A/N: Strong T rating this chapter for language and adult conversation/material.
Rosa heard the sound of Marshall's truck pulling into the driveway but wasn't concerned when the couple didn't immediately come inside. She knew that therapy days were rough; Mary hadn't been sleeping well and Marshall was worried about her.
Rosa was worried about the entire Mann family. Having been a nanny to William and a housekeeper/cook for the Mann men for all these years, she had been cautiously optimistic when she heard that the long-lost wife and mother had been found and was coming home with them. She wanted everything to work out – Will was still young enough that he longed for the presence of a mother in his life and Marshall – well, one only needed to look at the man to see how much he was still in love with his wife. When the family returned from Florida, her heart ached to see the deep chasm that had developed between the three of them. Marshall didn't give her any details about the trip and Will wasn't talking to any of them – but Rosa knew old wounds had been opened and possibly her boy had found out something he hadn't known before, and it wasn't sitting well with him. Rosa shook her head and made the sign of the cross. All she could do was pray for this family and help them however she could – this mess was one they had created and must navigate on their own.
The timer beeped and Rosa lifted the lid off the steamer pot to remove the puffy tamales from the basket over the boiling water, placing them on a large platter to cool down to serve for lunch. She had made extra in the hope that Will would stop by, or she could always freeze them to be eaten later. Rosa reached for her phone to text the young man, but the device slipped through her damp fingers when she heard Marshall shout Mary's name. She was moving towards the front door when it suddenly swung open from the swift kick of Marshall's boot, his arms full of Mary, who was unconscious.
"Dios Mio!" Rosa exclaimed. "What happened? Is Mary ill?" Her attention was then drawn to a strange young woman hovering in the doorway behind him. "Who is this?"
Marshall clenched his jaw. "Another long lost relative, apparently." He shifted Mary's weight slightly as he strode down the hall to their room, making soothing sounds as she began to moan in his arms.
"I'm Skye."
Rosa grunted. "I don't think Mary and Marshall are up to visitors right now-"
"Oh, but I'm family-"
Rosa crossed her arms and stood her ground, blocking Skye's entry to the house. "Look, right now they don't know you from Eve, so that makes you a visitor, all right?"
Skye looked at the petite Latina woman standing in front of her, guarding the threshold and tried not to smile. "All right. I guess I can come back later."
Rosa picked up a notepad from the small table by the door and handed it to the impertinent stranger. "Why don't you write down your name, number, and where you're staying – I assume you're staying in town?"
"Yes, at the-"
Rosa shoved the notepad into her hands. "Write it down. I've got a terrible memory."
"Got a pen? I left my purse in the car-"
Rosa rolled her eyes but opened the drawer in the table and dug around until she came up with a ballpoint pen.
"Thanks."
"De nada."
Skye scribbled her particulars on the top piece of paper and handed the pad back to Rosa. "Should I call later and-"
Rosa shook her head. "Mary will call you when she is feeling better."
Skye reached out a hand but dropped it before she touched Rosa's arm. "I didn't mean to upset her – I just – I need her advice about something."
Rosa studied the young woman in front of her and despite wanting to stay out of things, she felt bad for her. Skye seemed almost desperate to talk to Mary – and she wondered why.
"I will give Mary the message."
Mary was already moaning and whispering his name as Marshall carried her into their bedroom. When he lay her on the bed and tried to straighten up, she dug her fingers into the front of his dress shirt.
"Where are you going?" she moaned.
He dropped a kiss on her forehead. "I'm just getting you a cool washcloth from the bathroom – I'll be right back, love."
Her fingers released the material and he stood, moving around their room swiftly, lowering shades to block out the strong sunlight, before heading to the bathroom to get a cloth for her head. He tried to take slow, deep breaths as he let the cool water flow into the sink. Mary wasn't the type who fainted – she was made of strong, sturdy Irish stock. Even though she wasn't sleeping well at the moment, and she was worried sick over her strained relationship with Will, she didn't get weak and dizzy and pass out like other women. In fact, he could only recall one time she had fainted on him and that was when she was-
The washcloth fell out of his hands and fell to the bottom of the sink with a wet plopping sound. He went to the doorway and studied his wife as she lay curled up on her side, one hand thrown across her eyes, breathing in and out slowly as if she had fallen into a light doze.
Oh my God – is it possible? Could she be pregnant – and if she is – is it mine?
He squelched that last thought immediately. If Mary was pregnant, of course the child was his.
