HAPPILY EVER AFTER...OR NOT
A/N: Love the reviews and alerts! They most definitely encourage me to write faster :) Even started writing for the other two IPS fics that I have been stuck on.
"Mare? Mary stay with me." Marshall was pleading with her, as her eyes fluttered closed.
Stan kept pressure on the stab wound, relieved to hear sirens approaching.
Delia rechecked the building to ensure there were no more bad guys lurking. When the ambulance arrived, she directed them to Mary.
Marshall reluctantly stepped away upon their arrival, to give them room. Stan followed suit, as soon as they took over trying to stop her from bleeding out.
The EMTs worked quickly to try and stabilize Mary. All three Marshals were unable to keep up with the medical jargon they were shouting. They transferred Mary to a gurney and started wheeling her to the ambulance.
Marshall looked to Stan. "Stan?"
"Go." Marshall started after the EMTs. "Delia & I will meet you there!"
Delia walked up to Stan, worried. "She doesn't look good."
Stan nodded. "She is a fighter." He looked over to the man Delia shot. "We need to see if there is anything here pointing to who else was involved."
Delia nodded and they both started their search. Stan called from the building phone and asked for the luds to be pulled, hoping it would give them more leads.
Marshall sat in the ambulance near Mary's head, trying to stay out of their way. "Mare, you gotta fight, today is not the day." He was desperate to touch her. "Stay with me."
"BP is dropping, she's going into cardiac arrest." The EMT shouted, pulling out an amp of epi. "Epi in."
"Breathing shallow, lungs are full." The other emt was working frantically to keep her breathing.
Marshall's whole body was on edge, his mind a panic. "Come on Mary fight!"
A solid beep rang through the ambulance. "She's flatlined! Starting compressions!"
Marshall had tears streaking his face. He couldn't believe he might watch her die. They arrived at the hospital. One of the EMTs straddled Mary to continue compressions, as they unloaded and wheeled her away. Marshall ran with them, trying to follow, but was stopped by a nurse. "Sorry sir, you can't go with her."
Marshall stepped back and sagged against the wall, his mind flashing to the last time her stood here. 'Irony.' His mind teased him. 'Same door, same hall and once again Mary.' He slid to the ground, silent tears falling, utterly devastated.
His phone rang and he saw it was Stan. "Stan...not good...can you get Brandy and Nora." His voice cracked. "They should be here...and my go bag...yeah...ok." Marshall flipped the phone closed. He stood and went to the mens room and scrubbed his hands raw, trying to remove any trace of her life blood. He went to the nurses station and secured a private waiting room, where he finally just sat, staring blankly, hoping and praying she pulled through again.
Stan and Delia finished up at the crime scene, resulting in no new leads. They stopped at Stan, so he could change into blood free attire before getting Brandy and Nora.
Delia waited in the car while Stan went into the office. Brandy immediately looked up at him, silently asking about her sister.
"We found her. She is hurt badly. Marshall went with her to the hospital." He kept his voice calm, even though he was far from it.
"Can we go?" Brandy's voice cracked, tears falling from her eyes.
"Of course, I'm here to take you both over there."
Brandy gave a tearful nod, gathering some things for herself and Nora, heading for the car. Delia gave her a sympathetic smile. "Marshall called, he secured a private waiting room outside the surgical wing."
"Good. Let's go." Stan was anxious to get there, even though he knew there would be no news yet. They walked into the waiting room and Marshall didn't react. Stan walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. "Marshall?"
Marshall looked up dazed. "Stan."
"Any news?" Stan braced himself.
Marshall just shook his head, finally looking over to Brandy. He stood and walked over, giving her a soft hug, glancing down at Nora. Brandy handed her to him and he took her reverently, kissing her on the head. "You look just like your mommy." His voice a broken whisper. He escorted Brandy to the couch on the nearby wall and then sat in a chair across from her, cradling Nora. Stan and Delia sat beside him and they waited.
Six hours passed with no word. Nora had taken turns in each of their arms, always returning to Marshalls.
Brandy observed Marshall and could see how much he cared for her sister. She could not understand how broken the two of them had become. "I'm going to go get us some food and something to drink." Stan was about to volunteer to help her, till she continued. "Stan can you watch Nora?" She took Nora from Marshall and handed her to Stan. "Come on, you can help me carry everything back."
