Hey, thanks to everyone who reviewed and to all that are still reading. This isn't my favorite chapter…a bit boring but needed to be done.

Enjoy!

To the End of the Earth

Truth comes out:

Stan paused in the hallway of Mary's house…Not Mary's house…It hadn't been her house for four years now but every time he came here, he was always felt sad. It didn't feel right to be there when Mary wasn't. It reminded him of the time, when Mary had been abducted and they had been there trying to find anything that might help them to get her back. He remembered how Marshall had moved around the house at ease, knowing exactly where everything was, as if it was his own home yet Stan felt like he shouldn't have been there without Mary's permission. Which was ridicules because he knew she would understand why they had been there that day and any other day, he went to visit her at home she had always welcomed him inside. Even know in his mind, he could picture her laughing at him for being so soft. Like he had reminded himself, she would say this wasn't her house anymore.

"Stan?"

He looked up and saw Eleanor in the doorway to living room, looking back and waiting for him to join her.

"Sorry, I'm coming." He moved down the hall and when they entered the room, all eyes turned to them.

Jinx and Colleen were sat on the couch together while Seth, Rob and Andy stood behind them. Brandi was sat in the arm chair, with Peter perched on the arm. He was surprised to see Bobby stood leaning against the wall, silently observing everything and everyone while Raphael sat on a chair in the corner of the room, looking just as heartbroken as the day Stan had told them that Mary and Marshall had left.

"Good afternoon, everyone." He greeted.

"Stan…" Seth approached him, holding out a hand. "It's good to see you."

"You too." He shook his hand.

He had been waiting for Seth's call since he had found out about their trip to Maine. What had surprised him was that they actually saw Marshall and Mary. Seth had told him very little, just that they had spoken to them briefly and arranged to meet for the breakfast the next day but when then returned, they had disappeared again.

Stan knew Seth wasn't stupid and that had probably worked out why they had ran but he was guessing, the reason they had asked to meet him was to find out what exactly was going on. At first, Stan decided to just stick to what he had been saying for the past four years; that he didn't know why they had left, just that they had gone together but then he had gotten a late call, last night telling him he had clearance to discuss the case. He had no clue who it had come from but everything checked out. He had debated with himself whether or not he should tell them the truth and the only thing that made him decided to was he had been going crazy with knowing everything other than where Mary and Marshall was now…their families knew nothing at all. At least this way, they might just be able to move on.

"You're Marshall's boss?" Colleen questioned. "He always talked about you…I know, he respects you a lot."

Stan smiled a little. "Thank you; he was a great marshal and an even better friend…"

"Do you know where they've gone?" She cut right to the chase.

"I don't, I'm sorry."

"But you know why they left?" Andy questioned.

Stan sighed and sat down. "I do."

"And it's not because they wanted to be together?" Raph asked.

"Whatever their reasons for leaving, they're married now…" Seth cut in with a glare towards Raph. "You and Mary are over."

"They're married?" Eleanor asked.

Colleen nodded. "And have a little a girl."

Stan mouth fell open a little. "They have a daughter."

"Hannah…She's two years old and just adorable." Colleen told them. "Don't you see why it's important for us to find them? Not only could they be in danger but our grandchild too."

"Mary and Marshall would protect her with every bone in their body." Stan assured her. "You don't need to worry about her."

"And what about them? Who protects them?" Seth asked.

"They protect each other." He answered softly. "Always have done."

"I don't understand…You've always told us that they ran away to be together but you're surprised that they're married and have a kid?" Brandi shook her head a little, confused.

"He lied to us." Jinx told her. "He's been lying to us all this whole time."

Stan sighed. "I didn't have a choice…"

"She's my daughter!" Jinx glared at him. "You had no right!"

"I did what I had to do to keep them safe and I do not or will not ever regret that." Stan replied calmly.

"But you're here now so there must be something that you can tell us…" Rob cut in before it could too heated.

"Yes." He nodded. "I received a call…Giving me the all clear to discuss the case with you."

"What happened?" Seth asked, eagerly.

