A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed and favourited my previous stories. This is a Sandland story; chapters 1 and 2 are linked, different POVs of the same situation, the first is Robert's POV. Spoilers for seasons 9 and 10. This is unbeta'd so forgive any mistakes. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own New Tricks or any of the characters.

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DAC Robert Strickland knew that the majority of those who worked in the MET, including UCOS, considered him to be a somewhat self-serving officer and he didn't completely disagree with that description of himself. There was no doubt that he wanted the departments under his authority to look good, he would not be DAC is he didn't, and he did particularly enjoy praising UCOS's exemplary clean-up rate. Despite being thought of as a self-serving he was still a strong supporter of Sandra and her team. He navigated the political barrage and murky waters of the upper MET and did his best to use his influence within the MET to protect them when necessary. Although he wished that he would not have to defend them quite so often as he did and that the team wouldn't break the rules as blatantly as they do. But he was willing to accept their actions if a result was achieved and that was more than most other DAC's would do for their departments.

It was with these thoughts in mind late one evening, well after everyone else had left for home, that Robert walked down to UCOS to drop off a couple of files for a new case. He passed through the doors to the main office and headed towards Sandra's office but paused as the sound of crying drifted out of the room through the slightly open door. In a few quick strides he closed the remaining distance to the door and gently pushed it open. The sight that greeted him made his heart ache in a way he was not accustomed to. Sandra was sitting on the ground, knees drawn up to her chest, arms wrapped around her knees, her head buried in her arms, sobbing.

"Sandra?" he questioned gently.

His voice startled her and she jerked her head up to see who had called her name.

"S...s...sir...?"

At first her expression was one of surprise at seeing him but this quickly turned to one of disgust, her hands clenched and she once more buried her head in her arms as if trying to forget that he was there.

Robert stood there for a few moments unsure of what to do. This was not an aspect of Sandra Pullman that he was used to dealing with. She had always seemed like someone who could take on everything and handle anything that life threw at her. She had and would remain a competitive and ambitious woman but that is what made her so good at her job. She had a fierce temper to be sure; he had been on the receiving end of that temper more times than he would like to count and she was a fearsome woman to behold when she got angry. But no matter how difficult a case or situation had gotten Sandra had always come through in the end, not always by the means that she should have, but she had always gotten there in one piece, especially with the help of her boys.

Her boys...Jack... Of course, that was what this was about. He knew the team had all taken the news badly, that they were mourning the loss of a valued colleague and a dear friend. What he had not taken into account, what he had forgotten, was that Jack had been more than just a mentor to Sandra, he had been like a father to her and of course she would be devastated at his passing. But why was she here, after hours, alone in her office? Why was she not with Gerry and Brian? Why was she hiding her grief?

Robert had long admired Sandra as an attractive, strong and intelligent woman and capable detective. Since he first met her there had been something, he had not known how to describe it, but there had just been something about her that had captivated him. Over the years feelings of admiration and attraction had turned to something more but he always admired the beautiful woman beneath a guise of professionalism. And now he wanted to help her, to comfort her. But would she let him? The look of disgust at seeing him was clearly a sign that she did not want him anywhere near her but he could not just leave her cry on her office floor, what kind of person would he be if he did that? He had to go to her.

Having made his decision he slowly walked over to Sandra and knelt beside her. In a soft voice he called her name and gently touched her arm, which twitched at his touch but she didn't do anything else. Feeling emboldened by this Robert moved and sat on the ground beside Sandra; he wrapped both his arms around her and pulled her to him. Sandra made a small noise of surprise at this that interrupted her crying and became taut and uncomfortable as she leaned against him. Robert rubbed his hand along her arm and whispered, "It's okay to cry Sandy. You are not alone now." When he heard Sandra sob and felt her body shake with renewed grief he briefly tightened his hold on her and continued to rub her arm until she cried herself out. They stayed like that, wrapped in each other's arms, on the office floor for quite some time even after Sandra had stopped crying.

Eventually Sandra made a move to get up and Robert let her go without saying a word. She went to her bag, pulled out a tissue and tried to compose herself. Robert slowly got to his feet and only then did realise how numb his legs had gone from sitting on the floor for so long and he stretched a little to get the blood moving again. All the while Sandra stayed with her back to him and when she finally spoke it was only to say, "Sorry sir."

"Sorry?" he questioned, not understanding why she was apologising.

"This...this outburst, it, well, it won't affect my work on the case. Sir. And em...it won't happen again." And with that she grabbed her bag and all but ran from the office.

Robert, who had been about to reassure Sandra that everything was alright, stood bewildered by the sudden turn on events and Sandra's abrupt departure. He released a breath that he had not realised he had been holding and rubbed a hand over his face. What was he supposed to do now? He could understand if she was somewhat embarrassed by the whole situation but surely she could not be so embarrassed as to run off like that? He had thought that she had been alright with him comforting her; she would have thought that it was out of character for him but given the circumstances surely she would have known that he only meant the best. What did she think he was going to do, tell her that because she was so upset, that she had gotten emotional over Jack's death that she was no longer fit for her job?

Should he go after her, try to find out what was wrong, try to explain his side of things? No, he thought, now would not be a good time, Sandra needed space and time to gather herself. Then perhaps he would talk to her tomorrow, which would give her some breathing space and him some time to think of what to say that would swiftly clear up the current confusion. He would talk to her after work tomorrow and explain that he had only wanted to help her, to make sure she was not alone in her grief. He knew what that felt like and he certainly did not want Sandra to feel that. Tomorrow he would sort this misunderstanding out and perhaps Sandra might begin to see him as a man who cared for her and who wanted to help her rather than an autocratic boss.

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