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Dallas, TX

Mary paced the conference room running her fingers through her hair, it had been three days since Chief Reese asked her to call Chief McQueen and she had finally gotten enough courage to make the call.

She sat and her stomach churned in apprehension, reaching over she took the phone off the hook. After a long consideration she had decided to use an office phone, a secure line. Placing the phone back on its cradle she sat back on the chair and rested her head on the back of it.

She closed her eyes and tried to take a few deep breaths to help her relax, but she knew it was a useless exercise, it didn't matter how many deep breaths she took, the fact that she was nervous about calling Stan wouldn't change.

Again she picked up the phone and dialed quickly before losing her nerve. Ring...Ring...Ring...

"Chief McQueen" said the voice of her mentor, father figure, a voice she had missed miserably, even if she didn't admit it out loud.

"Hey Stan," Mary greeted.

She was met with silence, a silence that spoke louder than a reprimand. Looking over at the LCD she saw that she was still connected. "Uh, Stan...Chief McQueen?"

"Mary Shannon, you finally had the decency to call me. Didn't think you would ever pick up a phone to call me." he sounded neutral, which made Mary even more nervous, knowing that he was royally pissed.

And she wasn't disappointed when after another lengthy silence came the reprimand that she had expected.

"What the hell were you thinking pulling that stunt? You said you'd talk to Marshall before you left, but did you?" he sounded angry, she just wasn't sure if it was because she had fooled him or because she hadn't given Marshall the heads up.

"Stan, if I told Marshall he would've convinced me to stay...I just...couldn't stay anymore. I did what I did for hi..." she abruptly stopped and took a deep breath. "Just trust me Stan, I had a good reason. You're better off without me." she finished morosely.

Sighing deeply he groaned, "Did you never think how your leaving would affect Marshall? He's been trying to locate you since the minute he found out you had left without a backward glance."

"I did what I did...and I can't change the outcome..." she stopped and sat back on the chair looking up to the ceiling, trying to keep the tears at bay. His voice brought back memories, memories that made her feel melancholy. She had really missed him. And now she was sure that she could never speak to Marshall, cause she knew it would be 100% harder to hear his voice and not break down.

"So, that's it? You leave and expect what from us?" he questioned angrily.

"I think it's time to stop the search..." she bit her trembling lip, she didn't want to say good-bye, but knowing there was no other choice. She had moved away, ran, just like her father.

"Don't you want to know how your former partner is doing?" Stan challenged.

"Look Stan, I didn't call to find out about my...I mean Inspector Mann...my boss asked me to call so that you stopped calling DC." she tried to make her voice fierce, didn't want them to continue a search that she deep down wanted from them. She wanted to be found, she wanted to come home, but Marshall would leave her anyways.

That fact scared her more than anything else in the whole world, scared her more than never setting eyes on her father. She was terrified to question it, because once it came out, once she found the real reason she was afraid of being abandoned by her former partner she would be vulnerable. Vulnerability wasn't in her vocabulary, let alone an emotion.

"So, this is it? You won't even take the time to give your former partner, former best-friend closure?" his voice started to rise as he continued, "CLOSURE, that he needs! How the hell did you think he would feel when he found your desk empty? When he found himself without a partner? Even now he hasn't let me partner him with anyone."

"What?! What do you mean he doesn't have a partner?" Mary started to panic, all her dreams felt like they were coming true, what if something happened to him because she wasn't there to watch his back. Don't...don't go there...he's going to leave the Marshal service if you come back, her conscience reminded her.

"On his more unsavory witnesses I come with him on the visits," he confessed, trying to help her realize that she needed to know what she had caused when she left.

Mary rested her head on her forearm resting on the conference table. "How...why is he being stubborn? Why does he need me around when he's going to leave anyways!"

"Leave? Where is he supposed to be leaving to?" questioned the man.

Cursing under her breath, knowing she had just said something she wasn't meant to say, she pulled the phone away from her ear, then she murmured, "Everyone leaves Stan, everyone"

"Marshall would rather cut off a limb then leave you behind, he's not cut from the same cloth as your father" he admonished.

At this the tears that had pricked the back of her eyes started to fall down her face, she couldn't hold them at bay any longer. She had thought the same of Marshall, but that letter was probing them all wrong. Marshall would definitely leave her behind, he would abandon her just like her father. The one man she thought would always be there for her, was going to leave maybe even without telling her. Why does everyone believe that he wouldn't leave me? The damn letter opened my eyes to the reality of life, everyone leaves! she thought.

Taking a deep breath to control the tears, she angrily wiped at them finally saying, "Chief Inspector McQueen, we all know our roles and I'm sorry I fell short for you and Marshall, but I am what I am. I am a Shannon, we Shannon's run. It's time to move on. Take care of yourself and Inspector Marshall Mann. Good-bye"

She didn't wait for a reply, she placed the phone on the cradle and rested her head on her forearms on the table and let the tears drip onto the carpet. Taking deep breaths until she was able to control the tears. She walked out of the conference room to Chief Reese's office, "I called him. I'm taking the day off."

Chief Reese nodded at her somber expression. He had never seen her look so fierce. "OK"

As Mary walked towards the elevators she saw Seth talking to an associate, she walked into an empty room and only came out when she heard his steps fading. Quickly she walked out of the room and hurriedly walked to the elevator doors.

