Thanks for the reviews! OK, I'm stumped...keep in mind that I'm really new to FF (forget FF, I'm new to writing, period), what in the world does from canon to fanon mean? I tried to look it up online, but ended more confused...


"Why Cancun?"

"Wait, what?" she asked surprised at the question and his manhandling.

"Why there? Why Can-freaking-cun? Was it to reminisce? Was he there too?" Marshall's hands grasped her shoulders and shook her fiercely, he was so tired of fighting for her attention.

"How the hell is that any of your mother humping business?" she pushed at him angrily until he let go, she walked over to the living room and swirled around to see him standing right in front of her. Which had her jumping in surprise, she hadn't even heard him walk behind her.

"Why Cancun?" he asked through clenched teeth, a hand on rested on his hip as the other raked through his hair, making his hair stick out.

"Puerto Vallarta, numbnuts!" she raised her voice on a growl, loud enough not to wake Bug.

Marshall stared at her, shock evident in his face at the confession, walking backwards until the backs of his knees hit the couch, he sat heavily onto the couch and groaned murmuring, "Your sister said you went to Cancun"

"My damn sister was wrong!" Mary crossed her arms and stared down at him.

"I'm sorry," he murmured looking up at her.

Dropping her arms she sighed deeply and walked over to him, sitting right next to him, her shoulder touching his. "I know, I'm sorry too"

"Why do we always end up fighting?" he asked conspicuously.

"That's how our friendship is," she agreed with a shrug.

"Is it going to be that way after we get married?" Marshall turned to look at her, he wanted to catch her expression. Surprised that he had asked her that question, which had never been his intention.

"I don't know, we'll just have to wait and see." Mary gave him a crooked smile, going for shock factor. Which she got when his eyes opened wide and his lips broke into his goofy grin.

He laughed joyously and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Was that a yes?"

"Was that a proposal?" she countered.

"Yes" he said with enthusiasm.

Mary stared into his excited blue eyes and feebly smiled, "You just broke up with your fiancée, and I think we both need to start just as friends."

"I guess that's your way of saying no," he began to pull his arm from around her shoulder.

Mary caught his hand before his arm took its warmth, "Marshall, you are probably on the rebound now and I don't think I need to remind you that I have Bug now. I can't just jump in with both feet anymore."

He didn't fight to get his arm back, just pulled her closer, kissing her temple, "Does that mean, that maybe after you think is a ridiculously small amount of time, we can be more than friends?"

"I think I can agree with that. So are you going to tell what happened?" Mary rested along his side, with his arm still slung over her shoulders.

Marshall tensed, sighed and rested his head on the back of the couch, then he rolled his head to meet her green gaze, without breaking eye contact he leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. She froze at the contact and her eyes fluttered closed on a sigh.

When he leaned back his heart swelled in satisfaction, Mary had her eyes closed with a small frown upon her face. Then she opened her eyes and met his blue eyes with her green, she smiled and rested her head against his jaw.

"Tell me," she whispered along his collarbone.

"We just…didn't mesh well together."

"Try again," she challenged as she raised her head again to stare into his eyes.

Marshall stared back into her green gaze and closed his eyes, as he leaned over her to rest his head against hers. He shrugged and said, "You were right"

"Aren't I always?" she tried to lighten the mood, didn't want him to rehash the breakup.

He chuckled, "Yeah, I guess you are."

"What exactly was I right about this time?"

"All she did was try to change me, like she couldn't accept me for who I am. Always needing to know what I was doing when I wasn't with her, especially when it came to what I was doing with you," he muttered as he moved his head to rest against the back of the couch. "You name it, she tried it."

"What exactly was the last straw?"

"It wasn't enough that she asked me to talk to you, but afterwards she was always angry that I was sad, she couldn't understand why we were so close" he said angrily.

"I'm sorry, but I did release you. We wouldn't stop being partners because we were no longer friends outside the office, didn't she know that?" Mary asked incredulously.

Marshall shrugged again, "I guess she thought or maybe prayed that you would kick me to the curb, which you had every right after that stupid speech on the balcony, to transfer or ask for another partner"

"Like I could live away from you or partner with another, impossible," she jokingly said.

