"Anything?"

Sami landed on the chair across from him with a dejected plop. They'd been in the bar of the Jetway Inn for at least an hour and so far there had been no clues, whatsoever.

"Nothing. The waitresses couldn't tell me from Adam, or anyone else for that matter."

"Damn. The bartender didn't see anything and it's a different guy at the front desk tonight."

She rested her cheek in the palm of her hand while leaning on the tabletop. With her face at a slight angle it felt like she was looking inside of him, instead of at him. Lucas returned her gaze steadily, wondering in the back of his head if this was some sort of test.

She wasn't sure how she got lost in staring at him. It started out as a search for some showing of emotion. He was incredibly tense and in a demented way it made her feel better. He truly believed that someone had set him up.

Either that or he was building some elaborate lie for God only knew what reason. She couldn't find any reason for him to lie. He'd already been caught, if he was, in fact, cheating on her and there was no way around that. This search was becoming bigger every second and they were at a loss for clues.

His unwaveringly solid stare was more comforting than she could have counted on. His eyes were the same deep brown they'd always been, his skin was regaining its healthy glow, and, she was relieved to acknowledge, he was the same man he'd always been. He was still Lucas and she was still Sami and that was what this was really about.

And then she realized that they'd been staring at each other for the better part of five minutes without saying a word. Thinking quickly, she tried to cover her train of thought, "Have you thought of anything?"

"Was I supposed to be thinking?" The comment slipped out of his mouth before he'd realized it. It was just too easy to loose himself in examining each one of her perfectly imperfect features.

She scrunched her nose in exasperation he knew she didn't feel, "Of course, you were supposed to be thinking. I can't do this by myself."

She was saying she needed him in a roundabout way and that thought spurred Lucas into action, as always, "I just meant that I've already thought of a solution."

Her eyebrows rose in obvious disbelief, "Well, please, enlighten me."

He rubbed the back of his neck in spite of himself, a nervous habit he'd had for years, and looked around discreetly for some sort of sign. Any kind of intervention, divine or otherwise, would have been welcome.

It hit him as suddenly as the impact from a car crash. It jolted into his system like a lightning rod bringing him to life. He had been staring at the answer on and off since he had sat down to wait for Sami. The security camera.

The inconspicuous black rectangle above the bar that captured all of the daily happenings. Video was much more reliable than word of mouth. Of course, he hadn't even considered the possibility, but now that it was smack dab in front of him, he didn't know how he could have missed it.

She caught the self-reproaching glimmer of a smirk before he knew that it was forming on his face. She knew all of his facial expressions and she could tell that he'd discovered something he thought he should have known. He caught her eye was a rakish grin and her heart almost stopped.

"The security tapes."

………………………………...

She grabbed his arm much in the way that a horror movie heroine would grab her white knight to protect her. There could be no way that he could blame her, because she doubted that many people traversed these hallways. It was dark and creepy and if she were watching this movie she'd be nervous for the characters.

"Are you sure this is the right place?"

Lucas offered her another devastating smile, "Don't worry. This is where the security guys work. See the sign."

She could see the dingy sign hanging on the wall with an arrow pointing further down the hallway. What else could she have expected, though? The Jetway wasn't what anyone would call a high quality place.

They entered the security area and the first thing Sami's eye was drawn to was the guy watching the TV's. He was pale and unhealthy looking, but it went further than physical well-being. He looked like he'd had a miserable life and it could only get worse.

Lucas squeezed her hand gently and lowered his voice to say, "Why don't you stay here? I'll talk to him."

He didn't give her a chance to argue before he made his way over to the man whose nametag said Steve. He walked over as casually as possible before calling for the man's attention.

"Hey, uh, I was wondering if you could answer a question or two for me?"

Steve looked him over for a second and Lucas felt distinctly uncomfortable, "What about?"

"Were you, by any chance, the guy on duty here about three days ago?"

"Nah, man. Wasn't me. I just got back from vacation."

He felt slightly deflated, but tried to hide this fact from Sami. He could feel her watching intently, ready to protect him if things went wrong. That thought sent a little thrill down his spine, but he ignored it.

"Is there any way that you could let me see those tapes? You do save them, right?"

"Are you from the insurance company? Of course we save them, man, but there's no way in hell that I can let just anyone see them."

"I'm not trying to get you in trouble, I swear. It's very important that I get thetape from the bar. You have no idea how much I have riding on this."

Something in his desperation touched a cord in the back of Steve's memory. Something he didn't want to remember, "I doubt anything that important happened at the Jetway."

Lucas let out a perturbed sigh and searched for a way to communicate the importance of the situation, "Do you see that woman over there?"

Steve glanced at the pretty blonde before nodding imperceptibly.

"Well, three days ago we were supposed to get married, but because of something that happened here, it didn't happen. She's the love of my life and I don't know how I can prove that to her if I don't get that tape. Haven't you ever been in love?"

A deeply receded memory was floating to the surface. Honey brown hair and laughter like the tinkling of bells. Steve could see her in his mind's eye, but she was completely out of his reach now. So far gone that all he had left were his bittersweet memories.

"Is she really that important to you?"

"She and our son are the most important people in the world to me."

"There's a kid?"

Even before the guy replied in the affirmative, he knew that he was going to help the young couple. What he wouldn't give to have had someone on his side years ago.

"You know, I have my dinner break in about an hour. It's possible that I went to get something to eat and accidentally left the tape out in the open. Of course if anyone were to be caught stealing the tapes it wouldn't be pretty."

Lucas fought off a smile, "Things could get ugly."

"The supply room is hardly ever used, though. I bet someone could hide in there, no problem."

"Well, thanks anyway. Maybe we'll see you around."

"Good luck," the guy was halfway down the hall when Steve remembered an important little fact, "Just don't shut the door completely." He tried to yell it to them, but he wasn't sure they'd caught the message.

………………………………...

Lucas led Sami down the hallway without stopping, although she was sure that the security guy had been trying to tell them something, "Where are we going?"

"A supply closet. He's going to leave the security tapes out for us to grab, but we've got to hide until his dinner break."

Finally having found the correct place, they went in and closed the door without thought.

"So, we're stuck in a closet for an hour? That's just terrific."

"Don't be such a downer. We're going to get the truth. Think of that, until it's time."