A/N: I don't know how much of a shock Mark's news will be, as I am not very suspenseful, but here it is anyway (and, it's not the last time he'll have news, either). ;)

XXX

It was with a definite degree of apprehension that Mary allowed Mark over her threshold that evening. Her anxiety only intensified when she saw that Jill was, in fact, right by his side, and she could only hope this emotion didn't show on her face. She'd been very proud of how she had accepted the other woman for the past three years, and she wasn't going to start looking like a jealous, beady-eyed mom now.

Norah, as promised, was shut up in her bedroom, but Mary had to wonder if she wasn't listening at the door in spite of insisting that she wanted no part of the visitors. Luckily for all of them, Marshall was as calm and collected as ever, offering around a plate of cheese and crackers as well as a bottle of wine.

"You sure I can't tempt you?" he spun his platter on one hand like a waiter as Mark and Jill took seats side by side on the sofa, Mary in one of the chairs. "Both cheese and wine have been allowed to age, so I imagine they would be a delectable treat…"

"I'll try the cheese, but will pass on the wine," Jill finally lamented, grabbing a slice with her fingertips and taking a bite. "And, Mark is just waiting to say that what he really wants is a beer," she contributed around bites.

"There's Yuengling in the fridge," Mary intoned automatically, as it had become a habit to keep one or two bottles of Mark's favorite since he was over so often. "The Maître D over there can get one for you," referring to her husband's hosting capabilities.

"No, it's no trouble…" Mark made to rise, but the other man was a step ahead of him.

"Nonsense," he shook his head and set his plate on the coffee table. "Enjoy the refreshments. I'll join you momentarily."

Not going to say no to being waited on, the shorter gentleman shrugged and nabbed a few crackers, crunching away and holding his hand beneath his chin to catch stray crumbs. Jill seemed satisfied with her single sliver of cheese and shook her head when her boyfriend tried to get her to take another bite. The wine remained untouched, although Mary was contemplating pouring herself a glass in case she needed it to get through the evening.

And, reading her features correctly, Mark threw her a look as he devoured his after-dinner snack.

"You look a little worse for wear," he commented baldly, but on Mark, this was a predictable observation. "Long day?"

"You could say that," Mary replied, twirling a strand of hair idly around her finger. "Norah's like Krakatoa these days – lava spewing everywhere."

"School wasn't exactly a barrel of laughs today, I guess."

"When is it ever?" she bemoaned, wishing Marshall would return so she wouldn't feel she was complaining alone. "Oh, and speaking of school…" she didn't particularly want to stay on the subject of Norah because it would just mean rehashing the same old topics. She leaned forward and turned to the girlfriend, "Jill, don't feel like you have to go easy on Alice if she's screwing around; I'm serious…"

This was not said because Mary thought Jill wasn't being enough of a disciplinarian, but rather because she didn't want her troubling herself with whether or not the child liked her. Under any other scenario, Jill's and Alice's interactions would be minimal, but as they saw quite a bit of each other at the elementary, there were a few things that needed to be ironed out.

"Oh, don't worry about it…" the teacher waved a flippant hand and shook her head. "Between you and me, I did tell Miss Whitmore about the water fountain thing. She's keeping an eye out."

Fortunately, Jill had known the inspector long enough to know she didn't frown on being tough when the situation called for it.

"Curiosity gets the better of Big Al more often than not…" Marshall finally returned, handing Mark his beer without another word. "We understand that keeping her in line is a full time job."

"No, I love Alice…" Jill insisted. "You know the lines get blurred between school and home…"

"Of course," Marshall cut in.

"I'll try to keep you on the up-and-up if I spot anything else."

"You're our spy until she goes to sixth grade, you know that, right?" Mary was half-joking, half-serious. "Honestly, find your sunglasses now."

Jill just chuckled, "Well, it's like I tell the kids in my class – eyes in the back of my head."

"In the law enforcement game, we tend to grow an extra pair ourselves," Marshall concluded soundly.

Dropping onto the floor by his wife's legs, so tall even sitting down that his head was practically in Mary's lap, his final tease left them with an uncomfortable silence. Small talk could only last them so long. Jill had always done very well slipping into their usual, fast-paced byplay, but even she seemed to know that shooting the breeze wasn't going to continue forever. If Mary had her way, she would still put off getting to the crux of the matter – whatever it was – as long as possible.

