Spend Christmas With Me
Summary: SamPhil. Forget Michelle Sanders ever happened. Phil invites Sam to spend Christmas and New Year with him. Christmas fluffiness! Please review! Vikki xXx.
Phil Hunter walked into Sun Hill CID to see that Samantha Nixon was already sat at her desk with her head in her hands. What surprised Phil the most was that it appeared that Sam had been crying, he hadn't seen her this upset since Abi had chosen to live with psycho Hugh Wallis instead of her own mother. Phil approached Sam's desk cautiously, not wanting to startle her or embarrass. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Sam, is everything okay?" He asked.
She looked up in surprise and broke out of her reverie.
"To be honest, no not really. I'm not okay." Sam said with a sigh, Phil had been good to her in the passed but she didn't want to dump all of this on him now.
Phil took a seat opposite her and looked into her eyes.
"Tell me what's wrong."
Sam sighed. She wanted to talk about everything so that she could get it out of her system but at the same time there were things she was ashamed to admit out loud.
"I saw Abi yesterday." Sam began cautiously, not wanting to give too much away all at once.
"Oh." Phil replied, he was surprised, he thought that seeing her daughter would be a good thing.
"At the hospital." Sam continued.
"Was she okay?" Phil asked when Sam paused.
Sam felt her eyes filling with tears and she felt ashamed all over again.
"She's pregnant."
Phil eyes opened wide. "You what?! With Hugh's baby?" He demanded, getting angry as his protective instincts for Sam and her daughter kicked in.
Sam nodded, unable to form words properly. Phil moved forward and enveloped her petite form into his arms and held her close. Sam was touched by his actions and relaxed against him, feeling the tears she had been trying to supress begin to fall.
"I won't take no for an answer." Phil said a few minutes later when Sam had regained her composure.
"What?" Sam replied, clearly confused.
"You are going to spend Christmas and New Year with me no matter what. I'm not going to let you spend one minute alone if you don't have to." Phil told her.
"Phil I...I can't ask you to do that..." Sam replied uncertainly.
"You don't have to." Phil grinned. "Now that's settled I suppose we'd better get on with some work."
Sam packed her washbag and hair brush into her sports bag that she was taking to Phil's house with her. She was a little nervous but she knew she'd end up enjoying herself by the end of the week. Before she left the house she picked up the picture of herself and Abi the previous Christmas and felt tears spring to her eyes again. She kissed the photo and put it back down. Maybe next year...she told herself before putting her bag into the back of her car and driving to Phil's house.
When Sam arrived, Phil's house was filled with the scent of mulled wine and mince pies. Phil handed her a wine glass and a plate with a mince pie on it before taking her bag upstairs to the spare bedroom. Phil was being the perfect gentleman but Sam wondered how long that would last. Phil came back downstairs and they ate their pies and drank their wine in the living room together.
"You don't have a Christmas tree." Sam commented a little while later.
Phil shrugged. "When Christine said that she wasn't bringing Maddie I didn't think there was much point." He confessed.
Sam put her hand on his arm. Both of them were finding having Christmas without their children hard.
"You can't have Christmas without a Christmas tree!" Sam laughed, standing up and dragging Phil up by the hand.
"Where are we going Sam?" Phil asked.
"To get you a Christmas tree." Sam replied like it was obvious.
An hour later they came back from the local garden centre with one of their last few Christmas trees. Phil put it up in the living room while Sam made them hot chocolate to thaw them out. They decorated the tree together and Sam began to enjoy herself already. All they had left to do was to put the angel on top of the tree.
"You'll have to do it Phil, I can't reach." Sam said.
Phil had other ideas, he lifted Sam up so that she could place the angel on the top of the tree. She admitted to liking the feel of Phil's strong arms around her body, maybe she liked it a little too much.
The next morning was Christmas Day and it felt weird for Sam and Phil not to be woken early by Abi or Maddie. It actually meant they got a lie in. Sam and Phil had slept in separate bedrooms which felt strange after spending most of the evening acting more like a couple than just friends.
"Happy Christmas." Phil said, appearing at her bedroom door with a cup of coffee.
"Thanks, you too." Sam smiled, taking the coffee from his hands and following him downstairs.
Phil handed Sam the present that he had bought her and Sam gave hers to Phil.
"You shouldn't have." Phil told her after thanking her.
Sam grinned. "Neither should you!"
Phil pulled the red and gold wrapping paper off the flimsy package Sam had given him.
"Two tickets to a Chelsea match!" Phil exclaimed.
Sam smiled. "For you and the guest of your choice."
"Would you come with me?" Phil asked.
Sam laughed out loud. "I know nothing about football!"
"Is that a challenge Miss Nixon?" Phil joked.
Sam unwrapped her present next. It was a small, rectanglar shape wrapped in purple and silver paper. She ripped it open and was surprised to see a jewellery box instead.
