Author's Note: Special thanks to JMS529, JJ2008, and BrittanyLS for the reviews! Hopefully, you don't kill me for leaving the last two drabbles where they left off. :D
QUOTE PROMPT #037 – MARY/NORAH/MARSHALL
"May have been the losing side, still not convinced it was the wrong one."
"I think Daddy's mad at me," Norah told her mother as Mary helped her wash her hands in the bathroom.
"Why do you think that, Bug?" Mary asked, running over the activities of the day trying to pick out where Norah would have gotten that idea.
Norah sighed dramatically. "Because I chose to be on Marshall's team for flag football instead of Daddy's."
Mary tugged on her pigtails, trying to lighten the mood. "And you ended up losing. That'll teach you."
"Mo-om," Norah whined.
"Your dad isn't mad at you," Mary assured her. "He knows how much you love Marshall, but if you're still feeling a bad, why don't you go ask him to do the balloon toss?"
Norah jumped up and down. "I'll go right now!"
Mary followed as Norah skipped out the door. She watched her ask her dad to partner. Mary jumped when her husband wrapped his arms around her from behind, laying his chin on her shoulder.
"Everything okay?" Marshall asked.
"I think so. We just had to navigate another Dad vs. Step-dad situation," she explained. She added quickly when she felt him stiffen, "Norah's very lucky to have two dads in her life that absolutely adore her."
Marshall kissed her cheek. "Nice save."
Mary grinned. "I thought so. Seriously, though, Marshall, she's fine. Come on. Let's go cheer them on."
QUOTE PROMPT #038 - MARY
"This whole situation. It's all helped me see things more clearly. He's gone, so many of my friends are gone. There's no reason to stay. Not for me, not for them. I suppose I've known that for a long time now, but it's just hard to move on, isn't it? It's hard to close that chapter."
Mary sat at her desk with her transfer request papers laid in front of her. It was a good job, one that would have her home every night by dinner, something that was important now that she was the sole caregiver to both Norah and Brandi's daughter, Ava. Plus, the job, set in DC, would be closer to Mark, who had taken a position in Philadelphia.
Still, Mary hesitated. Albuquerque was were she truly gained her independence, where she finally broke free from her family, even if they later followed her. Albuquerque was where she bought her first home, where she found a fulfilling job. Albuquerque was where she found her best friend.
Even if he wasn't her best friend in the quite the same way anymore.
Of course, it was also where she was kidnapped, where her sister was arrested, where her mother was arrested. It was where she was shot, where she broke Raph's heart. It was where her father died, where she stupidly hooked up with her ex-husband in a moment of weakness.
Well, that last one brought her Norah so it wasn't all bad.
If she moved, there was a chance that Brandi wouldn't be able to find them if she decided to come back. She would be uprooting two little girls that seemed perfectly happy. If she didn't move, there was a chance that Ava would come to spend all of her time waiting for her mother to come back. Norah wouldn't be able to spend as much time with her father. Mary would have to watch her best friend and his girlfriend/fiance/wife/whatever settle into a content, little life.
Stay or go. Go or stay. The options and reasonings swirled in her head, slowly giving her a migraine. She felt paralyzed to go, but uneasy to stay. Mary glanced at the clock. She should have been home nearly an hour ago, but Jinx had the girls today and would understand. Mary picked up the paper. Stay or go. She just couldn't make up her mind.
QUOTE PROMPT #039 – MARSHALL/MARSHALL'S MOTHER
"It is possible to commit no errors and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life."
"Marshall! There you are!" Betty Mann said, walking outside of the restaurant. Her son was leaning against the railing of the patio. "I've been looking for you."
"Sorry, Mom," he replied, slowly turning around to face her. "I just needed to get some air. There's a lot of people in there."
Betty nodded, sympathetically. She stood next to him, following his gaze into the restaurant. "It's all rather overwhelming for a rehearsal dinner."
Marshall let a ghost of a smile grace his lips. "Abigail likes to go all out."
"Seems to me that she's making a show of things," Betty commented. She rubbed Marshall's arm. "How are you doing with all of this?"
"I'm looking forward to it all being over tomorrow." At Betty's frown, he quickly added, "I'm looking forward to being Abigail's husband."
Betty sighed. "Marshall, we've always had an open and honest relationship, right?" He nodded, cautiously. "You're not happy. It's the day before your wedding and you seem to be just miserable. Are you sure that marrying Abigail is what you want to do?"
Marshall clenched his jaw. "I love her. I'm marrying her tomorrow." He glanced away when Betty continued to stare at him. "I did the right thing. I was a good friend. I moved on. I found an amazing girl, who I do love. We're getting married. We have a dog together. We're making plans for the future."
"So, why does it seem that you're doing the wrong thing?" Betty supplied.
"Yeah," he whispered.
Betty hugged. "I love you. You are my son and there is nothing you can do to stop me from loving you." She stepped back. "Abigail deserves better than just being settled for. You deserve better than just settling." Betty patted his cheek, looking over his shoulder. "It's not too late."
She slipped back into the restaurant as Marshall turned around. He gasped as he saw a blond woman looking nervously at him. Marshall smiled. "Mary."
