Mad Season

Set after S4 'Safe'. Coming back to work was like come home. 'Cos home is where the heart is right? S/M

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, Without A Trace or the F.B.I. I do however own my imagination, my Muse, my insanity, my fangirliness and my dreams.

Part One

A/N:- Another One-Shot! I lie. It was originally going to be a one-shot but I got carried away and it's now too long – even for my one-shots -so instead I give you a ficlet! Lots of lyrics from Jo O'Meara's solo album because I love her, I love the album and the lyrics fit.

'Even though your smile is always bright, I can see the heartache in your eyes, I'll take you through your darkest hour, I have been there too, But you pulled me through, I'll do the same for you.' – Jo O'Meara 'I Believe In You'

Martin watched as Jack moved away from his desk and over to the white board to wipe it down signalling the end of another day. At least that routine hadn't changed. It seemed that just about everything else had – and to top it all, they were getting a new Agent too. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Jack had said it wasn't because of him but him being off had certainly influenced that decision. He had said he was glad to be back and that was true. He had told Jack that he felt fantastic – that wasn't one hundred percent true. Frankly, he was still in a lot of pain but he wasn't going to tell anyone that, especially since Jack already didn't seem to buy the fact he was ready to be back at work – how many times had his boss asked him whether he was alright today?

As he filed away his last report, Samantha, Danny and Vivian walked in having just finished the handover of the case to the NYPD. "Anyone feel like going for a drink to celebrate our first day back as a team?" Vivian asked.

"You sure you two don't want to go home and get some rest?" Jack asked looking at Martin and Vivian.

"I'm fine." Martin said, biting his bottom lip as he got up so he wouldn't wince.

"Honestly Jack, stop babysitting us." Vivian said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm just concerned okay?" Jack said, pulling on his jacket.

"Remember what he was like with me when I came back to work after getting shot? You've got all that to look forward to." Samantha chuckled, nudging Martin playfully with her elbow.

"You coming?" Martin asked Danny. He had felt Danny had been avoiding him all day and when they had spoken Danny had looked awkward and almost guilty and Martin couldn't fathom why. Now though, Danny wasn't looking at him unsurely but was looking at Jack, his jaw set.

"No, I think I'm just going to head home." Danny said stoically.

Samantha sighed and turned to pick up her cell phone and keys from her desk and from reading her expression Martin could tell that something had gone down between Jack and Danny at the school.

"Don't be silly, join us." Jack said a touch gruffly with that look on his face. The two men stared at each other for a bit before Danny relented.

"Okay, just for a bit." He said, grabbing his bag.

"Cool, where shall we go? The usual?" Samantha asked, heading towards the door.

"No." Jack said shortly.

"Why not?" Samantha questioned.

"Remember last time we were in there? The barmaid who kept hitting on Jack." Vivian said with a laugh.

"Vivian, you promised not to bring that up!" Jack grumbled.

Martin smiled, slinging his jacket over his arm and taking his cane. The friendly banter was still there. At least some things didn't change.

…………………………………………..

As they headed down the busy New York streets, Samantha fell into step beside Martin as Vivian and Jack walked on ahead and Danny spoke on the phone.

"Well I won't be running the marathon any time soon." Martin said with a half smile as they lagged behind the others.

"Give it time. You're doing really well for someone who six weeks ago was lying unconscious in a hospital bed." Samantha said, her heart lurching as she thought of how close she had been to losing him.

"Yeah I suppose." Martin relented. He paused before looking at Samantha. "Thanks for phoning every couple of days whilst I was recuperating in Washington. Helped me still feel connected."

Samantha held his gaze and gave him a soft smile. "You're welcome." She said. "I would have come out and visit but Jack wouldn't even let me get an afternoon off work what with there only being three of us."

"With two Agents down - must have been pretty hectic." Martin said, leaning heavily on his cane as his hip started to ache.

