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Strike Three. Chapter 10. Tonight's the night.

I don't own Rookie Blue.

It's now almost midnight now.

Dov and Nick had to get, no, they struggled actually, to drag all four girls out of the club, Glow. Each girl refused even more than the last. They eventually did it though. And after the fifteen or so minute drive the group of friends make it back to the parking lot of the Penny.

It's for their surprise.

"So what's this brilliant idea you two have?" Gail questions Dov as she crosses her arms next to Nick.

Dov and Nick spent their time earlier at the Penny, wisely.

Nick pulls keys out of his pocket.

"Whoa really?" Chloe exasperates.

"Yes. Really." Dov encircles her waist.

Nick unlocks the door and opens it up the empty bar.

"Why do we want to be in an empty bar?" Traci steps inside after Dov and Chloe.

"As long as I can get some food I'll be happy." Gail comments as she walks in.

Nick holds up his hand for a high five to Andy.

She doesn't offer her hand back but crosses her arms.

"Oh my gosh!" Gail jumps outside. "Andy! Andy get in here now!"

Gail drags Nick inside by his arms.

"Andy." Nick convinces her too.

Andy sighs and listens to Gail. She walks in to see everyone surrounding something, someone.

I guess karaoke isn't their plan. Andy thinks. Chris is?!

"Chris?!" Andy practically shrieks.

She practically runs into his grabs Andy and hugs her.

"Andy, hey." Chris says into her shoulder.

Finally, something good from this night. Andy warms up in his arms. So Dov and Nick got the Penny closed earlier just so they could use the karaoke machine without having to embarrass themselves in front of their division. But having Chris as the surprise makes it all less weird of them.

"How?" She pulls away. "How are you here?!"

"Timmons isn't that far away." Chris shrugs. "And well-"

"We practically paid him to get here." Dov pats his brother on the chest.

Chris smiles. "Well, yeah."

"It's great to see you." Andy rubs his arm. "Really."

"It's great to see you drunk." Chris smelled her a mile away.

Andy shakes her head. Chris took on the job in Timmons so that he could live with Christian and Denise. He was gone when she came back and only got a phone call from him that next morning she came back. Things haven't felt like normal until now, things haven't felt whole until now. Chris being here now along with Dov and Traci and Gail and Nick makes Andy feel like she's actually home now. Things feel normal, like they were before she and Nick embarked on Dakota. Before when Andy knew she still needed Sam but tried to move on. Before when Andy knew that Sam still needed her, when Sam needed Andy but didn't know it.

"I'm glad your here, regardless of how." She reassures Chris.

Dov and Chloe carry on with figuring out a good song for them to sing.

Chris touches her arm. "How are you?"

Andy wants to shudder at his question but lets that go. "I'm doing pretty well-" she looks over at Nick. "Considering everything-"

"Yeah I heard about your crazy shift." Chris tells her. "Dov and I looked it up online and-"

Andy cuts him off. "Wait, what? You looked what up online?"

"Adrenilene rushes." Chris says seriously.

Andy laughs out loud.

Chris doesn't. "What?"

Andy hugs her stomach. "Alright, Chris." She gets words out somehow. "You go along and sing a song for me."

Chris still doesn't laugh but just smiles at her. "Andy-"

"Chris! Come here!" Chloe calls him.

Andy hugs Chris before he departs for Chloe and starts to walk away.

"Hey, but Andy." He catches her.

"Yeah?"

"Just-" he stops himself.

Andy raises her eyebrows.

"It's good to see you." He chickens out on what he really wants to tell her.

Andy looks over to see Traci's hands up in the air. She starts on her way over to Traci.

"Andy! You're dare! You're the only one who hasn't gone yet!" Chloe excitingly informs her.

Traci grins. "That's right."

"Traci Nash, you're drunk." Andy takes a seat next to her.

"They already told me that… like five minutes ago… where were you?" Traci says.

"Traci, here." Nick hands her a glass of water.

Andy takes in Nick's presence behind the bar.

"Oh so are you a bartender now?" Andy prods.

"What was I before?" Nick asks.

Andy changes the subject. "So what are you serving?"

Nick holds his hands up. "I'm the kind that only serves water."

"Yeah, you're pretty good at that." Andy squints.

