AUTHORS NOTE: So this is my first attempt at a LO:UK story and I'm completely intrigued by the new character of "Sam Casey". He's a wee cutie! I do hope we see more scenes involving his son and he in the next series. This is written for my friend, ThePointGirl, because she's the one who reminded me to watch LO:UK and the one to text me through my nights of watching so that I could flail at all the cute moments.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters.
[Who's Going to Save Ronnie Now?]
Sitting down at the booth, he placed the glass down on the table and closed his eyes as he listened to the chatter going off around him and concentrated on the smells that had long since left his memory. It was different now, obviously, due to the new laws and regulations about smoking in public places and Ronnie couldn't help but noticed how he missed that unique smell. Obviously he'd never smell it at night time but the next morning he'd wake up and his clothes would smell of stale beer and cigarette smoke. It was a comfort to him and he couldn't help but feel safe whenever he smelt that. He couldn't even remember how many years it had been since that smell had been all over his clothes.
It wasn't just the smell he'd missed. He'd missed the warmth in his belly after several drinks and the warmth was always there, no matter what he drank. He could be on spirits, beer or even wine depending on how desperate he was but the warmth would always be there to make him feel good. He missed the adrenaline rush of being drunk and of how naturally happy he felt when he was drinking but that wasn't what he missed the most. No, he missed one more thing a lot more than that and it was something he desired at this precise moment of time. He missed the sensation of being numb inside, not feeling anything nor having a care in the world but all he could do now was feel everything.
Rubbing at his temple, he couldn't help but feel sadness prickling at his eyelids as he thought of his old partner. Matthew Devlin. The best young detective Ronnie had ever had the privilege to work with and he believed, even if Matty never said anything, that Matty felt the same about him. Despite his young age compared to that of Ronnie's, they got on like a house on fire and Matty had been the one to really rescue Ronnie from his demons. Ronnie had promised the young lad that he'd never touch a drop again and if he wanted to then he was to phone Matty, no matter what time of day it was, and he'd be there straight away to save him.
But who was going to save him now?
He knew that DI Chandler, their guv, really did care about him. She'd always cared about her detectives and she'd specially taken a shining to Ronnie, proud of all the demons he'd overcome and of how he'd become an even stronger detective because of it but he doubted that she'd have time to listen to his whining, saving him from every time he felt like succumbing to the drink. His set backs were rare but she'd just push him on the station psychiatrist and there was no way in hell he was going to talk to some shrink about his problems because they only heard what they wanted to hear and not what you had said.
There was always Alesha but she too was now facing her own problems. Ronnie had suspected and then found the evidence, not that he minded because he was sure they would tell everyone when they were ready, that there was a small thing going on between the CPS lawyer and his partner. He'd thought it cute. In their line of career, it was rare that you found love and finding it with someone in said career was always the way forward. They understood the hours, the stress that came with the job and the fact that tensions would run high but Ronnie had sensed that they'd be able to make it work. No. He couldn't bother the young woman with his troubles. Instead, he should be offering her help.
Sighing, he realised that there was only one person left that he could, or maybe that he should be trusting with said information, and that was his new partner. Sam Casey. He'd joined the team to investigate Matty's death and then opted to stay on as Ronnie's new partner. The boy was good. Headstrong, determined and a damn fine detective that always put the victims first. Ronnie couldn't help but chuckle when he realised that Matty and Sam would have really liked each other – they were practically twins! He smiled. There was no way, in his head anyway, there could be a detective that could ever live up to Matty's stance but Sam could most definitely hold his own.
In such a short time, only a few weeks, Ronnie had built a rapport with the man and had felt as if he had been working with him forever. They took the constant barricade of jokes aimed at their sexuality – mainly Sam's because of his looks and protective ways of Ronnie – with ease and their own private jokes afterwards. Sam, as well as Ronnie, had his own demons in the form of his ex-partner constantly showing up at his doorway with his young son, Ben, and totally forgetting that while she lived the high life, Sam had a career. Ronnie tried his best to help Sam out the best he could like one day when Kathy had showed up with Ben but Sam had been with a suspect, Ronnie had sat with the young boy on his knee and together they'd played solitaire on Ronnie's computer until his father returned. The anger and embarrassment obvious on his face at the idea Kathy would just do that but when he'd asked if Ben had wanted to go home, the young boy had shook his head and said that he was staying with Uncle Ronnie because he wasn't in the way. Uncle Ronnie. The words had literally made his heart melt and he, momentarily, forgot about the pain that he'd been feeling.
Ronnie had destroyed two marriages and lost two daughters through his drinking ways before he'd managed to find himself building a family for himself in the form of Matty, a man that he'd always seen as a surrogate son as well as a best friend. When Matty had gone, he'd felt real loss for the first time. He knew that he should miss his ex-wives and daughters but... He didn't know why but he just couldn't imagine them ever providing him with the love, friendship and support that Matty had but now he couldn't help but question himself one more time... Who was going to look after him now?
With his eyes closed, he ran his hands up the cold glass that he hadn't touched yet and took a deep breath. He had just been about to take a drink when he heard a voice say, "I hope that's just orange juice." Opening one eye, he found himself looking up at his new partner all set with his cheeky warm grin and his new favourite little lad resting on his hip. Opening both his eyes, Ronnie held out the glass for the younger detective to take a drink but the man just smiled as he did trust that the elder detective wasn't stupid to throw all his years of hard work away. Even in these circumstances.
"What are you doing here?" Ronnie asked as he wrapped his arm around Ben, the young boy nestling into his Uncle Ronnie's side causing the man to smile before he looked back up at the boy's father.
"Well you seemed distracted today as we were leaving," Sam said as he handed Ben a bottle of that Buddies pop they always sold behind bars and a straw, "even the guv was worried so I decided to bring reinforcements," he said motioning to Ronnie's new favourite friend causing the elder detective to smile as he watched the young boy take a small sip of his pop, completely unaware of what was happening around him, "and come keep you company." Looking up at his partner, Sam found himself smiling over at the elder detective. "I know that you probably don't see me as it yet, Ronnie, but I'd like to think that one day you can trust me as much as you did Detective Devlin."
Sam might not have been a part of the homicide team long but he'd heard the stories about both Ronnie and Matty Devlin. He was well aware that they were nicknamed "Morecombe and Wise", he knew that together they got up to mischief but also kept the other one in check – Ronnie controlling Matty's hotheaded behaviour and Matty making sure that Ronnie never returned to the drink. They were the perfect duo despite their differences. It was what made them the perfect duo and everyone had warned him that Ronnie was especially close to Matty, that the man was the family Ronnie had been missing all his life, but Sam had decided not to allow that to deter him because he admired Ronnie Brooks for everything that he'd done over the years.
"Son," Ronnie said with that warm smile that could light up a room, hiding any evidence that this man had been to hell and back, and smiled down at the young boy in his arms, "I do trust you," he admitted with a nod of his head. "Now how about we order some food because I'm famished! How about you, love?" He asked the young boy and he giggled, his head nodding enthusiastically as he clambered up onto Ronnie's knee, not caring that there was plenty of space in the booth, so that they could read the menu together.
Reading through the menu with the young boy, Sam to his side and reminding the young boy that he didn't like that particular food made Ronnie smile his first genuine smile in what seemed like months. He couldn't help but admit that, yes, he would always miss Matty because the fallen hero detective was the first person to ever accept him for all his flaws but he could also realise that there were other people out there that wanted to be around him, help him through his demons and realise that there was more to life than hiding at the bottom of the bottle.