Title: Till We Meet Again

Disclaimer: Slash, language, violence, character death, sexual content, angst.

POV: Danny

Chapter Six: Your Eyes

I parted ways with Martin as soon as we were in the office. Jack had left a message for me on my cell phone. He hadn't said much in it, only that I was to see him as soon as possible this morning. I mumbled to Martin about having to part ways but I don't think he heard me. A peek into Jack's office showed me that he wasn't there yet. So I stole away to the break room to grab a donut for breakfast. A few other agents came into the room, talking in hushed voices. They took one look at me and turned right back around. This surprised me, what had I done? Polishing off my donut I went back to Jack's office but he still wasn't there. Elena came down the hallway as I turned to head to my desk. Her hands were full of papers and they held her attention. They captivated her so much that she nearly ran into me.

"Hey, don't read and walk, you could hurt someone," I joked, giving her a smile.

She smiled back. "Sorry, Danny, I've been trying to add together a whole shit load of clues together for a case I'm working with Vivian. It's not really making sense though. Some of these clues just don't go together. I've got ten people saying this girl left willingly with a young male while another eight say that she left unwillingly with an older male," she sighed in frustration.

"Sounds to me like you need to sit down with Vivian and maybe revisit some of your witnesses," I offered. "By the way, have you seen Jack this morning? He wanted to talk to me about something but I haven't been able to locate him."

"Last I saw him he was talking to Anne about Max," she replied after thinking for a moment. "The disappearance of her husband has been terrible on the both of them."

"Thanks, Elena, I think I'll just wait for him in his office," I stated.

We parted ways and I stepped into Jack's office. Paperwork covered his desk making it hard to see any of the wooden top. He'd definitely been busy. There were two chairs placed across the desk from where he usually sat. I didn't use either of them; instead I sat on the black leather sofa that was also in his office. The luxury of being in charge. Though I had been in his office many times before I let my eyes wonder over the titles of the books on the shelves and over the various diplomas and awards mounted on the walls. Amidst the clutter on his desk were two pictures, one of his wife and one of his two girls. I didn't even have to guess, I knew that he missed those girls of his terribly. Maybe I could suggest he take time off to visit them. That would leave Vivian in charge but I could deal with that.

I was only in the office for ten minutes before Jack returned. He opened the door, looking down at papers in his hands, reminding me of Elena. When he looked up and saw me sitting there he practically jumped out of his skin in surprise.

"Danny, why are you sitting there?" He asked as he made his way to his desk.

"You left me a message saying that we need to talk this morning, so, here I am, let's talk," I replied.

He added the new stack of papers to the mass already on his desk. "I need you to go look into a tip about Anne's husband."

"I'm already working a case," I pointed out. I can't abandon Martin on this case. I didn't honestly think he could handle the pressure right now. "Why don't you get one of the girls to do it? Even you could go," I suggested.

He shook his head. "No can do. Vivian and Elena are already working a case. I promised I'd help Sam with the case she's been assigned. That leaves you and Martin. Frankly, I need to see that Martin can handle working some things alone. Plus, it'll probably only be just for the day."

I hold up my hand to silence him. "Let me see if I understand this, I've read between the lines. You want to test Martin, to see if he can still do his job?" I hoped he could hear the disbelief in my voice.

He sighed and leaned back in his chair, placing his hands in his lap. "Yes, that's basically it. Don't give me that look, Danny. The orders came straight from Martin's own father. He wants to know if his boy can do this job or not. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Would you want Martin working a job that could stress him to a potentially bad breaking point?"

"Well, no," I said slowly. "But, Jack, you can't expect him to feel comfortable working alone with the O'Leary brothers, even if one of them is missing. Don't you think that's asking him a bit too much?"

This time he stood, placing his hands on the desk top. "Look, the decision wasn't mine to make. You can return to your assigned case tomorrow. Today you're looking into something else, got it? And you are not to call Martin to talk about the O'Leary brothers. If he can't handle his job than I need to know. I can't have inadequate agents working for us."

Knowing that there wouldn't be any point in arguing with him I took the information and left to see if I could find Martin. I'd at least like to let him know that today he'd be by himself. But as I scoured the office I can't find him anywhere. Vivian remarked that she saw him leaving about ten minutes ago. Cursing under my breath I grab my keys and make haste to the parking garage. His car is already gone. I leaned against my SUV trying to shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen today. Martin knew how to take care of himself. He'd be fine. Wouldn't he? I looked at the address Jack gave me and sighed. Maybe if I got this done quickly he'd let me track down Martin and give him some sort of support for this case. I'd just have to wait and see.

I didn't return to the office until around twelve-thirty. The man I'd been sent to interview had been a marathon talker. He had to tell me every little detail, down to whether or not the Max had his shoes tied. I was really sorry that Anne's husband had disappeared but this wasn't a case I wanted to work. There had been no foul play or anything suspicious about him leaving, except the fact that he was gone and no one could locate him. Could it be that he just left of his own free-will? Life wasn't always an easy thing to figure out. Maybe he needed a little time alone and didn't tell his wife were he was going. Nonetheless, I took down every word the marathon talker had to say, best to make Jack see that I was still useful, even though I found myself a tad pissed off. He could have sent anyone to interview this guy.

Thinking of a few choice words that I'd like to share with Jack, I drove back to the office. I didn't even notice if Martin was back or not. My mind focused on being mad. Yes, I could see the logic in making sure Martin could handle his job. But couldn't they have waited until the next case? At this rate Martin wouldn't have a next case; the O'Leary brothers would probably just kill him. I shook that unpleasant thought from my mind as I rode in the silence of the elevator. During the ride I made my plan of attack.

When the doors opened on my floor I went straight to Jack's office. I threw the notebook full of information of his desk. He looked up startled. "What the hell is wrong with you Danny?"

"I did the interview you sent me on. Every word that man said about Max is written down in that book. Do with it what you please. I'm going to see if I can locate Martin." I didn't even give him a chance to reply as I turned and left his office.

It took me about five minutes to locate my lover. He was standing near the bathrooms, leaning against the wall and it appeared as though he was shaking. And unless my eyes deceived me he looked a little on the pale side. I stopped in front of him. He smelled of the ocean and I knew that he'd been at the docks. Could he have been threatened by Sean or someone else? Someone that didn't want us to find Cory? It took him a few seconds to realize that I was standing there, studying him. He looked at me with his beautiful blue eyes, fear written clearly across them.

"Are you okay?" I asked in a hushed voice.

"Fine," he replied. I could tell from the way that his voice shook that he was lying to me. Looked like I'd be making another visit to Jack's office. Something had happened and Martin was afraid. Unfortunately, I knew I couldn't say anything to Jack. If I did there was a good chance my lover would lose his job. It pained me to see him hurting, trying to act like nothing was wrong.

I placed a hand on each cheek and forced him to look into my eyes. "Martin, don't lie to me, what the hell is wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, I just caught a chill at the docks, that's all," he lied.

"Your eyes don't say that. They're telling me something else entirely." It troubled me that he didn't feel safe to confide in me.

"Please, Danny, just let it go?" He pleaded.

I chewed it over in my mind before shrugging. I wouldn't push him outside his comfort zone. I could only hope that eventually he would tell me what happened today while I was running around like Jack's trained pet. I let my hands slide to his shoulders and gave a reassuring squeeze. Fuck Jack, I wasn't leaving Martin alone again today or at all, until this case was said and done. Not really knowing what else to do I gave him a gentle kiss on the lips, right there in the office where anyone could have seen us. I could feel him relaxing, the tension and fear flowing away. Tonight I'd make it clear that he was safe when I was around.