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 never great with endings, but here it is, the final chapter. I Hope you have enjoyed my story, and I hope you like the ending. All the reviews were greatly apprecited.
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The four days Sam had been back in New York had passed quickly. Work had consumed much of her time, they were still one agent short. However, most of her free time had been consumed by thoughts of Martin.
She had known she still had some feelings for him, but after the last few days with him in DC she had begun to realize just how much she cared for him, she loved him. She wondered if he still had feelings for her. He had called her to be with him...
A hesitant knock on her door jolted Sam from her fantasizing. She got up from where she sat on the sofa and opened the door. Standing in front of her door, rocking on the balls of his feet, was Martin.
"Hey, hope its not a bad time." Martin said with a small smile.
Its never a bad time, "No, its fine," Sam said moving away from the door to let him come in. "You just get back?"
"Yeah."
"You want anything? A drink?" Sam offered.
"No thanks." Martin replied coming to stand in Sam's living room. It had been such a long time since he had been at her home. In fact he was not sure why he had come here tonight at all. She had said she would be there to listen whenever he was ready. He wanted to be ready now.
Sam sat down on the couch and indicated Martin should sit next to her. He sat down slowly wondering why he had not been able to stop thinking about Samantha in the four days since she had left DC.
After they had sat in silence for sometime Sam spoke up, "How was your flight?" The question felt lame, but she could think of nothing else to say.
"Good." Martin replied slowly, then added after a slight pause, "My mom is doing better."
"That's good to hear." Sam said nodding.
"Yeah, I still can't really believe he is gone." Martin admitted. "I can't even remember what I last said to him."
Sam put her hand over Martin's, "He knew you loved him Martin, even if you did not always see eye-to-eye. I remember how worried he was when you got shot. He really was proud of you."
Martin nodded slowly, "I know, and yet my mind still tells me that I was a disappointment." It was hard for Martin to bring himself to talk about his father.
Sam listened intently. She knew Martin needed this outlet. He needed to finally sort through his complicated feelings in the aftermath of his father's sudden death. She was glad he had come to her, trusted her with this.
As Martin finished revealing his pain at his father's death, they shifted onto lighter conversation. Falling back into a comfortable banter between friends. Sam was not sure she could pin point when the transition had occurred. With anyone else, she was sure she would have felt uncomfortable, after hearing all Martin had said. But with Martin it was so different.
She knew she had never felt this comfortable, this right, with anyone before, and she did not want to lose this again. She knew that this was probably the worst of times for her to realize how much she still wanted, needed, Martin. However, she also knew if she did not force herself to face her barriers and insecurities now, they would just become more firmly entrenched in her life.
Martin had been so relieved when he voiced his mixed feelings about his father aloud. It just felt so natural to confide in Samantha. He hoped he was not asking too much of her, by coming here tonight. Or too much of himself. The more time he spent around Samantha, the more he realized how he missed her, how he never wanted to leave her.
As the evening wore on he knew he should leave. "Thank you, Sam, for listening." He murmured getting up from where he sat on the sofa.
"Martin?" She said grasping his hand causing him to stop. Slowly she took a breath and looked up at him. She knew he had been hurt by her, in their previous relationship. It was probable he would not want her back, but she knew if anyone would be willing to give her a second chance, it was Martin. "I know this is not really the best time," She started knowing she was rambling. "But I think we need to talk... about us."
Martin stared down at her, and she stared deep into his icy-blue eyes, "I know I hurt you. I forced you away and I'm so sorry." She looked away. He had not said anything yet and Sam was so worried she was too late.
It took Martin a while to find his voice after Samantha's sudden leap onto talking about their relationship, "I know Sam. It's not all your fault. I pushed too hard, tried to rush you."
Sam shook her head and looked back up at Martin. "There is so much I wish I had done different..."
"There is still time." Martin whispered quietly. He had not expected Samantha to bring this up, he would not have, despite how much he longed to hold her again. However, now that she had, he wanted her to know he was willing to try again. "We could still make it work... if you are willing to try. I'm not saying it is going to be easy. But together, if we talk, we can sort through the hard times."
In the past this sort of talk would have just been words, said aimlessly before they headed for the bedroom. They both knew that their physical attraction was strong and a healthy part of a relationship, but in the past, it had been all that held their relationship together.
If this was going to work between them, they knew that their would be fights and compromises, but most importantly they knew it had to be based on an emotional rather than physical level.
"I promise I'll try to be more forthcoming with everything." Sam muttered as Martin sat back down beside her, still holding her hand in his.
"And I'll try my best to bear with you through everything." Martin replied playfully bringing her into his arms and kissing her gently on the top of her head. "You know that this time, we can't run around behind closed doors." He told her gently. He knew that keeping their relationship a secret from everyone, was what had killed him last time.
"I know," Despite how badly she wanted to be with him, Martin could still hear the nervousness in her voice as she agreed to letting the team know about their being together.
"You know Samantha," Martin said quietly tilting her head up so he could look into her dazzling brown eyes, "I think I'm in love with you." He said before kissing her tender lips passionately, as he had dreamed of doing for the longest of time.
- - - - - -
Sam took a deep breath and looked up at Martin nervously. He gently squeezed her hand trying to reassure her. They stood alone in the break room. Their shift had not started yet, but the rest of the team was likely to arrive anytime now. "You ready for this?" He asked her gently.
"I think so." Sam said trying to sound confident.
"You know," Martin whispered mischievously, "We could just start making out in here, and let them figure it out. It would save us spelling it out." A well placed elbow in his gut informed him of what his girlfriend thought of his plan. "Well you don't have to be mean." He muttered with a smile.
"Or," Martin said pausing while Sam considered elbowing him again, "We could just tell Danny to start with."
"Because we all know Danny would never let a soul know." Sam said with a smirk, knowing that within moments half the office would know. No it was better just to tell them all she figured.
"Save us some time." Martin said but did not have time to add anything else as he saw Danny walking down the hall towards the bullpen. Within a few minuets Vivian and Elena had arrived. Jack as usual had been there for some time already.
Taking one last deep breath Sam let Martin lead her out into the bullpen. She was still holding his hand but no one could tell from where they were seated. Danny looked up as the entered together and shot Martin a quizzical look. "Funny how you two can show up at the exact same time, your alarms synchronized or something?" He teased lightly.
"No, we just used the same clock." Martin shot back grinning broadly.
It took Danny a moment before realization spread across his face. Surprised he glanced questioningly at Sam, who blushed and nodded. "Hey, congrats guys!"
This had caught the whole team's attention who now looked up at the couple standing before them. Elena and Vivian also offered the newly re-united couple their well-wishes. Jack just nodded, giving Martin a look that said, 'just make her happy.' Martin nodded back.
Sam looked up at the man standing beside her. It had been hard, but with Martin by her side she felt almost as if anything was possible. She felt him squeeze her hand gently before he slipped his hand from hers. They still had work to do. Reluctantly Sam sat down at her own desk, her hand still tingling from the previous contact.
