Chapter One – Homecoming

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**Post-hospital Week One**

Mary slowly moved from her bedroom into the kitchen. She was indescribably happy to be home and away from the horror of the hospital. Poking and prodding every ten minutes, needles in her arm, noises from the hallway, beeps from machines, hovering from her visitors. Hospital food. The tension was palpable from everyone, even Marshall. Now she had a few blessed moments to herself. Raph had gone to work and Brandi had class. She peered around the corner. No sign of Jinx.

Slowly reaching for the coffee pot, she was oddly touched to find someone had actually made coffee. That was unusual. She frowned and wondered if Marshall had been here. He had said he would stop by before going into work. She felt a slight pang at the thought she may have missed him. Inhaling the strong aroma of the black liquid, she shuffled out to the patio and sank gratefully down into a chair. The sun felt warm on her weary body. She probably should put some sunscreen on, but couldn't be bothered to go back inside to get it. After all those weeks in the hospital, she could use a little vitamin D.

Sipping at her coffee, she heard her stomach rumble. She wondered if there was any food at all in the house. Raph had probably kept the fridge stocked. He was fairly good about stuff like that. As she sat drowsing in the full morning sunlight, she heard the little boy next door sobbing, then the closing of the door as his mother drew him inside. The little boy's emotional outburst brought back a memory of the night she woke up in the hospital to the gut wrenching sounds of Marshall's sobbing. It would have been the second night after she came out of the coma. She had carefully opened one eye, and took him in, sitting slumped over the railing on her bed, his head in his hands, shoulders shaking, desperately trying to shove the sobs back down his throat, but utterly failing. He had been subdued, but still smiling and joking when he had visited earlier in the day.

The sight of Marshall crying for her, more than anything she had been told by the doctors, imparted to her how badly she was injured. Exhaustion was etched on his face; worry lines creased his forehead, even his posture was slumped, as if the effort to hold himself erect would take more energy than he had left. She had noted these things earlier in the day. By evening the pure rush of relief had faded and all the pent up emotions could not be held in any longer.

She startled awake as the smell of cinnamon wafted under her nose. Opening her eyes, she found a familiar hand attached to the cinnamon roll in front of her. Smiling as she looked up, she saw Marshall's alert gaze watching her closely. She reached out and snatched the roll, murmured a quick thanks and took a big bite.

Marshall sat down beside her and pulled another roll out of the bag he carried. They ate in companionable silence. Mary licked her fingers when she finished and looked directly at him.

"Bless you. Nobody else thought to feed me and I was actually feeling hungry this morning." Her partner's eyes darkened a brief moment, then cleared.

"Jinx was just getting up. She's fixing you breakfast." Mary suppressed a slight shudder. Cooking wasn't her mother's strong point, but at least she was making an effort. She nodded. "She was standing in front of the stove. I think trying to figure out how to turn it on." He grinned at her grimace, then sobered as he leaned closer to her.

Marshall's lean fingers covered her hand. "How are you feeling? And don't give me any BS. I know when you're lying." He kept his gaze on her, smoothly appraising her from head to toe. He didn't like the way she seemed to be unnaturally holding her body erect. She had dark circles around her eyes and she was very thin; her collarbone was prominently visible through her top. He thought he would probably be able to feel her ribs if he put his hand on her torso.

Mary considered a moment, evaluating all her body parts. "My abdomen hurts any time I move. I have to hold a pillow in front of me if I laugh or cough. My back aches, too much lying around I think. My head feels fuzzy, from the pain meds. I want to go off them, don't worry," she said at the look on his face, "I won't, but I want to see if I can ratchet the dosage down or get on something different. I can't think clearly."

"All you need to think about is getting better," Marshall said, a touch of steel behind the words.

"And just what in the history of our relationship makes you think that is going to happen?" she shot back at him. "I am not going to lie around here for God knows how many weeks doing nothing."

"If you push yourself too hard, too fast, you will take even longer before you can come back to work."

She looked at him with pleading in her eyes. "You've got to get me something to do Marshall. I'll go stark raving mad."

Marshall stood up and bent down to kiss her cheek, grateful that Mary was unaware of just how many times he had done that while she was in the hospital. That she was unaware of just how much comfort he derived from the brief contact. Mary looked up in surprise.

