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To the End of the Word

Breakfast and Coffee:

"Is that good?" Marshall asking, watching Mary and Hannah tucking into a pile of pancakes covered in syrup.

"Hm-um…" They both said around a mouthful and he couldn't help but smile. He never got tired of watching them together with their matching hair, eyes and appetite.

"Share?" Hannah held a sticky piece of pancake out to him.

"Hey, don't give him the good stuff…" Mary poked her in the side gently, causing her to squirm and giggle. "He picked boring scrambled eggs…"

"Mama no…." Hannah laughed, her fork dropping to her plate with a clank.

While they were distracted, he took the opportunity to reach across to steal some food off Mary's plate.

"Ow!" He snatched his hand back when he was stabbed with a fork.

"I can't believe you just tried to steal food off my plate." Mary replied, putting a forkful of pancake into her mouth. "While I'm 8 months pregnant, no less."

"I saw an opening and took a chance." He shrugged, rubbing the back of his hand.

"I would have thought you would have learnt by now."

"I like to live on the edge every now and then…"

"Well, that's a good considering what's going on here." She sighed softly.

"Hey, come on…it'll be fine."

"So, what's the plan then?" She questioned.

"We head for Harrisburg, Pennsylvania… With a couple of stops, we can be there by tonight." He replied. "Then tomorrow we can go to South Carolina and stay there for a few days…Figure out our next move."

"Go home?" Hannah cut looking between the two of them.

"Not yet, baby girl…" Marshall told her. "We're going on an adventure."

Her eyes lit up. "Hannah go?"

Marshall nodded. "All of us."

"Mama and Daddy?"

"Yep."

"Baby?"

"Well, he kind of goes where I go…" Mary said teasingly but Hannah frowned.

"No baby…" She shook her head.

Mary and Marshall shared a concern looked; when they discovered they were going to have another baby, they thought Hannah would be thrilled to be a big sister but she reacted pretty badly to the news.

Mary shook her head a little, telling Marshall to let it go for now. She knew they would need to deal with it soon but when they were sat in some highway diner, on the run from their family and unknown threats was the not the time.

"So, what do you think baby girl…You want to come on an adventure with mama and me?" Marshall tried to steer the conversation away from the baby.

"Yeah!"

Mary smiled a little and sat back, listening to him talking about where they were going and what they would see. He had always told her stories full of huge adventures and she now wondered whether it was because he knew this day might come. That they might have to pack up and leave without warning. This way Hannah was excited about going, not scared at the change.

"Mare?"

"What?" She snapped back to the present. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"You finished?" He nodded to the waitress who was stood next to their table, looking bored as she waited to clear their plates.

"Oh yeah, sure…" She pushed the plate towards her as Marshall pulled out his wallet.

Mary helped Hannah put on her jacket while Marshall paid. He then leaned down and picked her up. He looked across at Mary and smiled, holding out his free hand to her. She returned the smile and gripped it tightly. She automatically thought back to when they stopped four years ago….

Marshall slowly woke up when he felt the car coming to a stop and his eyes shot open when heard the door open then close. He sat up straight and saw Mary walking towards the entrance of a Starbuck. He scrambled out of the car and had to jog a little to catch up with her.

"Were you going to leave me sleeping in the car?" He asked, stretching out to stop the door closing behind her.

"Can I not have five minute to myself?" She said frustrated, glaring back at him.

"So you can sneak off?" He questioned. "Leave me here alone."

"The thought there cross my mind…" She said unconvincingly.

"You're forgetting it's me…I know how your mind works."

"Oh yeah?" She looked to him. "If you know me so well, what am I thinking right now?"

"Something I can't repeat when there are children around." He glanced at the family stood behind them.

Mary rolled her eyes and took a step to the counter. Marshall winced as the young guy at the cash register smiled welcoming.

"Good morning, how can I help you today?"

"Coffee." Mary ordered, not evening looking at him but instead searched her pockets for some cash.

"Well, coffee is our specialty…" The guy said jokingly and Marshall groaned quietly as Mary's head snapped up. "We have frothy coffee, we have flavored coffee…we even have iced coffee."

Mary tilted her head to the side when he let out a chuckle.

"We have decaf and we have low-fat…"

"Strong and black, large." Marshall cut in, knowing Mary was reaching her breaking point. "Make it two."

"Okay-dokey…" He turned to place their order.

"Huh, so that why you're here." Mary commented and Marshall raised an eyebrow at her. "To stop me from shooting annoyingly happy coffee makers."

