Fic: Steady As She Goes (64/86), blue cortina, dakfinv
Title: Steady As She Goes (64/86)
Author: dak
Word Count: 1458 this part; [115,646 overall]
Summary for Whole: After an accidental shooting at the station, Gene struggles to keep his team from tearing themselves apart while his and Sam's friendship is pushed to the limits.
Summary this Part: Sam's first case doesn't go quite as planned.
Rating: still Blue-ish Cortina, uhm, what's slightly darker than blue?
Warnings: angst, swearing, violence, violent imagery, minor drug use, mild sexual situations, self-harm for whole
Spoilers: none here; see each chapter for specific spoiler warnings
Pairing: mild Sam/Annie, Sam/Maya, Gene/missus
Disclaimer: Belongs to BBC/Kudos
A/N: Please enjoy!
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Part 29 Part 30 Part 31 Part 32 Part 33 Part 34 Part 35 Part 36 Part 37 Part 38 Part 39 Part 40 Part 41 Part 42 Part 43 Part 44 Part 45 Part 46 Part 47 Part 48 Part 49 Part 50 Part 51 Part 52 Part 53 Part 54 Part 55 Part 56 Part 57 Part 58 Part 59 Part 60 Part 61 Part 62 Part 63 Part 64 Part 65 Part 66 Part 67 Part 68 Part 69 Part 70 Part 71 Part 72 Part 73 Part 74 Part 75 Part 76 Part 77 Part 78 Part 79 Part 80 Part 81 Part 82 Part 83 Part 84 Part 85 Part 86
"So Mrs. Mitchum, your ex-husband broke the front window so he could unlock the door from the inside."
"I did shout at ‘im! ‘Piss off Jimmy,’ I says to ‘im but would ‘e listen? Ha. Men never do, ‘specially men like ‘im. ‘I’ll ring the police,’ I says but ‘e din’t believe me. Says I was jus’ takin’ the mick, like I always do. Can’ blame ‘im for that, though, I guess. Usually never call you boys over even if I says it." She brushed back her long, blonde curls and smiled sweetly at Sam.
"But something was different this time?" Sam interrupted, completely unaware of her advances.
Chris let him lead the conversation with the very talkative Mrs. Mitchum. He knew he should try to take a more active role or at least pay attention to what was being said but he couldn’t take his eyes off Sam. The way his superior was frantically spinning his pen between his fingers and bouncing his knees in the chair, it was mesmerizing and disquieting, like staring at the ocean even when you knew you were going to be seasick.
Luckily, Mrs. Mitchum was too busy embellishing her own story to notice. "It were the look in ‘is eyes, Detective," she whispered conspiratorially to Sam. "Like an animal ‘e was. If I thought ‘e took drugs, I’d say it was that. But no, not my Jimmy. Pure rage it was. Never seen ‘im that angry in me life, even when ‘e caught me with Janice Royer’s next door neighbor. Not usually in my nature, cheatin’, but who can resist a good plumber, eh? Think the water's ready. Would you boys like some tea?"
"Yes, please," Chris quickly interjected before Sam could object.
"Right then. Be right back," she smiled and rose from her seat, winking at them before slinking out of the living room.
"So Boss, what you reckon? Another one of her wolf calls?" Chris smirked.
"Hm, what?" Sam was busy rereading his notes.
"Well, Mrs. Mitchum calls us over all the time when nowt happens. You know, cryin’ wolf? Got her own stack of files down in collator’s."
Sam’s head snapped towards Chris. "She said she hardly ever calls us."
"What she always says, sir. Din’t you know about her? Got one of us over here once a week, usually says it’s her ex-husband even though Jimmy Mitchum moved to Brighton six months ago with his new girlfriend. His cousin’s PC Mallows."
Chris immediately felt guilty as DS Tyler took on the look of someone who’d just shot their own dog.
"But the broken window..."
"Glass’s all on the outside sir," Chris spoke with no enthusiasm, wishing with all his might that he hadn’t noticed that detail.
Sam bounced out of his chair over to the window and stared at the glass free carpet beneath his feet. "She broke it from the inside."
"Thought you noticed, that you were just humoring her like the rest of us," Chris explained to his feet.
"Here you are boys. Nice, hot tea." Mrs. Mitchum strolled into the room carrying a tray of steaming mugs.
"Cheers, Mrs. Mitchum," Chris smiled politely and took a mug.
Sam’s mind was clearly elsewhere as he slowly closed his note pad and slipped it into his pocket along with his pen. "Thank you," he responded and robotically took the second mug from the tray.
