A/N: Ok, here it is!
It sucks, not having Traci here with her. She finds herself always wanting to talk to her, but unable to for obvious reasons. Traci's been the one she goes to for so long that she's lost without her at first. Eventually, Nick starts to fill the role of more than just her break-up buddy. She can talk to him like she does Traci, and she can depend on him. Nick seems to have gotten past her walls without even trying. The only people to do that have been Traci and Sam.
He's never really had a best friend. The closest he ever came was Gail, mostly because he's a very private person. It was a different friendship with his buddies in Afghanistan. Over there, there were always walls to prevent them from getting too close. Death was always an imminent possibility, and it stopped them from forming too deep of a connection with each other, just in case. At first, Nick takes on that same attitude with Project Dakota, but little by little he realizes Andy has gotten past his walls without even trying. The last person to do that was Gail.
"Keep up, Nicole!" He goads her during their morning run.
She laughs, "I'm only going this slow so you can keep pace, Matt."
They collapse on the grass when their lungs can't take anymore, breathing heavily.
"Have you thought about what's going to happen when we go back?" She asks, turning her head to look at him.
"No," he replies, turning to look at her as well.
"Me neither," she admits.
They lay in silence, staring at each other for a moment more before Andy hoists herself up onto her feet in one swift movement. "Race you."
She doesn't mean to shut Traci out as much as she does when she gets back, but she's grown used to depending on Nick. It's a reflex to go to him now, and it's taking one hell of an effort to break that habit. She knows that their closeness bothers Gail, too, even though she's made it clear they're just friends.
He doesn't mean to intrude on Traci's territory when they get back, but he's grown used to Andy being there. He's developed a habit of going to her to talk, and he knows it bothers Traci more than she lets on. He tries to back off, but so far he's been unsuccessful. Over the past months, Andy McNally has become his first ever best friend. He knows it bothers Gail as well, but she knows they're just friends. Besides, they have far bigger problems to sort out than his friendship with Andy.
They find themselves outside the Penny every night before they leave, just to talk. By this point, the sight of them alone together doesn't draw raised eyebrows. People have gotten used to the sight of them together. Well, except for Sam. He looks studiously away whenever he sees them. She forces herself not to when she sees him with Marlo.
"Gail's letting me take her to dinner tomorrow night," he tells her, looking at the ground.
"That's great!" She responds enthusiastically. When she realizes he's not smiling, she frowns, "That's what you wanted, wasn't it?"
He nods, raising his eyes to meet hers.
She understands immediately as she sees the uncertainty there. "It's going to be fine. You guys love each other. Just relax and remember that. Don't overthink it."
He grins, "No, I'll leave that to you."
She laughs, shoving him into the railing of the stairs they're sitting on. She turns her head and sees Sam and Marlo leaving the bar. The sound of her laughter draws Sam's eye and she looks just long enough to be considered too long, drawing the attention of Marlo and Nick. Andy doesn't see Nick shoot Swarek a rather intimidating look as he leans around her, but she does see Marlo's eyes registering who Sam is staring at. She looks back at Nick.
"For what it's worth, I think he's still in love with you, Andy," he tells her after the two have left.
"Well he sure wasted no time moving on. And that isn't what a break-up buddy is supposed to say."
Nick's dinner with Gail goes better than he could have hoped.
"You know we can't go back, right?" She asks, looking up at him through her eyelashes outside her front door.
He nods, "But we can move forward. I'm going to be here every step of the way."
She smiles softly and leans up to place her lips on his. He's on cloud nine.
Andy grins when she sees his star struck face the next day. She's happy for him, really. She's glad he was able to work everything out. One of them deserves a happy ending. She's just the tiniest bit jealous, though. She can't help herself. He's happy, but she's not. She berates herself for it, but she can't help it.
"You know he hasn't replaced you, right Trace?" She asks after work that night.
Her friend nods.
"I mean it. I love Nick, but he isn't you."
Traci looks up guiltily, "He was there for you when you needed someone. After Sam-"
"Don't you dare, Traci. You were grieving for Jerry. My disaster of a relationship was the least of your concerns."
They drop the subject, focusing instead on truly catching up, something they haven't had the opportunity to do yet. As Traci tells her about Leo, Andy realizes she's missed her best friend more than she knew. She also realizes that Traci isn't her only best friend anymore. She has two.
Marlo breaks up with Sam. The split is the talk of 15 division, though it's hushed talk because it is Sam Swarek. No one knows why it happened for sure, but the accepted theory is Andy's return. She tries to ignore everything about the situation, but it's harder than it looks. Especially when she's partnered with Marlo.
"So did you guys compare notes?" Nick asks, laughter hinting at his voice as he sits on the bench between her locker and Gail's.
She shoots him a look as she closes her locker.
"You are a terrible friend, Nick," Gail admonishes, smacking him on the top of his head.
"She's right. I don't know why I put up with you," Andy agrees.
He grins cheekily at her, "Because you love me."
She rolls her eyes.
She escapes for her nightly breath of fresh air while Nick is occupied with Gail. She hears the door open after she sits on the stairs and automatically assumes it's Nick, turning to tell him to go back to Gail. He usually doesn't follow her for another ten or fifteen minutes. They haven't shown up at each other's places unceremoniously in a few weeks, but they keep this particular habit.
She freezes when she sees it's Sam. "Sorry, thought you were Nick."
He says nothing, but before she can stop herself, she's standing and following him to the parking lot.
"Sam, wait."
He turns expectantly, and she realizes she really doesn't know what she wants to say.
"I-uh- I'm sorry about you and Cruz," she finally says lamely.
He nods awkwardly, turning to walk away again.
"And I'm sorry… for leaving," she blurts out before she can stop herself. "I was trying not to be the girl who let a guy hold her back, and I'm sorry I hurt you."
"Why are you saying this now?" He asks. It's been a little over a month and a half since her return.
She shrugs. She isn't sure herself. "It's just been… weird and tense. I don't want it to be like that anymore."
"Me neither."
"Good. Then I'll see you around."
He nods, his eyes catching on the opening door before he turns to leave. She looks over her shoulder to see Nick emerging.
"Everything good?" He asks, sitting down on their usual stairs.
She nods. They talk for a few minutes before Gail comes out to retrieve him.
"Does it still bother her? Us being friends?" She asks before he gets up.
He watches Gail glance back at them from where she stands talking to the new rookie and shakes his head. "I don't think so. She knows what we are to each other."
She smiles and he wraps his arms around her in a bear hug before grabbing Gail's hand and leading her to his car.
A/N: Ok, I'm not certain about that ending but I couldn't think of a better way to wrap it up…