A/N: Enjoy the sweetness of M&M before Marshall heads to NYC for his meeting.

"This is NOT what I had in mind when I said we could share my bed tonight."

I chuckled as Mary's sleepy voice tickled my ear as she spooned me from behind. "What? You didn't envision us in bed together, surrounded by two children and a dog?"

She grunted and tried to shift but the warm body of Nora snuggling her from behind prevented her from moving very much. "I didn't plan on a slumber party, Doofus."

I turned my head and brushed my lips across her forehead, ignoring that even this slight movement caused Georgie to whimper and his grip on my wife beater to tighten. "Daddy," he moaned.

"Shh, Sport," I soothed, running a hand up and down his back. "Go back to sleep, I'm here."

Georgie's face relaxed and his breathing evened out again.

Mary propped her chin on my shoulder and sighed. "He's going to be a mess from the moment you leave until the moment you step back in the front door. Are you sure you can't take him with you?"

I shifted slightly so I could look at her without getting a crink in my neck. "I would if I could, but I don't think the bosses will be providing child care during these meetings. He'll be OK, Mer, and I'll call him as often as I can to check in."

"So, Georgie is the only one you'll talk to?"

I grinned. "Of course not- I'll talk to Nora too."

She slapped my shoulder. "You're going to make me say the words, aren't you?"

"Do you want me to call you, Mary?"

"Marshall!" she growled under her breath. "I need to know what's going on-"

I shook my head. "That's not what I'm talking about. Do you want me to call you when the kids are asleep – because neither one of us will be able to sleep without hearing each other's voice."

Her breath hitched. "Marshall-"

"Yes?"

She leaned down and gently touched her lips to mine and I was lost. I forgot about the fact that we were in her bed surrounded by children and that we could go no further. All I could focus on was the fact that she had initiated another kiss and the feel of her skin against mine.

I was brought back to reality when one of us kicked Oscar and he let out a sharp bark, which caused Nora to whimper. Mary pulled away and turned to her daughter, soothing her back to sleep and I lay panting on the pillow, thinking how close I had come to losing control and ravishing her right there.

"What's wrong?"

I levelled a serious look at her. "You're dangerous – one kiss from you has my engine running and I forget all my good intentions of keeping my hands to myself and you know that we can't start anything now. Not with a bed full of children and a dog and the fact that I have to leave in half an hour – because what I want to do would definitely take more than thirty minutes."

Mary shivered and moved closer to me, but I lifted my hands and grasped her shoulders.

"No, keep your distance, love. My engine's still idling and if you touch me now, I'll-"

She arched an eyebrow. "You'll what?"

"Someday you'll find out, I promise you that."

Ignoring my words and my restraining hands, Mary pushed past them to my lips. I groaned and returned her fire for as long as I dared before I pulled away and wrapped my arms around her tight and she rested her head on my chest.

"I love you," I breathed the words against the top of her head. As soon as they were out of my mouth, I felt her stiffen against me and try to break free but I tightened my hold. "No, Mary, don't run. Listen to me. I didn't say them expecting you to say them back to me – to be here with you like this, kissing you, holding you – it's more than I ever dared to hope for. I know you're scared – of what you're feeling, of how this will affect you and me and most of all the kids-"

She nodded against my chest. "It's not just you and me anymore, Marshall. I couldn't bear to fuck this up for them – they need you more than I do."

I shook my head. "No, they don't. You need me just as much as they do – just in a very different way. You and I are two halves that make a whole – yin and yang, if you will. We're not complete without each other."

She snorted. "We fight almost every day-'

I chuckled. "Mer, fighting is your main form of communication. You're fiery and passionate and yes, a bit prickly around the edges. But any man who doesn't know how to stand up for himself and how to return fire with you isn't worth your time."

She began to trace a pattern on top of my undershirt. "You don't get tired of fighting with me?"

"Only when you're locking me or the kids out for no damn good reason- that has to stop, Mer. All we're trying to do is love you."

"But that's what I was trying to tell you earlier – I'm a broken woman that doesn't know how to love."

I raised her chin so her eyes met mine. "That's bull shit and you know it. You love Nora and Georgie fiercely – and I know you loved Brandi and you miss her every day."

She shook her head. "But that's different – I don't think I can – I don't know how – I mean – I never wanted to love a man before."

I knew how hard it was for her to make that confession and so I waited for several heartbeats before asking the next question even though I desperately wanted to know the answer immediately.

"And now? Do you want - to love a man now?"

She shook her head and my heart plummeted. I felt like all the progress we'd made in the past couple of days had been for naught. Maybe she had just been using me – releasing some of her sexual tension since it had been years since she'd gotten any. Hurt, I began to pull away but her hands on my chest stopped me and the look in her eyes made me feel like I couldn't breathe until she spoke her piece.

"Not just any man, Marshall. I only want to try if it's you."

New York City

I was still floating on air when I arrived outside the conference room where my fate would be decided. Stan was pacing, but looked up at the sound of my boot heels on the tile floor.

"You're late."

I looked at my wristwatch. "The meeting doesn't start for another ten minutes."

"You were supposed to get here last night – what kept you?"

