Hey everyone, thanks so much for all of the amazing reviews! I appreciate them all!
===========Rewritten============
He sees the whole thing from across the room. He had been subtly watching Callahan chat her up when he noticed the expression on her face and how she hurried away, leaving Callahan in the dust. That's when he saw what had captured her attention.
He's not sure what they're saying, but he can guess. Andy looks pissed and Tommy looks guilty.
He's known about Tommy's demons for a while- everybody has. It wasn't exactly a well-kept secret, if there even was such a thing at 15.
He briefly considers just staying out of it, but when he sees the look on his rookie's face, he decides he needs to intervene.
"Hey Tommy," Sam says as he strolls up to him, pretending to be oblivious to everything that's going on between him and his daughter. He doesn't miss the expression on Andy's face- the look of pure mortification. She seems like she just wants to disappear.
"Hey Swarek," Tommy greets him. "I heard you were training my little girl," he says with a smile as he pats Andy on the shoulder, which seems to only piss her off more. He's obviously drunk. He's slurring his words more than enough to be noticeable.
"Yep. Quite the handful you've got there," Sam retorts with a small smile as he steales a glance at Andy. He shoots her a look, trying to convey that he's got her back and he'll take care of this. And it seems like maybe she understands because her shoulders start to relax a bit.
"Don't I know it," Tommy replies with a grin.
"Listen Tommy, why don't I give you a ride home, okay?" He asks, lowering his voice so their conversation is not overheard.
"No, no, no… that's really not necessary," he insists.
"It's no problem. It'll give us a chance to catch up. Come on. Let's go," he says, gently tugging Tommy along with him, letting him know that he really doesn't have a choice. He keeps a smile on his face and makes sure it looks friendly to everyone else in the area, but he thinks Tommy's gets the picture because he stops fighting and goes willingly. Andy is still standing there, though. She's a bit stunned and she has no idea if she's supposed to follow them or just stay where she is.
"Come on, McNally. You need a ride?" Sam calls over to her, when he notices that she isn't following.
"Uh yeah," she nods and runs after them. "Thanks."
The car ride home is uncomfortable and quiet… really quiet. Andy is in the passenger seat, nervously drumming her fingers on her thighs while Tommy is already passed out in the back. For most of the ride, the only words exchanged between the two of them are directional as Andy guides Sam to Tommy's apartment.
"You really didn't have to do this," Andy eventually says.
"It's no big deal, Andy," he tells her. And the tone of his voice actually convinces her that maybe he really doesn't mind. Still, this is not the way she wanted the night to go.
"Well… thank you," she says with a nod before she continues to drum against her legs. "I just can't believe he did that… in front of everybody," she mentions.
"Can't get him to work a program?" Sam asks.
"No… you know my Dad… too proud," she replies with a shrug.
He nods in understanding.
"It's right up here," she says, pointing out the window. Sam pulls up in front of Tommy's apartment complex and turns off the car.
"I've got it," Andy insists when Sam goes to open his door.
"Really? You're going to carry him up a couple flights of stairs all by yourself?" He asks, incredulously.
She lets out a heavy sigh when she realizes that he's right. It's not like she's never done it before, but yeah- it was really hard. "Thanks," she tells him.
The two of them work together to get Tommy to his apartment. When Andy unlocks the door, he sees that look again. She's mortified. When he looks around her and into Tommy's apartment, he knows why.
The place is trashed. There are empty liquor bottles and beer cans everywhere. Dishes are piling up in the sink and the trash hasn't been taken out in far too long. The entire place smells like stale beer and some kind of rotting food.
"God. I just cleaned this place last week," she exclaims as she takes a step inside. He really hates the tone of her voice. It sounds hurt, defeated, broken- nothing like the way she typically sounds.
Sam puts a hand on her shoulder and squeezes it gently before he helps Tommy onto the couch. He picks up some stray newspapers and an empty bottle of whiskey that are lying on the cushions and then helps Tommy lie down. Andy comes up beside him, takes the bottle and newspaper and goes to the kitchen in search of a garbage bag. When she returns, she sees Sam untying her father's boots and slipping them off his feet.
"You've done this before," she observes.
He glances over at her and shrugs. "Once or twice," he replies. But the tone of his voice tells her that it was actually way more than once or twice. And that's when she wonders if maybe they have more in common than she thought.
She nods in understanding and continues to pick up stray bottles and cans that are scattered around the apartment. Moments later, Sam walks into the kitchen and finds his own trash bag.
"Sam, you don't have to do that," she insists, when she sees him start to pick up empty beer cans that are littering the kitchen counters.
"Oh, so you just want me to sit here and watch you?" He asks with a raised eye brow. He knows that she's about to open her mouth and argue, so he holds his hand up to stop her. "Andy, it's no big deal… seriously," he says, shooting her a look that says she's not winning this argument.
"Thank you," she tells him, not for the first time tonight. They spend the next twenty minutes cleaning her father's apartment. She cleans the rotting take out from the fridge and he pours the remaining liquor bottles down the sink. He takes out the trash and she does the dishes. She throws his dirty clothes in the hamper and he wipes up the grime that's accumulated on the tables and counters.
