Hey, thank you all for the reviewing. I'm glad you like Marshall's story…There's just something about him being a Dad that I love. This chapter is pretty long, so hope it's worth the read, please review and let me know what you think.

Enjoy!

Different Road, Same Journey

Mary couldn't help but smile when she saw the name that flashed up on her caller ID. She was having the afternoon from hell, being forced to spend time with both her mother and sister. Jinx was playing the doting Mom role, wanting to take care of Brandi who was apparently heartbroken after still not hearing from Chuck. It had been six weeks since her apartment had been raided and she was still sleeping on Mary's couch.

"Where are you going?" Jinx asked, seeing her eldest daughter stand up. "Who's on the phone?"

Brandi grinned teasingly. "Mary's got a secret boyfriend."

"Shut up." Mary glared at her. "Between work and taking care of things around here, I don't have time to eat, let alone have a boyfriend."

"Well, who's calling you?" Jinx asked again, sharing a smile with Brandi. "I saw that smile on your face…I know that smile."

She rolled her eyes. "No, Mom…You're just seeing things…that happens after drinking a bottle of wine."

"I've had two glasses!" Jinx protested.

"Whatever." She muttered, walking into the kitchen and shutting the door to silence Brandi's taunts. "Hey…"

"Where are you?" Marshall greeted.

She frowned at the sound of his voice, it sounded like something was wrong. Then she realized that he had never called her during the day before. Normally they only spoke on the phone after she had done a late shift at bar and he insisted she called him to let him know she got home safely. Even the nights he was with her and walked her home; she only allowed him to walk her half away. Stopping on the street where she had found out about his children and ex-wife. She had told him that she only lived around the corner but in fact, lived in a small apartment a few blocks from there. She didn't want him to know where she really lived because it was one of the worst areas in New Jersey. In the past four weeks, she had got to know him well and was pretty confident that he wouldn't care where she lived but she did.

"I'm at home." She answered. "Why? What's up?"

"Is Brandi there with you?"

"My sister? Well, she's living here at the moment…"

"We need to talk to her." Marshall said. "It's important…We're on our way over."

"What? Here?"

"We'll be there soon…I just wanted to give you a heads up."

"Marshall? What the hell? Is she being arrested?"

"No but there has been a development in the case and we need Brandi's help."

"But she's not in trouble?"

He sighed. "Honestly, Mare…I don't know…If she is involved in this in any way it's best she comes clean now…we can help her but she needs to talk to us before she gets dragged down with the others."

"Believe me, Marshall, Brandi makes dumb mistakes but I'm sure she wouldn't get involved in something big like this."

"You might be right but we're dealing with some pretty evil people here and they wouldn't think twice about throwing someone like Brandi to wolves to save their own skin, even if she is innocent." He answered.

"This is a nightmare." She muttered, running a hand over her eyes.

"Look, do you trust me?"

She froze at his question, surprising herself at how easy it was to answer. "I guess so…"

"I promise you, I'm not out to get Brandi…I want to help her but she has be willing to help us." He told her. "If you have any influence…"

"What? I should tell her to spill her guts?" She guessed. "I pretty sure that won't happen no matter what I say…"

"I was going to say, if you have any influence just tell her you trust me…that she can trust me too…then she can decided for herself what her next move is."

"Right."

"I better go." He said. "We'll be arriving soon."

"Okay…"

She cursed when the line went dead and glared at the door where she could hear her mom and sister laughing. A part of her wanted to leave while she had the chance, to let Brandi cleaning up her own mess but deep down she knew that couldn't do that.

"Who is he?" Jinx demanded with a smile as soon as Mary stepped back into the room. "Come on, tell us… He must be pretty special if you're keeping him a secret."

"It's nothing like that…" Mary claimed and turned to Brandi was playing around with her cell phone. "Brandi, we need to talk…"

"About what?" She asked but didn't look up.

"But Chuck and…" She cut off by a loud knock on the door. "Jesus, he wasn't kidding about being here soon."

"Who's here?" Jinx questioned. "What is going on?"

"Just wait a minute…" Mary walked towards the door and pulled it open; expecting to find a crowd of marshals but there was only Marshall with a woman. "Come in…"

"This is my colleague, Marshal Avers…" Marshall introduced and they both stepped into the apartment.

