Disclaimer: I own nothing but DVDs and iTunes shows.

Author's Note: Special thanks to carajiggirl (aw, that warms my heart!), McGiva (Happy Way Belated Birthday!), YankeePeg (Sam's got a bit of a backstory we'll get into soon), Dog in the Manger (THANK YOU FOR YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT ON GETTING THIS CHAPTER MOVING!), JMS529, KisimpleS, BravoExpressions (your Sam threw me at first, too. LOL!), Husky2014, JJ2008, and BrittanyLS (she's a force!) for the reviews! And for all the alerts, too! Hope you're not too disappointed by the wait on this chapter.

A Meeting of the Manns

"Mama!" Caelan called out as he ran from the bedroom he and Amelia shared, cleaned and dressed in pajamas. She smiled when she picked up and brought him onto the couch where the party had moved to.

Amelia nuzzled his neck with her nose, making a big sniffing noise to hear him giggle. "Nice, clean little boys – my favorite smell." She looked up at Louise. "How was he?"

"An angel as always," Louise assured her as she sat on the couch. She glanced at Sam. "He definitely didn't inherit that trait from his daddy. It used to take two of us to wrestle you into the bath when you were Caelan's age. Marshall, on the other hand, would have spent half the day in the bathtub if we had let him."

"Perfect Marshall," Sam muttered, drawing sharp looks from Mary, Louise, and Amelia. Marshall looked away, hurt. He would have expected the comment from his father or older brother, but not from Sam. They had all been joking just twenty minutes earlier in the dining room. Marshall couldn't imagine what had changed so fast.

Amelia stood up, bringing Caelan with her. "Okay, buddy, time for bed. Say good night to everyone."

"Night, Gamma. Night, Daddy. Night, Unc' Mars. Night, Aun Mar. Night, baby," Caelan rattled off. He waved to them sleepily over Amelia's shoulder as she took him into their shared room.

"Marshall, sweetheart," Louise said, scooting to the end of the couch. "I'm sorry for the way I treated Abigail. It was unfair of me."

Marshall nodded. "Thank you, Mom, for saying so."

"Mary, I owe you an apology, too," Louise admitted. "This is your house and I should have respected that. I'm just a little protective of my boys and lose all sense of decorum."

"It's fine," Mary told her. She could feel Marshall's eyes on her, but she refused to look at him. As much as she didn't want to analyze her need for Louise to like, she wanted Marshall analyzing it even less. "Mothers are protective of their sons or so I've heard."

Louise patted Mary's knee. "So, tell me about your mother, Mary. What's she like?" She noticed Mary throw Marshall a curious look. "Oh, Marshall doesn't quite tell me everything. That was a slight exaggeration on my part. He's very protective of you. I know your mother's name is Jinx and that your sister's name is Brandi. I know that they lived with you for awhile and I know about Brandi's broken engagement. Not much else."

"You know, Mom," Marshall redirected, "I'm sure Mary doesn't really want to talk about her family. What was it that you were saying about Alex and college?"

Louise shot Marshall an exasperated look, but when she turned back to Mary, she noticed how squeamish Mary seemed. "Oh, it's just that the closer he comes to graduation, the more he talks about applying to schools closer to home."

"He just hasn't mentioned that to me."

"Well, he wouldn't, dear," Louise told him, her voice soothing. "He doesn't want to let his uncle Marshall down. You've encouraged him to spread his wings almost as much as his mother has encouraged him to stay close to home."

Mary frowned as Marshall looked disheartened by this news as if he feared he had pushed his nephew into something he may not have wanted to do. Mary forced herself to turn her gaze from Marshall to Sam, who hadn't said anything since making the crack at Marshall. Sam was chewing on the inside of his cheek. His eyes were pointed in the direction of the bedrooms, but it was clear that he wasn't focused on anything there.

"Caelan's down," Amelia announce, walking back into the living room. "What did I miss?"

"Just some small talk," Louise replied.

Amelia glanced at Mary, noticing the tiredness in her eyes. "Marsh, you should take your mom and Sam to that diner, the one with the really good pie."