"Something came up – geez, Dad, I didn't know I was going to be checked in. Are things really that bad?"

Stan shrugged. "I've been on the phone ever since you called me, pulling in favors – let's just hope someone comes through."

"Is Jack here?"

Stan jerked his head towards the closed doors. "He's been in there with Allison for a while now – do you really trust him?"

I nodded. "He didn't have to tell me anything – but he came and told me on his own about his involvement knowing that it could cost him his job. I trust him, Stan."

"Maybe Allison's promised him something better."

I frowned. "The only thing she promised was a written reprimand and a boot out the door if he didn't cooperate."

Stan whistled. "Jack wasn't wearing a wire when she said that, by chance?"

I shook my head. "No, so it's his word against hers."

"Great – you know as well as I do how difficult those cases are to prove."

One of the massive doors swung open and a pert nosed girl stuck her face out. "Ms. Pierce will see you now, Mr. Mann."

"Chief Inspector Mann," Stan growled.

The girl smiled. "Of course."

I nodded and both of us stepped forward but the girl held up her hand. "Just the Chief Inspector, please."

"I'm here at the Chief's request."

"That may be, but Ms. Pierce only wants to see Mr. Mann."

I turned to Stan. "I'll be fine – I'll text you if things get squirrely."

Stan grunted. "I'll wait here for my reinforcements, then."

I nodded and followed the girl inside, trying not to cringe as the door swung shut with a bang behind us. Allison looked up from one end of the conference table and smiled, looking even more like a wolf than the last time I saw her. Jack was seated to her left and I nodded a greeting to him as I approached the table.

"Good morning, Marshall. Can my assistant get you anything? Coffee or a Danish, perhaps?"

I smiled tightly. "No, thank you. I'd like to move things along, if you don't mind."

"Do you have someplace to be?"

I clenched my jaw and counted to ten before answering. "While I left the office in capable hands, I do need to return to business as soon as possible. The Albuquerque office has seen an increase in witnesses over the past year, as you can see." I nodded to the file open in front of her.

Allison had the grace to blush as she snapped the file shut. "Yes, I can see that – why is that, I wonder?"

"I think there are two very good reasons." I unbuttoned my suit jacket and sat down in the chair to her right. "One, is the closing of the Denver office that took place six months ago. Witnesses now have one less location in the Western US – and it would be a shame to close another office." I shared a smile with Jack. "And two, I have an excellent team of inspectors – I think that word of mouth has spread and when the FBI and CIA need to place people in the program, we are at the top of the list. I have good people who honestly care about their witnesses and that news has gotten out."

Allison cleared her throat. "Yes, well, we're not here to talk about your people OR the fact that Albuquerque has seen a boom in the number of witnesses placed in the program. We're here to talk about you."

"I assumed as much."

One of Allison's pencil thin eyebrows rose. "Really?"

"Yes. Jack came to me over a week ago and told me of his surveillance work on your behalf – but what I don't understand is if you had questions about my professional conduct, why didn't you just come to the source? Why didn't you just ask me?"

Allison cleared her throat. "That's not the way these things work, Marshall. When we are running a performance review-"

"That's all this was? A performance review?"

"Of course. Why would you think it was anything else?"

I crossed my arms. "Then why all the cloak and dagger? Performance reviews are clearly announced and given out at the same time every year. Mine isn't due for another two months – it coincides with the anniversary of my promotion." I shook my head. "Forgive me, Ms. Pierce, but I can't help thinking that something else is happening here. Why am I being called up on the carpet now, nearly three years after I've taken over this office?"

Allison sniffed. "I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to-"

Stan opened the door. "I'm not interrupting, am I?"

"Actually, Mr. McQueen, you are."

"Oh, well, I just wanted to let you know that Marshall's reinforcement has arrived and will be here any minute."

"Reinforcement?" Allison repeated the word. "Really, Stan, I don't think-"

"I'll take it from here, Stanley. Thank you," Eleanor nodded at him as she swept into the room, setting her attaché case on the end of the conference table. "You're done here, Ms. Pierce."

"I beg your pardon!"

I shot an astonished look at Stan who was still standing in the open doorway, rocking back and forth on his heels. "I'm afraid I don't understand either," I murmured.

Jack grinned. "Hello, Ms. Prince."

She gave him a brief nod. "Good to see you, Jack. Thank you for calling me last night – if it weren't for yours and Stanley's persistence, I might have missed this tete a tete and that would have been a shame."

"I don't see what right you have to tell me-" Allison was blustering.

Eleanor turned back to the hawk-faced woman. "I believe your boss is Mr. Micah Jones, correct?"

Allison blanched. "Yes, how did you know that?"

"Because he works for me – I am his boss."

"I don't believe you."

"Call him – but take your files and things with you, because you'll be going to a meeting to answer his questions next, not coming back here."

Allison gathered up her papers and left in huff, her assistant fluttering after her. Eleanor took a deep breath and sat down in the vacated chair. "Much better, don't you think? Most unpleasant woman."

"Eleanor?" I whispered. "Can you tell me what just happened?"

She reached across the table top and squeezed my hand. "Soon – have you had breakfast?"