With shaking hands, he went and retrieved the washcloth, wringing out the excess water with shaking hands as his mind began to race. They hadn't used any protection since getting back together – and now that he thought about it, she hadn't had a monthly cycle either. So, unless she had forgotten to tell him she had had her tubes tied or an IUD put in, yes, it was possible.
It would explain so much – her sudden fainting, her poor sleeping habits at night yet her being sleepy during the day, and she had recently lost her taste for coffee, preferring to have tea in the morning instead. That alone should have clued him in sooner – his girl had already been addicted to coffee the first time he met her!
A bubble of excitement grew in him at the thought that Mary might be carrying his child even though the timing once again wasn't the best – and heaven only knew how she would react to the news.
Mary stirred as she felt a cool cloth against her forehead, and Marshall's fingers combing through her hair. She sighed and leaned into his touch.
"Feels good," she murmured.
"The cloth or my touch?"
She grinned. "I have to pick one? By the way, thank you for catching me so I didn't crack my skull on the pavement."
He chuckled. "You're welcome. How are you feeling now – dizzy? Nauseous?"
She cracked open one eye and stared up at him. "Marshall, I'm fine. I just blacked out for a minute-"
His fingers stopped their massage. "Mary, you never black out. Unless you've turned into the type of woman that faints every now and then in the years we've been apart."
She snorted. "Don't be ridiculous." She reached up and tapped his wrist, giving him a signal to continue his combing motion in her hair. "I've only ever fainted once before, when I was pregnant with William."
"Right."
He let her words hang in the air, not wanting to push, yet wanting her to come to the same realization that he had earlier in the bathroom. After a few seconds, Mary pulled away from his touch and sat up, staring at him with wide eyes.
"What are you saying, Marshall? You think I'm pregnant? That's not – I mean – we haven't – shit!"
"Mary, breathe." He placed a hand on her back and rubbed it in slow circles. "Are you saying it's not possible?"
She raised tear-filled eyes to his. "Of course, it's possible! I just never thought –" she gave a weak laugh. "With Raph – and the others- I took my birth control pills like clockwork and made them use condoms so that this would never happen. You come back into my life and the thought of using protection never even crosses my mind! I mean, it's you! I never used protection with you, ever!"
He grinned. "That's because you got pregnant on our wedding night."
She slapped him on the shoulder. "What is it with you – do you have super-charged sperm or something?"
He gave her a quick kiss, one that was meant to be soothing and full of comfort and yet it made her heart skip a beat, nonetheless. "I'd like to think it's what happens when we get together-"
Now she laughed outright. "So, you're going to knock me up every time we have sex?"
He reached out and cupped her face. "First of all, we don't know for sure that you are-"
"I do," she whispered, leaning into his touch. "Now that I'm taking the time to think about it, it makes sense, Marshall, and I've been here before, remember? The lack of sleep, losing my taste for coffee, the fact that I haven't had a period since we've been together-"
"So, this baby is definitely mine?"
She gasped. "You thought-" she pulled out of his hold and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into her body. "Marshall, listen to me. Raph and I hadn't been intimate for a month before you and Will showed up in Florida. He'd been on the road with his baseball team, and I'd broken my foot. I was on pain meds and in no mood to – well, you know. My doctor actually encouraged me to go off my birth control for a month because I was taking antibiotics for a while – I got a nasty infection-"
Marshall pulled back to glare at her. "Hell, woman, wasn't anyone looking after you?"
"I can look after myself, Marshall."
"I beg to differ."
"Well, you can apply for the job if you think you can keep up with me."
"Challenge accepted." He tackled her to the mattress and looked down at her with a stern expression. "Damnit, Mer. I'm as much in love with you today as I was the day I married you – maybe more. And the fact that you might be carrying my child – I'm over the moon with excitement." He trailed a hand down her cheek, cupping the back of her neck. "But how do you feel about this?"
She drew in a deep breath. "You're right, we don't know anything for sure – I'd like to wait until we do before I give voice to how I'm feeling-"
"Mary-"
"Hey – I'm here, with you. I'm not running away, and I won't. I promised you and Will that I'd stay, and I will."
"Shall I run to the drugstore then?"
She grinned. "You want to pick up the tests this time?"
"They are more accurate today than they were nineteen years ago, Sunshine. I don't we'll need more than one."
She arched an eyebrow. "How about two to be safe?"
He dropped a swift, deep kiss on her lips. "Two it is."
Mary curled up to take a nap after Marshall left but found herself staring at the ceiling instead.
Pregnant. At her age?
