I own absolutely nothing from the tv show. This is just a different version of how things may have gone… Hope you enjoy it and feel free to give me any impression, opinion and good/bad reaction it may give. Additionally, you will probably notice that I am not English: feel free to make me notice mistakes or necessary corrections. This is chapter 2 and soon I will post new chapters.

She couldn't still believe that Frank assigned her to Marlo. She tried to convince him to switch with Nick, who was regularly on patrol with Oliver. Frank said she already knew Oliver and it was time for her to open her mind to new horizons. She would have argued about it, but obviously couldn't. That sounded as an insult. She turned around and left the office before she could say something that would have damaged her position. It had been two months since they worked together and as far as Andy tried to make any conversation decent, Marlo couldn't hide her aversion for her. By her side, Andy had avoided to say anything that could make things even more awkward that what they were. At least, she let her drive all the time. Driving kept her in her own world, so they didn't say much. All this was new for Andy: she was closing the world outside her heart, not letting go and not letting anyone come in. It was sad: she felt she was acting like him. She barely talked to him since she went back, even if he tried to ask her about how she was doing a couple of times. She carefully tried not to put too much attention in that question and she lied saying she was ok. Marlo was a good cop and a good person with more experience and perfectly able to make her notice every mistake, not to make her feel incompetent, but because 8 months away could have washed away some cop's habits, and Marlo knew it very well. Finally, in the last days she felt like they were starting to get on well with each other, and probably that was the best thing.

It was a Friday night when she told Andy that they wouldn't have worked that weekend as she would have reached her sister in Miami: she said she loved the sun and that rain was killing her. Andy laughed and agreed with her as she loved the sun and the beach too. Yes, sometimes they laughed and joked about something. She sounded sincere. "Any great plan in Miami?" "well, I am going to spend much time with my sister. I haven't seen her for a while and this time of the year is perfect, you know… not too warm and a little windy" "it sounds good" she looked at her and smiled "I'm looking forward to it! It would be much better if Sam would come with me, but he hates beach" "Really? I didn't know.." "Oh yeah, he refused the idea firmly" He never told her that and it didn't surprise her as he hid many things. He never shared anything with her, but he did with Marlo. Her silence spoke for her and Marlo quickly changed subject. "what will you do? Go camping again?" she said with a funny disgusting face "Oh no" said Andy, she dropped the idea after the sixth time she went to Alberta to have her kayak sessions "now it starts to be too crowded. That place is paradise when you can just listen to the wind and eagles sing for you" She turned and said with a smile. If Sam wasn't in the picture, she would have proposed her to go there together once, but that would have been too much. "Oh yeah, if you like freezing" "It's not that" she pointed out "it's the nature showing you its best side. Makes you feel the peace in your heart" She parked the car at the back of the station and wished Marlo her best time down there.

She let her close the door, when heard Oliver knocking on the window and that almost caused her a heart attack. "What the hell friend, you want me to die?" "Sorry Andy, you join me at the penny?" "No, pal." "What's wrong with that place?" She hated it since she couldn't smile and have fun as before. She was trying to eliminate from her life everything that complicated her process to move on as she really wanted to. "I've found a new one downtown, not full of cops, just normal people." "You avoid me Andy?" She offended him and that wasn't her intention, so she hurried up saying that she met old friends down there and helped her to look at things with a new perspective. Oh boy, that sounded even worse. "so, you don't want us to go out together anymore?" said Oliver annoyed by the whole confession. No, no, it wasn't that. She was avoiding him to avoid Sam. She was trying to cut whatever reminded her the love for that man. She lowered her gaze, she didn't know what to say. "Don't punish me Andy, I have nothing to do with that" "I know Ollie, I don't mean that, but you remember me him and I am trying to move on, that's it". "That's it" he repeated "I'm sorry Ollie, I wish it was easier but it's not." He rushed his beard from his face, nodded, kissed her on a check and said he understood and told her he cared about her friend, not to cut him off the way she was doing with everyone. She was becoming just work and it was true. She had spent many days working with Luke on cold cases and stayed up at night to close them as soon as possible and keeping her mind busy made her life improving. It was a temporary break to all that mess. The positive side of all this was her becoming a good cop and she was even starting to think to become detective, which was why she asked Frank to continue to work with Luke, the best at this. Her relationship with him was long over and they could focus on everything without jumping back to the past, they even laughed sometimes about what they would have been now. He never showed her any old interest in her and that was enough to let her work serenely. She was learning a lot and Frank didn't hide the need for extra arms on cases. Luke was great, an excellent teacher and it was funny feeling a rookie again. And being a rookie on the streets with Marlo was funny too and despite her mood was much better than weeks before, Nash expressed some concerns about these new attitudes she was showing. Andy told her it was good as she was moving forward.

