A/N: Chapter 1. And so the story starts. Hope you like it =)
Feel free to review =)
Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue or it's characters or anything related to the series in any way, shape or form.
Chapter 1
Early October
"You're an idiot, you know that?"
"What the hell, Swarek?" Blue eyes met brown as Sam barged through the door.
"You need to get your priorities in order." Sam said accusingly pointing at Callaghan.
"What are you talking about?" Callaghan rolled his eyes as he shuffled his papers into a neat pile on his desk.
"She needs you to be there for her. She doesn't need you to be at work."
"Oh, this is about Andy?"
"Well of course it is!" Sam said throwing his hands in the air.
"Just for your information, I am there for her." Luke said, controlled as ever.
"Not from what she tells me." Sam said under his breath, deliberately looking away from Callaghan as he said it.
Callaghan took a deep breath and Sam couldn't help the small grin that crept over his face at Callaghan's frustration.
"So, she talks to you about us?"
Gaining control over his emotions and wiping the grin off his face before he turned back to face Callaghan Sam said "I'm her partner, of course she does."
"So what do you suggest I do? Drop all my cases just because she had a rough shift? If you hadn't noticed I actually work with putting murderers away. It's kind of an important job." The frustration was now evident in Callaghan's voice.
"I'm not saying to put all of 'em away." He rolled his eyes that Callaghan would even have suggested that. "I'm just saying that when there's a case that doesn't require your immediate attention then you give it a rest until the next day. You don't take on a whole bunch of extra work when you know she's waiting for you to come home. You show her that you actually want to be with her." Sam knew his tone was harsh, but he really did not like Callaghan, and due to the fact that he was responsible for her happiness, Sam had to know that she would be taken care of while he was away.
"Where is all this coming from anyway?" Callaghan asked. His tone was more controlled, so it seemed like Sam's point had sunk in.
Sam didn't really want Callaghan to be the first, other than Best, to know, but he thought it best to be honest.
"I'm going away." He said simply.
"You're going away?"
"Yeah."
When Sam just stood there without saying anything else for almost a minute Callaghan felt the need to say something.
"Where are you going?"
"Are you really that…" Sam caught himself. "I'm going back to UC-work."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
There was a short uncomfortable silence.
"When do you leave?"
"I start my two weeks of preparation tomorrow."
"Oh..."
"So you have to be there for her." Sam said sincerely. He needed to know that Andy would be okay. That she would be taken care of.
"I will be." Callaghan said with a small nod.
"Well, good." Sam said uncomfortably. He was not used to sincere talks with Callaghan, and he definitely did not like having them either. "I'm just gonna…" He pointed at the door.
Callaghan gave a small affirming nod and went back to his papers.
Sam stopped half way through the door. "Oh, by the way, only you and Best know."
Callaghan looked up at him again.
"Don't tell anyone today, okay?" Sam hoped he would understand just who he meant by anyone.
"Okay. I won't tell her."
"What were you doing in Callaghan's office?"
Sam's head whipped around to see Oliver Shaw with an expression that was a mix between amusement and worry.
"Nothing." Sam said with more annoyance than necessary.
"Yah, I can see that." Oliver said the amusement part leaving his expression to make room for more worry. "What's up?" He said as he took a bite of his sandwich.
Sam debated telling him he was leaving, but decided against it as Oliver would tell Noelle and Jerry, and Jerry would tell Traci and then Andy would know.
He couldn't bear the thought of going through their last shift together with the prospect of him leaving hanging between them.
"Nothing. I'm fine."
"This about your rookie?" He asked with his mouth full of sandwich.
"She's not my rookie anymore." Sam said dully looking around the precinct.
"So it's about her then." Oliver stated before swallowing. "Ya know? Maybe if you told her..."
"No." The words that left Sam's lips were way harsher than necessary. He looked back over at Oliver who was studying his sandwich apparently in contemplation of whether to take another bite or not. He decided against it and looked back at Sam.
"Okay."
"We better get to parade." Sam said after a short silence and headed off.
"I guess." Oliver said slowly. "Hey, Sam?"
Sam stopped in his tracks en route to the parade room and turned back towards Ollie.
"We'll talk about it later, right? At the Penny tonight?"
Sam gave a small nod, which he knew was a lie. He was going away tonight. Best would inform everyone in the morning so that he wouldn't have to. He was grateful for that. Even though it felt like he was betraying his friends, he needed to focus on the case. He'd been going over the case files every night for weeks now. He had to keep his head in the game. Clear of personal drama.
