Wow! It's been a while hasn't it. I'm feeling a little rusty but we'll see how this goes. This takes place some time in the not so distant future.
Thank you to slm37 for casting an eye over this and for her unwavering support.
I dedicate this to anyone that I might know who just might be having a birthday today, but I do hope everyone enjoys.
As always, I unfortunately do not own anything Rookie Blue - well besides shirts, a bookmark, cards, some autographed pictures... where was I? Right... the characters aren't mine.
...
They're a few blocks out from the station when the call comes in. Andy checks her watch for the time and it's coming up on eleven. This isn't the first time they've been called out there of course, but she's pretty sure that tonight it's not the typical teenage pranksters they usually see. It's too much of a coincidence.
She is a little surprised that it's this late though.
She saw the two of them at supper, if you can call wings at The Penny supper. But Oliver does. Although these days he hits a few more of the food groups outside of his usual grease and barley. It's a little more balanced. He has the carrots and well, Celery. It looks good on him.
Andy nods at her rookie to let dispatch know they're on it but then swings around and heads back to the barn. She waves off the question but the furrow in her rookie's brow stays the entire trip back. He balks hard when she drops him off in front and tells him to get started on their paperwork, check on those two perps they just dropped in booking not fifteen minutes ago. He doesn't have to remind her that he's supposed to have her back… ALWAYS.
She learned that from the best… he did too.
She assures him that everything will be fine. She'll be okay and so will he.
She's got this one.
…
She pulls up at the address and digs a bigger flashlight out of the trunk. She doesn't really need it to find her way; she's almost one hundred percent sure she knows the exact direction she's going. Just needs to follow the 'disturbance'.
But there's not much light outside the parking area and she's pretty sure she'll need all the help she can get navigating them back out.
She takes the keys and locks the door, chuckles a little to herself as the familiar voices echo across the 'empty' grounds. This should be… interesting.
It takes her a few minutes to find her way through the dark, memory not serving her quite as well when she can't see the familiar markers. She can still hear them though, knows she's definitely on the same path.
"… such a baby about it."
With about twenty feet left, she shines the light up and two sets of hands fly out to protect their eyes, scowls quickly replaced by knowing grins.
"McNally."
She's pretty sure he's aiming for more of a drawl but his voice hits closer to the edge of a slur as he sidles up beside her. "Did we ever tell you about the time that Jerry lost his facial hair in a poker game?"
Andy grins big. She isn't privy to this side of him very often; the man generally knows and abides by his limits. But today, today is the exception - which is why, when he pulls her in close, his wandering hands are also given a little more leeway in their mixed company. "No, but Traci did." She wiggles her eyebrows a little, leans into his hand. "Turns out she really liked the way the clean shave…" She stutters a little, censors her answer at the look of utter horror she receives from both sets of bleary eyes, hands shooting up to cover their ears this time. "Looked?"
"Geez, McNally, does this seem like girls' night to you?" Sam groans, "That's my partner you're talking about."
"Yeah, McNally," his equally inebriated partner-in-crime echoes. "Haven't we taught you anything about boundaries here?"
Andy rolls her eyes but it leans more on the side of fondness than aggravation. "You can't tell me you guys don't talk about…"
"No. No. No," Oliver interjects; hands pushing further against his ears as he leans back against the cold granite. "I prefer to remain in blissful ignorance thank you very much. The less I know about the…" he waves his hands haphazardly between Sam & Andy, "extra-curriculars, the better."
Andy can't resist. She leans in a little closer to Sam, uses her hand to slide his face over to hers before planting a big, smacking kiss on the smirk he's got going. Her other hand starts sliding down his back but she has eyes only for Oliver.
"You suck," Oliver laments, turning his head before he gets a sneak peek at their 'after school' specials.
Andy just grins, chuckles at the frown Sam gives her when her hand stops its descent. "Well apparently the two of you suck at being quiet so..."
"Yeah, well, some memories just need to be loud," Oliver decides. "Isn't that right brother?"
Andy isn't sure which of his two best friends he's commiserating with at the moment and her smile turns more melancholy. Jerry died echoes through her mind as sure as if Sam just repeated the words himself. But when she ventures a look up at him his mouth is closed as are his eyes, no doubt lost in a memory of his own. She pulls him in just a little bit tighter.