Mary looked at the other woman, who just nodded to her in acknowledgement with her hands in her pockets, looking around the room. Mary took an instant dislike to her but couldn't say why.

"What's going on?" Brandi jumped up, recognizing Marshall straight away.

"Brandi, Marshal Mann wants to talk to you about Chuck." Mary told her, glancing at Marshall.

"Ms. Shannon, I'm sorry to bother you but there are some things we need to know." Marshall told her. "I understand that Mr. Johnston has not returned to the apartment you share with him but have you seen or heard from him at all?"

"What? No…" She shook her head and looked to Mary, helplessly.

Mary knew her sister; she knew when she was lying. "Can you excuse us just for a minute?"

Marshall nodded. "Of course…"

Mary grabbed Brandi's hand and pulled her into the kitchen but before she could close the door, Jinx slipped into the room with them.

"Can one of you tell what is going on here!?" She demanded.

"Chuck has got himself into a stinking pile of mess." Mary said before turning her attention to Brandi. "You need to talk to them…"

"Who? The police?" She stared at her in disbelief.

"They're marshals." Mary corrected. "If you don't tell them what you know then you'll be going down right along-side Chuck and his buddies…"

"You need to keep your mouth shut." Jinx contradicted. "They'll twist your words…"

"No, Brandi…listen you me…You can trust Marshall."

"I can trust the Marshals?"

"No, Marshall….Marshal Marshall Mann." Mary said frustrated.

"Wait…That's your secret guy?" Brandi asked. "Him?"

"There is no secret guy!" She snapped. "He comes to the bar sometimes and we talk but that's it..."

"Oh my god…I can't believe you fell for it." Jinx threw her hands up in the air. "What did he do? Flash some cash around? Whispered some sweet nothings in your ear?"

"You're forgetting you're the one that falls at the feet of any and every guy." Mary said coolie back.

"How dare you…" She started.

Mary just turned her back to her, placing herself between Jinx and Brandi. "Look, Brandi you can do this the easy way or the hard way…You're going to have to talk to them one way or another and it's better here to Marshall then being dragged in by someone else who doesn't give a damn."

"I haven't done anything…" Her eyes filled with tears.

"Then tell them that!" Mary pointed to the closed door. "Tell them what you know…just tell them the truth."

Brandi opened her mouth to say something but changed her mind and simply nodded her head a little.

"You can't trust them, Brandi…Not after what they did to your father…" Jinx tried to move past Mary but her eldest daughter wouldn't let her.

"Oh just get over it, Mom." Mary caught hold of Brandi's wrist and pulled her towards the door.

"Mary!" Jinx called but neither of the girls stopped.

"Sorry about that." Mary said to Marshall, pushing Brandi in front of her. "We're ready now."

"Right…Why don't we take a seat?" Marshall suggested waiting until Brandi was seated on the couch before sitting opposite her on the coffee table. Mary stayed stood up, behind the couch while Jinx stormed out of the kitchen and sat behind Brandi, taking her hold of hand.

Marshall glanced behind him and saw Avers leaning against the wall, happy to take a backseat and let him lead the questions.

"Brandi, when did you last speak to Chuck?" Marshall started, after turning his attention back to her.

"He left about seven weeks ago…Said he had a job…"

"Yeah but have you talked to him? On the phone? Or been in any contact by email?"

"I guess…" She stuttered a little.

"When?"

"I don't know…When he called."

"When did you last speak to him?" Marshall pressed. "This week? Last week?"

"She doesn't know!" Jinx interrupted. "Can't you see you're upsetting her!"

"Mom, just shut up!" Mary hissed at her.

"Brandi, it's important that you tell when and what you spoke to Chuck about." Marshall didn't even spare the other two women a look.

"I guess it was last week…Monday I think." She finally said. "I was angry at him."

"Why?"

"Because I hadn't heard from him for almost three weeks and then he acts as if everything is okay."

"And that's how the conversation ended?"

"I hung up on him." Brandi nodded.

"So, he didn't tell you what he was up to?"

"No…I mean, not really…." She shrugged.

"Brandi, just tell him what you know." Mary cut in.

She sighed. "He said something about a big deal…How it was going to change our lives."

"What kind of deal?" Marshall questioned.

"I don't know…He was being all cagey about it but he wanted…" She started but then stopped.

