A/N thanks for continuing to read! It appears that this chapter (or should we say: round?) is another long one. Hope you enjoy!
Co-written with dcj
Disclaimer: We do not own Rookie Blue
'Roll with the Punches'
"The hero and the coward both feel the same thing, but the hero uses his fear, projects it onto his opponent, while the coward runs. It's the same thing, fear, but it's what you do with it that matters."—Cus D'Amato
Sam is up and about early the next morning. He is methodical in his approach to the new day. He goes for his run earlier than usual, even takes a new track. It's a little cooler than he hoped it might be, but his stretches have helped. The sun is there, but it's still very low. Every now and again he looks into it, squinting, but wanting to make the most of the warmth that it washes over his face.
He'd be lying if he said he wasn't tempted to call McNally; ask her if she wanted to grab a coffee…maybe a ride to work. It's not –
It's not that he wants to…try and win her affections again, or anything of the sort. It's just –
He's resolved to try and repair some of the things that are broken between them. Her trust, her respect, her friendship…
Even something as small as the fun they used to have.
He misses their teasing, their banter, and their camaraderie. He misses the professional partnership too. Andy McNally may have been his rookie, but really…
From day one, that time she tackled him…he knew she was always a class above that.
He wants to make it clear to her that no matter what happens from hereon in between them; he does trust her instincts. He wants her to know that he genuinely believes she's one hell of a good cop.
He also wants to emphasise the fact that he's so…so sorry that he hurt her first time around.
(On reflection, he thinks that maybe the night in the truck when they agreed to part ways, he may have been so focused on his own sorry ass that he forgot to stress…that it wasn't all bad…far from it….and any parts that weren't great…well, he played a big role in that being the case.)
What Sam wants, more than anything, is for her to smile at him again. He wants her not to feel awkward around him, or angry, or guilty…or anything else. He just wants her happy. He always has. And if it means he has to do better at being a 'friend' or 'colleague' or 'ex-boyfriend', he will do it…
Because he cares about her...
He loves her...
No matter what.
Sam knows that there's a possibility that, as a couple, they might be over for good. He knows there's been a whole lot of pain that might never be fixed. But. He is determined –
He will fight tooth and nail to make sure she knows, that in whatever capacity they agree on –
He wants to be the one that has her back…always.
When Andy's alarm starts beeping the next morning, she groans… loudly, not quite ready to give up the bliss that was the last few hours. It's not that she had gotten home late; in fact, she was in bed well before midnight.
She just wasn't able to fall asleep… at least not right away.
She remembers her mind playing and replaying every detail Noelle had given her about the night, trying to assign meaning to every little thing. And then she had started thinking about his truck being at home and the light being on and what that might have meant… or not meant.
And shortly after that the 'what if's' came - What if he and Cruz did break it off? What if Andy told him she still loved him? But what if they didn't? What if it didn't matter either way?
She remembers struggling over that last one for a long time until somewhere deep into the night a sense of peace came. She distinctly recalls it washing over her as if she finally found the last piece to an almost impossible puzzle. And it felt…right.
Until she woke this morning and it seemed to just fade away… like maybe it was all just a dream.
"Uggh!" Andy pulls the pillow from the other side of the bed and shoves it down over her face as she screams into it. She really needs to just get through this day in one piece. Get beyond the fight and then take stock.
Because even if they did break up last night, that doesn't mean Sam is ready to move on with her. She doesn't know if he would even want to. And there's no way she is going to be a rebound. Not with Sam. She needs to wait, be patient. (God, she really hated time and space.)
After a few more minutes of wallowing, she throws the pillow from her face and the covers from her body. She thinks about going to the gym, hitting the bag again. She doesn't really feel like she needs the practice, she just likes the idea of losing herself in some kind of activity, anything really.
In the end, she decides to go for a run instead, just pop in her ear buds and crank the music up loud while she pounds it out. If she times it right, she won't even need to come back home. She can point herself in the right direction and just clean up when she gets there.
So she plans her route, tries to remember if she has an extra set of clothes in her locker. Figures if she doesn't, she can borrow something from Traci, shoots off a quick text to her friend to see if she can bring a change for her.
She gets the 'I got you covered' text back in record time. Grabs her phone, keys and water and stuffs them into a runner's pack and she`s good to go.
The air's a little cool this morning, so after a few quick stretches, she starts off slow, eases herself into it. Waits till she's a few blocks in before she lengthens her stride, starts to let herself go.
As she gets into a rhythm, the music almost fades into the background and her mind drifts back to last night… and that incredible feeling of peace. And she doesn't know if it's the endorphins or the pounding that's shaking everything loose or the way her heart's just starting to really beat, but it comes back to her. She made a decision last night.
And the more she thinks about it, the more right she knows it is. Maybe, just maybe, this isn't about fighting each other. Oliver said it himself; he was a lover not a fighter. And maybe that's what she needs to do too. (The best defence…)
Focus on the good, what she can have, not battle for what she can't. Maybe she just needs to concentrate on being a good friend and colleague right now. And not look at it as settling. But look at it as something worth having… something worth building… because it is. And maybe just maybe, everything will fall into place.
So maybe she needs to do whatever it takes because she does not want to lose him, has actually spent the better part of the last two weeks doing just that...letting him go. She realizes the only thing stopping her from having Sam in her life is her.
She needs to stop avoiding him and Marlo. She needs to suck it up. She wants Sam in her life. So if that means accepting Marlo then so be it. She misses him, misses everything about him – talking to him, working with him, laughing with him, flirting with him, the way he can always make her…
She shakes her head. Right now, she just needs to work on enjoying whatever they can have. And if that means she has to go through Cruz, she will. The woman will just have to get used to it because Andy is not going anywhere and she is not going to sit by and watch him slip away.
Andy's grinning; for the first time since she and Sam had the talk, she actually feels hopeful. Just the thought of being back in his life no matter how small is enough for her right now. And it's something to look forward to.
'Can we just… try to be friends?'
Her pace picks up, trying its best to match her outlook, and pretty soon she's almost sprinting towards the station. She really just cannot wait to get there.
Cruz better be ready because Andy certainly is.
When she reaches the parking lot, she slows to a stop, doubles over and sucks in some air. Her legs are heavy and her heart is beating double time, but she feels good. Really, really good.
She takes a few deep, slowing breaths, pulls the small bottle of water from her pack and downs half of it in one go. She puts the container on the ground as she slides her fingers through to grip the chain link fence surrounding the lot. She uses the fence as balance while she stretches things out a little. Wants to stay loose, doesn't want anything to tighten up on her.
When she releases the fence, she bends to pick up her water and finishes the rest of it as she moves forward.
When she walks through the door, she's grinning. It's not something she's done a whole lot of lately, especially around the barn so she gets more than a few errant looks. But she doesn't register any of them; her eyes are too busy scanning the pit.
Two cups of coffee later, Sam pulls a third and a fourth.
The station is quiet at this time of the morning, but he's done some intel…he knows McNally is due on shift soon.
He decides not to interrupt her in the gym this morning, if that's where she is. Decides he's probably not quite up to facing the fact that it's Collins she's still training with. But maybe he can catch her just before Parade, offer a friendly gesture and make sure she knows that he wants her to have a good shift.
It doesn't take long for Andy to spot him; he's over by the coffee machine.
Her eyes light up even more.
He turns almost immediately, like he senses her there. Her heart starts picking up that double time rhythm again. She always knows when he comes in a room, kind of likes the idea that maybe he can feel the same. Like that connection is there for him too.
