Inez came back to the table, and at first Danny thought that it was because she was getting the empty beer pitcher, so she could refill it, but it turned out that Martin must have gotten her attention in some way because she went straight to his chair, giving him her full attention. He frowned as Martin ordered another whiskey. A drunk and pissy acting Martin was going to be Hell to handle later on, but Danny knew it was futile to try to get Martin to drink something else. Martin was cool and understanding about Danny being an alcoholic, and he never pressed the issue, but he also made it clear that he wouldn't forego having a drink just because Danny was present. And to be truthful, Danny never expected anyone to cater to his addiction. It was his problem, not theirs, and he didn't think it fair to ask someone else not to enjoy a drink or two just because he wasn't drinking. And if he thought that Martin would stop at three drinks, then Danny wouldn't be as disapproving tonight, but he had a feeling that Martin intended to get really, really drunk.
This case had gotten Martin tied up in knots inside, and Danny couldn't figure out why. His first thought was that Martin was upset with himself over his prejudice toward Larabee's lifestyle, but that kind of upset would only go but so far. There was something else that had Martin tense. Maybe Martin really was coming down with something, and it was simply feeling ill that had Martin on edge. Danny would keep a closer eye on him, just in case the guy developed a fever or something.
Inez returned to the table, a full pitcher of beer in one hand, and Martin's whiskey in another. Behind her was the guy who'd brought out the appetizers, and he was carrying a tray that held dinner plates. He started at the other end of the table, and Danny decided that he'd be nice and go tell Tanner and Standish that their food would soon be out.
Once he'd stepped outside, Danny saw that the two men hadn't gone far. They were standing by Sanchez's Suburban, talking, but not heatedly, and Danny took that as a good sign. He got their attention and called out that dinner was being served. They both smiled and nodded at that, and Tanner said they'd be right in.
As Danny returned to the table, he found himself frowning as he heard Martin laughing at something that Wilmington had said. The two men were leaning toward one another, upper arms touching and their heads inclined toward one another. Okay, so maybe Martin had needed to lean in toward Wilmington in order to hear better, that made sense. But it didn't make sense for them to be sharing a drink, Danny thought as he watched Martin hand his whiskey to Wilmington and then the other man took a sip of the liquor. He grinned as he handed it back to Martin, who took his own sip. That just wasn't right. He was the only one who shared drinks with Martin.
Seething, Danny sat back down, reaching for his soda so that he'd have something to keep his hands busy. The desire to pull Martin away from Buck Wilmington was strong, and Danny knew it was irrational. Martin was most likely just being nice, and since he was getting tipsy, a bit of flirting would slip out. It didn't mean anything. It certainly never meant anything when Martin flirted with him, and there was no way that Martin would purposely flirt with another man. Didn't mean Danny had to like watching it, though.
As the waiter returned with another tray of food, Tanner and Standish returned to the table. Standish looked constipated as he contemplated the table before him, but then he looked directly at Martin.
"I spoke out of turn, Mr. Fitzgerald, and apologize for doing so," Standish said. "It was not my intention to insult you or the rest of your family, although I do admit that it was my intention to insult your father."
It was a good apology, Danny thought, and by the look on Tanner's face, he obviously felt the same way. Danny looked at Martin and bit back a groan. The look on his partner's face was the one that meant he intended to leave Standish dangling in the breeze. Danny had no doubt that Martin would accept the apology, Martin wasn't the kind of person who would throw someone's apology back in their face. But Danny also had no doubt that Martin would enjoy making Standish squirm as he glared at him. After watching Martin flirting shamelessly with Wilmington, it was a bit more than Danny was willing to put up with.
"For Heaven's sake, Martin. Quit being an asshole and just accept the apology already!" The waiter had been putting Martin's dinner in front of him, and the man froze, as if he expected all Hell to break out around him. And, given the look in Martin's eyes as he turned his head to look at Danny, he just might have the right idea.
