Week 22 Part II

Mary looked up at him; the urgency in her green eyes had subsided replaced with pure fear.

She apologized so many times as Marshall buckled Norah into the car seat, but after she had emerged from the bathroom, her one hand covered in blood he went into auto pilot, no matter what came from her mouth was countered with, "Mare, I promise everything is going to be fine." He only hoped he wasn't making promises impossible of keeping.

As he stared down into her eyes, returning the look of immense helplessness, Mary went into full blown hysteria, with tears rolling down her face she of all people began to make promises he wouldn't hold her to keeping. It was terrifying what she was saying; clearly afraid that this would be the end of the road for them, if anything happened to their child,

"Marshall" she wept, "I really liked that name, Lil, I did, I just didn't want to tell you in case something like this happened, in case we were bashed with a stroke of the Shannon family bad luck and now look where we are!" she made a dramatic gesture around the hospital room as she laid atop the bed, covered as not to expose her bottom half.

"Oh Mary, I love that name too, I'm sorry I pushed you today, I didn't mean for this to be the result, but everything is going to be fine..." he trailed off, wondering where he was going with his reassurances, ready to be interrupted,

"We can try again, we c-

"Mare! Why? We have this baby! This one right here" he rested his hand on her stomach, secretly wondering how long it would take a Doctor to arrive on the scene and tell them what the hell was going on, but any vibes of impatience radiating from him would send Mary reeling even more and he could barely handle her the way she was.

"A-and, we can get married, we can get married anywhere you want, we can have babies and get married…"

"Maryyyy, relax! Please just relax, I know you loathe that word, but for me? You're just going to agitate whatever the situation is more if you remain so uptight…"

Thank God Norah was asleep, a screaming baby and a sobbing Mary would have been hell, Mark was taking forever to arrive, and the plan was to hand Norah off to her father in the hallway so Mary wouldn't get a chance to rage about him in any capacity. That's exactly what he did, in a blink of any eye, the carrier that had burdened the nurses and the baby that brought so much joy to Marshall on a normal day was handed off to her dad, along with her diaper bag. No words were exchanged; a muddled 'thank you' and a tiny nod assured Mark that what he was doing was appreciated.

"Who did you just hand my daughter off to?" she questioned, between shudders.

"Her father, don't get angry, we can't have Norah just hanging out here, it's not a fit place for a sleeping infant with all of the commotion and all." Marshall answered, carefully observing whatever expressions playing around on her face.

She was speechless for a moment both hands resting on her stomach,

"I don't feel the butterflies Marshall.." she whispered, seemingly concentrating with what little vigor she could conjure up.

He furrowed his brow, threatened by the statement.

"I'm sure it's just because you're upset Mare, she'll move again, you just wait, she will." He repeated, feeling like a child. Marshall inched closer, until his hand was grasping hers, looking down upon the distraught woman, praying to himself he was correct in assuming that their child was reacting to the overwhelming stress.

He was about to sigh, to let the defeat take hold, but Dr. Reese poked her head in, too cheerful for Marshall even.

"Hey folks, as you're aware, we performed a few ultrasounds and took a peek, I didn't want to jump to conclusions so I apologize for the wait. I understand it must have been torture for you to sit here for so long to hear this news…. It's not good news you two, but it is fixable.."

"Uh-huh.." Mary gurgled through the mucus that had built up in her throat, sniffling as she wiped at her runny nose.

"You do have a moderate case of Placenta Previa"

He cringed, well aware Mary didn't know what that was, and she looked back and forth between Marshall and Dr. Reese, ready to crack in two as she searched for an answer without probing with her usual stinging, dripping sarcasm,

"What the hell does that mean?" she moaned.

"It means the placenta is blocking the cervix in some way shape or form.." Marshall answered sadly, squeezing her hand slightly…

"Is that why it looks like WWIII down there?" Mary asked, her eyes red with tears, and her body tensing up,

"Umm- well, ahem, yeah… Unfortunately, that is a symptom…" Dr. Reese responded, sitting on a stool in the corner of the room, waiting out the panic in the U.S. Marshal's eyes, knowing very well Marshall was on it,

"Mare, there are a few levels of severity in Placenta Previa, marginal, partial or complete, , the case Dr. Reese has so kindly informed us you have, can be corrected, only by the baby's accord."

"Which means?" Mary sniffled. "Marshall? Is our baby okay?"

"Yes Mary, your baby is fine, but…" The doctor trailed off.

"BUT what?" She yelled.

"We'll have to keep you overnight… and I'll have to confine you to bed rest until the baby moves the placenta away from the potential opening of the cervix…"

"And how long will that take?" she whispered, gulping at her dry throat.

"As long as it takes, but you will have to take it easy, no exceptions… And absolutely no sex, Placenta Previa is common among women over the age of thirty-five-

Mary shook her head, and Marshall knew a crack about her age was in her next verbalization,

"Yeah DOC- you've informed me that I am and old woman already on multiple occasions, so because I'm like one-hundred years old the pla- whatever is blocking the opening the baby's supposed to come out of?"

"Exactly…But if the placenta does not in fact move before your due date, there are several things we can do, but I don't want you to worry about that." reassured.

"Shouldn't we start some form of steroid to begin maturing the baby's lungs? Mary did have Norah prematurely and now that there's a factor that can cause an early delivery shouldn't we-

"Marshall, relax, ninety percent of these cases correct themselves, but like I said, you'll have to stay the night, so we can make sure everything is running smoothly and then you'll have to take it easy, okay? Can you do that for me?" She questioned as Mary were a small child, which was the sort of treatment she needed in the state she was in.

"If I have to." She pouted, although Marshall was entirely sure she was more than willing to spend whatever it took in bed, having quality time with Norah after the fit she threw just moments ago when their baby's life was potentially in danger.

"We'll handle this as needed you two, but for now, you need to relax… The odds are in your favor."

As she exited, Mary snorted,

"Is she forgetting I'm a Shannon? Odds are never in my favor."

Marshall sighed in relief, letting a tear slip from the corner of his eye. They were quiet for a moment,

"Doofus?" she asked, looking up at her partner, remorse replacing the fear,

"What Mare?" he smiled.

"I'm sorry we didn't get married today." She admitted.

He leaned down, on his knees on the hospital room floor, the hard tile pressing against his knee caps,

"We have a lot of time for that; you and the baby are my first priority…The last thing I want is for anything to happen to you or my daughter." He smiled, adjusting her covers, "I love you. You don't have to marry me tonight for you to know that."

Marshall gave her his best smile,

"I love you too Marshall."

He got up from the floor; he still wanted to marry her, most definitely. And even though he knew it was far from his fault, it still felt that way. He would just have to wait, he could wait, and he had waited for her before. Now he would wait for all of this to blow over, so he could wait some more.

(Sorry for the serious chapter guys! Next one will be funnnnnnnnyyyyy Thanks for the reviews! You're all awesome for sticking with me!)