She grants him her biggest smile and waves happily before she turns to the locker room to have her shower. She doesn't wait for the bemused wave he throws back at her.
As Sam watches her turn and leave, a spring in her step, he's wondering what's put the smile on her face. She didn't come from the direction of the gym, so…
He notices she was in her running gear. Maybe that's it; after all, the endorphins have helped him this morning.
Sam can't help but smile as he watches her continue to where she's headed. He likes seeing her like this –
He spends a little more time lost in his thoughts in that spot, stirs the coffee slowly and genuinely considers following McNally. He shakes his head, realizing that's ridiculous. She's going to the women's locker room, clearly. She's about to get showered and dressed. What's he going to do? Walk in there while she's half naked because all of a sudden he wants to be better at being a 'friend' –
"Hey, buddy," Oliver breaks Sam out of his reverie, a splash of coffee being barely contained in the cup because of the way Shaw just smacked at his shoulder. "One of those caffeines for me?"
Sam smacks Ollie's hand away, gives his friend a bit of a frown. "No," he says sharply, not wanting to give anything away as to whom the second coffee was for. "You better get a move on," Sam continues a little petulantly. He really does not want to get stuck here with whatever pearls of wisdom his buddy might want to share this morning. Sam is already resolved. "You'll be late for parade."
"Ah-huh," Oliver agrees, nodding his head and scratching his chin. "I guess me asking how that dinner party went can wait until a little later today…"
Sam gives Shaw a warning glare. He doesn't have time to dissect everything that happened last night. Besides, if he gets caught up with Oliver, he might miss McNally when she happens to walk back in this direction –
"You're a busy man, I know." Oliver puts his hands up, but gives Sam a knowing smirk. "But we're not done, buddy…we're not done at all…"
With that, Oliver leaves Sam alone with his thoughts again. He breathes in deeply, wonders how long the coffees he just made will stay warm.
Cruz is fresh out of the shower when Andy comes in; still breathing hard from the path she put herself on this morning.
Cruz eyes her up a little, wonders if McNally put in the same efforts to win she did this morning.
Andy takes a deep breath, convinces herself that she can do this, that she needs to do this. "Morning," she practically sings, offers the other woman a welcoming smile.
Apparently though that was not the greeting that Marlo was expecting, the frown on her face is more than testament to that.
But Andy tries not to let her smile falter, just spins back to open her locker and go about her business. She sets her pack on the top shelf, slides out her towel and toiletries and then takes a step back to close the door.
She can feel Cruz' eyes studying her, but she's not going to let her get to her, plants a content smile firmly on her face.
"You know you've still got a fight on your hands right?" Cruz is practically growling as she wrestles roughly with the buttons on her shirt. "Surely you don't expect me to let you just step right in and walk all over me."
Andy's eyes widen a little, but she's made up her mind and won't let Marlo throw her off her game. (No distractions, Nick said.)
"I try not to let expectations get the better of me these days," Andy throws back at her, but then she takes a deep breath to rein herself in. "I know it's not going to be quick and I know it's not going to be easy, but I'm just hoping for the best."
Marlo stares at her for a couple of really long seconds before she pulls out her brush, spins on her heel and is around the corner to a mirror without another word.
Andy's brow furrows in confusion but she refuses to let herself get caught up in the drama. She's sticking to her guns, knows in her gut that she's got it right. She grins again as she decides on the perfect first step.
Doesn't stop grinning for the whole shower.
Traci walks in just in time to see a satisfied smile spread over Andy's face; it's kind of surprising seeing as she just saw Cruz walk out only a couple minutes before she came in. "You're awfully chipper," she greets her friend.
Andy reaches out for the bag Traci has in her hand, assumes it's for her. She shrugs her shoulders once real quick as she tosses the clothes into the bottom of her locker for later. "No reason not to be."
Traci's eyes narrow as she scans the entire room for any bloodshed. "Well, I know you didn't off her in the shower."
"No," Andy chuckles at her friend; loves her that much more for just being her, "She is definitely alive and kicking."
Traci has no doubt about the kicking part, but the change in her friend - that definitely brings up some questions. "So what's up then?"
"Nothing," Andy assures her. "It just feels like it's going to be a good day."
Traci's not quite convinced, keeps a close eye on her friend as she readies herself into the last of her uniform. She doesn't say a word, just waits and watches. It doesn't take long.
"Hey, do you think you guys can get away for lunch today?"
Traci's eyebrows shoot up nice and high. (So that's what's up.) "US guys?
"Yeah, you and Sam," Andy confirms as nonchalantly as she can right now. See, she doesn't want Traci to make a big deal of it… even though they both know exactly how big of a deal it is. And that high pitch in her voice at the end kind of gives her away a little anyway.
Still, good friend that she is, Traci doesn't call her out on it. Kind of just wants to see how it all plays out. Truth be told, she would love nothing more than to help Andy with whatever she's got up her sleeve… but after yesterday she knows it's not likely.
She purses her lips before she shakes her head in apology. "This case is really kicking us in the ass, Andy. If it's anything like yesterday…"
"How about I bring you something," Andy interjects; she's on a mission. "My treat."
"You're making it really hard to resist."
Andy makes her way to the mirror, starts fussing with her hair as Traci turns to leave. (That's what she's counting on.)
"Sam," he hears a voice behind him.
He turns on his heel, careful with the two new hot coffee's placed in his palm. "Hey," Sam smiles small, and god does he feel out of his depth. Be professional, polite, friendly, but firm, he reminds himself. "Uh, Marlo, how…how are you?"
Cruz smiles back at him, not quite the shiny thing he's used to with her. "Good, I'm good….Focused on what will be a big day and night."
Sam nods, swallows a lump as he considers for the first time that maybe, just maybe, the recent…women…in his life will take out their frustrations about him on one another. "Yeah," he replies quietly. "Busy shift at work – and then the charity fight…" He almost rolls his eyes at himself, his voice at a pitch that gives away some of his nerves.
"I take it you're coming to watch?" she asks, her own voice almost irritatingly calm.
Sam nods. "Yep," he smiles. "Boss'd kill me if I didn't donate for the cause."
"Oh yeah?" She quirks an eyebrow, staring him down like some smiling assassin. Sam can't quite put his finger on her expectation of him at the moment, but something isn't sitting quite right. "Who's your money on?"
And, well. If Sam could punch a bag now, he would. Cannot believe he's walked into this trap –
"Swarek!"
Sam makes a mental note to thank Nash profusely later. He'll offer to babysit Leo for the next year, that's the very minimum of what her little interruption is worth.
His partner has entered the room from roughly the same direction as Marlo did, gives him a lazy grin like she knows she's just thrown him a buoy. "That coffee for me?"
Sam nods slowly, says some Hail Mary's for all that it's worth. "We, uh. Gotta get to it early," he explains to Cruz as a form of goodbye, one cup pointed in the direction of Nash. "Have a good shift."
If he could, he'd run up the stairs to his office. Pretty much does. He butts the coffee in Nash's direction as she follows him and gives her a quick smile. "Thanks," he mumbles – even though he's the one handing out coffee.
Nash practically laughs in his face. She takes a sip of it immediately; he notices the confusion cross over her face as she takes the cup away from her lips. "You know I don't take my coffee like this," she says cool as a cucumber –
Sam is defenceless, and he knows it. Realizes that Nash actually knows how every goddamn person at 15 takes their coffee….
She raises her eyebrow, and nudges him into their office. "Your girlfriend mind you tending to your ex-girlfriend's caffeine-related needs?"
