Three more days had passed and Marshall was finally completely weaned off the ventilator and moved to the Neuro floor. He was staying awake for longer periods of time but was often confused and having a hard time with speaking. Mary and Lilly seemed to be the two people who could keep him calm, and they set up a rotational shift for one of them to always be there just in case. Mary would take the night shift so she could be at work during the day and Lilly would spend the days with him.

Darren and Jesse were going to have to leave in two days to go back to work and Mary could tell they felt bad about it. She still hadn't admitted to anyone other than Brandi or Peter about her recent discovery and for now wanted to keep it that way.

Mary stopped in the hospital figuring Jesse and Darren could use a decent meal before heading out of town. To her delight, Marshall's eyes were wide open and he seemed more alert than usual.

"Mare?" Marshall struggled over the word but did manage to get it out.

"Hi, Marshall," She replied back, forcing a smile on her face. It hurt her heart to see him struggle over something he was so good at. "Staying awake longer for us I see."

"Yes," He struggled with the reply and she could see the determination and frustration fighting each other on his face.

Mary gave him a genuine smile at that. "That's good." She leaned over and kissed his forehead.

Jesse got up and let her have his seat while he moved to the other side. Mary sat down and gently took Marshall's right hand into hers.

"Oh, I learned a little bit of your useless trivia today. Apparently the dot over the i is called a tittle, and Eleanor decided it was important for me to know I forgot one of them while filling out the paperwork. Apparently she feels the need to continue your routine while you're away. You need to come back and save me from that woman, Mary teased lightly and was rewarded with a sparkle in Marshall's eyes and a smile crossing his lips. She could see he was getting tired already and waited for him to fall back to sleep.

"So, little brother tortures you with the trivia also." Darren laughed.

"I don't mind it from him, it has an unusual way of growing on you after awhile." Mary shrugged.

"Ah huh," Jesse said smugly.

"Don't start, I was going to be nice and take you out to eat when your parents got back before I took over the night shift," Mary cautioned.

"Does this dinner include pie?" Jesse asked.

"It's a family thing, isn't it?" Mary asked suspiciously.

"Pie makes everything better," Darren defended.

"It's genetic, right?" Mary tried again.

"Marshall has introduced you to the benefits of pie," The brothers said in unison.

"Fine, I'll take you out for pie. The two of you are just as bad as Doofus here." Mary jerked her head towards Marshall.

Lilly and Warren entered the room and saw Darren and Jesse looking excited.

"Did we miss something?" Lilly asked, concerned.

"Not really," Mary answered truthfully.

"Mary's taking us out for pie." Darren and Jesse smiled brightly.

"Pie?" Warren looked up.

Mary's eyebrow shot up. "So you're the one who created the monsters of pie."

"Pie makes everything better," Warren answered and watched as his sons laughed and Mary rolled her eyes.

Lilly shook her head and looked at Warren. "Why don't you go with them? I know how all of you are with your pie. I'll stay with Marshall."

"No, I should stay with you," Warren started to insist.

"He more than likely won't wake up until you're back anyways. Go on, scoot, all of you." Lilly chased the four of them out of the room and then took Mary's spot next to Marshall.

"Somehow, Marshall, I think you're about to be rewarded with your patience for Mary. She cares about you a lot and we all like her. Now you just need to concentrate on getting better and getting out of here. I love you, Marshall." Lilly leaned in and kissed his forehead.

Mary hadn't intended on Warren coming and had every intention of quizzing his family about Marshall's past. There was a lot she didn't know about his brothers, and it made her realize she had never bothered to ask. On the other hand, ask Marshall about her family and he could probably quote a whole book or more on them. She was really beginning to realize that their friendship had been lopsided in her favor. Well, things needed to change, and in order to do that she needed more information on Marshall. Besides, if she was honest, she was curious.

They had made it through dinner with comparisons of their different jobs without anyone revealing anything no one should know when the pie arrived, and Mary decided it was a good to start asking questions.

