A/N: I'm glad so many people liked the Marshall/Norah stuff! I always thought they'd be adorable together!

XXX

The ride to the hospital was a fairly short and mostly silent one, Mary unsure what to say and Brandi just trying to stay in control in some fashion or another. It was inching toward five thirty by the time Mary pulled into a slot near the maternity entrance at Mesa Regional, grabbing Brandi's bag and a pillow from the backseat. She was so quiet Mary was a little worried, since she usually used stressful opportunities to articulate every sensation she didn't like. But the older sister couldn't fault her and they proceeded inside, directed quickly upstairs so Brandi could be looked at.

Going up in the elevator to the sixth floor was free of speech as well – until they passed marker three and Brandi doubled completely over, one hand on the wall, the other clutching at her lower belly.

"Oh my God…" she moaned, and the tears started gushing so fast Mary was alarmed; it was like Brandi had an internal knob. "Oh my God…" each of the three words was broken with a trembling, terrified sob which Mary did her best to wave aside.

"What?" she prompted, throwing the bag and pillow onto the floor of the elevator. "Is it your back or…?"

"They're contractions," Brandi bit, raising her head briefly and sniffling loudly as she admitted what they'd both been thinking. "I know they are; I tried to tell myself they weren't, but…"

Mary slapped a hand out and stopped the elevator momentarily; stalling them just before they reached the fourth floor so Brandi wouldn't have to contend with the jostling in addition to her other problems. Then she placed a timid hand to Brandi's back and rubbed small circles there, reminded forcefully of when Marshall had done the same for her when she'd practically collapsed on the altar almost a year before.

"Try not to cry…" she whispered, but with no disdain or exasperation. "It'll wear you out; you want to save your energy."

She didn't know why she said that, wasn't sure if it was even true, but it seemed logical. But it appeared Brandi wasn't listening closely enough to take the advice because tears just poured and her head was halfway on the ground she was hanging it so low trying to contend with whatever she felt.

"Breathe…" was Mary's next word of advice, still caressing. "Breathe…"

She didn't intend to press that encouragement, remembering only too well Jinx's constant stream of 'just breathe' when she'd been rushed to the hospital. Like 'just' made it seem simpler. It wasn't that easy when all the wind had been snatched out of you.

Slowly but surely Brandi was able to stand back up, but was no less distraught when she finally emerged.

"Mary, I really didn't think…" she began, but Mary just shook her head to shut her down.

"Squish, if they're contractions you came to the right place," she swore, reaching over to get the elevator moving again, which it did with a lurch. "Thirty-eight weeks is practically full-term anyway; you're way closer than I was; be grateful for that."

"What if it's more than that?" Brandi wondered, Mary picking up the bag and pillow from the floor.

"Why would you think that?" the older sister wondered.

Brandi didn't answer, but Mary knew there were a thousand things convincing her something might be wrong. That was nothing she could dispute at the moment; they'd know more once they got her checked out by a trained professional. That time was fast-approaching as the elevator doors dinged and slid open, paving the way for them to get Brandi set up in a room somewhere.

A kind nurse working what Mary thought was a very early shift got them situated and handed Brandi a gown, giving her the update on her OBGYN and what to expect.

"Brandi, right?" the woman clarified, looking at the clipboard that had been sent from downstairs. "Brandi Shannon?"

"Yes…" she answered, sounding a little cloudy as she slipped down onto the bed, Mary stationed obediently nearby.

"You came on a good night, Brandi," the woman joked; Mary noticed her tag read, 'Diane' and she looked to be somewhere in her early-to-mid-thirties. Her dark brunette hair fell in a long ponytail down her back and she smiled as she went on, "Don't know if people are being extra careful with the holiday this weekend or what," she teased. "But it's been quiet so far."

That explained how they were able to get in so fast, but Brandi had no response and just waited for the nurse to go on, stroking the side of her belly agitatedly. Mary was still just standing there with her arms crossed, preparing for instructions of some sort.

"Your doctor's been called, and she's on her way…" Diane continued swiftly. "She didn't have any deliveries tonight so there shouldn't be much of a hold-up."

"That's good," Mary cut-in, surprising herself with the positivity.

"But, once she gets here she'll check you out," the nurse went on. "I should tell you, even if she thinks you're in labor she may send you home. We like to keep the rooms open in case of emergency and labor tends to follow a pretty natural progression," she was very sedate, not acting like Brandi should know this already, which Mary appreciated. "Barring any complications, we tend to keep you out until your contractions are five minutes apart and last for sixty seconds."

"Okay…" Mary nodded so Brandi wouldn't have to bother herself. "What if you can't time the contractions?"

"Then, you're probably not in labor…" Diane offered a sympathetic smile toward Brandi, but Mary hurried to clarify what she meant.

"She's been having pain in her back," she informed her.

"It's really bad…" Brandi finally spoke up.

The nurse was noncommittal, "I'm sure Doctor Reese will figure you out," she assumed, and Mary didn't entirely relish seeing this physician again, not having the best memories of their last encounter. "In the meantime; put the gown on and try to relax…" she indicated the fabric she'd already handed Brandi. "If you need anything, just let me know."

"Thanks," Mary was careful to say before Diane's eventual exit and shut of the door.

There wasn't much left to do once she was gone except follow the orders, so Brandi went to the bathroom to change, leaving Mary by herself sitting on the edge of the bed. She reflected that she could hardly believe they'd only been at this two hours, give or take, and it felt like eons. At least the sun would be coming up soon, although their tiny suite didn't have a window.

