When Two Worlds Collide

Chapter 4

Andy spent the drive home relishing in the closeness he had just shared with Melissa, the smell he was intoxicated by, her wet hair against his cheek, the warmth of her forehead against his lips, her dark brown eyes in that dimly lit room. He hit the steering wheel with his hand, "Why the hell did I leave?" he threw his hand up towards the ceiling off his car, not realizing how close he already was to it.

His fist made a loud thud and he dropped his hand downwards immediately, shaking out the tense pain now shooting through his wrist.

By the time he reaches his own driveway, his knuckles had began to swell and his wrist was pulsating with pain. He turned off the car, walked inside, and straight to the kitchen. He grabbed an ice pack and a kitchen towel and wrapped it around it, holding it against his knuckles to start.

'Damnit!' he chastised himself. He walked to the back of the house where his bedroom was located and kicked his shoes off bedside, sitting down on the edge. He clicked on the lamp and put his hand out in front of him. No bruising but the internal pain was unfathomable. He laid back against his pillow and laid his hand across his chest, placing the ice pack on top. He reached with his other hand to click the lamp off and laid in the dark, staring at the ceiling until he finally succumbed to sleep.

…

A loud sound startled Melissa awake. She bolted upright and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Once her eyes were more open, she searched around for the sound, realizing it was coming from her alarm clock on her nightstand. Big red numbers glowed in the dark room. 'Four thirty already?' she outwardly groaned and threw the blanket off of her legs, turning and swinging them off the bed. Her feet met the rug on the floor below and she stood with another groan.

Walking to the closet, she grabbed a black quarter zip sweatshirt and lazily put it on. A yawn escaped her lips as she trudged to the bathroom. Having fallen asleep with her contacts in, when her eyes met themselves in the mirror, bright red shown around her irises. She grabbed her moistening drops and placed a couple in each eye to dislodge the dried contacts from their position before removing them and placing them into their container. She rubbed her eyes once more and grabbed her glasses from the countertop, sliding them onto her face. She grabbed the brush from the drawer and brushed out her long brown locks before throwing her hair into a low bun for the hair and make-up stylist to deal with when she got to set. She checked her watch and saw it was now four forty five and she had roughly fifteen minutes to finish getting ready and get out the door before she'd be late to hair and make-up.

She hastily brushed her teeth, flossed, swished around her mouth wash and spit it out before the burn became too much. She washed her face and applied her normal skin care routine, lathered on her favorite vanilla scented lip balm, and left the bathroom to head to the kitchen for a small breakfast and cup of hot chocolate before heading out the door. Grabbing a hot chocolate pod, she popped it into the Keurig, placed one of her favorite mugs in its spot and moved to the cabinet. She grabbed a caramel rice cake and slathered a layer of peanut butter on it. She topped it off with a banana, threw it onto a napkin, grabbed her mug from the Keurig and headed for the front door. She slipped her Uggs back on, balanced her rice cake napkin concoction on top of her mug, and managed her way out the front door and to her car. Once she settled inside, she started the ignition, clicked her seatbelt in to place, and off to work she went.

…

Andy rolled over and checked his phone for the umpteenth time, noting the time was now almost four fifty in the morning. He had been tossing and turning more so than usual and sleep had evaded him. He sat up and rubbed his wrist, the only spot still lingering with pain. The ice pack had gone warm and was no longer useful to him. He rubbed his opposite hand through his hair while he babied his hurt wrist against his body. He stood and walked to the bathroom, flipping on the light and seeing the dark circles under his eyes.

'Great, looking….great…' he sarcastically told him. He fumbled through his daily routine one handed, taking longer than usual. Once finished, he flipped the light switch back off and walked to the living room, slipping on his sneakers, throwing his jacket over his shoulders and head. He went to a cabinet in the kitchen where he kept all his meds and grabbed some Tylenol and a water from the fridge. He downed the meds and went out the door. He got to his car, unlocked it, and struggled his way in. 'How the hell am I supposed to work one handed today?' he questioned, rubbing his wrist once more. It was only a small section, just below the bottom of his palm. He wanted to assume nothing was broken but he definitely managed some unintentional damage. He started the car and was off to work, his thoughts shifting from being in pain to seeing the one person he was most excited about.

