Thanks for the reviews! This is a long chapter, but it was a necessary evil. Hope its not too long...enjoy! :)
Marshall opened the front door and took a breath before crossing the threshold. He was on his way to get over a necessary evil before moving on with his life with the one meant for him.
He turned closing the door, dropped his car keys on a tray by the door before moving further into the house. Looking around as he went, see if he could spot his fiancée, knew she was in because he had parked next to her car in the garage.
He shrugged out of his jacket in the living room and set it on the back of the couch. His hands rested on his hips as he looked over to their bedroom, tilting his head to hear if any noise came from that direction.
He stood there for a few moments, lost in thought. He had stayed over at Mary and Norah's all of Saturday, waking up with Mary in his arms for the second day in a row that Sunday morning, had him longing for those kinds of mornings for the rest of his life.
"Hey," she whispered into his chest as she felt him wake.
He had tugged her closer, pulling her thigh over his hip as he wedge his leg between hers, "Hey"
Mary had moved her head and kissed his Adam's apple before murmuring, "You have to go."
His hand traveled from her thigh up to the nape of her hair, keeping her lips against his neck, "I know, just…let me enjoy this moment. I'm going to need your strength."
She scoffed and pressed another chaste kiss and shook her head, "I'm not strong."
He pulled her head away, cupping her chin to bring her face up to meet her green eyes. He stared down at her and whispered against her lips, "You're the strongest person I know."
Mary closed her eyes and sighed, "You have to go now or you'll never leave."
"I know. I don't want to go, but I have to take care of things first," he said as he pulled away, almost rolled back into her arms when she moaned in loss.
A door swung open, snapping him out of his reverie, he turned and his eyes locked with his fiancée's. Abigail stopped and stared at him in surprise, she hadn't heard him come into the house, she could literally feel her blood run cold at the expression in his eyes.
She inwardly shook off the feeling of dread and grinned up at him, "Hello Honey Britches! I'm glad you're home, I was on my way to call you."
"Uh, okay, I actually came to talk to you," he started but she waved her hands and he stopped.
"We can talk afterwards, I cooked your favorite! I called your mother and she gave me the recipe. I hope it's as good or close as the one your mother cooks for you on your visits back home," she babbled non stop, pulling at his hand until she pushed him on the dinner table.
She disappeared back to the kitchen before he could voice an objection, he sat back on his usual seat at the end of the table and sighed regrettably. Hating the situation he had brought himself into by getting in deep with the woman that had just cooked him his favorite meal.
He rested his head back and waited for her to come back, he knew what she had seen in his eyes before she composed herself enough to bring forth her genuine smile, a smile that had not reached her eyes. Those eyes had looked panicked a second too long, giving him enough time to see it and inwardly flinch at the pain.
She walked back out with her smile still in place, a plate on each hand, the perfect homemaker, he could smell the chili as the steam rose from the plates.
Marshall looked down at his plate and smelled the aroma that arose from it, she hadn't even come close to the way he enjoyed his chili, he couldn't even smell his mother's secret ingredient. That alone told him that his mother hadn't believed he would end up with Abigail, she hadn't even trusted her enough to share the secret ingredient.
Marshall pushed the plate away and leaned back, as he looked back up to see her. He stared at her for a moment before he cleared his throat, "We need to talk."
She looked up at him, mock surprise on her face, "Don't you like chili? Your mother said it was your favorite."
He shook his head, "No, that's not what we need to talk about."
"Sugar Plum, can't it wait until after we eat? I'm sure whatever you have to say can be put on the back burner for a few minutes, right?" she asked, hopeful that he would take the bait, but she could see the determination in his eyes.
"No, I'd rather we talk first, I'm sure this is really good chili, but what I came to say is more important and can't really be put on the back burner," he stressed the last words and nodded to the living room. He rose and walked out of the dining room towards the living room.
Abigail sat perched on her chair and let out a shuddering breath before looking at her diamond ring, she shook her head and was determined not to let him go. She stood up and walked into the living room, walking towards him and pushing him onto the couch.
He frowned at her attitude, guessing that she had already figured out why he was there, but he would go about the conversation saving her the pain he was about to incur.
She went to sit on his lap sideways, but he managed to mangle her over next to him, she mock pout at him and scolded, "Sweetheart, what's gotten into you?"
