Marshall had never really thought about what having a partner who wasn't Mary would be like. He'd always taken it for granted that they would be together until one was killed in action or they eventually retired. After all, most people just couldn't deal with Mary.

But then Mary got pregnant, something even Marshall couldn't have predicted. The father, as far as Marshall could tell, was probably David, the college boyfriend who Mary happened to randomly run into on one of their witness relocation trips. When business brought David to Albuquerque, he took her out to dinner.

Evidently they did a lot more than just eat thought Marshall gruffly. He knew that he had no right to begrudge Mary her happiness. God knows she deserved it, after taking care of her screw-up family for years, sacrificing her chances at happiness in order to ensure they weren't thrown in jail or found lying in a ditch somewhere. And then David left town and Mary showed no signs of wanting to reconnect.

When Marshall ventured to ask Mary what happened with David, she just grunted and said, "Bastard. He knows he's lucky that he left with his balls intact."

Marshall had immediately tensed up, ready to track down and murder the man who had dared to hurt Mary. "Mare…"

"Jesus, Marshall, chill. It wasn't anything like that. He didn't hurt me. And, by the way, I can take care of myself," she retorted as she walked away.

That had been almost seven months ago now. And now Mary was pregnant and on desk duty. Marshall sighed, rubbing his hand across his face. Road trips with Delia were fine. In fact, they were more fun than normal because he was steadily supplied with muffins and other pastries and he didn't have to deal with Mary's moodiness and explosive temper. He genuinely missed driving around with his partner, but she was dangerous to be around lately. But traveling with Mary was an experience like none other…

"Hey there, partner, what are you thinking about," inquired Delia, returning to the car with two coffees.

"Oh, nothing. Just hoping that Teresa will be happy in Tulsa," replied Marshall, automatically reaching into his pocket for his wallet.

"Hey, Marshall, I don't need your money. Keep it. Next time you can pay for the coffee."

Marshall blinked. "Ok, good deal. Let's go."

As he shifted into drive and pulled away from the gas station Marshall began to think that maybe traveling with Delia was more than fine.

It was eight at night by the time Marshall arrived home after dropping Delia off at her apartment. His cell went off and he answered without glancing at the screen.

"Hey, honey, how was work today? Did the Albuquerque PD take down any bad guys?"

"Hey, numbnuts, how about you look at your phone before answering it. Seriously, if I have to listen to your overly sappy, mushy, disgusting affection for your girlfriend again, I will overdose on your cheesiness and then I'll die. God, why I put up with you is beyond me."

Marshall smiled at Mary's grumbling. She liked to make a fuss about everything. In fact, her constant grumping and complaining was basically her form of affection.

"Hey, Mare. What's up?"

"What's up? What's up? You've been gone to Tulsa for the past two days and you left me with a pile of paperwork up to my ears that I couldn't even force you to do. Listen, I may have been a little bit of a bitch today at work and…."

"Did you know that Tulsa has more convenience stores on street corners than any other city per capita in the U.S?"

Mary impatiently retorted, "No, I didn't know that doofus. I'm trying to tell you something. Stan may be a bit ticked tomorrow…"

Marshall turned around as a familiar black car pulled into his driveway. He smiled broadly. "Mare, I've got to go. Abigail just pulled up. See you tomorrow." Marshall abruptly hung up his phone and turned to greet his girlfriend.

She smiled at him. "Hey there. Did you miss me?"

Marshall smiled back at Abigail. He had had some reservations when he started going out with Abigail, but it was at moments like this that he remembered why he loved being in a relationship. His days before had been numbered by long work-days followed by Star Wars marathons, work outs, and sleep. Now Marshall finally had someone to come home to.

"Hey there, gorgeous. I think you missed me," Marshall replied, stooping to kiss Abigail.

"Oh, maybe a little," she giggled.

Marshall loved her giggles. She was never afraid to show her happiness or her enthusiasm for life. Abigail was always coming up with new things for them to do as a couple. Together they had run a 5k, gone rock climbing, and the American National Rattlesnake Museum, which was much more exciting than most people would expect.

Abigail had laughed saying, "Rattlesnakes make every effort to avoid contact with people. Their venom may be highly toxic. Sounds like Mary, except safer."

Marshall had hesitated but ventured to say, "Mary only tries to avoid people that she thinks are stupid. She doesn't really hate people. She loves…"

Abigail immediately interrupted, saying, "But, Marshall, you have to admit that your partner thinks that almost everyone is stupid. She makes every effort to avoid contact with people. In sorry, Marshall, but I'm sorry to inform you that your partner…is a rattlesnake."

Marshall wanted to defend Mary; he hated that Abigail pretended to know her. But he didn't want to provoke a confrontation. He'd had enough bickering with Mary in the past week to last him at least a month, so he gave a short laugh and smiled at Abigail.

That had been a month ago. Mary had only gotten testier and testier, making Abigail's derogatory comments about Mary more frequent. Once in a while Marshall even found himself agreeing with his girlfriend. He knew Mary was feeling overwhelmed by her life and was sad that he was spending less and less time with her, but he had an obligation to his girlfriend now.

"Let's go inside," suggested Abigail, pulling him out of his out of his thoughts. Marshall let Abigail pull him inside the house, shutting the door firmly behind him.