'What the hell is wrong with me? I shouldn't care what happens to her. I hate kids. They are annoying, and time consuming, and crabby all the time. Huh. If Marshall heard that he would say that reminded him of someone. He's right though. But I do care. Why? How can what happened to us change me so much. It seems I'm a completely different person. And I'm not sure if that isn't such a bad thing or if I'm pissed off. That scares me... weird, another thing I can't stand. What do I do? I know what I want to do, well, I think so at least. Or maybe not. Damn.'

"So, where is she going to stay? She has no other family, and we can't send her to an orphanage."

"What other choice do we have Mary?" Stan asked.

"She could stay with us, if she would like, couldn't she?"

"Mary, we already have Spanky. Red gave him up easy. That means you get to leave the program. How can you watch her when you return to work?"

"We get out?" Mary asked excitedly.

"Yeah-"

"She, she… I…" she started lost in thought.

"See, I know it's hard but now you understand."

"She has no one Stan! You don't understand. I had a hard time and I only lost one parent. She is alone!"

Stan watched her walk out of the room. He hadn't wanted to make her mad, but how could Mary watch over her? How could she want to? Maybe he really didn't understand.

As soon as she was out of the room, Marshall was by her side. Not in front of her, or behind her, but beside her. His presence helped her to calm herself and she took a deep breath.

"We get to leave. Can you believe it?" she asked him.

"Isn't it crazy? Almost everything will be back to how it was before. It finally will be over."

"Marshall I didn't mean that," she said to him as she allowed him to take her hand.

"I know, but it's the truth," he said as he gave her hand a squeeze.

"Marshall, I'm not sure what I want right now. I really have no clue. But I do know that I need to make sure Cheri is going to be alright before I leave. That may make you think I'm weak, because I don't care about anyone, but it is different this time. It's part of my job to protect my witnesses and if she doesn't count as a witness then I don't know who does."

"I couldn't agree more. And when it comes to you, to us, to our homes and jobs, we'll figure it out when the time comes. Don't worry Mare."

They arrived back to Marshall's apartment. This was where they had been staying with Cheri until they could figure things out.

"Mary? Marshall?" Cheri asked.

"It's us. How are you doing?" Marshall asked as Mary walked down the hall to her make-shift room.

"Good, I suppose. I'm pretty tired though."

"Another bad one last night?" Mary asked.

"Yeah. Do you remember when you told me they would get better?"

"Yes, but I did say it would take some time."

"I don't know how much more time I can give before I lose it. It's been two weeks. Fourteen long days. I'm not so sure things will be okay," she managed before the tears that threatened to fall began to run down her cheeks.

"But it will be okay," Mary explained, "You will be okay. You might not think so now, but I do. I know."

"How? How can you know?" Cheri asked unsure.

"Because whether you have nightmares or good dream, you are strong, and brave, and well, you will have me, if you want me anyway. That, I'm not so sure about."

Marshall couldn't have been more proud. From his spot in the hall, he sank down until he sat on the floor. He smiled as he looked up at the ceiling and gave his thanks for what he had been blessed with.

Mary sat down on the bed and pulled Cheri in for a quick hug. Somehow through the tears Cheri smiled. And then she laughed. Soon Mary joined in. That was when she knew. Mary was right. She would live through the nightmares, and she could wait for the good dreams. They would come again because she had hope. And because she had Mary.

That's all for now! I hope you enjoyed. Please review, even if it's just a word or two, or even a smiley (or a sad face, though I surely hope not!). I would really appreciate it. Thanks to my beta NsCvIuS for being absolutely amazing. And thanks to you for reading!