Hello everyone! It's been a looooong time! Life is crazy as always, and I didn't have a lot of inspiration to write… I finally got some vacation time a couple of weeks ago, and I REALLY wanted to write! I guess I was inspired by my week at the beach!
This takes place after Big Nickel in season 1. I won't tell you more and just let you read it!
Traci was right, Andy thought to herself as she gazed mindlessly through the passenger window of the car. The landscape here was really beautiful. They were approaching the coast of Maine, and the ocean was starting to appear through the tree line.
The young woman looked at the car clock, it was almost 7pm, and they had been in the car since 8am the same morning. It was Boyko's wedding - well second wedding actually - that had brought them here. As officer of his old division, they had all gotten invitations, and Andy had to say that a weekend at the beach was definitely something she needed right about now.
It was true though that she would've liked it better if that weekend hadn't required a 10h drive, but Boyko's future wife had grown up there, and all of her family was still living there. Traci had been the one to suggest driving there instead of flying like a lot of them did. After her last roadtrip though, Andy had been a little reluctant. But it was true that a prisoner transfer and a roadtrip with her best friend were two totally different things.
Oliver and Sam had also driven there, while Jerry was supposed to meet them there since he had to work today, just as Luke who had told Andy that he would try to get there the next morning. He had been working on a big case and couldn't take the day off to drive there.
After everything that had happened with Sam, her relationship with Luke was still a little bumpy. To be completely honest with herself, she didn't know if giving them another chance was a good idea, but after all, Luke was the good guy, right? Wasn't he supposed to be anyway?
"Have you ever been here?" Traci asked her, pulling her out of her thoughts, which she was glad to be distracted from.
"Not here here, but I went to Old Orchard beach with my dad when I was 16." She told her, turning her head to the left, looking at her best friend who was sitting next to her.
"Oh, that must've been fun!" Her friend told her on a sarcastic tone, just knowing that 16 year old Andy probably despised it at that time.
The young women in question scoffed. Yeah, it hadn't really been the trip of her life.
"It was okay." Andy started. "Well, as okay as a 16 year old spending a whole week with her dad can be." She continued.
Her drunk dad, Andy added for herself. The trip in itself hadn't been that bad, even though most of what Andy remembered were the long walks on the beach at night, by herself, as she tried to escape the drunkenness of her father. It hadn't been a really good period of his life though, but it still didn't make excuses for his behavior.
She remembered walking on the beach, under the moonlight, just wishing for someone to hold her hand. Andy had always been a romantic at heart, but none of the guys she previously dated had been the "walk on the beach" type. Now though, she was dating that type of guy, but he wasn't even there to do it with her.
She sighed, knowing perfectly well that the chances of Luke showing up here tomorrow morning were next to nonexistent. She should've known better after all this time together, but as sick as she was of it, she still wished he would be there.
For the first time in her life, she had actually chosen the better guy. She had taken the security and stability of the detective over the more intense and passionate emotions she felt towards her TO, but now she was starting to wonder if it was the right decision after all.
"We should be there in 5 minutes." Traci said, pulling her out of her thoughts one more time.
"Great, I really need to stretch my legs." Andy said, trying to stretch her arms as best as she could as Traci took a right on a small gravel road.
Their ex staff sergeant had rented a small inn, just about 10 rooms, so that the people of 15th could stay near the reception. The ceremony would take place in a small church, just a few minutes from there.
Traci finally pulled over to a big house that was sitting right in front of the ocean, and Andy quickly got out of the car. Taking a deep breath, she smiled, smelling the ocean before she could even see it.
The air was full of this typical ocean smell, a mixture of salt, seaweed and fish. It smelled like vacation and relaxation. Andy closed her eyes and breathed in the spicy smell that was almost burning her nostrils.
Traci was already walking around the house to see the view and Andy ran a little to catch up with her.
"It is so beautiful." Andy said when she was standing closer to her friend.
Traci nodded, her eyes still fixed on the beautiful landscape. A small portion of the beach was reaching all the way to the grass yard, and the waves were slowly caressing the sand in a rhythmic motion. At their left, all the way at the end of the land, was a lighthouse, standing proudly on the edge of the cliff, making sure that the boat wouldn't hit the numerous rocks that were sticking out of the water.
It was the end of September, but the weather there was still beautiful, even if you could feel the chill in the air. On their way here they had heard some talk about an "Indian summer" and that's definitely how it felt like.
The sound of a car pulling in the driveway distracted the girls from their observation, and the two friends walked back to see Sam and Oliver getting out of the truck.
"And I thought you told us that you weren't gonna wait for us?" Traci joked, laughing a little as Sam took a few steps towards her.
"Well, if Oliver hadn't driven slower than my grandma, we would've been here way before." He said as Oliver raised his hands.
