A.N. Thank you very much for the reviews on this story. This is the final chapter of this story. The epilogue is still to come. Hope you enjoy it. Sorry it is so long. I tried to cut it down but it didn't work. Please review. Reviews help me. My 3rd story is in the works.
Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Rookie Blue.
The Double Date – The Dinner
Sam, Andy and Noelle were sitting in the Swarek/McNally house. Then Sam looked at his watching and stated, "I think its time to go if we want to beat the rush hour traffic. Noelle and Andy are you both ready?"
"I will be when I got and get my bag from your guest bedroom." Noelle said then got up and headed towards the bedroom. Once inside Noelle, took a deep breath to settle the nerves that were building up inside of her. Ready? As ready as I will ever be in this situation.
Noelle walked out to find Andy and Sam waiting for her.
"Noelle, you coming in our car?" Sam asked
"Sam, I think I want to take my own car. I don't want you both to be going out of your way to take me home at the end of the evening or bringing me back here to pick up my car."
"Okay, Noelle. Sam am I driving tonight or are you?" Andy asked
"I think I will drive tonight. I want to have a clear head tonight." Sam replied but the real reason was that he wanted to stay sober to be support to Noelle.
Noelle picked up her bag and headed out of the door followed by Andy and Sam. Once they left in their respective cars they travelled the whole journey in a convoy situation. Once they arrived at the restaurant they parked up, Sam called out "Noelle can I have a word please."
"Yeah, what is it Sam?" Noelle snapped as the nerves were beginning to get the best of her.
"You okay to go through with this?" Sam inquired of the state of his friend.
"Yeah, I am ok. Just want to get inside and get this over with. I am feeling like a teenager again." Noelle stated. Sam just nodded and gave Noelle a pat on the back.
The three walked towards the restaurant. Sam the ever gentleman held the door open for the two women.
Once inside the restaurant a pretty tall blonde waitress came across. "May I help you?" she politely asked in an English accent.
Noelle spoke up first "There is a table booked for 4 under the name I think of Morgan"
"Mr Morgan is already here. Come with me and I will show you to your table." The tall blonde woman walked them over to the far corner of the restaurant to the private area. When they arrived over to the booth they were going to be sitting at, John stood up and when Noelle caught the sight of him. He looked like Denzel Washington in Man on Fire. Light grey suit, white shirt and light grey tie. Wow he looks so sexy in that suit, he cleans up well. Her mouth almost fell open and her heart began to flutter more before she stepped inside the restaurant.
John looked at Noelle. Wow she looks amazing in the black pants and beaded top.
Andy and Sam looked at each other after seeing the looks exchanged by Noelle and John. The chemistry between Noelle and John was undeniable. Sam and Andy just looked and smiled.
"Hi Noelle" John said bending down to give Noelle a kiss on her cheek. "Glad you could make it, Swarek!" John extended his hand to Sam. "Nice to meet you again Andy." He bent down to give Andy a kiss on her cheek.
"Your welcome, Mr Morgan." Andy politely replied.
"Andy, its John. Please call me John." John suggested to Andy.
"Okay, John it is." Andy replied to the request.
"As we are all here, I think it would be good if we sat down." Sam spoke.
Andy and Sam sat together at one end of the booth and John and Noelle sat together at the other side of the booth.
"So how are we all?" John asked.
"I am good, busy day at the barn but nothing unusual." Sam stated.
"Same as Sam for me as we were riding together." Andy turned her head and gave Sam a sweet smile. Which promised more at home later.
"Noelle, what about you? You are quiet." John said in a caring voice.
"Same dumbass calls on a hot sticky day in the city, a fight, a speeder and then it seemed to die down after lunch when the temperature cooled down." Noelle declared.
"So what about you, John? How is it at I.A. at the moment?" Sam asked.
"Well, I just closed an big case for us. You will hear about it on the grapevine in the next few days. I can't say much about it until the papers are lodged with the prosecutor's office. I still have the Bibby case to deal with." John looked over at Andy. Due to the fact that Chris and her blew the whistle on the Bibby "Don't look worried, Andy." Andy was sitting with her head down not wanting to look. Sam gave her a gentle squeeze of the leg underneath the table.
"From what I have read of the case so far Bibby doesn't have a leg to stand on. He won't get away with it. Peck will just get a slap on the wrist that is all." John said, trying to put Andy at ease. "So you were Andy's TO at the time weren't you Sam?"
"Yeah I was and it was my mistake for not listening to her that day. I was too pissed off at her because of an incident between us. Plus she was still involved with Callaghan at the time too." Sam hated himself for not listening to Andy that day and still doesn't sit well with him now.
"Noelle, weren't you Diaz's, TO at the time?"
