Author's Note: Special thanks to JMS529, JJ2008, and Jayne Leigh (my 150th!) for the reviews!

QUOTE PROMPT #100 – MARY/MARSHALL

"Okay. So, if you're seeing this, I guess it means I'm, well, dead. Hope it was impressive! Not crossing the road or an 'incident' with a toaster. I just wanted to say, it's okay, it really is. You saved me. You showed me all the wonders of the universe and all those possibilities. And I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Thank you."

"Mary, what... what is this?" Marshall asked, staring at the papers laid over her kitchen table.

"Oh," Mary answered, sticking her head back into the room. "Um, that's my will. Mark instead that I get mine up to date after his 'near death experience'."

Marshall frowned. "Where he nearly choked on the bacon donut?"

Mary nodded. "That's the one."

"Okay, but what's this?" He held up a piece of paper for her.

"Uh," Mary hesitated a bit. "That's, uh, that's Norah's guardian."

Marshall blinked slowly. "You're giving her to me?"

Mary shrugged. "Mark and I both agree that you're the best person to take her if something should happen to the two of us. I mean, it's not like I can really trust my mother or sister and Joanna would really prefer to stay a grandma. But if Norah went to you, you'd make sure that she knew both sides of her family. You'd raise her the way that Mark and I would want you to raise her, only better somehow. I know she'd be one of the smartest kids in her class, anyway."

"Mary," he breathed out. He pulled her in a giant hug. "Thank you. This is quite an honor."

"Yeah, well, don't get your hopes up too much. I don't plan on kicking for a long time."

Marshall kissed her forehead. "You better not. In the meantime, I think it would be a good idea for Norah and I to start hanging out. You know, just in case."

Mary narrowed her eyes. "Just in case nothing. You want to spend more time with Norah, then you're going to have to spend more time with me."

"I'd love to spend more time with you, Mare," he replied, causing the conversation to suddenly become much more serious.

She licked her lips. "Well, maybe I'd like to spend more time with you, too."

A slow grin spread across Marshall's face. "Good."

"Good."

"Let's start with this," he told her, lowering his head for a lazy kiss.

A blush crept up her face when she pulled away. "That's an excellent place to start."

QUOTE PROMPT #101 – MARY/MARSHALL/NORAH

"Oh, 'meltdown'. It's one of those annoying buzzwords. We prefer to call it an 'unrequested fission surplus'."

"No! I don't want to go!" Norah screamed, her face beet red. She took the shoe that her mother was trying to put on her and threw it across the room.

"Norah Elizabeth Shannon!" Mary yelled, trying to remember to breathe so as to not choke her child. "You will pick up that shoe right now and put it on your foot! We're late!"

Norah sighed, storming over to snatch her shoe. She crammed it onto her foot. "I'm not going."

Mary raised her eyes to the ceiling. "Oh, yes, you are."

"You can't tell me what to do!" she shrieked in reply.

"I'm your mother. My whole life is telling you what to do," Mary told her in an almost eerily calm voice.

Norah glared at her. She opened her mouth to say more, but snapped it closed suddenly. She ran towards the doorway, her arms stretched opened. "Daddy! Tell Mom that I don't have to go."

Marshall hugged her close. He glanced up at Mary, who had a threatening look on her face. "Sorry, princess, but you have to go. Your mom and I are going out of town so you have to go to Grandma's."

"But she makes me wear dresses and takes me out for tea," Norah pouted.

"I know. But, it's only for one weekend and Grandma loves you," Marshall explained, patiently.

Norah sighed, "Fine," before stomping off to grab her suitcase.

Marshall rubbed Mary's shoulders. "Just hold on for twenty more minutes and we'll be kid-free for the next forty-eight hours. The time away from each other will do you and Norah some good."

"And you want another one?" Mary asked, skeptically.

"Well, yeah," Marshall replied, watching as Norah returned to the room. She lifted her arms up for Marshall to hold her. "I mean, she still loves me."

In hindsight, he really should have seen that punch coming.

QUOTE PROMPT #102 – MARSHALL/ABIGAIL

"In life you just have to accept the fact that not everything is gonna go your way."

It was the child's shriek that first caught her attention. She couldn't tell initially whether it was in joy or distress, but her years in law enforcement wouldn't allow her to walk away until she assessed the situation. The minute she laid eyes on the reason for the child's yells, she wished she had fought all instincts and walked away.

"Marshall," she whispered seeing her former fiance standing there. He had one child laughing in his arms and another hanging off his leg.

"Abigail," he replied, awkwardly. "How are you?"

Inwardly, she cursed herself for ever coming back to this city, even if it was only for a wedding for a friend. "Good. Looks like you're doing pretty well for yourself."

Marshall grinned, despite the uncomfortableness. "You probably remember these guys a lot smaller. This is Norah," he gestured to the child in his arms, "and this is Hallie. Girls, this is Abigail. She, uh, used to work with Mommy and me."

"Mommy?" Abigail repeated, surprised. Hallie's was Brandi's daughter.

"Mary and I adopted Hallie when she was a baby," he explained. "So, what brings you back to our fair city?"

She smiled. "Ron and Francie are finally getting married. I thought I'd come in a few days early and visit some old haunts."

Marshall nodded. "We try to get back home at least once a year for a few weeks so that the kids will know where I grew up."

"Really? Mary never really seemed like the sentimental type," Abigail said. There was a tone of bitterness that underline her voice.

"She's a lot different than you ever knew," Marshall replied, flatly. He didn't want to get into an argument with his ex-fiance in front of his children, but he couldn't let any sort of swipe at his wife go undefended.

"There's Mommy!" Norah shouted, suddenly. She wiggled out of Marshall's arms to run to her mother.

Hallie pulled on Marshall's pants. "Daddy! Mommy. Please."

Marshall gathered her into his arms. "It was good to see you, Abs."

"You, too," she called after as he walked away. She stood rooted in her spot as she watched Marshall and the girls greet Mary. She could see Marshall gesture to her as he obviously told Mary about their encounter. Even from here, though, she saw that Mary never even glanced in her direction. Instead, Mary rubbed his arm, comfortingly, before grabbing his hand. Abigail finally turned when the family walked away.

Clearly, some things were meant to be.