Ok, this one-shot is set in early 'Holby City' days, before any kind of Connie/Sam pairing. I hope you enjoy. XX

Fever

"You don't think I've already tried that?" He hissed angrily, the sweat on his forehead increasing with each passing minute.

"Well then, maybe you're just not trying hard enough?" Staring at the back of his head in a hostile manner, she was desperate for him to turn around and bite back and then, right on cue, he did.

"I'm sorry." He scoffed humourlessly. "What exactly do you want me to do? Hm? Whip out a can of spinach, turn in to Popeye and pry the doors open with my bare hands?" He paused for only a fraction of a second, not allowing her to respond to his fury-riddled and rhetoric question. "The door is stuck, Connie." Their eyes stared at one another, the vexation visible in both of their expressions before he surrendered first. Looking away whilst shaking his head, he used his forearm to wipe the sweat from his brow before rolling his sleeves up. It was an extremely warm Summer's day and they'd been trapped in the large hospital lift for fifty minutes now. For extra effect, the heating was busted and powering out what felt like heat directly from the sun into the windowless space. To make this nightmarish situation even more enjoyable, the lights were turning off and on again intermittently which, after a prolonged period of time, Connie was sure would give her a headache. That is if Sam didn't cause her one first. "Try your phone." He spoke sternly, inviting her to stare at him with a venomous look, her arms crossed tightly over her cream shirt.

"It's in my office, you try yours." She snarled.

"It's in my locker." He breathed, not quite believing this was happening. "For God's sake." He panted, looking down for a split second. "Do you think anyone knows we're trapped in here?"

"We're due in theatre in a couple of hours, if we're lucky somebody might notice we're missing by then." She spoke sharply whilst angrily eyeing him up before swiping at her own forehead gently. "Try the help button again." Doing her best to keep calm, she propped her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, because I've only tried it seven times already." His sarcasm was rubbing her the wrong way today, he'd been back-chatty and more obnoxious than usual and it was really getting on her nerves. He could feel her eyes burning a hole into the back of his head whilst he pressed the button repeatedly, turning to face her with a smug look when nobody answered any of the fifteen or so times he pressed it. He stopped quickly in a fit of anger before undoing his tie and popping the top three buttons of his shirt open. The underarms of his shirt were darkening with perspiration and his back was beginning to form a soaked v-shape between his shoulder blades. Connie wasn't looking so cool either, her facial features starting to glisten with the warmth and the small area of skin visible above her cleavage was tacky with sweat too. The only advantage she had was that she was wearing a pencil skirt and at least her legs were partially uncovered.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to wait then." Her words were spoken in a seething manner, hot and aggravated.

"You don't say."

"Just what exactly is your problem today? Hm?" Her eyes narrowed as her temper flared suddenly. "You've been acting like a disgruntled teenager all morning. Drop the attitude, it's not a good look on you."

"I'm roasting, my lungs feel like they're on fire and my shirt is wet through with sweat." He listed off his current issues one by one and at a slow yet angered speed. "So forgive me if I seem a little tense-"

"I think you're forgetting we're both stuck in the same predicament here, because I can assure you, this certainly isn't my idea of a good time either." She snapped back ferociously, reminding exactly how much she resembled a harassed Rottweiler sometimes. Next to her, he was merely a grumpy labrador puppy. Definitely no match at all. He couldn't retaliate, partially because he was too hot to think straight and partially because she was actually right. This wasn't ideal for either of them and until somebody came to their aid, they were stuck here sweating it out together. Her face slowly relaxed back to it's natural resting expression whilst she continued to study him, he was looking quite bothered to say the least, glancing at his watch irritably. She couldn't help but open her mouth again. "Somewhere else you needed to be, Mr Strachan?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact." He huffed, turning to look at her nonchalent expression. "I was supposed to be meeting someone for lunch."

