This idea came to me and I decided to go ahead and write it, even knowing that it would be fluffy. I didn't want to go all Harlequin Romance on you, but I'm not sure I can help it. I can only envision the slow motion running towards each other in the sand kind of ending. I still hope you enjoy it, and I'll try and tackle a more work related topic next time.
I do not own any part of Rookie Blue, Jerry McGuire, or Tickle me Elmo…pretty random threesome but you'll get it later
It was Wednesday morning and Parade was just about to start. As usual, Andy rushed in at the last minute, joining her fellow rookies (cut loose but still the junior officers) at their regular spots in the front row. She turned to see Sergeant Best enter the room, well more like stalk into the room. It was not going to be a good morning.
Andy quickly glanced at her friends to see if she could see any recognition on their faces. She had no idea what was happening, but she had to wonder if any of them were to blame. Generally when Frank was upset this early in the morning, it was because of a rookie screw up. She was pretty sure it wasn't her, but she still bit her bottom lip in anticipation of the reprimand she thought was coming.
Frank stepped up to the board. "It's about to happen again, folks; unfortunately, it's just that time of year. So get ready."
All the officers looked around, but everyone was met with the same blank stare as no one appeared to know exactly what he meant. The rookies were at a total loss; this was their first year so 'that time of year' meant nothing at all.
Frank stepped up to the board and wrote: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.
"Come on…we've been through this before. It happens every year. Anyone?" Frank's eyes scanned the room but no one responded so he added an F to the first blank.
F _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.
"Well…it's more than 4 letters so I got nothin'." Shaw offered to everyone's amusement.
Before the laughter could die down, everyone was startled by the expletive coming from the back of the room. "Shit!"
"Officer Williams?" Frank acknowledged.
"FUNDRAISER," Noelle answered, and by the looks of it, it didn't taste good on the way out.
"That's right…it's the Annual Fundraiser for the 15th Division and I'll warn you now, you are not going to like this one any better than the last. Actually I'm pretty sure you're going to hate it." He advised before continuing. "This year the fundraising committee has decided on an auction."
Ever the optimist, Chris perked up and looked around smiling. "That doesn't sound so bad."
"It's a Bachelor and Bachelorette auction" Frank clarified, and Gail shifted uncomfortably in her seat as he turned his glare towards her. "And Superintendent Peck has voluntold all of us to participate."
Switching effortlessly into report mode, Best outlined the details. "Bachelorettes will be auctioned off the first night and bachelors the second. The winning bidder will get to do a ride-along with their chosen officer for an afternoon, and then be escorted by that officer to supper in the evening. And people…ALL single officers MUST take part." Frank stressed.
"Have fun suckers…this guy is spoken for," Jerry bragged, and he winked at Tracy before turning to the group with a wave of his hand. "You have my condolences. Sorry for your luck!"
"What's the matter, Barber…where's your sense of adventure?" Luke taunted from across the room. "Afraid no one will bid on you?"
Luke turned to Traci and directed his next comments to her. "I'm sure Nash wouldn't mind sharing you if it's for charity. You could spare him for a ride-along and a little supper, couldn't you?"
Traci just shot him a look that said in no uncertain terms that she was not up for the kind of sharing he was implying. And she wasn't the only one.
Andy's jaw dropped and her eyebrows shot to the top of her forehead. She was shocked and a little embarrassed; she couldn't believe he had the nerve to belittle her best friend's relationship and basically any relationship, including their own. She quickly looked away from Luke only to catch Sam's eye before lowering her head. And in that split second, she could tell that he was thinking exactly the same thing she was: What kind of adventure was he talking about and just how eager was he to be shared?
Best ignored Luke, and responded directly to Jerry. "No go, Barber. EVERY unmarried officer will be taking part."
"What?" Jerry couldn't believe it.
But Frank's tone left no room for argument. "If I have to do it, then everyone has to do it." Now they understood his bad mood, which lightened everyone else's. "Yeah, yeah…I can promise you there is no way out of this."
When the laughter finally died down, Best continued with mock uncertainty. "Now…if only we had someone who could MC."
At that point, Shaw immediately stepped forward and raised his hands as if to quiet the imagined enthusiasm. "Fine…fine…I'll do it…no need to beg."
Although no one was begging, everyone was happy to concede knowing that Shaw was the perfect choice. He had the gift of gab and had never been shy about using it.
