*** Oh allelujah, the Mann has landed!! This is the t-rated version, folks...not going to change the rating now. There will be an extended, M-rated version posted in just a little bit as an independent post. May take a little longer to hit the site. It will extend the scene for your reading *ahem* pleasure. ***

Let's give them something to talk about
A little mystery to figure out
Let's give them something to talk about
How about love, love, love, love?

--- Let's Give Them Something to Talk About, Bonnie Raitt

She sat on the rocking chair as early evening approached and tried to corral the butterflies in her stomach and wipe the stupid grin off her face. Why in the world she felt this obnoxiously nervous about seeing the man who had been nearly attached to her hip for the last four years, she didn't know. Sure, they had said they loved each other and had shared some kisses and caresses, but this was still the same man who she shot spitballs at and called a moron at least once a day. The tall, gangly cowboy who secretly flipped her off and flashed obscene gestures during monthly staff meetings until she was nearly crying with suppressed laughter.

Mary had shared hotel rooms with him, fought beside him, bled on him and cried on him as they moved through the years. He had seen her at her worst, and she him, and the woman on the porch tried to pinpoint the thing that must've changed to make her feel as though she would jump out of her skin if he didn't get here in the next few minutes. It wasn't like she was going to change as they jumped into this new dimension of their relationship, and hoped he wasn't planning on it either.

Maybe it was like that line from Marshall's favorite retro TV show, "space…the final frontier…". Mary smiled and chuckled as she could see the beginning of the show in her mind since they had watched it so many times. She and Marshall were taking the plunge into the one part of their relationship always avoided. They had talked about it, teased about it and even been accused of it by many, but neither of them had ever thought to cross that boundary beyond silly games or make believe. This would be real, and Mary had no delusions they would be able to hold out more than a few hours once he got here. That thought sent another chill up her spine as her body tightened in anticipation.

It wasn't just the sex though…it would be more than that. Mary knew one of the reasons she had never even considered having sex with Marshall was that she was emotionally attached to him. It would tie her to him, she knew, and she had always made sure to keep sex and emotion separate.

Mary had been surprised to learn during her therapy sessions that her revulsion at being used by Damien was partly due to the fact she had still separated the sexual aspect of her relationship with Raphael from the emotional aspect. She now looked back and could only see Damien when remembering sexual moments, whereas she recalled Raphael when remembering emotional moments. It was still confusing, but when she experimented, it would always be Damien's face in her bed no matter how hard she tried to envision Raph.

Shaking off dark thoughts, Mary closed her eyes to picture her partner. Making love to Marshall was going to be…binding, in some way. A good way, an exciting way…but it was certainly that unknown frontier.

An unfamiliar car turned down the street and Mary giggled, then tried to compose herself, planning to play it cool. Her stomach, however, now housed butterflies the size of small children.

*** *** *** ***

Marshall usually slept on plane trips, sometimes even falling into a light doze before takeoff if the airport was busy. No such luck today as he found himself looking out the window every half hour or so to see how the landmasses had changed and pinpoint their location. By the time the rolling hills of the southern Mississippi Valley came into view, he was having trouble wiping the ever present grin off his face.

He had wanted to see her with every molecule of his being since the day she left, and even though the past few weeks had been incredibly refreshing, rejuvenating and revealing, Marshall just needed to see her face and feel her in his arms. Wanted to see the grin, the sneer and the look of appalled disbelief that so entertained him most days. Wanted to look up and see those mossy eyes narrowed at him in either discontent or soon to be mischief. Wanted to bump shoulders as they walked, kick her under the table at lunch and pull her hair just to see if he was fast enough to avoid the reflexive punch.

And, to be honest, he wanted to get his hands on her ass. Remembering the feel of it under his palms and snuggled against his groin at night, Marshall shifted discreetly in his seat as he took a drink of cold water. He had dreamed of making love to Mary for a long time now, the ways he would please her, and knowing it would be reality at some point in the near future was exquisite torture. He probably wouldn't even last past the heavy petting the first time and hoped she would understand. Smiling to himself, Marshall imagined the situation would be met with mutual hilarity.

