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To The End of the Earth
Baking Bonds and Real Blessings
When Hannah began to shift, Mary instantly woke up, brushing her daughter's hair back as her eyes opened.
"Hey…"
"Mama." Hannah cuddled up closer to her and sighed contently.
Mary smiled, dropping a kiss on top of her head and just enjoyed the peaceful moment, knowing it might not last long when Hannah realized Marshall wasn't there.
"Daddy?" Hannah asked but didn't move out from the crook of Mary's neck.
"He'll be back soon." Mary told her, rubbing small circles on her back and was relieved when Hannah just snuggled closer to her. It wasn't for another couple of minutes before Hannah sat up and scooted away. "What's wrong?"
"Baby hit me!" She glared at Mary's stomach.
"He's just moving around." Mary assured her as she sat up.
"No baby."
Mary sighed. "Come on, how about we make some cupcakes for when Daddy gets home?"
Hannah's eyes lit up and forgot all about the baby, holding her arms up to Mary to be lifted. Mary got to her feet and picked Hannah up with a groan. "You're getting a big girl…"
"Daddy's girl." Hannah corrected, wrapping her arms around Mary's neck.
"Yeah, yeah…I know you're a Daddy's girl." Mary laughed lightly.
"Yep." Hannah sighed quietly.
As they walked down the hall, Mary realized that it was less noisy than before. When she entered the kitchen, she found just Brandi, Peter and Marshall's parents all sat around the table, talking quietly.
"Hey…" Colleen smiled at them. "You're awake."
"Yeah and ready to bake cupcakes, aren't we, Little Miss." Mary tried to shift her daughter so she was facing the others but Hannah refused and buried her face into her neck.
"Chocolate ones?" Hannah asked, despite her shyness.
"Of course." Mary replied.
"I got everything you need out ready." Brandi pointed to the counter.
"Thanks, Squish." Mary gave her a small smile. "Where did everyone go?"
"Stan had to get back to work and Andy and Rob have gone to sort out a hotel for us." Colleen answered her.
"We figured once Marshall gets back, you would like some space." Seth added.
Mary nodded a little. "And Raphael and Mom?"
"They went home." Brandi answered. "Mom was getting all worked up again, so I thought you wouldn't want to deal with that."
"Wait, so she doesn't live here?" Mary frowned.
"No, she moved out just over a year ago." Brandi told her. "She has a little apartment near the dance studio she's teaching at."
"Oh….wow."
"And Raph got his own place not long after Brandi and I moved in here officially." Peter said.
"You two are staying here?"
"Yeah, I wanted to be here in case you came back." Brandi shrugged a little.
"We've been paying money into an account since we didn't know how to pay rent to you." Peter added.
"Rent? What about the mortgage?"
"It's been paid off…"
"Paid off?" Mary repeated. "How?"
"You mean, you didn't pay it?" Peter frowned. "We got a letter a few months after you gone saying the house was paid in full."
"We assumed you sorted it before you left." Brandi claimed.
"Mama, cupcakes…" Hannah shifted in her arms, impatiently.
"Okay, sorry…." Mary sighed, setting her on the floor but took her hand and leading her over to the counter, deciding to speak to Stan later to see if he knew anything about her mortgage. "What do you say about Aunt Brandi helping us?"
Hannah glanced at Brandi before looking up at Mary. "Mama help me?"
"We'll both help." Mary told her and while Hannah didn't comment, she could tell her daughter wasn't sure about the whole thing.
"Here, Hannah…" Brandi pulled over a chair. "You can stand on here so you can reach the counter."
Again, Hannah looked at her silently but then climbed onto the chair, gripping onto Mary's arm as she helped her to stand.
"Okay, what's first?" Mary asked Hannah.
"Umm…scales?" Hannah pointed.
Mary smiled and pulled the weighing scales towards them. "Your father has taught you well."
Hannah just grinned up at her and waited to be told what to do.
"Well, we need some flour, right?" Brandi picked up the bag.
"Tell Aunt Brandi when to stop pouring." Mary said to Hannah, knowing that even at two years old, she gotten good with the numbers after baking almost every week.
Hannah hunched down next to the scales and watched closely as Brandi poured slowly, watching as Hannah waited.
"Stop." Hannah said then stood up straight and moving back a little so Mary to see the amount.
"Good job." Mary praised and handed her the sieve.
Hannah held it over an empty bowl and then surprised both sisters when she looked at Brandi. "You got to flour into bowl."
"Oh, of course." Brandi grinned at Mary before doing as instructed.
"Mama, it looks like its snowing." Hannah giggled.
"You say that every time, Little Miss." Mary replied, pushing her hair back behind her ear. "Let me grab some eggs out the fridge, I'll be right back."
"Okay." Hannah said but she didn't take her eyes off the flour.
