Disclaimer: Don't own Rookie Blue

A.N.: I always feel that Luke gets the short end of the stick and while I was reading through the character bios, I thought of this.

Hope you enjoy.

She stormed into his office and closed the door. "Luke, we have to talk."

He looked at her and saw the fury in her eyes and sighed. "Andy, calm down."

"Calm down? Luke, I'm not going to be your 'rookie' for this year."

"Andy…"

"Why Luke? You don't seem like that kind of person who would go for a new rookie every year."

Luke looked at her. "Will you calm down?"

"If you answer my question." She stared at him until he looked away.

"Fine" he gestured to a chair "have a seat."

Andy sat down in the chair as he moved to the chair behind his desk. When they were both seated, Andy repeated her question. "Why?"

Luke looked away and began talking. "It started out as a joke. One of the guys who I trained with told me he caught a rookie every year and I should try it. He is in a different division and he made a game out of it between a few of us who trained together. After a few years, I realized how wrong it was and told him I wanted to stop. He told me 'one more year for old time's sake'. I owed him a favor and he cashed in."

He looked up and saw puzzlement on Andy's face. Clearly she had not expected this and he suspected that what he would say next would change how she thought about him.

"That year, one of the rookies caught my eye. I started going out with her. I knew after the first date that she was perfect for me. Before she could hear the rumors, I called the guy who had started the whole thing and made him back me up while I told her my story.

"She reacted with grace, asking me if I really loved her and it wasn't just a rookie thing. Then she stood beside me as other officers began telling her that she was my 'rookie of the year'.

"Zoe moved in after a few months and I thought I had it all; a beautiful girlfriend, a great house, a great job. One night Zoe called me to tell me that she would be home late. Someone from the night shift had an emergency and would be late so she and her training officer were covering.

"I woke up in the middle of the night and she was still not home. When I went down to the police station I found out that something had gone wrong and she was murdered. I was so upset that I could not work properly. I let her murderer get away."

Andy saw tears in his eyes and moved to him. "Luke" she said softly, "I'm so sorry."

He looked up at her. "The 'rookie of the year' thing is dead. Last year the girl who everyone called my rookie helped me through my pain. She let them call her that because she knew it gave me a wall to hide behind. I thought you might be the one for me but I'm wrong. I'm sorry Andy but every time I look at you I think of Zoe."

Andy squeezed his shoulder. "Luke, I don't think it would have worked anyway but, like your 'rookie' from last year, I'm here for you."

Luke smiled. "Thanks Andy. Now go, I still have work to do."