I really think Sam & Andy need to talk/fight about everything in order for them to get back together happily, and while I don't see this scenario happening on the show, I enjoyed writing it. Also, I started this a couple weeks ago, but kept postponing finishing it & posting it because I had trouble with Sam's side of things since I can't figure out really what's going through his head lately. But I wanted to get it out before the finale and I hope it's still pretty much in character.

This takes place sometime after Sam broke up with Andy and before the season finale. Don't forget to let me know what you think! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

Reconciliation

Andy sighed when she walked out of the station and saw Sam leaning against his truck. It had been a long day and she just wanted to go home, bury herself under the covers and not wake up until her next shift two days from now. But Sam pushed himself off his truck as she neared, a clear indication he'd been waiting for her. She paused in front of him, waiting for him to speak.

His eyes explored her face briefly, before he sighed. "Andy..."

"What do you want, Sam? I'm tired and just want to get home."

"Look, you were right today. I wasn't. I'm sorry I ever said I shouldn't trust your instincts," he admitted.

She shifted the bag on her shoulder and glanced toward the street. She was too tired for this and she didn't know what Sam wanted. He's the one that ended things. He's the one who ignored her phone calls after Jerry died. He's the one who wouldn't talk to her except for snide remarks these last few weeks.

"Need a ride?" he asked.

She let out half a laugh and shook her head. "No, I'm just gonna walk."

She took two steps before Sam's voice stopped her. "C'mon Andy, it's just a ride. You shouldn't be walking home alone this late anyway."

She sighed as she looked toward the very dark street. She hated to admit he was right. "Fine." He gave her a small smile as he unlocked the doors, and they got in. As he turned the ignition to start the truck, Andy looked over at him. "Thanks."

The drive to her condo was silent. When Sam pulled the truck into a parking spot outside her building, he suddenly wished she didn't live so close to the station so he would've had more time to figure out what to say to her. He wanted to say something, find a way to open their lines of communication again, but every time he opened his mouth no words came out. As he watched her hand reach for the door handle, he knew he had to speak up. It was now or never. "Wait..." His throat was dry and he still had no idea what to say next, but her hand stilled on the plastic handle.

"Look, I...I don't want you to think I blame you for Jerry's death. I was grieving. I didn't mean what I said." This was only the tip of the iceberg of what had been rolling around his head, but it's all he could get out of his mouth.

"Yeah, but what you said hurt." Andy blinked back tears thinking back on it. "I'm not the reason Jerry's dead. Neither of us are."

"I'm sorry I hurt you." He had to stop himself from reaching over and brushing his thumb against her cheek where her tears had fallen because of him that night outside The Penny.

Andy looked up at her building and then over at Sam. "If you, you know, want to come up..."

He nodded and they both got out of the truck and headed for the building. When they reached her condo Sam closed the door behind him and watched Andy walk into her bedroom, hearing the thud of her bag hit the floor shortly after. She quickly returned and headed directly for the kitchen. He followed her, watching as she rummaged through her fridge.

"Sam, you said you shouldn't be listening to my instincts. But I feel like all you want is for me to think exactly like you. That I'm not allowed to have my own ideas and suggestions. You told me once that we were different, but that's what made us good together. So, why isn't that still the case?"

"It is. You have good instincts, but I lose my own when I'm around you," he said, accepting the beer she held out to him.

She took a sip of her own beer, forcing herself to remain silent in hopes Sam would explain.

"I want to make you happy, and so I ignore the fact I have years of experience on you that could help us make decisions," he admitted. "Sometimes I'll be right. Sometimes I'll be wrong, but I won't be second-guessing myself later."

They stood across from each other, leaning on the kitchen island. They were both silent, thinking about what was being said by both of them and letting the thick tension in the air float between them.

"When I got back from suspension we agreed to leave the personal stuff out of work. You know we weren't just talking about PDA. It's everything. It's not your job to make me happy at work," she said.

"It's not that simple, Andy," he barked as frustration began to take over. "You always want to be right, no have to be right."

