I always try to update my stories in order but somehow it meant this one hasn't been updated in a long time. Sorry about that. I am going to try harder with all my stories, I promise. I also have quite a few ideas for new ones (don't worry, I'll be finish some of the ones I have on the go already before starting them) so I'm nowhere done with In Plain Sight just yet. I know, this fandom has quietened down lately but this fic has been my most popular IPS stories and I'd love to hear from anyone who is still reading so please review.

Anyway, I hope it was worth the wait.

Exes and Baby Movements.

After making breakfast for everyone, Marshall had decided to go for a run to clear his head. He had headed towards a park that he used to like going to and realized how much he had missed Albuquerque. By the time he got back to house, everything was quiet. He frowned little, wondering into the kitchen to find Mary alone.

"Hey…"

"Hey, good run?" She stood up from the table.

"Yeah, there was moment when I fought was being followed but then realized it was only Nathan's guys…" He kissed her forehead on the way to the fridge to get a bottle of water. "They didn't look too impressed with having to exercise in this heat…"

She smirked a little. "Well, you're the only insane person I know that enjoys it…"

"It's nice to get out in the sunshine and work off some energy." He replied. "It's good for you…"

"If you say so." She moved to lean against the counter that was nearest to him, watching as he drank half a bottle of water in one go. "Speaking of being good for you…How do you feel? You didn't overdo it, did you?"

"Mare, my shoulder is fine…" He assured her.

"No, it's not fine but I wasn't thinking about that…In case you forgotten, you got rough up the other day…"

"Take more than some FBI agents to stop me." He teased.

"You can joke but bruised ribs can hurt like a bitch…" She replied grabbing a fistful of his t-shirt and pulled him towards hers.

He pushed some of her hair behind her ear with one hand and placed the other on the counter behind her. "Maybe you should check me for injuries yourself…"

She grinned up at him. "Hmmm, I like that idea…"

"Where is everyone?" He questioned, glancing over his shoulder as she was already pushing his t-shirt up. "Where's Hannah?"

"Brandi had to run to the store and convinced Hannah to go with her by bribing her with ice cream, a new stuffed animal and trip to the playground…." Mary replied, lightly running her fingertips over the bruising on his ribs; it didn't look too bad but knew they must be sore.

"So, it's just us?" He question came out mumbled by his t-shirt being pulled over his head.

"Yep…" She let the shirt drop the floor before running her hands over his shoulders before going around his neck. "You know what that means?"

"I get to take a nap in peace?" He asked teasingly.

"Oh, you want to nap?" She asked, innocently and went to move away but he grabbed hold of her, pulling her back to him as he turned, so it was his back to the counter.

"Maybe we should nap together…" He suggested.

"Shut up." She was done with teasing and felt him grinning against her lips when she pulled his head down for a kiss.

After a few minutes, he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. "How long do we have until everyone is back?"

"We have time…"

"And Hannah was really okay with being with Brandi?"

"You kidding? Brandi's so eager to be liked she'll probably come back with the whole toys store." Mary dropped small kisses onto his neck.

"I'm glad she's bonding with your sister…"

"Why are you still talking?" She stopped what she was doing to glare up at him.

He laughed slightly. "Sorry, shutting up…"

She silenced him by pulling him down for a deep kiss. He moaned softly, holding her tightly to him, his hands inching her top up.

"Mary? Are you here?" Raph appeared in the doorway but froze when he saw them. "I'm sorry…I knocked but no one answered….Peter said you were home alone…"

Marshall stepped to the side, glancing at Mary quickly and decided to let her take the lead on this; although there was a big part of him that wanted to kick his wife's ex out.

"What are you doing here, Raphael?" Mary asked.

"I wanted to speak with you…" He answered. "And to apologize…I thought I was doing the right thing but I should have never have trusted O'Conner."

"No, you shouldn't have." She folded her arm, feeling angrier at the mention of the FBI agent.

"I'm sorry…" Raph looked towards Marshall, his eyes lingering on his bruised ribs. "Peter said you had a rough time before they let you go…."

"I've had worse…" Marshall shrugged.

Mary sighed and pushed her hair out of her face. "Why don't you go take a seat on the couch and I'll make some coffee."

