A/N: Sorry for such a delay between updates but I have been swamped with extra shifts at work. Anyways thanks for the continuing support guys! I really do appreciate it!
I was also wondering how many of you would want this to turn into an M rated fic, I've had a few people message me asking whether or not I would be doing this. I realise it's a perfect setting for something like this, so it's up to you guys. If you could leave a quick review, let me know what you think…. :)
Chapter 6 - Roadtrip.
"Coming" she cried, heaving herself off of the couch before glancing down at her appearance "lovely" she muttered to herself.
She reached for the door handle and pulled it open to reveal him leaning into the doorway. She glanced over at his attire, his uniform pants remained but he had managed to find himself a t-shirt to change into for now, "Hey" she smiled.
"Hey" he replied before he found himself analysing her appearance. She had an old academy t-shirt on and a pair of what he thought were her gym shorts, she had pulled her hair down from its earlier ponytail and it now fell into a bundle of waves at her shoulders. She looked flustered and worn but overall beautiful, he thought.
"Sam?" she asked after he stood there silently for a few seconds.
"Oh yeah, I ran over to the store across the road" he explained waving a small bag in front of him "thought you may be hungry?" he asked casually.
"Starving" she replied, opening the door to allow him access.
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" he questioned as he made his way over to her couch.
"I'll let that one slide" she replied as she followed his path and sat on the other end of the couch, curling her feet underneath her. The small two seating couch left little room for either of them but they both saw to it that enough space remained so that neither had to touch. "Soooo" she began "what did you bring me?" she asked with a quick smile.
"Don't hang about do you?" he shot back, to be met with an icy glare and one eyebrow raised from Andy. "Okie doke" he commented reaching into his the white carrier bag. "There wasn't much there, but we got some bottled water, few bags of chips, chocolate and, oh a pack of chewing gum" he listed as he pulled the contents out to place in between them on the settee.
"This is what you call food?" she asked with an eyebrow raised.
He began collecting the items back again, "Fine McNally, I can take it all to my ro-"
"No, No" she grasped at the items, and he let them fall back on the couch "I'm hungry" she finished.
"That's what I thought" he replied smugly.
She muttered a small thanks before reaching for a bag of chips and a bottle of water. She took a sip of her water as they both settled into a comfortable position. The sat side by side, shoulders and thighs almost touching, relaxing into the back of the couch. They ate in an amicable silence, both grateful that the earlier awkwardness had now somewhat disintegrated.
"I gotta say," she began; leaning back into the couch "I did not expect 'hambulance' from someone like you" she pointed out, thrusting a few of her remaining chips into her mouth.
Sam raised an eyebrow as he stretched his legs out in front of him "Someone like me?" he asked.
"Yeah it's just…" she curled her feet to the side of her, her toes tickling against the fabric of Sam's uniform pants "you're always so serious all of the time."
Sam turned his head to face her, "See I hate that" he sighed shaking his head slightly.
"What?" she asked gently.
"Why is Sam always so serious" he mocked, taking a sip of his water before screwing the cap back on, "I've been getting that my whole life."
"There's nothing wrong with being serious" she replied, "It's just nice to see you loosen up a bit" she replied.
"Loosen up?" he questioned.
She bowed her head laughing lightly before lifting her head again, "yeah, just smile and crack some jokes."
"Jokes huh? You know, when I was in the third grade I went out and bought the biggest joke book I could find"
"Obviously memorized it" she pointed out, raising an eyebrow with a small chuckle.
He chuckled lightly alongside her, "yeah, all 101 jokes" he smiled softly before sobering his look "couldn't even make my own sister laugh."
"You got a sister?" she asked surprised, she had never heard him mention her before or mention any of his family before.
"Yeah, Sarah" he smiled "she lives in St. Catherines"
"Oh" she replied softly, not knowing what to do with this new personal information. She turned to look at him and saw a sombre expression engraved on his features "well, that was a long time ago…maybe you just need a new joke book" she smiled.
She turned her attention to the window near the television, her gaze following small trails the raindrops created. He looked over to her with a small affectionate smile, only a few of his friends really knew of Sarah and he rarely spoke about her. It felt nice to talk about her as though it was some sort of release to him.
They quickly fell back into a relaxed silence, polishing off the chocolate bars Sam had brought with him. As she continued to watch the rain he snuck small glances at her. She sat next to him comfortably, her toes resting against his thigh. Now that she had rid herself of the small amount of make-up she had worn earlier, he noticed the small dark rings that lay beneath her eyes. She looked tired, worn out but she looked content. He hadn't seen for around three weeks, between taking time off to see Sarah and working alternating shifts. He had asked about her though, nothing to personal, an occasional 'How's McNally?' or 'Partnered with McNally recently?' to Oliver or Noelle had been all he could manage. They hadn't let much leave their mouths, knowing it'd be better for him to hear it from her, hopefully then all these ridiculous attempts of talking about her would stop.
He quickly turned away from gazing at her as she sighed gently, shifting more comfortably in the couch. "I love the rain" she breathed.
"How could anyone love the rain?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.
She scowled at him playfully "You really don't like nature, huh?"
"I'm a city boy McNally, I can fix your car blindfolded and cuffed" he stated.
"What if it was raining?" she questioned with a smug smile.
"I never said I didn't like the rain, I just asked how someone could like it" he pointed out.
She let out a small pfft, as she crossed her arms over her chest, "Well I do."
"Well are you gonna answer me?" he asked impatiently after she allowed a few seconds to pass in silence.
She let her hands fall back in her lap and turned her head to face him "answer what?"
