Title: Takedown
Rating:K
Spoilers: Up to 1x13 Takedown
Disclaimer: I don't own any of it... Damn
Summary: He looked up at her, and the fierceness she saw within those dark brown eyes chilled her to her core. "So get out of here, McNally. That's an order!" My take on how the finale should go/end. A/S
A/N: This fic is based on the Global TV promo for the finale. I can't quite tell who is in the squad car with Andy in the promo, so I made a couple people up to fit the purpose! I've heard conflicting stories of who is in there (Luke and someone else, Boyd and someone else, etc) so we'll just have to wait until the finale to see!
Dedication: This one is for pacman22091 and drakerage13 on Twitter. Their endless stream of Rookie Blue finale speculation has been a welcomed source of entertainment over the past couple days.
Takedown
"Shots fired! Shots fired!" came the dispatcher's voice over the radio and Andy McNally felt her heart drop to her feet. Those were two words that no cop ever wanted to hear... Especially not when someone they cared about was already in danger.
From the back seat she could barely hear the curse that Officer Thompson muttered under his breath before he stepped down on the gas, whipping the car around to head back in the direction he'd come.
"Change of plans," called Officer Osmond from the passenger's seat. "Looks like we're not going back to the barn just yet."
"Please just hurry," Andy whispered from the back seat, realizing quickly that neither of the officers had heard her.
She tried frantically to listen to the radio, but between the static, constant chatter, and the squad car's siren, she couldn't make anything out. It was beyond frustrating for her because she just wanted to know that everyone was okay.
No... She needed to know. Too many people she cared about were out there at this very moment putting their lives on the line.
What if something had happened to Chris or Gail? They were carrying out surveillance on the sting operation and their location had been quite close to where all the action went down. Andy had unending faith in both of their abilities, but they'd only been off rookie status for two days now. Anything could happen. One stray bullet and a career could be ending just as soon as it had officially began.
Andy pushed the thought away as her mind drifted to others who could have potentially fallen victim. Oliver and Noelle were out there somewhere tonight; they'd both readily volunteered to provide backup once they found out Chris and Gail would be in the field too. Andy had always heard tell that it was a bit hard for training officers to let go of their rookies, but tonight she had figured having two more officers around couldn't be a bad thing.
Unless one of them got shot, the voice in her head reminded her. She mentally slapped herself for even imagining that Noelle or Oliver would let themselves get into a compromised situation; and so her mind drifted on.
Hell, even Luke was out there; probably a lot closer than he should have been. He'd refused to stay at the barn—much to her chagrin—after they'd argued about her going undercover. It was her job, she'd told him, he couldn't stop her from doing it. The last things they'd said to each other were hurtful and now he might be laying somewhere dying on the pavement.
Shaking her head, Andy forced that idea away too. Luke was a smart guy. No matter how worried about her he was, he'd have stayed back so as not to compromise the mission.
But if Chris, Gail, Oliver, Noelle and Luke were okay, that only left one other person...
Sam
In the pit of her stomach Andy had the sinking sensation that if anyone was hurt, it would be him. After all, the drug dealers had made him as a cop... That's why he'd sent her away.
"Andy listen to me," Sam said, turning towards her and whispering so that no one could hear him."They're only interested in me. You need to get out of here."
"I'm not leaving you!" she protested, but a stern look from him effectively shut her up.
"I can't protect you Andy," he admitted, looking down at the ground with something akin to regret written clearly across his face. "And I'm certainly not going to watch you die." He looked up at her, and the fierceness she saw within those dark brown eyes chilled her to her core. "So get out of here, McNally. That's an order!"
No matter how badly she wanted to stay, the look on Sam's face told Andy that she had better listen to him. So as carefully as possible she inched towards the open window to her left, slipping out with one last long look at her partner.
The second her feet hit the ground she ran. She ran as fast and as hard as she could until finally a parked cruiser came into her vision. Throwing every last ounce of energy she had into one last sprint, she made a B-line for the car.
"He's been made! They're going to kill him!"
Snapping back to reality, Andy cursed Sam Swarek for ordering her away. She could have helped him...somehow. She also cursed herself for actually listening to him. She should have just stayed there and done what she could. They could have gotten out of it together. Instead, she chose to run; leaving him behind to deal with the situation all on his own.
