Remember that extra chapter I was going to throw in at the end here just to finish it off and add some 'needed' length. Yeah…turns out that chapter was hitting 8000+ words and needed to be two. I'm not sure why I ever worry about being able to make a story long enough. Please enjoy…there'll be one more after this.

Thanks to SairsJ for her second set of eyes.

Andy had been home for about a half hour. She had alternated between sitting and standing, watching TV and trying to read; she even tried cleaning. She didn't know why she was so anxious. She had been in, said her piece, and it was done; there was nothing more she could do. But just knowing that Sam was still there… until he was done with his hearing, she just couldn't feel relaxed. And unfortunately, she had no idea how she was going to find out when it was all over.

She looked at her watch; it was just before five. He should have been in there for about an hour now… so it was probably over already. Her musings were interrupted by the ring tone on her cell. Could he be… no.

She shook her head; now she just had to figure out where she put the phone.

Spying it on the end of the coffee table, she lunged for it knowing she only had a few more bars of the song before her voice mail kicked in. She managed to snatch it up and press the green button all in one motion and just in time. "Yeah." She greeted breathlessly.

"Hey, how'd it go?"

"Good I think." She answered, shrugging her shoulders.

"Did you use that stuff we put together?"

"I did, Trace. Thank you so much. It really helped."

"Really? Traci asked excitedly. "What did they say?"

Andy realized that she probably gave Traci the wrong impression; it had helped she just didn't know how much yet. "Well, they said they'd let me know," she clarified, "but they didn't say no."

"That's something I guess, and at least you tried."

"How long do you think it will take for them to decide?"

"I don't know; I can't see it happening right away though… maybe a day or two." Traci guessed. "I'm thinking if you don't hear anything by Friday, you can probably bet it ain't happening."

"I guess, but maybe I should call them tomorrow and ask."

Traci scoffed. "Who you gonna call? The Queen Mom?" She started to laugh. "Hey, maybe you can get Gail to put in a good word."

Andy huffed in contradiction. "Oh yeah. It sounds like she's just jumping at the chance to help me out."

Traci continued to chuckle. "Chris told you." She stated knowingly.

Andy nodded as she spoke. "Yeah. I think I'll take my chances on my own."

"Good call, but you're not on your own. Chris and Dov and I are here and we'll do whatever we can."

Andy smiled knowing they had her back; unfortunately this part probably wasn't something they could help her with.

"I could try the head of the committee." She mused aloud. "He might…"

"No," Traci interrupted; as far as she was concerned, it was time to leave well enough alone. "You can't do anything about it; you had your say and now you just have to wait it out… and get your mind off of it for awhile.

Andy wasn't sure it was possible but she was willing to give it a try. "Are you off shift?"

"Just got off. What do you say? Drinks?"

"Meet you at the Penny then?" Andy suggested. The hearing had been the first time she'd been out since Sam brought her home and she was ready for a change of scenery.

"I don't know, Andy; I'm not sure that's such a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Well, what if Sam decides to go out after too? You know he'll go straight to the Penny."

"Has he been there in the last few days?" Andy wondered.

Unsure of the protocol during suspension, Andy had been steadfastly avoiding her favorite haunt, but tonight she just wanted to relax and be with her friends. Surely there wasn't any harm in that.

"Well, no," Traci explained, "but what if he decides to go now that the hearings are over. Maybe Oliver's trying to take his mind off everything too."

"It'll be fine." Andy reasoned, though she wasn't sure which of them she was trying to convince. Truth be told, she wasn't sure how she would feel or what she would do if she saw Sam.

Traci could hear the uncertainty in her friend's voice and wasn't willing to take the chance. "We should just go somewhere else; have some fun." She suggested. "What was the name of that place we went to with the guys when we were in the academy?"

"Are you kidding me?" Andy yelped, her voice rising up an octave. "That place was terrible. I've never been hit on so many times in my entire life! And we were there with two guys! You were practically sitting in Dov's lap by the end of the night and they still kept coming." She shook her head muttering almost to herself. "And you're worried about my judgment?"

"Not the club!" Traci practically screeched. "Give me a little credit."

Traci remembered the night Andy was referring to vividly and there was a reason they only went the one time. She still couldn't believe they listened to Samuels when he said it would be fun; she should have known that his idea of fun wasn't even remotely close to theirs. There was just something about him; she had no idea how he and Chris were even friends.

"Did I tell you Samuels was at horse camp with us?" Andy wondered out loud.

"Yeah, you did. I always thought he would be more of a K-9 kind of guy though."

"K-9?"

"Yeah… thought he'd be more at home with the dogs."

Andy burst out laughing and Traci had to pull the phone away from her ear. She was grinning though; happy to get her friend to lighten up a little. "And I was talking about the little pub a couple of blocks down." She explained.

