Author's Note: Glad most people who reviewed seem to have liked the way I wrote Sam's dad. I decided to make him pretty resilient and with a bit of Swarek swagger still in him even after all he's been through, instead of bitter, broken, or pathetic. No doubt he had some rough times adjusting ahead of him, but this is Sam's story. So we're going to take a small time jump rather than dwelling on that.

As always, thanks to those who have reviewed/followed/favorited this so far. Honest feedback means a lot!

Chapter 26: Road Trip

"Whatever, wiseass. Are you gonna actually cook me some dinner or what?"

"I'm on it, Dad. There's beer and wine in the fridge. Why don't you look around the rest of the house. I bought basic groceries and personal care stuff, but make a list and I'll take you to the store to pick up whatever else you need after dinner."

*One month later*

Sam shifts restlessly in his seat and wonders for the thousandth time why whoever is in charge of this big case stashed their key witness so freaking far away. Six hours out from the outskirts of Toronto? Really? Any added security is going to be undermined by the toll on their alertness. And who was this mystery person who supposedly requested that he and Peck take this gem of a duty? If he didn't know Frank well enough to see his was being straight with him, he would have sworn he was full of it about that.

He'd thought riding with McNally to Sudbury when he was still pissed off with her was bad. But Peck had decided to use the time to air all her thoughts on the Collins/McNally abandonment. Something circumstances had prevented ever since the two of them had been left cooling their heels over tequila shots at the Penny. By the time they neared the place, Sam had reached his limit of hearing her snark and the way she picked at him and seemed to take it personally that he wasn't as pissed off about it as she still was. Like it was some sort of additional betrayal that he had no interest in closing ranks with her in the Left Behind Brigade.

"Come on, Swarek. I'm as glad as anyone that you're not a wreck like you were the first month after they left. But are you really just going to give her a pass for leaving the way she did?" Gail finally threw out as her last bit of venting.

"I didn't say that. Not that you've been listening as you've taken advantage of a captive audience all day. But I'm just saying that that's the way major UC gigs work, and things weren't exactly in a place between us this time where I could expect her to break the rules.

And what are you really most upset at Collins for anyway? That he left or that you missed him? You said yourself that night that you had just sprung your Europe plans on him. You have to have realistic expectations of people. You want some advice from me? Decide whether you still want to be with him or not. Don't do halfway anymore. That's the thing that doesn't work."

Gail snorts and gives him a playful punch on the arm, "Since when does Sam Swarek actually give good relationship advice? You're getting soft."

But a smile had broken through the sulky silence she lapsed into for the last half hour of the drive. Sam even cracked a half grin of his own. But he was still relieved that the witness turned out to be just chatty enough to provide a buffer without annoying the hell out of him on the drive back.

After they'd made the one stop he allowed halfway back, Sam decided to try to get out of the guy what the case was all about, and why the two guys assigned to protect him couldn't have just driven him to Toronto to give his sworn deposition before being transferred into more permanent Witness Protection arrangements between now and the start of the trial. Everything about how this was being handled seemed a little off and unusual, and questions had been slowly forming in his mind ever since the left the safe house.

Sam had Peck drive the rest of the way so he could get a good look at the guy's face while he tried to get a fix on what this was all about. The thing was, as evasive as the guy had been, by the time they were nearing the outskirts of Toronto, he'd still given enough away that Sam was now pretty sure he's connected to Project Dakota, probably a key part of providing the initial probable cause for setting up the whole thing in the first place, including most of the wiretaps and other surveillance involved.

And that's what's led to all the current thoughts spinning around his head. If they were bringing this guy in today to lock down his pre-trial testimony before shipping him out to parts unknown with the Witness Protection pros taking over control, the whole operation must be coming to a head. Soon. Maybe even tonight.

Twice he's been let down when takedowns mustering extra personnel turned out to be unconnected to Project Dakota. But this just feels like the reason Frank and whoever requested them (Luke?) wanted them out of town for the day. Frank's been twitchy for the past week. He wouldn't come out and admit it, but Sam's pretty sure the 15th was slotted to be a part of the final big bust when the time came.

He pulls out his cell to call Oliver and see if he's right. No answer. That probably means it's going down right now and all the backup teams have gone silent. Sam's anxiety spikes. He has no idea whether Andy and Nick will even be anywhere near the final takedown. But they might be. And he was stuck here cooling his heels babysitting a witness, about as far from the action as they could get him.

No matter how important this guy is to getting key evidence admitted in court, Sam's definitely going to give Frank an earful about that. The way he's been completely shut out of this was big time overkill. He grits his teeth and resists the urge to slam a fist against the car door. Even so, Peck shoots him a curious glance, picking up on his change in mood. Sam decides not to fill her in on his suspicions til they drop off their charge and make it back to the barn. He does make a crack about her driving like a grandmother to try to move things along a little faster though.

Sam's sure he's paced a hole in the floor by now, and Peck has grown so pale she's practically transparent. Most of her earlier anger seems to have been replaced by worry almost as great as his own. Which doesn't help. As soon as he'd walked in the door, he knew he was right.

The place was practically deserted, and the bare number of those around to keep things going were clammed up tight. At least all the best people were out working this. Except him. And Peck. That just makes him want to punch something all over again. So he actually decides to go work the heavy bag over in the workout room for a few minutes after Oliver's phone clicks over to voicemail. Again.

When he's finally blown off enough steam to keep from completely jumping out of his skin, he tries Oliver again. This time he finally gets through.

"What happened? Was she there? Is she OK?" Sam fires off in quick succession.

"Calm down, Sammy. She's fine. Everything went down like clockwork, and she wasn't even anywhere near this bust anyway. She and Collins wrapped things up and were pulled out this morning. Luke's number two guy took over the debrief hours ago. The two of them will probably be back at the 15th within the hour. If you're there, just hang tight, and you'll be the first person to meet her. It's going to take us a while to wrap things up here. I'll let her tell you the details, but you're going to impressed by what they pulled off," Oliver's voice has this weird mix of soothing reassurance and adrenaline buzz going on here. But Sam's so relieved, he can hardly follow what he's saying. His legs give out, and he sinks down onto the weight bench he'd been pacing around before mumbling some sort of response when Oliver says he has to hang up and get back to things.

He finally rouses himself to go take a quick shower and change into something less rumpled, stopping only to give Peck a couple words of reassurance first. Then he calls his dad and asks him to swing by, even though it's past 11 p.m. now. Now that he knows she's safe, a good mix of excitement mixed with butterflies takes over from the gnawing fear. He can't keep the grin off his face, and he actually finds himself whistling as he strips down and heads into the shower. Good thing no one's around or Peck wouldn't be the only one thinking he's gone soft.

AN: Just a little tease of a bridge chapter while I finish writing the long awaited McSwarek reunion. Which will be soon, I hope.