Special thankx to Laura (SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR) for helping me out with how to structure this, Cheers huni!

Lift

Summary: What would happen if you got stuck in a lift with not one but two of your ex boyfriends? Sam's about to find out. For the purposes of this fic, it's Phil's first day back from Specialist Crimes.

DI Samantha Nixon and DS's Stuart Turner and Phil Hunter pulled the CID car up outside St Hugh's Hospital. They had been asked to go to the hospital to interview a victim of an assault. Sam pressed the button for the lift and soon after, the doors opened and they all stepped inside. Phil pressed the button for floor 2 and the doors began to close. About 15seconds later, the lift suddenly stopped, Sam looked from Stuart to Phil and back again, 'why have we stopped?' she asked.

'I don't know Sam, you tell us,' Stuart said, his voice full of sarcasm. 'You're supposed to be clever one.'

Sam pulled a face at him, 'the lift's broken down,' she said.

'I think it has Sam,' Phil said.

Sam, Stuart and Phil stood there in silence for a few minutes before Sam broke it, 'so how was it at Specialist Crimes Phil?' she asked.

Phil smiled at Sam as he spoke, 'it was great but it wasn't as good as here,' he replied, his trademark grin plastered across his face.

'Oh I wonder why,' Stuart muttered.

'Sorry what was that?' Sam said to Stuart.

'The only reason he missed being here was because he couldn't make eyes at you and flirt with you every day,'

'Oh just shut up Stuart,' Sam said.

Half an hour later

Sam, Phil and Stuart were still stuck in the lift. 'I'm getting bored now,' Sam moaned.

'Have you got any plans for the weekend Sam?' Phil asked, trying to make the best of a bad situation.

Sam shook her head, 'you wouldn't be bored at the weekends if you'd stayed with me,' Stuart said.

'Or me!' Phil added.

'Don't start this again you two, please,'

'No, I won't Sam; you never even gave me a reason as to why you left me. So come on, we've got time and I want an answer,' Stuart retorted.

'You know why I dumped you,' Sam replied quietly.

'Do I really? Or did the miscarriage give you the perfect opportunity to finish it?'

Sam looked at him; it was the first time that Stuart had mentioned the miscarriage since she finished things with him. 'I want to know why you finished with me,' Stuart said, he knew he'd rattled Sam and thought in best to continue while she was on her back foot.

Sam looked at him, 'OK then, I suppose we've got nothing else to do,'

'It wasn't all bad was it? I mean, it wasn't always as bad as it finished,' Stuart said.

Sam shook her head, 'it was fun Stuart...to begin with but I think things moved too fast,' she said.

'But if things hadn't moved so fast between us, do you think we'd have been able to make it work?'

Sam shrugged her shoulders, 'I honestly don't know Stuart, in retrospect, I think that maybe, if we hadn't rushed into things, it could've worked. Everything between us was really rushed and before we knew it, we were swept up in something that we had no control over,'

'You mean the pregnancy, don't you?'

Sam nodded, 'that was when the problems started,' she said.

'Oh I don't think so Sam,'

'Oh really, when do you think the problems started?' Sam asked.

'When we moved in together, what did happen that time when you went off to see Phil to check on Alfie?'

'Nothing happened between us Stuart,'

'But he wanted it to,' Stuart quietly said, gesturing towards Phil.

Sam and Stuart looked at Phil, 'what?' he said.

'When Sam came to see you after you went off to see Alfie, you wanted something to happen then, didn't you?'

'Maybe if you hadn't turned up, something would've happened,' Phil replied.

Stuart continued to look at Phil, 'you see,' he said. 'It's his fault; it's all his fault,'

'It wasn't my fault Stuart!' Phil shouted.

'Yes it was Phil, lets be honest, it was you that Sam really wanted and I was little more than a distraction, isn't that right Sam?'

Sam stayed silent for a moment; she was too infuriated by Stuart's words to speak. 'I could've gone to Phil long before I'd even met you but I didn't. I was with you, what does that say eh?' she finally asked.

'That you were using me to make Phil jealous,'

'Oi, I am still here you know,' Phil chipped in.

'You are unbelievable Stuart!' Sam was furious. 'You really are! You're so determined not to be blamed for the faults in our relationship that you'll even try blaming everyone else for your mistakes.'

'I didn't make any mistakes,' Stuart said.

Phil snorted, 'you did Stuart,' he said.

'Oh really, what did I do that was so bad?'

'You walked away from Sam after you found out about the miscarriage,' Phil replied.

Sam smiled at Phil, she was glad that things were still OK between them. 'You made it quite obvious that you didn't want a long-term relationship and if you weren't prepared to offer me that, I didn't want to be with you,' she said.

'So, you wanted full commitment or nothing at all?'

Sam nodded, 'and that was why you left me?' Stuart sounded disappointed.

Sam nodded again, 'what did go wrong with Phil then?' Stuart finally asked,

Sam sighed deeply, she knew what was coming, 'you know what went wrong there Stuart, it was your fault,'

'What do you mean that was my fault?'

'What was it that you said the day before I finished with Phil?'

Stuart shrugged his shoulders.

Flashback

'Oh you're pathetic sometimes, do you know that?' Sam said.

'Oh me, I'm pathetic. Listen you're the ones tiptoeing around each other like a couple of coy little schoolkids. If you're gonna get together, just do it, it's painful watching it,' Stuart retorted.

'Oi, what business is it of yours?' Sam asked, her tone sounded dangerous as she pointed her finger at Stuart and began to walk round to the other side of the car.

'Maybe the reason you're not sleeping with him is because you know what Phil's going to do a week or a month down the line,' Stuart replied as he leant on top of the car.

'People can change,'

'Say that again Sam and mean it,'

She didn't say it again, she just looked at him.

End of Flashback

'You see?' Sam said, 'that was your fault. If you hadn't said that, then I don't know what would've happened.'

'Phil would have done exactly what I said he'd do. You were scared Sam, scared that he was going to do what I said he would,'

'At least Phil didn't leave me,' Sam said. 'But you're right; I was scared that Phil was doing to chase after other women.'

'You see, I would never have done that Sam, I really loved you and I thought that you felt the same about me,' Stuart said.

'What are you trying to say?'

Stuart stayed silent for a moment, 'did you ever love either of us?' he finally asked

Phil instantly looked up and over at Sam. He'd thought it best to not interfere, he remembered what had happened last time he'd fought with Stuart and he really didn't want a repeat performance and embarrassment. His stint in uniform wasn't an experience he ever wanted to repeat. 'I must have loved you at some point Stuart, otherwise I probably wouldn't have let things go as far as they did,' Sam finally said.

'What about me Sam?' Phil asked. 'Did you ever love me?'

Sam looked at Phil, 'yes, Phil. I think I did love you at some point but when it came down to it, it was a choice between love and friendship. To be honest, I'd prefer the friendship because supposing we did ever give it a proper go and it ended badly, I don't think we'd ever be able to be friends again after that,'

'We could've tried,' Phil replied desperately.

'It would spoil a great friendship. You're my best friend Phil and I don't to lose you, as a mate,'

Stuart and Phil smiled; they'd finally got the answers they wanted. Not long after, the lights in the lift came back on and it began to move again. 'At last,' Sam muttered as the lift doors opened.

Sam, Phil and Stuart stepped out of the lift and the doors closed once more. 'We'd better go and interview this assault victim; the DCI will wonder what's happened to us!' Phil commented.

Sam and Stuart nodded as they all walked off towards the ward. Each of them feeling the same sense of closure, maybe now, they could all move on.

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