"Yes, they do," Andy nods, conceding, her voice barely above a whisper.
In the distance, she sees a light go on outside the maintenance building. She clears her throat. "Unfortunately the caretaker isn't quite as agreeable as I am so I think it's time to move this party indoors."
She looks between the two of them both sporting light jackets and she rubs her gloved hand up and down Sam's back. "Aren't you cold? How long has it been?"
Oliver shivers a little in response. The alcohol is starting to wear off and he doesn't have the benefit of Andy's body heat like Sam does right now. He's starting to feel the effects of the frigid ground beneath his legs and the remembrance of their friend cold and hard against his back. "It's been too long, McNally. But it still feels like..." He shakes his head a little, swallows whatever is stuck in his throat and stands the rest of the way up.
Andy's hand takes one more trip down Sam's back before she nudges him with her shoulder towards his friends. "I'm just gonna…" she waves her hand back at the road and takes a few tentative steps in that direction.
She glances back after a handful of paces, a few words are falling from each of their lips but she's too far away to hear. The words aren't for her anyway; this is their day. She watches as they both run an affectionate hand along the top of the stone before following in the path she lights for them.
She blinks at the tears prickling at the back of her eyes, willing them away before the gap closes completely between them.
The walk back to her squad is quiet, reflective.
When Sam opens the back door prepared to crawl in, he's surprised to find that the entire vehicle is empty.
He spins on his heel. "You're riding solo?" The question is obviously for Andy but the scowl is unmistakeably aimed at his friend.
The look he gets back from Oliver is a cross between amusement (Do I look like I could be trusted with any type of responsibility right now?) and aspersion (How the hell is it my fault when I'm not even there?)
Andy considers waiting for the stare down to end, but gives up quickly, pushing Sam towards the passenger side as she explains that she dropped her rookie off at the barn. "I didn't think he needed to see his Staff Sargeant and one of Fifteen's Finest Detectives sowing their wild oats."
She isn't sure which seat the scoff comes from, but it's Sam who retorts. "No wild oats, McNally. I'm perfectly…"
"Probably shouldn't have had as much of that Wild Turkey Angus wanted us to try though," Oliver intercedes.
Andy takes a quick glance at Sam before she puts the car in gear. She's kind of wishing Oliver had let him finish his thought, but he's looking out the window now and the moment is gone.
She glances out her own side, takes a quick check both ways and then swings out of the parking lot. "So where are you two not-so-wild gentlemen headed then?"
Oliver wags a finger up at Andy through the screen. "Oh, I wouldn't go that far McNally. There's still a few good years left in us. Isn't that right, Sammy?"
God willing, Sam thinks; a wistful glance over Oliver's shoulder before it hones in on his friend.
"You want us to drop you off at home?"
"What? No!" Oliver sounds affronted. "I've got a few more good hours left in me too."
With the way he's slouched down in the back of the car, Andy is a little doubtful. But his eyes are wide and rebellious. "Now, tell me more about these wild oats that you speak of."
Sam shakes his head and turns to face the front. My place, he mouths to Andy before lifting his watch up. He has to use his other hand to hold it steady but quickly realizes that it's his eyes and not his hands that are causing him the problem. "How much longer in your shift?"
She punches a button on the computer and checks the time. "Only an hour," she tells him. "I can have Dov bring me by the Penny to pick up your truck. I'm sure he won't mind following me and dropping me off at home after we've…"
Sam's head is shaking before she even finishes her thought. "You don't have to do that," he insists. "I don't want you to go out of your way and…"
She reaches a hand across the console. "Hey, it's not a problem. Okay?" She wants to do this for him; likes that there's something she can do for him.
"Yeah, but that's an extra fifteen, twenty minutes out of your way, and I'm sure you're tired so…"
She's pretty sure this has less to do with her being tired and more to do with him feeling guilty. She still has her condo, but she practically lives at Sam's. They've even had a few discussions about selling her place. And they've long since gotten past the arm's length they used to keep each other at. But no doubt he's worried about how she's feeling, like maybe she might think he's pulling back from her, shutting her out… again.
"It's okay, Sam," she assures him with a quick squeeze of his arm.
