ROOKIE BLUE (isn't mine)

A DAY AT THE BEACH

Set after "Serve or Protect". Hi guys you gave me so much love and support that I'm in awe. I do love writing this story and I'm glad that you enjoy the ride as much as I do. Thanks guys, you're the best! And speaking of a ride…

-o-

PART 7

Sarah was facing the window and cutting and chopping celery and baby carrots with energy. She heard her brother tumbling on the first floor and staggering a bit when he went down the stairs. She chuckled to herself. Even if Sam did not visit on a regular basis, she could still decipher all the signs and read him pretty well. Sam was in trouble. Last night, when he introduced her to Andy McNally, she realized that he did not even suspect that it was probably going to be a very very long ride on the road to heaven. The girl was not only smart and funny, she was a guy's magnet, this kind of wild true Irish beauty with absolutely no recognition of her infinite power over the male population.

Watching the two of them interact with such a level of awkwardness had brought back some memories. Sarah had been replaying a hundred times one particular phone call in her head. It was last summer. She had been so worried about his going undercover that no word could even begin to describe the agony she had been through all this time he was incommunicado.

Playing a drug addict might have been tough for him. But he was very good at his job so this undercover thing, that was certainly something logical to get into. He was not afraid of getting his hands dirty, and being alone in the field might have been a dream job. She quite did not comprehend his motives though. He could have made detective any time he wanted but repeatedly rejected every opportunity to cross that bridge. His phone call, it had been a true blessing. Hearing his voice, imagining him back in a safe, -safer she pondered, environment… she could actually begin to breathe again. There was only the two of them now and she had missed him very much during those eight months.

When he had called her that night, he was a bit tipsy and not really making much sense. He did not seem devastated or bitter. He was angry, really angry. It simply did not add up. Being burned when he was only days away from completing his mission, that was a rough landing, even for him. He was that kind of guy who always kept his eyes on the prize, no matter what was at stakes. But knowing he was safe, at last, that was the best thing that had ever happened to her, apart from meeting Lonny and raising their two magnificent children.

"Hello sis, I'm back."

"Sam, is that you? Oh my god, are you okay?" She waved frantically at Lonny who was watching the game on tv. "It's Sam!" Lonny jumped from the couch and hugged her.

"I'm fine Sarah, no worries. Could have been better, but what's done is done. Nothing I can do about it," he smirked.

"What do you mean? You sure you're not hurt?"

"I'm fine really…"

"I'm not going anywhere, shoot."

"I was… I was inches away from putting that son of a bitch behind bars, you know. Eight months of my life living in a dump, feeling like I was the scum of the earth," he gasped for air. "Met some nice guys though. Yep, nothing I could do to save them, but hey, I'm not a priest."

"You failed? But why? What is it that you're not telling me?"

"I can't believe that someone from the 15 burned me. That's ridiculous. Shaw is an idiot. Who gives some rookies so much leeway on their first day? That's beyond me."

"Rookies? They were undercover with you?"

He sighed. "Someone was killed today. A dealer, the worst cliché of a drug dealer you can imagine, and half the division was there in my backyard really, searching for the killer. I just don't understand what got into Shaw. I don't get it. He was being sloppy. I don't know. Anyway…" He took a deep breath. "He told his rookies to clear the perimeter. On their first day! I got busted."

"Oh," she tried not to sound amused, but it was hard. A twenty or so uni getting to Sam Swarek, it must have been quite a blow to his ego. "He blew your cover?"

"No, actually she didn't. She was magnificent. She did everything by the book. I've been away for so long she didn't have a clue that I was a cop from her own division. Damn it."

She heard the ice cubes dangling in his glass. He took a swig.

"I see," she trailed. "Why can't you go back under?"

"Oh yeah, why? That's the icing on the cake, sis. When we got back to the barn, Jerry, you remember Jerry right? He was in a bad divorce and he's under a lot of pressure from that golden boy they snatched from 9 Division, Callaghan? Well. I was in cuffs and Shaw was about to process me. And that ass totally humped me, right in front of my informant. I can't believe he did that."

"So that wasn't really that rookie who burned you?"

"I guess not. But let me tell you that her probation isn't going to be a walk in the park! I asked Boyko to pair me up with her, starting tomorrow."

"Why would you do that? Can't you take a few days off? You deserve it Sam."

"Well, you know, with the debrief, and the drug squad which will be on my back 24/7 for months, I don't know, I'd rather go back to the uniform. I have still some loose ends to look into before it goes cold. She's going to help me whether she likes it or not. I'm going to teach her to colour outside the lines."

"Sam, you can't do that! You'll be demoted or worse and she's…"

"Her father was a cop. I bet she knows I'm on to her. Christ, Sarah, I was so close. It's killing me."

"Did you have a chance to talk to her about it?"

But Sam was not listening.

"She made the arrest you know, all by herself. Thirty full-fledged cops and she made the arrest, all by herself, on her first day. She's good."

"So I take it that the two of you are good then…"

"Sis, I'm an idiot. I was so pissed and I simply couldn't take it on Ollie or Jerry or Boyko."

"I don't understand."

"Never mind. It was good talking to you. Gotta go."

She had tried to lull the conversation back to this point later when he was at her place on Thanksgiving. But he was very good at deflecting her questions.

Sam entered the kitchen shading his eyes from the bright light coming from the window. She turned to him and chuckled. "Had a good sleep Sam?"

He muttered incoherent words and slouched down on a chair. She poured him a large cup of black coffee. "Lonny told me about last night. For what it's worth, he's sorry…"

"It's okay. Andy is not my girlfriend."

"Right. Could have fooled me." Her mouth twitched and she turned around, going back to her domestic chores.

"Give me a break, sis, it's complicated."

"Isn't it always?"

"This headache is killing me, please?"

"Maybe you should stop feeling sorry for yourself and do it right."

"We're not having this conversation."

"She obviously cares about you and you care about her. Sam, I'm your sister, I know."

"Will you stop?" he begged.

"Maybe you should drink less and act more," she stared at him with concern. "I'm worried about you Sam."

He shook his head and waved at her. "Where is everybody?"

"They went to the lake. Jed and Lonny were eager to show her their new toys."

"New toys?"

"Jed is into freestyle these days. You know Lonny, he's trying to keep up. But let me tell you Sam, this girl, she's a real champion." She wiped her hands on a towel and flipped her cell phone open. "Jed just sent me a video. Look, she's fantastic."

Sam took the phone reluctantly. The video was jumpy and blurry, but he could spot a rider spinning with his bike 180° in the air and landing backwards. He shot his sister a puzzled glance. "Is that Jed? He's good!"

"I bet Jed is your rookie number one fan right now. She's going to teach him a bunch of tricks. He's totally in love with her."

"That's McNally?"

"Yep. I bet you don't know her at all, little brother."