Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! I hope you enjoy this update. I'm pretty please with myself for updating all my stories this week! Needed something to distract me from starting new ones! Anyway, I'm still not a doctor, so I hope the medical information is realistic enough.

Enjoy!

When the Hero Falls

Mary was running down the corridor, towards Marshall's hospital room, dodging people and not stopping or apologize to the people she ran into. She knew Brandi was right behind, trying to keep up but Mary was just focused on getting to Marshall.

"Mary?" Stan called out, causing her to halt and track back to the waiting room.

"Stan? I got a call…" She said, trying to catch her breath. "They said Marshall is awake…I got to…"

"Mary…" Stan reached out to stop her from carrying on down the corridor. "The doctors are with him…"

"I don't understand…" She frowned, looking past Stan to see Marshall's family in the waiting room. "I was told he was awake."

"He opened his eyes." Rachel stepped forward.

"You were there?" Mary asked.

She nodded. "Seth and I both were…"

"Did he say anything?"

"No, honey…" She said softly. "As soon as the doctors came in we were asked to leave so they could examine him."

"But this is good, right?" She questioned. "This means he's getting better."

"I hope so….I really do." Rachel replied. When she saw the flicker of eyelashes she had to look twice to make sure he truly did have them open. Seth had rushed out the room to get some help while she talked to him, encouraging him to keep his eyes open.

"So what happens now?" Brandi asked as Stan guided Mary fully into the waiting room.

"Doctor Nicholls is going to come and talk to us as soon as they know what the situation is." Stan answered.

"He'll be okay…" Mary looked to Rachel, reassuring her. "Trust me…Things are only going to get better from here."

Stan squeezed her hand but didn't say anything. He wished he could be as positive as Mary but from what the doctors had said, he just wasn't so sure. The idea of losing Marshall was heartbreaking and Stan was struggling to come to terms with it. He had a bad feeling that even the best possible outcome would also mean big changes to Marshall's life. He knew Marshall was quite adapt to change and was good at taking things in his stride but Stan could not imagine what he would do if he could not be a Marshal anymore.

It was another 20 minutes before Doctor Nicholls appeared, closing the door behind him.

"How is he?" Mary asked immediately. "Has he said anything? What's happening? Is he okay?"

"He's doing well…The fact that he opened his eyes is a good sign." The doctor told them. "However, he's slipped back to unconsciousness."

"No…"

"Mary, it's normal." He was quick to assure her. "In fact, we wanted it to happen."

"But he was awake!"

"Despite the help we're giving him, his body has really been through a tough time…in some way, it's shut down so it's going to take a while for it start working fully again." He told her.

"So, everything is looking good?" Seth questioned, his hand searching out his wife's.

The doctor nodded. "Considering what you're son has been through, he has made good progress…We've also did another scan and brain activity has increased slightly."

"He's getting better?" Mike asked.

"He still has a long way to go and there are a lot of hurdles to overcome but yes, he's surprised a lot of people."

"Is there anything we can do to help him?"

"Well, there is no medical proof for this but a lot of people believe just talking helps…If he knows your there…." The doctor shrugged. "Who knows? It might help and what harm can it do?"

"Thank you, doctor." Seth shook his hand.

"Let me know if there is anything you need." He smiled before leaving the room.

"I'm going to go sit with him…"

"Mary, wait a minute." Stan stopped her. "There's something I need to talk to you about…"

"What?"

"Let's go somewhere private…"

"Stan, just spit it out."

He sighed. "I'm sorry but I'm going to need to know what your plans are for work."

"Work?" She repeated. "You're seriously asking me about work?"

"Mary…"

"Marshall is fighting for his life and he needs me here!" Mary insisted. "I don't give a damn about work."

"Okay, I get it…I understand." Stan said calmly. "I just need to know what you were thinking."

"I need to be here."

"I'll sort it." He assured her, reaching out and squeezing her arm gently.

"You're putting your job on hold for Marshall?" Mike questioned from the other side of the room.

Mary turned to face him. "Yeah, so what?"

"Nothing, just…."

"Just what?"

"Just how long have you been sleeping with my brother?" He asked, coolly.

"Excuse me?" She glared at him, taking a step closer but Stan took her arm to stop her.

"Oh come on, you're here all the time…You're not going to work…You expect us to believe there's nothing going on?"

"Michael, stop it." Rachel sent him a look.

"I think it's a reasonable question…."

Mary spun around and saw Raphael stood in the doorway; she narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't go there, Raph."

"What are you doing here?" Brandi asked him, looking between the two of them.

"Peter told me that Marshall woke up…I wanted to be here for Mary."

"You mean to make accusations?"

"What am I meant to think, Mary?" He threw his hands in the air. "You've put your life on hold…"

"He's my best friend, Raph!" She exclaimed. "What part of that don't you get? He's been there for me no matter what and never asked for anything in return! He's important to me…"

"Is he more important than anything else?"

"Yes!"

"Do you love him?"

Mary just stared at him; the whole room was silent, watching them.

"Mary?" Raph promoted when she didn't speak.

"I can't do this…" She shook her head. "I won't do this…Not now."

"Where are you going?" Raph asked when she pushed past him. "Mary?!"

"Let her go." Brandi stopped him from following her. "You'll just make things worse."

XxXxX

Mary had been sat at Marshall's bedside deep in thought for over an hour and was thankful that everyone had left her alone. She couldn't believe that Raphael had come out and asked her that but even though Rachel had asked the same question, she still hadn't worked out an answer. What did it mean that everyone seemed to think there was more to them then friendship…Was everyone seeing something that they didn't? She was then suddenly hit by memories of exotic animals and engagement speeches.

"Jesus Marshall…Tell me that…" Her voice trailed off. She moved to the edge of her seat so she was closer to her partner. "I must be sleep deprived because there are some pretty crazy thoughts running through my mind right now."

She inched her hand closer to his until she entwined her fingers with his.

"This isn't fair, Marshall…I can't be sat here thinking that you might lo….And I might…" She struggled to get the words out. "You would have said something, right? If it were true…You would have told me…You wouldn't let me get engaged to someone else."

Her engagement ring caught her eye and she wondered whether she was still engaged. Even if she wanted to stay with Raph, she didn't know whether he would stick around after what had just happened.

"Here's the thing, Marshall…I don't know what I feel…I know I love you…I know I would do anything for you but I don't know what real love is…I guess that doesn't say much about my relationship with Raph, does it?" She whispered. "What I do know that's going to be near impossible to recover if I lose my partner…my best friend…But if I lose someone I truly love …"

"So, that's the deal, partner…If you want me to start figuring out how I feel about you, you've got to wake up, okay?" She looked back to his face. "Because until you do, I'm not going to risk my heart…I won't survive."

TBC