"It's just…." He gestures between Oliver and himself, trying to let her know without offending his brother that there is kind of an understanding that today it's just the boys. He closes his eyes and huffs out a breath of frustration, mostly at himself for not doing this right. "At least take the truck home, okay?" He digs into his jacket pocket in search of his keys.
"I get it, okay? It's all good. You boys have fun." She pulls over to the curb, pushes the keys back into his hand and gestures up towards his house. "You're gonna need those to get in and I have mine in my locker." She kisses Sam on the cheek and tells them both to enjoy the rest of their night.
A quick kiss isn't gonna tide him over though so Sam pulls her back in and kisses her softly on the lips, once, twice, three times before imploring her to stay safe. He waits for her nod before he opens the door and climbs out.
He lets Oliver out of the back seat but his friend doesn't follow him up the walk. Instead he steps back around to the driver's side and motions for Andy to roll down the window; he pokes his head in and kisses her on the cheek. "You're one of the good ones McNally."
Her eyes drop down before she looks back up at him; a slight blush colors her cheeks. "Yeah, well. Someone's gotta keep you two out of trouble."
Oliver nods, knows it's not trouble that's on any of their minds today. "You just worry about yourself now, okay? We're good. We got each other's back."
He, too, waits for her nod before turning and following Sam up the walk.
…
Andy finally leaves the barn a couple hours later.
Her rookie gets himself so worked up over her leaving without him that he botches the paperwork for three out of the four calls they took that night. She thinks about fixing it next shift but Dov is running behind too so she figures she might as well get it done, start fresh tomorrow.
She sends the rookie home though. His questions about where she was and why there isn't any report are giving her a headache. And when he tries to get his hands on her notebook, that's the last straw.
She's exhausted when she eventually makes it home. She starts stripping off her clothes as soon as she locks the door behind her, ready to crawl into bed as soon as she brushes her teeth. As she tosses everything into the hamper, she's surprised to find that her bed is already occupied.
She's stays as quiet as she can, but he still stirs when she climbs in next to him.
"Hey."
"Hey." She's amazed at how sleepy he sounds; she only left them a couple of hours ago and at that point, it sounded like they were in for a long night, but here he is… "What'd ya do; sneak out the back way and leave Oliver alone with your couch?"
She feels the soft chuckle more than she hears it. "Yeah. He was all talk. I poured us a drink when we got home and he never even touched it. I'm pretty sure he fell asleep as soon as he sat down, but then Izzy called. They talked for a good twenty minutes; she had just gotten home and… anyway, I guess she wanted him to know she made curfew. When he hung up, he announced that it was past midnight; that we did it. We got through the day. And I…"
"And you," Andy slides herself a little closer, kisses him on the lips. It's short and sweet and maybe a little smug. "You wanted me to get you through the night," she guesses.
He's not going to say it though - just the way he looks at her, the way he shakes his head, wrestles against the smile that's tugging at his lips. So she lifts a brow in challenge, which he throws right back at her. "That the best you got, McNally? 'Cause there's a lotta night still left."
And then he kisses her, long and slow. And she can feel just how much this day takes out of him, hopes she can make it better even if just a little.
"Are you okay?" She whispers when he finally eases back onto his own pillow.
He nods. "I am now."
She leans back over him and plants a small chaste kiss against his lips. "Good."
The smile she gets back is soft and genuine and warms her from the inside out. She lays back against her own pillow ready to call it a night, but…
"Thanks, by the way," Sam grumbles, sounding anything but grateful.
She opens her eyes in confusion ready to ask but he's one step ahead of her. "For not deleting The Bachelorette off my PVR." He gives her a side eye. "Oliver insisted on watching it while he sobered up."
Andy chuckles at the idea of the two of them watching The Bachelorette together, but it's then that it really sinks in. Sam was at home. He was on his couch remote in hand. Oliver was heading to his own house. Sam could have easily just crawled into bed and slept the day off. But he didn't. He got in a cab (or at least she assumed he did – maybe even with Oliver) and he came there. She can't help but smile knowing that he wanted to be with her, especially today (even if it was technically over.)