Nick raises his eyebrows and opens his mouth to talk.

Gail rolls her eyes at them and scoffs. "So back to your dare."

Gail leans over from the other side of Traci to peer at Andy.

"Don't worry. I'll do it." Andy waves her off.

"Whoa, really? Seriously?" Gail cuts in.

"Yeah, seriously." Andy confirms. "We discussed it, right? And I'm doing it."

"Damn Andy." Gail hits the bar top. "You make Traci look like a wuss."

Traci smacks her arm. "Okay, so, are you two going to tell me the dare yet?"

Nick's eyes go wide and he leans on the bar closest to Andy.

"No." Gail says.

"It's for the best." Andy pats Traci's arm.

The girls ignore Nick. Actually they forget him altogether. He tries to figure out why Gail and Andy are teaming up against Traci. He guesses it's because they have a dare against Chloe and Traci would be the one to talk them out of it.

"So what's your dare?" Nick cuts in.

"No, no, no." Andy pushes him off the bar.

"No boys." Gail points at him.

Nick raises his hands in defense now.

"I know a boy who I'd say yes too." Traci leans on her hand.

"Traci Nash!" Gail and Andy say at the same time.

Nick hides his own laughter.

Andy rolls her eyes at him. "We did it!"

Gail nods. "I didn't think we would-"

"-but we did!" Andy finishes.

"Did what?" Nick asks.

Gail plays with a piece of Traci's hair.

"Got Traci drunk." Andy tells him.

"Traci! Come sing!" Chris shouts over.

Traci turns to face the stage. "Coming!"

Gail walks her up. "Uh McNally, I know what you're thinking." She points at her. "And just remember the bet for not doing your dare."

Andy turns to face Nick. They stare each other down a bit.

"So, would that be a water for you miss?" Nick pulls out a glass.

Andy rolls her eyes. "I don't need to be babied tonight."

He insists. "Drink this."

She grabs the glass of water.

Andy turns around and leans her back on the bar to see her friends laugh together. Nick leans forward on the bar again so he's next to her. He senses her mood shift completely and sits with her for a moment of silence before she conjures up words from her thoughts.

"It's so weird how..." Andy bites her cheek. "Time passed for them even when it felt like it didn't for us."

Nick bows his head down.

"Right?" Andy looks at him. "Things have changed here, I don't know why we, we thought we would come back and just live through things normally again."

"Things changed so much, that we can't live normally anymore, not entirely." Nick says.

Andy agrees.

"I think you only notice time passes when it's, when it passes a certain point. When a person, or people, move on. When things change-"

"-is when you feel time pass." Andy concludes for him.

Nick nods and looks at her too. "It can be for the good too Andy. Not just bad or sad reasons."

"Nick, I don't need to be babied tonight." She tells his eyes.

"Maybe you don't. But it would be nice if I was." Nick states.

Andy understands this. Nick wants her to baby him, to take it easy on him for kissing Gail.

Andy looks away.

"Wow these two always steal the show." She lifts the glass to her lips and sips the water.

Gail and Traci are outshining Chloe and Dov and Chris.

Andy bows her head forward. She remembers the last time she came to a karaoke night. This bar was packed with warmth and friends, laughter, drinks. And yet she gave it up. That night she gave it up and walked away from her normalcy and went to him for the second time. It was the night Sam called her to come back and meet him in his apartment. His under cover, off limits, apartment.

Sam. Andy thinks about him again.

She turns around and sets the glass of water down to make sure she doesn't shatter anymore glass tonight. She has a hold on things now. She has her feelings and emotions under control. Andy's eyes find a spot in the room. But her mind fills with the image of bundles of memories. A time before Nick. Not even just him, but a time before her life got complicated. Not that her life is, but her hearts in a rut. Which for a girl like Andy McNally, that's complicates your life. Her eyes flick up and she again, remembers that night Sam called for her. The night he wanted her. The night he welcomed her lovingly. The night she went to him and they-

"Andy?" Nick repeats himself. "Andy. It-"

"Was just a dare?" Andy finishes.

Nick bows his head.

Andy scoffs. She gets off the stool.

Nick picks his head up. "Andy."

She recalls earlier tonight when they assigned each other's dares.

