Author's Note: Special thanks to Jayne Leigh, MegManning (thank you! That is a high compliment!), and JMS529 for the reviews! Slight spice warning for #093. Very slight.
QUOTE PROMPT #091 – MARY/MARSHALL
"Mobiles, landlines, tin cans with bits of string - everything, absolutely everything! No phones, phones all broken. Hello? Anyone there? No, 'cause the phones aren't working!"
"Where the hell have you been?"
Marshall woke up suddenly from his position on the couch to the sound of Mary yelling as she slammed the door. "Mar- what- uh?" He rubbed his face with his hands. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you on your trip?"
She stalked over to the coffee table and snatched his cell phone from the coffee table. "Why didn't you answer your phone?"
"I turned if off. We didn't get in until almost ten this morning after being up for the last three days. Ibanez agreed to keep the marshals covering in the office so that Delia and I could catch up on sleep," Marshall explained. "Is there something wrong? Is everything okay with Norah and Aidan?"
"Everyone's fine. There's nothing wrong."
Marshall sighed. "Then, why were you trying to get in touch with me when you're suppose to be on a romantic weekend?"
Mary shrugged, uncomfortably. "I... wanted to check in."
"And when I didn't answer the phone, you came all the way back here?" he clarified.
"Well... yeah," she confessed. Her cheeks flared red with embarrassment. "I mean, I got worried when I couldn't get a hold of you."
Marshall frowned, standing up. "What about Kenny?"
Mary cocked her head to the side. "What about him?"
"Um, he couldn't have been happy that you left to check on me," Marshall explained further.
"He... understood," she lied, thinking back to the argument they had that morning that had effectively broken them up when she told him she was coming back to Albuquerque to check on Marshall.
Marshall moved in front of her. He had a mischievous look in his eye that made her heart beat a bit faster. He rarely shot her that look, allowing her to believe he never viewed her as anything other than a friend.
"Did he really, Mare?" Marshall skimmed his fingers down her hair, playing with the ends as he leaned into her. "I can't imagine that he really was. I know I wouldn't if I had finally gotten you away somewhere, just the two of us."
"We-" Mary felt her mouth go dry. "We broke up, but it's fine. The only thing that I'll miss is the sex and that wasn't all that great anyway."
Marshall licked his lips. "You deserve some really great sex."
Mary thought her insides were going to burst from his heated gaze. "Oh yeah? Know anyone that will give it to me?"
He opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the shrill of her cellphone. Marshall pulled it from her hip and checked the caller ID. "It's Kenny."
Mary took the phone and threw it on the couch. "I don't care."
"Good." He kissed her bruisingly, pushing her against the front door. He finally broke for air. "You were really worried about me?"
"Of course. Where else am I going to get this really good sex?"
Marshall's laughter echoed through the apartment as he carried her to the bedroom.
QUOTE PROMPT #092 – MARY/MARSHALL
"It was like something from an old movie, where the sailor sees the girl across the crowded dance floor, turns to his buddy and says, 'See that girl? I'm gonna marry her someday.'"
If anyone had asked him the day he met Mary if he would be here today, standing in the middle of their backyard, cooking hamburgers while she chased their children, he would have laughed. More than that, Marshall Mann most likely would have had them taken in for a psychological evaluation. To say Mary was abrasive would have been kind.
But still, in the back of his head, he knew there was something special about her.
So, he wore her down, made her think about herself, about her life, about where she was going. In the end, he convinced her to uproot her life and move to Albuquerque to be his partner. Marshall spent the next few years wearing down her defenses by becoming her best friend.
He nearly lost her when she became engaged to Raph and again when she ran off with that snake, Faber. His relationship with Abigail and her subsequent pregnancy to her ex-husband threatened to both their friendship to hell, but them came through, a bit battered, but still strong. He nearly blew it after his engagement, though, sending her running into the arms of the sleazy Kenny.
But then, Brandi left, leaving her seven-week-old son behind. Kenny, no surprise, took off for greener pastures and Jinx had gotten a new job in California, meaning Mary was left to tend to two infants on her own. Mark tried to help when he could, but his business had taken off and he spent the majority of his time traveling all over the country. Mary's long days in the office meant that Joanna wasn't an option when Mary was off the clock.
It didn't take Mary long to begrudgingly accept the help that Marshall offered. It took even less time for Abigail to issue a final ultimatum for Marshall to completely end his friendship with Mary. He was gone the next day. He was moved into Mary's within a month and they were married within three. Mary said that she lost him once, but she wasn't going to make that mistake again.
"Hey, how are those burgers coming?" Mary asked him. She grinned as he blinked several times, coming out of his daze. "Morning, tiger. Where were you?"
Marshall kissed her, softly. "Just thinking about how I always knew we'd end up here."
"You're so full of shit."
QUOTE PROMPT #093 – MARY/MARSHALL/NORAH
"Courage doesn't mean that you don't have fear, it means that you've learned to overcome it."
"You know," Mary moaned as Marshall brushed against her nipple, "as much as I'm enjoying these slow touches, we really should move this along before-"
"Mommy! Daddy!" Norah screamed from her bedroom. "Mommy!"
In flash, Marshall leapt from their bed and rushed down the hall. He opened Norah's bedroom door to find her sitting in the middle of her bed, tears streaming down her face. "Hey, Bug, what's the matter?"
Norah hiccupped, reaching her arms out to him. "Monsters were chasing me!"
"Again?" he asked, sitting on the bed and pulling her into his arms.
"Uh-huh." Norah buried her head into his shoulder. "I sleep with you and Mommy?"
Marshall kissed the top of her head. He was tempted to let her, but knew his wife would have a conniption. "Not tonight. You need to sleep in your big girl bed."
She pouted. "I scared."
"You have nothing to be scared about. You see this bear?" He pointed to the bear at the end of the bed.
"Mary Bear."
Marshall smiled. "Yep. Mary Bear. Mary Bear will protect you from any monsters that try to come into the room."
Norah grabbed the bear and hugged it tight. "Just like Mommy."
"Just like her." He put her back into bed and tucked the blanket tight around her. "Good night, Bug. I love you."
"Love you, too, Daddy," she yawned, already falling back to sleep.
Marshall returned to his bedroom to find that Mary had slipped on one of his white dress shirts and nothing else. It was his favorite look on her. He felt his underwear grow tight.
"She tucked back into bed?" Mary asked. He nodded, his eyes roaming over her form. "Monsters again?" He nodded a second time. "It's a good thing there are no monsters in here."
"Oh, there's at least one," he growled. He leapt onto the bed to finish what they had started, squeals and laughter quickly turning into sighs and groans as Marshall unleashed his monster.