"Why'd you name him Marshall? You had to know there would be pressure and teasing that would come with his name," Mary asked pointedly to Warren.

Warren smiled at her forwardness. "Wondered when you'd start asking questions. He was born premature and they didn't give him, or us, much hope that he would live, so we thought if we named him Marshall he would at least have a part of the family legacy to carry on with him. Turned out he was one heck of a fighter and managed to surprise everyone."

Mary almost felt nauseous at the thought of Marshall having died as an infant and never getting the chance to meet him. "So it wasn't a sick sense of humor. The useless trivia in his brain came from where exactly?" She wanted the unpleasant images of Marshall struggling for life as a baby out of her mind.

"When he was younger he had immune deficiency as a child and was home sick a lot. He hated missing school, and always had a need to learn new things, so he started reading the encyclopedias. When he was done with those we would buy him other books to keep him occupied when he finished his homework." Warren reflected back to the past and the little boy who wouldn't let things get to him.

Mary was alarmed at this information. "He doesn't have that now; I know he doesn't."

"Most children outgrow these deficiencies and thankfully, Marshall was one of them. Eventually, he was able to do anything he wanted to without getting sick." Warren had seen the fear on her face and the relief at his answer.

Jesse smiled at that. "Unfortunately, he never lost his thirst for learning new things so we got him hooked on the science fiction movies hoping to cure the brain overload. The three of us would always check out the latest films."

"If we weren't doing that we were playing cops and robbers in the cottonwood trees," Darren added.

"So you're the ones I have to blame for Back to the Future movie nights and quotes." Mary pointed a fork at the two brothers.

"It was a good movie," Warren defended.

Mary looked at him in disbelief, "You too?"

"Someone had to drive them to the theater," Warren defended himself.

"A likely excuse." Mary looked at the time. "We better head back." They finished up and she paid the bill as they discussed more of Marshall's childhood on the way to the hospital.

A week later and Marshall's speech was improving. He had also begun the physical rehab vital to his recovery. Jesse and Darren both had to head back, but would be coming back out as soon as they could. Warren and Lilly were staying at least for another couple of weeks. Warren might have to go back, but Lilly and Mary were going to stay with Marshall for awhile.

"Hey, Doofus," Mary greeted, rounding the corner and was surprised to see no one in the room. "What did you do to your parents?" When he looked away from her she knew something had happened.

"Alright, are you going to tell me or do I have to guess?" Mary sat on the chair next to the bed. When he still didn't look at her she sat on the bed and grabbed his chin and forced him to look her way. "Talk to me."

"The doctor was in earlier," Marshall started but stopped and swallowed hard.

"And?" Mary waited impatiently.

Marshall tried to get the words out but choked on them. Taking another breath to calm himself down he tried again. "We are going to mix the rehab with both regular and water therapy to try and get my coordination and walking in order."

"What else did he say?" Mary asked, knowing something was eating at Marshall.

"Mare, don't you get it? If I can't get this to work then I won't be able to do my job." Marshall was agitated and her question just made him angrier.

"Don't bite my head off; you knew this wasn't going to be a quick fix and its way to early for a pessimistic attitude. Geez, that's my department not yours. You don't get to quit now. It's not like you won't walk again. You didn't damage your spinal cord. So you have vertigo and need help with your coordination. You will overcome the problem. Do you hear me?" Mary bit back.

"Don't tell me what to do or think. I'm tired of being bossed around, and is it me you're concerned about or are you more worried about what will happen to your mother?" Marshall snapped at her.

"You arrogant ass. I've kicked her out of my house and my life because of this and you dare question my loyalty to you? Get off the pity wagon and start fighting, Marshall. You've been a fighter all your life from what I was told. This feeling sorry for yourself isn't you, and no matter how much you try and push me away or insult me I'm not leaving so get used to it. The first thing you can work on is the lack of sunny disposition you're currently sharing." Mary took a deep breath to calm herself. They had been warned about mood swings and odd behavior that can occur after a head injury. "I know you're scared and worried but don't shut us out. We all care about you and want to help, but you need to participate in that too. I'm not going anywhere, no matter what kind of attitude you give me, and I'll make sure you go to every single therapy session you have. Do I make myself clear?"

