A/N: How can you tell you've been away too long...

You Are the Company You Keep

"McCloud, what are you doing here?" Chris Coughlin asked after opening the door to find a tall man in a sheepskin coat, cowboy hat and bolo tie standing on the other side. That she knew what the man looked like under the clothes just as well was beside the point; Sam McCloud left a unique impression on any New Yorker who met him during his seven years on loan from the Taos, New Mexico police department he called home.

But that was history, and he had returned home for good almost a year ago. She and Sam had a certain bond since he had first arrived in New York City, and even though they hadn't been steady there was always the feeling whenever they parted that they would see each other again soon. Recently he had finally left the big city after his long-term assignment of studying big city techniques and practices and gone back to the American Southwest, taking with him all of his experiences and Chris' heart. It had been a tearful parting, and although promises were made of future holiday travel and celebrations there was an unspoken but implied "if it works out" that neither really wanted to address.

But here was the man again on her doorstep, unannounced like they had just had lunch yesterday.

"Are you gonna let me in or maybe you already got yerself a fella stashed away?" Sam said as he poked his head in looking left and right.

"If there was I'd just excuse myself for a moment to kick him out the window before I let you in" she smiled as she grabbed his coat's fluffy lapel and pulled him inside. After planting a kiss on his lips she looked up into his face; it was the same dark hair, sharp nose and mustache she remembered. "I don't know what holiday you came back for, but I'm going to buy a calendar just to make sure I don't miss it."

"I thought you writers lived by the calendar; deadlines, signings and always someone you have to talk to tomorrow" he said as he removed his coat and hat and made himself comfortable with great familiarity on her couch.

Chris sat across from him and stared. She knew something wasn't quite right when she first saw him, and it took her until now for it to dawn on her; his collar pins of "N.M." and "33" were missing. Why was part of his uniform missing unless...

"Sam, did you quit the force back home?"

McCloud rubbed his chin and smiled. "You're good, Chris. What gave me away?"

"The pins are missing" she answered as she pinched her own collar.

"You nailed it. You'd make a good detective, but I've already told you that before. No, I ah...didn't quit."

"You retired then."

"No, that's not it either...I was invited to return to New York permanently."

"Invited? You're invited to a wedding, an art opening or a costume ball maybe. I can't see Chief Clifford inviting you back." Although McCloud's superior was Peter Clifford while he was in New York, to say the two men didn't get along was putting it mildly. Only McCloud's consistent results and case solving kept Clifford from riding him out of town on a rail after repeatedly ignoring department protocols and chain of command.

"No, no. Matter of fact, he doesn't even know yet. My boss back home arranged it with your Commissioner, but the final decision was left up to me. I'm going to present my acceptance tomorrow in person. I did let Sgt. Broadhurst know just so he'd be able to duck when the road apples hit the fan." Sergeant Joe Broadhurst had worked closely with McCloud on many occasions, and although he was deeply entrenched in the New York police he was actually sympathetic and an ally against the chief's tirades.

Chris giggled. "But why leave Taos?"

"Well..." Sam started as he drew in a breath "don't get me wrong, you're about the only reason I would have thought of to ever come back here. But the folks back home came to the conclusion I must have stayed here a little too long."

"What?"

"That's right. Seems like too much of New York rubbed off on me. I didn't fit in back home any more. I was too much in a hurry, I used up more bullets in a month than I had in two years before, I called everyone Mac or Buddy and I even caught myself cussing out a suspect. I started trying to organize the department to be more efficient and that's when someone started making phone calls. When I asked where to get some lox I finally got a taste for they shook their heads; they even hated that briefcase you gave me when I left, and the day I didn't wear boots they just about went plumb crazy."

"Well! I paid...never mind, forget how much I paid for that briefcase. So we kind of got into you too" she said as she left her chair and sat beside Sam. She laid her head on his shoulder and breathed in his smell. That hadn't changed at all.

"I know you did," he said gently "but I guess the rest just kind of snuck up on me like a...like a..."

"Like a bobcat sneaking up on a quail?"

"There ya go. I was gonna say like a rat sneaking up on your lunch, but I think that just proves the point, don't ya think? You can't take the country out of a man, but you can cover it up with a whole lotta city."

"Well McCloud, what are you going to do now that they've ridden you out of town on a barrel?"

"I reckon I've got it all figured out" Sam said as he stretched his arm around her. "I'll go back to the force here in the city for a spell while you keep up with your police writing. I think sooner rather than later even Taos is going to get modernized even without me, and at some point I'll swing back out that way and settle in; maybe at that point you can join me and I'll show you what the other side of the country is like for a while. You can stay as long or as short as you like and I'll appreciate however long that turns out to be. How does that sound for a plan?"

"I can't say about going out there until the time comes, but if it means you'll be around here again for a least a little while I'm all for it" she said as she snuggled closer.

"I like the sound of that too but I don't think the chief will be too thrilled when he finds out. Tell you what though, you can tag along tomorrow when I go in and maybe you'll get a story on how the Chief of Detectives went up in one of those spontaneous combustion events."

The End

A/N: Would a cop really stay away seven years to learn new techniques for the department back home? But you couldn't keep up the fish out of water setup for years if he just stayed a few weeks so they stretched it a little. But if you live some place that is very different you pick up more than just an accent…