Chapter 2
"Um...no...it's me"
"Oh...hey...Luke" She said clearly disappointed that it was not Sam.
"I... I went by your place earlier but you were out. I...um wanted to talk to you about something."
He said clearly annoyed.
"I was at the Penny just got home a few minutes ago. So what did you wanna ask me?"
She asked at the same time Luke spoke.
"Why would OFFICER SWAREK be calling YOU now? It's after ten!"
Andy knew that if she said a word about what had happened earlier between her & Sam at the Penny all hell would break loose she could hear Luke had been drinking & he admitted to having left the office.
"Um...he said he'd check in to see I got home ok- Traci dropped me off" she said hoping he could not hear the lie in her voice.
"Why would he check if you got home ok? & since when has it been SAM? Anything you need to tell me in that department Andy?"
"Excuse me? He is my PARTNER & my FRIEND Luke. He looks out for me that's all! What did you call to ask me?" She said trying to divert the conversation from the fight it was clearly on the road to.
"I actually came over to ask you to move in with me but I..."
Cutting him off as she sat upright on her bed "NO!"
"Excuse me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"No I won't move in with you! You have just openly accused me of having something on the side with Sam. You never have time for me, you're always at work. You are never around when I need someone...you know what I can't do this not now, not ever!" She said as slow thoughts dawned on her.
"That's it? That's what you're gonna go with? That's you're excuse?"
"I don't need excuses Luke. What you see is what you get. I'm done with this conversation & I'm sure as hell done with you & your crap." She felt a smile tug at her lips as she hung up on him. Maybe things weren't looking so bad after all.
Andy woke up early enough to make it to meet with Frank before parade & for once she was on time & did not have to blow into the barn like Hurricane Andy.
As she approached Frank's office she noticed Sam was already in there & was getting what looked like a serious tongue lashing.
Andy sat on a chair outside Frank's office thankful to be facing away from what was quite clearly not a pleasant meeting. Biting her lip & fiddling with her hands she wondered what was being said as she could only hear loud voices but couldn't make out their words.
Frank's office door flew open & Sam stomped past clearly not in the best of moods as he made his way to the men's locker room without so much as looking in Andy's direction.
Andy stood up & made her way into Frank's office looking down until she stood before his table.
"Officer McNally I had a lengthy conversation now with Officer Swarek & he admitted that the rather dramatic display we all witnessed last night was due to his own fault only & through no fault of your own. Is this correct?"
Andy could just nod.
"He went on to say that he had copious amounts of liquor & that fuel his anger. This is apparently due to a personal issue that Officer Swarek is dealing with. He assured me that it would not happen again. Now I need to hear from you that you two will be able to work together on shift. If you do not think that you could cope with that for the time being & need space to allow Officer Swarek to work through his issues I can temporarily assign you to a different partner until you feel differently & then you can request to be reassigned to Officer Swarek. Do you understand?"
"Yes Sir I understand. I...um...I don't need to be reassigned sir. As you said Officer Swarek is dealing with a personal issue & never has any kind of issue affected Officer Swarek's ability on the job. Thank you sir but I will be fine being partnered with Officer Swarek today."
Andy was taken aback by Sam's honesty in him admitting that the whole big spectacle of last night had been his doing. Luke on the other hand would never own up to face responsibility of his own actions if it meant that it would tarnish his shiny silver reputation.
That was one of the many differences between them that she had thought about the night before. Along with it was the difference most important to her- that difference was all about the someone that was always there for her, the someone that was there when she needed something or someone & it was not Luke Callaghan.
"Very well, Report to me after shift & let me know how it went." Frank said with a smile Andy thought looked almost mischievous if nothing else. He waved her off dismissing her for parade.
As Frank assigned partners for the day Sam was stunned to hear the 'Mcswarek' partnership named but he was able to refrain from showing his surprise as he saw Andy glance over to gouge his reaction.
So did the entire room for that matter. All confused by their boss's urge to seek more arguments from the two.
Chris had not forgiven Sam for hurting Andy as had neither of the other rookies. Not to mention his swollen nose & black eye, but that was of little concern when it came to Andy.
Jerry & Oliver winked at each other as they heard the pairing. Both hoping that the newly revealed news would soon become a reality rather than a few drunken words uttered only in a stupor of alcohol enriched emotions.
