Lots of thanks to wisher93 and Miss Mila for convincing me to do another chapter. There's going to be another one after this, because once I started to write more... it ended up being WAY longer than it was supposed to. It was supposed to be short and sweet, right to the point... but then I got wrapped up in it and just kept going and going, like the Energizer Bunny. (Now you might understand the nickname better, lol!) Anyway, enjoy, and thanks to everyone who reviewed and said they liked the first chapter even though at first I didn't. :]
(oh, and sorry if there's a little racism in there. don't get offended, I mean nothing by it, lol)
"My God… Marshall, oh Guru of Infallible Wisdom, is it even possible for it to snow here? In Albuquerque?" Mary asked incredulously, looking out over the balcony edge.
Her and Marshall were standing outside on the balcony, wrapped in scarves and extra coats, staring amazedly at the swirling mass of snow falling from the sky.
"Well, it's not completely unheard of. It's just-"
"Fucking weird."
"-unusual."
"Exactly. Fucking weird."
Marshall sighed. "Whatever. Let's just… go back inside."
"Why? Why not just enjoy the beautifully unusual, fucking weird weather with your partner?" Mary asked smiling, flicking a snowflake off her shoulder at him.
She had been enjoying spending time alone with Marshall in the snow, just hanging out. It was different, and nice.
"Because I think my ass just froze and fell off." Marshall replied, laughing.
"Oh come on, you've barely got an ass anyway. Just stay out here with me a little longer." Mary almost begged.
"'Barely got an ass'? Excuse me? I happen to have a very nice ass. And why are you even looking?" Marshall somehow managed to look indignant and amused at the same time.
"Uh, I-"
"Mary, Marshall! Get in here!" Stan called, peeking out the barely open door.
The Inspectors did as they were told, huddled together against the chill of the wind.
"What are you two doing out there? You have work to do." Stan said as he stared them down, stern yet amused.
"Well, Mary here apparently thinks that I have no ass, so I naturally informed her otherwise. And-"
"Do not! I said you barely have an ass. There's a difference."
"Still. Just proves that you were looking." Marshall smirked.
Embarrassed, Mary felt the back of her neck grow hot. Thankful that she wasn't one to noticeably blush, she opened her mouth to retaliate, but Stan cut her off.
"Come on you guys. Act your age. Anyway, you have a witness to transport. That uh, what do you call it… 'Cholo' from Los Angeles."
"Great… Hope you're in the mood for burritos, Marshall." Mary said with a slight chuckle.
"Mare, racism isn't nice." Marshall scorned, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
"No, I'm being serious! Last time I drove that guy somewhere he insisted we stop for burritos. He insisted."
Marshall raised a brow. "Why didn't you just tell him no?"
Mary grinned. "Cause. I was hungry as all hell, and burritos sounded pretty spiffy at the moment."
Stan rolled his eyes. "Just go, before I have to kick both your asses. And don't think I can't!"
Mary laughed, and went to her desk to get her gun and badge. She glanced up at Marshall as she did so, and caught him subconsciously patting his chest, as if checking a pocket. It was an odd habit that she had noticed him pick up recently.
For a second she wondered if…no. She wouldn't think about that. There was no need to make things awkward. She shook her head, trying to think of something else, and they left.
***
"Are you serious? They can't be closed just because of a little snow!" the witness named Rudy exclaimed when he saw that his favorite Mexican place was closed.
"Well, it never snows here, so it's kind of a big deal." Mary said from the passenger seat of the SUV.
Rudy sighed, and crossed his arms. Mary just laughed softly to herself and gazed out the window at the swirling mass of white outside.
"Maybe there'll be an open McDonald's." Marshall suggested thoughtfully.
"We don't have enough time to look for one. We're on a tight schedule already, and the snow isn't helping." Mary said reluctantly. She was hungry too, but they had to get going.
