A/N - Thanks for the lovely reviews.

Taking a deep breath, Elena braced herself against one of the bathroom sinks. She knew she came off as being very cold to Danny, but she wasn't sure she had a choice. That morning, when she'd woken up, she'd felt so happy and fulfilled. Being with him again and getting to sleep next to him all night had been like a dream. For the last couple of years, she'd convinced herself that she hadn't needed anyone. When things had gone so badly with Carlos after Sophie was born, Elena had silently promised herself that she didn't need another man in her life. She could make that sacrifice because she had Sophie to focus on now.

But then Danny came along and, little by little, he broke down the walls she'd so carefully built around her and Sophie for the last few years. His affect on her was evident the night before. She had woken suddenly with an uncontrollable desire to be with him. It was as though her body was working independently of her mind as she basically aroused him out of a deep sleep so that he could satiate her physical need for him. It helped that Danny was great lover, always knowing exactly what she needed, even when he was coaxed out of a deep sleep.

Their previous night's encounter coupled with what had happened that morning made Elena feel shame as she looked at herself in the mirror. How could she be so selfish?

Hanging up the phone after talking to Danny, Elena turned to greet her mother. "Hola, mami!" she said in an overly cheerful tone.

Tossing her a cold glare, her mother looked past her. "Donde es Sophie?"

Her smile quickly turning to a frown, Elena motioned to the hallway. "She is finishing getting dressed. What's wrong, mami?"

"What's wrong? What's wrong, mamita? You tell me what's wrong," she scolded.

Elena shrugged. "No se, mami. We're doing well."

"Oh, I bet. I bet you're doing great! How could you, Elena¿Cómo podrías? With Sophie sleeping in the next room!"

A feeling a shock and shame overwhelmed Elena. How could her mother know? "Tell me what you are talking about? Por favor, mami."

"I'm talking about you--," she started and then continued in a lower tone, "you letting a man in your bed last night. Hasn't Sophita been through enough? How could you expose her to a strange man in her own home? All for what? Eres egoísta, Elena!"

"Selfish? I'm selfish? How dare you, mami! Danny's not a stranger. Sophie loves him. And he's my friend. That's all."

"If he's just a friend, then what were you doing with him all night long? You have a daughter, mamita. Do you want her to think it's okay to let a man into bed like that? What are you teaching her? First, you don't marry her father and now you're acting like a…like a…"

"Like a what, mami? What? Una puta?" Elena finished the question, voice full of anger.

"Shhhh! Think about what you're doing, Elena!"

"How do you even know about this, mami? Sophie doesn't even know that he was here last night. How could you possibly--," Elena stopped, a disturbing thought crossing her mind. "Carlos? Did he tell you?"

""No importas—"

"It's important to me! Did he tell you?" Elena demanded as her voice rose.

"He called me this morning. He's worried about Sophie. And so am I!"

Raising her hands in the air, Elena looked at her mother with a horrified glare. "How could you talk to him after what he did? How could you, mami?"

"He's her father. He loves her. He wanted to marry you. I still don't understand why you couldn't make it work with him, for Sophita's sake!" her mother pleaded.

"How many times do I have to tell you? I couldn't depend on him! I was miserable, mami. I couldn't' raise Sophie living like that. Carlos is out of control. That's why we have a restraining order against him. How could you talk to him?"

"He misses Sophie. And he told me some awful things about this…this Danny!"

"He wants to take her away from me. Do you understand that? He'll do anything to make that happen! If he knows Danny was here last night, then he's watching us. My God, mami! He's out there watching us. He's out of control. Don't you understand?"

"You okay?"

Elena jumped slightly at the sound of Sam's voice. Taking a paper towel, she dabbed at her eyes. "I'm fine. I'm okay," Elena answered.

"Are…are you and Danny fighting?" Sam asked, voice hesitant, yet concerned.

Shaking her head, Elena closed her eyes. "No, not exactly," she replied, not really wanting to elaborate.

"Look, I know it can be hard – dating someone that you're working with. Believe me, I know. It's hard to keep problems in the relationship out of the office—"

"It's not that, Sam. The problems aren't with Danny. He's…he's been so good to me and patient with me. But I just don't think I can keep doing this to him. I can't keep letting him in only to push him away when…"

"When what?" Sam asked.

Rubbing the tears in her eyes, Elena let out a gentle sob. "It's complicated. And it's not something I can't talk about right now. But thanks. I appreciate your concern."

