A few minutes later, all three of them were sitting in a restaurant looking at menus. "I'll take a salad and a sandwich," said Shari thoughtfully.

"As for me I'll take a steak medium rare and a baked potato," said Adam.

"A steak sounds good," said Sara. "Except rare and a baked potato with sour cream and chives."

"And what about a side of onion rings to share?" Adam suggested.

"Good idea," Sara enthused and Shari nodded that did sound good.

They ordered and when the waitress had left Sara asked, "So how did you and Marcus meet? I don't think I've ever heard the story."

"Well," said Shari thoughtfully taking a sip of her drink. "We met under how shall I say unusual circumstances. I'm surprised Dave hasn't told you about me and how we met. He was there."

"I think he felt that it was yours or Marcus's story to tell if you wanted to," said Adam gently.

Shari sighed and began to speak. "It was during the night the short list for Supreme Court justices came out. Marcus was covering that conference and the banquet that went with it. I, of course, was there with my family. My father was a lawyer, although he followed politics rather closely and had for as long as I can remember."

"When I got interested in politics he encouraged that dream. It turned out I had quite a talent for writing speeches. My family was friends with Carl Whitmore, he and my dad had gone to law school together and as I got older I helped him with his campaigns. I'm the one that wrote his speech for that conference. Then suddenly in half an hour a guy I had known practically my whole life was dead shot in the back. I saw it happen."

"I had met Marcus less than two hours before Carl was killed. I had gotten paged and I left the conference long enough to answer it. It was John, my boss, telling me Carl was about to make the short list. I turned to go back to the conference and went in the wrong door," Shari said with embarrassment. "I ended up in the security room and at least a dozen men were there. They all immediately went for their guns. My problem is, I'm directionally challenged and I tend to pace as I talk, which is how I ended up going in the wrong door. Every year I make a New Year's resolution to pay more attention and every year I manage to forget it in a matter of days and get myself into embarrassing situations with stunning regularity."

"Including with Marcus," said Adam sounding amused. Sara punched his arm lightly in warning.

"Including with Marcus," said Shari with a soft smile as she thought of the man she loved. "He was nice to me, even as I stood there mortified at my mistake. After they checked me out Marcus escorted me back to the banquet room door just as my brother stepped out looking for me. He even smiled at me as we were talking," Shari admitted rather shyly. "And it was enough to make my heart beat rather fast and melt all at the same time."

"In other words love at first sight," said Sara with a warm smile looking at Adam.

Shari laughed softly. "Not quite, but it was close. It wasn't until after Carl was dead and my father and Josh both in the hospital with bullets in them that I realized Marcus cared about people, even people he'd just met."

"So what happened to your father and brother?" asked Adam softly, thinking of his own father.

"Josh survived as you know, because you've met him, although he had to go into physical therapy for his shoulder, but dad…." Shari stopped for a minute. Thinking about dad was still just too painful. "Let's just say losing Carl was bad enough, but losing dad nearly tore our family apart and it didn't help that Marcus had assigned me a permanent shadow.

"You were a witness," Sara pointed out.

"Yeah, the only witness, as Josh didn't see anything even when he tackled me to the ground to avoid getting myself killed. I was kind of just standing there too stunned to move. If Josh hadn't tackled me I would probably be dead. That's when he got a bullet in his shoulder and nearly died from it. As soon as Josh could be moved Marcus took all three of us to a safe house until they caught the guy. Marcus even got shot in the arm trying to protect me. We were at the church near our house for dad's funeral just before we were taken to the safe house. A bullet came through the thick stained glass and Marcus tackled me, but if it wasn't for the thick glass and a fluke of the churches construction I would probably be dead."

"After that, Marcus was determined to catch the killer as soon as possible and he put the weight of the entire O'Malley family towards that goal. You should have seen the fire in his eyes after I was nearly shot. No one messes with an O'Malley or someone they care about without eventually having to face the consequences," Shari said smiling softly.

"I know what it's like not to have your freedom," said Sara, solemnly.

