A/N Good looooorrrrrd. You can blame radleyboo (aka sourgummysharks) for this spree that I'm on. Also: a) the fact that I had a reasonably trying day at work. So: to rectify this situation, I a) Took my hounds to the park, and let them loose while I purged out this thing. b) My Gun, by awesome Aussie band 'The Rubens' was in my earphones as I sat down.
Prompts: 'the one with all the eye-flirting and avoiding in s4 / the one where their friends set them up in s4 / the one where they make each other jealous s4' (there is no guarantee any or all of these prompts won't crop up again in future fics.)
Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue
Sam stays clear away from the station for three days straight. Texts Nash first thing every morning to see if they're up. Does a stack of paperwork from home - as much as he can. Told the boss he needed some flexibility with his hours for a while. Frank nodded his head, didn't ask why –
(Didn't need to; was Frank, Noelle and Ninja that came over to his the night before McNally and Collins were due back to work. Told Sam the op was a success. Frank asked him real cautious if there was going to be any 'strife'. Sam scratched at his chest. "Not from me, boss. Will keep my head in the cases at hand."
Noelle put a death grip on his forearm the way out the door. "Just let me know if you need me to kick any ass.")
Day four he can't avoid going in; Nash lining up two suspects for Interview One first thing that morning, right after parade.
Sam gets in real, real early. Heads straight to his office, shuts the door and keeps his head in the files.
Nash slams a long black in front of him an hour later. "Can't avoid her forever," that motherly tone in his face like she gets with him sometimes.
"Who?" Sam grins back, real friendly.
She shoots him some pointy eyebrow, throws her hands on her hips and pokes her elbows right out. "Same person I just served vanilla up to."
She's in fucking observation when the interviews go down.
Sam saw her and Shaw enter the room as he came down the hall.
He catches Nash by the elbow right before she opens the door to One. "What's goin' on?" Sam asks, just casual. Looking over his shoulder; considering the closest exits and leaving Nash in there alone.
He can't handle her eyes on him, is all. Can't have her detect the different ways he stills feels broken about how...they...went south.
His partner shrugs her shoulders real big. Innocent look on her face. "Was Oliver and Andy that nabbed 'em for us. Thought I mentioned that last night on the phone."
Sam chews a little inside his cheek, levels Nash with a glare.
He pops some gum before he goes in, scrubs a hand over his face and his chest.
"Sammy!" Ollie's voice booms across the station as Sam's on the double out toward the dock after the confessions have been locked in.
"Great work in there buddy." Shaw runs toward him, arms open like he's about to get Sam in a hug. He gets a sticky hand on his shoulder and slaps a few times instead, bumps Sam's chest with his.
Sam's eyebrows are getting a workout today.
"McNally. McNally," Ollie traffic cop signals his riding partner to come closer. "Swarek as detective. Pretty damn impressive, huh? Whaddayathink?"
McNally stops a few feet away from them, eyes bouncing all over the place and teeth wedged into a glossed bottom lip.
Eventually she locks her eyes into Sam's, crosses her arms over her chest. Bobs her pretty head up and down and gives Sam the shakiest smile he's ever seen. "Yeah..." Clears her throat. "Congratulations, ah. S—Sir."
Oliver's jaw drops all the way open, snaps it back shut as quick as he can.
Sam nods, his own mouth curling up just a bit. "Thanks, McNally." Cool as a cucumber on the outside he may be, but Sam is about to blow a gasket inside. "Hey, uh. Good to have you back at 15, Officer. Congrats on the op."
Sam turns on his heel as soon as he sees a blush flush its way over the skin he can see on her. Figures if he stands there any longer he's going to start looking for marks.
(Other reason he doesn't want her looking at him: she'll pity him. Feel bad probably, about the fact he's still...that Sam can't stop wanting her a thousand different ways).
"Comin' to The Penny later?" Ollie yells after him.
Sam spends about 30 seconds debating internally. "Maybe."
He does turn up to The Penny.
Hours and hours after the Rookies arrived, by the looks.
