Chapter 5

XXXXXXX

The moment the doors to the elevator closed it became virtually silent except for a brief exchange between Danny and Chao about the weather on the west coast versus the east coast. Sam stood on one end of the elevator and Martin on the other with Danny and Chao in between. She glanced over at Martin who was still fixated on his soda like an alcoholic taking his first drink after a decade. Her eyes were still watching him when she caught him glancing over at her before quickly looking away and taking another big swig. She sighed heavily, regretting that after a year apart she and Martin were now like distant strangers.

She shifted her gaze back over to him and saw that when he lowered the can he took a deep inhalation but instead of exhaling he hiccupped.

And then he hiccupped again. And then he hiccupped once again.

He tilted his head back and released a frustrated groan when another hiccup spasm hit. She released a laugh before bringing her hand to her mouth to cover up the smile threatening to emerge but was too late because he gave her a steely glare. She might have been upset but there was no mistaking the twinkle in his eye when he did it.

Danny laughed aloud and patted him on the back. "You okay there, Fritzy?"

A blush appeared on Martin's cheeks as he replied, "I…hic…am…hic…okay. Just…hic...swallowed…hic…too fast."

"Trying holding your breath," Chao suggested. He had a concerned but bemused expression on his face. "That's supposed to cure them."

Danny shook his head and authoritatively said, "No, you are supposed to hold your nose and then drink some water," as he mimed the gestures.

Chao folded his arms and said, "Oh, yeah, I heard that too but aren't you supposed to stand on your head when you do that?"

Danny crossed his arms, mimicking the Asian agents posture, and asked, "How in the hell can you stand on your head and take a drink of water?"

Chao furrowed his brow as he considered the question before realization dawned on him. "Oh, yeah," he said at last. Sam smiled as she watched Martin hiccupping, a suffering look on his face as he listened to the men exchange theories for a cure. "Maybe it was that you are supposed to bend over and drink the water upside down."

"That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard of," Danny replied as he stared down at the much shorter agent.

The elevator stopped on the fifth floor to pick up four agents on their way downstairs. They all shuffled to the back of the elevator to make room when the newly boarded agents heard Martin hiccupping. The second that the other agents began to share their remedies her eyes met Martin's and for the first time since they were reunited he gave her a genuine smile. She knew that at this moment they were both each sharing the same memory…

XXX

"Is there any more Edaname left?" he asked as he peaked into the white Thai take-out boxes on the coffee table.

"Yeah, I think so," she replied as she reached over and grabbed the container next to her. "Here it is."

She handed it to him and he eagerly snatched one up with his fingers. "Thanks," he said before popping it into his mouth, extricating the light green soybeans and tossing the shell on his plate.

She twirled some wide rice noodles around her chopsticks and glanced around his apartment. This was her first night visiting him in his apartment but she had to admit that it suited him. There was a mix of contemporary furniture, particularly the state-of-the-art flat screen TV, but there were also a lot of antiques, books, and artwork that reflected his upper class upbringing. The apartment was undeniably Martin.

He reached past her to grab his can of soda, his hand brushing her forearm as he did. She smiled at his touch. It was tentative and unsure as if he was testing the waters in their newly formed relationship and didn't want to scare her off. While they had a very active sex life and were still able to work together like they always had it was in this new terrain of private domesticity that they were both wading in unfamiliar waters.

"I like your apartment," she said as she took in a mouthful of noodles.

He took a drink of his soda and replied, "I'm glad." He started to gut another soybean when she heard it. It was soft at first, just a little chirp and then she heard it again only much louder, a hiccup. "Damn it," he muttered between the hitched gulping sounds.

She sucked up the tail end of a long noodle and asked, "You alright?"

He gave her a shy, slightly embarrassed smile and said, "It's nothing, just a mild case of the hiccups."

"I think I read somewhere that in order to cure hiccups…" she began when he shook his head and started to laugh. "What?"

"It's nothing," he replied when she leaned in closer and looked at him disbelieving. "I'm sorry, it's just what is it about hiccups that whenever someone has them everyone has some crazy cure remedy they have to share?"

She cocked one eyebrow and considered his question. She grinned and replied, "I don't know, maybe it's because we have all experienced them at one time or another and we just want to help," a quick beat later she added, "But really, I do know that holding your breath actually works."

He shook his head doubtfully but still did as she instructed, she suspected he did it more to please her than actual faith in her remedy. He took a deep breath and then held it; his cheeks puffed up like a chipmunk ready with its winter nuts. He held it as long as he could before finally exhaling in a big whooshing sound. She watched him for a beat, a victorious look on her face that her recommendation worked and just when a smile crept onto his lips as well he started hiccupping again.

"Damn," she muttered before grinning. "I really thought it was going to work."

He shook his head and between bouts of hiccups he said, "The only thing that works for me is to let it ride out. They'll go away eventually."

"Whatever you say," she replied with a wink as she dug into her take-out box for another bundle of noodles.

Unfortunately he was still hiccupping more than an hour later. They had finished dinner, cleaned up, and were sitting on his sofa making out but it was growing increasingly difficult to ignore. He would lean in and start kissing her but would have to stop and hiccup every few seconds.

