The first agents Samantha encountered when she entered the office was Vivian and Jack. She had taken a week off from work, at Jack's iron-clad insistence, and had to admit that she felt very calm and rested, the most she had been in months. No urges plagued her during her absence, so she was able to fully recharge her energies and get her mind back on her work. Unfortunately, she hadn't heard a word from Danny, and the few calls she made to him were left unreturned.
The two were in close conference when Samantha approached and quickly parted when she came within earshot. Feeling her skin tingle with apprehension, Samantha gave them a brief smile before taking her seat. Powering up her computer, she felt rather than heard Jack approach her.
"Hey, how you doing?" he asked, coming to a stop by her desk, a folder in his hand.
"Fine…refreshed," she said softly, giving him a delicate smile. "Who do we have on the board?"
Jack glanced up at the picture on display. "Mike McCarthy, 19 years old, bike messenger, last seen two days ago at the dispatch office where he works. I've got Danny, Martin and Elena pounding the pavement now."
Samantha nodded, rising from her seat and grabbing her coat. "Good, what's the address? I'll give them a hand."
"No." Samantha's movements stilled. Jack waited a beat before going on. "I want you to watch your desk for a couple of days, help coordinate efforts from this end."
Samantha frowned. "Why…for what reason?"
Jack sighed, moving his head from side to side as if he had a stiff neck. "Samantha, until I know you are completely fine and running on all cylinders, you're benched."
Samantha eyes widened. "I'm fine Jack," she protested. Crossing her arms, she stared at him. "Am I…am I in some kind of trouble?" she squeaked.
Jack frowned. "Not officially."
"Jack, this is ridiculous and totally unneces-"
"Would you rather I ordered a drug test?" Jack snapped.
Samantha quickly cut off her protest. The two stared at each other for what seemed like eternity. "Because I can do that if you want," Jack finished.
Samantha refused to rise to the bait, slowly retaking her seat. "What would you like me to do?" she asked tightly.
Jack nodded, dropping the folder on her desk. "We haven't been able to locate any family, I need you to concentrate on that."
"Mmhmm," she answered, not trusting herself to speak. Jack rubbed his chin and left to her to it, signaling for Vivian to follow him. Vivian gave Samantha a small smile, which she stonily refused to return.
Sighing she turned back to her desk. She would give it a week or two, make sure all the drugs were cleared out of her system, then take another run at Jack. She felt her face heat up from his explicit threat. The bastard.
After spending time on the phones, Samantha decided to take a quick breather and headed to the break room. She popped open the refrigerator and stuck her head inside, searching for anything even remotely edible when she heard giggling and laughter behind her. Craning her head around, she saw Danny and Elena as they passed by the room. She quickly noticed Danny's left hand was on resting on her shoulder as Elena's left hand gently crossed her body to cup it.
After the duo was out of sight, Samantha rose slowly. She gently pulled at her bottom lip, thinking. Could Elena be the reason Danny had been MIA? Samantha shook the thought from her head as quickly as it entered. It was only for a week, she was sure Danny was just busy. Besides – Elena was her friend.
Samantha slowly walked to back the pen then stopped abruptly. Elena was perched on the corner of Danny's desk, leaning towards his computer, her luxurious dark hair fanning his shoulder. Although blinded by jealousy, she couldn't help notice how good the two looked together.
Danny was the first to notice her existence. His carefree face immediately closed. "Welcome back, Samantha," he said coolly.
"Hi Sam," Elena said cheerfully, not moving an inch from her position.
"I…uh..hi," she answered flustered, moving closer. "What…what are you working on?"
Elena opened her mouth to answer before Danny beat her to it. "Are you working on the kid's case?" he asked, arching his eyebrow.
Samantha cocked her head, exasperated. "Yes Danny, what other case would I be working on?"
Danny quickly bit back a nasty retort. Instead he answered. "We found out Mike was using a fake I.D. We're trying to track down the kid who really owns it, maybe we can find out what school he went to."
Samantha nodded. "Okay, is there anything I can do?"
"Elena and I got it," he said shortly. Samantha was stunned at his tone. She caught Elena's look. Her eyes shown with…triumph?
"Thanks for the offer Sam," she drawled, smiling impishly. Samantha held her eyes as she walked past, back to her seat and she could feel the anger rising in her throat. What the hell was going on?
Samantha tried to concentrate on her duties, but the giggles and whispers from Danny and Elena behind her were almost too much to take. Samantha waited until Elena took a phone call before hopping out of her seat and approaching Danny.
"Can I…can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked, rubbing the back of her neck anxiously. Danny peered over at Elena, who was still busy on the phone. "You don't need her permission," she snapped.
Sighing heavily, Danny reluctantly followed Samantha outside to the balcony.
"What the hell is going on with you Danny?" Samantha asked, getting to the point. "If you have a problem with me, just say so. The whole flirting with my co-worker act is a bit too high school for me."
Danny smiled humorlessly. "What is going on with me? Are you fucking kidding me? What about you Samantha? What are you doing?"
"I don't know what you are talking about-"
"Oh come on," he said flippantly. "You don't think there is anything you are doing that I might want to know, might care about if I were say, oh I don't know, sleeping with you?"
Samantha's face struggled with emotion. "Are you saying I…what are you saying?"
"Admit it. Dammit Sam, I want you to stand here, look me in the face, and admit it to me."
"Danny, stop playing games!" she yelled. "I don't know what you want from me."
"You are so secretive, you disappear, you apparently get high on the job," Danny could feel all of his frustration and anger rushing to the surface, "and I know about you Sam, I know about you."
He was shouting now, unable to control his hurt. Samantha shook her head bewildered. "You know what about me, what?"
"Your secret lifestyle! All of it!"
Samantha could feel herself falling as the shock took over her body. No, he didn't, he couldn't… "You…Danny, I have no idea what the hell you are talking about, I don't have a secret lifestyle! You know everything about me-"
"Except the fact that you are a fucking slut," he said, his voice menacingly quiet. Samantha took a sharp breath and immediately slapped him hard across the face.
"You bastard, don't ever talk to me like that," she said, the hot tears pouring from her eyes. She pulled back for another strike, but Danny grabbed her arm.
"There are pictures," he continued, his voice still menacing. "You want to see them? You going into clubs, dressed like a prostitute, coming out with random guys, stumbling out of apartments that aren't yours…"
"Stop!" she shrieked, covering her ears. She couldn't hear anymore. "Just stop it!"
"How can you do this to me, huh?" Danny's voice cracked, showing his own emotion. "I cared so much about you…I would have never done this to you, done anything to hurt you."
"Please, just stop…I can't…" Samantha sobbed, putting her hands over her face.
"We're through Samantha," he said tightly, backing away from her. Stopping at the door, he turned back to her, a tortured look on his face. "To think…you and I…I thought we really had a chance."
The slamming door was all Samantha heard through her sobs.