Chapter 11

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Flipping the pages of a magazine, Samantha reached up and stifled a yawn with the back of her hand. She had almost forgotten how draining the graveyard shift could be. It wasn't tiresome work but just agonizingly boring. Giving up on reading about the Panda's in China, she closed the National Geographic magazine and tossed it back on the coffee table.

Sighing heavily she leaned back on the sofa and stared up at the ceiling.

After her conversation with Danny, he returned to Martin's office for another half hour while she wandered around the apartment double checking the locks. When she reached Martin's office, she debated on whether or not to go in and tell Martin hello but before she could muster enough courage to enter, her cell phone rang saving her from having to make a decision.

XoX

"Spade," she answered, stepping across the hall into the den.

"Hey, Sam," Jack's voice greeted her. "How are things at Casa Fitzgerald?"

"Fine," she casually replied, glancing over her shoulder, checking to make sure Martin's office door was still closed. "What's up? You're calling pretty late."

"I just wanted to make sure you aren't sleeping on the job," he deadpanned.

"Funny," she sarcastically replied as she sat down on the sofa. "Seriously, why are you calling so late? Something wrong?"

"Actually, I don't know yet," he replied, sounding uncertain. "We arrested a man who claims he was the one who killed Fiona Rogers."

"Really? Who?" she asked, excited by this news.

"His name is Jonah Lewis," Jack replied. "According to him, he and Fiona were dating but she called it off because she caught him cheating. He tried to make her talk to him, so he could explain, things got out of control and he shot her."

"Sounds pretty cut and dry," she replied, sinking back onto the sofa.

"That's what worries me," he said. She could picture him in his office looking thoughtful like he did when a case perplexed him. Elena joked he looked like Buddha meditating on a mountain. "We barely leaned on this guy and he confessed to everything. Said he's fully ready to pay for his crimes."

Sam reached over and picked up one of the decorative pillows, propping it up so it was straight. "Sounds like a perfect confession to get a conviction."

"That's what's gnawing on me," he rumbled. "It's too perfect."

"You think he's lying?"

"No, I think he did it. He knows details he wouldn't have known from the papers," he replied, clearing his throat. "I just wonder if he's trying to play a game of

Three-card Monte."

"So, he's deflecting? Trying to throw us off track?" Sam asked when she heard voices filtering down the hallway. She stood up and looked out to find Martin and Danny standing in the foyer near the doorway. They both looked over and Martin gave her a polite nod of acknowledgement before refocusing his attention on Danny.

"Not sure yet," Jack's raspy voice replied. "But Viv and I both agree that we shouldn't take Fitzgerald off guard watch until we're sure about a few more things."

"Alright, sounds like a good idea," Sam replied, watching as Danny started to leave, giving her a small wave before disappearing out the door. Martin locked the door and turned around, glancing at Samantha. She smiled at him but he simply mouthed 'good night' and moved down the hall to his bedroom, closing the door after him without so much as a second glance.

"So what's going on with you? Why did you change shifts with Mike?" Jack asked, his tone lighter than before. "Do you want me to permanently switch the schedules?"

"No, don't worry," she replied, trying her best to sound casual and light. She didn't want to tell Jack why she had asked to be switched. She knew that if he even suspected that she was compromising the situation by mixing her feelings with the subject she was assigned to protect he would have her removed from the detail. So sighing softly and with her eyes on Martin's closed bedroom door she breathed into the cell phone, "It was just this once. It won't happen again."

XoX

It was the sound of a door slowly creaking open that drew Samantha's attention.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, she noted that the time was 2:08 a.m. She quickly and quietly rose from the sofa and stepped softly to the door, automatically reaching for her weapon. Resting one hand on the holster and using the other to open the door, she looked out into the darkened hallway. She heard the soft pratfall of footsteps coming from the kitchen, followed by the sound of cabinet door opening and closing accompanied by a man's soft cough.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she dropped her hand from her weapon and shuffled her way towards the kitchen. As she neared, she looked inside the dimly lit room, illuminated by the small light under the microwave, to find Martin standing at the island assembling a sandwich.

Clearing her throat, Samantha quietly asked, "Midnight snack?"

Martin's head shot up in surprise. "Hey." Their eyes met for a split second before he returned his focus to his food production. He pulled two slices of bread from the bag, held them up, and asked, "Can I make you one? Tina's roast beef tastes even better the next day."

"That'd be nice, thanks," she replied, stepping up to the island and sitting on a stool.

Walking over to the cabinet, he pulled out a plate for her and set it on the counter. He pulled two more pieces of bread from the bag and set them on the plate. He stepped back to the refrigerator and pulled out the Tupperware container filled with roast beef, a bag of lettuce, and as he reached back inside he asked, "Do you want mustard or mayo?"

"Mustard."

He nodded, pulling out a bright yellow jar and setting all the items on the counter. She watched as he opened a drawer to get a knife and began crafting their sandwiches with the same look of concentration as a boy working on a school science project. She restrained a smile when the tip of his tongue darted out between his lips as he focused on the task of sandwich construction.

While the act of him making her a snack may have seemed light, she couldn't ignore the undercurrent of tension between them. The problem was she didn't know how to break through the wall of doubt she had built between them.

He finished spreading the condiment on the bread and screwed the cap back on the jar. With his eyes locked on the food he asked, "Tomato? Lettuce?"

"Lettuce," she softly replied.

He grabbed the head of lettuce and tore off a few leaves, carefully laying them on one slice of bread.

