The next day at work, Andy found out that Gail was on mandatory leave following the shooting. It was a clean shoot but she still was forced to take time. Andy went through it before, she knew Gail would put on her hard, un-unfeeling act and say everything is fine. But on the inside, it would mess her up a little.

With Gail out, Oliver told Andy that she would be taking Fox until Peck is back on-duty. She stopped into Frankie's office to check in on the case closing progress. Yesterday was still tying things up so maybe today all of this could be put to rest. "How's it going? How's Gail?"

"She says she's fine but she's not. Not yet anyway. Eventually she will be but it will take time."

"Yeah, I've been there before." Andy told her about the guy she killed who had been kidnapping girls and keeping them in the basement of a rec. center. She left out the part about the blackout near-hookup with Sam. "Closing up the case?"

"Yeah. I got a statement from Nash. She said she identified herself and that she would like to come in and ask some questions about Mary Daniels. Then she noticed the suitcase by the door and asked if she caught him on the way out. Then he shut the door and, well, we know the rest. The techs found a letter on Walsh's computer, time stamp said he wrote it out during the shootout."

"Where was the computer? Downstairs?"

"Yeah, it was."

"Gail mentioned that she thought there was a computer on in the basement right before Oliver told us that ETF was on the way. The she said the light went out just before he opened fire on you. Check the dispatch time logs, they'll line up. I'd bet on it."

"I'll do that. The letter explained things and corroborated our theories pretty well He said he was going out suicide by cop. I'm signing off on it. Oliver's ok with it. Hey, it's not pretty. But then again, most aren't."

"Well, it was nice working with you Detective."

"You too, McNally."

The next week, Traci was released from the hospital. Andy finally exhaled the pent-up worry that something would go wrong as long as she was in there. That was good because tomorrow was the day that Andy would take the sergeant's exam. Sam had been doing his best to keep her relaxed. He had cooked dinner all week and massaged her body each night. Her whole body. And was ready they both knew it, now she just had to get there in the morning.

She woke up early that morning. The exam was scheduled for 8:00 A.M. but she wanted to get there early enough to get checked in and comfortable with enough time to focus herself. Sam dropped her off and gave her a good luck kiss. The exam was being administered back at the police college. The whole experience of checking in and going to her assigned room and filling out her answer booklet with personal information reminded her of standardized tests in high school.

When the proctor announced to the room that they could begin working, she dove in.

When she had completed her test, she raised her hand and the proctor collected it. He told her she was now dismissed and free to go. As she looked around she noticed that a majority of the room was still working through the test. She got outside and called Sam. Who was at the grocery store to get some stuff they needed.

"Hey Sweetheart, all done?"

"Yep, you can come get me now."

"How do you think you did?"

"I felt good taking it but I was one of the first people done so now I feel like I might have rushed and not analyzed each question and scenario as much as I should have."

"McNally, you know your stuff, know it well. So, you're just able to recognize the answer that much quicker than everybody else. That doesn't just lead you to finishing a test quicker but also means you will make the right decision faster in the field. And that is huge. As long as you are confident about it, finishing the test quickly is not a bad thing at all."

"How long did it take you?"

"Heh, we can talk about that another time. I'm checking out now, see you soon. Love you."

"Love you too."

Andy clicked off and sat down on a bench outside the doorway. It was a mid-November day. Chilly but not too. Soon, the cold would set in with December around the corner. Which also meant Christmas. Their first Christmas as husband and wife. Pretty soon they would go tree shopping and decoration shopping. To Andy, it truly was the most wonderful time of the year, as the classic song goes.

Andy, lost in her Christmas time day dream and planning missed Sam pull up. Abruptly, a shadow fell over her. She looked up to see Sam staring down at her. He held out a hand and helped her up.

"Lost in thought, darling"

"Oh, not really. Just contemplating the weather."

Sam grinned and wrapped an arm around her waist and they walked her back to the truck.

The test results came back to her 10 days later. Sam and Andy had just returned home from work. Andy grabbed the mail from the box and set it down on the counter. Sam went to the fridge to grab a couple beers.

"Sam?"

