Traci led Jerry out into the bar's parking lot, and he was all too eager to follow. He was already imagining scenarios ending with him waking up next to her in his bed again. They got to his car and before he could unlock it she spun around to face him and the look on her face was not saying, "Kiss me now." Apparently my desperate mind jumped the gun a bit he thought bitterly.
"What the heck is wrong with you guys?" Traci all but demanded. She couldn't believe that they had ruined Andy's good day, good mood, and what was supposed to be a good night.
"What do you mean?" Jerry asked incredulously. How could she be asking me that? She would have done the exact same thing if it were Andy.
"I don't know what Oliver and you were over there gossiping with Sam about but whatever it was pissed him off. And then you had Noelle running interference so Andy couldn't even go talk to him."
"Well of course we did, Trace. And don't start giving me hell about it cause you would have done the exact same thing if he did that to her instead of the other way around."
"Did what?" Traci asked, less angry and more confused than before.
"The whole division knows she's moving in with Callaghan. We were barely able to keep it from him this long. Andy really should have told him herself you know." He couldn't believe that Traci hadn't known that her best friend was about to move in with her detective boyfriend before the rest of the division knew. And he knew she saw how Sam felt about Andy; they had talked about it when they were together. So, he couldn't understand how she could be mad at him, actually at them, for protecting a friend.
Her eyes blazed with an angry fire and a heavy sigh escaped her lips. "You must have been misinformed."
"What? No, Callaghan told me he bought a house for him and McNally."
"He did buy a house for them. She just isn't moving in. Well she was, but then the undercover op opened her eyes about Sam. Once she had a few days with Luke, away from the op and Sam, she was sure she couldn't live with Luke, or even date him, when she had such strong feelings for Sam."
"Oh no….." Jerry whispered, barely able to choke out the words. He couldn't believe they had all been so unbelievably wrong.
"Tell him you screwed up," Traci said in her most commanding voice. Jerry tried calling Sam's cell, but he wasn't picking up. It figured that that would be the case considering the way Jerry had spent the whole night trying to engage him while he needed his space. So Jerry settled for a text to Sam, Oliver, and Noelle. Disregard.
They waited 15 minutes but no one responded, and Jerry said he had no idea where Sam would have gone. So Traci decided to leave. She turned and started walking away.
"Where are you going?" Jerry asked, shocked that she would just walk away without even talking to him.
"Home," Traci said flatly. She wanted to talk to Jerry but not tonight. Tonight she had Leo, and she was mad at Jerry. Tonight their talk wouldn't go well.
"But what about us?" he couldn't help but ask. He missed her too much not to try, and it had really felt like she was open to giving them another chance earlier.
"We can talk another night, Jer. I have Leo, and I need to get home to him." Traci sighed and smiled a sad, soft smile. Jerry just nodded and stared as she walked away.
Meanwhile, Dov and Oliver sat in relative silence watching the hockey game only speaking when a good or bad play was made. Oliver was lost in thoughts of Sam and what he must be doing tonight. He kept looking down at his cell phone on the bar wanting to be sure he was there if Sam should call but also considering calling him to check in. It was then that Dov decided to try another tactic.
"So, it seemed like Sam was upset tonight…." Dov let the statement hang in the air.
Oliver sighed and said, "Yeah. He was upset alright." The statement made him frown. He hated seeing his buddy hurt. He remembered what a broken heart felt like from the many he had had and caused before he met Zoe. Sam had been there for him through a lot of that. In all the years he had known Sam he hadn't seen him this invested in someone. Andy sure had done a number on him.
"What was bothering him?" Dov asked, maybe a little too excitedly.
"Doesn't matter," Oliver replied, wanting away from the inquisitive rookie. He had already began to drink a little faster in the hopes of escaping the bar and thus Dov.
"It seemed like it mattered to him and you and Jerry and even Noelle," Dov mused only half under his breath.
"We just don't like seeing our friends hurt," Oliver replied as he set his drink down and reached into his wallet. As the bills hit the bar top, the surprise at Oliver's quick departure hit Dov's face.
"Night," Oliver stated as he walked away.
Sam's phone vibrated in the cup holder of his truck. He glanced over at it surprised he had even heard the noise over the classic rock music he had blaring through his speakers as he drove. It was Jerry. Probably calling to check up on me or to try to get me to go hang out, Sam thought. He wasn't in the mood. So he ignored the call. That's when the text message came in. He knew it was Jerry probably saying what he would of said on the phone, so he didn't even bother to look. He did, however, look up at the clock on his center console. Wow! 0130 already…. Damn I've been driving for at least two hours. I should go home. Get some rest before shift, he thought. But then he noticed that his supposedly mindless driving had led him right to Andy's street. He was just drunk enough to think that maybe it would be a good idea to go tell her how he felt, as a last ditch attempt to win her over. He parked in front of her building and got out and walked to the door. But then he stopped. What would she think of me standing here at 0130 the night before we have to work drunk. She might not even let me in. He slowly walked back to the car and slid into the driver's seat looking longingly at her window. What if she doesn't even want to talk to me. Hell she didn't tell me she was moving in with him in the first place. I thought we were closer than that. Hell for all I know she has already moved in with him.
He knew he needed to get away from here, from her. But he couldn't go home and be alone. He couldn't call Oliver. He had Zoe and the kids to go home to. He couldn't call Jerry. He didn't want to talk about Andy. He couldn't call Noelle. She would be asleep. His sister didn't even cross his mind. Sarah did not need to deal with his relationship, or lack thereof, issues. So Sam scrolled through his contacts searching for someone who knew nothing about his present state of affairs with Andy. The name he settled on was Monica. She should have just gotten off shift a couple hours ago, and she wasn't invested in the whole him and Andy thing. It would be easy to blow off around her. So he called.
"Sam?" she answered, shocked and tired.
"What are you doing?" he asked, hoping she had plans he could join in on.
"Well I was asleep…. But what are you doing?" she asked, a little worried about him calling this late, even more so because he sounded upset and slightly drunk.
"Just driving. Just left the Penny," he lied.
"You don't sound like you should be driving, Sam," she scolded. "Want me to come pick you up?" she offered, wondering if that is why he had called.
"Actually, I was wondering if you would let me in." he stated as he parked at her apartment complex.
"Sure….." She hung up and sighed. This was going to be a long and interesting day off.
Meanwhile, Gail and Chris had dropped Andy off at home. She had tried watching TV but the only thing on she was remotely interested in were Lifetime movies, and that was totally not what she should be watching on a night like tonight. Of course she hadn't realized that until there were tears pouring out of her eyes and she actually said his name. That one word slipping off her tongue ended the tears. But she hated the hold he had on her and it had just reminded her of that so the TV had to be turned off. She wondered over to her bookshelf to pick out something to read so she could finally fall asleep, but there was nothing that caught her fancy. So being a McNally she did what she was genetically programmed to do best. She opened a bottle of wine and sat down to drink it.
Of course, the alcohol made her want to get up and do something. So she cleaned. She scrubbed all the bathroom surfaces, mopped, vacuumed, swept, cleaned windows, washed dishes and clothes, even dusted all the hard to reach nooks and crannies of her apartment. When she looked at the clock it was 0300. She only had four hours before she had to wake up and get ready for work. So she trudged down the hallway and crawled into bed.