It took Andy a moment, but she finally caught her breath and wiped at her eyes. "Oh… good." She breathed out in relief before recalling. "Hey didn't that place burn down last year?"

Traci thought back vaguely remembering something about it coming up before parade one day. "Did it?"

"Yeah… March, April maybe? Problem with the wiring I think."

"Okay. Well what about that place near your old apartment? Don't they have karaoke on Tuesdays?"

"And that's supposed to be a selling point? Come on Traci. I want to see the guys too." And I'm not singing.

"I'll text them. Tell them to meet us there; they love karaoke. You should have seen the two of them…" Traci cut herself off; they were supposed to be forgetting about that night.

"Tra-ace." Andy moaned.

Traci could hear the frustration in her friend's voice. She was supposed to be making her feel better not making things difficult so she gave in. "Fine but if he shows up; I am taking you out of there. You will not blow this because you couldn't keep it in your pants. I'm not going to sit there and watch you try to top the last one."

"The last one?" Andy furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Best mistake number one: you make out with your TO and come this close to sleeping with him." Traci explained holding up her thumb and forefinger in gesture even though Andy couldn't see, "a definite 'no-no' but at least you escaped without any repercussions."

Andy snorted. It took weeks for her and Sam to get back to somewhere even close to normal.

"Fine… nothing work related." Traci conceded.

Andy snorted even louder. Was she kidding? She had to tiptoe around Sam for weeks till the tension finally broke on their 'holidate'.

Traci shook her head. "Fine… nothing that showed up on your permanent record."

Although she couldn't see Andy, she took her silence as acquiescence and continued with her list.

"Best mistake number two: you sleep with your 'former' TO while he's undercover. Not the smartest thing to do, but again the permanent record is untouched… until you decide to go back and do it again. Seriously Andy? What the hell were you thinking?" She had forgiven Andy for going back the first time, but she still couldn't believe she risked seeing him again.

"Being with Sam was not a mistake." Andy defended.

"Andy." Traci scoffed.

"Fine." She huffed. "The timing might have been a slightly off, but I don't regret it."

"What if you had lost your jobs? What if we had been too…?"

"But we didn't and he's fine," Andy asserted cutting her off. "And I'm pretty sure the biggest mistakeon that one was Boyd's."

"Oh, Boyd dropped the ball alright, but I still don't want to see what's behind door number three."

"Come on Traci; I'm pretty sure I can refrain from jumping him." Andy chuckled, trying to put her friend at ease. "It's only been a couple of days."

"Yeah, well. Forgive me if I can't forget about the last time we saw him in a bar and I told you not to go to him. You said you weren't going to do anything that time either. Just so you know, I won't be taking any chances tonight; I will not be leaving you alone. You may just end up with a roommate for the night."

"I get it Traci; I do." And she did; she knew the consequences and she wouldn't risk that.

"I hope so because if you screw this one up you won't have to worry about the permanent record because it will be permanently destroyed. So promise me."

"Come on."

"I mean it, Andy. I want your word."

"Fine. I promise."

"What?"

"What?" Andy was confused.

"What do you promise?"

"I promise that if I see Sam, talking will be the last thing I try to do." She teased wiggling her eyebrows.

Traci was not amused. "Now you're just being difficult. Promise me that if Sam comes in, you will leave without speaking to him."

"I promise that if Sam comes in, I will go home." Preferably with him.

"Without speaking to him." Traci prompted.

"Uggh! Fine. If Sam comes in, I'm gone. No talking."

Traci grinned. "Great! Meet me there in a half hour?"

"I'll be there."

Andy hit the end button and dropped the phone back on the table. Thirty minutes wasn't long to get ready and get over there especially without a car, so she made a bee line to her bedroom. She was in the process of changing shirts when she heard the ping of her phone telling her she had a text message. She hoped Traci wasn't cancelling; she really needed this night out. Deciding it wasn't worth changing out of her sweats if Traci couldn't make it, she walked down the hall with the clean shirt in her hand.

She picked up her cell and pressed the text icon. It wasn't from Traci.

'I'm coming to get you. We're going to the Penny.'

She flopped happily back into the armchair and hung her legs over the side. 'What about the rules?' She grinned as she typed back.

'I told you I don't have any rules.'

She knew better than that. He may not have a lot of them, but there were some lines even he wasn't willing to cross. 'Ri-ight… So does that mean what I think it means?'

"It does. You ready to celebrate?'

'Yes. But I can think of much better ways to celebrate. Why do we have to go out? Can't we just stay here?' She responded certain she could get out of drinks with Traci.

Sam grinned; this was the set up he had been waiting for. He debated for a second whether or not to wait till he could see her face, he loved to watch her blush, but in the end he couldn't resist. 'You'll have plenty of time for the good candy later'.

