Rookie Blue 1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Autumn sure was one of the most beautiful seasons in Canada, but there had always been something especial about the season that made Andy like it a little more than the others. Now as she was walking towards the station with two coffees in hand she took her time to enjoy the view since she was actually early.

Sam had spent the night at the station organizing cases that were meant to go back on trial this week. Since the prison was having an overcrowding and some cases were being reviewed. She knew he was going to be exhausted once she got to see him this morning so she woke up an hour early to go to the café to get him some breakfast.

"Hey, Andy. You got me coffee, how sweet!" Traci said as she stepped onto the barn. "I knew there was a reason I liked you so much."

Laughing Andy took a second to pass her own coffee to her friend. She did drink her own before she left the café, so she wouldn't be missing it too much.

"You need it more than I do. Trust me." Andy said as she took a second to observe her friend.

Traci pushed Andy lightly. "I'm just going to let that go. I don't have enough energy for this."

Both of them start walking towards the women's locker room together, but make a quick detour towards the D's to see if she could hand Sam his coffee.

It didn't take long for her to see him standing over his table filled with files.

"I find it intriguing how you can work in such a mess." Sam startled as Andy spoke next to him.

"Hey." He said smiling lightly at her.

"I thought you would need this." She said as she handed him his coffee and a bag with whatever she thought would please him this morning.

Sam obviously took it without complaining. Andy took the clear spot on his desk to sit on as he sat on his desk and as Sam started to eat she saw the opportunity to go through his things and see what he had to deal with the whole night.

Most of the files seemed fine. People who got put away for not paying child care or mortgage, stuff like that. Most of them weren't a threat to society, so it didn't seem like such a big deal. Except for when Andy caught the sight of three bigger files at the opposite end of the table.

"So what did you do all night long without me?" Sam asked when he noticed a certain person too interested in what he had laid out.

"Oh, you know. Drank your beer and when we ran out we drank all your scotch. The usual." She said casually.

Sam let out a small laugh. "You wouldn't dare."

Andy looked at him mischievously. He knew she'd never have the guts to drink all his scotch. The beer she'd drink it easily, but never his scotch. It was the bottle of scotch Jerry had given him on the weekend prior to his death, so Sam had the feeling it would take a long time and a very special moment for him to open it.

"Yeah, okay. I binge watched The Bachelorette."

"Without me?" Sam asked as if he was offended by the thought of that.

Andy took a bite off his croissant and smiled sweetly. She knew he never liked the show, but even then he always watched it when she wanted. Now she even had someone to talk about the show with.

"We can always watch it again."

"No. I'm good. I bet I'll have the full report before I the weekend."

Andy took the coffee from his hands and took a sip "Probably."

"I thought you got this for me."

"Yeah, but it just looks so much better than the one I had."

Sam smiled at her and stood up picking up his files.

"Some would say I have good taste."

Andy pulled him for a quick kiss. Their lips meeting fast like it was the natural thing to do and they almost forgot they were in the D's office and someone could come in at any moment.

"That you do." Andy whispered after they broke their kiss.

"You should go. You still have to put on your uniform before parade starts." Sam said as he closed the bigger files.

"Need any help?"

"Nope. Got it all covered."

Andy stood up in a jump and picked her bag from the floor.

"I'll see you at home after my shift then."

"As you all know by now. Some of you are going to be picking up prisoners for their trials this week. So I don't want any trouble during this transportation." Frank said loudly to the room filled with officers. "And I need to remind you all the gala is back. Next month so you all have time to buy your tickets. It's important for the division that you all show, so I'm counting with every single one being there. Assignments are on the board and if you're supposed to be picking up someone I suggest you get to it, it's a long drive."

As the room cleared and Andy stepped away from Chloe, they walked towards the now viewable board.

"Don't bother McNally, you're with me. We are going on a little trip." Oliver said as he waved towards Andy. "Come on, we don't have all day."

Andy and Oliver didn't get very far seen as Sam stood by their squad car. He looked a lot more serious than before and a lot more tired. His arms were crossed and his face blank with expression. Oliver just stopped and shook his head.

"Not now, brother."

"Which one is it?" Sam asked Oliver without giving any attention to Andy who stood behind Oliver with a puzzled look.

"Does it even matter? They only gave us a number. We'll review his file once we get there."

"That's wrong. You need the information beforehand. Tell me the number."

"170043"

Once Oliver had said the number Sam's face fell a little, but he kept it together like most detectives could. But Andy knew better. He fixed his posture and he kept biting the inside of his cheek, a classic sign he was nervous.

"Can't you change it with someone else?"

"Not anymore. Everyone assigned a prisoner has left already. What is this about?"

Sam looked for the first time towards Andy, but still showed no emotion other than the annoyed nervous look he had before. She didn't have much to go on. He could just be tired and looking out for her and his best friend, but something more than that was bothering him and she knew that she wouldn't find out until later on tonight.

He stepped away from the car and moved to the side of the building grabbing Oliver by the arm. They started a conversation in whispers so Andy couldn't make out what it was about, but it sure had Oliver a little more anxious too.

"Hey, Andy, get these things inside the car and wait there. I'll be just a little more and then we'll be heading out. You choose where we get coffee on our way."

It was extremely weird of Oliver to say that, but Andy knew better than to push it now. Maybe she'd get a chance to talk to Oliver and get him to open up about what was going on.

After a few minutes sitting alone in the car and watching their conversation by the rear view mirror she saw them walking over to the car.

"We'll be back by eight, so she'll be home at ten the latest. I'll make sure of it." Oliver said as he stepped inside the squad.

"I'll be back at work by seven, so I'll see you when you get back." Sam leaned on Andy's window and kissed her. As brief as it was, she could sense how tense he was.

"We'll be fine. Go home and get some sleep. You need it."

With a small smile the car took off and she kept looking at him from the rear view mirror until she lost him.

Now she just needed to figure out what all the drama they had going on was about.

"What had Sam so upset about out prisoner?" Andy asked trying to make it seem like she wasn't so curious. Maybe make it seem like small talk, but Oliver didn't buy it.

"McNally, we won't be talking about who we're picking up, because all I know now is his number. Once we get there and get his file we'll have about an hour to look through his file. Then we'll talk." His voice was lower than usual, something she noticed he did when he felt frustrated.

_Damn it with all the guys I work with_ \- Andy thought as she leaned more against her seat.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

**I just want to say thank you to everyone who started following the story and reviewed it. I hope I can write something that will please most of you. My first language is Portuguese and not English, so if there are any mistakes I'm apologizing now.**

Half way to the prison Andy started to get more annoyed at the silence that had settled between them. Normally they had a good amount of conversation when they were partnered together, but now he refused to participate in any small talk she tried to bring up.

"How are things with Celery?" She tried once again to start a conversation that didn't involve Sam or their prisoner.

"She's fine." He answered without taking his eyes off the road.

"I'm glad. She seems really nice. We should hang out sometime and I'm not talking about taking her to The Penny. After I'm settled in Sam's apartment we should be able to have you guys over for dinner." Now she was dying to have a conversation. Oliver was always the easy going one.

"Oh yeah and how is the moving going?" he asked smiling a little which had Andy in a much better mood. She couldn't handle the silence that had settled.

"Almost non-moving. Our schedule has been all over the place. We haven't spent much time together this week. But after the trials are over we'll be back to normal." She stopped to look over at Oliver. He seemed pretty content now. "I didn't realize I had so many things. It took us a week just to box everything. Now that most of my things are at his place, I don't think he'll have the space for it all."

"I've seen his place. He has space. His apartment has a plant, a couch, a tv and a bed. He barely has a kitchen. You'll be doing him a favor." He said as he turned the car to a dinner on the side of the road. "Lunch time! Let's go, McNally. We have more three hours 'til we get there."

And again she was reminded of the prisoner that is being kept a secret. She hated feeling left out. Of course Andy knew Sam trusted her, but sometimes when he kept things she felt like they were taking two steps forward and three steps back. But she also didn't want to be the nosy girlfriend that had to know every single detail.

Pulling out her phone she just sent a text to see if everything was okay. He'd probably be asleep so she didn't bother holding onto it.

_"__Hey, we've just stopped to get something to eat. How are things?"_

That seemed like a normal text to send at least to check if he was still upset.

She sat down in front of Oliver as he asked for the waiter to grab him his lunch and Andy just said she'd get whatever Oliver was getting. Hoping she wouldn't regret that decision.

"I'm thinking of moving into a new house." Oliver said loud and fast. Andy almost missed it because of the noise inside the dinner.

"Why? Don't you like your apartment? I mean, you can always change your mind, but you moved in like eight months ago, right?"

"I did, but I'm thinking of having Celery move in with me." He said quietly. It's not something he told many of his friends. Only Sam knew.

"You guys seem like you're doing so well. I like it, you seem happy."

"I am."

"Then go for it. Ask her and enjoy it, 'cause everyone knows you deserve it." Andy said raising her cup filled with soda and Oliver joined her with his.

"Here's to moving in." She said and he repeated after her.

Their small talk was mostly directed towards moving. The house styles, the ones available and the neighborhoods he could be looking into. Andy was happy enough just to be distracted from the prisoner and Oliver was also looking less and less tense by the minute. Plus, she was really happy for him. After everything he went through with his family these past years, he needs to find a solid ground.

Later on back on the road it took them less then what they hoped for to get to the prison. As protocol they did as they were told going through security and waited for the prisoner. Since Oliver was out of the room they were put into Andy was left alone as they waited for the prisoners file.

"I'm sorry it took this long, but here it is." The officer said as he handed the file to Andy.

"No problem. Thanks."

As soon as the officer left Andy opened the file so she could get some information and then pass it onto Oliver. But as much as she waited for it to be something bad, she didn't expect it to be this.

The name written in a dark blue pen was the name of the last person she'd like to deal with now.

**_Jay Swarek._**

Really? Out of all the other inmates that could get their cases reviewed for early release _he_ had to be one of them? So this is why Sam didn't want her here and now. Why he had been all secrets with Oliver and wanted them to switch with anyone. He didn't want her near his father and she got that, but not telling her was also a mistake. So what if she knew? Did he actually think she'd be nervous or anything like that? This was part of the job. Not that she would actually enjoy riding for most of the day with someone that hated her boyfriend and probably wouldn't shut up.

"Hey, McNally, what are you staring at?" Oliver's voice startled her bringing her out of her thought.

"Oh nothing, just reading up on our prisoner." She said trying to make it sound like it was no big deal.

She looked up and saw him standing next to her. He was serious and the nervous look he had before came back.

"Did you know we were picking up Jay Swarek?" She asked trying her best to impersonate Sam's blank look.

"Sam said that there was a high possibility."

"How high?"

"Around 100%, but Andy he wanted you to not over think things. He wanted this to be a normal pick up. He didn't want you to feel uncomfortable or nervous." Oliver tried to explain as he sat next to her. Obviously he sided defending Sam and she wouldn't expect anything less, but it still didn't make sense. She can handle herself with his dad and she thought she had proven it to him.

"I'm not the one nervous around him. Sam is."

"Of course. To him you're just picking up the devil."

"I know and I'm not going to talk about Sam now. I'll have a talk with him later. But why is he even having his case looked over? Didn't he have, like, 20 years for killing someone?" She asked looking over his file.

"Yeah, but that was almost 18 years ago or something like that. Ever since that incident he's been a model prisoner and he may be getting out. Sam is stressed about that too."

Suddenly Andy saw the address they needed to drop him off. It wasn't very far from where Sam lived and if Sam didn't know about that yet, she was afraid of the reaction she'd get from him.

"Let's get this over with then." She said as she looked through the big glass window that led to a hallway where Jay was being brought by two other officers.

As soon as she stood up her phone buzzed on her pocket.

_"__Hey. Sorry I took so long. Hope you had a good lunch. Everything is fine, too quiet actually. How are you?_ _Are you at the prison already?"_

She typed a quick reply.

_"__Just getting our prisoner in the car. Will be back earlier then what we intended. We'll talk more once I get there."_

A few seconds later a simple 'Ok.' From Sam was all she needed to know that he understood what was happening. She wasn't happy, but he sure as hell won't be the one saying sorry for "protecting" her. He needed to know that keeping her in the dark will never be the best way to protect her. She didn't need protection. If she did she wouldn't be a cop.

After she put her phone away the door opened to reveal Jay Swarek looking rather pleased and his smile only grew as he saw who stood right in front of him.

"What a pleasure to see you again Andy McNally." He said with a sickening smile.

**This is it for now. It's 1:25 and I have no idea how I'll handle work 'til 22:00 tomorrow. There might not be another chapter for a while, but I'll try to make it work. I'm amazed at how many reviews and follows and favorites it has gotten in just a day. You guys are amazing. Thank you! 3**


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

**I understand some of you are feeling like Andy is being selfish and she's ignoring Sam's feeling. It's true she's not seeing much of his side of the situation, but I'm mostly trying to show how she feels left out when he hides things from her instead of coming out and talking to her trying to deal with his concerns as a couple. I'm not in any way trying to blame Sam for anything that happens. They are a great couple, the best couple I've seen in a long time. And I know his apartment is really nice on the show, but just humor me for now. Sorry again and thank you for the reviews∕follows∕favorites.**

It didn't take long for them to be on their way. The squad was an unusual silence and the presence of Jay Swarek behind Andy made her shiver. She hated the guy for everything he did and represented to Sam. She understood what he did, even if she felt left out. It was his way of doing things. Like he once said she liked messy and that is how he was. Even though she doesn't always agree with how things are dealt with. She wouldn't even confront him or anything since she did feel bad about being with him in the car with her and Sam knew she'd feel like that.

"So officer McNally, how is Sammy doing?" Jay asked pushing himself closer to her.

"Stay in your seat." Oliver said before Andy had the chance to answer him.

Jay looked angrily at Oliver, but did as he was told and sat back, but his gaze never left Andy's head.

"So… How is he?"

"He's just fine."

"You're both still together then? You know he's not that different from me and if you hate me now… You just wait."

Andy felt like fire was burning inside her. She wanted to scream and hit him or whatever. He was a horrible person that had, for a long time, hurt Sam. He made Sam think he was like him when he wasn't.

"You don't know anything about him. He's nothing like you. Never was."

"One thing I noticed about him last time we saw each other was the way he looked at you. Even if it was just for a small moment. He has strong feelings for you, and you for him." He said trying to get a reaction from her and just the twist of her neck so she'd look at him was enough.

"I told you before, I care about him and that is more than you need to know. Now it's in your best interest to sit quiet for the rest of our time."

And that was how the ride was kept for a long time. No one said anything and every other moment Oliver glanced at the back seat and then at Andy. At least all his paperwork was done and now all they had to do was have him dropped at his address where two other officers would be to accompany him everywhere. He already had a tracking device so even if he left, he wouldn't get very far.

"Will I be able to see Sam?" he asked later on when they'd stopped for gas and restroom breaks.

"No. There is no need for him to follow on your case." Oliver said as he pushed Jay into the squad.

"He's my son. I have the right to see him."

"You have the right to shut up. Now if you need anything else we'll be on our way. Another two hours and you'll be with other officers." Oliver said. He thought it was better for him to do the talking to Jay instead of Andy.

