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To the End of the Earth

Cupcake Wars

"Raph, what have you done?" Brandi whispered eyes wide as she stared at her friend who looked just as shocked at what happened as everyone else.

"He said Mary was in trouble…that he would help her." He tried to explain and made the mistake of stepping closer to his ex-fiancée. "I was looking out for you…If Marshall killed a man…"

He didn't get the finish his sentence before the palm of Mary's hand connected hard with his cheek.

"Mary!" Nathan pulled her back when he saw her making another move towards Raph. "Don't. He's not worth it."

She struggled for a few seconds but then her energy drained away. "Oh god…Marshall…"

"It's okay." Nathan told her, keeping an arm around her purely because he didn't think she would stay on her feet otherwise. He looked over to the door where members of his team were standing waiting for orders. "Find out where they've taken him and get down there…Then make sure you don't let him out of your sight."

"Yes, boss." One of them nodded, pulling out his cell phone to get to work.

"I mean it….I don't want Marshall left alone with anyone but one of you."

"They're going to kill him…" Mary whispered, panicking and again tried to get out of Nathan's arm.

"What is going on?" Colleen asked. "Marshall would never murder someone…"

"It's just a mistake." Nathan said calmly. "We'll have it sorted in no time."

"He needs a lawyer." Brandi suddenly announced, reaching behind her to grab Peter's arm. "Call your lawyer…the good one…the one that helped me."

"Oh…Of course." Peter immediately started to search for his cell phone.

"It's fine…He doesn't need a lawyer." Nathan held up a hand to stop him. "As soon as I get things straight here, then I'll go down there."

"And what?" Mary turned to face him. "Be his lawyer? Break him out? What? What will you do?"

"Mary…"

"No! I've had my life and my children's lives in your hands for too long now and I don't know who the hell you are!" She snapped. "For all I know, you're behind this…Maybe you're all in on this."

"You're just upset…" Stan said calmly.

"Of course I'm upset!" She threw her hands in the air.

"Okay, Mary, I know both Marshall and I have been vague on our past but I promise you, that I'm on your side." Nathan told her. "I owe Marshall more than I can ever repay him…That's why I'm doing this."

Mary stared at him for a few seconds, trying to decide whether or not to believe him. She had always doubted him but that was due to lack of information. Marshall had always assured her that they could trust Nathan and she knew he would never ever do anything to put her or the kids in danger. Even if he had a smallest doubt about Nathan, he wouldn't allow him near them.

"I'm ex-army…afterwards I did some work for the FBI…That's where I met Marcus and Marshall." He explained. "There was this case and at the time Marshall was working with the fugitive task force out of Kansas office…Afterwards we kept in touch."

Mary nodded a little, the story sounding familiar. "Marshall told me that once."

"Well, now I run my own security firm…We offer protection to politicians to celebrities mainly." He continued, guiding Mary over to the couch and forcing her to sit downside him. "We also work overseas which is a little more dangerous… We sometimes go into warzones."

"I don't understand what all that has to do with Marshall." Mary rubbed her eyes; hoping to ward of the headache that was starting.

"A few years back…I pissed off some people…I ran an operation to retrieve some hostages being held in Syria but I was concerned my family was put in danger." He stated. "Marshall had just gotten out of a relationship and was considering a career change or at least transferring out of Kanas…So, I asked him if he would stay with my family…keep them safe….He took a few weeks' vacation to do it."

"That's why you feel you owe him?" Mary asked. "Because he took care of your family."

"A bomb was planted in my house…He saved my wife and kids and took them into hiding until it was all over." Nathan told her. "Afterwards, he went back to Kanas for a few months then he transferred here."

Mary glanced over at Stan, both of them knowing that was probably the reason he considered joining wit-sec the first place.

"The thing is, Mary I asked him to do whatever was necessary to keep my family safe and he promised that he would stay with them until it was all over….He made me promise the same thing about you and Hannah."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I'm not leaving here until I know you're safe." He stated. "I've got some more of guys arriving for some added protection and it's up to you whether you stay here or we move you to a new location."

"What about Marshall?" Mary asked. "You said you would get him out!"

