I'm not totally sure how I feel about this fic, but I had some ideas of moments I would've loved to see in 507 and had to write them. I hope everyone enjoys it! Please let me know what you think with a review. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

Love Gets You Through the Day

Sam and Oliver sat at The Penny catching up, as they hadn't spent much time out together lately - between Oliver's late nights at the office at the boss and Sam spending most nights with Andy. Oliver was telling his friend about the latest crazy concoction Celery had made for a client as Sam nursed his beer.

"And you and McNally, how are things?" Oliver asked, changing the subject.

"We're good," Sam replied, popping peanuts in his mouth from the bowl on the table.

"C'mon Sammy. That's all I get? All this time trying to push you fools back together, and I get 'we're good,'" he said, imitating his friend.

Sam gave his a friend a tight smile as he ran his tongue along his teeth. He knew Oliver was right, he'd been there through it all and deserved a better response. "We're, uh, we're doing things different, taking it slow. It feels right."

Oliver couldn't help but grin. His best friend and a woman who was like a daughter to him were finally happy and together. "I'm glad, brother. I can see how much you love each other; you can't give up on something like that," he said.

Another round later and their conversations had somehow turned back to work. "You ready to get back on the streets?" Sam asked Oliver about his temporary stint as staff sergeant coming to an end.

"More than ready. All this paperwork and being the boss ain't my thing, brother," Oliver replied. "I need to be out there, walking the streets."

"So, how many days do you have left in the fancy shirts?" Sam asked, teasing his friend.

"One week, brother. Five long days, then I'm free," he replied.

"Congrats, man. You've done a great job in your short reign as boss," Sam said, tapping his glass against his friend's.

Needing another refill, Oliver turned toward the bar. "Angus, we're celebrating here, can I have another round," he called out to the bartender. "Andy!"

"Angus, three," Andy added to Oliver's order, heading straight for Sam and Oliver's table when she walked into the bar.

"Heeey," Sam called out, turning around to lay his eyes on her. Oliver continued talking, something about getting out of the white shirts, but Sam was fully focused on his girlfriend as she made her way over.

"Hi," she said grinning at him. It felt good after a long day to know she had Sam to come 'home' to. He was her home, whether they were having drinks with friends, going out to dinner, or actually at one of their homes.

Andy caressed the nape of Sam's neck as she moved around him to the empty chair. She felt Sam's hand slide across her lower back before moving lower as she sat down.

Quickly catching her up on the celebration, the three friends threw back a shot and continued their fun. A few minutes later, Oliver excused himself to the restroom, and Andy leaned into Sam and spoke so only he could hear. "Did you grab my ass?" she asked with amusement.

"Don't know what you're talking about," Sam replied with a gleam in his eye that told her how full of it he was. Andy could tell Sam and Oliver had enjoyed a few rounds before she arrived, and she giggled and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "What? Totally innocent here."

"Uh, huh. I'm driving us home tonight," she said with a smile.

Sam knew the alcohol making him a little freer than usual, and that Andy was right. It was either her or a cab getting them home tonight. He pulled his keys out of his pocket, holding them out to her until she took them.

"Probably should've ordered something to eat, more than these peanuts," Sam mused, popping another in his mouth. "Did you have dinner?"

"No, Chloe and I just grabbed chips from the vending machine while we finished up the paperwork," she told him.

"Did someone say food?" Oliver asked, sitting down. Andy laughed as Sam rolled his eyes; Oliver was always thinking about food. "I could go for a good burger. Hey, Angus!"

Andy didn't miss the fact that while they were all ordering food, Sam reached over and grabbed her hand in his. She smiled at how comfortable this all was and gave his hand a squeeze.

The next day, Sam was lost in thought about the case he was working when he heard a familiar voice in the bullpen. "Uncle Sammy, hey!" Izzy called out from outside her dad's office.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" he asked, surprise evident as he walked up the stairs to greet her.

"Well, I'm considering a job in law enforcement," she said with her usual sass.

Sam rolled his eyes as he pulled her in for a hug and kissed her forehead. "Good to see ya, kiddo."

"Can I come hang out with you for the day?" she asked, pulling out her puppy dog eyes.

Sam usually couldn't say no to that, but Oliver seemed to be in a mood as he yelled for Gail to keep better tabs on his daughter. "Looks like your dad has other ideas for you," he replied.

Izzy pouted, but quickly moved on. "Hey, Uncle Sammy, is Andy okay?" she asked, eyebrows raised as she looked behind her through the glass walls of her dad's office.

Sam looked over the teenager's head, confused when he didn't see Andy organizing files like she had been before. "I don't know. I should go check it out," he said, concerned.

"Dad probably grounded her or something. He's like that," she said, increasing her voice so Oliver would hear the dig.

Tongue in cheek, Sam tried to tamp down his grin. "See ya later Izz," he said before watching her head in the direction her father was pointing to follow Gail.

Sam saw Oliver stomp off in another direction, and he walked into the office to find a dejected-looking Andy slouched over in her chair. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Andy looked up hearing Sam's voice and sat back. "The hearing was moved up to today."

"What? How can they do that?" he asked, leaning back against the desk next to where she sat.

