Seeing Sam & Andy holding hands at the end of 3x03 made me giddy, and it made me imagine the very first time they held hands, so this story was created. It's a short one-shot. Enjoy! And don't forget to leave a review. :) Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

Holding Hands

Andy bit her bottom lip to stop herself from grinning like a crazy person as her and Sam walked down the street.

They'd stopped by The Penny after shift, deciding to walk over because it was such a beautiful summer night. After a few rounds of drinks and conversation with friends, the door of the bar swung shut behind them as they walked back out into the warm night air. Andy looked up at the dark sky and saw speckles of stars. She thought back to camping trips with her dad when she'd lay on her back staring up at the sky trying to count the stars or connect the 'dots' to create images. She knew Sam wasn't the camping kind of guy, but she was going to drag him out there at least once because it was so much easier to see the stars when you weren't right in the heart of the city. She was lost in her thoughts as they began the walk back to the station to get Sam's truck, and then it happened.

Arms hanging at their sides, they brushed gently against each other as they swung forward and back slightly as they walked. Sam opened his palm and the next time their arms brushed he slid his palm against hers, entwining their fingers. She wrapped her fingers around his instinctively like they'd walked hand in hand for years. There was no jostling to find a comfortable position, no awkward movement as their hands joined; their hands simply fell into place and fit together.

His hand was warm against hers. His calloused fingers rubbing against the back of her smooth hand. Her long boney fingers curled around his, her index finger rubbing against his knuckle.

She looked over at him as her lips curved into a smile. "What?" he asked, seeing her stare at him. Andy swallowed to give herself time to think, not sure how to say what she was feeling. Instead of speaking, she gave his hand a squeeze as she smiled at him. He smiled back, not needing her to say anything to know what she was thinking. He liked this too; it felt natural.

Andy was used to Sam's hand on her lower back, placed there with a feather-light touch. She remembered the first time she felt the warmth of his hand through her uniform. He'd been trying to calm her, give her gentle reassurance after she'd run after and tackled a robbery suspect. It was comforting, and even back then she had to admit she loved the feeling of his touch.

A little bolt of electricity would run through her body whenever his hand was on her back. It didn't matter if he was guiding her through the door of her condo or down the hallway at the station.

But this, walking hand in hand, this was different. This was the definition of normal, of a normal relationship. They'd had their hands all over each other – many times – but they'd never simply held hands. They hadn't been officially together all that long yet, but still, she'd never tried to hold his hand because, well, he didn't seem like that kind of guy. Hand on her back, arm around her shoulders, yeah, he was that kind of guy. But holding hands was more romantic, not something you'd do with just anyone, especially not the rough and tough Sam Swarek. So yeah, she had to stop herself from grinning like a kid on Christmas morning when his hand found hers.

"This violate the rules?" Sam teased, already knowing what her response would be by the look on her face.

Andy rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him and his dimples that were on full display. "They're not rules Sam, just us being careful."

They'd had a talk a couple days after she returned from suspension and agreed to leave the public displays of affection out of the station...for the sake of their jobs, and to save them from the relentless teasing from their friends. Andy didn't want to press their luck and admitted she was worried about Frank's new rules and him coming down hard on her and Sam. He on the other hand didn't really care about the new rules. But, not wanting Andy to run off to Temagami again to buy a matching oar, he agreed to play things safe. He soon found that also meant keeping contact to a minimum while around their friends since the fact they were also their co-workers made things a bit weird. He had to admit he preferred to keep his private life just that, private, but their actions while he was undercover blew their relationship out into the open whether they liked it or not. So, he was okay refraining from public displays of affection, at least until people moved on and forgot about what happened undercover.

"For the record, this," she said, swinging their joined hands forward, "is very okay."

Before releasing her hand as they approached his truck, Sam brought their entwined hands up to his lips to place a kiss on her knuckles. Letting her go, he unlocked the truck and they got in.

"Your place?" Sam asked as they pulled out of the parking lot.

"Yeah." Andy nodded and watched as he rested his right hand on his thigh. She slid her hand underneath his and laced their fingers together. She yawned and rested her head back on the headrest, tilting it so she could look at Sam. Holding hands, definitely one of her new favorite things.

The End.