"Where, um…where is Alice, anyway?" Mark finally asked just to fill the quiet with something.

The child in question must've heard her name one too many times, and she wasn't going to say no to a little showing off. With their voices carrying up the hall, she pattered into the living room in her socks; just before Marshall could answer that she was supposed to be in bed. Predictably, Norah was not with her.

"Hi Mark!" she exploded like a little rocket, tripping over the hems on a pair of her sister's old pajama pants. Without further ado, she took a flying leap and catapulted herself onto his lap. "Guess what?"

The man himself chuckled, glad for a distraction, "I don't know. What?"

"Halloween is next week!"

"You don't say?" he mused, shifting her so that her legs were dangling over his knees. "You decide what you're going to be yet?"

"I need ideas!" Alice trotted out the same tired line she had used that afternoon. "I don't want to be something that everybody else is going to be!"

"That will be a trick," Jill chimed in. "I haven't forgotten the one year I taught fourth grade and I had a room full of cheerleaders and football players."

"Uniqueness gets harder to achieve as time goes on, I imagine," Marshall spoke up, Mary absently running her fingers through his hair from where she sat above him, counting down the seconds until she could banish her daughter back under her covers. "But, we will figure something out, sugar." Struck with sudden inspiration, "Hey, there's a thought!"

"What?" Alice wrinkled her nose.

"Go as a sugar shaker – and Max could go as salt or pepper!"

Mary couldn't help laughing, even though her mind was solely planted on whatever Mark's mysterious secret was. Her chief still knew how to lighten even the tensest of moments, and Mark and Jill guffawed heartily as well.

"I think it's clever!" Marshall bleated over all the raucous giggling. "You wanted something original, no?"

"Daddy, everybody would make fun of me!" the little one decided. "And, sugar and salt don't even go together!"

"You mean you don't put salt on your cereal in the morning?" Mark joshed.

"Yuck!"

"Well, then we'll have to save the better ideas for another evening," the father played bad cop this time, tweaking Alice's foot from where it swayed out of Mark's grasp. "Somebody is up past their bedtime."

"But, I'm not tired!" she was thriving under the presence of the guests, and she reminded Mary so much of Robyn at such an age that it was scary, even though they looked nothing alike. "And besides, I haven't gotten to show Mark and Jill my new dance yet – the one that Lia taught me!"

"You can show them another time," Mary informed her staunchly. "Stan said there's a show soon; they can watch you and Robyn."

"But, I want to show them now!"

"Alice, I don't want to hear you arguing with me…" Mary wasn't going to spar with her all night, but the sudden brusqueness in her voice didn't get by her sensitive child, who wilted at being admonished in front of visitors.

"Mom-my!" she began to whine, stretching out her name to its two syllables. "Norah isn't in bed! Why do I have to?"

"Come on now, Big Al…" Marshall got in on the action and stood up once more, lifting the brunette off Mark's lap so she couldn't run away. "We've talked about listening and following directions; you do it here and you do it at school…"

"But, daddy!"

"I've heard enough," Marshall's voice was sedate, but resolute. "Say goodnight to Jill and Mark like a big girl."

It was funny how referring to her as a 'big girl' made her seem more like a baby, Mary thought, who was embarrassed against her will that Alice was about to pitch a fit with company around. Some might not consider Norah's father and his girlfriend the typical kind of 'company' since they were over all the time, but that didn't mean the little girl's manners should go by the wayside.

"I'll see you again tomorrow Alice, okay?" Mark tried to help. "I'd love to see your moves then."

Still frowning, but with the promise of the next day to sustain her, she quieted down and accepted her fate.

"Goodnight Alice," Jill sang. "I have recess duty tomorrow, so I'll see you on the playground, okay?"

Brightening, because she liked having an 'in' that her other classmates did not, Alice grinned without thinking twice and nodded, "Night-night. Do you want Norah to come out and say goodnight, too?"

Mark and Jill exchanged uneasy glances, and Mary just wagged her head, leaving it up to Marshall to take care of that minor detail.

"Let's leave Norah be," he suggested, trundling back to the bedroom, daughter held aloft the entire time. "If she's reading or studying, we don't want to disturb her."

And with Alice waggling her fingers over her father's shoulder, trying to climb over his back like a monkey, the duo finally departed, leaving Mary alone with her ex-husband and his significant other. She'd said very little since they'd shown up, and she didn't see why she should start now. They were the ones with the news, not her, and she knew that they weren't going to be able to avoid it much longer. As soon as Marshall came back – and who knew when that would be – all bets were off. It was time to put up or shut up.

