Gah, cannot believe it's been 10 months since I've updated this story! Sorry about that! Hope there are people still reading. I still really miss In Plain Sight and glad that the fandom is still going! Thanks to anyone still reading (and reviewing). Please let me know what you think!

Enjoy!

Fairytale Ending.

"You okay?" Mary asked, taking her eyes of the road for a second to glance across at her husband.

Marshall nodded but didn't speak, his head leaning back against the head rest and his eyes closed.

"Are you sure? Feeling nauseous?" She guessed and he gave another small nod. "Do you want me to pull over?"

"No." He swallowed and forced his eyes open. "I just want to get home."

His early release had been put back a few days because of Evie's sickness but now she was better the doctor had agreed for him to go home. That morning he had been excited about getting out of the hospital and back home with his girls but he had been surprised how quickly he had gotten tired and from such little active.

"Here." Mary picked up a bottle of water from the cup holder and held it out to him.

He took it but didn't open it, instead closing his eyes again when the motion of the car caused his stomach to twist and turn once again.

Mary sent him another concerned look but knew the best thing she could do was get him home and into the bed. The doctor had told them to expect this and while she knew the chemo would and had already been rough on Marshall, there was a small part of her that believed he'd be an exception.

"You're not upset that I sent the girls to school, are you?" Mary asked, deciding to try to distract with him conversation. "I thought it would be good to get you home and settled before they get home."

"Who's picking them up?" Marshall questioned.

"Not sure yet, either your parents or me."

"My parents?"

"Yeah, they're back at the house now." Mary informed him. "Your Mom has been a godsend with cooking and cleaning plus the girls have loved having them around…"

"And you're sure Evie is okay?" Marshall opened his eyes again, turning his head to look at her.

"Marshall, I promise you it was just a virus, no big deal." Mary assured him for what felt like the hundredth time since their youngest had gotten ill.

"And Norah is doing okay?"

"Yeah, she's got a new science project and is excited about working on it with you."

"If I'm able to help…" He sighed quietly. He had never felt so exhausted in his life, not even after being shot.

"I'm sure you'll be able to do some of it after you've had a few rest days at home." Mary assured him. "Even if you just give her some advice and ideas to work with."

"I guess…"

"I'm sure you'll feel a whole lot better once you're home." Mary added, knowing she was going to feel better with him being there.

"You're right…" Marshall agreed softly, silently telling himself to cheer up. He didn't want to be in a miserable mood when he saw the girls. "Sorry…"

Mary shot him another quick look. "You don't have to be sorry."

He leaned his head back against the head rest and closed his eyes again. "I'm really happy to be going home."

"Not as happy as we are…" Mary replied.

"You missed your man?" Marshall asked and Mary was relieved to hear a teasing tone.

"Tell anyone and I'll deny it." Mary shot him a look but she was pretty sure he didn't need to tell anyone; they already knew.

"Your secret is safe with me." He assured her as she pulled in their driveway, rolling his head slightly on the headrest so he was looking at her. "Thanks, Mare."

"Welcome home, doofus." She replied softly.

While Mary grabbed his bag out of the back, Marshall slowly eased himself out of the car. She followed him up the path, there if he needed any help but not wanting to fuss over him.

Before they reached the front door, it was swung open and his mother stepped out to greet them.

"Oh honey, I'm so glad you're home…" Sarah hugged him tightly as Seth appeared; stepping around them to reach for the bag that Mary was carrying.

"Sweetheart, let the boy get inside before you start your mothering." Seth chuckled lightly, patting Marshall's shoulder once his wife had stepped back. "How you doing, Son?"

"Glad to be home…" Marshall answered tiredly.

"Well, lets get you inside and settled." She started to lead to the door.

"Mom, I can walk on my own…" Marshall assured her half heartily as she supported him but he didn't push her away.

"Why walk on your own when I can help?" Sarah asked rhetorically as they entered the house. "Now, you look exhausted…Where you do want to lie down on the couch or in bed?"

