A/N: My apologies for the amount of time that passed between updates. My grandfather recently passed away, and the past couple of weeks have been kind of hectic, but hopefully I will be able to post more reliably now. I hope this chapter was worth the wait.

This story takes place pre-"Transitions". Don't want to spoil the episode for those who haven't seen it, but those who have should know what I'm talking about.

I hope I got Viv's illness right. There was an article about it in the TV Guide, which is where I got the info. But keep in mind, I was an English major, so when it comes to medicine, I have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about.

Martin stormed blindly through the halls, barely noticing where he was going, until he rounded a corner and crashed into someone.

When his vision cleared, he realized that he had just bumped into Molly, who was standing beside Danny, rubbing her head. She stared at him for several long moments and then said, "Trouble in paradise?"

Martin opened his mouth to make a smart remark, but Danny interrupted before he could say anything. "Hey, Marty, what did Sam find out from Steve?"

Martin shot a glare at Molly and turned to Danny. "That he didn't have anything to do with Kate's disappearance."

"Told you," Molly said to Danny, nudging him in the ribs. "He's not smart enough to plan something like this."

"Well, someone's behind it," Danny said. "People don't just vanish into thin air." He turned to Martin. "Find anything in the phone records?"

Martin shook his head, willing himself to calm down. He couldn't let his personal life interfere with his work; it was one thing he'd been afraid of ever since he and Sam had started seeing each other. At the time, he'd considered it to be worth the risk, but now he wasn't so sure. "Nothing incriminating."

Molly cocked an eyebrow. "What, did you think our phone records were going to say, 'Hi, I'm in league with the mob'?"

Danny rolled his eyes, but he was laughing. "You need to get off this mob thing."

Molly ignored him and kept her gaze focused on Martin. "Mind if I take a look?"

Martin furrowed his brow. "Don't you know who you call?"

"I'm not my sister's keeper. She does stuff without my knowledge."

Not in the mood to argue at the moment, Martin sighed and pointed to where he knew Viv was still perusing the phone records. "You can give Viv a hand, if you want."

When Molly was gone, Martin and Danny just stared at each other for a while. Then Danny flicked his eyes briefly to the floor and back, saying, "So, is everything okay with you and Sam?"

Martin narrowed his eyes. He didn't want to talk about it. Actually, that wasn't true. He desperately wanted to talk about it, but technically, he wasn't allowed to talk about it. Sam had asked him not to discuss their relationship with anyone, not even Danny, even though Danny had been the first person to figure it out. But it seemed as though Molly, who didn't even know either of them and had only met Sam for a few minutes, had also figured it out. So why in God's name did they still have to sneak around as if the entire office was still in the dark?

"I don't understand women," was all Martin said, which basically encompassed any problems he had ever or would ever have with Sam.

"You're not supposed to understand women," said Danny. "They don't want us to."

"Everyone knows," Martin said. "But she still wants to keep it a secret."

Danny sighed and shook his head. "Marty, she's just not ready. She was with Jack and basically got burned, and she's afraid of getting burned again. Just give her time."

Martin had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from screaming in frustration. Eight months wasn't enough time? What the hell was enough time? Maybe in six years, she would be ready. But Martin didn't say that. "Maybe you're right."

"Of course I'm right," Danny said with a grin. "I'm always right."

Martin snorted a laugh. "Yeah, in your vast expertise of the opposite sex." He poked Danny in the shoulder. "When was the last time you had a date again?"

Danny blushed deep red, much to Martin's amusement. "I guess I deserved that."

"Why don't you go help your girlfriend go over her phone records?"

"She is not my girlfriend," Danny said through clenched teeth. But he left anyway, and Martin watched him walk over to wear Molly and Viv were in the middle of a heated discussion.

He needed a drink, and – alcohol being prohibited at the office – had to settle for coffee. It was cold and bitter, but he drank it black, because he was too wrapped up in his own problems to really care about the coffee. Was Danny right? Was Sam just afraid that Martin would leave her in the lurch the way that Jack had? But if that were true, then why had she stayed for so long? He wished he could get a woman's perspective on the situation, but the only woman he was all that close to was the one he was having problems with at the moment – he wouldn't feel comfortable dumping all his personal issues on Vivian, especially since she wasn't even supposed to know.

It wasn't until after he had finished his second mug of cold coffee that he realized Sam hadn't even attempted to follow him. He really didn't understand women.

Molly and Vivian were arguing when Danny approached. He couldn't tell what the argument was about, and though he was curious, he wasn't about to ask, because they both looked as though they might bite the head off of the first person to interrupt them. So he hung back a moment and waited for a lull.

"Would you please let me do my job?" Vivian asked, ripping a piece of paper out of Molly's hands.

"My way is easier," Molly said, yanking the piece of paper back.

"Your way may just get your roommate killed." Viv grabbed a corner of the sheet. She sounded much more composed than Molly, but Danny knew her well enough to see that she was furious.

Molly, on the other hand, was spewing fire. Her eyes blazed, her jaw was set, and she clenched and unclenched the fingers of her free hand, as though itching to punch Viv's lights out. "We don't know that." She tugged on her end of the paper, causing it to rip in half.

