Separated ways

7.Clear conscience

A few calm days of rest were enough for Sam to recover. He could breathe deeply without feeling any pain again. So Sam got a permission from Helen to come back to active duty today. He was more than happy when he put on his uniform and walked to Pontypandy Fire Station next morning. 

He smiled as he walked upstairs, heading towards the kitchen, and saw Penny, standing with her back towards him talking with a dark haired man. At first Sam thought it was Elvis, but when he assured himself he was wrong, Sam quickly hid behind a corner. Judging by Penny's tone of voice it wasn't a nice talk. 

"So you once again have moved up the ladder thanks to your dad, only to meet with me again?" The man asked sarcastically. 

"Ryan, I told you dozen of times that I wasn't a puppet of my father, never in my whole life" Penny snapped back angrily. 'So that was that Ryan she used to work with?' Sam thought as he tried to carefully take a look, at the same time trying not to make himself visible. "I fought every step of the way and you know it" Penny added. 

"I used to know, but then you've changed" now it was Ryan who accussed. "You came back to your old habit of regular visits in second firestation".

"I did, because I wanted to transfer, after you betrayed me and then still have a boldness to humilated me in front of the whole team, because I broke up with you" it was a last words that were said, suppostedly because Ryan was speechless how much the old Penny he used to know changed, or because she managed to remind him such memories that hurt his pride. So Ryan just simple walked away, but this time he noticed Sam, who was still standing on the edge of stairs. 

"Oh hello" his tone changed immediately as a smile reappeared on his pale face. "Red hair, blue eyes and Pontypandy fire brigade badge sewn crookedly" Ryan counted out teasingly. "You must be this famous fireman Sam" he stretched his hand friendly. "I'm Ryan Chase" he introduced himself. 

"Nice to meet you" Sam forced a smile as he shook the firefighter's hand. Even if he would prefered a different circumstances, he couldn't behave rudely. 

Ryan walked his way downstairs, so Sam was free to go in the kitchen, but to his disappointment he didn't find Penny anywhere around. He checked on the balcony and in the common room as well, but there wasn't any trace of his friend. It wasn't like her to disappear like that, and it wasn't in her style to stay without any contact for a longer while as she did when Sam was on the sick leave.

The only alive soul Sam managed to find was Ellie who was checking something in Jupiter. Sam carefully approached her and cleared his throat to get her attention. 

"Sam, you're back. How awesome" she teased, taking a rope bag out and checking something in hurry. 

"What are you exactly doing?" Sam asked even more confused now. You are absent for a few days in firestation and, when you come back, everything is upside down. 

"I'm looking for something, isn't it clear?" She cheered when she found a clip hook adjusted to a rope. She put the rope bag back to Jupiter and closed the curtain just in time, because Ryan just passed by them. 

"I was wondering if you saw Penny?" Sam thought out loud. "And what is the thing between her and Ryan?" Sam lowered his voice to whisper. Seeing how Ellie looked around carefully and then pulled him after her behind the lockers, he knew Ellie knew something. 

"Listen, I don't know. Seriously" she underlined when she saw Sam's surprised face. "When the main sent Ryan here as your replacement, Penny immediately became nervous. When I was pressing her long enough she explained to me briefly that she used to work with him, but then the things got more complicated. They dated each other, but then they broke up... this part Penny didn't tell me".

"I might know what happened" Sam pointed, sitting down on a bench. "Penny had worked with Ryan for three years. But the problems you told about... are going deeper" he just explained misteriously, not sure how much Ellie had already known. "When I came upstairs today, I witnessed how Penny was argueing with Ryan. She shouted at him, that he humilated her in front of their whole team, only because she broke up their relationship".

"That's a point. She and this Ryan argues everytime they open their mouths or they just try to ignore each other. Or Penny tries" Ellie managed to say it before Penny walked past the lockers with her head lowered down. "You see, she's doing it again. No doubt, it would be better to have you back" she smiled encouragingly as she showed Sam a way Penny just walked. "Cheer her up" a mischevious sparkle appeared in her eyes when she pushed Sam a step farther in the direction of Venus. 

He spotted Penny sitting there as she did when they talked about Chief Fire Officer Boyce. She embraced herself with her arms as her face was buried in her knees, which were pulled up to her chin. Sitting like this she seemed so miserable, yet Sam knew it was only temporary. 

"You're alright?" He asked, obviously bringing Penny out of her thoughts as she looked up at him confused and surprised at the same time. "You seem... sad" Sam hesitated. At first he wanted to say hurt, but then he bit his tongue. 

"I'm fine. Thanks" Penny replied stubbornly. "Just needed a moment of solitude" she turned her gaze away from Sam as she stared in Venus window. 

"It seems as a lot of solitude if you sit hidden behind Venus, in an empty garage" Sam concluded, hoping it would make Penny laugh, but it didn't. 

"I don't see it like that" she finally spoke after a longer while. "You sit in Jupiter, I sit after Venus, Elvis in the kitchen, Ellie walks out on the balcony and Arnold walks to the office. Even Radar hides in your garden". 

"What about Ryan?" Sam asked, but he couldn't explain what made him do so. He wanted ti back away from this question as soon as it left his mouth, but Penny was quicker. 

"I don't care, to be honest" Penny answered indifferently. 

"Ellie said you didn't get along. Did he again make some stupid comments about your dad?" Sam asked concerned. Nobody deserves to be treated like he heard this Ryan treated Penny. 

"No". A lie was a signal she was far away with her thoughts and something else had to be on the line, because Penny never lied before. 

"Are you sure you don't need to talk about anything?" Sam tried to walk past the defenses Penny built. 

"No". 

"One more no and I will belive you" he teased and this time it worked because Penny burst into laughter. 

"You know when I lie, don't you?" She smiled teasingly. 

"You never lie, so what it is there to know?" Sam shrugged his shoulders innocently. 

"I'm not as good as you see me" Penny replied back as upset as she was when Sam approached her. 

"Now I am confused" Sam looked at her startled. 

"I was the one who secured the rope and I failed" she explained, but she didn't dare to look Sam in the eye. "You had the accident because of me". 

"It was an accident" Sam turned to her again with compassion shining in his eyes. "Besides it was just a cracked rib, nothing more". 

"But it was put down in report as same as the fact that I was the one responsible for the rope" she added helplessly. "Station Officer Steele put a statement that it was an unlucky accident, but it was still with an injured colleague on the scene, so it was not nothing". 

"Don't blame yourself" Sam put his hand encouragingly on Penny's shoulder as she smiled weakly. 

"Thank you, Sam" she whispered in such an lovely way that it poured a hope into Sam's heart. "You always belive in me." 

"It will never change" Sam smiled back wishfully and streched out his arm to help Penny get up. 

Hello everyone! So this story is slowly getting to the part where it should be about what it should be about as the plot says. I just want to say it already changed and developed and not in the nicest of ways;)