She sat in the driver's seat now giving Oliver the chance to rest and deal better with Jay. The drive was beautiful, but right now she wasn't capable of seeing such beauty. The thoughts about the phone conversation she had with Sam when they stopped was still going through her head.

_Andy was waiting patiently for both men to come back, but she couldn't stop padding her phone and wonder if she should call him or not. At first she was angry at him for keeping this from her, but being in a car in pure silence and at times having to hear Jay talk, gave her time to think. Now all she wanted to do was reassure him that everything was fine and maybe even apologize for being rude to him when he was worried. _

_Taking a deep breath she stepped away from the car and speed dialed two. He picked up on the third ring._

_"__Hey." Was all he said._

_"__Hey… I just wanted to let you know we'll get there earlier than we thought." Andy said kicking small rocks in the parking lot._

_"__Oh, okay. I'll be at the station when you get there. How is everything?" his voice sounded worried even though he didn't want to show it._

_"__I'm sorry for being rude earlier. I know you're worried." She decided to say. "The thing that bothered me was that you could have told me. I would have told you the same thing then. That everything is fine." _

_Sam was walking around his kitchen only wearing his boxers his hand fussing over his hair messing it up more than it already was._

_"__I know." He wanted to explain why he did it, but he knew it wouldn't change much. She knew why he did things even when he didn't know. It was a progress to have him open up more and they were getting better at it. He trusted her with everything and so did she._

_"__I miss you." She said needing to know that they were okay._

_"__I miss you too. After this week we'll have more time together."_

_"__That's good. We have to finish getting my things in your apartment." She smiled as she heard him laugh._

_"__I took care of most of the things that were already here. If you want to move them later we'll move them." _

_He was so caring sometimes she couldn't understand how things went so wrong between them in the first place. Even though they had grown as individuals apart, they were always better together._

_"__Anywhere is just right." She saw Oliver making his way back and moved closer to the squad. "I have to go. See you soon."_

_"__See ya'." He said and they were quiet for just a second or two, but it sure felt like a lot longer._

_"__I love you." They said at the same time. Laughing at what had happened she hanged up._

_Jay straightened his eyes at Andy and sent her a smile that, to anyone who didn't know him, seemed like a warm trusting smile, but Andy knew better and she saw right through him. That smile was misguided and there was no sign of good intention. _

_"__Was that my boy?"_

_She ignored him, but internally she had answered him. _

No. That's **my** man.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a loud snore. Jay Swarek had fallen asleep in the back seat. His head rested against the window that was fogged by his breath.

"I'm so glad I don't have to hear him complain anymore." Oliver said. "He started to say how he had a message to give Sam, but it had to be in person. Should we ask Sam if he wants to hear it?"

Andy gave a quick glance through the mirror and saw Jay knocked out in the back seat. This was a lot more pleasant.

"If it was my call he'd never know about the message, but you should call him and ask. We'll be in the city in an hour and at the address in another half. It gives him time to think."

Oliver made a quick call and as soon as he suggested a meeting between Sam and Jay she heard Sam start yelling and Oliver ended the call.

"I think that answers it."

For the rest of their drive it seemed pretty clear that Jay wasn't waking up anytime soon. Andy and Oliver had a conversation about an apartment that was available near where Sam's was. Talked about how he'd ask Celery to move in and soon they were stopping in front of the address they were dropping off Jay at.

Oliver was talking to one of the officers as Andy and Officer Drew took Jay and his things inside the small apartment. If you had asked Andy what she thought, she'd say Sam's apartment during his undercover when she met him was a lot nicer.

Leaving the apartment Andy was stopped by Jay's hand on her wrist.

"Let me go." She said dryly and he did as ordered.

"Sorry. But can you tell Sam where I'm staying. We need to have a father to son conversation." His voice sounded cold. Mean.

"I won't. If Sam ever wants to talk to you, he'll find you. Good night." She walked towards the door and looked back to see a very angry Jay. "You should stay put. You wouldn't wanna mess up your trial."

She closed the door and stepped out onto the cold wind to find Oliver inside the squad waiting for her.

"How are you?" he asked once she was inside.

"Tired." She said simply.

"You'll be home soon. Just one more stop." Oliver said starting the car and taking them to the station.


	4. Chapter 4

**I know my chapters are small and this is even smaller, but I'm posting this little extra today. I had like 30 minutes off work so I could write anything. Thank you so much for all the support. This is only going as far as it is, because of you guys 3 **

Sam was leaving the D's office when he spotted her walking out of the locker room looking really exhausted. It wasn't easy having to spend most of the day with a person like Jay Swarek, he thought. The guy had been his worst nightmare most of his life. Everything he did was towards the goal of not being like his father and when he thought he was failing Andy was right there to tell him he wasn't. She was the reason he'd been so happy lately.

"You look gorgeous." he said leaning on the stairs handrail.

"You are awful. Plus, you'll be cooking for a week." Andy answered grabbing the keys he had dangling in his hands.

"Well then, you're in for a week of heaven on a dish. I'm an excellent cook unlike some people I know." she sent him an angry look "don't shoot daggers at me."

He took her bag and they walked side by side to the parking lot where Sam's truck was.

Sam tossed her bag on the passenger seat and hugged her. They weren't talking about how the trip went, but they would. Right now all they wanted was to spend the small amount of time they had together like this without Jay's shadow in the picture. If Sam ever got too curious he could always get Oliver to talk to him about it.

"You're going straight home?" He asked hugging her tighter and as her head rested on his shoulder his hand started to comb her hair.

"I'm going to go groceries shopping. You ran out of orange juice, strawberries, eggs and bread." she listed poking at his chest.

His laugh vibrated her body that was pushed against his. It was so good to hear him laugh more openly these days.

"No wonder. I mean, you ate everything."

"You suck!" she pushed him away and opened the driver's door.

He looked at her mischievously "I believe that person is you."

Andy gasped at him and looked round to find they were alone. That had to be him getting back at her for the Spanish one she'd said to him all those weeks ago.

"I hate you."

"Yeah, of course you do."

Leaning against the truck he looked at her and smiled.

"You drive safe."

"I'll be fine." she smiled widely.

"I'm worried about the truck." he responded and sure she would probably have thrown something at him if she had anything that wasn't the keys or her phone.

"I'll see you in the morning."

"I'll bring you breakfast."

"You better. It's your turn after all." she closed the door and started the truck. She pulled out of the parking lot and once again watched as he disappeared from the rear view mirror.

The drive to the grocery store was fast and uneventful. As she carried two bags full of the things she meant to buy and others she saw on the shelf and thought 'Why not?' she saw the side of the building she had left Jay Swarek earlier. It bothered her that he was so close to them, but then she was reminded of the two officers and the tracking device.

"You'll drive yourself insane if you keep thinking about this." She told herself pushing everything inside the truck.

Back at the station Sam found Oliver waiting for Celery. His friend looked better than Andy and that was saying something.

"Brother, you're waiting for Celery?"

"Yeah. She wants to eat out. I was hoping to sleep, but that will have to wait." Oliver said as he and Sam sat on a bench outside the station.

"How was today?"

"Nothing much. He's an irritating guy, you know that?" Trust Oliver to try to make it seem like a light conversation for Sam to have.

"I know."

"He wanted to see you. I'm pretty sure he still does. Asked Andy to give you a message, but she didn't accept it." Sam rested his elbow on his thighs, joined his hands and looked up at his friends.

"Why won't he just leave me alone?"

"Because you're the reason he's in prison, maybe." Oliver stated the obvious.

"Does he have access to a phone?" Sam asked as they both saw Celery's car parking next to them.

"I don't think so. Why? You're gonna call him?"

"No. I just don't want him to call Sarah."

They said their good byes and Sam waved to Celery. Walking back into the station he got ready to call his sister and tell her the news. 'Hey, Square, maybe dad will get an early release.' And that was surely something he didn't want to do, especially over the phone.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

**I know there are people having trouble with Andy in this fic. She's not bipolar and I'm not trying to do that. I'm actually trying really hard to be true to the character and the story, but if you don't think that I'm doing it correctly, then (this will sound rude and I'm sorry) don't read it. I mean, you hated Andy in basically all chapters, so maybe this isn't what you're looking for.**

**A HUGE thank you to everyone that is following, reviewing and who thought it was worth a favorite. It just makes my day a little brighter. **

When you're a cop and you help put people away for their crimes, especially undercover, you have to accept the fact that you're out there making enemies on a daily basis too. Now when you put your own father away for a crime he didn't commit, then you're surely not making his bff list. Sure he deserved prison, but not for the exact crime he was charged for.

When Sam was just a teenager and his false statement ended with his dad's jail time and consequences of that resulted in a jail fight and a dead inmate, that had just added a whole lot more time to Jay's prison sentence. For all that and a little more Jay felt like he needed to show his son just how much he disliked his behavior. It wasn't redemption and one thing he learned was that there was nothing for him out here. In prison he was respected and feared compared to the outside where he'd never get a job, there was no one here for him to reach out to and surely no one feared him out here. No one except for Sam.

Staring at Jay's file Sam decided he needed to be home. He couldn't just stay at the station. He knew where he was staying, but damn that was so close to where he was living he wasn't just about to let Andy stay in that house alone. Even if she knew how to fight and defend herself. He wasn't betting on a safe night. He was glad his talk with Frank had gone smooth, he'd only have to ask someone to cover for him and it happens that Steve was happy to. Even if it wasn't his division.

"I'll owe you one." Sam said as he gathered his things.

"It's fine. I needed to be here anyway." Steve said looking over at Traci who was trying to organize her files.

Sam tapped him on the shoulder and took off to find a cab home. It was late, but he managed to find one fast and in a few minutes he'd be home. It wouldn't even be a surprise if he found her wide awake drinking hot chocolate and watching a horror movie.

The whole ride he spent looking out the window wondering what his father was doing. He hoped the horrible feeling he was having was nothing but nerves, but nothing was ever that simple.

After paying the cabbie and jumping the steps towards his apartment, he opened the door and Andy jumped at the sound throwing some of the popcorn she had in her hand. Her eyes were wide and shocked looking at Sam who was breathless by the front door.

"What the…" She said looking at him and then the clock at the DVD player. It said 23:26 which meant she didn't lose track of time like she thought.

"Steve is covering for me. I just thought it would be nice to spend the night together." He said hiding the real reason, but to be honest he did want to spend the night together, so it wasn't actually lying.

"I just started the movie. You wanna watch it with me?" Andy went to the side of the couch making space for him on the big red couch.

"I'm just gonna change into something more comfortable and I'll be right back." He bent down next to her and kissed her for a good three minutes.

After their lips parted she smiled at him and pulled his face down for a quick peck.

"I'm sorry I scared you."

Andy just shook her head and waved her hand telling him it was no big deal. "Do you want hot chocolate? I'm making more for myself."

"I'll take it." He said watching her walk towards the kitchen barefoot wearing one of his old t-shirts and one of his boxers rolled so it was more of a small short for her. She was absolutely gorgeous to him and he couldn't hold the smile every time he thought about her.

Back in the living room they were lying together on the couch with their hot chocolate at the table near them. Sam had Andy between his arms with her face turned to his chest most of the time when she thought something scary was going to happen.

"Man, I thought the cute one was going to live." She wined as the blond guy fell down.

"You don't know if he's going to die. He only fell."

"When you fall on a cold, dark forest and don't get up right away means you're already dead in a scary movie." She said and then a few seconds later he was dead. "See."

"Okay, but I think we should sleep after this one."

Andy just nodded in agreement. After a few more minutes the movie was over and Sam still had to wonder why she liked that kind of movie so much.

They had finally gotten ready for bed and were lying next to each other. Sam took her hand in his and just held onto her for a few minutes. It was like during the movie he was almost falling asleep, but now he was wide awake and so was she from the looks of it.

"Come here." He said opening his arms and holding onto her as she crawled closer to him.

She pushed herself up enough to kiss him deeply. It started calm and sweet, but as the seconds passed they sensed a need to feel one another that wasn't there before. The feeling of despair Sam had felt and the Andy's need to reassure him they were going to be fine slipping in and turning the kiss into a more demanding action.

Andy twisted and turned without breaking contact with him and sat on his lap. Sam's hand wondered from her waist to her hair as Andy had one settles on the top of his head messing his hair and the other on his bare chest.

When Andy pulled away just enough to catch her breath Sam chose to kiss her neck. It wasn't a secret one of her weak spots were her neck and that just made him love it even more. Her soft moans always drove him insane, but this time it wasn't even about love. It was the need to feel one another, the carnal need to be with each other.

Sam's hand found the end of the long T-shirt she was wearing and pulled it up. Since she didn't sleep with a bra or top he had gained full access to her breasts. He pushed himself up so they were both sitting and she was still on top of his waist. Andy had to hold onto his shoulders and drop her head back as Sam put his lips onto her left breast. One of his hands held her by the waist so she wouldn't lose her balance and the other was on her right breast giving it the needed attention.

When he pinched her nipple slightly harder she gasped loud. When he did the same to the left breast, but with his teeth she let out a small scream, but soon turned into loud moans as he also pushed him hardened member against her covered center. Her nails were starting to dig into his shoulders when he let her go.

"Sam…" She half moaned, half cried out in protest.

"Patience." Was all he said as he laid her down and his kissed went from her mouth, to her neck, chest, stomach and the waist of her shorts.

Andy wasn't the most patient person in the world so her hands had found the shorts and as she started to pull on them Sam caught her wrists and pulled them above her head.

"I'm doing this. Don't rush." He smiled at her, his eyes dark with need.

Moaning in frustration she let him get back to what he was doing.

His hands found the waist and pulled the shorts along with her underwear and tossed them aside. The slightly cold breeze made Andy close her legs in reflex, but Sam held on and pushed them apart as much as they'd go.

"You okay?"

"Yes!" she whispered out of breath as Sam passed his fingers along her wet folds.

She pushed her knees up giving Sam getter access to her center and he took advantage of the situation. Using his mouth as much as he could. He knew what she liked and how she liked it. Deep and fast, but he never let her get the full satisfaction of an orgasm.

When Sam met her lips again the kiss was strong and he felt she wanted to take charge, but he wouldn't let her do that tonight. This time it was all about what he was giving her.

"Let me do something." She whispered against his lips.

"Later." Was the only things that passed his lips as he pulled her down to him.

He pushed himself onto her core slowly at first, but as soon as he went all in his control was lost just like hers. Andy wrapped her legs around his waist pulling him deeper.

"Faster." She moaned.

He started to pound harder and faster. Her loud moans mixing with his breathless ones made everything about what they were doing better. Their sweating bodies sliding against one another. Her hand on his shoulder blade and the other grabbed the sheets for dear life.

"Oh Sam…" he knew that chocked moan meant she was about to have an orgasm and he knew he was close. Too close.

When he reached his own orgasm he thought he couldn't go deeper, harder or faster, but he did. She started her orgasm right after and it was like neither of them wanted to move after it.

Without the energy or the will to move they fell asleep just like that. In each other's arms with only messy sheets between their naked bodies.

"I love you" he said after she had fallen asleep in his chest.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

It was not an easy task to wake up that early after the night they had. Andy rolled on her side and dropped her hand onto the alarm. Or so she thought. She started padding with her hand what she had hit. It felt like a nose and a mouth that now opened to bite her hand. That made Andy's eyes open wide and she saw Sam squishing his eyes shut.