…

Unbeknownst to one another, Andy and Melissa arrived on the lot one right after the other. Andy had just finished parking when Melissa reached the gate to be buzzed in. As Andy opened the door and stepped out of his car, he saw Melissa drive by, singing along to a song he couldn't hear, dancing around. He smiled at how cute she looked and waited for her to park before he shut his door. She opened her door, music still playing and it was then that Andy heard his own voice for only a moment before she turned off the ignition and the music cut out. He felt heat rush to his cheeks, 'Wow, I didn't know she listened to our music!' He tried to maintain a normal front as he walked to the end of his car and called out her name, "Good morning, Mel!"

Melissa shut her door and heard Andy's voice almost simultaneously. She felt instant butterflies in her stomach as she wasn't expecting to see him yet, "Good morning!"

Andy contemplated calling her out for her choice in morning jam sessions, but he figured it'd be best to save it for later. He even contemplated giving her, her own private concert but would save that for a hopeful future with her. "How are we feeling?" he took in all of her, from her tied up hair to the pajamas she had on when he saw her last night. She always looked so beautiful to him, especially in her most natural form.

She caught up with him and yawned, "well, I most definitely didn't get enough sleep, but I'm ready for today…" Realizing she may have sounded too excited about the future events coming to fruition, she calmed her tone, "how about you?"

"Well, uh…" he motioned to the hand he still held against his body, "may or may not have injured myself last night after I left your place…definitely didn't get sleep because of it, but ready to power through!"

"Andy!" Melissa stopped dead in her tracks, pressing her hand into his chest to stop him from walking any further without an explanation, "What did you do?" She gently grabbed his forearm and pulled it away from his body, examining his wrist.

"Oh, I, uh…" he froze, trying to think of any other reason for having punched the roof of his car. "I kind of, well…" his thoughts raced through his mind, he didn't want to lie but he also wasn't ready to be pouring out his heart in the middle of the parking lot. Melissa's hands were cool from the air outside and the touch of them against his wrist felt soothing as she ran them across the swollen area. "I accidentally punch the roof of my car for reasons I cannot discuss."

Melissa's face scrunched up, "What? Why?"

"You can't ask me that." Andy chimed in, hoping she wouldn't push any further.

Melissa wanted to know the cause, but she knew that pushing Andy for further information would get her nowhere. The swelling just below his palm was severe, she could see that with her eyes before feeling it with her hands. "Are you sure it isn't broken?"

"Not 100%, but I feel like I can survive today and manage an appointment tomorrow during some downtime." Andy focused on his words rather than her hands still holding his hand and wrist.

Melissa looked from his eyes down to his wrist, and back again. When she realized how long she had been holding him, she gently placed his arm back against his torso and gently pulled away. "Sorry, I hope I didn't hurt you." She took a slow step forward to signal they could head to their trailers now.

"No, you didn't. Your fingers feel like they've been stuck in an ice box all night, so it felt great!" Andy laughed and began walking with her once more.

Melissa laughed, "Oh the joys of ice box fingers."

Andy mocked her, singing jokingly, "I got this ice box where my heart used to be….wait, remix, she's got this ice box where her fingers used to be! A little Omarion to start your morning."

"That's not who I start my morning wi…, I mean yeah, perfect!" she tried to push past her words.

"Oh, really?" Andy giggled giddily, "who do you start your morning with?" He placed his uninjured hand up to his jaw as if thinking longingly.

"That's not important," she pushed back at him, "let's talk more about my ice box fingers!" She put her hands up to his neck, laughing loudly as his shoulder scrunched.

"Cold, cold! Get them off me!" he tried to dodge out of her icy grip. By this point, they were near their trailers. "Alright, Elsa, take your icy mitts and get to your trailer. I'll see you on set."

