Chapter 11

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They both yawned at the same time.

Sam looked up from reading Szbornak's summation on the investigation into Pegasus Pharmaceuticals to see Martin's eyes looking as droopy as hers felt. She flipped to the next page and said, "I take it yours is as riveting a read as mine."

He rubbed his eyes and replied, "I'm surprised Jerry Bruckheimer hasn't optioned it for the movie rights." He shut the file and stood up, arching his back and stretching his arms over his head. He dropped his hands to his side and looked down at her for a quick beat before saying, "I need some fresh air." He grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair and headed to the door, "Let's get out of here and take a walk."

She hesitated for a brief second. Not because she was didn't want to go but because she was taken off guard by his friendly suggestion. She quickly recovered and stood up, her knees shaking with anxious excitement. "Yeah, okay," she said finally.

A few minutes later they were wandering through a nearby park. While they weren't talking, the silence was comfortable and pleasant; like how it was between them so many years ago. She inhaled the salty air, the temperature warm and mild. She glanced around at the grass and the leaves on the trees that were a lush shade of dark green, the color vivid against the bright blue sky. Birds of Paradise flowers lined the sidewalk, their orange and yellow colors adding an element of the exotic. There were several small children playing on the jungle gym, their laughter loud and infectious. She stole a covert glance at Martin who was grinning at the sight of a dog walker in the distance. The man was short, pudgy and looked overwhelmed by the five dogs in his charge. A Doberman pincher and Chihuahua ran around his legs, tangling up their leashes while two terriers nipped at his pant leg.

Martin looked at her and said, "I think he bit off more than he could chew."

She rolled her eyes at his lame pun but rewarded him with a smile nonetheless. They continued walking in relative silence when he nudged her arm with his elbow and jerked his head towards an ice cream truck. "What do you say? Feel like having an ice cream cone or an ice cream sandwich? Maybe a Push-Pop?"

"I'll take a scoop of rocky road if he's got it," she replied with a smirk. She pointed to a wooden bench under a large palm tree and added, "I'll meet you over there."

He nodded his head and stepped towards the ice cream truck. "I'll be right back."

She walked over to the bench and sat down. She leaned back and closed her eyes, the warm rays from the California sun beaming down on her. She could understand why so many people liked living here, it was beautiful. She opened her eyes just as two teenage girls rolled past on their roller blades, deftly speeding past two joggers moving in the opposite direction. She followed the joggers with her eyes when her gaze landed on a couple lounging on a blanket on the grass. There was a picnic basket laid out around them but the food remained uneaten as the couple focused all their attention on each other.

"Here you go," Martin said as he approached, holding out an ice cream cone with a large scoop on top. "They didn't have Rocky Road so I got you a Mocha Fudge Chunk."

"Ah, you remembered," she replied as accepted the treat. He winked at her and sat down, licking his hand where her scoop had dripped onto him before turning his attention to his own confection. She smiled as she licked the creamy frozen dessert feeling touched that he remembered that Mocha was another one of her favorite flavors. She glanced at him as slowly devoured his cone realizing that he was right – he did know her. And more than that, he always made sure that she got what she wanted, even when he didn't like it himself.

XXX

"I don't know about you but I am so happy this day is over," Sam whined as she slowly shuffled in behind Martin, dropping her overnight bag near his desk. It was one of those rare nights when she agreed to come over to his place.

"Same here," he replied as he tossed his keys on the end table. He yanked off his tie, dropping it on the back of the chair as he moved to the sofa grabbing the remote on his way. The leather sofa made a whooshing noise as he plopped himself down and clicked on the TV.

She smiled at him, knowing full well that he was watching 'Sports Center.' She toed off her shoes and kicked them over towards the wall as she wandered into the kitchen in search of a snack. She switched on the light and opened one of the cabinets. She stood there staring at her choices: potato chips, power bars, cereal. She sighed, wishing that she had thought to pick something up on their way here. She didn't want to eat anything too heavy, just a light snack to sooth the late night munchies. And preferably something not loaded with calories and saturated fat.

She closed the cabinet door, deciding to try her luck in the refrigerator. As she stepped over to the fridge, she remembered that she had some cottage cheese and fruit at home. She suddenly wished she had insisted on going to her place, at least there she could eat something and not feel guilty about it. She swung open the door, getting a chill from the cold air. She scanned the shelves when she spotted a several small containers of yogurt.