"Yeah, I was and if Sam wasn't caught up in what ever situation he was in" Noelle shot a look of anger towards Sam "we could have handled the whole situation a lot better. Well this is enough talk about that situation. We will talk about it when you come to deal with it"
"I want to know what these two were like as rookies." Andy looked at Sam and Noelle. "Sam won't tell me much and Noelle won't spill either? I deserve to know what it they were like, John"
"I didn't know what they were like when they came out of the Academy. I was transferred into the 15 after Noelle's previous TO was shot and killed on the job" Noelle began to tear up at that but John continued "So I was Noelle's TO for the final three months. She was a delight to work with. She would do my paperwork and get my coffee plus she would tease me relentlessly. I knew at the time she would turn into a great cop and she hasn't proved me wrong." John gave Noelle a really nice smile.
"Sam on the other hand hasn't changed really from the time I knew him. He was always the risk taker, never really went by the book and was always destined to be a great UC." John winked at Sam.
The waitress came across to take their drinks order.
"I would like a Scotch, what do you have?" Noelle asked the waitress.
The waitress went through the list of Scotches that they did and when she mentioned Laphroaig. Noelle's eyes lit up.
"I'll have glass of Laphroaig"
"I will have a glass of Balvenie 12 year old" Sam ordered.
"I will just have water as it looks like I am going to be driving now." Andy looked at Sam. Knowing that now Sam could indulge in his favourite Scotch he would be having more than one.
"I will just have a beer. Thank you Miss" John ordered. The waitress left them. "Okay, before we order food, I thought I would let you know this meal is totally on me. Its to make up for things in the past and hopefully to a bright future."
"John, you are not paying for this meal," Sam forcefully said.
"Swarek, I am paying for this meal. If it wasn't for you inviting me to your home, I wouldn't have got in contact with everyone again." He looked at Noelle who was starring at him and gave her a wink. "So this is my little thank you. So keep your money in your pocket" John shut Sam down.
Noelle was speechless that John was paying for the 4 of them. He is still the most generous man in the world. When ever we would go out for a meal he wouldn't allow me to pay. People say chivalry is dead. It's not dead. It's alive and kicking here.
Andy and Noelle both thanked him.
"Next time we go out together. If there is another time, I am paying." Sam declared.
John nodded in agreement.
"Noelle would you please excuse me I have got to go to the bathroom." John asked.
Noelle stood up and allowed John out.
Andy spoke "John, seems like a really nice guy. I spoke to my dad last night about him and he said that from what he can remember he was a nice guy."
"When did you speak to your dad?" Sam asked Andy.
"When you were at Noelle's last night. I hadn't spoke to him for a few days. So it was a perfect opportunity to call him." Andy replied.
John came back but his hands were full when he returned. He had 2 beautiful floral arrangements in his hands. One arrangement was of Yellow roses and purple freesias. Which he handed to Noelle. "Noelle, if my memory serves me right. Purple freesias are your favourite flower?"
Noelle got really teary at the thought that John went and got her flowers and even more he remembered her favourite flower.
"Yeah, purple freesias are still my favourite flower. These are really beautiful. Thank you." Noelle's voice was getting shakier by the second. She stood up and gave John a kiss.
"These other flowers are not for you Swarek. They are for your lovely lady." John teased Sam. He handed Andy a slightly smaller floral arrangement of pink roses and komachi carnations. Andy stood up and took them from John and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"John, you are showing me up. Now Andy will be expecting me to give her flowers on a regular basis." Sam teased John but cursing him at the same time. This means I will have to be more romantic now. John has set the bar high.
Both women looked in awe at their gorgeous floral arrangements.
"Noelle, if I didn't know this man was into you and I hadn't got Sam. I might have taken a run at him myself." Andy teased the whole table but gave Sam an upper thigh rub to take the tension that was evident in his face.
Noelle shot Andy a glare that she was too familiar with when she disapproved of something that Andy did.
The waitress returned to the table with their drinks. She looked at the flowers that were now on the table. She just smiled and walked away.
"What about a toast now." John suggested. "To the future, what ever it may hold."
Everyone raised their glass and clinked them together and said "To the future"
Everyone took a sip of his or her drink. John then spoke up again, "Noelle, your quiet, is everything ok?"
"Yeah, I am. Just enjoying this glass of Scotch." Noelle lied she was nervous and didn't know what to say. Sam exchanged a look with Noelle; saying everything will be fine, take it slow and steady.
"So, Swarek, how did you manage to end up with this lovely girl?" John was being nosey and wondering how in Gods earth Sam managed to get such a beautiful woman.
Sam and Andy started to regale the story of how they first met to the moment that Andy moved in with Luke. Then Andy took the reigns "I moved in with Luke but things weren't right. I was trying too hard and he wasn't trying at all. He was working longer hours at the barn. So about a month later I had enough of being second or maybe third to his career. I broke it off with him, I moved in with my best friend Traci. Now that he is history and that is in my past. I have the best man on the planet." Andy rubbed Sam's upper thigh and Sam put his arm around Andy and kissed her nose.
Sam continued with his story. "During the time Andy was with Luke, I was like a sulky teenager wasn't I Noelle?" Sam looked over to Noelle who nodded her head. "When Andy broke up with Luke. Noelle and Oliver kept prodding me to ask her out. I was scared it took a month or so of those two pestering me before I asked her out. She said yes thank God. Now I am a happy man."