Sam remembered that Frank did say that the decision was up to Andy when they had their meeting. She obviously chose what she thought was the best choice for her- work related of course. He was one of the best teachers they had & they were accustomed to working together.
'Obvious choice' he thought as they left parade & he made his way to get their equipment & the cruiser as she made her way to the coffee machine.
'Some things never change' he thought as he leaned against the cruisers door waiting for her until she approached coffees in hand.
Giving him a feint yet weary smile she handed over his coffee before walking around to the passenger side & climbing in.
They drove around in silence for what felt like eternity before Sam felt the need to break the awkward deafening silence that surrounded them rather than wait for her to do it. Throwing a glance over at her as he pulled up to stop at a red light he noticed that she was staring out the window looking at everything but seeing nothing as she seemed to be waging a war of thoughts.
Gathering all his courage he called her in a whisper to make her look at him. "McNal...Andy"
She looked over at him but her face remained the same that of what he assumed a lost child would bear. "I'm sorry" he said with more sincerity in his voice than he knew he possessed.
Cars hooting drew his eyes back in front of him as he saw the green light & realized he was holding traffic up. Pulling away he was barely containing his urges to pull over & grab her into a tight hug & explain everything to her but that would be very inappropriate as she was Callaghan's girlfriend & they were on duty.
"It's ok. Don't worry about it" she said looking away as he turned to steal a glance at her. Andy was a terrible liar & one look at her face & she knew he would know she was lying to him now.
"I'm really sorry" Sam said knowing that it was not ok & it was definitely not fine.
"Ok Sam. I know ok, let's just leave it there."
Deciding she did not want to do this now he left it alone- for now before the tense situation ignited the cruiser.
Time moved forward at an incredibly slow pace. Neither broached the subject again & tried to force a comfortable mood but both were failing miserably. They issued a few speeding tickets & wrote up a B&E before lunch time arrived.
"Lunch?" Sam asked talking directly to her for the first time since he blurted out his apology.
"Sure" she said feeling a comfortable feeling wash over her as he tried to keep his mood as close to his normal disposition as possible.
"Um...where do you wanna go?" His dimples making a slight appearance for the first time in a few days.
"Anywhere's fine. You choose"
"Ok how about we get a club sandwich from that place you like on Marlboro Drive & coffee at the diner you like?". Sam was trying to be subtle with his apology in the form of food, but he was sure she picked up on it.
He drove across town to the Sandwich Baron & left Andy in the car. Ten minutes later he was back & handed her a sandwich through her partly open window.
"Thanks" she smiled as she reached out to take it knowing it was probably her favourite- Pastrami & cream cheese with lettuce & tomato on brown.
As Sam handed Andy her food her arm stretched forward & her sleeve pulled up slightly revealing purple bruising up her wrist. He thought his eyes were deceiving him until he saw Andy watching his expression change.
He walked around the cruiser & yanked open the door tossing his sandwich on the dashboard & slamming the door.
"Sam what's wrong?" She asked scared a little by his display of sudden anger.
Turning to her he grabbed her arm & pulled it closer despite her futile attempt to break free of his strong grasp.
"Sam..." She warned afraid of what his reaction would be when he saw the bruising properly.
Ignoring her protests he loosened her shirt sleeve's buttons & gently tugged the material up to reveal the purple & red mark clearly shaped like fingers.
"God-Damn-it!" He yelled looking in shock & horror at Andy who now had tears in her eyes on the verge of overflowing.
"Who...?" He asked
Not willing to answer such a stupid question she yanked her arm free taking advantage of his momentary lapse in concentration so regain her own limb. She quickly redid the button refusing to look at him as she grew weary of his movements.
"Andy...what the hell happened to your wrist? Who did that? If it was Callagh..."
"Stop it Sam ok! I'm not doing this now. So just drop it!" She suddenly screamed at him with a painful look tearing across her face.
"Andy so help me God if he did that to you I will kill him, do you understand that?" He said gently reaching out a hand to turn her face towards him.
Through the tears she managed a dry laugh as words were tumbling off her tongue before her brain had a chance to think them over.
"Luke...you think Luke did this? He asked me to move in with him last night so why would he do this to me? Have you lost your mind & gone completely crazy? This was you Sam, you did this! Or did the alcohol manage to give you convenient memory loss?" She screamed as she undid her seatbelt & threw open the door climbing out & slamming the door closed as she wiped away the shed tears with her cold fingertips.