The waiter stepped to Danny's other side, getting out of the way as he set Danny's meal down in front of him. Martin remained silently staring, and Danny had to fight the urge to squirm while under that unrelenting gaze.
Martin finally looked away, returning his gaze to Standish. "Apology accepted," he said. Martin then drained his glass before getting to his feet. "Excuse me."
Danny watched as Martin headed back to the men's room, and he couldn't help but wonder if he'd gone there to sulk or if he was sick again. Well, he wasn't going after him this time. If Martin was sulking, then he could just go on and sulk. He had been acting like an ass, and Danny wasn't going to apologize for calling him on that.
As Danny started to cut apart the ribs he'd ordered, he could feel several sets of eyes staring at him. He looked up to see that Tanner, Standish, Wilmington and Sanchez were all looking at him, waiting to see what he'd do.
"You gonna go check on him?" Tanner finally asked.
Danny shook his head. "Nope. If he wants to go off and sulk like a child, then let him. I didn't get any sleep on the plane last night, and only a few hours once we landed. I'm tired, worn out and hungry, and I don't have the patience for a Fitzgerald tantrum right now." Martin was probably expecting him to come rushing in there to check on him, and he wasn't going to give the man that satisfaction. A thought ghosted through Danny's head, that what Martin needed was to be put over his lap and have his ass spanked but good, and as always, that thought brought much happiness to his cock. The only bad thing right then was that if Danny did dare to spank Martin, it would be for real, and not as foreplay. And that meant it was far too dangerous for Danny to go anywhere near Martin at the moment. Not that he could tell the others his true reason for not going to check on Martin, but the one he gave them was close enough to the truth.
From the corner of his eye, Danny saw Wilmington getting to his feet. "I'll go check on him."
Danny's eyes narrowed as he watched Wilmington walk toward the restroom, and he was tempted to call the man back and go himself. If Martin wasn't just sulking, but was sick again, and in need of comforting or aid, then it was Danny's place to provide it, and not Buck Wilmington's.
The sound of a soft laugh from across the table caught Danny's attention, and he looked over at Tanner, wondering what the man found so funny.
Tanner nodded at him, his smile bordering on the mysterious. "Remember what we were talking about earlier? During the coffee break?"
Danny frowned as he remembered their conversation. Tanner had asked about who Larabee had been with, and then once he found out it was another man, had admitted that he loved Chris Larabee. Well, Danny had called him on it, first, but Tanner had admitted it readily enough afterward. Danny nodded. "What about it?"
"I can say the same about you." The smirk on Tanner's face was one that was all too familiar to Danny. Tanner seemed to be implying that he was in love with Martin, at least that was the idea Danny was getting. Tanner was probably another guy who needed a spanking, especially if he spent a lot of time smirking that way.
"What? Are you crazy?" Danny looked down at his plate, giving his food his full attention so that he wouldn't have to keep seeing that knowing look in Tanner's eyes.
"I guess I'm crazy."
Danny's head snapped up as those words echoed in his head, reminding him of the time when he'd said something similar to Martin. Tanner was still smirking, and Standish was talking with Sanchez and thankfully not involved in this conversation as either a listener or a participant. "Sounds like it to me."
"Then why does it bother you that Buck has gone in there to check on Martin?" Tanner asked as he cut into the steak he'd ordered.
"Because that's what Martin was expecting someone to do. It's the way a tantrum works, Vin. Throw a fit, stalk off somewhere to sulk and then wait for someone to come to make sure that he's all right. If Buck had stayed put, then Martin would have been back out in less than two minutes. No attention, no fun. It's really very simple." Danny knew he was being hard on Martin, the guy wasn't really like that. But he didn't like being caught out on how he felt about Martin, and he sure as Hell wasn't going to admit that he was jealous that Wilmington had gone to check on Martin while he'd stayed in his seat.
