Living On The Tailgate

"Whose idea was this anyway?" Sam asked Andy as they finished loading his truck for the annual camping trip, that Sam was going on for the first time.

"Originally… it was mine," she laughed sheepishly. "We were in the academy and we didn't know that we would all end up in the same division, so we no promised that no matter what we would end up going camping every year on Labour Day weekend." She explained.

Sam nodded before going back inside. Its not that he didn't want to go camping, it actually wasn't that bad of an idea… except the fact that it meant spending a whole ninety-six hours with not just Dov, but Chloe as well. He knew that Traci was bringing Leo, and cause of this he had managed to get Oliver, Frank and Noelle to come with the girls, so it's not like he would have to suffer alone. At least until Oliver got drunk, and Chloe was Franks' goddaughter. He turned to Andy, a pleading look appearing on his face.

"Swarek, you're going" his girlfriend said sternly, although a smile still graced her lips.

"Damnit" He muttered, he should never had agreed to it, he was given a choice, and then he opened his big mouth and said that he would come, which gave him no liable way out, unless…

"You ready to go" Andy's voice brought him out of his trance, he nodded. "Yeah, let's hit the road."

The ride there wasn't bad, Andy had talked his ear off, but from all the ride-alongs that they went on when he was her TO, he had gotten used to it a long time ago. He began to unpack while she went and gave Leo and the girls hugs; she turned and smiled at him, hoping that he could manage for a minute or so while she went to pee. Oliver and Frank came up to him, offering their assistance and a beer, he took both.

"How did we get sucked into to his Swarek?" Shaw asked him and he grinned, shrugging.

"You are a good friend, and I am good boyfriend"

"Says who?" Andy laughed, coming up beside the boys, and kissing Sam's cheek. He joined in her playful banter.

"Well I strictly remember Shaw saying something a few weeks ago." He smirked, Oliver putting his hands up in defence,

"I WAS DRUNK! I have a valid excuse! Anything I do while drinking is strictly forbidden to be held against me." He attempted to defend himself and his daughter laughed.

"Daddy, it's meant to be held against you" 18-year-old Izzy shot back, taking her godfather's side in the joking banter of the fifteenth division and earning a high-five from him.

An hour and a half later, their tent was up. No thanks to him though. He wasn't exactly cut out for this, and Oliver was making sure to remind him of this fact at every possible moment, although he wasn't any better. So after having the tent fall on him twice, have a pole hit him in the head once, and being knocked over by Noelle swinging a pole around, him and Andy managed to finish putting it up. Well… mostly Andy.

She walked up to him holding two beers, passing one to him to drink and handing him an Advil to hopefully lessen the headache that he was sure to get once Chloe started blasting the…

"PARTY!" She screamed, taking another swig of her beer and blasting the country music. She jumped up onto the tailgate of Nick's pickup truck, dancing wildly to the music that started playing. Dov smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand.

"Is she drunk?" Sam asked, eyebrows raised.

"Not yet." Frank and Dov muttered at the same time, both equally embarrassed.

"Dinner!" Nick called, as the glorious smell of burning meat filled Sam's nostrils. He hopped off the tailgate of his truck, holding out his hand to help Andy down afterwards, before leading both of them to where the food was laid out.

All the kids, aside from Izzy, had been put to bed by nine, although Sam couldn't help but wonder how exactly it was that they could sleep with the music at the same volume it was at when they first arrived. By now, all the adults had made there way around the campfire, joking around and laughing about things that had happened in the past.

"…and then all I hear is Dov screaming that there is a spider on him, I couldn't stop laughing until I saw the size of the damned thing." Chloe told the group, smirking. She and Dov had been living together for almost a year, amazing everyone at the division that they hadn't driven each other crazy yet.

Sam looked around the fire. Sitting across from him was Nick, who was blocked from view by the fiery blonde-haired woman that was straddling his lap. To their right was Izzy and Oliver, Izzy cuddling into her dad's side, attempting to keep warm as she refused to change out of the short-shorts that she wore, Frank and Noelle were next then Traci. To his right was Dov and Chloe, Chloe's hand on Dov's knee while his arm was draped across her shoulder, earning him a stern, yet amused look from Frank. Andy sat on his left, curled up in his side, listening in content to the stories there friends told and Sam smiled to himself.

"Well if you think that was bad, you should've seen Sam when I told him that there was a bee flying around the house." She laughed snapping Sam out of his peaceful state.

"I'm allergic!" He whined, before sitting back and enjoying Andy tell the story, although it wasn't as accurate as he remembered it.

Okay, yeah he could definitely get used to this as a tradition.

A/N: So a few things, I get that Nick broke up with Gail but I doubt Nick is going to take his own advice. I honestly think the writers only did that because they need someone for Andy to get Sam to realize how utterly stupid he's been with her, after that they'll probably make Gail and Nick figure out their problems. Secondly, this is set in season 6 since Izzy was 15 in her debut in season 3. Last but not least, I don't know why I chose country, it is my favourite music genre and Chloe comes off as a girl who loves country in my eyes, because of her happy-go-lucky personality and her party attitude. I definitely can see her going nuts when a summer-party country song comes on… just like I would.