Marshall had talked to Dershowitz earlier in the day and assured him he was fine. He knew it was a lie but he didn't want to talk about what happened. Mary was getting out today and he was glad but worried knowing they would eventually to finish the conversation that she'd started in the hospital. It was a discussion he wasn't looking forward to; a part of him hadn't been able to let go of the idea that at some point Mary would blame him for everything and be right. The nightmares he'd been having about Mary before he'd been shot had come back with a vengeance and he hadn't been sleeping much he knew Stan and Dershowitz were worried but tried to keep them reassured. The doorbell rang and he wondered which of the pair was stopping by now.

Marshall opened his door and to his surprise found Mary at the door and Stan pulling away. Mary walked in and dropped her away bag by the door and headed for the couch waiting to see what would happen as soon as the stunned look disappeared from his face.

Marshall stayed still for a few minutes staring at the bag on the floor. "Mare is something wrong?"

Mary looked at him casually. "Nope, just figured it would be more peaceful here to recover with you then dealing with Jinx. You always said I could stay when I like."

Marshall swallowed the panic swelling up inside him. "Oh." His brain had turned to mush trying to figure out how to handle this new twist in his situation.

"Sit and don't talk in one word sentences it's not becoming of you and its kind of creepy." Mary knew he was worried about something or he would've reacted differently to her coming here.

Marshall sat in a chair near Mary but not next to her like usual. "I won't break if you sit next to me." She stated lightly but her concern was rising quickly.

"I don't want to jostle your wound and hurt you." Marshall said softly.

"Doofus get your ass onto this couch and sit next to me and start talking about whatever it is that is bothering you because you're stuck with me for awhile and I'm not going to have you walking on egg shells with me. This isn't you and I want my best friend back." Mary lectured.

"Is that why you're here?" Marshall questioned.

"Yes because we both have issues to deal with it and we're the best people for helping each other. You've got all of us worried and I can tell you're not sleeping right. You're blaming yourself for something that wasn't remotely your fault and I know what it's like to feel that guilt. I had and still have it with the Lola incident and now you have it with O'Connor. Neither of us should blame ourselves but neither of us can let it go." Mary couldn't believe she was being this honest but if it saved Marshall from himself than it was worth it. 'Unfortunately for you; you're the only person who seems to get me and I need that right now to heal also. You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours."

"What if I can't?" Marshall wasn't sure he could have this conversation now and possibly never.

"You can and I know that; you're strong Marshall we both are. We do our best work together so after we both get some sleep; especially you than we can start dealing with it." Mary stated firmly.

"I don't want to sleep Mare." Marshall told her honestly.

"Why not?" She demanded. When he couldn't look her in the eye she gently forced him to. "Why not Marshall? You can't continue this way and I'm not willing to lose you so start talking."

Marshall was frustrated because he knew she wasn't going to let this go. "I'm tired of the nightmares alright."

'What are they about?" Mary asked.

"Look forget about it for now; I'm tired and so are you. Let's just relax for awhile okay." Marshall didn't want to fight or discuss this.

Mary got up awkwardly trying to cause the least amount of pain and Marshall moved in to help. Once he offered her a hand she refused to let it go and pulled him towards his room. "Now lay down and I'll join you. We can help each other if there are nightmares."

Marshall let Mary grab a side before lying down next to her. "Do you need anything?" he questioned reaching down to grab the quilt he had on the end of the bed and covering them.

"Just you to start getting some sleep." Mary answered moving so that she could keep and eye on him without pulling on her injury and then rested an arm over his waist. "Sleep Marshall." She whispered.

Marshall closed his eyes and tried to even out his breathing so that Mary would think he was asleep; his plan was to get her to rest and then he could get up so there'd be no nightmares. His plan backfired when he relaxed with her present and fell asleep.

Mary smiled when she knew he'd stopped pretending to be asleep and drifted off to sleep her self. She was awoken by movement on the bed a few hours later and when she opened her eyes she saw Marshall covered in sweat as his body thrashed back and forth caught in his nightmare. She grabbed his arm and shook him trying to get him to wake up.

"Marshall! Marshall, wake up."

Marshall was confused; in his dream Mary was yelling at him for not being there for her and yet he felt like she was telling him to wake up at the same time. She was on the gurney looking at him telling him this is what happens when you leave your partner. Startled by the shaking and the yelling he shot up.

"Mare I'm sorry. I wouldn't have left if I'd thought you couldn't handle it." His voice choked out. "Please forgive me."

Mary felt the tears fill her eyes at his pain filled words. "Oh Marshall." She sighed and it seemed to catch his attention as he turned towards her.