Melissa wiggled her fingers at him, "My own personal weapons of mass destruction!" She laughed.

'You have no idea…' Andy thought as he smiled. He waved her off and walked the last few feet to his own trailer, stepping inside to drop his things before heading to wardrobe.

…

By the time Andy and Melissa were face to face again, it was on set. They were in the "evidence room" of the precinct. Melissa was sporting a sky-blue button down, gray pants, her badge placed on the rim of her pants right at her hip, and her hair pulled back in the classic 'Amy Santiago' bun. Andy was dressed in similar colors, his classic plaid shirt paired with charcoal-colored pants. His badge hung around his neck on its chain.

"Alright guys," David came over to the pair, "so we're kind of skipping around this week with scenes because of street blocking and what not, I don't know, ask Luke! Anyways, assuming you've got a grip on what this scene means for Jake and Amy?" He tipped his chin, glancing back and forth between the two.

"Yes," they spoke in unison, exchanging glances between one another and drawing their eyes back to David.

"Great, Samberg get behind the door, Gallo, get on that X over there." He motioned for them to separate. "Cameras…Rolling…"

The duo moved to their starting positions.

"B Mark….and…ACTION!" David yelled.

Andy opened the door and shut it behind him, keeping his eyes trained on what was in front of him. He rounded the corner of the shelving units, and his eyes landed on his partner, scene and hopefully romantically soon enough.

"Hey." He started his lines as he got closer to her, offering her a smile.

"Hey," she responded softly, her eyes meeting his, then the floor, back up to his. She leaned her body against the shelving unit as he took his injured hand and wrist and grabbed the unit on his side.

"Thought I might find you in here."

"Cut!" David interrupted. "Andy, when you come in and stop there, be a little bit closer. It'll make it easier to close the gap."

Andy nodded, "You got it."

"From the top!" David called out.

Andy went back to his starting position, as did Melissa. They ran through proper positioning a few more takes before they were right where David wanted them to be.

"Take it from there, and…ACTION!"

Andy slid his hurt wrist back down the shelving unit and placed it gently on his hip to mirror his opposite arm.

"I just needed to process the Captain's news," Melissa's voice began to break in character. She knew Amy would be devastated by Captain Holt's leaving and she wanted to portray that properly. It was becoming hard to focus though, as she held such long eye contact with a man she was about to kiss in character while pining for him in real life. "I feel so bad for him." She dropped her head down, needing a break from looking into those dreamy brown eyes of his or she was going to break character.

Andy responded as Jake, "So how you holding up?" His eyes followed her head as she looked down and back up to him.

She scrunched her face which Andy found adorable, "I don't know, I'm still in shock." Her voice was soft as she portrayed her heart breaking. "You?"

She watched Andy nod his head and kept her eyes locked on him as he glanced away and then back to her, "Uh, basically handling it the way I dealt with my dad leaving, just repressing the hell out of it." He offered a small smile as Jake to Amy lightening the mood, but also as Andy to Melissa. He had done little things like this in character towards her character as nods to their off-screen friendship and Melissa loved it every single time.

She tried to hold it together but her smile grew and she had to look away as she nodded to maintain the scene.

They both adjusted off of the shelving unit, knowing what was about to happen and needed to hold space for the other to have creative freedom. Melissa partially leaned back into the unit and Andy rubbed his hurt wrist subconsciously. She spoke her line, "So, lot of change around here, huh?" she looked deeply into his brown eyes as he stared back at her, a different subtle look appearing across his face. She hadn't seen this look before. It felt sincere, real, raw…it felt like it was Andy, not Andy playing Jake. She watched his eyes drop to her lips and suddenly his lips were on hers.

He had closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms around her back. Her arms moved up around his shoulders, her hands finding the nape of his neck and his cheek. His lips were warm and welcoming on hers and she leaned into him more, relishing in this moment as she wasn't sure outside of work purposes if she'd ever feel this passion with him again. She felt her forehead meet his, her chest against his. There was no space left between them in this moment. Melissa gave herself fully, allowing Andy to take control of the kiss. He pushed into her more, turning his head to get the right angle to take her fully against him. His hands slid back down her back to her waist as they finally broke apart for air. The audible noise was from their lips was deafening in the silence on set. They both breathed heavily for only a moment before their eyes opened to gaze at one another.