Raph nodded and silently left, knowing he was being sent out the room so the couple could talk.

"So, what do you think we should do?" Mary asked her husband.

"I don't know, Mare…It's your call." He told her. "I know you're angry that he called O'Conner but he needs answers too just like my family and yours."

"Why do you have to be responsible and fair all the time?" She moaned.

He grinned at her. "You love that I'm the good cop, it means you get to be the bad cop."

"I do like playing bad cop."

He laughed and pulled her back into his arms. "Do you want me to hang around or give you guys some space?"

She closed her eyes and relaxed into his embrace. "No, I guess I owe it to him to do this alone…"

"Raph's a good guy, remember that." He kissed the top of the head. "He is allowed to act a little crazy when his girl runs away with another man…"

"I'm no one's girl." She claimed but knew he had only said that to get a reaction out of her.

He grinned at her then kissed the top of her head. "I'm going to jump in the shower…"

She held onto him so he couldn't pull away. "If I jumped in with you and we were quick and quiet, do you think he'd notice?"

"One, you are never quiet and two, it's rude to keep a guest waiting…"

"So, you'd rather keep me waiting?" She replied but sighed with fake drama when he just looked at her. "Fine! I'll go get closure with my ex-fiancé…"

"That's my girl…" He said before quickly moving away, dodging the fist she had aimed at him.

He laughed as he escaped the room, turning back to wink at her before disappearing the room.

She rolled her eyes at him but had to fight to keep the smile of her face. She took a few minutes to compose herself by making Raph a coffee and grabbing a bottle of water for herself before going to face him.

"Sorry about that…" She said, handing him the coffee mug.

Raph's eyes followed her as she lowered herself slowly into a chair opposite him. She could see the sadness in his Raph.

"Come on," She sighed. "Stop looking at me like that…"

"Like what?" He frowned.

"Like someone has died…"

"Mary, you must understand." He set his mug down on the coffee table and ran his fingers through his hair. "I always thought I'd get you back one day…"

Mary couldn't help but roll her eyes at that statement and Raph saw it.

"Is it such a bad thing?" He asked with a touch of anger in his voice. "My love for you…"

"Your love for me?" Mary interrupted to repeat. "Give me a break, Raphael…"

"Hey…"

"Raph, I do understand I hurt you." She continued. "Please trust me when I say I am sorry about that but there was no other way…"

"You could have talked to me…"

"What part of gang of murders coming for me, do you not understand?"

"You still could have found a way of telling me."

"Maybe I could have but Raph, within one day they had found us and shot Marshall…" Mary tried to get through to him and she saw a look of surprise flash across his face when she mentioned the shooting. "Not only did we not want to put anyone else in danger or ourselves, I was busy trying to keep us safe and he's was busy trying not to die."

Raph let out a long breath. "Did you ever love me?"

"Yes, in some way…" She said softly. "But I don't think we could have stayed together, even if none of this had happened….You always wanted me to be someone I wasn't…"

"I wanted you to be my wife, for us to have a family…and yes, there was a big part of me that wished you had a safer job." Raph stated. "The exact life you're living now…"

Mary opened her mouth to reply but had pause when she realized he had a point. "I didn't have much choice about my career change and the whole marriage and kids thing, well….it just came easy with Marshall..."

"He tamed you…" Raph commented quietly and Mary could see defeat in his eyes.

She smiled softly at his words, her mind flashing back to being in that dusty, abandoned gas station. A conversation about exotic animals and a keeper then another late at night, after another shooting this time in an empty car park where he had begged her just to be her.

"No, he didn't tame me and he's never tried." Mary told him. "He loves me for who I am but will protect me with all he has and he does it without making me feel weak…"

"I always knew there something missing…." Raph admitted, quietly. "I always wondered about you and him….I thought once we were married it would be difference but…"

"I know you have no reason to believe me but Marshall and I were only partners and friends before and nothing romantically happened between us until a while after we left…"

"Come on, Mary….You was more than that…" Raph claimed. "But I do believe you were faithful to me."

There had been that closeness that they had lacking in their relationship and if she was honest, that was probably the reason she had stayed with Raph for as long as she did; to protect her heart.

Raph could tell she was lost in thought and he did want to ask what she was thinking about but she probably wouldn't tell him anyway.

