Disclaimer: I do not own Life on Mars or any of the characters, they belong to Kudos & BBC :)

Sam stepped through the darkness, not sure what he would find. His feet were starting to hurt and his head was thumping. He waved his hand infront of his eyes but the black emptiness was surrounding him like a thick blanket, making it barely possible to see anything. He rubbed his eyes, starting to feel quite tired. As he took his hands away from is face, it took a while for Sam's eyes to get adjusted again but as they did he jumped as a bright light appeared in front of him. "I thought you had gone away!" he screamed in shock. The test card girl stared at him blankly.

"You thought wrong, Sam. Now, that's not like you," she mocked, holding her clown in the usual awkward way.

"Why can't you leave me alone?" Sam replied, getting angry at the girl's comment.

"If you keep your thoughts to yourself, Sam, it's going to get you into serious trouble," she said in her usual calm way. This annoyed Sam. Why was she always so cool and laid back? And why did she always ignore what ever you said to her?

"Just piss off! You had left my life for good, why return? It's not like you're needed anymore!" he retorted. "And what the hell do you mean by get me into trouble?"

The girl lifted her hand up like a gun. "The darkness is coming for you, Sam!"

"What?" he asked, confused.

"BANG!"

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There was a loud crash as Gene Hunt smashed down the door. "Wake up, Sammy Boy!" he said, throwing the sheets off of his DI.

"Bloody hell," Sam said, waking up in a cold sweat. "What is it this time?"

"A body's been fished out of a lake and it's our job to find out what happened." Gene said. "Oh by the way, you need to get that bloody door fixed!"

Sam clambered out of bed, frustrated. "I have! But you just keep breaking it again!"

Gene stared at how pale Sam was. "Nightmare or summit'?"

"Yeah, actually," Sam groaned, pulling on his jacket and heading out of the now non-existant door with Gene. "So where's this lake to then?"

"A reservoir on Hyde Road. Perhaps you'll sneak off and run home while we're there, Sammy!" Gene smirked.

"I don't belong there any more, this is my home now," Sam replied, thinking about the incident with Frank Morgan a few months earlier. And anyway, he really did belong there. He'd grown to like everyone he'd met in CID, he didn't even mind Ray any more either. Even though they'd still have the occasional fight. And then there was Annie, who he had loved since the moment he first laid eyes on her. And now he knew that she felt the same way. Even though deep down, he always knew how she had felt towards him.

"Oi, Pansy!" Gene shouted, walking briskly out onto the street. "Stop day dreaming and get in the bloody car!"

Sam opened the door and flung himslelf into the passenger seat. He turned and looked behind him. Chris, Ray and Annie were all bunched together in the back.

"Eh, boss," Chris smiled. "Like me new shoes?"

Sam looked down at the shiny white loafers. "Very nice, mate." Sam grinned at how similar they were to Gene's pair.

"Oi, Guv! You getting in or what? My arse is going numb 'ere!" Ray groaned.

"I was just finding my ruddy keys!" he replied, plonking himself in the driver's seat and starting the engine.

"Do you really have to drive so fast, sir?" Annie asked, starting to look ill.

"Do you want to get there or not, Cartwright?" Gene said, putting his foot down even harder, just to wind her up.

"We'll get there eventually, Guv. Whether you drive like a bloody lunatic or not!" Sam stated. Gene stared at him.

"Shut up, Gladdis!" he replied, paying no attention to what was in front of him.

"Watch out, Gene!" Sam yelled. Gene turned his head to look forward. The tyres screeched as the car violently swerved, narrowly missing a small boy.

"Keep your eyes on the bloody road will you?" Sam yelled.

"At least you're not driving," Gene commented. "You drive like..." he started but Sam butted in.

"Your Aunt Mabel? Yes I know, you've told me enough times."

"Be quiet, Samuel!"

"Well stop driving like you're on crack then!"

"Well stop being such a nonsy, fairy boy then!"

"You're unbelievable, you know that?"

"You're a tart, you know that?"

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"Oi! Bloody well move, will you?" Gene yelled at the journalists that were now swarming the scene. He barged past them, letting his team follow behind. "Now, keep close and don't speak to those bastards, 'kay? Other wise, I'll bite your bleeding todger off."

Annie stared at him.

"Well obviously not you, Cartwright. Unless you've got something you'd like to tell us?" Gene asked, a cheeky grin on his face. Annie tutted and shook her head.

"Right Let's move shall we?" Gene said.

As they moved closer to the pontoon, Sam spotted what they had come for. In the middle of a group of uniformed officers was a a white sheet, covering up some poor soul's body. This part of the job was by far his least favourite.

Gene strolled up to the body and pulled the sheet back, revealing a young man in his twenties. Sam recognised his face from somewhere.

"Eh, Guv. Ain't that one of the plods from the station?" questioned Ray. Gene remained silent as he bent down over the young lad. Sam knelt down beside him.

"Well it wasn't an accident," he said, pointing to the rope that was bound around the victim's wrists and ankles.

"I've just a word with one of the uniformed officers," Annie said, joining Sam and Gene. "They said a bloke walking his dog found him tied to the edge of the pontoon."

"Definately not an accident," said Sam. "Unless he manged to tie his hands and feet up whilst he was drowning, which I think is highly unlikely."

Gene picked up the boy's hands to take a closer look at what they were bound with. The rope was fraying at the edges where it had to be sliced in half, in an attempt to detatch him from what he was tied to. As Gene held the lad's wrists, he noticed something tucked under the rope. He started to panic, hoping it wasn't what he thought it was. He slid the object from under the rope and stared at it. His heart missed a beat.

Sam stared at his DCI. "Guv?" he asked. Gene's face remained expressionless.

For the first time in years, Gene was speechless. But after a few seconds staring into space, something managed to fall out of his mouth. "Oh bollocks."