"Pie?" Sam repeated, coming back into the conversation.

Marshall stood. "I guess that means yes. I guess we'll be back for lunch."

"Breakfast," Louise corrected. "I want to spend as much time with my grandson as I can."

"See you for breakfast," Mary agreed.

"How's the pie?" Marshall asked his mother and brother around a bite of Banana Creme Pie.

Louise swallowed her bite of apple. "You're right. This is some of the best pie I've ever had. Not quite as good as your grandma's, though."

"Nothing beats Grandma's pie," Marshall and Sam said in unison. They grinned at each other, the previous anger had disappeared.

"Your grandma still has you brainwash," Louise sniffed.

Sam chuckled. "Like you don't have your grandkids thinking the same thing. John's kids refuse to eat anybody else's pie. You nearly had Sarah's mother in tears at Hannah's christening."

Louise put her fork down after a brief glance at her youngest son. "So, Marshall, have you had enough pie to talk?"

"What do you want to know, Mom?" Marshall sighed, wiping his mouth. He pushed his plate forward.

"What is going on with you and Abigail? Even Caelan could tell there was some serious tension going on there. This isn't quite the bubbly relationship you've been going on about on our phone calls."

Marshall rubbed his face with his hands. He was loath to tell them about the disastrous dinner with Stan, but knew he had to tell them something. "Abigail thinks that I've been spending too much time with Mary lately. We had an issue the day that Mary went into the hospital. There were shots fired and I jumped on Mary instead of Abigail. It just seems that since then we're either extremely polite or fighting with each other."

"Do you love her?" Louise asked, pointedly.

"I... do," Marshall replied. He frowned over his response.

Louise leaned forward. "Enough to settle down with her? Enough to marry her? Enough to have children with her? Enough to give up Mary?"

Marshall huffed. He turned his attention from his mother to his brother. Sam was watching him, his eyes amused. "I suppose you have an opinion on this."

"Marsh, there is nothing in this world that you love enough to give up Mary. Oh, you toy around with giving her up like when Mom asked you to interview at that security firm or with this relationship with Abigail, but the center of your world is Mary and has been since the day you became partners."

"Before that," Louise shot back. "The day they met, the way you talked about her, I knew she'd be sticking around."

"Well, I sure didn't," Marshall muttered. "Even now, I'm not sure she'll stick around. I just keep waiting for her to walk out; out of the marshal's service, out of Albuquerque, out of my life."

Sam whispered almost wistfully, "She loves you."

"She's my best friend."

"She loves you," Louise repeated. "She wouldn't have defended your girlfriend to me if she didn't. It's clear that Mary doesn't like Abigail, that she's jealous of your relationship, but she still jumped in to save your girlfriend from a perceived attack."

Sam chuckled. "There was nothing perceived about that, Mom. That was an attack. Not one of your best, by the way."

"No, I think that one will forever remain to the bridal showdown between you and Amelia's mother," Marshall told his mother. "I don't think her mother's every forgiven her for siding with you."

"My one big regret is that we didn't get that on film."

"Oh, you boys," Louise sighed, rolling her eyes. She grabbed each of their hands. "It's been a long time since we've talked like this. I missed it."

Marshall and Sam exchanged grins. "Us, too."

"So, about Abigail..."

Marshall sighed again. It was going to be a long night.

Mary woke the smell of bacon, eggs, and pancakes and the sound of tiny feet. She had been having a dream where she had given birth and everyone was standing around, demanding that she make a decision about the adoption; everyone, but Marshall. He was nowhere to be found and he was the only one she wanted. The dream left her uneasy.

She opened her eyes to see Caelan trying to climb onto the bed. She went to scoop him up only to be stopped by Amelia picking him up and dropping him on the bed. Amelia flopped down next to Mary.

"She's been here for an hour," Amelia moaned. She absently rubbed her stomach. "She's already criticized my cooking, the food I stocked for Caelan, and his clothes."

"Gamma cooking," Caelan informed Mary.