Marshall quickly scanned her body to make sure there was no blood as he tried to calm down. "You're okay?" He whispered softly.

"Marshall what are you dreams about and why are you waking up apologizing to me for?" Mary had to know; it was scaring her to hear him hurt that much and knowing it was caused by her indirectly wasn't helping. He shook his head no and turned to get off the bed when she grabbed his arm pulling him back down.

"It doesn't matter Mary; you need to heal and we should be focusing on that and not worrying about me." Marshall stated defensively.

"I can do both and you look worse than I do. Talk to me before I get angry and have to hurt you." Mary threatened.

He rolled his eyes and started fidgeting with the end of the quilt knowing once again he'd give in to her. "There different but similar." He started noting she waited for him to continue. "Sometimes it's you lying on the gurney with the bullet wound blaming me for what happened and other times it's you telling me I wasn't there for you when you needed me and that you wanted a new partner. Other times you don't survive and everyone tells me how badly I failed you and I should be the one dead." Marshall shrugged.

Mary cupped his face and he finally looked at her with tear filled eyes. "I would never want a different partner; I happen to like the one I've got. You've never ever failed me and I don't blame you for this; need I remind you of the conversation in the hospital? You asked to stay and I sent you on your way. It was my call; and I was glad you weren't there because you would've pushed me out of the way and taken the bullet and it might've killed you. I can't stand the idea of losing you any more than you can stand the idea of losing me. We're a team and we stay that way. I know the nightmares will still come but Marshall you've got circles on top of circles under your eyes. Stan might've forced you to sleep but it wasn't enough and it was before you were shot. Lie back down and we'll get more sleep before we talk again." Mary linked her hand with Marshall's and listened until his breathing evened out as he fell asleep then she followed suit.

Marshall woke this time to Mary having a nightmare and he tried to limit her movements so she wouldn't hurt herself while he attempted to wake her up by gently shaking her arm.

"Mary, wake up. Mare, come on it's a nightmare." Marshall stated before ducking away from the fist that came flying at him.

Mary was reliving the shooting and when she felt something on her arm she went into survival mode and came out swinging. When Marshall's voice penetrated her mind and his hand caught her fist she stared at him in shock.

"Are you okay?" Mary asked horrified that she's almost struck Marshall.

"I believe that's the question I should be asking you." Marshall replied back.

"I almost hit you." Mary reminded.

"I know I dodged, it was from the nightmare and I'm fine. Your turn to spill the beans; what are yours about?" Marshall asked.

Mary wanted to say nothing but if she closed off than Marshall would do the same. "The shooting; seeing O'Connor and his gun and yelling about the gun before falling backwards and then everything go blank. I don't like the gaps or holes in my memories."

"We're a great pair aren't we?" Marshall stated flatly. "You're more than likely going to never get parts of the gap filled Mary. You were unconscious and not breathing; no one expects you to remember every detail."

"You read to me while I was out; I remember hearing your voice and feeling safe when you were reading." Mary had been recalling conversations and bits and pieces but most of them seemed to focus on Marshall. "You told me it wasn't my time." She saw the tears in his eyes as he nodded yes to what she'd said.

Marshall felt Mary brush the tears from his face as he'd been recalling her being wheeled into the ER. "What else do you recall?"

"Stan saying something about you and I became worried. I think it had to do with O'Connor; you were angry with someone while I was unconscious. It's odd but there are little pieces but not the whole picture." Mary shrugged.

"The more you try to force the memories the harder it will be and then you'll just get frustrated and cranky. It will come in time if it's meant to." Marshall stated not filling her in on what he'd been angry about at the hospital.

"You were angry at the hospital." Mary stated knowingly. "Why?"

"O'Connor came into your room stating that he wanted to talk to me; not sure now what he really wanted. I made him leave and sent him to Stan. He shouldn't have been allowed in your room and we had the hospital staff to keep him out." Marshall shrugged.

Mary leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thanks that probably would've set off the monitors if I'd known he was there."

"He could've been there to kill you Mare. If we hadn't been pulling shifts who knows what might've happened." He felt the shiver go up his spine at that thought.

"See I told you that I trust you with my back." Mary said smugly but noticed the flash of guilt in Marshall's eyes. "Don't you dare be blaming yourself for that either. Marshall you are not responsible for everything that happens to me or those around you. You can't keep barring that burden or you'll destroy yourself. Trust me on this; I've got plenty of experience." She cautioned.

"Mary what have I protected you from? You've been kidnapped and where was I? Nowhere that I needed to be and when you get shot oh yeah I was on a stupid useless date. Where exactly have I covered your back?" Marshall felt the anger at himself rise.

