A/N: I can't believe I have 25 reviews and the story has been up for only five days! Thanks so much for all your kind words!

I also want to thank everyone who has favorited and alerted, it means a lot to me that you keep reading =D

I had my final exam yesterday, so now I will hopefully have time to write some more without feeling bad about it ;)

Hope you enjoy this chapter! Only two more to go after this one!

Leave a review if you want to tell me what was good or not so good =D

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue or its characters or anything related to the series in any way, shape or form.

Chapter 7

June

Sam was no longer Sam Swarek, police officer.

For eight months he had been Sammy, recreational coke-head and drug dealer doing the odd job for Petrov set up by his best buddy Max. Mostly they were small security jobs during smaller drug sales or simply keeping look-out. But he was inside the walls of the organization.

It was a warm summer's day and they were sweating as they stood outside the warehouse where the deal was going down.

Max' stomach growled loudly, and they both laughed.

"What? You hungry?" Sam asked with a smile.

"Nah, not really." Max said. He was coming down off of the hit he took earlier, and was getting more and more jumpy. "I don't feel so good."

"You coming down?" Sam asked with understanding.

Max just nodded.

"Hang in there. Deal's over soon."

No sooner had Sam said that before two of Petrov's guys, the same two bulldog-like men he usually worked with came out of the building carrying a bag. One of them reached into the bag, got out a wad of cash and handed it to Sam. "Good job." He said as he zipped the bag closed. "No problems?"

"'Course not." Sam said with a big, cocky grin. "We're awesome as always."

Petrov's guy gave him a look, then shrugged, and walked over to the car where the other guy was waiting. "We'll call if something comes up."

Sam gave a wave and they pulled out of the warehouse parking lot.

"Yeah. Let's go get something to eat." He said grinning over at Max.

"I just want a hit." Max said somberly.

"Ya can wait a couple hours, can't you?" Sam said with a big smile as he pulled Max to his feet. Inside he wasn't all smiles though. He'd seen Max slowly deteriorate over the last couple of months. The clothes that had fit him okay five months ago were now way too big, and his cheeks had sunk in.

"Whaddaya wanna eat? Burgers?" Sam said with another big smile as he started walking away from the warehouse.

"I just need another hit. Then I'll be fine." Max said. His head hung low and he seemed extremely tired but jumpy at the same time.

"Come on. Let's go grab a burger." Sam said, grabbing Max' arm, he pulled him out of the warehouse parking lot and out on the street.

They walked for a while along the side of the road in silence, Sam keeping a couple of steps ahead of Max.

"I feel so horrible, man. Just give me something. I know you've got it." Max whined.

"Sorry, man. Don't have nothing on me." Sam said apologetically.

"Like hell you do!" Max exclaimed accusingly. "You sell all the time! Of course you got some on you!"

That was true. Sam had a pack in his pocket, but he would not give it to Max in the state he was in right now. It had barely been 50 minutes since his last line.

"Come on, Sammy. Please? I really need it."

"I think you need to cut back a bit." Sam said.

"Spoken like a true dealer. NOT!" Max said with annoyance and stopped walking in protest. "I have money."

Sam turned around to face him and scoffed. "What money?"

"That money." He said pointing to Sam's pocket and the money Petrov's guy had given him.

"This money?" Sam pulled the wad of cash out of his pocket and held it in Max' face.

"Mhm."

"You gotta eat first and then we'll see."

"We'll see? Come on, man. I really need it! Like right now!" Max was getting louder and louder.

"Food first."

"I'll go get some from someone else." Max said as he lunged for the cash in Sam's hand but Sam was quicker than him and stuffed the money back into his pocket.

"Give me my share!" Max was growing more aggressive by the second as the withdrawal sunk its teeth deeper into him.

"No! Let's go eat." Sam turned around and started walking away, but was stopped by Max' hand on his shoulder before he felt a blow to the back of his head and his chin slammed into his chest.

"What the hell!" Sam exclaimed as he whipped around.

"Give me my money!"

"Since we're friends, I'm gonna choose to ignore you punching me in the head. Now let's go eat!" Sam shouted at him before grabbing his arm way tighter than necessary and pulling him along down the street to the entrance of a burger place. "What do you want?" He spat.

Max scowled at him. "Nothing."

"Okay, I'll just buy you something then." Sam said and turned to walk into the burger place. Once again he felt a blow to the same spot in the back of his head and his chin connected with his chest once more. The back of his head, which had only ached dully before, was now pounding giving him a headache.

"Will you stop punching me in the back of the head!" He yelled while whipping around to face Max.

"If you give me my money!"

