A/N: A line in this chapter is taken directly from the season 3 episode, "Light Years". No copyright infringement intended. As always, feedback is most welcome.

Continued from chapter 4

-

26 HOURS MISSING

The sky was nearly completely black and the rain was still pouring down in torrents like it had all day. Vivian looked at her watch and sighed, as it was almost 5 pm and she was wondering at what time she would be able to leave the office. She had had an early start and had been fantasizing for the last hour about lying down on her couch, putting her feet up while her husband brought her something hot to drink.

"That´s of almost biblical proportions," Samantha said conversationally as she came to stand beside Vivian, gazing past the blinds out into the darkness. "I´m fighting this strong urge to go build an ark."

Vivian smiled faintly before turning to look at her. "Any luck with the boy?"

Samantha shrugged. "Not really. He claims he spent the entire day away from school with his girlfriend, a Shelly Diane Ashby. Unsurprisingly, she supports his story. She says they were hanging out at her place all day, smoking a bit of pot, but no one else can confirm this." She sighed resignedly, "He did admit to taking the occasional 20 dollars from his grandmother´s purse, but claims it never went beyond that and that he would never do anything to hurt her."

"Do you believe him?"

"Well, he doesn´t appear to have a serious drug problem himself, but I got the feeling the girlfriend might be in another league. Probably cocaine. She´s a few years older than he and lives with her mother, who makes a living as a waitress. She wouldn´t have much money to feed her habit."

Vivian looked at Sam. "So Erick White is her meal ticket so to speak?"

"Yes and no," Samantha answered as she chewed on her lower lip thoughtfully. "She does seem to care about him, but of course with heavy drugs involved and her likely addiction…"

"The drugs come first," Viv stated matter-of-factly, looking back out into the rain. "Any serious debts?"

"Erick White says no, but he may not be the most reliable witness as his mother chose that moment to join us. In any case, Martin´s looking into it as we speak."

"How did Mrs. White take the news?"

"Oh…" Sam couldn´t help but grin a little. "I think it´ll be a long time before Erick gets to go anywhere unsupervised again." She grew more somber. "She was absolutely furious and I think it actually made an impression on him, as much as anything a parent can say will make an impression on a teenager anyway. It´s understandable; as a nurse she must have witnessed all the horrors that taking drugs can lead to."

"Yes," Vivian replied, suddenly thinking about Reggie and wanting to know if he was all right. "As have we."

Sam nodded, but didn´t answer, her mind wandering. They were both silent for a moment, then she gave Viv a quick smile and walked over to sit down at her desk in the bullpen. Letting out a low sigh, Vivian took one last look at the rain before turning around to return to her own desk, but was halted in her tracks by an inordinately pleased looking Danny.

"Guess what?"

"What?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, not in the mood for guessing games.

"I was just on the phone with Caroline White and she told me that contrary to what our dear Dr. White said, he has already asked Deborah Harrison to be co-signer for the loan. He did so a few days ago and she turned him down. Apparently, she discussed it with her daughter before deciding."

"Really?" Vivian´s eyebrow rose again, this time out of intrigue. "I wonder why he forgot to tell us that."

"It´s a motive."

"Yeah, not the strongest, but it´s a start. Have you told Jack?"

Danny glanced around, looking for his boss and spotting him standing in front of the white board. "Am just about to. Another interesting thing is that a nurse… um… Petra Wilkins, claims she went to see the Dr. White around 3 pm and that he wasn´t in his office. She waited five minutes, but he never showed."

"Well," Vivian spoke slowly. "He could have been out for a smoke or gone to the bathroom for all we know."

"True, true," Danny conceded. "Or it could be something else he forgot to tell us about."

"Looks like we´ll have to speak to him again."

"Yep," Danny smirked, "and this time I´ll make sure he drinks only decaf."

Viv rolled her eyes in response, "Please do; he was making me dizzy."

Smiling as she watched Danny practically bounce off to tell Jack, she remained still, mulling over the new information in her head. She still didn´t know what to make of Dr. Ian White. She didn´t doubt that he desperately wanted to start up his own business, but on the other hand, she felt that he genuinely cared for Deborah Harrison. If he was involved and anything had happened, she suspected it was most likely an accident. That perhaps they argued and something got out of hand. Of course, if the end result was his mother-in-law´s death that didn´t make him any less guilty in her eyes.

