A/N: Thank you, Jackson Browne and Tassie Cameron. I own neither the song nor Rookie Blue.

It was noisy in the Penny as usual and someone had dropped money in the jukebox in the corner and set an old Jackson Browne hit to play. Sam Swarek leaned his back against the bar and watched the rookies shooting darts.

Well, just look at that girl with the lights comin' up in her eyes / She's got to be somebody's baby / She must be somebody's baby

Watching Andy laugh at something one of the other rookies was saying, he couldn't help smiling to himself. It had been some time since he'd seen her. Undercover work took him away from the division for long periods of time, but they had just wrapped up the big case he had been working, so he was back for a while now. He surveyed the patrons of the bar more from habit than anything else. He noticed that there were more civilians here than usual and saw more than a few appreciative male glances landing on his beautiful rookie.

All the guys on the corner stand back and let her walk on by / She's got to be somebody's baby / She must be somebody's baby / She's got to be somebody's baby / She's so fine

Andy had been through a lot in the past year and Sam often worried about how she was coping, but one look at her tonight and anyone could see that she was happy and no worries were plaguing her mind. Her smile lit up the room and made everyone want to be around her. Sam started to revise his opinion of that being a positive thing when he watched a guy walk up and offer to buy her a drink.

She's probably somebody's only light / Gonna shine tonight / Yeah, she's probably somebody's baby, alright

He watched her shake her head in rejection of the drink and turn to take the darts from Traci Nash. Sam watched her shoot and winced. Andy might be good at many things, but darts was not one of them. Maybe now that he was back, they could practice that particular skill. After all, hand eye coordination was key to many aspects of the job.

Dov Epstein and Chris Diaz took over the board and Andy and Traci moved to a table already occupied by Gail Peck. The three quickly fell into what appeared to be a deep discussion. Sam was glad to see that the women seemed to be closer friends than when he had left. The fact that Traci had been unshakably in Andy's corner had been one of the things that had gotten her through some tough times. Although, the fact that she had instigated the whole put-Sam-on-ice incident somewhat tarnished his opinion of her.

I heard her talkin' with her friend when she thought nobody else was around / She said she's got to be somebody's baby; she must be somebody's baby / 'Cause when the cars and the signs and the street lights light up the town / She's got to be somebody's baby / She must be somebody's baby / She's got to be somebody's baby / She's so…

Watching her from across the bar now, he recalled the first time he had seen her that way. It was after she had made her first arrest. Which had happened to be him. The incident had long been an affectionate joke between them. At least it was to him. He was proud of her for running him to ground. Literally, as it might have been. It was what had made him start to fall for her. 'Okay, enough with the bad puns.' Sam thought to himself. He recalled that his attitude that night had been less than festive, but it didn't interfere with him noticing the way the highlights in her chestnut hair gleamed and the sparkle in her eyes. That was the beginning of the worst six months of his life. He was forced to see her every day, knowing that it wasn't possible for him to tell her about his growing feelings.

She's gonna be somebody's only light / Gonna shine tonight / Yeah, she's gonna be somebody's baby tonight / I try to shut my eyes, but I can't get her out of my sight

It was also the beginning of the best months of his life. He got to be with her every day, and slowly her smile and laugh and…well…everything else about her, brought him back from the dark world of drug cartels and overdose victims; guns and gangs and the harsh realities of life on the streets. She was one of the very few people who could always make him smile. Sam put down his drink and tossed a few bills on the bar. It was time.

I know I'm gonna know her, but I gotta get over my fright / Well, I'm just gonna walk up to her / I'm gonna talk to her tonight

Sam moved toward the table where the rookies were congregated, and saw Andy's smile increase by a few watts as she finally noticed him. She got up from the table and walked toward him without a word to her friends. They looked confused, but then knowing smiles spread over their faces as they saw the object of her focus.

Yeah, she's gonna be somebody's only light / Gonna shine tonight; make her mine tonight / Yeah, she's gonna be somebody's baby tonight

Andy met him halfway and her hands came up to rest on his chest as his arms slid around her waist.

"Hi, baby."