As she lay in bed she realize that her life was in turmoil. Much like the weather outside. She wasn't happy where she was. She wanted more. She wanted someone she could count on. She quietly got out of bed and started packing up some clothes and her bathroom necessities. She took off the beautiful but obnoxious engagement ring that was put on her finer two months prior. She should have called it off sooner. He kept wanted to set a date but she kept pushing it off. She wrote a quick not and put it along with the ring on the bedside table. She took one last look around and walked out the front door. Before she started her car she called her boss.

"Best."

""Frank sorry to be calling but I need to see if I can take some personal time."

"Is everything ok?"

"No, but it will be."

"How much do you need?"

"How long can you spare me? I know it's asking a lot."

"Andy I can give you 5 weeks as long as you check in with me twice a week."

"Thank you sir."

"And Andy of you need anything, call." He told her.

"I will. Sorry to have woken you up." She told him before she hung up.

She headed out and realized she had no where to go. She let her apartment go when she moved in with Luke. Her father sublet his apartment while he had his new wife were living in Paris. She didn't want to impose on her friends. The only place she knew she could go was Sam's. He had been working under-cover for the past six months. Before he left he had asked her if she would check in things. When she got there she went straight to the bedroom and crawled into bed. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

When she woke up she checked her phone and saw she had two missed calls and one voice mail. All from Luke. She decided to change her incoming message letting everyone know she was fine and would not be checking messages or emails. She was taking personal time.

She spent the first two days sleeping. She didn't realize she was that tired. By the fourth day the kitchen was spotless. She had taken everything out of the cupboards and put neutral shelf paper. The hardwood was cleaned and polished. While she was organizing the coat closet she found a couple of pictures and decorations. Sam's living room was bare so she decided to hang the pictures and decorate the room. Sam could change it later if he wanted. She just needed something to do. By the end of the week Sam's house felt more like a home. From what she gathered her liked black and white so she went off that and decorated all the rooms. The master bedroom had white linens with black accents. Very masculine.

"Hello sir, checking in as ordered." Andy said as Best picked up the phone.

"How are you doing?" He asked.

"A little better. Still have a little more soul searching to do."

"You sure have put the gossip mill in fast drive."

"I am sorry sir. I just didn't want anyone just showing up and asking what happened."

"I overheard Luke telling Jerry that you gave your engagement ring back."

"It wasn't really mine to begin with." She muttered.

"I am not going to pry but if you need someone to talk to you can call me."

"Thank you sir. Um… do you have any news on Sam? I know you can't give me specifics but I just want to know if he is ok" she asked.

"He is doing fine. Boyd is hoping to have this case wrapped up soon." He told her.

"Thank you sir. I need to get going. I will talk to you later."

"Take care Andy."

"I will. Thanks."

When the third week came she had made enough food to fill the freezer. All she would have to do is take it out of the freezer and cook it. After she ate and cleaned up she called it a night and headed to bed.

"Hey Sammy, you are back." Jerry said as he saw his friend walk into the precinct.

"Yup, what are you still doing here? Shouldn't you be at home with Tracy?"

"Just waiting on you my man. I was asked to help debrief you. So lets make this quick. I am exhausted."

"Alright then lets get started then." Sam said as they headed to Bests office.

"Swarek welcome back. It is good to see that you are still in one piece." Best said as he shut his office door.

"Thank you sir." Sam said.

"Good job on getting Jamie Brock behind bars. We were beginning to think that he was never going to mess up so we could get him."

"I was beginning to think the same thing. I once thought that everything was going to blow up in my face but then he got too comfortable and that is when he let everything slip. It was a satisfying bust."

They talked for another hour before everything was taken care of and all the paperwork was filled out.

"Ok that is everything. I am going to give you two weeks to get rested and then I expect you to be back here ready to go."

"Yes sir. I will see you in a couple of weeks."

"Hey Sammy you want to head to the Penny for a drink?" Jerry asked.

"Nah, I am tired. All I want to do is go home, take a shower and crawl in bed. Maybe tomorrow night."

"Sounds good. Take care."

Sam grabbed his duffel bag and headed home.

When he pulled up to his house he noticed that the porch light was on.

"That is odd."

He got out of his truck and unlocked his door. He didn't bother turning on any of the lights. He decided to use the main bathroom to take is shower. He was in there for a good 30 minutes. When he stepped out he grabbed a clean pair of boxers and headed to his room. He crawled in bed and fell into a deep slumber.

He was rudely woken up by someone screaming and throwing pillows at him.

"You have until the count of 5 to get out of this house. I am armed and I have every right to shoot you."

"I don't think so as this is my house."

"Sam? When did you get back?"

"Yes and late last night. Care to explain why you are in my house and in my bed?"

"Long story."

"I have time. When is your next shift?" He asked her as he pulled on some clean jeans.

"I am on personal leave." She said as she got up and started cleaning up.

Sam noticed that she was about to cry. "Andy, talk to me."

"I left Luke."

"What happened?"

