I wrote this before watching Butterflies. I meant to post this earlier but I started a new job and had no time to edit it. I can't wait for the new episode- that seems to be all I can tweet about lately! Please review!
Sometimes it only takes one event to turn your life upside down. Everything begins to spin and you feel like you can't control it. That nervous feeling in your gut takes over and you can't think straight. You feel like you need to get away, to run, but at the same time you wish somebody would tell you to stay. For Andy, it wasn't just one event that changed her life; it was one event and everything that led up to it. It all started with one Detective Rosati.
When Jo was first introduced to 15, Andy thought nothing of it. She didn't even notice that half of the cops in parade kept glancing from her to Jo to Luke, then back again. For the first time in a while she was feeling confident in her relationship with Luke. She was happy and she loved him. It was not the passionate, mind-spinning love she might have if she admitted her feelings about Sam, but it was safe. It was only when they ran into Jo in the locker room when she knew something was up.
"You're beautiful," said Luke.
Andy smiled and put her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a kiss. She pulled back when she heard footsteps. She looked over Luke's shoulder to see Jo standing there. Luke turned around and had a solemn look on his face.
"Luke," said Jo, her eyebrows raised. "Who's your friend?"
"This is Andy," said Luke. "Andy this is Jo- Detective Rosati. We were colleagues at 14 a few years ago."
"Hi," said Andy, frowning at Luke's name mishap.
"Oh Lukey," said Jo, completely ignoring Andy. "If we were only colleagues I'd hate to know what you do with your acquaintances."
Luke chuckled uncomfortably. "Same old Jo," he said, glancing at Andy. "She flirts with anyone of the opposite gender."
Andy gave Luke a small smile that seemed to reassure him, but anyone else would be able to tell that she was not happy with the situation.
"Oh don't be silly," said Jo. "If I flirt with other guys it's because I want to make you jealous."
"Why would you want to make me jealous?" asked Luke.
Andy's eyes widened. Was Luke flirting back or was he just completely oblivious? She did not want to wait to find out. Jo opened her mouth to respond but Andy interrupted her.
"Luke, we should get going if we want to get a table," she said. "You know how busy it gets."
"You're right," said Luke.
He closed his locker and glanced towards Jo on his way out. "See you later," he said.
"I'll call you," said Jo. "We have a lot to catch up on."
"Sure," Luke said with a shrug.
Over the next few weeks, Andy got the feeling that things weren't over between Luke and Jo. She saw the glances they shared when they thought nobody was looking. Luke spent more nights working late. She knew they were sleeping together she just didn't have any proof. When she finally got up the courage to confront him about it, he didn't even deny it. She packed her bags and crashed at her father's place.
Work was turning into a nightmare. It was the first day after the breakup and Luke and Jo were already going public about their relationship. Andy was humiliated. She was glad she was riding solo today because she didn't want to have to deal with the awkward questions or even more awkward silences.
There had been a report of shots fired and Andy was the first responding officer. A woman was lying face down on the sidewalk. Andy rushed over and quickly checked her pulse. The woman was dead. She took out the wallet and checked the ID. Why did this woman seem so familiar? She taped off the area and called the station.
A couple of other officers arrived, including Sam. She bent by the body as an IDENT officer began to take photographs. She felt a sickness in her stomach. The feeling worsened when she looked up and saw Luke talking to one of the witnesses.
Sam waved Andy over. One look at her face and he knew something was wrong.
"You okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine," Andy replied.
"You don't look fine," said Sam.
"I should go question some witnesses," said Andy.
Andy tried to walk away but Sam put his hands against the wall on either side of her.
"Talk to him," he said softly.
"I broke up with Luke," she told him. "He... he was sleeping with Rosati."
"I always knew Callaghan was an idiot."
"No, Sam, I was the idiot, for staying with him for so long. Now I feel sick just being near him."
"If you're not feeling well maybe you should go back to the barn."
"I'll be okay."
"That wasn't a suggestion, it was an order."
"You're not my training officer anymore."
"No, but you'll always be my rookie. So, when I tell you to do something, you do it."
"Fine."
Andy had full intentions of following what Sam ordered her to do, until she remembered why the woman looked so familiar. Sofia was a seventeen year old girl who lived with her brother in Andy's building. She was a good kid and wanted to be an elementary school teacher, but her brother was addicted to cocaine. Andy let her stay over once. Andy could not leave her alone, so she made her way back to the body. Out of the corner of her eye, Andy saw a car zooming past. Before anyone could react, shots were fired and Andy crumpled to the ground.
After that, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Andy's lip quivered. She didn't hear Sam when he called her name, or Oliver or Dov. There was a buzzing in the background and she was acutely aware of her own gasps. She squeezed her eyes shut for a minute, and when she opened them again Sam was leaning over her.
She heard his voice through the din, telling her, "It's okay, it's okay. You're okay."
It was one week later, and everyone welcomed Andy back and told her how happy they were she was doing well. Everyone except Callaghan and his new girlfriend. Luke approached her in the hallway while Sam looked on cautiously.
"Hi Andy," he said.
"Hi Luke," Andy replied.
"Heard you were shot," he said.
Andy just nodded.
"Luke!" called Jo from somewhere in the distance.
"That's too bad," said Luke, who then called, "Coming!" and left without another word.
Sam's eyebrows rose. If not for the look on Andy's face as she rushed into the locker room, he would have punched Luke. He quickly followed Andy into the locker room.
Andy put her hands on her knees. "That's too bad," she spat out. "That's too bad."
Sam heard anger in Andy's voice, but also sadness. Her cheeks were red.
"Andy?"
"I can't do this anymore, Sam," she told him.
"Do what, Andy?" Sam asked, worried.
"Do this," she said, gesturing around the room. "Be a cop. I could have died, Sam. I never know what to expect, I'm always scared and now Luke... it's just too much."
"Andy," Sam said, cupping her face, his fingers gently caressing her cheeks. "You're an amazing cop and I'd hate for you to leave because some jerk lost sight of what was right in front of him."
Andy's eyes met Sam's for the first time since they entered the locker room. She saw sincerity in them.
"Ask me to stay," she said softly.
"Stay," he whispered. "When I said I can't imagine my life without you in it I meant it. I love you, Andy McNally, and I'm asking you to stay with me."
"Okay," she whispered back, wrapping her arms around him. "Okay."
