Chapter 5: "Of course it bloody isn't normal you pansy!"
"Move over Oprah" Sam muttered quietly, congratulating himself for making unexpected progress in getting his Governor to open up to him.
"What was that?" Gene asked then, as he made himself more comfortable by replacing his feet on his desk.
"I said I don't like opera" Sam said, saying the first thing that came to his head. He saw the amused expression in Gene's eyes and laughed despite himself. The unplanned comment helped to melt down the icy frost that had begin to set in over the room.
"Bloody too right n'all - no-one sane should be able to stand listening to fat old birds wailing on in some foreign language" Gene stopped for a second "but then again, I don't know about the insane ones who hear voices talking to them from radio sets" he raised his eyebrows at Sam over his glass and Sam felt himself turning slightly pink. "They might actually enjoy it".
"Yeah well. You wouldn't understand about that" he replied defensively. Gene shrugged his shoulders.
"course I wouldn't, Sammy boy. That's entirely your 'issue' as much as beating people up might be mine" he lit a cigarette and took a deep drag on it before he blew the smoke out in a plume above his head.
"So, you and Cartwright" he started and Sam took a breath "she any good in bed?" he asked bluntly.
"Gene!" Sam choked on the sip of Scotch he'd just taken and coughed trying to get his breath.
"what?" Gene asked, looking entirely unbothered on the outside, but his heart beating a little faster on the inside. He didn't really want to know if she was good in bed or not. He didn't really want to think about Sam getting it on with anyone… well, except maybe himself. And those thoughts were strictly not for here and now. Once Sam had cleared his throat he looked at Gene across the desk and tried to figure him out, looking at his body language. Ankles crossed, one arm flung across his chest as the other held the square glass on the desk. The fingers around the glass were slowly clasping and unclasping. He was nervous.
"I wouldn't know" he replied and Gene raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, like that is it - wont let you inside downstairs eh? Always thought she was a prude that one. Probably waiting for you to get married" Gene went on, secretly cheering inside.
"Gene, there isn't a 'me and Cartwright'" Sam said then, exasperated at Gene's choice of direction. "You've got the wrong end of the stick, we're just friends". Gene looked at Sam for a minute, considering his next choice of words carefully.
"I've seen the way she looks at you, Tyler - you're mad not to go for her; she obviously wants you". He took a gulp of his drink to hide his nerves. Gene Hunt, nervous. He couldn't believe it. Sam noticed as well, thanks to all those NVC recognition courses he'd been made to sit through back home. He thought about his answer before he opened his mouth.
"well, perhaps she isn't want I want. See, whilst you've been noticing the way she looks at me, you've failed to see the way that I've been looking at you". He drank his glass dry and reached for the bottle for another top up. There was silence in the room for a long time, both men trying to read the other without breaking the silence first.
"I'm married, Sam" Gene eventually spoke up. "I'm not a poof". Sam wasn't entirely surprised at his choice of words.
"You might be married, Gene - but are you in love with your wife?" he asked, softly. Gene licked at his bottom lip and lit up another cigarette.
"she doesn't love me." he replied.
"that isn't what I asked" Sam said and watched Gene's fingers clasp and unclasp around the glass on the desk. Gene coughed.
"She's my wife. I made the vows". He avoided the question again.
"Gene" Sam pushed and it didn't take much.
"No, Sam. I don't love my wife" he admitted in a rush. "But that doesn't mean that I automatically want to go around and start sodomising the first bloke I come across!"
"It's okay, you know" Sam was feeling really rather relaxed now. He'd had four large measures of Scotch and they were making him feel warm and confident. "Back in 20… back in Hyde… y'know.. It's okay to feel what you're feeling. It is normal, Gene"
"Of course it bloody isn't normal you pansy! You're a bloke, I'm a bloke, it isn't right!" Gene stood up suddenly and started pacing around his office whilst Sam watched him. "Damnit Sam, before you, everything was simple. Everything was uncomplicated. Easy. Bad guys were bad, good guys were good. Now you've rolled up and I don't know which way's up or down anymore. I don't even know who I am anymore!" Gene stood in the middle of the room and at that particular instance, looked more vulnerable then Sam imagined he ever could. Sam stood up and moved to stand in front of him.
"I'm confused as well, Gov. I shouldn't even be here, really. Yet here I am in this quite frankly weird place, so far up shit creek but without so much as a twig masquerading as a paddle and I don't know what to do either. I feel like Forest Gump in Vietnam, only I can't run as fast to get away from everything". Gene was staring at him and Sam realised what he'd just said. "Erm, a friend of mine…" he started.
"What type of name is Forest bloody Gump? Bloke deserved to get sent to war with a name like that" Gene cut him off and Sam smiled.
"Doesn't matter. The point is, Gene, Christ I don't have all the answers. But one thing I can say for definite is, I'm not trying to take the team away from you. You've got that wrong as well. You're the Sheriff and they're your team, not mine. We follow you, even if sometimes we use my methods. I promise you, I'm not trying to stamp on your patch". Gene looked at him square in the eyes then, and smiled.
"Good". They were quiet for a minute, just standing inches apart in the middle of DCI Hunt's office, listening to the soud of each other breathing.