A/N: OK, so I'm not very timely, but the episode didn't fill me with inspiration. Hope that I'll do better this coming week. Thanks for all of the reviews, they are all appreciated.

Semi-Inspired by Episode 4 - 'Upstairs Downstairs' - Martin reflects on the day's case and on his job while Samantha worries about her relationship track record.

Episode 4 – How Deep is Your Love?

'God, she was so tiny, so helpless, and they were too late.' Martin kept telling himself that it wasn't their fault she had died, that she had died before they had been called onto the case, but he still felt responsible. He wondered about the futility of his job, 'What chance did he have to save people if a child's parents can't save their own baby?'

Sometimes he knew that this job was too much for him, he saw himself getting too wrapped up in each case and berating himself when he couldn't do more. Perhaps that's what drew him to Samantha in the first place. He used to watch her eyes and see the sadness reflecting out of them when they were too late or the hopeful attitude they held when they returned someone to their loved ones.

In many ways it was a great job, he was one of the first people to know how many people cared about the missing person and the amazement on the face of someone they had found when she realized how many people were looking for her—that she is not alone in this world, no matter what she thinks—is enough to keep him going. He had wondered more than once who would come looking for him if he were to disappear and he assumed that the others had imagined the same. The frustration appears when, too often, you have to go missing before you know who really cares about you.

Martin returned his thoughts to this case, to the little baby's father. He marveled at the depth of love that Lawrence had for his wife. Although he had never seen the man with his baby daughter, the accounts from friends and family proved that he was devoted to the little girl. But to be able to bury your grief with your daughter to shield your wife from the horrible accident she caused, he hoped that someday he would know such love.

Then he thought of the other side of the story that they had heard, that Terry hadn't loved Lawrence, had merely married him to hang onto her fortune as daddy had dictated. Martin knew that he had done things as his dad had dictated, for too many years, but believed that he wouldn't turn his back on love the way Terry had. Martin wondered if Lawrence knew or sensed that that Terry didn't love him, at least not to the degree that he loved her.

Martin glanced over at Samantha, thinking about their burgeoning relationship. He knew that he was falling hard for her, but wondered if she was really invested in the relationship or if she was just going through the motions of a relationship as society dictated. He wondered if he'd even be aware if their relationship mirrored Lawrence and Terry's.

Martin shook his head, he was getting too involved in the case. He reminded himself that the situations were very different and that Samantha was not Terry.

Samantha glanced over at Martin. He was just sitting at this desk, his eyes hazy as if he were daydreaming. She was worried about him, he got too emotionally involved in this case. She recalled the look on his face when he heard that Lawrence had buried the baby to spare his wife the guilt she would feel, knowing that it was the only way to try to save their marriage, knowing that Lawrence loved his wife so deeply that he could forgive her this accident, if only they would have each other.

She recalled the first moment when she realized Martin was getting in too deep, she had walked up behind him at the office, she longed to reach out to him, to put a comforting hand on his shoulder just to let him know that she was there for him, but she knew that she didn't dare. It was more than just keeping their relationship secret, she felt herself caring more than she had planned about Martin—felt herself getting in too deep in this relationship.

Samantha thought back to her past relationships, it'd been a long time since she'd invested in one that didn't have any obvious obstacles she could blame when she ran from the intensity of the emotions. Jack was the ultimate example, although she thought that she had loved Jack, she knew that she had used his marriage like a crutch, able to make him feel guilty and withdraw by the mere mention of Maria's name. She had done this many times when she felt herself depending on Jack more than on herself or when she knew that her emotions were blinding her rational thinking. But here she was, letting emotions think for her and wanting to reach out to Martin, but when she looked around there was no safety net—no wife to mention, no job to blame, no reason she could rely on to push him away—and it scared her.

Vivian threw a file on Samantha's desk and she snapped out of her fog, she glanced at Martin, he had come out of his daze as well. 'Finally,' Samantha thought, 'some work to do so I can push away these thoughts of Martin.'