Author's Note: Special thanks to redbrainbluebrain, JMS529, JJ2008, and Jayne Leigh (right! I so want a Marshall!) for the reviews!

QUOTE PROMPT #022 – MARY/MARSHALL

"No, it isn't after the kind of ordeal you went through, happy is wrong, this is how you're supposed to feel, your brains all jumbled up trying to sort things out, try to roll with it, let it do what it needs to do, just let it flow like a river."

Mary walked into her house after work to find it suspiciously quiet. Usually, she was greeted by her daughter and her niece, who clamored over each other to tell Mary about their day, her sister, who always seemed to have some crisis to solve, and her husband, who simply wanted to give her a kiss hello. This evening, however, there was no one, not even the stupid dog.

"Hey, Bug," Mary said as she entered the living room. Five-year-old Norah was sitting on the couch, alone, watching cartoons. "Where is everyone?"

Norah shrugged. "Marshall's with Tori in the backyard."

Mary glanced out the back door, but didn't see either Marshall or Tori. "Why?"

"I don't know. When I came home from school, Grandma Jinx was here, crying to Marshall."

"Aunt Brandi wasn't here?"

"Uh-uh," Norah replied, her attention drawing back to the television.

Mary kissed the top of her head before going outside. There, she found Marshall sitting on one of the lounge chairs, cradling a sleeping Tori in her lap. He didn't look up until she laid her hand on his head.

"What's going on?" Mary asked, sitting on the edge of the lounge chair.

"I need you to not freak out. I just got Tori calm," Marshall warned. He waited until she nodded before continuing. "Brandi left. She dropped Tori off at Jinx's this morning and when Jinx brought her back, she found all of Brandi's clothes gone and a note."

Mary rubbed her forehead, willing herself to not start yelling. "What did the note say?"

Marshall frowned. "That she couldn't handle being a mother anymore, that Tori was better off with us than with her, that she would be in contact soon. The note is in our bedroom if you want to read it."

"So, I guessing that instead of keeping it to herself and letting us figure out what was going on that she told Tori," Mary said.

"She was upset," Marshall tried to justify. "Anyway, by the time I got home, they were both in hysterics. Guess it was a good thing that I only had a half day." He tried to chuckle, but just couldn't force it. "I finally got Jinx calm enough to go home. Tori fell asleep about a half hour ago. Thankfully, Norah's been amazing this afternoon."

Mary gently rubbed Tori's back as the little girl snuggled further into Marshall's chest. "What do we do now?"

Marshall squeezed her hand. "We let Tori know that we love her and that she's not going anywhere. We keep a close eye on her for any behavior changes. We give her – and Norah – lots of extra hugs and kisses and cuddle time. We take the rest as it comes."

"We be the river?" Mary asked, calling back to their conversation after her kidnapping.

"Exactly."

QUOTE PROMPT #023 – MARSHALL/DELIA

"I guess I came over here to tell you how proud of you I am. Not because you did the best you could, but because after 20 years when things go badly you still take it this hard. I gotta tell you, that's the kind of person I want to be."

"Hey, boss," Delia said, popping her head into his office.

Marshall looked up from his desk. "You heading out?"

Delia nodded. "I just wanted to check on you before I left. You seemed to take this one pretty hard."

"You know," Marshall sighed, "I've been doing this for a long time, longer than I thought I would. I've seen witnesses come and go, some voluntary, some not. I've seen them get kicked out for being stupid. I've seen them killed trying to get back into crime and I've seen them kill. But somehow, even know, it's the ones that were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, that get killed just because they wanted to hear their mother's voice one last time that make me question just about everything."

"You're a good man, Marshall." She smiled at him. "The way you talked to Stewie's family, even after you were exhausted from all the politics, and made them understand that he was just trying to do the right thing. They walked away believing that he was a hero."

Marshall blushed slightly. "He was a hero. Even in death, he was hero. We took down the entire Ajamian organization thanks to him. I just wish..." His voice cracked. "I just wish that there was something I could do for him."

Delia picked up the framed picture from his desk. "Do you know what Stewie wanted more than anything?" Marshall shook his head. "He wanted a family. He wanted a wife and kids to love and take care of. You know what you can do for him? Go home. Play with your kids. Make love to your wife. Lock all of the doors and windows and just be together for the weekend."

Marshall took the picture from her, running his fingers over the blond woman, holding two blond kids on her lap and the little girl with brunette curls sitting in his lap. "I think I'm going to do just that, Delia. Have a good weekend. I'll see you on Monday."

"Good night, boss. Have a good night."

QUOTE PROMPT #024 – MARY/MARSHALL

"How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life."

"Are we seriously doing this?" Mary whined to Marshall, standing next to him wearing her best black dress and shoes in the hot New Mexico sun.

"Ssh," Marshall hissed back. He was wearing a dark suit himself and occasionally dabbed his forehead with a handkerchief.

Mary huffed. "I just don't understand why we're indulging her with this."

Marshall rolled his eyes, turning to face her. He shot a quick glance at Norah to make sure she wasn't listening, but she was busy patting flowers into the dirt. "We're doing this because Norah lost a friend. She wants to give him a proper burial just like she's seen on television. It's a good lesson in life and death."

"But-"

"No. We are going to stand here and pay our respects, even in this God-awful heat, until Norah decides that the funeral's over. Then, we're going to take her out for ice cream and answer any questions that she may have," Marshall explained.

Mary sighed. "I get that you want to turn this into a lesson and knowing my daughter, she'll eat it up." Mary restrained her own urge to roll her eyes as Marshall beamed at this. "But, Marshall, it's a worm."