Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Without A Trace of any of the characters therein.

A/N: This is my new project. I'll go ahead and warn you that it's a work in progress, so updates will be slow... but that's nothing new... I'm not exactly prompt with updates :) Anyway...

I hope you like it and please READ AND REVIEW. Comments are appreciated.

Chapter 1

Walking into the Federal building that morning, Samantha couldn't force away the smile taking over her every feature. Try as she might, she knew it was pointless. Lately that's all she could seem to do. And it was solely because of one person.

Martin Fitzgerald.

In the short three months they'd been dating, her life had become exponentially happier. She'd never been a depressed person; she had a beautiful apartment, great friends, and the job of her dreams, but she'd always felt like something was missing. Someone was missing.

Then, he'd sauntered into her life with that dimpled grin and bright blue eyes and changed her life for the better.

:::::

Six months ago

After nearly 15 hours of searching, Craig Marshall's photograph was beginning to haunt her. Every lead seemed like a dead end, and any signs of hope were dwindling. She peered up at the chiseled jaw, chocolate brown eyes, and mocha skin from where it loomed on the whiteboard nearby for what felt like the hundredth time before refocusing on page after page of credit card receipts and phone records. Still there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Again her eyes were drawn to the picture. The city was bathed in darkness and cast an eerie shadow across the smiling face. From all accounts, Craig was a wonderful man. He taught eighth grade at an inner city school, and all of his students loved him. He had a beautiful wife and a four year-old daughter waiting for him to come home. His parents had flown in from Ohio earlier that day filled with worry. All of them wanted answers, and she had none to give.

Her silent contemplation was interrupted sometime later by the sound hurried footsteps rushing into bullpen. Danny and Jack along with another agent she'd never met before claimed the empty chairs around her at the conference table and spread several files over the polished wood, covering her own file folder in the process.

"What's going on?" She wondered, poking through the papers scattered in front of her.

"This is Agent Martin Fitzgerald. He works up in Violent Crimes." Jack answered, thumbing through a stack of papers. "They found Marshall's car outside Port Authority."

"Why did VC get the call about the car instead of us?" Sam asked Agent Fitzgerald, noticing for the first time just how handsome he was. His light brown hair was tousled, giving him the just-rolled-out-of-bed look, and as he shifted his focus to her, she nearly lost herself in a brilliant shade of blue.

"The tag had been swapped out, and the back seat of the car was covered in blood spatter. NYPD called us when they found a body bound and gagged in the trunk." He explained, holding her gaze a few seconds longer than necessary. "We've had 4 similar cases across New York and New Jersey, but we don't have a single suspect." He paused, pulling out a photo of a bloody, battered body and sliding it towards her. "Forensics ID'd the body this morning. It's Derrick Marshall, Craig's younger brother."

"So, what? You think Craig is dead too?" She asked, shifting her eyes to each of the men.

"We don't know for certain, but it's beginning to look that way." Jack replied, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. It was nearing 5AM, and the lack of sleep was beginning to take its toll on all of them. "I think it's time we turn the case over to VC."

"What? Jack, I don't think-"

"Sam, all of our leads have gone cold, and no new information is coming in. There's nothing else for us to do." He interrupted. "You can go on home. Turn your report in tomorrow."

She sighed deeply, allowing her eyes to drift towards Martin before setting on Jack. "If it's all the same, I'd like to stay and help Agent Fitzgerald."

"If it's okay with him, it's okay with me." Jack commented standing and collecting his stack of papers. "Just don't come crying to me if we get another case in today, and you haven't gotten any sleep."

Her colleagues scurried back to their desks, leaving her alone with Martin. He gave her a small smile and nodded towards the elevator. "Want to head upstairs and see what's going on with the case?"

"Yeah. Let me grab my stuff." She stood from the conference table, making her way to her own desk to collect her things. She deposited the case file in a basket atop her desk before grabbing her purse and coat and joining Martin at the entrance to the bullpen. "Okay."

The two walked side by side to the elevator and waited patiently for the metal doors to slide open. "Thanks for letting me in on this." She said with a sad smile.