"It wasn't so bad not really. I might have been stuck inside, but I had plenty to keep me busy—both Carl's and dad's estates. Neither mom nor Josh; were in any shape to do it. Mom was still recovering from dad's death, and her weak heart wasn't helping and Josh couldn't do it because of his shoulder. Besides, Marcus and I talked a lot especially late at night when he wasn't on duty. I found out later, that Marcus had just found out that his sister Jennifer had cancer," Shari said with a soft melancholy sigh that wasn't quite grief

Both Adam and Sara winced at that. "Ouch! That must have really shook him up!"

"Literally, he called an O'Malley family emergency while my brother was still in the hospital. He told me later that there hadn't been more than a handful of "Family Emergencies" in the last twenty years. They all dropped whatever they were doing whether they were on assignment or not and asked one simple question. Where? When they all arrived and found out Jennifer was dying the shock nearly tore the O'Malley family apart. One of, their own was threatened. They knew they had to be strong for Jennifer's sake so they checked their schedules and decided there would always be at least one of the family there 24/7 at least while she was in the hospital," Shari said.

"That just tells me how close the family really is that they dropped everything when an emergency was declared," Adam said appreciatively. "No questions asked."

"It definitely does," Sara agreed wholeheartedly

~~~Beyond the Future~~~

An hour later, plates emptied Adam paid the bill and they all rose to leave. "Thanks for lunch guys," said Shari. "It was good."

"You're quite welcome," said Adam. They all headed to the door Shari leading the way when suddenly she stopped in her tracks and stared in surprise towards the front of the restaurant. Adam nearly bumped into her she stopped so suddenly. "What's wrong Shari?" asked Adam concerned at how pale she had become. Her hands were clinched together so tight her knuckles were white.

"Sam," said Shari her voice hoarse.

Sara took in the situation in an instant. "I'm guessing old boyfriend and you didn't exactly part as friends."

"Do you think he'll cause a scene?" asked Adam thinking of Shari's reaction if he did.

Before Shari could answer him Sam spotted them. He looked surprised and immediately started to walk towards her. "Shari it's good to see you," said Sam.

"Sam," said Shari politely, formally and stiffly.

Adam noticed how tense she was and tried to think of a way out of the situation without causing a scene. Sara solved that problem in an instant. "Come along Shari, you have an appointment and we don't want to be late," Sara took her arm and led her towards the door Adam following close behind.

Unfortunately Sam also followed. "Shari we have to talk," said Sam.

Suddenly Shari wretched; out of Sara's grip and whirled to face him fists balled at her sides. "We don't have to do anything. I, for one, never want to see, speak or even think about you again. Now if you'll excuse me I don't want to be late for my appointment."

"Shari, haven't you forgiven me yet for what I did?" asked Sam his tone implying he had no idea why she was upset and didn't believe he had anything to apologize for.

"Forgive you for what?" Shari countered calmly. "For being a jerk and putting your own interests above; somebody's you claim to love? That's not love Sam and I forgave you a long time ago. Besides, my husband Marcus wouldn't appreciate you pestering me."

"You're married?" said Sam sounding shocked and stunned all at once.

"Yes married," Shari shot back. "And I have the wedding ring to prove it. Now go away." Shari started to walk to where they had parked the car Sara and Adam following.

Sam tried to follow Shari not quite ready to give up the argument when Adam stopped him in his tracks, by grabbing his arm. "I thought Shari made it clear that she didn't want to talk to you. Can't you take a hint?" asked Adam, politely, his grip on Sam's arm staying firm.

Sam paused and sized the guy up. He was big and muscular and not someone you'd want to mess with, but Sam was mad enough that he threw all caution to the winds. "Who are you to interfere?" Sam inquired arrogantly.

"Her brother-in-law," said Adam trying to stay calm. He wanted to punch this guy so bad for upsetting a woman he liked and respected, but he held himself back with difficulty. Besides, Shari was family and he always tried to protect family. "Marcus asked my wife and me to look after her while he was out of town for a few days. If he learns you've been bothering his wife he will hunt you down and you will wish you had never seen her again. He's very protective of the people he cares about so take the hint and back off." Adam walked around and hurried to the car slipping into the driver's seat and starting the engine.

