Andy McNally-Swarek looked at the papers spread around her and groaned a little. She had been grading her students writing for over an hour and had made little leeway. Grading Kindergarteners' writing was never a walk in the park, but add in the fact that she could not get comfortable, and Andy figured she would be grading all evening. Maybe she could convince Sam to give her a massage when he got home. Andy was just getting lost in the thought of Sam when she heard the doorbell ring. Walking over to the front door, Andy could make out the outline of the back of Oliver Shaw. Andy was not expecting Oliver, but it was not unusual for people to show up unannounced at the Swarek household.
"Hey Oliver" Andy said pulling open the door. "To what do I owe" Andy stopped speaking when Oliver turned around. Just by looking at his face Andy could tell that something had happened.
"Is he-" Andy could not finish her sentence and brought her hand to her mouth to stifle a sob.
"No he's alive." Oliver said grabbing ahold of Andy's arms and steering her towards the chair in the foyer. "Come on Andy I need you to breath."
Andy did not realize that she had been holding her breath until Oliver told her to breath. She took a deep breath before looking into Oliver's eyes.
"What happened?"
"We were clearing a house and the perp was hiding in the basement. Sam took one in the shoulder. He was conscious when they loaded him in the ambulance and Jerry was riding with him." Oliver said rubbing her back.
"How was he when they got to the hospital?" Andy asked leaning into Oliver's embrace.
"I don't know. Once they were gone I came over here to get you. I didn't want you to hear about it some other way."
"I have to go to the hospital." Andy said standing up and grabbing her purse. She began looking around for her cell phone. "Where the hell is my phone?" Andy said moving her papers that needed to be graded.
"It's right here." Oliver said holding it up from the other end of the table. "And I am taking you to the hospital. You are in no shape to drive."
"Thank you." Andy said wrapping her arms around Oliver.
"He's going to be okay McNally." Oliver said hugging Andy back. After a minute Oliver broke their embrace and headed for the front door. After three tries, Andy finally got the front door locked and sat down in the front seat of the cruiser. After a couple of deep breaths she turned towards Oliver and nodded her head. Oliver pulled out into traffic and hit the sirens.
It only took ten minutes to make it to the hospital, but for Andy it seemed like time stood still. She heard Oliver talking to her and reassuring her that Sam was going to be okay, but Andy could not find it in herself to respond. She just closed her eyes and prayed that everything would be okay. When they pulled into the hospital, Andy had her door open before Oliver had the car fully in park. She rushed into the hospital foyer before stopping. She had absolutely no clue where her husband was. Just as she walking towards the front desk, Oliver put his hand on her arm.
"He's on the fourth floor. Jerry texted me." Oliver said holding up his phone. Andy nodded that she heard Oliver and headed towards the elevators. In any other circumstance Andy would have been running up the four flights of stairs, but knew that in her situation the elevator was her best bet. When the elevator doors opened Andy couldn't see anything but a sea of officers.
"Whoa" Andy said coming to a stop just outside the elevator doors. She knew that her husband was well liked and respected, but seeing his colleagues their for him brought a new set of tears to her eyes.
"Come on McNally" Oliver said guiding Andy through the officers. Andy did not know all of the officers, but she smiled at them all. At least she hoped she was smiling. Towards the front of the group Sam and Andy's friends stood.
"Hey McNally" Jerry said pulling her into a hug.
"How is he?"
"He is in surgery right now. The doctor said that the bullet didn't hit anything major, but they have to get it out."
"Was he conscious?" Andy asked hugging the rest of the group.
"Yeah. He was making quite a ruckus." Jerry said laughing a little. "Kept yelling that he did not need to be here. Said he needed to be home with you."
Andy could not help but smile at what Jerry told her. Hearing that Sam had been conscious and yelling made her feel a hundred times better. She knew that something could still go wrong, but was letting herself be a little more optimistic.
"Do we know how long he is going to be?" Andy asked taking a seat in-between Oliver and Jerry.
"Doctor thought it would be an hour or two. Apparently it's a tricky surgery because they are trying to save his tendons and nerves." Frank Best told Andy.
Andy nodded her head in acknowledgement and decided to take a better look at the people gathered around her. Across the aisle sat Frank Best and Noelle Williams. Noelle had her head on her husband's chest and Andy could tell that she had been chewing her fingernails. Next to Noelle sat Gail Peck, Nick Collins, and Dov Epstein, or "The Rookies," as Sam affectionately referred to them. Gail and Nick were holding hands, and Andy made a mental note to ask Gail when that happened, again. Andy was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the elevator ding. She looked up expecting to see more cops, and was surprised to see two of her best friends Traci Nash and Chris Diaz. Traci and Chris worked at the elementary school with Andy. Andy stood up to hug them both.
"How did you guys know?" Andy asked.
"Jerry called me." Traci said hugging her. Traci and Jerry had met at one of Andy's parties and had hit it off right away.
"How are you doing?" Chris asked walking over and sitting with "The Rookies." Andy could not help but think how lucky she was in this moment. Even though her husband was in surgery, she had a great support system surrounding her.
"I'm okay. Nervous obviously, but I am staying optimistic. They said he was yelling when he was brought in, so that is a good sign."
