Author's Note: Special thanks to JJ2008 and Meg for the reviews! So, for those of you that read my Criminal Minds fics (I know there's one or two) that I have a thing for some crazy pairings. It seems to have finally seeped into IPS, hence Prompt #017. I hope you give it a chance!

PROMPT #016 – MARY/SETH MANN

"You can call me a sucker, I don't care, because I do believe in it. Bottom line: Couples who are truly right for each other wade through the same crap as everybody else, but the big difference is they don't let it take them down. One of those two people will stand up and fight for that relationship every time. If it's right, and they're real lucky, one of them will say something."

"Mary," Seth Mann grunted, walking over to her at Marshall's rehearsal dinner.

"Seth," she acknowledged, her eyes following her daughter. Ann Mann, Seth's wife, had commandeered Norah as soon as they reached the restaurant and was having fun showing her off to everyone. "Think I'm going to get your wife to give me back my kid anytime soon?"

Seth turned his gaze to his wife. "Not likely."

Mary sighed. "I'd like to get out of here sometime tonight."

"What are you doing?" Seth asked her.

"Waiting for my kid so I can scram."

Seth sighed. "I mean, what are you doing here? Why are you standing on the sidelines? Why aren't you in there fighting for Marshall? Why isn't this your rehearsal that we're at?"

Mary froze. "Uh... I... Um... I really don't-"

"Don't tell me you don't have feelings for him," Seth spat back. "I knew within five minutes of meeting you that you were deeply in love with my son. Completely in denial about it, sure, but it was there."

"He doesn't love me," Mary said, quietly, after a few moments. "At least, not anymore, if he ever did."

Seth's steel eyes found hers. "That's bullshit. My son is head over heels for you. He's just been waiting for a sign from you."

Mary's own eyes flashed with anger. "Then why's he going through all of this?"

"Because he thinks it's what he's suppose to do. He thinks she's the girl that he's suppose to bring home." Seth huffed. "Oh, he loves her in his own way, but she's not what sets his world on fire. She's not who he dreams about at night. She's not the one that he really wants."

"Even if all of that was true, it's too late." Mary rubbed her face with her hand. "He's getting married tomorrow."

Seth nodded. "Which means there's still time. Talk to him, Mary. You'll regret it if you don't."

"What's going on over here?" Marshall asked, nervously, standing in front of the two of them.

"Just having a little chat," Seth replied. He squeezed Mary's shoulder before walking away.

Marshall looked at Mary, expectantly. "Are you going to tell me what you were talking about?"

Mary hesitated before bobbing her head up and down. "Can we talk outside for a bit? There's something that I need to tell you."

PROMPT #017 – BRANDI/ABIGAIL

"Only the good die young."

Brandi was bored. She was sitting in the middle a bar, sipping a club soda, just completely bored out of her mind. She yearned for a shot of tequila or vodka, but that was all in her past. She was no longer "Where's the party" Brandi Shannon. She was now work nine-to-five as a waitress, raise her son with the help of her mother and sister, drink club soda at a bar Brandi Shannon.

The girls at work had insisted on doing a night out. As Jinx had taken four-month-old Lucas along with Norah for the night, and Mary was off on an assignment with Marshall, Brandi had nothing better to do. It wasn't long ago that she would have been amongst the others currently vying for attention at the pool tables, but not anymore.

She was ready for some bit of excited; something to bring her out of the monotony that she had fallen into. Brandi glanced up at the bar. She was shocked to find Marshall's fiancee sitting there. There was a guy sitting next to her, clearly bothering her. It was an old story to Brandi.

"Hey, honey," Brandi crooned, squeezing in between Abigail and the man. She kissed Abigail's cheek. "I hope you weren't waiting too long for me."

"Uh, no," Abigail replied, recovering quickly. "This gentleman... was just disappearing."

Brandi burst out laughing as she saw the man scurry away. She placed her hand absently on Abigail's knee as she replied, "I hope you don't mind me stepping in. You looked like you could use some help."