"It's no problem. We need all the help we can get." He replied, guiding her into the vacant car, his hand resting gently on her low back.

They worked the case for three more hours together before Craig Marshall's body was pulled from the Hudson. He was victim number six of the elusive killer lurking just beyond their reach.

:::::

"Looks like someone had a good time this weekend." Danny smirked, propping himself on the edge of Samantha's desk. "So I take it the trip went as planned."

"It did." She smiled, thinking back on the few days she and Martin had spent together upstate in his family's cabin. She refocused her eyes on her computer screen, unwilling to divulge any more detail than that to Danny.

"Leave her alone, Danny. She doesn't have to tell you anything." Vivian ordered over her shoulder, giving the Latino agent a pointed glare before smiling at the two of them and returning to her work.

"Are you trying to hit on my woman, Taylor?" She heard a voice ask from behind her a few minutes later. A smile crept over her face as she turned her head to meet Martin's gaze from across the bullpen. "Just when I was beginning to like you, man." He added as an afterthought, continuing towards the two of them, a sly grin evident on his lips.

Danny chuckled, standing from where he was perched on her desk. "Me and Sam? No way." He assured his friend. "She's too hardheaded for me." He quipped, dodging the playful punch she threw at him. "And she's violent."

"I'm hardheaded? You're one to talk." Sam scoffed jokingly. Martin took Danny's place at the edge of her desk, entwining his fingers loosely with hers causing the corners of her mouth to pull further towards her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. You still love me." Their friend commented as he made his way back to his desk, giving the two of them as much privacy as was possible in the crowded office.

"Good morning." He smiled before brushing his lips quickly over hers. Her cheeks flushed at the simple display of affection, and he couldn't help but press another light kiss to her temple.

The first few months of their relationship, she'd been a bit hesitant about admitting that they were dating. He still wasn't exactly sure why, but now that everyone knew they were together, he took every chance he got to shower her with affection.

"Good morning." Samantha replied, running her free hand absentmindedly over his forearm sending a trail of goose bumps up and down his spine. "What are you doing down here?"

"Just caught a spare minute and decided to come see what you were up to."

"Oh, well, nothing at the moment. We haven't had a case come in, so we're just doing paperwork."

He glanced over her desk, seeing several unfinished reports lying around. A picture taped above the computer monitor caught his eye as he looked over the various awards and memorabilia she had situated over the wooden surface. "Where'd you get this?" He asked gesturing to the photo of them. Wide smiles covered their lips and their faces were inches apart as they were wrapped tightly in one another's arms.

"Allison emailed it to me. She took it at Ava's birthday party." She answered, remembering that night very well. It was the first time she'd met any of his family, and the entire day was chaos. They'd arrived at the Toland's "small" birthday party for Ava to find not only the family but 15 other children and their parents as well. Needless to say, it was an interesting day.

"I like it." He smiled. "I'll have to get a copy of it."

She slipped her hand out of his, pulling her desk drawer open and rummaging through the contents. Beneath a pack of sticky notes, she found a duplicate of the photograph she'd printed a few days earlier. "I already made you one." She stated, handing it to him.

"Thank you." Martin answered through a smile, noticing Jack's gaze linger over them before disappearing into his office. "I guess I better get back upstairs. I don't want to get you in trouble."

"Dinner tonight?"

His blue eyes locked onto her brown ones as he brushed a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Wouldn't miss it for the world." He leaned in, pressing his lips gently to hers before pulling away.

Samantha held tightly to his hand as he made an attempt to stand and walk away. She tugged it gently, pulling him to her for another kiss before finally releasing her grasp on him. "I'll see you later."

He backed away from her, reluctant to tear his eyes from hers. "Don't miss me too much." He quipped with a boyish grin, finally turning and heading for the elevator.

As clichéd as it sounded, she couldn't help but miss him when he wasn't around. He was fast becoming the constant in her life, the person she thought of before anyone else, the person she shared her every hope and fear with. Although neither of them had said it yet, she knew it was love.

For the first time in a long time, she was excited about what the future held in store.

Little did she know how quickly her life would spin out of control.