Author's Note: So it's been awhile (two years, but who's counting?). This story has been in my head forever, and I guess the writing muse finally found me because I'm getting it down and sharing it with you all.
This is a play on the Friends episode The One in Vegas from the S5 finale/S6 premiere. In the episode, the gang heads to Vegas where a drunken Ross and Rachel end up getting married.
Instead of Vegas, we are headed to the Hard Rock in Punta Cana (where I spent my honeymoon). This takes place at the end of season 2, after Monster.
As with all of my stories, this is completely off the cuff, no betas, no edits, or proofs. That's the way I roll. I apologize in advance for any spelling, grammatical, or syntactical errors.
Nope. Still not mine. Unfortunately, neither is Hard Rock.
The One Where Sam and Andy Go on Vacation
To say Andy McNally was excited was an understatement. Andy McNally was like a kid on Christmas morning. The day had finally come for her to cross an item off her bucket list: travel to the Dominican Republic. Growing up in Canada, Andy had often dreamed of a day where she could do nothing but put her toes in the warm, tropical ocean, lay around with a frozen drink, and worry about nothing other than where to go for dinner. It was her idea of the perfect day. Of course, the closest she had come was a day at the beaches, and let's face it, that's not really the same.
The trip had been booked for months. If Andy were truly honest with herself, she was a bit proud that she had not only booked it for a week when she knew Callaghan had already had plans to visit family in California, but that she had convinced the other Rookies, and their T.O.s, Sam included, in joining her.
As she finished adding her beauty supplies to her suitcase, she thought back to the day nearly eight months ago when she had convinced Sam to come.
It had been a cold, rainy day. The kind where you shut off your alarm, call in sick, and roll over in bed. Unfortunately for Andy, too many other officers had already done just that and she was called into work along with Sam on what should have been her day off. The morning had been a busy one; accident after accident. Now, as the afternoon rush died off, she and Sam had taken to slowly and aimlessly driving through Toronto, praying the last few hours of their shift didn't stretch into evening. Andy had been blankly staring out at the rain when the idea popped into her head so suddenly she blurted it out without thinking.
"Punta Cana. Yes! That's it! We need to go to Punta Cana. Why didn't I think of this sooner? We can get a group discount and everyone can go. We need a break. Me, you, Trace, Jerry, Ollie, Zoe, Gail, Dov, Chris, Noelle, and even Frank. Ohmygod Sam this is the best idea. I need to text everyone right –" Andy spoke so quickly and with such enthusiasm Sam, who had been concentrating on nothing but the road, had a hard time keeping up.
"Whoa, whoa there McNally. Slow down. You want to what? With who? Punta—McNally what are you talking about?"
Andy had to laugh at his confusion. She did get way ahead of herself once the idea took hold. "Punta Cana, Sam. We need a vacation. All of us. It's been a crazy last few months and we could all use a week to rest and relax. It's getting cold here and what better place to relax than where it's warm? I've always wanted to go to the islands and I just saw an ad for a new all-inclusive Hard Rock resort in Punta Cana. Hard Rock is awesome. We can be Rockstars for the week! What do you say?" She gave him that megawatt smile that made his heart do funny things.
"As nice as that sounds, McNally, don't you think you should run it by everyone before you start booking flights? For all you know we might not all be able to go at once. That's a lot of officers out from one division. Not to mention some might not want to go. What if people don't fly?" By people, he meant him, but she did not need to know that.
"Way to burst my bubble, Sam. Don't you think I haven't already thought of that? I will get Gail to help with getting all of us vacation. She knows how to work her parents when she needs to. And who wouldn't want to go to the Dominican? I hear it's gorgeous and the plane ride is only about three and a half hours. That's practically nothing. We can't even drive out of Alberta in that time. This will work. This has to. I will send the gang a message now."
Sam sighed. He knew she was right. Ollie, Jerry, and Noelle had all been talking about wanting to get away and Sam knew the Rookies would happily agree with whatever Andy wanted. Frank would even be in if it meant he got to spend some quality time with Noelle outside the division. A few beers into their last Poker Night he finally admitted he had been seeing her for dinner for a while but wanted it to turn into something more. How would Sam get out of this? It's not that he didn't want to go, per se. It's just… Sam was not an airborne kind of guy. He liked his feet firmly on the ground. Flying was never an option. Besides, he did NOT want to spend the week around a bikini clad Andy, only to watch her make-out on the sand with Callaghan.