Marshall tried to look away because he was scared and he wanted to cry and get it out of his system. He didn't know what would happen to him if he couldn't get back in shape. He was having a hard enough time remembering portions of his life, what if he couldn't remember how to walk?

"I'm sorry, Mare. I didn't mean to take this out on you. It's not your fault." He bit back the sob that wanted to escape but couldn't prevent the lone tear from slipping out.

Mary brushed the tear away with her thumb pad and pulled Marshall into her arms. "Marshall, don't hold it all in, trust me it's a bad idea. I know, I've done it myself. It's okay to cry because you're scared. Let me help you."

Mary felt his shoulders shake and knew he finally was letting the tears out. She held on tightly, whispering words of encouragement to him until he finally fell asleep. She laid him gently back down and kissed his forehead before getting up to move to the seat.

Lilly and Warren had witnessed the whole episode at the doorway and were glad Mary was there to help him where he wouldn't let them. They had to get air because the tension in the room had been so thick that they were worried about blowing up in anger at him.

"Thank you," Lilly whispered, wiping the tears forming in her eyes.

"I take it he pushed your buttons too." Mary gave a false smile.

"Oh yeah, we had to take a break before something was said that shouldn't be," Warren admitted. "The doctor warned it could get worse before it gets better."

"He's afraid he won't be able to walk again, and if that happens he won't be able to do the job he loves. He's still confused about some of the events and why he thinks he may never walk again is beyond me. I know it's going to be frustrating and we'll all be snapping at each other, but I'm going to do my best to be patient. I promised him I'd stick it out" Mary shrugged.

"Thank you for being such a good friend to our son." Lilly gave Mary a quick hug.

"Trust me, I haven't been the best friend that he deserves and it's time for that to change. I'm just glad that you were all willing to let me stay and help," Mary said honestly.

"You proved yourself to us pretty much the first day. Jesse and Darren were probably a bit more cautious but they're been protective of Marshall, whether he needs it or not. They're talking about flying back next weekend to spend some more time with him," Warren informed her.

"Marshall will be happy to see them. Hopefully he won't be a crab ass when they are here."

Lilly and Warren laughed at that. Mary remembered something about Warren needing to go back to work.

"When do you have to be back?"

"I'll fly back and take care of some loose ends while Darren and Jesse are here, but I've talked to my boss and since I have a ton of vacation time he told me to take as long as I need. They can reach me here if I'm needed." Warren had been grateful, but not completely surprised.

"Good, he'll need all the support he can get," Mary reassured herself and hopefully his parents. She wasn't fooling herself. She knew the road ahead was going to be difficult, and it would take months, at least, before Marshall would be up on his feet again and working.

Marshall sat in his bed and tried to think positive thoughts. Mary had been called away for a witness and his parents had gone to supper. The therapy was more painful than he had imagined and he felt like he was getting nowhere. He was tired, cranky and irritable and snapping at just about everyone. He was losing patience with the recovery even though he knew it would take a while to get him functioning properly. The gaps in memory were bothering him also. Every now and then he'd wake up confused as to how he ended up in the hospital and why he couldn't walk right. Then whoever in the room would explain it to him again and he felt like they were talking to a child. He was an adult and wanted to be treated like one. The temper he rarely showed seemed to be flaring up more times than usual and he didn't understand why. It felt like he had no control over anything. He didn't like that feeling.

He needed to talk to Stan and find out what his options would be if he can't walk again, and if he did, would they be able to hold his position. He was pretty sure Stan would insist on it, but he felt so lost at the moment he just needed some reassurances. Mary had mentioned Stan would stop by later tonight, and he was sort of looking forward to the visit with just a bit of apprehension at what the answers to his questions may be.

An hour later Stan walked through the door. "Hi, Marshall!" he greeted warmly.

"Stan," Marshall greeted back.