"She's adorable." Colleen joined Mary by the fridge. "I do hope we get chance to see her grow up."
"Colleen…" Seth started, warningly.
"It's okay." Mary glanced at him before back to the older woman. "We're going to try our best to stay in touch."
"Really?" Colleen's eyes widened a little and reached out to grip Mary's arm.
"Sure…" She shrugged. "But I'm not promising anything…We need to do what's safe for the kids."
"Of course, of course." Colleen nodded, understandingly. "But that would be just wonderful."
Mary smiled a little. "Yeah, it would be nice."
"Oh, you could have a wedding…" Colleen suggested.
"Honey, you're getting ahead of yourself." Seth told her. "Just take it down a notch."
"So, how does all that work?" Peter questioned. "Are you guys actually married?"
"We have a marriage certificate for Mr. and Mrs. Hunter." Mary answered, placing the eggs on the counter and was glad to see Hannah was happy to let Brandi help her.
"You didn't have a wedding?" Colleen asked.
Mary smiled a little. "We kinda did…"
"What does that mean?" Seth questioned.
"After Nathan had told us about Marcus and all the arrests, we decided to move again…so, we can start over one last time." Mary explained. "We stopped off in Vermont for a few days...there was this church and for some reason we decided to go in…"
"This is a beautiful building…" Mary commented quietly as she looked around the empty church.
Marshall smiled and squeezed her hand. "It really is."
Mary pulled him down the aisle and took a seat in the second pew. "It's just so peaceful and quiet…"
"I never realized this kind of thing interest you…"
"It doesn't really…" She shrugged. "But one of my nicest memories was going to mass with my grandparents when I was a kid."
"I remember my brothers used to always complain about going on Sunday mornings and I used to copy just so I could be like them but I never really minded going."
She leaned her head against his shoulder. "It's a shame…"
"What?"
"That we never had a real wedding."
He looked down at her in surprise. "You wanted all that? The white dress? Flowers?"
"No, not all that…nothing fancy but I guess, a church wedding would have been nice." She told him. "Something small…something meaningful...I never really gave it much thought before…figures, I would realize I wanted it after I couldn't have it."
"We could do that." He told her. "When we get settled…We could have a wedding."
"Who would we invite?" She looked up at him. "And it's not like we could use our real names…"
"We can find away."
She reached up and kissed his cheek. "Thank you but its okay… A bit of paper doesn't really matter as long as we know what our relationship is."
"It's not the way imagined being married but you're right." He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. "We don't need all that…"
"Oh, I'm sorry…" A voice from behind, startled them both. "Don't mind me…"
They turned around and saw an older man, who obviously was a priest, walking towards them.
"Sorry, father…We saw how beautiful this church was and just wanted to have a look." Marshall explained as they stood up.
"Please, don't let me disturb you…" He smiled warmly at them. "I'm Father Tom, I'm the priest here…I haven't seen you here before…Are you local?"
"We're just visiting the area." Mary told him as they took their seats.
"Ah, well everyone is always welcome here." He said. "Are you on vacation or here for business?"
Marshall glanced down at Mary, getting an idea. "Actually we're on our honeymoon…we're doing some travelling all over the country."
Mary looked at him quickly but didn't comment. Marshall reached down and squeezed her hand. He might not be able to give her the wedding she had never knew she wanted but they could make their time in Vermont a honeymoon.
"Oh, how lovely."
"I actually wished we did live in this area…This church would have be perfect for the wedding." Mary added, deciding to play along.
"Well, thank you very much…I've lived here almost my whole life…This place means a lot to me." He smiled again. "If you don't mind me asking, did you have a church wedding?"
"Unfortunately, we didn't…Our families wasn't around and we have been travelling a lot, so we thought it would be easy to have a small service just the two of us."
"Well, you could always have a vow renewal if a religious ceremony was something you wanted." He suggested.
Marshall looked to Mary again, wondering whether it was something she would want to do in the future.
"I could always bless your marriage now." Father Tom offered.
"Really? You can do that?"
He laughed. "Of course, I can….It would be an honor."
"What do you think?" Mary turned to Marshall.
"I think I want to marry you all over again." He grinned.
"Okay, let's do this." Mary looked back to the Priest.
"Well, let's start with names."
"Marshall Mann." Marshall told him before Mary could speak. Even though it wasn't an official wedding, he wanted to get married to Mary under his real name.
Mary squeezed his hand supportively before speaking herself. "Mary Shannon."
"Well, Marshall, Mary it's nice to meet you both." He shook their hands then gestured to the alter. "Shall we?"
"We really appreciate this, father." Marshall claimed as they followed him. "It means a lot."
"I'm always happy to help." He replied. "Now, my dear friends, let us turn to the Lord and pray that he will bless with his grace this woman, Mary now married in Christ to this man Marshall and that through the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, he will unite in love the couple he has joined in this holy bond."
