Author's Note: Thank you for reviewing the last chapter or any other chapters. I checked my emails today to see that I had six or seven new review and I hadn't even posted anything, so thank you. Reviews are always fun to read. Sorry, took me longer than usual to write. I really couldn't think of anything to write about. This is what you get though. I don't really know if I like it, but I hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue. I do own this story though.
Andy had just changed into her uniform and was now heading out the door. She walked out of the locker room braiding her ponytail, not exactly paying too much attention to where she was going, when she bumped into Gail. "Distracted much?" She finished off her hair, tossing the end around her shoulder so it rested on her back, "Sorry, I'm just running a little later than I was hoping." Gail smirked at her, folding her arms in front of her chest, "Yeah, and why is that?" Andy understood what she was hinting at and shook her head, walking past her into the equipment room, "I actually had breakfast this morning. Not just coffee." Gail followed her into the room, "Yeah did someone make it for you?" Andy glared over at her, "Yeah…Me." Gail stepped closer, "I know you and Swarek are back together, you don't have to deny it." The corners of Andy's mouth slightly turned upward at the mention of his name. "We aren't back together, but we're working at it. How'd you know anyways?" Gail raised her eyebrows in disbelief, "We're talking about Swarek. When he's happy, it's big news. He was terrible to work with after you guys broke up." Gail chuckled , changing her voice to sound more dramatic, "You make him a better mam…for everyone." She gave Andy a wink and proceeded back out the door.
Andy walked into the parade room, on time, and took a seat next to Dov. Best walked in not too long after her and proceeded to the front to illustrate the main focuses for that day. "Assignments, Epstein and Diaz, Peck, you're with the D's today, Collins and Shaw, Swarek and McNally. Serve, protect, and watch your partners back. Let's go." Andy couldn't help the smile that had taken over her face. She glanced back at Sam to see a smile of his own, complete with dimples. Andy walked past him, heading to retrieve some coffee for each of them, as he finished up a conversation with Oliver. As she was placing a lid on the second cup, Sam came to stand beside her. He gladly took the coffee she had prepared him with a 'thank you'. Heading out to the cruiser, they heard Frank's voice across the room, "Swarek, a word?" They both spun to look at him, "Yes, sir." Sam turned towards Andy with a confused look on his face, "Umm…I'll meet you in the cruiser." Handing her the keys he turned and went in the direction of Frank's office.
She watched as Sam took a seat across from Frank before slowly turning and strolling out to the car. Wondering what Frank could possibly be talking to Sam about, she climbed into the passenger seat and put the keys into the ignition. It was only a few minutes until Sam joined her in the car, but it seemed like it could easily have been hours. He took a seat letting out a big breath and turned to Andy. She looked a little nervous, possibly afraid that he was in trouble. "You know you can drive right? You didn't have to sit over there." Andy turned to study his face, he didn't look like he had just been called out on anything, but it was Sam, not the easiest person to read. "I know you like to drive. I'm fine right here….So, is everything alright?" Sam flashed her a smile before answering, "Everything is fine." She focused her eyes on him, "Sam…We agreed that we were going to talk more. Don't shut me out again." His face became very serious as he turned his body towards her completely, one arm on the steering wheel and the other leaning against the seat, "Andy, I want to talk about this. I want your opinion. I was just thinking that maybe we could do it later, maybe tonight or something." A smile slowly spread across her face as she nodded, "Yeah, that's probably better."
Patrol was very comfortable. They never had trouble working with each other before, but you would think it might be a little harder to adjust, but they easily fell into their usual routine. The day was going by quickly, with minimal occurrences. Working on the streets together giving them each a new perspective of each other as well as their relationship as a whole. Remembering the mistakes that had separated them in the first place, they found different ways to work professionally together. While Andy became a little more protective over Sam, keeping him from breaking too many rules, he became more open to the way Andy went about things, giving her the chance to lead.
For lunch they agreed on a local deli close by. Sitting in their booth, Andy across from Sam, the silence did not stay for too long, "So we're going to talk later." It was more of a statement than a question, but Sam answered anyways, "Yes. We are. I can give you a ride after work and we can order some food and talk." She smiled at him and nodded in agreement as their food arrived. They ate quickly, not wanting to miss anything important happening on the streets. The rest of shift went swiftly, Sam insisting that Andy drive, stating that she had not taken her chance that morning and she should take it now before he changed his mind. He knew that she always loved the chance to drive, and he figured that she had only taken the passenger's seat because she was afraid he had gotten into trouble with Best, but after he offered she had no problem accepting.