Sam would not have been disappointed by the color that had invaded her cheeks; Andy rolled her eyes as she pressed the keys. 'I thought I said I DON'T want to save the good candy for later anymore'.

Sam chuckled as he read; he would be milking this for all it was worth. 'I'm sure it can wait for a couple of hours. Besides thanks to you, we'll have fifteen days to celebrate any way you want… candy, champagne…'

Andy shook her head; he was never going to let her live that down. And now that she could…

Sam was grinning, the dimples out in full force as he pictured her fumbling to come up with a response to that. He just about dropped the phone when it rang instead of quivered.

"Please tell me you deleted the message." Andy begged.

"What? Not even a hello." His grin widened.

"Hello." She responded, unable to hold back a smile of her own. It had only been two days, but she was still so glad to be able to talk to him. "Now tell me you deleted the message."

"Not a chance."

"Sam!"

"Andy, I like the message." He heard her grunt in disagreement but it only brightened the twinkle in his eye.

"I know I'm a fly by the seat of my pants kind of guy..." He started.

"Opportunity comes along. You want it. You take it." Andy finished, in her best imitation.

Sam chuckled. "Exactly. And despite what happened, I was glad you took the chance when it came along."

"But I also like that that wasn't just it." He continued more seriously. "I like knowing that you were already thinking about it… that you were willing to change your plans… for me."

Andy didn't know what to say to that; Sam didn't talk a lot about the future and plans. The closest he had ever come was asking her to try and be normal together. Well, if this was the new normal she liked it.

On the other end of the line, Sam wasn't sure what to make of her silence and just when he was starting to worry that he had pushed a little too far, he heard her conceding. "I guess we have time for one beer."

She didn't address what he had said, but they would have plenty of time for that later too. "Maybe two?" He bartered, not knowing why he was a little nervous, and besides…

He heard a quiet giggle. "I have some beer here."

He let out a breath, happy that she didn't seem to be spooked by what he said. "Unfortunately, Oliver made me promise to come to the Penny."

Andy laughed louder this time, the tension all but gone. "I already told Traci I'd meet her there too." She revealed, walking back to her bedroom and pulling on her shirt as she went.

Sam chuckled back. "So what would you have done if I had called your bluff and said we were staying there?"

"Told her I got a better offer." Andy stated matter-of-factly.

Her certainty made it very tempting. "I have to go home and change but I can pick you up in about an hour." He suggested; though if they decided to stay in when he got there, he wasn't going to put up a fight. He was sure Oliver and Traci would understand.

But they weren't going to have to.

"It's fine; I can meet you there. Traci is heading over now and it'll give me a chance to have a drink with her before you get there."

"You sure?"

"I am; I was just changing…"

If he wasn't tempted before… "You know I could hurry…" Sam started, the suggestion clear in his voice.

"Pants are going on right now." She stated, dashing his hopes. "So unless you're right outside the door."

"See you there." He said feigning disappointment.

"See you there." She replied with a grin.

Andy walked into the Penny just a few minutes past the half hour. She waved to Traci who saluted her with a drink miming that she should grab one of her own. She had just approached the bar when she felt the hurried whisper in her ear.

"Are you crazy?"

Andy turned to the panicked voice. "What do you mean?" She had no idea why he would be so upset.

"You're suspended." He bit out.

"From the force, not from the Penny." She shrugged angling back towards the bar.

"I know that, but… do you really think this," his arms flailed around at the bar as he hissed into her ear, "is a good idea?"

She gave Liam her order before she turned her full attention back to Oliver. She watched as his gaze alternated quickly between her, his watch and the door. Andy already knew Sam was meeting him there and that Oliver had invited him. So how was it fair that he could be here on suspension? "What?" She huffed out. "So Sam can come here on suspension and I can't; is that it?"

"What?" He looked at her, eyes wide and head nervously darting from side to side. "Who said anything about Sam? I didn't say Sam was going to…"

"Give me a break, Oliver." She rolled her eyes. "It's pretty obvious you're expecting him and besides we tal…"

"No, no, no, no, no." Oliver muttered and threw his hands over his ears. "I don't want to know. Don't ask; don't tell."

Andy relaxed a little and started to smile. It was obvious Sam hadn't told his friend yet and he was worried about getting them into trouble. "Oliver." She beckoned.

"Oliver." She tried again, pulling one of his hands away from his ear. "It's fine. Frank…"

"And Noelle will be here any minute too." He finished for her, his eyes darting to the door once again.

Okay now she was a little pissed. "So it's okay for Sam to come… for you to invite Sam, but Frank can't see me here is that it." She crossed her arms in front of her chest and threw her hip to the side waiting.