"Ah well." She sighed sarcastically whilst moving to lean her back against the rear wall of the lift. The lights had finally stilled, illuminating their dewy skin. "It's a pity for everyone involved really, I'm stuck in here with you and I presume somewhere out there, an attractive young blonde is missing out on your incredible charm."

"It's serious, actually." He defended against her notion that he was scheduled to meet up with a potential one-nigh stand. "Not that it's any of your business."

"Who is it?" Her blunt and borderline playful question caught him off-guard but he answered nonetheless.

"If you must know, it's Chrissie."

"Of course." She smiled although she attempted to conceal it upon noting his angered face.

"What?"

"Nothing." She faked a clueless reaction. "It just doesn't surprise me, that's all."

"Why?" Screwing his face up irritably, he pulled his tie off and popped another two buttons open on his shirt, mimicking her positioning as he leant against the tightly sealed doors of the lift directly opposite her. "I am capable of having serious relationships you know? Not that I should have to defend myself, there's nothing wrong with sleeping around, you of all people should know that."

"Wow, the claws are coming out, aren't they Mr Strachan?" She smirked slightly at his defensive response partnered with his small dig at her number of sexual conquests. "I was actually referring to Ms Williams. Always after something she can't have, hence my lack of surprise that she's got her teeth into you."

"Not to objectify myself, but she already has me-"

"No, she doesn't." Her mouth curled into a devilish smile, causing him even more frustration to go along with this instense hot box they were trapped in. "She doesn't want a few nights of passion, Sam. I mean, come on." She scoffed lightly. "Wake up."

"Oh really? And what would you know about any of this?"

"I know enough about Chrissie Williams to tell you you're not her type."

"That's where you're wrong." He retorted with a look of fury in his eyes. "And besides, what has any of this got to do with you?"

"She wants what she's never been able to get, and when she has managed to get it, she can't keep hold of it. Michael being one of them." She watched his face drop before continuing. "Oh, sorry, hadn't she mentioned she'd bedded my husband?" She rested her left palm on her chest lightly, faking a look of sincerity despite knowing exactly what she'd just done. "That's how Chrissie is wired. She goes after things that she knows she can't have. You see, Michael and I had an open marriage. We slept with whoever we wanted on the condition that we never discussed who we had sex with. So you can only imagine her heartbreak when he explained this to her, she was like a child who couldn't have all the toys she wanted. And as you go back through her partner history, you'll see the recurring pattern."

"So?" He bit back, attempting to justify her actions with more bad examples. "From what I've heard, you've had your fair share of married men."

"Indeed." She smiled wickedly. "But it's always just sex, I don't picture a big white wedding and the patter of tiny feet in the hours following sex. I get what I want from them and I move on. It's as simple as that."

"A wedding and kids, that's not what Chrissie wants-"

"Isn't it?" She questioned cruelly, purely entertaining this conversation out of utter boredom. "What, so she strikes you as the type of woman who just sleeps around? You don't think she's imagining a future for you both? You've seen the way she is with babies on the ward, she's lost one of her own already. She's practically pining for a life-partner." She paused to watch his face writhe with all these thoughts. "Is that you? Hm? A husband and Father?"

"No." He whispered with a small laugh. "No, you've got this all wrong."

"If you say so." Smiling once more she glanced down with a raised brow. "It's just, I'd hate to see a wild animal caged like that."

"Yeah, well, that's you. Not me." He sighed loudly, wiping more sweat from his face before undoing the last of his buttons so that his shirt was fully opened at the front. "Perhaps I want to settle down and have kids soon, before it's too late like it is for some of the consultants around here." He shot her a cold look, his sentence was intended to hurt her but in actual fact it only made her smirk.

"Come on, Sam." She coaxed. "Dig a little deeper, you've got better low-blows than that." Her voice was like caramel, soothing and warm yet the words were calculated and cold in nature. Watching him squirm was highly amusing to say the least and if she was trapped in here with only him for company, then why not take advantage of the situation? She decided to let him have a few minutes of silence, her words echoing around in his head loudly despite his best efforts to appear unaffected by her hard-hitting truths. He felt claustrophobic as it was in this heated elevator without the metaphorical sense of marital captivity as well, and he was starting to panic. What if she was right? A serious relationship to him meant one that lasted longer than two weeks, he wasn't ready for marriage or children.

