Deciding to honor the adage to 'let sleeping dogs lie', Danny decided that he'd let Martin sleep until the plane came to a full stop at the terminal. He made sure that Martin's seat was upright, and his seatbelt secure, and then turned his attention to surviving the landing. Danny knew his statistics, and that most accidents happened during take-offs and landings. They'd survived the take-off from Denver, but weren't home-free yet. He wouldn't feel safe until the flight attendant opened that door at the ramp and people started to leave the plane.
The flight attendants walked down the aisle to make sure that the overhead bins were securely closed and people were safely belted into their seats. One of them paused at their row, to tell both Danny and Allie that she'd be escorting Allie off of the plane after the rest of the passengers had deplaned. Motioning toward Martin, who was still sleeping, Danny had assured the woman that he'd be there until then as well, and that Allie wouldn't be alone. The flight attendant nodded and thanked him, then continued on her way. As they felt the plane begin to descend, Allie reached for Danny's hand, a worried look on her young face.
"I don't like it when they land," she admitted in a near whisper.
Danny gave her hand a squeeze and smiled. "Me, either. But, I'm sure the pilot has landed many, many planes, and he'll land this one safely, too."
Allie squeezed his hand in reply, with a small smile on her face this time, and the two continued to hold hands as the plane landed and up to the moment that it came to a stop at the gate.
As soon as Allie released his hand, Danny turned toward his partner. Martin was still sleeping soundly, and Danny wondered just what kind of a mood Martin would be in once he was awake. He released his seatbelt, then carefully removed Martin's blanket and undid Martin's. People were already in the aisles, getting their bags and other belongings from the overhead bins, and beside him, Allie was sitting quietly, her bag held securely in her lap.
Danny gave Martin's shoulder a slight push. "Martin? We're home, time to wake up."
No response, but then again, Danny hadn't expected to get one on his first try. Danny had noticed on other overnight trips that Martin was the one who preferred to linger in bed after the alarm had gone off, letting Danny shower first just so he could get more sleep. The thought came that if Danny wasn't so stubborn, then he and Martin could spend many mornings either sleeping in together, sharing a shower, or both. Danny gave his head a slight shake. It was hard enough resisting Martin, he didn't need a part of his sub-conscious trying to derail his plans, too.
A harder push, one that actually moved Martin's body a bit, and this earned Danny a slight moaning sound, and a movement of Martin's head before the man settled back against the side of the plane. "Nope, no more sleep, Fitzie. It's time to wake up."
Allie giggled from Danny's other side, and Danny turned his head to grin at her. "It's like trying to wake a bear up in winter," he said, making her giggle a bit more.
"Mommy tickles me," Allie confided, and Danny considered that for a moment. Martin Fitzgerald ticklish? It would be fun to find out. Danny nodded. "I'll try that. Thank you."
With Allie looking on, all giggles as if she was the one being tickled, Danny began his subtle assault upon Martin. He first ran his finger lightly under Martin's jaw, but that only got Martin to move his head a bit. Danny then moved his hand lower, lightly tickling Martin's side, and this got more of a reaction, with Martin moving fully in his seat. Unfortunately for Danny's plans, Martin moved to face the window, and while that gave Danny a great view of Martin's ass, it really wasn't someplace he was going to try to tickle while he had a pint-sized audience.
The plane had been emptying while Danny had been busy, and he had once more tried to shake Martin's shoulder to get him awake when the flight attendant came for Allie. The woman laughed lightly at Danny's predicament, but didn't offer to help. Danny wasn't sure if he was glad of that or not. He said goodbye to Allie and moved out of the row when Allie insisted that she had to be the one to hug Martin goodbye.
Danny shared a smile with the flight attendant as Allie crawled into Danny's seat and then wrapped her arms around Martin from behind, giving him the biggest hug that someone her size could manage. Danny even heard the loud smack of a kiss, and then damn if he didn't hear Martin's voice murmuring a goodbye to Allie.
Allie scrambled down from Danny's seat and stepped into the aisle, beaming up at Danny. "All he needed was a kiss, just like the sleeping princess," she declared.
"I think he needed a kiss from you," Danny said, giving her a wink. "He'd have probably knocked me out if I tried to kiss him."
Allie frowned slightly and shook her head. "You really need to stop being denially and notice what's right there in front of you."
Danny and the flight attendant exchanged amused glances at that declaration, shrugging as if it were normal to expect kids to say the oddest things. Inside though, Danny knew that Allie was right on target. He'd been in denial for so long about Martin, and had wasted so much time. If he'd have admitted his feelings to Martin sooner, then maybe they would have had a chance as a couple.
