Hiya, thanks to everyone who reviewed and those who are still reading. This is a rough chapter or meant to be anyway. Let me know what you think!

Enjoy!

Different Road, Same Journey

"What?" Marshall asked after staring at Stan silently for what seemed like the longest time.

"I wanted you to hear it from us then over the phone or through someone else…" Stan started to say.

"You can't be serious…" Marshall cut in. "There must be a mistake."

"I'm sorry but it's not a mistake."

"How?"

"There was an accident…"

"You said that!" He snapped, surprising Mary.

She hadn't seen him lose his cool before but by the looks of it, Stan was unfazed by his reaction.

"How the hell did this happen, Stan?!" He got to his feet. "Was she drunk?!"

"Marshall, I know this must be hard…" Eleanor started to say in a soothing voice but he shook her hand off him when she reached out to him.

"Stan?"

"Yes." He sighed but knew there was no point in trying to cover it up. "She was twice over the legal limit…"

Marshall screwed his eyes shut and spun around so his back was facing them all.

"Did she hurt anyone else?" He asked quietly.

"No, it was in the early hours of the morning and it was a quiet road." Stan told him. "She was going at a high speed when she hit the curb and lost control of the car before hitting a pole."

"Damn it, Ellie…" He whispered to himself.

"I'm sorry, Marshall." Stan walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I know you guys split a long time ago but this can't be easier to hear…"

"I need some air…" Marshall muttered before walking away, not looking back at any of them.

Stan ran a hand over his eyes before looking over at Mary, smiling a little unsure. "I'm sorry for ruining your evening…"

"No need to apologize…" Mary told him, feeling even more uncomfortable. She was beginning to think that she was never going to get to know Marshall's family without some kind of drama cropping up. Fortunately, with her own family, she was used to it and unlike the first meal when Alexis had a meltdown; Mary wasn't tempted to run away.

"Where's Marshall?" Jack reappeared with Kelly behind him. "What's going on?"

"Where are the girls?" Mary surprised herself by asking but she was concerned about them over hearing what was going on before Marshall had worked out how to deal with this.

"They're settled in bed, Alexis is reading to Ava." Kelly informed her. "Ava is too fired up about the surprise visit to sleep…"

"Maybe we should have waited until the morning…." Stan considered Marshall and his daughters his family and had been very close with them all when they lived in Albuquerque. He knew how Ava got when she was excited; he should have known the surprise visit would cause trouble getting her bed but his only concern was getting to Marshall before heard the news some other way.

"Well, you obviously had something important to tell Marshall…" Jack stated. "What is it? What's happened?"

"Ellie was involved in an accident..." Eleanor supplied. "She didn't make it."

Jack's eyes widened slightly and Kelly's covered her mouth with her hand, gasping quietly.

"Where's Marshall?" Jack asked again.

"He needed some air." Stan replied.

"Wait." Mary stopped him from going to find his brother. "Let me…"

"Jack…" Kelly took his hand and shook her head when he went to argue.

Mary didn't hang around, leaving Kelly to deal with her husband. She knew that Jack and Marshall were close and she knew the older brother was very protective over the younger but Mary was finding herself just as protective.

When she stepped out of the back door, she saw Marshall sat on the steps that lead down to the lawn. She slowly and quietly walked over to him, taking a seat next to him. She folded her arms on top of her knees before resting her chin on her forearms, tilting her head slightly so she could look at him.

"I don't know what to say…" She said softly after a few seconds of silence. "I'm sorry."

He glanced at her and swallowed the lump in his throat, swiping a hand over his eyes. "I guess I should have seen this coming…"

She frowned a little. "How could you have seen this coming?"

"Because for the last three years, my life has been anything but simple and there is always trouble where my ex-wife is concerned." He replied. "I thought moving here would put an end to it…"

Mary sat up straight and placed a hand on his arm. "You did what you thought was right for your kids and anyone can tell that they're happy, healthy and safe….that's because of you."

His eyes slipped shut as he fought to keep the tears at bay. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't be getting you caught up in this…"

"Oh come on, after everything you did for me and for my sister?" Mary reminded him. "You have nothing to be sorry about…"

"We've only been together for a few months and here I am crying over my wife…"

"Exactly, your wife." Mary moved closer to him. "I get it, Marshall…I'm not stupid nor insecure about your feelings towards me….I know that you're not in love with Ellie anymore but I also know the kind of person you are…I know there is still apart of you that cares about her…"

"Mare…." He started to interrupt but she put a finger to his lips to stop him.

