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To the End of the Earth

Sandcastles and Nightmares

Mary woke and found she was alone. For a brief second, she was scared. Marshall was gone…Someone had taken him…He was hurt…She would never see him again. Then she forced herself to relax, remembering that four years had passed and that the only reason they had ran was because of their families tracking them down.

They had been in South Carolina for three days and they fitted in with the rest of the families vacationing at Myrtle Beach. They spent most of their time on the sand and Hannah was having the time of her life. Mary did wonder how long it would last. She loved it now because it was new but surely even a two year old would get sick of building sandcastle every day. They would eventually have to make plans to move on and settle down somewhere more permanent. It had been hard enough last time when it was just the two of them. With a toddler and a newborn on its way, would surely make matters more difficult.

She sighed and pushed herself to a sitting position, leaning against the headboard. When she felt a breeze and looked towards the balcony, seeing Marshall stood leaning against the rail with his back to her. A quick look at the clock, told her it was only 4am and she wondered if her husband had been to sleep at all yet. She debated whether or not she should join him; try and get him to realize that pushing himself like this would only make things worse.

She forced herself to her feet and slowly made her way towards him. She placed a hand on his lower back when she reached him and he automatically took a small step back to wrap his own arm around her, pulling her close to him.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"Hannah had a bad dream…" He rubbed his eyes. "I had to read her a couple more stories before she fell back to sleep."

"She had a nightmare?" She questioned. "I didn't hear her."

"You were dead to the world." He smirked. "And it was just a bad dream, not a nightmare."

"Is there a difference?"

He shrugged. "Some say that a nightmare is filled with pure terror, while a bad dream is just unpleasant."

"Well, it was bad enough to wake both her and you."

"I was just dropping off to sleep; I heard her and was wide awake." He explained with a sigh. "She's fine, Mare…She's in a new place and she's had a busy couple of days…It's bound to have an effect."

Mary forced herself to relax and leaned into him more. Marshall stepped back again and pulled her so she stood in front of him.

"Do you think she's going to remember this?"

"A week playing on the beach?" He questioned. "Possibly…"

"No, I mean the running…the moving."

"She doesn't know we're running."

"What happens when she's older and we have to move again?"

"Who says that will happen?"

"Who says it won't?"

He turned her around to face him and pushed some hair behind her ear. "We'll deal with it."

"She deserves a proper life…One that won't put her in danger or where she has to leave everything she knows behind and start again." She stated, one hand resting on her stomach. "They both do."

Marshall considered what she said for a few moments, trying to think of the right words to reply. He knew she had always been concerned about this…It was one of a many reasons she had be terrified when they discovered she pregnant with Hannah and why it had taken him so long to convince her that their child would be worth the risk.

"You know that you and our kids are the most important things in this world to me…You know I would do anything for any of you…" He said softly. "I wish I could promise that where ever we go next will be the place we spend the rest of our lives…that our children will grow up without fear of this happening again but I'd be a fool to lie to you…I can promise you that I will give everything I have to protect you and them…No matter what."

She sighed. "I know you will…I'm sorry, I don't mean to make things worse…"

"I know, you're just worried…I am too." He assured her. "But we're in this together."

"Like from the beginning?" She looked up at him, a small smile on his face.

"Like from the beginning." He confirmed.

"At least you didn't have to get shot this time for me to realize it."

"Be honest, even after I was shot you were still ready to ditch me in the middle of nowhere."

She rolled her eyes. "You keep bringing this up but I didn't ditch you."

"Didn't stop you from trying." He replied, smirking to let her know he was only teasing…

Mary was pissed…Marshall knew she was. She was silent and kept shooting glares at him. He knew that she hated the fact she wasn't in control, that the only plan they had was his and they now had no choice but to follow it. She angry that he had kept his idea from her until it was too late for them to do anything else but he didn't regret it. He had no choice but to sneak along with her. He had no intention of leaving her once they reached Wisconsin and although he had not factored in getting shot, it had helped convince Mary they had to stick together now.

"Marshall!"

Her raised voice startled him and he looked to her quickly. "What? What happened?"

She let a shaky breath. "You closed your eyes…I thought…."

"It's okay, I'm okay." He tried to assure her. "But we should probably ditch the car…If whoever that was has connections with the FBI then every cop in this state is probably looking out for us."

"And what are we meant to do then?" She asked. "You can barely stay awake and it's the middle of the night…unless you want to steal another car, we're on foot."

"Don't think stealing a car will help us, right now…" Marshall commented and then gestured to a road sign for Rockford airport. "Head for the airport."

They had crossed over into Illinois from Wisconsin not long ago and not matter how hard Marshall tried to concentrate, he could not work where to go next. He was also regretting not treating his arm when they had chance to but he had wanted to get as far away as possible. Now though, the burning pain in his bicep had increased dramatically and he was starting to feel light headed from blood lose, as well as the come down from the adrenaline rush and lack of sleep. He also knew he was likely to get an infection and end up running a fever; which he was not looking forward to.

"You want to get on a plane?" She looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

"No but we can leave the car there…if someone is looking for it, it'll take them a while to find it there and it may lead them in a different direction to us if they think we did catch a flight."

Mary nodded in understanding and stayed quiet for a few minutes before looking at him in concern again. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine."

"Liar."

"Once we get rid of the car, we'll jump into a cab then head for a cheap motel…" Marshall suggested. "Then once we've got a room, you'll have to take a look at my arm…I think the bleeding has stopped but it'll need a dressing."