"I wanted to make you happy, Mary…" He said softly, gaining her attention again. "Even if I didn't actually achieve it…"

"I know but the fact that you wanted to did make me happy…"

"But I guess it wasn't enough…"

"No, I'm sorry, it wasn't…"

Raph leaned back against the couch and let out a loud sigh then looked across at her. "So, what happens now? Are you going back to Maine?"

"We haven't made any firm plans yet…" Mary stilled hadn't ruled out returning so Marshall could carry on working at the center. "But we're going to look at moving to Arizona then we can be near Marshall's family and everyone here in Albuquerque."

"Brandi will be happy…" Raph replied. "And Jinx of course…"

"Yeah, when she's done being pissed at me."

"She'll come around…" Raph shrugged a little.

"I guess…" She sighed. "So, what about you? Brandi tells me that you've moved out of the house…"

"I got an apartment." He nodded. "When Peter moved in here, it felt a little weird…"

"And you're still working at the dealership?"

"I'm assistant manager now…" He smiled a little. "But Peter lets me have the weekends off so I can do some coaching with 10 years olds…"

"Wow, that's great, Raph." Mary said honestly. "I'm happy for you…I really am and I hope you can forgive me for how our relationship ended."

Raph reached across and squeezed her hand. "Now I know the truth, I guess it'll be easier to move on…"

"Someone like you won't have any trouble finding someone to settle down with." Mary assured him with a smile. "Someone who is better suited to you then me."

Raph returned the smile and then began to stand up. "I should get back to work."

Mary got to her feet too and followed him to the door. "I wasn't looking forward to this but I am glad you came by and we got the chance to talk…"

"Me too…" Raph agreed.

"Goodbye, Raph…" She said softly, knowing that although they were parting on pretty good terms, this was probably going to be the last time she saw him.

"Goodbye." He leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Be happy, Mary…"

She smiled at him, softly in return because despite the chaos of the last week or so, she already was happy.

"Bye, Raph…" She said quietly, watching as he walked toward his car.

She waited until he backed out of the driveway, giving him a small wave before going back into the house. Just as she closed the door, her cell phone beeped and when she looked at it, she saw a picture, from Brandi of Hannah tucking into an ice cream sundae. She couldn't help but grin…she was happy that after a few days, her daughter had gotten used to Brandi and was willing to spend some time with her.

She was on her way to find her husband, wanting to take advantage of the fact they could spend time alone together when she spotted the small baby grows Marshall had brought. As if on cue, her unborn child kicked hard. Her hand immediately went to her stomach; this baby moved around a lot then Hannah did and she wondered whether that was a sign. Guilt washed over her for putting her baby through so much stress and unrest lately.

"Raph gone?" Marshall reappeared, now dressed in jeans and t-shirt.

"Yeah…" She answered quietly, her hand still on her stomach.

"Everything okay?" He questioned, moving closer to her.

"He's restless…"

Marshall knew she was talking about their unborn child and placed his hands either side of her bump.

"Wow, you think we got a future soccer star in there?" He couldn't help but grin at the movement.

"Do you think everything is okay?"

He frowned a little. "You don't? Are you having pain?"

"No but…" She struggled to pin point where her concern was coming from. "I don't know… I guess, he's just making his presence known…"

Marshall put his arm around her and guided her over to the couch. "Well, you could probably do with some rest and relaxation…"

"What if something is wrong?"

"Mare, you're not having any pain and the baby is moving around…" He sat on the coffee table so he was in front her and taking both her hands in hers. "Remember when you were carrying Hannah? You were worried she wasn't moving around enough…."

Marshall had decided to take a half day to surprise Mary and spend the afternoon and evening by waiting on her hand and foot. Doing whatever she wanted and getting anything she was needed. The baby was due in three weeks but Marshall knew their daughter could arrive at any time now. Although he was looking forward to becoming a Dad, there was a part of him that would miss it just being him and Mary. So, since they had everything ready in the nursery and he had read almost all books possible to prepare him…Mary had even read a couple, he decided that until the baby arrived, he'd focus all his attention on his wife….Well, as much as she would let him anyway.

When he got home, armed with sandwiches and snacks for a movie afternoon, he called out to her and was surprised to discover her in the bath

"Hey," he knocked on the door lightly before entering the room. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah…" She led back against the bath again. "What are you doing home so early?"