"I will but not until I know you'll be okay…and that includes you not getting yourself all worked up and end up going into premature labor." He claimed and then smiled a little. "Because if Marshall cannot be there with you then I have a feeling that part of our pact would involve me being there and trust me, you don't want me there…"

"Nathan…"

"Do you want to stay here?" He asked, turning the conversation serious again.

Mary sighed, knowing that if she stayed then it would mean staying with hers and Marshall's family but if she decide to go somewhere else, she would to wake Hannah up, which could cause more problems if she reacted badly to Marshall's absence. Also it meant that Nathan would spend more time dealing with that rather than getting Marshall free.

"I'll stay."

"Right, I'm going to make some calls." Nathan squeezed her shoulder and stood up. "I'll be right back."

"Mary, I'm sorry." Brandi took his vacated seat beside her. "I never thought any of this would happen…"

"I'm going to sit with Hannah…If she wakes up alone, she'll freak." Mary stated, standing up.

"Mary, please…"

"Please what?" She asked. "What do you want me to do?"

"Talk to us." Andy requested quietly from the other side of the room.

"Talk to you about what? About how I risk everything to come back here so you lot would leave us alone?" She threw her hands up in the air. "How all the fears I had for the past four years have come true?"

"You're safe, Mary." Seth told her firmly. "None of us are going to let anything happen to you or Hannah."

"And what about Marshall?"

"He'll to fine to." Nathan rejoined them. "There's two cars with three guys in each outside…Do you want them in here with you?"

"No, it's too cramped in here as it is."

"Right, well here's my card…You call me if you need anything or there is anything you're unhappy with, okay?" Nathan handed it to her and then handed some out to the others in the room.

"Just make sure you get my husband back here in piece."

"Look, O'Conner is a douche bag who is just doing this to get revenge for what went down with you a few years ago…"

"Oh that makes me feel so much better…" She replied sarcastically.

"But…" He cut in to continue. "I really don't think he's involved in the corruption case…Even those who managed to get away with, aren't stupid enough to try anything now…O'Conner has nothing on Marshall except that he was Marcus' friend."

"How was he allowed to go ahead with all with no evidence?" Colleen asked.

"He's been working under the radar…I've already made a few calls to my contacts in the FBI…Don't worry, it'll be over soon." He gave her a small smile.

"Well, just do it quickly." Mary added.

"Just one more thing…" Nathan said when he saw Mary turning to leave. "His arm? He was in pain after O'Conner grabbed him."

"Yeah, it was from the injury four years ago…" Mary sighed. "He never got it checked out properly and every now and then he struggles with it."

Nathan nodded thoughtfully. "Well, we get him to the doctors once this is over with."

"Good luck with that." Mary muttered, knowing Marshall was worse than her when it came to getting checked out.

"Remember to call me if you need anything." Nathan reminded her as he walked towards the door.

"Yeah…"

"What do we do now?" Brandi asked, after a few seconds of silence.

"How about I run to the store and get us something for dinner." Peter offered. "I'm sure Hannah is going to be hungry when she wakes up…Is there anything special I can get for her, Mary?"

Mary started to shake her head but then had an idea. "Actually, there is…I'll make you a list."

Brandi followed her out to the kitchen and watched over her shoulder as she wrote down everything she wanted, frowning a little.

"That looks like ingredients for baking?" She commented once Mary had handed her the list.

"It'll give Hannah something to do until Marshall gets back." Mary shrugged a little.

"Yeah but since when do you bake anything?"

Mary smiled a little bit at the memory of the night Marshall had tried to teach her how to bake cupcakes….

Marshall had woken up alone and was surprised to see that it was almost 1am. He sighed and forced himself to his feet. He had gone to bed over two hours ago and Mary said she would be right up after she finished cleaning the mess she had made in the kitchen. It had been four weeks since their relationship had changed and everyday Marshall had to pinch himself to prove that this was real.

As he expected he found her in the kitchen, surrounded by even more mess then before.

"Mare…." He stared at the tray of burnt cupcakes on the counter. "What the hell happened?"

She spun around to face him and he almost laughed when he saw her covered in flour. "This stupid cupcake recipe is wrong…"

He sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. "Just leave it come to bed…"

"No."