Now isn't the time for blaming anyone! shouted her mind-voice and Andy closed her eyes tight, trying to push all thoughts aside. She didn't open them again until she felt the cruiser come to a halt.
Outside the cruiser was complete pandemonium, or at least that's how it looked to her. Police cruisers were everywhere and a nearly endless sea of cops milled about. Andy could see a few men that she recognized from the dealer's crew being led around in handcuffs.
She moved to the side of the cruiser and pulled on her door handle only to have the door not open. In the back, remember? she reminded herself, waiting patiently for Officer Osmond to let her out. The instant the door opened even a crack, she was up and moving.
Making her way quickly through the crowd, Andy scanned in every direction for the familiar faces she was looking for. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Oliver and Noelle speaking with Staff Sergeant Best, so she decided not to bug them. Still, she made mental checkmarks next to their names on the list in her head. Now she needed for more checks for everything to be okay.
"Andy!" she heard Chris shout from somewhere to her right. Making her way in the direction of his voice she found him and Gail sitting in the back of an open ambulance.
"Oh God, Chris!" she cried, seeing the large bandage attached to his side. "What happend?"
"He got grazed by a bullet," explained Gail, and Andy couldn't help but notice that she seemed rattled. "He's going to be okay though."
"Thanks to you," Chris smiled down at the petite blonde next to him and Andy couldn't help but notice that Gail smiled back.
Her momentary happiness over the rekindling of flame between her two friends was cut short, however, when Gail's voice invaded her thoughts again "You're lucky you weren't in there Andy."
"Yeah..." she sighed. "I guess I was. But I've," she started to back away, "got to go guys. I'll talk to you later!"
Not waiting for a response she made her way back into the crowd. Two more checks off the list, but instead of being happy about it, Andy could feel herself panicking just a little more. She loved her friends and co-workers, true, but it was painfully obvious in her mind that one of the checkmarks left was for the most important person in her life.
"Andy!" came Luke's voice from behind her, but Andy didn't even stop moving. She mentally checked him off in her mind and continued on her trek. "Andy! Wait up!" he called again, but still she did not stop.
Finally, after what seemed like forever she broke through the wall of police officers and into what she imagined was the actual crime scene. What she saw there was enough to halt her forward motion.
In the middle of a small clearing that had been taped off lay a cream-colored tarp, and she didn't need a vivid imagination to know what was under said tarp.
The entire world slowed down in an instant. Andy couldn't feel her body anymore, only the thump-thump of her rapidly beating heart. This couldn't be happening. Not now.
Not to him.
Despite not wanting anyone to see her weak, Andy felt the tears welling up in her eyes as a medic moved towards the tarp, peeling it back to prepare the body for transport. She slammed her eyes closed, not wanting to see the sight in front of her, but after only a few moments opened them again. If it was time for her to say goodbye, she was going to be strong.
Glancing down she let her eyes roam over the corpse on the ground. A corpse that was most definitely not Sam Swarek.
Letting out a breath that she didn't realize she'd been holding, Andy brought her eyes up again only to make direct contact with the very man she had been expecting to see on the ground.
With no thought to the cops around her, or to Luke who had been standing there with his hand on her shoulder, or to the medics who were hastily trying to move the body to an ambulance, Andy shot across the clearing towards Sam. He was ready for her, because when she launched herself into his arms he didn't even stumble a little bit; just held her close to him as she gave up the fight to hold back her tears.
"Don't you ever do that to me again!" she sobbed into his shoulder. They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity until Andy had finally regained enough control to step back and look at him properly. "I thought you were dead Sam!"
"I almost was," he admitted, glancing down at his feet and then back up. Shrugging his shoulders and plastering on his trademark grin he added, "It's going to be harder for you to get rid of me than that, McNally."
She couldn't help but smile at him. Nothing else in the world mattered except the fact that he was safe. The whole world had melted away and the only two people left were him and her.
This time—even though it was in front of Luke...even though the entire Fifteenth Division was watching...even though it was something she'd denied up until this very moment—Andy McNally did not stop him when he leaned in for a kiss.
As always... Let me know what you think! Either here... Or on Twitter! (whttrs)
