Chapter 4

On Monday the team were finishing of their paperwork on the Walters case. Sophie was sitting on Elena's desk waiting for her grandmother to pick her up after the sitter called in sick.

"How come you don't have any paperwork to do?" Sophie asked Danny who was sitting beside her.

"Because I'm not a slacker unlike these guys."

"Hang on a minute this isn't mine." Sam held up a report in her hands.

Elena took a handful of hers and threw them at Danny.

"No Sophie he's a cheater." Elena said raising her eyebrows at Danny.

Sophie laughed loudly at a rather sheepish looking Danny.

"What you laughing at?" he said tickling her sides.

Sam saw Viv coming toward the bullpen her smile faded rapidly when she saw Viv's expression.

"Something wrong Viv?" She asked.

"Sam, Martin I need to talk to you in my office."

They all looked at one another and Sam and Martin followed Viv into her office. They were both surprised to see Victor and Van Doren sitting behind Viv's desk. Vivian sat in between them.

Sam and Martin looked at one another when they sat down. They knew something wasn't right and were both trying to think what it could be.

"We had forensics examine the van that Becky Walters was found in." Viv started.

Martin frowned; he couldn't understand why the rest of the team weren't being told this too.

"They found something that didn't belong to Becky." Viv looked at Van Doren who placed an evidence bag on the table.

Sam picked it up and her breath caught in her throat. It was Coco; a small brown teddy she had bought for Aimee when she was a baby. She took it everywhere with her; Sam was always having to go down to the garden to get it for her. She saw the initials she had scrawled on the label to make sure she wouldn't loose it at school. Images of her baby girl curled up with coco in her hand flashed through her mind.

"Our number one priority is finding our suspect." Victor said.

"We find him and we may find out what happened to her." Van Doren added.

Martin picked up on the may in her sentence. He knew a lot of people had accepted the fact that Aimee was just gone but he and Sam couldn't give up; they owed her that much.

"So what happens now?" he asked.

"I'm going to go to South Albany with Danny and work with the locals to try and find our suspect. For the time being I'll leave you with Elena to run down leads in the office."

"That is if you are both up to it. We understand if you want off the case." Van Doren said sympathetically.

"No it's fine." Sam said looking up. She didn't know how to react; she just felt numb.

Victor and Van Doren left leaving them alone with Viv.

"So what do you want us to do?"

"Take your lunch break."

"Viv…" Sam started.

"Look we just dropped a bomb on you. You need time to process it and you can't work on an empty stomach." She replied in a motherly tone.

Whilst Sam and Martin were at lunch Vivian briefed Danny and Elena.

"Forensics also found soil in the back of the van. They're trying to identify the source there are a lot of wooded areas round there so…" Viv couldn't finish that sentence it was a horrible thought but a possible explanation.

"He slipped up on this so fingers crossed he has somewhere else too." Danny said.

"We should go and pack."

Martin and Sam had decided to have lunch at her apartment. After eating and making small talk they sat side by side on the couch. Sam sighed and laid her head on his shoulder. She felt his hand slide under shirt and caress her back lightly. She must have not been thinking straight because before she knew it her lips were on his. She felt him relax and finally deepen the kiss. Samantha pulled back abruptly.

"Sorry…I…" She stuttered before clearing their plates away and escaping to the kitchen.

Martin put his head in his hands and took a deep breath. He hadn't meant to push her but he couldn't help it. He loved her and wanted to be with her; a fact that was getting harder to hide. He frowned when he heard her sniffling.

He stood up walking through to the kitchen where she was standing at the sink with her back to him. He slowly approached her and stood behind her; running his hands up and down her arms. When she didn't back off he leaned forward and kissed her neck lightly. He was relieved when she leaned back into him. She wiped her eyes and turned to face him; knowing now was the right time to let him into her heart.

"Martin...what are we doing?" She said barely above a whisper.

"I can't live without you anymore Sam. I should never have let you walk out my life."

"I thought it would be easier to be away from you but it was actually harder. I thought you'd moved on…that's why I never called.

"So where do we go from here?" He said searching her eyes.

"I want to be with you." She smiled when she saw him smile.

"I love you so much Sam; I always have."

"I love you too Martin." Putting both arms around his neck she pulled him in and kissed his lips lightly; this time she wasn't afraid she knew whatever happened she would always have him.