And Tommy sleeps through the whole thing.
Once the apartment looks somewhat inhabitable, he finds her standing in the family room just staring at her father.
"You okay?" He asks, running his hand up and down her back.
She shrugs. "Can we just get out of here?" She asks.
"Yeah," he nods, before leading her out of her father's apartment.
===========Rewritten===========
"Wanna come up?" She asks, when he pulls up in front of her place.
"Sure," he agrees, figuring that maybe she wants someone to talk to about everything that's happened tonight.
Once they get into her apartment, she tosses her keys on the kitchen table and collapses on the couch. He sits down beside her and puts his hand on her knee, trying to soothe her a bit.
"You wanna talk about it?" He asks.
"Not really," she says, shaking her head.
"Andy…" he begins, in a tone that says he disagrees with her decision.
"Sam, I just… I just need a distraction right now, okay?" she asks, peering up at him through her eyelashes.
He stares at her for a second, trying to read her eyes, before he eventually lets out a sigh. "Yeah. Okay," he says with a nod.
She mimics his movement and nods her head as well, as if to silently thank him for not pushing the issue. Their eyes lock and she slowly turns and lifts her leg over his lap so she's straddling him. His hands immediately start running up and down her sides while hers link around his neck.
"Thanks for… everything today," she tells him when their faces are only inches apart.
"Andy, stop thanking me," he begs. "It's really not a big deal. We're partners and partners always back each other up, right?" he asks.
She nods. "Still. Thank you," she tells him before she leans in for a kiss.
She's start off a little desperate. She's erratic and moving too fast. She's all over the place- like she's acting before her brain even has a chance to process. He knows she's just trying to forget- just trying to get lost in him. And he's happy to do that for her, but he senses her desperation in every movement and he hates that she's feeling like this.
He just wants to slow her down, make her relax a little. He sneaks his hand up her shirt and starts to slowly run his hand up and down her back, hoping to soothe her a little. It's when he starts to massage her neck with his other hand that he her feels her calm down a little.
That's when she pulls away to look at him. He really hates what he sees in her eyes. She looks upset and unsure and nothing at all like her normal self.
"You okay?" He asks, as he pushes the hair out of her face.
She lets out a giant sigh and rests her forehead on his shoulder. His fingers run through her hair as he waits for her to speak.
"I just don't know what to do about him… He completely humiliates me in front of everyone and I'm the one saying sorry, it's pathetic," she confesses.
"Hey, you're not pathetic," he says as he tugs on her arm so she'll look at him. "Your dad is an addict and addiction… it just… it takes ahold of you and turns you into someone else. It makes you hurt and manipulate the people you love just so you can just keep doing what you're doing… Addicts… they know exactly what to say to make you feel like you're the one doing something wrong. They'll say anything not to stop. And you're dad knows that making you feel guilty is how to get you off his back," he explains.
She watches him for a minute, to the point that he starts to feel a little uncomfortable. He can't exactly read the expression in her eyes, but it's like she's searching for something.
"You seem to know a lot about this," she observes.
He nods. "Yeah, I do," he confirms.
She waits for him to continue, and a part of him just wants to start distracting her with kisses, but he sees the look on her face and he knows she needs this.
"My mom… she's struggled with drugs for a long time," he informs her. "She had a rough life and drugs were… are… her escape," he explains. "I was doing exactly what you're doing for years… I was always coming to her rescue because she's my mother and I love her and… I just couldn't stop thinking about what would happen if I didn't, you know? But eventually, I realized that I was only enabling her. The fact that she could always come to me- that I would always bail her out… it meant that she was never facing the consequences of her actions and until she did, she was never going to stop using," he continues. "The hardest thing I ever did was tell her that I couldn't do it anymore. I felt like the worst person in the world, but I knew it was for her own good… and mine," he confesses.
She nods and bites down on her lip a little bit. "Has she ever tried getting clean?" She asks.
"Yeah. I put her in rehab a few times and once she was clean for about eight months, but she hasn't tried in a while," he tells her.
"Do you think that's what I should do with my Dad?" she wonders.
"Andy, you have to do what's right for you," he replies. "I just don't like seeing you like this," he admits.
"I don't like feeling like this," she agrees. "I just worry that if I cut him out of my life, he'll spiral and end up in a ditch somewhere," she confesses.
"I know," he nods. God knows he had the exact same fears with his mother. He's had countless sleepless nights thinking about it. "But whatever you decide, the way he reacts is his choice. Even if he does spiral, it's not your fault," Sam tells her, adamantly.
"Yeah," she says with a nod.
A moment later, she's pulling him in for a kiss. It's a lot slower than before, but it's even more passionate. Things heat up quickly and soon he is carrying her off to her bedroom.
And yeah, this time, they're both getting lost in each other.
===========Rewritten===========
I hope you guys liked this chapter. Since we never really got the story about Sam's mom, except for that "she's somewhere warm," (whatever that means), I figured it was okay to create my own backstory. I think it makes sense and I wanted it to be a way for Sam and Andy to bond.
Hope you enjoyed! Please review!