"I didn't plan on waking up like this." He said taking her hand away from his face.

"I warned you about sleeping on my side of the bed." Andy said holding herself up to reach the alarm and shut it off.

"You fell asleep on top of me last night so there wasn't much I could do."

Andy ignored what Sam said and pushed herself off the bed and went in search of his T-shirt. She pulled her hair into a messy pigtail and walked off into the bathroom.

"Damn it, Sam." He heard her say from the bathroom. "How can I walk around like this?" She came into the bedroom pointing to the hickey he gave her. Both parts of her neck were covered in marks.

In a weird caveman way he enjoyed her like this, but then again, he didn't want people seeing her like this and start imagining things. He could see she was indeed annoyed by the fact she had very big and noticeable marks of what had gone down last night, but he wasn't going to apologize.

"Well won't you look at that, the one on the far left looks like a heart. I'm an artist." Sam said smiling at her hoping to lighten her mood.

"I bet. Now get off the bed. I'll clean the room while you make breakfast." She pulled the covers off him and had to turn as she saw his naked form. Damn him and his damn sexy body.

"Wanna shower first?" Sam said standing up.

Andy pushed Sam away trying to hide her smile at what he was suggesting. Sam pulled her closer and kissed the colorful marks he had left on her neck, her cheek and finally her lips.

"We still have a few minutes to spare." He said dropping down on the bed and pulling her with him.

Forty minutes later they were jumping out of the sweaty sheets and into the shower and after another thirty minutes in the shower they were able to grab some quick food and coffee and head out.

They made it to parade just as Frank was walking in.

"Fix your tie, McNally." Frank said jokingly.

Andy started to fix her uniform. In the locker room she barely had time to look in the mirror, since they wasted too much time. Her uniform and quick make-up covered the marks on her neck, but she still felt like everyone could see, even after Sam assured her she looked fine.

"Stop fussing with your neck." He said before going to sit next to Oliver.

Andy sat down between Gail and Dov still messing with the collar of her uniform trying to make to go higher on her neck.

"If you keep playing with your neck everyone is going to figure out." Gail leaned so she could whisper in Andy's ear.

"What?"

"Oh 'come on. It's obvious Swarek went all caveman on you. He looks a lot better and you blush every time you mess with your neck." She smiled before saying. "And that's the wrong color for your neck."

Frank cut all conversations on the room short as he came up to the podium. Andy was hoping for a quiet day not only for her, but for Sam too.

Walking out of parade she made a quick stop by the D's office and saw Sam writing something down. He turned as he heard her come in and a big smile spread across his face.

"You know, I think you'd look better wearing the D's clothe." He said as she stepped in.

"There's no doubt about that." She said leaning and kissing him. "I'll be back later. Do you have any news on when exactly is his trial?"

The smile Sam had when he saw her come in was now replaced with a serious look. She knew he didn't want to talk about it, but it was something important and if he wouldn't share, she was gonna have to ask.

"I think it'll be tomorrow at noon." He said holding her hand. "I hate the thought of him being free."

"I know." She said. Her hand reached out to cup his cheek "You'll be fine. Everything will be okay. Try not to worry too much about him, he can't hurt you anymore."

Pulling her hand in his he squeezed tighter.

"Actually he can." He whispered looking into her eyes.

It was something unusual to see him look so vulnerable and it broke her heart seeing him so torn up about it. She was trying to help him through this, but most of the time she didn't know what she was doing.

"Everyone is going to be okay. I promise you." She gave him a small smile trying to sound reassuring. "Have you called Sarah?"

"I tried, but she didn't pick up. I'll try again after I'm done with this, but I'll tell you how it went later. You should go, Chloe is waiting." He said and they parted ways.

Andy and Chloe had a nice ride around and stopped for lunch in a nice diner. Until now no one did anything and no calls came through. These types of days were rare and they learned to not jinx it.

"You and Sam seem to be doing well." Chloe mentioned. "Especially after whatever it was you guys did last night."

"What… Why do people keep saying that?"

"Both of you look different. Better somehow."

"Okay. What about you and Dov?" Andy asked knowing Chloe and Dov had something going on. Just no one understood what it was.

"We're taking it slow. Testing the water before we try to jump into anything. Stuff like that. He says he wants to build his trust in me again and I understand, but I don't like feeling like everything I do and say is being analyzed. Don't get me wrong I'll do practically anything he asks, but it's like I live in Big Brother, you know?" Chloe said after they got back into the squad.

"I get it. Dov loves you, just give him time." Andy said pulling the car out of the parking lot and into the streets.

Back at the station Sam was by the printer when Frank came up to him.

"So I see you're feeling slightly better."

"Yeah, I guess you can say that." Sam said checking the papers one more time.

"What about your dad? Any news?"

"His trial was confirmed for tomorrow half an hour ago. I checked in with the officers that accompany him and they said he's ready. Hasn't left the apartment he's staying. So everything is good for now." He said and after just a few seconds he was reminded he needed to call his sister. "Excuse me, sir. I need to call Sarah."

Frank stepped away and went about his business as Sam stepped into an interrogation room. He stared at his phone for a few minutes and debated with himself how he should give her the news. They weren't close, they didn't even have a decent conversation after he left the hospital back when he was shot. Plus, that was the last time they saw each other. He remembered things didn't turn out so great back then either.

Putting the phone to his ear he waited until her voice came on the other line.

"Hello, Sam." She didn't sound very happy to hear from him.

"Hi. Um… I have some news I have to share with you." He said walking around the room. He was nervous so he couldn't stay still.

"I'm all ears."

"The prison where dad was kept is overcrowded so some inmates may be getting early release. Dad is one of them. His trial is here in Toronto tomorrow, thought you may want to know."

The silence that was followed made Sam look twice at his phone wondering if she was even on the line still. He knew this was a big shock for her so he waited until everything he said was registered in her head.

"He's getting out?" she said in a low voice.

"There's a pretty big chance of that, yes."

"Do you know when tomorrow?"

Sam hated that she still didn't see the monster their father was, but him hating Jay only added more stress to their – already fragile – relationship. Even if it was against his better judgment he sent her the time and place where his trial would be at. Sam said she was welcome to stay in his apartment, but she declined. He didn't expect her to jump at the idea, but there was hope.

"You'll be at his trial?" he asked.

"Maybe. I'm not sure I'll be able to get off work, but I'll ask and if so I'll take a bus down to Toronto in the morning." Her voice sounded optimistic.

"I'll see you then." He said and then they said their goodbyes.

Her reaction was still something so hard for him to understand. She was just so open and ready to forgive their father for his actions, she couldn't see what was so wrong about him and that bothered Sam to a whole new level. He feared for her safety and the emotional distress she'd have to go through when she got to really know Jay. If Jay even gave her the chance.

Sam just needed for this whole thing to be over and move on. There was no space for Jay in his present life. He wouldn't even try to make space. He had plans he intended of making them happen and Jay was not a part of that picture.

Looking around the station Sam knew his family was this. 15th was his family.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

**EXTRA! EXTRA!  
I had a little time to write this. Hope you all enjoy it!**

Sam was standing just outside the room where Jay was sitting down with his lawyer and everyone else participating on his trial. Looking to the right he saw Andy putting on her jacket ready to leave.

"You're sure you don't want me to stay? Call anyone?" she asked one last time.

"Yeah, I want to do this alone."

"Okay then, I'm a phone call away." She gave him a quick peck on the lips and a hug. One of those big warm hugs and that helped Sam feel a little lighter. "Go burry whatever demons you have to burry. I'll be here whenever you want me."

He watched as she walked away and smiled at her when she turned around to give him one last glance. The connection between them was so strong that being apart was almost painful.

Taking deep breaths Sam took the door knob in hand, but stopped when he saw someone running towards him. Sarah had made it to their dad's trial. She made an effort to show up to this and why wasn't he surprised. He could live with her not hating Jay, but if he got released she'd be able to understand and see the horrible person their father was and the fantasy she build of the dad she had would come crushing down on her. He didn't wish that for her, but it would happen eventually.

"Hey." He said looking at her.

She had gotten ready. Full on dress and make-up mode and that wasn't like her, so he wondered if it was all a show she wanted to put on for Jay. How did he let things get like this in the first place?

"Hi, Sammy, let's go, we're late." She said in a hurry.

"You look nice." He said looking at her and she fussed with her hair for a second. She was nervous too, but for a different reason. She was looking forward to an approval and all Sam wanted was to make sure Jay knew his place. Far away from him and Andy, out of his life for good.

They stepped inside the room and Jay turned to see them. He didn't express any emotion and acted as though strangers had walked in. Sarah seemed to not notice as she held on her serious face and sat next to Sam in the back of the room.

For a good amount of time they were discussing how his behavior had changed. From explosive and violent to tolerant and calm within the years he had passed in prison. The physiologist that evaluated all the inmates gave him a clear report that supported his release given the sections they had he couldn't conclude why he would be a threat to society.

Sam lost count on how many times he wanted to jump up and say 'I object', but that wouldn't be accepted and he probably would just be thrown out of the room. So he kept his butt glued to that chair and his lips shut. Sarah seemed to be doing the same. Not once did they talk to one another.

By the end of his trial it was conclusive of what he already knew. Jay was a free man, but had three months of probation. He was supposed to stay on the address he gave the prison and have a phone they could contact him by. Once a week or more there would be a visit and so on they listed what the protocols were.

Everyone started to leave the room and Jay stopped in the hall to trade a few words with his lawyer, after that he left and Sam and Sarah were left alone with Jay.

"So, kids, nice to see you all again." He said sarcastically.

"Hi, dad." Sarah said as she stepped towards him to give him a hug he didn't give back.

"What are you two doing here?"

"I came to see you. It's been so long since we saw each other." She said as she let him go.

Sam was the one standing in the back. He wanted to know what his father wanted and then make clear that they had no business left to discuss. Their relationship and contact with one another would end today.

"It's been a while, true, but I don't need this. Family and shit, that ended a long time ago." Jay said and looked right at Sam. "I didn't get out to go back to playing house. That story was over the moment I was sent to prison."

"You made your bed now lie in it." Sam said. "It may not have been the one you went down for, but you weren't there long enough to pay for all you did to me and to mom. To the family you had. If you don't have anything now, then that is all on you. Don't try to put the blame on me, just because you're not happy with how it all played out."

"So you got my message and came to see me?" Jay asked.

"I got your message alright. What do you want?"

"Just wanted to let you know that I meant what I said. I don't forgive you. There will never be a time or a day where I will. I'll make sure you pay somehow for all the years I had to be in that prison. Now the roles changed. Instead of being feared out here, I am in there. It all went wrong in my life and you are the one to blame."

Sam wasn't scared. Before he really did believe the main reason he didn't want to see Jay was because he was afraid of him, but now he knew that what he really felt was extreme anger. Sam was so angry he had to control himself so he wouldn't jump at the chance to hit his dad in the middle of the court house with his sister as witness.

"You better not cross me. I'm someone you do not want to mess with. You'd do well in reminding yourself that I'm not a scared teenager anymore. You try something and I'll make sure you end up somewhere a lot worse than where you were." Sam said as he turned around to leave, but he was stopped by Sarah.

"Don't go. Come on, were supposed to be a family. Mom died and now we only have each other. Can't you guys talk it out and work your differences?"

Sam looked at her like he couldn't even understand if she heard their conversation.

"Sarah, it's over. He's not the dad you once knew and then you made him to be. He was never a really good dad. You'd be saving yourself the pain to just accept it now rather than let him hurt you. You're a grown woman and I won't try to talk you into anything, but you're still my sister, so whenever you need me all you have to do is pick up the phone. Unlike some people, I've never tried to abandon you." He said and after saying all those things it was like a weight was lifted and he breathed a little better.

He turned around and didn't give them a second look, all he wanted was to have Andy come pick him up and leave this place. He didn't want to talk or to think about Sarah right now. It felt like he did what he needed to do. Buried his demons and now he got to move on with his life.

The sound of his truck stopping just by his side on the sidewalk startled him at first.

"Where were you?" he asked since she got there so fast.

"I was buying Leo a present." She said smiling at the big box sitting on the back seat.

"His birthday isn't until two months." He stated while getting into the passenger seat.

"Yeah, but I had to buy it. It's a race-car track that with five lanes."

Andy started to explain to him the different cars and models they had by the store she went in and Sam couldn't help but laugh. She was like that, he wasn't feeling so well and cheerful, but she came along and changed it all with a simple conversation like race-car track.

"I feel less masculine next to you right now." He said laughing

"You're laughing now, but wait until you see it set up at his birthday party and all his friends will be jealous and it will be the best birthday gift Aunt Andy has ever given in her life!" she said happily.

Making their way home Sam checked and there were no messages of Sarah. Maybe it was for the best that he gave her space to think things over. He made it over to the couch and turned on the TV to a new episode of Chicago Fire.

"Finally a new episode! Why do they need such a long hiatus?" Andy said sitting down next to Sam giving him a beer.

Sam ignored her fangirl moment and relaxed as she sat next to him holding onto one of his hands. He knew he had her support no matter what he chose to do and for now all he wanted and all he needed was to be at peace with her. When he was ready he'd talk to her about the threat his dad had made and how his sister was still so blind to it all, because he knows she'd listen to him.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

Sarah had gone home by the end of the day. Not that Sam had much knowledge of how she was, because the only text he got was at 22:30 saying she had gotten home safely. By that time he and Andy were ready to hit the pillows and sleep for a good month or two. Their evening full of 'the bachelorette' excitement had Sam ready to throw away his TV too.

Sam had replied with a simple 'I'm glad. If you need anything just call.' And he went to sleep not bothering waiting for her to answer.

His dreams usually filled with him and Andy lately were replaced by Jay and his childhood. That night wasn't the best since he woke up at four sweating and breathless. Looking down next to him Andy was still asleep. Her hair laid out all over the pillow and her mouth slightly open. She looked like a mess and she'd never forgive him if he ever took pictures as evidence, so he left her to her sleep and went towards the bathroom for a quick shower.

The shower didn't take much of his time so he just went to his kitchen so he'd start making them a decent breakfast, one that wasn't just coffee and bagels on the run like they usually had. So he took advantage of the time he had and went to grab them fresh and warm bread from the 24hr bakery in front of his apartment. He was such a regular that everyone knew his name. Being a cop sometimes the diference between breakfast and dinner didn't exist.

Getting back he saw that it was 6:15 so he had sometime before she woke up at 7:00. He set the table, laid out the bread, jelly, orange juice he had made as quietly as possible, some homemade cake he had and whatever else he could find. It looked good. Now all they needed was their coffee too. Strange as it was Andy liked to have orange juice and coffee right after.

"What is all of this?" Andy asked as she dragged her feet towards the messy kitchen.

"Breakfast." He said like it wasn't already obvious.

"I can see that, but it's not even seven and you got ready and went to the bakery. Did you not sleep?"

"Oh... I did, but I ended up waking up a little earlier, so I thought we could use a normal breakfast." He wasn't about to tell her his nightmare from last night. It was probably a one night thing.

Andy smiled at him and if it wasn't for the morning breath she would have kisses him.

