Assistance from a Narcissist

A/N: I love Rookie Blue. And am in love with Ben Bass. He's just... yay. But here's how think the conversation with Gail and Sam went when they left the bar.

Gail Peck had above-average intelligence. Despite her social awkwardness at the best of times, she had an IQ of over 130, which made her smart. She was also perceptive; one of the major reasons she made a good cop. So as she sat beside Sam Swarek in the Penny and watched his eyes follow Andy and Luke across the room, she knew instwhatas going on. She wasn't entirely sure what happened between them, but she knew for sure that Sam was not pining after Callaghan. "You wanna get some air?" she offered with a smile.

"Sure." he replied, draining the last of his scotch quickly, following her out of the bar. Gail saw Andy watching them, and had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. Sometimes Andy could be naive that it physially hurt.

Sam followed her until she stopped in the parking lot, turning and pressing his against the wall. She felt his pulse quicken and entire body tense under hers, her lips grazing over his jaw up to his ear. "Sam..."

"Gail - I - I can't - you-"

She stepped back, a smirk on her lips. She watched the realisation dawn in his eyes, the spark of knowledge. "You-"

"-Are making a point." she finished, folding her arms. "I'm saying this, because right now we're just Gail and Sam, not TO and Rookie. You're an idiot."

Sam had to admit that she had a point. He was an idiot at the best of times, and now was definately topping the list. He pursed his lips, oine eyebrow raising slightly, flicking his wrist in a guesture for her to continue.

"I'm not blind, Swarek." she continued pointedly. "You're in love with McNally, right?" Seeing him open his mouth, she quickly amended her previous bombshell. "Well, maybe not love per se, but care about in a way that's totally inappropriate for a TO and Rookie..."

He thought briefly about objecting, but he'd never been a good liar when it came to McNally, and thought it to be pointless. "Well, so what? She's with Callaghan," he repeated the excuse he had used so many times in his head, unable to say the name without grimacing. "So why the hell would I ruin that? He's... a good guy, strong, reliable... what a neurotic over-analyser like Andy needs."

Gail conceded to that point. Andy had a tendecy to over-think absolutely everything, and this was one of the reasons that she didn't make the effort to spend more time with her. "Fine. But you don't strike me as the type to give a damn about rules or what others expect, so I'm wondering why you've started now."

"I've not. But some rules can cost me my job." he pointed out. "And I like my job."

"More than you like Andy?" prompted Gail, raising an eyebrow with an expression that suggested she was completely bored by the conversation, despite its importance.

"Eh... I only came back to uniform because I didn't want to be stuck behind a desk watching others work while I waited for a spot in Guns and Gangs to open up. I didn't ask for a rookie."

"From what I hear, a spot opened up a while ago, and you turned it down."

Sam was amazed at her knowledge. The woman seemed to know everything that was going on. "How did you...?"

"Oliver gets chatty to fill awkward silences. Wanted to know if I knew something he didn't."

"When I get my hands on-"

"The point is that you turned that spot down for a reason. A good one, I expect."

"Yeah. I don't leave a job part-finished." he snapped. "I started training McNally, so I wanted to finish he job. 'Least with me training her, she'll be less concerned about wrapping herself up in beauracracy and jurisdiction and more concerned with being a damn ood cop."

"...And you like her." Gail added unhelpfully.

"You kiddin' me right now, Peck?" sam growled, losing his temper as he pushed up and away from the wall. "Why are my motives or not transfering to Guns and Gangs so important to you? And waht makes you think I want help from a narcissist like you?"

She ignored the jibe, focussing on answering the first questions. "Because McNally's kind of my friend! And, believe it or not, I like you too. As a friend, I mean, so don't get the wrong idea. But I kow you two, and I know that neither one of you will jump unless you're pushed! So that's what I'm doing... pushing."

Sam sighed, running a hand through his hear causing it to stand up on end like he'd stuck his fingers in an electric socket. "Gail... You might not believe this, but I'm fairly sure I know McNally as well if not better than anyone at our Division. So I have a rough idea of what is and isn't good for her. Here's a clue... I'm not. Luke... he'll take care of her, make her happy. He won't accidentally hurt her."

"He is, though!" pressed Gail.

"What?"

"He's married to his job. You know that! Andy can't come second. Come on, Swarek."

Sam shook his head adamantly. "He will take care of her."

"Or what?"

There was a long pause before Sam answered, and Gail was struck by the brutal honesty of his answer. "I'll kill him."