"I think you already know the answer to that question, why you're trying to dissuade this much needed conversation, is beyond my comprehension," he moved over away from her and stood up, he trekked across the room and turned back to her.
She saw it, he was about to break up with her, she tried to inwardly brace herself for the impact, but she blurted, "I'm pregnant!"
He reared back in shock surprise, his mouth gaping open; he covered his opened mouth with his hand and closed his eyes. He couldn't go through with it, he couldn't break up with the mother of his future child. He shuddered at the thought that he would have to give up on Mary and actually go through with the wedding to Abigail.
Marshall opened his eyes and moved over to a chair, he flopped down and croaked, "How long?"
Abigail smiled and got up to go to him, but he shook his head at her as he raised a hand, not letting her near him. She smirked and answered, "About 5 or 6 weeks, I've been meaning to tell you, I just wanted to make it special for you. I'm sorry buttercup; I wish I could've told you sooner."
Marshall stared at her smile and couldn't help but notice that she didn't look any different, he couldn't put his finger on it, but he had seen a change in Mary when she had been pregnant with Norah. He had been sure he would see something similar in his fiancée when they created their own miracle.
He leaned forward, burying his face into his hands as he scrubbed them up and down. His blood ran icy cold through his body and shuddered that he had what he always wanted in reach and now he would possibly lose it forever. He wasn't sure Mary would stay after he told her the good news, because having a child whether it's with the woman he loved or not, was good news on his front. He would be a father to his own child and he would be damned before he turned his back on the unborn child.
When he finally composed himself, he looked up and locked his blue eyes to hers and nodded, "We're going to be parents."
She grinned and walked over to him, running her fingers through the hair on his temple, moving that hand down to cup his cheek, "You're going to be a father"
He smiled up at her and took her hand in his, squeezing the fingers with another nod. He stood up and pulled her into his embrace, holding her against him. He would have to make it work with his fiancée, even if it killed him to lose Mary and Norah. I miss them already and they haven't left. How the hell am I suppose to survive without them?
"Let's go finish our chili," she advised as she pulled him along behind her, back to the dining room.
Abigail felt like she was on top of the world, as she saw the resignation on Marshall's face, the knife twisted in her heart, but she had won the battle against Mary. She wouldn't go down without a fight, he had been meant for her and she wouldn't let Mary have him.
She saw him pick up the spoon, dip it in the chili, he was bringing it to his lips when he stopped mid-way, he put the spoon down in the bowl, "I need to use the restroom, wash my hands."
Marshall stood back up and walked away, going to their restroom in the bedroom and closed the door behind him, he needed a minute to come to terms with his loss. He stared at his reflection on the mirror and leaned back on the door, sliding down until he was sitting on the bathroom floor and had his head over his knees. The remorse rolled over his body and he shuddered in repressed emotion, if he cried, Abigail would be able to tell.
After a few moments sitting on the floor of the bathroom, he stood up and went to wash his hands. Taking his time washing each finger, over his wrist and up onto his forearm, he rinsed his hands, he turned to dry his hand on the hanging towel and looked over at the calendar hanging next to the towel.
He noticed a date towards the end of the month; they had been invited to the wedding of one of her close friends back in Texas. He closed his eyes at the thought of having to not only act around Abigail, so as not to cause his child any hard by upsetting her, but attend a special event and act like he was happy.
Opening his eyes again, he scanned the calendar for any other appointments, but then he noticed something that triggered his memory to work in overdrive. There were several little marks earlier that month, he reached over and tore the calendar off the wall, turning the pages he noticed the marks. They were period marks and then a memory triggered.
He walked into their bedroom and found her in bed, with a pillow pressed to her lower abdomen; he had walked over to her and sat on the edge of the bed beside her, "Are you okay?"
"I'll be fine sweetie, just the monthly visitor coming to make its presence," they had chuckled and he had pressed his large hand on her shoulder with a pained expression.
"Sorry," he had murmured as he stared down at her, she had winced and closed her eyes, "Are you sure you're okay?"
She nodded, "I just took some strong painkillers, it'll be gone in no time."
"Alright, I'm going to shower and then I'll make some soup to help," he had gotten up and had left Abigail to rest while he went about the rest of the day.