He turned around to see Andy offering an envelope to him. "What's this?"

"It's my test results. Could you read it first?"

Sam opened the letter and read through it. "Sweetheart, you didn't just pass, you excelled! 98th percentile!" He handed her the letter and kissed her. "I'm so proud of you."

"Really?" She read it for herself. "Oh, wow. I never would have thought I did that well. Now all I have to do is get my application in to Oliver tomorrow."

"This calls for celebration! We're both off this weekend so why don't we head over to Niagara after shift Friday and come back Sunday night?"

"I'd be down for that, yeah. But, uh, in the meantime …," Andy said seductively and bit her lower lip.

Sam picked his wife up carried her towards their bedroom. "I'm sure we can think of something."

Andy had the application paperwork all filled out before shift the next morning. She walked into Oliver's office before she changed out and set the application down on his desk.

"Cutting it a little close there, McNally. I'm making the pick Friday."

"Then it's a good thing it's only Wednesday, sir," Andy said with a grin.

"Oliver looked up from his computer and returned the grin. "Yeah, it is a good thing."

"Well, I'll you in parade," Andy turned towards the door.

"Happy Hump Day," Oliver said as she walked out.

Andy's instinct was to go up to Traci's office and tell her the good news but Traci was still on leave. So instead, she went straight to the locker room and changed into her uniform.

Gail walked in soon after. "What's got you so chipper?", she asked after noticing Andy smiling.

"I got my test results back, 98th percentile!"

"Test results for …?"

"The sergeant's exam, I took it a couple a week and a half ago and t=got the results yesterday. So, I could finally complete the application for Oliver. Just in the nick of time. He's picking Friday."

"Two things. One, I didn't know you were shooting for that. Two, the deadline's here already."

"Yeah. Why? Were you wanting in on it?"

"Oh, no. I guess I've just been out of the loop lately."

Gail had just returned from her mandatory leave after the shooting. Andy had assumed the training of Fox while Gail was off-duty. They had done okay together, but had a sort of stand-offish relationship. Andy chalked that up to the kid riding with Gail for 4 and a half months. He was bound to pick up some habits. Or maybe he was just like that in general and that's why he and Gail work, why Oliver paired the two of them.

"So if you make sergeant are you going to boss me around?", Gail asked.

"Yep! And enjoy every single minute of it." They both tried to hold a serious look with each other but couldn't. "See you in parade."

Andy walked out of the locker rooms and through the bustle of the squad room to the armory where she prepped her gun and grabbed a radio. She entered the parade room and took a seat in the last row and waited for the rest of the platoon to file in. A few minutes later Oliver called parade to order and discussed the focus for the day. They were upping patrols in the Swansea neighborhood and High Park again. Last time that happened everybody groaned for being assigned a detail where the most excitement that ever happened was a cat up a tree. However, that day ended with Dov and Chris trapped in a gas leak and a kid in the hospital after an attempted suicide. Today, nobody took the assignment lightly.

"Final reminder guys, I need any last applications for the sergeants posting on my desk by tomorrow. I will be picking from them Friday. Additionally, there will be a combination party for Campbell's retirement and the newly promoted Friday night at the Penny. Okay, assignments are on the board. Be safe."

Parade broke and Andy went to the board, she was back with Chloe again. "Long time no see," the cheery brunette said from beside her. They had been partnered almost every day before the shooting but hadn't been partnered since.

"No more quiz games." Andy told her about the test results.

"That's Awesome!", Chloe gave Andy an excited hug. "You won't be one of the worst boss I've had."

"Oliver's still the big boss," Andy told her.

"And don't you forget it," Oliver had re-entered the parade room.

"Hey staff, Andy was just telling me about her score."

"Yeah, it's pretty good. I mean, not Oliver Shaw good, but you might have something on Sam. I know if he scored something like that, he would have been bragging about it non-stop."

Andy snorted a laugh and grabbed the keys to 1505 from the wall. "Well we can't all be Oliver Shaws."

"No, you can't, nor should you strive to be." He placed a hand on Andy's shoulder. "You just gotta be you. Now get out there."