He sighed before shaking his head "I asked you how anyone could love the rain" he shot back.
"I'm not sure I will" she replied, poking her tongue out at him.
"Real mature McNally" he chuckled lightly.
They sat in silence before she couldn't take it much longer, she sat up to sit next him, mirroring his stretched out legs and sunken position on the couch, "Okay, well the ra-"
"Just couldn't take the silence, huh McNally?" he cut her off with a smug smile.
She gently pushed his shoulder with her own, before shooting a playful glare in his direction "Do you want to know or not?"
"Fine." he sighed bumping her shoulder with his own in return, "Continue…"
"The rain always reminds me of the camping trips I used to take with my dad" she replied.
"You used to go a lot?" he asked, finding himself drawn to the sound of her voice.
"Uhh… yeah, yeah we did, up until he… he started drinking" she shrugged the end of her sentence off. She glanced over to him to see a small compassionate smile on his face "but before that we used to go to this little clearing in a forest and set up a tent. We didn't do much, we didn't need to. It was peaceful and quiet."
"You don't like quiet or silence" he pointed out.
She smiled slightly, "will you let me finish?"
He simply nodded for her to continue and they settled back next to each other, their shoulders and thighs grazing against each other's, "Like I said it was always peaceful and quiet, especially when my dad would fall asleep. As much as I loved it out there, I hated that time of night. It was too quiet, too lonely – even with my dad sleeping in the same tent. But the nights when it rained, it never seemed as lonely. It used to make the most beautiful sound against the canvas; it just soothed me to sleep." She glanced over to Sam who was also looking at her and gently nodding understandingly, "and then when my dad did start drinking, I was always left in the house with no one to talk to. I used to sit by the window praying that it would start to rain, and then when it did I'd huddle under my duvet on the couch and fall asleep listening to it." She smiled softly at him; he then nodded and smiled back. She gently bumped his shoulder with her own once again, this time allowing herself to remain resting against it "What about you? You been camping?"
"Me? No way. I prefer the smell of exhaust fumes than trees."
She laughed lightly "Very healthy"
He nodded pointedly with a smile "thank you" his light chuckled faded into a small sad smile "I did try and go the beach this one time, we were on a bus about half hour outta town and Sarah kinda freaked out" he explained.
Andy smiled at him softly, "Was she afraid of the water?"
"She was afraid of...uh...everything" he replied, peeling his gaze away from her to look at the window "When Sarah was 13 she got attacked by this group of guys" he explained softly. Her gaze remained fixed on him as he continued to stare into space, "she got pretty messed up by it, I was only nine at the time and I didn't really get it." He looked over to her before looking to the blank tv "I tried everything to cheer her up…"
"Hence the joke book" she pointed out with a gentle smile.
"Yeah" he smiled softly, "not that it really worked".
"You were nine years old, I'm sure you did everything you could" she said comfortingly.
"She didn't need cheering up…" he turned to face her, their gaze meeting "she needed someone to protect her."
She let a smile grace her lips "so you became a cop" she explained for him.
He nodded slightly with a small smile.
The both turned to gaze at the blank tv screen, "She must be proud of you." Andy pointed out, she felt rather than saw Sam shrug against her shoulder "I would be." She explained.
Once again a comfortable silence reigned over the hotel room, the quiet rhythm of the rain providing comfort for both of them after opening up to each other so personally.
"I'm sorry for being so awkward earlier" he apologized sincerely, and this time it was his turn to feel her shrug against him. He turned his head to face her once again "You know whatever happened between us…" he began as she quickly snapped her head to meet his gaze. He let out a small sigh, "You know - Luke's a good guy. Solid. Relia-"
"Stop." She cut him off. He raised an eyebrow, "We...uh…we broke up."
"Oh. Right." He paused, "d'you… you tell him about, y'know?" he motioned between them.
"No." she replied, and she quickly recognized the flecks of hurt that laced his deep brown eyes, "He found your name in a jar in my apartment"
"Right…Wait, what?" he shook his head in confusion.
"I… Well… We… Me… I put you on ice" she stuttered.
"You put me on ice" he repeated.
"Yeah…It's just. Look it doesn't matter. He saw it, freaked out and left. I think he expected me to run after him." She explained.
"But you didn't?" he questioned.
"But I didn't" she confirmed with a nod of her head "As soon as he left, I realised that I probably should have wanted to run after him but I didn't want to. I wanted him to walk away. I felt so… so...relieved."
"Relieved" he repeated before falling into silence, pondering. "Wait, so you put me on ice?" he asked with a smirk.
"Yes" she replied turning back to the blank tv, not giving anything away.
"Fine, I guess I'll let that one slide….pal." he smiled. They settled into a silence in which they both lost themselves. Neither knowing where to go from her. Neither wanting to admit the reason why she may not have wanted to chase after Luke. "You know. While we're on this whole 'let's be honest with each other' road trip can I ask you something?" he asked.
"Wait! That's perfect." She exclaimed.
"What? Me asking you something?" he asked, confused once again.
"Yeah… Well, no…"
"McNally"
"Right, yeah. Well it's still early so we could play 20 questions" she asked rather timidly.
"What? No way, McNally." He made an attempt to rise off the couch before she quickly latched onto his forearm, restraining his movements.
"C'mon Sam! Let's keep this whole 'let's be honest with each other' road trip thing going."
He looked down at the pretty brunette hanging on his arm, he sighed before pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand "10 questions, take it or leave it" he held out his hand.
"Deal" she replied taking his hand in hers with a light shake before they both settled back into their earlier positions.