He had butterflies in his stomach and was a bit twitchy by the time the pilot announced their descent into Savannah, and he wondered why this woman could make him feel like a seventeen year old boy on his first prom date. He guessed it was because he had offered her everything except his body up to this point, and once he handed that over he would be hers. Already unable to separate himself from her, this final act of intimacy was going to seal the deal and he would belong to her until the day he died he was sure.

Marshall planned to go to his fate with a smile firmly planted on his face and a blonde firmly planted on his lap.

The wait for his luggage was too long, the wait for the rental car unbearable, and the drive out to Tybee island seemed endless. The island rarely changed, and Marshall felt his shoulders relax and his head clear as he rolled down the windows to breathe in the salt air and hear the waves. In addition to being with the woman he loved for the next two weeks, the ocean air would soothe his soul and scrub away the last of the stains left over from the last two months.

Turning down the lane to the cottage, Marshall could see her on the porch as she levered out of the rocker and stood leaning against the porch column. His pulse raced and he was sure his jaw would crack with the smile that overtook his face. It was finally Mary.

*** *** *** ***

Mary leaned against the porch post with one arm, the other on her hip as she smiled down at her partner exiting the car, chuckling slightly as he bumped his head on the roof trying to gracefully unfold his lanky frame.

"You know you don't fit into those little toy cars, nitwit, why do you insist on renting them?"

Marshall turned to look at her while rubbing his head and had to catch his breath. Tanned now, some muscle and weight put back on, and her eyes danced with the grin on her lips as she teased him. Mary wore a t-shirt and some loose cotton pants with a pair of flip flops and the breeze ruffled her hair. She was stunning, and he had forgotten how alive and breathtakingly beautiful she was.

"They're good for the environment and you look beautiful."

Laughing at his rapid fire delivery, Mary shared in the admiration. Marshall had on a pair of jeans and a polo shirt with the ever present belt and boots. His lean body looked a bit more solid, and Mary could see he finally been able to eat and rest properly.

"You don't look half bad yourself."

"You going to come down here to greet me properly?" He had moved to the bottom of the three steps and held out his arms with a daring look.

Mary narrowed her eyes, took one step down and launched herself at him as he grunted in surprise.

Marshall caught her, of course, stumbled back a step or two then wrapped his arms around her and spun her around as she laughed.

"If I knew you were going to Kamikaze me I would've been prepared." he chuckled, burying his head in her hair as her feet slowly slid to the ground.

"Never want you to say I'm predictable, now, do I?" Mary had her arms wrapped around his neck and pulled back so she could look at him. His warmth and strength just surrounded her and she felt more content than she had in a long while.

Marshall couldn't hold her close enough, she felt so good wrapped up against him…smelled good too. Sunshine, shampoo and salt, and he breathed it in deeply before tilting his head up to look down at her. Without her heels, she was a good six inches shorter than he. Staring at her, Marshall saw her eyes get shy as she whispered, "Hi."

His blue eyes were steady on hers, and Mary knew what she saw in them as she uttered the simple greeting.

"Hi." he whispered back. "This…" she thought.

Marshall kept one arm holding her to him as he used the other to brush her hair away from her face and tuck a strand behind her ear, then slid his hand behind her neck to anchor her head as he bent down to kiss her.

"Gentlemen, start your engines…" echoed through his head as all engines including the afterburners went from zero to sixty as his lips covered hers. Sweet, soft, wet…his coherent thoughts scattered to be replaced by sensation, and he moaned in delight when her fingers wove through his hair to pull him down to her.

Marshall's kiss propelled her right into throbbing need, and Mary whispered, "Jesus" into his mouth as her lips moved to match his. She pressed into him and stood on her tiptoes while pulling him down slightly to reach him better.

