Are you out of your mind? Why would you even go near Sam Swarek tonight?

Andy wished to God she had an intelligent answer to offer her inquisitive mind; but all she could come up with was that it hurt to see him looking so alone. Because even surrounded by a roomful of loud cops only made louder by the copious amounts of liquor they ingested, that was exactly how Sam looked: like a lone island.

Like the night you walked out on him after the blackout.

Andy barely resisted the urge to groan at the reminder. That night hadn't been her most glorious moment to say the least; and she was still paying in spades for it.

Sure, Luke had forgiven her – even if he didn't seem to trust her as implicitly as he had before the incident – but she on the other hand hadn't managed to forgive herself. It was difficult to accept that she'd become the kind of person who'd discard thoughts of a loved one in favor of a few moments of stolen passion with a near perfect stranger… a perfectly fine stranger.

Except Sam Swarek had never felt like a total stranger to her, far from it. She'd recognized him on some level – not at first, when she'd suspected him of being a murderous drug dealer… but later at the Penny, she'd caught a glimpse of something. Something that reminded her of herself. It was crazy really because she was as different from Swarek as night was from day.

He tended to be dark and brooding whereas she tried to be cheerful. He was the maverick type while she preferred to play it by the book. But at times, he'd go and do something that would totally change the way she viewed him. Like coming to her after the shooting with words of comfort, or admitting he'd become a cop to protect his older sister.

The man was a mystery and for some reason she couldn't fathom, she couldn't seem to get enough of him. She didn't want to be intrigued by him but she was; and what was even worse was that she'd started to care, against her better judgment.

"Did you want something McNally?"

Andy sighed. There was that note of impatience in his voice that always seemed to be there when he addressed her in front of others. Maybe coming to him hadn't been such a good idea after all.

No, you think?

"I just wanted to thank you… you know, for talking to Luke."

Sam looked at her without saying a word, as though daring her to say more in front of Officer Williams. Andy felt some of her bravado leave her. "Anyway, that was a very nice thing to do… buddy." Her attempt at levity fell flat and she just stood there wishing she'd resisted the urge to talk to him – or that she could shake him out of his composure.

Sam shrugged and smiled but Andy noticed it never reached his eyes. "That's what pals do. He'd have come around on his own, I just sped up the process some." He pulled a few bills from his wallet and threw them on the bar. "You have a good night McNally," he added before downing the last of his beer and getting up. "Noelle, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Both women watched him make his way across the bar, exchanging a few words with friends as he passed them. Finally, he reached the door and exited without a backward glance. Andy couldn't tear her eyes from the empty space he'd just vacated even when she felt the weight of Noelle Williams' curious stare on her.

"Apparently this runs both ways," she thought she heard Noelle say before she crossed the room to join Officers Shaw and Best.

Andy shook herself and rejoined Luke at the other end of the bar. While he didn't look too happy about her interaction with Sam, he still remained calm and simply wrapped his arm around her waist. "Are you ready to go?"

"I'm all yours," Andy replied softly and while in her hearts of hearts she knew this to be true, a small rebellious part of her still clamored for Sam Swarek…