They're stacked up at a dark table; Diaz and Epstein on one side barking in the ear of the new girl. Collins and McNally are opposite, shoulder to shoulder, backs toward Sam.
Peck's stirring something that looks like water at the bar when he gets there. Dour is the expression she's got on her face. Nash is standing next to her; wide-eyed and sucking on some fruity colored girl drink that's in a tall glass.
Sam raises his hand for the usual. Tells the new waitress to skip the rocks though; doesn't want to water down any potential to get a different kind of burn in his chest.
Shaw comes racing across from the direction of the mens' room. Clearly, Zoe's got Sam's buddy on some fitness regime where he's got to run everywhere. "Sammy!" he hollers for the second time in less than 10 hours.
The whole bar turns to look, Shaw is that loud.
Oliver wedges himself on the stool that was vacant between Sam and Peck. "One drink, brother. Before Zoe and the girls kick me out of the house...again."
His friend is joking, and they all know it. Still -
It leaves some extra weight in the room.
The one drink lasts an hour.
Peck and Nash have their heads so close in quiet conversation, they're practically conjoined.
Ollie babbles at Sam about every single detail of the day he's had with McNally. "She did good, Sammy. That rookie is no rookie no more. Got the street-smarts cranked up to a 9 while she was gone."
Sam nods. He doesn't doubt she was good on Dakota, how genuine and determined she is. How much she likes proving a point.
Sam looks in the direction of McNally and Collins briefly. Diaz looks up at him, tips his beer at Sam in a long distance cheers. Sam raises his glass, spills the rest of the Scotch down his throat. He misses seeing how McNally turned to see who Chris was saluting, but feels her eyes on him just the same.
"She asked about you, y'know." Ollie continues, nudging an elbow Sam's way. "Wanted to know how you were...if you liked bein' detective...if you...if you were with anyone."
Peck and Nash go dead silent. Blue and brown eyes stare over at Sam.
Sam hitches a thumb over his shoulder. "Bathrooms," he explains quietly. Leaves them all at the bar.
(Peck and Nash have watched Sam like a hawk the whole damn time, they should know there's been no one. How hung up on their friend he still is.)
"Hey, Swarek!" Cruz beams up as they cross paths on his way to the mens'. "Long time, no see. Let's catch up for a drink."
Sam smiles back, nods his head and keeps walking on.
He splashes some cold water on his face when he gets at the sink.
By the time he looks up, Epstein's eyes are on him.
The kid is as dead serious as that day he killed someone. Tells Sam as earnest as you get; "She's dropping in questions, trying to get intel on you. Asks a bunch of things between telling us how hard...how hard UC was for her."
Sam blinks a few times, considers asking Dov if he still carries around those painkillers he likes.
The temperature in The Penny has soared through the roof by the time he gets back out there, the whole place crowded with a fresh batch of rookies that are pumped.
He spots McNally in her latest position, next to Nash now. She spots him too. This time she doesn't take her eyes off him as he walks in her direction.
Sam keeps looking at her too.
Cruz and Shaw are laughing about old days at the academy when Sam gets there, his feet somehow making their way through what felt like wet cement.
"One more, Sammy. Just one." Oliver exclaims loudly, smiling like a loon between Sam and the closer McNally. His friend slides a fresh Scotch in Sam's direction.
This one's got ice.
He joins in on the Cruz-Shaw stories; 'glory' relived from their own rookie days.
Once in a while, Sam looks up from his drink to notice McNally watching -
Same doe eyes that got him the very first day.
She keeps an eye on Cruz too, he notices. Her eyes are narrower then, though. Especially on the odd occasion when Marlo fist-pumps into Sam's arm.
Sam spends most of his time not hearing what his comrades have to say. Spends most of it spending a lot of energy denying he wants to ask McNally how the past six months have been. Wants to tell her he waited, but how he also gave up every day -
He shakes his head out of it, cannot for the life of him inflict himself with that sharp, sharp pain all over again.
