A/N: I could tweak this chapter forever - so I need to just post it and leave it alone! Who's ready for Mary to come face to face with her baby boy? Enjoy - and thanks so much for all your love in reviews - the muses are so happy! xoxoxo.

Two Months Later

Miami, FL

"Damn it, Gavin! It's a broken ankle, not a body cast! You've got to let me come back to work – I'm going out of my mind sitting at home, day after day staring at the ocean."

"Most people find the ocean calming."

"I'm not most people."

Gavin smiled. "I realize that, Mary. But until we've resolved these death threats against your life-"

Mary snorted. "Come on! How many does this make this year? I'm the most targeted one in the office!"

"And I have to take each and every threat against a US Marshal seriously. If I didn't and one of these threats took you out, I'd never forgive myself."

"Aw, I didn't know you cared that much, Gavin."

"I'm just trying to save the government paperwork, Inspector."

"That's more like it," Mary laughed. "So, what am I supposed to do in the meantime? Sit on the beach and get a nice tan?"

"I thought you were planning your wedding."

Mary grimaced. "In case you haven't noticed a) it's baseball season and b) I'm not exactly the white wedding type girl."

"So? Squeeze it in at the courthouse between one of Raph's games."

"I'm all for that but Raph and his family have their hearts set on a traditional Catholic wedding – can you see that? Me in a white dress in front of a priest?"

Gavin closed his eyes but then he broke out in a grin. "Nope, sorry. That's not you- you're more the type to run away to Atlantic City and elope."

Mary laughed but then frowned. "Hm."

"What is it?"

"Nothing – just when you said that – nothing." She shrugged. "So you're serious about my being on medical leave for another month? I can't even come in to do computer work?"

"Mary, give us a month to catch Jessie. Take this time to rest your ankle and plan your wedding – maybe even get married."

Mary reached for her crutches. "I still don't think we've got anything to worry about."

Gavin nodded. "Good – keep thinking that. It will keep you out of trouble."

The phone was ringing when she got home and Mary threw down her crutches and hopped the last few feet to pick up the cordless. "Hello?"

"Querida? Is that you? Why are you out of breath?"

"Hi, Raph. I just got home and rushed to the phone – where are you? Are you on the way home?"

"I'm on the bus – should be home later tonight."

"How long will you be here?"

"We have a five game series against Charlotte – and then it's back on the road. But I was thinking – maybe we should elope."

Mary dropped into the sofa. "What? I think we have a bad connection because I thought I heard you say the word 'elope'."

Raph laughed. "I did – it's just with my crazy schedule and you going back to work soon, I don't see another way our wedding will work. So what do you say?"

A chill ran down Mary's spine and she wondered if she had left a window open somewhere. This is what she wanted, this is the man she wanted, so why was she hesitating now? "I – I don't know. What about your family?"

He sighed. "They will be disappointed, of course, but this is our wedding, it is about us. I love you and I want to start our life together."

Her eyes fluttered shut at the emotion she heard in his voice. Shouldn't she be feeling more – something stronger? She knew she loved Raph – but did she love him enough? He knew what she did and he didn't try to fence her in or change her – that should count for something. And yet, she had the weirdest feeling that she was missing something important. Ever since she had run into that kid in New York City two months ago, she hadn't been able to get him out of her mind. He haunted her dreams and she found herself thinking of him during the daytime hours as well. Who was he? Had she met him somewhere before?

"Mary? Are you there?"

"Sorry, I was – what were you saying?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Of course not – I'm just frustrated because I can't work."

"Mary, you have a broken ankle. You need to slow down."

"I can't – I don't know what to do when I'm not working."

"I'll be home tonight and we'll make plans for our wedding."

"All right."

"I have to go – I love you, Mary."

"Love you too."

Albuquerque, NM

"To the graduate!"

Glasses clinked and well wishes came from everyone's mouth as Marshall smiled like the proud papa he was at his son. Will had graduated with honors earlier that day and now the entire family was out to dinner celebrating his achievement.

Liam turned and clinked glasses with his Dad, leaning in to whisper, "Sorry I couldn't continue the tradition and be valedictorian."

Marshall shook his head. "I couldn't be more proud of you if you had been, Will. I hope you know that."

Liam nodded and then his attention was diverted as Rosa, Peter and Brandi gave him their gifts. He was still playing with the digital camera from Rosa when his aunt and uncle left early, claiming they needed to get home to Stevie.

Marshall chuckled. "It's the first time they've left him home alone. I remember the first time we left you – it's not easy."