Shaking her head lightly, she finally set into motion and returned to her desk while Danny divulged their latest information to Jack. She waited until they were finished talking and Danny had breezed past her before turning her chair around, wanting to ask when he thought they might be done for the night. Jack was already on his way back to his office, and Vivian was about to call out, when he stopped of his own accord, turning his head a little to look at something. Vivian followed his gaze, feeling not the slightest surprise but a vague sense of disappointment as her eyes came to a halt on Samantha.

She closed her eyes briefly, sighing inwardly. Opening her eyes again, she saw to her relief that Samantha was immersed in some papers on her desk and wasn´t paying attention to the scrutiny she was under. Because Jack hadn´t moved, he was still staring at her with an expression Viv couldn´t quite read, but didn´t like nonetheless. Her vague feeling of disappointment was turning into a distinct feeling of annoyance and maybe even resentment.

Not again.

"Well, you know what? You need to take responsibility for the things you do, Jack, and grow up."

Unbidden, her words from not that long ago materialized in her mind. Surprising even herself, she heard herself speak, "Jack!"

Her voice was sharp enough to jolt him out of whatever state he had been in and to make Samantha look up curiously, her eyes darting between them.

"Yes?" There was an edge to Jack´s tone that made Vivian think he might just recall their conversation from months earlier as well.

Not wanting to have a showdown in the middle of the office, she pushed her feelings away for later and brought up her original reason for speaking to him. "I was just wondering if we would be much longer? If possible, I´d like to have dinner with my family."

She could swear she saw him flinch by the word 'family', but his voice was perfectly calm and his expression even as he replied, "Sure, finish your report on Ian White and you can go." He hesitated for a moment, a bit of conciliatory warmth resurfacing in his eyes as he continued gently, "After all, you´ve had a long day. You deserve it."

Vivian hesitated as well, but then smiled uncertainly in return, not sure what was going on in his head. She held his gaze for a few more seconds before finally giving him a small nod and turning her chair around to face her computer. It was a truce. At least for now.

-

"Hey, Jack? I´m off for tonight if that´s all right?"

Jack looked up, his mind reeling from its abrupt return to the present after reading reports for hours. "Sure, Martin, that´s fine. Get some sleep. Tomorrow I want you to canvass the area where she disappeared again. Someone must have noticed something."

"Okay," Martin nodded and they held each other´s gaze for a second before Jack turned his attention back to his papers.

"G'nite."

"Good night."

A few minutes later, another voice interrupted his thoughts. "Hey."

"Hey." Jack took off his reading glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose before leaning back in his chair to look closely at Samantha. She looked pale, even for her. "You all right?"

She gave him a weak smile. "Just very tired." She let out a sigh and rubbed the back of neck, her eyes fluttering shut for a moment. "Will you be long?"

He looked at his watch: 8:44 pm. "No, in fact, I can leave now if you like."

Samantha looked alarmed for a moment, then an uneasy smile appeared. "Do you think that´s a good idea?"

"You don´t?" He eyed her as the question hung in the air between them.

She let out a low, self-deprecating laugh, glancing down, "Sorry, just being paranoid."

"There´s no reason to be paranoid any more."

Sam looked back up quickly and said, "No, no, of course not." She felt the onset of one of the loaded silences between them and hurried to speak, jerking a thumb at the door over her shoulder. "So, we´re off?"

Jack smiled fleetingly as he answered, "Yes, let me just get my things together and I´ll meet you at the elevator."

She nodded and left his office without another word. He watched her lithe form for a moment as she walked to her desk to grab her coat before beginning to tidy up his own.

-

"Ah, shit!" Samantha exclaimed as the first heavy drops of rain hit her, practically ricocheting off her head and shoulders. "I completely forgot."

"That´s all right," Jack spoke from directly behind her. "I may not have been a boy scout, but that doesn´t mean I don´t come prepared." He retrieved a small, collapsible umbrella from within his coat, opened it and raised it above their heads.

Samantha gave him a fond and amused smile, moving in a little closer to avoid the downpour. "Great, now I´ll have a wet left side and you´ll have a wet right side."

"Well," Jack gave her a wry look, "there´ll still be two dry sides to make for one whole dry person."

She stared at him for a second, trying to keep her face straight, but then a disbelieving grin spread and she rolled her eyes. "Your logic is priceless!"

He didn´t answer, but just gave her a small shrug, smiling himself.

The rain continued to fall heavily as they stood closely together, their slow breaths just grazing each other´s faces. Samantha suddenly shivered, even if she did have one dry side, it didn´t mean the other one wasn´t cold as the water started to soak through the material of her coat. Jack noticed, but didn´t comment and only raised his eyebrows as if to ask: 'You wanted to talk to me?'