They tasted and nibbled in greeting, again relearning the subtle cues of pace and likes, then Marshall deepened the kiss and parted her lips with his tongue to swirl and suckle while Mary groaned and joined him. His hand slowly slid down her back to finally cup her bottom, and he pressed her into him with a slow, low moan.

She broke the kiss suddenly, face flushed and lips swollen with desire while catching her breath, "We are going to give the Beyers quite the show in a few minutes unless you'd rather continue this inside." referring to the neighbors in the next lot.

He didn't let go of her, and considered throwing her to the sand for a moment, "Let's grab my stuff and mosey on in." reluctantly releasing her to pop the trunk of the car.

Mary insisted on carrying something since she could, and they schlepped Marshalls bags into the cottage to deposit them on the bed in Mary's room, chatting about his flight on the way in.

Marshall turned to grab her again and nuzzled her neck as she giggled, ticklish in a spot she wasn't aware of, then whispered into her ear making her shiver, "As much as I want to throw you down on that bed and not let you up until next week, I am going to jump into a shower first."

"And you think I won't just come in there with you?" she teased.

"Have you seen that shower?"

Mary knew what he meant. It was a stand up shower stall that was barely comfortable for one, and she had to concede to him, "Fine. But I'm just going to get you all dirty and sweaty again, you know."

She ran her hands up under his shirt and kissed his neck where it dimpled between his collarbones. He growled and grabbed her wayward wrists, "I'm counting on it." turned to sidestep her and slipped into the bathroom to shut and lock the door.

Mary yelled, "You're going to pay for that!"

"I hope so!"

Marshall had to shower the grime of travel off before he got too engrossed in Mary, and he didn't trust her not to join him. If she managed to squeeze in, he wasn't sure they'd be able to get out.

Mary was disappointed he got away, but then thought it may have been a good thing to take a minute to cool back down. The man ramped her up more quickly than she could ever remember any man doing, and her libido was like a neglected child right now…demanding, insistent and insatiable. Marshall was downright delicious, and Mary smiled at the sudden thought of the three bags of Dove chocolates he had sent her while she was here. Maybe she could use those later, she thought, and a bigger grin spread across her face as she bit her bottom lip with ideas.

Moving into the kitchen to pour them both some ice tea, Mary's gaze was caught by a couple of kids flying kites out on the dunes. The kites dipped and dove through the eddies of the ocean breeze, and she was oddly fascinated by the swirling tails and wings of the flying objects. The rippling colors and near violence of the struggles with air and tether made her think of her journey the past few weeks. "No more strings today," Mary decided, "I'm going to fly free."

She didn't hear him come up behind her, and she jumped as he slid his hands around her to grab a glass of tea, "Jesus, Marshall, that's a good way to end up singing soprano."

"I've got you trapped against the counter, you can't get to me." his logical response as he enjoyed a drink of tea while keeping one arm around her waist.

"You don't really want to test that theory, do you?" Mary knew about three ways to quickly gain the upper hand from the position she was in.

"Only if it's going to end up with you naked on the counter and me torturing you with ice cubes." Marshall muttered into her ear.

Libido stands up to say, "yes, please!" Mary sucked in a breath and wiggled around to face him, still trapped firmly against the counter.

"Are you always going to be like this after a long trip, because if you are I'm buying you a lot of airline tickets."

Marshall smiled down at her, set down his tea and put both hands on her hips, "It's the searches at security. They just turn me on."

"You're an idiot," Mary took in the sight of him; t-shirt, jeans and barefoot with damp hair and smoldering eyes, and she knew the ice tea could just damn well wait, "But you're my idiot." Reaching up, she drew him down to her to continue what they had started outside.

*** Oh, yeehaw! Again...go to the extended scene to continue where this leaves off. You won't miss any story line if you don't like the M rating...just the hot and steamy zest. Please, please REVIEW! I hope the reunion was sweet enough :) ***