Sam sets his jaw firm, shakes his head and tries to hold in a laugh. "If you're referring to whether Cruz minds the fact that I made McNally a coffee this morning, I don't really care."
He turns to his desk, head down right after he makes the statement. Bites his tongue and curses himself. He managed to maintain his stoic front with Shaw, only to let a pretty big piece of information slip to Nash.
He huffs out a breath, unaware of the wide-eyed stare and sucked in cheeks of his partner who continues to lurk behind him. "Nash," he says, warning tone in place. "This case won't solve itself."
Traci doesn't know whether to gasp, or nod her head. She's still trying to wrap her brain around the fact that Sam just delivered a statement that could mean….
Well. It could mean anything, she supposes. But there's definitely something about his demeanour this morning that's different. Not only his words.
He looks confident and focused, determined almost.
He keeps his cards close to his chest though, always has. But if Traci was a betting woman, she might place money on him having broken things off with Cruz. She would also suspect that the one he keeps closest to his chest, tucked right up against his heart… might just become a little clearer.
"McNally!" Oliver chirps, a hand on Andy's shoulder as the troops make their way to parade. "I see you have the good fortune of being partnered with me again today."
Andy looks over her shoulder, a bright smile still planted on her face. She's already resolved to Oliver continuing to impart his wisdom, but she's in a much better place for it this time around –
Andy doesn't need anyone to tell her how she feels about Sam, or advocate his or her case. But she does realize she could use her support networks if she's going to work out how to be Sam's good friend. She nods to herself, determined. "Actually," she says, taking a seat at the back with her riding partner. "I think you got the better end of the bargain today." She smiles at his confused expression. "I'm springing for lunch."
Oliver's grin goes extra cheesy and he pats a gentle hand on her back. "I see we're finally getting somewhere, McNally. Can I choose where we go?"
Andy shakes her head, teasing. Keeps her eyes focused to the front of the room, watching the conversation that's happening between Frank and the detectives. She's interested to know whether they will actually be working from the office, and whether Traci has had the chance to drop any hints to Sam about lunch. "No," she replies casually. "We're gonna double date with the D's."
She doesn't have to turn her face to know Oliver's newest expression is priceless. She also doesn't have to move her line of vision to catch the nod of his head. "Well then," he chuckles, mouth wide open. "I'll pitch in with dessert."
Oliver's eyes are bouncing between Sam and Andy. He is itching to rub his hands together, excited by what seem to be some new developments. First, Sammy blatantly ignores an inquisition about how things went last night, and now…
McNally looks the happiest she has since she got back. And the last time she looked like this –
Well. Swarek may have been responsible for breaking her heart last year, but he was also the reason for a whole lot of times she had that mega-watt smile.
Oliver can't quite figure out what's going on, can't imagine Sam would go running to McNally the minute things changed with Cruz…
But then again, when it comes to this pair…
Who ever really knows.
On the other side of the room, Marlo keeps a close watch on Sam. She remains still in her seat beside another senior officer, throws the occasional glance McNally's way.
She can't help the fact that her ego is bruised. Can't help that she feels hurt that Sam may have dumped her and left her last night, only to go straight into the arms of McNally.
She huffs a quiet breath. Who is he kidding? If she's not mistaken, it seems the two have been nothing short of disastrous when they're together. For godsake, she heard the stories when she was with SWAT; Sam Swarek was nearly killed because of his feelings for his rookie –
Surely, he hasn't forgotten about that. Or what happened since –
She barely manages to keep a furious blush under control. How the hell can Sam not choose her over some wide-eyed little girl that obviously has no idea what she wants? Marlo is confident within herself, attractive, fun to be around, and very…very good at her job.
She takes another look at McNally, is irritated by the smile she's sending to the front of the room. She peers back at Sam, who at least has the decency to be more focused on whatever Frank's saying to him…
She doesn't miss the quick glance he gives McNally though, doesn't miss the small smile on his face.
She is confused for a moment about what she wants to do the most –
Yell at him for being an asshole, or take him into Interview One and show him who he'd be better off with.
Sam nods along quietly, agreeing with Frank about tactics for the day.
He is confident that if he and Nash can work through their evidence today, they will make ground on their case.
He allows himself a quick glance at McNally. Just wants to see if she's still got that bright smile on her face. He duly notes Oliver's look of glee as the two officers chat, and smiles small at the way Andy rolls her eyes at something Ollie just said.
"Listen up, people," Frank's voice interrupts the current thoughts of several of his staff. "Today's a big day…."
Big day or not, parade is short and sweet. Aside from the not so friendly reminder that he expects everyone who is not on shift to be at the fight tonight, (with friends… and wallets… and friends with wallets) Frank has little to report. No new BOLO's, no progress with Sam and Traci's case, just a few minor announcements.
And another pearl of wisdom that definitely gets things stirred up: Serve, Protect and Remember Why We're Doing This.
Andy and Oliver are both still smiling as they make their way through the Sally Port. Andy's only grows when Oliver passes her the keys.
About an hour in, they finish their first call and Andy basically has not stopped talking or grinning. And Oliver is not the only one taking notice.
The guy at the house they were just at could not stop staring at her, beamed when she asked for his contact information. (Idiot.) Oliver was pretty sure the guy was only a couple seconds away from asking for her number before he passed the guy his card and ushered her out of there. She really has no idea of the effect…
He watches her ease out into the traffic, all bright eyes and winning smiles, but doesn't really register it when she throws a quick peek his way.
"Oliver?"
It takes him a second to pull himself from his thoughts. "Huh?" He mutters when he finally gets himself back to the present.
Andy giggles. "I asked how you were holding up."
Oliver narrows his eyes. "It was a noise complaint McNally. Pretty sure I can get through one of those in my sleep."
Andy offers him up a little eyebrow before she breaks out a teasing grin. "I don't know. It's been almost two hours since you last ate. I was starting to worry that you were on the verge of passing out the way you pulled me out of there."
Oliver really cannot believe this girl, shakes his head while she chuckles to herself.
"Did something happen between you and Sammy?" Oliver blurts before he can think any better of it.
Andy's eyes flash wide. "What? No!"
He feels the car lurch around a bit before McNally seems to have it back under control. He wonders if maybe he should have waited 'til he was driving before letting that one drop.
The red in her cheeks is not going away anytime soon, so she keeps her eyes steadfastly on the traffic in front of her. "Why would you say that?" She finally asks, voice still a little breathy.
"I don't know, McNally," Oliver drawls. "Maybe it has something to do with you being all Pollyanna Sunshine and offering to bring him lunch."
Andy turns just long enough to shoot Oliver a glare. "Traci's my best friend and Sam's well…" She huffs out a loud breath. "Well, I can't really bring her lunch without bringing something for him; it would be rude."
Oliver's eyes are rolling before the words have even finished coming out of her mouth; it's the feeblest excuse he's ever heard, especially since they invited Nash for lunch only two days ago without any thoughts for Sam, or at least none that he knew of. "Fine, what about the smiles and that chatter?"
"What's wrong with being happy?" She chirps back undeterred, "and I always talk, just ask S… someone… anyone really."
Oliver offers up a little eye of his own, watches her cheeks colour again when she peers over at him. She is definitely not helping her case.
He's not sure what to say though. There's nothing wrong with her being happy; it's actually a really great thing. It's just that it hasn't been her M.O. as of late. Granted she was gone for those six months, but for six weeks before that and these last couple weeks after. Well, happy is just not how he would have described her. "There's nothing wrong with it," he finally goes with, "it's just a change is all."