They sat down in front of each other and started eating quietly. These moments of silence were rare when you were around Andy McNally most of the time and Sam just took his time enjoying it. Not that he disliked her constant need to fill the silence with anything she could, but sometimes silence is all that is needed.

"They let him out." Sam said when they were done eating.

"How are you doing?" She said sympathetically holding out her hand.

"I'm doing okay. He threatened me, but I'm hoping I got my message across when I told him to leave me, and everyone I know, alone. What still gets to me is how blind Sarah is to all of this,"

Andy smiled with the thought of him standing up for himself to his dad. He was usually someone who wouldn't take shit from no one, but when it comes to his dad she wasn't sure. Sam looked good. A little tired like he didn't have a good night of sleep, but she figured it would only be considered normal. It's the first time in years Jay walks as a free man for Sam.

"But he's on probation. If he tries anything he can kiss liberty goodbye." Sam explained as he started to do the dishes.

"You don't have to do this. Let me get ready and if I don't have time, I'll wash it when we get back." Andy said trying to stop him from cleaning up their breakfast dishes.

"It's okay. I got this covered, now go shower or we'll be late again and people will think we are doing it like rabbits." He said with a simple, yet honest smile. He wasn't hidding that he was okay. He was nervous about his dad, but that was just a feeling he was trying to push aside.

"We wouldn't want that." Andy leaned and kissed his cheek before running to get ready.

At the station Sam went straight to the D's office and Andy went to the women's locker room and found Traci and Gail by the mirror.

"Are we all going to karaoke night?" Traci asked when she was finally done with her make-up.

"Holly will meet me there after shift. I know Chloe and Dov will be there, because that's all they can talk about. It's disgusting." Gail made a face almost getting lipstick on her cheek.

"What about you and Sam?" Andy heard Traci asked once she had gotten her boot on.

"We had so many other things on our minds lately that I forgot to ask him. But I think we'll go, even if he doesn't sing."

Traci and Gail looked at each other with a quite puzzled look. What would it be like to see Detective Swarek singing to a karaoke song? He had the looks of someone that was capable of singing, but on the other hand, his personality said you'd only ever hear him sing when he was trading the ceiling for the floor drunk, and if you're lucky on the shower. Something Andy only heard a handful of times.

After parade was over Andy didn't have time to look for Sam so she just left with Chris by her side. They spent their morning with part of 15that an open festival trying to keep everything calm. The specific situation reminded Andy of the first time she was shot. When Kate, who was standing next to her, was murdered. That was easily one of the scariest moments of her life. Even with a vest, being shot was an awfully painful experience.

"I heard you can't stop talking about karaoke night. So what will you be singing?" Andy asked Dov when they were on their lunch break together.

"I have no idea, but Chloe has a whole portfolio filled with songs and even personality quizzes to match you to a song. Remember that if you can't find a song to sing when your time comes." He said taking a bite off his sandwich.

"I spent the whole morning just thinking about that, but I think I made my decision on what song I'll be singing. I'll have to drink before I sing, 'cause I suck at it, but I promised Traci I'd do at least one song."

"Is Swarek singing?"

"Why is everyone so hooked on the idea of hearing him sing?" she laughed when she acknowledged that most of her friends might just be going to witness Sam singing.

Dov smiled just looked at her like it was the most obvious thing. "Because he does everything. You already told me he can cook and that he helped you clean the apartment and helped you move. That guy can do anything and if he can sing as well, then screw it. I totally want to be him when I grow up."

Andy busted out in laughter after that statement. She couldn't remember if she had ever said things like that. Dov had a major man crush on Sam and at times she forgot about it. She missed spending more time with Dov, he was such a good friend.

"Yeah, if me and Sam don't work out in the end, I give you my blessing." She said standing up to go back to their shift at the festival.

It was almost midnight when they got to The Penny and the karaoke was still going strong. Holly came running to greet Gail and her friends. They sat next to each other and even if their friends were still getting used to the new company, she was a fun person to be around. Plus, she made Gail happy, something she deserved.

To start off the 15th division karaoke night Chloe stepped up to the small stage and announced her song. A happy, cheerful corny song just like her and since it was an easy one her voice sounded nice. Traci went after and did a really nice job singing I put a spell on you. It was all fun for everyone and as the time passed and her friends all sang Andy hoped they had forgotten about her.

"You're not singing?" Sam asked as he got her another beer.

"Damn it. You just jinxed it." She said laughing nervously and then drinking half of her beer at once.

Gail was next and she sat in one of the high chairs. Looking around Gail didn't feel nervous at all. It wasn't a secret she was enjoying this spotlight. Soon enough she was singing 'You and I' from Lady Gaga and she made it sound just as good or maybe even better than the original.

Holly was screaming and clapping loudly once Gail had ended. A little after that they left and weren't seen again.

"Your turn, missy." Traci said poking at Andy.

"Okay, okay." Andy raised her hands in surrender. "I just need a shot of tequila before I do go up there."

It didn't take long for her to be on top of that stage and where she stood she had the best view of Sam she could have. He smiled at her supporting her and raising his beer. Taking deep breaths she got ready as the song 'BTSK' from MS MR began. She didn't feel ready but what did she have to lose? Half of the bar was already drunk.

Half way through the song she knew it wasn't as great as Gail. No one could sing as good as her in this place, but Andy thought she wasn't doing a bad job at it. Opening her eyes she saw Sam looking at her. His face didn't say much, but looking into his eyes she knew he understood everything she was saying with the song. That was it. They were an item forever. Nothing would break them. She wouldn't let it.

By the end of the song he stood up and waited for her to reach him. She didn't even notice the small group of people clapping and cheering her. They hugged when she got to him by the bar.

"It's my turn." He whispered and Andy pushed back eyes wide.

"You're singing?"

"Oliver made me promise, but it's a song you know, so you can sing along." He smiled at her and headed to the stage.

He sat down on the same high chair Gail was seated and without wasting any time he put Snow Patrol's 'You're all I have' to play.

Andy was amazed at how good he sounded. He didn't seem nervous or out of place like she was. He didn't keep his eyes closed, but instead they were fixated on her. There was a feeling inside her like she wanted to jump up and down with joy, to cry out for him, cry because this was so meaningful. It just seemed like he opened up even more to her now. She was his family like he was hers.

It wasn't even a big moment. The room didn't quiet down, people didn't stop screaming and time didn't stop, but for them. Time and space had ceased to exist. Everything was just perfect for them.

When the song came to an end he quietly stepped off the stage and went towards her. He put his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. From the side Andy looked over at Traci who was almost crying and giggling with Steve. For the first time it seemed like all her friends were finding the happiness they deserved.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

**Just to make it clear. I'm sorry for the poor written chapter. I know it wasn't the best. I know that snow patrol isn't the band for him or karaoke, but for the moment I made him do that. Most people wanted to see him sing and most people did see him sing, but time didn't stop for everyone. That's what I meant. It wasn't like everyone at the bar wanted to watch him. It wasn't only the 15th division there. The moment did stop for Andy and him, but just for them. Lastly, I'm sorry if you think I ruined Sam forever. Now I'm questioning if I should just take the chapter down. I will if you guys think it's that awful, it was never my intention to make it seem like I wanted to kill the story. It's a good thing to keep in mind that this is a fanfic and not the actual show. I hope I can do better now. It's small, but it's just my apology.**

This was the last week of Jay's probation and Sam went right back to being nervous. The nightmares he had at the beginning of this whole situation came back stronger than ever. And now that they finished Andy's moving they didn't spend nights apart. Some nights she was the one that woke him up.

Looking out the window at the sky Sam thought it was ironic how the weather accompanied his mood. Dark skies, cold violent wind and dry leaves. Not even Andy had gotten him in a better mood these last couple of days.

"You wanna talk about it?" Oliver asked sitting down next to Sam.

Sam groaned. He didn't want to talk about it. There was nothing even to talk about. His father was a free man for sure now and all he wanted to do was forget about it and let it go.

"Did Andy put you up to this?" He asked finishing his drink.

"No. I didn't talk to her yet, but I can see she's worried."

"There is no reason why she should feel worried. I'm fine." Sam said and now he wasn't so sure if he was trying to reassure Oliver or himself.

"I know, I know. You're fine." The way Oliver said it made it seem sarcastic, but he just patted Sam on the back and asked for his beer.

The topic was quickly dropped as they moved onto better things. Andy and Celery were planning on making a big diner next week to celebrate Andy moving into Sam's and Oliver and Celery getting an apartment near Sam and now Andy's place.

"How is it living with a rookie?" Oliver asked and a small smile appeared on Sam's face.

"It's pretty good. I've lived for so long on my own that I thought I'd feel weird about it for some time, but now that it's actually happening. Well, I have no idea why it took so long for me to ask. Just feels natural." Sam blurted out. It was the most he had said at once in a long time and Oliver was just like that. Made you feel better without you realizing it.

The door on the other side of the Penny opened and both looked up to see Andy walking into the room with her friends. She looked good for what he heard was a long shift for her. Seeing him looking at her she smiled and blew him a quick kiss and sat down with her friends. She knew he needed time with his friends and Oliver was just the thing he needed now.

"I'm glad you feel like that. When me and Zoe got our place together for the first time we spent half of the time fighting over little things until we could find a common ground and learn how to deal with everything." Bumping his shoulder onto Sam's side Oliver smiled brightly at his friend. "Maybe this is a sign telling you that she's the one."

"I don't need a sign to know it's true." He whispered finishing his beer.

For most of the night Sam and Andy spent their time apart, but when Sam spotted Andy gathering the darts alone he decided it was time for them to spend a few seconds alone if they could even manage that much without their friends interrupting.

"Hey, gorgeous." He whispered in her ear, wrapped his arms around her waist and Andy let out a small giggle. Something she normally didn't do.

Something inside Andy woke with that warm welcome from Sam. He had spent so much time stressing over Jay's situation and she didn't know how to help without invading his space, so she let him be and waited for him to seek her or anyone else. All she wanted was for him to be okay again.

"Hey. Ready to call it a night?" she asked hoping he'd agree.

"I was just waiting on you."

"Good. So we can go and if you're up for it, I went to the store yesterday and got us a little something." She winked moving away from him towards the table she had left her things and he stood there biting the inside of his cheek.

Maybe he could let her wash the worries away for tonight. They'd still be there when he woke up the next morning anyway.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10!

**Urgh ... It's been so long and I'm really sorry. My excuse will have to be work and the holidays. Truthfully this is a busy time, not only for me, but for everyone. Thanks for the support everyone has given me. I'm sorry for the big deal I made out of some reviews. I do have more positive than negative, so I'll focus on that. I hope this one will be a good one.**

It had been a month or so that Andy had moved in with Sam and things were turning out a lot better than what they would have expected. It was coming to them as a natural thing. They knew what they were good at and what they lacked in housing skills. Like Andy couldn't fix one things in the house, maybe just change a light bulb or two and Sam couldn't hang one thing straight, and on those things they were capable of helping each other out.

Of course it wasn't always easy and they did have their moments when it was just too much. They had both lived alone in a long time and having to adjust was a learning process that both were willing to mold into.

The snow had started to fall and now Andy said good bye to her favorite season. She hated the cold indeed, but she could never deny her love for this city. Sam had always enjoyed winter more than the other season, so he was glad when the snow began to fall earlier this year.

"I hate this. Winter is cutting fall short." Andy said coming out of the bathroom wrapped in a thick blanket and holding a lot of tissues. "Plus, I'm always sick with the change of weather."

And Sam could tell she was getting a cold. Her voice sounded funny, her cough was becoming more persistent and her nose was a bright red. He would never admit it to her, but she sure looked cute. For a moment he could imagine a mini McNally walking towards him looking for comfort, because – just like mommy – she was coming down with the cold. Sam would be the one taking care of them seeing as he barely ever had a sick day.

"Come to bed. I'll make you some tea and I'll call Frank in the morning if you don't feel better by then." He said getting up and kissing Andy's forehead as he moved to the kitchen.

She was always so much more quiet when she was sick Sam missed her talking. It was just him holding her and trying to make her feel better and she said it helped even when he thought it was useless.

_"__It helps. Just lying here like this helps. Thanks."_ She'd told him two days ago when she first started getting sick. After that moment it was what he was doing all the time when he had a moment with her.

Coming back into the room he found her lying down almost asleep with only the lamp turned on so he could actually see something. She stood and took the hot tea and thanked him with a small smile. With small sips she soon finished the tea and Sam helped her lie better in bed.

"You'll be fine in no time. You'll see, sweetheart." He kissed her forehead one last time and took his place on the bed.

Sometimes in the middle of the night he woke up with her loud cough, and handed her some medicine. She had probably slept more than him since he kept waking up to check on her. He'd been able to take her temperature twice and her fever hadn't gone down with time.

By the time the alarm was supposed to go off he had already woken up and turned it off before it had the chance to wake up McNally. It was the first night she was able to sleep through. Noticing there was no way he was going to be able to let her work like this he called Frank.

"Good morning, Swarek. What do I owe the favor?" Frank's tired voice came through the other end.

"Just letting you know McNally came down with the flu during the weekend and she's got a fever. I don't think she'll be able to even come out of bed today." Sam said tiredly.

"I can imagine. Olivia and Noelle are sick too. Do me a favor and stay at home, you sound awful and I can't have this spreading to others, detective. All of your paper work is in order and the case load had gone down. If we need you we'll call you." Frank said and Sam was not about to disobey an order like that. He did feel horrible, but it wasn't from the flu only the horrible slept night.

Saying their good byes Sam decided to go back to bed seeing as though Andy didn't look like she was waking up anytime soon.

When he woke up Andy was sitting down in bed drying her wet hair with a towel and smiling at him. The smell in the room was great and looking to the right he saw toast, eggs and juice for him.

"Thought you deserved breakfast in bed, since you've been taking such good care of me." She said and even though her voice sounded a little better it was still funny.

"You shouldn't be walking around with wet hair." He said looking at her seriously. Like a T.O. talking to his rookie once again.

"I know, but I didn't want to wake you up with the hair dryer." Andy said trying to defend herself.

"I'm up now. Thanks for the breakfast, but you should really go dry your hair now. I can't be the only one working and paying the bills, you know?" he said taking a bite of his toast.

Andy sent him a death glare, but did as she was told. She knew that now they were heading to the end of the year and the numbers of officers normally dropped and she needed to work during the holidays this year.

After drying her hair she moved to the room where Sam was nowhere to be found, and neither was the tray of food. Moving away from it all she saw him standing behind the kitchen counter.

"What did you eat?" he asked not moving his eyes from what he was doing.

"I ate a banana, I can't eat practically anything." She said dropping down on the couch waiting for Sam to join her.

"Drink this." He said handing her tea with honey. "You'll feel better by tomorrow." Taking her in his arms he turned on the TV to any show they could find.

"How do you know so much?"

"What do you mean?"

"You make all kinds of different teas and you know when I should drink and when I'll be better. You know how to take care of sick people." She said quietly not to hurt her throat.

"I use to be the one to take care of mom and Sarah when they were sick. I learned first from my mom, because Sarah had a though year when she was always sick and I stayed home to take care of her when mom had to work and my dad wasn't around. Even if he were, he wouldn't have done anything." Sam answered like it didn't mean anything. Like it wasn't a big deal.

