Hey guys, latest update for you. Apologies for the delay, just finished my A-Level exams so the updates on this and all my other stories will be more frequent from now on.

To make up for it, this chapter is extra-long, I couldn't bear to split it up.

Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter: Laura (SaMaNdPhiL4eVeR), Ruth, Sam, Laura (S-Nixon), Clare90 and xXxLeahxXx. Thanks also to Jodie for reviewing chapters 9 and 10. Please keep reviewing, luv ya all Gemz xxxxxx

Chapter 11- Declarations

A few weeks later, Sam and Stuart still hadn't made up. Their relationship was deteriorating faster than she believe possible, it had now got to the point where neither of them could resist making a comment about the other, these usually comments had often descended into arguments that had made the whole of CID aware that they were going through a rough patch. To Sam, it was more than just a rough patch; it was the beginning of the end for them and deep down, she knew it. He had broken promises in the past but to her, this was somehow different from all the others. Sam needed a partner that she could trust and that was becoming more and more obvious to her that that person wasn't Stuart. Sam was still seeing Phil behind Stuart's back, that was really the only consolation that she'd gained from this whole situation.

'That's it, off you go,' Sam finished as she ended the briefing one Tuesday morning.

Everyone began to move towards the briefing room door and left, all except one. Phil got out of his seat and walked towards Sam, 'can I have a word Sam?' he asked.

Sam didn't answer immediately; her gaze was fixed on Stuart, who was in the main CID office. Phil followed her gaze and saw what she was looking at; Stuart had just picked up his coat and walked off with Jo to the doors of the CID office. 'Sorry Phil,' she said, snapping her gaze away from the door, she saw the expression on Phil's face, 'I had to make sure Stuart wouldn't walk in on us,' she added.

Phil nodded, 'I understand Sam,' he said as he leant across and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

'What did you want Phil?'

'I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to come over to mine tonight, I could cook, if you wanted to come of course,'

Sam looked up at him and smiled, 'I'll think about it Phil,' she said.

'OK then,' Phil replied. 'No pressure,' he added as he brushed his lips against Sam's cheek.

She smiled at him again as he walked towards the briefing room door and opened it.

Sam smiled to herself; she couldn't believe that she hadn't accepted Phil's invitation on the spot. She knew that things between her and Stuart were unlikely to ever get back to how they were. His treatment of her on New Year's Eve was still at the forefront of her mind. Sam couldn't get over the way he had treated her that night. That night had emphasised to her just how little she actually meant to him. Phil treated her differently, he treated her like a princess, Phil made her feel like she hadn't in years, he was so different from Stuart but she didn't know how she felt about him. She liked him, a lot, but she still didn't know if her feelings were more platonic than she had realised. Maybe accepting his dinner invitation would give her a chance to work out how she felt about him and perhaps see how he felt about her.

'I'm guessing you and Sam still haven't kissed and made up yet?' Jo asked as she and Stuart left the station.

Stuart looked towards her, 'what do you think?' he replied.

'Don't you think you're being a little bit childish about the whole thing?'

'I'm not the one being childish about this, if anyone's being childish about it, it's Sam,'

'I know, she is being childish about it,' Jo agreed. 'But if you want to make things up to her, I think you're going to have to make the first move, she's so stubborn and she won't do that.'

'I want to make things up with her Jo but…' Stuart trailed off.

'But what?'

'She won't let me anywhere near her,'

'And that's a problem why?'

'Because if she won't let me near her…' Stuart trailed off. 'Well, you know what I mean,' he added, hoping that Jo would understand what he was trying to get at.

'Oh great, another to add to the list,' Jo muttered.

'Another to add to the list of what?' Stuart asked.

'Another name to add to the list of men in this station who seem to keep their brains in their trousers,'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'You think that sex is the answer to everything, uh reality check, it isn't,'

Stuart looked at her, at a complete loss for anything to say. Maybe Jo did have a point. Jo looked back at him and softened her voice, 'look Stuart,' she said. 'If you really wanna make things up to Sam, you're gonna have to take your brains out of your trousers and put it back into your skull. I wanna see you two back on track, if only to stop you from walking round this station with a face like a slapped backside,'

Stuart looked at her, 'thanks Jo,' he said.

