A/N: Hey guys! Had this idea in my head. Hope you like it! :)

Bad Timing

Chapter 1

Summary: What if Sam refused Boyd's offer to go undercover? Set after 2x10.

Sam was in the locker room, humming to himself, putting on his uniform when he heard footstep coming towards him.

"Can't say I miss wearing one of those." the man said. He recognized the voice as Donovan Boyd's. He chuckled softly turning around.

"Well that's because you never made it look as good as I do." he replied, a grin upon his lips. Boyd made an "Oh" sound as he smiled too.

"Flattered as I am, tell me you didn't come down here just to watch me suit up." he joked, buttoning up his shirt.

"What do you know about James Brennan?" he asked, straight to the point.

"Jamie Brennan?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows. "Forget it man. He's out of the life. Has been for years. It's all about the wife and the kid and the two car garage in Brampton." he said.

"Not anymore. Wife and daughter were killed in a car accident two months ago. Intel says Jamie's not doing so well." said Boyd.

"And you think now would be a good time to try to work him?" he asked. He didn't like where this was going.

"Sammy, this guy is an enforcer, he's a serious predator. This might be our only chance. I'm uh, putting together some of the guys who know the case," he said, trying to convince Sam to do this job.

"Thanks, but no thanks." he refused. He didn't want to leave. Especially when things with Andy were good, right now. He turned to finish getting dressed.

"What are you talking about? This is what you've always wanted!" he almost but yelled.

"I wanted it before. Now, it's just not my priority anymore. Simple as that." he said indifferently.

"This is because of that rookie? Isn't it? You think now that she's all broken up with Callaghan, she'll come running to you, begging for you to take her, to make it all better? I think you're making a mistake, a big one. Think about it, Sammy!" he said, harshly, slamming the wall beside him.

Sam turned on his heel and glared at Boyd. "There's nothing to think about! I've made my decision, alright? This conversation is done." he said, walking past him to head to parade. He thought he heard Don smash a locker but didn't bother turning around. He'd made up his mind, and he was going to stick with it.

Parade was about to start as Sam sat in his usual spot in the back, beside Oliver. He smiled as he saw Andy walk quickly to her place as Best was about to start. "Cutting it close, McNally." remarked Frank.

"Sorry, sir." she answered politely, "Little trouble with my alarm clock this morning." she added. She glanced around in search of Sam and smiled at the sight of him.

"Alright people, Peckstein, you're riding together. Nash and Williams, Swarek and McNally and Oliver is riding solo. Diaz, you're manning the desk. Serve, protect and keep the streets clean!" dismissed Best. Previous conversations resumed as everyone headed to their assigned duty for the day.

Andy met Sam at the car. He was waiting for her, two cups of coffee in his hands and a big grin to top it off. "I'm driving," he said.

"Like that's a surprise" she said, with sarcasm apparent in her tone . As they got in the car, he handed her her cup. She shuddered as their fingers touched, and looked up to see Sam eyeing her with a smirk beyond his face. "Let's roll," she said, all but enthusiastic as he started the car. It's going to be a long day, she thought.

They pulled out of the parking lot and into the streets. A call came in as it broke the comfortable silence that was set since they'd first left the barn.

They were called to a scene but had to pull over when they came across a car accident. Sam reported it in, and as they started walking to the car, shot were being fired at them but they didn't know from where exactly. He quickly pulled her to cover with a protective arm on her back. "You alright?" he asked, looking for the shooter in question.

"Yeah, I'm fine." she reassured. The shots came to a stop and they slowly headed to the car, guns drawn. "Sam, somebody's in the car," she said. They looked inside and found a woman stuck under the steering wheel. There was a gash on the side of her face, blood dripping from it.

"Ma'am, are you okay?" she asked, after opening the car door. "Yeah, I'm okay, I'm okay. I just, I don't know what happened." she said. She was still in shock from the collision, and she was panicking because she couldn't move her legs. Andy could see the fear in her eyes.

"You've been in a car accident. Do you remember getting hit?" she asked, looking for any other injury.

"No, not really." she admitted. "I was, I was driving and then, a car came flying around a van and in, in my lane." she said, rambling quickly.