He meant to tell her he couldn't go but somehow, different words spilled out, "what about Luke? You didn't mention Callaghan in your list of traveling buddies." Smooth, Swarek, real smooth.
"Huh?" Andy had been group texting away and not really paying attention, "Luke? Oh, yeah, well see I was thinking we could go in about 8 months, maybe around January? Luke already has plans to visit family in California after Christmas. They sent him a plane ticket and everything. Besides, uh, I don't think he would be a lot of fun away from work that long. You know him…"
"Gotcha. Can't leave the job for more than a few days at a time." Alright, Sammy, now just give her your excuse. "So it's only a short flight?" Shit.
"Not even long enough for an inflight movie. So does that mean you're in? Why the questions about the fligh- wait, YOU are the one who is afraid of flying! Are you serious? Badass cop Sam Swarek is afraid to get on a plane? It's nothing, you know. Perfectly safe. You will love it. Besides, I can get Ollie to hold your hand." Andy finished with a smirk.
"Funny, McNally, really funny. Do I look like the frozen drink, toes in the sand kind of guy to you? If I want to relax, I will shut my phone off and close my blinds. Or, I will visit Sarah. I don't need to fly a few thousand miles away to get some R&R."
Andy frowned. "Obviously you can relax at home, Sam. I just thought this was something we could all do together. Things have been crazy lately at work and I'm sure they won't let up. We've all been through a lot in the last year, and I don't know, I just think it would be fun for us to all vacation together. But I won't force you. It just wouldn't be the same without you there." Andy turned back to her phone to answer a text.
Sam felt like a jerk. Here was the woman he was secretly in love with, inviting him on a tropical vacation, her boyfriendless tropical vacation no less and he was making excuses? Eight months was a long time, but maybe, just maybe things would turn his way in that time. Maybe he should just go. If Callaghan wasn't already traveling, she would probably just convince him to come.
"Okay, Andy. I'm in. But if we fall out of the sky, I'm personally blaming you." Sam gave her the infamous Swarek grin, flashing his dimples.
"Yes! Sam, I KNEW you would see it my way. This is going to be great. Everyone else is in and Frank said he would take care of our leave. Gail will also talk to her parents. I'm going to book everything tonight. I will need your passport information for the flight." Andy began rattling off a laundry list of things to do.
Hearing the knock on the door broke Andy from her haze. She smiled at the memory, glad she had been able to get Sam to come, and even happier that she was smart enough to book the trip at the same time as Luke's. It's as if the universe knew he was going to be a douche and cheat on her. If she really thought about it, the timing of this vacation could not get any more perfect. This was her chance to finally start her next chapter in her life.
There was the knock again followed by "Andy, are you ready? We are all outside waiting for the transport service. I thought you were meeting us out here at 9." Traci called from the other side of the door.
Andy grabbed her suitcase, carryon, and purse, took one last look around the condo and picked up the traveling packet she put together with all of their travel information and tickets. Satisfied she had everything she needed, she opened the door for her best friend.
"Sorry, Trace. I was putting the last of my things in my bag and thought of something. That's all. I'm ready." Andy smiled, hoping Traci would let the subject drop without reading too much into things.
"Something, huh? Could that something be Sam?" Traci questioned, giving Andy a knowing look.
"Traci, I TOLD you. We are friends. That's it. He doesn't think that way about me. Maybe you're right and he did before, but not anymore. I told you at Girl's Night last week that I am not going to pursue anything. I know I've hurt him enough and I can't do that to him." Andy sighed. Everything that happened with Luke made her realize that there was a man who truly did love and cherish her – Sam. But she had basically rubbed it in his face throughout her entire relationship with Luke, even if it wasn't on purpose. She knew it had to hurt and she didn't want to cause anymore hurt to the man she really loved.
"It's better this way. Now, let's go, I can't wait to get to the Dominican!"
Andy practically ran past Traci and outside to where the rest of their crew was waiting for the airport transport to collect them and their luggage.
"A week in paradise with two people desperately in love with each other, but too stubborn to do anything about it. This is going to be interesting."
Traci smiled to herself as she closed Andy's door. Heading towards her friends, she vowed to let Jerry know about this conversation on the plane. He and Ollie had been very vocal about their feelings on the little dance 'McSwarek' had been doing since the Luke incident. They would definitely want to help finally get their friends together and happy.