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Betsey
By MMW

1 Hour Missing

“I think Martin should be in charge,” Samantha said, a smirk appearing on her lips.

“Why me?” cried Martin.

“You need the experience,” Danny, also smirking, added helpfully.

“He has a point,” Vivian added, trying very hard not to laugh.

“Ja-ack,” Martin whined, “You can’t possibly be taking this seriously!”

Jack looked thoughtfully at the young agent, fighting down a smirk. “Martin, we don’t have the opportunity to pick our cases. On this team we take whatever case comes to us.” Looking at the three other smirking faces, he continued, “The case is yours.”

“But I don’t have… I mean… Well… You have two daughters, aren’t you the best qualified to deal with this situation?” Martin demanded.

Jack eyed him coolly. “The case is yours, Martin. Handle it,” came the command.

Martin glared at his co-workers. He’d taken his fair share of guff for being the rookie, heck he’d even deserved some of it, but this… this was beyond hazing. Releasing a huff of air, he said, “Fine. I’ll go interview Annie.” He then turned on his heel and started stalking back toward the distraught Annie, his co-workers' laughter trailing behind him.

Kneeling down before the small, sniffling girl, he pulled out his notepad and pencil. Biting back his temper, he tried to speak as gently as he could. “Hey, there, Annie,” he began with a patience he didn’t feel. “Is it OK if I ask you a few questions?” Receiving a slow nod, he thought out the phrasing of his questions carefully. He didn’t deal with children often, but knew they would answer things literally. “When was the last time you remember seeing Betsey?”

Annie sniffed and thought. "I'm not sure, Mr. Martin," she said shyly, her large, wet eyes staring into his blue ones.

Martin nodded his head sagely. "What were you doing last time you remember having Betsey?" he asked trying another tact.

"I remember we were playing and then Mommy called us. Betsey was sad," came the soft reply.

"Betsey was sad," Martin repeated, trying to keep his impatience and disbelief from his voice. Catching sight of the smirking Danny off to his side, he bit back his embarrassment and humiliation to continue. "Your doll, Betsey, was sad," he repeated, clenching his teeth and resisting the urge to hit the now laughing Danny. "Why was Betsey sad?" he asked.

Annie looked guiltily up to her mother who was standing talking to Vivian before looking back down at the ground and mumbling something Martin couldn't quite catch.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't quite catch that. Why did you say Betsey was sad?"

The little girl looked up at him, fresh tears glittering in her eyes. "'Cause we were playing on the creek bank by the old hollow log and Mommy doesn't allow us there on our own," she sniffled, tears now running freely down her face as she started crying in earnest once more.

Dropping his head for a moment, Martin patted Annie on the shoulder and promised, "I'll go take a look there and see if I can find where Betsey is for you." Standing he glared at his snickering co-workers and headed off for the creek.

1 Hour 20 Minutes Missing

"Here he comes," Samantha said.

"Why are his pants all muddy?" Vivian asked, her brow furrowed.

Martin ignored the looks of his team and approached the small girl. Once more kneeling down in front of her, he looked into the hopeful blue eyes and smiled. Bringing his hand forward, he presented Annie with her lost doll. Nearly losing his balance as the small girl snatched the doll and flung herself at him, Martin managed to catch himself before falling backwards.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Annie cried, somehow managing to wipe her tears and her nose on Martin’s previously pristine navy blue shirt. Turning away from Martin she began scolding Betsey about running off and worrying her.

Martin let his head drop. He could hear the silent laughter of his team. Biting back his frustration, he prepared to meet the inevitable teasing. Standing, he turned and met four very amused faces. “Alright,” he said, impatient to get the jokes over with. “Out with it.”

“What?” Samantha asked, feigning innocence. “I have no idea what a doll rescuer like you could be talking about.”

“Yeah,” Danny added, “you did a great job in locating that missing… person.”

Walking over, Jack managed to suppress his laughter long enough to clap Martin on the shoulder and say, “Good work.”

Vivian looked at him, raised an eyebrow and said, “So from now on, we know whom to come to when we have a doll missing. Oh, and, don’t worry about your little thank you gift from Annie; it will come out in the wash.”

Eyes widening in horror, Martin looked down at his shoulder where Vivian was pointing and saw the residue Annie’s tears and runny nose had left on his shirt. “Aw, hell,” came the disgruntled response.