Mary nodded at him, rubbing her eyes. "It smells delicious."

"Frustratingly, it really is," Amelia admitted. She watched as Caelan cuddled close to Mary's chest. He was turning into a breast man just like his daddy. That both warmed and hurt her heart.

"Is Marshall here?"

Amelia smirked. "Not yet, but-"

"Someone say my name?" Marshall asked, popping his head into Mary's bedroom. "Good morning, everyone."

"Come on, Caelan." Amelia stood, gathering Caelan in her arms. "Let's go see if Grandma needs help."

Marshall sat carefully on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling? You look tired."

"You know how to say the sweetest things." Mary sat up against the headboard. "This kid is laying on some nerve. It keeps me up half the night."

"I can give you a back massage if you'd like. It might help. I've studied the proper techniques for prenatal massages."

Mary narrowed her eyes at him, ignoring the images of his hands roaming her body that her brain provided. "Right. That pregnancy fetish. I'm good."

"If you change your mind..."

"I know who to talk to," Mary replied, her voice carrying a tone of seriousness that surprised them both. She caught his eye a bit longer than she intended. They both snapped to the doorway when the heard a noise.

Sam smiled knowingly at them both. "Breakfast will be ready in five minutes. I wasn't interrupting anything, was I?"

Marshall sighed, glaring at his younger brother. Some things about siblings never changed. He turned back to Mary. "I'll let you get dressed."

Mary entered the dining room a few minutes later, wearing black pants and a purple t-shirt. She took a seat next to Marshall at the table. There was nearly food from one end of the table to the other. "This all looks amazing, Louise."

"Thank you, Mary," Louise replied, blushing slightly. "Everyone, dig in." She waited until all plates were full before speaking again. "It's a shame that Abigail couldn't make it. You said she got called away on a case?"

"That's right," Marshall said, chewing on a bite of pancake. "Sometimes, it seems like she's the only cop in Albuquerque."

Louise frowned slightly at the private smile Mary and Marshall shared. "Amme, dear, have you talked to your mother lately?"

Amelia looked up, bewildered. "Ah, no, not for a few months now."

"I was just thinking about her last night."

"Bridal showdown?" Amelia puffed causing Sam and Marshall to snicker. Off Mary's confused look, she continued to explain the argument that occurred between her mother and mother-in-law just ten minutes before she walked down the aisle. The only thing that prevented a fist fight was the quick actions of Seth, who intercepted his wife's left hook with his cheek.

"The Manns should like quite a crew," Mary commented to Amelia as they sat in lounge chairs outside after breakfast. Sam and Marshall were playing football with Caelan, which consisted mostly of chasing him around the yard. Louise remained inside, cleaning up. She insisted that she needed help from no one.

Amelia nodded. "It's usually best not to get them all together around others. They can handle being together and smaller groups of them can be around other people, but there's something about a large group of Manns and the rest of the world that just doesn't mesh. Even Caelan kicked the knees of some kids at the last family reunion when they were picking on his cousins."

"He's a great kid." Mary let her eyes drift to the yard. Marshall was tossing a small foam football to Caelan, though Caelan wasn't quite catching it, causing Sam and Caelan to laugh like hyenas. Mary unconsciously moved her free hand to her stomach, a move that didn't go unnoticed by Amelia. She was content, however, to wait Mary out.

"Marshall would make a good father," Mary said, quietly.

"He would," Amelia agreed in a flat voice.

Mary paused at her tone, rolling it over in her mind. "You don't think he'll be a father."

Amelia shrugged. "I think he has a small chance of it happening and I think that's a shame."

"He and Abigail-"

"He doesn't want to have a baby with Abigail. He loves her... in a way. But that dream of having a child," Amelia took a deep breath, knowing she about to break a confidence, "has only ever rested with one person. Since he can't have her, he's letting go of that dream. Slowly, but it's going."

Mary swallowed, her heart pounding. "Who does he have that dream with?"

Amelia looked at her pointedly. "We all dance around this, but I know you're not stupid."