"Well you know New York, people just love to go missing." Samantha sighed, rubbing her hands together. God the temperature had dropped dramatically in the past few hours. Leaving the house earlier today she had been sure she wouldn't be needing her coat today.

"Here." Martin said stopping and holding his cane in between his knees, he took his coat off his arm and held it open for Samantha.

Samantha looked at him and bit her lip. The gesture held so many memories for them. Evenings strolling through the park wrapped up in his coat with him cuddling her, partly to keep her warm, partly because they both enjoyed the contact. "You sure? You not cold?"

Martin watched as the flash of memories clouded her eyes and he wrapped the coat around her, leaning forward to fasten one of the buttons. "I really missed you." He said softly. And he had done. Many days were spent lounging on the settee in his parents' house, wondering if he had done the right thing ending it just like that. Things might not have been perfect between them but it was much better than not having her at all.

Samantha met his gaze and remembered how long it had been since she allowed herself to lose herself in his blue eyes. "I missed you too." She admitted quietly.

They stood there for a few seconds, letting the rest of New York pass around them, just staring until they heard Danny's voice carry over a crowd of Icelandic tourists.

"You guys hurry up – Jack said he's buying the first round but the offer's only open for the next few minutes." He called. The crowd parted and he saw Martin and Samantha wearing the coat. "Everything okay?" he asked glancing from one of them to the other.

Martin nodded and tore his eyes away from Samantha as they continued along the street.

"Thanks." Samantha said, enjoying the warmth the coat brought her as it transported her to a happier time. She stuck her hands in the pockets and her hand immediately clasped the small round object she had been used to finding in there, although she would have thought Martin would have taken it out now. She glanced over to Martin but he had obviously forgotten it was still in there. She fingered it nervously. God how she wished she could go back to that day when he first put it in there.

"Did you notice how the waiter in there was totally checking you out?" Martin asked, lacing his fingers with Samantha's as they strolled home through the park one evening after dinner. It wasn't often that Samantha 'allowed' them to go out on dates but when they did she enjoyed every single minute of it and she might even catch herself thinking how stupid she was for not wanting their relationship to be more open. Tonight they'd gone to a restaurant the other side of town which she was sure no one else from work knew about and she'd even consented to a walk afterwards in the deserted park – if she could wear his coat of course.

"He wasn't. I think I would have noticed if he was." Samantha smiled.

"No, trust me, he was." Martin insisted.

"You're just jealous." Samantha said, laughing lightly and moving closer to Martin, leaning her head on his shoulder as they walked.

"I'm not jealous." Martin grumbled, trying to hide a smile.

"You so are!" Samantha said, raising her head, looking for a kiss.

Martin bent down and wrapped his arms around her, brushing his lips against hers. When they finally drew apart and carried on walking, Samantha couldn't resist teasing him some more. "You're so cute when you're jealous." She said playfully.

Martin closed the gap between them and held her near with his arm around her waist. "I thought you said I had nothing to be jealous of." He said softly into her ear. His breath sending shivers down her spine. She closed her eyes and leaned into him, wishing that they were at home already.

Martin sensed she wanted the contact and started kissing her neck. She smiled as he left a trail of kisses over every bit of flesh he could get to. How did she get to be so lucky? This guy was just amazing and showed her happiness like she never even knew existed. Waking up in his arms every morning was bliss as were times like this when it was just the two of them alone but together.

"What are you thinking of?" Martin asked, lifting his head up slightly to look into her eyes.

Samantha shrugged and smiled. "Just how nice this is."

"What this?" Martin said, lowering his head again and nibbling at her neck.

"Martin!" she said, swatting him away, trying to pull an angry face but only succeeded in laughing at Martin's cheeky grin. "I don't want to have to spend the whole day tomorrow fielding Danny's questions like last time."

"I thought it was quite amusing." Martin said with a mock-casualness.

"You just like watching me squirm." Samantha pouted.

"I like watching you do a lot of things." Martin said, his voice low and husky.