She narrowed her eyes, not believing this was what he truly thought. She quickly wondered if this conversation was going to go any better than the one the night of Jerry's funeral. She watched him pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration before hearing him speak again. "Being your boyfriend and partner is tiring. This is why it's hard to be a cop and be with you."

She thought about what he said, but it didn't make any more sense now than when he blurted it out as they stood in the rain outside The Penny. However, she didn't miss that this time he said it was hard to do it, instead of that he couldn't. It felt like some small victory.

Andy ran her finger through the condensation left on the counter from her beer. "For two years we worked together, we butted heads, we were good together. There were times you ignored my ideas, other times you went along with them. On the surface things might have changed this year, but you can't argue that our feelings were really the same. So why is it so hard to be a cop now?"

Sam had been asking that himself lately, but he didn't have a good answer. He just knew he cared about her too much and it was affecting him more than he ever wanted to admit, until his grief let it pour out at the worst moment.

"Because if I listen to you and you get hurt, I'd never forgive myself," he finally said.

"What about when you don't listen to me and I get hurt," she replied without missing a beat. "Ray Nixon."

Sam stared down at his beer, rubbing the bottle between his fingers. He still hadn't forgiven himself for leaving her alone when he didn't agree with what she was doing.

When he remained silent, she realized placing blame on past incidents wasn't going to get them anywhere. So, she asked him about something he'd said before walking away from their relationship, the thing that had bothered her the most. "What did you mean when you said we knew this was trouble before we started it?"

"I don't know," he said, shaking his head. "It just came out."

She slammed her empty beer bottle on the counter, surprising even herself when it didn't shatter to pieces in her hand. She thought Sam wanted to talk, to tell her what he was thinking, but here he was just as closed up as always. She needed a moment to collect herself, so she disappeared into her bedroom.

Sam heard a couple of drawers slam and some rustling around. He knew his silence frustrated her, but he didn't know why he said what he said. He couldn't remember what he was feeling that night except for grief. It had just overtaken him.

When she returned, she found Sam sitting on her couch. She grabbed a bottle of water out of her fridge and then sat on the couch cross-legged, leaving plenty of space between them.

"I don't know what you want from me, Sam. I love you, you know that. But I feel like our relationship has been up to me."

"You know that's not true."

"Really? You pushed me toward Luke for more than a year. And okay, I get that you just wanted me happy and I guess I can see it as sweet. But still, you pushed me away from you. Even after I broke up with him, you wouldn't tell me how you felt. And just ran away to undercover work," she said.

"It's a two-way street Andy. You weren't very vocal either. I didn't think you were ready," he threw back at her.

"But then, I came back to you at the Alpine Inn. I made the first move. The timing may have sucked," she said smirking a bit. "But I made the first move. And then you were about to walk away from everything because I obeyed the rules."

"You chose the job over me," he nearly yelled. "I think I had a right to be pissed."

Andy sighed. They'd had this conversation before. "I told you why I did what I did and you said you understood. But seriously Sam, how is that any different than you choosing the job over me now?"

His mouth opened, but no words came out. How could he argue that he was acting any different? She did what she did to protect them. He did what he did to protect them. When he didn't respond, she grabbed a small pillow from the side of the couch and threw it at Sam. "I hate you. You're so frustrating. You told me you wouldn't leave without a fight and you did just that!"

Sam grabbed the pillow that hit his chest and sighed. She had every right to be angry with him. He'd left her in the rain as he drove away after telling her he couldn't be with her. Then he refused to talk to her. He was lucky she invited him in tonight.

"I tried to be there for you when you were dealing with Jerry's death. And look, I get how hard it is for you, but you tossed me aside like I was nothing." She blinked back the tears she felt forming and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"Look, he's the closest thing to a brother I've ever had. And the same day he dies, you wake up after being attacked and could have been killed. My emotions surrounding the people I love were going on overdrive." He rubbed a hand over his face when he realized what he'd said.

"You love me?" She'd told him that she didn't need to hear it, but in all honesty she did. She needed to hear those words from him.