"Okay, do you know your name?" asked Andy, making sure she wasn't hit in the head too hard and got a concussion.

"Yeah, Leslie Atkins. I'm fine though, I'm fine." she assured.

"Okay, we got to get her out of there, alright?" said Sam, still on the lookout for the gunman.

"Okay, I just um, I need help. 'Cause I'm pinned under this," she said, pointing to the steering wheel. She lifted the airbag and saw a deep laceration on her leg, blood spilling from it. "Oh my god." panicked the woman.

"Uh Sam!" she said turning around to look at him. He looked inside and saw all the blood, he immediately went for the first aid kit in the squad car. Meanwhile Andy tried to calm Leslie down. Sam called for EMS, reporting the woman's state. Dispatch said EMS would be there in roughly 20 minutes. There was a high-rise fire and most of the medics were at the scene.

"McNally, you've been trained, you know what to do. Get pressure on the wound, patch it up to stem the bleeding and do what you got to do to keep her calm and conscious until the medics get here, okay?" he asked. She nodded.

"The debris goes about 100 yards up, if that's where the shots came from, I'm gonna have a look. Here's the bag." he said, handing her the kit.

The rest of the day went in a blur as Andy had to get the woman out of the car that had caught on fire. Sam helped the others find the shooter who had kidnapped his own son. As Sam arrived at the car accident scene, EMS were already there, the car was on fire as firemen hosed it down. He panicked as he couldn't seem to find Andy anywhere. He called out her name, no response, but the second time was a charm.

"Sam!" she called out in response. "I'm okay," she assured. "I got her out, like, just before it went up." she said.

"If I'd known the car was gonna catch on fire..." he said. "It's okay, the medics say she's gonna be fine." she confirmed. "You should've radioed." he pushed.

"You were miles out, and you know, car was on fire had that whole thing to deal with. Did you get the boy?" she asked. Sam was always amazed at how much she cared about the others. It didn't matter to her that she was almost blown up in a car, finding a kidnapped boy was more important, and he loved her for that.

"They found him, yeah." he answered, nodding his head. "Good," she replied, smiling widely. Seeing her smile made him smile too, showing off his dimples-to-die-for. They started getting closer, taking small step towards each other, like she was his magnet. He stared deeply into her soul, still in relief for her safety. He leaned in to kiss her, as she waited for him, but the kiss didn't come. He gave her a sad smile, and she smiled back, a smile of comprehension. She brushed past him and released his hand, which she'd been holding, and walked away, again.

Andy was in the locker room when Noelle came in. "McNally!" she said loudly, making Andy turned as she was zipping up her bag.

"Hey, how's it going?" she asked, smiling up at her. "Hell of a day, huh?" she said, turning around looking for something in her locker.

"Hey, hospital called, they need your notes for the post-mortem on the woman in the car." she said, taking off her vest. "What?" asked Andy, confused. What is she talking? Post-mortem? She must have made a mistake, the woman clearly lived, the medics said she was going to be okay. she thought to herself.

"Atkins? Leslie Atkins?" she double-checked. "Yeah, Leslie's alive, seriously she's fine. I got her out in time, the medics said she'd be fine." she assured. "She passed about 20 minutes ago." confirmed Noelle, a sad look upon her face. She explained the details of her cause of death briefly, and comforted Andy telling her that she'd done everything she could have. Andy left for the woman's house. Leslie had asked her that if she didn't make it, to take care of her cat Banjo.

She unlocked the door to Leslie's house and got in. She saw Banjo, mewling of hunger. She pet the cat, and went in search for his food. As the cat ate, she snooped around, looking at the woman's thing. She found a CD and put it in the music player. Leslie had told her she was a singer. The song was beautiful, she was a very good singer. She found the Champaign bottle. The one Leslie had been waiting to drink, waiting for the right moment. She had waited 6 years, and still, she hadn't even had the chance to drink it after all. What was she waiting for exactly?

The conversation between her and Sam earlier in the day came back to her. You can't always save the good candy for last, you have to give in to temptation sometimes.

She pulled out her cell phone and dialled the number of the man on her mind.

A/N: Leave a review?