A/N: For Lucy; who nagged! This is a sequel to 'Trouble That Only One Can Solve', if you haven't read it I suggest this would make much more sense if you quickly pop off and read that one first! There's something at the end of this chapter that some of you (yes Lucy, I mean you) may want to kill me for, please don't!

Sam sunk back into her chair; surveying her office that was finally one she wasn't required to share. After three years of Sun Hill having two DI's, they'd decided they couldn't afford to keep both herself and Neil Manson in a job, thankfully she hadn't fallen foul of the chop this time, so she was left with the entire office to herself.

Leaning forward, she smiled slightly, picking up the receiver, 'DI Nixon.' She sat back in the chair again, letting her head fall back as she listened to the voice on the other end. 'Yep… Oh, no, no, she… yeah, yeah okay, thanks for telling me.' The blonde slammed the phone down, sighing to herself as she let her elbows rest on the desk, her head dropping into her hands. Hearing a knock at the door, Sam moaned, straightening out her hair before beckoning them in.

'Sam, hi, bad day?' Jack quizzed, entering the office to find his DI looking slightly off colour.

'Yeah, you could say that.'

'Want to talk about it?'

'Annette Badland, 27 year old hot-shot lawyer with a coke habit. Shopped her dealer to us, and now she's lying in a morgue somewhere.'

'I'm sure you're not to blame, Sam.'

'But I am. I promised I'd protect her. I was so busy gathering the evidence on her dealer that I pushed her witness protection to the back of my mind. I'd just sent someone to pick her up and take her to a safe house when they found her dead in her own living room. I failed her.'

'I'm sure she doesn't blame you.'

'Course she doesn't, she'd dead.' She replied sarcastically, a slight venom in her voice, aimed more at herself than Jack.

'You know what I mean.'

'Yeah, well, no one can say that with complete confidence, can they? She's not there to ask.'

'I suppose. Well, I've got some news that should cheer you up.'

'Hmm? I doubt it, Guv. No offence.'

'None taken. We've found DS Turner's replacement.'

'Yeah?'

'Yeah. It's an old face, last time you saw her she was still a DC.'

Sam delved into the various female DC's that came and went over the years. The only name that sprung to mind was Suzie. Hmm, she hoped not. 'Who?'

'Jo.'

'Masters?' Sam knew that there was only one 'Jo' that he would have been referring to, but all the same, it was a shock and she needed to be certain.

'That's the one.' Jack responded with a smile, hoping to see one on Sam's face, knowing they used to be friends before Jo left.

Sam inwardly groaned, though at the same time ensured her disappointment didn't reach her face. 'Has she accepted?'

'About half an hour ago, I thought you should be the first to know.'

'Yeah, thanks. Did you want me to tell the team?'

'Yeah, if that's okay by you.'

'Course it is, when's she starting?'

'Thursday.'

'This Thursday?' Sam asked, her eyes quickly flicking to her desk calendar to check for herself that she was right in thinking it was Tuesday today.

'Yes, we needed a quick replacement.'

'Right, well, I'll let them know tomorrow then.'

'Okay.' Jack was about to leave the office when he turned back, 'Sam?'

'Yes Guv?'

'Go home, get some sleep. You're not responsible for what happened to Annette, don't blame yourself.'

'Guv.' Sam replied, making an effort to pack up her files while he stood over her. Once Jack was satisfied she was leaving, he returned to his own office, leaving Sam to lean back in her chair once again.

Sam ended up lost in her own thoughts, her mind oblivious to the hours slowly ticking by before her very eyes. All she could think about was Jo. It had been three years since she'd said goodbye to her in Manchester. She'd only just got the brunette out of her system and now she was going to be back working here again, ruining any chance Sam would have of getting over her. The blonde couldn't quite figure out why life had a way of reminding her of where she'd gone wrong with her life.

She found her thoughts trailing down another path; what would her life been like now if she'd got together with Jo, if she'd allowed the brunette to return to London with her. Would they still be together now? Would her heart have been completely torn apart a year or so ago? Would she be sitting here in this exact same spot in her office, worrying about the brunette starting work again? Well, all she was certain of was that, had she allowed Jo into her life, she wouldn't be in a relationship with Phil Hunter again, that was for sure. Her thoughts wandering to him for a moment, she decided that maybe she should return home, after all, he'd probably be wondering where she was.

