1.01 Sometimes there are surveillance cameras

The Black Penny

Oliver Shaw always told his rookies they were like fresh paint; people could smell new cops just like fresh paint. That's what Tommy McNally had told him when he was a rookie, and well, tradition was important.

Personally, he'd always thought that rookies were like puppies, eager to please, sometimes too dumb to stay out of trouble, and always making a mess on the carpet if you let them out of your sight for too long. His job was to house train them.

He surveyed the rookies laughing and toasting the first day on the job. He thought that Diaz was a lot like a golden retriever, friendly and loyal. Peck was like a snooty French poodle. Now Epstein, he was more like a Chihuahua that thought he was a German Shepard.

"Rock and Roll, McNally." Oh God, Oliver thought, overhearing Epstein's remark, he's not some deranged pup; he's wants to single-handedly wipe the world of crime. He's me.

How had his training officer made him the responsible one? He didn't remember. Was it Zoe and the kids? Was he going to have to add matchmaking to the training manual? Oliver shook his head and muttered, "This is going to be a nightmare."

He watched Andy McNally laughing at something Nash said. He finally understood what Tommy McNally had been saying all those years ago. Rookies were not jaded by the job yet; they were full of hope and idealism. Fresh paint. His training officer hadn't gotten it from a book; he knew his kid. All that trouble Tommy had and still his daughter was eager to put on the uniform and carry a badge. Yeah, his job now was to make sure that Andy McNally retained her sheen.

Oliver headed over to Jerry and Sam at the bar, noticing that Sam was also noticing McNally's sheen it occurred to him that Sammy could use some fresh paint in his life. Oliver clapped his hand on Sam's shoulder and said, "So, next time you decide to reward a rookie, with her first collar on her first day, for breaking your cover and tackling you to the ground, can you warn me? My rookie was running loose because I thought you were playing payback wild goose chase with her."

Oliver grabbed Sam's head with his hands and turned it towards McNally, "Will you look at my rookie? You know that cut on her hand? She didn't get it from the perp, she got it by poking at jagged glass. You can't turn your back on these rookies for a minute."

Noelle walked up to the guys at the bar, "We're off shift, enough babysitting. We've got the backroom reserved to welcome Sam back. Jerry!" Noelle snapped, "Stop drooling over Jenny from the block, you're making a puddle on the floor."

Oliver chuckled and thought that some cops never really got house trained, "Come on Jerry. Let's go before Noelle smacks you on the nose with a newspaper."

They pushed their way into the backroom and found Frank sprawled in a chair and about four drinks ahead of them. Sam stepped over Frank's legs and took a seat and asked him how he'd been. "Zero for two." Frank muttered. "Baseball, Frank? I thought you were a hockey man." Sam asked. "In marriage, man." Frank responded. Sam looked over at Noelle and saw the surprise on her face.

Oliver pulled out a chair for Noelle while Jerry grabbed beers for the table. They spent a couple hours downing drinks trying to catch up with Frank, rather unsuccessfully. Only Noelle abstained using the excuse that one of them needed to stay sober enough to get them all home.

They started catching up on their lives, the gossip around Division 15, and Sam shared some of his experiences undercover. As it became clear that Sam was getting aggravated over how close he came to busting Anton Hill before it all fell apart, Oliver tried to turn the topic.

"At least you missed rush week. The kids at university decided to have pledges commit felonies. These kids stole a cruiser from twenty-seven, used a blow torch to cut leg holes in the floor and were cruising around Toronto screaming 'Yabba dabba doo!' and singing the Flinstone's theme song on the radio."

On a chuckle Noelle adds, "Yeah, Oliver ended up chasing the squad down the street on foot."

No to be upstaged, Jerry added "What about my guy that was on a spree of robbing jewelry stores by throwing bricks through the window? He finally hit one with plexiglass and knocked himself out. When he woke up he tried to convince me the store owner had assaulted him"

"Or there was that woman stole a camel from the Toronto zoo, painted spots on it and tried to milk it as some sort of nutty health regimen. Turned out the camel was male." Oliver added. If he hadn't seen it and called animal control he would have thought it an urban myth.

"And then there were your run of the mill stupid criminals. Like the bank robbers that shoved the dye packs down their pants." Noelle started.

"Or that dumbass that marked his weed 'Not Pot'." Jerry added.

"Or that dealer who fled the cops and then ducked in an alley to finish the deal."

