„Spend the night with me…no questions, no answers…just you…and me…" Sam said, his eyes pleading with Annie to say yes. But Annie backed up slightly. Was that all she was to him? A one-night stand? He had told her that he would go away soon. This wouldn't work. She couldn't just give in for one night and then have him disappear.
"I can't spend the night with you…," she returned and hurried out of Sam's flat. Outside, she hoped that he would come after her, beg her to stay; but he didn't. His door remained shut.
That told Annie all she needed to know. She hurried down the stairs and out of the building. She felt as if she was suffocating. Annie just couldn't understand him, or make sense of her own feelings right now. She knew he loved her, although he had never really said so. But over the past few months, she had seen his glances over to her, his concern for her safety. After all, he had made her a WDC. But every time she thought she loved him too, he would say or do something that would make her wonder. Sam hadn't talked about things from the future for a while now. At least not as much as he used to, back when he had arrived at A-Division. Sam Tyler still was the odd man out, but lately; he had at least tried to blend in a bit more.
Annie realised she was almost running by now, tears streaming down her face. She was so confused. She cared deeply for Sam, so much it sometimes hurt, but he always somehow managed to make her angry. And deep inside she knew he didn't even mean to do so. That was what made it so difficult for her to either ignore or get over him. He would never do anything to deliberately hurt her. Except for that one time when he had led that murder inquiry. He had handed over a tape recording of Ray and Chris conducting an interview that later led to Billy Campbell's death. Sam had been willing to demolish all their careers, their lives. But Superintendent Rathbone had destroyed that tape and so it had been over. And even then, Annie couldn't stay angry at Sam for long.
Annie stopped hurrying down the street. She didn't even know where she was – she hadn't been paying attention.
"Oh for good's sake Annie, grow up!" she said aloud to herself, angry. Angry that Sam always managed to catch her off-guard, confuse her, even if he wasn't there.
"He's just a lad, like all the others!" she tried to tell herself.
And that was exactly the problem. Sam Tyler wasn't like all the others. He always treated her with respect, like a human being. In fact, he treated almost everybody with respect, even suspects. He always did or said things that left her wondering. Wondering if he really was from 1973 or if all those things he had been telling her about in the past months was true after all and he was from the future.
"Don't be ridiculous!" she said aloud again, this time almost jumping at her own voice.
She shook off the thoughts of Sam Tyler and took a deep breath.
Annie looked around – now she knew where she was again. There was a little shop around the corner, where she could get something to drink. A cold Lucozade would be nice. All those thoughts and the arguing in her head had drained her. At least that was what she felt like right now. Exhausted. She never had this happened to her before, at least not over a man.
Annie turned the corner. A van was parked in front of the shop with its engine running. The female Detective Constable didn't think much of it, until several men came running out. They were wearing black ski masks and shotguns. In the distance, police sirens came closer. Annie stopped dead, taking everything in within seconds.
One of the men stopped when he saw her. Before Annie could react, the man was next to her, holding his gun to her head.
"Get in!" she heard a hoarse male voice.
Sirens were coming closer, while Annie's mind was racing. Back-up would turn around that far corner any moment. Maybe if she could…
"I said get in!" she heard the man beside her again.
He took the gun away from her head, only to push her forward towards the van.
"Move it!" He pushed her again; making her fell into the van, hitting her head hard.
And before any police car arrived at the scene, the van and Annie were gone…
Sam Tyler was sitting on his bed, his head resting in his hands; thinking. What had he done wrong? Why hadn't Annie stayed with him? What else could he have done to tell her that he cared for her? Sam knew he was going home soon. Home to 2006, back to his real life. Part of him was still convinced that none of this life he had in 1973 was real. But another part of him – a growing part actually – was starting to care for these people he worked with every day.
But he really cared for Annie Cartwright. She had been the one person listening to his story. And she hadn't put him in an institution. Yet. These two sides inside of him where at a constant battle and it was starting to drive Sam mad. He just wanted Annie to be there, to feel her close, to smell her. He didn't have anyone else in this world…
The door
to his flat flew open with a crash, making Sam jump off his bed, and
ending up on the floor. Gene Hunt was in the doorway, with his light
brown, camel-hair overcoat, dark brown trousers and egg-shell
coloured loafers.
"Don't you ever just knock?" Sam
sighed, getting up from the floor again.
"Come on Gladys, job
to do! Robbery. Let's go!" Hunt ordered in his usual tone of
excitement, clapping his hands to make Tyler hurry. Sam knew he
couldn't argue with his DCI, so he just grabbed his black leather
jacket and followed him out.
The
door would need some re-adjustments, but he would do that later. This
hadn't been the first time Hunt had knocked his door down, and Sam
suspected it wasn't the last time either. But what was he saying? He
would be out of his coma soon, going back to his own time, so why
should he bother?
"You coming or what?" he heard Hunt
yell after him.
That was
why he
bothered. He was a policeman. No matter what year it was.
