There is quite a bit of French in this story, but it is translated straight away for English readers in an interesting way- so give it a read!
I used Google translate to do this so please excuse any mistakes!
A\N- thanks to everyone that reads & alerts on my stories! I love it so keep it up!
A HUGE Thanks to JJ87! If you haven't read her stories yet, you should!
Disclaimer- nope still don't own it or them, sadly!
Chapter 1
Sam sat at his usual spot at the bar of the Penny slamming back the whiskey's after a shift from hell.
Sitting with his shoulders hunched over & his elbows resting on the bar counter he slowly twirled the almost empty tumbler staring at the amber liquid in silence as it sloshed around with each spin he gave the glass. Without further hesitation he lifted the glass to his lips & swallowed the remaining liquid in one long sip before motioning for a refill. He sat in sombre silence for easily another hour hitting back the shots as if to drown out the last of his legible thoughts.
The Penny's door swung open & soon the quiet night was filled with the ruckus of the Rookies & a few senior offices from fifteenth, their shift now over, each looking for quiet consoling in the form of alcohol. They filled past Sam greeting in boisterous tones that only fell on deaf ears.
"What's eating him?" Dov asked as the rookies made their way to the back to their regular table.
"Dunno" came as a reply simultaneously from Gail, Traci & Chris as they moved out of ear shot.
"Hey brother, rough day?" Oliver asked as he sat down next to Sam.
Sam didn't bother to look up or say a word in reply. He sat frozen staring at his drink as if mesmerized by it.
"Wow never thought I'd see the day the cat got Sammy's tongue" Oliver chuckled as he ordered them each a drink.
"Drôles!" Sam said with great sarcasm.
"English Sammy, you know I don't speak French. And you're drunk" Oliver said moving away Sam's glass.
"I said funny & I'm not drunk!" He grabbed for the glass successfully knocking it over instead of taking hold of it.
"Merde" Sam said louder than was necessary
"Sammy I've known you for a long time & you only speak French when you & Sarah talk in private, you swear or you're hammered drunk out of your skull & Sarah is not here right now" Oliver said with concern lacing his voice knowing he was right Sam had just said shit at knocking his drink over.
Sam motioned to the bartender for refills & Oliver swung round on his chair eyeing Jerry & waving him over as he could see this situation would require some back up.
"Hey Sammy, Ollie" Jerry greeted. "What no love for a brother today Sammy?" he teased as Sam ignored him.
"Aller en enfer" Sam deadpanned.
"Whoa did you just tell me to go to hell?" Jerry asked confused by the tone of Sam's voice & the anger in it.
"Yeah" was accompanied with his glass being slammed down harshly on the thick wood of the counter top.
The door swung open again & this time a subtle quietness came with the fresh breeze of air as Andy walked in. She moved along the bar & gave a gentle smile & wave as she neared Oliver, Jerry & Sam.
She was rather stunned to see Sam ignore her so blatantly as Oliver shook his head no & motioned for her to keep going. As she neared her friends at their table she was met with cheers of her arrival as she hung her coat over the back of the chair left empty for her. Bowing in mock she said hello & laughed at her friend's silliness as they almost always made a spectacle of the last person to join their table.
Dov passed Andy her waiting beer as she took up her seat next to Traci. "Thanks" she said taking a thirsty sip. Dov just smiled & held up his own beer in salute to her good manners.
"Hey, what's eating your partner there? He asked leaning in to whisper.
"Dov" Traci said loudly trying to hush up his curiosity.
"What? We all wanna know" he shrugged in defence.
"What I'm not with you?" Andy asked leaning back to glance over to where he still sat at the bar.
"Well he is pissed about something & he has been slamming those shots back like there is no tomorrow" Dov carried on earning him a well-placed kick under the table from Traci.
"OooowWwww"
"Shut up Dov"
Andy was oblivious to what was going on at her table as she stood up & made her way over to the bar concerned that Sam was not himself. He had been off-ish on shift, but nothing more than his usual moody self. He had obviously skipped a shower after shift & headed straight to the Penny which was why he was so many shots ahead by now. It was clear that if the others picked up on an overly bad mood, that something was wrong.
As she approached Sam sensed her close proximity & lifted his head to glare at her she had only ever seen him glare at the criminals they arrested every day.
"Hey" she stammered out uncomfortable by the look he was giving her as she stepped closer ignoring Oliver's look to keep moving.
"Que voulez-vous?" Sam asked still giving her a look of death.