Sam glared at Oliver. Frank lifted his head, looked directly at Sam and asked, "Did you see my rookie?" Sam shook his head no and Frank continued, "Oh. Was wondering why you didn't leave the scene when shots were fired. Thought maybe you thought Diaz was Superman. He kind of looks like Superman or Clark Kent without glasses. Thought maybe when I told him to use the crime scene tape you thought he created a force field to keep you in." Frank downed his third whiskey.

"It was a crappy lock" Sam muttered, not wanting to admit to himself that expecting a lock to keep cops out was kind of the same thing. Sam took another swig of beer, looked at Jerry with dread and asked, "What's that?"

Jerry had produced a DVD from his pocket with flourish. "Evidence. You know how Callaghan is. Nothing he likes better than investigating a case that is already solved. Increases his clearance and moves him up the ranks. He collected all the surveillance tapes from a three block area."

Sam's head dropped to the table as Jerry loaded the DVD and turned on the television. He had a good idea of what was coming next.

Jerry tossed Oliver the remote and he hit the pause button moments after hitting play and said, "I know you missed Boyko's speech to the rookies, but is eight months undercover enough time to forget that the one thing they do train rookies to do is run? "

"How was I to know the handlers let the pups off their leashes to chase after criminals all on their own?" Oliver and Noelle both ducked their heads at that one.

Oliver hit play and watched Sam take off running. He got to the tackle, hit rewind and then play again. After a couple more times he hit pause so Sam's friends could wipe the tears from their eyes. The laughing finally died down and then the ribbing started.

"I've never seen anyone run parallel to the ground before."

"It's like you were flapping your wings but couldn't get enough speed to take off."

"I think you wanted to get caught." Sam glared at Jerry who said, "What? She's limber." remembering how she had worked at getting out of those handcuffs.

"You are so lucky she hasn't figured out how to work electronics yet. First she has to learn how her radio works and then her Taser. A couple more days and McNally would have given you a jolt to the ass." That one came from Oliver.

Frank responded by slipping off his chair and sliding to the floor. He was lying flat on his back laughing so hard that he looked like someone had tasered him.

Oliver let the DVD play all the way to the end and Noelle asked Sam "What did you say to her?"

"She was making a mistake. I was on the job." Sam slurred a little.

Noelle responded "That's what everyone says, don't they?" Jerry and Oliver nodded. Frank had dozed off on the floor.

Jerry, still trying to deflect his part in breaking Sam's cover asked Oliver, "When you realized the rookie had arrested him, why didn't you make an excuse to get out of the car and relay a message to division? He wasn't particularly bright to keep doing business with Sam with cops in pursuit. He wouldn't have figured it out."

Sam took note that it didn't make him look all that bright either, but still, he was relieved that they seemed to be getting to the part of his day that wasn't his fault. Oliver volleyed back to Jerry with "Sam was wearing as much grease in his hair"

"Gel" both Sam and Jerry interjected.

"as you do. How could you not tell Sam was undercover even if you couldn't see the restraints?" Oliver finished.

Jerry countered with "Well if you weren't preoccupied with that rookie, then maybe you could have kept the situation more under control."

Noelle was beginning to get worried that she had two drunken hotheads on her hands and tried to interject but Oliver went on" I was trying to protect Sammy. McNally brought him in on possession charges. Frank's been running around telling the rookies to make the suspects cough. I was worried that Epstein was going to fight me for the booking so he could pull out the latex to search Sammy's yin yang and make his first drug bust."

"Do guys have a yin yang?" Jerry asked.

Frank snorted, rolled to his side, tucking into a fetal position, and muttered "check the yin yang." Sam, Noelle, Oliver, and Jerry thought that was hysterical.

Oliver asked, "Do you think the rookies will notice that we screwed up more on their first day than they did?"

Noelle responded, "We noticed", which got her quizzical looks from Oliver, Jerry, and Sam and continued, "Don't you remember our first undercover as hookers when our training officers…"

"Samantha, you were one ugly woman." Oliver blurted.

"Didn't stop Jerry from hitting on him" Noelle chimed in.

"Jerry would hit on anything in a mini skirt." Sam said, as he tugged on his jeans remembering all the places fishnet stockings could ride up into. Sam just hoped the traditional hazing for the first day a training officer came back from another assignment was about over.

The Black Penny Parking Lot

Noelle managed to lead her drunken coworkers on a weaving path through the parking lot. They had to resort to getting a dolly to wheel Frank out. Oliver was leaning on the handle trying to stop the world from spinning. Jerry and Sam were leaning on each other, arms around waists, trying to stay upright.

Now she was trying to figure out how to load four drunken police officers into a car that only had room for three. She pulled out her phone to call a cab but she hesitated, not sure which of them was sober enough to get home alone without creating an incident.

