This was not an easy title to come up with; hope you like it. Enjoy

No, Well Maybe

Andy opened the door to booking and stepped in; the two senior officers raised their eyebrows when they saw that she was alone.

"I have to admit, McNally; you weren't the one I thought would be left standing in the end," Oliver taunted.

"Piece of cake," Andy bragged before shrugging a shoulder. "You just have to know her weakness."

"Oh. Do tell," Oliver urged sitting up taller in his seat.

Andy smirked cockily, but couldn't keep up the pretense for long and it quickly morphed into a pout. "Her mom showed up," she admitted.

Noelle chuckled at Oliver's obvious disappointment.

"She had someone Gail really should be talking to," Andy continued in a haughty impersonation of the elder Peck.

Noelle looked at her watch. "I should probably rescue her," she grimaced, "but then I'd probably have to kiss Mama Peck's ass for awhile."

Oliver snickered. "I got chapstick in my desk if you want it."

Noelle tipped her chin in defiance. "I think I'll take my chances with Peck's ass."

She could hear Oliver grumbling as Andy's laughter echoed off the walls. "Wish me luck," she bid as she made her way out the door.

She had only made it a few steps down the hall when she noticed a figure approaching. It was easy to see what his objective was or should she say who it was. She shook her head and chuckled under her breath when a feeling of déjà vu washed over her. He had a cup of coffee in each hand and a smile on his face; it was too tempting.

Meeting him half way down the hall, she pointed to the extra cup in his hand. "So, is that for Jerry?"

Sam furrowed his brow. That didn't make sense; Jerry's office was in the opposite direction. "No," he answered skeptically.

Noelle chuckled again, this time out loud.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Noelle maintained, shaking her head. "I just remembered something. You meeting your partner out back?"

Sam continued to look at her like she had two heads. "Uh, no, Epstein's just doing up some paperwork." He had no idea where this conversation was going.

You couldn't wipe the smile off Noelle's face; she always loved messing with him. "Well, the only other thing back here is booking and…" she looked all around and behind him. "Seeing as it doesn't look like you have anyone in custody I can't figure out why would you need to head there?"

"Uh-huh, sure," Sam nodded; he was onto her now, but he wasn't about to give her any satisfaction. "I was just going to talk to Shaw about Poker Night this week. He's hosting so…"

Sam stopped talking when Noelle leaned over and looked into the cup. "I'm pretty sure Oliver doesn't take creamer in his coffee."

Sam tilted his head, looking bored. "Go on; get it all out of your system."

"Don't mind if I do," she cooed.

She started by tapping him lightly on the cheek. "It's all right Sammy. You can admit it."

Sam twisted his head out of her reach and started to turn away. She already knew where he was going so why admit it. But that's not quite what she had in mind.

She was almost singing as she tried to jog his memory. "Bounce in your step, twinkle in your eye. If I didn't know any better I'd swear you were in lo…"

Sam was pivoting on his heel before she could even get the word out and she watched in amusement as he realized that the hot liquid was splashing over the sides of the cups. "Damn it." He muttered under his breath, checking his uniform for damage while Noelle continued to chuckle in front of him.

"You're a real riot; you know that?" Sam grumbled sarcastically.

"It's a gift," Noelle explained leaning forward into a mock bow.

He dropped his chin in annoyance. "It's only been a month, and in case you forgot, I haven't even seen her for the last three weeks so don't go getting ahead of yourself."

"Come on Sammy," she challenged knowing she was right. "I'm not blind; you and I both know that it's been way longer than a month, at least for you."

Sam rolled his eyes.

"You know I called it right?" She bragged, taking a different tactic, "after the retrain. You know you would have saved us all a lot of trouble if you had just gotten your act together then. I can't believe you of all people gave up."

"I didn't give up," Sam answered petulantly.

"I don't know," Noelle disagreed, "you were pretty happy coming in and then all hell broke loose. What happened?"

Sam grumbled out some half assed answer, but the only word she could make out clearly was 'cabin'.

"You were more than just distracted that day," Noelle insisted recalling their meeting in Frank's office that afternoon. She really had no idea what had happened but Sam had gone from looking like he'd hit the jackpot to beating the shit out of Callaghan. Something or someone had gotten under his skin.

She looked him squarely in the eye. "You were literally fighting for her that day, Sammy. What made you stop?" She asked seriously.

"Frank blew the whistle," Sam answered still trying to avoid the real issue.

Noelle dropped her chin and glowered at him. "You know what I mean."

Sam frowned; that was a not a time he wanted to remember. He shrugged his shoulders in resignation. "She chose him."

Noelle shook her head in disbelief. "You know it doesn't count as choosing when the person doesn't know they have another option."

Sam shouldn't have been surprised that Noelle had him all figured out; still, he wasn't giving it up without a fight. "What makes you think she didn't know?"

"Because I know you," Noelle persisted. "For a bad ass cop with no rules, you're actually a pretty moral guy. Did you even tell her how you felt back then?"

"She was with Callaghan. It wouldn't have done any good," Sam maintained.

Noelle shook her head. "I've seen the way she looks at you."

"Maybe now," Sam conceded. "But you can't say she didn't love him. You didn't see her when he got shot," Sam recalled wincing at the memory of the anguish on Andy's face.

Noelle was still shaking her head at him. "I'm not saying she didn't care about him, but that doesn't mean she didn't care about you too. You didn't see her when we were at your cover apartment, Sam. Jerry had to practically drag her out of there that night and all she kept saying over and over was 'Sam, where's Sam'. That doesn't come from just two nights in the sack," she claimed bluntly.

"I know she cares about me," Sam agreed, "but just don't get ahead of yourself. We're still trying to figure it out ourselves."

"I'm just saying that you put your UC career on the line for her and she almost gave up her damn job for you, if that isn't lo…"

"Ah," Sam interjected, stopping his hand midway up to avoid spilling again. "Let's just…" He took a deep breath. "Not yet, okay?" He pleaded before turning and walking back towards booking.

"Say what you want Sammy, but there's nothing to figure out. You're in love," she blurted before he could stop her again.

Sam's gait faltered for a second. Noelle was sure he was going to turn around and deny it but all he did was snort out a breath of air and shake his head. She could have sworn she saw the shadow of a dimple too.

A smile began to form on her lips, but she was startled out of her reverie when she heard Sam call out to her. "Hey, Noelle."

She looked back up at him. "Yeah, Sammy."

"You and Frank going out for supper again?"

"Uh, probably," she answered reluctantly.

Sam smirked at her, no doubt about the dimples this time. "You may want to cut back a bit; I think you've put on a little around the middle."

Noelle's jaw dropped in shock; they hadn't told anyone yet. He's bluffing; he doesn't know anything, she decided before schooling her features.

Sam could see that he had her though and continued on with faux sincerity. "Anything you want to get off your chest Officer Williams?" His eyes then dropped pointedly to her bust line before returning to her face; his grin widened. "Come to think of it…"