Stan could see the look of foreboding on Marshall's face and had a feeling there was something major bothering him. Mary had warned him about his confusion as to if he'd be capable of walking again. Pulling the chair closer to the bed, he looked directly at Marshall.

"What's wrong?"

"What happens to me if I can't walk again? How long is my job going to be here if it takes a long time if I do?" Marshall couldn't look Stan in the face, afraid his fears would completely show through.

Stan was concerned by the questions. "Did the doctor say something to you today?"

"No, I've just had a lot of time to think and they say I'm making progress but it doesn't feel like it. I need to know where I'm at Stan." Marshall hadn't meant to allow the desperation into his voice.

"First of all, you are on medical leave and no one is replacing you on a permanent basis. I wouldn't allow that and you should know that. If it takes awhile so be it. Besides, Mary will shoot anyone who thinks they can replace you." Stan left out the 'almost has' as the latest temporary inspector thought he was better than Marshall and made the mistake of saying so. At that point he wasn't sure who was angrier, Eleanor or Mary; both about ripped the man to shreds. Stan sent him away already and the new guy started tomorrow. Mary's reaction didn't surprise him as much as Eleanor's. The fact the two women plotted together against the man spoke volumes. You are, and will be, a U.S. Marshal as long as you want to be."

Marshall nodded his head in response, he didn't trust himself to speak at the moment.

"I know this is hard on you, Marshall, but you need to realize that as bad as the crash was you are healing remarkably well. The doctors didn't expect this much progress so quickly. Your muscles need time to become strong again. You put too high of expectations on yourself too quickly and then you push and push until you become frustrated. Your body needs to heal on its own time; it can't be forced or you could wind up doing a whole lot more damage to yourself. For once, in all of the years I've known you, would you please stop taking the weight of the world on your shoulders and start passing it around? We are all more than willing to help you. Let us."

Marshall understood what Stan was saying but the man didn't know how hard it was. "Stan, fixing things and picking up the pieces for others is what I do and who I am. I don't know how to be the one on the receiving end."

"You're going to have to learn. I'd rather have you go there willingly, but none of us are going to let you take the wrong road or do this alone. We'll push you every step of the way." Stan warned.

"You should listen to him, Doofus, the boss knows what he's talking about for a change." Mary smirked at Stan.

Both men turned their heads towards the door where she was standing and rolled their eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes at me. I come bearing gifts." Mary held up the bag with the sign from Marshall's favorite pie shop.

"What kind?" Marshall's natural curiosity took over.

"She made a raspberry pie today and thought you might want to try it." Mary thought it was sad the owner and waitresses knew them by heart. Today it brought a smile to Marshall's face and she was glad she made the choice to stop by. It was the most perked up she'd seen him in weeks.

The three of them talked about work and their witnesses until Stan got up to leave.

"Remember what I said, Marshall," Stan reminded before he left.

"What was that about?" Mary questioned.

Marshall played with the corner of the pillow as he tried to decide what the best way to approach the subject was.

"Just tell me, I won't bite," Mary promised, noting he was worried.

"I asked him what would happen if I couldn't walk and how long they would hold my position." Marshall shrugged.

"And?" Mary wanted to smack him and tell him that he wasn't going to fail, but he needed to tell her everything on his terms. For once it wasn't about her.

"I learned you and Eleanor weren't playing nice to the newbie and there would always be a place for me in the service."

"I really am beginning to earn a whole new respect for Eleanor, and the man got what was coming to him." Mary smiled at the memory of the incident.

"What exactly did he do?" Marshall was curious.

"The idiot made the assumption that he would prove to be a better inspector than you, and Eleanor and I set him in his place. He's looking for a permanent gig." Mary brushed over the incident.

"How exactly did you do that?" Marshall asked, amused.

"Eleanor and I went over his files and may have mentioned something about scores and programs that you had. Made him well aware of his shortcomings as an inspector and that he could learn a lot by seeing what you're capable of doing." Mary smiled.