"You want your money?" Sam shouted angrily. "I told you you'll get it after you've eaten!"

"But I need a hit NOW!" Max yelled throwing a punch towards Sam's face. Facing him, Sam could easily dodge the punch. Drug addicts usually didn't have the best coordination skills.

"After foo…" Sam was cut off by blaring sirens and he turned around to see a squad car pull up next to them. "Now look what you did!" He yelled at Max while throwing his hands exasperatedly in the air.

"I'm sorry officer. We were just having a little argument. We'll calm…" He stopped mid-sentence as he saw the number on the squad car: 1519. Oliver's car.

Sam's eyes grew large and he swallowed nervously as the passenger door opened and a brunette officer stepped out of the car. –Damn! He thought as she straightened up and took in a glance of the scene in front of her.

Her brown eyes scanned quickly past him to take in the scene. She then looked down at her notepad to scribble something down before her eyes suddenly shot up and locked with his. Her mouth fell open slightly due to surprise, but she quickly regained her composure. She cleared her throat loudly.

"We've received a disturbance call." She said with authority looking from Sam to Max. "Care to tell me what's going on?"

"Just a money issue, officer." Sam said with a big confident grin, falling back into his role. "Not a big deal, really. Just got outta hand. We'll be on our way." He nodded curtly and turned to leave.

"Just get lost. It's none of your business!" Max suddenly shouted.

Sam groaned. Maybe he should have let Max have that line earlier.

Andy looked at Max with an I-cannot-believe-you-just-said-that-to-me look on her face. "Well, since I was called here to assess the situation and there were reports of violent behavior. It kind of is my business." She said sternly walking over to him. "I think we need to bring you to the station and get a statement."

Max just scoffed.

"Come on, we ain't gonna do nothing. We're leaving." Sam pleaded while grabbing a hold of Max' arm and trying to tug him along.

"Like hell we're leaving!" Max shouted ripping his arm out of Sam's grip and walking back towards Andy in a threatening manner. "I won't get my stuff until I eat something right?" He turned to Sam.

Sam was at a loss for words. He cursed himself for not having let Max do that line earlier. Then he walked over and stepped in between Andy and Max.

"We're just gonna go." Sam said grinning at Andy while pushing Max backwards using his back.

"I wanna beat this cop chick so bad!" Max shouted, while trying to get around Sam.

"Max! Calm down! You're not making the situation any better!" Sam said as loudly as he could through gritted teeth as it took a surprising amount of strength to keep Max under control.

When the third punch in one hour connected with the back of Sam's head he lost it.

"WHAT THE! Fine!" He shouted throwing his hands in the air and stepped to the side so that Max had a clear path towards Andy. Sam had no doubt that she'd take him down easily.

He was right.

Max lunged forward with all his weight, his direction so obvious and his control so poor that Andy could easily step to the side and let him slam himself into the squad car. She then expertly proceeded to cuff him and shoved him into the back of the car.

"Whoa, whoa!" Sam's head whipped towards the sound of his old work buddy as Oliver finally got out of the car. "Good going there, McNally!" He said with a smile that disappeared as soon as he laid eyes on Sam. His eyes bulged for a moment before he walked calmly over to Sam. "You involved?" He asked in standard cop-tone.

Sam threw his hands in the air. "Yah, yah. No point in running." He sighed as Oliver came over and removed his cuffs from his belt then proceeded to cuff him.

"Don't let anyone burn me this time." Sam said under his breath as Oliver directed him to the car.

"Do my best." Ollie whispered quickly before opening the door and putting a hand on the back of Sam's head to guide him into the car. Due to the three punches to virtually the same spot, this gesture made Sam wince. He could see Andy frown out of the corner of his eye before Ollie shut the door and got in to the front seat with Andy.

"Dispatch, this is 1519. We're bringing in two bodies for interviews from our disturbance call." Andy said into the radio.

"Roger that 1519, come on in."

"Let's go!" Oliver said enthusiastically as he pulled out onto the street and headed towards the precinct.

Sam had been clenching his jaw in irritation the whole drive hoping that the situation wouldn't turn out like the last time he'd been stuck in the back of a squad car with Shaw and McNally in the front.

They pulled into the station and Oliver guided him out of the car while Andy hung back with Max. Sam had a small smile on his lips as Oliver took him through the doors leading into the booking room.

"She's learnt." He said when the door had closed, safely separating them from Andy and Max.

"Yeah. Let's find you a holding cell." Oliver said pushing Sam through another set of familiar doors and into a small cell with a small bench and a metal toilet with no seat.

"Thanks man." Sam said with a sarcastic smile.