"I'll, uh. Catch you guys tomorrow," Sam tells the room in general and super-quiet. He figures now he's broken the seal, things might get easier each subsequent day. Digs in his pockets and latches onto his keys. Wants to toss them at McNally, but also run for his life.
He catches her eye briefly, watches the way her mouth opens and closes a few times at him as the others wish him goodnight.
They don't get easier.
Things do not get easier the following day.
Sam stands up the front of parade briefing the coppers on a new drug lord in town.
He focuses hard on addressing the entire room. Gets sidetracked from his efforts more than once by the conjoined twins that seem to be McNally and army-boy; the pair of them staring up at Sam, nodding small and polite in unison. Andy's eyes unblinking, and her face very straight.
Sam decides before the end of briefing he's hitting the gym again this morning - before Nash starts chewing his ear.
He rolls his eyes when he hears the door to the gym swing open, then closed.
He doesn't feel like subtexting and double talk with Nash this morning, he'd much prefer he smash some knuckles, so he's got an excuse to go home.
Instead of the usual cackle and 'let me show you how it's actually done, Swarek' he's copped most days when he's been in here this past 6 months, he hears nothing.
He knows then it's McNally. Mid left, left, right he hears her breathing, feels her eyes scanning the entire expanse of his back. Which –
Must be a fan-fucking-tastic site. Not.
(The sweats Sam changed into for this bout with the boxing bag have had their own kind of workout, the belting the bag has been giving to him this past three quarters of an hour).
He swings a right hook, hard into the bag. Practically falls onto the thing. Has to steady his body by wrapping both arms around the heavy, moving object. It's a good deal steadier than Sam is right now.
He turns around only when he's caught his breath. Gets his hands on his hips and travels his eyes up to hers, all the way from the ground.
"You, ah. You wanna use this?" He's still short of breath, has to motion to the bag to help show her the words.
McNally stares a little longer, looks Sam up and down. It's –
A lot.
There's, uh. There's some heat in her gaze that Sam's seen before -
He gives her a dose of her own medicine, checks out the fact she's mainly in uniform. Only thing missing is the shirt; she's only wearing the black tee she wears underneath on colder days. He squints at it, recognizes it as baggy. Recognizes it as the one she stole out of his tallboy about 8 months ago.
She opens and closes her mouth a few times, looks like she might be trying to catch her breath too. Shakes her head eventually. Then she shrugs. "Oliver and I got stuck in booking today. I got snappy about it. He told me to go hit something...'else he'd make me make him coffee all day."
Sam's eyebrows climb, he can't help but smile.
When he does, she relaxes...just a little, but enough for Sam to notice.
She wipes her hands at the side of her pants. "But if you're usin' the bags...I can come back." She smiles small, still giving Sam some wandering eyes.
Sam bites down on his own grin, tries to tug a glove off unsuccessfully. "Nah. I'm done for the day."
Sam looks up from the laces to see what he thinks is disappointment crossing McNally's face. "Somethin' the matter, McNally? You come here hopin' to hit me?" He lets a smile and a wink on the loose - to let her know he is actually teasing. Although -
It's a pretty blush she responds with, heats up the whole room. She shakes her head and laughs, keeps her eyes on his. "I missed you, Sam. I missed you so much."
The depth and resonance in her voice is nothing like Sam's heard from her before. It loosens something inside of Sam, pulls him her way.
He stands there in front of her for a good thirty seconds or so, just watching her - and soaking up the way she's looking back.
"Missed you too, McNally," Sam tells her quietly, somehow breathless again.
He puts one arm on her shoulder, gentle and careful; the boxing glove he's still wearing rolls over her like one big, soft paw. Sam lets her lean further, making his whole arm scoop 'round her neck.
She takes a step into him, close as she can except for an inch. "I won't blame you if you don't...but I'd...I'd really like you to buy me that drink sometime." Nervous and hopeful she sounds, much like Sam feels.
Sam closes the space between them, kisses the top of her head. "S'long as you'll let me buy you dinner as well."
McNally hugs into Sam tighter, nods her head really fast.