Marshall opened his mouth to reply but then the stairs in front of him caught his eye and he realized he didn't have the energy to climb them.

"Upstairs will be better…" Sarah continued without waiting for an answer. "That way you can sleep without being disturbed…"

"The couch is fine…" Marshall started to say.

"Your Mom is right," Mary added. "You'll be more comfortable in bed…"

"Maybe later, now I just want to sit down…"

"No, I know what will happen. You'll get settled and then won't want to move…" Sarah predicted.

"Mom…" Marshall pulled away from her.

"Come on," Mary took his free arm gently. "Let me help you…"

"Honey, didn't you have something in the oven?" Seth interrupted, causing his wife's eyes to widen before dashing off to towards the kitchen. He smiled a little and then looked towards Mary. "I'm sure Marshall and I can figure something out..."

Mary looked from her father in law to her husband, who was now leaning slightly against the wall and refusing to look at anyone.

"Okay…" She said slowly when Marshall didn't protest. "I'll get you some water."

Marshall glanced at her as squeezed his arm comfortingly before walking away but he still didn't say anything.

"Right, shall we get this over with?" Seth questioned once they were alone.

Marshall looked back to the stairs when his Dad gestured to it. There seemed to a lot more than he remembered.

"Come on," Seth said gentler, putting his son's arm around his shoulders.

Marshall gripped tightly onto the hand rail and willed his legs to be strong enough for the next couple of minutes just until he reached the bedroom he had longed for.

They had only made it halfway up when Marshall felt his knees buckle slightly and Seth had to put his free hand to the wall to stop them both from falling.

"Okay?" He looked at Marshall when they seemed steady on their feet again.

"No." Marshall growled so low that Seth could barely make out what he said. "Damn it!"

For once, Seth didn't have a comment to say when Marshall slammed his fist in the wall before angrily swiping at the tears in his eyes.

"Okay, just a few more steps." Seth ignored the outburst and used all his strength to practically carry his son up the remaining steps.

By the time they had reached the bedroom, Seth was practically dragging Marshall along but figured doing it quickly and getting it over with was better.

Once they got to the bed, Marshall pushed away from him and gripped onto the side table before slowly lowering himself down onto the mattress.

"Is there anything you need?" Seth asked, watching Marshall laying down with his back to him. "Do you want to get changed first?"

There was silence and after a few seconds, Seth stepped closed to the bed so he could look at his son's face. His eyes were closed but Seth knew he wasn't sleeping. Sighing quietly, he patted his arm before silently leaving to give his son some much needed space.

When he walked into the kitchen, both Mary and Sarah stopped talking and looked at him.

"Is he okay?" Mary questioned.

"He's going to sleep." Seth answered, avoiding answering the actual question she asked. "But I'm sure he'd be okay if you checked on him…"

"Oh…Right, okay." Mary nodded, reaching for the bottle of water she had told him she'd bring him.

"We're going to leave you to it." Seth continued.

"You're leaving?" Mary asked in surprise.

"Of course not." Sarah stated, giving her husband a look. "He's just come out of hospital!"

"Honey, he's tired…he needs rest and quiet." Seth told her. "There's nothing that needs doing urgently so we could give them some space and quiet before the girls get done with school."

"But…"

"We'll still collect them and bring them back here." Seth assured her. "You can check up on him then…"

Sarah knew there was more to it but decided not to push the issue in front of Mary. "Mary, is there anything you need us to do before we go?"

"No, you've done enough." Mary told her. "You guys go and get some rest yourself…"

"Call us if you need anything."

"You're number one on my speed dial." She joked lightly, following them to the door.

"We'll see you in a few hours."

Once the door was closed behind them, Mary slowly made her way upstairs and quietly crept into their bedroom, not wanting to disturb Marshall if he was already asleep.

