Chapter 3 – Small Concerns
Mary was in a good mood as she walked into the office. She had felt like a giddy teenager since her outing several days ago with Marshall. She had been giving a great deal of thought to their relationship, as Marshall had requested. And feeling my toes curl every time I think about his kisses. When was the last time that happened? He had put a new perspective on her life and she was coming to acknowledge several things. One was the way her heart lifted each time she saw him. Her doofus partner, who woulda thunk it? She'd told him she didn't know if she could live with Raph. Could she live with Marshall? Could she do 24/7 of Marshall? She was definitely happier when she was around him. But would he come to grate on her nerves as Raph currently was? Raph, what am I going to do about Raph? The questions swirled around her mind unanswered.
Marshall had backed off since that night, giving her the space she needed. An approach Raph had never grasped. That she needed space. That she couldn't breathe with him smothering her in enforced togetherness. Marshall was far better at reading her than Raph. In fairness to Raph, he loved her and just wanted to be with her, but he simply could not understand, nor accept, her need to be an individual, to be by herself, to keep certain secrets. Marshall understood all this on a most basic level, he felt it. He was rarely wrong on his take on her mood or how to handle her.
She remembered when he drove her home after her kidnapping. He had walked with her to her door and saw her safely inside, but he didn't touch her. He had started to raise his hand to her face, but visibly checked himself, letting his hand fall back to his side. He fairly vibrated with the need to touch her, to reassure himself she was really alive, but he restrained himself, because he knew she didn't want it, not then, not at that moment. She needed to fall apart by herself. Without him. Raph would never have understood that.
Mary had been caught staring at him several times the last few days. He would look up to see her speculative gaze on him. He cocked his head to one side, returned her frank look, and allowed a slow, lazy smile to cross his face. There was a heat behind the smile that was barely masked. Oh Marshall, keep looking at me like that and I am going to be a puddle of goo at your feet.
Reluctantly bringing her thoughts back from becoming that puddle of goo, she noticed Marshall in the conference room, and her heart gave a pleasant little twinge, then she saw he was with a new witness. She glanced in and grimaced. Oh no, she thought, not another kid. After pouring herself a cup of coffee, she joined them in the conference room. The witness was sitting huddled into herself, swimming in Marshall's suit coat draped over her shoulders, looking almost catatonic. Mary studied her and realized in surprise, that she wasn't a child, but was in fact an extremely small woman. Tousled dark brown hair, huge brown eyes, a look about her that Mary recognized as the completely overwhelmed, ready to shut down and retreat from reality look. She glanced over at Marshall in concern.
Marshall met her gaze and gave a small shake of his head. Not good, Mary interpreted. "Mary, this is Eloise. Eloise, my partner Mary" Eloise stared vacantly at Mary with those large brown eyes, and finally gave a small nod. Good Lord, shes tiny. She can't be more than five foot. I'll bet not more than 90 pounds. Mary re-evaluated again. Eloise was probably closer to forty than thirty. Mary guessed she was one of those women that normally looked younger than her age. Today wasn't normal. She was clinging on to Marshall's arm like it was a lifeline.
"Mary, would you ask Stan to come in?" Mary nodded and stepped out, waving Stan out of his office. He entered the conference room and Marshall patiently pried loose Eloise's clinging fingers.
"Eloise, I'm going to step out for a minute, but Stan will stay here with you.' Eloise turned panic stricken eyes on Marshall and tried to grasp his arm again. "It's OK," he soothed, " I'll be back in a few minutes. You are perfectly safe here." He gently touched her face. She dropped her hands back in her lap and her eyes went vacant again.
Marshall stood up and putting his hand on the small of Mary's back, steered her out of the conference room and over to her desk. One small part of her mind was ridiculously pleased that Marshall was touching her again, that the awkwardness between them had dissipated over the last week. She brought her mind back to their witness.
"Good God Marshall, what happened to her? And how long have you been with her?" Marshall looked at her with grim eyes.
"Eloise there, had the sad misfortune of witnessing two drug dealers have their heads blown off by a third drug dealer. The familiar story of wrong place at the wrong time. I've been with her since last evening."
