Chapter Twenty-seven: Lonesome

The numbers of the clock on the corner of his computer monitor rolled over to noon. And he was still sitting in the office tapping a pen absentmindedly on top of his desk. The place was surprisingly quiet given the hour and the fact that they had a current, active case. Maybe it was the simple fact that everybody was out of the office but him. Again. He exhaled somewhat loudly to break the silence closing in around him. He hated times like these, when there was no around but him. What he wouldn't give to be out in the field but Jack had asked for him to remain in the office. Though he wasn't exactly sure why and when he asked Jack wouldn't tell him. In fact, it was almost like he ignored the question.

Looking for something to keep himself busy he started straightening the things on his desk. He made sure not to miss a detail; straightening paperwork, making sure that all the pens and pencils were pointing down so he wouldn't stab himself accidentally, dusted his monitor, and even went through the dangerous task of organizing the drawers of his desk. All the while he kept praying for his cell phone to ring, thinking how nice it would be for one of the other members to call him and give him some research to do. He would have taken just about anything at that point. When he hazarded a look at the clock on his computer he was disappointed to see that only an hour had passed.

How was he supposed to make it to the end of shift when time passed so slowly with nothing to keep him busy?

He put his cell phone on the desk and glared at it, willing it to ring. But it defied him, ignored him. Hell, he was getting to the point where he would have loved a call from his mother just to listen to her chatter about what socialite thing she'd been doing. Not that he really cared about any of that stuff. At least it would have given him something to do or made time pass faster.

Bored, he pushed his chair back from his desk, wheeling across the floor. Then he did a little spin. For the next hour he wheeled back and forth, adding the occasional spin here and there. Finally his cell phone rang. He plucked the little device from atop his desk and answered it. Sam was on the other end; she wanted to know if maybe he would ask Danny a question for her, something legal. No matter how much he played he wasn't able to get her to tell him exactly what it was she sought advice for. He promised to ask Danny if he would mind helping. And the call ended. Not even five minutes worth of his time.

He rolled his eyes, slumping forward, hitting his forehead on his desk.

It was going to be a long end of the day.

--

When end of shift rolled around he left the office without looking back. The others were still out doing their job, none of them having called him. That's why he figured it wouldn't be such a big deal if he decided to leave. They obviously didn't need him. The ride home was quiet, alone with his thoughts. After spending a day alone with his thoughts he realized there were a lot of strange things that would pop into his head. Probably because he would notice stupid, small things that weren't relevant; things he normally didn't have time to notice.

More silence awaited him back at his apartment, the lights off so the dark was all that welcomed him. He sighed again. There had been some slight hope that Danny would be waiting for him when he got home. They had barely seen each other over the last week, ever since Danny picked up a case for someone working in the same building as him. And when he wasn't working the case he was trying to find new lawyers for all of his clients, lawyers that were much like him or willing to work with the people Danny often had stumbling through his door. When all that work related stuff was out of the way he was pouring over studying books learning everything he could about being part of the FBI.

That meant that Martin had been spending a lot of time by himself.

And it was starting to get a little old.

He spent the night flipping aimlessly through the channels, finding nothing that held his interest for more than maybe a minute or so. For dinner he had microwave macaroni. When he finally couldn't stand the dreary day he shut off the television and headed for his bedroom. As he fell into bed he became aware of the feelings that were quickly settling over him. They were so similar to the ones he experienced before meeting Danny.

He hated to feel alone.

--

"Martin?"

He slowly opened his eyes, pulling out of his sleepy fog. Danny smiled down at him. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, his right arm holding him up as he gazed down at Martin. "Danny…what time is it?"

"Sometime after midnight."

"Are you just getting in?" He rubbed at his eyes.

Danny bent down and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Sorry I was out so late. But that case I was dealing with is now out of my hands; which means I'll have more time to spend with my favorite person."

Martin smiled lightly. "Sounds good."

Danny kissed him again. "Why don't I get out of these clothes then come back and snuggle with you?"

"That sounds even better." He felt the bed move again, this time as Danny got up. Sleep tugged at him, forcing him to close his eyes, but he lingered on the edge of consciousness, aware of the things going on around him. He listened while Danny got undressed, tossing his clothes into the hamper. They had become so comfortable with each other that things were starting to get left here and there between their two apartments. A few minutes later he felt the bed dip again, Danny wriggling under the covers. Then he felt Danny's strong arms wrapped around his waist, words of love murmured in his ear, a gentle kiss on the back of his neck. This time when he drifted off to sleep there was a small smile on his lips.