Andy nods. He's not wrong is the thing – maybe not one hundred percent right in how's he's thinking it – but he's not wrong. Still she finds it just a little unnerving that everyone around her seems to know just how much her happiness is tied up with Sam.
She doesn't want Oliver to get the wrong idea though so she shrugs once and quick.
She isn't sure she's ready to admit to too much. Admitting it to herself is one thing but... She blows out a long breath as she changes lanes. "I guess I just decided to make the most out of what I have, do what I can do," she reveals quietly, "life's too short and I want to enjoy it, be happy, spend time with friends…"
Oliver nods, pictures coming in a little clearer now. "Secret to a happy life, McNally."
"I thought it was a happy wife," she teases, remembering one the many 'Shawism's' she's been exposed to over these last couple of years.
Oliver's eyebrow shoots up a little. "Well, unless you've made some other changes in your life that I don't know about, I'm thinking that one doesn't really apply in your case."
Andy's hand swings out to swat Oliver across the chest. "Oliver!"
"You gotta admit; you and Nash are freakishly close."
He chuckles at the very unladylike snort that comes from the other side of the cruiser. "Kidding McNally. Good friends, loving family… can't ask for anything more…" He crows, before rubbing a hand across his stomach, "except maybe a donut. You wanna swing by the next Timmy's?"
Andy's unbridled laughter brings an even bigger smile to Oliver's face. Things are definitely looking up.
Traci's phone rings a little after twelve. She and Sam have been scouring their notes for most of the morning. The fresh eyes she was preaching about yesterday haven't quite paid off yet, but they're working on it.
"We don't have time for chit chat," Sam growls clearly frustrated by their lack of progress.
Traci scowls back at him, holds his eye steady as she presses the talk button and lifts the phone to her ear in defiance. "Nash." She grins a little when he rolls his eyes and drops them back down to the page.
"Yep," she looks at her watch surprised to see that it's already past lunch. "We can make that work... Let me ask."
Traci puts her palm over the receiver. "Swarek," she beckons, waits for him to look up again, tamps down a grin because she's pretty sure she's about to make his day a whole lot better, can't wait to prove herself right.
"You got plans for lunch?"
Sam's eyes dart to the side and back; he's really not sure how he wants to answer this. He doesn't really think that Cruz would bring Nash into it, even more he knows that Nash would not be this keen on helping. Still he's not about to walk into anything blind. "Who wants to know?" he grumbles.
This time Traci does grin, open mouth and eyes bright. "McNally and Shaw."
She has to hold back the chuckle at Sam's wide eyes. "They wanna know if they can bring us something; maybe entice us to take a little breather. What do you say? You up for some company?"
Sam clears his throat once and then again, has already revealed way too much to his partner this morning, doesn't need to give her any more ammunition. "Yeah, sure, I could eat," he shrugs off nonchalantly, the rapid beat of his heart making it more than a little difficult to maintain the calm demeanour.
When he doesn't hear anything else, he glances back up. Can't figure out why Nash isn't passing on the okay, but she's just staring back at him like she's expecting something else.
He throws a hand out to the side as he barks. "What?"
She's got that look in her eyes, the one she gets sometimes when she's interviewing suspects, trying to trip them up. "Is it just the two of us today?"
Sam's chin falls to his chest and he glares back at his partner from under his eyebrows. "As far as I know," he replies low and slow, before he picks up one of the papers, leans back in his chair and starts to read through it again.
She knows that's all she's going to get out of him so she gets back on the phone and confirms that they're in.
"They gonna be here soon," Sam inquires after a couple of seconds, keeps his grin hidden behind the paper in front of him, hopes his voice doesn't give him away.
Traci's smile is up front and centre as she taunts, "in need of a little pick me up are we?"
Sam's dimples dig in, but he figures he won't give anything away by answering.
Traci smiles behind some papers of her own. His silence says enough.
Andy and Oliver waltz up to the detectives' door about fifteen minutes later, bags in hand.
Oliver struts right over to Sam's desk without even so much as a knock or hello. "Brought you something special, Brother. I hear it's your favourite…" he pauses, grins wide at Traci before gesturing a hand out to his partner. "McNally?"
Traci's laugh rings loud and bright across the office, cannot be dampened by her partners glare.
Andy shoves Oliver out of the way as she drops her bag on the side of Sam's desk completely oblivious to his insinuation. She pulls out a sandwich from what had been their favourite deli and sets it in front of Sam. "Don't listen to him," she orders, "this is all me."
Sam coughs a little, holds back the retort on the tip of his tongue. Eight months past and two people less in the room and he would have made it abundantly clear that 'all her' was definitely his favourite choice for lunch… and just about any other time of day.
"Hey," Oliver disputes, lip pouting out. "I sprung for dessert didn't I?"
Jaws drop on both Sam and Traci as their voices echo one another. "No way."
"He also ate half of it too," Andy sneers, taking away a little of his thunder.
"I did not."
Andy's eyebrows hit the top of her head before she juts her chin out toward the bag in his hand. "How many are in there?"
"Four," Oliver brags proudly. "One for each of us."
Andy huffs out a loud breath as she slides by her partner and pulls up a chair between the two detectives' desks, sets her sandwich down on Sam's as she leans back. "Except that I heard you ask for six," she challenges, unwraps the paper from her turkey club before picking up half and pointing it at him. "Pretty sure you even said that we'd save the other two for later," she reminds him.
Oliver yanks his own sandwich from the bag before tossing the sack at Traci. "I got hungry," he whines.
"It only took fifteen minutes," Andy gripes back.
Sam and Traci are grinning at the back forth between the two partners, best medicine for the morning they've had.
Traci's just about to put money down on Andy for the stare off, when the brunette shrugs her shoulders and lets it go. "Anyway, I thought you two could use a little break. Anything yet?" She wonders, looking at Sam for only a second before turning to the safety of her friend.
"Nothing yet," Traci answers with a frown, "but we're still looking."
Andy takes another bite of her sandwich, chews on it for a bit before chancing another look at Sam, and he's well, he doesn't seem to have taken his eyes off her. "Well, if you need any help," she starts, fidgets a little under his stare before seeking out her friend again, "let me know."
Traci grins a little at Sam, but he's too busy studying Andy to notice. "We might just take you up on it," she agrees readily.
Andy nods before swivelling the chair around to Sam again. Her brow furrows when she sees that he hasn't touched his lunch. "Aren't you going to eat?"
"Huh," Sam shakes his head for a second, hears Shaw and Nash chuckling and realizes he's been caught staring, tucks his tongue into his cheek to stop the smile; he just really likes having her here. "Yeah, of course," he confirms as he unwraps his sandwich and takes a good long look – Ham and Mustard.
Traci's smile drops a little when he doesn't dive in right away, recalls the same kind of sandwich sitting untouched on his desk a couple days back. Her heart drops for her friend. "Oh, Andy, I don't think…" She peers around the brunette to catch her partner's eye. "We can trade if…"
"Nash," Sam growls his warning.
Andy looks a little panicked. She thought it was his favourite, at least it had been… but a lot had changed lately so she supposed… "I'm sorry," she utters softly. "I should have asked; I shouldn't have assumed…"
She starts reaching for the sandwich, but Sam's hand shoots out, covers her hand with his own.
A gasp of surprise escapes her mouth but she doesn't pull away. Her eyes dart up to Sam's though and he's looking right back at her. "It's perfect."