Marshall grinned widely at Mary who was stood opposite him, their hands clasped together. She smiled and shook her a little; unable to believe what they were doing and how right it felt to be doing it.
"May her husband put his trust in her and recognize that she is his equal and the heir with him to the life of grace. May he always honor her and love her as Christ loves his bride, the Church." He continued and then paused. "Mary, is there anything you would like to say2"
Her eyes widened a little in surprise, her brain racing to try and find the right words.
"I'm not very good at all the flowery wording…" She swallowed a little. "But I hope you know how important you are to me…You're my best friend…A better friend then I probably deserve but I'm not letting you go…I'm going to try and be a better person for you…to you…because I love you and trust you and need you more than I ever thought was possible."
Marshall blinked a few times when he felt tears stinging his eyes.
"Marshall, would you like to say something." Father Tom asked.
"Mare, you're my whole world….You have been all this time." He squeezed her hands. "We have this connection that I've never had with anyone…We make the best team ever…when we're together we're unstoppable which is why I want to spend the rest of my life by your side, every step of the way…no matter what."
"Father, keep them always true to your commandments. Keep them faithful in marriage and let them be living examples of Christian life." Father Tom said, placing one hand on top of their joined. "Give them the strength which comes from the gospel so that they may be witnesses of Christ to others. Bless them with children and help them to be good parents. May they live to see their children's children…and, after a happy old age, grant them fullness of life with the saints in the kingdom of heaven….We ask this through Christ our Lord…Amen."
"Amen," Marshall repeated, making sure to keep looking Mary right in the eye.
"Amen…" She whispered, staring right back.
Father Tom stepped back and smiled at them. "Well, you may kiss your wife…"
Marshall didn't hesitate; he stepped closer, placing one arm around her waist and the used to the other hand to cup her cheek before kissing her softly. When he pulled back, he rested his forehead against hers; his eyes closed. "I love you…"
"I love you too…" She replied and waited another few seconds, just enjoying the feeling of his arms around her before she pulled away and turned towards Father Tom. "Thank you so much for doing...How can we repay you?"
"Oh, please…It's nice to see a couple so in love." He assured them.
"But we could make a donation to the church, right?" Marshall asked. "As a thank you."
"Well, I never say no to a donation…"
Marshall immediately reached for his wallet and took out all he had.
"This very generous of you," Father Tom commented, seeing there was almost two hundred dollars.
"It's the least we can do." Marshall told him. "Thank you, so much."
He shook Marshall's hand before Mary's. "Please, do not hesitate in coming back any time."
"Oh we will if we are ever in the area again." Marshall told him.
"Well, I wish you both happiness and a safe journey, where ever it may take you."
Marshall threaded his fingers through Mary's as they walked towards the door, hand in hand.
"Did that really just happen?" Mary asked once they were outside. "Did we just get married?"
"I think we did…" Marshall spun her around to face him. "Are you okay with that?"
"Did you not hear what I just said in there?" She jerked her thumb back to the church.
"I meant every word I said." He needlessly assured her.
"I know." She smiled a little. "I did to."
"Oh….as much as I would have loved to have been there, it sounded beautiful." Colleen claimed.
"It was and although it wasn't official, it meant a lot to the both of us." Mary stated. "It's was perfect."
"Mama, look…" Hannah cut in causing Mary to look over and see that they had finished the cupcakes' mixture without her and they were ready to go in the oven.
"They look amazing." Mary rejoined them. "I bet they're going to taste delicious."
"What color frosting do you want to decorate them with?" Brandi asked, as she slid the cupcakes into the oven. "I've got pink or purple?"
"Umm…" Hannah even put her finger to her lip as she thought about but Mary already knew what the answer was going to be. "Both."
"Never give her the choice…" Mary advised her sister. "She will always choose both."
"Well, it's lucky that both pink and purple are my favorite colors." Brandi grinned at her niece. "We can do both."
"Yay."
20 minutes past and Mary had left Brandi to help Hannah make the frosting, happy to see them forming some kind of bond but hoped it was something that could be continued in the future. Hannah may not remember much about her time in Albuquerque if they had to leave but Mary was pretty sure it would break Brandi's heart.
"This means a lot to her, you know." Peter said softly in the hallway when Mary was on her way back from the bathroom. "Spending time with Hannah."
"I know it does." Mary replied. "And if I could have been in touch with her over the last few years, I would have but it wasn't safe…not for us and not for you guys either."
"Brandi understands that…She might not have shown it but she's just missed you and is worried she'll lose you again."
"We're going to try our hardest not to let that happen but…"
"But you have to do what's best for everyone." Peter smiled understandingly.
"Thank you for being here for her…" Mary said. "She told me about the engagement…Congratulations."