"Of course I do. It's why I act like I do. I don't want anything to happen to you. I don't want you hurt. I want to protect you. It's not something I can easily say, but I hope my actions show what I can't say," he replied.

Andy scooted closer to him, so her bare feet were pressed up against his thigh, toes curling around him.

"It's important to hear it too. To know how you feel…how you feel about me, about us," she admitted, looking down at her feet to avoid his eyes.

"I wish you were in my head. I wish you could ready my mind. I love you, Andy. No one like you had ever walked into my life before," he replied.

"Promise me you'll work at opening up to me? You know so much about my family, all my dirty laundry. But I know next to nothing about you. And when I try to, you shut down." She bit her bottom lip sadly.

"I'm not an open book like you. It's just who I am, how I grew up. It wasn't all sunshine and roses," he said. His slipped his hand under the hem of her pajama pants and his thumb drew circles on her ankle.

"Yeah, and a mom disappearing in the middle of the night and a drunk father are pictures of a perfect home," she smirked.

"I'll try, okay," he said, replying to her earlier question. "I promise to try."

Andy noticed the dark sky was beginning to lighten and realized they'd been talking all night. She leaned toward him and rested her forehead on Sam's shoulder, not knowing what else there was to say. She wanted them to be okay, but still wasn't sure how they moved past all the baggage they carried.

Sam ran a hand comfortingly up and down her back as they sat in silence for what seemed like hours. The sun was now beginning to shine brightly through the windows and Sam couldn't remember the last time - when he wasn't on shift - that he had stayed up all night. "Let me take you out for breakfast," he suggested.

Andy tried unsuccessfully to fight off a yawn. "I need some sleep before I do anything." She saw the disappointment in his eyes. "I mean, you probably shouldn't be driving either considering how tired you look."

"Gee, thanks McNally."

"Maybe you could just, um, get some sleep with me. You know, before you buy me breakfast."

"Or lunch," he smirked.

Her lips curved into a small smile as he followed her to the bedroom. Andy crawled under the covers as Sam took his shoes off. He remained fully clothed as he lay on top of the covers and gently pulled her back against his chest. The blanket between them seemed to symbolize the emotional distance they still needed to work through to find their way back to each other, but tonight had been a start.

Andy pulled Sam's arm tight around her waist. She'd missed snuggling into him as she slept and she fought her closing eyelids for a few moments so she could enjoy the warmth of his body. Maybe if they didn't focus so much on being normal, but instead focused on just being them, they'd have a chance.

He placed a kiss on her shoulder before settling his head on her pillow. No matter how much his mind had tried to fight this, his heart had finally won over. This was the only place he wanted to be. He was going to stop fighting it and let things happen one day at a time.

A week later, Andy and Chris walked backed into the station two hours after their shift was supposed to be over thanks to getting stuck at the scene of a domestic disturbance. As she walked into the locker room to change she was disappointed she wouldn't get to see Sam, since she knew he'd already headed to poker night. Things weren't perfect for them, but since he drove her home the week before they'd been talking more and trying to work through everything. She was hopeful.

As she approached her locker she saw something hanging from it. A grin took over her face when she realized what it was. She plucked Sam's spare keys from the hole he'd partially stuck them in and grabbed the note that was taped to the metal.

Wasn't sure if you'd have a ride home. Take the truck.

Andy couldn't stop smiling and she pulled her phone from her pocket to text Sam. Thanks for the truck. :) It's cold out there tonight.

She began to change out of her uniform when Sam's reply came quicker than expected. No problem McNally. :)

How are you getting home?

Staying at Ollie's.

See you tomorrow.

Andy finished changing and was about to head out, when her phone beeped again. She was surprised to see another text from Sam, and a combination of shock and happiness flowed through her as she read it. Hold onto the keys…for next time.

Okay :)

Andy settled herself in the driver's seat of Sam's truck and smiled. He gave her his keys. She probably shouldn't read into it, but she was Andy McNally, she couldn't help but overthink things. She fiddled with his keys in her hand for a few moments before finally starting the car and driving home.

