Thank you all some much for the awesome reviews!

Jekkah, I agree…Marshall is an awesome marshal and love it when he's does the whole BadAss Lawman routine.

I hope you all like this chapter. Please review and let me know what you think!

Enjoy!

To the End of the Line

Old Mary and New Mary:

"So, what's the plan once we reach South Carolina?" Mary asked Marshall, glancing into the backseat and saw Hannah was fast asleep.

They had spent the morning and most of the afternoon in Harrisburg before hitting the road. After driving for a few hours they stopped for dinner and Marshall now planned on driving for most of the night. Mary wasn't wild about the idea but she also knew her husband was trying to find them somewhere safe to settle down as soon as possible. She was hoping once they did he would start relaxing again.

"I was thinking we head for the Myrtle beach…Hannah will love the beach and we'll blend in with the tourists."

Mary nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a good plan…and we did say we wanted a vacation."

"Yeah, I was thinking after the baby was born though." He took his eyes on the road for a second so he could place his hand on her pregnant stomach, rubbing small circles when he felt movement; thankful that the road was straight and clear of traffic.

"We'll go on another once he gets here." She covered his hand with hers.

"You know, you keep saying 'he'…" Marshall commented. "Do you know something I don't? Did you slip Dr. Matthers a twenty when I was out of the room?"

"Mother's intuition." She shrugged and he let out a small laugh. "What?"

"I thought you didn't believe in that 'mumbo-jumbo'…Your words not mine."

"That was old Mary."

"Old Mary?" He questioned with a frown.

"Yeah, Mary Shannon, an emotional challenged US Marshal with a deadbeat father, an alcoholic mother and trouble magnet sister."

"And what about new Mary?"

"Mary Hunter…Wife and mother…Nothing else matters."

Marshal stole another quick glance at her and saw there was small smile on her face. She was right; there was a difference between her now and how she used to be back in New Mexico. She still had her kickass, take no nonsense altitude and had low intolerance for stupid people, as she called them but she had soften as well. More willing to open up and share affection but Marshall put that down to motherhood, not a name change.

"And new Mary has mother's intuition." She added.

"Care to put a wager on it?" Marshall asked.

"You think it's another girl?"

"Father's intuition."

"Now, that's mumbo-jumbo." She claimed. "This kid is inside of me…We've bonded…Connected."

"The winner gets to sing the song and the loser buys the pie."

Mary rolled her eyes. "You think us getting pie is a bad thing?"

"Okay…Winner gets naming rights." He upped the ante.

"What?"

He grinned. "Too scared?"

"No but I would have thought you would have liked a say in our son's name." Mary replied. "But hey, at least I won't have a veto all your dumb choices."

"It's a deal then?"

"Why not? Just don't go changing your mind when he gets here."

"Same goes for you." He told her. "I'll have the perfect name picked out for her."

"Whatever, doofus…You're going to lose." She said but couldn't fight off a yawn.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" He suggested. "It's been a long day."

"For both of us…I'll stay awake and talk to you."

"I'll be fine." He assured her. "Just close your eyes for a little…I know, you're about ten minutes from falling asleep anyway."

"Promise to wake me if you get tired?"

He removed his hand from her stomach, bringing hers with it to kiss her fingers. "Sleep."

"Okay…" She agreed with a quiet sigh. "Only for a little while."

It only took a few minutes for Mary to fall asleep but Marshall was sure that it wouldn't take much for her to be woken. He knew she was worried that he was pushing himself too hard but he didn't want to take any risks by being on the road for longer than necessary. Once they reach South Carolina, they could stay put for a week or so and rest up before deciding where to go next.

He carefully placed Mary's hand back in her lap and shook his arm slightly, trying to ease the ache. He wanted to hide his discomfort from his wife because he knew how she was still haunted by what happened that night in Wisconsin and he didn't want to cause her any more concern.

He glanced across at her again, thinking back, knowing that night had been a turning point in their journey and how he saw a side of her that he would have never thought he would see...

"Are we still being followed?" Mary questioned, still not easing up on the gas.

