ROOKIE BLUE

A DAY AT THE BEACH

Set after "Serve or Protect". Thank you guys for your reviews and everything. You're the best!

-o-

PART 4

His guy was in his late fifties, not the sleeze bag she had pictured when Sam had told her that he could have her car fixed. He was quite a nice man actually. He had done a terrific job on the Camaro and she could not believe that she was now the proud owner of such a fantastic car. She left them talking in his packed office at the back of the body shop and sat before the wheel. He had taken care not only of the engine repairs but refurbished the dashboard, replacing the dash holders and lenses, hidden the worn out interior pieces of upholstery, and laid out new carpets.

The car was now a deep shade of burgundy, with the original two stripes in black on the hood. She touched the finish with a light hand, marvelling in the incredible transformation.

"Like her?" She jumped. She had not even heard Swarek coming back. "You, speechless? That's a first! If I had known that all it takes was a little coat of paint and the right connections..." She went red and he chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you do... like her." He waggled the keys at her eyes level. "I'll drive her back to the barn. You take the cruiser."

"Why can't we leave it at my place?"

"Your call. I gather that you don't mind me driving you home after shift then?"

"Right," she nodded. Last thing she needed was the whole squad watching them ride along in his truck on a Friday night, no less.

"I'll take her on a little test drive just to make sure we don't end stranded 200 miles away from civilization. I'll be right behind you."

And here she was now, catching up on paperwork for Sam and Shaw, hoping that Noelle and Traci won't be back early. She glanced at the two seasoned officers who were currently exchanging poor jokes with Jerry. Since Traci and the detective had been on a break, Sam had given him a hard time and Barber looked flushed and angry. She checked the last box on her screen, saved the form and sighed. What got into her? She had to tell Trace, she was her best friend. There was no way she could hide this little trip from her. She probably should keep Luke in the dark though. But how? He was a detective. He would read her like an open book the moment she will start to lie. On the other hand, she had had to lie from the beginning. Even if she kept telling herself that it was to earn his trust, she lied again and again. She realized that she finally understood what Sam's witticism really meant. It was not lying, it was not telling the truth...

Two days with Sam in her convertible. She was so stupid. At the same time, she could not wait to be on the road. Two days meant two nights. Sam had not disclosed their accommodation arrangements yet. "Everything's been taken care of. That's a surprise." Her thoughts drifted to the content of her drawers and closet and she began to pick out what she'd need for the next couple of days.

"Hey dreamy head," a soft voice whispered in her ear. "I missed you today. You left early."

She could feel his breath on her face. She swivelled on her chair, facing Luke Callaghan. "I couldn't sleep. I figured I'll get out of your hair and go back to my place." That was the truth. She did not seem to be able to sleep with Luke in her bed lately.

He leaned forward and put his hands on the arms of the chair. "You know that you can always wake me up…" he smiled.

"Luke, not here, please. Everybody's watching."

He looked up, his eyes meeting Sam's. "I don't mind being seen with you."

She smiled sheepishly, and red crept on her face. Sam was probably staring at them. "Not in the bullpen."

"Okay, okay. Look, I'm sorry but I can't see you tonight. But I'll make it up to you. Promise."

Her heart skipped a beat. "Oh… You… you're working a new case?"

"Well actually I'm not. But I promised a friend I'll help him with moving out. We're going to Sherbrooke this weekend. I'm sorry Andy. I know I could have told you way before but it sort of skipped my mind with the Berger case and it was not supposed to be until the end of the month."

Anaesthetized by relief, she managed to look disappointed. "Want me to tag along?"

"Really Andy? Last time I checked, you hadn't even unpacked your own stuff yet."

"I said that I can help with hauling things, not with the decorating part."

"Thanks but there are the three of us actually. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"And when is that?" She pouted her mouth.

"We plan to pack everything on the van tonight, and with any luck, if we're finished, we'll have an early start tomorrow."

"Oh… so I'll see you Sunday, right?"

"Andy, I'm sorry. I plan to visit an old friend in Montreal. No even sure I'll be back Sunday night. I'll give you a call, okay?"

"You leaving now?"

"I'm afraid so." He kissed her forehead and stood up. "See you Monday? I'm going to miss you."

"Miss you already."

She watched him stride away. What was that? Was it a sign that she should be with Sam instead of Luke? She swivelled back to the desk. She was being unfair to both of them. She will have the talk with Luke when he gets back. She should not have led him on for so long. If Sam was right, it will not be difficult for Luke to find a replacement. In the meantime, she will have to deal with Sam Swarek for a whole weekend.

She was going out of the locker room when Traci blocked her. "No way. You're not going anywhere before you've told me everything!"

"Trace, I'm running late but I promise I'll tell you everything," she begged.

"Okay. I'll see you at the Penny then."

"Oh… What about Leo?"

"Dex took him. It was a last minute thing. Said he wanted to show him that new theme park, whatever. Sooo… I'm free as a bird! You'll have the whole week end to fill me in with all the details of your sordid sex life."

Andy looked down and leaned on the door. "Trace, I'm sorry, but I have plans… I thought that you'd be with…"

"Plans? Luke is taking you back to the cabin? So you're good. That's fantastic!"