"He wanted what?"

"He kept saying that he wanted me to go to a meeting for him and he was going to let me know when and where."

"And did he?"

"I didn't give him chance…told him we were done and hung up on him." Brandi stated.

"Are you happy now?" Jinx moved to put an arm around Brandi, pulling her into a hug. "Look at how upset she is!"

"So, what happens now?" Mary asked, ignoring Jinx. "You said there had been a development…"

"A development?" Brandi looked up to her before back to Marshall. "About Chuck? Do you know where he is?"

"Yes, we know where he is."

"Well, where?" She asked. "Has he been arrested?"

"Brandi, I'm sorry to tell you this but I don't have good news." He said softly. "Unfortunately, Chuck was killed…His body was discovered last night."

"No…" Brandi shook her head. "No, you're wrong…Chuck can't be…"

"I'm sorry." He said again.

"No." Tears started to roll down Brandi's face as she continued to shake her head. "No…"

"Oh honey." Jinx wrapped her arms around Brandi, hugging her tightly, rocking her gently. "It's okay…It's going to be okay."

Marshall was caught by surprise when Mary suddenly grabbed his arm, pulling him to his feet.

"Excuse us for a minute…" She said when she saw Avers moving from her position in concern.

"We'll be right back." Marshall assured his colleague, allowing Mary to drag him into the kitchen.

"What the hell was that?" Mary shut the door and spun around to face him.

"What?" He asked.

"Chuck is dead?!"

"I'm sorry but yes, we think the deal he was involved in went wrong…"

"You could have given me a heads up!" She glared at him, crossing her arms. "You could have let me tell her!"

"I couldn't…"

"I'm her sister! She hasn't been through anything like this before…You should have let me handle it."

"Mary, I couldn't." He sighed.

"Why not?!"

"Because I had to see her reaction." He answered.

"Her reaction?" She frowned a little.

"This is a big case, Mare and I'm running the US Marshal part of it but we're also working along the FBI who had some agent killed in all this…We want to get everyone is responsible." He stated. "Like it or not, Brandi is involved in this and before I stick myself on the line for her, I needed to see for myself how involved she is….If she's just an innocent bystander that got dragged into this or if she's in deeper."

Mary stared at him, surprised by his answer.

"There is no evidence that Brandi has anything to do with the drug deals but from what she just told me and what we already know, I'm guessing that meeting Chuck wanted her to go to was to drop of the drugs."

She reached up and rubbed her temples. "God, Brandi..."

"Look, I'm going to go but we're going to need to talk to Brandi again soon." Marshall told her. "This isn't going away, Mary and if Brandi doesn't want to go down with the others, she needs to let us help her."

Mary nodded a little. "I'll talk to her."

"I'll call you later…"

"Fine."

"There's just one for thing…"

"Oh goody…there's more." She said sarcastically with an eye roll.

"Why did you lie to me about where you live?" He asked. "This isn't just around the corner from where you leave me…"

"You want to talk about that now?!" She stared at him. "Jesus, Marshall…."

"I don't like being lied to."

"I didn't lie." She stated. "I just said I would be fine to walk the rest on my own."

"Mary…"

"I told you that first night, I'm capable of looking after myself." She pushed past him and out of the kitchen.

He sighed and followed her, watching as she moved to sit on the other side of Brandi and spoke to her quietly.

"Everything okay?" Avers questioned, appearing by his side.

"Yeah, just working out some details." He assured her. "But we're done for today."

"You don't want to ask her more questions?"

"I just told her, her boyfriend was murdered…" He stated. "We have enough for now."

"If you're sure…" Avers shrugged.

"Brandi," Marshall walked over to the couch. "I'm sorry for your lose."

"He wasn't a bad guy." She looked up at him, sniffing. "He just made a mistake."

Marshall gave her a small smile but decided not to comment on that. "I'll be in touch soon."

He looked at Mary but when he did she looked away from him. He sighed and nodded his head towards the door, silently telling Avers it was time to leave. He glanced back at Mary but she was talking to Brandi again, leaving him to follow Avers out.

XxXxX

Marshall let himself into his house as quietly as he possible. It was almost 10pm and he knew the girls would be asleep. He hadn't realized how late it had got and when he did notice, he felt guilty. With all the new developments, he had been working long hours and he missed Alexis and Ava.