"Officer Shaw, excellent!" Frank encouraged. "Now that's the spirit."
"Easy for him," Noelle quipped. "He just has to do what he does best…run off at the mouth...that is when it's not full."
"Ha. Ha." Shaw returned with a sarcastic smile.
Frank waited for the room to quiet before saving the best for last. "There is good news though people. The top 2 money earners, 1 male and 1 female will also get a night on the town courtesy of the fundraising committee. So Serve, Protect, and Show me the money."
The crowd started to disperse quickly with most people grumbling about how much they were not looking forward to this. The only enthusiasm came from the married officers…well with one exception.
Luke was almost animated after hearing the announcement of a contest with a prize up for grabs. He relished any opportunity to compete, especially with Sam. It was obvious to him that he was the better man, but he still felt the need to prove it to the rest of the division.
He fell into step with Andy as she left the parade room. "Isn't it great? We're definitely going to win – with you and me, it's a sure thing."
Andy forced a smile but she wasn't so sure. She was pretty confident that Sam would be the top money earner for the guys, and having rich, hot women fighting over him was definitely nothing for her to smile about.
As usual, Sam and Andy we're paired together, and again, as usual, she was doing a poor job of disguising her mood. Finally after lunch, Sam couldn't take it anymore.
"Oh, relax McNally! What's the big deal? Your boyfriend will bid on you and you'll go on a date. Maybe you'll finally even get some alone time with him." Sam spit out bitterly. "You should be happy."
Andy shook her head, "huh…oh…I'm not worried about that."
"Oh. I get it. You don't want him going out with anyone else." Sam nodded in understanding.
Andy looked away as she muttered under her breath. "It's not him I'm worried about."
If truth be told, Luke going out with someone else didn't bother her in the least. But Sam going out with another woman, a rich beautiful woman, well that was another story. She knew it shouldn't be that way, but that's just how it was.
She was not about to share that with him though; she had worked too long and too hard at protecting her heart to abandon it now. So the walls went up again, and it was almost like Sam could reach out and touch them. The conversation was over and he knew it, but that didn't stop him from thinking about it for the rest of the afternoon. What was she worried about?
After shift, Andy definitely needed a drink and she headed to the Penny with Traci. They sat together at a table commiserating about the upcoming auction until Jerry arrived. He motioned them over and they moved to join him, Sam, Oliver and Noelle for another drink before they headed home.
It didn't take long for talk to turn to the auctions, and Noelle couldn't resist taunting Sam; he was the one guy not in a committed relationship. "Going to find yourself a rich, sugar mama Sammy?" Noelle teased.
"If I'm lucky." Sam was always happy to play along, even if he wasn't exactly happy about the actual circumstances.
"Just make sure you spread the luck around, my friend – I want to see a real poker table and a big screen TV." Shaw bartered.
"And don't forget about us little people when you move up in the world." Jerry warned.
The comments continued, and though they were all directed at Sam, his attention was pointed elsewhere. He was fascinated watching as Andy's discomfort grew with every dig.
She's jealous. Sam realized and he started to grin.
"Oh…see now. That's what I'm talking about," Noelle remarked pointing to his dimples. "Those will get you whatever you want. You direct those babies at the right lady, and you're a shoe in to make the most money. The other guys should be able to get odds against those."
Andy knew she was right. Sam was a catch and you'd have to be a fool not to notice. But when he brought out the dimples, she knew she wouldn't be the only one affected. She couldn't even fake a smile any more.
To test his theory, Sam changed gears. "I don't know…I think I overheard Callahan say he had this thing down."
"The man does know how to wear a suit," Noelle conceded.
"He could give you a run for your money, Sammy," Shaw admitted. "Blonde haired blue eyed poster boy for the department. You just might need to pull out the big guns."
The change in target did the trick, and Andy relaxed almost immediately. She may be with Luke, but the thought of him going out with someone else didn't seem to bother her at all. That's what I thought. Sam confirmed.
"And of course we all know about the superiority of detectives," Jerry bragged to the dispute of everyone else at the table.
"OK…Come on then, this detective's pretty good. I'm not just chopped liver over here." Jerry fished. "I could give Sam a run; right Trace?"
Traci rubbed his forearm and in her most soothing voice said "Of course you can, Jerry. Of course you can."
"You got the suits too, brother; I'll give you that." Shaw granted before Noelle interrupted.