"Alright, alright." Gail holds her hands up to stop the girl's chatter. "It's obvious what Traci's dare is, so can we please stop talking about my brother?"

Traci finishes applying lotion up her legs and tosses the bottle onto Andy's bed. They're just finishing up changing into more stylish clothes and preparing themselves for tonight's adventures.

Their first destination. The Peck's home.

"Traci your dare is so the easiest!" Chloe chirps from sitting Indian style on Andy's bed.

Andy buttons up her top in front of her bedroom mirror.

"What are you talking about?" Traci asks.

Andy laughs. "Yeah? She's terrified of PDA."

Traci hits Andy. "I wasn't going to say that! I was saying kissing him for the-"

"La, la, la!" Gail covers her ears.

"Alright!" Traci stops.

Andy turns around and laughs at her. "Wait Chloe, you're not changing?"

Chloe shrugs. "I didn't-"

Andy interrupts her. "I have the perfect top for, it's down in my bag."

Chloe tries to stop her.

Andy exits her room and rubs her head. She just needed to get out of there for a minute.

Chloe changes the subject. "Anyways, Gail, I have the perfect dare for you!"

"Whoa, who says the rookie gets to make the dares." Traci crosses her arms.

"Well, I-"

"What is it babe?" Traci laughs out.

Gail covers her ears again. "I don't wanna know mine yet! I'll probably chicken out before hand."

She grabs her red lipstick and goes to find Andy. She walks in the kitchen to find her looking out a window. "Hey Andy."

"Hey..." Andy turns around and hugs herself.

"I think I know what you need to do tonight." Gail tells her.

"Gail, I'm not really concerned with a dare." Andy rubs her neck.

"It's a good one. I promise." Gail walks closer and fills two shot glasses. "I just could say it in front of Traci, because she would so disagree and probaby do everything in her power to change it."

Andy almost chuckles. "Okay, now I'm interested."

Gail hands her a shot. "Just know, that this is your dare."

Andy nods.

"And we have that bet. So if you don't follow through." Gail sarcastically cuts her throat with her finger.

"Have I ever backed out on something?" Andy laughs.

"Well, for this one." Gail raises her shot up. "You just might want to punch me in the gut."

Andy raises her eyebrows.

"You might wanna take that shot before I tell you the dare." Gail informs her.

Andy slowly puts the puzzle together. "You're... kidding."

She can picture almost exactly what's running through Gail's mind.

"Gail, I-"

"It's a harmless dare, and who knows it might help you out a bit." Gail cuts in.

"Gail." Andy can't believe this.

"Hey, you are the one who gets the most accomplished out of the group, right?"

Andy of course agrees.

Gail shakes her head before she downs her own shot.

"Well." Andy lifts her shot. "Why not, right?"

Andy takes a deep breathe and downs hers as well.

"Mind as well put up a fight."

Andy wasn't in the room when Chloe and Traci discussed Gail's dare. She isn't concerned as to why Traci, or even Chloe informed her about it. Why would they? Andy's content that everyone knows she and Nick are nothing more than friends, and that when it comes to... kissing or hooking up, they don't need to confirm anything with her. This incident just reinforces that Nick is her best friend. It reinforces how everyone assumes that they are and that they just act like they are. Andy isn't phased by this, but has the opposite affect.

Andy looks Nick in his eyes. "Hey, I don't give up Collins. I'll fight to the death. And I'll win."

Dov catches her then.

"Hey not too bad huh?" Dov walks up behind Andy.

She turns to him. She didn't even realize she was heading for the door.

She offers a smile. "Yeah, it's great-"

"You're not ditching us for a cooler party?"

Andy shakes her head no. "Oh, of course not, no. I just." She points to the door. "Need some air."

"Not upset that us guys interrupted your girls night?" Dov cuts in.

"Oh no." Andy shakes her head no. "Of course not, for you guys." She shrugs a shoulder. "Anytime, anywhere, it doesn't matter."

Although it never really felt like a girls night to begin with. Andy thinks.

Dov catches Andy's down face.

She perks it up with a question. "Did you really just call him to come over?"

Dov grins. "Yeah, after you girls left the bar earlier, Nick and I got talking and well Liam was there and Chris texted me and asked what's up. And, you see, it all just kind of fell together."