Anyway, it wasn't as if they'd ever see these guys again…Danny's fork stopped midway between the plate and his mouth and looked directly at Tanner. The man who just happened to look like Martin, right down to having the same facial expressions and even being lactose intolerant. The man who just might be related to Martin, and if so, then Danny knew that they'd be seeing each other again. And now Tanner would have the idea that Martin was some sort of prima donna who went off and pouted when he didn't get his own way. And all because Danny was the one currently acting like a child by tearing Martin down in someone else's eyes.
Danny set his fork down. "That's not true. Martin's not really like that. But he does get pissy acting sometimes, and when that happens there's only two ways to handle it. I can either try to get him angry enough to get past it, or I ignore him. Jack, our boss, just simply stares at him, but that's never worked for me," Danny said with a small smile.
"Jealousy can make a man say things he don't mean," Tanner said, that smirk back.
Oh, yeah, that spanking was definitely looking like a good idea, Danny thought. And then he had another thought. Tanner was gay, or bi at the least. With Tanner, the spanking *could* be foreplay, and with him looking like Martin…oh, man, was that a tempting thought. Of course, the fact that Tanner was in love with Larabee did manage to put a damper on the whole idea, but if not for that, then Danny could find it very easy to seduce the guy and pretend that he was Martin, if only for a few minutes. Wouldn't be fair to Tanner, but as long as it was just a fantasy, then Danny didn't see any harm in the thought.
Picking up his fork, Danny took the first bite of his dinner, but his eyes managed to orient on the door to the men's room as he waited for Martin and Wilmington to rejoin them. He'd give them a few more minutes alone, and then he was going in after Martin. Martin was, after all, his partner, and it was only right that he go and drag the guy back into the dining room. No sense in Wilmington's dinner go cold while trying to deal with the guy.
By the time Martin reached the men's room, tears were stinging his eyes. It made him remember why he usually stuck to two drinks, or else rushed through that third one and got onto the fourth and fifth in record time. Three drinks made him snappy, and then sappy. After three drinks, someone could say the name "Bambi" in his presence and he'd tear up as he thought about the movie.
Granted, at least half of his third drink was still in the glass, but the pain medication he'd taken for his headache had to be intensifying the effect of the alcohol. Take all that into consideration, and add Danny being taunting and cruel, and he was actually surprised that he hadn't burst into tears right there at the table. The only thing that saved him from embarrassing himself that way was most likely because not all the alcohol from the third drink was yet in his system.
Martin went to the sink and ran the cold water, splashing his face in an effort to ward off the tears and to hopefully sober up a little bit. As the cold water began to work, Martin reflected that Danny had lasted longer than he'd thought he would. Martin had really expected Danny to be angry last night, when he'd confessed to him that he'd been with Chris that past week, and then to get pissy acting and going into full-out lecture mode. When that hadn't happened, Martin had been too relieved to think about the fact that Danny might be up for a delayed reaction on all of that. Maybe if he hadn't have deluded himself about that, then he wouldn't have been so hurt when Danny had turned on him just now.
The door opened, and Martin tensed, not ready for more of Danny's sharp tongue or even for a mini-lecture. Turning off the water, Martin closed his eyes, letting the water droplets stream down his face and drip into the sink. "I know you're pissed at me about Chris, but it can wait for later, Danny. Go back and eat your dinner before it gets cold."
Danny moved, but it wasn't to leave, and the alcohol must have been clouding Martin's mind because he didn't register that it was another man's cologne he was smelling until he saw a hand, a hand paler than Danny's, handing a bunch of paper towels out toward him. Martin took the paper towels and stood straighter, looking at Buck Wilmington in the mirror.
Please don't let him ask what I just meant, Martin silently prayed, although he doubted if it would do much good. God had never answered his prayers before, even back when Martin had truly believed in him, so why should he start now?
Martin dried his face. "Thanks."
"No problem. I just wanted to make sure that you weren't in here puking your guts out again," Wilmington said. "So, why would Danny be pissed at you about Chris?"