"Sorry about Alice…" Mary felt like an ogre defaming her daughter, but her next words proved why she felt the need to apologize. "She knows better. She just likes an audience."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Jill insisted at once. "I'm used to it – used to kids, that is," she suddenly corrected herself. "You roll with the punches."

This would be good advice for Mary when it came to the metaphorical sack of bricks they were going to lower onto her head, but she wasn't sure it was a philosophy she could adopt. Fortunately for her, Alice must've complied once she was in the bedroom – or else Marshall had bribed her with something – because the chief returned in due time, quietly shutting the door behind him.

"I apologize for the delay…" he announced, making it the second show of remorse in just a few minutes. "Can I get you anything else to eat before I take a seat?" he jerked his thumb at the floor, at which point Jill decided that, guest or not, that she would offer him her place on the couch.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather have my seat?"

She was halfway up when Mark gently guided her back down, "No, really, Marshall; take mine…"

"The floor is good for one's back; I don't mind…"

"Don't be silly…" Jill chattered on, at which point Mary had-had quite enough of all the stalling.

"Oh, please…" she moaned, exhaling so loudly and forcefully that she fluttered her bangs on her forehead. "We cannot dance around this all night," her abruptness earned her a look from Marshall as he ignored all the efforts of chivalry and plunked himself back on the carpet. "I'm not saying we don't enjoy your company, but really…" it was interesting how 'really' could indicate so much. "What are you doing here?"

Their silence alone proved that they knew they'd been beating around the bush, as did the covert looks they gave one another.

Mark's eyes were slightly fretful, their brown more youthful and childlike whenever he was concerned. But, Jill seemed a cross between excited and apprehensive, with her short blonde hair – more sun-kissed than Mary's because it was highlighted – and bright hazel orbs; she was clearly dying to spill the beans. Mary just wasn't sure they were beans she wanted to be force-fed; especially if she couldn't feasibly spit them out if she didn't like how they tasted.

"I guess we're not hiding much, are we?" Mark eventually said with a weak chuckle. "Sorry about the hem-and-haw; just…it isn't something I – we – wanted to blurt out…"

Up close, Mary could see that his forehead was shiny from perspiration, which was another clue to his edginess. She watched as Jill placed a hand on his forearm to calm him, no doubt to insist he was making a big deal out of nothing. Personally, his ex-wife felt he probably had good reason to be cautious, but she settled for observing and nothing more.

"Mark, don't be so dramatic…" Jill murmured, verifying Mary's theory, scarcely feeling the way Marshall had begun to rub her toes. "You don't want me thinking you're getting cold feet, do you?"

He gave a short laugh at this, but Mary felt every capillary in her body begin to tingle.

Cold feet? Cold feet about what? The term itself was typically reserved for something Mary had once longed to avoid. Something she had denied Marshall for many-many years. Something she never would've engaged in had her husband in the here and now not pushed her in face-first and her eldest daughter hadn't run away at the prospect of losing her makeshift, nuclear family…

Suddenly, all those old misgivings about anything associated with 'cold feet' came rushing back to the forefront, and it wasn't even the inspector who was being asked to stand under an altar.

"You know I'm not…" Mark was saying under his breath. "You know this isn't about us; it's about Norah…"

"Of course I know that, but who better to help us with the transition than these two?"

"I understand that, it's just that…"

"You know, Mark…" Marshall unexpectedly raised his voice over their hushed discussion, no doubt sensing his wife's agitation that they wouldn't do what they needed to do and be done with it. "Norah is our common thread, and if there is anything Mary or I can do to smooth things over when it comes to…"

"We're getting married."

Mark spit it into the air, in exactly the fashion he had claimed he wanted to evade. And, even though Mary had known it was coming for the past few minutes, she still felt a certain measure of surprise at the phrase swirling among them. Add on the way Mark and Jill suddenly clasped hands and peered at the already-wedded couple, poised for a reaction, and she felt like she was in some bad movie of the week. This was not real. It couldn't be.

Mary had one thought and one thought only, and it was nothing along the lines of jealousy; if she had ever been attracted to Mark, that spark had fizzled out eons ago. No, it was on Norah that she was centered, and even without Mark's and Jill's trepidation, she would've known instantly that her child was not going to be a fan of this.