He hates the look of doubt in her eyes, the one that he's put there once again. He gives her hand a quick squeeze before he lets go to lift the sandwich and take a bite. "Never better," he assures her.
Andy smiles small, then takes a bite of her own sandwich to try and hide the blush. Oliver and Traci exchange knowing grins.
For the next few minutes, everyone busies themselves with their lunch. After the delayed start, Sam makes short work of the first half of his, and without thinking, reaches across the desk and picks up the second half of Andy's sandwich and takes a bite. It was standard operating procedure to share way back when, seems old habits die hard.
"So you two weren't busy," Traci wonders aloud after a bit.
Oliver checks in with his partner to see if she wants to answer, but she's too busy staring at Sam - having just located the missing half of her lunch.
She rolls her lips together to keep the smile at bay as she reaches across and picks up the rest of his. She steals another glance at Sam but he seems to have no idea what he's done.
Oliver kicks at her chair and snickers when she practically jumps. "Nash wants to know if we were busy."
Andy's cheeks tinge pink, a little embarrassed at what Oliver may or may not have caught her doing, doesn't stop her from rolling her eyes at him though.
When she hears Sam chuckle beside her, a few things break loose including her smile. "We had a few calls this morning. Last one was pretty quick though so…" her eyes drift back to Sam of their own accord, "it worked out perfectly."
"It was a woman," Oliver adds like it makes all the sense in the world, except it doesn't to anyone but him.
Traci's the first one to take the bait. "How does that make a difference?"
Oliver takes a huge bite of his sandwich, chews on it only a little before he answers. "Cause then McNally doesn't waste all of our time flirting," he explains around the mouthful.
He's got his eye on Sam as he says it, is not disappointed with the reaction he gets, but McNally's is so much better.
"I was not flirting," she practically screams, her cheeks redder than he's seen in a while. Her eyes flit between Sam and Traci looking for help. "I was not flirting," she assures them.
But they're no help at all. As her best friend and ex-boyfriend, ex-partner, now-whatever, they both know her. They know she likely wasn't, but they also know the effect she can have on men.
Traci scoffs loudly while Sam just takes another bite of his sandwich, decides pleading the fifth is probably best on this matter.
"It's called being friendly," Andy grumbles to herself more than anyone. Although, probably she's going to have to consider how friendly her mannerisms are when she is applying her tactics of being friendly to Sam…
"Well that guy definitely wanted to be your friend," Oliver chirps, eyebrows wagging in suggestion
"Oliver!"
"You didn't see his eyes light up when you asked for his number," her partner continues, clearly enjoying putting her on the hot seat.
It doesn't take long for Traci to get in on the act. "You asked for his number? Go Andy!" She cheers.
Andy closes her eyes, blows out a slow breath before she shifts her glare onto her friend. "Traci, I asked for his contact information for the report."
"You slip him your card, McNally?" Sam wonders, working hard to keep his tone light and teasing. He definitely needs something to wash down his food though, he's pretty sure there's some bread…or something…caught in the back of his throat.
She turns on him almost immediately, but instead of anger, there's a glint in her eye. "Don't you start," she grins seeing an opportunity and taking it, "the lady at the deli still asks for you every time I come in. I'm sure you can tell that your sandwich was a little shy on meat this time. Apparently, I don't have the anatomy to pull off friendly with her."
Sam just about chokes again, pokes his tongue into his cheek 'til she catches up with what she said.
The resulting blush does not disappoint. "The dimples, Sam," she groans, "I'm talking about the dimples. Remember when I called you on it the first time; you said you were 'just being friendly'."
She's got one eyebrow on the up now, "I guess it was just a coincidence that the dimples got extra friendly when you'd worked up an appetite huh?"
They're grinning at one another now, that 'nothing ever is' kind of smirk that reminds them of happier times.
Oliver clears his throat. "Well, would you look at that," he interjects, breaking the two out of their reverie.
He points at his watch and Andy jumps to her feet, sandwich still in hand. "Yeah, we should… I'm sure you guys have better things to do."
Things to do? Yes. But better? Sam thinks not.
As it is, he's trying to think of an excuse to keep her here a little longer… Maybe even re-make that coffee he had lined up for her earlier, pull her away from prying third parties and tell her…
Sam doesn't even know. Tell her anything to make sure she knows where he's…where he's at. Still. Now is probably not the time and place, not if they're going to get a resolution to this case anytime soon.
"Thanks for lunch," Traci offers, extending her hoagie in salute. "It definitely hit the spot."
Andy smiles, "I was happy to. I just…" She looks from Traci over to Sam before she shrugs, "that's what friends are for, right?"
"Friends…" Sam echoes quietly, as he watches McNally and Shaw turn to walk out the door. "No… I don't think so."
"Huh?" Traci asks, completely confused. She knows it's been rough since Andy got back but she never really thought… in fact she was sure that he still… and after his revelation this morning, and the lunch… she just assumed… She finds herself leaning towards Andy without even thinking.
At the same time that Traci expresses her confusion, both McNally and Shaw turn back around on their heels, surprised –
Andy nearly swallows her tongue. Is Sam saying that he doesn't consider her to be a friend? She knows things have been awkward and difficult this past two weeks (7 months), but they seemed to be making headway today…
Oliver is just as shell-shocked. His eyebrows go up and then down. And then up again.
"McNally," Sam says, standing up from his desk, a small smile coming over his face as he nods in her direction. "I think you might have something here."
Oliver, Traci and Andy are all still trying to make sense of the enigma that appears to be Sam Swarek at the moment. In the span of two sentences, he has managed to completely contradict himself.
Oliver shuffles between his feet a little, scratches at his ear. "I think you might need a little longer break there, Sammy. You're not firing on all cylinders here."
Sam grins bigger, even chuckles a little as he picks up the file.
The other three are still bewildered as they watch him rifle through a few papers before he pulls one out and scans it. After a couple of minutes, he tosses it back down onto the desk and looks over at the two by the door. "Would you move across country with me if I asked you to?"
Andy's mouth opens and closes a few times, but her voice is nowhere to be found. Her throat has suddenly lost all moisture and she swallows a few times in preparation but can't bring herself to answer. She would is the thing, in a second actually, but she's pretty sure that's not what he's looking for here. Not that she really knows what he does want.
Andy finally elbows Oliver, tilts her chin in Sam's direction. Her eyes pleading for a little help here.
Oliver jumps a bit, lets his eyes bounce between Andy and Sam. "Oh… me?" He stutters out.
Sam shrugs, just needs someone to catch up here, let him know he's onto something. "Would you?"
Oliver tilts his head to the side. "I love you, Sammy. Would take a bullet for you even, but can't say I'd move to Vancouver with you."
Sam turns his attention to Andy. "What about you McNally?"
"What? Huh?" Her eyes flash wide; Oliver's answer was supposed to get her off the hook. "Me?" She squeaks out.
"Yeah," he grins at her, certain he's on the right track. "Would you move across country for say… Nash or Collins?" Right after he poses the question, he wants to take it back. There's a possibility that McNally might consider moving across the country for either of those two…especially for the latter, if she has any…deeper…feelings for him.
Andy breathes out a long sigh of relief, glares at Oliver when she feels his shoulder shake with silent laughter. "Um, I guess I'd probably go with Trace if she needed me, maybe stay a while, but," her brow furrows as she contemplates just what she'd do for her friend, "I can't really see upending my whole life though."