"He slept with Jo. He tried to hide it from me by showering me with gifts. When Jo slipped and told me I confronted him about it he tried to deny it. He said that it happened in a moment of weakness and that it would never happen again. I took him back and went along with everything. Things were ok for about a week and then I would notice the looks that he would give Jo every time she walked into the room. When I confronted Jo about it she told me that the ring that was on my finger wasn't meant for me. She took great joy in telling me that that is the exact ring that Luke proposed to her with and that by me snooping and finding it put Luke in a position where he had to propose. I just couldn't take it anymore so I packed some things and left. Everyday for the past couple of weeks I have been going over to the house to get more of my stuff. I got the last of it yesterday."

"Wow. I am so sorry. Luke is an ass and Jo is a bitch for interfering. Where is your stuff now? He asked her.

"It is in a storage unit. I gave up my apartment when I moved in with Luke, my dads place is being subletted and I didn't want to impose on Tracy. Her and Jerry are living together now."

"That bastard didn't even mention that to me last night when I saw him. Does anyone know where you are?"

"No, Frank has me call him twice a week to let him know that I am doing ok. I think that he kind of knows what is going on. But I am not sure."

" Well I have two weeks before I have to be back on rotation." Sam said.

"I will start looking for my own place tomorrow. I don't want to impose since you are back." She shyly told him.

"There really is no rush Andy."

"I know but this is your place."

"And you made it feel like a home. I really like what you have done with the place."

"I didn't really do all that much. You had all of the stuff, I just put it up."

"I know that this might sound crazy and you might not be ready but what if you moved in here? I have the room. You can keep all your stuff in the shed out back and you can have the spare room. No one ever uses it. When Sarah's family comes they either just stay for the day or they stay at a hotel."

"I don't know…"

"We can draw up a lease if you would like. That way you can feel like you are contributing something. Or we can work something else out. What do you say?"

"Are you sure you are ok with it?" She asked.

"Why else would I have mentioned it?

"Can I let you know in the morning?"

"Sure."

"I will go to the spare room and let you get your sleep." She told him as she grabbed some of her stuff and headed towards the door."

"Hey you stay here. I will go to the other room. I will see you in the morning."

"Ok. I will see you in the morning." She said as she watched him walk out of the room.

Andy had been up for at least 4 hours before Sam woke up. She was watching TV very low as not to wake him up. He had to have been exhausted and coming home and finding someone in your bed probably didn't help.

"Hey." he said as he shuffled into the living room. He was still had on his pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. Andy was pretty sure that that is not what he would normally sleep in. He was after all in his boxers when he first climbed into bed with her.

"Hey, I hope I didn't wake you." she told him.

"Nah, I was ready to get up."

"There is still some coffee in the kitchen and I kept a breakfast plate for you warming in the oven." She said not really wanting to look him in the eye.

"You didn't have to make me breakfast."

"It wasn't a problem. I figured it had been a while since you have had a homemade meal."

"Thanks. So have you thought about what we talked about last night?" He asked her when he came back with his breakfast and coffee.

"Are you really sure you won't mind?"

"Of course not. Like I said I wouldn't have offered."

"As long as you let me contribute and treat this like a professional agreement I would like to stay." she told him.

"All right. I will get a lease agreement drawn up today." He said.

During the next week Andy and Sam moved her stuff from storage to the shed and she had decorated her room to her liking. During the day they would go for walks or go to the movies. She would talk about her dad and how he was doing. Sam would tell her about being undercover.

"I thought you would like to know that this was my last assignment with Guns and Gangs." He brought up one day during lunch.

"I thought you wanted to get back in with them."

"I thought I did, but this case made me realize that I didn't like being away from those I love and care for."

Andy just looked at him. "I guess that is a good reason. I don't think Sarah liked it all that much when you were under."

"What about you?"

"I didn't like it all that much either. I have to admit that when I checked in with Best I asked about you."

"You did?"

"Yes. You are my partner. And I really didn't want to get a new one. We have a system. We know each others moves."

"And…"

"And I care what happens to you." she told him.

"Andy…" he leaned across the couch. He looked her in the eye willing her to tell him to stop. When she didn't their lips touched. Almost like a whisper. He didn't want to push her.

"Sam." she whispered. This was all he needed to hear. He pressed more firmly. She relaxed more which encouraged him more.

"I am sorry Andy." He said when they came up for air.

"Don't be sorry Sam. I wanted this too." She told him. "I have for since the blackout. I should be the one that is sorry. I shouldn't have left the way I did."

"Andy, you think too much." He told her as he kissed her again.

"Sam, take me to bed. Make love to me like we should have that night." She told him.

Sam stood up and picked her up and carried her to his bedroom and laid her on the bed.

Clothes were slowly discarded. Flesh meeting flesh.

"That was perfect." Andy told him after. She was drawing slow circles on his chest.

"That it was. I hope that I didn't push you into something you were not ready for." He told her as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"You didn't. I wanted this. Sam I have wanted this for so long."

"I love you." he whispered into her hair.

"I love you too." she replied.

Six weeks later.

"Swarek!" Best yelled.

"Yes." both Andy and Sam answered.

All eyes in the room looked at them in shock. Andy and Sam just looked at each other and laughed.

"I guess the cat is out of the bag." Sam said.