"I'm having someone else's baby," she whispered.

"He doesn't care." Amelia shook her head. "He only cares that the baby is yours. He doesn't want to pressure you, but you just have to say the word and he would be anything you wanted to that baby."

Mary lowered her eyes. "Why would he do that?"

"Mama, play!" Caelan called out.

"That's my cue. We'll talk later," Amelia said, flashing Mary a smile. She grabbed the ball to toss to Caelan while Marshall flopped down in her now vacant seat.

"You guys looked like you were have a bit of an intense conversation," Marshall commented, his eyes on Caelan. He tried desperately to keep the curiosity from his voice.

Mary was torn. She wanted to find out if what Amelia had said, had implied, was true, but at the same time she wasn't sure she could go down that path, wasn't sure could handle his answer either way. Instead, she shot him a shrug and a half-smile. "She was telling me some stories about the Mann family get togethers. I might actually have to show up to one of these things."

"You're welcome anytime." Marshall couldn't keep the hope out of his voice. "Amme could sure use the back up."

"Assuming she's invited to future get togethers."

Marshall raised an eyebrow. "She will be. Once you're a Mann, you're a Mann forever."

"You know, she offered to stay here and watch the- you know," Mary waved at her swollen stomach. "That's if I decided to keep him. That doesn't really say a whole lot about their chances." She glanced at Sam and Amelia. Sam was standing off to the side, watching his wife and son play. "Think she'd still be invited if she moves Caelan out here?"

Marshall took a deep breath, taking in everything that Mary had said. "I don't think they're quite hopeless yet. He did show up."

"Because your mother forced him."

"Something... happened to him. If we could just get him to open up and tell us..." Marshall's voice trailed off. "It may not be such a bad thing for them to move, make a change. I'd sure like them to be closer."

Mary paused at the longing in his voice. "You really miss your family, don't you?"

"Sometimes," he agreed.

"Why didn't you ever move back home?" Mary asked him, softly.

Marshall rubbed his jaw. "I thought about it a few years, even contacted a few people about a transfer."

Mary felt her stomach drop to her feet. "What changed your mind?"

"I met an agent named Mary. Turned my whole life around." He shot her a silly grin.

Mary could only meet him with a half smile. "Do you regret it?"

"No," he answered, confidently. "This is where I belong."

"And just what are you two talking about out here?" Louise asked, walking outside. She stood behind Marshall's chair, her hand ruffling his hair.

Marshall grinned at Mary. "Choices... in life."

"Ah, choices," Louise repeated. "Like why is Amelia choosing to hide her pregnancy from me and why you are all going along with it."

"You mad?" Marshall cringed, glancing up at his mother.

Louise shook her head. "I'm sure she has her reasons. I know she thinks I'm hard on her."

"You are hard on her," Marshall interjected.

"We got into a pattern long ago and it seems like neither one of us knows how to break it now." She gave a significant look to Mary and Marshall, making Mary squirm. "Do me a favor, Marshall, and work your magic to get your brother and Amme talking again while he's here. I thought if I was the one person that was on his side, he would open up to me. It didn't work. All I did was manage to alienate my daughter-in-law."

Sam walked over to the group, checking his watch. "We should really get you to the airport, Mom."

Louise sighed, dramatically. "Oh, all right, if we must. Caelan! Come give your grandma a kiss good-bye."

Caelan half-skipped to Louise, throwing his arms around her legs. She swung him into her arms, showering him with kisses. Her eyes were a bit teary when she put him back down.

"It was good to see you, Amelia," Louise told her. She pulled her into a hug. "You are taking wonderful care of Mary and Caelan here. We miss you at home."

"Ah... thanks," Amelia replied, stunned.

Louise turned to Mary next, hugging her despite Mary's stiffened posture. "Mary, dear, it was wonderful to finally meet you. You did not disappoint."

"It was nice to meet you, too," Mary answered, confused.

"Okay, boys," Louise announced, "take me to the airport."

With that Louise was gone, leaving tiny ripples in her wake.