Martin turned to toss the used paper towels into the trash can, hoping that if he didn't look at Wilmington, then the guy wouldn't see that Martin was stretching the truth. "He knows that I told you what Chris was up to this week, and we'd agreed not to mention it to any of you."
When Martin turned back around, he saw that Wilmington had leaned against the counter and crossed his arms across his chest as he looked back at Martin. There was a speculative look on his face. "You know, we might not do the kind of investigative stuff that you do, but I did quite a bit of it back in homicide. You know that Chris likes Bushmill's whiskey. More than that, you know exactly which variety of Bushmill's he prefers..."
"We do tend to dig deeply when looking into the life of a missing person," Martin interjected.
Wilmington tilted his head toward Martin, but didn't let that bit of information deter him from what he was saying. "You got sick the minute you saw Vin, now you're saying that Danny's pissed at you because of Chris, and earlier today, when I was telling you how happy Chris sounded when he was talking about being with someone all week, your eyes lit up like a Christmas Tree. You were pretty quick to assure me that the guy Chris was with didn't have anything to do with his disappearance, and you seemed uneasy when asking about Chris's sex life. I don't know how or why it happened, but I'm willin' to put good money on the idea that you're the someone that Chris hooked up with."
Martin shoved his hands in his pockets as he stared down at the tiled floor. He could assure Wilmington that he was way off base, or he could tell him that he was right. Judging by the tone of Wilmington's voice, the man wouldn't believe him if he said he was wrong, so Martin figured he might as well be truthful. There was just one thing to insure first.
Martin looked up and directly into Wilmington's eyes. "You can't ever let anyone know what you've figured out, Buck. Especially Vin."
Wilmington blew out a breath, "Shit. I totally forgot about Vin. You and him looking so much alike…"
"Yeah."
Wilmington nodded. "It'll be our secret. Although I guess that it's a bit harder to have a secret between three people, since you said that Danny knows about this."
"He does. He took it pretty well when I told him on the plane last night. I guess that it's just now catching up to him. He's not usually so…"
"Nasty?"
Martin grinned slightly as he nodded. "Yeah."
"Would you be upset if I called him a bastard on your behalf?" Wilmington said, and Martin thought he was joking. "I mean, considering everything, you've been having a Hell of a time since Chris disappeared."
"It hasn't been easy. It got worse when I saw Vin Tanner. Made me feel…used."
Wilmington shook his head as he stepped over toward Martin. He reached out and placed his hands on Martin's shoulders, making sure he had Martin's full attention. "Don't think that, Martin. Like I said before, I've known Chris a long time. And while you might look like Vin, I know that he wouldn't have spent a whole week with you if that was the only attraction."
Martin smiled weakly. "I keep telling myself that, but…"
"But nothing. Chris wouldn't have been with you if he'd been wanting Vin. If anything, he'd have run the other way the second he saw that you two looked alike."
"Thanks for saying that. You know, it really doesn't matter. Not in the long run. Tomorrow we fly back to New York, and Chris flies back home. I'll never see him again, so it's really a moot point, you know?" Martin shrugged, and Wilmington released the hold he had on his shoulders.
"And what about you and Vin? If it turns out that the two of you are related, can you really keep away?"
"I've thought about that," Martin assured him. "And I'm thinking that if it comes to that, then maybe we can meet somewhere between Denver and New York. I don't want to do anything to make Vin or Chris uncomfortable. And if Chris had meant for you to know about me, then he would have said my name to you at least once."
"He was on speaker phone," Wilmington said, a hopeful look on his face. "And while Chris knows that I wouldn't think twice about him hooking up with another guy, he wouldn't be so sure about the rest of the guys. I don't think you'd ever make him uncomfortable, Martin."
"Well, that just might be true, but I'm not willing to put it to a test." Martin headed for the door. "I think our food's getting cold; we should eat while we still can."