~~~Beyond the Future~~~

You okay?" Sara inquired of Shari as Adam drove.

Shari sighed and stared out the window at the rapidly passing scenery. "I'm fine," she finally said softly, "Just mad."

"I can understand why you're mad, but do you want to talk about it. It helps sometimes."

Shari sighed again leaning her elbow on the armrest. "He was this guy I dated, just before I met Marcus, a politician. I came this close to marrying him," she said holding her thumb and forefinger less than an inch apart.

"So what made you break it off?" asked Adam.

"Two things really," said Shari. "One he wanted me to stay behind the scenes while he boosted his own political career. I still might have married him if not for the fact that he wanted to wait to have children."

Adam winced. He knew how that felt. He wanted so badly to have children of his own.

"I finally told him no, after a lot of soul searching. We didn't exactly part as friends."

Shari said no more and stared out the window the rest of the way to the hospital.

~~~Beyond the Future~~~

"We'll wait for you here," said Sara giving her a kiss on the cheek and squeezing her shoulder encouragingly.

Shari nodded and followed the nurse who had come for her. "My name is Ruth Tompkins Mrs. O'Malley, but you may call me Ruth."

"Then you must call me Shari."

"Well Shari was that your husband back in the waiting room?"

"No my brother-in-law Adam Black and his wife Sara actually. Marcus had to be out of town for a few days," Shari explained simply.

"So what does your husband do for a living?" asked Ruth.

"He's a U.S. Marshal. So of course it requires him to travel a bit," Shari replied.

"A rather dangerous job," Ruth observed.

"Don't I know it," said Shari with feeling while silently praying to God to keep her husband safe. "But I also know he is good at what he does. Besides, if he got shot and survived he wouldn't only have me to deal with, but five other O'Malleys as well and Kate yelling at him for getting himself hurt is not a pretty sight," she said with a laugh and a smile.

"She's that bad uhm?" Ruth asked smiling.

"Well, let's just say she cares about him, cares about all the O'Malleys. In fact the O'Malleys have a creed. We take care of our own," Shari said.

"Nice motto," Ruth observed.

"Yes and they follow through with it to. I remember Marcus told me about a time Jack punched out an old boyfriend of Lisa's who wanted another date. Let's just say the news got back to the family that he made Lisa cry through the family grapevine. In other words, nobody upsets one of the family and doesn't pay the price. The guy ended up with a broken nose and a black eye. It would probably have been worse if Stephen hadn't stopped him. The guy got off lightly all things considered."

"Oh my they give new meaning to the word chivalry," said Ruth.

"They do that," Shari agreed. After that, there was no more time for talking as they arrived at where she was supposed to be scanned.

~~~Beyond the Future~~~

An hour later

"We're done you can get dressed now," said Ruth. "The doctor said everything is normal."

"Marcus will be relieved to hear it. I'm supposed to call him as soon as I get the results. So is it a girl or a boy."

Ruth smiled and her brows wrinkled. "It's a boy actually a good; sized; baby at this stage of its development. I'm sure your husband will be thrilled."