By the time the flight attendant had left with Allie, Martin was on his feet. He looked a bit unsteady, but Danny knew better than to even think about reaching out to help the man. Instead, he reached up into the overhead bin and got out both of their bags, handing off one to Martin, who took it without a word. And that's when Danny remembered that they weren't talking to one another.
"You going to ignore me all the way back to the office?" Danny asked as they exited the plane.
Martin's answer was a blurry-eyed glare, and Danny didn't have to think too hard to know that that was a definite 'yes'. They walked in silence toward the main terminal, with Danny wondering if they'd really end up taking separate cabs to the Federal Building, or if Martin would share one with him.
Danny got his answer when Martin suddenly stopped. "Shit." Martin's voice wasn't loud enough for others to hear, but Danny had been walking as close to Martin as he felt safe, and so he'd heard it. He looked up and followed Martin's line of vision to where Jack stood, arms crossed and an impatient look on his face.
"You said it, partner," Danny agreed. "Guess Victor must have called him, too."
Martin looked puzzled at that, and he turned his head to look questioningly at Danny, although he still didn't say anything.
"You don't remember calling your dad from Denver? When we were detained by security and you finally got fed up with it and called in the reinforcements?"
Martin slowly shook his head, and Danny sighed. If Martin really didn't remember all of that, then that would leave it to him to explain things to Jack. It was a good thing he loved Martin, or else he'd have strangled the guy ages ago!
Jack took a step toward them. "I don't even want to hear about why it took the two of you so long to get off of the plane. I'm at a meter and don't want a parking ticket, so if you two clowns are ready, can we leave?"
"Sure, Jack." Danny nudged Martin forward, hoping that the guy was steadier on his feet now than he'd been so far. Or that if he wasn't, then Jack wouldn't notice.
They followed Jack out to his car, and stowed their bags in the trunk. Danny was more than willing to let Martin sit up front, but when Jack opened the back passenger door, he motioned for Martin to get in. Once Martin was seated, Jack shut the door and sent an intent look Danny's way. "So, just how drunk is he?"
Jack's voice wasn't angry, but it was clear to Danny that their boss wasn't happy with either him or Martin right then. "I'm not really sure," Danny admitted. "He slept for about half of the flight, but I have no idea just how much he drank before we left the hotel."
Jack shook his head and motioned for Danny to get into the car. Feeling as if he'd just been sent to be lectured by the principal, Danny got into the front passenger seat. He turned his head to make sure that Martin had put on his seatbelt and was doing okay, and then he put on his own seatbelt as Jack got into the car.
"I don't suppose that you'd be surprised to hear that I received a phone call from the Deputy Director this morning," Jack said as he pulled out into the lane of cars leaving the airport. "He was concerned because at least one of the agents from my office was inebriated and causing a scene of some sort at the Denver airport. Care to fill me in on what the Hell you were thinking?"
"It wasn't his fault." Danny said, and he turned to look at Martin as he heard Martin saying those words at the same time.
"I'll handle this," Danny continued, and he ignored Martin's glare as he returned his attention back to Jack. "It wasn't Martin's fault. I had his gun and badge, and Martin didn't realize it until we were at the security check-point. Someone overheard him when he asked me about it, and the next thing we knew, security was involved. They wouldn't believe that we were FBI agents, and Martin finally got fed up with it and called his father. That must have worked, because not long after that, a call came in from someone higher up and they let us go." Danny knew he was glossing over some of the details, but he doubted if there was anyone who'd tell Jack exactly what had happened, and his version was close enough to the truth.
Jack looked up into the rear view mirror, and Danny knew that he was looking for Martin to confirm or deny what Danny had just said. In his current condition, Martin was bound to say anything that popped into head, and Danny figured that they were in enough trouble without Martin's mouth jumping into things.
"Look," Danny said, his voice as low as he could get it and still have Jack hear him. "Martin had a rough time of things, and he got pretty plastered last night. I think he's still a little drunk."
"Do you now?" Jack dryly replied as he glanced sideways at Danny. "That true, Martin? You went out and purposely got drunk last night?"
Danny looked back at Martin, sending him a glance that even a drunk man would interpret as 'keep your mouth shut'. However, as in most of the time when Danny gave the man that look, Martin ignored him.
