My new fic. It should be about 4 or 5 chapters long.

It's sp. Enjoy, and don't forget to review!

Helpless

Sam was uncharacteristically late. Phil couldn't wait until she lectured him about his time keeping next, just so he could bring it up and prove to her that she wasn't quite as perfect as she'd like to think. Not that he'd be serious of course. He didn't want it to become like it had been when she was DI the first time. They both knew each other so well this time around that humiliating the other would be easy. They'd never do it though. Not intentionally anyway, their friendship meant too much to each of them.

"DS Hunter?" Kezia was hovering next to Phil in that irritating way

"What?" he snapped

"DI Manson wants to see you in his office"

"Great" Phil muttered. What could he possibly have done to offend Manson already?

"You wanted to see me?"

"Shut the door" Neil ordered. Phil complied, and Neil spoke to him in a low voice

"I wanted you to be the first to know. There's been a car accident involving Sam."

"Is she okay?"

"She's fine. She'll be in soon; St. Hugh's just want to give her a quick check up before she comes in"

"You're making her come into work?" Phil sounded disbelieving

"I told her to take the day off, but you know Sam and her obsessive work attitude." Phil nodded, hating himself for thinking about mocking Sam moments before he'd been called to the office.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"I need someone to go and pick her up. I would send a PC, but I thought she'd rather see you"

"Thanks" Phil said walking swiftly to the door, and leaving CID without a backwards glance.

Sam was sitting in the reception of the hospital waiting on him. She was pale and staring at the wall in front of her blankly,

"Hey Sam" he said softly, kneeling down beside her,

"Oh, hey Phil" she sounded distracted, and who could blame her

"What happened?"

"I was just going to work, same as usual, when this guy went through a red light, and then rammed into the side of my car. He just reversed and drove off after that, like nothing had happened. I know I should have got a description of the car at least but everything was happening so fast and I was panicking and…"

"No one's blaming you Sam" he said soothingly

"I know, but…"

"But what?"

"I know it's really stupid but when I was in that car, I thought I was going to die, and all I could think about was who I'd never get to see again, and what I'd never get to tell them"

"It's not stupid Sam" Phil couldn't help but wish that those people included him.

"They're going to interview me when I get back, and I'm not going to have a clue what to say"

"It doesn't matter. You're safe. That's what's important."

"Yeah, you're right" though she didn't sound convinced.

"Ready to go back to the station?" It wasn't that he wanted to push her. It was just that he hoped that once he got Sam out of the environment full of sick and hurt people, she might just miraculously become her old, relatively happy self again.

"Yeah." She nodded, and lifted her coat and handbag before walking in front of Phil to the door. For once, he didn't even look at her ass on his exit behind her.

"How's she coping?" Neil asked Phil when they got back

"She's a bit quiet, but I think she'll be okay"

"She hasn't said a word to me since she got back." Phil and Neil both turned to look at Sam through the window of the office. "I want you to stick with her all day. Just to make sure."

"Yes Guv" that was exactly what he'd been intending to do anyway. At least he had an excuse to do it now if Sam didn't take being followed around well.

By the end of the day, Sam seemed to be over her shock for the most part, and she was back to normal. She even seemed to be flirting with him. He dropped her home, as she had no car, and she invited him in for coffee. He declined. He knew she would only be asking him out of politeness rather than really wanting him there. He left her, alone on her doorstep, assuming he was doing the right thing. Little did he know that she was desperately hoping he would come inside, because she was actually still irrationally fearful, still frightened of the man who had hit her car. She knew it was probably an accident, but that couldn't prevent the feeling of helplessness she had whenever she thought of her journey to work that morning.

She made herself a cup of coffee and paced the room, until she decided; she didn't care how much she regretted it later. She had to call someone who cared about her, and the first person that came to mind was her colleague, and friend, Phil Hunter. She'd dialled his number before she'd had the time to talk herself out of it, and he answered on the third ring

"It's me. I just needed to talk to someone" she said before he had a chance to speak. A woman's voice replied,

"I'm sorry, who is this?"

"Sorry, I think I have a wrong number" she hung up quickly, and redialled the number, being more careful this time. Again, the same woman's voice spoke, and Sam said,

"I was looking for Phil Hunter"

"I'll put him on" she said,

"Hello?" Phil was speaking, but Sam found that hearing it wasn't as comforting as she'd expected it to be.

"Hey it's me" Sam said, and then the words were out of her mouth before she had the time to think of the consequences of them, "Who's she?"

"Who?"

"The woman I was just talking to"

"Oh her, she's just a… well she's a…"

"Forget it. I don't want to know" Sam said, feeling surprisingly bitter

"It's not what you think"

"I don't care, Phil" she lied, "I'll see you tomorrow"

"I'll come pick you up"

"Don't bother. I'll get a taxi" she hung up after that, upset that the one person she thought she could have relied on to be there was already with another woman, so soon after leaving her at home.

Reviews are love.