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Unplanned Life

"Do you want me to call her?" Mary asked, after watching Marshall staring at his cell phone for over ten minutes.

He looked up quickly. "What? No, I can do it…"

"Are you sure?" She asked. "I don't mind."

"No, it should be me." He sighed and pushed himself up from the bed and dialed the number before he had chance to stop himself.

After visiting Emily's grave, Marshall hadn't felt up to getting in contact with Tia or Taylor, so they had found a hotel for the night. Now it was the next day and he knew he needed to make the call.

"Hello?"

"Joanne?" He had to take deep breath. He knew he would need to see Tia at some point while he was in town but he wasn't quite ready yet and wanted to focus his attention on Taylor, which meant speaking with his ex-sister-in-law. "It's Marshall…"

"Oh."

"Look, I'm in Michigan and well, I wanted to…"

"You want to see Taylor?" She predicted flatly.

"Yeah…" He replied, waiting to be denied and was already trying to come up with an argument.

"Well, we have nothing planned for this afternoon." Joanne sighed.

"Really?" Marshall asked in surprise.

"Here's the deal…Taylor is your kid." Joanne stated. "She wants to get to know you and as much as I'd love to keep her to myself, I know she'll just resent me for it."

"Jo…I don't know what to…thank you…"

"We should have told you about her a long time ago…We were wrong to keep it from you, Taylor is still angry with us and the only reason I'm agreeing to this is because she's old enough to make the choice herself." She continued. "You know how I felt about the relationship you and my sister had all those years ago but I know you love Emily and I know you were a good father…I just…I hope you can be the same to Taylor."

Marshall sat back down on the edge of the bed and swallowed nervously. "I'm going to try…."

"Right, well what time do you want to pick her up?" Joanne quickly changed the conversation.

"Around midday?" HE suggested. "I'll take her out for lunch."

"That's fine." Joanne replied; despite her words Marshall knew she wasn't fine with it but was willing to put Taylor first.

She told him, her address and he assured her he knew where to go before hanging up and letting out a long breath.

"So, did it go okay?" Mary questioned.

"Yeah, she said I could spend the afternoon with her."

"Well, that's good." Mary gave him a smile; half expecting they would have to fight Joanne all the way.

"Thanks, Mare." He looked up at her. "I don't think I would be here if it wasn't for you."

"You would have come." She stated confidently. "I just helped you along the way."

This time he stood up, catching one of her hands in his and squeezing it gently. "What did I do to deserve a partner like you?"

Mary wanted to remind him of all the times he had been there for her and knew most people would tell him that she hadn't done anything he didn't deserve but that wasn't who they were.

She tilted her head to the side slightly and smiled. "Something really bad in a past life, I'm sure."

Marshall chuckled and dropped her hand. "Come on, we need to get going…"

"Right behind you partner." She answered as she followed him out the hotel room.

XxXxX

When they arrived at Joanne's house, they were greeted by a woman that Marshall didn't recognize but as soon as they stepped into the kitchen, he saw a familiar face.

"Lewis?"

"Marshall…" The younger man smiled and held out a hand. "It's good to see you."

"You too." He replied automatically because he had no idea how you were meant to greet the younger brother of your ex-wife after all this time. He remembered how Lewis had just turned thirteen when he first met him and Marshall used to help him with Math homework and listened to him when he needed to talk about stuff he couldn't confide in his mother or sisters. Marshall was the youngest in his family and had relished at the chance to be a big brother.

By the time Marshall had left Michigan to start his new life, Lewis was 17 and although they were still on good terms, like the rest of the family that Marshall has become close to, they never kept in touch.

"I see you met my wife, Courtney." Lewis introduced the woman that had led them into the house.

"Yes," he smiled politely and gestured behind him. "This is my friend, Mary."

"Hi." Mary shook his hand, wondering why Marshall had decided to introduce her as his friend and not partner.

"Listen, Marshall…I didn't know…"

"What?"

"I didn't know about you being Taylor's father." He claimed. "I mean, obviously I knew that Tia was pregnant but I thought she had had a one nightstand….I assumed that's why you left…"

"We thought it was best that no one else knew until we worked out what we're going to do…"

Marshall spun around and saw Joanne in the doorway. He was surprised by her appearance, she looked tired…defeated.

"It was a temporary arrangement, me taking care of Taylor." She explained as she entered the room fully. "But Tia kept insisting she didn't want to be a Mom again and as time went on…I just…I couldn't give her up…She was my daughter."

"Just because Tia didn't want to be a Mom, it didn't give you the right to deny Marshall the chance to be a father." Mary shot back.

"Mare…" He shook his head slightly at her, asking her to back off. Despite his anger and the feeling of betrayal there was a part of him that could understand Joanne's actions.

"She's just getting ready." Joanne informed him. "When I told her you were coming she smiled for the first time since we left New Mexico."

Marshall knew it was an olive branch...an acknowledgement that she knew Marshall was going to apart of Taylor's life and she was willing to accept it.

"I knew you would come!"

Before Marshall could say or do anything, Taylor ran across the room and wrapped her arms around him.

"I thought we could hang out…" He said after a few seconds. "If that's okay with you?"

She nodded and grinned up at him. "I'm ready, let's go…"

"Dinner will be ready for 7." Joanne informed her before they exited the kitchen.

"They can stay for dinner, right?" Taylor looked back at her.

"Oh no, it's fine…" Marshall started to say.

"I'm sure they'd rather go somewhere else…" Joanne added.

"Please…" Taylor begged, looking from Joanne to Marshall.