Abigail grinned. "I did. Thank you! What are you doing here, anyway? Should you be here?"

"Marshall tell you about that?" Brandi asked, referring to her recent sobriety.

"No," Abigail assured her. "I overheard Marshall trying to get Mary to talk about it. I didn't mean to eavesdrop-"

"It's okay," Brandi told her. "What are you doing here?"

"Avoiding my empty house and the thoughts it brings." She sighed again when she realized that Brandi was patiently waiting for her to expand. "I'm trying to figure out if I should leave Marshall now before he ends up resenting me or if I should continue with the wedding."

Brandi frowned. "Why do you think Marshall's going to resent you?"

"Because I made him give up his best friend." Abigail tossed back her drink. "Because she's the one that he's really in love with."

"Abigail-"

Abigail put her hand up. "If you're going to offer me empty platitudes, save it. I knew what I was getting into and if I didn't, I should have the first time I saw the two of them together."

Brandi gave her a small smile. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yeah, actually, there is?" Abigail bit her bottom lip when Brandi tilted her head, confused. "Come home with me."

Brandi glanced down at her hand, which had moved up to Abigail's thigh. With a glint in her eye, she nodded. "Let's go."

PROMPT #018 – MARSHALL/ABIGAIL

"I see you again, it cuts me up inside, and the person I share that with is me. You don't know me anymore, so don't come down here with your great new life and expect me to do things your way."

"I got it!" Marshall's face froze as he opened the door, revealing his ex-wife. "Abigail. What are you doing here?"

"We were passing through on our way to Greg's sister's wedding and thought we'd take Cecelia out for dinner," Abigail replied, her fake smile plastered on her face.

Marshall sighed. "I really wish you had called, like you're suppose to."

Abigail frowned, placing her hands on her hips. "It was a last minute decision to drive through Albuquerque. I didn't think I needed an appointment to see my daughter."

"Cecelia's not here," Marshall explained. "She's with her grandmother for the weekend."

"Your mother came here?"

Marshall shook his head. "She's with Jinx and Norah."

Abigail rubbed her forehead. "Can't you just call Jinx and have her bring CeCe here?"

"She likes to be called Cecelia and no, I can't. They're out of town."

"You let your wife's mother take my daughter out of town without my permission?" Abigail hissed.

Marshall took a deep breath to calm his ire. "I let our daughter's grandmother take her out of town with my permission. Do you know that it's been over a month since you last called her? That it's been over six months since you last saw her? You don't get a say in her day to day life."

"I-"

"No!" Marshall cut her off. "You're the one that walked out. You're the one that moved away. You're the one that decided Cecelia didn't fit into your new perfect life." He took another breath. "You're her mother and she should have a relationship with you. I think somewhere, she still does. But you can't treat her like this. You have to be consistent with your visits and phone calls. And next time you want to see her, you have to call first."

With that, Marshall closed the door. He turned to find Mary standing behind him with a sympathetic smile. "You heard all that, huh?"

Mary licked her lips and nodded. "You okay?"

"I just don't- I just don't understand how she can treat Cecelia like she's a toy that can be tucked away until she feels like playing with her. She's a four-year-old little girl with feelings." Marshall cast his eyes downward.

Mary pulled him into a surprise hug. "She's lucky to have you. You are the greatest dad in the world. Both our girls think so."

Marshall held her tight. "She's lucky to have you, too, you know. She wants to know if she can call you 'mom'."

Mary gasped. "I think I'd like that."

"I think I'd like that, too." Marshall straightened up, but kept his arms around Mary's waist. "I'm sorry for that. This weekend was suppose to be about just you and me, no kids."

"Tell you what? Why don't you go run us a bath and I'll see if I can't make you forget about our interruption." She nipped his ear.

"I love you, Mare," he said, kissing her nose.

Mary smiled. "I love you, too."