Sam nods minutely, feeling a little more unnerved that she didn't address Collins in that. He knows the UC partners are not a couple right now, but still…whether she's in a relationship with army-boy or not doesn't mean she doesn't want to be -
Andy shakes her head fiercely about the other person he asked about. She may have lived with the guy for the last six months, even had to kiss him…but seriously. It's like living with a bossy teenage brother…or what she assumes that might be like. "And as for Nick…nope, no way. Six months of his bad habits and irritating demands was enough to last me a lifetime…no way am I ever going anywhere for him…"
"Right!" Sam crows, stupidly pleased about every part of the continuation to her response…and the fact that she's proved his point about this particular case.
Oliver frowns a little at his friend. "I think you lost us, Brother."
Sam turns to Traci, stares at her a few seconds to see if she's following him here. "Do you remember talking to his friends… the best friend?"
Traci narrows her eyes as she thinks back to the interview, the girl was a real mess, could barely talk past the tears. She starts recapping as best she can from memory. "Emma, right?"
At Sam's nod, she continues. "They grew up together in the West, but he took a job out here. She came to visit him awhile back when he was having a tough time. Said he told her he wondered why he even came out in the first place. She thought he was fine by the time she left, but he called her back not even a week later and asked her to come again. After that she had to go back for her job." She pulls her copy of the file off the desk then, flips to the page she wants. "A few days later she couldn't reach him and he wasn't returning his family's calls."
"Is that when he disappeared?" Andy wonders out loud.
Traci's shaking her head. "No, but she drops everything, quits her job, and moves out here, manages to track him down and then announces she's staying. After that, life goes on, job gets better, and he meets his girlfriend," she looks up at Sam with a light now shining in her eyes, "asks her to move in…"
Sam's nodding and grinning back at her, eyes wide and as bright as hers.
Andy and Oliver sport matching smiles as Traci confirms what they're all thinking, "you don't fly cross country and give up your whole life for just a friend."
Andy's mind starts to contemplate long taxi rides, circling the block out in the cold, and lofts and farmhouses and… "She was in love with him," Andy breathes out.
"Give the girl a prize," Oliver cheers, sharing in the joy. "There's no way you give up everything, risk your job, (waltz into burnt out buildings), unless there's something more there."
Traci's already scanning the page for the girl's contact information. "We need to bring her in again," she instructs, tries to remember if the girl said anything about returning to Vancouver.
Sam nods his agreement, turns to Oliver and Andy. "You guys mind bringing her in, while we go over all this." He's already started a list in his head; wonders if they have enough time to track down some friends and family out West to see how she fared when the guy first left. He's already flipping through pages to see what they have on their lives before Toronto.
"Not at all, Brother," Oliver agrees readily. "Happy to be of service." He waves his hand towards the door. "Let's go partner."
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Traci wonders, already in the process of writing down the name and address for them.
Oliver grins, plucks the bag full of sweets off the end of Sam's desk. "Oh, right."
Andy's laugh is unabashed causing Sam and Traci to both look up and smile; it's definitely a sound that's been missing around there. Traci is the first to take notice of Oliver's deed when she hands Andy the paper. "Hey!"
"What?" Oliver retorts feigning innocence. "Sammy said it himself, McNally cracked the case. To the victor go the spoils."
Traci narrows her eyes and frowns a little. "So how come you're holding them?"
Oliver tips his head towards his partner. She's got the paper in one hand and the last of her lunch in the other. "Her hands are full," he shrugs, narrows his eyes a little when he really takes notice. He lifts his gaze to meet Andy's. "Hey, I thought you got the turkey?"
Sam looks down at the rest of his own sandwich, looks back up just in time to see Andy shoving Oliver unceremoniously out the door. He smiles to himself as he takes another big bite.
"This should have never happened." It comes out as more of a sob, and as much as Andy knows the girl is probably guilty, her heart still breaks for her. She passes her a bottle of water and sits down across from her in Interview One.
Traci and Sam are still discussing their strategy when they open the door to the viewing room, stop short when Oliver turns to look at them. "Where's McNally?" Sam asks.
Oliver tips his chin towards the one-way glass. "Doing what she does best."
Sam and Traci shift around so they can get a full view of the other room. Andy's got her hand rubbing up and down the girl's back. Traci reaches out and turns up the volume so they can better hear what's being said.
"How are you holding up?" Andy asks compassionately. "It must be hard losing someone you're so close to."
Traci looks around the two men, makes sure she sees the light going on the camera before she turns back to the scene in front of her.
Emma sniffles, wipes her face on her sleeve before sucking in a loud breath and wondering. "You ever lose someone who means the world to you?"
Andy huffs out a short breath as her eyes take on a faraway look, she brings her hand back from the girl and links it with the other one atop the table. "Yeah… yeah, I have; I mean… he didn't die or anything… but, yeah."
She doesn't really follow it up with anything so the two women sit there in silence mindful of their own individual losses.
Sam is staring straight ahead. He knows both Nash and Shaw are gaping at him; he can feel it. But he's not sure what they're expecting him to do, what they want him to do. Wonders himself what he wants to do… if he's up for hearing what she has to say.
All five people are lost in their own thoughts, when the girl finally breaks the silence. "What happened?"
Sam sucks in quick breath when he sees Andy's eyes dart to the mirror. Wonders if she knows that he's there.
"Sam?" Traci whispers, knows he's probably torn, is a little torn herself. Thinks maybe he needs to hear a few things for himself but also doesn't want to intrude on Andy's personal thoughts. Still, she has to know she's being watched… at the very least by Oliver.
"Just…" Sam takes a deep breath, "let's just give her a minute and then I think you should go in."
They had already decided earlier that the girl would probably best relate to Traci, but right now Andy had a real shot at getting to her and he doesn't want to lose that… and maybe, selfishly, he just really wants to hear what she has to say.
Andy takes a deep breath, speaks quietly and mostly to her hands. "A lot of things I guess. Walking away when we should have been putting up a fight. Fighting when we should have been walking away." She smiles sadly before she continues. "Letting go when we should have been holding on tight. Holding on too tight when we should have been letting go."
Andy's thoughts drift away for a couple seconds, she sees a flash of an old movie Sam made her sit through one Sunday. She huffs out a soft chuckle before she mutters, "what we have here is a failure to communicate."
After a few very long seconds, Andy finally looks up at Emma and then shrugs, "choices are made and sometimes you can't go back…" She blows out a slow breath, tries to smile, "no matter how much you might want to."
"I'm not sure why you would want to… go back I mean." Emma furrows her brow. "It sounds like you're better off without him."
Andy shakes her head. "No… definitely not better."
"There's someone else; isn't there?"
Andy doesn't answer but she doesn't have to, Emma knows she's right; she's been there. Her voice gets a little shaky when she asks, "So how do you do it then? How do you even get over it?"
Andy picks up on the change in Emma's voice, steals another peek at the mirror and wonders just how much time has passed since they got in there, wonders why neither Traci nor Sam has come in yet. They must be…
Andy takes a drink of water and steadies herself; she's going to do this right, and for as long as they'll let her.
She catches Emma's eye. "You do the best you can to move on I guess. Take what you can get and try to be happy… for yourself and for them. It's better to have them in your life as a friend than not at all, right?"
Sam nods, a small movement that he knows the others won't see. He knows with every part of his being exactly what she means. It was his mantra when McNally was with Callaghan…it will be his new mantra too. Whatever moving on Andy needs to do now, all Sam wants…needs…is for them to be…something….
He almost lets out a laugh as he thinks of trying to wrap his brain around the 'friend' thing again. Before he met McNally, he barely even thought about the meaning of the word. He's always been loyal to his Brother's, no doubt about that…but beyond the buddy's…well, it's fair to say that Sam doesn't have the experience that Collins seems to have when it comes to being a girl's best friend.