She knew that they needed to talk about the giant elephant in the room but being the first one to talk was never easy. So taking a deep breath, she shakily began, "About today…." She paused, waiting to see if he would look up. She needed to see that he wanted, no, was willing to hear what she had to say. It took a beat but when he finally did, she was surprisingly relieved to find that he looked as uncomfortable as she felt. "I wanted to apologize for attacking you the way I did. I overreacted. I shouldn't have just assumed things without getting all the facts first."

He nodded but didn't reply right away. What was probably only a few seconds but felt like hours, he finally replied, "It's alright. I guess I can't say I blame you," Martin lowered his eyes and placed pieces of the roast beer on the other slices of bread. "Looking at just the facts I can see why you had reason to doubt my sincerity. It does look pretty fishy on paper. You were just doing your job. That's probably what makes you a good agent, right? Hard interrogation and all that."

She winced, his comment stinging her feelings. "I'm trying to apologize."

He hung his head, looking ashamed of his curt comment. "Look, I get it. You were doing your job, trying to figure out why I'm being targeted. It's fine."

She wanted to knock him over the head for making this so difficult but she knew that wasn't going to accomplish much so she took a breath and regrouped. "I'm not apologizing for asking the questions." He looked up, taken aback but curious all the same. Her expression softened as she said, "But I shouldn't have gone off on you the way I did. I'm supposed to help figure out who might want to hurt you and why, not act like they are justified in wanting to do so." His eyes went soft and studious on hers. Emboldened, she continued, "I should've," she paused, lips twitching up in a smile, "given you the benefit of the doubt."

He shook his head, smiling softly as he put her sandwich on a plate and slid it over to her. "You've been talking to Danny."

She moved the plate closer to her and smiled. "We had a little chat."

He stared at her for a beat and she could practically feel all the tension in the room dissipate. He shook his head and started gathering all the food to put back in the refrigerator. "I shudder to think of what he may have told you."

She picked up her sandwich and plucked off a piece of roast beef that was dangling out. "I'm sorry to report he didn't spill any fun or juicy secrets," she teased before eating the morsel. "He did, however, tell me the story of how the two of you met."

Chuckling softly he put the food away and replied, "Seems like a lifetime ago." He pulled out a bottle of Snapple and a can of diet soda and held them up, questioningly. She pointed to the soda and he set it down by her plate.

He put the Snapple bottle back and grabbed a can of diet soda for himself, setting it down on the place setting next to hers.

Gesturing to the can she asked, "Aren't you afraid it will keep you from going back to sleep?"

Shaking his head he replied, "Nah, after drinking my coffee for so long I am practically immune to most caffeinated beverages."

She smiled. "I don't doubt that."

He laughed softly and stepped around the island as she took a bite of her sandwich.

He sat down next to her and she paused mid-chew, mumbling, "This is really good, thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied, taking a big bite of his own. They ate in compatible silence, each of their gazes focused either on their food or the wall straight ahead. She stole a few sideway glances, secretly hoping to catch him doing the same but if he was, she didn't notice. Wishing they could get back to the easiness from the night before she started to think of possible topics of discussion when he swallowed and with his eyes on his sandwich said, "Mike mentioned that agents Malone and Johnson were following a lead today."

"Yeah," she replied before pausing and taking a sip of her soda. She didn't know how much she should share, knowing that Martin might read too much into learning that they arrested Fiona's killer. Particularly, if Jack was right, it could all change by tomorrow morning. Deciding to play it safe, she lowered her can and replied, "They are talking with someone who might be linked to Fiona. Jack said he isn't sure how it factors into the case yet but it looks promising."

Finally looking over at her, he smiled widely and excitedly said, "That's good news. Really good news."

"Yeah," she replied, surprised by Martin's overwhelming enthusiasm at learning the case might be wrapping up sooner than expected. Quickly shifting her attention back to her sandwich, she stared at it suddenly losing her appetite knowing it had nothing to do with the food. With forced cheer she said, "Yeah, its real good news. I'll be out of your hair before you know it." She risked looking at Martin as she finished, "You can go back to living your life just like before."

Martin shrugged and with a small smile on his face he replied, "Actually, I was enjoying living the life I have right now."

Their eyes met, his words hanging heavily in the air weighed down by the innuendo and layers of double meaning. Her breath hitched, wondering if his words meant what she hoped they did. Judging by the intense look in his eyes she could only guess she was right. She knew that this was the moment when one of them should move in, go for that kiss or touch to signal that the other person felt the same way but as soon as the opportunity presented itself it was shattered by the sound of Sam's cell phone shrilling in her pocket.

She quickly looked away, fumbling to answer the phone that kept ringing loudly, demanding to be answered. Clutching it in her hand she gave an apologetic smile to Martin who gave her a soft, shy smile in return.

She pressed talk and put the phone to her ear. With her voice raw from the revelation moments earlier she croaked out, "Spade."

"Sam, it's Jack," he said. His voice was like cold water on a warm moment.

"Hey, Jack," she replied, casting a glance at Martin who was breaking off pieces of his sandwich but making no move to eat. "What's up?"

"Jonah Lewis is dead," he gruffly replied, sounding winded. "He hung himself in his cell."

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A/N: I was a bit impatient and unsure if Spyglass has returned from her road trip or not so I am going ahead and posting this chapter un-beta'd. So if there are any glaring grammar/spelling errors they are all mine.

And as always and forever, thank you so much for reading. :)