Andy didn't show many emotions, cause she knew he hated to feel pity and she knew that to him it was actually a good thing. It gave him knowledge so he was able to do something about a situation like this.

"You know you make a sexy nurse, ."

Glancing up she saw him smile and those dimples showed a whole lot. That was what she was hoping for. Lighten the mood she accidentally had settled between them.

"Yeah, I guess I do make a sexy nurse, but what a shame you're too sick to do anything about it."

"Just you wait. My nurse said I'll be better soon, then we'll talk." She said moving in closer to him and Sam held on tighter to her.

"He sure did." Sam said looking down at her and a smile appeared on his lips.

Sure he didn't like that she was sick, but these moments were also good moments. He loved being with her like this. Not expecting anything out of the situation, just enjoying each other's company and letting time go by. Now a days he'd say he lived for moments like this. With her.

**I wrote this to make myself feel better, cause I'm just as sick as Andy, but I don't have a Sam Swarek to take care of me so I'm just hoping to get better soon. No one likes to spend Christmas sick. MERRY CHRISTMAS (or whichever holiday you celebrate) and HAPPY NEW YEAR!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'M SOOOOOOO SORRY! Really, it's just been so crazy these days. I had work to get done and I had to go to the hospital, then there was Christmas… Way too many things to do with no time to do anything. But I'll try to be a little faster. I guess I got everyone so comfortable with one chapter per day. hehe. Hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas, and for those that have snow, you can enjoy that for me. Brazil is now on the summer side of life, so all I have is rain and hot weather. **

**## Just to let everyone know, if you haven't noticed, that I changed from T to M. This chapter contains M material. Last time you'll be warned. ##**

Sure enough time had gone by rather quickly and now that it was Christmas Eve Andy didn't stop even for a second. She had gotten the afternoon off and was the whole time running around finishing the banquet for tonight, since she and Sam decided to host Christmas Eve dinner at their apartment.

"Sam!" Andy screamed from the pantry. "Did you get the beans and the potato?"

Sam who was closing the oven looked confused at her. "I think you didn't write those down. Do you want me to go to the store?"

Andy went in and took the image before her for a second. Sam was wearing an apron and holding a wooden spoon. He looked so sweet and hilarious, because Sam was the last person she'd imagine wearing an apron like that.

"I got this, you're better at handling the kitchen than me. Be back in a few, so call me if you figure anything else is missing." She got up on her toes and pulled his face down to hers. "I'm glad we're doing this."

"So am I." Sam said.

After leaving the warmth of their apartment Andy took her gloved hands and tightened the hold her jacket already had on herself. She decided on walking, even on a cold day as today she thought it was safer than taking Sam's truck. It would take longer since she couldn't even run, because the snow they had taken off the sidewalk still made it slippery.

Andy didn't take her time shopping for groceries like she usually did. She got what she needed and walked back home as fast as she could. Making it to the doorsteps a present sat next to the door.

Being the curious human being Andy is, she crouched down grabbing a hold of the small package and looked at the tag on it.

_From: Santa_

_To: Sam Swarek_

Not knowing who it'd be from Andy just took it inside with her so she could put it under the tree. There wasn't much reason for them to receive a gift on the door step to their building, since most of her friends would be joining them tonight. Gail and Steve would be spending most of the time with their family, so they'd be late, but as for Traci and Leo, Oliver and Celery, Chris, Dov and Chloe, they would make it early. Nick had been polite about it, but she knew it would be awkward for him to be there. They were on the road to becoming friends, but it was a delicate thing to go back to. Andy just hoped it could be one big Gail and Chris situation and they could get there eventually.

Rushing inside the apartment she smiled at the smell their home was having. Everything was just so perfect. There was nothing she could have imagined better. They were sharing an apartment, living together, and they were happy. So happy. It all felt so unreal sometimes. They had tried to work things so many times in so many different ways, but they had finally gotten it right.

"Baby, you got a present from Santa." Andy said as she laid the small package under the tree with all the other gifts.

"I'm Santa's favorite. I have been a good boy. You're the naughty one, McNally." Sam's voice came through the apartment as he walked without the apron towards Andy.

"You're not naughty? Well there's a first, right there." Andy said turning towards her boyfriend and wrapping her hands around his neck.

Sam smiled down at her and her smile only grew wider. He lowered his face so their noses were touching.

"Did you get everything done?" she whispered.

"Not yet, but we have time. I took the food out of the oven, so the house won't burn down if we take a few minutes." He answered just as low.

With that out of the way Andy pulled his face down to hers and he accepted just as excited. He didn't even know where they were headed when they started to move tearing each other's clothe in the process. First Andy's jacket and long sleeve shirt, then Sam's, then pants and so on until Sam had Andy pushed against the wall on the hall next to a large window.

Since the window was so close the wall felt cold making Andy gasp and hold onto Sam pushing her back off the wall. He held onto her back keeping her close and took the opportunity to take her bra off.

He was amazed no time was like the last. Even though he had seen her boobs so many times and he could probably picture them perfectly, they were always a sight he'd cherish. Perfect just like her, but then again, he'd always say that.

Andy dropped her head back and putting her hands at the back off his head he knew what she wanted. He always knew. She gave him access to her neck and chest.

"No marks this time. I'm serious." She whispered half moaning as Sam's lips crashed down on her neck as his hands took her breasts, playing with her hard nipples.

It was like nothing else mattered. He didn't care that his friends were supposed to arrive in a few hours. This was something he could do all day long. He had already done this with her all day long once and it was something he was sure to repeat.

Taking a look down towards her panties, they were normal cotton grey ones. She didn't mind when he lost it a little so he ripped them, glad they were made of a weak material. It wasn't the first one she lost and it certainly wouldn't be the last. He didn't know if when she pushed one leg up to give him a better access she was doing that conscious of her action or not. One of his hands left her and moved south to her center.

Sam groaned when he felt how wet she was. Easily his hand slipped in two fingers inside of her and she stood on her toes and gasped at the fast invasion. His thumb never leaving her clit. His movements were fast and hard. She liked it, better yet, she needed it.

After a few seconds she felt she was close, but she didn't want to come like this so she pushed him back enough to get down on her knees and pull down his pants and boxers. She knew he was big, there wasn't a moment like this where she would consider him an average size. He wasn't in any way an average size. She had been with men bigger in her life, but then… There was a time when she was a teen she didn't have much control. Rebel teen daughters of coppers, will always be the worst type.

"Andy." Sam moaned when she licked his dick from the base to it's head then taking it in as much as she could.

She started to suck him deep in her throat glad she had great gag reflexes. Cupped his balls and squeezed just enough to feel his knees buckle. There were only a handful of times where she had Sam Swarek at her mercy like this.

Andy kept the rhythm steady until she felt he was about to come and she stopped all together. Sam let out a loud cry and she looked up at him biting her lip. What she said next would maybe have her die if this wasn't such a hot moment for them.

"I want you to fuck me." She said standing up.

One of her legs hooked onto his back and he held her leg to help support her. Angling himself in her he pushed without any ceremony. She gasped loud and he groaned. It didn't matter how wet she was, it would always be too much and not enough at the same time.

He pushed himself again and again against her making her back hit the wall every time with more force than what was actually necessary. Her loud moans mixed with his and they were breathless altogether. Her other leg has hooked to his back and he now held onto both with his hands on her ass. Now he was able to guide her even better down his length. He filled her again and again hitting every spot he could. They weren't capable of saying anything so all their noises were incoherent.

First Sam came and soon after he felt Andy's walls wrap around him and the world came crashing down. He waited for her orgasm to end and they were both weak after what had been one crazy sex on the hallway. Lying down on the floor they had spent a few minutes looking at each other and smiling like idiots.

"We should move. They'll be here soon." Andy said quietly.

"Then put your clothe on."

"We need a shower. We stink of sex." She said and Sam smiled mischievously.

"Crazy, unbelievable sex." He said standing up and pulling her with him.

Andy wrapped her arms around him and smiled. "You can say that again."

After separate showers they had gone back and finished preparing the rest of the food and then sitting down they waited patiently for their friends to arrive.

Oliver and Celery were first and soon the others came. It was promised to be a night to remember. Their tree was overflowing with gifts and the dinner table had been cramped since they didn't have space for everyone. There wasn't any criticism towards the food so Andy and Sam felt like they had done well on their first "family dinner".

Andy stopped to call her dad that was on an AA's cruise for the holydays since he didn't want to spend it in the cold and didn't really feel guilty seeing that his girl had lots of friends and a boyfriend now.

Gail and Steve walked into the house hounding gifts.

"I think it's time for gifts!" Gail screamed as she sat next to the tree.

Going back to their living room Andy saw her friends gathered around the tree getting ready to trade gifts. It took them a while to get moving with things, but by the end of the night they were surprised by the amount of gifts they had gotten.

When Andy and Sam finally laid down on their bed after a long night such as this one they were just happy to be there. It was a wonderful night like they had planned.

"You liked everything?" She asked.

"Yes. They were all great things." Sam answered, but he missed Andy when she jumped out of bed in the middle of his statement.

"I knew I had left something behind. This was by the doorstep today." She handed him the small package.

Sam without thinking shook the small box and heard a faint noise. Pulling on the paper and opening it his great day had turned into something dark. Andy noticed his change of mood and got more curious as to what it could have been he'd gotten from a mysterious someone.

"What is it?" she asked.

"You don't want to see." He answered puling the box away from her, but she pulled his arm back and a dozen photos fell from the small box.

They were small rectangles that would easily fit into a wallet. They were glossy and had apparently been worked on by a specialist. Andy took a few and turned them to see what it was that had upset Sam so much, but she didn't like what she saw.

Pictures of Sam and her having sex. They were naked and exposed. Everything you didn't want people to see.

"Who is this from?" Sam asked picking the pictured up.

"It only said Santa." Andy said, but not quite sure how she had found her voice. "Why?" she asked turning to Sam.

"I'm not sure. We've put a lot of people away. A lot of people hate us, but I'll figure it out. I'm going to find whoever did this and they will pay. Okay?" he said holding her face between his hands.

"Okay." She whispered.

He kissed her face and held onto her. No matter who it was, he was going to figure it out and that person would pay dearly.


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

**Heeeey… Here I am trying to make up for lost time. Hope you enjoy.**

Andy held her head between her hands. She couldn't get those images off her mind. Sam was locked up in his office talking to Frank. There was no way they'd get a good night of sleep until this was sorted.

Walking into the hall of their apartment she saw the place where they had sex this afternoon. What if whoever did this had gotten photos of that too? There was no way all those photos and angles were taken from the window, but the thought of cameras in their place or even a person being in the apartment was enough to make her feel sick to her stomach.

In her room some of the pictures were still spread across their bed. So many photos, so many different times. Just looking at those pictures made her want to scream, to punch something. The frustration that was consuming her now made it almost impossible to stay rational. She wanted to burn them, rip them apart and wake up the next day believing it had all been a horrible dream. To believe that their perfect Christmas hadn't been tainted by this.

She couldn't have that so she sat on the floor, because there was a feeling inside of her that made her want to run. All she wanted was to burn this place down right now. A home was where you felt safe, but she didn't feel safe anymore, she felt violated and exposed. Too many feelings were bubbling inside of her and she didn't know how to get rid of it.

"Why can't we have a break?" she asked out loud. Not knowing who she was directing the question to. God, the universe, fate… Anyone would do right now. Andy had dreamed of peace with Sam, but it all felt so far away.

The tears came and she couldn't hold on any longer. She cried loud, almost letting out the scream she was keeping inside. Her sobs kept getting loud she didn't even notice when Sam walked in the room and took her in his arms. He held onto to her and tightened his hold when her hands wrapped around his neck.

"We're gonna be okay, sweetheart." He whispered and that just made Andy's cry get even louder. She never felt so raw to emotion like she did now and it was like all her feelings were open. There was no way to actually explain this to anyone.

After a while her sobs went quiet and she just sat on Sam's lap, her hand on his hair playing with it like a comforting distraction. Sam had one hand on her thigh and the other on her back.

"What do we do now?" Andy's voice came out a low raspy whisper.

"I'll start an investigation. We'll look for another place. I don't think we can stay here, so I'll sell it and get another one as soon as possible. In the mean time we can stay with Oliver." He said seeing if maybe she'd start crying again.

"You told him."

"He knows we can't stay, but I didn't tell him everything. I need to know if you'll be okay there."

Andy wiped her face and stared into Sam's eyes. They were sad, tired, desparete, stressed. She wanted him to have a break. He deserved to have time to breath and be happy.

"I'll be fine anywhere but here."

"We'll find some place for us. Somewhere we can call home." He said wiping her still wet cheeks.

"We'll get through this, right?" she asked.

"We can get through anything, McNally." He answered serious. Their foreheads touching and he laid a kiss. It was soft and short, but it was reassuring her that they would be okay in the end of it all.

Getting their things for the night Sam drove them to Oliver's house where they were greeted by Celery on the front porch. Oliver came just as their headlight had come into view.

"Get inside. Oliver will get your things." Celery said wrapping her arms around Sam in a quick hug and then wrapping them around Andy's shoulder leading them inside.

Celery was a plant and animal person, so their two dogs Star and Sunny came rushing to Andy's and Sam's feet. That was the first thing that had gotten a small smile to their faces that night. The playful dogs were happy with the visit so they didn't leave their sides. Maybe they felt that both of them needed cheering up.

"Brother, you guys need anything?" Oliver asked.

"No. We're fine. Thank you for having us." Sam said still kneeling down on the floor with Star by his feet.

"I'll get your things on your room." Celery said giving them privacy.

When she was out of ear shot Oliver turned to his friends and sat down on the sofa next to them.

"You guys want to tell me what's going on? I imagines that once in a while I'd have to shelter this guys, but both of you?" he looked concerned.

Sam looked at Andy and she bit her lip looking down. She had given Sam permission to tell the story. He was their friend and only wanted to help. Oliver didn't need to see the photos, so she didn't see any problem. Even though all she wanted was to bury this story and not let anyone know of them.

Sam began speaking about how Andy came to find the present and went on to his part when he received it and opened to find the surprise of almost twenty pictures of them having sex. Different times.

Oliver looked over at Andy by the end of the story. Sam looked like a wreck, but he was keeping it together like he always did, but McNally was another thing. She looked like she hadn't slept for weeks, even though she'd only found out about this a few hours ago. Oliver stood from where he was and sat by her side giving her a hug.

It seemed like everyone was hugging her and as much as she enjoyed a good support it was feeling like too much. It was a nice gesture that Andy responded to, but as soon as this was over she felt like she couldn't stand contact for a while. Like her quota would have ended.

"If you need anything just shout." Oliver said standing up and taking them to their room.

Celery was just closing the door to their room when they appeared.

"I put two towels on the bathroom and new sheets." She said. Even though Celery felt a little out of place, she knew something was going down that these people needed support and all the help they could get. There was no way to explain, but she knew they were heading towards troublesome times.

"Does anyone need sleeping pills? Celery has these organic ones that work like a charm." Oliver said with a small smile.

"I'll take one, if that's okay." Andy said.

"Me too." Sam said looking down at Andy. He needed to sleep if he was going on a man hunt for whoever did this.