Her mother sighed. "It's nothing fancy but you're welcome to stay…Both of you…"

It was the last thing he wanted to do but he couldn't refuse when Taylor was looking at him like that. "Thank you…"

"Yeah, thanks." Mary knew she had to be there for Marshall.

"Great, let's go…"

"Why don't you go outside with Mary and I'll be right there." Marshall suggested.

Taylor frowned at the request but then shot her mother a look before leaving the house. Marshall nodded his head for Mary to go ahead and follow the teen then only looked back to Joanne once she had gone.

"Does Tia know I'm here?"

Joanne nodded. "She didn't want to get in the way of you and Taylor getting know each other."

"Right…"

"Look, I understand that you're upset and we may have done the wrong thing by keeping it from you but I also know that no matter how much you care for my sister, a relationship with her is never going to work."

Marshall was so used to defending their relationship that he almost argued with her but stopped himself at the last minute. "That might be but I should probably still talk to her before I return to New Mexico…"

"If you insist then I'll let her know you would like to see her." She said reluctantly and turned her back to him to start filling to sink up to wash the breakfast dishes.

"Okay…" Marshall resisted the urge to tell her the last thing he wanted to do was to see Tia so soon after what had happened but he knew he would have to. "Thanks…"

"Dinner will be at 7…J just a pot roast, nothing fancy." She told him, still facing away from him.

"That sounds great."

When he left the kitchen, he found Lewis lurking in the hallway. "I was thinking, maybe we could go for a beer sometime while you're still in town…"

"Uh, yeah sure…"

"I just…I don't think I ever told you how much you helped me." Lewis continued. "I mean, without Dad…I really appreciated having another guy around."

Marshall smiled softly, remembering how he used to treat the younger man like a little brother. "We did have some fun when we hung out…"

"Well, Courtney and I will be coming over for dinner tonight, so we'll plan something then."

"Sounds good." Marshall agreed.

"And about Taylor…" Lewis started as Marshall started down the hallway again.

"What about her?"

"She's been through a lot lately…She was close with Mom and her death hit her hard and then of course there is all stuff and finding you…"

"It's okay." Marshall held up a hand, knowing where it was going. "I'll take care of her."

Lewis nodded a little. "Good."

XxXxX

That night, Mary found herself outside of Joanne's house, Stan had left a couple of messages during dinner and she stepped out to return the call before dessert. With everything that had happened over the last few days, their boss was concerned about them when he heard about their little trip, especially Marshall. She assured him that they were both fine and after she hung up stayed out in the fresh air for a few moments, thinking about their day.

They had lunch in small little café that was still run by the same couple who had owned when Marshall had lived there then they had driven around the town, Marshall pointing out places he used to go to and hang out. They stopped off at some park where Mary excused herself, telling them she was going for a walk so they could some time together alone. Marshall had told her it wasn't necessary but she insisted and could tell he was grateful for the gesture.

Mary had to admit, for a teenage girl; Taylor was a pretty good kid. In some ways she could see Marshall in her and was glad to see them already forming some kind of connection.

She heard a noise behind her and turned around; expecting to see her partner coming to found out what was taking so long but instead saw Taylor.

"Oh, hey…" Mary slipped her cell phone back into her pocket. "Is dessert ready?"

"Not yet…" Taylor shrugged then looked down at her sneakers.

"Everything okay?" She asked; the teenager had been so happy all day and Mary wondered what could have happened in the time she stepped out of the house to now to change that.

"Just…You know my Dad quite well, right?" She looked up again.

"Yeah, we're partners…" Mary replied, still finding it strange that someone was calling Marshall Dad. "Almost five years now."

"And your best friends?" She questioned. "I mean that's what he told me…"

Mary nodded. "I don't have many friends, never have but Marshall…Your Dad, he's different…Special."

"And you trust him?"

"Taylor what is this about?" Mary frowned. "Has something happened?"

"Yes, no…" She sighed loudly. "Doesn't matter."

"Yes, I trust Marshall…I trust him with everything…I trust him with my life." Mary told her. "And you can to…I know you've only just met him but he's going to be there for you, no matter what."

"Do you ever…." She stopped but then started again. "Do you ever feel like you're not good enough? That he would be better off without you?"

"Oh, kid…You have no idea…" Mary chuckled humorlessly.

"What does that mean?"

"Come and sit down," Mary walked over to the small wall that surrounded the propriety and waited for Taylor to join her before continuing. "Your Dad has done so much for me…He's always there whenever I call…And even when I don't, he always seems to know what I want…What I need and there have been a lot of times when I think he does too much and it's not fair on him but whenever I tried to push him away, he wouldn't let me…So, now I don't bother trying, I've started to accept he's always going to be a part of my life."

"But what if you did something wrong? If you really messed things up?" She chewed nervously on her bottom lip. "What if you disappointed him so much that he ends up hating you...?"

"I won't go into how many times I've messed up my life…When you're 21, we'll go out for a few drinks and I'll tell you all about it…" Mary said jokingly and was glad to see Taylor smile a little. "But Marshall doesn't leave people, never… I promise you, Taylor, he'll be there for you."

"I've really messed up though…" She whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

"Talk to him," Mary resisted to urge to panic at the sight of the tears. "He's a great listener and he will want to help you…"

"I'm pregnant." She blurted out before Mary could finish the sentence.

Mary froze and stared at her in shock…The first thought that ran for her mind was, if she couldn't get used to the idea of Marshall being a Dad, how the hell would she get use to him being a grandfather!

TBC

Dun, dun, daaaaaa…. What? Did you think all the twists were over? Sorry for leaving it there but I do love a cliffhanger! Please review and let me know what you think!