Granted, she was only in her mid-thirties, but it was still rather late in life to have another child. It was actually funny to think about the fact that if it was true and she was indeed pregnant she would have had one child before she was twenty and her second over a decade later. She'd have a nineteen-year-old son and a baby. In many ways, this child would be her first since she had only been around for the first six weeks of William's life and much of that time was still hazy and had a dream-like quality to it. William. What would he think if she was pregnant? Would he think that he was being replaced – that she and Marshall were building another family without him now that he was all grown up and going off to Harvard?
Mary's heart gave a painful twist as she remembered the joy she felt the first time she'd held her sweet baby boy – and then for all the time she'd lost, because of her own father. And yet, it had been her decision to go see him as well as not pursue the hunt for the birth certificate of her child. She couldn't blame James Wiley Shannon for all her mistakes.
She heard the doorbell ring and wondered if she should get up but then Rosa stuck her head in.
"You rest – I'll see who it is and send them away."
"Thank you, Rosa."
She heard Rosa open the door, and the sound of a baby crying drifted down the hallway. She was unable to hear Rosa or anyone else, just the baby. Mary swung her feet over the side of the bed and stood up, shuffling over to stand where she could see the front door.
Rosa was talking to someone, but her body blocked the doorway. "Marshall isn't home-"
"Who is it, Rosa?" Mary called.
Rosa turned and at that moment Mary saw her sister standing on the doorstep, holding a wailing Stevie in his car seat.
"Brandi," Mary whispered, clutching the door frame as she felt the dizziness come over her again.
Brandi pursed her lips at the sight of her long-lost sister and once again turned her attention back to Rosa. "He's not here – will he be back soon?"
Rosa shrugged but Mary stepped forward, answering her. "He just ran out to the pharmacy for me – he should be back in ten minutes."
Brandi turned away. "I'll wait out here then."
Mary rushed forward, her hand gripping the handle of the car seat. "Nonsense, Bee, it's too hot out there for Stevie. Please wait in the house. If you want, I can –" she swallowed. "If it makes you more comfortable, I'll wait in my bedroom and you, and Rosa can wait in the kitchen."
"Let go."
Mary dropped the handle like it was on fire and Brandi marched past her into the house. Rosa put her hand on Mary's arm.
"This is your house now too, Mary. Don't let her-"
"No, Rosa, I have to give her time. It's a big step that she came here today. I'll be in my room if-" Mary bit back a sob and retreated.
Marshall was excited to see Brandi's SUV in the driveway when he returned from the pharmacy. But when he entered the house, he heard Stevie's wails and Brandi met him in the kitchen with tears, imploring him to help.
"He's been crying for hours, Marshall, and I've tried everything! Please help me – help him!"
He glanced over her head at Rosa who was avoiding eye contact and busying herself by making tea.
"Where's Mary?"
"Lying down – I was just making her a cup of tea," Rosa murmured.
"Is she feeling worse?"
Rosa shook her head. "No, just heart sick," and she glared at Brandi as she carried a mug of tea from the room.
"Bee," Marshall said with a warning note in his voice.
"Not now, okay? I can't think about talking to my sister when my baby is so upset! I don't know how to calm him down and he's tired and I'm tired and I'm a bad mother-"
"No, you're not, and you know it. That's just the tiredness talking," Marshall soothed her as he took Stevie from her, placing the wailing child in his car seat so he could comfort her. "When did he start fussing?"
"About half an hour after he ate – so I was thinking a gas bubble or colic but the remedies aren't working-"
"Hmm, did he burp after he ate?"
"I think so- but I don't remember any more!"
"Okay, okay, Bee, calm down." Over her shoulder he saw that Mary had crept into the kitchen and was staring down at Stevie with a thoughtful faraway expression on her face. "We'll think of something."
Marshall continued to watch Mary as she raised her hand and rubbed Stevie's stomach in a slow clockwise circle. His wails didn't stop, but the sound didn't increase in volume either, so the massage wasn't hurting him. She brought her other hand up to join the massage.
Brandi turned around and saw her sister. "What is she doing?" she hissed. "Get her away from my baby!"
Marshall grabbed her arm as she lunged toward Mary, tugging her back to him. "Don't!" he whispered in her ear. "Let her try – nothing else has worked, remember? What can it hurt?"
Brandi snorted, tugged free of his grasp, and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Marshall went and stood beside his wife, locking eyes with her.
"What are you thinking?"
"I think he has a gas bubble – Squish used to get them all the time as a baby – and would wail like this for hours until I – wait-"
She lifted her hands and placed them on his lower belly, and then crept her fingers up his abdomen like a spider, making 'popping' sounds with her mouth as she pressed lightly into his skin. Mary repeated this motion for nearly a minute before Stevie let out a tremendous belch, followed by some spit up and a happy cooing sound.
