Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I'm glad you enjoyed Marshall with his girls. Sadly, my laptop has broken, I'm hoping to get it fix really soon and I am borrowing one but it may take me a little longer to update.

Anyway, please review! Let me know what you think!

Different Road, Same Journey

Mary glanced across at Marshall as they got out of his truck and headed towards her apartment. It had been six weeks since she had met Alexis and Ava…Six weeks of seeing Marshall twice a week when the girls stayed with his brother because he finished work at 10pm then hung around the bar till 1am when she finished. She looked forward their time together, even if it was just a couple of hours before they got some sleep and had breakfast together but she was beginning to wonder how much longer they could do this. She noticed how tried he looked lately and she knew he was getting stressed out at work, trying so hard to get that promotion which would mean a safer position and more office like hours. Over the last few months they had spent together, she knew he loved his job and she wasn't sure how happy he would be stuck in an office somewhere but she knew he was doing it for his girls; she understood and respected that. There was also another part of her which wondered what would happen to them when he was working those hours and didn't need his brother to babysit because he had to work late. Would they even still be together when he got his promotion? Would he want her to try and meet the girls again? Would she even want to meet them?

"You okay?" Marshall asked. "You've been quiet since we left the bar…"

"Just thinking…" She sighed. "You know, you don't have to always wait for me…"

"What do you mean?" He asked, frowning a little.

"You look exhausted, Marshall." She pointed out. "You're working so hard and when you're not, you're taking care of your kids…I would understand if you need a break."

"Mary, wait." He took hold of her hand, forcing her to stop. "This is my life, Mare…my work, my daughters…you….You don't get a break from life and I don't want one."

"You're going to get sick."

"I'm fine." He claimed. "Sure, I could do with a little extra sleep but Ava hasn't been well this week, so I've been checking on her throughout the night."

"I thought you said she just had a small bug." She recalled some of the phone calls they had during the week.

"It's nothing serious but I get a little concerned when she's sick." He admitted, a little sheepishly. "She's just three years old and she's already been so sick because of her birth…"

"So you're just being an overprotective father?"

"Pretty much, yeah." He nodded. "Now can we get back to your place so we can get to bed?"

She grabbed hold of his hand again and carried on walking. "Now you're talking my language."

Marshall laughed and let her pull him along with her. "I thought you were concerned about my lack of sleep..."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you sleep like the dead…later of course."

"Much later, I hope." He tugged on her hand so she turned and he was able to pull her into his arms.

She allowed him to kiss her for a couple of seconds but before he could deepen the kiss further, she pushed him away gently with just one fingers against his chest. "Don't make promises you can't keep…"

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it." He followed her when she started to walk away again.

When they reached her apartment, Marshall ran into the back of Mary when she stopped suddenly at the door.

"What's wrong?" He questioned.

"I hear voices…" She sighed.

"Voices?" He repeated but she stopped him when he went to move past her.

"Stand down, cowboy…its Brandi."

"Well, let's just go in then…"

"Didn't you hear me? My sister is in there." She jerked her head towards the door. "And she's talking to someone, which means she's not alone…"

Marshall rubbed his tired eyes. "So, why are we stood out here?"

"I just need a minute before facing her…them."

"Them?"

"Whoever is in there with her!" She gestured to the apartment again. "And believe me if it's my mother then you probably don't want to go in there either."

"Well, we're never going to know if we don't go in." He placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her gently towards the door.

"Urge, fine…don't blame me if we don't get to bed for another couple of hours."

"Mary?" Brandi called out after Marshall had closed the door behind them.

"Yeah it's me and do me a favor…Remind me to take that key off you." Mary replied as she hung up her jacket. "You do have your own apartment, you know…"

"I get lonely." Her sister stated, stepping into the hallway and smiled widely. "Hey, Marshall!"

"Brandi, how are you?" Marshall replied politely.

"I'm good…" She glanced over her shoulder when she heard footstep behind her. "Have you met Mark?"

"Hey, Mary." Mark grinned at her, leaning against the wall.

"Uh, I don't think I have…" Marshall glanced at Mary, seeing her glaring at her sister first then the other man. "Marshall Mann…"

Marshall pulled his hand away and turned to look at Mary questionably.

"Ex-husband!" Mary corrected. "What the hell are you doing here, Mark?"

"I've just come back to town." He explained. "I thought we could catch up."

"At 2am?" She queried and then turned to her sister again. "What are you doing bringing him here?"

