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He swirled back to her when he reached the door, "Stop telling me what to do! Don't expect me home tonight, I'll stay at a hotel."
The door opened and shut behind him, she stood staring at the empty space he had left behind.
Pulling out her cell phone she dialed and waited, as soon as the other line was picked up she asked in her southern twang, "Hey Jefferson, how is your courtship of Mary Shannon going?"
"Not so good, she keeps shooting me down. Are you sure she likes to be pursued with this much aggression?" he asked confused. No woman had ever treated him like Mary did, no woman had ever shot him down period. He knew he was a good looking man, which now had him confused about the inspector's attitude towards him every time she saw him.
"Oh, yeah. The more the man pursue her, the faster you'll get her into bed," she said adamantly, looking down at her nails.
There was a deep sigh from the other end and he said, "Well, I hope you're right. I really like her."
"Don't worry about it, she'll come around real soon. Have you asked her out?" she asked curiously looking down at her watch, she needed to get back to work soon.
"Yeah, every time I see her."
"What are you doing this weekend?"
"Why?" he asked afraid to know the answer.
"Well, I heard that she takes her kid to the park, maybe if you come across her with the little girl," she shrugged and continued, "Maybe if you 'bumped' into her as you jog around the park, you can get her talking about the child, last guy she met at the park she had a fling that lasted a few weeks."
"Which park would that be?" he immediately asked, now intrigued that something as trivial as getting to know her kid would benefit him in the pursuit.
"I'll text you the information later," she hung up and walked out the door, back to her office. She was concerned that Marshall had threatened to stay at a hotel, but she shrugged because she knew that it would all blow over and he would come home that night.
In the wee hours of the night, Abigail woke up and moved to cuddle with Marshall, but found his spot cold and empty. She sat up and looked over at his side of the bed, she found that they were exactly how she had left them before going to bed.
It dawned on her that Marshall had kept his word, she reached for her cell phone, she had managed to be a heavy sleeper because of both her job and his. The constant calls throughout the nights or early morning managed to help her sleep through any noise he would've done while trying to leave. She didn't want to believe that he would stay out on purpose, then grew concerned that maybe an emergency at the office had kept him away.
The call went to voicemail a few rings later, she pulled it away from her ear and stared at it in surprise. Abigail couldn't believe that Marshall was as upset as it seemed he was, but sending her call to voicemail proved that he was.
She tried again a few more times, but every time her call would go to voicemail. She slumped back against her pillows and punched his pillow a few times in frustration, "Damn it Marshall! Answer your phone!"
Marshall lay on his back, he heard his cell phone ring a few times and automatically knew who the caller was. He was still upset, so he didn't bother picking up. After it had gone silent, he picked up his cell phone and saw the missed call from his fiancée.
It was 3am, which meant that she had gone to bed thinking that their argument would blow over and he would come home. He knew that he was a pushover, but this time he thought that his fiancée had gone too far to keep Mary away from him. What Abigail didn't know was that Marshall was fed up with all the changes that occurred since he asked Mary to release him.
He sighed and rolled to his side, his cell phone went off again, but again he just ignored it. He wasn't in the mood to talk to her, at least not over the phone, there were discussions better left for a face to face situation. After the sixth or seventh call, he couldn't recall because he stopped counting, he reached over and turned off his cell phone.
Mary walked out of her room and found him lying on her couch, she had heard his cell phone going off several times. Curiosity won out and she got out of bed to go see if Marshall was awake, she wouldn't have bothered him, but had seen him shifting on the couch, a sign that he was up.
She moved over to him and sat on the coffee table across from his lying form, next to his now turned off cell phone, she reached out and pushed a stray lock away from his face, "Are you okay?"
He shrugged and slowly nodded, when she arched an eyebrow to challenge him, he said, "It's alright. Thanks for letting me crash here."
"Let you? I practically kidnapped you!" she chuckled as she remembered.
After the spat with Abigail earlier in the day, Marshall had gone back to the office and had gone straight back to work in his office. Mary and Delia had looked up when he walked into the office, both startled to see him back, they couldn't ignore the thunderous look in his eyes.
Later that evening, Delia excused herself, walking over to Mary's desk, "What do you think happened?"
Mary shrugged, "I don't know and I don't care. So long as that douche leaves me alone."
Delia stared hard at Mary's profile and murmured, "What are you going to about him?"
"What am I going to do about him? Nothing…" she trailed off.
"Come on, he's your best-friend, why don't you go talk to him," Delia advised with a pout on her lip, Mary couldn't help but feel the same way.
Looking up at her partner Mary muttered aggressively, "What exactly should I talk to him about? We're not…we're not supposed to be close anymore."
"I can't believe you released him," Delia's hands on her hips as she shook her head in denial, Mary had confided in the younger inspector only when she kept pestering about why she and Marshall weren't hanging out anymore, Mary finally exploded and told her what Marshall had asked on the balcony.