"I've got to say, this is a first for me," she laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck as she lay beneath him on the couch. "I've never made out with a guy with the hiccups."

"I'm…hic…sorry," he mumbled into her shoulder. He looked up and grinned. "This…hic…is…hic…pretty… hic…hic…ridiculous…hic…isn't it?"

"I think we should give my holding your breath idea another chance," she said as she gently ran her hands over his biceps.

He looked at her skeptically. "It didn't work last time."

She pulled him closer and said, "We're going to try a different method." She pressed her lips to his and kissed him deep and hard. There was no way for him to breathe if her mouth was on his. After the long kiss and when she was out of breath herself, she pulled back and smiled up at him.

And then he hiccupped.

He laughed and said, "Well, it was worth a try" He lowered his head and started kissing her jaw line. His breath was hot against her skin as he murmured between hiccups, "Maybe if I ignore them and focus on something else."

She relaxed, enjoying the feel of his lips on her body when she remembered another remedy she had heard about. So when his ear was near her mouth she pulled him close and throatily whispered in his ear, "I have to tell you something."

He planted kisses along her throat to her collarbone and huskily asked, "What... hic … is hic … that?"

"I've never told anyone this but," she lowered her voice and seductively said, "I used to be a man."

He went stiff in her arms and pulled back so he could look at her. "What did you say?"

She stared at him for a few beats and once she was certain she achieved the necessary effect she began to giggle and said, "Gotcha. I scared you out of your hiccups."

"Oh, I'm going to get you for that," he replied as he began tickling her mercilessly. "You are going to pay for that Sam Spade."

She panted breathlessly as she tried unsuccessfully to wiggle out of his grip. "No, no, that's not fair!" she screamed through her laughter. "I was only trying to help!"

XXX

"You have to scare him!" one agent exclaimed from where he stood next to Sam, yanking her from her reverie. He moved to where Martin stood and leaning into his face shouted, "BOO!"

She could see Martin roll his eyes as Danny pulled the agent away and said, "You're an idiot."

"I'll be fine," Martin replied between punctuated hiccups. His gaze darted to her when he added, "They'll go away sooner or later."

She smiled back at him when the other female agent in the group put her hand on her hips and knowingly said, "What you need to do is put a spoonful of sugar on the roof of your mouth."

"No, he needs to pick up something really heavy," the other agent happily suggested.

"I heard a slap in the face works but only if it's a surprise," another agent offered up.

Martin glared at the agent threateningly when he saw him slowly raising his hand. He narrowed his eyes and said, "Don't even think about it." The agent went wide eyed and immediately lowered his hand back down.

"I'm telling you, you need to hold your breath for a thousand seconds," Chao reiterated.

The female agent shook her head. "That's sixteen minutes, he could die that way."

"I once heard about a guy who died because of hiccups," one of the agents shared. Everyone stopped and stared at him but he was undeterred. "Seriously, something about how hiccups stop your heartbeat or something…"

Sam released another light laugh as the group of agents each argued on why their cure was the best. She glanced at an embarrassed and mortified Martin who for the first time since she saw him gave her a genuine smile even if it was in commiseration. They both started laughing when Danny and Chao got into a heated debate on whether or not water can be drunk upside down.

Thankfully they finally arrived at the parking garage level and exited the elevator. As the group of agents headed off in the opposite direction she could still hear them debating hiccup cures.

"Where are you parked?" Martin asked Danny between hiccups.

"Down and to the right," he replied as he pulled the car keys out of his pocket.

"We're in the opposite direction," Martin thumbed to the left. "Do you know how to get there or do you want to follow us?"

"We'll follow you," Danny said. "I'll wait for you at the exit."

"Okay…hic…later," Martin replied as he smiled and jutted his chin at her as way of goodbye before he and Chao started in the direction of their car.

She watched him for a quick second before getting in step alongside Danny. She smiled to herself, pleased that any weirdness between her and Martin was fading. She was also surprised by the warm, tingly feelings she was having and just how excited she was to be around him again.

"So, it looks like we'll be working with Martin again," Danny commented quietly next to her as he clicked the alarm on the car, unlocking the doors. She knew him well enough to recognize the tone. In a not too subtle way he was trying to warn her to not let all of their personal histories interfere with the case.

"Very subtle," she retorted as she walked around to the passenger side of the car. "What are you so worried about?"

"I just don't want any residual stuff to interfere with the case," he replied from where he stood next to the driver's side door, resting his hands on the roof of the car. "We've all moved on so please don't dredge up any old shit. Don't start up anything because you're bored or feeling lost since you and Jack broke up. He couldn't take it again."

Sam glared at Danny and said, "First of all, ouch. Is that really how little you think of me now?" She didn't wait for him to reply before continuing on, angry by his accusation and even angrier that he was dragging down her cheeriness from earlier. "And second of all, Martin and I were able to work together and get the job done, through the good and the bad. So cut the holier than thou crap, Saint Daniel. In case you forgot, I was the one who made you help Martin deal with his addiction because you were too pissed off or whatever to do it on your own. So, spare me your threats and back off and worry about doing your own job because I sure as hell will make sure to do mine."

She opened her door and sat down inside, not giving him a chance to reply.