Okay, I haven't written a story about Sam and Tom since September last year so it might be a bit rusty but there are hardly any Tam fics anymore so I thought I'd give it a go...

Candidness

It had been a long day at work for Sam Nicholls but after her shift had finished on Friday, the day was yet to end because she was going around to her partner's flat for an evening meal – he'd had the day off of work and decided to cook them both dinner. It wasn't that she didn't want to go and see him, but she hadn't been entirely honest with Tom Kent about something and she had far too much pride to divulge the secret to him.

She knocked on the door and within moments, the door was hastily opened to reveal a tall, handsome man with curly brown hair who was wearing a shirt and jeans with a cooking apron on to protect his clothing.

"Long day?" Tom questioned as he allowed her to step in and hang her handbag up on the hook whilst he closed the door.

"Mm. Ash was off sick so we were overrun and I didn't even have a lunch break." She replied as she followed him through to the small kitchen where it looked like a bomb had gone off.

"Well it's a good job that I've cooked you a three course meal today to fill you up, isn't it?" Tom chuckled as he approached the counter and returned to chopping up fresh salad items.

"What're we having?" Sam asked apprehensively.

"Starters is a pancetta, avocado and pine nut salad. Main course is lemon and thyme chicken with rosemary potatoes and vegetables – which by the way has a very complicated recipe – and to finish that off, I've made us tiramisu for pudding." He explained. "That's alright isn't it? I know you like coffee and you like to eat healthily but it's Friday night so you can let your hair down and have dessert for once."

"Yeah, no. It's fine." Sam smiled as she grabbed a glass and poured herself some cool water from the jug in the fridge.

"Do you not want a glass of wine?"

"No, I'm alright thanks. I'm gonna go for a run in the morning and I don't want to have a headache."

"Right." Sam sighed as she finished the last sip of water from her glass and then placed it on the table in front of the sofa. "I've got loads of ironing to do and I haven't got any pyjamas for tonight so I'd better get going." She admitted as she stood up from the dining table.

"Oh come on, surely you can stay over tonight and get the ironing done at the weekend. And besides, it's nearly 9 o'clock." Tom protested. "You can borrow one of my shirts, you've done it before."

"No, really. I should get going."

"Why? You–" Tom frowned as his girlfriend grimaced as she clutched her abdomen. "Are you alright?" He asked concernedly. He was about to put his arm around her shoulders but before he could, she leapt off of the sofa, stumbled out of the room and the next thing he knew, the bathroom door had been slammed. He got up, walked over to the only bathroom in his flat and placed his ear against the door. "Oh no." He whispered.

It was several minutes until he heard the toilet flush and the taps run. He stood back slightly and finally, the door slowly opened to reveal his poorly girlfriend before she leant in the door way and huffed.

"Sorry." She muttered.

"Hey, you have got absolutely no reason to be sorry. But should've told me if you felt unwell." Tom scalded gently. "You shouldn't be embarrassed about an upset stomach, it's alright. And don't think you have to leave just because you're ill – you're staying here tonight, no objections. You don't want to drive back to yours just in case." He said as he gently wrapped his arms around her and let her bury her head in his chest.

"No, Tom I just want to go home." Sam admitted. "I'll be fine." She said more confidently as she pulled out of his embrace.

"Honestly, you're more than welcome–"

"Please, Tom. I'm not arguing, I'm going home." Sam stated as she slipped out of his arms and then went to the hallway to grab her bag.

"Alright, but I'm coming with you. Just let me grab a bag and I'll take you home. You don't want to be by yourself."

"What're those?" Tom asked as he entered the living room to find his partner swallowing some tablets with a sip of water after he'd taken his overnight bag to her bedroom.

"Diarrhoea tablets." Sam replied quietly as she crammed the brown bottle back into her kitchen cupboard. "I know I should probably let this bug run its course but, y'know. It's not gonna do much harm is it?"

