The couple slept through the night. Marshall called Stan in the morning when he woke up and promised to make an appearance at the office sometime around noon. Marshall wanted to talk to Mary's doctor before leaving, get a more exact handle on her condition and wanted to hear firsthand the timeline for her recovery, knowing that Mary had a habit of shortening such things to fit her mood. He also wanted to spend some time with his fiancé, who not only disliked hospitals but also had a penchant for pushing her limits when she was bored. His presence might stave off boredom and would certainly keep some of the nurses from contemplating sedating Mary just for some peace and quiet.

Marshall made it through lunch at the hospital before Mary finally kicked him out, under the guise that he was hovering when he should be working, though he knew it was because she didn't want him to see her in pain, and she was running out of the strength required to pretend she wasn't. On his way out, he sent Elizabeth to her room with another dose of pain killers. The SUV that had driven Marshall from the airport had been left in the parking lot for him, until he could get his own car from his house. He climbed in, started the engine, and turned toward the Sunshine Building. When he pulled into the parking structure, he took a deep breath before disembarking, wanting to keep his temper once inside, knowing it would be no easy task.

When the elevator opened on the floor he'd worked on for over a decade, he was surprised to find Stan was not there. He opened the security gate and moved into the office. Voices drew him toward the conference room. He paused before entering, listening to the conversation.

"He just took off, left me with his witness and no back up. For months I've heard these two are the best team of WitSec inspectors in the country, and so far, I've yet to be impressed." Royce's voice was easily recognizable. Marshall hadn't realized that it was late enough for his original flight to have already landed. Before he could enter the room and set Royce straight, a second voice sounded.

"Exactly, I did what she told me to do. What else was I supposed to do? She's the senior agent, it's her witness. How was I supposed to know that the amazing marshal Shannon needed backup? She didn't want me there, she made it clear she was perfectly capable of handling the situation herself." Teddy was trying to sound tough. From what Stan had told Marshall on the phone that morning, the younger man had been terrified when Stan had come into the office last night. But Marshall realized that Daniels must have seen Royce as his one chance at not coming off like an incompetent twat.

"What I don't get is why the hell McQueen called HQ for new partners in the first place. It's perfectly clear that neither Shannon nor Mann wanted new partners. They haven't been the least bit welcoming." Royce brought his mug to his lips, taking a deep sip, Teddy mirrored his actions.

Marshall took that as his cue to enter. "You're right, I didn't want a new partner, neither did Mary. You two idiots were forced on us by Stan's bosses. Of course, after this whole shit storm settles, you'll both be back East, and Mary and I can get back to our lives." Marshall paused, allowing the two marshals he'd interrupted a chance to mop up the coffee they'd spewed everywhere when he'd surprised them. When they looked remotely calmed down, Marshall continued, turning first to Royce, "You weren't without back up. Stan called the Chief in Miami and put two marshals on standby, just in case. And none of that would have been necessary if this" he jerked a thumb toward Daniels, "dumbass hadn't dropped the ball. He let his partner walk into a dangerous situation without offering any kind of backup. Mary's currently got three" he held up fingers to emphasize "bullet wounds and is lying in a hospital bed because of his incompetence."

He watched Royce open and close his mouth for a moment before giving up. Marshall then turned his attention to Daniels. He took two steps forward, placing himself very much in Daniels' personal space. "And you…you're lucky she's awake. You have a lot of nerve trying to blame any of this on her. Mary Shannon has one of the best records in WitSec and she's one of the most capable people I've ever met. You're the reason she's in that hospital. What you deserve, is a lesson. As her partner, I want to take you out back and teach you the definition of backup. As her best friend, I want to take out my gun and teach you about pain." He took another step forward, "As her fiancé, I just want to kill you."

He heard both men sputter at that admission. "You're her fiancé? But…oh God" He watched Daniels turn green.

Over his shoulder, Royce was coming to a similar conclusion, "You mean that whole time I was hitting on her…and then yesterday…Shit. That's why they sent us, regs say partners can't date."

Marshall threw a look over his shoulder. "Don't worry. That mistake will be fixed soon enough." Marshall heard the security gate close, signaling that Stan had returned. He left the conference without another word to the other marshals. When he moved into the main room of the office, Stan froze in step; "Hey, Stan."

"Marshall. How's Mary doing?" He'd stayed away from the hospital and refrained from calling to give Marshall and Mary some time together. When they'd talked that morning, it had been brief, mostly business. Having Marshall in the office reassured him that Mary was doing much better.

The mention of his partner, combined with Stan's obvious concern, brought a small smile to Marshall's face. "She's doing fine. She kicked me out about an hour ago."

Stan let out a small chuckle. If Mary had kicked him out, and he had listened, she must be doing better. He felt a weight lift from his shoulders with that knowledge. Being at fault for Mary's injury, however indirectly, was not something he liked; knowing she would recover did help to sooth that some. "Good, the sooner she's back in the office, the better. It's too quiet when she's out."

Marshall nodded, remembering the long weeks of heavy silence that had existed last time Mary was out of the office, made worse for him because all he'd wanted was to be home with her. "How's Whitney doing? Mary said I wasn't allowed back in the room without an update."

Knowing that it was quite possible that Mary had given such an order, Stan smiled. "After I left the hospital last night, I called Phoenix and had two marshals sent in. I just left the train station. Whitney's on her way to a new location. She made me promise to let her know how Mary's doing." Stan looked over Marshall's shoulder, taking in the still shocked looks on the faces of the two men in the conference room. "What's been going on here?"

Marshall took a casual glance over his shoulder. "I was just explaining a few things to them." He saw a hint of irritation flare in Stan's eyes. Normally, it would be understandable, but in this case, the other marshals had been in the wrong, trying to blame Mary. He had been justified in putting them in their place and would not apologize for it. "There were some things they needed to hear, explanations. I wanted them to understand what the last month has been. There's no way I'm going to let either of them leave here thinking that Mary was in any way at fault for yesterday. And I needed to explain to Royce why I left Miami."

Understanding filled Stan's expression. He hadn't realized that Marshall had left Miami without explaining to Royce why he was leaving. And he had every right to set the record straight where blame was concerned. "Yea, alright, listen, Marshall, you don't need to be here. Go be with Mary. I'm gonna call Arlington and get the ball rolling on your reassignments. Daniels will be out of here before the end of the work week. Do you mind if I have Royce stick around until Mare's back on her feet? You're better off with a partner and he's already broken in."

Again, Marshall looked back toward the conference room. Royce was a decent enough marshal, if it weren't for the fact that he was trying to fill Mary's shoes, Marshall believed the two of them would be able to work together fine. Having him recast as filler instead of permanent would make their partnership much more tolerable. "No, I can work with Royce. As long as it's not permanent, I can be a team player."

Stan opened his mouth as if he were going to argue, but thought better of it. Instead, he clapped Marshall on the shoulder and said goodbye, heading into his office to start making phone calls. He knew Marshall would be headed out and back to the hospital.