Prompt: Mary/Marshall: Georgia On My Mind (by Ray Charles)

Abigail sat on the bar stool contemplating how her life had taken this turn when someone began to play "Georgia on My Mind". It took her back to the past and her return to Albuquerque.

She was offered a Deputy Inspector position in Atlanta two years after Marshall married her. Marshall put in for a transfer and there was an opening for a Chief position there. Mary had transferred out a year after the wedding. It was a conversation and an explanation that Marshall had never shared with her.

Abigail loved it when Mary moved away. She and Marshall were growing closer together and things were working out well. The job offer in Georgia had come as a shock to her, but it couldn't come at a better time. Marshall wanted to start a family and she wasn't ready to slow down her career. They determined that maybe a new location would be good for them and in a year they could start on a family.

She laughed bitterly at that thought. Fate decided to intervene. Marshall still wanted children and there was no way that she was ready for it. This was a huge step in her career. Having children would have to wait. It continued to slowly tear them apart. Then it happened. Fate or karma stepped in to change their lives again.

Mary had been transferred into the Fugitive Task Force in Atlanta. She had left WITSEC when she'd moved out. Imagine their surprise when they ran into Mary one day at the grocery store. The old feeling of jealousy reared its ugly head again. Marshall went all goofy when he saw the then almost five year old Norah. Apparently Kenny never worked out and Mark was sick and dying from cancer. Mary moved to make sure her daughter was able to spend time with her father while he was still here.

They managed to make it a year in Atlanta before Marshall pushed again to have a family. As much as she wanted that for him, she was young still and it could wait until her career calmed down. It was then that she found herself coming home less often and Marshall spending more to with Mary and Norah. Resentments built and tempers flared and before she knew it they were divorced.

Another year had gone by in Atlanta and she had managed to avoid Marshall at all cost. Rumors were flying that he had started dating Mary, but hell people thought that all the time. She had almost called him several times to tell him she was sorry and wrong. It was the day she finally worked up the nerve that the picture in the engagements section of the paper caught her attention. The photo was of Marshall with his arms wrapped protectively around Mary. It made her nauseous.

Once again fate intervened and suddenly they had a case that Mary, Marshall and she had to work on together. A part of her wanted to scream every time she saw them together. It was the little things she noticed most. The way he looked at Mary. It was different, deeper, stronger and more passionate than he had ever looked at her. Day after day of working with them she knew that she couldn't stay in Georgia especially after she'd seen them on accident on their wedding day.

They were walking out of the church with Marshall carrying Norah and her heart broke at the what ifs. Would he still be with her if she had given him the child he always wanted? Doubts and questions plagued her mind. Three months after Marshall married Mary word came around that Mary was pregnant and that is when she put in for the transfer. It was the final stab wound into her heart.

Abigail came back to the present and listened to the words playing in the bar. The end of the songs lyrics ringing true to her as they floated across the bar:

Other arms reach out to me
Other eyes smile tenderly
Still in peaceful dreams I see
The road leads back to you

Georgia,
Georgia,
No peace, no peace I find
Just this old, sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind

I said just an old sweet song,
Keeps Georgia on my mind

Her mind often drifted to Georgia wondering if he was holding her or their children in his arms tonight. Wondering if he still looked as good in jeans and boots as he always had. Does she adore that silly grin on his face that used to warm her heart? Would it be her in his bed and arms tonight, had she put his needs first?

Georgia would always call because the questions still haunted her. Maybe in time they would go away, but somehow like this old song she doubted they would.