Reaching out, Sam gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I'm here if you need anything," she said, before backing away towards the door. Before opening it, Samantha decided to offer some unsolicited advice. "It might be complicated, but don't give up a good thing just because of that. Danny's one of the strongest, most resilient people I know. Whatever's going on…I'm pretty sure he can handle it, and more importantly, he can help you get through it. You don't have to suffer through all of this alone."

Looking up, Elena tried to give Samantha an appreciative smile as she walked out.

"You want to know something strange?" Danny asked he tossed a lukewarm french fry back onto his plate.

"What's that?" Martin replied as he took a bite of his cheeseburger.

Danny sighed as he tried to formulate his thoughts. "This whole thing with Elena--from beginning to…to where we are now—is so unlike any relationship I've ever had. With almost every other relationship, I would have bailed long before now. But with her, every time she says, "be patient", I stand by and just wait it out. Problem is? It never pans out and I'm always left feeling like an idiot."

"She's dealing with a lot, Danny. It can't be easy."

Danny smirked. "I know it's not easy. I know it's a lot. I know her priority is her daughter. So why the hell am I hanging around? Why don't I just let her go?" he asked, tossing his hands up in frustration.

Taking a drink of his beer, Martin regarded his friend with sympathy. An hour before, when Martin was gathering his things to leave, he noticed Danny coming back to the bullpen with a decidedly tense look on his face. Just minutes before, after finishing their reports, he had seemed fine.

"What's up, man?" Martin asked as he approached Danny's desk.

Punching a few keys in frustration on his keyboard, Danny logged off his computer as he grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. "Nothing. Everything's great," he replied as he shoved his chair into his desk.

"Could have fooled me. You look pissed. Did Jack give you a hard time about the report?"

Shaking his head, Danny turned to Martin. "No, it's not Jack. Look, it's not something I want to get into here," he said, his voice lowering as Samantha entered the bullpen.

"Night guys. Have a good weekend," she said as she grabbed her purse.

"You, too, Sam," Martin said as he watched her walk out again. Then he looked at Danny. "Why don't we grab some dinner. We skipped lunch today chasing down Molly Chambers, remember?"

Danny shook his head. "Martin, you don't want to hear about this. It's really—"

"Hey, look, we don't even have to talk about whatever is bothering you. Let's just grab dinner."

Danny had finally relented. Shortly after ordering, Martin had finally coaxed him into talking. This was notoriously hard to do with Danny. Even when Danny had helped him with his addiction and recovery, he'd revealed very little about his own problems. But slowly, this time, Danny opened up.

"Maybe you're hanging in there because she's worth waiting for? Maybe it's different with her than with other women in the past. Look, I'm as guilty as anyone when it comes to hanging onto something that isn't going anywhere, but with Elena, it's out of her control, man. Carlos kidnapped her child, Danny. That has to be in her head all the time."

Rolling his eyes, Danny sighed. "Yeah, I know. I'm not saying she isn't entitled to her feelings. I just don't know how much longer I can wait this out. She's hot and cold from one minute to the next. And then there's the bigger picture. Whether things work out or not, I don't know how much longer I can keep working there."

Clearly surprised by Danny's last comment, Martin frowned. Before he could respond, Danny continued.

"Jack's already on me about us working together and what that means with Carlos out there somewhere. If she and I stay together, I don't think I can put up with his 'concern' for our well-beings. If things don't work out and it's really over, I don't think I could work with her every day and pretend like everything is fine."

"Come on, Danny, you were friends before this," Martin replied in a gentle tone. "You can be professional—"

"I don't know if I could, Martin," Danny interrupted. "After you and Sam ended things, you were laid up in a hospital a few weeks later. You guys didn't get a chance to really deal with breaking up before she, and the rest of us, were just praying that you'd pull through. If that hadn't happened, do you really think you and she would have been able to have such a clean break?"

Martin had never thought about it that way before. If he and Sam had been left to deal with the remnants of their romance, would things have been different? "I don't know how to answer that. We'll never know now."

"Well, I know I can't," Danny responded, eyes widening to punctuate the point. "So I'm thinking I should put feelers out there. I have a friend in the US attorney's office. That would probably be the easiest transition for me right now."

"I can't believe we are talking about this. You're really going to leave?" Martin asked, not able to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

"It's been twelve years, nearly ten with Jack. Maybe it's time to move on. I don't want to work for another team, Martin."

Nodding, Martin took a breath. "I understand. It just won't be the same without you, you know?"

"Believe me, I know. I just don't think I have a choice."