They had stopped walking now and they stood there, facing each other, their heads only centimetres apart. Samantha gave in first and crushed her lips against Martin's, needing to taste him and feel him. He backed her off the path and into the trees. She moaned softly into the kiss. She had wanted this all day. Just seeing him sitting there across the aisle at his desk and not being able to drag him into the coffee room, drove her crazy. She had never felt this way before about any guy. And it wasn't just the physical attraction. No, this went way beyond that.

As she entangled her hands in his hair, holding him close, she felt him undo the belt on her trench coat and run his hands up and down her body. She arched into him as he slipped his hand under her blouse making contact with her skin. Quite honestly, she didn't care if anyone could see them anymore. She was about to moan something incomprehensible when she heard something snap and Martin pulled away slightly.

"Your button." He explained. They looked at each other for a moment and she wanted to tell him to forget about it but she knew tomorrow morning she would regret that decision.

Martin switched on his torch and knelt on the ground, picking up the small pink object.

"Guess, I've got some sewing to do tonight." Samantha said, holding her hand out for the button.

Martin didn't give it to her. "No, I think you'll be busy doing other things tonight."

Samantha laughed softly. "Martin, we're going back to yours and I don't have any other clean clothes there. I was going to wear this tomorrow as well and now there's a button missing and since we've already established how jealous you can get, I don't think you'll appreciate every guy in New York staring at my breasts tomorrow."

"Why don't we worry about that tomorrow? Tonight you won't have to worry about wearing clothes." He smirked. "I'm gonna keep this." He said, slipping the button in his coat pocket. "It'll be like I'm carry a piece of you everywhere with me."

Samantha couldn't hide her smile as she tied up her coat and kissed him softly. "You're so cheesy."

"That's what you love about me." Martin chuckled, taking her hand and leading her back onto the path.

'That and a thousand other things.' Samantha thought to herself. But she wasn't going to tell him that.

Danny led them into the bar and Martin was glad to see that this place certainly hadn't changed. The owner, Billy greeted them as if they were some sort of celebrities not FBI Agents and he cleared the glasses off their usual table faster than Martin could reach it.

"It's nice to be home." Martin said, taking his seat. The others laughed and Jack began taking their orders before making his way to the bar. Martin glanced at Samantha sitting next to him. Ever since he had offered her his coat, she had gone very quiet and now sat still wrapped up in it even though it dwarfed her and they were inside. Martin remembered coming into this bar almost a year ago to celebrate Vivian's promotion and his heart hurt just thinking about what came after. Maybe Samantha was remembering too.

"So this will be the last time it's just the five of us drinking here." Vivian said contemplatively once Jack was seated again. "What shall we drink to: new beginnings or old times?"

"To old friends and a new era." Jack said as they all raised their glasses.

"So, what's the new Agent like?" Danny asked, leaning forward eagerly and it was obvious that the air between the two men had cleared.

"You know I can't divulge any information about her." Jack said.

"So it's a 'her'!" Danny grinned triumphantly.

Jack looked slightly annoyed at his carelessness. "Yes it's a 'her'." He admitted reluctantly.

"Young or old?" Vivian asked.

"Blonde or brunette?" Danny pushed, winking at Martin.

Martin grinned but his smile almost immediately turned into a wince as the searing pain in his hip came back. He saw Danny look at him worriedly before tearing his eyes away finally when Martin gave him a look. He didn't even need to look at Samantha to know she was giving him worried glances as she sipped her drink quietly. Martin shifted a bit into a more comfortable position and gritted his teeth, putting on a brave face. "So has she done this FBI malarkey before or is she completely new?" he asked, tuning back into the conversation.

"You'll find out tomorrow. None of you are getting another word out of me." Jack said, crossing his arms.

"Remember how we nagged at you to tell us about Martin." Vivian said to Jack, giving Martin a smile.

"And you said that the interview had been very interesting!" Danny piped in.

Martin put on a shocked face and rounded on Jack. "You told them about that?"

