Author's Note: Special thanks to JMS529, BrittanyLS, JJ2008, and BravoExpressions (I'm not sure I agree about the intimate scenes, but thank you!) for the reviews!
QUOTE PROMPT #142 - MARY
"Because sometimes, you have to step outside of the person you've been, and remember the person you were meant to be. The person you wanted to be. The person you are."
Mary had no idea how she had gotten here. She was sitting at home on a Saturday night waiting for a phone call, her daughter at her father's house. She had made plans with Kenny for two hours ago, but so far, he hadn't shown up. This was not the first time that he had blown her off and she was sure that it wasn't going to be the last.
She had never been the girl to wait around for anyone, let alone a fuck buddy that she had convinced was more. How had she reached this point? Part of her wanted to blame her father's death. That was, after all, when she decided to make Kenny a more permanent part of her life. She supposed that she could just flat out blame her father, but she had always believed in adults taking responsibility for their own actions.
And that was the kicker, she thought to herself. The reason she was in this current predicament was because of her own fears; fears that she wasn't good enough; fears that she would push him away. No, the reason that she sat alone on her couch instead of out grabbing life or spend it in the arms of the one man that ever truly loved her.
But Mary was stubborn and fear ruled her life. When she nearly lost him all those years ago in the desert, she panicked, rushing back to Raph. That set off a series of events that landed her here. The happier and more settled into his life that Marshall became, the more unsettled in her own life that Mary seemed to be, not that she would admit it to anyone.
She wanted to go back to that day in the desert and confess her feelings for her best friend. She wanted to go back and not avoid him while he was in the hospital and home recuperating. She wanted to ignore Raph's phone call when he needed a place to recover from his knee injury. She wanted to take back all of the little things that pushed Marshall away from her and into Abigail's arms and left her hanging onto a guy that was never suppose to be more than a one night stand.
Mary glanced down when her phone rang. It was Kenny, finally. Wiping away a single tear, she hit ignore. She stood up and grabbed her keys. She wasn't sure exactly where she was going, but she wasn't going to wait around for him anymore. It was time to take back her life and overcome her fears.
QUOTE PROMPT #143 – MARY/BRANDI/MARSHALL
"Shouldn't we hold out for the person who doesn't just tolerate our little quirks, but actually kinda likes them?"
"What was wrong with John?" Mary asked her sister, grabbing a cup of coffee in the kitchen. "He seemed like a nice guy. His background checked out."
"I don't know," Brandi grumbled, fussy over the baby in the carrier. "He didn't really get my jokes."
Mary huffed. "Nobody gets your jokes."
Brandi frowned. "Peter did. I just kept picturing the three of us in five year: John, Allie, and me. We would be sitting around at the breakfast table and both John and Allie would be sitting there, stone-faced, looking at me like I was crazy. I just don't think I could go through life with someone that doesn't get me."
"Yeah," Mary agreed, looking off into the distance.
"Kenny gets you right?"
Mary cringed. "Oh, Squish. Kenny and I broke up."
Brandi cocked her head to the side. "But I thought I heard you last-"
"Mare, have you seen my watch?" Marshall asked, buttoning up his shirt as he wandered into the kitchen. He said a quick hello to Brandi and wiggled his fingers at the baby.
"What am I? Your keeper?" she growled at him in response.
Marshall grinned, pulling her into his arms and giving her a hot kiss. "Nope. That's my job."
Mary laughed, slapping his butt when he released her. "Check under the bed. I think we kicked a few things under there." He saluted her, causing her to laugh even harder. Mary turned back to Brandi. "You're right. You definitely need someone who gets you."
QUOTE PROMPT #144 – MARY/MARSHALL/DELIA
"You fought the good fight, tomorrow you'll fight another one."
Mary knocked on the door of Marshall's office. She jerked her head towards the balcony when he looked up. "We have a bit of a situation."
Marshall sighed and nodded, rising from his chair. He followed Mary to where Delia stood, staring at the sunset. "You did good today, Delia."
"I lost a witness," she replied, not looking at him.
"You didn't lose him. It was his own arrogance that got him killed. He thought he could get back into the Guidace family, but he couldn't. You did everything you could for him," Marshall assured her.
Delia looked at the two of them, a lost expression in her eyes. "How do you do this? How do you get up the next day and keep on trekking through? How does the guilt not just eat you up?"
Mary shrugged, glancing at Marshall. "You just do it. You have to focus on all the witnesses that you got through the day. You have to learn that you can't save them all, but that doesn't mean you don't try."
"Mary's right," Marshall agreed. "You have to focus on all the good things that you're doing here."
"In the meantime," Mary offered, "why don't you let us take you out for some drinks?"
Delia chewed on the inside of her mouth. "Don't you have to get home to Norah?"
Marshall shook his head. "Nope. She's with Mark for the night. Come on. There's a few rounds of whiskey waiting for us at Murray's."
Delia followed the two of them back inside, smiling faintly at their banter. Tomorrow was another day and she would be ready for that fight.