"What?" She giggled out at hearing him speak French. "I didn't know you spoke French" she said shaking her head in giggling disbelief.
"What. do. you. want?" Sam said through clenched teeth as he stood up off his bar stool & moved to stand square in front of her arms folded across his chest.
That shocked Andy into a dead straight face. Standing her ground firmly, she lifted her chin in defiance as she looked him in the eye & asked in her less than sweet tone "What?" Eyebrows lifting in annoyance.
Sam took a staggering step forward as he swayed from the alcohol. Dropping his arms to his sides he leaned in closer & in a whisper only she could hear he said "Have you come to gloat?" Before moving away & trying to compose his stance.
"Sam what are you on about? You're not making any sense! You're drunk you should go home & sleep it off!" Andy all but practically yelled at him. Taking a deep breath she continued "What the hell is your problem?"
Running his hand over his face he moved forward again slightly & whispered again into her ear"You are my problem! You Et votre monde parfait petit rêve avec Callaghan!" He ground out through clenched teeth at her again.
Having only understood half of what Sam had whispered in her ear she drew in a sharp breath & stepped backwards as she found her left hand leave her side & aim at his cheek of its own accord.
Sam was drunk but he wasn't slow. As soon as her hand left her side his hand was up & caught hold of hers in an iron grip before she knew what happened.
Without thinking her right hand flew up in an automatic reaction finding it's way across his cheek as the slap sounded through the now quiet atmosphere.
Grabbing hold of her free hand rather roughly Sam pulled her towards him a tight grip on both her wrists. "Vous jouez avec le feu McNally" he ground out.
"Oooww Sam, you're hurting me" she cried the pain clear in her voice.
Oliver & Jerry were between them in an instant Oliver yelling at Sam to let Andy go as he tried to pry his hands from her wrists. Traci grabbed Andy & pulled her away leading her through the crowd that had grown to watch their display. They moved towards the bathrooms as Andy silently let tears break free & she tried to rub away the stinging on her wrists.
They stormed into the bathroom & Traci pulled Andy over to the basin & shoved her wrists under the cold running water.
"That son of a bitch! What the hell is wrong with him?" Traci yelled pacing the floor of the bathroom one hand on her hip the other tugging on her own loosely tied up hair. "Andy what was that all about? Why did he say you're playing with fire?" She asked looking to her friend for answers.
"I don't know. He said I'm his problem & then I sorta slapped him & he grabbed me. Oh my God look at my wrists" she sobbed holding them up to show off her now purple & red wrists with clear finger line bruises appearing already. She knew she bruised easily but this was ridiculous.
Suddenly the door swung open & Gail rushed in. "Andy are you ok?" She asked moving closer."Man that's gonna look crappy in the morning" she motioned to Andy's wrists as she moved over to a toilet stall & proceeded to remove a whole toilet roll from the dispenser before moving towards the door again.
"And that's for?" Andy asked pointing to the toilet roll Gail held.
"For Chris he punched Sam then Sam punched him so his nose is bleeding" she said wryly before leaving them alone again.
"Aaarrrgggg That asshole!" Andy yelled closing the tap & moving to follow Gail out the door.
"Andy that's not a good idea" Traci tried to reason with her.
"I have to try" she shrugged in response as she made her way back through a crowd that parted & stared at her as she made her way to Sam to see if she could calm him down before he took the place apart.
Nearing where Sam had previously sat with Oliver & Jerry Andy's eyes found Sam & the others missing & Frank & Noelle had now taken up the spot at the bar. "Um sir?" She asked puzzled by their absence.
"They took him home. You will both see me half an hour before parade in the morning. Are we clear?" Frank boomed out in a tone that showed he was less than impressed.
"Um yes sir. Thank you" she said weakly before scurrying off back towards the rookie table.
"McNally you ok?" Noelle called after her giving Frank a dirty look for not inquiring himself.
"Yeah thanks" Andy smiled weakly & bit her lip nervously before turning & walking away.
A few minutes before.
Oliver & Jerry had pulled Sam back as Andy fled. Quite the crowd of onlookers had pooled around them including Andy's friends. As Andy disappeared behind the sea of heads Chris suddenly lunged forward & slammed his fist to meet Sam's jaw as he yelled "you son of a bitch!"
Oliver & Jerry were shocked by Chris' sudden display of aggression that it took them both a few seconds to compose thought before they pulled Sam back as Dov & Gail grabbed hold of Chris.