"Marshall?"

He walked down the hallway and into the kitchen, following the voice to find his sister-in-law, Kelly sat at the kitchen table. "Hey, sorry I'm later then I said…"

"Oh don't worry…with Jack working and Tommy and Lizzie staying with my parents, I was glad of the company." She smiled at him. "Tough day?"

Marshall leaned back against the counter with a sigh. "You could say that…"

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…" He gave her a small, tired smile. "I guess this case is turning out to be a lot more work then I first thought…I hate how many bedtime stories I've missed the last week."

"You want me to read you one?" She asked, teasingly as she stood up. "Tuck you in?"

"Haha." He replied but was smiling. "I miss the girls."

"I know," she said softly. "And you've missed you but it isn't always going to be like this…You said yourself, this case is important and once it's over, you can go back to tracking down criminals and working on getting that promotion."

"Yeah, you're right." He agreed.

It was all part of the plan when he agreed to transfer to New Jersey as well as living closer to his brother. Kelly didn't work so it meant she could help him out with child care but there was also more of a chance to get a promotion. He loved his job and being out in the field but a promotion would mean more of an office role. He would be able to spend more time with the girls, plus it would be safer…he couldn't risk anything happening to him. He missed his old job, in the Albuquerque Wit-Sec office and working for Stan more then he thought he would but it was a job where he had to travel a lot and was more dangerous.

"I better get going." She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "There's some casserole in the fridge…Make sure you eat it."

"I really appreciate it, Kel." He followed her down to the hall, helping her put on her coat. "I owe you big."

"It's what family is for." She replied. "You're Jack's little brother… Of course we're going to help you out."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm a grown man…why does everyone still insist on calling me the little brother?"

"Because you're the baby of the family." She cooed, pinching his cheek, teasingly.

"Get away from me…" He pushed her away but was fighting a smile.

"Anyway, keep the weekend clear if you can…You and the girls are invited over for dinner Saturday night." She told him. "Jack is off…It'll be nice for us to spend some time all together."

"That sounds good." Marshall nodded.

"There is also someone I want you to meet." She added. "Allison from my book club…"

"Kelly." He cut in warningly.

"Come on, you guys are perfect for each other!" She insisted. "Just give her a chance…"

"I don't need to be set up."

"It's time you started getting out there." Kelly claimed. "It's been too long."

"Kelly, please don't do this to me now." He groaned. "I don't want to go on a blind, especially with my kids there."

"So, what if I made it another night?" She asked. "Maybe you could meet her coffee."

"No, I'm sorry." He shook his head. "I'm sure she's great but I'm not interested."

"Why not?" She questioned then paused, looking at him closely. "Marshall? What aren't you telling me?"

"What?" He tried to look innocent. "There's nothing."

"There is." She narrowed her eyes at him then grinned widely. "You've already met someone, haven't you?"

"When would I have time to meet someone?"

"Don't lie to me." She pointed a finger at him accusingly. "Who is she? What's her name?"

"Kelly…"

"Come on, dish the dirt." She poked him in the ribs. "Or I'm getting Jack down here to interrogate you."

"It's nothing…Yes, I've meet someone but we're just friends." He claimed.

"Why?"

"What do you mean why?"

"Why are you just friends? You obviously like her."

"It's complicated." He ran a hand over his hair.

"Bullshit."

"I'm sorry?"

"I said bullshit…Give me the real reason."

"Kelly…"

"My guess is either; you're still in love with Ellie and are hoping she's going to come back… or you're scared of getting hurt….Or she's a dude." She said the last one just to annoy him.

"She's not a dude!" He glared at her. "And it's not Ellie…I would move to the other side of the world even if she did try and come back."

"So, it's because you're scared of getting hurt."

"Like I said, it's complicated." He replied. "It's not just about me…It's the girls too and we did talk about it, she said she's not in place to have a proper relationship and to be honest, neither am I…I spent the last three years heart broken, I'm finally over all that and I want to be on my own for a while."

"If neither of you are looking for anything serious, then what's the problem?" She asked. "No one would blame you for having a little fun."

"I'm struggling with doing my job and being a father, let alone adding anything else to the mix." He shook his head a little. "And anyway, I couldn't do that…not with Mary."

"You're a sweet man." She smiled a little. "But stupid."

