I'm back! Thank you all for your patience in the delay – and to show my thanks this is only one of two chapters you'll get this weekend! :) Bear with me a bit with this chapter as it's mostly just setting the groundwork for the undercover. Things get more exciting soon. Please leave a review to let me know what you think. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

Chapter 2

Sam and Andy woke up the next morning and turned the cameras on, knowing they had to get used to doing that. They quietly got showered and dressed, each not wanting to get in the other's space. He knew they couldn't continue to walk on eggshells if they were going to survive this undercover job, but he needed to get some strong coffee in him before he broached that subject with Andy.

They ended up at a nearby dinner, and as if on cue, the moment they walked through the door, they became Matt and Ally. They acted and chatted like their alter egos would while they ate breakfast because they never knew if the person sitting at the next table could be part of Terry's operation.

When they finished, they stopped by the grocery store, picking up enough food to fill their empty cabinets. Back at the apartment, Andy was placing some fruit they bought into a bowl and paused as she was holding an apple. The way she had her fingers wrapped around it reminded her how she'd been holding a grenade only the day before. Her breath started to quicken as suddenly she wasn't in the undercover apartment with Sam. She was back in that large kitchen, chaos going on all around her as she gripped a bomb.

Sam saw her freeze, watched her eyes glaze over, noticed how she was gripping the apple tightly. He put a hand on her shoulder and she jumped, but the touch succeeded in bringing her out of her daze. "You okay?" he asked softly.

She nodded as she tried to find her voice. "Yeah, fine."

He shook his head in disbelief and wondered how she'd managed to escape the usually mandatory appointment with a shrink after a near-death experience. He'd been to a few himself, knew there was never a way out of them. Yet, here she was undercover less than 24 hours after holding a bomb. He wasn't a shrink, but right now he had to be the best substitute for one. "You know, usually there's a mandatory session with a shrink after something like yesterday," he started, trying to gauge her reaction.

She practically threw the apple into the bowl with the rest of the fruit. "I don't need a shrink. I'm fine."

"Andy, I'm not...you held a bomb. I want to make sure you're okay. For once, just talk to me," he said softly.

"I don't know what you want to hear from me, Sam. That I was scared?" She leaned back against the counter, hands gripping the edge. "That I knew if I didn't hold it tightly enough, it could go off, but if I held it too tightly it might go off just the same? That not only could I be killing myself, but you too? That...that on top of everything you had to be there…telling me…Ugh. What do you want to hear Sam? Tell me what you want to hear."

He could tell by the way the words flew out of her mouth that she needed this. She couldn't be holding this in. He needed her to get it out now. "Were you scared?" he asked, gently.

"I was holding a bomb."

"Why'd you take it from her?" he asked.

She furrowed her eyebrows, looking at him like he had two heads. "She's a little girl, has the rest of her life ahead of her. It's what we do, serve and protect the people of Toronto. What else was I supposed to do?"

"Wait for bomb squad. Let them take care of it," he said simply. He didn't know how to ask this next question, but knew he had to. Knew it was the most basic of questions for any shrink to ask after this type of experience. "Did you, uh...you didn't want it to go off, did you?" He knew it was different for cops, that they had to put their life on the line as part of the job, but he had to question if there was anything suicidal about what she'd done.

Her eyes went wide at his question. "No. No," she said, shaking her head adamantly. "I...It wasn't like that. I...For the first time, I didn't overthink something. I just acted. All I thought about was saving a terrified little girl. If anything, it was self-preservation because I thought she could drop the grenade."

"It could've gone off as you took it from her. She could've dropped it then," he said.

"Sam, you didn't see her. She was shaking, terrified. I had to take it from her." Her eyes were pleading with him to understand, and he did. He knew he would've done the same thing.

"Okay, okay." He raised a hand in understanding. "I just...It's you and me for the next however many months. I just need to know you're okay. And it's true about the shrink visits. They're usually required after something like yesterday, so this is a unique situation."

"I know. Look, I promise if I think it's becoming a problem, I'll tell you. I'll have Luke pull me. I won't put us at risk," she told him.

"I'm not questioning that. I…uh…I just want to make sure you're okay," he said. "And I'm here, you know. I won't think you're weak if you need to talk about it."

A small smile graced her lips. "I…I know. Thank you."