She noticed a rookie cutting across the parking lot and called out, "McNally, over here." Andy jogged over to Noelle and was asked "where are you headed?"

"I just came from seeing my father. I'm headed home" Andy answered.

Noelle asked McNally where she lived and Noelle started organizing, "OK. I need you to take care of Swarek. He lives a few blocks from you and he's in no shape to make it home on his own." Noelle jotted down Sam's address and went to hand it to Andy.

Andy was pretty sure she had never seen anyone as drunk as her senior officers. Even when she, Traci, Chris, and Dov had graduated the academy they hadn't been this drunk and Dov had woken up with a Yertle the Turtle tramp stamp. "Um, sure" Andy didn't think she could refuse a superior officer, especially the only one who was sober, but she wished she could take Shaw home instead. Sam Swarek made her nervous.

Andy helped Noelle load the others into the car while Sam leaned against the driver's door. Andy nudged Sam until he put his arm around her shoulder and then muscled him until he was standing somewhat straight. Noelle pointed to Sam's truck and told Andy she could drive. As Andy and Sam began making their ways toward his truck, Noelle pulled out of the parking lot.

Reaching the passenger door, Andy turned to face Sam and asked "Can I have your keys?" Sam put his arms on the truck, caging Andy between them, and leaned in. Sam brushed his nose against hers and then angled his head into the crook of her neck and began to nuzzle her, "Bambi. Mmm. So soft. Smell so good."

Andy shivered and decided she needed to find Sam's keys fast. She patted him down, looking for his keys, but Sam mimicked her movements and now his hands were on her. She finally found them in the front pocket of his jeans.

Andy tried to duck out of Sam's arms to go around to the driver's side of the truck but Sam tightened his hold, pulling Andy closer. Andy wiggled and squirmed and managed to turn around in his arms. She was so warm; Sam was like a furnace at her back. Fumbling with his keys, she managed to get the passenger door unlocked.

Andy decided to climb over the passenger seat to the driver side, hoping Sam would follow her in. Sam was still drunk enough that Andy's sudden scramble into the cab unbalanced him and Andy got herself free and into the truck. Sam climbed in after her and shut his door. Andy reached over to Sam and fastened his seatbelt. He grabbed her hands and held them for two heart beats until Andy pulled away.

Andy turned out of the parking lot and began the short drive to Swarek's place. She had the steering wheel in a death grip and kept stealing glances at Sam. Every time she looked over, he was always looking back. He was either the most focused drunk she had ever seen or he had learned to sleep with his eyes wide open. Her mouth suddenly dry, Andy licked her lips. Sam groaned. Yeah, he definitely wasn't asleep.

Andy found Sam's street and pulled into his driveway. She shut off the engine and climbed out. Sam tried to follow her out the driver's side. If he hadn't been belted in and too drunk to escape his restraints he probably would have managed it and fallen on his face.

Sam's eyes tracked Andy as she came around the truck. She opened his door and leaned in to unbuckle him. Sam couldn't resist running his fingers through her hair. Andy pulled away but steadied Sam as he climbed.

She walked him to his door and as she tried to find a key to unlock it, Sam ran his hands up and down her arms. Andy finally swung the door open and pushed Sam over the threshold. Sam turned around to face her and reached to pull her in with him.

Andy was tempted, but she was sober and Swarek had started the night so angry with her over the undercover assignment and it was her first day as a cop and they worked in the same division even if he was Guns and Gangs. She didn't want to chance any regrets. She didn't want to chance ruining her new life when it was just beginning. She caught Sam off guard and swung the door closed with him inside and then hurriedly locked it again.

Andy leaned her forehead against the door and inside Sam tested the handle and couldn't make the door open and then smacked his forehead against the door with a thud. Andy jolted back and bent over, her hands on her knees, trying to pull it together. After a few moments, when she had her emotions in check, Andy straightened up to leave.

As she headed home she wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly chilled. Andy muttered, "It's going to be fine. We'll just pretend tonight never happened. Maybe he won't even remember." As Sam's keys jangled in her hand, she added "I hope he has spares." Andy decided she would give the keys to Noelle in the morning to return to Sam and ask her not to mention how Swarek got home.

Sam stumbled to his couch and settled in for a night of sweet, sweet dreams.

Luke Callaghan rolled up on a crime scene a couple blocks away from The Penny. The uniforms already had the suspect cuffed, crying, and spilling his guts. "Two murders closed in one day. Damn, I'm good," Luke thought and then directed the uniforms, "Go collect all the surveillance tapes in a three block area."