'No problem,' Jo replied. 'What are you going to do for her?'

'I'm going to cook her a romantic meal tonight, she'll like that,'

Jo smiled at him, 'I think she will like that,' she agreed.

'Thanks again Jo,' Stuart replied.

'My pleasure,'

Stuart knocked on Sam's office door later that afternoon. 'Come in!' she called.

He opened the office door and smiled at Sam, 'what do you want?' she asked coldly.

'I was just wondering if you'd got any plans for tonight, that's all,'

'Why?'

'Oh no reason,' Stuart said. 'I was just wondering.'

'Oh OK,' Sam replied. 'No, I haven't.'

'You coming back tonight then?' Stuart asked. 'I missed you last night,' he added, Sam had spent the night before at Phil's.

'Yeah, of course you did, we haven't slept together for over three weeks, I would've thought you'd have got past missing me,'

'I could never get past that bit Sam,' he whispered. 'So are you coming back tonight then?'

'I guess so,' Sam replied.

'Great!' Stuart said. 'I'll see you later,' he said as he left the office.

He shut the door behind him and Sam put her pen down on the desk. She sighed quietly to herself, she was wondering how on earth she would get out of seeing Stuart tonight. She knew from his demeanour that he'd had planned something for tonight; she knew this was probably his way of trying to make things up to her. She was still angry with him for the way he treated her and wasn't going to allow him back into her affections that easily.

She was desperately trying to think of a way to get out of going home to Stuart that night and then she remembered Phil's invitation. Sam smiled to herself; she had the perfect excuse not to go home to him for another night.

Sam looked out of her office window, she saw that Phil was sat at his desk and Mickey was perched on the edge, talking animatedly to him. Stuart had obviously gone back out with Jo. Once Mickey moved away, she left her office and walked over to Phil's desk. 'You OK Phil?' she asked.

'Yeah fine thanks, you?' he replied.

Sam nodded, 'I'm fine, listen your dinner invitation, is it still open?'

'Of course it is,'

'Then I'd like to accept,'

'Great! What time shall I expect you over?'

'How about I come over straight after work?'

'Even better,' Phil whispered.

'I'll see you then,' Sam replied as she walked back over to her office and entered.

Stuart switched off the computer in his office at about six that evening. He sighed happily to himself, hoping that tonight would put an end to all the bad feeling between him and Sam. Stuart looked towards her office and saw that she was still typing away at her computer, he stood up and walked towards the door and poked his head around, 'hey,' Stuart said. 'You coming?'

Sam looked up from her computer, 'I've just got this lot to sort out, I'll be back as soon as I can,' she replied.

'OK then, I'll see you in a bit,'

Sam nodded as Stuart left her doorway. She watched as he picked up his coat and walked towards the main office doors. They swung open and soon, Stuart has disappeared from sight. She sighed to herself, she had got away with it, for now.

Phil knocked on her door a few minutes later. 'God I'm popular all of a sudden,' Sam muttered as she looked up once more, smiling when she saw Phil stood there.

'I'm just off home,' Phil said. 'I'll see you in a bit,' he added, exchanging a smile with her.

'You certainly will,' Sam replied.

Phil nodded towards her and retreated from her office, leaving the door open. Sam reached out and switched off her computer and stood up. She looked down at the papers that had been strewn across her desk and then to her watch, it shouldn't really take her that long to sort the papers out.

Ten minutes later, the papers were neatly stacked in a pile beside her computer. Sam pulled her coat and handbag off the hanger before reaching across to switch the office light off, plunging the room into darkness.

Sam pulled her car up outside Phil's house a little while later, she spotted Phil's car in the driveway and then saw a light in the living room. She smiled to herself as she got out of the car and locked it up before walking up the path to the door. Sam knocked and almost immediately, a figure appeared on the other side and opened it. Phil saw Sam stood on the step and smiled at her, 'you made it then,' he said.