Later that night, Sam and Andy got ready for their first meeting with their target. It was informal, a simple get together with an "old friend" - their informant Carlos - so they could be introduced to Terry. Then it was all on them to make Terry want to hire them.

"You know the goal for tonight, right?" Sam asked when Andy emerged from the bedroom ready to go.

"Yup. We need to make him like us, but can't push too much because that could make him nervous. And learn whatever we can about his operations," she answered.

"And..." he prompted.

She furrowed her eyebrows as he helped her into a jacket before the light bulb went on in her head. "And keep it as real as possible."

"Exactly. The more real we keep it, the less chance one of us will contradict the other. And any embellishments to our stories, we review when we get home. We need to know what the other has said. They can't catch us lying," he said.

Andy nodded. This was the most dangerous part of being undercover. It wasn't the amount of drugs or guns they'd encounter, it was getting caught in a lie. And she knew now this was why Sam had been so cautious earlier to make sure her head on was straight. She could risk their lives if she wasn't in this 100 percent.

"We can do this," he told her.

"I know."

"Let's go then," Sam said, heading toward the door.

They took a cab to Clover's Bar, the hang out for Terry and his associates, and where they had planned to meet up with Carlos.

"You ready?" Sam whispered in her ear as he reached around her to put his hand on the door of the bar. Andy nodded, but he could tell she was nervous, that same deer in the headlights look on her face that she had before they walked into The Mermaid Lounge. "Relax. You have to relax."

Andy's heart was beating so hard she thought it was going to pop out of her chest. How was she going to do this? So many people had put faith in her and she couldn't handle the thought of letting everyone down. She took a deep breath as she felt Sam's free hand slide up her back and caress the warm skin on the back of her neck gently. Knowing he needed to do something before someone got curious about why they were just standing in front of the door, he used the hand on her neck to tilt her face toward him and he pressed his lips against hers. The feel of his warm lips on hers shocked her for a moment, but she knew why he'd kissed her. It had been so long since they'd been in this position she missed the familiarity of it. But because it had been so long, it also felt awkward and foreign to her.

"You can do this," he whispered against her lips as he pulled away.

She nodded again, his touches helping to calm her. "I'm good. I'm good," she insisted.

Believing her this time, he pushed open the door and followed Andy into the bar. As the door shut behind them, they took in the surroundings; the loud music, waitresses floating about with trays full of drinks, and a party tucked away in the corner they recognized as their targets. Not seeing Carlos, Sam looked at his watch; they were right on time. "Maybe he's late. Let's a get a drink," Sam suggested, looking over at the bar.

They had just told the bartender what they wanted, when the man they were meeting walked toward them. "Matty!" Carlos bellowed out like they were old friends.

"Carlos, good to see you brother." Sam stuck out his hand meeting Carlos' as they leaned in for a brotherly hug. "You remember Ally?"

"Never forget a beautiful face, sweetheart," Carlos said, before giving her a hug.

"Carlos, you're a darling," Andy said.

"Glad you guys could make it. Why don't I introduce you to some of my friends," he suggested, following the plan he was given earlier that day. He nodded over his shoulder to the group in the back corner and Sam saw a couple of the guys looking their way.

Sam and Andy grabbed their drinks off the bar and followed Carlos. Sam's free hand slid into hers easily, her fingers wrapping around his automatically as her heart did a flip-flop. It was easy, simple, normal. Still, after all the time apart, their hands molded together like two pieces of a puzzle. But this wasn't about them. They were putting on a show as Matt and Ally, a loving couple; something Sam & Andy weren't anymore. She had to force herself to get her head in the game and focus on charming Terry and his men.

Carlos made introductions, calling Matt and Ally his "old friends from Montreal." They were introduced to Terry O'Connor, who they both recognized from the files Luke showed them. Then there was Rob and Benny, who seemed to be Terry's right-hand guys. A handful of other introductions were made as Sam and Andy committed all the faces and names to memory.

"I'm Suzy, Benny's other half," said the lone woman in the group, as she introduced herself to Andy. "Have a seat. Save me from all this testosterone." Her laugh was infectious and Andy couldn't help but smile as she made her way to the empty chair next to the woman.

"Let the guys talk. You know how they do their own thing," Suzy said.

"That I do," Andy said laughing.

"So, you're new to Toronto? What brought you here?" Suzy asked, before taking a sip of her beer.

"Found out our friends weren't really our friends." Andy took a sip of her drink as Suzy gave her an understanding look. "It was time to get out, y'know? So, we decided to move here."