She shrugged. "He was asking about you and wouldn't believe me when I said you were dating a cop."

"He's a marshal." Mary pointed out, frustrated.

"Maybe we can save this little reunion until the sun is up?" Marshall suggested.

"Maybe not even then." Mary added. "Both of you get out…We've both had a long day and want to get some sleep."

"Wait, I have a job interview tomorrow and I need something to wear." She stepped away from Mary when she tried to push her to the door.

"Why would you think I could help you with that at 2am?" Mary crossed her arms.

"I've already looked through your clothes…There's some things I can make look cute!" Brandi grabbed her hand. "Come on, help me pick something out."

"Should have just gone to your place." Mary said to Marshall before Brandi dragged her towards the bedroom.

Marshall watched them go before looking at Mark who was still staring at him. "Uh, if you'll excuse me, I'm just going to grab a drink…"

Mark stepped aside to allow Marshall past and then followed him to the kitchen. "So, Brandi tells me you were the one who raided her apartment and then followed Mary to the bar…"

Marshall sighed, pulling open the fridge and picked up a bottle of water before slowly standing to face him again. "I worked on a case that involved Brandi and her boyfriend and yes, a few days later I ran into Mary at the bar…"

"Bit creepy, isn't it?" Mark leaned against one of the counters. "You stalking a suspect's sister like that?"

Marshall rolled his eyes as he finished off the bottle of water. "I wasn't stalking her and Brandi wasn't the person we were after."

"I just find it strange… I mean a guy like you and her girl like her."

"Look, it's late and I'm tried so why don't you just spit out whatever point you're trying to make."

"I think you're up to something…" Mark pushed away from the counter and walked towards him. "I think you're using Mary."

"Well, I'm not…I actually care about her and we're good together." Marshall stated. "And to be honest, I don't really care what you think."

Marshall left the kitchen, trying to keep calm; Mary and he had so little time together and he was getting annoyed that Mark was trying to spoil their night together.

"You think you're such a big shot…" Mark trailed after him. "You think you can come in here, flash some cash about and tell her a bunch of lies to get what you want."

"You obviously don't know Mary at all if you think someone can buy her affection…" Marshall stated but before he could say anymore he felt Mark's hand on his shoulder, spinning him around.

"I bet I know Mary a lot better than you do!" Mark claimed, pushing Marshall back into the wall.

"What the hell?!" Mary exclaimed from the bedroom doorway where she was stood with Brandi.

Marshall easily caught Mark's fist before it made contact with his face, expertly twisting the hand backwards causing Mark to cry out in pain. Marshall spun him around before shoving him forward so his front hit the wall, holding his arm high up his back.

"Like I said, it's late and I'm tired…I'm in no mood for this." Marshall told him coolly.

"Argh, just let go!" Mark struggled to try and get free.

Marshall shoved him further into the wall before stepping backwards. "It's probably time you left."

Mark rotated his arm, trying to ease the pain as he glared at Marshall. "See you around, Mary…"

"Get lost, Mark." Mary told him.

"I'm sorry, Mare." Brandi said once Mark was gone. "He said he just wanted to catch up and he laughed when I said you were dating Marshall…I didn't realize he would act like that."

"Its fine, Brandi…If you see him again, just tell him to stay away from me." Mary told her, stepping closer to Marshall. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied, running a hand down his face.

"I'll just go…" Brandi stuffed the shirt she had borrowed from Mary into her bag.

"I'll call you a cab." Marshall pulled out his cell phone.

"Oh, it's fine." Brandi claimed. "I'm borrowing Mary's car for my interview tomorrow…"

"Just remember to lock it this time." Mary handed her the keys. She hadn't wanted to let her use the car but knew it was the quickest way to get rid of her tonight. "And you'll need to put some gas in it."

"Right, gas, of course." Brandi nodded then looked sweetly at Mary. "Can I borrow some gas money?"

Mary sighed loudly and pulled a couple of notes out of her pocket, slapping it in her open hand. She didn't give her sister chance to ask for anything else by starting to push her towards the door which Mark had left open.

"Oh, okay…bye then!" Brandi managed to get out just before Mary closed the door behind her.

"Mare, I'm sorry for…" Marshall began to apologize but was cut off by her lips on his.

He kissed back and moaned when she deepened the kiss, pushing him against the wall.

"You're not mad?" Marshall murmured as her lips went to his neck.

"No…It was kind of nice see you acting like the badass marshal you keep telling me you are." She replied, between small kisses down his neck.

