Chapter 4: Have yourself a very merry Christmas

My huge, warm thanks to my amazing friend Dog_in_the_Manger for her awesome beta skills !

Albuquerque, New Mexico, 24th December.

Mary was comfortably sitting on her couch, enjoying the quiet of the evening. The day at the office had been hectic, almost all the witnesses feeling homesick. Each year it was the same; she'd spend the whole day answering her phone, convincing them that it wasn't a good idea at all to call or email their parents-brothers-cousins-housekeeper, unless they wanted out of the program, and then she'd come home and crash. This year it had been no different.

But now that the day was over, there she was, all by herself. Brandi was still in Miami with Jinx, and her friend, her best friend, hell, her only friend wasn't there. Marshall was at his house with the Police Barbie.

She sighed, picking up the remote control with one hand and a bowl of freshly made popcorn with the other, and settled in to finally watch the DVD she had put on. She would never admit it to anyone, much less to Marshall, but she was about to have a Lord of the Rings marathon all through the night of Christmas Eve and Day. Because, truth be told, Viggo Mortensen looked damn hot in those leather pants.

She smiled sadly as she remembered the day Marshall had literally dragged her to the theater to watch the Fellowship of the Ring, and how much she had complained about watching a movie about garden gnomes going for a walk. She had secretly enjoyed it a lot, letting her mind wander through the beautiful images of the Middle-Earth, but wouldn't ever let Marshall know. She did complain, a lot, when her partner had dragged her to watch the two other movies, happy that he was such a nerd that he couldn't wait for a Saturday to see them. They had, both times, hit the theater for the first screening .

And now, on Christmas Eve, she was ready to watch the trilogy again, on her own this time. It felt wrong on many levels to watch it without Marshall, because these movies were his thing and the experience without his quirky comments just wasn't the same. She turned off the TV, rose from the sofa, and wondered what she would do. That's all my life is, she thought, no one to take care of, no one to care for me, I'm all alone. If this is what I've always wanted, why is it so damn difficult? The only thing that would make this more pathetic if I got me a cat.

The annoying sound of her phone drew Mary out of her reverie. Who'd call her on Christmas Eve? Her mom and Brandi called two hours ago to wish her a Merry Christmas, so this was a no-go. Marshall was at home with his fiancée, throwing a Christmas Party, so the only one crazy enough to disturb her would be Stan. But Stan was somewhere in the Keys with Lia… so that left… A witness emergency, she thought with irritation that her marathon would have to wait until another day.

She hefted herself from the couch, reviewing open cases in her mind, and went to the kitchen counter to look at the caller ID.

"Crap!" she muttered, sensing something had happened again. Taking a deep cleansing breath to calm herself, she answered, "This is Mary."

"Mary? This is Stephanie. I am in trouble! You have to come!"

Mary was instantly in full marshal mode, gathering her things, while listening to her witness.

-o-o-

Old Town homeless Shelter, eighteen minutes later.

Stephanie was waiting waiting for Mary to show up inside the entrance of the shelter. She couldn't believe that of all the shelters in Albuquerque, the Mayor had chosen this one to come to, taking the time to serve soup and ham to the homeless. Because, of course, no matter where the Mayor went, a group of journalists followed; all looking for the perfect picture of him, showing compassion to people living on the street.

The unmistakable sound of Mary's car brought a small smile to Steph's lips. Mary would know what to do, as she always seemed to. Steph put on her coat, before going out of the shelter, in the cold December night.

The blond woman got out of her car, still on the phone.

"Yes, thank you very much Einstein, but I have a badge. So, whoever tries to site me for driving and talking on the phone, can stick the fine up his ass. And I called you because you're in charge while Stan is away, so I'm just following protocol. I know, unbelievable. Freaking hilarious. Nah, no need for you to come, I have it covered. Yes, you know how gracious and smiling I can be. Okay, I'll text you later."

Mary slid the phone into the pocket of her jeans and made her way to where Steph was standing.

"So, how many of them? Did they get any pictures of you?"

"No, I don't think so. They were all focused on the Mayor so I slipped away and called you. Did I do something wrong?"

"No. You couldn't guess he'd come here tonight. It's okay. But you need to get a car, so you can disappear when things like that happen." Mary turned on her heel, making her way to her car, happy to see the situation would be quickly resolved. After all, Viggo Mortensen was waiting for her at home.

"But, Mary, I can't just leave! They need me inside! Who is going to feed the people? It's Christmas Eve, for Pete's sake!"

Mary sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Maybe someday Steph would understand that her security had to take priority over everything else.

"Well, they'll have to do without you. I can't let you stay here, surrounded by photographers and cameras. Come on, I'll drop you off at home."

"No. I can't let Karen stay here on her own. You have to make the press go away!"

"Who do you think I am? Kim Kardashian? The press won't follow me, and nothing I say will make them go away! They'll leave when Berry leaves!"

"Then we have a problem, Mary. I have already agreed to let go of everything I had in Jersey. But I'm not doing it again here. I won't!"

Resolutely, Steph turned back and headed inside the shelter, not caring whether Mary followed her.

-o-o-

"Oh. My. God." Shocked, Marshall stopped in the doorframe of the Old Town Homeless Shelter, in his long wool coat. He couldn't believe his eyes. A wide smile stretched his face, when he took in the scene in front of him. The trained US Marshal saw no sign of Steph – which was a good thing – meaning she would not be on any picture.