'Holy shit….that was….' Andy thought.

'….amazing…' Amy thought.

Melissa's hands slid back down off of Andy's shoulders to his chest, staying there as they continued staring back at one another. It was almost as if everything else around them froze and it was just them in this moment, soaking every ounce of what just happened in. Melissa's eyebrows raised as she was about to break character but she was held back when Andy offered her a small smile that made her aware of her surroundings all over again.

Andy couldn't believe what he had just felt in that moment with her. He wasn't Jake Peralta kissing Amy Santiago, he was Andy Samberg kissing Melissa Gallo. Her lips were so soft, her touch felt like little bolts of lightning shooting through his veins everywhere they touched. He craved more of it. He needed more of it.

Both jumped slightly, Andy looking over his shoulder as Joe in character as Boyle knocked on the same door he had entered through.

"Hey Jake, the new Captain's here!"

Neither were sure when Joe arrived on set, but his entrance was shocking none the less, even thought they expected it coming into this scene.

Andy looked back at Melissa, back in character as Jake. He looked down at her hands as he felt her touch fade and watched her hands drop down to her side. It was like somebody had punched him in the stomach when she pulled away from him. He craved her in a way he had never craved another woman. He looked back up at her, trying his best to focus, and offered her a few small smiles mixed with some slight disappointment as he led her back out the door he entered from.

"CUT!" David's voice boomed into the silence, "Wow, you guys, literal chills from back here. What'd you guys think?"

Andy and Melissa walked back through the door and Andy spoke first, "I think it went well, although…" he paused and looked over at Melissa, "I think I want to change up some things just before and during the kiss."

Melissa nodded, thinking Andy was just being thorough about his job, "Oh, yeah, I agree." She held back her excitement about getting to redo their kissing scene.

"Are you sure?" David questioned, "That felt so good!"

Andy and Melissa looked at one another and back to David, "Well," Andy started, "I guess if you think it was good enough, we can move on?" His voice weakened at the idea of not getting to kiss her again right now. He didn't want to have to wait for their future scenes later that week to be able to press his lips against hers again.

"Great! That's all we need from you two right now. We'll see you back in a few hours for your van scene with Joe and Steph!" David high-fived the duo and walked back over to his chair, beginning a conversation with the writers.

Melissa turned to fully look at Andy, "Want to get some breakfast?" She looked at her watch to confirm it was still within acceptable breakfast eating hours, although she'd eat breakfast food any time of the day.

"Yeah, that sounds fun. Let me cook for you, though. I've been working my culinary skills," Andy whooshed his hands around in front of him as if he was stirring something in a pot, "Gotta test it on somebody."

"Wow, I'm so lucky…" she laughed.

He laughed back at her, "Oh, you're going to love it. Let's be real! Go get changed and meet me at my trailer, we can take my car."

Melissa nodded, "Give me like fifteen minutes!" She walked off set and headed back to her wardrobe to change.

Andy watched her as she walked away, taking in her beautiful stature. She knew how to carry herself confidently and that was a huge turn on for him. After she was out of sight, he, himself, headed to the men's wardrobe area to change. Once back into his street clothes, consisting of a gray t-shirt and black joggers, paired with his adidas sneakers, he headed back to his trailer to grab his keys, phone, wallet, and sunglasses. Almost as soon as he had finished placing his items in his pockets and his sunglasses in his hands, he heard a knock at the door. He opened it to Melissa, standing on the bottom step, "Ready?" she asked, her voice light and cheery.

"Yep, let's go!" She stepped down the last step and waited for him to reach the bottom before they walked off together to his car in the lot.

'Just two friends…hanging out,' they unknowingly thought together, 'What could go wrong…or right?'