Oliver and Celery left to get their friends the things they needed while they were settling into their new room. A place everyone knew was going to be their temporary home for a while.


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

Sam couldn't take seeing Andy so shut to the outside world. It was like she had built a wall around herself, shutting out everyone and anything that could harm her. She startled at almost anything, her appetite had left her so Sam was always making sure she ate something and she got lost in her thoughts most of the time. He feared those thoughts. He was the only one that could get to her, the only one she'd listen to.

"Where are you going?" She asked as Sam opened the door.

"I was hoping I wouldn't wake you." He said hoping to dodge her question.

"I was already up. Where are you going?"

With a heavy sigh he looked towards her and the vision actually scared him. She was pale and her eyes didn't have that sparkle. That vision made his anger even bigger. He wouldn't accept someone doing this to them, to her.

"I'm headed to the station." And that statement had indeed gotten her to jump out of bed and run to the bathroom.

"I'm going with you. Give me ten minutes." She screamed.

Sam had a small smile when he heard her. He knew she'd want to be part of the investigation. It was only natural to want to be distracted by something to get your mind out of what's bothering you. Even if it was an investigation on what was the real issue.

"Almost ready." She said with her toothbrush still inside her mouth.

Sam went downstairs to prepare their breakfast before they headed out. Eggs and toast was the best he could do in this house and for his joy there was the beloved orange juice for Andy. Just as he sat the table Andy walked into the kitchen.

"The smell is amazing." She said sitting down on the counter.

"I'm amazing." He said not even looking at Andy.

"You are." She agreed massaging his – already big - ego.

Their breakfast was silent just as their car ride over to the station. They went in and headed their separate ways on the locker rooms. Traci didn't notice Andy walking in as she was with her back turned to Andy.

"What are you doing here?" Traci asked when she finally noticed Andy when she was putting her shoes on.

"Um… Needed to be here. I'm helping Sam with something."

"He's here too? Wasn't today your day off? What's going on?" she asked looking straight into Andy's eyes.

"Can we talk about this another time?" Andy asked looking towards the ground.

Traci noticed her friends mood and she knew when not to push Andy for details when she wasn't ready to share. When the time came Andy would open up and then Traci could do her best in helping her friend.

"Okay. You can call me whenever you need me." Traci said putting her hand on Andy's shoulder and walking out.

Andy and Sam didn't go to parade since they were there on their time off and for different reasons. So they were now left alone in the D's office seeing as Traci gathered her things and said she'd look into some case files on some other room. That was her awkward way of letting them have privacy.

"So how do we start?" Andy asked sitting in a chair on the opposite side of Sam.

"I'll look into the numbers behind these photos and see if it leads me somewhere. You can see if there is anything on the box. Look for a logo or a name."

Andy gathered the box in her hands. It looked so small and harmless, but inside this small box was kept photos of them that could do a lot of damage. Tearing the thin stripped paper that covered a small wooden box was revealed.

"Who would go through the trouble of getting a wooden box for something like this?" Andy asked out loud not actually waiting for an answer from Sam.

"In our job we see that people do strange things all the time." Sam answered her still focused on his computer and the photos.

"I guess so." Andy commented.

Turning the box upside down she found a Rouge Woodshop logo imprinted. It was so neatly done and the initials S.S. on the bottom.

"I think I found something." Andy said pulling Sam's attention to her. "I'm pretty sure the box came from this place and there are these two letters. Maybe it's from the person that made the box." Hope filled her voice as she saw that this was the start to finding whoever did this.

"I'll go. I want you to stay here and look into these photos, the numbers on the back might lead us somewhere."

As much as Andy wanted to go and look for whoever did this, he was right. One had to stay behind to look into the other parts and the one actually going had to be a detective. He was trained to see things she wasn't. So she pushed her desire to be on the streets aside and let him leave without a fight.

For some reason it was really hard to look at those photos. It felt as though the people represented there weren't them, but some other couple. She tried to believe it was someone else and that she was investigating something else. She whispered to herself every now and then _'it's not me and Sam_' maybe that would make it easier.

"You okay?" Nick walked in and Andy turned the pictures pushing them under a file.

"Yeah. Just realy tired." She said turning her chair to the door where he stood.

Their relationship had gotten better over the months. They were able to be around each other without feeling awkward all the time. Of course there were moments where awkward didn't even begin to explain, but it was something that was getting easier with time. He seemed better, seeing someone new that no one even knew who she was, but Andy just hoped he was doing what was right for him. He deserved to be happy.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Dov had to comeback for something, so I'm just waiting on him." Nick answered giving her his best smile. He used to do that so often.

In the far background Dov called out for Collins and he looked back.

"I think I'm gonna go. If you need anything, you can call me. I'm still your friend." Nick said turning to leave.

He had left without giving Andy the chance to say anything, but then she didn't even know what to say. "Thank you" or "I'm glad" just didn't feel like enough. Their friendship came really fast and strong, specially since they spent six months together and then it had faded really fast too.

Turning the chair around she focused on the numbers and places that were specialized in photos all around Toronto. To her surprise she figured out the places where they labeled the photos and there weren't many. Seven were spread all around the city, but one was close to the station and another to their apartment.

Biting her lip she didn't really know if she could leave the station to investigate this, but giving it a better thought she wasn't on shift. She was on her day off and there was nothing holding her back, all she wanted was to go around and ask a few questions and maybe flash her badge once in a while. There had to be perks to this job.

"I am not breaking any rules. Technically not, anyway." She said to herself and headed to the printer to gather the addresses to the places she was about to go.

Since Sam took the truck she was on foot and that meant bus and subway all over town on the freezing cold. This has got to lead her somewhere.

Her phone vibrated on her pocket and she saw Sam's name on screen. She couldn't answer him now, so she just had to return the call later.

She walked into the store and picking out the only two photos that didn't seem compromising. Their faces were covered and so were their body parts. Only sheets and Andy's back on both. With a heavy sigh she walked to the counter.

"Hi, I'm wondering if you guys label the photos on the back with a sequence of numbers?" Andy asked the guy on the other side.

"No, we only put the name, but Bomb Photos do that with most of their material I think." He answered Andy.

She knew where that was. There were two in the city so after a long walk and two busses she was on the other side of town looking inside the small place.

"Excuse me. I was wondering if you could help me with something. I have a few photos that were sent to me, but I'm not sure by whom and I wanted to know if there is any way I can find that out." Andy asked the nice old lady by the cash register.

"Oh, I think we still have the records here. Sometimes my boy takes them home so they won't be just lying around here. You know how it is." She said gathering three large books. "What's the numbers on the photos?"

Andy looked down and said "357-443-289-110-226"

The old lady looked confused for a second and looked up at Andy and asked for the number again.

"I'm sorry, dear. Something must have gone wrong here. This is my son's writing, but he never put out the name of the person who came to collect the photos. I'll look into the system if you have some time."

Andy knew this wouldn't be that easy so she took a seat and waited for the woman to come back with any news.

Twenty minutes had passed and Andy was still sitting down alone in the main room. Her phone had gone off once more and now a third time. She knew there was no way to avoid him forever so she answered his call.

"Hi." She said simply.

"Hi. Where are you? I came back to the station, but they said you left a dew hours ago."

"Yeah. I… um… I came to the photo place where I believe the photos came from. They don't have a name for the person that came to pick them up, but I'm still here waiting."

"I'm going over there. Where is it?"

Even if it was a sweet gesture Andy knew they covered more ground apart.

"No. I've got it here, there is no need for you to come here too. What did you find at the woodshop?"

For a few seconds the line went silent and she looked at her phone to see the battery was almost dead.

"The person made the S.S. in my name. Sam Swarek was the registered name for the box. I got their surveillance footage so I'm going to go through that."

"Okay. Do that and tell me if anything comes up. My battery is dying, I think I left my charger at the apartment. I'll go by the apartment later to get it, so if you can't talk to me don't freak out."

"Okay. I'll see you at Oliver's later."

"See you."

They ended the call at the same time and she stood looking around the place. All the photos looked so well worked. She wondered who had worked on those pictures, cause they sure saw her face and all the other pictures. Embarrassment was written all over Andy's face.

"Dear, I got the name. It was a Jack something I think. My son doesn't remember very well, but the man refused to sign the photos. I hope that helps." She said sweetly.

"Actually that does help. Thank you." She said and walked out of the store into the snow covered Toronto streets.

Walking to the subway she rushed to get in. She still had to stop by the apartment to get her changer and just then she'd be able to head over to Oliver's and rest.


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

**I really wanted to have updated on the 31st, but it was a pretty crazy day and then I had the worst writers block I had ever had (lie). I'm sorry it took so long and I'm sorry it's so short, but I'll try updating soon. Hope you all enjoy.**

Andy walked into the apartment freezing from the outside snow. The place seemed the same, nothing had changed. But then again, what would have changed over the night? Nothing really, but it still felt like an entire different place to her. Once the thought of going to Sam's place made her happy and and excited, now it felt like she was walking into a stranger's place. The whole atmosphere was different now.

"Andy, just get the charger and leave." She told herself.

Even though she spent such little time at the apartment she couldn't help but look behind her shoulder every once in a while. Tomorrow they would look into the cameras and see if the place had been wired. Just the thought of having cameras set up on the apartment watching them made her want to murder someone.

The room she and Sam shared was clean. Like it hadn't been used in a long time and that made her blood run cold, because when they left the room had been a mess. In the middle of the bed sat a box just like the one they got on Christmas. Andy sat by it not wanting to touch it. The person who was doing this had been inside their apartment from last night to this afternoon and something told Andy there was a high possibility of whom ever it was still being there, watching her right now as she sat inside that room.

Nervous Andy pulled her charger and plugged in with her phone waiting for the screen to turn on. All the while she kept sending glances over at the box. She wanted to know what was inside just as much as she didn't want, but later on decided that there was no way she'd be able to go to Oliver's place without knowing.

Pulling the lid she saw what made her heart stop for maybe a few seconds. The room temperature had dropped and she felt like she was sitting on the middle of the sidewalk outside the apartment building. Those photos were new. A lot newer actually. Polaroid pictures of her walking to the photo place today. These photos were from just a few hours ago.

Andy threw the box at the wall making little damage to the wall and none to the box. Her frustration getting even bigger she couldn't hold the tears back. They weren't sad tears, but rather scared, angry tears. But they soon stopped as Andy heard one of the floorboards crack under a considerable amount of pressure.

Standing up and moving to the far side of the room where she had a good visual on the door, but she cursed at herself for touching where her gun was supposed to be, but she felt it empty. She couldn't walk around with her gun when she wasn't on duty. She shouldn't even be using her uniform, but she had gotten the ok from Frank. But she couldn't even waste her time on thinking about the gun she didn't have on her, so she moved to the next best thing she had at arm's reach and it was their bedside lamp. In any other situation she might had even found this funny, but now she couldn't even think about it.

(…)

Sam stood just outside Oliver's house. It had been only ten minutes since he arrived here, but since he last spoke to Andy it had been almost two hours. That was certainly enough time for her to stop by the apartment to get her charger and head over to Oliver's.

Something was wrong and he felt it deep within him. The weather was getting worse and he wouldn't be surprised if they had a blizzard alert soon. The amount of snow covering the ground had increased considerably these last couple days.

"What are you still doing out here?" Oliver asked coming outside with a huge coat.

"McNally's not back yet and her phone is still off." He said looking concerned at his friend.

"Hey, she's a tough one. She's okay. Half the city doesn't have power so she might have stopped somewhere to get away from the snow and didn't have the chance to charge her phone." Sam held on to the hope that Oliver was right, but he knew better and trust his gut, even when it was telling him the worse was headed their way.

"I think I'm going after her."

"No. You are not. Do you see the snow? This weather is getting worse really fast, you can't be out there like this." Sam felt his friend push him inside the house, but he had this feeling he couldn't ignore anymore.

"I have to go, Oliver. What if it was Celery?" he looked straight at Oliver's serious face. "You know we were followed. Someone was after us, or at least one of us. And she's not here, so don't tell me she's okay if you're not one hundred percent sure about this. I need to find her." Sam pushed himself away from his friends and got his keys from the pocket in his jacket.

"Then I'm going with you. I'm not letting you go out there alone. Partners remember?"

"Partners." Sam said as they headed over to the truck.

That damn word kept running through his mind. He told her about partners and having each other's back at all times. He was doing that. All he did these days was towards being a good partner for her in all ways possible.

The streets looked abandoned as everyone ran from the cold and bitter storm that was headed their way. Sam wanted to run, drive as fast as he could to his apartment, but he knew that an accident wouldn't help in the least their situation.

Minutes after the building came into view and Sam stopped his truck and with Oliver by his side he ran in to the stairs seeing as the building had no energy. He could hear Oliver just a few feet behind him, but there was no way he'd stop so he pushed himself to go faster.

His apartment door was open and his mind started running with all the different scenarios he could be walking into. Each one worse than the other.


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

**Sorry it took so long for me to update. I have been a little busy and couldn't find the time to write it all down. So here it is…**

As both men stepped inside the apartment they noticed something had happened. The place looked like a mess. The chairs all out of place, the center table they had was broken and the lamp from their bedroom was on the floor. Sam knew something was wrong even before he stepped inside the apartment, but now he dreaded what he was going to find.

They didn't have their guns so they were both very cautious about the amount of noise they made just in case anyone was still inside. Room by room they walked until the last one, Sam and Andy's room.

Walking inside they could hear the water from the sink running and someone breathing deeply.

"Damn it." They heard Andy's voice from inside the bathroom.

"Andy?" Sam half screamed as he rushed to the door followed by Oliver.

He could barely see with no light on the apartment, but the flashlight he had gotten from the truck gave them a little knowledge of what was going on around them. Andy had a split lip, her eye was swollen and would probably turn into a black eye soon, a large gash on her cheek. Looked like someone who took one hell of a beating.

"What happened?" Sam asked barely touching her face as she hissed and took a step back.

"I'm not entirely sure. After we finished speaking I got some information on whoever went there to pick-up the photos and headed here for the charger. The place still had power and I saw the storm coming, so I wanted to charge the phone at least a little so I could call you." Andy turned off the water and walked out of the bathroom headed to where the box laid out on the floor. "I found this lying on the bed."

She handed the box to Sam who opened it and looked at her seriously.

"These are from today."

"I know." She said tying her hair in a high pony tail and sitting by the end of the bed. "I heard someone coming little after that so I grabbed a lamp. Everything happened so fast. He came at me, we fought, the lights went off during the fight. He was taller, stronger and faster than me. There wasn't much I could do at the time. I was out of it for a while and when I woke up he was gone."

Sam sat next to her as Oliver just stood by the door looking at his friends. They were going through tough times and he couldn't figure out the best way to help them. He wanted to, but he felt powerless.

"Did you get a good look at the guy?"

Andy's eyes were tearful even though she hadn't cried yet.

"Not really. He was at least 6'5, heavy guy too. He was cautious, covered himself – gloves, mark, you name it, he had it." She said turning to get her phone. "Still not working."

Sam took her hand in his and held it tight. She was in shock so she wasn't processing everything the way she should. He couldn't even think about the possible outcome that this whole day could have had. Her being attacked put everything in a whole new perspective to him, plus, that description wasn't much for them to go on, but he knew someone who would have motive, and could fit into the pool of suspects.

