Andy was stuck.
A few short months ago, her life had been falling into place. She had been in love and dating Sam. Her job was going well. She had been feeling on top of the world.
Then, Jerry's death had turned them all upside down. It had thrown them for a loop; it had been so unexpected. Andy's heart still hurt just to think about it. She had tried to be there for both Traci as well as Sam, but he hadn't even given her a chance. The next thing she knew she had been left standing in the rain with her heart shattered.
At the time, she felt that all hope was lost. Her heart was broken and it felt irreparable. But then, her mother got her books on "getting that man out of your life" and Nick became her Breakup Buddy and she finally felt that she was okay again…
Until the day she had held that bomb. At first, she had only been focusing on getting that young girl out alive. Next thing she knew, she grasped the bomb tightly in her fist, too scared to move. Her heart had been beating wildly and then Sam had appeared at her side. Just when she thought her heart couldn't take anymore he had said the words she had yearned to hear…I love you, Andy.
But it had been too little, too late.
He had cornered her after work, practically begging her to come to the Penny and give him another chance. Oh, she had been so tempted to go, to give in to those deep brown eyes and dimpled grin that she adored so much…
But not too long after, a wonderful opportunity had surfaced. She and Nick were being offered the undercover operation, the one that Andy had been begging Luke to give her. It was such crappy timing.
And so, Andy was faced with a difficult decision.
Sure, it may have seemed that she had agreed just a little too quickly, but it wasn't like that at all. Her mind had gone through all the different possibilities; she was always over thinking everything. But this was a potentially life altering decision to make. She had been gunning for this opportunity since she had heard about it and was really just going to let Sam's admittance stop her from doing what she wanted to do. Would he really have turned down the opportunity if the roles were reversed? She didn't think so. And he probably only said 'I love you' in the heat of the moment.
If she was being honest, she was still aching from the breakup. She could pretend that she was over Sam all she wanted, but her heart and her head knew the truth. She wasn't even close. But the UC operation could be the space that she needed to get her head on straight and really think about what she wanted. Then, if Sam was still willing, she might be willing to give it a try.
So, Andy had taken the job. If this operation was successful, it would give her career a boost and that was one thing she had been looking forward to. She hadn't found out that it was Nick she was going UC with until they were being briefed. They would be posing as a couple.
Andy wasn't stupid; she knew that posing as a couple for any length of time could really affect two people. Living together was a huge step and they would inevitably form bonds that would make eventually readjusting back to normal life difficult. But Andy and Nick had grown closer the past months and they were great friends; she wasn't the least bit worried.
Going undercover required a lot of patience, one trait that Andy had never been good at. So, she had been left with her thoughts and sometimes a lot of free time. When Nick wasn't bugging her to do something, she thought about Sam. Her thoughts always returned to Sam. She knew that she had the Blackstone had given her the option to go back and visit everyone for a weekend, but she knew that if she spent a night with Sam, she wouldn't want to go back and so she had stayed, spending the day with Nick instead.
Andy often wondered if Sam was missing her or what he was doing at a particular time during the day. But thinking of him just made it hurt worse.
It had been such a long time, but as soon as Andy called, needing help while running from the drug lords, Sam had answered, just as he once promised he would. He had come to her rescue and saved her just in time; her own personal superhero.
After a long six months, Andy had returned, more than ready to return back to being a regular cop and possibly rekindling a relationship with Sam. But she had gotten a rude awakening when she walked in on Sam's lips on the new TO; Marlo, she later learned, was her name.
It had been like running full force into a brick wall. For a moment, she hadn't been able to breathe. Sam had managed a cool exterior, but she could tell the situation made him uncomfortable. Andy also noticed that Marlo recognized Andy; meaning Sam had mentioned her.
At the time, Andy didn't have much time to react and causing a scene at the precinct hadn't seemed like such a bright idea. So she bottled up her feelings and followed Blackstone and Nick to give statements.
It wasn't until later that night that Andy allowed her tears to fall. If she was being honest, it wasn't fair what she did to Sam. Leaving him sitting at the Penny, waiting for her to show up. And when she never did, he must have thought things were officially over. But once someone had explained that she was undercover, Andy thought he might be able to understand that it was something she had to do. Andy had held out hope that he would wait for her; isn't that what someone who had professed their love would do? Andy herself had waited. Quite frankly, she didn't really want anyone but Sam. And she thought the same had applied to him, but unfortunately for her, he hadn't wanted to wait.