He sighed. "I know…"

"You like her, don't waste time, life is too short." She kissed his cheek once more before opening the front door. "Don't forget to eat."

"Yeah…" He leaned in the doorway, watching her walking to her car.

She gave him a little wave before getting behind the wheel. He waited until she had driven down the road and out of sight before closing the door. When he turned around, he was surprised to see Alexis stood at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey, why are you out of bed?" He asked softly, moving towards her. "Did I wake you?"

She shook her head. "Couldn't sleep."

"Want to come and sit with me for a while?" He nodded towards the couch.

She smiled and nodded, holding her arms up, surprising him. Over the last couple of years, even though she was still only a little girl, Alexis seemed to have grown older than her years. Marshall knew it had a lot to do with Ellie leaving them and because Ava had been so sick when she born. He had always worried that she didn't get the attention she needed.

He reached down, picking her up and held her close to him. It wasn't often she allowed him to hold her, so he was going to make the most of it. He knew it was late and she should be in bed because she had school in the morning but he was weak. He had missed his girls this week and couldn't pass up the opportunity to have some time with his eldest.

"Did you have a good day?" He asked, sitting down on the couch and placing her in his lap.

"Hmm, Aunt Kelly let me help make dinner."

"She did? Oh that's sounds fun…I'm sorry I missed it."

She lifted her head from his chest to look up at him. "Can I make dinner for you one night?"

He smiled but a little sadly. She was a sweet girl but he wished she would act her age, that she understood that it wasn't her job to look after Ava or to worry about him but he couldn't help but feel incredible proud of her for it.

"Sure…" He said softly causing her to grin and then she led her head back down.

"Love you, Dad…" She said with a sleepy sigh.

"Love you too," He whispered back, dropping a kissing to the top of her head and running a hand gently up and down her back.

Within a few minutes, he could tell from her breathing that she had gone to sleep; making him question whether she really couldn't sleep or if she had been waiting up for him.

He thought about Mary and what Kelly said. He wished he could just be honest and tell her how he felt but it just wasn't the right time. It wasn't the time to put himself first…Alexis and Ava was his one number priority, right now. They needed him more than ever and since moving out to New Jersey, he had let them down. The whole reason for the move was for them to have a fresh start…Just the three of them. He couldn't change that…Not now.

XxXxX

Marshall glanced at his watch, seeing he had been sat wait for almost an hour and he was now starting to get annoyed.

"Can I get you another coffee?" The waitress appeared by his side.

"No thanks." He stood up, pulling of his coat and heading for the door.

He pulled out his cell and called Mary for the fourth time but again the voicemail picked up. This time he didn't leaving a message.

It had been three days since he had gone to her apartment to talk to Brandi and although he had spoken to her a couple of time since then, today was going to be the first he saw her. She and Brandi were meant to meeting him to discuss the case but neither of them had turned up.

He climbed into car and looked at his phone again, rechecking that he hadn't missed a call or a message. He sighed; it wasn't like Mary not to get in touch. She would have let him know if they couldn't make it. Suddenly, the annoyance turned to uncertainty. Something didn't feel right.

He decided the best thing was to head over to her apartment, to see she was there and if she wasn't, Brandi might be.

His concern grew when pulled up outside her building and saw several police cars. He got out, flashing his badge to one cop who tried to stop him going any further. Then he spotted Brandi and Jinx stood with another cop, both crying but Mary was nowhere in sight. He decided to avoid them and headed over to officer that looked like he was giving out the ordered.

"Excuse me, I'm Marshall Mann…US Marshal Service." He said approaching with his badge out.

"Marshall Mann?" The officer glanced at his colleague. "We were just about to call you."

"You were?"

"They gave us your name." He pointed to Jinx and Brandi.

"What's going on?" Marshall asked. "Has something happened?"

"A Mary Shannon has been repeated missing." The office told him.

"Missing?"

"Yes, we have a witness who said he saw two men grab her as she left the building…She fought back but they were able to get her into the back of a van and drive off."

Marshall stared at him, unknowing what he should do or say; his mind going completely blank except for the sound of Kelly's voice telling that was life was too short….

TBC

Gotta love a cliff hanger, right? Anyway, this chapter quite a bit longer than the others so I hope you liked it! Please review and let me know!