Martin leaned forward as far as the seatbelt would allow and placed his hand on the back of Jack's seat. "Damn right I did. I just couldn't stay in our room any longer, well, I probably could have stayed there, but I would have been crazy by the time we left for the airport. And after everything else that had happened, having Danny freaking out because he didn't like it that I liked it when he bit me was a bit more than I could handle sober. If anyone had a right to get drunk, it was me. Trust me on that, Jack."
Oh, Martin did not just say that! Danny held back a moan as he quickly ran Martin's words back through his head and realized that, yes indeed, Martin did just tell Jack that he'd bitten him. "Really drunk," Danny said, hoping to keep Jack from asking Martin any more questions. "I was surprised he actually made it out of the bar."
Another quick glance from Jack. "You were with him but don't know how much he was drinking?"
Shit, he'd walked into that one, didn't he? "Martin went to the hotel bar alone. He knew when we needed to leave for the airport, and he was back to the room before then."
Martin's head moved forward a little bit, and Danny began to wonder if he'd undone his seatbelt. Worry about that went right out of the window when Martin spoke. "Someone stole my underwear, so Danny didn't put any on me."
Danny turned his head quickly, not wanting to see the look on Jack's face at hearing that. He watched as the streets of Queens went by, a silence descending in the car that he couldn't quite describe. And then he heard it, a soft sound at first, as if someone was choking, and then that choking grew louder and Jack began to laugh out loud.
"Believe me, it wasn't as funny as it sounds now," Danny said, but he still wouldn't look at Jack.
"Oh, it's not really all that funny right now," Jack replied. "You and I are going to have a long talk about what it means to look out for your partner when you're out of town on a case, but right now, we just need to get Fitzgerald home safely. In case you haven't noticed, given how you're giving Queens your full attention, your partner just slid down into the floor."
Danny turned in his seat and looked over the back of it to see that Martin was in the floor, just as Jack had said. Martin's head and most of his upper body was behind Jack's seat, and the rest of him was behind Danny.
Martin giggled and waved at Danny. "Jack takes those corners too fast."
Danny might have agreed with his partner about that, having ridden many times with Jack. However, seeing as how Jack hadn't turned and corners, he didn't think that his agreement would go over too well with the man. Danny grinned at Jack, then shook his head. "Just stay put, Martin. We're almost to your place."
"He better stay conscious," Jack said. "Because I have no intention of hauling his ass up those stairs. Why he couldn't get an apartment on one of the lower floors is beyond me."
"Not a vampire," Martin chimed in from his position on the floor.
"Do I want to know?" Jack asked, sounding a bit tired now.
"Not really," Danny assured him. He remembered making that comment once to Martin, about how vampires grabbed all of the lower levels for themselves.
"Less sunlight," Martin added, as if neither man had spoken. "And they get great rent control. You know, that thing about not dying and shit. That's what Danny said."
"I think it was more along the lines of them living to be a 106 years old, not about them not dying." Danny corrected. Martin might be drunk, but if he was going to be relaying their conversation to Jack, then Danny thought the details should be right, even if nothing else was.
"Why do you think they only live for 106 years?" Jack asked. "In almost every vampire myth, they tend to live forever once turned."
"Exactly." Martin said.
"I don't think Jack was talking to you," Danny said, "So you can keep your opinions to yourself."
"Along with my opinion that you're being pig-headed about that biting thing? Because you are, you know. It should be simple, shouldn't it, Jack? Danny tells me he loves me, I tell him I love him, and we're good to go. But noooooo, not with Mr. Taylor there. He freaks out and declares that we can't ever be together because he can't trust me. *Me*! He can't trust me!"
"We are *so* not having this conversation here," Danny declared, and he was relieved to see that they were now on Martin's street and would soon be at his apartment building.
"But *we'll* be talking later," Jack said, and this time he didn't even bother to glance Danny's way. But then, with the tone of Jack's voice, Danny knew that a glare wouldn't have added anything. He was in trouble and that was that. There was a fleeting thought that Jack was going to ignore Martin getting drunk on his ass and tear into him instead, letting Martin skate because he was the Deputy Director's son. Not a very nice thought, and one Danny discarded as quickly as it had arrived. He remembered Martin telling him that Jack knew about Larabee, so if Jack went easy on Martin it was because of the case and all of the tension surrounding it.
They rode in silence a bit longer and Danny felt a surge of relief as Jack pulled to a stop in front of Martin's building. A few minutes later and they were inside Martin's apartment, with Jack directing Danny to take Martin's bag into his bedroom while Jack steered Martin into the bathroom, closing the door firmly behind them.