"How long does it take to fix a bloody lift?" He shouted out of nowhere, finally shrugging out of his sweat-soaked shirt and turning his back on her to slam the shit out of the 'Help' button again as he dropped the white item of clothing. Initially, he was taking the heat far worse than she was but it'd been over an hour and she was starting to feel the effects quite uncomfortably too now. Rolling her sleeves up, she undid the first few of her shirt buttons whilst fanning her face briefly. The results were minimal, forcing her to pop the rest of the buttons and shimmy out of her damp clothing too after a few minutes of suffering before it became unbearable. A cool sensation offered her a small amount of relief as she leant back on the cold wall again. The tacky skin on her back sticking to it slightly. Her feet were killing her too in her sky high heels, so she used her hands to rest on the railing either side of her body to alleviate the pressure. Her eyes returned to his sweat-beaded back glowing under the fluorescent lighting of the lift as he tried one last time to press the button. Still no response. She smiled once more as he pounded the door with his fist whilst turning back around to face her. He immediately avoided the topless sight of her he was presented with, quickly looking down to his feet with embarrassment and shock. Her skin looked nearly luminescent under the struggling light bulbs, her skirt nipping in her toned waist flatteringly and her black and red laced bra only just holding her breasts in the cups. She looked magnificent. "Sorry, I, uh, I didn't know you'd-"

"It's alright." She breathed mischievously. "You can look, I'm not stopping you." Her words were slightly panted, the air around them was so warm it felt as though they were inhaling hot sauna air. Their bodies struggling to function at full capacity in their current surroundings. He hesitated for a moment, battling his inner demons but for the life of him he couldn't not have another look. It was just too tempting. The sweat from his brow was now running down into the corners of his eyes, his dark brown hair sticking to his forehead like he'd just been swimming. As soon as he started to glance back up she covered herself modestly with her arms. "On second thought, perhaps you shouldn't." She teased cruelly. "On account of you being in a serious relationship, you know, I wouldn't want to maintain the reputation of being the hospital home-wrecker, as you'd implied."

"I'm a grown man, I can handle myself." He tensed his jaw, feeling bitter towards her teasing nature. "You don't think I can resist temptation?"

"I don't know." She grinned, her glossed lips only emphasising her pearly white smile. "Can you?" She dropped her arms again and pushed herself away from the wall to step closer to him. Her ample chest immediately pulled his eyes from hers. He blinked rapidly to hide the fact, but she'd clocked his straying gaze.

"What is this?" He asked irritably, still avoiding looking her way as he wiped yet more sweat from his brow.

"What's what?" She continued moving closer to him, only stopping when she was perhaps less than ten centimetres away from his syrupy, sweat coated body. Both of them were breathing in a more laboured fashion due to the heat situation but the sexual tension wasn't helping either of them. He didn't respond, he merely glanced at her face, breathing as steadily as he could before allowing his eyes to travel down to her collarbones, then her decolletage and slowly down to her perfectly rounded breasts before flickering to her tight abdomen. He could have sworn his mouth watered. Quickly returning his gaze to her eyes he could see a challenging look in them, it was unnerving but simultaneously exciting him. He couldn't distinguish whether it was a mixture of the heat and their close proximity that was turning him on so much, or whether it was his dominant and authoritative superior flaunting herself in front of him. She stepped closer again, causing him to step back unsurely. Now it was her turn to admire every inch before her, and that she did. Surveying his physique, she let her eyes roam over his nicely-built arms, to his pecks decorated with dark hair and down to his belted trousers as they clung to his hips. The hair on the front of his body was slick with sweat, she could physically see it trickling down his skin. For a moment she thought she could feel it, only to realise she was also sweating just as much. Her eyes moved back to his again, but he was back to observing her body too. She was like a magnet, pulling him to her against his will. Slowly reaching his hand out, he was headed straight for her waist but her whispered voice stopped him mid-movement. "I thought you said you could resist temptation?"