"You were married to her and it wasn't like you woke up one day and decided you didn't love her anymore…I know you guys broke up a while ago but it took you a long time to get over her." She reasoned. "And she's the mother of your children…"

"God…What am I going to tell them?" He whispered. "How do I explain this?"

"I don't know…" Mary answered honestly.

Marshall covered his face with his hands but couldn't stop the sobs from coming; it physically hurt knowing he was going to have to break his daughters' hearts.

Mary felt her own eyes stinging and her chest ache. Putting an arm around him, she pulled him to her but he still didn't remove his hands.

"It'll be okay…" She whispered, resting her cheek on top of his head as he leaned on to her.

XxXxX

The next morning, Marshall sat at the kitchen table watching the sun rising through the window. It was early and everyone else was still in bed but he hadn't been able to sleep at all. After sitting outside for over an hour with Mary, he returned to find his brother, Kelly, Stan and Eleanor waiting for them to return. He didn't say much to any of them about managed to convince them to leave for the night. Telling them, everyone would feel better in the morning after they've all got some sleep. So, Jack and Kelly went home while Stan and Eleanor headed to a hotel.

Marshall had checked on the girls to find Alexis had fallen asleep in Ava's bed, a book open on her chest. He watched them just sleeping before Mary took his hand to guided him to his own bedroom.

He left her to sleeping alone about two hours ago, deciding he might as well get up if all he was going to do was lay there, staring at the ceiling.

"Dad?" Alexis mumbled sleepily as she walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, it's early…what are you doing up?" He quickly snapped out of his own thoughts and into 'Dad Mode'.

"Ava kept moving in her sleep and kicking me…I was going to my room when I saw the light on down here." She replied. "Why are you up so early?"

"I just couldn't sleep, Ally-Jo." He said softly. "But you should go back to bed."

Alexis stared back at him and he knew that even though she was only six, she wasn't buying what he was saying.

"Are you mad at someone?" She asked. "You were upset that Uncle Stan visited…."

"Alexis…"

"Did he do something mean?" She questioned.

"No, Uncle Stan didn't do anything." He assured her. "I just… He had some bad news…"

"What news?"

Marshall sighed; he had been thinking about this moment all night, trying to work out how he was going to break the news to his daughters but he still had nothing.

"Dad?"

"Let's go sit on the couch…" He stalled, pushing back his chair and stood up.

Alexis frowned a little but did as he said and moved towards the couch.

"Alexis…" Marshall started once they were seat, both sat at an angle so they were facing each other. "Alexis, something has happened..."

"Something bad?" She questioned.

Marshall swallowed and nodded his head, trying to keep control, he needed to be strong.

"Yeah, Ally-Jo…something really bad…." He put his arm around her small body and pulled her closer. "Stan came out here to tell….to tell us that there was an accident."

"What kind of accident?" She stared up at him with innocent blue eyes. "Was Uncle Stan hurt?"

"No, he wasn't involved in the accident….It was a car accident…Alex, your Mom…"

Her eyes grew bigger. "Mom was in an accident? Is she okay?"

"No, Alexis…" He shook his head. "She was hurt really badly…"

"But the doctors are making her better, right?" She asked. "Can we go and see her?"

"No, sweetheart, we can't…"

"But….but she'll be in the hospital…and she'll be scared because hospitals aren't nice…"

"Alexis, the doctors couldn't make her better…" Marshall tried to tell her. "I'm so sorry, Sweetheart but she's gone to heaven…"

Alexis froze for a few second, just staring at him but then shook her head. "But doctors make people better….They made Ava better and she was a little baby…."

"Sweetheart…"

"Please…please…" Tears started to fill her eyes. "Can we just go….you can make her better, I know you can..."

Her words shattered Marshall's heart. "Her injuries were too serious, Ally-Jo…"

"But she was my Mom…" She cried. "She was mom and…and…. She was going to come back…"

"Alex…" Marshall managed to pull her onto his lap and into his arms even though she fought him.

"I want my mom…"

"I know…" He soothed, his own tears falling as he held her to his chest, rocking slightly. "I know…."

"I want my mom….."

He screwed his eyes shut as she cried harder and held onto her tightly. He couldn't help but feel anger towards Ellie…How could she let this happen? How she could let Alexis go through this but there was another part of him that was angry with himself...There must have been something he could have done to stop this …Alexis put all her faith in him being able protect them all and he had failed her.

TBC

Nothing is ever smooth sailing for M/M….Please review and let me know what you think!