Not knowing what Jack had in mind, Danny lingered in Martin's bedroom. He'd never seen the room before, although the idea of the room had spent been in many of Danny's fantasies about Martin. And now he'd never spend time in it with Martin. Not that he'd be missing much, because Martin hadn't gone out of his way to decorate the room. It seemed stark compared to the rest of his apartment, holding just the bed, which was king-sized, a nightstand, a chest of drawers and a well-used chair between the bed and the door. The room had one window, with blinds and no curtain. The walls were the boring white that seemed to come with all rental properties. There were two lights, the overhead one and one that sat on the nightstand. The clock radio also was on the nightstand, and the top of the chest of drawers held a dark, wooden box that most likely held all of Martin's jewelry. There were no clothes on the floor, or even draped over the chair. Like his desk at work, Martin's bedroom was neatly kept. Danny opened the closet, noting the shoes that were in a row on the floor and the backpacks stowed in the corners. Martin's suits took up one side of the closet, then dress shirts, and then a few other nice items of clothing. A tie rack was secured to the inside of the door, and their display was the only spot of color in the room.
Danny was torn between condemning the man he loved as being boring and feeling sorry that Martin had been in New York almost two full years now and hadn't had a chance to do anything with the room.
"Turn the covers down," Jack said as he escorted a now shirtless Martin into the room.
Danny tried not to wince as his eyes were drawn to the large bandage that hid where he'd bitten Martin. He didn't want to look at the other marks on Martin's body and was somewhat grateful to have something else to do. Moving quickly to the bed, Danny turned the covers back, then stood out of the way as Jack told Martin to sit down.
"Find a clean T-shirt or something that he can wear to bed, and some sweatpants, too." Jack's voice was firm and Danny had no trouble picking up on the anger within it.
As Danny went through Martin's drawers to find the requested items, he heard Jack trying to get Martin's shoes and socks off. Jack obviously intended to put Martin to bed, and from the sound of things, Martin wasn't having anything to do with that idea.
"We're supposed to go to the office," Martin protested. "Hey, that tickles!"
"Then keep your foot still," Jack replied, sounding more patient than Danny could recall ever hearing him sound. Definitely a by-product of being a father to two little girls. Danny glanced over and saw that Jack had successfully removed both shoes and one sock, and he smiled as he remembered just how difficult it had been to get those shoes and socks on his partner.
By the time Danny returned to Jack's side with the clothing, Martin's feet were bare, and he was still arguing his case with Jack.
"Martin, look at me," Jack firmly said.
Martin looked up into Jack's face, blinking rapidly as if he were trying to get the man's image in focus.
"You need to sleep. There will be plenty of time tomorrow for you to do your paperwork on the case."
"You won't be mad at me for not going in today?" Martin asked, a slight pout beginning.
"No, I won't be mad at you for that. I will be mad though, if you don't get some sleep. Now, hold out your arms and put on this shirt." Jack had taken the shirt from Danny and now held it out toward Martin. As Danny watched Jack help Martin dress, he felt a slight tug of jealousy. He was the one who should have been dressing Martin, not Jack or any other person. Then Danny remembered that Martin was bare under those slacks, and he definitely didn't want Jack seeing that!
"Jack, I'll help Martin with his sweatpants," Danny said.
Jack glared at him. "I think that you've helped Martin quite enough already. I'll take care of getting Martin settled into bed. Why don't you go wait in the living room?"
It might have been formed as a question, but Danny knew an order when he heard one. He handed the sweatpants to Jack, then nodded at Martin. "Sleep well, Fitzie."
"You, too," Martin said, smiling at him.
"And close the door on your way out," Jack said as he reached to undo Martin's pants.
"Sure." Danny closed the door, but he couldn't resist standing there, straining to overhear what was going on in the bedroom. And he definitely didn't try to suppress his grin as he heard Martin protesting when Jack undid the button and zipper of his slacks. If Jack was going to be so overprotective as to chase him out of the room, then he deserved to be treated to a royal Fitzgerald tantrum over being undressed without permission. It almost made him forget about the fact that he didn't want anyone else seeing Martin naked.
Almost. Danny couldn't help but wonder if Martin was grabbing his own cock and waving it in Jack's direction, taunting Jack the same way that he'd taunted him earlier. He hoped that Martin wasn't doing that, but with the amount of alcohol that he'd apparently consumed and still had in his system, there was no telling what the boy would do.
Part Nineteen