"Oh hell no!" Mary yelled.

"Oh yes." I laughed. The other two people in the room were staring at us. Wondering what we were talking about. I remembered something. "The MM laws. If you refuse to pay up on a bet… " I whispered. I turned to Eleanor. "Pick me or Marshall."

"Oh Mare. Are you seriously going pretend those are real?"Marshall whined.

"I believe you're the one who made up this rule."

"Marshall" Eleanor said abruptly.

I grinned. "Well Marshall I believe it's your choice now."

"We were seven when we made those rules. I am NOT going to pants her. I like living thank you very much."

"WHAT!" Mary yelled.

"When we were little he was obsessed with making rules. One was that if you refused to pay up on a bet a neutral party picked someone to pants you." I explained. I sighed. "Never mind. I didn't really play fair." I sat back down at the table. Mary stared at me. After several moments I spoke. "Marshall you said this was important."

"It is important, but you never back down from a bet. Ever."

"Well I am now."

He nodded, but wouldn't stop looking at me as we finished the rules. After that they took me to get something to eat, and help me settle in.

The house was a small one-story with a one stall garage. It was a light blue with a white door and shutters. Marshall had gone to check the yard leaving Mary and I in the car alone. I smiled and whispered to Mary. "Has he ever broken a promise?"

She turned around in her seat to look at me and I couldn't tell if she was worried that I was going to tell her he would or if she was just stunned by the question. She shook her head and smiled slightly.

"When I told him I was moving away he promised we'd see each other again. Well the jerk managed to keep a 30 year old promise without even trying." I sighed.

We both laughed.

"Has he always babbled about useless trivia?"

My jaw dropped. "HE STILL DOES THAT???" I asked incrediously.

She nodded.

"Does he still have that cowboy gear?" I asked.

She stared at me. "Cowboy gear?"

"Yeah… boots with the spurs, horse on a stick, toy gun, cowboy hat. The toy badge. He would flash that badge trying to order me around." I said remembering the little boy who had dreamed of becoming a marshal.

We were staring at each other when Marshall opened the door. We burst out laughing. He stared at us and we only laughed harder.

"Come on." He said trying to ignore our laughter.

Mary and I stumbled out of the car, breathless with laughter. There was a couch sitting in the room. Mary and I plopped down exhausted from our laughter.

Marshall stared at us, totally and completely lost. "Mare?" He asked.

"Yeah" Mary and I said in unison. We burst out in laughter again.

Marshall just sighed and smiled.

After about an hour, as Mary and Marshall were leaving, I remembered something.

"Marsh mellow?" I asked as he was heading out the door. Mary was already half way to the car.

He turned around.

"The reason I backed down from the bet was because I saw the look on your face when you realized you'd have to kiss her. I realize how special it would be to you. I didn't want to force that on you." I said ending in a whisper.

He smiled shyly. "That obvious?"

"Maybe. I know you better than most people, so it's possible. Either way, don't wait too long." I said and softly closed the door in his face.