"I'll see if I can get you some paperwork to do." His eyebrows shot up as she opened her mouth to protest. "What, you think you are going to be going on witness visits?" Mary grimly acknowledged his point.

"Fine, but don't try to sneak any of your paperwork in with mine."

"Like I'd let you anywhere near my paperwork." He squeezed her hand and turned to leave. Jinx was standing by the door with a tray in her hands. She had witnessed the whole little scene and wondered, not for the first time, if there was something going on between her daughter and her partner. The tall man's reactions at the hospital were hard to miss and Jinx was grateful Raph had been so deep in shock that he hadn't seemed to notice.

"Let me get that for you," he offered as Jinx continued to stand in the doorway. The man was unfailingly polite, she thought as she surrendered the tray. He set it down on the table next to Mary, smiled at her again and then took his leave.

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**Post -hospital Week Two**

Raph arrived home with two grocery bags in his arms. He was pleased to see Mary with a bit more color in her face, resting on the couch. She was going over some paperwork. He frowned. Marshall had dropped some files off for her earlier in the week. Raph didn't like it, but Mary insisted she needed something to do and it was only paperwork.

He set the groceries down and went in to kiss her. Mary turned her face up and smiled at him. Oddly enough, the files she was working on seemed to improve her mood.

"How many for supper tonight?" Raph tried to keep the note of irritation from his voice. He held his breath, waiting for her answer.

"Just you and me and Mom. Brandi is at Peter's and Marshall is working late." Raph let out his breath in relief. He liked Mary's partner and appreciated the fact that he kept such a close eye on her, but seriously; the guy was at the house all the time. There had only been a couple times since Mary came home that he hadn't eaten supper with them. Raph had held his tongue because Marshall seemed to have a calming effect on Mary. He rolled his shoulders, trying to loosen the tension. He was going to have to think about that; just why did Marshall calm Mary, when her own fiancé seemed to cause her agitation. He wondered briefly when he might be able to move off the couch and back into Mary's bed.

Mary refused to let him attend her doctors' appointments with her. He didn't know what was happening with her health apart from the little she told him. She seemed to be moving more fluidly, although obviously still experiencing discomfort. She almost came apart when he had stuck his head into the bathroom when she was in the shower last week. It's not like he had never seen her naked. He had just wanted to be sure she was alright...

Raph quickly got supper started and poured himself a beer. He considered Marshall's seeming constant presence as he sautéed onions. The man was her partner. He got that. He got that Marshall felt guilty because he wasn't with Mary when she was shot. He got that partners have a special bond; they have to as they put their lives in each others' hands. But he had a nagging tickle at the back of his mind, that there was something more. He wondered if Marshall had a girlfriend. Mary never talked about him. She referenced him, she didn't talk about him. He would feel a lot better if Marshall had his own girl. He would ask him the next time he saw him.

Raph set the table as he thought about walking into Mary's hospital room one day to find her silently holding hands with Marshall. They weren't talking, weren't even looking at each other. Marshall was reading a file of some sort. Mary was flipping through the TV channels. But they kept a solid grip on each other. He had felt a flare of jealousy. Mary never just held hands with him. Marshall had very casually released her hand and gotten up to greet Raph. Yes, he thought, I must find out if there is a girlfriend.

As he put together a salad, his mind roved back to his sleeping arrangements. He had done some research on abdominal injuries, and he knew it would be awhile before they could have sex again, but he was getting antsy about sleeping away from her. He really wanted to be near her. It was beginning to feel like Mary didn't want him with her.

Raph walked to the living room to let Mary know supper was ready and found her in animated conversation with someone on the phone. Marshall. The man managed to be here even when he wasn't. Mary snapped the phone shut and her smile faded as she looked up at Raph. They ate largely in silence. Mary hadn't gotten her appetite back and eating was becoming a chore. It was all good, but she really had to work on getting a few bites of each item down. The doctor had been quite stern when she'd seen him this week. She had to start eating better and gaining back some of the weight she had lost.

Jinx helped Raph with the dishes and Mary went to her room and carefully shut the door. She hoped her fiance would take the hint. She laid down and was asleep before she got the covers pulled up. Raph opened the door a short time later and watched her sleeping. It worried him that she had so little energy. She was not making it more than three or four hours without falling asleep. He would have to insist on going to the next doctors' appointment with her. He quietly pulled the comforter up over her and resignedly headed back out to the couch in the living room.