The next day at work Mary treated Marshall distantly but politely. Her politeness unnerved everyone in the office, as Mary was never polite to anyone, but Marshall assumed it was some sort of coping mechanism. He was going to bring the old, cantankerous, rude Mary back before anyone had time to miss her.
Marshall went to the break room to get himself a cup of coffee when Delia called out, "Hey, Marshall, do you think you could bring me back one, too?"
Marshall nodded, chivalrously. "Sure, Delia."
He saw Mary look up wistfully at the mention of coffee, but she quickly averted her eyes when he glanced her way.
Proceeding into the break room, Marshall got three mugs down, two regular and one decaf. Figuring he couldn't hold all three at once, Marshall brought Delia her mug first.
"Thanks, Marshall!" Delia exclaimed.
"Anytime, Delia, I owe you for all of those muffins," Marshall replied.
Out of the corner of his eye Marshall could see Mary eyeing Delia's coffee, looking more like a cat ready to pounce on a mouse than a professional law enforcement agent.
Delia saw the look too. "Oh, no you don't," she said, moving her coffee mug to a safer location. "This is my coffee, Mary."
Mary slumped back in defeat and closed her eyes as Marshall went back to the break room.
He returned, held Mary's coffee mug under her nose, and was rewarded by Mary opening one eye. "I would have thought that you, trivia man, would know that pregnant women aren't supposed to have coffee. Or are you just attempting to harm my fetus?"
"Relax, pregnant one, it's decaf," Marshall said, sipping his own coffee. "And I put two sugars and one cream in it, just the way you like it." He set the coffee on the edge of her desk and went back to his computer.
Surreptitiously watching, Marshall observed Mary glaring at her coffee for a good five minutes before sneaking a sip every time she thought he wasn't looking. Marshall got a call to check on one of his witnesses just as Mary was finishing her coffee.
"Glad to see your coffee addiction overcame your stubbornness and you drank it while it was still hot," Marshall quipped as he quickly strode out the door. Not quickly enough, though. He was hit hard in the back of the head with an accurately thrown roll of tape. Damn, that was a great throw from that angle, admired Marshall appreciatively.
"Next time I'm throwing my stapler," yelled Mary as Marshall stepped onto the elevator. As the elevator doors closed, he could hear Mary commanding, "Go pick up my tape, Delia. I'm fatter than a walrus and have to drink coffee that tastes like mud. And I said so."
That's my partner, thought Marshall
Marshall pulled up to Mary's house at precisely six o'clock. He got out of his SUV and loudly knocked on the door. After a minute Marshall heard stirring from the back of the house.
"Who the hell is that? Whoever you are, I don't want to talk to you right now," grumbled a voice loudly from inside the house. Despite the complaints, Mary opened the door and stared at her partner.
"What the hell are you doing here, Mann? I thought I was pretty obvious about being a bit unhappy with you right now."
Marshall shrugged. "I know you're upset with me and I probably deserve it. But I'm your friend and I promised to bring you to Guadalajara Restaurant today, so I'm going to."
Mary stared at Marshall. "Dream on. I'm not going to dinner with you today." And she promptly shut the door in his face and fastened the deadbolt.
Marshall stood on Mary's step, considering his options. He could use his key to get into the house, which would only further set back his reconciliation with Mary. He could leave, which would be just like giving up. Or he could ring her doorbell incessantly. Marshall knew that the doorbell seriously annoyed Mary, so he decided for the third option, figuring Mary would eventually open the door to throw something at him in order to stop the noise.
Marshall estimated it would take five minutes for Mary to open the door.
To his surprise, the door opened at the first ring. "Hey Marshall, are you looking for Mary?" inquired Brandi.
Mary rushed around the corner at that moment shouting, "Brandi, don't!"
"What?" asked Brandi, thoroughly confused.
Marshall took the opportunity to step inside the house before he got the door slammed in his face. Again.
Mary sighed. "Never mind, Brandi. It's okay."
Brandi looked from one partner and the other and decided that somewhere else was probably the best place to be at the moment. "Nice to see you, Marshall," she called as she hurried out of the room.
Mary glared at Marshall. "I'm not going anywhere."
Marshall nonchalantly leaned against the doorframe. "Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not."
"You totally are."
"No, I'm not."
"You are."
"This is ridiculous."
"You're coming."
"You're the most ridiculous person I know."
"So, you're coming?"
"No."
Marshall eyed Mary. He knew this wasn't going to be easy, but Mary needed his support and he had to demonstrate that she had it. "Come on, Mare, you know you love Mexican food. You can have whatever you want. Limitless churros. Think about it, Mary. Think of all that sugar."
Mary could feel herself wavering. Churros were her favorite and Brandi was making some kind of extremely questionable stew for supper. "I'm not stepping a foot outside of this house."
Marshall decided it was time for drastic measures. He stepped close to his partner, scooped her up in his arms, and quickly strode out the open door.
Mary was pounding on his back the entire way, but he had taken her so off guard that her resistance was minimal. Good grief, she's strong, thought Marshall. I'm going to have bruises for sure.
"Put me down, numbnuts. Kidnapping is a crime, dumbass! Jesus Christ, what is wrong with you?"
Marshall set Mary down by the passenger door of his SUV. "I watched too many superhero movies at a young age. I've attended too many Star Wars conventions. I was beat in a yo-yo competition by a six-year old and suffered a huge blow to my self-esteem. I've been deathly afraid of goldfish since the age of five when my uncle told me that they were the North American equivalent of the piranha. There are so many things to choose from, just take your pick."
Mary smirked in spite of herself. "Goldfish? Really?"
Marshall sighed. "Get in the car, Mary, and I'll tell you all sorts of embarrassing stories about myself."
Mary held her ground. "No, Marshall. You picked me up like some goddamn invalid. I'm not going anywhere with you."
"I'll tell Stan who spread the rumor that he has a serious crush on Faber."
Silently, Mary got in the car. Marshall closed her door and got in the driver's seat. Who knew that even Faber could come in handy occasionally?