Marshall was confused, by the sudden persistence of the young Shannon sister. He stood and followed, heading to the cafeteria.
"Congrats by the way." Brandy decided to ease into her meddling.
Marshall looked at her confused, before realizing what she meant. "Oh...the promotion...yeah thanks."
They grabbed some sandwiches and drinks, slowly making their way back. "Oh and Stan going to DC, big change, he must be happy having Mary there too."
Marshall froze and inside Brandy smiled. "What?"
"Mary with Stan in DC, I couldn't believe it when she told me." Brandy was trying to keep her voice neutral and not give herself away.
"No, she's staying in Albuquerque." Marshall's voice hitched.
Brandy faked regret. "Sorry, I thought you knew."
"You're wrong...she wouldn't leave Albuquerque. She loves it here." He was desperately trying to make sense of this.
Brandy looked at him, determined to convey how serious her next words were. "She loves it here, but it isn't Albuquerque."
Marshall's eyes widened and he followed her blindly back to the waiting room.
Brandy put everything on the table and sat down next to Delia.
Stan immediately noticed Marshall's shell shocked face, as he put everything he was carrying on the table.
"Stan a word please?" He walked out of the waiting room.
Stan looked surprised, looking at Brandy who gave him a sly smile. One he had seen from Mary and knew he was in trouble. He walked out into the hall and Marshall stood glaring at him.
"Mary is going to DC with you?" His voice a harsh whisper.
Stan was not prepared to get into this with him. "Marshall, now is not the time for this discussion." He went to go back, but Marshall grabbed his arm.
"Stan wait...please?" Marshall's eyes teared up.
Stan signed. "It's not my place to tell you if she is going or why, but ask yourself why do you care so much?"
Marshall felt like he had been smacked. "Of course I care! Stan, how can you ask that?"
Stan stepped towards him, not saying a word, just staring Marshall down.
Marshall winced. "She told you...she's leaving because..." His shoulders slumped.
"I will not betray her trust and tell you what we discussed." Stan sighed. "As a friend, I am going to ask you one thing. Are you sure you picked the right woman, because from what I see, there is only one you cannot live without." With that Stan left him, heading back inside. He looked at Brandy who gave him a sheepish smile. "I hope to hell your sister is in a forgiving mood or she might kill us both." He sat down grabbing a sandwich and couldn't help but be proud of her for meddling in this one.
Marshall stood there, his chest tight as Stan's words sunk in. His cell phone startled him, he looked at the caller ID and winced. 'Abigail' "This is Marshall...yeah been busy...no, I don't know when I will be home...I'm fine...look, I can't talk right now." Frustrated, he hung up.
He was lost, no longer knowing what he was doing. He could have told her why he was here, where, but he didn't want her here. It felt wrong. He looked up and saw a doctor approaching, his breath caught in this throat. He quickly backed into the waiting room. "Doctor is on his way." He walked over and stood between Stan and Brandy.
"Family of Mary Shannon?" Marshall and Stan nodded, Brandy stood just holding Nora tightly. The doctor motioned for them to sit and Marshall's stomach dropped.
"She is in recovery now." All four of them let out the breath they were holding. "She's not out of the woods yet. It is remarkable she is still alive. The stab wound punctured her lung, although severe, the biggest concern is her kidneys. They took a considerable amount of damage from her attack. We removed her spleen. She has seven broken ribs, as well as damage to both rotator cuffs and her right wrist is broken. I believe that is the one that took most of her weight from the marks on her skin." The doctor paused for a moment, to allow them to absorb everything. "We have her on antibiotics to stave off infection and some additional medication to aid in kidney function."
"Can we see her?" Brandy asked, desperate to see Mary.
"Once she is out of recovery, I will have someone take you to her." The doctor stood.
Marshall quickly got to his feet and shook his hand. "Thank you."
"She is a fighter, she has a long way to go yet but if she keeps this up, she has a good chance." The doctor gave them one last look before he left. Marshall sat back down, his mind slowly tallying the string of injuries the doctor rattled off.
Brandy put a hand on his arm. Her face red, tears falling freely. "She is still with us, which means you can fix this." She knew she was saying too much, but she pushed forward. "If you love her, fight for her and fix this. If not, walk away and don't go in there." Brandy stood up, taking Nora from Delia and held her, whispering that her mom would be alright.