The next morning she stopped at Sam's favorite coffee shop on her way to the station, and nearly bounced through the door almost running straight into Oliver. "Whoa there, McNally. Really think you need two coffees with all that energy?" he teased, nodding at the cups she held.

"Oh, yeah, they're not for me. Well, I mean, one is, but…um, yeah, sorry about that."

Oliver chuckled as he walked away, knowing full well who the coffee was for as soon as he read the name of the coffee shop on the cup.

Andy bit her bottom lip and felt a flush come over her face as she wondered if anyone saw her near collision and her flustered response to Oliver. As her eyes darted around the room, she saw Sam leaning against a desk with his arms crossed and a boyish grin displaying his dimples. She shook her head and walked over to him. "Here," she said, sticking one of the coffees in his face. "Thought you'd be hungover, so I, uh… And thanks for letting me use the truck."

"We took it easy last night," he said, letting his fingers linger over hers as he took the cup from her. "But thank you." He took a sip and quickly looked at the writing on the cup. "Hey, this is my favorite."

"I know," Andy said sheepishly, looking down at her fingers playing with the cup she held.

He leaned down to force her to look him in the eye. "Thank you." He quickly glanced around the room, noticing it was still fairly empty this early in the morning. Confident no one was looking, he stole a quick kiss.

"We better go get changed," he suggested, knowing they'd be late for Parade if they didn't go now.

Midway through their shift, Sam and Oliver were watching Luke interrogate a suspect they had brought in. They'd already gotten all they'd needed so Sam told Oliver he was going to get a coffee before they headed back out. He turned the corner down the hall and walked smack into Andy. "Hey," he said, gripping her shoulders to steady them both.

"Hey," she said smiling. She needed a pick me up after the morning she'd had on patrol and seeing Sam was the perfect thing to cheer her up.

"What happened to your cheek?" He grazed his thumb over a bright red mark on her face.

"Oh, just some idiot Nick and I were booking. I'm fine."

"You sure? Looks like it hurts," Sam replied, not taking his eyes off of her.

"It stung a little, but it's really fine, Sam. It happens. You can't protect me all the time," she said, trying to remind him of the conversation they'd had about his protectiveness.

Sam removed his hand from her face and rubbed the back of his neck. "I know." He fought the urge to go pummel the guy who did this to her. "I'm trying."

Andy chuckled as she watched his gritting his teeth. "I can see that. Seriously though, I'm fine. And seeing you just made my day better."

"Really?" A smug smile broke out on his face before he gently pushed Andy into a nearby storage room.

"Sam, what are you doing?"

"Didn't think you'd want me doing this in the hallway," he said before placing light kisses over her bruise. He moved his lips to hers, kissing her deeply.

"I thought we weren't doing this at the station," she said breathlessly once they parted.

"Oh, and that worked so well for us," he smirked.

Andy rolled her eyes and pretended to think about it, but the smile on her face gave her away. "Okay." She leaned up and brought her lips back to his.

"We really need to get Frank to partner us together again. Ollie doesn't laugh at my jokes like you do," he said. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her close.

"I'm not laughing at your jokes, I'm laughing at you," she deadpanned. His eyes shot wide open, pretending to be appalled.

"Frank's your friend, convince him," she said, getting back to his comment about being partners.

"I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, try to stay out of trouble." He chuckled as she feigned annoyance at his comment.

"Try not to get tackled by a girl," she teased.

He loosened his grip and she pulled away, both knowing they had to get back to work. He grabbed her arm before she reached the door and pulled her in for another quick kiss. "Dinner after shift?" he asked.

She smiled and nodded before walking out the door. Nick saw her walking down the hall and caught up with her. "Ready to head back out?" he asked.

"Yup."

He saw that her demeanor had changed; she looked happy and was smiling, and wasn't pissed about getting punched anymore. He glanced back at the door he thought she came out of and saw Sam exiting the same room. "Guess I'm being fired as your break-up buddy," he joked.

Andy looked over her shoulder, blushing when she saw Sam smiling at her. "Yeah, hoping I don't ever need one again," she said, turning back to Nick. She was happy, really truly happy and had faith that everything with her and Sam would work out okay.

The End