"What if I'm not?" Marshall asked solemnly.

"What if you're not what?" Mary asked, confused.

"Mare, you may need to accept the fact that I might not ever be able to be your partner again. I may not walk again and we both know it's a possibility. You can't treat the replacements like dirt. One of them might become permanent." Marshall shook his head, not liking the thought but knowing the possibility was realistic.

"Stop it right there, buddy. You are not allowed negative thoughts. This is what Stan was talking about, not your place in the department." Mary made the connection quickly. "You aren't superman and won't heal overnight, Marshall. You and all of us know it will take months before you are fully mobile again. That doesn't mean it won't happen and you were never told it wouldn't. You're getting the information tangled in that brain of yours."

"It doesn't mean it will either, Mary. I have to prepare for both outcomes. This changes everything in my life if I can't walk," Marshall stated the obvious. He knew they were all telling him the doctor said he'd be okay in time, but he figured they didn't want to face reality.

"I know that but it won't happen. I know you, and I know you won't quit. I won't let you quit. For now, can we please focus on moving your legs and taking one small step at a time?" Mary figured she would need to talk to the doctor about his refusal to understand that he wasn't paralyzed. She recalled the words he said to her previously about Jinx and knew they needed to talk about what happened.

"Marshall, when you were angry, you questioned if I was worried about you or Jinx." She watched his face and he briefly nodded that he recalled. "I need you to know how sorry I am that she did this to you."

"Have you talked to her?" Marshall asked, not sure what answer he wanted to hear.

"Not since I threw her out of the house. Squish does, but knows not to bring it up in front of me. I'm so damn angry at her for causing you and your family all of this pain and worry. Why don't you hate me?" Mary asked, needing to know.

"Did you know that she was out drinking and going to drive home from the bar?" Marshall asked.

"No, I would never have allowed her to do that. I would have gone and picked her up or sent Squish," Mary said adamantly.

"I know you would've, and I know that it wasn't your fault. It was her choice, not yours. I don't even know how I feel right now about her, Mary." Marshall shrugged.

"You should hate her, or at least be angry with her. You're so calm and blasé about it that it scares me. I know we handle things differently, but this is too calm even for you."

"I'm focusing on trying to walk and not to feel how much it hurts to move right now. I don't have anything left to give to her and what happened. I don't even remember anything from that night."

"That bothers you." Mary knew it did.

"I don't like parts of my life being a blank page that I can't even begin to fill in. I remember voices and hearing you and Stan read to me. I know Jesse, Darren, Mom, and Dad were all talking to me, but I don't know what they said. It's like everyone else had a page to my life that's been torn out of my book, and there is no replacement for it."

"I don't even know if I can forgive Jinx for this, and don't really expect you to. I know it's hard when there is a chunk of your time missing, and no matter how much people fill in, it's still gone. You know that people were around you, and they were hurting, but you can't relate to it because you have nothing. It's hard to comprehend that the world has gotten ahead of you, and even though you catch up on the events you will never remember them happening because you were here but not." Mary remembered how it felt when she woke up. "You didn't give up on me and I won't give up on you. We're a team and will tackle this like one." She leaned up and kissed his forehead before linking hands with his.

"Thanks, Mare."

"Marshall, don't thank me. I hate what she did to you. I should've stood up to her a long time ago. All I see is the damage she caused by not acting responsibly and it has been the pattern my entire life." Mary stroked his cheek gently. "I'm not sure I can stop hating her in the foreseeable future.

"I don't want to become the reason your family is torn apart." Marshall said as he yawned.

"She tore us apart a long time ago, Marshall, but we kept making excuses for her. I'm done with that and won't ever do it again. Jinx needs to be an adult and take responsibility. I know she's tried, but she keeps falling flat on her face and providing her with a crutch is all I've done. Get some sleep. I'll be back tomorrow night. Eleanor is going to sit with you tonight. Brandi needs me to come home for something." Mary shrugged.

"I'm a big boy, I'll be fine." Marshall promised Mary before she left.