"He will be," Shari predicted. "The rest of the O'Malleys as well." Her brow clouded for a moment as she thought of the one O'Malley who was not going to be there, because she had died. Jennifer would have loved to hold her nieces and nephews and loved to watch them grow.

~~~Beyond the Future~~~

"So how did it go?" asked Sara the minute Shari walked into the waiting room.

"It went just fine," said Shari. "The baby is healthy."

"So is it a girl or a boy?" asked Adam beginning to be excited. It would be neat to have another baby in the family. Kate and Dave had a little girl by the name of Holly and Quinn and Lisa a boy with another on the way. Jack and Cassie didn't have any children yet, but Cassie was pregnant.

"A boy," said Shari with a smile that lighted up her eyes. "I need to call Marcus. He made me swear to call him the minute I got the results. He's as anxious to know as I was."

She took out her cell phone and pushed memory one. "If I don't get him on his cell phone I page him and he calls me back. The only time he turns his cell phone off is when he is in a dangerous situation and any noise like the ringing of a phone could get him killed.

"Hello?" answered Marcus on the second ring. "Talk to me."

Hiya," said Shari walking slightly away out of earshot.

"Hello minx," said Marcus his voice turning instantly tender and made Shari's heart melt in a millisecond. "I'm assuming you got back the results?"

"I did they just finished," said Shari.

"So?" Marcus asked. "What are the results? Don't keep me in suspense."

"It's a boy—a perfectly healthy baby boy," Shari told him.

"That's terrific, I always wanted a son and hopefully they're will be plenty of other children after this," Marcus said sounding excited to Shari over the line.

"I hope so, I want at least four or five," Shari said.

"How are you doing minx—otherwise I mean?" asked Marcus in concern, as there was something in Shari's voice that was worrying him.

"I'm fine, missing you is all," said Shari.

"I miss you to, but I should be home in a couple of days," Marcus said.

"Good," said Shari. "It's kind of lonely without you here."

"You have Sara and Adam to keep you company and I'm only a phone call away," Marcus pointed out.

"I know," said Shari, somewhat sadly.

"What's wrong Shari? It isn't like you to be so down." Now Marcus sounded even more worried and concerned then before.

"I'm fine really," Shari assured him trying to sound sincere. She didn't want to talk about Sam and at the same time she didn't want to concern Marcus with it either. He didn't need to be distracted right now.

"Shari…" Marcus warned his voice infinitely gentle, but with a thread of steel. "Tell me what's wrong."

The worry in his voice made her cave. Shari sighed and gave in. "It's just that I ran into Sam today and let's just say it was not a pleasant confrontation."

"Tell me about it," said Marcus his voice tender and loving, but it was obviously a command.

"Adam, Sara and I were just finishing lunch and starting towards the door to go to my appointment when Sam appeared at the door of the restaurant. I suppose he had come for lunch. Then he turned in my direction and stepped towards me before I could even move. At first, we were stiffly polite to each other then we started to argue. Adam and Sara tried to lead me to the car without causing a scene. Sam of course followed. I'd already made it clear I wasn't interested in talking with him, but he can be very stubborn when he wants to be," Shari explained.

"Adam finally stopped him as we got to the car and tried to politely point out that I didn't want to talk to him. Sam was rather rude, but Adam took it calmly, although I'm sure he wanted to break the guy's nose. He pointed out that you wouldn't be pleased when you found out."

"He's right. I'm not only not pleased, I'm furious. I'll kill the guy if only for causing you grief," Marcus said.

"Now Marcus let's not overreact," said Shari trying to calm him down, but secretly feeling pleased that he loved her enough to defend her.

"Did you tell him you were married and no longer available before Adam mentioned it?" Marcus asked suddenly.

"Of course I did, but it didn't make him back off. Sam can be very persistent," Shari said.

Suddenly Marcus calmed down, although inside he was still seething, but that was no reason to take it out on Shari. It wasn't her fault the guy was such a jerk. "Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you Shari, but guys like him make me so mad," he said sounding contrite.

"I know I understand. I just don't want you to do anything about Sam, even if he can sometimes be a jerk. I've handled guys like him all my life. Besides, I want you to concentrate on not getting yourself hurt. If you do get hurt you'll not only get a lecture from me, but the other O'Malleys as well.

Shari could almost hear him wince. The O'Malley's tended to lecture whichever of the family was hurt and the so, called "lectures" were quite scathing. Enough anyway, too leave your ears ringing for a couple of hours afterward. In other words, don't get yourself hurt or else. "Heaven help," was all Marcus said. "I promise to be careful."

"Good," said Shari, with feeling.

"I'd better go. You be good minx," Marcus ordered her.

"Yes sir," Shari answered dutifully with a laugh.

"I'll call you tomorrow," Marcus promised. The line went dead and Shari turned off her phone with a contented sigh. Just talking to him warmed her insides till she felt as if she would melt.

~~~Beyond the Future~~~