"You think it's safe to get a room?" She asked. "I thought my photo was on the news."

"Nathan was working on getting it off and if you wear a baseball cap with your hair up, hopefully they won't pay attention." He answered. "Otherwise, we're bunking down outside somewhere but judging by those clouds, it looks like a storm is heading our way…"

"Just our luck." She muttered before glancing at him once more. "You could always rent a room…I'll find somewhere and meet you in the morning…"

"No."

"Marshall…"

"We stick together."

"But…"

"I need you." He said unashamed.

"You need to be safe."

"We'll be fine if we stick together." He insisted.

"I don't want you to get hurt more."

"I know but I need you to help me…to take care of me." His voice softened slightly. "The wound needs to be cleaned out and dressed… I need rest and fluids…I don't think I can take care of it all by myself."

"God, Marshall…is this just wrong."

"I know you want me to go to the hospital but please tell me you understand why I can't?" He looked at her. "And don't forget that you took a beating yesterday…Sleeping rough is not a good idea."

"I doubt there be much sleeping."

"Mary…"

"Fine, okay we'll get a room." She grumbled.

"We don't have a lot of choice, Mare…" Marshall sighed. "I know it's risky but we have nowhere else to go…Unless, we find somewhere to park up out of sight…"

"No, you're right." She agreed, softening a little. "We need a room…we need to take care of that arm before you lose it."

"I have a small first aid kit…"

"Of course you do…" She muttered.

"But we'll probably need more supplies…" He ignored her. "There is bound to be a 24 hour Wal-Mart around here…We could get a cab to there before the motel, then if some does trace us, it's not going to lead directly to where we're staying."

"Jesus." Mary breathed out; she hadn't even thought about all that but it was true to their partnership – he was the planner…her plans were the 'shot first, ask later' kind. "How are you coming up with all this with a bullet in your arm?"

"It's what I do." He shrugged a little, then winced in pain and Mary rolled her eyes.

"You should remember not to move that arm."

"Yeah, thanks…" He replied sarcastically but he was actually glad to hear her teasing and mocking him.

They drove the rest of the way to the airport in silence but Marshall noticed her quickly looks in his direction, so he tried to his best to look alert. Mary chose a car parking spot that would most hide the car and as she grabbed her bag and the backpack that contained the money, phones and IDs, she watched Marshall getting his own bag out of the trunk. She rolled her eyes, wishing she had thought to check it before leaving her house…She would have been able to stop him from coming with her…then he wouldn't have been shot…but it probably meant she would have stopped at the first motel she came across and whoever was after her possibly would have caught up with her, as she slept unaware…She probably would be dead by now.

She bit her lip, looking at her partner again; watching him searching his bag one handed and wondered if her life was worth him risking his.

"Mare?" He looked up and saw her staring at him. "You okay?"

"Yeah…just…" She shrugged. "We should get going."

"Right." He nodded and held out a baseball cap. "Here."

"Great." She piled her hair up and slipped the cap on so there was sign of blonde. "Got a glasses and mustache disguise in there too?"

"Y'know, that's not a bad idea." He commented, reached for the small bag that contained the last of their food stock but she grabbed it before him.

"I got it."

He was about to protest but decided not to; he didn't think he's arm was up for carrying it anyway. He was surprised when she leaned down and picked up his long black trench coat that was placed on top of his duffle bag, holding it out to him.

"You should stay warm." She advised. "And you got blood and a bullet hole in your sleeve…It'll hide it."

He took it and tried to put it on but Mary surprised again by helping him, being gentle and slow.

"Thanks." He said and tried to hide the pain he was in as she started to do the coat up for him.

She didn't reply but did manage to give him a small smile before picking up the bags again as he slipped the strap of his bag on his good shoulder. She put an arm around him as they walked across the car park, hoping they looked like just another couple on their travels but it also meant Marshall could lean on her a little so she could help support his weight. He glanced down at her but accept her help without a word, thankful that she finally seemed to accept he wasn't going anywhere without her.

"I could call Nathan…" Marshall broke the silence, bringing her back to reality in South Carolina. "Ask him if he's heard anything about us or the case."

"That might be a good idea." She nodded a little.

"If there hasn't been…there's always a chance we could go back to Maine…"

"I guess." She sighed. "But I don't know, Marshall…I loved our life there but after this, I don't think I could feel safe there anymore."

He kissed her forehead. "Come on, let's just go to bed…Hannah will be awake in a few hours and then we can decide what to do."

"Okay." She allowed him to pull her towards the bed.

"And I'll still call Nathan…Be good to catch up with him anyway."

"If you say so." She mumbled as they crawled under the covers.

"You still don't trust him?"

"I don't know anything about the guy…" She replied. "And I've known him for four years…"

"But you've only met him once." Marshall pointed out.

"Yeah and that was a fun day." She rolled her eyes.

Marshall laughed lightly. "Come on, he's a good guy…and he's saved our asses enough times."

"I guess…"

"How about we make a deal…Let's forget about Nathan and our families and Maine and being on the run?" He suggested. "Let's just pretend we're just like every other family here, that we're just here enjoying a vacation with our little girl."

She smiled. "Okay, that does sound nice."

He kissed her gently, pulling her closer. "It'll work out, Mare…I promise."

TBC

Please review and let me know what you think. Finally accepting there is no getting rid of Marshall and more come with their families, Stan and Bobby D.