"Why didn't you call me? I would have come in." Mary was becoming deeply concerned. "Has she been checked out by a doctor? She looks like she's about one step above the walking dead."
"Not yet. We had to secure her first. I was supposed to pick up my drug informant witness. Straight forward. In and out. But Eloise got herself caught up in the whole mess, so we got two witnesses for the price of one." He flicked his gaze down and then over briefly to the conference room.
"And we have an additional problem. She is barely responsive. She's just shut down. I've never seen anyone this disconnected. I'm not sure she even is cognizant of the fact we are with Witness Protection. She is in no shape to understand and sign the MOU. Until she does that, she is not officially in the program and on the Marshall Service dime. I want her evaluated before going over the MOU with her. I'm not sure where she's going to stay until we get this sorted." Marshall glanced away.
"Marshall, you are not thinking of taking her to your place." It was a statement, not a question. "You simply can't. She is as pathetic as they come, I'll give you that." Her voice softened. " And you have a big heart." She placed her hand lightly on his arm. " But you can't." His eyes met hers and he sighed. "I know. I'll spring for an hotel room. Hopefully it will only be for one night." He covered her hand with his. Marshall nodded towards the conference room.
"Stan, I'm going to take Eloise to the hospital and have her checked over. I'll get an hotel room for her tonight and we can deal with the paperwork tomorrow." Stan nodded and pulled Marshall aside before going back to his office.
"You better stay with her tonight Marshall. She's in bad shape and someone needs to be there when she crashes."
****
Marshall got Eloise a room at one of the nicer mid-range hotels. Mary came with them and after securing the room, turned to see Eloise standing forlornly in the doorway, dwarfed by Marshall's lanky frame towering over her, a protective hand on her shoulder. He ushered her in and Mary noticed for the first time the blood and grime on her dark clothes. "For heaven's sake Marshall, you didn't let her get cleaned up?"
Marshall shook his head. "No time." He turned to study Eloise. She had been moved out of Nashville in a hurry, literally swept off her feet by Marshall, as he caught her in a faint. They had headed straight out of town and she had brought nothing with her. "Mary, can you get her some clothes and toiletries?" He looked at her critically again, running his eyes slowly up and down her slender frame. Eloise had enough presence of mind to flush and turn away.
"Size 2 pants petite, extra-small tops, size 34B bra, size 5 underwear, size 6 shoes." Both Mary and Eloise turned to stare at him, Eloise blushing faint pink.
Mary looked at Eloise who gave her a small confirming nod. "Care to explain how you knew that Purvis?"
Marshall grinned. "Three sisters. Plus, I really like women. So I pay attention. I listen." That last very softly. Mary felt a faint blush sweeping her cheeks as she recalled that make out session, that was so much more than making out, from the other night. "You, not having any girlfriends, probably have no idea of how often women talk about clothes and clothing sizes. All one has to do is listen and observe." Marshall let his gaze run lightly over Mary's body. She felt her cheeks grow warm. Blushing? Are you kidding me? I've been getting checked out since I was 14 years old. It's never phased me before. Is it because it's Marshall? He's never done it before. She looked at him sharply. Or has he? He dropped his voice and slightly leered at her. "Would you like me to tell you your sizes?"
"You do and I'll hurt you." Mary glared at him , then paused. "Three sisters? Really? How'd you ever get a turn in the bathroom?" Marshall chuckled and turned back to Eloise.
"Why don't you have a shower and get cleaned up Eloise? Mary will get you some clothes to wear." Eloise slowly turned towards the bathroom and Marshall put a gentle hand on her shoulder, cupped her cheek. "It's going to be OK. I promise." She looked at him sadly and shut the door.
"What did the doctor say?" Mary asked in concern. Marshall turned to look at her and shrugged.
"She's ok physically. She's in shock emotionally. I'm very worried about her being all alone, no family, no support system."
Mary looked thoughtful, gazing at the closed bathroom door. "I don't know Marshall. She may surprise us. Sometimes it's the waifs that are the strongest when it counts." She waved with the back of her hand and went out the door.