She can hear his breathing even out so she starts to close her eyes, but then she feels him roll over onto his side again. "Did you know that Oliver already had Jerry's bachelor party planned? Not the official one, the suits would have wanted to be at that. No. One for just the four of us… well five if you count Noelle. She'd have to be there. Though I'm not sure if you can call it a bachelor party if there's a woman there too…" His words fade off as he contemplates that for a few seconds, his fingers leaving a soft trail up and down Andy's arm.
Andy smiles; she likes when he gets like this. How sometimes, late at night, under the cover of darkness (and, in this case, with maybe a little liquid encouragement), he gives her a glimpse into his past. Or on rare occasions when she gets a little idea of what he might be thinking about for the future.
Sam shakes himself from thoughts of bachelor party etiquette. "Anyway. He always wanted to go to Atlantic City – Jerry, not Oliver. He wanted to try his luck 'with the big boys', but his first wife would never let him. She was afraid he'd lose more than facial hair. He probably would have," Sam concedes with a shrug. "But we wouldn't have let it get that far," he scoffs, a little affronted, "of course she didn't think any of us could be trusted… well anywhere."
Andy knows Sam and Zoe never really saw eye to eye but she hadn't thought much about Jerry's ex-wife. She never knew a lot about his past, just what Traci shared. She regrets not getting to know him better, especially with how important he was to two of the most important people in her life. "Traci never told me," she admits.
"Hmmm." Sam's hand stops its circuit along her arm. "I'm not sure she knew; I just found out tonight."
"Maybe you guys should go there next year," Andy suggests.
"Nah."
"Why not?"
She turns her head, ready to roll over so they can really talk about this, but again he's one step ahead, already moving to hover over her, playful spark in his eye. "Then I couldn't come home and crawl into bed with you at the end of a long night could I?"
Andy lifts her head so her lips meet his, kisses him once. "Oh, yeah?" Twice. Gives him a little wink for good measure. "Are you sure it's not because there'd be no one there to hold your hand on the airplane?"
Sam scoffs, steals another kiss before rolling onto his back again. "You can get there by car in nine hours tops, eight the way I drive soOOO…" His thought is cut short by a yawn.
That reminds Andy. "Speaking of driving, we're picking up Oliver & Celery for her birthday dinner tomorrow..."
"Maybe we can go for mine," Sam muses, still riding his own train of thought.
He's lost her. "Your birthday?" She HAS actually put some thought into his party, even though it's still months away.
"No, my bachelor party."
She was thinking they could… "Wait. What?"
She's up onto her side in less than a second, eyes wide.
Sam's gaze is trained on the ceiling though so he's oblivious to Andy's open-mouthed shock and he just continues on. "But no suits. I'm not inviting those idiots, only my friends."
"You can invite whoever you want," Andy agrees tentatively. She kind of likes the direction this is going but… is he teasing her?
Sam turns his head and grins. "Thanks, McNally."
Andy smiles big back at him, moves her hand to start tracing random patterns against his chest, figures she'll play along, see just how far he's willing to go here. "But you know Dov would be pretty disappointed if…"
"Epstein can come, Diaz too," he assures her. "Did I tell you he called me an idiot? No wait; it was Callaghan that called me an idiot. Diaz just told me I needed to deal with all my crap. Either way, I should have listened. If I did, we might already be…"
"You're serious." Andy's eyes are narrowed, searching his for any sign of teasing, but she finds none.
"Of course I'm serious," Sam insists, "we wasted so much…"
"About the bachelor party too?" Andy marvels.
Sam chuckles, knows he's caught her a little off guard here. And even though he's completely serious, the opportunity to tease her is too hard to resist. "Well it's sort of a tradition before you get married. I doubt Oliver would let me skip out."
Andy shakes her head, fights back a grin. If he wants to play… "Fine, but no strippers."
He took a lot of flak for it at the academy. And when he was UC, Boyd could never understand how he could 'be around THAT all day and not want to…' but after what happened to his sister… Yeah, Andy doesn't have to worry.
He takes hold of her wandering hand, stills it against his heart, and then catches her eye so she can see just how serious he is. "Like I said McNally, I don't have any wild oats."
She starts to smile and lean in. But then the truth in his eye morphs into something more than a little mischievous. "But now if you were to offer me a roll in the hay…"
Her laugh turns into a yelp of surprise. And then she feels her world land upside...
Right.