"Now, where was I?" She pretended to think while she set down the tray on the coffee table. "Oh that’s right. Pure rage. So I tell ‘im again ‘e’s got to get out--"
Mrs. Mitchum was cut off as Sam yelped and jumped backwards into the window, spilling the hot tea all down his shirt.
"Boss?" Chris leapt up to help him.
"Alice. Mummy told you to play in your room while she talks to the nice policemen." Mrs. Mitchum gently scolded her young daughter who was suddenly standing in the doorway.
Chris looked from the terrified Sam to the normal, little girl in her red dress, blond hair just like her mother’s.
"Sorry, Mummy. I was just lonely."
As the girl spoke, Sam started to come out of his trance, though he didn’t take his eyes off Alice as her mother escorted her back to her room. Chris nervously came to his side.
"You okay Boss? DI Tyler?" Chris didn’t catch his slip-up or didn’t care as he tried to wake Sam from his stupor.
"Chris." Sam whispered, reaching out and grabbing the DC’s arm. "I thought, I just thought, but she reminded me, impossible. Can’t be. She’s not real. Ow." Sam finally noticed he had burned himself on the tea. "Ow. Really ow. That bloody hurts." He started to strip off his jacket but Chris held out a hand to stop him.
"Word of advice Boss? I’d wait til we were out of sight of Mrs. Mitchum. I already made that mistake," Chris gulped. "Twice."
*
"You’re angry."
"No shit I’m angry! You sent me out on a case you knew was a bloody false shout to begin with!"
Gene sat casually in his chair, watching with amusement as Tyler fretted and fussed like the ridiculous girl he was.
"So, you’re angry with me," Gene stated calmly.
"I’m fucking pissed at you, you self-indulgent, alcoholic, Neanderthal!" Sam shouted, slamming his hands hard on Gene’s desk and staring him in the eye.
" ‘Bout bloody time," Gene sighed and left his desk, moving towards the filing cabinet.
"Sorry?"
The way he could switch Tyler’s mood from angry to confused always brought a grin to his face. "All this ‘yes Guv,’ ‘of course, Guv,’ ‘whatever you say, Guv’ bollocks. More bloody annoying than me mother-in-law after she’s had a few glasses of Blue Nun." Gene pulled out a file and slammed the drawer shut. "Got Ray if I want to hear all that nonsense."
"You did this on purpose? You manipulated me into yelling at you?" Sam tilted his head back, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Sorry Sunshine but you’re not nearly as complicated as the plonks like to think you are." He slapped the file into Sam’s chest, holding it there til Tyler looked down and took it in his own hands. "If you hadn’t tried to verbally rip off me bollocks, then I would’ve been worried." The Guv proudly plopped himself back into his chair. "Trust the Gene Genie."
"So the demotion--"
Gene stared at him coldly. "Is still a demotion. You, Gladys, have yet to prove to me you’re capable and worthy of that post. You can start by getting some decent kip. Don’t need an Inspector whose face looks like it was made up by Boris bleedin’ Karloff every morning. And--"
"And?"
"That came in while your dingaling was playin’ keep away with Minxy Mitchum." He indicated the file in Sam’s hands. " ‘Fore you get your lacy knickers in a twist, it’s an actual robbery with an actual assault."
"Chris and I will get right on it," Sam turned to the door, beyond embarrassed that he had allowed Gene to play him so easily.
"I need Skelton here. Take Clive. Poor man deserves some fresh air now and again."
Sam looked like he was about to argue but held his tongue and bolted out of the office.
"What? No ‘bless you, Guv for this wonderful opportunity’?" He shouted after him.
He only had to wait one second before "piss off" was shouted back at him. Gene took a sip of coffee to hide the smile trying to sneak its way onto his face.
*
Was the office always this warm? It couldn’t be. It had to be his mind playing tricks on him. Chris loosened his tie.
"How’d he do?"
"Well," Chris coughed, "He, it went alright Guv," He shifted anxiously in the creaky chair opposite Gene’s desk.
"And the shirt he was wearing this morning suddenly went out of style while you were out on the call?" Gene prodded. Chris hated being on this side of an interrogation. It was enough to never make him want to ever commit a crime. Ever.
"He just spilled some tea on it, is all," which Chris knew wasn’t a lie. Chris didn’t think it was possible to lie to the Guv. He swore the man could smell lies. Hopefully he couldn’t smell the slight omission of the full truth either.
"How long before he realized the shout was a bullshit assignment?" The Guv’s voice was low, his eyes boring into him, never blinking, never wavering. Chris wanted Sam to be Inspector again, he really did, but would it help him if Chris lied? Would the Guv know anyway? Would Sam be angry with him if he said what happened? "Skelton."