"I don't know how much of this you would have seen in the newspapers and on the news but just over two years ago, there was a big case involving the FBI…"

"The one with the corrupt agents?" Seth immediately knew what Stan was the talking about. "The one involving Marcus Lewis?"

"Yes." Stan nodded then looked the others in the room. "Two years ago, there was an operation which led the arrest of 18 FBI agents, 9 Marshals, as well as local police officers and detectives in several locations across the country and about 85 civilians linked to drug trafficking, money laundering and murder."

"Wait, Marcus Lewis?" Rob repeated. "I know that name."

"He was a friend of Marshall's." Seth informed him. "He worked in the FBI."

"What does all this have to do with Mary and Marshall?" Brandi asked. "They don't think they were involved? Mary would never do anything like that…"

"No, it wasn't that." Stan told her. "Mary was a witness to a murder and it made her one of the few people able to identify the main players in this case."

Brandi's eyes widened and she looked at Peter, who reached over and squeezed her hand. "She saw some get killed?"

"At the time, we knew there were some corrupt agents inside the FBI but we had no idea how deep it went." Stan continued. "We discussed it and decided that Mary needed to lay low for a while…Stay out of sight for a few days while we worked out our next move."

"Who was 'we'?"

"Marcus, Mary, Marshall and I."

"I don't understand how a few days turned into four years." Jinx stated.

"Mary and Marshall….They're good at their jobs…they know what all the risks are... Mary would have known what kind of danger she was in and I know if it would have just been herself, she would have stayed and faced it full on." He paused for a second. "But she knew if she did that she would have been putting you in danger too…She wouldn't have wanted that."

"So, you just decided she should leave?"

"No." He shook his head. "I went to get some supplies, some stuff that would help keep her hidden…when I returned to the office; their badges were on my desk with a note from Mary saying she was going alone to keep everyone safe."

"What about Marshall?" Colleen asked. "If Mary was the one in danger, why would he leave too?"

Stan smile a little. "Because he loves her."

"I thought you didn't know how they felt about each other…" Rob pointed out.

Stan laughed lightly. "Oh I knew how they felt about each other...Just didn't know they would act on it….I hoped they would…I'm glad they did, that they've had each other there during all of this."

"Mary was engaged to me when she left." Raph cut in. "Why would she run off with another man? Why wouldn't she come to me for help? I would have given up everything to go with her."

"Believe me, Raphael I have no clue how Marshall convinced her but if I know Mary, she would not have let him go along with her willing." Stan told him. "She would have wanted him far away from her…She would have known anyone with her would be in danger."

"But they stayed together…even four years later." Raph muttered bitterly.

"Marshall is sneaky like that; he got Mary to agree with all kind of things without her knowing." Eleanor added with a little shrug. "There is no way he would have let her alone…not in a millions years."

"So, are they still in danger?" Peter asked, trying to get the conversation back on track. "After all these years and after all those arrests?"

"Like I said before, I was given the all clear to discuss the case with you but I wouldn't like to say for certain that it's safe for them…" Stan shrugged a little. "I have a feeling; I was given the okay to answer your questions…"

"So we stop looking for them." Seth finished off.

"I don't know who is in contact with them but there is someone out there helping them."

"That's why we got that phone call telling us to stop asking questions when we first found out they went missing." Andy looked at his Dad and brother. "If the case has been solved, then maybe it's not that they can't come back but they don't want to."

"What about this Marcus guy?" Peter asked when Brandi started to cry quietly. He didn't want to give up just yet. "If he was a friend of Marshall's maybe he's the one that has been in contact with them….Could he help us?"

"You said he was FBI…Past tense." Rob pointed out. "Was he one of the ones arrested?"

Stan sighed and rubbed his head, uncomfortably. "No….He was one of the good guys…."

"Stan?"

At the sound of his name being called, Stan squeezed his eyes shut and muttered a curse before turning around and smiling.

"Seth?" He shook the hand that was held out to him. "How are you?"

