Disclaimer: All the WAT characters are owned by CBS and Bruckheimer.

Note: I know I started Some Things Never Change, but I don't think I can continue it right now. I feel like I am writing a story I've already written. So to switch it up a bit, here is a Danny-centered story that revolves around the team's newest case. This case takes place shortly after the episode American Goddess.

Spoilers for American Goddess, Clare De Lune, Legacy

Candace Reynolds felt like she was living the same night over again. Once again, she found herself in a loud nightclub with her usual circle of girlfriends. They were all looking for the same thing. They wanted to find Mr. Wonderful…the man of their dreams. Candace found three Mr. Wonderfuls in the last month, but none of them bothered to call her back. Every Sunday morning when she met her parents for church, she prayed that she would meet someone so she could stop the endless cycle. She was tired of the whole game. She was tired of drinking way too much, and then waking up next to someone she barely knew.

Of course, all of the good intentions didn't mean anything to her on this particular Friday night. She was on her fourth Jack and Coke and feeling no pain as she danced with her group of friends. And then she found herself dancing with a potential Mr. Wonderful. He approached her from behind and asked her to dance. She turned to him and nodded because she thought he was cute. They danced for two songs, and then he guided her over to the bar with him to order another drink. They talked and laughed for about two more drinks and then he whispered something in her ear. As she nodded happily and took his hand, she faded away.

Monday morning – Light nightclub

Danny and Samantha drove up to the nightclub called Light at 9 a.m. on Monday morning. Jack told them that a bartender would meet them there. Before they exited the car, Samantha observed, "I notice you didn't exactly have to ask for directions to find this place. Is it one of your usual hangouts?"

Danny looked at her with a slightly annoyed expression. "Wouldn't you like to know? I happen to just know this city like the back of my hand. So don't let your imagination run with this."

Samantha stepped out of the car and responded, "I'm just making an observation. Believe me…I've always envied your active social life."

"I don't ever talk about my social life. You just infer everything…so basically, you are wasting your time being envious. As a matter of fact, I don't think I'm the one who has the interesting social life these days."

Samantha sighed and laughed nervously as she thought of her recent involvement with Martin. She should know better than to get into a verbal battle with Danny. He's won every time. "Right," she repliedsheepishly as he held the door for her to enter the club.

They walked up to the bar and identified themselves to the bartender. "I'm Special Agent Spade. This is Special Agent Taylor with the FBI. We need to speak with you about a young woman who was here on Friday night."

"Yeah, my boss told me this morning. He said she disappeared."

Danny held up a picture of Candace Reynolds. "Does she look familiar to you?"

"Yes. She comes with a group of friends almost every Friday night. I saw her on Friday."

"Did you notice anything unusual?" Samantha asked.

"Not really. She and her friends drank and danced up a storm. Then later in the evening she hooked up with some guy, and they sat at the bar for a while."

"Did the guy buy her drinks?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, as I recall, he did. But he paid cash. I remember because he let me keep the change from a hundred."

"Did they leave together?" Samantha inquired.

"I would assume so, but I honestly didn't see them leave. He paid for their last round. I got busy at the other end of the bar, and then they were both gone when I came back."

"You say you assume they left together? Why do you say that?" Danny asked curiously.

"Because that is this girl's MO," he said pointing to her picture. "She usually always comes with her friends, and then leaves with some dude."

"What does this dude look like?" Danny continued.

"Average height and weight with brown hair and eyes. Uh…I think he had mustache or goatee."

"Would you mind coming to our office to work with a sketch artist and look at the some pictures? We have a few of her friends working with the artist now, but they were all pretty drunk that night," Samantha said.

"Doesn't surprise me. Yeah, I'll come down. No problem. It's a shame about that girl. But at some point, her luck was bound to run out. All the guys she's left with…they can't all be good guys…you know?"

"Yeah…we'll see…" Danny responded as he turned to leave with Samantha. "Thanks for your help, man."

Danny and Samantha returned to the office and took seats around the conference table along with Martin and Jack. Vivian was still with Candace's parents. Danny glanced at the picture of Candace Reynolds on the whiteboard. She was cute, but not what he would call attractive. She looked like a million other girls that he'd seen time and again at clubs like those. Samantha was right when she called him on being familiar with the club. He'd been there a few times with different dates over the years, but he hadn't been there in a while. When he was much younger and still drinking, he would go to places like those to find girls. He imagined that he could have hooked up with someone like Candace during that time of his life, and then never called her again.

"Danny…Danny…are you still with us?" Jack asked as he interrupted Danny's trip down memory lane.

"Yeah…sorry…just thinking. She could have hooked up with anyone. It's a needle in a haystack."

