Your Voice

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue, nor any of its characters. Wish I did, but I don't.

A one-shot I wrote a while back. Andy moves to Shadow Brook, Connecticut because she decides she needs a change of pace from the big city. Shadow Brook is a made up place, which was the location for one of my RPGs.

Andy McNally was afraid of many things. She was afraid of disappointing the people that mattered to her. She was afraid of losing someone she loved because of her. She was afraid of watching someone die from something other than natural causes. She was afraid of heights. She was afraid of spiders.

But nothing truly terrified her more in that moment than calling Sam Swarek, her old Training Officer in Toronto. She had absolutely no idea why she was so fearful of picking up her damn cell phone and pressing her number 3 speed dial. It was the actual talking. She and Sam always got along on some level. Their personalities were different, sure, but they always managed to have fun, no matter what they were doing.

Her visit to Toronto had been two weeks ago, and Andy couldn't have been more excited. Of course, the visit being perfect would have been cliché if it was. At first, Andy had no problem with Jo Rosati, the new homicide detective at the 15th Division, but then she noticed how Luke Callaghan, her boyfriend was hanging out with Jo a lot. It could have been because of the job, but they were together often. Andy accidentally stumbled over an engagement ring, which later resulted in being spontaneously proposed to. Unfortunately, the happiness couldn't have lasted too long. After three days, Andy found out that Luke cheated on her with Jo once, and it was two days after they had gotten engaged. Andy couldn't believe how stupid and naïve she had been to believe that she and Luke would run away together and elope the following weekend. Boy, was she glad that Jo had a big mouth and accidentally dropped a hint.

…okay, so Jo was beautiful. She was blonde, kind, chocolate brown eyes, and a body that no uniform covered, unlike Andy. If Jo hadn't been manipulative, then maybe Andy would have even liked the woman. After she found out about the sleepover with Luke and Jo, the first thing that came to mind was to go chop up the woman's desk into teeny, tiny, bite-sized pieces. It was crazy to think that, but Andy wasn't hurting; she had tons of anger within her. She wished she could kill Jo without actually killing her, but that wasn't possible, so maybe using an ax to chop up her desk sounded fairly reasonable to Andy.

It had been Swarek who stopped Andy from doing such a thing. He convinced her that a jerk like Luke didn't deserve Andy and Jo was as good as dead to him too, if Andy wanted that.

There had always been an intense sexual attraction for Sam, ever since the night they almost slept together. Key word being 'almost'. It never happened, but it was clear to Andy that she had developing feelings for Sam. She just wished she knew if Sam felt anything for her, or if it had just been a one-time offer.

Andy's visit had been thoroughly explained to her best friend in Shadow Brook, Rose May, and somehow, Rose had managed to convince Andy to call Sam and hint at feelings. Revisiting romance right now would not be good. True, the breakup was more than a week earlier, but the more Rose kept shoving down the "Sam cares about you" crap, the more Andy was aching to believe it. She ended up promising Rose that she would call Sam.

…and this was how Andy had come to the situation. Now, if only her finger would push the '3' button.

"McNally, you better have not blown another undercover drug operation because that one is so going on your record."

Andy paused. Her heart jumped in her throat. When had her finger pressed the button?! She couldn't remember ever ordering her brain to send that order to her finger. Damn her finger.

"McNally, you there?"

She had to say something! "Y-yeah. I am. No, I didn't blow another undercover drug operation."

"Good, because I am not about to go out there to sort everything out and tell 'em that your tactic is to tackle and kiss."

"I was not trying to kiss you, and you know it! You're never gonna let that go, are you?"

"Not in a million years. First day on the job and you blow my eight-month undercover job. Couldn't get over how a rookie would do that. So, if you're not in any trouble-wait, are you?"

"No! Why do you assume that because I called you, I'm in some sort of trouble? Not everything's about you, Sam."

"Really? Cause I kinda thought it was…"

Andy could almost see him winking at her. It was something he'd do. Well, all Andy knew for sure was that he had somehow unknotted that knot in her stomach and calmed her down. Maybe it was the sound of his voice, or his teasing, who knew. "Well, it's not. And I'm not in any trouble. Unless you count being attacked by…a vampire or whatever the hell attacked Rose and I. But this was a long time ago; only trouble I'd gotten into since I got here, and damn, if you tell anyone, my rookie days are over." 'Smart move, McNally. Yeah, just tell him everything. Why not tell him your best friend is a witch too. Then, he'll definitely put you in an asylum.'

For what seemed like forever, Sam didn't say a word, but she knew he was still there because of his breathing.

"Sam?"

"You're stupid, Andy."

"Why, thank you. I've been told that so many times until now that I've lost track. Why am I stupid this time?"

"Did you have a gun on you, at least?"

Andy sighed. He was getting all protective Swarek on her now. Perfect. "I was, but whatever it was that attacked was…Shut up, Swarek."

"What did I say?"

"You're getting all weird on me, and you know that I don't like it when you get all weird on me."

"Well, excuse me for hoping you didn't get mauled by a bear or something…Did you say vampire? Are you sure it wasn't a werewolf?"

"…very funny, Sam."

"I thought it was."

Andy snickered. This was going way better than she'd expected. She swore to hang up on him if his first words were anything but a tease. Good thing they were. "I'm okay. I promise. I'm alive. You saw me a couple weeks ago. I looked fine to you, didn't I?"

"It depends on when you looked fine. You look fine when you arrived, for engaged…then I meet you in the hallway with a little ax. McNally, aside from being stupid, you're also a little crazy. I mean, I get that you're angry, but shoot the woman, don't chop up her desk. There's no point in hurting the lovely, hand-crafted wooden piece of furniture from IKEA, if it didn't do anything to you."