Marshall wiped the baby's mouth with a cloth from Bee's diaper bag as Mary lifted her nephew to her shoulder to rub his little back. "There, sweet boy, is that better? Just like your mama, hmm? Gas caught in your tummy, and you need some help getting it out?" She slowly rocked her body back and forth, humming softly.
"Mer?"
"Hmm?"
"He's asleep."
She smiled at Marshall and slowly lowered Stevie back into his car seat, adjusting a blanket over him. "He even looks a little bit like Squish-"
"Marshall, what did you do?"
They turned as one to see Brandi standing behind them, her mouth hanging open.
Marshall shook his head. "I didn't do anything-" he nodded at Mary. "Your sister did."
Brandi made eye contact with her sister for the first time, her eyes filling with tears. "Mary?"
"You used to get gas bubbles when you were his age – and I remembered what I did to help you – so I hoped it would work for Stevie too."
The tears spilled down her face. "Mary-"
She took a step towards her sister. "I know I said I'd stay in my room, but I couldn't stay away any longer. Stevie was in pain and you were hurting and I knew I could help you-"
"You left – you didn't come back – you didn't think that hurt me?"
Mary's own cheeks were wet as she stepped closer to Brandi. "I know I left – and I know I hurt you – and I don't have any explanations for what I did that won't sound like excuses. I can only say that I'm here now – and I'm not leaving -"
"How can I believe you?"
"It wasn't my intention to leave for good all those years ago – but I can understand your reluctance to believe me, especially with our family history. It may have taken years, but I'm back to stay, Squish. Your big sister has come home. And I hope that one day, you and I will be-"
Brandi flew the distance between them, wrapping her arms around Mary with a sob. "Shut up."
Mary pulled back and brushed some tears from Bee's face. "Does this mean-"
"I'm still mad at you-"
"I know."
"And hurt that you left."
"I know."
"But you're my big sister and you're here – so yeah, eventually I think we'll work things out."
"I love you, Squish."
"I love you too, Mer."
"Let me get this straight: we have a sister? James had another family?" Brandi asked, her mouth falling open.
Mary nodded; her mouth too full of Rosa's tamale to answer verbally.
Brandi called Peter and he had come over to celebrate the sisters' reunion. Will and Julia had also joined them for a late lunch and now everyone was making short work of Rosa's freshly made tamales, chips and salsa, and limeade.
"And you believe her – without a DNA test?" Peter teased his sister-in-law.
"The family resemblance is uncanny," Marshall put in. "She looks very similar to Mary – except her hair has some red highlights – right, Rosa?" he called out to the older woman for confirmation.
Rosa set down a full pitcher of limeade on the picnic table before reclaiming her seat by Will and Julia. She nodded slowly. "Looking back, I can see how Skye and Mary could possibly be related – but I wouldn't take anyone at their word. You need proof."
"I didn't know you had such a suspicious mind, Rosa," Julia laughed.
Will kissed his girlfriend's cheek. "She's been working for a US Marshal for too many years. It makes you paranoid."
Mary laughed as Marshall protested. "Cautious, my boy, I prefer to think that I've made her cautious."
"Sure, Dad. Whatever you say. I just know that you've run background checks on every man Rosa's dated-"
"Marshall!" Rosa protested. "You have done this?"
"Just trying to look out for you, Rosa."
Mary rolled her eyes. "Back to Skye," she changed the subject to rescue her husband. "I wonder why she's suddenly turned up now – I mean, our father died years ago."
"Oh! I forgot," Rosa exclaimed. "Skye told me that she needed to ask your advice on something."
Mary frowned. "Advice? On what – and again, why now after all this time?"
"Well, Mom, you'll never know if you don't call her back."
Mary stuck her tongue out at Will. "Touche, Kid. You got her information, Rosa?"
Rosa nodded. "I put it on the bulletin board in the kitchen."
"All right, I'll call her in the morning and set up a time. Brandi, you want to come with me?"
"Yes! Oh, but what about Stevie? I can't just-"
Rosa beamed. "I'll watch him, Little Bee. You bring him over here and I'll sit with him while you two go off to meet your long-lost sister."
"Marshall?"
He shook his head. "I think you girls will be fine on your own – I'll only be a phone call away if you need me for backup."
Mary snorted. "Backup – it's not a case, String Bean – we're just talking about our father."
"And you do remember what he did for a living?"
She moaned. "On second thought, keep your phone nearby."
A/N: Aw, the sisters made up! Up Next: Mary and Brandi find out why Skye came to Albuquerque and what advice she needs - dun dun dun.