Danny felt that he should interrupt before they broke something else – like say someone's nose. "Problem, ladies?"

Vivian and Molly both turned to look at him – Vivian the picture of serenity, and Molly resembling an angry bull, the way her nostrils were flaring.

"Molly and I are having a little disagreement," Vivian said. Molly snorted and folded her arms defiantly across her chest, but said nothing to discount Viv. "About one of the phone numbers on the records. She doesn't recognize it."

Danny shrugged. "That's not unusual."

Molly delicately lifted one eyebrow. "Kate and I had the same circle of friends." She said it as if that should explain everything, but Danny agreed with Jack that Molly might not have been the only one not being truthful.

Viv cleared her throat, and only then did Danny realize that he and Molly had been staring at each other. He turned his attention back to Vivian, feeling the heat rising in his cheeks and knowing that he must be blushing furiously. "When I told Molly the standard procedure for this situation," Viv said, trying not to grin, "she suggested we just call the number and talk to whoever answers the phone."

Danny shook his head. "We don't want to give them any reason to get suspicious. If they have Kate, and we call them, they could panic and hurt her."

Vivian gave him a "duh" look. "That's what I told her."

Molly groaned. "I just think that – "

Danny grabbed Molly by the elbow and pulled her aside. "I know you're worried about Kate," he said, leaning in so close that he could smell her perfume, "but let us do our job." It was fading, but he could still smell it – lilacs and vanilla. "We know what we're doing."

She looked at him. Her eyes were bottomless, her stare penetrating, and he almost lost his senses then and there. He could stand there forever, just looking at her. Breathe? Who needed to breathe? Who needed oxygen when there was her? She held his gaze for a moment, then blinked, breaking the connection, and suddenly the flood washed over him, as if he had just been roused from a deep sleep. He took a shaky breath in an attempt to regain control, and she smiled shyly. She had to know what she was doing to him.

"Okay," she said. "But take me home. I'm just going to interfere with your investigation."

Danny felt himself nod, though he wasn't truly aware of doing it. Yes, home. That would be a good idea. Because as long as Molly was around, he wouldn't be able to concentrate. And he wouldn't do the team much good if he kept drifting off, drowning in the deep green of Molly's eyes. "I'll get my coat."

Vivian watched Danny lead Molly away, guiding her with one hand placed lightly on the small of her back, and chuckled softly. He was so far gone that he probably didn't even realize just how quickly he was falling. But it would do him some good. He'd been alone for too long.

She gasped as a sharp pain shot across her chest. She clutched at her shirt, breathing through the pain, as the doctor had instructed, until it faded to a dull throb and then was gone entirely. The pains were becoming more and more frequent, and it was getting harder and harder to hide her condition from her coworkers. And though she would bet that none of them even knew what exactly hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was, they would probably be able to figure out that it was a serious condition.

When the pain was gone, she set about uncovering the identity of the mysterious phone number. It was listed on the records several times, which could mean any number of things, but Vivian's money was on Kate having an affair. Martin had disagreed, citing Kate's reaction to just the idea that Steve may have been cheating with Molly, but Vivian was under the impression that Kate's strong reaction was to Molly, and not Steve. From everything Vivian had heard – be it from Kate's coworkers, her parents, or from Molly – the girls' relationship sounded pretty one-sided.

The response to her search query was almost instantaneous. The mysterious number was in fact the cell phone of one Peter Riegel, who – according to the Department of Motor Vehicles – was a sports agent who lived in the Village.

"You look happy," Martin said, appearing so suddenly beside her that Vivian nearly jumped out of her seat at the sound of his voice. He set his coffee mug down on the desk and leaned over her shoulder to stare at the computer screen. "Find something?"

"Any ideas as to why Kate would be involved with a sports agent?" Vivian asked.

Martin shook his head, his eyes narrowed in thought. "Isn't Molly the huge sports fan? She's the one with money on the NCAA basketball tournament. That's her alibi for the night her roommate disappeared."

Vivian shrugged and used a pencil to point to Peter Riegel's picture. "Well, according to the phone records, Kate has called him a number of times in the past few months."

Martin sat down on the desk behind her. "Everything stems from a few months ago. What happened then that set all this stuff in motion? What are we missing?"

Vivian had no idea. But come hell or high water, she was going to find out.

26 Hours Missing

Molly rummaged through her purse, looking for her keys, and Danny had never felt more awkward. He hadn't ever been in this situation when it wasn't a date, and he wasn't quite sure how to say goodbye without looking like a huge idiot. Should he even leave her? They still had no idea who had taken her roommate, so she could still be in danger, but he was almost positive that he couldn't trust himself alone with her anymore.

She found her keys, inserted it in to the lock, and had barely stepped inside when she screamed – a horrible, blood-curdling scream that made Danny's hair stand on end.

In a flash, he had his gun out and was barreling into the apartment, expecting to find a knife-wielding maniac or the mangled corpse of her roommate, but he didn't see anything.

At first.

It took him really only a few seconds to realize what it was that had terrified Molly. Written on the wall in foot-high letters, in what appeared to be blood, were the words, "You will suffer."