Andy offers a genuine smile. She really has amazing friends.

"Mostly because we saw that you were finally celebrating being back home." Dov admits.

What? Andy thinks.

"Dov… You, you didn't?" Andy lets out a laugh.

"Well, I didn't one hundred percent. I had the idea to get the empty bar and do karaoke, you know because Chloe loves it." Dov motions with his hand. "And so fifty percent of it was Nick. Of it is Nick."

Andy glances back at Nick.

"Yeah, he had the idea to invite Chris, because well, he said you've been down or something and he knows Chris being here, everyone bring together would brighten you up. You and Nick are back home and why not bring Chris home for a night to fully celebrate." Dov astonishes Andy.

"Dov, I-"

"Andy, no." He rubs her arm. "No thanks, we're just glad we can all get together again, like old times." He smiles. "We're just really happy you and Nick made it home safely."

Andy nods. "And in doing that you close the penny at three in the morning to do karaoke?"

Dov laughs. "Well, go big or go home right?"

Andy puts her eyes down. "Yeah-"

"Dov! Come here and sing this song with me!" Chloe calls over to Dov.

Chloe and Chris finish their song and get a round of applause from crowd. The crowd of three that is.

"What are we singing?" Dov asks.

"Thanks again, Dov." Andy tells him. "For some reason this…" She motions to her group of friends. "This helped me realize something."

Dov brings her in for a hug. "Glad I could help."

Why did I walk here? Andy rubs her pounding forehead. I can't believe I'm doing this.

She isn't currently in the best of shape to be walking through a police station. She drank a lot when they were back at her apartment, and even at the club, she didn't let herself have that much. But of course she let herself go a little bit. But by now she's cooled off a bit from it, only a bit. She's still a little woozy in the head. Her minds all over the place. By the time she reaches the doorway, she doesn't care. It's a good thing the night shift is out on the streets, so there is only a minimum amount of action happening in the station now. She tries to not put herself in a situation where she has to talk, she knows well enough she can't hold a conversation. So the station is pretty quiet with only a few lamps on here and there.

She relaxes though, when she sees him, his back actually. He's working intently, still, even at this hour of the night. This makes Andy happy that he loves his job that much, but mostly it worries her that he's here at this hour. Andy knew he would be here and not at his house.

"What are we doing here McNally?" Sam practically sings.

Sam's leaned forward on his desk. He rests his head on his hand and reviews cases and cases an cases. He knows her footsteps, even her drunk ones. He knows when she walks up and is standing behind him in his office doorway. Sam was at the bar earlier and witnessed a glimpse of girls night. Well, not of girls night, but a glimpse of Andy's night. He never downed a glass of whiskey so fast in his life.

Andy doesn't respond. She walks over and picks up a folder from the desk near his. She sits down on top of his desk, right next to the papers he's reading. She leaves the folder on her lap, not knowing what to say.

He still doesn't look up at her. "If your dare is to change Nash's the filing system, I'll be more than glad to help."

Andy giggles. She takes her right hand and rubs the back of his neck that's peering down over the desk. Of course he knows why she's here.

Sam is proud that she made it her safely.

He lifts his head up to look at her, to get her hand off of him. "McNally it's three in the morning, need me-"

"Oh you're gonna drive me home?" Her mood shifts.

Sam looks back down. "Just go do your little dare, change out Peck's shampoo, and get home. Get some sleep." Sam is almost irritated.

His tone rubs off on Andy.

"Never shuts it off." Andy mutters to herself.

Sam holds himself down from responding with an even angrier tone. Andy looks down at him. She sees his embrace fall, his shoulder slump.

"Sam."

He tries to block her out.

Andy grabs his hand from his cheek. He keeps his head face down on his own. Sam tries to tug his hand away thought but she doesn't let him. His eyes stay glued to the words on the paper in front of him.

"McNally... just, just let me work, okay?" Sam asks of her in such a way.

"Sam you're reviewing an old case. And I'm pretty sure you'd rather not be reading that one right now." Andy's eyes read the title of his work.

Andy hold his hand again. Sam doesn't tug his hand away this time. Instead, he rubs her inner thigh with his thumb.

"What are we doing here?" Sam sighs again.

Sam looks up at her. Andy catches his eyes this time

He looks so exhausted. Andy opens her mouth to say something.