When Sam's vision returned to her computer clock she was shocked to see it showing five thirty am. She'd prepared herself for the fact it might be about three in the morning, but not half five. The DI couldn't quite figure out where she'd lost the hours, she knew that she'd whittled away a good few hours contemplating her non-existent relationship with Jo, but she wasn't aware that she'd spent that long thinking about the brunette. And she knew she definitely hadn't spent that long thinking about her relationship with Phil.

Sam decided maybe now was the time to leave, if she went home straight away she could have the possibility of scraping an hours sleep before getting back up for work, if she could avoid the questions from Phil.

Sam returned to the office, surprisingly not a hair out of place despite her lack of sleep and unusual disdain for her morning beauty routine. She rushed through the CID office, calling out that she wanted to speak to everyone in five minutes, before entering her office, placing her bag on her desk before quickly checking her emails, surprised to see one from Jo waiting for her. Frowning slightly, she opened the email, quickly skimming the content. She sighed; it read:

Hi Sam, how are you? I guess by now you've heard about the job, I'm sorry I didn't contact you when I first applied. I hope we can put aside what happened in Manchester, I don't want you to think that it meant nothing to me, quite the opposite, but if you still see fit to ignore our attraction I will not hinder your quest to forget us. If you're not comfortable with working with me again then I'll understand, just tell me that and I'll turn down the job, I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable.

Jo. x

Closing the email down, Sam returned to the office, calling everyone together before making her announcement. 'Right, now I have some news on the replacement for DS Turner, who, I'm sure you all know by now left under unfortunate circumstances.'

'Yeah, he was arrested!' Phil called out, resulting an a few laughs from his colleagues around him, Sam however, simply raised an eyebrow to him, 'Sorry Guv.'

'Enough about Stuart Turner, his replacement is someone that a few of you will remember. That would be Terry, Phil, Mickey and Mark; I think you were here for a short while before she left. Now, you will all remember her not as a DS, but DC Masters.'

'Jo?' Phil called out, a broad grin on his face. 'I haven't seen her in years, how's she doing?'

'Well I'm guessing pretty well to be promoted to a DS, don't you think?'

'Yeah, stupid question Phil.' One of the team called out, receiving a glare from Phil. Sam sighed, she could see already that he was shaping up to be a fine replacement for Stuart, something she had hoped wouldn't happen. The rivalry with Phil and the constant flirting with her told her he was the perfect Stuart replacement, though thankfully was still only a DC.

'All right, pipe down Danny. Now, she's going to be back here as of tomorrow, so any of you that know her, make sure you welcome her back! And everyone else, I hope you appreciate what a talented officer she is and what an addition she'll be to the team. Right, okay, well back to today. Danny, you're with Mickey on the burglary case still.' Sam listened to the groans coming from their direction, 'Yeah, well the moment you solve it the moment you can have a different case, but until then you're re-examining the evidence in the crime lab. Terry, Karla, we've just had an attempted arson come in, I'd like you two to get down there and see what you can find. Sara, Mark, the assault case you were on yesterday, and then Phil, you're with me on a gang beating, probably drug related. The rest of you, paperwork!' she grinned, resulting in many grins throughout the remaining officers, 'If any cases come in, fight them out between yourselves. Okay, everyone know what they're up to today?'

After a few nods of heads and a couple of 'Yes Guv's, Sam returned to her office, hearing footsteps behind her. Just as she reached her office, she felt a hand on her shoulder, the blonde turning around. 'Phil.'

'Hey Sam. I was just wondering, the whole thing with Jo being on a murder charge, I take it that was sorted out then?'

'Yeah, we found the killer just before I came back here.'

'Oh, who was it in the end?'

'I think that'll be up to Jo to tell you if she so wishes. Now, are you planning on working today or just gossiping?'

'I'm taking a friendly interest, I like Jo don't I? She was a mate, I just want to make sure she's okay.'

'Yeah, well you can ask her tomorrow, right now I want you in there, looking through the witness statements.' Sam smiled, handing him a file full of signed statements.

'Oh give me the easy job why don't you?'

'I like to stretch you Phil, go on.'

'Guv.' He replied with a cheeky smile.