He cursed under his breath at what that implied, Abigail had lied on purpose, and he didn't even want to imagine what her excuse would've been when she didn't grow with child. Would she have claimed a miscarriage? Would she try to get pregnant on purpose? But he would know she had lied anyways, he knew how to count and when the child wasn't born within the desired time. He shuddered anew at the callousness of the woman he had asked to marry.
Marshall thrust open the door, slamming against the wall as he walked out of the bedroom straight to the dining room, his jaw locked and his eyes darkened in anger.
He kicked the door leading to the dining room open, Abigail managed a yelp as she stood up away from the table, she turned to encounter the glaring look he shot her, locking his ferocious eyes with hers, through clench teeth he uttered, "How dare you?"
"Honey Br-britches, what's the matter?" she stuttered as she tried to act matter-of-factly.
"Cut the crap! You lied…you lied straight to my face!" Marshall didn't know how he was holding himself together, but the fact that she had tried to trap him into a loveless marriage with the promise of the much desired child, that had riled him like nothing else could.
Abigail gulped and shook her head, her brown curls bounced around her face as she stared at the calendar in his hands, she looked at his face and winced. He was flushed red, the vein on his forehead had popped out and he was breathing harshly through his nose.
Since she stood next to her chair by the dining table in shock, he dropped the calendar from his grasp and grabbed her shoulders, he shook her until her face scrunched up and tears started to roll down her face. Her hands covered her face and she sobbed into her hands, "I lo-love you! I can't ju-just give y-you up!"
As fast as his anger had surfaced, he pushed her away and turned his back to her, "That's not what I call love, that's just being a selfish bitch!"
"Se-selfish!? Ho-how can you ca-call me a se-selfish bi-bitch?" she yelled to his back. Anger arose from her in droves, "The only selfish bitch is Mary!"
Marshall turned sharply around and glared at her, "How dare you? Mary would never fake a pregnancy to keep someone tied to her. You know…I won't…I can't…even look at you."
"Marshall I'm so, so sorry, I just didn't know what to do to make you see that we have something going here," she changed her tactic and tried to rationalize with him, convince him that he was better off with her. "If you're so desperate to have a baby, I'll give it to you."
He stared at her in astonishment, he couldn't honestly believe that he had thought he could be happy with the woman standing in front of him, he slowly moved his head from side to side in amazement, "I'm so desperate to have? You'll just put your career on hold and have a baby with me?"
She nodded quickly, hoping that the promise of a child could still keep him by her side, "Yes, anything you want. We can start now if you'd like."
He stepped back as she stepped towards him and raised a hand to stop her, "Don't you even want to know why I wanted to talk to you before eating?"
Abigail stopped walking towards him and shook her head in denial, but deep down she knew his reasons, "No"
Marshall rolled his eyes and smiled feebly at her, "You could almost convince me that you indeed didn't know, but you know why I'm here."
"Not really, why don't you just tell me," she folded her arms across her chest and tapped her foot on the tiled floor in impatience.
Shaking his head at her he said, "I was here to break up with you."
"Why? Because I tried to set up your best-friend? Surely that makes me the evil one, for caring to find the woman a good man that would really make her happy," she said sarcastically with a fake enthusiasm.
"Because you helped me realize that I don't want her to be with any other man," he confessed, staring at her and willing her to understand without the words. Because even after the lie she had uttered to his face, he couldn't be the gentleman that he was if he hurt her with a vengeful breakup.
Abigail stared at him and then the waterworks started again, she murmured, "I guess I'm not the only one that lied, you told me that you weren't in love with her."
He closed his eyes and shrugged, "I guess we both lied, but I truly thought that I was over her."
"So, now what?" she asked apprehensively, biting her bottom lip, tears still rolling down her face.
"Now, I guess I'll go and come back when you're not home. Take my things and that's it," he opened his eyes and looked her dead in the eyes, giving her no option to argue.
With tears rolling down her face, she moved over and sat on the chair she had abandoned, swiping the tears angrily with the back of her hand. If she was honest with herself, she was the only one to blame. All because she tried to set Mary up with another man, to get rid of her to have Marshall all to herself and now, all she would have of the inspector would be the memories.
Marshall watched her for a few minutes then turned and walked away.
TBC...Really thought long and hard, and decided to give you the whole break up together...I was tempted to leave it hanging(leaving you to believe she was really pregnant), per my usual, tun tun tun...