Liam groaned. "Please, Dad. No baby stories – not today."

Marshall held up his hand in surrender. "All right – how about another present, then?"

"But – I thought my bike-"

"We all chipped in for this." Marshall pulled a long slim envelope from his breast pocket. "You leave in the morning."

Liam opened the envelope and stared at the flight details, with an open return. "Dad-" he cleared his throat. "Please come with me."

Rosa excused herself, leaving the two of them alone. Marshall shook his head. "I've thought long and hard about this – you need to see her first, Will. If after seeing her and talking with her you both decide you want me to fly out, I will. Deal?"

Liam nodded. "Deal."

Miami

"Are you sure you don't want to invite your sister? We'll need a couple of witnesses."

Mary shook her head. "I haven't talked to Squish since we were both kids – and I don't want to just drop back into her life now. I'm sure the chapels in Atlantic City have people that act as witnesses."

Raph pulled her into a kiss, one that should have left her breathless but instead left her feeling confused. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes – oh wait, I forget my little blue bag on the counter in the bathroom."

"Do you really need it?"

"It has my birth control pills and this itty bitty piece of lingerie that I was going to wear-"

Raph kissed her swiftly as he ran back into the house, leaving a laughing Mary behind him. She fiddled with the engagement ring on her finger until her attention was caught by a compact silver car pulling into the driveway behind hers. She straightened, keeping her weight off her injured foot and squinted in the bright sunlight, waiting for the driver to emerge. When no one got out immediately, her hand reached for her gun, only to find it not there and she swore under her breath.

"Can I help you?" she called.

Finally the driver's door opened and out stepped the young man from New York City, the kid who had haunted her dreams for the past two months. Mary's eyes narrowed and she licked her lips. "Who are you?"

"My name's Li- William Mann."

He paused and she got the feeling that he was waiting for her to say something but she had no idea what that something might be. The name wasn't familiar to her-

"I found it!" Raph announced as he bounced out of the house. "Mary, who's this?"

"I don't know-" she shrugged as she turned back to the young man. "Your name is William Mann?"

Liam nodded. "My father is Marshall Mann-"

Mary's posture relaxed. "Marshall? Oh, I knew a Marshall Mann in high school – I wonder-" she nodded slowly, studying his facial features. "Yes, I see the resemblance. How is your father?"

Liam swallowed. "He's doing all right-"

An uneasy silence stretched between them, broken when Raph whispered. "Mary, we have to get going. We'll miss our flight."

"Oh, right, sorry. Look, maybe we can connect when I get back-"

"Where are you going?" Liam interrupted her.

Raph glared. "That's none of your business-"

"Raph!" Mary hissed at him before turning back to Will. "Atlantic City."

Raph swung his arm around Mary's shoulders. "We're getting married."

"But you can't!" Liam gasped. "What about my dad?"

Mary frowned. "What about your dad?" she repeated slowly.

"He's your husband."

"He's your what?" Raph bellowed. "Mary, who is this kid?"

Liam pointed a finger at Raph's chest. "I'm her son."

"Mary, how can you believe anything this kid has to say? You don't know him from – a stranger on the street!"

She shook her head. "I – I don't know. I just know I need to hear what he has to say."

"We're going to miss our flight – what about our wedding?"

"If William's telling the truth – I'm already married."

Raph scowled. "Would you really forget a thing like that?"

"Until today, I'd have said no – but there is a year I can't remember-"

He snorted. "And you think in that year you married this Marshall guy and had a kid?" He shook his head. "Mary, do you know how ridiculous that sounds?"

She nodded. "I do – but Raph, he has my eyes-"

Raph moaned and ran his fingers through his hair. "His eyes are green – so what? Lots of people have green eyes, Mary! Mon Dieu, I can't let you do this-"

"Let me? No one lets me do anything – least of all you, Raphael Ramirez! Why don't you go down to the stadium and hit some balls or go drink some brews with your pals while I talk to-"

"Oh no! There's no way in hell I'm leaving you alone with him. He could be a –"

"A what? A killer?" Mary laughed. "I'm a US Marshal trained in apprehending fugitives; I think I can take care of myself against one unarmed teenage boy."

"Mary-"

"Get out, Raph."

"You're mad-"

"Look, I understand that this came out of left field and blindsided you as well as me but you're being a jackass right now and I can't deal with you as well as a kid who thinks he's my son, all right? So the best thing you can do right now is clear out so I can talk to him."