Jack shook his head. "I didn't tell them anything that happened."

"Oh you've got to tell us now." Vivian ordered.

"Okay, but you've got to remember that I was incredibly nervous, alright?" Martin said, resigning to the fact that this tale was going to get told one way or another. "Basically in a nutshell it was the worst interview ever."

"I'd just finished the undercover op for the Staling's case and I was wearing my casual clothes as I hadn't had a chance to change and the moment I walked into my office where Martin was waiting, he turned to me and told me that I couldn't come in without permission from 'Jack Malone.'" Jack narrated, chuckling.

Martin buried his head in his hands in mock embarrassment. "I thought he was a member of the public and I didn't stop to read his name tag!"

"And once we got through the interview with relatively few mishaps, Martin went to shake my hand and was obviously too enthusiastic as he knocked half the stuff on my desk off." Jack continued. The others roared with laughter and Martin joined in. It felt good to laugh again. That was something else had had missed whilst in Washington.

Billy came over then with a grin on his chubby face and the Agents exchanged a look – he had obviously been eavesdropping again. "Another round of drinks guys?" he asked.

"Sure." Jack said. "We'll all have the same again thanks."

Billy nodded and collected the glasses but before he went away again he turned to Martin. "I heard what happened Agent Fitzgerald." He said, looking meaningfully at Martin's cane propped up against the wall.

Samantha felt Martin bristle up next to her and she looked at him anxiously. As a team, they had never discussed or brought up the shooting itself as they all mutually understood that Martin wouldn't want to relive the events of that day. Sure they had talked about Dornvald and Samantha had told him the whole story over the phone one evening but she was always careful to avoid questioning him on how much he could remember of the attack on the car.

She could see Martin tense up and the grin faded from his face. Samantha had been watching him before and every time she saw him wince with pain she felt something die inside of her and she wished she could do something for him. The brave façade didn't fool her and she wished that he would tell her what he was really going through. But then as the moment passed, he had managed to have a laugh with the rest of them. God how she loved seeing him smile again and the dimples on his cheeks with his eyes all lit up. She remembered how it used to be her who managed to make him smile like that and the aching in her heart only increased.

Martin shouldn't have been surprised that someone sooner or later from outside the office would bring up the shooting. The media, although somewhat restrainedly, had broadcast the fact that an FBI Agent had been seriously injured in NYC and they came in here enough times for Billy to feel like he wasn't being overtly rude in bringing it up. Maybe it was because he tried to avoid thinking about it most of the time but when he was forced to confront it directly, he couldn't help feeling frustration and anger that it had happened in the first place. He involuntarily clenched his fists up and his body went rigid. "Yeah." He said, his voice strained.

"I was sorry to hear that you were injured." Billy continued. "Hope you're feeling better now."

"Yes, yes, I'm doing great." Martin said, forcing a shadow of a smile out.

Billy nodded and seemed to get the hint as he took the glasses and away without another word.

As soon as he was gone, the others let out the breaths they had been holding and Vivian started talking, telling them about something Reggie had done the other day.

Samantha could see that the whole thing had thrown Martin off though. He was distracted and struggling to relax again. She don't know why she did it, she guessed she wanted to somehow share his pain, but she reached over and put her hand on top of his under the table. He didn't flinch or look at her quizzically and it was a good few minutes before he moved. Samantha thought he was going to take his hand away but instead he held her hand in his and gave it a squeeze, letting her know he was okay.

"You're quiet tonight Sam." Danny said, turning his attention to her.

Samantha quickly took her hand out of Martin's and took a sip of her drink nervously. "Am I? Guess I'm just a bit tired." She said.

"And cold." Vivian said pointedly and Samantha realised that she still hadn't taken off Martin's coat.

"Yeah, I …was." She said lamely, shifting uncomfortingly under the curious gaze of the others. God she was pathetic but she couldn't bring her to take the coat off.