Brandi emerged in due time, dragging her feet a little awkwardly, her bulge somewhat concealed by the billowy fabric of the gown. Mary stood and took her wadded up clothes, although there really wasn't room for them in her bag she'd packed and resolved to just dump the whole lot of it on the floor.

The younger sister had climbed into bed and Mary had seated herself on a rolling stool before it seemed like it might be an appropriate moment to start talking. Mary fiddled with her hands, intertwining them inside one another while she listened to Brandi breathe in low bursts out her mouth. This seemed a coping mechanism in the sense that recalling there was life somewhere within might assist in powering through – more than one life at that.

Still, when Mary looked at her and saw her big blue eyes cast skyward, filling with huge watery tears that she fought to keep inside, she knew she really ought to say something.

"Squish, about that story I was telling you earlier…"

"Which one?" Brandi whispered, seizing the conversation at once, shifting onto her side with a grimace.

"About daddy and the sparkler," Mary explained. "When he gave it to me, he was worried I'd burn myself when he lit it – or that I'd drop it…"

"Uh-huh…" Brandi murmured thickly through a stuffy nose.

"But I told him I wasn't scared…" she recalled. "And I wasn't, not really, because I knew that he would hold on until he thought it was safe to let go."

"Yeah…" Brandi didn't really need to speak for Mary to keep going, but she did it anyway.

"But, I remember I thought it was pertinent to tell him that I wasn't scared," she emphasized with just a little bit of doubt thrown in, like she was mocking her younger self. "Told him I could handle it on my own…"

"Some things don't change," Brandi said in a hushed voice and the elder sister allowed a smile to escape temporarily at the comparison.

"But, when I said that; daddy said he already knew I wasn't afraid…" she pointed out. "That he knew I wasn't afraid of anything."

Brandi, for all her attempt to keep up with the conversation, didn't have a good reply for the last part of the tale and Mary didn't need her to give one. It was her that was making the point, however reluctantly, however much she wished not to have this admission out in the open.

"But…Squish…" Mary sighed, leaning an elbow on her knee, resting her chin in her palm. Brandi's face looked oddly lopsided from where she reclined, paying rapt attention. "That so wasn't true," she went on boldly. "I don't know where he got that idea – that nothing freaked me out," she really didn't. "Plenty of things scared me; hell, I was four years old. Fearless flying from those red monkey bars, maybe…" she chuckled. "But in other ways…"

"You used to take me to play on those monkey bars," Brandi interrupted quietly. "You taught me how to climb across – to use your right hand first and then bring your left to meet it."

"Yeah…" Mary nodded with the surprise Brandi had pulled this out. "Talk about being petrified," she tried to inject a little more flow into the discussion; some sort of ease. "I could hardly get you back on those things after you fell off that one time."

"When I was three," Brandi supplied. "You would've been, what?" she shut her eyes in her concentration, allowing a sigh out. "Nine?"

"Or close to it," Mary agreed. "But, you made it all the way across and you were scared then."

They were getting near it now – the point of the discussion. Mary worked to get back to the original thought while Brandi blinked at her, perhaps sensing where this might be headed.

"Just like I was scared of those…ludicrous made-up monsters," she turned it around neatly. "That's why daddy gave me Biscuit. So, I really don't know why he thought I was some kind of brave little toaster."

"Maybe he was trying to convince himself," Brandi suggested softly. "So he wouldn't feel so bad about it when he left."

This was most likely the case, Mary thought. If a deadbeat dad could tell himself he was leaving some strong little girl in charge of a household that included a one-year-old and an alcoholic mother, he could also tell himself it was okay to leave her behind. She imagined everyone had their own reasons for rewriting and fabricating some fictitious universe in which they lived just so they could sleep at night.

"Well, whatever it was…" she didn't intend to dwell all day and leaned even further forward, fixing Brandi with an unwavering stare. "The point I'm trying to make here is that everyone…even me, we all…"

But the root of it all was going to be missed; Mary's acknowledging for the first time in ages that she feared at all was going to get slashed out of her. Brandi curled up again, face crumpling in pain, hands scrabbling in several different directions. She obviously felt the violent sensation in both her abdomen as well as her back this time and couldn't manage to find one to squash first.

"Oh no…" she groaned, tears about to become full-fledged once more. "Oh no…"

"Brandi, listen…" Mary was a little more prepared this time and stood up, readying herself to be of service. "Breathe, okay? I've got your back; take my hand…"

The 'I've got your back' comment sounded ridiculous to Mary after she said it, like she was flanking Brandi in some shootout. What she'd meant was that she would do her best to try and ease the aching there so Brandi wasn't reaching around at awkward angles.

Fortunately, Brandi's fingers did close in around Mary's long ones, squeezing pretty brutally once they were intertwined. Mary massaged her free hand along her sister's spine, which made things a little easier for her since she didn't have to look at her distraught face.

"Breathe…" she said again, not hearing that happen. "Come on Squish, take a deep breath…"

But the contraction had subsided before Brandi could manage it, and all they were left with was a gulping, shuddering cry with the occasional hiccup penetrating among it all. But, Mary figured it was probably best to lie on this front in hopes that it would lift Brandi's confidence a little.

"Good…" she fibbed, resuming her seat and seeing that her sister's cheeks were streaked, top-to-bottom with trails of tears. "That was good."

Brandi was disbelieving, "Really?"

Mary extended her index finger and wiped away some of the strays away from Brandi's eyes, not wanting her face to flood.

"Sure Squish…"

She forced a smile, reminding herself with every stretch of how much it would mean to Brandi.

"Really."

XXX

A/N: Mary's going to have to learn as she goes – since there is drama ahead LOL! Thank-you for reviewing; I appreciate it!