His thoughts are left in limbo as he watches the disposition of the young woman being interviewed continue to change. Oliver's right…Sam first instincts about this copper were right: McNally is good with her mouth –
(Sam closes his eyes, tries to force any of those more than friendly thoughts to the back of his mind; that was not…)
McNally has the ability to talk her way out of, and into, situations. Probably, she should take up negotiating or something, that's how good she is with people and words…
Emma's eyes drop down to her hands, her voice starts to crack, bordering on a sob. "What if it wasn't enough?"
Three identical gasps pull almost all the air out of the viewing room. The first outward signs of life since Sam asked them to give Andy a minute. Traci looks over at Sam in question; should she go in now? Let Andy keep going?
Before he can make the decision, the girl is talking again. "I waited too long; I didn't tell him I loved him," she sobs. "He didn't know."
Andy's hand finds Emma's back again. "I'm sure he knew. You did everything you could for him. You moved across the country. You were there for him…" Andy pauses, swallows around a lump that just won't go away, "when it mattered." She leans down to catch the girl's teary eyes. "You showed him."
"No!" Emma yells out, her head starting to shake almost violently. "I LOVED him, loved him. And now…" She drops her head into her hands. "God, now he's gone and the last thing he…" Her head is shaking again. "He never knew; I could tell. I could see it in his eyes; he had no idea and then… I can't believe… how could I… Oh God."
Andy's eyes go wide before they snap up to stare in the mirror. (Did she just…)
Sam doesn't get a chance to answer before Oliver's radio goes off asking if their unit is available to respond. "I can go solo," he offers with a quick shrug.
Sam shakes his head. "You're not going alone," he replies to Oliver quietly. His chest feels constricted, thoughts of the danger his buddy might face if he takes a call solo, especially if it's not all that it seems. "McNally's basically got us our confession, Nash can go help her wrap it up. I'll come with you."
Oliver smiles small, puts his hands on his hips. "Missing the field, brother? Or just want to be reminded of how good policing is done?" Sam's buddy's tenor is light and with a bit of a tease, but there's also an undertone. Both men still have Jerry's death at the front of their mind.
Sam rolls his eyes, gives Shaw an elbow to nudge him along. He stops in front of Nash and assures her that he trusts the two women to bring the interview to the conclusion they need. "McNally's laid the right foundations, Nash. Just be there with her to make sure all those gaps we know of get filled."
Traci nods in understanding, turns and follows the men out of the room so she can make her way into interview one. "Sam," she calls out, before turning the door handle.
Sam looks over his shoulder at his partner, the sound of Oliver's radio still in his ear. "Yeah?"
Traci bites into her lip. She doesn't want what she's about to say to sound condescending, or like she's the boss giving rewards. She just wants to highlight a fact. If it hadn't been for Sam's thinking and connecting of dots, and for McNally's talking and empathizing they wouldn't be where they are right now –
"You two make a great team."
Sam swallows. Nods his head at Nash again, but refuses to give much else away. He already knows that the different styles of policing that he and McNally have are complementary, that when they're both on song, they produce great results –
But he can't let himself get lost in those thoughts. Can't think about how good it feels to be working alongside McNally…because right now he needs to focus his attentions on the task at hand. He's made a commitment to Oliver, and he needs to wrap that one up before he comes back to bask in any glory on the other case that's important to him.
When Traci joins Andy, Emma is already coming apart at the seams, unable to keep it all together, details and feelings mixing together and slipping out of their own accord.
It only takes a few more pointed questions and comments from the two officers before she finally breaks down and admits that yes, she had killed her friend… but it was an accident, 'she could never hurt him, not on purpose'.
The next hour and a half is spent walking her through that night and garnering the necessary details, intermixed with a whole lot of tears and breakdowns.
By the time it's all over, Andy and Traci feel like they've been run through the ringer right along with her. Traci reaches out and turns the handle to open the door, waits as Andy reads Emma her rights and then ushers her out into the hallway.
Traci takes a quick peek at the watch on her arm and then turns to her friend. "Are you okay to get her booked? I'd really like to get started on these notes." The fight is only a few hours away now, and she really wants to be there for Andy. She's pretty sure Frank will let them go, but figures the more she can get done, the more likely that is to happen.
"Sure, yeah, of course," Andy agrees readily. "I got time. Just tell Oliver where I am or better yet," she adds with a grin, "get him started on our paperwork from this morning."
"Oh," Traci stops short; she was so wrapped up in the case that she forgot about their partners. "Oliver got called out and..."
Andy's eyes flash wide. "Why didn't he… crap!" She takes hold of Emma's arm and steers her quickly away, hustling her in the opposite direction. She calls back over her shoulder, "you go ahead, get started, I'll take care of this and then call Oliver."
Traci opens her mouth to tell Andy to relax, but she's just accidentally walked them into the wall. "Sorry, sorry," she tells the young girl before turning back to Traci. "No worries Trace; I got it covered."
By the time Andy gets the girl through the door, Traci's smiling and shaking her head. Figures she'll get the tape all set up in their office and then let Andy know that Sam's got her back. See if maybe she'll push off her own paperwork to help Traci get a good start on the notes for this case.
….
Oliver blows out a long breath, chances a sideways look at his good friend. Callouts to domestics are never easy, and this one was no exception.
(They arrived to the apartment to find a young woman with particularly nasty bruises on her arms and her face. Her neighbour, who had been the one to call in the disturbance, had done a good job of comforting her. Told Sammy that this wasn't the first time the boyfriend had hit the girl. He'd already left the scene and unfortunately no one could shed any light on where he might've gone next…
Of course, the fact that the woman decided not to lay charges at the end made things more frustrating).
Oliver knows it's futile trying to tell Sam that there was nothing more they could do, but he gives it a go anyway; "She's got our number, Sammy. That might be enough to get her thinking, make that one crucial call in the future that will turn her situation around."
Sam stares out the window, deep in thought. The woman they just spoke with knew there was hope. She knew that if she left her abusive boyfriend, she'd be okay. She had good friends, close family, a great job…
He shakes his head, unable to grasp why she couldn't just leave the guy. For everyone's sake, he does hope that she makes the call sooner, rather than later. "Let's hope she doesn't make the decision too late," he mutters, staring back out the window as they drive past the deli that Oliver and Andy would have been at earlier today –
"Stop here," Sam announces, as calm as he can so as not to make Ollie run off the road. He chews into the inside of his cheek as his friend pulls over. He checks his watch and knows the store will be open, figures the least he can do is repay McNally's friendly gesture at lunch -
Oliver looks over, eyebrows up as Sam climbs out the door, clearly headed in the direction of the deli. "Did we not feed you enough earlier, brother?"
Sam snorts. "Well, you did take all the dessert."
They get back to the station five minutes later with a fresh bag of treats and four good coffees.
Nash and McNally are back up in the D's office when they arrive, the girls rehashing the confession they got, and organizing the paperwork that will help to get the case ready for court.
Andy steps back from Sam's desk when she sees him walk through the door. She smiles small at him, and decides to wait for further instruction. She's trying to continue to be helpful, but she figures Sam deserves to hear about the confession before anyone rushes in to tie up loose ends.
"Hey," he greets, nodding at both Andy and Traci, fixing his eyes on the latter. "Get everything that we need."