"No, I suppose not. Right, come on, you curl up in the armchair, get comfy with a blanket and pillow and you can chose a film." He smiled as he guided her to the living room and then sat her down. "Have you got rehydration sachets somewhere?" He asked.

"Yeah, in the cupboard under the sink."

Sam had made another quick escape to the toilet moments ago so Tom went to the kitchen to make her up another rehydration drink as he did with each visit to the bathroom. He had poured the powder into the glass of water and given it a stir, but curiosity got the better of him as he wondered what she had actually taken earlier on. He would've believed that she'd taken diarrhoea tablets if the capsules had not been in a brown bottle because most upset stomach remedies came in boxes and only prescriptions came in the sort of container that he had seen.

He opened the top cupboard and took out the bottle, but as soon as he had finished reading the label he heard a throat being cleared behind him.

"Sam, why didn't you tell me you were lactose intolerant?" Tom sighed as he held the bottle of lactase tablets. "I would've never let you eat that tiramisu if you–"

"You'd spent all day making it and put so much effort in." Sam said simply.

"Sam I don't care if I'd spent a decade perfecting the recipe." Tom stated. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault, it's mine." Sam sighed as she sat down at the breakfast bar and began to sip at the rehydration salts drink. "To be honest, I thought you already knew, or had a feeling."

"Why?" Tom asked confusedly.

"Because of the stuff in my kitchen." She replied. "You always say I'm too healthy because I have olive oil spread instead of butter or almond milk instead of cow's milk... I thought you'd guessed but you just didn't say anything." Sam admitted.

"I really had no idea." Tom stated. "How long have you had it for?"

"Years. My Mum always said I was pretty ill as a toddler and it wasn't until I was 6 or 7 that I got diagnosed with it. They removed lactose from my diet for a couple of weeks and Mum said I was like a different person." She explained.

"How long does it usually take to settle down?"

"It depends on the amount of lactose I've had. I didn't have a lot of the tiramisu so this flare up will probably last until tomorrow afternoon but sometimes it can last a couple of days. This might sound a bit weird but I normally sleep in the armchair when I'm ill so it's easier to get up so you can go to bed when you're ready."

"Don't be silly. I'll sleep on the sofa – we can have a Big Bang Theory box set marathon until you can fall asleep."

"There is one other thing." She said slowly.

"What's that?"

"It's not just diarrhoea that I get when I have lactose... I get really bloated and I didn't want you to see before in case you thought something else was wrong, but now that you know I guess it doesn't matter." She sighed as she unzipped her hoodie and Tom's eyes flew open as he saw her swollen abdomen in the tight vest she was wearing. "I know it's bad and I look like I'm pregnant but I can't help it."

"Of course you can't help it, I know that so don't worry about it." Tom said reassuringly. "Can you promise me something?"

"What?" Sam frowned.

"I know you might be a bit embarrassed about being lactose intolerant but I didn't laugh at you or make a fuss did I?"

"No, but I fail to see where you're going with this."

"You can trust me, 100% of the time and I want you to be honest with me from now on, okay?"

"I promise." Sam replied eventually. "And if we're starting now, I need to tell you something else."

"What is it?"

"I know you meant well by cooking us dinner but it was truly disgusting." She declared.

"I know." Tom chuckled as he hung his head in shame. "Come on, let's get you sat down. With a stomach like that, you look like you're about to give birth." He joked.

"Oi!" Sam elbowed him on her way out of the kitchen before she went and curled up in the armchair. She knew she had a long night ahead of her, but it felt like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders after the several months that they had been seeing each other and she didn't know why she had been so worried before about telling him about her condition. All that mattered was that she had finally found someone who made her happy, and she couldn't wait to see what the future held for them.

Thank you very much for reading! Please leave me a review to let me know what you think of it and if you have any ideas for other Sam and Tom oneshots because I'd like to get back into casualty again, I just don't have any ideas for Tam at the moment!