There was one good thing that came out of Sam's denial; it finally gave Andy the strength she needed to move on, this time for real. She wouldn't be the annoying ex girlfriend that couldn't let go and she wouldn't let it consume her life.
Andy did try to weasel her way back into Sam's heart at one point, but she also recognized when she was beat and she was surprisingly okay with it. She just wished that she and Sam could coexist as better friends. But their dynamic didn't really allow for that.
At first, it had been hard to watch as Sam showed PDA with Marlo that he never did with her, but she accepted it. Things had changed. Andy in turn, threw herself into her work and spending some much needed time with her friends. Things were back on track again, just the way she liked it.
And then came the night of Frank and Noelle's wedding. The night that changed everything again.
She had expected to have a nice night, even teasing Sam earlier that she would save him a dance. It was supposed to be a magical night, full of nothing but love and happiness, drinking and dancing. She had had her dress picked out for months. Instead, she and Nick were stuck waiting for a co-conspirator of a wealthy elderly bus robbery to come down from the large tower he had been working on. She literally had the worst luck.
Andy had thought it was ridiculously sweet when Nick whipped out his phone and asked Dov to put it on speaker phone. She hadn't thought it was weird at all that she and Nick were sitting there listening to the wedding march, although she started to feel a different vibe coming off Nick as he stared at her when she began to cry when Frank and Noelle said their "I do's".
She had remarked that it was so magical and Nick had replied that that was the way he felt about her. At first, she had missed the hint, but when she looked at him, she saw that he was serious.
Andy was shocked. She hadn't expected these feelings from Nick at all. It all made sense now; he and Gail splitting up and his not wanting to talk to her about it. Still, his admission was making her head spin. It was crazy.
Thankfully, she was spared giving him an answer because their suspect was on his way down. But the entire time they were making the arrest, Andy's head was spinning and she was trying to process her thoughts.
She tried to picture herself with Nick. He was a good guy, very sweet and had always been there for her since before they had gone undercover together. He was such a sharp contrast to Sam; he wore his heart on his sleeve whereas Sam hid his deep in his soul. And just like that, Sam was in her mind again.
Although she felt that she had truly moved on, she still woke up sometimes with an ache in her chest, longing for Sam's arms to be around her. While he was dating Marlo, she knew getting with him was out of the question, she still held out that hope that he would show up at her apartment and sweep her off her feet. But that was the stuff that only happened in fairy tales and certainly wouldn't come from Sam Swarek. So, was she really going to wait around for something that might never happen?
But, even if she was willing to give Nick a chance, how could she ever hurt Gail like that? Gail was one of her good friends, her bitchy exterior notwithstanding. She didn't want the wrath of Gail to descend upon her; she knew Gail still harbored feelings for Nick and wasn't willing to let him go.
And so, as previously stated, Andy was stuck.
After the arrest, while sitting on the hood of the squad car, Andy turned to Nick and asked, "What now?"
He spread his hands stating, "It's up to you."
Finally, the cards were in her hands. It was her move. And now, she had no clue what to do.
Andy, forever not knowing what to do in awkward conversations, took a bite out of the apple she had procured and offered it casually to Nick. She chewed thoughtfully.
After the long night, Nick and Andy finally showed up during the middle of the reception. Andy was lucky to have made it at all.
One of the first things she noticed was Sam sitting, alone, at the bar. She recalled that Chloe had mentioned Marlo's trip to Miami; it had been long planned and she was willing to miss her boss' wedding. He looked extremely handsome; it wasn't often that she got to see him all dressed up and she had to admit, he cleaned up nicely.
Before she did anything else, Andy took a deep breath and turned to Nick, who was still hanging by her side. On the ride over, she had made up her mind.
Opening her mouth, she explained that she still needed time. He had followed her gaze to where Sam was sitting and granted her all the time she needed, promising that he wasn't going anywhere. Andy didn't know what she had done to have Nick give her that kind of loyalty, but she was grateful.
After Nick had walked away, Andy found herself alone in a room full of people.
What Andy said to Nick was the truth; she still needed time. She was resolved to stay single for a time, to focus on herself and to just see where the future led her.
She sauntered over to the bar to get a much needed drink.
But she knew one thing for sure.
Her heart would always belong to Sam.