"Yeah, well, I'm sure you'll both feel right at home here. If you're Carlos' friend, you've already got a family here," Suzy said.

"I hope so," Andy said, displaying her megawatt smile. "I just want to be happy with Matty, settle in for our future. Can I tell you a secret?" She leaned in as Suzy nodded eagerly. "I flip through those home and garden magazines, and just want one of those homes. But I know we'll never be able to afford it." This was her cover, wanting a life Ally and Matt couldn't afford, as that would place the seed that they would do anything for money. "But I keep hoping maybe someday."

Suzy bit her bottom lip, knowing she wasn't supposed to talk about business to strangers. But she couldn't help wanting to give her new friend some hope. "Don't give up on those dreams. They might not be as farfetched as you think."

"I hope your right," Andy replied, following Suzy's gaze to where Sam, Benny and Terry were talking.

"So, you've moved here for good then, no going back to Montreal?" Benny asked Sam.

"For sure, man. Been burned one too many times there. Time for a new life for me and my girl," he said, cocking an eyebrow toward Andy.

"You, uh, found any work yet?" Terry asked.

"Not yet, just rolled into town yesterday. Figure I'll take some odd jobs until I can get something more permanent," he replied.

"Well, if Carlos can vouch for you..." Carlos nodded his head when Terry turned his way. "I might be able to find something for you."

"Oh, man, that would be great. I'm a hard worker. You give me a job and I'll get it done," Sam said.

"Hard to find workers that'll do anything asked of them these days," Terry mused.

"Well, that's me. You give me a job and I'll get it done," Sam said.

"Ok, well, I'll give you a call tomorrow if I think I have something," Terry said.

"That'd be great," Sam replied. His face displayed the relief of someone moving into a new town without any means of support. "If you don't me asking, what business are you in?"

"Adoption. Many different types of it," Terry said simply.

Sam looked around and noticed Benny had become engrossed in a debate with Rob, and he decided it was time to ease up on the job and business talk. He saw a hockey game on the TV and decided that was safe territory.

As the night went on, Sam and Andy mingled with the group, laughing and exchanging stories. Andy felt like it was going well; they were obviously liked by these people and making friends quickly. When she came back from the bar with a round of drinks, she sat next to Sam, pressing a kiss to his cheek as she did so. He smiled back at her, not only as loving boyfriend Matt, but as someone who missed the feel of her lips on him. He knew he had no right feeling that way right now and he couldn't risk letting his mind wander from their assignment, so he forced the thoughts away.

Sam couldn't help but notice how Rob's eyes rarely left Andy's body the entire night and it made his stomach turn. He knew he had no claim over her anymore, but he hated the way some sleazy guy was eyeing her up and down. And well, Matt had a claim to Ally, and he might just have to stake that claim.

Hours later Terry O'Connor sat at his kitchen table with a bottle of beer and two of his associates. "What do you think of Matt?"

"He doesn't have experience with kids, but from what Carlos said, he's done a lot of drug trafficking. Seems to be a quick learner. Could be pretty useful," Benny answered.

Rob took a swig of his beer. "How does Carlos know him?" he asked.

"Said they go way back," Terry replied. The three men seem to contemplate the potential new member of their team and the slow dripping of the faucet was the only sound in the room.

"I'd vote for trying him out. We need more guys, boss," Benny said, breaking the silence.

Terry looked over at Rob, eyebrows raised in question. "Sure, why not, let's try him out," Rob replied.

"We could get a bonus with his girlfriend too," Benny said.

"Ally?" Terry asked, trying to remember her.

Benny nodded. "Suzy really likes her and thinks she'd work well to keep the kids calm. You know we've had some trouble there lately, boss."

"She's one hot chick. I could deal with spending lots of long nights with that piece of ass," Rob said, and everyone knew where his thoughts had traveled to.

"Women can be tough. Sometimes their soft spot is too soft. Did you get a feel for her?" Terry asked Benny.

"I think she's eager. Loves kids, but money speaks to her. Suzy said something about Ally wanting to stash money aside for her dream house someday," he replied.

"So, if we pay them enough, they'll do whatever we want. Okay, let's get them both on board," Terry decided. "Rob, poke into their background a bit, make sure they are who they say they are. In the meantime, I'll invite them to the barbeque Friday night, so we can all get to know each other a little better."