"Too long, Guv."
_______
Part 65
Author: dak
Word Count: 1458 this part; [115,646 overall]
Summary for Whole: After an accidental shooting at the station, Gene struggles to keep his team from tearing themselves apart while his and Sam's friendship is pushed to the limits.
Summary this Part: Sam's first case doesn't go quite as planned.
Rating: still Blue-ish Cortina, uhm, what's slightly darker than blue?
Warnings: angst, swearing, violence, violent imagery, minor drug use, mild sexual situations, self-harm for whole
Spoilers: none here; see each chapter for specific spoiler warnings
Pairing: mild Sam/Annie, Sam/Maya, Gene/missus
Disclaimer: Belongs to BBC/Kudos
A/N: Please enjoy!
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Part 29 Part 30 Part 31 Part 32 Part 33 Part 34 Part 35 Part 36 Part 37 Part 38 Part 39 Part 40 Part 41 Part 42 Part 43 Part 44 Part 45 Part 46 Part 47 Part 48 Part 49 Part 50 Part 51 Part 52 Part 53 Part 54 Part 55 Part 56 Part 57 Part 58 Part 59 Part 60 Part 61 Part 62 Part 63 Part 64 Part 65 Part 66 Part 67 Part 68 Part 69 Part 70 Part 71 Part 72 Part 73 Part 74 Part 75 Part 76 Part 77 Part 78 Part 79 Part 80 Part 81 Part 82 Part 83 Part 84 Part 85 Part 86
"So Mrs. Mitchum, your ex-husband broke the front window so he could unlock the door from the inside."
"I did shout at ‘im! ‘Piss off Jimmy,’ I says to ‘im but would ‘e listen? Ha. Men never do, ‘specially men like ‘im. ‘I’ll ring the police,’ I says but ‘e din’t believe me. Says I was jus’ takin’ the mick, like I always do. Can’ blame ‘im for that, though, I guess. Usually never call you boys over even if I says it." She brushed back her long, blonde curls and smiled sweetly at Sam.
"But something was different this time?" Sam interrupted, completely unaware of her advances.
Chris let him lead the conversation with the very talkative Mrs. Mitchum. He knew he should try to take a more active role or at least pay attention to what was being said but he couldn’t take his eyes off Sam. The way his superior was frantically spinning his pen between his fingers and bouncing his knees in the chair, it was mesmerizing and disquieting, like staring at the ocean even when you knew you were going to be seasick.
Luckily, Mrs. Mitchum was too busy embellishing her own story to notice. "It were the look in ‘is eyes, Detective," she whispered conspiratorially to Sam. "Like an animal ‘e was. If I thought ‘e took drugs, I’d say it was that. But no, not my Jimmy. Pure rage it was. Never seen ‘im that angry in me life, even when ‘e caught me with Janice Royer’s next door neighbor. Not usually in my nature, cheatin’, but who can resist a good plumber, eh? Think the water's ready. Would you boys like some tea?"
"Yes, please," Chris quickly interjected before Sam could object.
"Right then. Be right back," she smiled and rose from her seat, winking at them before slinking out of the living room.
"So Boss, what you reckon? Another one of her wolf calls?" Chris smirked.
"Hm, what?" Sam was busy rereading his notes.
"Well, Mrs. Mitchum calls us over all the time when nowt happens. You know, cryin’ wolf? Got her own stack of files down in collator’s."
Sam’s head snapped towards Chris. "She said she hardly ever calls us."
"What she always says, sir. Din’t you know about her? Got one of us over here once a week, usually says it’s her ex-husband even though Jimmy Mitchum moved to Brighton six months ago with his new girlfriend. His cousin’s PC Mallows."
Chris immediately felt guilty as DS Tyler took on the look of someone who’d just shot their own dog.
"But the broken window..."
"Glass’s all on the outside sir," Chris spoke with no enthusiasm, wishing with all his might that he hadn’t noticed that detail.
Sam bounced out of his chair over to the window and stared at the glass free carpet beneath his feet. "She broke it from the inside."
"Thought you noticed, that you were just humoring her like the rest of us," Chris explained to his feet.
"Here you are boys. Nice, hot tea." Mrs. Mitchum strolled into the room carrying a tray of steaming mugs.
"Cheers, Mrs. Mitchum," Chris smiled politely and took a mug.
Sam’s mind was clearly elsewhere as he slowly closed his note pad and slipped it into his pocket along with his pen. "Thank you," he responded and robotically took the second mug from the tray.
