Inspired by the Rockferry album by Duffy, title and lyrics taken from there, some other chapter titles may also come from there later on.
Set around now-ish, but Stuart hasn't been given the complete all clear.
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Mercy.

Chapter One – Sometimes You Just Have To Move On.

Sam rested her head on her hand, and glanced down at the paperwork in front of her. The words swimming around on the page, usually she could read and read and read, and never get tired of what was written, but today she was agitated, and she couldn't work out why. Perhaps it was that Neil was still away, and she was left with all the DI duty, and in the time that she'd been a DS she'd forgotten all that a DI had to do. Perhaps it was that this was another case getting inside her head, when was she ever going to learn, if it was one thing that she knew how to do, it was to obsess about her work, particular cases, particular suspects, Pat Kitson and Alan Kennedy immediately sprang to mind. This time it was William Banks, her latest suspect in a long line of interviews regarding a series of sexual assaults that had taken place in Sun Hill, late into the evenings. Sam had a hunch that he was guilty, actually she knew that he was guilty, but so far a confession had eluded her. So that it what she was doing in her office at 7am, reading his file once more, and instead of helping her to understand him, it was frustrating her no end.

Or perhaps it was something else, something that she didn't really want to think about, perhaps she was missing him. Ever since he had left six months ago Sam had tried to forget him, she knew that they had promised to keep in touch, but then that is what everyone said to their former colleagues, as some sort of throwaway line, some sort of small gesture. Perhaps she had been deluding herself to the actual possibility that remaining in contact with Phil Hunter was going to happen, and not in fact some ridiculous pipe dream of a forty three year old woman, who by now should have certainly known better. Phil had probably forgotten her as soon as he arrived at Specialist Crimes, he could have had every woman in the place, and knowing him as she did she wouldn't have been surprised if that was the case. But a part of her, a very small part of her, that she spent most of her time refusing to let out, constantly denying, hoped that this wasn't the case, because she knew that in some way she would always feel something for Phil, that something would tie him to her, that was unless she could find someway to release this, release herself from the past years of constant flirting and a relationship that had so much promise, but then fizzled and burned in front of her face. Sam was no stranger to life's little changes, life's little ups and downs, she knew that that things were changing here once more, that things had to change, life didn't stay the same forever. People were leaving, and people were arriving to replace those gone.

She stood and wandered to the office door, leaning against the frame, her eyes scanning the room, looking at all of the empty desks, all awaiting those whose possessions cluttered them. There were the old and familiar, Terry, Mickey, Jo, and even Stuart, and then there were the new and not so familiar, Grace, Stevie and Max. The last one arriving soon after someone close to her had left, so Sam resided to the fact that it was perhaps natural to feel somewhat hesitant to welcoming this new addition. Max sitting in her former friend's desk, the man who knew so many of her secrets, knew her better sometimes than she knew herself. She wondered what he was doing, whether or not he was at work, or if he was entertaining some new flame. Sam sighed to herself silently, she was going to have to forget him, he wasn't coming back, and it was time that she allowed herself to move on. This was real life, not some modern day fairytale, she was a police officer, horrible things happened around her each day, much worse than a friend not calling her or keeping in touch. Stuart had been threatened by a death sentence only weeks ago, and he still had a few weeks to wait for the all clear, she remembered how she felt upon hearing this, immediately she had remembered all of the good times that she had shared with him, okay so there wasn't a million of them, but there were a few.

She sighed once more, wondering if she had never lost their baby, what might have happened to the two of them, would she be the DI at this moment? Obsessing over another case, or perhaps even the same one? No of course not, for a new child would have meant she would have had to give up work, at least for a time, would she and Stuart have even been together still? Who knew the answer to that question, certainly not Sam. Sam and Stuart existed as a completely platonic work colleague relationship now, he followed her instructions, and most of the time he was good at his job, the time that they had lived together almost wiped from her memory. Undoubtedly Stuart had been a mistake, and she was glad that she had made her way out of that one, but Phil still gnawed away at her, if she had of had Stuart's baby would there ever have been a her and Phil? She never would have been sent to Romania, that was for sure, Stuart would have made certain of that, would Phil still have been sent there? And would he perhaps have been shot and killed without her there? Sam returned to her desk, and flicked the folder open once more, she couldn't change the past, Phil was gone, he wasn't coming back, she had to find a new way to get on with her life, absent-mindedly she began to tap her nails on the smooth surface of the desk, would he still be here if their relationship had never soured? Was it her fault that he was no longer at Sun Hill? That she was sitting here like a fool alone, wondering about questions that she could never answer. She needed to forget Phil, it wasn't good for her to be thinking things like this, not when there was a serial offender on her patch.

She turned the page, and scanned it rapidly, this was what she needed to focus on, not her own meaningless dramas.

"Ma'am" came the voice of PC Tony Stamp, snapping Sam's attention his way, "We've found some very interesting CCTV, Mr Banks has been caught on the High Street camera, two minutes after Monday's attack, and he is hiding away a backpack behind some dustbins" Tony continued, before handing Sam a small DVD.

Sam smiled, this was what she needed, something to take her mind off of Phil, something to get out from under his spell, some sort of release.

"Thanks Tony, I'll look at it now" Sam replied, as she headed out into the office, determined that she had to move on, it hurt too much to remember, and as soon as she could get over him, she was sure that it would never hurt again.

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