She moved to her side of the bed and sat down gently so she was facing her husband. Like Seth, she knew instantly he wasn't sleeping even though his eyes were still closed.

She gently stroked his cheek and frowned a little when he didn't open his eyes.

"Marshall?" She moved closer to him. "Come on, I know you're not sleeping…"

He wouldn't look at her until she ran her fingers up his face and into his hair. He quickly reached up and took her hand, pulling it down and onto the bedcover between them.

She was surprised by the action but was glad when he entwined his fingers through hers instead of pulling away.

"Marshall? What happened?" She asked softly. "Did your Dad say something?"

"No…It's nothing."

"It's not nothing…Talk to me."

"Just thinking, that's all." One of his fingers now tracing along her wedding band; his eyes following it.

"Thinking about what?" She questioned and when he didn't answer, she used her other hand to lift his chin so he was finally looking at her. "Marshall?"

"Remember the story I told you about how when we were kids, my Dad used to bundle us all into the car at night and we'd just drive?"

"Yeah, you told me that when we first met." She nodded a little, hardly believing that was almost 15 years ago now. "I think that was the first civil conversation we had…What made you think of that?"

"When we made it to where ever it was we were going or back home, if we had fallen asleep, he'd carry us to bed…" Marshall told her.

Mary stayed silent, not wanting to interrupt and stop him now he had started.

"The last time, we had been on vacation but it meant we were going to miss my Grandpa's birthday, no one wanted to miss our last day and I was disappointed…but that night, right before bed my Dad pack us all in the car and drove all night to get back."

Mary smiled a little at the story; it beats her memories of going on stakeout or ice cream trips to get away from Jinx.

"My brothers and Mom fell asleep but I was too excited…I always loved driving at night and I was looking forward to giving my Grandpa the gift I had picked out for him." Marshall continued. "But when we got home, I pretended I was asleep."

"Why?" Mary questioned. "Did you think Seth would tell you off for being awake?"

Marshall shook his head, his eyes still on their joined hands.

"Marshall?" She prompted when he didn't answer.

"I liked when he used to carry me to bed." He admitted after hesitating a little. "It's was the only real time I remember him putting me to bed…the rest of the time, he was at work or busy and my mom would do it…"

Normally, such an admission would receive some mocking but over the past few years of them being together, Mary had gotten used knowing when the teasing was okay and when she needed to be comforting and supportive.

"That's a nice memory…" She replied softly.

"Yeah…." He agreed. "Except now the last memory of him carrying me to bed is going to be this one…because I'm just too weak to even climb the stairs."

Mary was stunned; she hadn't been expected that to be the reason behind his low mood.

"Marshall, you've just come out of hospital." She pointed out. "You're sick…You need to take it easy and yes, you'll need help sometime."

"I know but…"

"But what?"

"Nothing." He shook his head and rolled away to lie on his back. "Don't worry, you're right about the rest…I should probably get some sleep before the girls get home."

Mary knew she hadn't made him feel any better but she didn't know what she could say or do. She knew if she was in his shoes, she would hate having to rely on anyone else.

"I know this is hard and it's probably going to a little while before it starts to get better but just keep remembering that it will get better." She said softly. "And that everyone around you loves you….that is why we all want to help."

He looked back at her and she could see a little guilt in his eyes. "I'm sorry…I must sound so ungrateful…."

"No." She cut him off. "Just like someone who is going through something scary and trying their best to handle it."

His eyes started to burn with tears and he took in a shaky breath. Mary leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Now, try and relax and get some sleep."

"Okay." He agreed quietly but reached out to take her hand as she moved to get off the bed. "Promise you'll wake me when the girls get home?"

"I promise…Although even if I don't, I have a feeling the girls will."

That made him smile and he brought her hand to his lips before letting it go. "Thanks, Mare."

"It's what I'm here for." She assured him.

When she reached the bedroom door, she turned back and watched for a little while until she was sure he was really asleep this time.

TBC

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