"Oh you know…" The other man shrugged. "I'm surprised to see you here…I didn't know you knew Marcus."

"I worked with him a few times."

"I see." Seth nodded a little. "You know, he was a friend of Marshall's? They even shared an apartment at one point."

"Yeah, I remember being told."

Seth leaned against the wall and looked around. "To tell you the truth, I was expecting him to be here."

"Marshall?"

"I thought….I don't know I guess I thought I knew him better, I thought he would at least come to his friend's funeral."

"Maybe he doesn't know." Stan offered weakly.

"It's been all over the news…Marcus' murder as sparked the discovery of corruption across all of Law Enforcement…." Seth pointed out. "No, he's either heard about it and doesn't care or….."

"Or what?" Stan questioned when he trailed off.

"Or he's dead himself."

"Hey, no, come on you can't think like that." Stan told him. "He's probably tied up…maybe he's not even in the country."

"Hmmm…"

"What?"

"Nothing, just something someone said."

"Seth?"

"Someone from Mary's past claimed to have seen them just after they went missing and said they were on their way to France." Seth explained. "But we checked all the flights but couldn't come up with a match."

"Well, maybe they went under a different name." Stan suggested; he was surprised that they would risk trying to leave the country but maybe that's how they've stayed hidden.

"I still don't understand why he would just leave without a word." Seth sighed. "Are you sure he didn't say anything to you?"

"I've told you what I can…I'm sorry I can't help more…I miss them too."

"He was murdered?!"

"Like I said, there was someone out there helping Mary and Marshall, the only person who they would contact was Marcus…He was the only one who knew who this person was."

"That's why he was killed? They were trying to find out where Mary and Marshall were?"

"We think so." Stan nodded. "He wouldn't tell them what wanted so they got rid of him but he was smart, he knew I could happen, so he set up surveillances, his murder was caught on CCTV…Arrests were made and people then started to talk to try and save their own skin."

"So, what do we do now?" Colleen asked. "Surely, there's a way for us to be in contact with them? Even if it's just a letter every now and then?"

"Look, I can't tell you what to do but trust them to know what they're doing." Stan advised softly. "But chasing them around the country is not going to help…It'll make them nervous and force them deeper into hiding…Especially now they have a child to think about."

"He's right." Seth added, he looked at his wife. "Please, listen to him…Please for Marshall's sake."

"We'll go….Leave you to discuss this some more." Stan stood up and Eleanor followed suit. "I just ask, you keep this to yourself…I know, it might seem like the danger is over but you don't who is listening or about."

"Of course." Seth agreed and followed him out the room, to the door.

"Mom, are you okay?" Rob sat beside her and put an arm around her.

She just nodded silently, thinking over everything they had just heard.

"I can't believe this…" Brandi whispered. "I can't believe Mary got caught up in all this…She must have been so scared."

"Well, at least we know now." Peter said softly. "And I think we should take Chief McQueen's advice."

"Just let her go?" Brandi looked at him.

"For now." He nodded. "She'll be in touch when she's ready."

Bobby tried to leave when Stan did, wanting to ask him some more questions but he got stopped by Andy. He hadn't wanted to talk about they just learnt but instead asked Bobby about Mary. He wanted to make sure that his little brother had done the right thing by giving up everything for this woman. Bobby tried to assure him that they had been best friend and would have done anything for each other. When he heard someone at the door, he used to as his chance to escape.

"I'll get it." He told Jinx who had been talking with Brandi. "I need to get going anyway…"

He let out a breath and shook his head once he was out of the room. He always suspected something to do with a case had caused Mary and Marshall to go into hiding but hadn't expected it to be so big.

He pulled open the door and froze when he saw the person on the other side.

"Should I be concerned it you that's opening the door?"

"Damn, girl…just when everyone is convinced to stop looking for you, you turn up…great timing, as usual."

Mary smirked. "It's good to see you too, detective."

TBC

Bit of a dull chapter and flashback but hoped the cliffhanger helped make it more exciting. Also, more on Marcus' death too come. Please review and let me know what you think!