"Phil..." She began before opening the box. Inside was a delicate floating heart on a fine silver chain. "You really shouldn't have but I love it, thank you."
She let Phil help her to put it on and she shivered as his fingers touched her neck. Sam knew she should snap out of it but it was too late she was already falling into the deep end when it came to Phil Hunter.
The days passed at a scarily quick rate, too fast for both Sam and Phil's liking. Although they were both developing more and more strong feelings for each other they didn't find spending so much time together at all awkward. On the day before New Year's Eve, Phil knew that he had to say something otherwise he might end up regretting it forever. He knew how lucky he was to have been given this chance with Sam and he wasn't about to blow it away.
After breakfast they had cleared up the dirty dishes and the empty mugs and Phil put the kettle on for a cup of tea. He and Sam sat on the sofa as they sipped their cups of tea. Neither of them said anything, Phil was still trying to summon the nerve to say what he wanted to say.
"Sam, I think we should talk." He said, putting down his empty cup and turning in his seat to face her.
She didn't say anything, she didn't need to ask why. Sam put her own cup down and looked up at Phil, she nodded slowly, her heart beating a little faster than usual.
"I loved having you here, it would have been a pretty miserable Christmas without you but I need to know...I need to know if you feel the same..." He paused. "If you feel the same about me as I do about you."
Sam smiled at him. "And how do you feel about me?"
Phil inched closer and pressed his lips against hers in a tender kiss. It told Sam almost everything she needed to know. She kissed him back for a few moments before pulling back a little.
"Good me too." Sam smiled, moving in for another kiss. Phil took her in his arms and it felt so right. He had hugged her before when Abi was missing but this was different. He kissed her slowly and then more and more passionatley until they were both breathless. Phil didn't want to rush things but he wanted to be with her so much.
Later, as they collapsed onto his bed in exhaustion, Phil whispered to her.
"I love you."
Sam rolled over onto her side to look him deep in his dark brown eyes. It was now or never and she didn't want to let the moment go.
"I love you too."
"Do you fancy going out tonight to celebrate?" Phil asked the next morning, it was New Year's Eve and he wasn't sure if Sam would rather stay it or go out.
"Yeah, we could do." She replied.
"If you'd rather keep us quiet we can stay in, get a few bottles of wine and watch TV."
Sam shook her head. "I want everyone to know. I love you and I want everyone to know that."
Phil smiled. "I love you so much Sam."
"Love you too." She grinned back, relaxing back into his arms.
That evening Sam showered in Phil's bathroom and dressed in the black, strappy cocktail dress that she had packed 'just in case'. They had arranged to meet people from work at one of the bars in Sun Hill and Sam was both excited and nervous about telling everyone about her and Phil. She knew some of them would disapprove, knowing about Phil's past and his reputation but Sam loved him and most of all she trusted him.
"Whoa..." Phil let out a low whistle as Sam turned to face him. "You look so beautiful babe."
"Thank you." Sam smiled, going over to him and wrapping her arms his neck.
"Are you ready to go?" Phil asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be." Sam laughed, picking up her handbag and letting Phil lead her to his car.
"Hiya Sam." Suzie greeted her. "Good Christmas."
Sam nodded. "It was great thanks, yours?"
"Good thanks." Suzie smiled. One by one Sam's colleagues came up to ask her about her Christmas.
At a few minutes to midnight champagne was poured and they all had a glass each. They counted down the seconds to midnight together and as the clock struck twelve Sam and Phil began to kiss. Their colleagues looked at them in amazement.
"Looks like someone had a good Christmas." Ken muttered to Terry.
Phil, Ken, Terry and Neil went to the bar to get more drinks, leaving Sam with Ramani and Suzie.
"So you and Phil?" Ramani asked.
Sam smiled. "I spent Christmas and it went from there."
Suzie and Ramani hugged her in turn.
"Congratulations Sam." They said and they meant it.
The next afternoon Sam was packing her bag again. The week had flown passed and she didn't want it to end.
"I can't believe you're really going." Phil said, standing in the doorway watching him.
"I'm working with you on Thursday!" She laughed, abadoning her packing to kiss him.
"It won't be the same here without you." He confessed.
Sam laughed again. "Maybe you'll have to invite me next year as well then."
Phil laughed too.
He dropped her off at home just as it was getting dark and took her bag inside for her. Phil waited while she turned the heating on and closed the curtains.
"Thank you for everything." Sam said as Phil held her closely.
"It's okay, thank you too."
Sam broke away so she could look at him properly.
"At the risk of sounding like a big kid, that was probably the best Christmas ever." She laughed at the cheesiness.
Phil kissed her again. "So how does 24th of December 2007 sound to you?"
Sam smiled. "Just perfect."