"Now, where was I?" She pretended to think while she set down the tray on the coffee table. "Oh that’s right. Pure rage. So I tell ‘im again ‘e’s got to get out--"
Mrs. Mitchum was cut off as Sam yelped and jumped backwards into the window, spilling the hot tea all down his shirt.
"Boss?" Chris leapt up to help him.
"Alice. Mummy told you to play in your room while she talks to the nice policemen." Mrs. Mitchum gently scolded her young daughter who was suddenly standing in the doorway.
Chris looked from the terrified Sam to the normal, little girl in her red dress, blond hair just like her mother’s.
"Sorry, Mummy. I was just lonely."
As the girl spoke, Sam started to come out of his trance, though he didn’t take his eyes off Alice as her mother escorted her back to her room. Chris nervously came to his side.
"You okay Boss? DI Tyler?" Chris didn’t catch his slip-up or didn’t care as he tried to wake Sam from his stupor.
"Chris." Sam whispered, reaching out and grabbing the DC’s arm. "I thought, I just thought, but she reminded me, impossible. Can’t be. She’s not real. Ow." Sam finally noticed he had burned himself on the tea. "Ow. Really ow. That bloody hurts." He started to strip off his jacket but Chris held out a hand to stop him.
"Word of advice Boss? I’d wait til we were out of sight of Mrs. Mitchum. I already made that mistake," Chris gulped. "Twice."
*
"You’re angry."
"No shit I’m angry! You sent me out on a case you knew was a bloody false shout to begin with!"
Gene sat casually in his chair, watching with amusement as Tyler fretted and fussed like the ridiculous girl he was.
"So, you’re angry with me," Gene stated calmly.
"I’m fucking pissed at you, you self-indulgent, alcoholic, Neanderthal!" Sam shouted, slamming his hands hard on Gene’s desk and staring him in the eye.
" ‘Bout bloody time," Gene sighed and left his desk, moving towards the filing cabinet.
"Sorry?"
The way he could switch Tyler’s mood from angry to confused always brought a grin to his face. "All this ‘yes Guv,’ ‘of course, Guv,’ ‘whatever you say, Guv’ bollocks. More bloody annoying than me mother-in-law after she’s had a few glasses of Blue Nun." Gene pulled out a file and slammed the drawer shut. "Got Ray if I want to hear all that nonsense."
"You did this on purpose? You manipulated me into yelling at you?" Sam tilted his head back, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Sorry Sunshine but you’re not nearly as complicated as the plonks like to think you are." He slapped the file into Sam’s chest, holding it there til Tyler looked down and took it in his own hands. "If you hadn’t tried to verbally rip off me bollocks, then I would’ve been worried." The Guv proudly plopped himself back into his chair. "Trust the Gene Genie."
"So the demotion--"
Gene stared at him coldly. "Is still a demotion. You, Gladys, have yet to prove to me you’re capable and worthy of that post. You can start by getting some decent kip. Don’t need an Inspector whose face looks like it was made up by Boris bleedin’ Karloff every morning. And--"
"And?"
"That came in while your dingaling was playin’ keep away with Minxy Mitchum." He indicated the file in Sam’s hands. " ‘Fore you get your lacy knickers in a twist, it’s an actual robbery with an actual assault."
"Chris and I will get right on it," Sam turned to the door, beyond embarrassed that he had allowed Gene to play him so easily.
"I need Skelton here. Take Clive. Poor man deserves some fresh air now and again."
Sam looked like he was about to argue but held his tongue and bolted out of the office.
"What? No ‘bless you, Guv for this wonderful opportunity’?" He shouted after him.
He only had to wait one second before "piss off" was shouted back at him. Gene took a sip of coffee to hide the smile trying to sneak its way onto his face.
*
Was the office always this warm? It couldn’t be. It had to be his mind playing tricks on him. Chris loosened his tie.
"How’d he do?"
"Well," Chris coughed, "He, it went alright Guv," He shifted anxiously in the creaky chair opposite Gene’s desk.
"And the shirt he was wearing this morning suddenly went out of style while you were out on the call?" Gene prodded. Chris hated being on this side of an interrogation. It was enough to never make him want to ever commit a crime. Ever.
"He just spilled some tea on it, is all," which Chris knew wasn’t a lie. Chris didn’t think it was possible to lie to the Guv. He swore the man could smell lies. Hopefully he couldn’t smell the slight omission of the full truth either.
"How long before he realized the shout was a bullshit assignment?" The Guv’s voice was low, his eyes boring into him, never blinking, never wavering. Chris wanted Sam to be Inspector again, he really did, but would it help him if Chris lied? Would the Guv know anyway? Would Sam be angry with him if he said what happened? "Skelton."
"Too long, Guv."
_______
Part 65