"He's connected. They have to know I haven't even met my union rep yet," she said. "But that's not all. I...I told Oliver about fudging Duncan's reviews."

Sam glanced behind him to see the log books strewn across the desk. "And he's not too happy about that."

She shook her head. "I was trying to give Duncan the best chance to succeed. I thought I was doing the right thing," she said.

"This shouldn't even come into question. Moore left you in that house alone. That is what this hearing is about," he said, trying to reassure her.

"Oliver's pissed at me."

"He's having a rough day," he replied, thinking about Oliver and Izzy's interaction. "And Moore was a rookie on his watch. I'm sure he blames himself for all of this."

"He blames me."

"Hey." He tapped her leg with his own to get her to look up at him again. "You can't go in there like this. Go in there confident. Show them what a coward Moore was to not have your back. It's a clear violation of the code."

She wasn't sure she could claim being suddenly confident now, but Sam's words had helped her. He always knew what to say. Out of the corner of his eye, Sam caught Traci gesturing to get his attention. "I gotta get back to this case. You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah. I just want this to be over with," she replied.

"Come find me when it's over, okay?" She nodded in response to his request.

He patted her shoulder as he stood up and hoped he'd help to reassure her and share some of the confidence he had in her.

After speaking with Oliver once the hearing was over, Andy walked into the detective's office seeking the comfort of Sam and saw him searching through a file cabinet. Their eyes met as she plopped down heavily in his chair. "He left me alone with a 12-year-old and armed gang member, but I'm the one who screwed up," she said, pushing out a heavy sigh.

He closed the drawer he'd been looking through and walked over to her, perching himself on the corner of his desk. "What happened?"

She shook her head and gave a small shrug of her shoulders. "Staff Sergeant Shaw said it was all my fault, that I wasn't ready to be a TO," she said, mocking Oliver's title.

Sam quirked his eyebrows in surprise. "That's what he said?"

"Yup," she said popping the 'p.' "He and the inspector had a talk and decided to handle the matter internally. And Duncan gets his job back. And I'm labeled a failure."

"Hey, you are not a failure. The kid could've gotten you or someone else killed," Sam told her. "His connections probably got him some strings pulled to get his job back. It's no reflection on you."

Her lips pressed tightly together, she shook her head, still in disbelief over the hearing. "His connections got him two hot-shot lawyers, but my union rep couldn't even remember my name," she spat out. "The deck was stacked against me before I walked into the room. He even set me up at The Penny last week."

"Wait, what happened at The Penny?" he asked.

"Duncan showed up, started talking to me. I was trying to be nice. But he recorded us, played it at the hearing. And the superintendent decided she needed to investigate further after that," Andy replied, looking down as she scuffed her toe against the floor.

Alarm bells sounded in Sam's head. He'd been around the politics of the force long enough to know those were words used when a can of worms was about to be opened up. "Did she say anything else?" he asked.

Andy shook her head. "No. We took a break after that, then it was over."

"You should talk to Oliver. Maybe's there more to it," he suggested.

"He left to find Izzy." She pushed herself out of the chair, knowing she needed to let Sam get back to his work. "You know, I just thought...I thought I was doing the right thing, thought he would get better."

"We all would've done the same thing. You couldn't know it would turn out like it did," he said, not wanting her to doubt her abilities as a cop because of this.

"Thanks." She leaned in for a chaste kiss. "I gotta get outta here. I'm gonna go down to the community center and shoot some hoops."

Sam slid a finger into her belt as she went to back away, keeping her where she was as he stood up. "I gotta finish a few things here, then I'll pick you up, okay?"

Her lips curved up in a small smile. "I'd like that."

Sam pressed a kiss to her lips, both still out of breath after their one-on-one game. "Feeling better?" he asked when they pulled apart.

"Demolishing you at basketball does have its positives," she said, smirking at him.

"You think you're funny," he deadpanned.

She snuck two fingers in the gap between two buttons of his shirt and tugged him closer. "This was the best part of my day."

He rested his hands on her hips, letting his thumbs wander under her tank top to find her warm skin. "Thought this morning was the best part," he quipped with a waggle of his eyebrows.

"Shut up," she said after a giggle. She slid her hands up his chest to the back of his neck, felt the warmth of his body and beads of sweat under his collar, and tried not to think about the rest of her day. She wanted to relish in starting and ending it with Sam, and them being happy. "We should grab some take-out."

"Good idea, I'm starving," he replied. "What do you feel like?"

"Chinese?"

"You call in the order and I'll drive," he said, backing away from her.

She watched him pick his jacket up off the floor and slide it on, and wondered how she got so lucky. Both of their worlds outside each other had seen some rough patches the last few weeks - the Duncan drama and Sam seeing his father again - but they had never been stronger. And tonight, he let her get her frustrations out - even if they were directed at his best friend - and took her mind off a horrible day.

"You coming?" Sam's voice broke her from her thoughts and she realized he was halfway towards the door already.

She nodded feverishly. "Yeah, sorry." She grabbed her jacket and her duffel bag, and jogged to where Sam was standing. Her free hand found his and she linked their fingers. "I'm really glad you're here."

"Always will be," he replied. She leaned up so her lips could meet his and knew he always would be.

The End.