow down…" Mary grabbed just in time to stop her from jumping on the bed.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Marshall asked, surprised.

"Mom's going to shout at you for getting into trouble."

Marshall looked up at Mary. "You know I already have a concussion, right?"

"No one is going to shout at anyone." She replied. "You are an idiot, though."

"Thanks, Mare…" He rolled his eyes.

"Did you cry when you hit your head?" Jessica asked as she leaned against the bed and tried to push herself up onto it.

"Nope, I was brave." He replied and reached down to lift her up.

"Marshall!" Mary glared at him and moved forward to stop him but he already placed Jessica on the bed.

"What?"

"You got busted ribs and a broken wrist…you shouldn't be picking her up."

"It's fine."

Jessica looked from Mary to Marshall in concern. "Did I hurt you, Uncle Marshall?"

"No, Princess you didn't." Marshall told her, kissing the top of her head.

"Uncle Marshall, I meant to kiss your head better!"

"Oh, I'm sorry." He leaned forward and she sat up and kissed his forehead.

"Is that better?"

"Lots!" Marshall replied causing her to grin widely.

"Okay, well I see you are your normal crazy self…I'll be right back." Mary stepped out the room and Stan followed her.

"If you're going to try and convince me not to stay…"

"Mary, you can see for yourself he's fine." Stan gestured back to the room.

"You don't know that." She replied and Stan sighed. "You don't…He's not going to let on that there is anything wrong with Jessica in there."

"Mary…"

"I'm serious, Stan…You might be right but hospitals bring back a lot of bad memories for the both of us and I'm not willing to take that risk just because he's putting on the 'Brave and great Uncle Marshall' routine for my daughter."

Stan held up his hands in defeat. "Okay, you win."

"It wasn't a contest." Mary replied. "I'll be right back."

"Tell Brandi I'll bring Jessica over to her place…saves her coming all the way here."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm going that way and I drove Marshall's truck here so the child seat is in the back."

"That would be great, Stan…Thanks."

"No problem…I knew Marshall spent a lot of time with the two of you but I never quite realized how close they are." Stan added glancing through the window in the door and saw Jessica was now curled up to Marshall's side with a book open.

Mary shrugged as she pressed a few buttons on her cell phone. "Nothing can come between the two of them…"

"Like mother like daughter then." Stan smirked before re-entering Marshall's room.

Mary looked up quickly but then rolled her eyes and put the phone to her ear. "Hey Brandi, I need a favor…."

She explained to her sister what was going on and Brandi was only too happy to have her niece spend the night with her. As Jessica got older, Mary got more comfortable leaving her with her family but only when Marshall was not available.

She also knew that there was a good chance that Mark would start asking for her to go stay with him and she did not know how she felt about that. Over the past three years, he had wanted to play more of a role in Jessica's life. He would phone and email more often to see how she was doing then every three months, he would come to Albuquerque to visit. Jessica would call him 'Dad' but Mary was pretty sure she did not really know the meaning of the word. Although, she enjoyed the time she spent with him, it was nothing compared to when she spent time with Marshall. She still dreaded the day when she would have to explain why her Uncle was more of a Dad to her then her Father was.

She thanked Brandi again before hanging up and when she walked back into the hospital room again, she found Jessica reading the story to Marshall but since she still could not read that well, she was making the story up as she went along.

Mary took a seat and just listened, silently. She watched Marshall closely and could tell he was in pain just because he wasn't joining in on Jessica's story telling.

"The end." Jessica announced and closed the book.

"That was some story." Stan commented.

"Okay, Jessica…say goodnight to Uncle Marshall, Stan's going to take you over to Aunt Brandi's." Mary told her.

"I want to stay here." She led her head on Marshall's chest and put her arm across his stomach, he winced a little but she didn't notice.

"Come on, Uncle Marshall needs some rest and Aunt Brandi is looking forward to having a sleepover with you." Mary added as she stood up.

Marshall kissed the top of her head, gently. "You can come and see me tomorrow."

"You promise?" She looked up at him.

"I promise."

She sighed loudly and sat up properly to kiss his cheek before wrapping her arms around his neck. "Goodnight Uncle Marshall, love you."

"Love you too, Princess." He smiled and hugged her back.

"I don't like it when you get hurt, Uncle Marshall." She whispered.

"I'll try not to do it in future." He laughed lightly.

"Good."

"I'll see you in the morning." Mary picked her off the bed and gave her a kiss. "Be good."

"Night, Mom…Love you." She hugged Mary before being placed on the floor.

"Marshall, I'll see you tomorrow…Mary…behave." He gave her a warning look as he took hold on Jessica's hand.

"And don't shout at Uncle Marshall…he's got a headache." Jessica added.

Mary rolled her eyes. "I'll be on my best behavior…Now, get out of here, the both of you."

"Goodnight."

When the door closed behind them, Mary turned to face Marshall. "You okay?"

"Looks worse than it is." He replied.

"Marshall…."

"Honestly, Mare…this is nothing."

"Why didn't you put a fight to stop me from staying the night then?" She questioned as she retook her seat.

"Wouldn't do any good…" He shrugged. "Since we've been partner, if one of us has to stay in hospital, the others stays too…no matter how serious the injury is."

"That's true." She replied, deep in thought. "But that doesn't mean I'm going down without a fight the next time when I'm in here and you want to stay."

"I'll look forward to it." He replied, knowing she was trying to lighten the mood.

"So, how do you really feel?"

"They gave me some good drugs so not too bad at the moment." He answered and closed his eyes, leaning back against the pillow. "But better after seeing my two favorite girls."

Mary rolled her eyes again; they must have been giving him the good stuff if he was getting all sappy on her. "I'm going to tell Stan you called him a girl."

Marshall laughed but then groaned, moving his uninjured hand to his side. "Don't make me laugh, it hurts too much."

"Then stop talking and go to sleep."

"Okay…" He yawned. "Night, Mare."

"Good night." She replied, moving her chair closer to the bed, so she could take his hand in hers.

She watched him silently and thought about Stan's comment earlier. Marshall was her best friend and she loved him but she did not know whether she was in love with him. She knew in the past, he had feelings for her but now she wasn't so sure. She remembered his speech to her, about her needing something 'messy', she couldn't help but think if they were in a relationship it would be anything but messy. They knew each other better than anyone else and they spent so much time together that not much would change. Plus, he was already pretty much helping raise her daughter…they would be the family that she always wished for Jessica. The problem was she didn't know whether it was worth the risk of losing him if it didn't work out. She was reluctant to put her own heart on the line like that and adamant not to risk Jessica's at all…

She just wished she knew for sure what real love was and if Marshall and she stood any sort of chance.

TBC

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