Title: Privilege

Author: NightMage

Rating: maybe PG13, to be safe.

Summary: The team gets very, very frustrated with doctor-patient privilege! And Sam deals with a problem of her own. My very first M/S fic. Please R&R!

NOTES:

The first time I heard someone read this story out loud, they said something like the following: "'…was last seen arguing with her best friend, KAY Sanford.' SAY Sanford? SIGH Sanford?" so once and for all: "CAI" rhymes with EYE and FLY and DIE and CRY, and the 'C' is a HARD C like a K. Like COOK. Thank you.

Okay, anyway, sorry for the long wait, but I'm getting into the tricky parts of this story, and with holidays and exams on top of that... Thanx for the reviews, they keep this thing going.

Note to Jen and drama-freak-csim: There is NO SUCH THING as a too-long review!

Also: I've got my own C2 thing now! tell me if you wanna be a staff member.

Okay, on with the show.

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Chapter 11
LOVE HER

Martin looked up from his coffee as the

Martin looked up from his coffee as the door to Jack's office slammed. Samantha stormed into the break room, and before he could open his mouth, she started in on him.

"You told Jack about the car."

"Sam, I–"

"Samantha. And you had no right to do that. I told you I was handling it!"

"Look, Sam. Antha. I just thought he should –"

"If I thought he should know I'd tell him myself!"

"Would you?"

Samantha opened her mouth, but stopped herself abruptly. For a minute, they glared at each other, then Samantha blinked and rubbed her forehead. "God, Martin, I'm sorry."

Martin took a quick glance around to make sure no one was watching, then pulled her into a gentle hug. "It's okay, Sam."

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Outside the break room, Danny smiled. He'd almost walked in on them, but caught himself before he could cause a disruption. He was glad to see they were finally getting enough sense to see what the entire office already saw – they were a perfect match. And he liked to think of himself as the matchmaker. A rather good accomplishment, in his opinion. He'd recognized their bond from the start.

But right now there were other things that needed to be taken care of. A girl was missing. Still, he politely cleared his throat in the doorway before taking a step inside.

Startled, Sam pulled quickly away from Martin, and the two turned to face him.

"Sorry, but I have a question. Did Rissa Thompson ever mention a drug-related incident, happened about eleven years ago?"

Martin glanced at Sam before answering. "No, why?"

Danny held up an official-looking paper. "Turns out Carolynn had a brother, Dylan Casper. O.D.ed when Carolynn was three – same year Rissa Thompson left her husband. The theory is, Rissa Thompson had an affair with David Casper, and that Dylan knew it. Afterward, David Casper blamed Rissa Thompson for his son's death, and they broke up. And, Dylan died around noon on June 7th. That's today. Point is, now maybe Carolynn knows where Dylan went to kill himself, and maybe she's planning on going to the same place, same day. Question is, where is that?"

Sam grabbed her coat. "Let's head over to Rissa Thompson's."

Danny grinned. "You two go. I'll see if Mr. Casper has sobered up yet."

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Sam's first-floor apartment was empty. There was no one there. A light breeze casually blew in through the open window, exploring the vacant space. On the modest little oak coffee table, a plain white envelope sat waiting. Plain and white, that is, except for the one word written in heavy black script on the back flap: Samantha.

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He had warned her. He really had. As if telling her exactly what she was wasn't enough! And the rose, that was his gift to her, the sign that he'd still have her if she'd drop her boy-toy. But no, what did she do? Invite the bastard over! Overnight! That bitch.

Love her. Hate her.

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