Author's Note: Special thanks to JMS529, JJ2008, Jayne Leigh, and BrittanyLS for the reviews! And to BravoExpressions for continuing to play catch-up on reviews! Spice warning for #114.

QUOTE PROMPT #112 – MARY/NORAH

"I stopped believing. Not in some depressed I'm-gonna-cry way, not in a way I even noticed until tonight. It's just… every day, I think I believe a little less and a little less and a little less, and that… sucks."

"Just think, Princess," Marshall said, tucking Norah into bed, "tonight, the Easter Bunny comes and brings you a basket full of goodies."

"Yay!" Norah cheered, clapping her hands. She smiled when Marshall kissed her forehead and then headed out the door.

Mary sat down on Norah's bed. "That was a pretty fake cheer there, Bug. What gives?"

Norah shrugged. "Marshall didn't seem to notice."

"That's because Marshall thinks that world rises and sets on you," Mary explained. "He would never believe that you have a deceptive bone in your body. I know differently."

"It's this whole Easter Bunny thing," Norah sighed. "I mean, really, Mom? A giant bunny is going to come into my house and deliver me a basket full of gifts. Puh-lease."

Mary tucked a piece of Norah's hair behind her ear. "When did you decide this?"

Norah glanced off to the side. "I don't know. I guess I've just been thinking about it over the last few weeks and it just doesn't seem real."

"Why didn't you tell Marshall?"

"Because…" Norah smiled. "Because Marshall gets so excited about the Easter Bunny and I didn't want to make him sad."

Mary kissed her forehead. "You're a good kid, but you shouldn't ever feel like you need to hide anything from either Marshall or me, even if it's to save our feelings."

Norah nodded. "Okay, Mom. In that case, I have to tell you something about baseball."

"No!' Mary exclaimed. Norah nodded again. "Okay, I'll cancel your sign-up on Monday."

"Thanks, Mom!"

QUOTE PROMPT #113 – MARY/MARSHALL

"Yeah, that would be me. Sorry, I'm a twat."

"Mary!"

"Uh-oh!" Mary jumped up from the lounge chair when she heard Marshall yelling from the house.

Beside her, Brandi laughed. "What did you do?"

Mary grimaced. "I may or may not have started the dishwasher and the washing machine."

"Mary! You know you can't run those when someone's taking a shower!" Brandi frowned when she heard Marshall hollering more from inside. She jumped up herself. "You know, I just remembered that I may have left the iron on. I'll see you guys tomorrow when Mom drops the kids off."

"Wuss!" Mary hissed as Brandi hurried out of the yard. She jumped when Marshall appeared in the doorway, wearing only a white towel, his hair full of shampoo. "Hey, Marsh-"

He stalked forward. "Did you or did you not know that I was going to take a shower?"

She took a few steps back. "I'm sorry. I didn't think about it. The dishes needed done and I wanted to get a head start on the laundry before the kids got back."

"Do you know how hot that water gets when you run the dishwasher and washing machine at the same time?" Marshall was stalking ever closer to her.

"I'm sorry!" She looked him up and down. "You didn't burn anything important, did you?"

"If I did, you're just going to have to kiss it and make it better." In a flash, Marshall dropped the towel, grabbed her shoulders, and tossed them both into the pool.

Mary came up sputtering. "You son of a bitch!"

Marshall drew his body to hers. "Payback, Mare. Payback." He glanced around the yard. "I did hear Brandi leave, right?"

"If not, she sure got one hell of a show," Mary told him.

"Oh," Marshall's eyes took on a devious tint that always made her tingle, "we're about to put on a show."

Mary slipped her t-shirt over her head even as she replied, "You know, it's not quite dark yet. Anyone could look over the fence and see what we're doing."

Marshall cupped her behind, rubbing his hardness against her. "Well, then, I guess it's a good thing we're good at this."

QUOTE PROMPT #114 – MARY/MARSHALL

"When all we really want to do is let go, lose control, fall, see where we land."

As she woke, Mary realized that she was laying on something hard. Not just something, but a man's chest. Mary grimaced, afraid to open her eyes. She tried to remember what had happened last night.

Receiving a phone call that she had gotten from a bartender buddy, Mary had dropped Norah off with Brandi for the night before making her way to Castle's Bar. In the center of the bar, surrounded by several patrons, sat Marshall, almost as if he was holding court. Mary nodded to the bartender before walking over to Marshall.

He was initially happy to see her until it occurred to his alcohol infused brain that there was no reason for her to be in that particular bar on that particular night. He stalked off to a corner booth, vowing only to talk to her if she started drinking, too. Mary debated for all of thirty seconds before grabbing a bottle of tequila and following him.

Her tolerance wasn't nearly what it was before Norah was born and she wasn't even halfway through the bottle before she was drunk enough to start talking honestly with him. Mary demanded that Marshall tell him why he was at the bar, getting wasted to the point that she was called to take him home. Marshall took a deep breath before unleashing his story.

Things had been going downhill for him and Abigail since Stan's going away party. It seemed that Abigail held the belief that by placing boundaries on his and Mary's friendship that the bond between them would fall apart. It hadn't quite worked out that way as was evident when Marshall was continuously drawn to Mary's side. The fighting and the distance got worse and worse until he came home that evening to find Abigail in bed with a neighbor. Marshall simply turned around and walked out the door without a single word.

From there, Mary could only remember flashes of the night. Telling Marshall how much she hated Abigail. Running her hands up Marshall's thighs in the cab. Kissing him against the front door. Splaying herself out on the kitchen table, telling Marshall to "dig in." Pulling him in the bedroom and-

Mary shifted to relieve the tension between her legs only to find Marshall still inside of her. She debated in her head if she should slip out and pretend this never happened or if she should wake him up for another round. As she weighed the pros and cons, she could feel tension building in Marshall's body. She realized that he was awake and was waiting for her to make her decision.

And with that realization, her mind was made up.

Mary rocked against him. She opened her eyes and hovered above him. Mary leaned down and kissed him, languidly. "Good morning."

Marshall grinned widely, pulling her to his chest. "Good morning to you."