"Mary, its 1am…" He caught hold of her hand and tried to pull her to him. "Bed."

"I got to do this…"

"Why is it so important?" He asked. She had come home from work with a plan to make some cupcakes. Marshall had been surprised since she wasn't one for baking but left her to it after she insisted on making them by herself.

"Because Trudy is bringing some in to be sold tomorrow." She poured away some suspicious looking lumpy mixture.

"So?" He moved closer to her again. "Why are you being so competitive with her still?"

"Because she think she's so perfect…She gets the most tips and she makes the best coffees...She can even pour the milk to make leaves and hearts on top of her damn lattes!" She ranted. "She's not making the best the cupcakes too!"

He sighed again, knowing this was more about not being the best at her job anymore. He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Come to bed…"

"Marshall…" She tried to pull away from him but he didn't let her.

"I promise you a much better time…" He placed a few soft kisses on the side of her neck. "And I guarantee it's something you're better at then Trudy."

She groaned quietly before turning his arms, circling hers around his neck. Just as he leaned down to press his lips to hers, she pulled back.

"You have to show me how to make cupcakes."

"Mare, come on…its 1am!" He reminded her again.

"Please, Marshall…"

"What makes you think I even know how to make cupcakes?"

"Because you're Marshall."

"Do you promise to come to bed if this batch turns out right or not?" He asked.

"Yes."

"Okay, fine…" He sighed. "I can't believe I'm baking cupcakes at 1am."

"Yeah, this is our life now…" She said dryly.

Marshall looked around the kitchen. "I don't know where the start…what the hell did you do, Mare? Go to war with the ingredients?"

"I got annoyed." She answered, glaring a little at him.

He moved some things off the counter, picking up a carton of milk and examining it. "Ah, here's your problem…"

"What?"

"This expired yesterday." He poured it down the sink.

"Son of a bitch…" She couldn't believe she hadn't thought to check that.

He rolled his eyes. "Okay, new plan...We'll cleaning up and then we're starting from the beginning."

"Whatever you say Martha."

It took almost 30 minutes for them wash everything and get the counters clean. Marshall was surprised that there were still enough ingredients left over to make some more.

"Right, first we sift the flour…"

"Why?" Mary watched him. "Does it really matter?"

"Yes." He answered, eyeing the bowl of flour she handed him. "Did you weigh this out?"

"I don't need to; I've done it enough times tonight to know how much is needed."

He shook his head a little. "I'm starting to see why it hasn't gone right for you…"

"Shut up." She flicked some flour at him.

"Hey!"

She rolled her eyes, watching him pouring the flour onto the scales. "It's fine…"

"Yeah, that's why you're over by almost half." He said sarcastically.

"So what? Just means more cupcakes."

"Only if you're going to increase rest of the ingredients as well…"

"Maybe I was."

He raised an eyebrow but decided to move on. "Why don't you sift the flour and I'll beat the eggs into the milk."

"Okay." She did as he said while he moved over the fridge.

"The trick here is to use milk that is still in date." He teased as he pulled a new carton out.

She glared at him but didn't say anything.

"Can you pass me three eggs, please?" He asked holding out one hand while pouring the milk into a measuring jug with the other.

"Sure." She picked up an egg and placed it in his hand with so much force that it broke. She smiled when he looked up at her in surprise. "That's for the milk jab…"

"You know, I'm doing you a favor here, right?"

"Oh please, you're just trying to get me into bed."

He opened his mouth to reply but realized he couldn't really argue. "True."

"Here." She handed him three more eggs, this time more carefully.

After measuring all the ingredients correctly, he left her to mix it while he started put away any of the stuff they didn't need any more. After a few minutes, he rejoined her, standing behind her; one arm going around her waist and the other covering her hand on the wooden spoon.

"What are you doing?" She asked but couldn't help but lean back against him.

"Helping." He claimed and tightened his arm around her as if he was worried she would move away.

Mary wondered what she would have done if Raphael had tried this a few months back. For one, she wouldn't have been baking to begin with but she had never been overly affection with boyfriends before. Maybe it was because how everything that had happened….Marshall and her were already close…being affection was probably the only way they could get closer.

"Mare? You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…" She looked down and realized they had stopped stirring.