"Thought I'd bring you lunch and then we can spend the afternoon watching some movies." He told her. "What's with the bubble bath?"

"Just trying to relax…" She replied. "But I could with some lunch…"

He grabbed the towel she had brought in before reaching out to help her out of the tub. He wrapped her in the towel and kissed her forehead.

"You get dressed and I'll get lunch ready…"

"Wait." She grabbed onto one of his heads to stop him.

"Mare, what's going on?" He frowned a little when she guided his hand through the towel to her stomach.

"She likes it when you talk…It's as if she knows your voice." She took his other hand and placed it on her stomach as well. "Just…talk to her."

"Are you sure everything is okay?"

"She hasn't been moving…"

"What?"

"I haven't felt her moving as much this morning…"

"Okay…" He hands began to move in slow circles as he tried to keep calm. "I'm sure its nothing but maybe we should get you checked out…"

"Oh god…"

"Hey…" He moved one hand to her face and forced her to look at him. "Everything is going to be fine, okay?"

"How do you know?" She whispered.

"Because this is your daughter we're talking…How can she not be?" He kissed her forehead again. "You get dressed and I'll give Dr. Newman a call…"

"Okay." She nodded.

Two hours later, Marshall followed Mary back into the house with a new scan picture in his hand.

"Well, that was embarrassing…" She commented, dropping onto the couch. "I can't believe I freaked out like that…"

"Come on, Mare…It was a legitimate concern." He reasoned. "We did the right thing getting checked out…"

"She said that she was probably just sleeping…" Mary continued as Marshall sat beside her, reached down to pull her feet onto his lap and began to massage them. "I mean, what kind of Mom does that make me?"

"That's not fair…Give yourself a break." He told her. "You couldn't have known that and I'd rather go to the doctors five times a day to be checked out rather than risking it…"

"Well, she's certainly awake now…" She rubbed her stomach. "It's all that yammering you did in the car on the way back about the damn baby book you read…she's probably in there screaming at me to shut you up…"

Marshall just grinned widely, placing his hand next to hers and felt a kick. "Yeah right….She likes my voice, you said yourself…She's a Daddy's girl."

Mary just smiled softly and he leaned down kissed her stomach before getting to his feet.

"I'll go get the lunch I brought home and you pick a movie." He told her before disappearing into the kitchen.

Mary wondered whether it was just her imagination that the baby seemed to respond to Marshall's voice or perhaps it was down to the fact that she felt more relaxed when her husband was around and the baby was picking up on that. Whatever the reason, Mary knew she would be okay with her daughter being a Daddy's girl because she knew how special that relationship could be and she didn't trust anyone other than Marshall to fill that role in her child's life.

"So, you really think there is nothing to worry about?" Mary asked. "You were the one who said you'd rather get checked out then take a risk…"

"I think it's been a stressful couple of weeks…I think you should spend the next couple of hours resting and drinking plenty of fluids then we see how you're feeling then." Marshall said. "But you say the word and we'll head for the hospital now…"

"No, I think you might be right…" She sighed and leaned back against the couch, her eyes closing.

"But it might be a good idea to get an appointment for scan before we leave Albuquerque…You're probably due an appointment about now anyway." He added. "We can even found out if we're having a he or a she if you want…"

"Oh no way, buddy…." Her eyes flew open. "You're not bailing on this bet…"

"I'm not bailing…" He stated. "I still think we got a girl in there…"

"It's a boy." She corrected. "But you'll find out for yourself in the delivery room."

"Okay, if that's how to want to play it." He went to stand but she caught hold of his hand.

"I just….thanks." She answered his silent question.

"For what?"

"For being a good Dad…To both of them."

"It helps that I have a great partner who is a fantastic Mom…." He grinned and leaned down to kiss her softly. "Now rest…I'll get us some drinks and snacks."

This time she let him go and her hand went back to stomach.

"Rest baby… We're not ready for you just yet…but we will be…." She whispered. "Just let me protect you for a little longer…"

TBC

So, what do you think? Raph is easy to write as a jerk and he definitely made mistakes in the show but deep down we all know he's a good guy really. Please review and let me know what you think.