"Oh, there's no worry about food gettin' cold," Wilmington assured him, taking Martin's cue that the conversation about Chris was over. "Those piranhas will eat both of our dinners before letting 'em get cold."
Martin laughed as he opened the door, thinking that Danny would probably join the rest of them with that. Despite Danny's claims that Martin's stomach was a bottomless pit, the man put away more than his fair share of food.
They made their way back to the table and sat down. As Martin began to cut his steak, he could feel Danny looking at him, but he didn't turn his head to look at Danny. If Danny was still pissed off, then Martin didn't want to know. And if he was over that, then he'd still be over it once Martin had gotten some food in his belly.
Inez came over to the table, asking if anyone wanted refills on their drinks and making sure that their food was all right. "Another whiskey, senor?" she asked Martin.
As much as Martin wanted to get drunk enough to be numb, he didn't want to risk getting all teary-eyed again, so he shook his head. "I think I'll switch to water, no lemon, please."
Inez nodded. "Water it is then, senor." After getting a few other refill orders, Inez headed back to the bar.
Martin could feel the approval emanating from Danny, and he held back his smile. Danny never made an issue of his alcoholism, and Martin appreciated that. While he didn't go out of his way to drink in front of Danny, he didn't deprive himself of one if he wanted it and Danny was present. But he knew that Danny didn't like it when he drank a lot, even though Danny never said a word about it. No, he never needed to. The disapproval and disappointment would roll off of him. If Martin was only slightly tipsy, it would usually be enough to keep him from ordering more to drink. If he was already drunk, then he didn't give a damn and would keep on drinking at that point just to spite Danny. But Martin had to admit that the times when he did stop drinking and that vibe quickly turned from disapproval to approval felt pretty damn good.
The rest of dinner passed without any further incidents. All the built-up tension had been released, and everyone was pretty much at ease. The three whiskeys had Martin feeling mellow, and his worries about what, or rather, who, had been on Chris's mind during the week seemed needless.
The group was deciding about whether or not to have dessert when Danny's cell phone rang. It was Jack with an update on the case. As Danny moved to a quieter place in which to hear better, Martin felt his unease about Chris's motives returning. Wilmington turned toward him, as if he'd sensed Martin's change of mood.
Leaning over so that he could whisper in Martin's ear, Wilmington did his best to reassure him. "Chris wanted you, Martin. Don't ever think otherwise."
Martin nodded, and Wilmington pulled back slightly. "The dark fudge cake with ice cream is almost sinful, it's so good. If you like chocolate, then you'll love that cake. Inez heats it up slightly, so it melts the ice cream just a bit, but it doesn't get so hot that you end up with melted ice cream getting the cake soggy before you're done eatin' it." Wilmington grinned. "Of course, with the way Junior eats it, that would never happen. I swear he inhales it, and probably never really tastes the cake at all."
Tanner grinned as he gave Wilmington a single-digit salute from across the table. "The peach cobbler is pretty good, too," Tanner said. "And the apple pie is always good."
"It all sounds tempting," Martin replied. "But I think I'll hold off on ordering until I know if we're staying overnight or heading back tonight."
"Your boss would make you fly home tonight?" Tanner asked. "That wouldn't make much sense, unless you checked out of the hotel this morning."
"We probably should have, but we didn't. You're probably right. If Jack knows that we're paying for another night at the hotel either way, then he'll let us stay and take the first flight out in the morning."
Tanner's cell phone began to ring, and he looked at the caller ID, frowning. "I don't recognize that number." He held the phone up so that Martin and Wilmington could see the number. "Seem familiar to either one of you?"
Wilmington frowned as he shook his head, but Martin nodded. "It's our office number."
"Shit. Maybe it's Chris then? Tanner here." Tanner quickly answered the phone, and a grin soon appeared on his face. "Damn, Larabee, but it's good to hear your voice."
