Disclaimer: I don't own Without a Trace, any of the characters, storylines, or actors. However I do own my ideas.

Zai: Okay I'm not exaclty sure where I'm going with this yet so bear with me. This fic is set sometime around season five, although there are no specific eppisode spoliers. This story is mainly about Martin, and it will be Martin/Sam pairing. And as always reviews are grealty appreciated.

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Martin awoke well before the alarm on his bedside was set to ring. Unable to force himself to go back to sleep he got out of bed and began to get ready for the day. He knew he would be at work early, but did not mind, as he knew that work was the only driving force in his life. Martin did not even want to think of where he would be if he did not have his job in which to immerse himself.

Once dressed he headed out into his kitchen. Examining the meagre contents of his fridge, Martin decided maybe it was best if he picked up breakfast on the way to work. Spending as much time as possible away from the emptiness of his apartment had become routine. His apartment was now simply the place where he slept - when he slept.

Everything in his life had been so chaotic recently, and now that the dust was beginning to settle, Martin found himself feeling hopelessly lost and alone.

Ready for work he retrieved his car keys from the kitchen table and headed out of the lonely apartment. Since it was early, the parkade beneath his building was quiet as most of the tenants where not yet heading to work.

During the drive, Martin turned on a radio station and tried to focus on the announcer's commentary rather then continue with his dismal self-reflection. He really had to stop starting the day off on such a depressing note.

After grabbing a quick bite of breakfast, Martin arrived at the office. He stepped out the elevator onto the nearly deserted floor. No one from his team had arrived yet, as they had no case.

Taking advantage of the quiet, Martin started in on the paperwork that always seemed to pile up. It was nearly an hour before Jack arrived followed shortly by other members of the six-person team.

Everyone started in on paperwork, but the quiet morning they all hoped for was put on hold as a case came in. A worried young husband reporting that his wife had not returned from work the previous night.

Vivian set up the new time line, pinning up a smiling picture of a woman in her twenties. Her auburn hair was short and curled around her face. Martin studied the picture and wondered how all the different people who they searched for just became a jumble of cases. She looked so happy and alive in the picture. Martin hoped they would find her, she had a spark in her eye that made it seem like she had a worthwhile life waiting for her.

Jack instructed Danny and Elena to head out to the woman's house to talk to the distraught husband. Sam handed a sheet to Martin and asked him to check the missing woman's finances. He turned back to his computer to begin the simple task he had done hundreds of times.

He had just accessed her records when he was interrupted by the ringing of his desk phone.

"Fitzgerald," he answered automatically.

"Marty, I'm sorry to bother you at work." The familiar voice of his uncle came over the phone, startling Martin.

"Is something wrong?" Martin asked worriedly, unsure why his uncle would be phoning him.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," his uncle said sadly, "But your father's had a stroke, he's critical."

Martin sat at his desk silently, shocked by the news.

"Marty?" His uncle asked uncertainly, checking to make sure his nephew was still on the line.

"Yeah," Martin mumbled quietly.

"I know this must be coming as a shock for you," his uncle continued sympathetically, "But I really think it would be best if you could get to Washington. Your mother is really distraught. She needs you to be there with her."

Martin tried to focus on the voice on the phone, but it sounded so far away. Everything around him seemed so distant, as if none of it was real. "I'll be there soon," Martin said as he finally found his voice, then he dropped the receiver back onto its cradle with a dull thud.

To Martin it felt as if the ground he had been standing on had been jerked from beneath his feet. Not that he and his father were close; as it was, he was not sure when the last time was they had exchanged more then formal pleasantries. In fact Martin was not sure what he felt, if anything. Perhaps it was that numbness that bothered him the most.

Behind him Sam leaned over his shoulder and looked at the screen. "You got anything yet?" She asked startling Martin out of his daze.

"Wha-?" He muttered confused.

"Anything in her finances?" Sam repeated, giving Martin a curious look.

"Sorry," he mumbled anxiously running his fingers through his hair as he got up, "I can't do this right now." Without waiting for her to respond Martin headed for the hallway leaving Sam staring at his retreating figure deeply confused.

Martin walked until he reached the relative solitude of the empty hallway. Leaning against the wall, he slid down into a crouching position trying to process what he had just been told. Thoughts blurred together in his mind. What if he dies? What if I never get a chance to make things right between us? What about Mom...

Despite the conflict between them Martin knew where he should be, for his mother if not his father too. He forced himself back to his feet and headed to the office of his supervisor. He rapped gently on the glass door.

Jack looked up to see Martin standing at his office door. With one hand he motioned for the younger agent to come in. Noticing the look of concern on his co-workers face he asked, "Is everything all right?"

Martin shook his head, "I need some to take some personal leave..." Martin trailed off for a moment before finding the words to voice the news his uncle had just given him, "My father's had a stroke."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Martin," Jack said quietly before adding, "Take as much time as you need."

"Thank you," Martin said before making his way out of the glass walled office. He did not bother returning to the bullpen and just headed straight to his car. He knew Sam would wonder where he had taken off to, but he was not sure he wanted to talk about it right now. Or maybe it was more that he wasn't sure he wanted to open up to her.

After calling the airlines and managing to get a seat on an afternoon flight, Martin headed back to his desolate apartment to pack a small bag for the trip.

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Sam headed back to her own desk after finishing the financial check at Martin's computer. He had disappeared some time ago and not returned. She had known something was amiss when he got up and walked out, but she was completely baffled as to what it could be.

Despite their past Sam still considered Martin a close friend. As of late she had found him particularly distant, but she had told herself it was just the aftermath of the addiction he was struggling with. She wished that he would open up to her more, but she supposed she could not blame him. Even though it was Martin who had ended their relationship, she knew it was because of her forcing a distance between them.

She knew he would not have just taken off without telling Jack and she was tempted to track down their supervisor and ask him about Martin's sudden disappearance, but she did not want to pry.

It was not long before Danny and Elena returned from the husband's house. Jack collected the team, minus Martin, at the conference table to pool what they had gathered so far.

As standard, the team determined what they had collected and added the gathered information to the time line. However, before divvying out the leads to be followed Jack stopped the team.

"Just so you all know, Martin has taken a few days' leave, so we'll be one agent short for the next little while." Jack did not elaborate on the conditions of Martin's absence. It was a personal matter and the team did not need to know any more details of it unless Martin wished to discuss it with them himself.

With that matter out of the way Jack issued their next parts of the investigation and the team returned to work. Sam and Danny exchanged wondering looks, both now worried about their friend and colleague. Neither could remember the last time Martin had requested time off. Especially recently, in fact he seemed to be at work far more then the rest of them