But that night, after seeing Ollie walking away to join the crew at the Penny she remembered she had the entire weekend to enjoy: she planned to go running as usual and then to spend some time with Nash. She went home, took off her clothes, had a shower and went to sleep. She was dreaming about palms and sand and fruit drinks when her phone rang. She opened her eyes, it was almost morning, around eight. The name Sam was lightening the display of the phone. She simply looked at it for a while, hoping him to give up, but he didn't, so she picked up the phone. "Alleluja, McNally." He snapped "Hey, what's up?" she said. That was the kind of conversation she could have with him when he needed help at work. This was the only possible reason for him to call her. "need you at the station, a dead body has been found and no one can come down here. They drank too much last night. Only you and Caroline" She was the new rookie. "I'm there in an hour", she said hanging up without waiting for his answer. She arrived at the station one hour later and found Sam handling with tons of documents and photos shot at the crime scene. He wanted her to structure the net and try to draw a timeline of the events. "we need to do this before they bring here the suspect this 'noon." "this afternoon? Really?" "yep. They got him 3 hours away from here, at Albay" "trying to escape?" "yes, if we're lucky we should close the case soon" he barely looked at her, but she didn't notice. She did. She didn't! She did, it was still hurting... She observed the colour of his hair, it seemed darker than the last time, the line of his ear and his neck, when Caroline got her. She blanked at her and prayed her not to make question. Going at the station had been a bad idea. She dropped her thoughts and approached the blackboard to construct the net.

She was in the middle of writing and speaking with Caroline about what the witnesses had been reported to the police when Sam interrupted her" what's that?" "the net you asked for" he looked at her puzzled, disapproving "do it again" he said, sharply "doing it this way it is more useful" she said, still looking at him. He glanced back hoping her to obey at his orders, but she wasn't his rookie anymore - he forgot about that part. She tried to explain "Luke says and has proved me how useful is constructing the net from the centre and not from the top, so you can modify relations better and you can see easily if something has no sense at all" she almost barked back, fiercely, convinced and ready to fight. She has been away for a while, she wasn't a detective, but she knew she was right. He looked back at her with anger in his face, holding that piece of paper trying not to lose control. Immediately, she thought she has gone too far. Luke, there it was her fabulous mentor. The best detective of the division, the ex/fiancé she was defending. The one she worked with and laughed with and eaten with at lunch with no problem at all. Andy got scared by that look and tried another approach by saying "let me complete it and then you judge" but he still held that expression. He finally looked away and left the room to go for a coffee. He was mad, clearly, but he knew he didn't have any right to tell her what he was thinking about her and Callaghan working together. He left those thoughts running in his veins until he turned around to observe her from the other room, through the glass. She was precisely operating details with Caroline and he could notice how well she was doing it, thanks to Homicide. He also noticed she was slimmer than the last time he looked at her closely, but she still had that beautiful colour of her hair, the red reflex was still shining under the light. He didn't say anything to Marlo about him working that weekend and he could not say to her that he had worked with her. He knew how she would have reacted as she still believed that he was falling for Andy. Was it true? Wasn't it? She didn't look for him when she came back and he guessed she considered it over. She wasn't looking into the past, at least not thinking about him. He remembered her working with Callaghan in the last weeks and felt something moving inside, but he guessed that it was pretty normal considered they had been together.

His phone rang as the suspect was at the station, the custody was his responsibility. He called Andy and Caroline, for the interrogation. Caroline stayed behind the glass, while Andy would have supported him with questions. As she started to talk, he noticed how far she must have worked with Callaghan about interrogations. She was good, pretty good. And sensual. No! No, no, wait. A voice inside him shouted out loud. She was good, professional as she wanted to be. "Bad cop and good cop?" she asked before getting inside. He raised and eyebrow and smiled. Like old times. She shily smiled back as she didn't want to feel the enthusiasm pervading her heart. She was still under his effect. "you bad cop first and then we exchange" that was a news for him, but he jumped in without discussing. Observing her being the bad guy would have been fun. Stop Swarek. Be responsible, what Marlo would say about this? "let's go then" he pushed the handle and then walked inside the room, Andy before him. She set down nicely, reading the accuses to him. That man was shaking and really didn't look like a killer, but he could have been under drug effects. He was around his sixties and his look made her think he should have had a hard life. She offered him water and stared at him while he was drinking. Sam stepped in making him a sequence of questions, pushing him, while Andy was studying his reactions, the way his body was moving. She couldn't get the entire picture, he was behaving differently at every step. She wasn't convinced at all about that guy. Sam looked at that man and shared a look with Andy. They got out of the room to discuss about it. "He's hiding something" "I don't know. He was shaking all the time, you've seen it. That man is not able to kill a butterfly" Andy was still confused and proposed another approach. "I wanna try something, would you let me?" Sam looked back in her eyes. The light brown colour with the yellow lines barely noticeable. He trusted her, so he gave her faith. She had perfectly read his previous statements and had all details of this man. "So, mister Johnson's" "just john" "just john" she said smiling "you're from Alabama, am I right" "you can say it, sweetie!" he laughed aloud and she joined him "a lumberjack for 45 years, one wife, two children, moved here for a passion in woods and nature" " you say it right, sweetie" She could smell alcohol in his breath. "and three nice nephews! Worked hard for the family!" "yep" he proudly said, moving on his chair. Andy took notice of that. She was trying to construct a link with the guy, to make it appear a nice, comfortable conversation. On the other side of the room, Sam was wondering why she was taking her time. "a beautiful grandchild. Alice, 15, congratulations" "she's my princess" "and she lives with you right?" "yep" "must not be easy to deal with teenagers today. You know, smartphones, social network, we must be careful what's around out there. I remember my father, he was a detective. I could never make a step without him to know the details" "you've been raised in the right way ma'am!" "And I guess you do the same, it's on your face" she said smiling again. He laughed aloud again, feeling a connection with her. And she wanted him to feel it. "Don't even ask you about the boys, they must throw at her!" "I know how to face them. Alice is nice, she's pure and must be protected from all the shit around her. All those idiots not knowing what to do with their lives .. and the girls around her, some are really disturbed, dressing up as prostitutes at 15! My girl will never be like that" His anger rushed his voice, his conviction told Andy they were going in the right direction. "I can understand that worry. You know, she may end up in some wrong place, or someone can introduce her to" "exactly" his smile was even bigger this time, but Andy didn't let him enjoy it "so this is why you killed her best friend" "yes!" he said in fury, but then he corrected instantly "no, wait, that's not what I meant" " and what did you mean exactly?" he lowered his gaze and said he wanted a lawyer. Andy turned around and stared at the mirror, proudly. On the other side of the glass, Sam couldn't believe it. She made it in minutes, she played him and get it, easily, she made it look like simple. He stared at her with eyes wide and full of surprise. The new stunning Andy worked hard for weeks to become like this. He felt proud of what she was.