"I've interviewed all six of her girlfriends. They don't remember anything specific about this guy. They say he looks similar to all the other guys that hit on them at that place. I have them looking through mug shots now," Martin said.

"It's funny. I talked to her parents earlier, and they don't know anything about her social life. They say she hasn't brought a boyfriend home with her in over two years. And yet, they seem rather close with Candace. She spends every Sunday with them in Scarsdale," Jack remarked.

"Now that doesn't surprised me," replied Samantha. "She's a 26-year old graduate student who's trying to find Mr. Right in a bar. That's not something you want to admit to your parents. She was probably hoping to find the guy she could eventually bring home to her parents."

Danny gave Samantha a knowing smirk, and she returned a glare to him. "Speaking of boyfriends, do we have anyone to interview there? Maybe she has a stalker who saw her leave with Mr. Right, and got pissed," remarked Danny.

Jack slid a paper to Danny and replied, "Here's a list from her mother and friends. Why don't you start doing background on them and see who we can interview."

Danny nodded and then heard his phone ring at his desk. "Excuse me," he rolled his chair to his desk and picked up the phone. "Taylor. Yeah…OK…hang on a second I'll put you on speaker." Danny transferred the call to the conference phone on the table. "It's Viv. She has something for us at the Reynold's house."

Jack clicked the conference phone on and asked, "What do you have, Viv?"

"We just got a letter from Candace. Mrs. Reynolds just found it in the mailbox. She hadn't checked it since Saturday before they reported her missing after church on Sunday. There's no postage on it, so someone must of dropped it in the mailbox. I called a crime scene team to come check out the mailbox and letter."

"What does it say?" Jack asked.

"I think you're going to find this familiar. Listen to this:

Dear Mom and Dad,

I've decided to take off for a couple of months. I've met a great guy, and we want to get away for a while. I can't wait for you to meet him. I'll call you soon.

Love, Candace

"Oh no," Jack said as he shook his head.

"He's back," Samantha whispered.

"Who's back?" Martin asked completely confused.

"A sick son of a bitch who kidnapped and killed four girls. We haven't heard from him in over three years," Danny answered in a distracted tone.

"We didn't even realize he was a serial killer until his third victim. The parents of the two previous victims believed the letters were real until it was too late. He keeps them alive for at least month before he kills them," Jack explained.

"What stopped him? Why didn't he continue?" Martin asked as he realized this must have been a tough case for the whole team.

"The fifth got away. He stopped because he didn't finish the job with her," Danny answered.

"Are we sure this is the same guy?" asked Samantha. "Maybe it's a coincidence or a copycat."

"The letter was never mentioned to the media, and it's word for word what was sent to the other parents. It can't be a coincidence. And the MO fits…he picked her up in a bar," Jack replied.

"What do you want me to tell the parents?" Vivian asked still on the line.

"I'm on my way over, Viv. We'll talk to them together. They need to be prepared," Jack answered.

"Okay. See you soon."

"Martin – get the original case file out. We need to start looking at everything we have on the victims. Maybe a fresh pair of eyes will do us some good. Danny, Samantha – track down Kelly Carmichael…we'll need to talk to her," Jack ordered.

Danny looked up from the table. "Jack…Is it really necessary to involve her? She's probably still not over this thing?"

"No she probably isn't. But she is our best lead, Danny," Jack responded.

"Don't you think Samantha can track down Kelly Carmichael on her own? I really think we need to focus on looking at the previous case files. I'll work with Martin."

Samantha and Martin looked at each other with surprise. Danny rarely ever questioned Jack's orders. He was usually the first out the door.

"I realize that we need to focus on the case files, but first, we need to talk to Ms. Carmichael. And she is familiar with you…and Samantha. I would appreciate it if you would just do as I ask," Jack replied slightly annoyed.

Danny just nodded and rolled back to his desk.

Martin walked over to Samantha as Jack left for the Reynold's house. "Who's Kelly Carmichael?"

"The fifth victim."

"How did she get away?"

"Danny found her in an abandoned house about two weeks after she was taken. He was following what we thought was a dead lead from a nosy neighbor. We had a description of the car that was used in her abduction. This old woman reported that this car was all of the sudden showing up across the street at this abandoned house. Danny took the call and found Kelly in the basement of the house."

"You think that's why he doesn't want to see her? Maybe it was traumatic?"

"It's possible. It's a pretty brutal case. You'll see when you read the case file."

"How was Kelly Carmichael abducted?"

"Same as Candace. She was a party girl who went home with the wrong guy…"

"You ready, Sam?" Danny interrupted.

"Yeah…let's go. We'll be back soon," she said to Martin as she and Danny left to find Kelly Carmichael.