Her hand slipped under his shirt and up over his chest until he reached down, gently taking hold of both of her wrists. He spun her around quickly, walking them over to the opposite wall. He pressed the front of his body into the back of hers; still holding her hands behind her back but in a loose enough grip that she could maneuver out of, if she wanted to.

"You liked that?" He whispered into her ear and before she had chance to speak, he turned her again. This time, her back was to the wall and he pinned both her hands above her head with just one of his. "What about this?"

His free hand ran down her side and then up under her shirt before he leaned down and kissed her deeply. She moaned and tried to pull her hands out of his grip but he tightened his hold on her so she settled for leaning more into the kiss. She hooked one of her legs around his, running her foot up his calf slowly making him release her hands so he could reach to run his hand down her leg, bringing it up around his waist. As soon as her hands were free, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him even closer to her as he brought her other leg up so he could carry her towards the bedroom.

XxXxX

Later, Mary was woken by soft fingers running up and down her side. She rolled over and sighed contently when she saw Marshall. She glanced over his shoulder to see it was almost 3:30am. She had no plans the next day, so she could sleep in but she knew he would get up a 6am so he could pick the girls up and take them to school.

"You not tired?" She questioned, shifting closer to him.

He shrugged a little, lacing his fingers through hers. "Just thinking…"

"About what?"

"If your husband is going to barge in here any minute…"

"Ex-husband." Mary corrected, pushing herself up on her elbow and looked down at him. "And you don't need to worry about Mark, he's no one."

"Then why didn't you tell me about him?"

"Honestly, I didn't even think about it." She claimed. "I wasn't trying to hide him from you…"

"You forgot that you were married?"

"It wasn't a proper marriage…Not like yours." She told him. "I was 17 and we ran off to elope…it was annulled a few weeks later."

"Young and in love?" Marshall queried.

"No…Young and stupid." She amended and sighed. "He was my ticket out of here…"

"What does that mean?"

"My Dad was long gone…My Mom was living in a bottle and Brandi was10 years old, treating me more like her mother then her sister." She explained. "Mark is a few years older than me and he was in band."

Marshall smirked a little. "You were a groupie?"

"Shut up or I won't tell you the story." She slapped his chest. "They had a few gigs lined up around the state and he said I could tag along…Jinx flipped when I told her and banned me from going, not that I was ever going to listen to her but Mark made this stupid suggestion that if we were married, then she couldn't say anything because I would be with my husband."

"What happened?"

"I went along with it, mainly to annoy Jinx but then right after, all he did was ignore me and wanted to spend his time drinking with his buddies." Mary replied. "The honeymoon didn't last long…hell; it didn't even start...When I caught him with another girl that was the end of it."

"So, you came home?"

"Didn't really have much of a choice."

"What was the plan?" He asked. "I mean, you said you did it to get out of here not because you loved him."

"I didn't really think it through." She looked down, tracing a circle on the back of his hand.

"Mare?" He frowned a little, knowing she was holding something back.

She sighed. "It was stupid…It doesn't matter."

"What doesn't?" He questioned. "You can tell me."

"I knew he wouldn't approve of Mark." She whispered. "I thought he might come back if he heard…"

It took a few seconds for him to work out who was talking about. "Your Dad?"

"Yep, see it's stupid."

"It's not stupid, Mary." He assured her, reaching up and pushing some hair behind her hair. "You missed him…"

"Yeah…"

"You still miss him." Marshall stated softly. "It's okay to, you know."

"Do we have to talk about my Daddy's issues now?" She led back down.

"No, we don't have to if you don't want to." He put an arm around her and pulled her towards him. "But you can talk to me about him if you did want to."

"Well, I don't." She told him. "He's no one to me now…"

"Okay, I'll drop it." He replied although he wasn't convinced of her admission.

Mary felt a little guilty for shutting him out so moved to put her head on his shoulder, throwing an arm over his torso.

"I really am sorry I didn't tell you about Mark." She said quietly after a few minutes of silence.

"It's okay I think I took care of myself pretty well." He said lightly, kissing the top of her head to let her know he wasn't annoyed with her. "Is he someone who you spend a lot of time with?"

Mary sighed. "He sometimes hangs out with Brandi…He doesn't have very good luck with work, so he tends to move around a lot but his Mom still lives here so he always comes back…He's not a bad guy, just pretty annoying."

"And he still has feelings for you." Marshall stated simply.

