Basically, I was just thinking, what if Sam had never got pregnant, and had therefore had never miscarried, what would have happened between her and Stuart.
This is the result of my random thoughts.
It's a one shot (aren't they all these days lol) , from Phil's POV as Sam comes to him for advice about her relationship with Stuart.
"Can we talk, Phil?" Sam's touch on his shoulder was light, but there was urgency in her tone that surprised him into an instant agreement
"Yeah, sure." He turned off his monitor and swivelled his chair around to face her, "What's wrong?" He asked this, but he already knew that it had to be one of two things for her to interrupt his work. Abi or Stuart.
"Can we go to the canteen?" her eyes dart across the room as she said this, in the direction of her boyfriend of six months and he realised instantly that it must be the latter of the two options. He nodded in agreement, as he reached for the jacket draped across the back of his chair; she began to walk away from him, moving more swiftly than she usually would in her inconveniently high heels.
Phil took a moment to glance towards the still oblivious Stuart before he left. He was looking at a page in front of him, scanning the words briefly before filing it away into a plastic wallet on his desk. It didn't look like whatever was troubling Sam was having any effect on him, as he was going about his work with an almost bored expression on his face. Turning away from him before Stuart realised he was staring, Phil left the CID offices in search of Sam.
"You took your time" Sam was already seated, her hands cradling a cup of coffee by the time he reached the canteen
"I didn't know it was a race" he protested, deciding to wait until after she'd spoken before getting his own drink, "So what's on your mind?"
"It's nothing really…" Sam began, staring into the brown liquid in her hands, "It's just Stuart proposed last night"
"You're engaged?" Phil could suddenly focus on nothing but Sam, and the intense, growing hatred he was feeling towards Stuart.
"No. Not yet. I told him I'd think about it." for the first time since he'd reached the canteen, Sam looked up and her eyes sought his. However, this time he was the one to look away, and he wondered exactly why she was telling him this. Was she seeking some sort of approval from him? One that she must know he could never give? Or was this her way of telling him that she and Stuart were now going to move onto the next level, and therefore their relationship would most likely never be the same again.
Not for the first time, he asked himself what she saw in Stuart. Not so long ago, he'd called him thick and greasy and although she'd pretended to be annoyed with him, he knew that secretly she'd found it funny. He also had terrible fashion sense and he took himself far too seriously, and yet she still proceeded to date him.
It had been acceptable when he was just a one night stand, and then when he was just a fling, but warning bells had started to ring in Phil's head the moment the words 'moving in together' had been uttered, and he was certain that this engagement was just one step too far.
Sam wasn't the marrying type. Anyone who'd known her as long as Phil had would surely realise that, and it seemed to him that even Stuart would have worked that out long ago. If she went through with it, Phil knew that it could only end in divorce, but he was also aware that there was nothing he could say to prevent it, without making himself seem like the jealous, spurned lover.
"You can't do this Sam"
"Can't I?" He took refuge in the fact that her question was not a vicious denial, in which she proclaimed her love for her boyfriend. Instead, it held a defeated, musing quality.
"He's too immature to know what he wants." she didn't react to what he said, but he knew that by saying it, he could be ruining his own chances to be with her in the future. It struck him as odd that either of them would ever consider such a commitment, and then something horrendous occurred to him
"Are you pregnant?"
"God no. I'm a bit old for that, don't you think?" the surprised burst of laughter that accompanied her statement assures him that she isn't lying, but that brought something decidedly worse to his mind. If this wasn't out of some sort of guilt for an unborn child, then did this mean that they were doing it for love? Did Sam really feel that way for Stuart? In that moment, he decided that he couldn't allow himself to leave that room without knowing the truth, or it would eat away at him forever.
"Do you love him?" He knew that his tone plainly presented his vulnerability to her, but the ache in the heart wouldn't let him care
"I don't know. Sometimes, I really think I do."
"And the other times?" He asked although the truth was already obvious to him. She swallowed a mouthful of coffee before beginning to speak and Phil suspected that the action was only to buy her time to think.
"And the other times… I think that if I go any further with him, I'll be making the biggest mistake of my life." At any other time, the admission would have been cause for a celebration, but Phil couldn't help but feel a little deflated. He had expected her to cite him as the reason she couldn't marry Stuart, or at least to hint at a chance her heart might lay elsewhere. Not this confession that paled in comparison to what he'd so wanted her to say.
"If you love him, you should marry him." Phil felt as if he was speaking on autopilot, and hated the words that came next, even though he knew that they were probably true "Stuart's a good bloke. He won't hurt you."
"No, I don't think he will" Sam agreed, although her tone was less than enthusiastic. She drained the last of her coffee and stood up, clearly believing the conversation to be over and her decision made. Phil followed less than a second later, unable to fight the feeling that he had just handed over Sam to Stuart forever, "Thanks for listening"
"No problem." Phil replied, despite knowing that this one conversation had probably hurt him more than if she'd just announced her engagement upon arrival this morning. She leant towards him and embraced him in a swift hug which he returned.
Above her head, he spotted the figure of Stuart enter through the double doors in front of him. Seeing them together, he hung back, but Phil sighed and released her
"She's all yours" he called to him, and whispered, while tapping Sam lightly on the shoulder, "Good luck."
She didn't reply, but Phil knew she was thinking that she'd probably need it. He hesitated at the coffee machine as Stuart reached her side, and used the opportunity to listen carefully to their conversation
"Stuart… About last night… Let's do it." He didn't need to turn around to feel the joy radiating from the slightly younger man. Collecting his cup, he pushed open the heavy door and walked away from the happy couple, content that unlike his own attempt, Sam's marriage would probably be a happy one.
It's a happy ending if you're a Sam/Stuart shipper, but not so good for all the Sam/Phil-ers out there... That would make up the majority, I'm guessing.
Still, please review :D