Oliver felt bad; he didn't want her to think it was something against her. "No!" He disputed. "I just mean it's probably not a good idea for you to be here together."

She shook her head; he was as bad as Traci. The no-contact condition wasn't even in effect anymore, and even if he didn't know that, that wasn't the point. Just because they were in the same room together didn't mean they would end up breaking the rules. "It's a big bar, Oliver and I'm a big girl; I know what I'm doing."

"You say that now, but what about when Sammy comes in. You sure it won't be a problem. You haven't seen each other since he came out of that house the other night."

Andy thought back to their unofficial 'grace period' and a small smile played on her lips. Obviously Oliver hadn't been privy to that information either.

He looked at her and shook his head, pointing to her mouth. "See. See… that's what I'm talking about. That right there, that smirk. No. You need to go home McNally."

She thought about letting him off the hook, but decided she'd rather keep him on a bit longer. He should have a little more faith in them. She patted his shoulder almost condescendingly. "Enjoy your drink Oliver. I think you're going to need it."

She reached into her pocket to pull out her money.

Oliver reached out to still her arm. "I'll buy you your drink if you promise to head home right after." He offered hopefully.

Boy, he just didn't give up. "I was here first." She noted stubbornly. "Why don't you go somewhere else?"

He actually looked shocked that she'd even suggest it.

This was their place before it was hers; why should he…

Andy huffed; she was pretty sure she knew what he was thinking and she didn't like it one bit. "I'll buy my own drink thanks. I'll just be…" She looked behind her, "right over there." She indicated, pointing to Traci who had moved to the farthest corner away from the TO's regular spot near the bar. "I'm sure between you and Traci, I'll be lucky if I get to go to the bathroom by myself."

Andy shook her head as she walked away; let Sam deal with him.

"You couldn't have picked a further table?" Andy questioned when she finally reached Traci.

Traci chose to ignore the comment; Andy already knew the answer. "What did Oliver want?"

Andy sighed. "Same thing you do?"

"What's that?"

"For me not to be here when Sam shows up."

"See. I told you. I knew he was going to come. As soon as you said you wanted to come here, I knew I should have said no." Traci was clearly in a panic. "Hurry up and finish your drink."

"It's fine Traci." Andy assured. "The hearings were today. They're all over with and…"

"And what?" Traci yelped. "You think everything changes just because you had your meeting."

"Well, yeah… actually I…"

"I don't care if you're not finished." Traci interrupted again. "If he comes in, we leave."

"Really, Traci, it's fine. I talked to Sa…"

"No, no." Traci closed her eyes wincing. "Don't tell me anything okay. I don't want to know."

The Penny wasn't overly busy but between the din of the conversations that were going on and the fact that they were in the farthest reaches of the bar, they didn't notice the door opening. It wasn't until they heard a distinctive and very loud 'Nooo' that they both looked up.

Traci's eyes widened at the sight of Sam scouring the entire bar, clearly looking for someone. And it definitely wasn't Oliver because everyone noticed him slamming down his drink and tripping over his feet to get to his friend before he spotted the prize.

"Down it!" Traci ordered tipping back her own glass to empty it as quickly as she could.

Andy was grinning; she had spotted him too. "We're not doing anything wrong Traci."

"Please." Traci begged. "I just… I love my job; I do. But I also like working with my best friend and it wouldn't be the same if you weren't there."

Andy was touched. "Thanks, Trace. I like working with you too but you really don't have to worry."

"But I do." She said, calming a little and reaching out to place her hand on Andy's arm.

Andy smiled at her friend; Traci was being so sweet and she felt bad having her fret like that. She had been trying to tell her but any time she tried to mention Sam, Traci shot her down. Andy opened her mouth, trying to decide how she could get Traci to listen.

"Just tell me what I have to do to get you to leave right now." Traci cut in. "Anything… just name it."

Anything? Andy was a little torn. She could actually use this to her advantage.

"So you'd be willing to run the gun on say our next five speed traps?" Andy wondered.

"Would it get you out of here?"

"It might." Andy contemplated. "What about all the paperwork for our next five shifts together?"

Traci studied Andy to see if she was serious. That was a lot of work and a lot of extra time at the barn, but it would be worth it if she helped Andy save her job. "Done." She agreed and held out her hand as if to shake on it, anything to get Andy to agree and go.

Andy could see that Traci would do it in a second; she was a great friend. And that's why Andy couldn't take advantage of her. "What about…"

"Andy, please." Traci moaned her shoulders drooping.

"…if I told you that Sam texted right after you called." The terror in Traci's eyes had Andy blurting the rest out as quickly as she could, "he said the board lifted that condition of the suspension."

It took a few seconds for it to sink in but Andy knew the exact moment it did because she heard it loud and clear. "What?" Traci yelped.