Raph pulled her into a toe-curling kiss and though she didn't fight him, he felt her lack of response. He pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. "Why do I feel like I've already lost you?"

"Go – I'll see you later, OK?"

Liam didn't look up from the sand he was arranging in piles at the sound of his Mom's approach. It wasn't until he heard her stumble and swear that he remembered her cast and he jumped to his feet, turning around in time to catch her by the waist before she tumbled to the sand.

"Could you have picked a little better location for a heart to heart talk, Kid?"

"I'm sorry – I wasn't thinking-" Liam stuttered.

"It's OK – I'll live – it's just a broken ankle, not a leg," Mary grimaced in pain as she lowered herself to a large log. "Give me a minute to recover, though, please."

"I feel like an ass now."

"Ah, then my plan is working."

"Your plan was to make your son feel like an ass?"

Mary frowned as she looked into his eyes, eyes that were so like her own. She shuddered, knowing that's why they had haunted her all this time. The resemblance to Marshall was strong but some of his facial features were similar to her own as well.

Liam fidgeted. "What?"

"Nothing – just – you really are mine, aren't you?"

He nodded.

"How?"

Liam flushed. "What do you mean, how? Like, how is that possible because you don't know where babies come from or-"

Mary held up a hand. "I know where babies come from, smartass. It's just –" she ran her hands through her hair. "Your father and I never had sex."

Liam's jaw dropped. "What?"

She shrugged. "He was a virgin and yeah, we fooled around – got close a couple of times –"

Liam's face flushed beet red. "Um, can we not talk about you and Dad's sex life? I really don't want to know, OK?"

Mary grinned. "Sorry, Kid. But what I'm trying to tell you is that we never had sex by the time we broke up right after graduation."

Liam stared at her in shock. "That's how you think it ended between the two of you?"

Mary nodded. "So even though you bear a slight resemblance to me, I just don't see how it's possible that you're my son."

Liam shook his head. "Wait, are you saying you don't remember making up with my Dad on the beach? Or eloping to Atlantic City and getting pregnant with me?"

Mary went perfectly still and pale. "We did?"

Liam nodded.

Mary shook her head. "I – I was in an accident – hit and run. I nearly died. I'm OK-" she reassured him when she saw the horrified look on his face. "It happened seventeen years ago. I was in a coma for six months and when I woke up it took me awhile to remember who I was and to get most of my memory back. But there's still about a year that I can't remember."

Realization crossed Liam's face. "And that's the year."

Mary nodded. "All this time I never knew – I figured Brandi was OK, but I never knew I had a family of my own." She reached out for his hand but drew it back before he could touch it. "You must hate me. All these years – growing up without a mother-" she shook her head. "Wait, why did you? Why didn't you know where I was?"

Liam dropped his eyes to the sand. "You left us."

"I would never – do you know why?"

Liam shrugged. "I don't – I think Dad knows more than he's telling but he's always said it was between the two of you-"

Anger flared in Mary's eyes. "Call him."

"What – now?"

"Yes, now."

Liam fished his cell out of his pocket and dialed his dad's number, holding it out of his mom's reach. "Let me talk to him first," he explained, as he stood and walked a little bit away. "Hi Dad – yeah, I'm here – yes, with Mom – well, that's the thing. She doesn't remember marrying you or having me – she was in a car accident and has some memory loss-" he turned and saw his mom signaling him frantically. "She wants to talk to you, Dad."

Mary grabbed the phone. "What the hell, String Bean? You send our son to see me after seventeen years to tell me I'm a mother? Didn't you think I had a right to know?"

There was a pause before Marshall spoke. "From my point of view, Mer, you did know. How was I supposed to know you'd been in an accident and had memory loss?"

"The same way you found out where I was! The accident is part of my file-"

"But the memory loss isn't!"

She blew out a breath. "You're right – I've been careful to leave that part out. But you should have come to me before now. Do you realize I almost committed bigamy today?"

"You're engaged?"

"I was – until I found out I've been married for the past seventeen years-"

"Eighteen."

"Fuck- Marshall, get your ass on a plane. I need you out here to fill in the missing gaps in my memory."

"I'm not at your beckon call, Mary."

"The hell you're not – you told me once that all I had to do was call and you'd come, remember?"

Marshall sighed. "That you remember. I'll be on the next flight. Don't pull another disappearing act before I get there, all right?"

A/N: Ouch, yeah - Marshall's still angry, amnesia or not. What happens when our couple comes face to face? Stay tuned . . . Reviews are LOVE!