Hey everyone! Sorry it took so long, but here it is. Enjoy!
Ask him the capitol of any state, any county, and Marshall Man could give you the answer. The weapons used in the Civil War, no problem. Though even to this day he has yet to find what was so civil about it. Ask him how to hand a crying woman that was clinging to you in your arms, he could probably give you some pretty good advice, but when it came to the women that was clinging to him and crying in his arms, he was at somewhat of a loss.
Angry, abusive Mary he was experienced with and knew how to handle. This Mary, though, the scared and hurt Mary, was something that he rarely got the chance to see and thus wasn't entirely sure how to handle. So he just sat on the couch with her curled up in his lap, holding on to him while she cried.
So many questions were running through his mind as he wondered about the source of her anguish, but then saw her ringless hand and put two and two together. He couldn't stop the feeling of joy and hope the burst through his being at the thought that he might still have a chance, but that was closely followed and overshadowed by rage that Raph would do something like this to Mary. Just the notion that that muscle headed buffoon would even think about leaving Mary, and more than likely destroying any trust that she held in the rest of the human race, made him want to have some personal time with the Dominican, but that was a thought to dwell on later.
Mary had been crying for the last fifteen minutes while Marshall whispered sweet nothings in her ear, stroking her hair and rubbing the small of her back in little circles. The only gestures of comfort that he could think to give without fear of later repercussion.
When she started laughing though, Marshall worried about her mental status and wondered if she had finally cracked.
"Care to share what's so funny?" he whispered in her ear. When Mary just continued to laugh Marshall untangled them just enough to look at her face. She stopped once she felt Marshall's gaze upon her face. They just stared at one another while Marshall wiped the tears from her face for a few heartbeats.
"Jesus, Marshall. I'm sorry. I don't know where that came from," Mary said, now fully embarrassed.
"No?" Marshall questioned, watching her look anywhere but him. "Want to talk about it?"
Mary glanced up at him then back down to the floor. "Really isn't much to say."
Marshall looked as though he was going to argue when Mary's stomach grumbled loudly. Mentally, he sighed to himself, but smiled at the blush that lightly dusted her cheeks. "So unbelievably beautiful. Even like this."
"Food?" he asked. Mary nodded her head but didn't make any attempt to remove herself from Marshall's embrace. Amused, Marshall pulled her to him and whispered, "Do you want me to carry you to the kitchen or are you going to let me up?"
Immediately, Mary pulled herself from Marshall, almost tripping over the table on her way up. Regaining her balance, Mary strutted into the kitchen, calling over her shoulder, "Well? Get off your ass and get in here and make me something."
"That's my girl."
Mary stared at the sandwich placed in front of her like it had done her some personal insult. She could feel Marshall's gaze upon her but couldn't help it.
"Grilled cheese?"
Marshall looked offended. "Well ,it's not a gourmet steak with the side salad but it was quick and its warm. And it doesn't taste too bad, if I do say so myself."
Mary rolled her eyes at her partner's antics and took a bite out of the offered meal. "Karen's taste better."
"Karen made you one of her sandwiches?"
"Yeah," Mary said around a mouth full of cheese and bread. "Earlier tonight, when I stopped by her place. She may not be able to bake, but damn if she can't cook."
Marshall nodded his head in agreement, now understanding the look she gave him and the sandwich at first. He let her finish her food before he tried round two for conversation.
"So," he started after the dishes were put into the dishwasher and they were back on the couch at opposite ends. Mary looked at him and ran her hand through her hair. A sign that told Marshall that whatever it was, it was frustrating her to the point of showing physical irritation.
"So," she stated back. Marshall sat patiently, waiting for her to continue. "Raph and I broke up."
The urge to pull Mary to him nearly overtook Marshall when he heard her voice break. Almost as strong as the need to hurt the man that had hurt his girl, but neither would help the situation at the moment so he remained where he was.
Mary looked at him from under her brow. "Well, are you going to say something?"
"Everything that is going through my head seems inadequate to the present situation. I could ask you if you are ok with it, but obviously you're not. So the question seemed kind of redundant. So what would you like me to say?"
Mary shrugged. "I don't know, but you just sitting there staring at me makes me feel like I'm some freak on display."
Marshall reached over and grabbed her hand. "You're not a freak."
"Really? There has to be something wrong with me. I seem to have some genetic defect that makes me incapable of being with anybody. I always seem to do something that drives everyone away."
Mary looked like she was on the verge of crying again and Marshall felt his heart breaking for her.
"You haven't driven me away."
Mary looked up at him. "That's because you have no sense of self preservation."
Marshall smiled, scooting closer to her. "Maybe, but I don't think that's why."
Enraptured, Mary couldn't look away from Marshall's face. The face of the one person that she trusted more than any person in the world. It was the face of comfort and friendship. Of stability, trust, and comfort. "Of partnership," Mary mused to herself and then she felt it. That box in the corner of her mind stirring. Trying to come closer to the front. To be opened and it holdings brought out for all to see. Sensing her discomfort, Marshall frowned.
"You ok, Mare?"
Squeezing his hand, Mary smiled at him. "Yea. I think. Better then I should be considering that I just got dumped."
Unsure of her meaning, Marshall asked her to clarify.
"I should feel sad, right? But I don't. Not really."
"Then how do you feel?"
Mary sighed and looked at their interwoven fingers. "Upset. Angry. Sad. Relieved."
"Relieved?"
"Yeah. Like I'm no longer standing in the middle of the highway just waiting for a semi to come by and make me part of the scenery. Like someone gave me a reprieve and pulled me to safety and now I can breathe again.
"God, I'm a terrible person."
"No you're not."
Mary looked at him in disbelief. "What kind of person is happy that their fiancé broke up with them?"
"A person that tries to make everyone around her happy and is getting a second chance to try and do the same for herself."
They sat there and stared at each other for several moments. Marshall willing her to believe him, kept eye contact until he felt her accept his statement. Maybe not quite agreeing with it, but accepting it was a start.
"What do you say about kicking the boots off and getting some sleep?"
Smiling in thanks, Mary nodded her head and followed him to the bedroom to change.
When Marshall came out of the bathroom, Mary was already on her side of the bed and under the covers contemplating the ceiling above her. Turning the room light off, he slipped into bed next to her and turned the side table light off, engulfing the room in darkness save the light coming through the blinds from outside.
He could feel her thinking and, even though it was keeping him from sleep, he did nothing to intrude. If she wanted to talk, he figured that she would. Until then, we would just have to try and get some sleep.
Mary lay in Marshall's bed looking up at the ceiling. Even in the darkness she was able to make some shapes out of his textured ceiling. A bunny. Handcuffs. A ring. Sighing, she rolled on her side to face Marshall. It seemed that no matter how hard she tried, the thoughts of her abandoned marriage kept on resurfacing to the forefront of her mind.
"Abandoned. Again. All my fault because I wasn't good enough."
Suddenly, the icy grip of fear placed its hand upon Mary's heart as she looked a Marshall. How much longer would he be willing to put up with her? How much longer until she did something to drive him away?
"But he promised that he would stay, and Marshall keeps his promises." But even this thought could do little to drown out the self doubt that was now consuming Mary.
Marshall opened his eyes and looked at Mary when he felt her hand slip into his.
"Mary?"
"You're not allowed to leave me. No matter how mad I make you or what I do, don't leave me," she whispered the last part so quietly that he almost didn't hear her.
He laced their fingers together and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Never. Not for as long as you need me."
So whatcha think? Sorry it took so long, but now that school is out and I should be set into my new place soon. Again, a special thanks to BuJyo and all my reviewers for your suport.
