Chapter 1

Mary couldn't help snickering to herself now and then. Faber had been in and out of town, and as he was leaving he'd jokingly suggested she join him in the FBI. She told him she was too old to start over and be a rookie. She was pretty sure he was joking. But then, it was hard to tell with him. His first attempt to ask her out had left her more confused than anything else. His interest in her was almost adorably awkward. Marshall, of course, had resented his presence from the moment he'd set foot in Albuquerque. When Faber was leaving, to Marshall's delight, he awkwardly attempted to let her know he wanted to see her again.

Marshall gave her a dirty look everytime she commented on it, and she probably enjoyed that more than anything else. She'd concluded that while Faber was probably right in thinking she'd be good for him, he'd be absolute poison for her.

"It'd be nice though, right? Get out of Albuquerque, you know, go some place with things like water."

"You wouldn't seriously consider it, would you?"

"Why the hell not? I'm thinking Hawaii. Beaches. Cocktails."

Marshall just gawked at her, to the point she couldn't help but notice.

"What?" she intoned defensively, evading his eye.

"Unbelievable." He muttered, grabbing his coat. "I'm done for the day. Tell Stan I'll finish this up tomorrow."

She eyed the door suspiciously. What the hell was his problem? Probably, just his hatred of Faber that had been rearing its ugly head all week. He'd been the one to try to put Faber into perspective the first time they'd worked with him. Now, however, he looked like he was ready to kill the guy if they even had to be in the same room together. He'd been ridiculously annoyed when she didn't verbally rip Faber to shreds every time his name came up between them. So she didn't completely despise Faber. So what?