It was probably time for Sam Swarek to visit his old man.

"Take me home, please. Tomorrow we'll deal with this." Andy said lying her head on Sam's shoulder."

Sam turned to her and kissed to top of her head.

"Andy, we need your statement. We need to take you to the hospital to get checked out." Oliver said from the distance.

"No! I'm fine, I just want to deal with everything tomorrow."

"Hospital first, then we can go home and tomorrow we can deal with the rest." Sam said standing up and pulling her with him. She hissed again grabbing at her side. "We'll definitely go to the hospital."

"Fine." Andy said half angry at Sam's choice of destination.

Sam parked the truck by the emergency entrance of the hospital and helped Andy get out of the vehicle. They had stopped by Oliver's house to drop him off and for Andy to change into better clothes. He hadn't seen her body since she insisted on being left alone in the bedroom while she changed.

"Hey, she needs a doctor." Sam walked in with a limping Andy by his side.

"Just a second, put her on a gurney." A nurse said passing by them.

Andy needed a little bit of help when trying to sit on the gurney. As the adrenaline left her system she felt just how bad she felt. How bad the fight she had had been. There was no denying it, all you had to do was look at her face to see she'd gotten her ass kicked.

"How are you feeling?" Sam asked holding her hands trying not to hurt her swollen and bloody knuckles.

"I'll survive. I'm like that, bombs, beatings, shooting. Nothing can take me out of the picture." She tried to make it sound like it wasn't a big deal. Because if she made it a big deal, then she probably wouldn't be able to get out of bed the next couple of days.

"Hello there, I'm Doctor Drew." But the doctor stopped talking once he saw who was sitting at the gurney. "What happened, Andy?" the young looking red headed doctor said as he stepped closer to where Andy was sitting.

"Hey Drew. Police business, you know how it is. Got into some big fight this afternoon. Think you got something to help a sister out?" she tried joking about it again. This was really setting Sam's mood out of it. He was concerned and he was frustrated, but her trying to make this okay was going to end up killing him a little inside.

"Let's first run some tests. You might have a concussion. Anywhere you feel pain except for your face?"

Before Andy could answer Sam jumped in cutting her off.

"Her side hurts, she can't move or walk right." Looking down he saw Andy biting her bottom lip.

"Andy, I'm going to take you to run some tests now. I'll probably have you stay the night for observation so you getter get real comfy. I'll get everything set up and come get you when I get all the tests ready for you." Doctor Drew said and walked away leaving the couple.

"What are you doing?" Andy asked angrily.

"Making sure you don't think this is a joke."

"I know it's not a joke, okay?" she looked down at her hanging feet. "I just don't want to keep thinking about this, because we can't focus on my injuries. Everything here will heal, but the person is still out there and I can't think about anything else other than what he might be doing now."

"I know, baby." He said holding her in a light hug. "Let's just patch you up first and then we can go back to hunting down this bastard."

"Okay." Andy said holding onto Sam.

At the end of her tests Andy and Sam were settled in a room waiting for the results to come back. They had warned Frank about the events and Oliver that they would be spending the night at the hospital.

"Andy McNally, you are one hell of a fighter. You have a concussion, so you'll surely be spending the night with us. Also there are some cracked and bruised ribs and a sprained ankle. Your cheek will heal and if you're lucky it won't leave a scar." Dr. Drew said as he stepped inside the room. "I see the nurses already bandaged you up. So if there is anything else just call me, I'll be here all night and all of next morning." He said checking her chart one more time and walking out.

Sam who was sitting next to Andy's bed looked at her and she sent the doctor a small smile as he left, but then her face fell. He knew she blamed herself, but how could she ever be responsible for something she had no control over? He wished there was a way to trade places with her and spare her the trauma.

"Go home, Sam. Frank already sent over two officers to stand by the door. I'll be fine, but you need to rest and pick me up first thing in the morning." Andy said grasping his hand between her two bandaged up hands.

"I can't just leave you here."

"You can because for now you have to. There is no way you can have a good night of sleep here."

"I won't have a good night of sleep anywhere for now."

Her eyes shone with adoration. There was no way not to love this man in front of her. He was everything she wanted and everything she ever needed.

"Go home. I'll be here in the morning waiting for you." She said kissing his hands.

Sam knew he wasn't going to win this, because if he stayed she'd stay up and she wouldn't be able to rest properly. His worry wouldn't fade, but it would lessen as she was safe with two officers. He would go home and tomorrow be here for her, like he always did.

"Be careful out there, okay?" She whispered their foreheads one against the other.

He kissed her lips barely touching them afraid to hurt her even more and after that he left her for the night.


	16. Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

Sam stepped out of the hospital looking back every few steps wondering if what he had planned was the right choice, not only for him, but for her as well. She was lying on a hospital bed and there was nothing he could do, well, 'nothing' wasn't the right word.

Outside the storm had given a small break letting him go back to his truck. Once inside he took his phone and stared at the screen choosing his next move. It wasn't something he wanted to do, but from where he stood he didn't see any other way. So he breathed deeply for a few minutes and made the call.

"Hey, Brother, I need your help. Are you at the station?" he asked Oliver.

"Yeah, I just finished giving my statement. They'll be by the hospital to get hers tomorrow morning, yours too if you're with her. What do you need?"

"Get Epstein to find where my dad is living. I need to pay him a small visit."

Sam waited for Oliver to agree or not, but there was no sound. He knew the call was still going since he heard the background noise, but Oliver just went all mute on him. He knew it was risky, but Oliver was also the only person he trusted with this.

"We don't know if it was him."

"Come on, it's obvious. He hates me and he threatened me, now he came through with that threat and I need to give him a message." Sam's frustration grew with every word he said and Oliver knew it.

"Let me come with you then."

"I'm sorry, Bro, but I'm not letting you get any deeper in this thing. It's between Jay and I, always has been, and Andy is the last one getting hurt in the middle of this." Sam said. "Send me a text once you get the address."

The waiting wasn't long for Sam since he stopped for gas and once he got back inside he had the address. He had moved since the trial and gone to a place on the outskirts of town. He knew the neighborhood, it wasn't friendly or welcoming to strangers so he must have friends looking out for him on the area.

Once he stopped the truck in a dark alley two houses down his old man's place he took his time walking up to the back door and checking to see if it was open. Knowing his dad always forgot to lock the doors he was hoping to get lucky and so he did.

Pushing the door open he saw the light on in the living room and the faint noise of the TV on. The house had a weird smell, like maybe it hadn't been cleaned in a few months. Sam moved closer to the living room and saw his dad lying unconscious on the couch. His face had a bruise forming on his right jawline and the one had Sam could see seemed to have been used a lot. Small cuts and bruises covered his knuckles and his suspicion was confirmed.

"You son of a bitch!" Sam screamed at his dad when he pulled the guy up from the couch by his jacket and pushed him against the wall punching him in the gut.

Sam took two steps back looking at a startled Jay.

"I thought you were done with me." Jay said with a sick smile as he tried to catch his breath.

"Not when you mess with my family."

"Family? Boy, those people aren't your family. You killed your family when you sent me away." Jay took step towards Sam so they were closer. "You're alone. Just like me." He smiled.

Sam wasn't here to hear whatever bullshit Jay had to say to him. He pulled his knee up hitting Jay's side and jumped on top of him when he fell and used his face as a punching bag. Jay slipped off pulling Sam by his throat and giving him three punches. Sam took Jay's head and slammed it against the coffee table taking the whisky bottle and hitting it over his head. The whisky bottle was intact and Jay unconscious again.

Sam took his time cleaning some of the mess since if they looked for his DNA they couldn't find. He pushed his dad to the couch and walked off towards the dark alley getting in his truck and going to Oliver's home to take a shower and change. He had to get early to the hospital so he'd pick up Andy and give his statement.

He got there, but it seemed that Oliver and Celery were already asleep, but when he got to his room Oliver was sitting on the bed watching TV.

"How did it go?" Oliver said.

"I didn't kill him."

"Never said you did… Was it really him?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was him." Sam said taking off his boots and coat and sitting next to his friend.

"Then I'm glad you did what you had to do. Now that I know you came home in one piece I'll go to bed. Night." Oliver waved to Sam as he walked off.

Sam pushed himself off the bed and walked towards the shower. He was so tired he thought maybe he'd fallen asleep for a few seconds. The room was so big without Andy being there with him. He couldn't sleep without her. They had fallen into a routine that was so natural to them he didn't know how to function out of it.

Lying down on the big bed by himself he let the recent events catch up to him and he cried for the first time in a while. He was crying and to anyone who ever saw him, he'd deny, but he was sobbing into the pillow she used. He was sobbing, but managed to keep it low. He blamed himself for everything that happened even if way down he knew it was just twisted damn fate that had done all of this.

Slowly sleep slipped in and gave him a break from all the mess that was going on around him. He felt like he was in the middle of a warzone trying to dodge the bullets fired his way and still try to protect the people around him, but eventually someone always gets hurt. He just hated that that person was Andy.


	17. Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

Sam was coming close to Andy's hospital room door when Tommy walked out with a doctor by his side. They looked serious so Sam fastened his pace towards them. But they parted ways before Sam got to reach them. Tommy turned seeing Sam just a few steps away and called for him to come closer.

"What did the doctor say?" Sam asked before Tommy had the chance to open his mouth.

"Andy is asleep. She had a bad head ache, but everything seems fine. She'll be able to go home later today." Tommy said as they walked pass her door.

Sam wanted to go in, but knowing she's asleep he didn't want to disturb.

"Mind me asking why is the side of your face a nice shade of red?"

Sam touched the side of his face where his father had hit him. He had forgotten about that.

"It's nothing. Just had a bad encounter with someone I knew."

Tommy had been a cop and a really good one before he had gone down the bottle, so he wasn't stupid enough to believe it had been nothing. Andy would also know something was going on.

"She's going to be pissed that you went after someone like that."

"I know, but I had to do it."

"My daughter spent the night in a hospital room because someone had invaded your home, I'm not going to complain about what you did, but Andy will have something to say on that matter I believe."

They stopped by a coffee machine and hanged on to the silence that had settled between them. Sam and Tommy weren't big fans of talking, they barely spoke to each other, so this was something that happened often when they were left alone. Soon after that they went back to the room where Andy was asleep and Tommy said his goodbyes.

Sam sat in a chair next to her bed and picked up one of the many magazines Tommy had gotten for her. They were all gossip and fashion ones that shared no common interest with him, but the last one on the pile got his attention. It was a real weddings magazine. It could be an innocent thing, like she wasn't making a big deal. A lot of women had gotten a wedding magazine once in their life, or so he thought.

Putting it down he didn't know what to make of it. Was she expecting something? Were they even ready for something like that? She was engaged once and we all know how that turned out. He didn't mind it seeing as though he was already way too deep in love with her, he just didn't know how deep it was at that time. But how would she receive such request?

His mind was brought back to reality when he felt a hand brush where he had been hit.

"What did you do, Sam?" she asked in a low voice.

He didn't answer right away and they both knew that he didn't need to say it out loud. It was clear what Sam had done and Andy just shut her eyes and stared at the ceiling.

"You shouldn't have done that." She said brushing her hands on her face.

"Don't say that."

"We don't know if it was actually him." Andy looked at him serious. "There is no way you can accuse him of this based only on what I said. It wasn't even a statement, Sam."

"You're over thinking things." He couldn't look at her. Sam knew she'd act like this, but even now he couldn't handle someone telling him that his father might have been innocent.

"No. You're blinded by this. Tunnel vision, right? You're so caught up on the hate you fed for him that you can't even acknowledge that it might have been someone else."

"He wants to hurt me and he found a way through you!" Sam raised his voice at her and took a deep breath. He was in a hospital and he needed to remember that.

"Jay has been out for months and nothing happened. We make enemies on the job, anyone could come after us for something. Even the smallest things set people off. You better than anyone should know that."

Deep down Sam knew she was right, but what good does that do now. He and his father already had their little reunion yesterday.

"Let's hope he doesn't bring this into the station and Sam…" she waited for his eyes to meet hers "I don't want you on this case anymore. The photos, as bad as they are I think maybe Tracy should take over."

Sam doesn't respond at first but nods his head after a few moments. He already knew he was going to be pulled off of it. Frank wouldn't let him be involved in it after what happened to Andy. Like she said, he'd gotten tunnel vision.

The rest of their morning was quiet and she was going to be cleared to go home by the end of the day. Little after their lunch Chloe and Nick walk in to get their statement. Sam moves to the hallway with Chloe reporting how everything had gone down and Nick stayed with Andy. It was hard for Sam not to stare at the window where he could see Nick comforting Andy while she gave her statement.

"You know they were really good friends before they had gotten involved and now that it's all gone they can maybe go back to that. But you need to give them space for that to happen. Andy doesn't want to hurt you, but she also doesn't want to let go of their friendship." Chloe said after finishing up the statement.

"Sure." Sam said plainly.

He kept looking at them but this time there wasn't jealousy 'nor questions popping up on his mind. He knew her and he knew they were together for real this time. That magazine had maybe been a message for him.

"Can you stay here for a while? I gotta call someone." He said when he started walking down the hall with his phone in hand.

Before he could make the call his phone started buzzing. Best was calling and he knew this couldn't be good.

"Swarek." He answered the call.

"Can you come to the station? We need to talk… Now." Best said and ended the call.

Sam took a deep breath and went back to the room to tell Andy he'd be back to pick her up by the end of the day.

Arriving at the station Sam walked into the barn where Frank was waiting for him. They quickly went inside his office and Best stared at him and a few notes on his desk.

"Someone came here today and he didn't look very good." Frank said.

"Frank…" Sam was cut off when Frank lifted his hand.

"He didn't file a complaint against you. He actually didn't do anything. He just came here gave a statement to Nash so he could provide an alibi for what happened last night to McNally." Frank stood up and leaned on the glass wall. "I want you to pass the case over to Nash, go over everything with her and then take the week off with McNally. When you both get back you can – maybe – help out on the investigation if nothing comes up while you're both out."

"I can't do that." Sam said in a hurry.

"You can and you will. Sam, you've been through a lot. You and McNally both have, so take the week off and take care of each other. Go see your sister, go camping, I don't care just take some time to get your ducks in a row."

It wasn't something Sam wanted to do, but he knew Frank well enough to know there was no discussing this with him any further. He made up his mind and nothing would change that.

Saying their goodbyes Sam went out to find Nash and then head back in time to pick up Andy from the hospital and get their one week off started. He might not like it now, but if he was forced to leave work for a week he was sure going to look forward to enjoying it.


	18. Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

Coming over to Oliver's Sam had gotten their stuff together and moved everything back into the truck. They needed time and space away from everything that was going on. He had talked to Oliver and for that week they were spending it in the cabin. That could give them the space they needed to breathe and organize their lives.

"Do you need anything else?" he asked Andy when he got back inside the truck.

"No. I'm okay." She said messing with the zipper of her coat.

The ride was quiet and slow due to the amount of snow there was still around. The cabin was freezing cold and they worked to get some heat going. Sam and Andy weren't exchanging many words and the tension between them was obvious.

