"You can't be serious?"

"Why not?"

"Sam, you don't even like me, why would you want me to meet your sister?"

"Because my sister wants to meet the rookie who laid me out on my ass."

She'd only been at 15 for a day when they met - if you could call bringing him in while he was under 'meeting.' She was not his favorite person, but she also wasn't the one to blow his cover. No, that was done by one of his buddies.

For what reason she didn't know, the Staff Sergeant made him her T.O. When they heard their names partnered together they'd both wondered who they had pissed off because that was the only logical explanation for the pairing. That was just over a week ago and their relationship hadn't exactly improved. So the invitation was unexpected.

Andy chewed her bottom lip. A weekend away with her sexy Training Officer or ... what? Sittin' at home?

"When would we leave?"

"Friday after shift. You can either bring your bag with you and we'll throw it in my truck after Parade or we can swing by your place after shift before we hit the road."

"How long would we be there?"

"We'll be back Sunday night."

"Can I ..."

"You got til Friday to give me your answer, McNally."

"Ok."

Sam woke Friday still unsure whether he'd have company after shift. He tried to tell himself he wouldn't be disappointed if she didn't go but he just couldn't make himself buy it.

Andy woke Friday morning still undecided. T.O and Rookie relationships were against the rules, but, since it wasn't that kinda weekend ...

Sam pulled into the barn and was surprised to find her waiting, bag in hand.

"Goin' somewhere?" he asked.

"Thought maybe I'd go to St. Catharines if the invitation's still open ..."

Sam threw her bag in this truck.

"Parade's in 15 minutes. Think you can be on time?" he asked as he held the door for her.

"Yes sir."

"Good. Then go get changed so we can get this day started."

Her only response was another, "Yes sir."

Neither was surprised when Boyko called their names during assignments. They met up at the coffee station.

"Let's go, McNally. The sooner we get these 10 hours started the sooner we get outta here."

"Ready when you are."

"You're not still bein' a hard ass with that rookie, are you?" Oliver asked.

"Me? A hard ass?" Sam feigned hurt.

Oliver laughed as he fixed his coffee and called for Epstein.

Andy was draggin' your ass exhausted by the time Sam pulled back into the Sally Port. They had responded to a robbery and the suspect was a runner. She had followed on foot for almost 4 blocks before Sam cut him off with the car.

"Go ahead, grab a shower if you want. I can escort our friend here."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Shouldn't take too long then I'm gonna hit the shower. Be ready to hit the road in 30, I wanna be outta here in 45."

"I'll be ready."

Sam was leaning against the wall, freshly showered when she emerged from the lockers a half hour later.

He was about to say something when Callaghan came out of the bullpen and whistled. "Lookin' good, Officer McNally."

Andy blushed because she wasn't exactly dressed up, she was just in a pair of jeans and a form fitting tank.

The rookies all emerged at the same time. "Comin' to the Penny?" Dov asked.

"Not tonight. Have a good weekend guys, I'll see ya Monday."

Nobody knew they were going to St. Catharines so she didn't dare look at Sam in case she gave it away.

"What about you, Officer Swarek?" Less than 2 weeks in, and Dov was seriously man-crushing on him ... even if he was more than a little intimidated by him.

"Not tonight, rookie."

Dov did his best to hide his disappointment.

Andy couldn't help but wonder how they were gonna get outta there. Between the pretty boy detective and her friends, there was no way they could leave together without raising a few eyebrows.

Sam solved that problem when he walked away after the detective asked, "Can I give you a ride, Andy?"

She could feel her friends waiting for her answer. "No thanks, Detective. Listen, guys, I gotta go ..." and she hurried toward the door.

Sam motioned through the windshield for her to go, he'd pick her up after they were away from the Division.

She walked for about a block and a half in the opposite direction to the Penny.

Sam pulled up beside her and opened the door. She looked around to make sure no one saw as she got in.

"So, ummm ..." for the life of her, Andy didn't know what to say.

"My sister's name is Sarah. There's somethin' you need to know before you meet her. Sarah was attacked when she was 13 .. I was 9 when it happened. It messed her up pretty good at the time. To this day she doesn't trust a lot of people, so when she asked to meet you ..."

"Can I ask you somethin'?"

"Go."

"Was she ..."

"Yeah, she was. She was gang raped by a group of guys from one of the local high schools."

Andy looked at Sam. "That's why you became a cop."

Sam smiled sadly. "I couldn't protect my sister, but I knew I could protect girls like her ..."

"Anything else I need to know?"

Sam smiled. "Yeah. Despite or maybe because of, what I just told you, my sister and I are very close. It might not seem like it, the way we act, but we are."

"Ok."

45 minutes later they pulled into a driveway. Sam got out and was walking around to help Andy out when the door opened and Sarah stepped onto the porch. "Hey Sammy!"

Sam smiled as he opened Andy's door. "You ready to meet my sister, McNally?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Sam laughed as he took her hand and helped her out.

Walking up the steps, Sam hugged his sister before making introductions.

"Sis, this is Andy McNally. Andy, my sister, Sarah Swarek."

The girls exchanged "Nice to meet you"s while Sam grabbed their bags.

20 minutes after arriving, Sam and Andy were relaxing on Sarah's front porch, beer in hand.

"So Andy, what's he like as a ... what are you again, little brother?"

Sam smiled. "Training Officer, Sis."

Sarah smiled. "Thank you." She looked at Andy. "You can be honest, Andy. I know better than anyone he can be a pain in the ass."

Sam quirked an eyebrow at his sister. "Says the pain in my ass!"

Sarah burst out laughing.

"Sammy! Is that any way to talk about your favorite sister?"

"You're my only sister ..."

Andy watched the back and forth banter between the siblings. Sam hadn't been kidding when he told her they were close.

Sarah caught her watching them. "So Andy, you got any siblings that tease and torture you?"

Andy shook her head. "Not that I know of. I mean, I guess I could ..."

When Sarah looked at her in question, Andy looked down at her beer as she said, "My mom bailed when I was 12, it's just been me and my dad. If I have any I don't know about them, never mind know them ..."

"Andy, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Do you mind if I walk around? It's so beautiful ..."

"Knock yourself out."

Andy set her bottle on the table and got to her feet.

"Are you guys hungry or did you grab something on the way down?"

"We came straight here."

"Then why don't I order some Chinese and you can go make sure your rookie's ok."

Sam smiled as he kissed his sister's cheek. "Thanks."

Sam found her out behind the house.

"Sarah ordered Chinese."

Andy didn't look at him. "Ok."

"It'll probably be here by the time we get back to the house."

They walked back to the house in silence. They were almost there when Sam said, "I'm sorry if my sister upset you."

"She didn't. It's just not somethin' I talk about a lot. I mean it was after she left that he started swimmin' his way to the bottom of a bottle. I'm pretty sure that's common knowledge but it's not somethin' I'm proud of."

Sam stopped her and put his hands on her shoulders. She looked at his chest.
"Andy, look at me."

When she continued to look at his chest he raised her chin. She looked over his shoulder.

"McNally, look at me!"

Andy was a little surprised by the T.O tone off the clock, but it got him what he wanted, she looked at him.

"You are not your father."

Andy shook her head. "Do I agree with it, no, but at the same time I know where he's comin' from. You see a lot of things doin' this job ... it can be hard enough when there aren't problems at home, add that to the mix and, well, sometimes even heroes fall."

Andy smiled sadly. "Thank you."