"Everyday you protect me from the world and the world from me. You've supported me through all of my family's dramas and helped me clear Brandi. You forced yourself up after taking a bullet in the chest and shot the people who would've killed me if you hadn't. How many hours did you spend between the hospital providing support and out on the streets looking for the shooter and if that isn't enough of a reminder than take a good look at your shoulder buddy because you could've died trying to get the person who shot me." Mary's voice rose in tone at the last part because the thought of him alone in the warehouse with Agent Asshole for backup still made her angry and if he hadn't thought he killed Marshall than he would've taken another shot and done it.

"I had to find the person responsible Mary; I owed you that much and more." Marshall stated adamantly.

"What does it take to get through that thick skull of yours that it wasn't worth your life and it wasn't your fault? If you can't do that for yourself than do it for me because if something happens to you I don't know what I'd do. You are the only constant in my life and I need you to stay in it."

"I'll try Mare but it's not that easy; I almost lost you and I don't know if I could've survived that." Marshall needed her to understand that part.

"Fine if we go we go together. I can live with that but nothing less. Do I make myself perfectly clear?" She asked sternly and was rewarded with a slight chuckle.

"I don't know do we need to pinky swear?" Marshall teased lightly.

"No I trust your word." Mary smiled.

"Did you know that originally the pinky swear indicated that the person who breaks the promise must cut off their pinky finger?" Marshall quizzed.

"No and where did it originate oh wise one?" Mary asked knowing Marshall needed to get back to a sense of normalcy for them.

"Supposedly, the Pinky Promise began back in the Edo Period as a gesture of devotion that prostitutes would make with their favorite customers. The "cutting" of the pinky signified the women severing her own finger as a sign of eternal affection for her partner, essentially saying that she loves him enough to commit shinju or ritual lovers' suicide with him." Marshall answered.

"That's just wrong." Mary stated and scrunched her face in disgust.

Marshall chuckled fighting back a yawn. "You asked." He reminded.

"Remind me not to do that again. Get some sleep Doofus you need it and so do I." She nestled up closer to Marshall and they both drifted off to sleep again.

A week had past and Mary was seriously worried about Marshall; so much that she'd actually called Stan and asked him to stop by the house at some point to make sure she wasn't overreacting. She suspected that the nightmares were still there; though he never woke her. She could tell he wasn't sleeping well, and his appetite seemed almost nonexistent.

Marshall was at his physical therapy session when Stan showed up and Mary let him in; he noted that she was moving around better and was looking a whole lot better.

"Mary, how are you doing?" Stan asked.

"It's not me you need to worry about." Mary stated firmly. "When's the last time you saw Marshall?"

"It's been awhile; probably since the day I dropped you off. Why?" Stan asked.

"He's not sleeping right but tries to make sure I don't know about it and he's losing weight he can't afford to. This whole thing is eating him up and no matter how hard I try to get through to him it doesn't seem to be helping. I'm worried Stan, and I mean really worried." Mary spewed out.

Stan could tell by the tone of her voice that she wasn't kidding. "I'll have Eleanor pick you up so Marshall and I can talk. Maybe he's trying not to upset you with what's going on with him; we'll get to the bottom of it, alright?" Stan dialed Eleanor and she came and took Mary out.

Eleanor noticed how quiet Mary was since she'd picked her up and nothing she tried could even get her to bite back.

"Alright what's going on?" Eleanor demanded having had enough of the silence and listened while Mary repeated to her what she told Stan. "Is it a reaction to your shooting, his or both?"

"I don't know but something has to give or we're going to lose him. He's slipping away from me Eleanor and he's never done that before. It's like he's here but not here; I don't know how to explain it." Mary stated hoping to get another input on the subject matter.

"Marshall has been through a lot with you over the last year from the kidnapping to the shooting. He's been the strong and dependable one for you, your family, and even the job, when needed but has he allowed himself time to deal with everything? Maybe the best thing for him would be to take a break from all of this and refresh his mind and body." Eleanor suggested.

"I don't want him alone Eleanor; I'm scared of what will happen to him." Mary admitted. She saw the shocked look on Eleanor's face. "He wouldn't kill himself but he's barely eating now and I'm worried without someone to keep an eye on him, he might not eat or sleep and then we'll have a bigger problem when he comes back."

"Alright why don't we get something to eat and put our heads together; since it's for Marshall I'm willing to work with you to help him." Eleanor teased. Mary's simple nod instead of a biting retort spoke volumes to Eleanor about how worried she really was for her partner.