"I can." He breathed unsurely.

"I'm not so sure your body would agree, Mr Strachan." The sensually murmured words fell out of her lips erotically as she glanced down at his erection.

"Well, perhaps I don't want to resist this time."

"No, you really don't." She warned with a smile, practically stepping into his halted grip. "This is a one time offer."

"And I'm not refusing." His hand finally closed around the side of her waist, his lips so close to hers she couldn't help but open them slightly in anticipation before he whispered again. "What happens in here, stays in here."

"Of course." She smiled sensually into the kiss as their lips finally met. It was slow, deep and rough. His other hand was now on her waist too as her own palms found their way to his muscular sides. They were gliding over one another so easily, the tackiness of their bodies only heightening the level of sexual excitement. He increased the firmness of his grip on her waist as he turned her around, backing her up against the side of the lift slowly. She gasped into the kiss upon feeling the cold wall against her back once more. Anyone would think them crazy for a number of reasons, two being that firstly they were at work and secondly, having sex whilst already over-heating was probably not the most sensible decision. Regardless, they continued and pleasured one another on a divine scale before collapsing in a heap against the lift wall. They were both panting erratically, a sense of satisfaction lingering over them both as they remained quiet whilst attempting to regain their regular breathing patterns. She turned to face him upon hearing his belt buckle jangle as he redid it after pulling his zipper closed. Her eyes were lazy with lust, her tongue licking at her upper lip briefly as she watched him.

"I hope I'm right in thinking you'll keep this little indiscretion to yourself?" He spoke in a stilted fashion, still reining in his spent body.

"Don't worry, you have my word." She smiled in a villainous manner, a look of self-satisfaction shining through her features.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He laughed nervously before turning a little more serious with concern.

"Well, I can assure you I'm hardly likely to go about and spread the gossip but uh, I'm not so sure about the guys on security." The latter of her sentence was whispered coldly in his ear before glancing up to the corner of the lift. And there it was. The all-seeing eye. A security camera pointed right at them.

"Oh no, no, no." He gasped loudly as he got to his feet to get a better look at the camera. "You have got to be kidding me-" He turned to face her angrily as she stood, pulling her skirt back down without a care in the world. "You knew about this and you didn't say anything?!"

"Mr Strachan." She cooed with a twisted smile. "You should know better, you're a grown man. You can handle yourself, remember?" Reiterating his own words back to him she licked her lips before glancing at his bitten neck. "You, uh, might want to cover that up. You wouldn't want Chrissie getting the wrong idea now, would you?" The last of her sentence was interrupted by the intercom talking loudly.

"Connie? Connie are you in there? It's Elliot." There was silence as she walked backwards to the button and answered him calmly, watching Sam all the while.

"Yes, Elliot, we're in here."

"We? Whose we?"

"Mr Strachan and myself." She smirked. "If you could hurry things along, it's getting a little hot in here."

"Not to worry, we'll get you out as soon as we can. How are you both doing?"

"Oh, you know us." She teased. "We're moments away from tearing one another's clothes off in here." She couldn't stifle her own smile as she threw her shirt back on delicately.

"Ha-ha, very funny." The older man muttered back embarrassedly through the speaker. "Just stand back, we're about to wrench the doors open now." She never took her eyes off of Sam's, studying him as he fastened his own shirt aggressively. Surely enough, the doors cranked open slowly, a gust of cool air pouring in through the crack and hitting their hot and tacky bodies.

"I'll see you in theatre, Mr Strachan." Not uttering another word, she exited the now fully opened doors and weaved through the crowd of staff and patients littering the corridor, leaving him stood speechlessly on the spot.

What in heaven's name had just happened?