Chapter 7

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The following Monday morning, Danny walked into the break-room whistling a happy tune and saw Martin standing at the counter pouring a cup of coffee.

"Morning, Marty," Danny grinned as he reached into the cupboard to get a coffee mug of his own. "Pour me a cup as long as you have it out."

Martin raised an eyebrow but did as instructed. "You're awfully chipper this morning."

"It's a beautiful day my friend." Danny chimed as he took a drink of his coffee. He looked at Martin and asked, "So, what are you doing next Friday night?"

"I'm…" Martin began.

"Cancel it." Danny started walking out and over his shoulder said, "Next Friday you are having dinner with Emma and me. You can bring Sam if you want."

Danny was down the hall before Martin had a chance to respond.

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That Friday night Martin and Sam were walking to the restaurant to meet Danny and Emma. Martin was fidgeting a lot, taking his hands in and out of his pockets; crossing and uncrossing his arms, until finally Sam couldn't take it anymore and asked, "Alright, what's wrong?"

Martin looked at her and replied, "Nothing, what makes you think something's wrong?" Sam just stared at him knowingly until he finally relented, "I'm just a little nervous about meeting Emma."

"Why? Danny's dating her not you."

Martin looked across the street and cleared his throat. "It's just…..I mean, she has seen me before but…."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't even think about that." Sam reached out to hold his hand. "We can postpone if you're not ready. I'm sure Emma would understand."

"Nah, she's important enough for Danny to want me to meet her. I can deal with it." Martin said somewhat unconvincingly.

Sam just nodded as she squeezed his hand and they continued walking down the block.

As the entered Café Gray, they spotted Emma and Danny sitting at the bar. Martin held onto Sam's hand as he led her through the bustling crowd.

"Hey, you made it!" Danny exclaimed at seeing Martin and Sam. He stood up from his stool and made introductions. "Agent Martin Fitzgerald, I'd like to introduce you to Dr. Emma Close."

"Nice to meet you," Martin said as he shook Emma's hand. He had to admit that Danny had great taste in women. She was absolutely gorgeous – not as much as Sam – but still beautiful. "It's good to meet the woman who has been making this guy so happy."

"Nice to finally meet you, too, Martin." Emma responded blushing. "Hi Samantha, it's good to see you again."

"Hi, Emma," Sam replied as Emma leaned in to give her a friendly hug.

The group made small talk until the hostess approached telling them their table was ready. As they made their way to the table, Sam's cell phone rang. She excused herself to answer it leaving Martin, Danny and Emma sitting at the table. Martin immediately missed the distraction Sam offered.

"I heard that the pan seared tuna here was spectacular." Emma casually remarked.

"Hey," Sam said as she walked to the table. "Looks like I gotta duck out. That was Jack. I have to go investigate a possible case." Sam frowned as she turned to Danny, "And since you're on call too, you get to come with me."

"Danny, I can go." Martin interrupted, grateful for an excuse to duck out early.

"Actually, it needs to be Danny; the family only speaks Spanish. Sorry." While Sam's gaze was directed to Emma, Martin noticed that she gave him an apologetic look as well.

"That's okay, but I would like it marked down for the record: you were the one called away this time." Emma smirked at Danny as he stood up and leaned in to kiss her goodbye.

"Yeah, yeah," Danny waved goodbye and followed Sam out saying, "You guys should still stay and eat. No sense the evening being ruined for all of us."

Emma and Martin looked at one another but Emma was the one who spoke first, "I am hungry…"

"Um, yeah, I guess we could eat." Martin answered awkwardly.

Sam and Danny waved goodbye and continued walking away. As they neared the exit Martin saw Sam mouth 'Good luck' as she headed out the door.

Emma leaned forward and looked directly at Martin, "Look, if this makes you uncomfortable, we can do this another time, when Sam and Danny are around."

"Nah, why would I be uncomfortable?" Martin responded with a forced laugh.

Emma gave him an evaluating look and softly said, "Okay."

Martin knew that he was the one making the situation awkward so he decided to try and cut the tension, "So, Emma, you're dating Danny." Emma looked up questioningly when Martin's eyes met hers and he grinned, "Why exactly?"

Thankfully Emma laughed.

The rest of the evening was actually quite pleasant. He could definitely understand why Danny was so happy these days. He and Emma chatted about food, Danny, their work, and bad first dates.

"Okay, that was a pretty lousy first date." Emma admitted. "But, apprehending a criminal is something to be proud of so I still think Danny and I win. At the end of our first date I had blisters on my feet, two ruined outfits and a mild phobia of cab drivers."

"Okay, you guys win." Martin acquiesced. He took a drink of his wine and asked, "So, tell me, after such a lousy date why did you agree to date Danny again?"

Emma looked at him and with a smile on her face she answered, "I figured if he could encounter that many obstacles and still be optimistic, this is a guy I wanted to know better. I mean, I know plenty of guys who would have gotten angry or confrontational with the cab drivers – but Danny just kept trying to make me laugh and make sure I was okay. That's a pretty important quality in a guy I'm dating."

Martin nodded his head in agreement. "You really like him don't you?"

"Oh yeah, he's great. I mean what girl wouldn't? Once you get past the hard-headed, stubbornness he's funny, smart, and pretty darn sexy." Emma grinned.

"I know I think so." Martin quipped.

Emma gave a soft laugh and added, "Plus, it's great to meet a guy who wants to have a family someday. That's really important." She paused to take a bite of her dessert. "What about you?"

"What about me?" Martin asked.

"Well, I think I kinda know the type of woman you like based on Sam but do you want the whole deal; marriage, kids, etc.?" She asked, taking a sip of her water.

Martin paused for a moment to consider his answer as he recalled a conversation he had with Sam almost two years ago.

XXX

"Let me guess – 2.2, white picket fence, golden retriever." Sam quipped.

"Yeah, maybe, something like that." Martin answered earnestly.

"Not for me. Not in this world."

XXX

Martin looked at Emma and answered, "Yes, I want a family of my own." What he didn't add was he wasn't sure Sam wanted the same thing.