Leaving Phil in the corridor, Sam entered her office, sighing as she pulled out her desk chair and took a seat. Opening up her email from Jo again, the blonde began a reply. After about ten minutes of constantly changing her short email, she finally settled on:

Jo,

I'm fine thank you. Yes, I was informed yesterday and the team today. It's fine, I'm sure you had a lot on. I hope we can too, I only wish to forget us for both our sakes, trust me, it's just easier this way. I'm sure it will be a challenge, working in such close proximity, but I, as I hope you are, am a professional. I will put it behind me and treat you as I would any other member of the team. I do not wish for you to turn down the job, as I told the team earlier, I'm sure you will be a productive addition to Sun Hill, more so now that you are coming back as a DS. Thank you for contacting me before your return. I'll see you tomorrow.

Sam.

Sam sighed as she read back over the email, she hated how detached it sounded when she was emailing not only an old friend, but someone who meant much more than that to her. Sam clicked the send button before she could change her mind and ask Jo not to return; knowing that she had to allow Jo a chance, no matter how much she feared it would tear her heart in two.

She couldn't help but wonder what would happen on Jo's return. She knew she'd still have feelings for the brunette, but she wasn't sure whether they would be stronger or weaker, though she did know there would be some change in what she felt in Manchester, that she could be sure of. Well, there was no point dwelling on it now, shed find out tomorrow morning, until then, she had a case to help Phil on, and she was sure that leaving him doing paperwork for longer than the fifteen minutes he'd already had could be dangerous. Standing up from her chair, the blonde exited her office, heading towards the room she'd left Phil in.

'Right, come on then, we better go and interview the victim.' She called, startling the male on the other side of the room, concentrating surprisingly well on the file on the table.

'Oh right, sure, Guv.' He replied, rising to his feet and shutting the file in front of him.

'She's in St Hughs, can you grab a set of car keys?'

'Mm-hm.' Phil called, picking a set from the hooks next to him. 'You driving or am I?'

'I don't really think I want to risk another journey with you, Phil, no offence.' She answered, referring back to a couple of days ago when Phil had almost got the two of them killed as a result of his reckless driving.

'Fair enough I suppose.' He responded with a grin, resulting in him receiving a playful thump from Sam.

'Go on, get going.'

'Guv.' He replied, saluting her in army fashion.

'Oi, when did I turn back into 'Guv' eh?' Sam asked, slightly offended.

'When you came home from here at six this morning, woke me up when you noisily got into bed, and then was out again before me this morning.'

'Sorry, I just had a lot on my mind.'

'Anything you want to talk about?' He question, concerned.

'Oh, no, it was just that woman I told you about, Annette, she was killed yesterday.' Sam lied. She was partially truthful; she had been affected by Annette's death, but it was Jo more than anything playing on her mind, but that was just something she couldn't admit to Phil.

'You sure that's all?'

'Why wouldn't it be?' Sam snapped defensively, instantly regretting it. 'Sorry, I just…'

'It's fine. It's just you don't seem yourself.'

'Since when?' Sam asked, not having noticed anything different in either herself or their relationship.

'Just, lately. I mean, I hardly saw you yesterday, and even that was just in this place. But you just haven't been around much in a bit now.'

'How long is a bit?'

'I don't know, couple of months maybe.' Phil admitted.

'I… I didn't realise… I'm sorry… I…' Sam stuttered, not really sure what to say.

'It's fine.' Phil cut in, 'You've had a lot going on here, what with Neil leaving and everything, I understand.'

'But I didn't… I didn't know.' She confessed, feeling guilty that she had neglected her relationship and not even noticed.

'It's fine, honestly. Babe, few months time and we'll be married and none of this will matter.' He took the blonde's hand in his own, entwining their fingers before moving his hands behind his back, stretching his shoulders, wrapping her arms around him, keeping their hands joined as he shifted them into a hug of sorts. Sam rested her head on his shoulder, looking down at the engagement ring adorning her finger.

Pulling out of the hug, Phil looked at Sam, wiping a tear from her cheek. 'Sam, this is still what you want, right?'

'Yeah, yeah of course.' Sam answered defensively.

'Are you sure, I mean, if it's not, I don't mind, we can just keep things as they are.'

'No, this is what I want.' Sam concluded confidently, linking their fingers once again and standing on tiptoes to plant a short kiss on his lips. 'I love you, Phil, I can't wait to be your wife.' Sam whispered in his ear, wishing she were as convinced about that statement as she sounded.