A/N: Hey, sorry I didn't have this up sooner. I started classes again, and then my computer quit working, but it's fixed now. Well, here's the next chapter, it starts right where the last one left off. Enjoy!
chapter 2
"What?" Don asked incredulously. He couldn't believe she'd wait this long to tell them, not to mention why she was even on the case.
"She's right," Megan said after looking through a couple more files Ian and Sam had from the last investigation.
"OK, explain NOW," Don told Sam firmly, after taking a deep breath to calm down. Sam sighed, knowing he was gonna take it like this.
"Last time, we almost caught him," she started calmly. "We'd been after him for three months, and he had a new hostage, who was still alive. We found out he'd been keeping them in an old warehouse, similar to the one tonight, and so we decided to go in. The raid went south, we lost two guys, someone knocked me out, and next thing I know I'm waking up next to the hostage. She was still alive at that point."
"Garrett called us to gloat about the fact that he had our agent," Ian continued where Sam left off. "He was gloating so much he didn't realize we'd had time to trace the call, and he'd been dumb enough to use Sam's phone, so we were able to continue tracking his position. When we got there one of his guys was dead, Garrett was gone, the hostage died about five minutes after we arrived, and Sam had been shot and was bleeding out."
"I'd been able to get myself untied, and stole his guy's gun, shot him, but I got shot in the process, and Garrett ran when he heard them coming," Sam informed them.
"And no one has been able to track him down since. It's like he fell off the face of the earth," Ian added, to conclude their explanation.
There was a few minutes of silence, tensed by Don and Sam staring at each other.
"Until now," David said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"Not necessarily," Ian told him. "It has a lot of similarities to Garrett, but there are discrepancies."
"And if it is him?" Colby asked.
"Then we'll know about it, he'll contact us," Ian said confidently.
"So why did they put you two on this with us?" Megan asked, voicing the question on the whole team's mind. "If it got that personal, with him getting Sam, then why would you guys be on it? Wouldn't there be a conflict of interest?"
"No," Sam said, breaking off her staring contest with Don to look over at Megan. "Yeah, he may have got to me too, but that doesn't mean I can't do my job."
"And we're still the best people for this," Ian added. "We were the only ones to get that close to catching him."
"And if it is Garrett and he's out for revenge?" Don challenged. Sam sighed.
"Then we cross that bridge when we come to it," she answered.
-
"So what exactly are you wanting me to do?" Charlie asked. Sam and Ian had come to get his help with the case, while the rest of the team was trying to find out more about the victim.
"We need you to figure out the probability that this was the same guy as last time," Sam explained again.
"You're not sure?" Charlie questioned. He knew something was different, she hardly ever asked for this kind of help. Usually it was just Don and his team, but now Sam was asking.
"We want to be certain," Ian told him.
"OK, yeah I mean I can do it," Charlie agreed. "I just need all the data for both cases."
"Here ya go," Sam told him as she and Ian sat the boxes on his desk.
"Wow," Charlie muttered, seeing the wealth of information. "This is good. I should be able to get you an answer soon."
"Thanks Charlie," Sam and Ian told him.
Charlie nodded, but as Ian and Sam went to leave he called Sam back.
"Yeah?"
"What's going on Sam?" he questioned, noticing she was acting different.
"Just a case Charlie. Don't worry, I'm fine," she assured him.
"You sure? You seem different," he commented. Sam smirked.
"Don't worry about me Charlie, I can take care of myself." Charlie rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, I know that, but -"
"But nothing," Sam interrupted. "I'll be fine. Just call me when you get something," she added as she left.
Charlie sighed exasperatedly, shaking his head, but started going through the boxes.
When Sam and Ian were walking back to the car he grabbed her arm to stop her.
"What?" she questioned, turning to face him, noting his somber expression.
"You wanna tell me what's going on?" he asked firmly, more as a statement than a request.
"With what?" Sam was confused, but had a feeling she knew what he was talking about.
"You know what Sam. I know it's been a while, but you still know me well enough to know what I'm thinking," he retorted. Sam smirked, she did know what he was thinking and found it rather amusing.
"Don't worry, it's not what you think," she assured him.
"Then what is it? Sure, Don's protective of all his agents, so I'll let that one slide. But Charlie...the only person I've ever seen him that worried about is Don."
"And..." Sam prompted.
"And what Sam?" he asked in an annoyed tone. "Don is Charlie's..." Sam nodded as he realized what he was saying. "Oh. Wait...are you serious?" Sam chuckled.
"Yes Ian. Don and Charlie are my older brothers," she confirmed.
"Whoa..."
"Yeah. Don't worry, I'll explain on the way."
-
Megan and Colby had gone to talk to the victim's family, while the rest of them were going over the evidence.
"Hey, can I talk to you?" Don asked quietly when he walked over to Sam. She nodded and followed him.
David and Ian looked at each other apprehensively, both feeling the tension between the pair.
"Who do you think's gonna lose their cool first?" David asked lightly. Ian chuckled, but shook his head.
"Don't ask me man, I'm still shocked that she's their sister." David chuckled too, and nodded.
-
Don and Sam had gone outside, away from the crowds. Neither had said anything yet, they were just standing there staring at each other.
"Were you ever gonna tell me?" Don finally asked.
"If it came up," Sam answered.
"Cut the crap Sam," he told her firmly. "You should have told me."
"Why?" she retorted. "Until we know for sure that it was Garrett, it's not important."
"And if it is Garrett? If he came back to try to kill you, what then? Huh? How am I supposed to catch this guy if I don't know all the facts?" Don snapped. Sam glared at him, and took a threatening step towards him.
"Don, do you honestly believe that I would jeopardize this case by not telling you?" she challenged. Don sighed.
"I wouldn't think so, no," he admitted. After taking a deep breath he asked, "Why didn't you tell me before?" Sam took a deep breath, and looked away for a second.
"Because...you guys would make a big deal out of it, when it's not," she answered truthfully. Don looked at her incredulously.
"It is a big deal Sam, you could have died!"
"No it's not Don!" He opened his mouth to say something, but she continued before he could say anything. "I'm fine. I didn't die. I can handle this, so just back off!" she snapped, and walking away before he could argue.
Don stood there, watching her go. He knew there was something she wasn't telling him. He knew it was effecting her more than she said, maybe more than she would admit even to herself, but he also knew there was nothing he could do to help her until she asked for help.
A/N: Well, I hope you liked that chapter. You're going to be finding out some more background info in the next chapter, so keep reading! I'll try to have an update up soon, but with classes I don't know how that'll work. I'll try to update at least once a week though. Reviews are GREATLY appreciated!