She had been avoiding him for the past few days, since she knew he was looking for her. Mary didn't know what the old Mann wanted with her, but she truly didn't want to talk to the man. Knowing he would probably be looking for her, she decided to go to The B Place. She needed her BBQ fix.

Mary walked in and found Larry chatting with a regular, as soon as he spot her, "Shannon! The usual?"

She grinned and asked, "Would I come in here for anything else?"

"Fine, ribs coming right out. To go?" he asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah"

Mary sat back and started looking around at all the restaurant patrons, spotting a few newbies and then she looked for the woman she had seen with the sad eyes. She couldn't stop thinking of her, the woman had something that called to her. A mother quality that she had never experienced in Jinx. Like she could see into her soul and share the sentiment. That had been the day Chief Reese asked her to call Stan, a few days back.

"Larry, my usual!" Mary had come in and seen the chef through the whole in the wall, a view into the kitchen.

"Shannon, haven't seen you in a few days" Larry confessed with a pout.

Mary chuckled and rolled her eyes at him, she suddenly felt a prickly sensation that someone was staring, looking around her green gaze collided with a woman's light brown eyes. The woman was petite with slight roundness to her middle, she stared intently into her eyes, scanning her facial features.

Turning back to Larry as he walked out of the kitchen and placing the plate in front of her, "Here you go Sugar, enjoy"

"Don't I always?" she questioned with a chuckle, then turned to look if the woman was still looking at her, but she was gone.

Looking around she couldn't spot her, thinking that maybe the woman had been part of her imagination. She shook her head and ate her BBQ ribs.

Albuquerque, NM

Stan sat back on his chair and frowned at his phone, he had just spoken to Mary and he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. How would he be able to look Marshall in the eyes and tell him that Mary didn't want to hear from them? The inspector would be heartbroken, he just knew that. He was glad that he hadn't been at the office when Mary called. He had left for Texas that morning, deciding to drive there since it was a few hours distance.

"Damn it Mary! You always have to have the last word!" he exclaimed to no one in particular. "Why do you have to be so damn selfish?"

Dallas, TX

Marshall drove into the city and headed straight to his parents home. He drove around scanning all the local places. It didn't take him long to arrive at his parents, they only lived a short few minutes from downtown Dallas, TX.

It seemed to Marshall that Alice, his mother, had been by the window waiting for him to arrive. She was out the door and jumping in glee by the threshold. Marshall grinned and jumped out of his truck, his mother almost tackled him into a bear hug, or in her case a baby bear hug.

"Hey mom!" he crushed her in his arms and held her as the tears rolled down her cheeks, "No tears mom"

She slapped his chest and swiped at her tears, "Don't mind this old lady sweetheart, I get sentimental over everything."

"You are not an old lady mom, you're seasoned." he laughed as his mother slapped his chest again.

"Come on, lets get inside. It's too hot out here to stand around." she pulled him into the house, shutting the heat out.

Marshall walked into the house and set his go bag by the door. His mother saw the move and rolled her eyes, "Your room is up the stairs and to your right, second door on the left."

"Fine, I'll be right back then" he picked up the go bag and jogged up the stairs, finding his room already turned down. He chuckled as he set the go bag on the bed, sitting beside it and collapsed back. Resting his eyes, in seconds falling asleep.

Alice noticed that he was taking long, she went in search of her son, finding him asleep with his booted feet hanging off the bed. She closed the door and let him to sleep, rest.

Walking down she remembered that a few days ago, when she went in search of her husband she had found that he loved going to a BBQ joint a few blocks from the building he worked in.

Deciding to check out the place, she had walked into The B place, immediately understanding why her husband spent most of his days there. The BBQ was up to par, she had even indulged in licking her fingers, which she knew was not proper etiquette.

But the one thing that had surprised her and still wasn't sure if what she found at The B Place was accurate.

Alice was sitting drinking the last of her Diet Dr Pepper soda after eating a plate of the most delicious BBQ when the door's jingle sounded, making her look up, spotting a blonde woman in jeans and dark blue tank top walk in. She observed the woman and noticed how beautiful in a diamond-in-the-rough beauty kind of way that would captivate any man. Even her Seth. She continued to study her when the chef bellowed at her, "Shannon, haven't seen you in a few"

She gasped aloud, she had never met Mary Shannon, her son's former partner, but after his description of the woman, she knew that she was looking at the same Mary Shannon.

Suddenly their eyes collided, and she stared at the sad green gaze directed at her. There was such sadness lurking behind those eyes, something that immediately had Alice feeling her pain. The minute the blonde had turned back to the chef, Alice had gotten up and walked out, leaving a few bills on the table.

Shaking her head at the memory she sat on her lounge chair and contemplated what to do. She hadn't confronted Seth Mann regarding the fact that now Alice knew had been the one thing he kept from her. Knowing that the reason he hadn't let her in on it was because of the job security.

Groaning she shook her head again, she was so confused but she knew that if she told Marshall what she knew, there was a huge possibility that the rift that had began to grow between father and son since the day that Marshall had confessed to his father the desire to grow up to become a Marshal would become non existence. Marshall would never forgive his father and she would lose a son. Because she was sure that he would never come back to visit.

TBC