Traci nods, her own eyes drinking in the tray of goodies that seem to have managed to wrestle their own way out of Oliver's hands and onto a desk. "And then some…by the looks?" she says in reference to the best coffee in town.
"We figured as we wouldn't be getting a drink until after Fight Night, we'd have a small celebration now," Oliver requires chirpily, taking one of the cups and a large pastry for himself.
Sam opens his mouth and turns to his buddy. "You're claiming this idea as your own too?"
Oliver shrugs. "I was driving the car. I didn't have to stop, just 'cause you told me to, Swarek." He licks at some sticky fingers, gives Andy a wink. "So, yeah. I'd say us getting all this back here in tact is at least 80% due to me."
Andy and Sam both snort in response, and then do their best not to turn and stare at one another over their synchronised reply. "Unbelievable…" Sam says eventually, reaching over to grab the bag of pastries and one of the coffees off the tray.
Andy watches on as Sam takes the items off the desk and is about to reach for a coffee herself when he cuts her off at the pass. He nudges the warm cup that's in his hand in her direction. "This one's for you, McNally."
As she takes it, the tips of their fingers touch and she nearly drops the thing straight down to the floor. She resigns herself early to the blush that takes up residence across the expanse of her cheeks and gives Sam a smile.
In the meantime, Sam is focusing on staying as still as he can. His heart is a mess. He's going to have to figure out some way of dealing with McNally's smile if they're to be…friends.
When he's got himself under some sort of control, he points the pastry bag in her direction. "What you did there today…how you worked with that girl…"
She peers down into the bag, before reaching in and coming out with an apple flip. Her smile is its own celebration and Sam has to clear his throat a couple of times when she looks up at him with those bright, bright eyes that remind him of ice cream and warm days… and how much he really just…
"You were really good in there," he finally manages to croak out. You kept it real, he thinks but can't bring himself to say it out loud.
"Thanks," she breathes out and there's more relief in there than she likes to admit. His opinion probably shouldn't matter as much as it does but she can't help it. It's just really important to her that he thinks she's capable, that he thinks she can do this, that maybe it's okay to trust her instincts… and maybe her.
"I stuck with it," she shrugs, and the way he's looking at her… it's just… she really misses that… and God, she's always had this crazy need to make him proud… even before… everything. And it's been so long since…
She drops her eyes down to her hands for a second; she just needs… to breathe… When he looks at her like that, it's just… well… it's a little too much. So she needs to not be looking at him… seeing…she just needs a little time to remember that she has to get better at keeping her feelings in check. If they're going to be friends, she can't be so… affected.
She takes a deep breath before she looks up at him, and he's still… well… yeah, he's still watching her. She tries to keep her voice steady as she continues. "She seemed to want to talk and well, I hear that's my specialty so…"
Sam's kept a close eye on her. And the other two, they've been keeping a close eye on him, both of them actually. Not daring to breathe for fear of spooking one or the other.
Sam grins wide though, she may have gotten better with her poker face, but he still knows her, knows something's going on in that head of hers, and can't seem to stop the next words as they spill out of his mouth. "And here I thought it was over thinking."
He sucks in a loud breath when he realizes that he's said it out loud. They'd taken some big steps today in… well in the right direction. The last thing he wants is to lose any kind of ground he might have gained, is scared that maybe it was a little too soon to… but then he hears her let out a soft chuckle and suddenly he's letting go of the breath he didn't know he was holding.
Andy shakes her head, hopes her cheeks aren't as pink as she thinks they are. "I just stuck with it," she says raising her eyes to meet his again. She doesn't have to say it. (The way I was taught.)
Sam nods, smiles softly at her and she finds herself being drawn in again, knows she can't let that happen so she has to do something… say something… apparently anything. "You always said my mouth was my best asset."
Sam chokes on the sip of coffee he just took, takes a quick check of Shaw and Nash who are both putting in a solid effort to hold in their laughter. He feels Oliver slap him on the back once hard before announcing, "Well, that was probably more information than I ever needed to know."
"Wha…" Andy furrows her brow, replays the last few seconds in her head. (Oh God…) She quickly shoves the apple flip into her mouth and takes the biggest bite she can manage, chews on it a little, anything to stop her from opening her mouth again.
Oliver tilts his head to the side, "Too late now McNally; damage is done."
Sam's got his tongue tucked into his cheek but it's a losing battle, especially with Traci cackling over in the corner and Oliver channeling a very loud and mostly off key Cher – "if I could turn back ti-me…" Shaw even has a diva-like pout on his face, and is resting the back of one hand on his forehead.
Andy glares at all three of them as she pulls off another piece of the apple flip, and shoves it into her mouth, mindful of the foot she's got lodged in there too.
She hasn't even finished chewing when Frank sticks his head in the office, just back from a meeting at headquarters. "If you guys are having a party, that better mean we have something to celebrate," he barks.
"You mean besides McNally's impending victory," Oliver crows, tipping his cup of coffee towards his partner.
Frank shakes his head, ignores Oliver's good-natured teasing. "Nash? Swarek? What've we got?"
The two partners exchange a look; Sam waves a hand at Traci to go ahead. "Suspect is in custody, confession's on tape, and we were just getting the notes all typed up."
He raises an impressed brow, after this morning he was just hoping for a couple of promising leads. "Nice work. Report done now?"
Traci's eyes dart to the pages still scattered on her desk. "No sir, not quite done yet," she admits sheepishly.
This time the brow isn't quite so impressed. "But I'll have it by the end of the night…?" he digs, except when he checks his watch, he knows that the day is pretty much over and the likelihood of that is pretty small.
Sam can tell his partner is a little panicked, but he's worked with Frank for a long time, knows he won't let them miss Andy's fight. "Still have to get someone to transcribe the tape but we'll have our notes typed up and the confession signed by noon tomorrow."
Frank waits, lets them all squirm a little, the two women doing more than their fair share. "Carry on," he consents as he pulls back out of the room.
Andy and Traci are visibly relieved but they both jump back to attention when the boss steps back in. "McNally."
"Yes Sir," she squeaks out.
"Noelle got us a baby sitter for tonight."
Andy's eyes shift around the room before they focus back on Frank. "O-kay," she answers slowly.
"Don't let me down," he orders with a wink, "those teenagers charge a fortune."
Andy grins big back at her boss. "Yes, Sir," she calls out after him.
Marlo and Gail make their way through the Sally Port and straight to the equipment room at the tail end of their own day. As they pack up their gear, it's decided that the paperwork will have to wait until tomorrow. Or more appropriately Gail informs Marlo that she is not taking the paperwork two nights in a row.
The senior officer is about to pull rank when they hear laughter echo out from the D's office. When they glance over, they can see Oliver, Traci and Sam clearly amused by something… or apparently someone.
Two more steps out and they've got a clear view of Andy's flushed face as she stares down the other three. And they're not the only ones who can't take their eye off her.
"Hmmm," Gail hums with practiced cheeriness. "Sounds like a party."
Marlo huffs out a loud breath. "Probably best they live it up while they can," she mutters.
Gail drops her chin, peers at Marlo from under her perfectly plucked eyebrows. "You're pretty sure of yourself there SWAT," she notes a little amused. "You got anything to back that up?"
Because she knows Andy does. After that first week of cold shoulder, she sat Nick down and made him tell her everything that happened in those six months… and she didn't ask one single question about the case.
"Guess we're about to find out," Marlo responds cryptically. "Hope you're friend's ready for the big leagues."
"Guess we're about to find out," Gail echoes before she spins on her heel and heads straight for the locker room.
Up Next: Fite Nite!