"Mark doesn't do feelings." Mary let out a laugh. "But I do think he always thought I would have feelings for him…Like I said, he was an older guy in a band who promised me a fairytale ending…I guess you could say I idolized him a little at the time…He has trouble remembering that I grew up even if he hasn't."

"But he's doesn't give you any trouble, does he?"

"I can handle Mark." She rolled her eyes. "There is no need to go all caveman…"

He turned on his side so he was facing her. "I thought you enjoyed seeing me being all badass…"

"Just because I enjoyed watching it still doesn't mean I need you to protect me." She shot back then reached out and stroked his cheek gently. "We should get some sleep."

He sighed quietly; closing his eyes and rested his forehead against hers. "My brother is was talking about going to visit my parents for a week next month…I have work that I can't get out of but he offered to take the girls."

"Would you be able to go a whole week without them?" She asked teasingly but she honestly didn't think he could do it.

"I'd hate it but it'll be nice for them to have a little vacation and they haven't seen their grandparents in almost a year." Marshall shrugged a little. "And it would mean I could spend some time with you…some proper time."

Mary sighed. "I don't want you shipping off your kids for my sake."

Marshall pulled back to look at her. "Do you really think that is something I would do?"

"No, I don't but I just think…" She trailed off, not knowing how to finish the sentence without starting something she really didn't want to get into right now.

"Think what?" He prompted, propping himself up on his elbow by her side.

"Nothing." She shook her head, reaching up and placing her hand on the back of his neck to try and pull him back down.

"Mary?" He took hold of her hand to stop her.

"Now is not the time." She told him. "It's late…We should be sleeping."

"Something is bothering you." He stated. "Tell me."

"You're so annoying, you know that?"

"Yeah, you've told me before…repeatedly." He smiled a little. "Talk to me."

"Just things are going to get complicated."

"Because I'm thinking of letting my brother and sister-in-law take Alexis and Ava on vacation?" He frowned a little.

"Because you want to spend more time with me." She explained before adding a little softer. "And because I want to spend more time with you."

"And that's a bad thing?" He asked, still confused.

"Yes, because we can't spend more time together without you giving something up….Work or time with the girls…I don't want you to do either."

"Mary…"

"Look, we shouldn't be talking about this now." She looked away from him. "It's late."

"I'll work it out." He promised.

"So, you keep saying." Mary turned on her side so her back was facing him. "Just go to sleep, Marshall."

She closed her eyes, trying to feign sleep but knew he wasn't doing as he said because he still hadn't moved from propped up on his elbow.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly.

She sighed but still didn't turn back over. "You don't need to be sorry, Marshall…I don't want you to feel guilty about it but you need to realize things are going to get complicated."

"I wish it didn't have to." He stated, helplessly.

This time she did roll over and again put her hand behind his neck. "Go to sleep."

He allowed her to pull him so he was lying down again and hesitantly put his arms around her, giving her chance to pull away if she wanted to but was relieved when she didn't.

"Sweet dreams…" He whispered into her hair out of habit of saying it to the girls; she didn't reply but instead moved closer to him.

Marshall wasn't sure he actually succumbed to sleep and despite his initial resistance, he was annoyed to be woken by his cell phone ringing on the nightstand. He groaned, forcing his eyes open to see it was still dark outside and a quick look at the alarm clock told him it was only 4:45am. Marshall prayed it wouldn't be work, calling him in early. He wanted to spend as much time with Mary before he had to pick up the girls, even if was just sleeping next to her.

He blindly hit the accept button on the phone, laying his head back down the pillow and closed his eyes; running a soothing hand up and down Mary's back as she moaned quietly and tried to bury her face in his chest as she fought to stay asleep.

"Hello…" He answered the call groggily.

Mary was startled into full consciousness when Marshall bolted upright, dislodging her.

"Jack? What is it?!"

It took Mary a second to wake up enough to realize Marshall was already dressing despite still being on the phone.

"I'll be right there?"

"What happened?" Mary asked pulling on the tank top she had discarded earlier.

"Ava…" Marshall took a deep shaky breath. "Jack took her to the hospital…"

"Why?" Mary was now pulling on some jeans as he looked for his car keys.

"She had a seizure…I don't know…" He stuttered a little, still trying to locate his keys.

"Hey, she'll be fine." Mary said softly, scooping down when she spotted his keys, partially underneath the bed then grabbed hold of his hand, pulling him out of the room. "Come on…Let's go."

TBC

Sorry, cannot resist a cliffhanger. Please review and let me know what you think!