In the sudden confusion Sam was able to break free from the not so restraining grasp of Oliver & return the favour to Chris by planting a clenched fist of his own into Chris' nose causing him to stumble backwards as Sam stumbled forwards still unsteadily swaying from the effects of the whiskey.
"Enough. Officer Swarek leave now with Officer Shaw & go home. See me before parade. Now go!" Frank suddenly yelled stepping in front of Sam to block Chris from view.
Taking Sam by the arm Oliver pulled him out the door towards his truck. "Keys!" He said holding out his hand.
Jerry followed seconds later to follow them & bring Oliver back to the penny for his car.
Oliver unlocked the truck & they climbed in not daring to look at the other. He started the truck & pulled away a little more forcefully than was probably necessary but his own anger fuelled him making his foot heavy on the gas pedal.
"Wanna explain what the hell is going on in that head of yours Sam?" He asked when he had put distance between them & the Penny.
"Pas maintenant Oliver" Sam said looking out the window as the stores lining the streets whirled by.
"Sam I hope that was not an attempt at a feeble excuse"
"I said not now. I don't wanna talk about it ok, so just drop it" he said forcefully.
"Sam what did you say to her? You go & grab hold of her like you're trying to break the skinny excuses she has for arms for no apparent reason. You flew off the handle & took it out on her. In all the years I've know you, you have never acted that way towards a woman EVER! She's your partner & I thought your friend but obviously I had that pegged all wrong"
"It's her ok! It's always been about her. She gets under my skin. She goes & gets herself shot & I wasn't even there to have her back damn it" Sam's sudden outburst followed by him hitting his trucks dashboard caused Oliver to jump in his seat.
Daring not to look at Sam he decides to push the subject even further knowing Sam does not usually talk so freely. "I know I was there but that was days ago, why crack up now? And she's fine still in one piece so what's the problem Sam? You never lose control one look at her tonight & all your control & self-restraint flew out the door. Why now?" Oliver hoped it was subtle enough to get a straight answer out of Sam.
"The day she got shot...I took her behind the communications truck remember? Well after she left Noelle came up & told me she'd seen us & that I'm a fool if I think no one can see what's going on with me & My Rookie & it was time I get my act together. Everyone keeps telling me that. I actually came to realize that Je suis tellement en amour avec elle, c'est littéralement me rend malade. And then there is son monde de rêve avec Callaghan. Man I would love to take that guy apart."
Oliver pulled into Sam's driveway & turned the trucks ignition off, loosened his seat belt & turned to stare at Sam stunned in silence. "So what you're saying is you fell in love with your rookie & that's how you handle it? Man you are so screwed up right now that it's not even funny. You my friend need to go sleep it off & tomorrow morning you need to grovel for her forgiveness! Try talking to her next time. This has been a long time coming & we have all been waiting for this to finally happen but you & McNally are so slow on the uptake!" He said before opening the door & getting out as Jerry pulled up behind them.
Andy grabbed her jacked off the back of the chair & walked over to Traci with a red stained face.
"Please take me home" she mumbled staring at the floor before grabbing her bag & bolting for the door.
Waiting outside next to Traci's car, she ran over the events of the evening trying to place what she had said or done to warrant such harsh behaviour from Sam. Drawing a blank she rolled the last few days over her thoughts drawing blanks on that too.
Left with no idea what had caused his foul mood or his sudden violent outburst Andy left the Penny when Traci came out. They made the drive to her apartment in silence neither knowing what to say. Andy leaned over & gave Traci a quick hug & a mumbled "thanks" when they pulled up outside her building before she jumped out & ran up the stairs. When she opened the door she walked in quietly but slammed the door closed as shameful thoughts of utter disgust crept into her mind. She flung her jacket, keys & bag down on the dark cherry wood of the kitchen counter as she made her way to her bed & threw herself down on it.
Deciding that she had to know the reason for Sam sudden crazy outburst she pulled her phone from her pocket & dialled his number. It rang a few times with no answer & went to voicemail. She let off a heavy sigh as she hung up leaving no message. Clenching her eyes closed she felt them begin to well with warm tears that threatened to fall. She lay there in the silence of the darkness that surrounded her thinking hard about the events that had transpired still with no clue as to why things went so...haywire.
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a buzz. Reaching out for her phone she didn't bother checking the caller ID instead she answered with slight panic in her voice as she tried to stifle her crying.
"Sam?"
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