Andy sat on the steps, nervously clasping her hands, her right leg jittering unconsciously. Abruptly, she stood up, paused, and then sat back down again.

Would he even be here tonight?

She had almost made up her mind to give in to cowardice and go home, when headlights illuminated the dark street. She heard the door to his truck slam, but couldn't seem to make herself stand. Sam came to a stop in front of her, a wary look crossing his face as he glanced up at his house.

"What are you doing here, McNally?"

"I just …I wanted to…um", Andy paused and rubbed her palms nervously over her thighs.

Sam widened his stance and crossed his arms defensively, an impatient look coming over his face.

"I just heard your transfer came through. You're going back to undercover," she burst out. "I can't believe you didn't even say anything. What, you were just going to disappear and you thought I wouldn't care? We're… friends, Sam, you're my TO. How could you just let me find out about this in a casual conversation with someone else?" Andy broke off with a look that was half resentful and half hurt.

Sam stood still for a moment, marshalling his thoughts. This was exactly what he had hoped to avoid. The thought of trying to put his feelings into words for her made his stomach twist, but this was Andy and he had realized a long time ago that he couldn't deny her anything. So he sighed, sat down next to her and spoke to her profile.

"You passed your evaluation. You're officially not a rookie anymore, which means that I'm not your training officer anymore. You knew six months ago that I applied to work Guns and Gangs. Being in uniform was only temporary."

Andy looked at him sideways through her bangs.

"Well… yeah, I know that, but… I guess I thought…", she shook her head, irritation momentarily winning over hurt. "You could have told me, okay? I would've…", she trailed off.

"Would have what? What would you have done, Andy? Slapped me on the shoulder and said, 'Good luck with that, pal'? Or maybe, shaken my hand and said, 'See you around, buddy. I'll try not to arrest you again". Sam's voice rose in agitation. Andy stared at him for a moment, a conflict of emotions playing over her face, before dropping her gaze back down to her hands.

Sam rolled his eyes, frustrated with himself.

They sat that way for a minute, shoulder to shoulder, each trying to figure out how to break through the wall between them.

Andy's voice came softly out of the darkness. "I think I would have probably said something like 'Thank you'. Possibly 'I'll miss you'."

Sam looked at her in surprise.

"You know, I came into this job thinking there was only one way to be a cop. That it was straightforward and structured. You taught me that it's not always about being 'by the book'. You helped me figure out how to do this. You helped me figure out a lot of things. I'm just…I'm not sure that I'm through learning yet and now you're not going to be there anymore."

Andy kept her eyes on Sam's and waited for him to say something.

"What are you saying, McNally? You just can't live without me?" That should have sounded a lot snarkier that it actually ended up sounding, Sam thought. Then he just gave up and allowed the hope that had suddenly bloomed inside to creep over his face.

They gazed at each other in silence, until Sam stood and offered his hand.

"Come on inside. I'll make dinner and we'll talk."

They walked up the stairs and into the house, hands still clasped.

"For the record", he said without turning around, "I'm always gonna be there."

A beautiful smile broke over Andy's face as she crossed the threshold and her eyes met his. The door swung shut behind them.