"Danny, I heard about your new girl. How's that going?" Martin said lightly, taking the attention away from Samantha. She was acting strangely tonight, almost like a new, softer, vulnerable Samantha Spade. He had been startled by her slipping her hand over his in such a simple gesture but one which made him feel like he was floating. He wondered what she meant by it and he guessed it was to comfort him and to tell him not to dwell on what had happened with Dornvald so he had squeezed her hand back in a gesture of thanks – and she had kept her hand in his for awhile afterwards, until Danny had called on her and he saw the rare tinge of embarrassment rise in her cheeks.

"Oh Suzie – she's great." Danny said enthusiastically, eager to talk about his new girlfriend.

"She succumbed to that Taylor charm already then?" Vivian said with a laugh.

"Yeah, I'm taking her out tomorrow for dinner." Danny told them.

"God she must be special if she's getting dinner too." Jack said with a smirk.

"Hey!" Danny said, clasping his hand to his heart. "I'm insulted! Who do you think I am?"

"Danny Taylor." Martin chuckled.

"Well, I'm sorry to be boring, but I'm off now." Jack said putting his coat on. "But some of us have to be in extra early tomorrow to welcome Elena."

"Elena – her name's Elena!" Danny said triumphantly.

Jack nodded and laughed. "Yeah, I'm going now too." Vivian said, getting up.

"Have a good night." She said glancing at Martin and Samantha and sending Danny a meaningful look.

Once they had gone, Danny leaned forward, engaging Martin in a conversation about the latest baseball game whilst Samantha sat there lost in thought, rubbing the button in her pocket distractedly. Seeing Martin again today had totally thrown her off. After he ended it, she was cold and angry – mainly at herself for letting such a good thing get away. Then when she heard about the shooting, she was distraught and worried sick. On hearing he was okay, she was filled with relief and she enjoyed talking to him again, even if it was only on a superficial level over the phone. Now, seeing him back today, she felt so many conflicting emotions: happiness that she would get to see him every day again, hurt at seeing him so close but emotionally so far away, anger at herself for still feeling so weak when he sat next to her. She thought she had worked through that: strictly friends, strictly professionals but feeling his hand run up her back today when they hugged and the lingering looks that had passed between them, she knew she was in the danger zone again. Martin and Danny's conversation began to fade out more and more and instead she found herself concentrating on the song playing over the bar stereo. She knew the song well. Hell, it was practically all she had listened to for the past month.

'What hurts the most was being so close, And having so much to say, and watching you walk away, And never knowing what could have been, Not seeing that loving you is what I was trying to do …. But I know if I could do it over I would trade and give away all the words that I say in my heart that I left unspoken.'

God how true those words were.

"Sam, are you sure you're alright?" Samantha turned to Danny, startled, taking a few seconds to process what he said. "You've hardly said two words all evening."

Samantha could feel Martin's gaze on her and she made the mistake of glancing at him before she looked down at her hands wrapped around her glass. She hoped Martin hadn't been able to read her in that one look. But knowing Martin, he probably had been able to. "I'm fine Danny." She said at last looking at her friend. "So, you and Jack kissed and made up?"

Danny made a face. "I know I was an idiot but I think he was kinda harsh backing me up against that car."

"Wow, it's certainly been an interesting first day back." Martin sighed.

"And it's not over yet." Danny grinned, giving them a wink as he finished off his drink and stood up. "I'll leave you two to it then. See you tomorrow." He said, walking out of the bar without another word.

Samantha cursed Danny internally for being so damn obvious. Martin was probably thinking of heading for the door right now.

Martin watched Danny go out the door and glanced over at Samantha staring at the table, chewing on her bottom lip. It had been awhile since they had been alone together out of work. Hopefully there'd be no fighting tonight.

Samantha met Martin's gaze with a weak smile. "Guess it's just the two of us left then."

A/N:- First part done there. Don't know how many parts this ficlet will consist of – maybe two, maybe three. Anyway, tell me if you like it so far!