"How is Baby S?" Traci asked placing her hand on Andy's stomach. Andy was four months along and had the tiniest of bumps.
"Baby S is good. Probably wondering why momma's heartbeat is so fast." Andy said giggling slightly and moving her hands towards her stomach.
"Do we need to get you checked out?" Chris asked looking at her worriedly. "We don't want anything happening to Baby S."
"Yeah Swarek would kick our asses if we let anything happen to you guys." Gail said from her seat.
"We're fine, I promise. I would let you guys know if something felt funny." Andy said reassuring her friends. Andy sat back down and watched her friends interact with each other. Andy didn't know how long she had sat there, but at some point someone placed a bottle of juice in her hands. She tried to drink it, knowing she needed it, but couldn't. Every time she tried to drink a little she felt like she was going to throw up.
"Mrs. Swarek?" The doctor asked walking into the waiting room filled with cops. Andy was so lost in thought that she did not hear the doctor.
"Andy" Oliver said placing his hand on Andy's arm. Andy looked at Oliver, and Oliver nodded towards the doctor. Andy shot out of her seat and headed towards the doctor.
"How is he?" Andy asked.
"Let's go somewhere more private to talk." The doctor gestured towards a small room off of the main waiting room.
"Whatever you have to say you can in front of them. They're family." Andy felt Traci come up and take her hand and give it a gentle squeeze.
"All right." The doctor said. "Your husband is out of surgery and is in recovery. The bullet hit one of his tendons but we were able to repair it. He is going to have a long road of therapy ahead of him, but he should make a full recovery."
Andy felt all of the air leave her body when the doctor told her that Sam would make a full recovery.
"When can I see him"
"He will be in recovery for at least fifteen more minutes. I will have a nurse come get you when he is settled in his room." The doctor shook Andy's hand and headed towards the nurses station.
"He's going to be okay." Andy whispered turning towards her friends. She turned towards Traci and gathered her in a hug. "He's going to be okay."
Andy made her way to the sixth floor followed by her and Sam's close knit group of friends. The rest of the officers and detectives from division 15 had told Andy how happy they were that Sam was going to be okay before leaving. Andy felt more relaxed now that it was just her and the people she considered family.
"Mrs. Swarek, you can go in." A nurse said coming out of Sam's room. All of a sudden Andy got incredibly nervous. She had been waiting to see Sam since she heard that he was shot, but her feet would not work. She could not bring herself to open the door,
"Andy?" Nick asked coming to stand next to Andy. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm good." Andy said shaking her head. "I just, I don't know what to say when I get in there."
"It will come to you." Oliver told her nudging her towards the door. "You've never had a problem with talking." Andy could not help but let out a laugh.
"True, Sam says I'm allergic to silence."
"You'll be fine. And if not, we are here for you." Jerry told Andy.
"Thanks you guys." Andy gave them a smile and pushed open the hospital door.
Sam was laying in the hospital bed connected to different monitors. The only sound in the room was the rhythmic beeping of Sam's heart monitor and his oxygen machine.
"Oh Sam." Andy said placing her hand over her mouth. She walked over to his bed and placed her hand on his forehead. She moved his hair and gave him a kiss. She then pulled a chair over to the side of his bed and sat down. She took his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze.
"The doctor says you are going to be fine. You're going to need some therapy, and will be out of work for a while. I can already hear you bitching about being away. To bad you couldn't wait until summer to get shot. At least that way we could have a mini vacation."
"Did I mess up your plan again McNally?" Sam groggily asked.
"Hey you." Andy said looking up to see Sam staring at her. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I got shot." Sam said laughing. His laugh soon turned to a cough and a grimace.
"Take it easy." Andy said pouring Sam a glass of water. She placed a straw in the cup and helped Sam to drink some of it. "I need to go get a nurse. They wanted to know when you woke up."
"In a minute." Sam said grabbing Andy's hand before she was out of reach. "Just give us a minute." Andy turned around an Sam noticed the tears in her eyes.
"Hey none of that. I'm fine." Sam said wiping away a tear.
"I know, I was just so worried. When I saw Oliver I thought my heart stopped. I thought I had lost you."
"Oh Andy." Sam pulled his wife down to his bed and wrapped his good arm around her. Andy feeling her husband's arm around her broke out into sobs. Sam rubbed his hand up and down her back trying to soothe Andy. "I'm okay. We're going to be okay."
After a while Andy's breathing became more regular and she sat up.
"Sorry about that." Andy said wiping the mascara from her eyes.
"Don't be. I'm sorry that I put you through this."
"I don't think you had much say in it." Andy said laughing a little.
"No you're right, but I still mean it. How is my baby?" Sam asked placing his hands on Andy's belly.
"A lot better now that they know daddy is okay." Andy stood up from Sam's bed and gave him a kiss. "I've got to go get the nurse."
Sam watched as his wife walked towards the door. "Hey Andy."
"Yeah?" Andy stopped and turned towards Sam.
"I love you."
"Love you to." Andy said smiling before pushing open the door.
Author's Note: And there you have it. This idea came to me at 6:30 in the morning while I was trying to fall back asleep. Let me tell you, thinking about Sam and Andy is not conducive when trying to go back to sleep. Let me know what you guys think!