"Well, I think this is just about done." He claimed, letting go of her hand to dip a finger in the mixture and brought it to her lip. "Try it?"

She sucked his finger into her mouth, moaning a little at the taste…it was ten times better than her four previous attempts.

"I take it that means it good?" He laughed.

Instead of replying, she turned to face him and kissed him deeply. When she pulled back, she ran her thumb across his cheek where he had a dusting of flour. "You know I love you, right?"

His eyes widened a little. It was the first time she had said out loud. She had hinted about it but wouldn't actually say the words. A grin slowly spread across his face.

"You're just saying that because I helped you bake cupcakes at 1am." He teased, lightening the mood for her.

She smirked. "Maybe I'm saying it just to get you into the bed."

"Hey, I'm up for that…" He jokingly started to pull her towards the door.

"Marshall, the cakes!" She laughed, pulling free from him.

"Right." He sighed dramatically.

"How long should I put these in the oven for?" She asked, spooning the mixture into the cupcake cases.

"For about 25 minutes…" He said around a yawn.

"Okay…" She placed the tray in the oven, setting the timer and turned to face him. "Let's clean up and then we'll can decorate them."

"I'll wash, you dry." He handed her a dish towel.

After they were finished, they collapsed onto the couch. The late night starting to catch up on both of them.

"How long until they're done?" Mary asked, lying down.

"About 10 minutes…" Marshall mumbled, his head leaning against the back of the couch as he pulled Mary's feet into his lap.

"Don't let me fall asleep, okay?"

"Hmmm."

The next thing Mary knew, she was woken up by movement behind her.

"The cakes…" She started to get up but Marshall was now between her and the back of the couch, his arm around her stopping her from moving.

"They're out and cooling…" He assured her. "Go back to sleep."

"Okay, a quick nap then we finish them." She moved closer to him.

"M'kay…" He replied, although he had no intention of waking up again anytime soon. "Hey, Mare?"

"What?" She mumbled into his t-shirt.

"Just in case you didn't know…I love you too."

"I do know."

He smiled, pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head before closing his eyes and drifting back off to sleep.

"It's something I do…" Mary told Brandi. "At lot about me has changed."

"I'm sorry we screwed everything up for you, Mare." Brandi told her, almost tearfully.

Mary sighed. "What's done is done now…I know you wouldn't have wanted to cause trouble for us."

"I just missed you." Her sister continued. "I wanted to show you how much I've changed…I wanted you to be proud of me."

"As long as you're happy and staying out of trouble then I'm proud of you…"

"Peter asked me to marry him." She said suddenly.

"What?"

"About two months ago."

"You're engaged?"

"No."

"No?" Mary repeated. "You said no?"

"I asked him if he would wait…until we found you." She informed her. "So you could be there when we got married."

"Brandi…" Mary started but trailed off, a little surprised at the new information and suddenly feeling guilty. "You shouldn't have done that…if the past four years has proven anything, it's that you don't need me…You shouldn't have put your life on hold."

"You're my sister, Mary." She claimed. "And my relationship with Peter is probably the only thing that I've ever gotten right…after everything you done for me, you deserve to be a part of it."

"So, you're not mad at me then?" Mary asked. "For leaving?"

"I have been made…I've been scared and worried too." Brandi told her. "But now I'm mainly relieved that you're here and sorry for putting you all in danger."

"I don't know what is going to happen next…" Mary felt the need to warn her sister in case she was getting her hopes up. "I don't know how safe it is for us to be here….I don't know where we're going next or if and when we'll see you again."

"You've got to do right by your family and keep them safe…" Brandi said sadly but understandingly. "I get that."

"I did miss you though, Squish…" She finally admitted. "But I had to leave…I was trying to keep everyone safe."

She nodded. "I'm glad you had Marshall with you."

"Me too." Mary smiled a little.

"Maybe I could help you and Hannah with the baking when she wakes up?" Brandi suggested a little timidly. "Get to know her a little bit before you go."

Mary wasn't sure how her daughter would react to that but decided to deal with that when it came to it. "Yeah, I'd like that, Squish."

TBC

I don't know how believable Nathan's story was but that's what fiction is for. Please review and let me know what you think!