The photographers were surrounding the Mayor, snapping shot after shot, firing questions at Berry about his policy regarding the homeless and the measures he planned to take. Men and women in rags were lining up to be served their holiday meal, each carrying a tray with a bowl and a plate. But on the other side of the counter, Mary Shannon, the hard ass US Marshal, his partner, serving what looked to be a succulent Christmas ham.

Marshall waited until Mary served the last person on her line before approaching her.

"Don't you dare say a word, Marshall, or I swear to God, I'll roast you in that big oven they have."

"And she's back! I was worried someone had taken over your body… But no, good ol' Mary Shepperd's serving up Christmas cheer with a healthy dose of disdain on the side. What in the name of the Enterprise are you doing here? Where's Steph?"

Mary looked around, checking for eavesdroppers, before she leaned a bit closer to Marshall. "She's in the kitchen, making pies. She couldn't be out of the kitchen because of Berry, so she's helping inside."

"And? How does it explain you serving food up here?"he said, waving his hands to the counter Mary was standing behind.

Mary sighed. "Steph was supposed to serve. And as she obviously can't do it," she gestured to the press still focused on the Mayor, "Since I didn't see anyone else who'd fit the bill, I took over. That way I could keep an eye on her too.

."

The door separating from the kitchen opened slightly and a red-haired woman's head went through it.

"Mary? Everybody's served? I'll help you clean up before we can set out the desserts. Steph's been taking care of heating the pies. Pineapple upside-down cake. She didn't never know they had oven-ready ones!."

"It's okay Loren, we're done here." Mary started gathering plates that were around her, piling them on top of each other, taking the cutlery apart, being careful not to drop anything, and was soon joined by the other woman. Noticing flashes from the photographers, Mary quickly turned to head towards the kitchen.

"Oh," Loren said, spotting Marshall. "You called for help? Is this your boyfriend?" the redhead asked, taking an appreciative look of the lanky form of the man standing in front of them.

"I'm Marshall. Mary's partner." He said, extending his right hand to Loren. "I figured you'd need help, yes. I'll help Mary clean up."

Mary couldn't help but notice the disappointment on Loren's face, when she nodded her agreement to Marshall before heading back to the kitchen. She waited until the door was closed to resume their talk.

"Don't you have a Christmas party with all of Abby's family to attend to? I would have texted you when we were done here, you know. You didn't have to check on us."

"I'm not checking on you. I was worried you didn't call or text. I understood it would only take a couple of minutes to figure things out, and it's been two and a half hours. Abs understands what my job is, you know."

And without looking at his partner, he grabbed a heavy pan full of cutlery and headed for the kitchen.

"Marshall! What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Steph. Well, Mary didn't call, so I came to see if everything was all right. I can see you've been busy." He nodded towards the dozen of cakes lined up on the kitchen counter, awaiting to be cut.

"Yes. Not as good as my mom's I'm afraid, but well, they'll have desert tonight." Steph looked around to see Loren exiting the kitchen through the service door, her cigarette and lighter in hand. "We're almost done, you can head home, you know. Mary'll give me a ride."

"I seriously doubt Mary's car will start tonight." He answered, smirking. He was used to the Probe's hectic behavior. "You need to get yourself a car, Steph, you do know that?"

"Yeah, Mary told me the same thing. I'll think about it, okay? But I hope I can afford insurance. My cars tend to go up in flames."

"In flames? Really? Should we warn the fire department?"

The door between the kitchen and the main room opened to reveal Mary, standing with both hands on her hips. "When you girls are done chatting about firemen, maybe we can have dessert? I have people waiting!"

"Coming, darling!" laughed Marshall, before grabbing a large platter with several cakes.

Loren made her way back to the kitchen, just as Marshall was walking out.

"Too bad he is taken," she sighed, looking at the door closing behind the lanky guy. "He seems like a nice man."

"He is. And Mary is nice too, in her way. They make quite a pair." Steph smiled as she heard the distinctive voice of the blond woman, shouting, "You are so going to pay, Marshall!" on the other side of the wall.

"How long have they been together?"

"What do you mean, Lo?"

"He told me he was Mary's partner. So I guess they're not married, right?"

Steph finally understood what Loren meant, and she couldn't explain her who they really were. But there was definitely more than friendship between her protectors. She could feel it.

-o-o-

Rangeman, 26th December.

The fifth floor of Rangeman Inc, Trenton was usually a quiet place on the 26th of December. Sure enough, the guys on monitor duty were watching the screens with their usual superhuman concentration. Sure enough, Ranger was in his office reviewing the reports from the previous days, making notes, and signing contracts. Sure enough, there were less people working during the holiday week, as some guys had headed home to spend Christmas with their families.

What was really unusual, for Cal to be running through the corridor, a piece of paper in hand, not caring whether he was making noise. They stopped in front of Ranger's open office door, waiting for him to acknowledge his presence.

"You'd better have a good reason to run in the corridor."

"We found her, boss, the marshal."

"Where is she?"

"Albuquerque."

"How did you find her ?"

"The software identified her. We used the drawing from the sketch artist in Indianapolis. Her face appeared in the Albuquerque Journal today. She was at some kind of charity function."

"Are you sure?"

"Hector is 96.5% sure."

Ranger pushed the button for Tank's direct line and said, "Prepare the jet. We're going to Albuquerque."

Humm.. seems like Ranger will soon find Steph... what do you think?

Thank you so much for the reviews, alerts, kind words you've sent me … I can't believe when I check my mails and see all of them... Please keep them coming – I'm a bit stuck in chapter 5 …