Sam looked into his eyes, abruptly realizing that this was so very wrong. "Can we walk a little?" she asked quietly, knowing it would be easier if she didn´t have to see his face.

"Sure," he answered, his voice revealing nothing.

Holding the umbrella with his left hand, Jack tucked the other one into his coat pocket and they started to walk in a leisurely pace down the pavement, their shoulders occasionally bumping gently against each other. After a few minutes, she still hadn´t spoken, but she knew he wouldn´t prompt again. He knew her well enough to know she would begin when she was ready.

The thing was, she wasn´t sure she was.

It had made sense in her mind all day. Once she realized, there really only had been one choice in her mind. Things had to change. She wasn´t going to be guilty of the same unresolvedness that marred Jack´s actions and behaviour following the end of their relationship. She knew she was partly to blame. Despite her best intentions, she knew she was guilty of having, at least at some level, encouraged him not to take an unequivocal stand, not really wanting to believe what they had was lost forever regardless of all the goodbyes they had already exchanged.

Even on that bench, which now felt like so long ago, something had remained between them. She had watched him struggle with what he wanted and what he knew was right ever since. And some late, sleepless nights when she felt more alone than ever, something deep inside of her had been glad. It shouldn´t be easy for him even though the rational part of her mind told her it would only cause her more hurt. And it had. It had caused them both great pain, and she wasn´t going to subject a new party to that kind of emotional turmoil.

She hadn´t realized she was doing it until she saw the look in Martin´s eyes today, standing almost helpless and forlorn in front of her in the bullpen.

She wondered if Maria had ever looked at Jack that way.

Taking a deep breath, tasting the rain in the back of her mouth, she spoke, "I really care about Martin. He´s a great guy."

She didn´t look at Jack and he didn´t reply, but she sensed him nodding slowly as they continued to make their way through a nearly deserted city, yellow cabs their only company.

"He´s in love with me, I think, and he makes me feel safe and…" She hesitated, but only for a beat. It hurt. It hurt her terribly, deep inside, but it had to be done if she was ever to be truly free. "He makes me feel happy and wanted and that´s something I haven´t had in a very long time."

Jack still didn´t answer, keeping his head and gaze low as he studied the lights reflected in the wet pavement, but she could tell he was paying attention to her every word.

Samantha took another breath, everything coming out in a rush, "I realized today that I was doing some of the same things you did in the past, not fully committing myself and actively trying to make it work. I don´t mean to sound like I blame you because I wasn´t the best of help I know. But this time around I want it to be different, I don´t want Martin to feel what I did. I want to move forward, to truly move forward this time."

"So what are you saying?"

She had been about to say more, but Jack´s softly spoken question completely threw her off and the words were gone. Her lips moving soundlessly a few times, she finally managed to say, her voice breaking, "I´m saying that maybe we can´t be friends any more."

"Why not?" Jack´s response was gruff but not unkind as they slowly came to a halt under a street lamp, neither really looking at each other despite their close proximity under the umbrella.

"Because I don´t know how to be friends with you."

It was a whisper, nothing more, but it was what made Jack finally look up, seeking out her eyes and she was unable to deny him. For a split second, she expected him to ask her to elaborate, to explain, but she realized he understood. There was a sad tenderness in his eyes that said more than words ever could.

"Do you love him?"

She spoke the truth. "I think I may be in love with him."

He nodded almost imperceptibly and looked down. Samantha felt the urge to reach out and touch him, but steeled herself against it. If possible, the rain began to intensify and the noise under the umbrella grew nearly unbearable.

"I understand." She almost didn´t hear him the first time, but he repeated himself as he raised his head to look at her again, his dark gaze holding her as steadily in place as any physical touch. "I understand and…" Uncertainty flickered across his face, but was almost from one second to the next replaced with something that could only be read as firm resolve.

He reached up, placing a warm hand lightly against her cold cheek. She just barely stopped herself from leaning into his touch. "I understand and I am sorry."

She was about to speak, to utter some phrases of comfort even if they were meaningless, but his thumb slipped down her face to rest upon her lips, stopping her. "I´m sorry because I must be the most selfish man in the world."

"What do you mean?" Samantha could barely breathe.

"This."

And with that Jack leaned in, removing his thumb just before he gently pressed his lips against hers. It was barely a kiss and more a brush of their lips and it lasted less than a second before he broke contact, leaning his forehead against hers and whispering softly, "I want you back, Samantha."

TBC…