Callaghan was training her magnificently, but Andy had the talent. She left the room to meet Sam outside waiting for her. "Can I go home now?" she asked, faking arrogance "No, we have a lot of papers to comply before sending him to prison and since you've been so good, you'll do it." She knew what to do as Luke never wanted to do it by himself. "Ok, two hours and I'll go home then!" She nicely pointed out.

The next morning, she woke up to go running the usual. The sun was raising quickly, and she didn't want to miss her moment of peace at Dovery Park. When she arrived at the station, she looked for Tracy and Gail, but they saw her first. Nash looked like thrilled. She enjoyed that expression on her face, it was rare. She gently took her arm and confirmed they would have worked together for all the next week. There would have been Luke too, but at least they were together. "What did you do last weekend Andy? I thought you would have come to my place!" Andy lied "I stayed at my father's. Sorry I haven't called. You know, he hasn't seen me for a while, so.." "Ok, is he fine?" "Yeah sure, he's better in fact. He's recovering from a bad flu". They were interrupted by Oliver, approaching, he grabbed the other arm. "What's that face for?" she asked, "Since when Monday is so exciting?" "Since this weekend, Andy" Oliver replied holding her gaze. "What did you do last weekend, Andy?" he asked her still looking in the eyes, then turning, smiling and full of hope, forcing her not to look away. Tracy was faster than Andy who tried to open her mouth "She stayed at her father's!" Oliver nodded vehemently, laughing and giggling. Damn it, he knew. Sam must have told him. She wrote her name on the register, so everybody could have noticed. Marlo too. Oh shit. OH SHIT. She looked at Ollie again, who was really enjoying his moment. Tracy stared at him for a couple of seconds and her mind started to run, her detective instinct analysing, right there on her face. "Wait a second" she stopped suddenly "you lied to me" Andy closed her eyes. "How could you survive to the last UC lying so badly?" "Tracy, here hearts and feelings screwed her up" Oliver said proudly. "So, Andy, what did you do last weekend?" "I want a lawyer!" she said in a funny way, holding up her hands, trying to escape the conversation "She worked with Sam at a case" Oliver said, solemnly, lowering his voice. Andy rolled her eyes. "Ok, then what? Working is not a crime. You should take it from me, as we all know that I am working more than you these days" "Why you didn't say it?" "because I wanted to avoid that exact look, Trace!" she pointed at her face, annoyed by her implication "Have you seen the guy this morning?", Oliver added. She took a deep breath and shook her head. "You know, he didn't even need to say it, it was right there on his face. And your old pal got it. Andy, he wasn't even walking, he was flying". Andy shrugged her shoulders. That meant nothing. They were nothing. He had a girlfriend and she had to respect it, no matter what. They never talked after her leaving, but he made it clear. She saw him kissing her in the kitchen and that was enough. "It was just work. Period. Stop dreaming about it!" She speeded up and Luke reached her side "Oh hey, what a face!" "Good morning you too!" she replied, "I need you help me" he always had this bad habit to cut it off "They found a body at Rock Creek." Andy couldn't believe it. It was the third that month and she thanked not to live around that area, going running wouldn't have been safe. "if you find Nash, tell her we're going in 10 minutes, after parade!" he walked in his office and closed the door to answer the phone. That was a bad sign. A case with Luke meant days of working without going back home, if not to have a shower and change clothes. He disappeared, and her gaze moved until she ended up on Sam holding Marlo's hand. And that made her think that work would have become her new medicine.

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