The warm August sun was sitting low in the sky, getting ready to plunge below the Manhattan skyline for another clear but starless summer night. Sitting on the tiny porch of her little piece of suburbia in Queens, Andy turned the page in the book she was reading. Half reading. Her mind was wandering, thinking about the summer, watching the neighborhood kids play in the street, waiting for him to come home. As much as she enjoyed the role of housewife, letting her days go by lazily, she missed the days when she was hunting down criminals on the gritty streets of Manhattan. Actually, she envied him a little bit. After hitting that pivotal age, she'd retired and settled into a much simpler life, one that her mother had always hoped she'd have. He, on the other hand, would get up in the mornings, tease her about being stuck at home, kiss her good-bye, and then run off to save the city from dastardly schemes or devious plots to bring down Major Case. Not having to work gave her the freedom to spend more time with her uncle or her cats, or the ability to spend hours bonding with her piano. And she liked that.
Having lost her sunlight, Andy looked up from her book again, tucking a lock of her black hair behind her ear. She was starting to wonder where he was; he was usually home by now, unless he'd stopped in to see Ada like he said he might do. She pulled the bookmark from the back pages and tucked it in, marking her place before closing it. She rested her head against the back of the chair, closing her eyes, letting her thoughts wander back to that morning. A smile slipped its way across her lips. She had teased him about his age, finally able to get him back for all the cracks he made about how she must have done her paperwork with a chisel and dodged dinosaurs on her way to work. That same playful banter that had instantly drawn them to each other was the same banter that was now brimming with love and admiration all these years later.
Tires crunching on the loose gravel in the street grabbed Andy's attention and she lifted her head, opening her eyes. A dark blue unmarked car had pulled up in front of her house. She furrowed her brow and stood up, placing her book on the chair. Two men got out of the car, only one of whom she recognized. Neither of whom she was hoping to see. Andy's left hand instinctively and absently played with the silver bracelet on her other wrist. Her fingers graced over the smooth surface of the heart, feeling the inscription "Amor Vincit Omnia" on one side. She bit her lip as the two men walked up to the small porch. Andy walked over and met them at the step. She shook her head slowly as she met the sullen eyes of Captain Ross, his unspoken words already hitting her, saying everything she was always afraid of.