Back at the station they parted and went their separate ways to change into their normal attire. Sam finished first and took his usual spot, resting against the wall outside of the women's locker room. Andy strode out after a couple minutes, glancing at him but keeping her speed. Sam pushed off the wall as soon as he saw her and fell into step alongside her. They made it to the truck, both chucking their bags into the backseat before fastening their seatbelts. Starting the truck, he to Andy. She looked petrified. Her hands were in fists in her lap, back straight as a board, and face pale as the moon staring directly ahead. Sam couldn't help but chuckle at her horrified state. He had said everything was fine, obviously she didn't believe him. "Andy, everything is fine. I'm serious. I can tell you now or…" She immediately shook her head; she didn't want to still be sitting at the station when she heard whatever he was going to say. If it was bad, she might not be capable of keeping herself in the car, she was known to run, run away from Sam or even run to Frank to give him a piece of her mind. She didn't want the risk of either of those happening. "Okay, your place or mine?" Sam studied her, trying to figure out exactly what could be running through her head. "I don't care." She continued to stare out the windshield, not bothering to even glance at him.
Ten minutes later, they were pulling into his garage. If they were going to do the talking thing, he needed a comfortable environment, although he felt comfortable at Andy's place as well. Maybe they should have gone there; she might need more comfort than him. He opened her door, looking up at her, and gently placed a hand on her arm. She hadn't moved from her petrified position throughout the ride. She whipped her head to look at him as his hand came to rest on her arm, "You need to calm down McNally. You're freaking me out." She nodded, taking his hand to help her out. As soon as the house door was open, she was making her way to the couch. Sam shrugged off his jacket and followed suit. He crouched down in front of her, making her look at him, "So should we order some food, or do you want to talk first?" She became defensive at the mention of talking, pulling her legs to her chest and wrapping her arms securely around them. "Talk." The word was barely audible, but Sam nodded with an understanding smile, he wasn't too good at the talking aspect of relationships, never was. He sat down on the couch, one leg hanging off so he could face her. Letting out a breath he rushed through the sentence, "Frank wanted to talk to me about becoming a detective." There, it was out there. Just rip the bandage off, right? Andy started to laugh, almost hysterically; Sam looked at her with concern. When she finally calmed down enough to form some words, she uttered between giggles, "Really?...Frank…called you in…because he wants you to be a detective?" She got control of her laughter as Sam nodded in response to her question. She let out an extremely large sigh, "I was thinking it was something bad, but that's it?" He smiled at her relief and nodded.
"So what do you think?" She looked at him, eyebrows creasing in confusion, "Why are you asking me?" His face turned serious as looked at her, "Because, this is us…talking. Before, I probably would have made a decision and then told you about it, but your opinion matters to me. So I am asking for it." She smiled, turning her body towards him, her legs crossed in front of her on the couch, "Yeah? Why do you want my opinion so much?" He knew she was prodding him; she wanted him to tell her how he feels about her. He looked at her, eyes boring into hers. If he was going to say this he needed to make sure she was listening, "Andy, your opinion means everything to me." She laughed at her own cleverness, "I'm going to remember that for the next time we get in a fight. I'm automatically going to win." Sam couldn't help but laugh too, "I didn't say your opinion is always right." Andy's face suddenly became serious, her head dropping to look at her lap, "That's true." Her voice was laced with guilt. Sam suddenly understood what she was referring to, his hand reached for her calf as he shook his head, "Andy, don't. You're a great cop."
She skipped forward, getting to what she really wanted to understand, she couldn't help it; she needed answers, "Why did you shut me out Sam? Why did you give up on us?...I already forgave you for it, for everything, we just need to work it out still. We need to understand exactly what went wrong the first time. I don't want it to happen again." He nodded in agreement, blowing out a breath before answering. "Andy, I'm sorry. I've never had someone so concerned for me. I mean I have, but you just keep prodding. Everyone else would just back off after a certain point. I just wasn't use to the persistence. It was new to me. Pushing you away was the stupidest…and smartest thing I have ever done." She looked up at him, confusion in her eyes, "Smartest?" He quickly hurried on before she became angry, "There's a quote that says, 'Sometimes two people need to step apart and make a space between, that each might see the other anew, in a glance across a room, or silhouetted against the moon.' I think we needed that space. I needed to see how much you really mean to me and I couldn't do that unless you were no longer mine. I took you for granted before, but now I know how important you are…how much I need you. I never blamed you for Jerry's death. Not for a second. I was thinking the exact same thing that day, going back to the bar was the logical thing to do." His tone was very serious; leaving no doubt that he meant what he said.
