AN: Thanks to BuJyo for her help with the medical and hospital based aspects of this chapter. I've altered it slightly since she read it so any mistakes are my own and no reflection on her.
Raph sat next to Mary's bed as she slept.
The meeting with the speech-language pathologist had gone on a lot longer than Raph had expected and the news had been much worse than he'd been prepared for. Dr Young and Dr Franklin had taken them through each aspect of Mary's anoxic injury and her expected prognosis. They had taken the time to answer all of their questions and reassure each of them.
The last few days had been hectic after the monotony of Mary's continued coma. This was the first chance he'd had since she'd woken up to sit and reflect on everything that had happened and everything that might yet happen.
The initial phone call from Brandi had been a relief after days of waiting, hoping and praying that Mary would wake up soon. He had been so happy when she woke up and smiled at him. Then there had been a frenzy of visits and Raph hadn't had much time alone with his fiancée.
What little time he'd had, had ended when he had turned up and Mary wouldn't even look at him any more.
The doctors had said that only family members were to be given access to Mary, but at some point that had expanded to include Stan and Marshall. It made Raph so angry that everyone just assumed they were family. They weren't. Why was he the only one who could see that?
He'd been pleased when the doctors arranging the meeting hadn't included Marshall. He knew it was petty but couldn't help the feeling of smug satisfaction he had as he'd walked past the other man, on his way into the meeting room.
Marshall, thankfully, hadn't even attempted to join the meeting but Raph had been surprised when Stan had walked in. Raph had been dreading Marshall's presence, knowing he would be showing off his medical knowledge and his 'closeness' to Mary. Just who did he think he was? He was just a colleague, not family. Raph was her family now. When was Marshall going to get that?
Stan's presence, on the other hand, he could deal with. It was easy to see that as her boss, Stan was interested in her recovery and eventual return to work. But his list of questions and the intensity with which he noted down the answers had made Raph wonder if there was more to his interest than how quickly he would get his inspector back.
But whatever the cause of Stan's interest, Raphael decided he would still rather have Stan be present than Marshall. He hoped that maybe Marshall was beginning to get the hint. He had waited outside the meeting without being told to and he'd been visiting less since...Raph turned his thoughts away from the harsh words he and Marshall had exchanged and back to the meeting. If Marshall's absence was an indication was anything, Raph thought it was a sign that he was leaving him and the rest of Mary's family alone to deal with her injury and rebuild their lives.
Raph just couldn't understand why they were so invested in Mary's recovery. Even as a member of a team in his previous career he still couldn't comprehend the depth of feeling between the three Marshals. He knew their work was dangerous, he only needed to glance around the room to be reminded of that, and that Mary relied on them, but he couldn't help but resent them for their roles in the recent events.
And now the doctors were telling him that Mary's injury wasn't just physical. That even though she may recover physically, she might never fully recover from the anoxia. If she had died, that would have been one thing; never to have her again, never to touch her again, never talk to her again. It would be hard but he knew that life would go on and in time he would recover. But to have her alive but not herself? The same but different? That was something else entirely.
Mary shifted in her sleep, drawing Raph from his introspection. He glanced at the clock and stood to leave. It was late and he had to work the following day. Well, maybe not 'had to'. Peter had been sympathetic about him taking time off, telling him to take as much as he needed. Raph had taken him up on the offer immediately after Mary was shot, but as her coma had dragged on he had found himself drifting back to work to escape the confines of the hospital and to be somewhere where he didn't feel useless. Now with the prospect of weeks or months of therapy ahead, the idea of something with an immediate result such as selling a car held a new appeal.
He placed a kiss on Mary's forehead and left her to sleep.
xxx
Marshall loitered in the hallway.
He was trying to avoid drawing attention to himself. The nurses bustled around him, the doctors hurried past, all ignoring him as he leant casually on the counter reading a paper. If his job had taught him anything it was that it was easy to hide in plain sight as long as you looked liked you belonged.
Marshall was currently busy 'belonging' in an area where he could see Mary's door but he was at a distance from it. He was waiting for Raphael to leave so he could visit Mary. Stan had faithfully relayed all the information from the meeting to him and now he was anxious to see her, but he didn't want to be caught sneaking into her room by Raph.
Finally he saw the door open and Raph emerge and walk down the hallway, away from Marshall. Marshall waited a moment longer, then folded up the paper and made his way nonchalantly to Mary's room. He glanced up and down the corridor to see if he was being watched as he pushed open the door and entered.
xxx
Catherine Young stopped at the nurses station on her way to her next patient.
The small group of women clustered there were in hushed conference over something. She approached the three nurses and listened in.
"No, he's her secret lover," one said.
"No, he's not," the second dismissed.
"Why else would he sneak visits at night when the family's gone home?" the first one argued.
"Maybe he's on shift work and this is the only time he can visit," the second suggested.
Catherine looked around the corridor to see who they were talking about. She noticed their eyes flicking to a tall man bent over a counter a little way down the hall, reading a paper. She didn't recognise him but always enjoyed listening to the speculation and gossip of nurses so stayed where she was.
"I heard he got here before the family right after she was shot," the third nurse said, entering the conversation for the first time.
"Where did you hear that?" the first one asked.
"The ER nurses. They were the ones that told me he was a US Marshal, too," she added.
Catherine looked at the man again, reassessing him in light of the new information. She wondered how she could have taken him for anything other than a Marshal, it was so obvious once she knew. She wondered if he had something to do with her newest patient. She'd seen from Mary's chart that she'd been shot in the line of duty but hadn't bothered to see which line of law enforcement she was with.
Her interest piqued, she was disappointed when the nurses broke up and went their separate ways. Catherine remained where she was a little longer. She'd just noticed Mary's fiancé leave and was curious to see what the tall man did next.
She watched as Raph traipsed down the corridor, looking exhausted, then turned to see the Marshal also watching the retreating man. The Marshal didn't wait long before making his way into her patient's room.
Catherine noticed his furtive glance around as he entered the room and wondered if the first nurse had it right when she named him Mary's secret lover.
xxx
Marshall woke to the sound of the alarm function on his phone. He stretched and rubbed his eyes, trying to get his bearings. The faint morning light was all that illuminated the room and as he looked over at Mary he was unsurprised to see her still asleep.
She had been asleep when he had arrived last night. Obviously her meeting with the speech pathologist had exhausted her as she hadn't woken in the several hours it had taken him to fall asleep in the plastic chair next to her bed.
He stood and watched her sleep for a few minutes before letting himself out of the room just as a nurse was about to enter. He smiled and winked at her, cutting off any questions she might have about his early morning presence in Mary's room.
"Shh...Don't tell anyone I was here," he whispered conspiratorially.
The nurse grinned at him and let him pass. He made his way down the too familiar hallways until he reached the locker room where he had managed to locate and jimmy open an empty locker. He grabbed what he needed from his stash of clean clothes and went in search of the fitness area provided for the hospital staff and the showers there.