More than that, Mary had an uncomfortable feeling that Norah wasn't just going to recoil from the idea, but truly loathe it. Had she known it was coming? Was this an explanation for why she had flipped out about Jill showing her face earlier in the day – why she 'hated' going to her father's house?

But, all of this was too much to consider at the moment, and it was due to Marshall's ingrained politeness that she knew she was going to have to buck up and deliver the obligatory best wishes.

"That is fantastic!" the taller of the two men boasted, jumping up at once, at which point Mark and Jill did the same. "How utterly joyous. What could be better?"

Mary could think of plenty of things, but she had to admire Marshall's ability to always see the good, even as she slowly got to her feet as he swapped hugs with the happy couple.

"Congratulations…congratulations all around…" he slapped Mark's back and laid a kiss on Jill's cheek. "When is the big day? Have you chosen a venue? If you haven't contacted a wedding planner, I highly recommend Brandi."

Shaky laugher accompanied this pronouncement, "Thank-you, Marshall," Jill bestowed, her cheeks turning pink at his enthusiasm. "Nothing is set in stone yet. We're looking at June – maybe July, depending on when we can book the church…"

"Spring or early summer; an ideal time for nuptials…"

This was a man who had met his bride at the end of the aisle in the middle of a bitterly cold February, but why split hairs?

"How did he pop the question?" Marshall was such a girl, wanting all the details, but he was probably trying to cover up Mary being so mum, standing with her arms crossed. "Was it a bended knee endeavor?"

"Um…a little more casual," Jill tittered. "But, it got the job done," she threw a glowing look toward her husband-to-be. "I…I hope this doesn't come as, you know, a…" swallowing hard. "…A…complete shock…although, we have been keeping it quiet. We just didn't want to dump it on anyone until we were ready; Norah's had a lot of change lately…"

While Marshall babbled onward with Jill, no doubt feeling fervent about the wedding to come, because he was such a nerd about such things, Mark slipped away, and Mary knew he was coming for her. He had to be wondering why she had yet to speak, why she was being so stand-offish, when on any other occasion she honestly would've been happy for him. She wished she could cajole her mouth to form the right words, to be diplomatic and civil, but all she could think of was Norah, and she knew she would be none of those things.

Hands in his pockets, shrugging sheepishly, Mark approached while his ex managed a half-smile, waiting for him to kick things off.

"I'm gonna be off the market soon," he joked feebly. "Bet you thought you'd never live to see the day."

Her throat feeling oddly papery, Mary did what she could do strike up some semblance of their old rapport.

"I admit I thought hell would freeze over first."

"Don't I at least get a, 'good luck, old man?'" he requested, pretending to mope as he said it.

"Yeah…" Mary breathed laboriously. "Yeah…I guess you've earned it…" she hunched her shoulders indifferently. "Growing up after all these years…"

This wasn't an insult he would buy, not with how close they'd become over the last thirteen years, but it was standard when it came to their relationship. He was forever supposed to pretend that she was cranky and cagey, and she had to feign he was just a silly little boy. Both knew the other had grown immeasurably, and if Mary's initiated hug didn't prove it, then nothing would.

Chin over his shoulder, because she'd always been taller than him, linking her arms over his back, she felt him reciprocate, knowing it wasn't coldness that had made her hold back. He seemed to get that she was as uneasy as he was when it came to their daughter, and Mary felt suddenly sad that what should've been a happy time for him was riddled with doubt.

"Congrats…" she whispered anyway, idly running her fingers up and down his back. "And all that."

"Thanks, kid…" Mark inched away, not wanting to overdo it on all the touching and sentiment. "Not gonna mince words, huh?"

"No…it's great news; it really is…"

"Come on, we both know why you're all fidgety," he imitated her awkward stance. "You're worried about the grenade that is our child," this statement made him sound like Marshall, but Mary didn't say so.

"Does she…?" the only way to figure out what Mark was expecting was to ask him. "Do you think she has the faintest idea that this is going to happen? Any clues – any at all?"

"I don't know," he stated baldly, throwing a quick glance to Jill, and then peering around Mary's form to see to it that Norah's door was still closed. "She's so tough to read anymore…"

"Right," Mary agreed. "Right…" but, her voice tapered away as she chewed on her lip, unable to shake the image of their girl lying in wait in her bedroom, keeping Alice awake, dying to know what was going on with all of her mutual parents. "I'm not trying to do the whole 'rain on your parade' thing here, but…"

"But, it's inevitable."