She pulled one out and studied it. It was peach, fruit on the bottom yogurt. She stared at it in disbelief. Martin hated yogurt, calling it moldy, sour milk. Still holding it she stepped over to the doorway, and glanced at Martin. He was sitting on the sofa, his feet propped up on the coffee table, watching the TV.

"Hey," she called out.

It took a beat before he could tear his eyes away from the screen but when he finally looked up at her he asked, "Yeah?"

She held up the yogurt and said, "I thought you hated this stuff."

"I do, it's gross," he replied, his face scrunched up in disgust.

"Then why do you have four of them in your refrigerator?"

"You like them," he replied, matter-of-factly as he glanced at the TV. It must have been a commercial break because he only glanced at it before returning his attention to her.

"Oh," she said, taken aback by his casual reply to such a considerate gesture. She smiled at him and said, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," he replied with a shy smile. He patted the spot on the sofa next to him, waggled his eyebrows and asked, "Care to join me?"

"Let me grab a spoon and I'll be right there," she replied with a flirty smile.

She turned back into the kitchen to retrieve a spoon from the drawer. Spoon in hand, she peeled back the foil on the yogurt cup and smiled. She was touched that he would purposely go out and buy something he hated but knew she liked just so she could have something to eat when she came over. She dipped her spoon into the cup and ate a spoonful, making a mental note to stock a few of his favorite things in her apartment as well.

She walked back into the living room and as she headed to the sofa she asked, "So, how'd the Knicks do?"

XXX

Sam smiled at the memory when she heard Martin sigh heavily next to her. She glanced at him and asked, "What?"

He polished off his cone, wiping his hands with a napkin before balling it up in his hand. He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees as he looked around the park. He cocked his head thinking and replied, "I can't understand why Pegasus would kidnap the little boy."

"Maybe the Grimaldi's refused to share their research so they took the boy as leverage," she replied thoughtfully as she bit into the cone, the crunchiness mixing with the creamy sweet ice cream. "I think any parent would be willing to do anything to keep their child safe."

"I'm sure you're right," he said as he straightened up to sit next to her. His shoulder brushed against hers, sending shiver of pleasure straight to her heart. He worked his jaw and continued, "But why would a company as large as Pegasus do it? I mean, they could have just threatened to take the kid. Or better yet, why not just threaten to kill the spouse? You can't tell me that if they threatened to kill Rose that Will Shapiro wouldn't have done anything to prevent that, or vice versa. I just don't get it."

Sam squinted, staring straight ahead as she considered his words. "So what are you thinking? That it's just a coincidence that Pegasus had offered them all jobs and is being investigated by the bureau?"

"No way it's a coincidence," he replied, shaking his head. He took a deep breath and stared at the amorous couple lounging in the grass. "But, okay, here's the thing: kidnapping seems too low brow for such a large and powerful company." He turned his head to face her and continued, "I mean, they could have just hired someone to hack into the missing doctor's research and had their own team of scientists do the actual work. It may have taken a little longer but it would avoid all the hassle of kidnapping and drawing so much attention to themselves. Why take the risk of more FBI involvement?"

"Okay, I get where you are going," she replied, between bites of her cone. "So, let's say you are right. That would mean that we are actually looking for either a smaller group or maybe even a terrorist cell that plans to have the doctor's weaponize the anthrax."

"If that's the case, there is no way they would release the doctor's when they're done," he replied solemnly. "We are going to have to find them before they finish doing whatever they were kidnapped to do. Because as soon as they are…"

"They're as good as dead," Sam finished.

Martin nodded in agreement and stood up. "We better head back."

"Yeah, maybe Danny and Chao are back from Pegasus," she replied, as she finished her cone. She stood up and wiped her hand with her napkin. "Hopefully they learned something useful."

They started walking when Martin reached out and wordlessly took her wadded up napkin from her, stepping over to a trash can and discarding both their napkins. As they walked back to the office she found herself continuously stealing glances at Martin. It was like she was seeing him for the first time, the bright sun casting him in a light she had never seen him in before. The simple things that she once took for granted; like him knowing her favorite flavors, opening the door for her, or even just tossing her trash, all of a sudden they seemed incredibly thoughtful and considerate. The small things taking on a larger significance when she realized it was the little gestures that showed someone you cared.

And that's when she decided that maybe, just maybe, there was a chance that Martin cared for her still.