Sam smiled at him, 'you make it very difficult to decline,' she replied.

Sam stepped inside and Phil brushed his hand across her back as she walked past. Sam gasped as she felt a familiar tingling sensation shoot through her spine. Three weeks of being with Phil had made her aware of how he made her feel; she certainly hadn't experienced anything like that with Stuart. Maybe this was an indicator of how her feelings towards Phil were somewhat stronger than those that she felt towards Stuart.

She entered the living room and Phil entered too after going through to the kitchen a few minutes later, carrying a glass of white wine and a glass of beer. 'There you go,' he said as he handed Sam the glass of white wine.

Sam smiled at him as she took the glass from him and shifted up slightly so that he could sit next to her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and Sam leant into him, resting her head against his shoulder, moving occasionally to drink from the glass Phil had given her.

Once she'd finished, Sam put her glass down on the coffee table and leant back towards Phil, brushing her lips softly against his, he deepened the kiss and moved the arm wrapped around her shoulders down to her waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Phil pulled away and smiled at Sam, 'I'd better go and check our dinner,' he said as he stood up.

He walked back into the kitchen, Sam sat up and watched, completely entranced by his movements. 'Don't think I don't know what you're doing,' Phil called.

Sam smirked to herself as she rested her head against the back of the sofa.

Stuart put the meal he'd cooked for Sam on the table. He put the lid over her plate to make sure that it didn't get cold. Stuart sat down and began to admire his handiwork; the table was laid perfectly with two candles burning brightly in the middle of the table. Maybe Jo was right, he should've made the first move long before now. It was him who had done wrong after all. Perhaps he should've done this ages ago, maybe things between him and Sam wouldn't have been so bad if he'd simply swallowed his pride and apologised sooner. He looked up at the kitchen clock; it read 7:00pm. She shouldn't be too much long, Stuart thought.

Another half an hour went by and Sam still hadn't turned up. Stuart was beginning to resign himself to the fact that she wasn't going to turn up, she had lied to him. Stuart couldn't help but think that the reason she hadn't come home was because she had already made a decision about their floundering relationship and that decision was to end it.

Stuart sighed to himself as he began to eat.

'That was delicious Phil, thank you,' Sam said as she stood up and went back though to the living room.

'You don't think that's it do you?' Phil called through.

He came through a few minutes later, carrying a tub of ice cream and one spoon. Sam looked up at him and smirked, 'how come you've only got one spoon?' Sam asked curiously.

'You'll find out,'

Phil sat down beside Sam and took the lid off the tub. He put a small amount of ice cream on the spoon and put it in Sam's mouth. Phil then pulled the spoon away and replaced it with his lips. Sam deepened the kiss and reached towards Phil and began to undo his shirt. Phil shrugged his shirt to the floor and Sam snatched the ice cream tub from his lap. 'Hey, that's not fair,' he protested.

'It's perfectly fair,' she said as she put some ice cream onto the spoon and pushed him backwards so that she was on top of him.

Sam smiled seductively at him as she daubed the ice cream on his chest, 'Sam!' Phil moaned, 'that's cold.'

'It's meant to be,' Sam smirked.

She leant downwards and licked the ice cream off, 'god you're naughty,' Phil whispered to her.

'Don't tell me you don't love it though,' Sam replied.

Phil smiled at her, 'can I do that to you?' he asked, a smirk beginning to creep across his face.

'You can…' Sam replied slowly, 'but you've got to get the tub off me,' she added as she stood up and ran out of the living room and towards the stairs.

Phil sighed to himself as ran upstairs in his attempt to catch her.

Sam lay back on Phil's bed an hour and a half later. His arms were wrapped around her waist as her head rested on his chest. Sam looked upwards and saw his face smiling down at her; she smiled back at him and sat up slightly. She leant across and brushed her lips softly against his. Phil deepened the kiss as Sam wrapped her arms around his neck.

They pulled away a few minutes late and rested their foreheads together. Phil brushed his lips against Sam's forehead before whispering, 'I love you Sam.'

Apologies once again for the length, reviews? :) xxx