Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: The characters of Jack Malone, Samantha Spade, Vivian Johnson, Danny Taylor and Martin Fitzgerald are not mine. Other characters are. Without a trace characters belong to CBS, Hank Steinberg and Jerry Bruckheimer. I am just borrowing them for a while and promise to give them back unharmed.

Spoiler/Rating: Spoilers up till the end of series 2. After that it's all made up. However, there may be some similarity with events in series 3, although I haven't seen any of the episodes.

Author's Note: When I'd finished Harder to Breathe I thought about doing a sequel because where I had finished it left a lot of questions unanswered. However, I just didn't get any inspiration on how to include it in a verse. It was midnight on Sunday and suddenly I got a ton of ideas for possible casefiles. Then the idea came to me, why don't I write as if series 3 isn't happening, do my own version. I had already written an entire series for another show so I thought it was a good idea. However, that idea didn't pan out either. I originally planned eight linked casefiles with possibly an edited Harder to Breathe as the fourth but when I realised the time it took and how difficult it was I took that number down to three and left Harder to Breathe as a standalone story. This is the first story in the trilogy. Enjoy!

'I don't want to be married to you anymore' the words echoed cruelly around Jack's head, robbing him of the sleep he knew he'd need in order to face the impending day and the coming weeks. Sighing Jack turned over onto his back, he looked round the bland, empty hotel room he thought he'd left for good. He'd lived in a hotel room, just like this one, for nine months. Back then he though he'd stay there forever, but then he met Barry Mashburn. He showed him that his marriage falling apart wasn't . . shouldn't have been inevitable. Jack didn't care about his marriage, but he did care about his daughters. Making his marriage work would benefit them, so make it work he did. He did everything Maria had asked of him, everything. He'd gone to every counselor, he'd tried to cut his hours at work, he'd even managed to make most of the girls events at school. He'd even agreed to go to Chicago, something he really did not want to do. After all that sacrifice, all that effort, she was ending it. It was like a nightmare, one he couldn't wake-up from. Everything he'd known, everything he'd worked hard for, was gone. He didn't have his job anymore, not the one he wanted anyway. Missing persons was the only unit he wanted to work in, but the very one he wouldn't be able to. Sighing heavily Jack turned over so he could see the clock. He watched every minute of that night tick away, unable to find peace.

FBI Headquarters

Nervously Jack walked out of the elevator and into the corridor that ran outside the unit. He didn't know why he was here, lack of anything better to do with himself probably. He'd made an appointment to see Van Doren later that day, but until then he was sitting on his hands. The FBI had been his life for longer than he cared to remember and before that it had been the army. He just didn't know what to do with himself when he wasn't working, had no vacation planned or work around the house to do. Even so it didn't excuse the fact that he was turning up for a job he'd left the day before. Jack looked around hoping to see a friendly face, one that wouldn't inundate him with questions. There was only one person who would fit that description, he was in luck, she was in the unit.

"Sam" Jack greeted trying to smile, but finding the muscles in his face wouldn't co-operate. Sam stiffened upon hearing his voice, 'It can't be. You are dreaming. He left. Get over it,' Sam told herself sternly, convincing herself that it wasn't, could not possibly be, him. However, she had to check. Sam turned round, convinced she would see nobody behind her. When she saw that it was Jack, she couldn't believe her eyes.

"Jack! What are you . . why are you" Sam stuttered, half-convinced she was dreaming.

"It's over between Marie and I. She doesn't want me to go to Chicago with her" Jack stated, surprised by how easily the words came.

"Oh Jack I'm sorry." Sam reached out a hand and touched Jack briefly on the arm, trying to communicate how bad she felt for him.

"I'm sorry too." Jack met Sam's eyes letting her know it wasn't only his marriage ending that he was sorry about. Sam cleared her throat and broke eye contact, suddenly feeling really uncomfortable. When her cell phone rang a moment later, nobody was more relieved than Sam.

"Spade" Sam answered"Yeah . . yeah . . I'll be right there." Sam turned back to her desk, reaching for the drawer where she kept her gun while she was in the office. She could feel Jack's intense gaze, questioning her, wanting to know what the phone call was about. Even now she couldn't ignore that gaze. "New case" Sam explained as she started to walk out of the unit. Jack followed her just like she hoped he wouldn't.

"Mind if I tag along" Jack asked, Sam hesitated not at all sure if that was a good idea.

"I don't know Jack." Sam looked at him and accidentally met his gaze, she could never say no when he looked like that. Besides where was the harm in it. "Ok. Brentwood, second avenue, number 34. See you there."

34 Second Avenue Brentwood

11 hours missing

Vivian walked towards Sam's car as she pulled into the driveway so she could brief her in. As Sam got out of the car Vivian's gaze moved to the car that pulled in behind Sam's, Jack's.

"Jack, this is a . . surprise" Vivian stammered as he walked over. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you in Chicago"

"Change of plans" Jack told her, content to leave it at that, hoping that Vivian wouldn't question it. Vivian's eyes narrowed but she left it, she turned back to Sam making the decision to ignore Jack seeing as he shouldn't be here.

"Alec Parker, 38. He's a computer technician for Demon Disasters. Apparently he left home last night to go and check on something at the office, he hasn't been seen since. Danny and Martin are checking the office out. I want you to have a look around the house, see what there is to see while I interview his wife." Sam nodded to show she understood and when Vivian turned left to go into the living room, Sam turned right and into the study. Jack, feeling very much the outsider, followed her. When Sam headed to the filing cabinet, Jack turned his attention to the desk.

"I think Mr Parker was long overdue on an overhaul of his filing system" Sam commented, pulling a load of files out of the top drawer and laying them on the table by the window.

"Oh, yeah" Jack replied smiling slightly, knowing what Sam's next comment was going to be.

"Yeah. His system is that he doesn't have a system, it'll take forever to wade through all this lot" Sam groaned, opening the next drawer but finding only more bulging, unlabeled files.

"I'll help you" Jack offered, pulling a tin out from the back of the desk where it had been almost hidden. Sam rolled her eyes.

"Thanks, but seeing as you're not even meant to be here I'm taking that offer at face value." Before Jack could reply a six year old girl walked in the room sucking her thumb, a teddy bear clasped tight in her other hand. "Hi."Sam crouched down until she was at the girls level. "I'm Samantha what's your name"

"Alice" the girl replied shyly from behind her thumb.

"Hello Alice. I'm with the FBI, we're here to look for your dad. Can you tell me what you and your dad did yesterday" Sam smiled, Jack shook his head in amusement and turned back to the tin. It was locked but it was only a twist lock, it wouldn't be that hard to open.

"Daddy took me to school. After school he came and picked me up. We went to the park. We came home and had tea. After tea daddy played a game with me. He put me to bed like every night. Then he and mommy had a fight. He came up and kissed me again, he didn't know I was awake. Then he left like some nights. Only this time he didn't come back" Alice reported still sucking her thumb.

"Did your mum and dad fight often" Sam asked.

"All the time." Sam and Jack exchanged a glance both wondering what kind of picture Mrs Parker was painting.