When Mary returned, arms full of shopping bags and take out dinner, she knocked lightly on the door and swiped her card through the reader, before pushing the door open with her hip. She stopped in surprise at the sight of Eloise curled up sleeping against Marshall. He was sitting up against the headboard, his arm protectively around her slender, bathrobe clad body. Mary walked in and shut the door, feeling a twinge of something unpleasant. Marshall looked steadily at her.
Mary dropped her packages, moved to the other bed and sat down. She took in Eloise's tear streaked face and trembling body. "She crash?" she asked softly.
Marshall nodded and grimaced. "There's more," he said, stroking her hair. "Eloise has been holding out on us. She's pregnant."
Mary stared at him. "Great." A pause. "This didn't come out at the doctor today?"
Marshall shook his head. "She didn't actually say anything, just nodded or shook her head in answer to questions. And that wasn't one of the questions."
Mary frowned. "The father?"
Marshall sighed. "Fiancé. She found out yesterday. Father doesn't know. She told me when she crashed. She had asked earlier about Jacob, and I thought he was just a boyfriend. I wasn't too positive in my response regarding him. She's had some time to think now, and she won't do this without him. Stan is trying to see if we can bring him into the program." He tightened his arm around her. "Poor thing had a hell of a day." He looked at Mary, distress in his eyes. "She just sobbed and sobbed. I couldn't take it away, Mary, any of that pain."
"Marshall," Mary spoke very softly. Sky blue eyes came up to look at forest green ones full of compassion. "You need to be very careful. This woman is extremely emotionally needy. Not without good reason. But you can't get too close to her." He saw the concern in her expression.
"Mary, I can't hold her at a distance. She'll fall apart. She needs me. It's my duty to protect her and that includes protecting her emotional well being. If she needs the comfort of having me close to her, I'm going to give that to her." He glanced down at her fondly. "Having said that, I think you better stay tonight. Avoid any hint of impropriety."
Mary smirked. "As if you could ever be improper." She considered a moment, then agreed. "OK," she said, " I'll get my bag from the car."
She pulled her overnight bag from the trunk and leaned against the door, cradling her head. The sounds of traffic flowed around her and she became aware of the scent of lavender Must be some plants in the flower beds around the hotel entrance. Lavender. Supposed to be calming isn't it? I could use that. I could use my own personal plant. She was fighting against the unreasonable emotions swirling through her. She felt jealous of that little slip of a girl. Eloise was getting to sleep in Marshall's arms, was on the receiving end of Marshall's tender looks. You are losing it. Eloise is not after Marshall. She is traumatized. And Marshall is freaking uncanny at knowing what witnesses need emotionally. He is giving her what she needs. And he is willing to give you what you need if you would only accept it. And how the hell is it you didn't know Marshall had three sisters?
Mary trudged back to the room pondering what else she may not know about Marshall and opened the door to find Eloise changed into the pajamas Mary had brought for her and eating the dinner that had been left on the table. Marshall was still sitting on the bed, talking to someone on the phone. Eloise gave Mary a little wave and continued with her supper. Marshall finished his call and looked over at Mary. "We take Eloise in the morning to confirm the pregnancy. She has only done the pee on a stick test so far. Then we go over the MOU and get her set up with somewhere to live."
"OK." She glanced over at Eloise. "She alright?" Marshall gave a small shake of his head.
Mary compressed her lips and grabbed the remote, turning on the TV and finding one of those mindless shows full of boring facts that Marshall was so fond of watching. She turned the volume down and then gathered her bag to go get changed. Emerging a short time later from the bathroom in a tank top and drawstring sleep pants, she felt a small sense of triumph, as she felt Marshall's eyes on her, following her as she moved to the other bed and turned the covers down. Looking over at him, she saw a glimpse of heat in his eyes, quickly suppressed. She smiled and picked up her book, preparing to read for awhile.
Eloise had finished eating and after brushing her teeth, she stood watching the TV a moment, then silently walked over to Marshall, crawled under the covers , curled up on the bed next to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Marshall wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close to him and Mary felt that small flare of jealousy again. She resolutely turned her eyes back to her book.
***
A/N: Many thanks for the kind words for my story so far. They are much appreciated.