"Yeah, well, me neither," she finished on a heavy sigh. "I'll see what I can do."
Delia smiled confidently, knowing that her powers of persuasion had worked yet again, "Great! See you later partner!"
Mary rolled her eyes and saw her get into the elevator, once the elevator doors had closed, she had gotten up and walked around her desk and towards his office.
She found him hunched over his paperwork, which seemed to her that kept growing much as he tried to overwork himself. She stared at him for a few seconds, but when it was apparent that he wouldn't look up, she cleared her throat, "Hey Chief."
Marshall looked up, a startling shock look on his face, Mary hadn't initiated a conversation since she released him out on the balcony, he looked over around her and hadn't noticed Delia walk out of the office. He looked back into Mary's green gaze, "Hey"
"Are you okay?" she asked as she finished walking into his office, sitting on a chair across from him.
Again he looked startled at the question, he had thought that she really didn't care about him anymore, he inwardly scolded himself for doubting her, he shrugged, "I'm sorry"
It was Mary's turn to look at him in surprise, "What are you sorry about?"
"Everything…" he trailed off.
"Define everything"
"The balcony…me asking you to release me of a promise…the stupid dinner fiasco…"
"Don't say fiasco," she reprimanded as she cut him off with a mock scowl on her face. "And there isn't anything to be sorry about, I understood what you asked and I think I owed you that much."
He shrugged nonchalantly and slowly nodded, "It was still wrong."
"Eh, anything for happiness, right?" she asked a bit too brightly, which he saw right through, he hadn't been partners with her for so long without learning her tricks of avoiding emotional situations.
"Not anything, not a friendship like ours," he groaned as he rested his head on the back of his chair, running his fingers through his hair.
"Well, it is what it is," she murmured as she leaned forward in her seat, "Are you okay?"
He lifted his head and locked eyes with hers, he could see her genuine concern, "I will be…"
"Want to talk about it?" Mary inwardly groaned, she hated to talk about feelings and now she was trying to find out what he was feeling.
Marshall shrugged again, unsure of where to begin, "I don't want to go home tonight, so I guess I have to find a hotel."
"No you don't," she chastised.
"I don't? But I don't want to go home, Abigail and I…well…we're not exactly…" he drawled and stopped, not even sure how to finish that train of thought. They were not what exactly? Together? Not talking to one another? Taking a break?
Mary nodded in understanding, "Yeah, I know what you mean."
He looked at her and smiled, understanding without the explanation, the many times she had crashed at his place when she fought with her own fiancé or sister and her mother.
Without thinking too much she blurted, "You'll come stay with me."
Again he looked at her startled, shock evident in his blue gaze, "I am?"
"Yes, yes you are. It's late, why don't we just carpool. Grab your go-bag and let's go. We'll order pizza, like old times," she offered, still shocked that she had offered as much.
Marshall stared at her as she walked out of his office to her desk, he logged out and straightened his desk before following her out of the office into the elevator.
He looked at her and smirked, remembering too. He shifted heavily, making her come back to the present. She noticed how he didn't particularly fit on her couch, but without another bed but hers and Norah's crib, the couch had been the only option.
Looking at him look uncomfortable, she reached out and took the hand lying on his chest, she pulled, "Come on, you can sleep in my bed, it'll be more comfortable than this old couch."
He held her hand and murmured, "Is that a good idea?"
"Get your mind out of the gutter, Pervis! We've slept in the same bed before, when we were partners, right?" she smirked asking, knowing full well that she needed her presence more than she needed him comfortable. She had missed him since the day she released him, later realizing the real reason why she was hurt he had asked to be released.
Marshall jumped up and pulled the pillow and blanket with him, not releasing her hand after she pulled him up, "Right"
Mary woke up in a cocoon of some sort, a heating cocoon to be precise, she tried to figure out what exactly was wrapped around her back, spooning her. The last few hours ran through her mind and she tensed, Marshall.
His hands were wrapped around her belly, pressing her bottom to his hardness. She didn't want to wiggle, even though she was fighting an internal battle from trying to feel the length of him. He groaned and pulled her even closer, his face buried in the nape of her neck. His stubble rubbing on her sensitive skin, sensitive from the feel of him, his even breaths hot on her neck.
She fought hard not to groan or moan, she went from zero to a hundred within seconds after opening her eyes, which were now tightly shut, fighting an internal battle with her body.
After a few minutes, yes a few minutes to savor his body and the hardness, along with his breathing, to put herself together and pull herself free of his embrace. He mumbled, "Don't go" before releasing her and burying his face into the pillow she had just abandoned.
She looked back at him and ran her hands through her hair, releasing a shaky breath. What the hell was that? He's engaged Shannon, you can't go on like that. One last look and she walked into the bathroom in the hallway, not wanting to bother him.
TBC...spoiler! (close your eyes and don't read if you don't want to know) I don't ever intend on having Mary sleep with anyone but Marshall...lol...I don't know if I'm that kind of writer yet. A few more chapter...