"Mare?"

"Yeah?"

"Why'd you run to Mexico?" he asked curiously.

Mary groaned and buried her face in his chest, her hand crushing his shirt on his chest, "I had a few reasons, the first being the fact that my sister wanted us to come to Florida for a fun-freaking time with James' illegitimate children."

Marshall froze at the audacity of Brandi, even he knew that Mary would balk at the idea of meeting up with her father's children. Knowing the answer already, he still asked, "What's the second reason?"

She looked up to meet his blue gaze, "You were having a Christmas party"

Looking hurt he pouted, "You didn't want to come to my Christmas party?"

She shook her head, "How could I? We reestablished our friendship, we weren't supposed to be friends outside the office"

"I didn't mean it that way Mare"

"Doofus, I know, but you know me, I don't do in-between, meet in the middle, middle ground," she groused.

"Is that also the reason you don't want to meet your extended family?" he asked.

Mary groaned and tried to extricate herself from him, but he just pulled her closer. She sighed heavily into his chest and morosely said, "I just don't want them in my life. They are just a reminder that we weren't good enough, a reminder that he had to try again to get it right."

"You're perfect"

She snorted a laugh, "You're biased."

"Don't say 'biased'," he mocked, trying to make her smile.

Mary looked up into his blue eyes and said, "I don't want them around us. If Brandi wants them in her life, fine, but she'll just have to learn to live without me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah"

"You know, they are not to blame for his mistakes, just as you aren't to blame for them either." he tried to soothe.

"I know"

"Then what's the problem?"

"I wasn't good enough for him, at seven he up and left me. Just left, leaving me to care for a drunken mother and a baby sister. Did he leave them too?" tears pooled in her eyes, she tried to blink them away, but they fell anyways.

Marshall pulled her onto his lap and she straddled him, trying hard not to sob. He rubbed her back in a circular motion.

She wrapped her arms around his back and held on to him, she had never let her defenses down, but he was Marshall and she always let him in. No one else had ever seen her cry like this, cry because life had been unfair to a seven year old little girl.

Mary sniffled into his shoulder and croaked, "I barely remember him, and when he finally came back, he dies."

"I know, I know. I'm so sorry Mare" he soothed as he pressed kisses on her temple.

After a while, she stopped crying and moved off his lap, he tried to hold her close, but she wouldn't budge, murmuring, "Thanks"

"For you, anything"

Resting her head on his shoulder she turns back to look into the kitchen and found the clock, she murmured, "It's almost midnight"

"So, where do we go from here?" Marshall asked curiously, locking his blue gaze to her green.

"BFFs?" she half joked.

"I need more than that Mare," he sighed sadly.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned down to press a kiss on his neck. He groaned and pulled her closer, "Mare, you need to tell me, with words"

"I want more too, but can we start slow?" she blushed up at him.

He grinned down at her and nodded, "Anything, as long as we start someplace."

Looking back to the clock again, she whispered, "Merry Christmas Marshall"

Marshall leaned down and pressed a kiss on her lips, teasing her lips until she opened her mouth and pressing her tongue into his mouth. He groaned aloud and deepened the kiss. Pulling her down with him, he lay on the couch with her sprawled over him. Their kiss became frenzied and he held her hips to his, moving his hands up and down, from waist to hips and back.

Mary pressed into his hardened arousal and groaned, "We have to slow down"

"I know"

But even though she had requested to slow down, it seemed that her passion wouldn't stem down. She straddled his waist, holding his head immobile as she tilted her head to deepen the kiss.

Marshall groaned and moved his hands over to her bottom, grinding his lower half to hers. Moving a hand up, he cupped a breast in one hand.

She tore her lips from him and rested her head against his, "OK, I get it. We don't know the meaning of slow."

He chuckled and brushed his thumb over the aroused bud, at her strangled gasp he moved his hand down to her hips, muttering, "Apparently we don't. Merry Christmas Mare"

She smiled down at him and leaned down to rest her head on his shoulder, with him rubbing her ribs in an up and down motion.


TBC