Albuquerque, we have a problem

Chapter 53 – Under Orders

"Just get over it!" Marshall yelled, slamming the bedroom door behind him, just as Stan and Mary walked through the main door to the hotel suite.

Stan regarded Marshall as if he had grown a new head. Although a two headed Marshall would have surprised Stan less than one that was shouting at a witness.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

"Fine," Marshall snapped.

Stan looked to Mary who had followed him in, she just shrugged and continued checking her Blackberry.

"Okay, what's going on here?"

Marshall sighed. "They're still arguing," he said, indicating the bedroom where raised voices could once more be heard through the closed door.

"And that makes it okay to shout at a witness?" Stan asked.

Marshall looked abashed, but Mary jumped into the conversation before Marshall had chance to answer.

"Oh, come on Stan! They've been arguing since Monday. Yelling at them is the only thing that'll shut them up."

Stan considered Mary's point.

He'd only come to the hotel to deal with the fall out from this morning's screw up, but looking at his two Marshals properly for the first time in a couple of days, he was glad that he'd taken the time to visit. The strain was beginning to show around Marshall's eyes and in Mary's slumped posture. Four days of six hours on, six hours off had left them sleep deprived and their tempers short. Six hours wasn't long enough to properly relax and recover from the six hours of vigilance and constant tension. Not when they had other duties that needed attending to in those six hours. Tasks like taking care of their other witnesses and arranging security for the LANL visit. Yesterday's LANL visit had sapped what remained of their energy reserves as neither Mary nor Marshall had felt confident that they could adequately protect the Delcroix family with their temporary partners. As a result Stan had agreed to let their partners have most of the day off while Mary and Marshall escorted the family. Unfortunately this had lead to each of them being on duty for 18 hours straight, not an uncommon scenario for either of them, but tiring when combined with their current shift system.

"Okay, home both of you," Stan announced, shocking both the Marshals.

"But it's my shift..." Mary pointed out.

"Not as of now. I'm taking over the next two shifts. Both of you go home, go to bed and come back fresh in the morning," Stan told them.

There was a moments silence as they regarded Stan, measuring his level of seriousness. Marshall was the first to move, it was the end of his shift anyway and he was happy to follow Stan's instruction. He grabbed his coat, checked his badge and gun and disappeared out the hotel suite. He was leaning on the wall at the end of the corridor, waiting for the elevator, when he heard Mary.

"Hey, can you give me a ride home?" she called.

"Sure," he agreed.

xxx

Marshall nursed his scotch quietly as Mary paced up and down his living room. Of the two of them she was the more rested and was expressing her excess energy in her measured steps and sharp turns. All of which was giving Marshall a headache.

"Mare, will you sit down?"

Mary perched next to him on the edge of the sofa and he could feel the waves of tension radiating off her.

"I hope he gets fired!" she continued, without pause, on the same topic that had followed them from the hotel.

Well, the topic that had followed Mary from the hotel as she continued to vent about the danger and downright stupidity of her partner falling asleep while on duty. Marshall, on the other hand, hadn't said much on the drive, not even asking Mary if she wanted to go back to his place, just pointing his truck in that direction and driving. Mary hadn't commented on his chosen destination, too busy discussing that morning's screw up, something she was still waxing lyrical on.

"I mean, who the hell sneaks off for a nap while on protective detail?"

"No one that deserves a Marshal's badge," Marshall agreed as he took another sip of his drink.

"Damn straight!" Mary exclaimed as she fell back further into the sofa, relaxing now Marshall had vindicated her opinion.

Marshall's arm rested across the back of the sofa and Mary's movement brought her within the span of his arm. She removed the glass from his hand and emptied it with one gulp. She handed the glass back to him and he placed it on the sidetable so he could refill it without moving his other arm. He handed the refilled glass back to her and she hitched her legs up onto the sofa as she accepted it from him. Marshall tilted his head back against the back of the sofa as she moved closer to him. He stared at the ceiling until he felt the cold glass being pushed into his hand. He accepted it and drained the contents, allowing his arm to slip from the back of the sofa to around Mary's shoulders as he did so. She leant into him and he felt her relax some more.

"It's nice, isn't it?" she asked him.

"Mmmm..." he agreed sleepily.