They had gotten dinner ready and soon sat together under a blanket by the fire place.

"I'm sorry about how I acted." Andy blurted out.

Sam wasn't expecting her to apologize since she was right about some things. Even though his actions had not backfired on him didn't mean they couldn't have. But Jay wasn't going to rat him out. He'd probably just find a way to get back for what he'd done.

"I was just nervous that maybe you had done something that wasn't quite right. I don't know, it could have been him."

"He has an alibi." Sam said without looking at her.

"Doesn't mean he's not involved somehow. You said it yourself he threatened you. It's just that I can't remember anything to help us and I don't want you to do something without thinking it through."

Sam stood up and looked straight at her feeling confused. What was she saying? That he was right to hit his father? Wasn't that just the opposite of what she had said at the hospital?

"I can't understand you now. What are you trying to say?"

She stood up in front of him. Andy felt like a mess, there wasn't a moment where she could think straight.

"I'm saying that I don't know if you hit the right person, but I don't care. I'm going to be by your side no matter what. You did what you thought was right and I know that your gut feeling is smart. It was stupid and selfish of me to say some of the things I did. But thank you for what you did. I know part of the reason was to protect me."

Andy wasn't crying, but she sure felt like it on the inside. Everything she said at the hospital wasn't meant to make them fight, but she couldn't see anything good coming out of what he did. But then she had time to think and time to see things from his point of view. If the roles were switched she might as well have done the same thing.

Sam opened his arms and she walked right into them. In front of the fire they stood there in each other's arms. Everything around them was a mess, but moments like these felt like maybe things would work out in the end.

"We're okay." Sam said breathing in her scent.

The next morning they rushed to get a hot shower together and make breakfast.

"Omelet or pancakes?" Andy asked.

"Whatever doesn't burn down the kitchen." Sam said coming inside the house with more wood.

Andy sent him an angry glare and Sam gave her his crooked smile she loved so much. Damn him and how sexy he was in so many simple ways. He was the only one that could make the shitty days they had go away.

"Since when do you know anything about fire wood? You're not much of a wild person."

He looked at her amused and she turned her back to him blushing.

"I've had some wild days." He said amused at how Andy laughed at him.

Even though Andy couldn't walk much and her side still made hard to move around and carry weight Sam was right there to help out. They had gotten movies and even a few board games. Andy soon figured out that Sam was a mean monopoly gamer, but then she beat him at poker four times.

Part of the afternoon Andy spent sleeping because of the painkillers she took. Sam took that time to talk to Nash who briefly said they went over the footage he'd gotten and had a lead. She couldn't tell him everything, but she said enough to set his mind at ease.

Looking at the person next to him he knew that he needed their life to be in calm waters before he made any decisions on their future together and it had to be soon. He had texted Oliver that he'd be needing his help over the weekend and to keep it quiet.

Later that night when Andy went to the bathroom for a shower Sam called Nash to check on the case. It seems there was really a Jack involved in all of this. A 45 year old man that had been brought in a couple of times for small thefts, but Sam had never been involved in any of the cases this guy was in the middle, much less McNally. Jack also said he was paid anonymously to take pictures of them and have the apartment bugged with microphones and cameras.

This was stressful since now Nash didn't want to share anything else. Sam knew she had shared a lot more than what she could with him and he was grateful for that, but it still bugged him that he wasn't a part of the case. Nash was great, but she was new and sometimes played way too much by the book. Sometimes you gotta paint outside the lines.

The next morning Andy felt a lot better. Her ribs still hurt, but she felt like herself. She was able to walk properly and even move around better without hurting her side. The morning sex might even be a proof of that.

Leaving early Sam and Andy walked a little around the woods, but the cold soon became too much and they settled for hot chocolate and card games for the time being. It was nice seeing that they were feeling a lot more comfortable out here in the woods, even Sam was beginning to see how this had an upper side.

After lunch they had washed the dishes together and even ended up getting a little wet during one of their playish moments, but even with the heat on and the fire place the cabin was still chilly for them.

"Shower together?" Andy asked as Sam took off his clothe.

"Yeah, I'm not going to stand out here wet while you use all the hot water." He answered getting inside the shower followed by a naked Andy.

"This is nice. Maybe we can do this more often." Andy said wrapping her hands around Sam's torso from behind and playing with his chest hair.

"We'll make a deal with Oliver." He answered leaning back and turning around so he would face her.

He held her face between his hands. There were still bruises on her face and her side, but he could see how beautiful she was every time.

Their lips met in a loving pace, it wasn't rushed, hungry and desperate like it was most of the time. It was kind of the missing piece they needed to get back. The peace they found in this place might as well have been the biggest plus they had in a long time.

One of Sam's hand brushed down cupping one of her breast in his hand and playing with her nipple. Andy pushed her head back hitting the tiled wall. Her moans were low and raspy. Her hand moved down and rubbed Sam where he most needed attention.

Sam moved his hands between her legs and felt how wet she was so pulling her up he made sure to have a good balance with her on top of him and pushed himself inside of her. Keeping a steady rhythm he pushed her onto the wall and soon let go of his control pushing himself further and faster 'til they both reached their high.

Andy settled her trembling feet on the floor and held onto Sam as they caught their breaths and finished their shower.

That night was one of the first in a really long time Sam and Andy both got a good night of sleep in each other's arms.


	19. Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

A few nights during the week Andy would wake up in cold sweat and breathless. She mostly didn't remember the nightmares she had, but the feeling was always there. Things such as a bird passing her or a slightly louder noise would make her jump and hold her breath. It was hard not letting Sam know, she wanted to share with him everything that was going on, but it was almost impossible. Andy didn't want to worry him more than he already was and even she didn't know exactly what was going on in her own head.

"Pull yourself together, Andy McNally." She said to her tired and scared reflection.

Looking outside the bathroom where she had just passed another panic attack she could see Sam sleeping peacefully. There is one thing good in all of this get away. They were better now. Together and everything seems to be finding their place again. These last couple of days they had barely gotten into fights and he really tried hard to make this whole living in the wild thing work out.

She was a lot better physically since she barely felt any pain, but her mind didn't seem to be capable of letting it go. It was something she figured would take longer to get over. They were looking into the only apartment both of them had liked and with luck they would move in with the help of their friends during the weekend.

After washing her face one last time and drinking some cold water she moved back to the bed she had left Sam. Laying down she looked at his face sleeping peacefully and smiled. They had been through so much and they still managed to get to where they were. Her hand brushed his face lightly and she gave him a quick kiss barely touching his skin as though not to disturb him.

The next morning she woke up to feel Sam's side of the bed cold and empty. The clock by the side of the bed read 10:43 so she pushed the blankets aside and went on a hunt to find her boyfriend. Her steps were slow since she was still very sleepy, but she found Sam on the table near the tv eating cereal.

"Hey, Gorgeous." Sam said smiling at Andy.

"You have some cereal on your chin." She said grabbing some cereal of her own and sitting next to him. "What are we watching?"

"I think it's one of those survival stories. They were attacked by a bear." Sam said knowing she'd get his point about the woods being a dangerous place.

"Nice try." She said laying her head on his shoulder.

After they had finished their breakfast they decided to go on a small walk outside before they headed to the city for lunch and to look at the apartment.

"Where do you want to eat?"

"Let's just get a hot dog, I'm dying over here." She said as Sam stopped his car in front of a street hot dog. Much like one they had gone to many times during their rotation together.

The apartment was everything they wanted. Not too big, but still had two extra rooms and it was well located with a price just right to fit their pockets. They weren't saving up for an apartment so they would maybe be doing some extra hours in the next couple of weeks.

Leaving the apartment Andy went to meet up with the real state agency to settle the deal while Sam went to meet up with Oliver to set their plans for the weekend.

"Brother, I tought you'd be coming by a little later. I still have two hours 'til the end of my shift, but come closer, I want to know everything about your life on the wild side." Oliver said pulling Sam under his arm.

"It's not all bad like I was expecting, but it's still not enough to change my mind. I'm not retiring and moving to the woods with you." He said pushing Oliver aside. "So, I think we may have found the one."

"What? You and McNally looking for some side action?"

Sam sent him a glare and Oliver just laughed it off.

"That's good. You'll move in during the weekend and then both of you can get your asses back in action here. Seriously, it's been dead here. I need both of you back, I can't joke around the other couples."

"What do you mean? I bet Dov and Chole are okay. Dorks, but okay. Then there is also Traci and Steve." Sam said trying to point out the obvious couples around the station.

"Dov and Chloe can't be the stations couple anymore, they are driving me insane. It's way too much romance for just one couple. Traci and Steve are nice, but I can't joke around with those two, so McSwarek needs to come back stat."

Sam slapped his friends back as they made their way to the coffee machine.

"We're working on it, okay? Oh… There was one more thing I need to ask for your help."

"Yeah, yeah, what do you need, Swarek?" Oliver said examining the machine.

"I need help finding a ring."

Oliver's head slowly lifted from the machine to look at his friend.

"No." he said like he couldn't believe it.

Sam looked at him with a nervous smile.

"No." Oliver repeated not believing it even more.

Sam kept his nervous face on and Oliver stood straight.

"No."

"Oh for Christ sake is it so unbelievable?" Sam asked trying to get more than one syllable out of his friend. "I sure hope that's not Andy's response."

Oliver in a quick motion slaps his hand over Sam's head.

"You're a fool for thinking like that. But you're in luck my friend. I know just the place." He said and they turned their backs with two cups of coffee.

"When do you think is best?"

"When? I don't think anyone cares how you do it. During dinner, in the shower, when you move in… It doesn't matter right now, all we need is to get you a ring, brother." Oliver said with a big ass smile across his face.

"Right… I think I got an idea." Sam said smiling to himself.

"Leave her at the house with Celery and come pick me up. We're going shopping." Oliver said pushing his friend out the door towards the parking lot.

Sam stopped his truck in front of a big building and saw Andy sitting in a small bench covering herself from the cold.

"Need a ride?" he asked.

Andy looked up smiling at him and nearly ran towards the car careful not to step on any ice.

"Did we get it?"

"We got it!" Andy screamed and jumped inside and Sam couldn't help himself but laugh at her.

"I'm gonna need to head out with Oliver for a while, so do you mind spending some time with Celery?"

"No, not at all." She said looking down at the papers in her hand that confirmed that they had gotten themselves a new home.

The truck stopped in front of Oliver's house where Celery was already outside waiting for Andy to come. It was strangely nice how they got along together so fast. Sam grew more nervous as he got closer to the station, but he couldn't help but laugh when he saw Oliver waiting for him outside and started barking orders on where to go the moment he stepped inside the truck.


	20. Chapter 20

**I'M SOOOOO SORRY! There is no excuse for this chapter to have taken so long. I just had so many things going on that my mind couldn't focus on the story. I'll try my best to post more often. Maybe even small chapters each day like I use to do.**

CHAPTER 20

"Ring shopping with you is torture!" Sam whined to Oliver who stood at the counter with a well-dressed man. They had seven rings out and couldn't stop talking about how amazing all of them were, but Sam was about to move and he had to think about money too. Not that Oliver thought of that when he dragged Sam all the way to Tiffany's.

Sam knew that they were pretty good with engagement rings, but he just couldn't see Andy wearing anything like that. She was simple. Simple, yet amazing and that was just the ring he was looking for.

After much annoyance they left the store and headed to a smaller one down the road. It was filled with jewelry, but Sam couldn't find an engagement ring anywhere.

"Hey, do you guys sell engagement rings?" Sam asked the lady over by the counter.

She looked between Sam and Oliver two times and smiled sweetly.

"We're not a couple, lady." Oliver said as though that made him gag a little.

The woman blushed slightly heading over towards a small cabinet where she pulled out the rings they had. It didn't take long for Sam to find the one ring he knew would be the perfect one. A diamond in the center and two smaller blue stones by the side. It wasn't as simple as he'd imagined, but it seemed like the one he was looking for.

"This one." Sam simply said.

"Great choice, I bet she'll love it." The woman said as she walked away with the ring.

"So how does it feel to finally buy a ring, buddy?" Oliver said pulling his friend out the store with a small bag from the jewelry store in hand.

Sam stepped inside the truck thinking about what Oliver had asked. How did it feel? It was natural. Obviously he was nervous, but he was also excited. In a sense it just seemed like it was something that was bound to happen.

"It feels great." Sam said. "You know, at some point I didn't even understand why people got married. I mean, why couldn't it be just the boyfriend and girlfriend part. Marriage is always so messy, but now… I can't imagine not marrying her."

Oliver knew Sam wasn't the guy who usually opens up and talks about feelings so he decided not to comment much on Sam's response. It was great that he finally had gotten his shit together to propose, but now it was a matter of when. Sam wasn't in the best place given his old man out there and Andy being attacked, but there wasn't a deadline. They had time and they had each other.

Setting the truck on the street in front of Oliver's house Sam walked in to find the girls talking in the living room drinking hot chocolate.

"You all ready? We have a pretty long way back." He said as Andy started to stand.

Sam couldn't help but picture the box on the glove compartment of the truck that held the ring he had gotten to make Andy his wife. Wife… That was something he'd never picture himself saying for himself. He wasn't the marriage type if there ever was one.

"Yeah, I'll just get my purse."

Oliver smilled at his friends and waved goodbye as they entered the truck. He had a good feeling about them and their future together and hopefully he was right.

Back at the cabin they had gotten together under the sheets ready to sleep.

"What were you doing with Oliver today?" Andy asked sleepy.

"Nothing really exciting. He wanted to take a look at some dogs for him and Celery so I tagged along." Sam said.

"Really? A dog? I didn't picture Oliver as the guy who'd have a dog."

"Yeah, well, some people can surprise you, right?" He said looking at Andy who was almost asleep next to him.

"I guess so." She said barely a whisper.

As she fell asleep Sam stayed up looking at her contemplating how he'd ask her the biggest question of his life. Would he make something big? Just the two of them? Was she even ready for this? As confused as he was he had never felt more sure of himself. He wanted her and he wanted her forever.

The next morning Sam and Andy had gone to pack something's for the new apartment. As much as Andy didn't like their old apartment anymore it felt good going in knowing she wouldn't have to come back many times anymore.

Someone had been there to clear some of their things already so they only had to pack small things and start moving. It felt good to have a fresh start. No one should get hurt in their own home. It was a place where you're supposed to feel safe no matter what.

The days moved on pretty fast from that day on. Maybe it was Sam anxiety catching up with him about the ring sitting in his car or because today was the first day they were going to spent on their new apartment.

"Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, living room, dining room, laundry room and even a balcony, I think I can call this home." Andy said as she dropped her tired body on their welcoming couch.

"I know what you mean. How can we have so many things?" Sam asked sitting down and pulling Andy's feet to his lap.

"We're going to be happy here. I know it." She said sitting and pulling him into a kiss.

"Yeah, we better 'cause we don't have the money for a new place now." He said laughing as Andy hit his arm. "We'll be fine." He said pulling her into a hug.

"Wanna watch something?"

"Not the bachelorette, please." He said getting up to get another beer.

"We can watch a movie and then sleep. We have to work tomorrow." Andy said while she searched for any good movie on Netflix.

Sam turned around looking at her from behind. This was it. He knew how to propose.


End file.