"She's right. There might be one on the way. We'll stop if we can." Marshall said, glancing back at the almost pouting witness. He chuckled, and turned on the radio. As if he had planned it, the song that came on was "Rudie Can't Fail" by the Clash.
About an hour later, it was obvious that they were going to have problems. The snow was falling heavier by the minute [Mary refused to even think of it as a blizzard because that would mean that they were really screwed], and it was nearly impossible to see out any of the windows, forcing them to move at a slow crawl.
"At this rate we'll be getting there next week." Mary said anxiously, fidgeting. Not being able to see any threats coming their way through the snow was making her agitated.
"We might as well try to find someplace to wait this out." Marshall muttered, checking the GPS.
"Marshall, do you really think that if it's this hard to see you should be looking at that thing and not the road? Pull off for a minute." Mary glared at him for good measure.
He rolled his eyes and sighed, mumbling "Yes dear…" in a sarcastic drawl.
Mary smirked, and in the back seat Rudy laughed.
Mary liked this guy. At least he wasn't like Horst, making little sarcastic jibes at them for seeming couple-ish. And why did she have to think of that bastard right now? More agitated than ever, Mary crossed her arms and glared out at the freezing inferno.
Marshall pulled off to the side of the road, which was currently abandoned except for them, because apparently they were the only ones stupid enough to be driving in this mess. While he was messing with the GPS, Rudy suddenly opened his door.
"What do you think you're doing?" Mary asked, grabbing his arm before he could get out.
"Stretching my legs. I'm getting cramped in here." he replied simply. He seemed sincere, so Mary stopped glaring at him, and instead tried to explain.
"Rudy, you need to stay in the car. Someone could be tailing us, and come after you. Besides, it's freezing out there."
"Come on, Mary, please? I'd rather be cold and well-stretched than warm and cramped." Rudy pleaded.
She sighed, and looked over at Marshall.
"If you stick by him, I see no reason why not." he said absently, still fiddling with the pesky GPS, not even having to look to know that she was wordlessly asking his opinion.
"Okay then, go ahead." Mary said over her shoulder to Rudy, before getting out.
The two of them walked around a bit, making sure to stay close to the SUV, not wanting to lose sight of it through the sheet of snow. Mary glanced in Marshall's direction and could just make out him still messing with the apparently impossibly confusing GPS. She didn't need to hear him to know that he was muttering under his breath.
She smiled a small smile, and let herself be distracted by the oddity that was her partner.
It was that distraction that caused her not to notice the difference in the feel of the ground beneath her feet until her and Rudy had already walked a few feet further.
"Wait, stop." She held out a hand halting her witness and stood still. There was something amiss with the ground. It seemed solid, but not solid enough. It almost felt as if…
"Oh shit. Okay Rudy, I want you to walk carefully back the way we came. Try to keep your weight evenly distributed."
"Why, we're not on… Oh crap, we're on ice, huh?"
Mary grimaced and nodded. "Yep, and from the feel of it, thin ice. So just be careful. Go!"
They started to walk back in the direction they came from, Mary following behind Rudy, and of course, now that they were aware and being careful, the sound of crackling and groaning ice met their ears.
"Mary…"
"Just keep going and be careful."
They continued to take cautious steps, wincing at every sound made by the thin layer of ice holding them up.
Mary was just beginning to feel confident that they were nearing solid ground when Marshall suddenly yelled "Be careful out there guys! GPS says there's a pretty big pond out there somewhere!"
Marshall's outburst made Mary and Rudy both jump slightly, and Mary felt the ice begin to finally give way. She shoved Rudy forward and he lost his balance and fell, luckily, back on solid ground.
Mary wasn't so lucky.
With one last ominous crack the ice seemed to just disappear beneath her feet, and she was plunged into the icy water.
Dun, dun, dun...? Sorry for the cliff-hanger, but I had to break this up into another chapter because it's so long. Next and probably last chapter out soon! Hope you guys like it, I've had fun writing it.