"Andy. Why did you come?"

"For the dare." Andy says confidently.

Sam isn't surprised now at how well she gives off confidence. But he knows she's lying. "Why did you come here?"

Andy repeats herself. "For the dare."

He rubs her thighs three times, then stands up.

Andy's breath catches at the man standing before her. He saddens at the vibe he feels off Andy.

Sam takes his hand from her right thigh and places it on her left hip.

"Why." He encircles her side in his hand. She doesn't shudder from his intimate touch. It's been a while, but this is Sam. He's home for her, always that person she is always most comfortable with. Even though it's been forever since they've touched, Andy doesn't shudder. "Did." He knows her well enough to comprehend the look on her face. The feeling she's giving off. Andy doesn't shy away from his eyes, even though she knows he's reading her like a book. "You." More importantly he knows that she wouldn't just come here to change the lock on Chloe's locker or something, not now, not at this hour, not by herself. She came here for a bigger purpose. "Come." Sam has this feeling in his gut he has from the feel of her body in his hands. "Here?"

She softly closes her eyes. She remembers his touch from after the explosion. He was so forceful then, not letting her get up, gripping her tight, sighing in her ear. She misses him. She misses his touch. His soft, gentle touches.

Andy opens her eyes and reveals her thought.

"What is it then?" Sam rubs her side.

"I remember that when." She speaks comfortingly. "Well, when Traci and Jerry were in a fight, Traci would be at my place. We would be up all night, just talking about it. And than in less then a second, her eyes would glisten and." She takes a breathe. "She would change from anger to... compassion. In that second she would be up and out the door."

Sam stays intent.

"She would want to go to him." It always took her a few hours, and for the first few times I would offer to drive her and she wouldn't let me. And well after a while I finally understood."

She looks in his eyes now.

"Every time." She repeats. "She would say the same thing. I'm frustrated. She would say that and be out the door. She wouldn't go to his place, she knew she wouldn't find him there."

Sam tightens.

"She came here."

Sam's frozen.

"Whenever they were fighting Jerry would be here, in the middle of the night, working..." She looks down at the words on his desk. "Reading. Traci knew he would be here if he wasn't... happy, and if he was upset or angry, whenever they were fighting."

Sam looks away now.

Andy takes his face in her hands. "She came here because even though they were in a fight, she still loves him and she knew he just needed to hear it."

Sam takes a shaky breath. "You needed me to not be here."

"I had to know because-"

"You're feeling the same thing." Sam murmurs.

Sam takes her shoulder in his hand. "You shouldn't be here when you've been drinking Andy."

Her hands drop from his face and fall to her thighs.

"Andy, I want you to be happy, more than anything in the world, more then-" Sam stops himself. Sam sees she understands. He doesn't want her too. He doesn't deserve her. Not even for a kiss. "If you don't stop me."

Andy's mouth falls open in a tiny awe at his words. She shuts it fast though. "You're not though."

Sam's taken back.

Andy gives a sad smile. "You're too afraid too."

Sam wants to shake his head.

"So there's nothing for me to stop." She touches his cheek. "But if there was. I wouldn't stop you." She confirms. "Not one bit."

Sam knows she's right. He fell for the idea of kissing her for a minute. His mind played him with the memory of how good it feels to kiss Andy.

"What do you think I would do if I wasn't afraid?" Sam asks.

Andy gulps. He said that without fear.

"Hopefully, you would do something about it." She whispers.

He rubs her hip with his hand again. He tips her bottom lip down with his thumb, he stares at her lips.

She stares at his, but once they're close enough to her own, her eyes lose sight of them all together.

As good as kissing feels, nothing feels as good as the anticipation of it.

I know it's unrealistic that the station is like empty at night and that they actually have the lights off, but I am so so obsessed with it. With the idea of it so that's hwy I have it a lot. I know it doesn't happen, because it doesn't happen in the show. But I think it just makes everything so much more intense that like it's just Sam on Andy, alone in the station. This chapter was soooooo much longer but because it's Valentines Day I wanted to end it on a McSwarek note. Because let's be honest. Andy is Sam's Valentine.

I LOVE YOU GUYS! Our show is coming back to us soon! It warms my heart so much!