"No, we're good…" Marshall said with his teeth gritted, trying to hide his obvious pain while gripping his arm as tightly as possible. "But keep going just in case."

"Jesus, Marshall...This is crazy."

"It's going to be okay." He stated. "Just keep driving."

"You shouldn't be here…It's only been a day and you've already been shot."

"It's nothing." He tried to assure her.

"You need medical treatment."

"I need you to get us the hell out of Wisconsin."

"And let you bleed out?" She shot him a lot. "Fat chance."

"Look, drive for an hour or so then we'll find somewhere to stop."

"What about your arm?"

"I'll keep pressure on it and hopefully the bleeding while stop."

"And if it doesn't?"

"It's just a flesh wound…It will."

Mary reached back and shoved her hand into her open bag, pulling out the first thing she grabbed. "Here, use this."

Marshall took the tank top, balling it up and pressing it hard against his wound. He led his head back against the headrest and sighed. His mind began to race with everything they needed to do now that they really were on the run. With Mary's picture being flashed around on the news, it would be difficult for her to get things done, which meant anything they needed Marshall would have to get so Mary could lay low. Nathan had assured him that he was already working on getting Mary's photo off the news and would put a stop to any attempts of his being posted. He had never been more grateful for having a friend with such great connection, even if he didn't know what exactly Nathan did or how he did it.

They travelled for exactly an hour in silence before Mary pulled over and got out the car to walk around to his door. He turned to face her, casting a look around the area they had stopped. It was a parking lot that was deserted and he couldn't spot any CTTV cameras around.

"Let me look." Mary pulled away the tank top and her eyes widen. "Jesus, Marshall! That's not a flesh wound!"

"Mare..."

She touched it gently. "The bullet is still in there!"

"I didn't want to worry you…"

"Worry me?!" She repeated, staring at him. "Are you insane?! You got a bullet lodge in your arm and you make me drive an hour before getting it looked at."

"It'll be nothing." He told her. "We can treat it once we've found somewhere to hide out."

"I'm taking you to the hospital."

"No you're not."

"You've been shot, moron!" She snapped. "I'm taking you to the hospital!"

"It's too risky…"

"Fine, I'll drop you off and you can call Stan to come get you."

"Not going to happen."

"I'm not arguing about this." She stood up to get back in the car.

She was surprised when Marshall got out and grabbed her arm. "Mary, you need to listen…"

"No, you need to listen…You need medical treatment."

"As soon as I step foot into a hospital and they see I've been shot, they'll call the cops."

"So?"

"Have you lost your mind?" He questioned. "Can you just think about this for a minute and think just how bad that would be?!"

"Go to the hospital, Marshall and then go home." She told him firmly, pulling her arm away from him but he refused to let go.

"You're a goddamn US Marshal who works in Witness Protect!" It was his turn to snap. "There are people trying to hunt you down…People in the FBI and who knows who else is involved…If I go back to New Mexico, do you really think they'll just let me get on with my life?"

Mary looked down at the floor, tears burning in her eyes. She couldn't believe what a mess she had gotten into.

"By now they know I'm with you…If they find me, they kill me…" He stated. "Whether you like it or not, we're in this together."

She lifted her head when he let go and slumped back against the car, exhausted.

"You're right…I need medical treatment but we need to get somewhere safe first and I also need you to get it together." His voice lowering again. "I need you to start thinking like the Mary I know otherwise we're both dead."

She swallowed the lump in her throat and blinked away the tears, refusing to let them fall. "Get back in the car."

He did as he was told, hoping she had been listening and took what he said seriously. He knew she was scared and that she would do anything for him not to be caught up in this but now they didn't have a choice. They had to stick together….

Marshall was startled out of his memory when he felt a hand on his arm. He looked across at Mary and saw she was watching him with half open eyes, holding out a bottle of water and some painkillers.

"Don't be a hero…" She told him. "I know when you're in pain."

"It's fine…"

"Marshall…" She cut him off. "Take the painkillers."

He sighed and threw the tablets into his mouth before taking the water. As he thought back to their conversation in that parking lot again, he couldn't help but notice that this time, their roles seemed to have been reversed.

TBC

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