Thanks for the reviews! And again sorry for taking forever to post this chapter. RL just sucks! Anyways, enjoy!

"Hi," Marshall greeted her when she appeared, her back always to him.

Mary turned and said, "Hey"

She walked towards the usual wall, but stopped when Marshall asked, "Mare, seriously. Why don't you sit on the bed?"

"Because I don't want to," she slid down her usual spot and tried to ignore him.

He sighed again before leaving the bed and joining her on the floor. Sliding down next to her he looked over the top of her head and said, "What's wrong with sitting on the bed?"

"Marshall, just leave it alone"

"Hey, it's your dream," he said, trying for reverse psychology.

She looked up at him and rolled her eyes, "Nice try doc"

He chuckled and shrugged, "Come on, what did the bed ever do to you?"

She rolled her eyes at him, "It's a sex bed!"

"A sex bed?" he drawls as he looks up startled at the bed.

"Yup, a sex bed"

"What makes it a sex bed?" still looking at the bed, frowning and trying to figure out what made it a sex bed.

"Come on! Look at it…it's a sex bed!" she moves her hand up and down and all around trying to make her point with gestures.

Marshall grinned and asked, "What? You're afraid we'll have sex on the bed if we sit together?"

"In your dreams, buddy…"

He chuckled and then burst out laughing; he had not expected that response from her. Mary frowned and growled, "What's so damn funny?"

He pointed at the bed and then moved his hands between them and continued to laugh; tears were rolling down his face.

She scowled and growled, "Will you stop laughing and tell me what's so funny?"

Marshall wiped the tears from his face and finally managed to say, "It is my dream…"

"Pervis…" she threw a punch and startled awake a second before her clenched fist touched his arm.

"What the hell's wrong with me?" Mary sat up and pushed her blankets off her, she felt like an insane person after waking from those dreams. They seemed so real and Marshall seemed like a dead ringer of himself. She was so confused; the dreams kept getting more real as the time flew by. The bed didn't help matters, it just kept getting better and better with each dream. She denied it to his face, but she did indeed want to join him on the bed, but not just to sit around and wait for them to wake up. Who's the pervis now? she thought with a groan.

After getting up for a glass of water and checking on Norah, she went back to bed, trying to analyze the dreams and figure out what was going on and why she was so dreamed obsessed over Marshall. She knew that one possible reason was that they were no longer in each other's lives. With him being her boss instead of her partner, it had woken something up in her. She had always known her partner was a handsome fellow, but for the past few weeks, maybe months, if she was honest with herself, she would realize that she saw him as more than a partner and best-friend when he became chief and asked her to release him.

She beat her pillows until she was exhausted and finally sleep claimed her, no dreams would come after the dream room.

Marshall sat up and got up off the bed, the dreams were taking a toll on him. I need to tell Mare, but how do I tell her? Hey Mare, guess what…Abs and I broke it off, wanna be my friend again? He groaned and sat back down on his bed, his forearms resting on his knees, his head bent as he slouched forward and frustration.

He didn't understand how his life had lead to this very point, fiancée-less and his only friend keeping him at arms-length. He couldn't blame her for keeping her distance, he knew that it would be a possibility, but glad that she didn't just kick him to the curb and transfer.

After various futile attempts of going back to sleep, he turned to his alarm clock and noted it was already 4am. He went into this shower and started his day.

Mary sat behind her desk and kept glancing towards Marshall's office, she noticed a fatigue in him, but was afraid to question him. She sighed sadly and tried to ignore it, but the more she ignored it the more she worried. Stop worrying Shannon; he has the cheerleader for that. He's just overworked at the office; just give him a few breaks in between so he doesn't fall over in exhaustion. Working on paperwork not being her forte, she tried harder to make sure all her paperwork was filled out and turned in on time. Not to say that sometimes she would slack so he wouldn't suspect a thing or two.

Marshall caught her glancing his way and turned away immediately after getting caught, a pink hue on her cheekbones as she turned away and let her cascading blonde tresses fall over her face to cover up.

He stood up and walked over to her desk, "Hey Mare, you busy tonight?"

She looked up at him startled, "What?"

"Are you busy tonight? Do you want to get a drink after work?" he asked, stuffing his hands deep into his pockets. He as if it was the first time he asked a girl out, his hands were very sweaty.

"Can't...uh...I got Norah and she's teet...maybe next time," she curbed her admission of Norah's teething because she didn't want him to think he had to be in her life or help her.

"Norah's teething?" he asked softly at her bent head.

"Yup"

"That must be hard"

She shrugged and continued working on her paperwork, he sighed and murmured, "Well, maybe next time then."

Mary felt him walk back to his office and sighed in relief, she couldn't let him too close, and releasing him hadn't been easy but necessary, maybe even crucial to his happiness.

"Hey Mare, are you busy?" Delia asked from across the room, she was washing her hands on the sink.

Turning to her partner she shook her head, "No, what's up?"

"I need to go see Mark and Daisy, you mind tagging along?" Delia looked through her paperwork until she found the Denison's file, she waved the file at Mary with an arched eyebrow in question.

"Of course, let me just log out and then we can head out," turning back to her computer she finished what she was working on logged off. She could feel Marshall staring her way.

She rounded her desk and called out to him, "Night Chief, see you tomorrow."

"Night Mare, night Delia"

"Night Marshall," Delia said as she walked by his office, waving and flashing him her bright smile.

He watched them and then left his office once he heard the elevator doors ding closed. He thrust his hands in his pants pockets again and sighed in regret, another day without letting her know about the breakup. She's going to kill me if she finds out from someone else.

TBC...Just a little FYI, the rating will go up to an M rating soon. Reviews are always greatly appreciated! XOXOXOXOXO