"But I'm sorry, you got nothin' on Sammy." Noelle argued, confirming Andy's worst fears. "With the dimples, and the eyes…those ladies are gonna have to bring out the big bucks if they want to win." And with that the table was off again.
Andy stood up quickly mumbling to Traci that she had to get going.
Sam looked at Traci who just shrugged her shoulders. "McNally!" He called out, but she didn't stop.
When Sam got up to follow her, no one was surprised; they just exchanged knowing smiles before Oliver started regaling them with his plans as host.
Sam followed Andy out the door. "Are you ok, McNally?"
"I'm fine. I guess I'm just not into this, you know bidding for someone's affections…having to work to get someone's attention. It feels like the story of my life, and I guess I'm tired of it." She admitted wearily. "…tired of pretending that I'm fine with it all."
"I thought we decided you didn't have to fake it anymore?" Sam reminded her.
"Yeah… I guess."
"Then why don't you stop?" He asked.
"Because I'm scared to take a chance and let someone break my heart." Andy replied quietly. "But I'm beginning to think there are worse things than giving someone else the power to break your heart."
Sam knew that was one of Andy's greatest fears so the fact that she thought there was something worse intrigued him. "Like what?" He asked.
"Like making the choice to do it to yourself." She admitted.
And once the feelings started coming out, she couldn't stop them; they had been trapped inside for too long. It was as if she started an inner monologue, but it was spoken aloud. "I've just been thinking a lot lately about what I have and what I want. I thought I wanted easy, but now I don't know. Easy doesn't always mean happy, and good just doesn't seem good enough anymore."
She stopped to take a breath and Sam froze. Andy had never, ever opened up like this before. He wasn't even sure if Tracy had been privy to these thoughts. He didn't dare move; he didn't even want to breathe. He just waited, hoping she would continue and praying that nothing stopped her.
"I didn't move in with Luke, and I know that was the right thing to do. But I'm just not sure about anything anymore; I haven't been truly happy for a long time…at least away from work." And she chuckled a little at that.
"I feel like I need to make a change, but I'm scared." She looked at Sam seeing him only in her mind. And he knew she wasn't just talking about leaving Luke…she was talking about so much more.
"I've always had bad luck, and always made bad decisions when it comes to men. So I went against my gut this time; you always tell me I shouldn't but I did it because it's never been right when it comes to love. But I don't think I can fight it much longer. I feel like there's something better waiting for me, but is it really there or do I just want it so bad that I think it's there. But if I don't go for it...if I settle, then I'm just hurting my own heart." She then furrowed her brow and turned her head to look up at Sam. "You know?"
And those 2 little words snapped her out of her reverie. As soon as she asked the question, she realized that she had been talking to someone, and she realized who that someone was. She had said way too much, shared way more than she had ever planned to share and she needed to get out of there fast.
Sam saw the realization as soon as it entered her eyes, and he reached for her hand wanting to reassure her that something, no someone, was waiting for her.
But along with her realization came the fear, and with the fear came her protective instinct. Fight or flight? When it came to her heart, it almost always meant flight. "I should go." Andy stuttered out, trying to look anywhere but in Sam's eyes. She was afraid of what she might see…afraid that it might not be what she wanted to see and even more afraid that it might be everything she was hoping for.
"Andy," was all Sam could get out before she pulled her hand away and started running towards her home.
Sam wanted to run after her, but he knew her well enough to know that it wouldn't accomplish anything. She needed time alone to process what just happened, and he did too.
Sam started to walk back to the Penny, but stopped to lean against the wall for a minute, disoriented by what just happened. He replayed the entire conversation in his head, trying to burn the exact words into his memory so he could replay them again later to be sure he was right. Be sure that she had pretty much admitted that she was ready to leave Luke, and that the only thing holding her back was not knowing for sure what was waiting for her if she did.
It's now or never, Sam thought. If he was ever going to be able to convince Andy to choose him, he needed to make his move now. He knew she was willing; she just needed to know that there was something there worth going after. And he hoped that by showing her he was interested, she would know what he already did…that whatever it was that they had, was worth taking a chance on. And he was willing to take that chance first.
He made up his mind and opened the door. He was going to give Luke a run for his money on Friday night, and he had a plan. And because he was a great cop, he never made a plan without backup…so he sat down to talk to his friends.