"Could you please keep your voice down," said Andy. She dragged her inside the locker room and closed the door after glancing in the hallway. She put her back to the door and dropped her bag at her feet. "Trace, this is bad. I'm such an idiot!"

"Luke dumped you again?"

"I kinda slept at Sam's yesterday…"

"Slept like in I…"

Andy nodded frantically. "… but nothing happened!"

"But you totally would have slept with him, right? Andy!"

"I fell asleep on his couch watching the game."

"At Sam's? Why where you at his place to begin with? I told you it was a bad idea Andy, can't you listen to me for this one time? He's your TO for god's sake!"

"Well, technically, you told me to pretend that nothing happened between us," Andy said matter-of-factly. "And that's exactly what I'm doing right now. Nobody would question two partners spending time together if I were a guy, right?"

"Last time I checked, you weren't," Traci mumbled. She undressed and Andy followed her to the showers. "So are you going to tell me why you were at his place?"

"You remember that I bought a car?"

Traci giggled. "Yep. I can't believe you did but, yeah, told me. I even saw the thing, remember?"

"Well. Last week end, Luke bailed out on me again because of one stupid case and I said to myself it was a beautiful day and that I should use the car for the first time and go away for a picnic to Lake Scugog," she said, with a high pitch in her voice. "I sort of planned to take Luke in the first place, it was supposed to be a surprise, well, didn't happened."

Traci turned the shower off and stepped out. Andy handed her a towel. "I'm listening."

"The darn car broke down near Princes Gates. I was so pissed that I called Sam."

"Of course you did," Traci muttered.

"Say again?"

"That's what you do. When something goes wrong you turn to Sam. Not Luke. Not me."

Andy opened her mouth but Traci waved her hand at her. "I'm okay, I don't blame you. I can barely keep up with the job, with Leo and school, and Dex idiosyncrasies, and Mr The-ink-on-my-divorce-isn't-dry-yet. I understand. So what did he do? He jump started the car?"

"Yes he did."

"And?"

"It didn't work." Andy shuffled her foot on the floor.

"Nooo… You spent your week end at Swarek's? Is it what you're trying to tell me?"

"No, no, I didn't." She paused. "He took me to Lake Scugog and we… we had fun, Trace! That was… I mean, that was totally perfect!"

"Did you tell Luke?"

Andy bit her lip.

"No, of course you didn't," Traci sighed. She put on her jeans and sweater.

"I've been conflicted," Andy finally said softly.

"Is it what it's called? Conflicted? Andy, I can't believe that I'm actually telling you this, but you've got to break up with Mr Perfect. You can't keep cheating on him like that."

"But I don't!"

"Really? Look me in the eyes and say it. Say it Andy."

Andy looked down and sighed.

"See!" Traci's voice was triumphant. "Now, I'm taking you to the Penny and we're gonna get wasted, sister."

"I… I can't. I sort of promised Sam that…"

"Promised Sam?"

"He knows a guy. And this guy he knows, he fixed my car." She swallowed her breath. "We're going to the country this week end."

"You and Sam Swarek, your training officer, the one person who's completely off limit, you're leaving town for the week end together? Andy!" she sounded desperate.

"But we're friends!"

"Andy, you're a big fat liar. You can't be friend with Sam Swarek and you know that as well I do, not right now not ever. It's painful to watch this little dance you two are having since day one. No, don't you try to stop me. You know what? I suspect that you slept with Luke because Swarek was too close for comfort."

"I'm not attracted to Sam. He's my friend. I made a big mistake that… night. But we got through this mess. He's my friend."

"Really? So why were you at Swarek's yesterday night?"

"I wanted to make sure that no one knew!"

"Knew what? Andy, you're not making any sense. I need a drink, are you coming or not?"

"I can't. I have to pick him up at his place. And if I have to drive, I don't want to drink."

"Okay. But at least, you've got to show me the car."

She chuckled. "Of course."

There was a crowd on the parking lot in front of the station. Traci looked puzzled and Andy went beet red. "Andy, is it your car?"

"Mmm, yeah, I guess."

"Coming through, coming through," Traci yelled. "Andy, really?"

Dov Epstein turned to her. "I never thought of you as a car geek" he beamed. "Rock'n roll McNally."

Chris nodded in appreciation. "That's a great car, Andy. My father used to have one of these."

"You're kidding right? A 1968 Chevrolet Camaro convertible SS 396? I don't think so," said Epstein. He let his hand slide against the hood with awe in his eyes.

"Man, it's just a car!" said Traci.

"It's a thing of beauty Nash. You got to respect the car!"

Traci shrugged. "Men and their toys…"

"6.5 L V8 engine. Far better than the 1976 model," he insisted, his eyes locked on the car.

"The 1976 model?"

"Bumblebee? Transformers? Man, you got to go out more Nash!"

Andy chuckled. "Well, I have to get going, so if you don't mind."

"McNally… got new wheels?" Swarek said in her back. "Sweet ride. Have a good week end rookies!" Andy watched him walk away to his truck and shot a desperate glance at Traci.

"Not my problem," she mouthed back.