They sat quietly together.

"What's nice?" Marshall asked after a moment.

"The quiet. There's no shouting," she pointed out.

"Oh. That."

"What did you think I meant?"

"You know. This," he replied, gesturing between them.

"Oh."

Mary rubbed her hand across her forehead then attempted to ease the tension in the back of her neck. Marshall noticed her movement.

"Here," he said, turning Mary so her back was toward him.

He started to gently massage her neck and after a couple of seconds Mary repositioned herself so he had greater access to her neck and shoulders. Marshall's fingers worked expertly at the knots in her muscles. She soon felt the tension lift and a sense of peace settle over her. As she relaxed Marshall's hands turned from kneading to caressing, wandering from her neck to her shoulders, then up and down her arms.

She closed her eyes to saviour the touch.

"I believe Stan told us to go to bed," Marshall whispered in her ear.

Mary's eyes flicked open and she glanced at the clock.

"It's not even eight o'clock, Marshall," she pointed out, "It's too early to sleep."

Marshall swept her long hair off her shoulders and draped it over her right shoulder. He placed a gentle kiss on the left side of her neck and slid his arms around her. Mary murmured something incoherent as Marshall continued kissing her neck, working his way up to her jawline.

"Mmmm...True, but I've never disobeyed a direct order and I'm sure we could find something else to do," he muttered against her neck as he continued kissing and nibbling his way up and down it.

He let one of his hands slip under the hem of her top and he caressed her stomach to further entice her.

Mary considered his words, but not for long.

"I've missed you," she told him as she turned in his arms so that she could kiss him.

The kiss was passionate from the moment their lips met. Mary's forceful nature being expressed in that kiss as it was in everything she did. Marshall didn't have the energy to fight her and allowed her to take the lead even if it was him that whispered, "Let's go to bed, Mare."

She was off his lap in an instant, holding out a hand to him to provide the momentum to get up off the sofa. He followed her down the hall, a tired yet happy smile on his face.

Once in the bedroom, Marshall didn't have time to think before Mary was shoving him onto the bed. He collapsed backwards and Mary quickly moved to straddle him. She bent her head to kiss him deeply and desperately, but hesitated a moment when she realised he wasn't kissing her as enthusiastically as she was kissing him.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she found herself asking.

"Of course," he replied in a lazy drawl.

She looked disbelievingly at him, forcing him to expand his answer.

"I'm tired," was as much of an explanation as he could muster.

That was all it took to remind Mary of the events of the day and a good look at his face told her that Marshall probably hadn't had more than a few hours sleep in the last 48 hours.

"We don't have to do this now, if you don't want to," she offered.

"I always want to do this with you, Mare," he smiled as he brushed a strand of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear, "Just slow down a bit so I can keep up."

Mary grinned at him, her voracious desire for him shining in her eyes although it was no as longer evident in her actions as she bent to kiss him again. She kissed him slowly, lovingly and with enough slow burning passion to ignite a block of ice.

Marshall responded in kind, letting her escalate the tempo slightly as they felt his body react. Mary slid her hands across Marshall's chest only once before deciding the material of his shirt wasn't what she really wanted to be touching. She unbuttoned his shirt quickly while Marshall ran his hands through her hair, holding it out of her way when she needed to look at what she was doing. The shirt was soon pushed aside as Mary's eager hands explored his chest. Marshall sat up, kissing her all the while as she slid the shirt over his shoulders and down his arms.

He pulled her close to his chest, relishing the feel of her in his arms while her nails raked up and down his bare back. He slipped his hands under the back of her top and caressed her soft skin with his thumbs. He allowed his hand to roam higher, gathering her top as he did so. Finally he had to break the kiss to enable him to pull the top over her head. He tossed it aside quickly so he could return his hands to Mary.

He trailed them up her sides until he reached her breasts, running his thumbs over the material of her bra before cupping her breasts gently in his palms. His hands continued their journey up to her shoulders where he grasped her firmly and pulled her back with him as he laid back on the bed. Mary followed him eagerly.

AN: Thanks again to Roar526 for bolstering my confidence in my moments of self doubt about this chapter. There will be a continuation of this scene for those of you that are interested. I'll post it with the other extended scene so keep your eyes open for it.