"Hey I've seen how your grandma drives, brother, and believe me you'd rather have me driving than her." He said, giving him a friendly pat on the back before going to give a small hug to the two woman in front of him.
"How was the road?" Andy asked Sam as he was pulling the luggage out of the truck.
"Oliver talks more than you McNallly, and believe me that is not a good thing." He said, emphasizing on the 'not', but still smiling, his eyes sparkling a little.
She rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile back at him.
"I'm sure I'm more interesting too." She teased him as she made her way to Traci's car.
"Yeah, well at least with him I didn't end up strolling through the woods." He continued on the same teasing tone she had used.
Andy waved her hand towards him, denying any implication of their last roadtrip together, which had not even been a week prior.
"Hey Sammy." Oliver called. "Want me to put this in our room?" He asked, holding both of their luggage in his hands.
"What do you mean our room?" Sam asked with a suspecting look.
"Boyko didn't tell you? There weren't any single rooms available, so we're sharing a room!" Oliver told him with a grin as he saw Sam's smile drop. "Don't worry there's two beds." He added with a wink after seeing Sam's face.
"No he didn't tell me. He knew I would never have agreed to sleep in the same room as you! You snore like a bear! Two beds won't change that." Sam said, half laughing, half disbelieving.
"Not like a bear." Oliver replied, and then paused, thinking before he spoke again. "Okay maybe like a small bear. Like… a bear cub! But you know you love it!" He said smiling before he made his way inside the inn.
Laughing under her breath, she gave a look at Sam's helplessgaze. She raised her eyebrows and shrugged as Sam lifted his eyes to the sky, sighing.
Andy gathered her own bag and made her way to her room. Traci and her had been lucky enough to have their own rooms since she was with Luke and Traci with Jerry.
The young woman turned the key she had gotten at the front desk in the lock, and entered the room that had been given to her. She put her bag near her bed and got her phone out of her pocket, walking to the window.
She had one of the ocean view rooms and she smiled at the beautiful landscape in front of her.
Pressing #3 on her speed dial, she got the phone up to her ear. Just as she thought it would, it went straight to voicemail, and she sighed softly as his voice told her to leave a message.
"Hey Luke, it's me. We've just arrived here. It is so beautiful, I can't wait for you to see it. Call me back when you can." She said before hanging up, placing her phone back in her pocket.
Looking at the ocean one last time, she turned to her bed and got a few things out of her bag so that they didn't get wrinkled.
She had been sitting near the window for 5 minutes when someone knocked at the door.
"It's open." She said to the person at the door.
Traci slid her head through the open door and smiled. "Dinner's waiting." She told her.
"I'm coming." Andy said as she got up and went to the door.
They made their way down the stairs and to the dining room where everyone was already seated. The only one who wasn't there, aside from Luke, was Jerry. His plane was supposed to land in Boston right about now, so it wouldn't be long before he arrived.
Dinner went nicely. Andy was sitting between Sam and Traci, and she had to say that she had a lot of fun. Everything had gone back to normal with Sam after their prisoner transport and she was very grateful for that. Not talking to Sam had been the thing that made her regret the most what happened with him the night of the blackout and had made her realize just how important he was to her.
Sitting here now, between her best friend and her TO, listening as Oliver told one of his stories, it made her feel like she had finally found her place in the world.
"Wanna go walk on the beach?" Traci asked her as everyone was getting ready to go back to their rooms.
"Yeah, sure! It's a beautiful evening." Andy answered, getting up from her chair. "I'll just grab my sweater." She said, going towards her room.
She quickly got up the stairs and grabbed the piece of clothing before she made her way back down the stairs, running into Sam.
"Romantic evening on the beach, McNally?" He asked her with a smile.
"Just a walk with Traci, Luke's not supposed to get here before tomorrow." She told him as he nodded understandingly.
"Well have fun!" He simply said.
"Thanks, I will. Oh and Sam, I'm glad everything's back to normal between us." She told him with a genuine smile.
He smiled back at her and nodded in acknowledgment, waiting until she was all the way down the corridor before he made his way up with a sad smile on his face.
Yes, he was happy that they were friends again, but he couldn't help but miss the way she had looked at him and touched him that night. Sighing, he closed the door to the room Oliver and him were sharing, walking to the window. It was a beautiful night, and as he looked at the two friends walking down the beach, he couldn't help but being a little jealous of Traci.
He wanted to be the one walking on the beach with Andy… But he had to live with his choices and his actions. He had been the one to tell Callaghan to go back to her, the one to tell her that it was what it was. If she wanted to be with the detective, it broke his heart, but he just wanted her to be happy…
I hope you liked this first chapter! I don't have to go back to work or school until the end of August, so hopefully I'll be able to update pretty quickly if you want me to! :)