This time, he got a giggle from Andy. She knew he was trying hard to lighten her mood, and it was working. When was there not a time he could make her smile? "I don't suppose there's some way for you to sneak into the bullpen at night and finish what I started, is there?"

"Not unless I drink a couple of shots and pick up the ax while naked and drunk. I might be sent to a facility for my mental disorder, but hey, you got your pointless revenge, right? If I'm lucky, I have a twin brother out there somewhere."

"Sam!" She burst out laughing. The serious tone of his voice was ridiculous!

"What? You want me to be sober doing that? You are crazy then, woman."

"No! Don't go to the bullpen…naked. That's wrong on so many levels. But, that's sweet of you to suggest, so-thank you."

"For what? It was all you, Copper. Good cop, bad cop, remember?"

"Okay, you only called me that twice, and it was during my first rookie week. You were the one who gave me a fake warrant!"

"You were the one who couldn't dish out the lie. You think I play by the rules?"

"Quite the opposite, actually. I know you color outside the lines more than I do. You have a heart, Sam; you're just careful who you show it to."

"And you know this how?"

"I know you better than you think."

Andy suddenly wished that she was talking to him face-to-face. She wanted to see him grin whenever she laughed, or watch his facial expressions carefully as he spoke.

"Is that so?"

"You have no way around this, Swarek. You either cave or lose. Your choice."

"Damn, I taught a good rookie."

"Oh, yeah."

"So I really got no way around it?"

"Nope."

"All right then, Rook. I got a heart. So what? It's our little secret, right?"

"Actually, it's Officer, now."

"What? When did you…?"

"Tuesday."

"Wow, McNally, I'm impressed. They give you a diploma or something?"

"No, Swarek, this isn't grad school. But-"

"Aha!"

Andy couldn't help but laugh again. "But…I did get a certificate of completion."

"That's my rookie."

"I may as well be your partner now. Besides, if I ended up coming back to the 15th Division, they'd probably partner me up with you, right?"

"Guess so. Unless more rookies from the Academy come in by the end of the year."

"So you're going to have another Andy to train?"

"Nah. No one's going to be more Andy than you, Copper." There was a pause, and then he continued. "So, you might be coming back to Toronto?"

"Honestly, Sam, I don't know. I found myself a nice community here and I really like it. I have a best friend, her name's Rose. I have other cops who I consider pretty good friends. And I have nothing to worry about here. I like it in Shadow Brook." But it's nowhere near being in the same place as you…

"You've replaced me? I feel insulted."

"I did not replace you, Sam. Besides, if I was your best friend in the city, then that's really sad."

"Why? Cause you were fresh out of the Academy? And for you information, you were not my best friend. Just someone I could depend on."

"…that's very kind, Swarek, thank you."

"Hey, now. Just because I took advantage of you doesn't mean I didn't consider you in my top ten."

"The fact that you even have a Top Ten, makes the entire situation even more sad. Have you no life?"

"No, because my life moved to Shadow Brook."

He was teasing, but Andy felt her heart leap. She just wasn't sure if there was some truth in that or not. "Aw, Sam, so now you've got no one to tease daily. Wish I could help you there, buddy."

"All the times you've ever helped me…you either failed or through your mistakes you've achieved something greater. You're a good cop, McNally. Got the Seal of Swarek on you."

"Sam?"

"Yeah, Copper?"

Taking a deep breath before saying it, Andy's heart began pounding in her chest. "I miss you."

"You just saw me two weeks ago!"

"No, I mean…Having you around all day, annoying the hell out of me while I return the favor with my slowness."

"Then in that case, I miss you too."

"Won't you even come down to Shadow Brook?"

"Not sure work will allow it. Things are busier on the streets of Toronto than they are in that little town of yours. Especially since we're down a cop."

This disappointed Andy greatly. She had been hoping Sam would jump at the chance of being invited. But then again, this was Sam Swarek she was speaking with. Even if he did want to visit, he wouldn't necessarily tell her. "Oh. Well. Just know that whenever you feel like a vacation, you're always welcome here. Apparently, they love strangers out here."

"Ah, so then you must have seriously used your charm to impress the PD. Either that, of you blew an undercover operation."

"You will just never let that go, will you?" she asked him a second time during the call.

"Not in a million years." Same exact answer as the first time.

Andy sighed. "You know I called you as a favor to my friend."

"You mean you were forced to call me? Then why did you?"

"Because…I wanted to hear your voice. It's like an instinct now. I hear your voice, I know I did the right thing. Either that, or I get scolded."

"Well, you definitely did the right thing this time. Nothing comes to mind for which I can scold you for."

"Thanks, Sam."

"Anytime, McNally. Hey, listen, my night shift is starting, so I gotta go. Catch up with you later?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that's fine."

"I'll text you once my shift is over."

"Even if it's in the middle of the night?"

"Well, I end at five, but yeah."

"Promise?"

"Have I ever not done something I said I would do…Don't answer that. But I promise, McNally. See you."

"Bye."

For a moment, Andy only stared at the phone. That was a really weird conversation. Probably because it was the first and only phone call she'd even had with Sam that wasn't work-related. It wasn't bad, but they didn't accomplish too much. Still, Andy was happy to have heard his voice. He hadn't been annoyed that she called, or claimed that he was busy. And he teased her a lot. That meant that he was enjoying the call too. He was the same old Sam Swarek he was with her back in Toronto.

She sat down on her bed and then began grinning. If there was one person in the world who could cheer her up in one phone, it was Sam Swarek.

R&R?