"Noelle, so you had a hand in these two getting together? You were always the mother hen. Don't take that comment the wrong way. You were always there for your friends back then when I first knew you. I see nothing has changed. Which is good for me to hear." John was glad to hear that Noelle hasn't changed the caring side of her even after what he put her through.
"Oliver and I just wanted to get the Sam the love struck puppy to make his move. We were sick of him moping around The Penny watching her. So we just gave him the kick in the ass he needed. Didn't we Sam?" Noelle patted Sam on the cheek.
"Yeah you did." Sam will be eternally grateful for the rest of his life for his two friends.
The evening was interrupted by a phone ringing, Andy looked into her purse it wasn't hers. It wasn't Noelle's and John's. It was Sam's. Sam took his phone out of his pocket he looked at the caller id and said, "I have to take this." Sam walked away from the table.
"Andy, before Sam comes back. Seriously you went out with Callaghan. Even back in the days I worked at the 15, he was a workaholic rookie. He would step on anyone's toes to push his way forward. Plus he was a sorry ladies a skirt chaser. Plus he hated Sam because Sam was a real cop and would get the women." John stated to Andy.
"Seriously? He was like that back then. So he wouldn't have changed for anything." Andy sighed and was relieved at the same time that she got out of the situation. She glanced over at Sam who was still on the phone.
Sam walked back over to the table. "Sorry, John and Noelle. Andy and I have to go, that was my sister Sarah on the phone. She is in a bad way tonight. So we will have to go to St Catherine's to find out what's going on." Andy made her way out and stood next to Sam picking up her flowers.
"Its ok, Swarek, go take care of your sister. Your loved ones should come first. I have learnt that lesson the hard way." Noelle knew what John was meaning in that comment.
Noelle hugged Sam. Sam whispered in to her ear, "Take the chance of being happy. Put it all out there."
Andy received a kiss from John "Take care of yourself and this man here. He loves you more than life itself."
"I will take care of him. Thanks for the flowers they are beautiful" Andy replied. With that both couples said their goodbyes. Sam and Andy turned and walked out of the restaurant.
Now Noelle and John were left on their own an uncomfortable silence descended.
Eventually the silence was broken when John spoke "Do you want to have a rain check on tonight, when Sam and Andy can make it?"
Noelle thought for a split second "We are here now, just the two of us. Lets enjoy the evening."
The waitress came over to take their order. "What happened to your friends?" she politely asked.
Noelle answered the question from the waitress. "They had to go a family emergency came up."
"Are you ready to order now?"
"Yeah, I am. I am hungry. Are you Noelle?" John replied
"I am."
"I will have Cullen Skink to start with, then Fish and Chips (fries) and Eton Mess for dessert." John ordered.
"I will have Pate and Oatcakes, then fish and chips and" Noelle points to the menu "for dessert."
"So you want the Cranachan?" the waitress asked.
Noelle simply said "Yes" with that the waitress walked away.
Silence descended again.
"What are you thinking about, Noelle?" John asked to try to break the uncomfortable silence.
"I am thinking how strange it is that we are here together again after all these years apart." Noelle replied, with thinking how even it felt uncomfortable the silence was but in the same way it felt comfortable.
"Yeah, if Sam hadn't invited me over then we wouldn't be here. Looking at you now, Noelle you haven't changed that much. Your still as beautiful" with those words been said by John, Noelle began to blush and a tear fell from her face. John took his hand and wiped it away "I don't mean to upset you."
"You haven't upset me. That tear was a happy tear. I am just happy to have you back in my life. You don't know how much you mean to me. You were my first true love and I still have feelings for you. Even I thought they had died when you walked out on me but they haven't." Noelle expressed her feelings that were coming from the heart and gut.
"I am glad to hear that you have still have feelings for me. I still love you Noelle. Even though I married another woman, she never took your place." John expressed his own feelings.
The waitress came across with their starters. John asked her "Can we have 2 glasses of Champagne please?"
"What are you two celebrating?" the waitress asked.
John replied "Finding each other again after all these years."
"No problem, Sir." The waitress walked away.
Within a few minutes the waitress returned. John and Noelle toasted themselves.
John and Noelle ate their meal in comfortable silence and sharing their desserts like a love struck couple.
"So what is going to happen now between us?" John wanted this question answered. "I will abide by the decision you make."
"Not here John, I will answer the question outside." Noelle replied with a wicked smile.
John walked up to the bar quickly afterwards, as he didn't want to wait any longer to find out his fate. He paid the bill then walked back to get Noelle. Then they walked outside.
"John, I want to take things slowly between us and see where it goes. I believe that it was fate or God that brought you to that party that night. I also believe that this is our second chance." Noelle took her hand and placed it on the side of John's head bringing his head down. She placed her lips on his and gave him a slow, gentle but passionate kiss.