A/N: OK, guess you'll like this: I think we're slowly coming to an end now. But I think I have no other choice, because I really don't wanna make you cry or freak out or something... ;)

Here we go again.

Dedicated to: csigirlie156 (I live in a small cow town either, so don't worry about it... like to hear I'm your hero!), berta101 (I'll end it soon, I promise. I really don't wanna make you cry), lapmal (nah, not yet. We still have two more weeks to go, then 6 weeks off), missusmesser (mmmh, maybe I should just continue with it for several month? But I guess you would freak out because Martin wouldn't wake up so soon... or should I just let him sleep... forever? (maniac laughter)), higherbeingfriendsfan (wanted to bring in a bit of Martin's childhood and how hard it had been with a father like that, because I don't really like the Deputy Director) and SusanWATfan (and another reader who can talk german! Where did you learn? School either? I guess you don't live in America then, because I dont' think they teach German in American schools)

Chapter 10

Samantha awoke with a start as she heard a voice next to her. First she didn't really know where she were. But as she recognized the dark features of a hospital room around her she remembered: Martin was shot, and now she was waiting until he woke up. She didn't really remember falling asleep herself, but as the voice just woke her up, she obviously had fallen asleep.

Oh, yeah, the voice. That was why she was thinking all of this right now. So she turned around to see Danny standing behind her, looking extremely tired and worried. "I'm sorry." He said, "I didn't want to wake you up, I just came here to see if he's alright. You said you wanted to keep us posted but as you didn't turn up I thought I'd just... well... I'm sorry."

He seemed completely lost. Samantha was surprised he was still able to stay upright. As far as she knew he hadn't slept since they arrived at the hospital, and it didn't seem like he had since she went into Martin's room. How long had she actually been here? Or: How long had she actually slept?

"What time is it?" She asked. It surprised her how sleepy her voice sounded.

"It's 3.24 pm." Danny said after looking at his watch.

"What!" Suddenly she was wide-awake. The last time she had looked at her watch it had been around 4.00 a.m. She had slept nearly 11 ½ hours! But what shocked her even more was the fact that 17 hours had passed since Jack called her. And still Martin hadn't woken up. "Oh my God, Danny... " Her voice cracked as she turned to look at Martin. He looked even more pale and fragile than he had when she first saw him.

She put her hand on Martin's arm but flinched as she felt how cold it was. "Danny, why doesn't he wake up? He should be awake by now, the doctor said 24 hours and then..." She couldn't go on. Saying it aloud would make it definite, as there was no chance he could still wake up. Tears started streaming down her face as she watched Martin. She felt Danny's hand on her shoulder and turned around to look at him. He, too, was crying. Samantha got up and hugged Danny, sobbing silently as he put his arms around her back and pulled her close to him.

Danny didn't know what to do. He didn't know what he could say to comfort Samantha, because the truth was: There was nothing he could say to comfort her. He wanted to tell her that Martin would be alright, that he would wake up soon and that everything would be just fine. But he didn't know if Martin would be alright. Actaully, he didn't believe that Martin would be alright.

How could he be? He was in this coma for more than 13 hours now. And with each hour that passed, the chances that he would wake up and recover fully got lower. He prayed again and again that his partner would just wake up, look at them with his typical smile and tell them that everything was fine now, that he was OK, and that he would never ever leave them.

But he didn't. He just didn't. Danny stroked Samantha's back as her sobbing increased and more tears started running down his own face. Questions started racing throught his mind. What if Martin didn't wake up? Would Samantha be able to take it? Would she be able to continue with her life?

Martin had made Samantha more happy than he had ever seen her. In the whole six years they had been working together in the Missing Persons Unit of the FBI he and Samantha had gotten close friends. He knew about her past, how hard Samantha's life had been when she was young, and he knew how hard it had been for her to open up to other people. They had never really talked about her affair with Jack and how hard it had been for Samantha when Jack broke up. But he knew it had really gotten to her and at that time he didn't know if Samantha would ever be able to have a 'normal' relationship again. Even before the whole thing with Jack had happened Samantha was really reserved, but after that it got even worse. She didn't go out any more, didn't talk to guys and if she had a relationship it was never very close and ended soon after it had begun.

But Martin had changed her. He had managed to do what no one else had ever done before: He had made Samantha smile. He had made her happy. Really happy. And he had loved her.

No, he loved her. He wasn't dead. At least not yet. 'Don't start thinking like that. He won't die.' If he wasn't able to reassure Samantha and tell her that Martin would be OK, he at least had to tell himself.

Finally, Samantha calmed down a little bit and her sobbing stopped. "I'm sorry Danny. I didn't want to break down on you, it's just... I mean... 13 hours?" She looked up at him and her eyes mirrored all the mixed up emotions inside of her.

"Yeah, I know. And you don't have to apologize." As she looked down at the floor, Danny lifted up her chin so she had to look at him gain. "You hear me? You don't have to be sorry."

"I guess you're right. I'm sorry." Realizing what she had just said she chuckled slightly.

Danny smiled at her. "That's my girl, I already started missing this smile."

Suddenly, Samantha's expression changed. The smile faded off her face and changed with an expression full of shock and guilt. "Hey, what's wrong?" Danny asked worriedly.

Samantha looked at him in shock. "I'm laughing... I mean, I'm in a hospital room and Martin's badly hurt and I'm... laughing."

Danny didn't quite know what to say. Of course she had done nothing wrong by just laughing, but he could understand why it shocked her so much. "It's okay to laugh. You won't hurt Martin if you are happy or laugh or smile. I'm sure he would want you to be happy, not to sit at his side and cry the whole night." As Samantha didn't look very convinced, he added, "I'm sure Martin will be okay. You'll see, in a few hours he will wake up and smile at you just like he always does."

Samantha's eyes shone as she looked up at Danny. "Are you sure?"

Seeing the hopeful look in Samantha's eyes, Danny didn't know what to say. He had said it because he wanted to comfort Samantha, not because he really believed what he had said. But he couldn' t tell her this. "Yeah, I'm sure." He pulled her into another hug, not wanting her to see the expression on his face.

"I'm sure."

A/N: Still not awake, and I'm sorry about it. I wanted to let him wake up by the end of this chapter, but I have to end now, still have some homework to do and a project to finish. Maybe he'll wake up tomorrow...

Oh, and I'm sorry for apologizing so often ;) When I read your review Susan, I was really surprised, because I had already written the part about Sam apologizing for apologizing. You're able to read my mind or something? (grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, don't you steal my ideas! ;)