I shook my head. "I couldn't-"

She nodded. "Understandable." She picked up the phone and punched an extension. "Ava? Coffee and assorted pastries for four in the conference room on six ASAP."

Hanging up the phone, she motioned Stan into the room. "Quit hovering and sit down. You might as well hear this first hand and not have Marshall repeat it later."

Stan laughed. "I thought you'd never ask."

"Just keep an eye out for our breakfast."

After my third cup of coffee, my head was beginning to clear. "Wait – so Jack came to you after Allison recruited him for her surveillance mission?"

Eleanor nodded and popped a bite of croissant into her mouth.

"Why?"

Jack glanced at her and she gave him a brief nod. "She's my aunt – her late husband was my mom's brother. And I knew she had all these contacts in the government, so if anyone could help me, it was her. But I had no idea she'd ask me to be a double spy."

Stan chuckled. "So you were reporting to Allison and your Aunt Eleanor?"

Jack nodded. "And keeping the whole operation from the Chief. Sir, I'm so sorry-"

I waved my hand and reached for a cheese Danish. "Hey, you were caught between those two women, not to mention Brandi-"

"Brandi!" Eleanor gasped. "What does she have to do with any of this?"

I shot an apologetic look at Jack, who shrugged. "I was in love with her."

"Oh, my boy," Eleanor reached out and grasped his hands. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know her very well at all, but she seemed like a sweet girl."

"She was," Jack and I spoke as one and we shared a smile.

Stan cleared his throat. "So when Jack came to you, Eleanor, what did you do?"

"Well, I told him to feed her the bits of info she wanted but to be very careful. I didn't know what her ultimate goal was, but I intended to find out." She shook her head. "I never planned for any of you to find out that I am high up in the US Marshal Service and not a secretary or office assistant."

"So when you were in Albuquerque – all those contacts-" I smiled. "Those weren't your husband's – they were yours."

Eleanor sighed. "Some of them were John's – he really had been an agent. But no, most of them were mine."

"So Mary was right – you were a plant."

"Marshall!" Stan gasped.

Eleanor laughed. "No, I wasn't. I became an office assistant for a year to see if I still had the heart to stay in the Marshal Service after John's death – and I got so much more from that year than I ever thought I would." She shared a look with Stan and blushed. "I found the passion for my job again, among other things."

"Hmm," Marshall hummed, knowing he had been right about his boss and Eleanor. "So what happens now, to me and the Albuquerque office?"

"Nothing. You go home and back to business as usual."

"So that's it? I don't get to know why Allison did all this?"

Eleanor brushed the buttery crumbs from her fingers. "Allison wanted to close down the Albuquerque branch – show that you were incompetent and unprofessional in your work and the only way she could think of doing that was through your association with Mary and her family. She's always been your Achilles' heel."

"You're wrong, Eleanor. Mary is now and has always been my strength."

Eleanor smiled. "Are you going to do something about that, Marshall?"

I grinned. "Wait and see. But that's crazy – about shutting down the Albuquerque branch, I mean. With the Denver office closed, we're seeing double the foot traffic now. If our office closed as well – that would just leave San Francisco-"

"And guess who's up for promotion in the San Francisco office? Benjamin Pierce."

Stan snapped his fingers. "Allison's nephew."

I leaned back in my chair and whistled. "So it all comes back to family."

Eleanor's right eyebrow arched. "Doesn't it always?"

"Can I have a minute?"

Eleanor looked up from packing her attaché case. "Walk me out. My flight to DC leaves in an hour and traffic this time of day is murder."

I took her case and she smiled as she scrolled through messages on her phone.

"Nothing that can't wait – now, what's up?"

"What if I told you I wanted to go back to being an Inspector?"

Eleanor paused in mid-step before resuming her stride. "Is this because of Mary?"

"Partly – but mostly I just miss the witnesses. I don't know that I'm cut out to being a pencil pusher and attend all these meetings."

"You know who you sound like? Stanley." She smiled as she pushed the button for the elevator. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"Have you asked Mary to marry you?"

"Not yet."

"But you're going to."

"When she's ready, yes."

"Hmm, that could take a while."

"I've waited over a decade for her kisses – I can wait awhile longer for her hand."

Eleanor sighed. "I've forgotten what a patient man you are, Marshall. You know it's not against the rules for partners to be married but you will be heavily monitored and scrutinized by your bosses, maybe even separated in the field for a bit. Can you handle this?"

"We've handled worse."

She shrugged. "So what exactly are you asking me for – my blessing? Because I already think you're crazy for loving that-"

"Ah- that's my future wife you're talking about."

"Hmm, yes. So, what are you asking me?"

"I guess I'm asking you to pull some strings and make sure that neither Allison Pierce nor any of her relations become our new boss."

Eleanor looked at me for a long moment before she threw her head back and laughed. "I'll do my best."

A/N: All right, be honest now - did any of you guess that Eleanor would come in and save the day? I just couldn't resist - I LOVE her and was so bummed that she was only on for 1 season. Perhaps someday I'll write an Eleanor focused fic . . . what's next for our couple? Stay tuned - Reviews are L-O-V-E!