Martin settled back in his seat and watched Tanner as he spoke with Chris. The man's face had lit up the second he'd heard Chris's voice, and Martin could so easily see that what Danny had revealed was true. Vin Tanner was in love with Chris, and Martin found himself hoping that Chris would return that love and not break the guy's heart.
The rest of the table had gone silent once they discovered who Tanner was talking with, and Martin felt happy that Chris had a group of friends that was so loyal toward him. Between Tanner, who loved him, and Wilmington who accepted him no matter what, Martin knew that Chris was a very lucky man. As he looked at the faces of the rest of the team, Martin could tell that they'd probably accept Chris no matter what, as well. This made Martin feel hopeful that if Chris and Tanner did become a couple, then that would go over well with the rest of their team. After a minute or so, Tanner passed the phone to Standish, and Martin had a feeling that that cell phone was going to make the rounds of the table before the call ended.
Martin was still watching and listening as Danny returned to his seat. Martin tilted his head slightly toward Danny as he felt Danny moving toward him. Like Wilmington before, Danny had decided to whisper. "That was Jack."
Martin nodded, and Danny continued. "He just wanted to give us a few more details about the case and to let us know that he's got us booked on a six a.m. flight home. That bitch broke Larabee's cell phone, so Jack's letting Larabee run up a long distance bill on the Bureau's tab."
Martin grinned at that, and he turned his head enough to see that Danny was also grinning. "He might regret doing that," Martin whispered back. "Chris seems intent on talking to each of his friends tonight."
"I don't think Jack'll mind all that much, not after what Larabee's been through. This might be time for us to make our exit, let them get reunited without us getting in the way."
"What about dessert?" Martin protested. He'd been having a good time with Chris's team, and didn't really want to leave. But since Danny was the sober one, and had the car keys, Martin couldn't really force the issue. If Danny wanted to leave, then they'd leave.
"I'll stop at a store and buy you cupcakes or something," Danny promised.
Martin nodded, and he got to his feet, grabbing his suit jacket just as Standish handed the phone off to Sanchez.
"Are you two gentlemen leaving us already?" Standish asked, his eyes glowing with happiness. If not for the fact that they'd been glowing that way since Tanner had answered the phone, Martin would have felt insulted.
"We've got a six a.m. flight home," Danny said, speaking in a normal voice since the cell phone was a bit further down the table. "Thanks for dinner."
"Not a problem," Wilmington said. "Any time you two find yourselves back in Denver, give us a call. We'd love to get together again when things aren't as tense."
Standish and Tanner echoed that sentiment, and Tanner offered to walk out to the car with them. As they left, Inez called out her goodbyes, and they left her grinning over their praises of the food and service.
Once outside, a slight chill had settled, and Martin shivered slightly despite his jacket. Tanner was talking with Danny, once more thanking them for finding Chris, even though they hadn't actually done anything.
They reached the car, and Tanner stopped and looked at Martin. "Give me a call once you get home," Tanner said as he handed a business card to Martin. It was an ATF card, and included Tanner's cell phone number. "I'll see what family information I can dig up, and we can compare notes."
"Sounds like a plan." Martin pulled out his wallet and put the card inside it, then handed his own card to Tanner. Government efficiency at its finest, Martin thought as he saw that except for the agency names and addresses, and their names, the cards were identical. Same format, font and font size, and same color ink. Tanner slipped the card into the pocket of his shirt.
"I hope you guys have a good and safe flight tomorrow," Tanner said as Danny unlocked the car. He opened the passenger door for Martin. "Take care, both of you."
"You too," Martin said, and he got into the car before he did something silly, such as giving the man a big hug. That could wait until they found out if they were related, or if it was just a case of coincidence combined with that old adage about everyone having a twin somewhere out there.
"Good luck, Vin," Danny said and Martin saw them grin at each other. He also hoped that luck smiled on Vin Tanner and Chris, and that they ended up happy. Chris deserved to be happy.
Part Twelve