Sam felt like he had a ton of bricks dropped on him when he heard her say 'He asked me to move in with him last night' but when he faintly heard 'This was you Sam, you did this!' He felt like his heart had been torn from his chest.
Segments from the night before were vague, & hazy, others sketchy at best but some were totally blanked out- until she mentioned them. They came flooding back in slow motion movie like clips each weighing his heart down more.
Opening the driver door he got out & quietly shoved it closed walking around to her as she leaned back against the passenger door looking down at invisible spots on the tar.
Standing on the side walk he stood squarely in front of her running a hand through his hair down to his nose where it came to stand still pinching the bridge in an aimless effort to erase the onslaught of memories flooding his brain.
"Andy...I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have done that...I um I had way too much to drink & seem to have blocked most of last night out..."
"Save it Sam what's done is done, so let's disregard that too shall we? Like everything else that seems to come our way!" She was still yelling half in anger half in remorse as she remembered the night of the blackout & his keen willingness to disregard those events.
"Andy there is no excuse for what I did..."
"I'm not doing this now Sam. Not about last night, not about these & most certainly not about Luke so just drop it" she yelled lifting her chin in defiance when she moved forward off the door she had been leaning on as she waved her wrists in front of his face.
"But seeing as you're so desperate to get into it why did you ask me if I came to gloat last night? & what is your issue with Luke? Luke is none of your business Sam that's my business & my business alone got it? You're not here to be my boyfriend & hold my hand remember?" She yelled turning her back on him as she reached to open the cruiser's door.
"Oh and one more thing, if I'm such a problem request another partner or take a transfer!" She yelled over her shoulder stepping to get into her recently vacated seat.
Leaning forward through the open door he bent down in front of her one hand on the open door, the other on the door frame. "Oh yeah? My problem won't be solved that easily McNally. As for Callaghan il a la seule chose je ne peux pas avoir. You know what? Je ne peux pas faire ça. I'm done. Finished." Sam almost sounded like he was spitting the words out at her. He moved back slamming the door closed & took a step up the sidewalk before walking away in the opposite direction.
Blindly clutching for the door handle through tear laden eyes it took Andy almost a minute to get the door open. Jumping out she looked down the street in the direction she had seen him walk in but the street was now deserted. "Damn it!" She yelled as she slammed her hand on the roof of the still for a moment gathering her thoughts she remembered he always kept his phone in his pocket as she did. Reaching into her pocket she quickly pulled out her phone & dialled his number.
It rang once, twice, three times & then he hit the ignore button ending the call. She stood staring at her phone & tried again but he cut the call again.
Staying out on patrol alone was probably not the best career choice she had ever made, but it was a quiet day & she had no more calls so she just drove around for about an hour lost in thought of how wry things had gone. Jolted out of thought by vibrations against her hip she felt her phone ringing she pulled the cruiser up to the curb & pulled it out her pocket.
"Hello"
"Andy thank God, are you ok?" Traci asked worried.
"Yeah Trace -sort of why?"
"Where are you?"
"I'm out on patrol"
"I know that but do you wanna explain why you're out alone & Swarek is in Best's office with major words going down in there?"
"What? How do you know that?"
"I'm riding desk with Gail remember? What's going on? It sounds like all hell is breaking loose in there! ...ok wait it's over he's got papers & he's leaving the barn-still in uniform. Andy what's going on?"
"I dunno Trace...you saw him last night he was sort of ok when shift started then he saw the bruises & freaked out & yelled he's gonna kill Luke. Then he's yelling in French then I'm yelling at him. He walked off & left me here I've been trying to call but he kills it & now his phone is off. By the way Luke asked me to move in with him last night & I said no & then I dumped him."
"What? Andy..."
"1519 what's your 20?" Dispatch suddenly requested over the radio cutting their conversation off
"Sorry Trace gotta go" Andy said ending their call.
"1519 present location corner Garrison & Mason"
"Copy that 1519. You have been requested to report to your staff sergeant asap"
"Copy dispatch. Twenty minutes out, over"
Andy let out a loud sigh as she pulled away from the curb heading towards what she knew had to be a hard time waiting for her.