Five Years ago

Martin leaned back against the seat on the airplane and took another swallow of water. He hadn't even been away for a day and he was already anxious to get back to New York. And Samantha. Martin yawned and closed his eyes, pretending he was still in New York and not on his way to a new job in Denver. He had loved Samantha Spade since the day she was held hostage and shot. He could pinpoint the exact moment he fell in love with her, when she was lying on the gurney, crying, and telling Martin how sorry she was that she had gotten shot. Martin loved her then and hadn't stopped loving her since.

When Martin arrived in the stuffy business leased apartment, the first thing he did was check his cell phone for messages. Samantha had called him, but she didn't leave a message. He sighed and lied down on the bed, hoping he would wake up back home.

Eight Months Later

Martin was sick of Denver. He was sick of the mountains and the small towns and the stupid high altitudes. He was sick of being an undercover bartender to catch a serial killer. He was sick of always being alone. But most of all, he was sick of never seeing Samantha. Her face was beginning to fade. He remembered she had brown eyes, but the exact shade of brown he could not be certain of. Her ideal blonde hair had faded into a yellow shadow around her face. He didn't remember if she wore is straight more often or in a ponytail. Or did she curl it? His heart still skipped a beat whenever a blonde woman would come into the bar he was working, and he still felt a deep pain whenever the woman turned around to look nothing like Samantha. He was losing her. He would imagine himself walking into the Denver FBI office and handing over his gun and badge. This dream Martin would then hop a plane to New York and find Samantha waiting for him. But sometimes this dream Martin would get shot, or find Samantha in the arms of another man. The last thing Martin ever dreamed of was at the exact moment he noticed several missed calls from Danny, Samantha was holding their baby and crying silently.

Two Years Ago

Martin stood by baggage claim waiting for Danny to arrive from New York. Danny was assigned to Denver for a little while to give them an extra hand while Martin and the others searched for a missing family.

"Fitzy. You haven't changed a bit." Danny said as he walked toward his old friend.

"It seems like you haven't either, unfortunately." Martin said sarcastically as he threw his coffee cup away.

"So, how ya been?" Danny asked as he followed Marty to the car.

"Working a lot. I miss New York."

"I bet that's not the only thing you miss." Danny thought to himself, but he wouldn't dare bring up Samantha yet. He didn't want to let it slip that Martin had a kid back in New York. "Well, Martin, New York misses you. Granted, we've solved a lot more cases in the past few years."

"Thanks a bunch, Professor." Martin smiled as they got in the car. "So, um, how is everybody?"

"We're all good." Danny said even though he knew "everybody" only meant Sam.

"All of you?"

"Yep, good."

"So you, Jack, and Vivian are all good?"

"And Samantha?" Danny reminded him

"How is Samantha?" Martin managed to sneak in.

"Good." Danny didn't know how he walked in to that one, but somehow he did. He decided it best to be vague. "Do you know when you're coming back to New York?"

"No idea. But I want to get back as soon as possible." Martin said as he turned into the FBI building and tried to get focused on his work. But even as he explained the case to Danny, in the back of his mind he would have killed to get back to Samantha.