He just grinned knowingly and placed enough cash on the counter.

"This doesn't mean I like you again." She added snatching her coffee before it was set down.

Marshall didn't respond instead grabbed his own coffee before following her and for once not leaving a tip. They might have had ten thousand dollars in cash but he didn't know when they would be able to get some more money and right now, every penny counted.

When he reached the car, he watched Mary and was surprised when she pulled open the backdoor instead of the driver's.

"Are my eyes deceiving me? Are you letting me drive?" He asked with mock surprise.

She leaned into the car and pulled out his backpack. "Take this."

"Why?" He questioned but reached out for it.

"Go." She told him but then continued when he just stared at her. "Take the money and go home."

"Mary…"

"This is crazy…" He shook his head. "What do I need to do to convince you I'm not going anywhere?"

"Nothing…I don't need convincing." She answered. "This isn't about me being scared you will eventually abandon me when things get tough…I know you wouldn't…Even if you wanted to, I know you wouldn't…"

"So, what's the problem?"

"Why do you want to stay?" She asked

"Because you're my best friend…because I want to help you."

"You want to protect me?"

Marshall hesitated before replied, knowing how Mary reacted when she was coddled but answered anyway. "Yes, I want to protect you."

"Don't you get that I want to protect you?"

"I do get it." He told her. "But it still doesn't change anything…I'm staying."

She groaned and rubbed her tired eyes. When she looked again, she saw Marshall putting the bag back into the car before pulling open the door on the driver's side. She decided to let it go for now, still determined that once they reached Wisconsin they would go their separate ways; she just needed to convince Marshall that it was the best thing for both of them. Deep down, she knew she wanted nothing more than to have him by her side but she also knew she would never be able to forgive herself if anything happened to him. It was just under eight hours until they reached Wisconsin and Mary planned to use that time figuring out a way to get Marshall as far away from her possible.

"Mare?" Marshall placed a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"

She shook her head a little to clear it. "Yeah, sorry just thinking."

"Ah, never a good sign." He replied teasingly as he pulled open the back door and placed a squirming Hannah into her car seat.

"Shut up." She rolled her eyes. "I'm going to grab a bottle of water for the road…You want anything?"

"I'll take a coffee." He glanced over his shoulder at her. "Double shot."

She nodded and headed back into the diner. She placed her order and as she waited for their drinks, she turned to watch her husband and daughter through the window. Marshall was crouch down, finishing strapping Hannah in before reaching for the pink princess backpack. It was filled with books and toys that they hoped would keep her occupied during the road trip. There were days when she couldn't believe that this was their life. It was so far from what it had been in Albuquerque and although they had start again, give up the job they loved and leave everything and everyone behind, Mary couldn't help but think they would not have this if they hadn't ran. She often wondered whether she would have married Raph, knowing that she had doubts about their relationship before this all started. She wondered how long it would have taken Marshall and her to admit their feelings for each other…If they even would.

"Ma'am…"

She snapped back to attention and grabbed her drinks, muttering a quick thanks to the young girl behind the counter before heading back out to her family.

"You ready to hit the road?" Marshall questioned when he saw her as he stood up and closed the car door.

She didn't reply, instead pushed him against the car and kissed him deeply.

"Not that I'm complaining but what was that for?" Marshall asked when she pulled back. She had made a lot of chances since they settled in Maine but she still wasn't one for displays of public affection.

"Just wanted you to know that there is no one on this planet that I could all this with."

He reached out and pushed her hair behind her ears. "I do know that."

"Good." She handed him his drink. "Now let's get out of here before little miss kicks up a fess."

Marshall nodded his agreement and took a mouthful of what he thought was coffee but then gagged at the taste. "This isn't coffee…"

"Nope."

"I asked for coffee." He frowned.

"I didn't say I was going to get it for you." She smiled sweetly at him.

"Mary…"

"Oh suck it up…Its green tea…I have to drink it, it won't do you any harm to reduce your the caffeine intake." She continued, reaching out and grabbed the car keys. "You nap…I'll drive."

"You shouldn't be…"

"Do not finish that sentence." She warned. "I can drive for a few hours…By then it'll probably be time to stop again."

Marshall sighed, knowing no matter how much he wanted to protect and do everything for Mary, she would never let him. "Fine."

"Good." She leaned up and placed another quick kiss on his lips. "Drink the tea, it's good for you."

TBC

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