"It's not official yet, though." Peter replied. "But she makes me happy and I want to spend my life with her."
"I'm happy for you guys." Mary smiled. "I'm glad you have each other."
"And you and Marshall are great together."
"Aren't you and Raphael buddies?"
Peter shrugged a little. "Yeah but doesn't mean I can't happy for you guys."
"You're a good man, Peter."
"I know." He replied with a smirked.
Mary rolled her eyes. "We better get back in there before they send out a search party."
"What were you two up to?" Brandi asked when she noticed them walking back into the kitchen together.
"Just catching up." Mary answered, moving over to Hannah who was spooning pink frosting on top of the purple frosted cupcake.
"These cakes are looking good, girls." Peter commented.
"I hope you've made one for me."
Hannah spun around on the chair and jumped down before Mary had chance to help her. "Daddy!"
"Hey…." He swung her up into his arms. "How's my princess?"
"We made cupcakes!"
"And they look so pretty…" Marshall commented.
"Daddy hurt?" She frowned, noticing his bruised face and then turned in his arms to look at Mary. "Mama Daddy hurt."
"I can see…" Mary tried to keep calm as she moved closer to him. "What happened?"
"It's nothing…" He assured her. "I just trip."
Mary didn't believe but knew she wouldn't get a straight answer with Hannah there.
"Silly Daddy." Hannah sighed then hugged him tightly. "Daddy?"
"Yeah?"
"The baby is naughty…"
"Um, what?" He glanced at Mary quickly before down to her.
"It hit me." She pouted.
"Oh princess, I'm sure she was just trying to say hello."
"It mean." Hannah declared causing everyone in the room to laugh lightly.
"You okay?" Marshall looked over his daughter's head to his wife.
"Just been wondering what's going on…." She said questioningly.
"Don't worry. O'Conner was working on his own agenda again." Nathan told her. "I spoke with some of the higher ups in the FBI and they've assured me they'll rein him in."
"Doesn't really tell me much." Mary replied.
"Hey, princess, why don't you go and finish your cupcakes?" Marshall set Hannah down, knowing that Mary wouldn't be letting this conversation go any time soon.
"Will you come help me?" She looked up at him.
"Of course…I'll be right there; I just want to talk to mommy about something."
"Hannah, what kind of sprinkles do you want to use? Chocolate or rainbow ones?" Brandi held them both up for her. "Or do you want to use both?"
"Both!"
Marshall smiled as she ran back over the counter and Brandi helped her back onto the chair. He turned and gestured to the hallway; Mary, Nathan and Seth all followed him out.
"Okay, first thing first…Are you really okay?" Mary reached up to touch his cut lip.
"It's nothing, just a few bruising." He took hold of her hand and moved his head out of her reach. "Honestly, Mare…I've had worse."
"Yeah, don't I know it..." She sighed.
"How exactly did this happen?" Seth questioned. "You were in FBI custody."
"Apparently, some of them had already decided I was guilty."
"I've already made an official complaint on his behalf." Nathan added.
"So, they thought you really did kill Marcus?" Mary frowned, folding her arms.
Marshall ran a hand through his hair. "No, O'Conner was using it as an excuse to take me in."
"What was the real reason then?"
"He thought we had some help in disappearing…"
"You mean other than 007, here?" Mary pointed to Nathan.
"Thanks, I'll take that as a compliment." He grinned at her.
Mary glared at him slightly before looking back to her husband. "Marshall?"
"He thought we might be in contact with your Dad."
Mary stared at him, her mouth opened a little.
"We set him straight…" Nathan told her.
"Is he insane?" Mary asked.
"Possible." Marshall placed a hand on her shoulder. "But don't worry about it; it's over and done with…"
"Is it?" She questioned. "Do you think he'll drop it?"
"He'll have to." Nathan stated.
"Look, it's been a long day and it's getting late…How about we get takeout instead of cooking something for dinner?" Seth suggested. "My treat."
"That sounds great, Dad." Marshall replied gratefully. "Thanks."
"I'll go see what everyone wants." He said, heading back into the kitchen.
"Look, do you guys want me to hang around for a bit?" Nathan asked. "Make sure O'Conner doesn't try anything else?"
"Nah, you've done enough already." Marshall shook his head.
"Okay, if you're sure, I'll head to the hotel and be back in the morning."
"Thanks, Nathan…"
"I may not have decided if I like you or not yet but thank you for getting him out of there." Mary said to him.
Nathan smirked and looked at Marshall. "You picked a good one…"
"I know." Marshall couldn't but help grinned.
Mary rolled her eyes. "Are we ordering food or not?"
"Yes, dear…"
TBC
Okay, I'm not too sure about this chapter. I don't know if a priest would just do a blessing like that but it seems like something they might…for this story, let's say they do.
Anywho, please review!