"Big word for you."

Mark ignored her, "Maybe it won't be as bad as we think," he was far more optimistic than Mary, that was for sure, but she could tell by his eyes that he was lying even to himself. "After all, she likes Jill, right? And, she's not like those kids that are pining for their parents to be together, so that'll be no problem…"

"That's true," Mary mumbled, leaving out whether or not her daughter was partial to the woman who would soon become her step-mother. "She's never had the slightest desire for us to be a couple. Knows what's good for her, right?"

Mark gave a short laugh, "Smart enough to know we're better off apart."

"But, still…"

"No, I know…"

"I mean, this is different from me and Marshall – we've known that since day one."

"I agree…" his concurrence was half-hearted, at best, because he was hoping for better. "Marshall's been around her whole life and Jill, well…"

"Hasn't," Mary supplied, though Mark certainly didn't need the reminder. "And, I'm not sure if whether she likes her or not will even factor in. The change just might be too big for her – we have to be prepared for anything."

"Believe me, I know…" he sighed tiredly, running a hand over his buzzed haircut and seemingly thinking hard. "Jill and I have been turning this thing front-to-back, trying to figure out the best way to approach Norah…"

"And, you needed to call in the big guns, right?" Mary would give herself credit where it was due; being the mom, she would hold as much clout as humanly possible. "The reinforcements?"

"More or less."

It was funny how their conversational style was almost as abbreviated as Mary's and Marshall's these days; both had gotten pretty good at knowing what the other was thinking before they even opened their mouths. And while they might clash sometimes, they had always wanted to present a united front to Norah so she couldn't play one parent against the other. Operating as a team would be essential when it came to the notion that her family was about to expand in size yet again.

"Look…" Mary exhaled, trying to block out the easy flow of the discussion Marshall and Jill were having without them. "Give me a chance to talk to Marshall tonight, okay? You'll be back tomorrow afternoon to get Norah and then maybe we can…"

"Lower the boom?" Mark finished for her, darkly but with a grim smile. "Are you sure you want to do it that soon?"

"How long have you been sitting on this?" she proposed shrewdly, narrowing her eyebrows. "If Jill wants to start wearing an engagement ring, we need to get moving – give Norah time to get used to the idea."

But, Mary had a nasty, sinking suspicion that it might take her daughter all the way until the proposed wedding in the spring to 'get used to the idea' of her father marrying another woman, and even then she might still have reservations. A selfish part of the mother wanted to chastise Mark for unloading such a life-altering event when Norah's existence was constantly punctuated with upsets. But, there was no telling how many months – maybe even years – he and Jill had hung on. It was highly likely they'd been waiting for Norah to mellow out before saying the big 'I do' but knew that they couldn't continue to put things on hold. Painful as it was, their teenager was going to have to learn to adapt.

And, as though he were reading Mary's thoughts as she stood and tapped her foot impatiently, Mark displayed a hint of anxiousness at getting his marriage underway, and sooner rather than later.

"I…I'd be willing to push the actual wedding out another year or so, but the way things are headed, I'm not sure that's going to work…"

Pure curiosity made the woman inquire, "What do you mean?"

"Well, Jill's just…"

But, then he stopped, taking his time to toss her a backward glance once more. It was several seconds before he completed his thought, Mary growing more bewildered by the second as he roved up and down Jill's frame. Whatever he expected to see or glean, she couldn't know.

"No, I just…" he finally shook his head and got back to Mary, apparently deciding against elaborating on what he was thinking. "If…if we wait that long, Jill will be getting ready for the new school year and…" another pause before he wrapped things up. "And…it'll be better to do it once all the kids are done with school – have the summer to regroup…"

He sent Mary a would-be-innocent smile, but something about his demeanor was troubling her. All of his reasons for aiming for June were sound and logical, and yet she wasn't entirely sure they were his reasons. And Mary, already on edge, didn't have the patience for guessing games.

"Is there something else I need to be aware of?" she spit out. "Because…"

But, Mark interrupted, "Trust me; making Norah aware of the wedding is job one. We can deal with everything else as it comes."

But, whatever 'everything else' was, Mary knew without a doubt that she didn't want to find out.

XXX

A/N: Marriage! What next? Thank-you for the reviews, lovelies!