She let her hand fall onto his, eyes becoming soft with the overwhelming emotions. "So, do you want to be a detective?" He smiled at the change in subject, calming him slightly, "I'm not sure. I think it would be good for our relationship, not always spending our work days together." Once again her face hardened to a confused expression, edged with anger. "We make a great team, don't get me wrong, but having these feelings for you and then watching you put yourself in danger …constantly…I may seem serious and put together on the outside, but seeing you in those risky situations, I can't help but imagine everything that could go wrong, the things that could happen to you. I don't know if I can handle that stuff again, not that I handled it the first time. That's why I become so protective, I wouldn't be able to control myself if something happened to you while I was standing right there. I was serious when I said I can't be a cop and be with you. I have a hard time staying focused when your there. I resort back to the need protect you, make sure you're safe. I know you'll still be in those situations, but I won't have to be there watching it happen." She smiled at how flustered he was becoming. He needed to let her know how much she meant to him, but he just didn't know how to say it. She smiled and nodded, "I think you would make a great detective. It's your choice though. I'll be right here either way."
He couldn't help the smile that took over his face. Knowing that she wasn't going anywhere made him feel so much lighter. "I think I'm going to do it." She smiled at his decision, giving his hand a gentle, but reassuring squeeze, "I think Jerry would be proud. You're going to be great…Hey this way we can actually talk about what we did at work instead of already knowing." He nodded, "Yeah, now I won't have to worry about some rookie talking my ear off all day, or almost getting killed every day, or tackling me in an alley." She gave him a halfhearted shove, "Hey, you never know, you might hate being a detective. You'll be crawling back to me in no time." He laughed casually, shaking his head, "I think I'll be fine, don't get your hopes up."
Throughout their conversation their bodies had drawn together, Sam's leg coming to rest against Andy's, knees and shins touching, both of their backs arching inward, towards each other, faces inches away. Andy could no longer resist the urge to reach out and touch him, her forearms coming to rest gently on his shoulders, hands finding residence on the back of his head, fingers fiddling with hair. He couldn't let her do all the touching, one hand coming to rest alongside her cheek, thumb gently outlining the edge of her lower lip, the other hand stationed on her waist. She was the first to break the silence, "I didn't know you were much of a quote guy, Swarek." His lips curved into a smile, "There are a few that I like enough to remember." She nodded slightly, watching his lips, "Yeah? You have more stored away?" He chuckled, "Yes, for appropriate situations…You got any quotes McNally?" She smiled, staring into his eyes she repeated, "You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget." He nodded, glancing down to her lips quickly before returning her gaze, "You trying to tell me something?"
He was provoking her; he knew it was working too. She rolled her eyes jokingly before locking them on his, "I love you." The return of the megawatt smile! Sam couldn't contain it. "Well that's convenient, because I'm in love with you." Her smile mirroring the same intensity as Sam's. Her face became serious again, "Good." She leaned in the couple of inches that separated them, stopping a millimeter from Sam's face, taking her eyes from his lips just long enough to glance at his eyes, staring at her lips. His lips parted ever so slightly, his breath brushing across her lips. She effortlessly conquered the millimeter between them, fitting her lips to his. The kiss was chaste, but held more meaning than either one of them could have expected. When they parted, enough space between them that they could look at each other's eyes, Sam couldn't help his body's demands, "So you want some dinner?" Andy couldn't hold in the laugh that escaped, but nodded, suddenly realizing how hungry she was.
Quotes- The first was by Robert Brault, the second, Author Unknown.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading. Sorry if it was too cheesy for your taste, but I love cheese. I thought writing out my idea would be a lot easier than this, but writing about two characters that someone else made up…let's just say I didn't think that part through before. This is hard stuff, I commend all the writers of fanfiction. Thanks again. Please review, comment, criticize…constructively, PM me, don't do anything, whatever you feel like. THANKS!