"I'll talk to you later." Oliver said as he left the cell and locked the door.

"Super duper!"Sam said to himself as he plopped down on the bench and rubbed his eyes.

It felt like he'd been there for hours when he finally heard metal on metal as the door unlocked and swung open.

"How you doing?"

"I'm pissed." Sam said through clenched teeth without opening his eyes.

"Well, we got you not burned this time. You hungry?" Shaw sat down on the bench next to Sam's feet.

"I was." Sam replied opening his eyes. "But not anymore." He sighed, swinging his legs off the bench. "How's the kid?"

"Angry."

Sam sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. "You gotta hold him?"

"Yeah. He's not far from an aggravated assault charge and he's still being aggressive so…" Oliver trailed off as he saw Sam pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Damn it." Sam sighed, letting his head fall back against the wall. "Ow!" he yelped as his growing bruise connected with the wall and sent pounding pain through his head.

"You okay there, buddy?" Oliver asked with concern.

"Three times."

"Huh?"

"He hit me in the back of the head three times." Sam said dully. He looked at Ollie properly for the first time since the day he left. "He's a good kid. Only problem is his withdrawal. I was trying to get him to go a bit longer without coke. He's been out of control with his using lately." Sam said with sincere worry.

"He's your CI?"

Sam shook his head. "More like…" He struggled to find the words. "Connection." He decided that was the most suitable description.

"Ok." Oliver got up and went over to the door. "McNally'd like to talk to you." He said putting his hand on the door.

"I don't know..." Sam sighed and let his head fall to his left. "I really shouldn't…" He sighed heavily once more. "Okay. Send her in."

Oliver nodded before opening the door.

"Hey, about my going under…" Sam said, halting Shaw in the doorway.

"Don't worry about it." Shaw smiled over his shoulder before walking out and leaving Sam alone yet again.

Not ten minutes later the door reopened not to reveal his balding friend, but the tan brown-eyed brunette that had haunted his dreaming and waking hours for well over a year, and that he cared about too much for his own good.

She smiled nervously and waved slightly before she sat down next to him on the bench.

They sat breathing in unison for a little while. The tension was building and Sam could have sworn he felt the air vibrating between them.

"So, hey." He said breaking the silence.

"Hey." She said quietly, looking straight ahead at the door.

"Shaw said you wanted to talk?"

"Yeah." She said breathing loudly but calmly.

"'Bout what?" Sam prodded when she didn't say anything.

She sighed still staring at the door.

"You counting the bolts, McNally?"

A smile played at her lips. "Like four times now." She said with a small chuckle.

"So, you gonna tell me what's up, or can I leave soon?" He said coming off a bit more aggressive than he had wanted.

But apparently it was what she needed. "I broke up with Luke." She said matter-of-factly.

His heart went up in his throat and he couldn't speak.

"Not long after you left."

-Was she reading his mind? He wondered. He swallowed hard to try to get rid of the lump in his throat, but to no avail.

"It just wasn't right." She said. She still hadn't looked at him since her nervous smile when she came in. "There was something missing. I just can't figure out what."

He grunted loudly in an effort to force his heart back in his chest and it worked. "I'm sorry." He said still sounding like he had something stuck in his throat but at least he could speak.

"Don't be. It's been what? Six months soon?"

"Ok, then." He looked down at his hands.

"How's your head?" She finally looked at him. He could feel her eyes scanning the back of his head for bumps. "You winced horribly back there when Shaw put his hand on it."

"Yeah. You would too if you got hit three times in the same spot." Sam said dully.

"Ouch... Where did he…?" She reached out to touch his head, but he grabbed her wrist to keep her hand from touching him.

"Don't."

"Do you need someone to take a look at it?" She asked with concern.

"Nah, it'll be all right." He said. He wanted to wave his right hand dismissively but realized that he was still gripping her wrist tightly. He frowned before forcing his hand to open and let her loose.

He still wouldn't look at her. He couldn't look at her.

"Sam."

"I can't do this." He whispered.

"What?"

"I shouldn't talk to you." He looked over at the wall, but there was nothing his eyes could rest on so they went back to his hands resting on his thighs.

"Okay." She got to her feet.

His emotions were raging inside him. He was Sam Swarek, police officer. He had yearned for his rookie since their first shift together. He loved teaching her things and wanted nothing more than to teach her again. To hold her in his arms and comfort her after a bad shift. But he wasn't that officer Sam Swarek. He was Swarek UC agent. No. He was Sammy. He was a drug dealer. No. What was he? Everything was so confusing. Only one thing was clear in his mind: He did not want her to leave.

He did not want to leave her again.