Welcome back! I'll admit, not a whole lot happened in chapter 1 – these first two chapters really set up for the tension in chapters three and four, etc. I promise, the story does pick up though, and there are a lot of Sam and Andy moments coming up. Whether they're good or bad, you'll have to stick around to find out! I look forward to hearing your thoughts so far and what you think might happen. Thanks for reading!

Recap: Sam was pulled in for emergency surgery, Oliver tries to comfort Andy and get her to go home, and Nick and Andy have a little chat about where they stand. In the end, Andy realizes that the consequences of her actions are creeping up on her faster than anticipated.

"Hey sweetie," said Traci softly. "I brought you some coffee."

"Thanks Trace," Andy said, rubbing her eyes. She winced slightly. Between lack of sleep and frequent tears, her eyes were killing her.

"Let me take you home."

Andy shook her head. "I need to be here," she said firmly, despite feeling incredibly exhausted.

"I know you do," Traci replied, "But you need to go home, eat something, shower, and sleep. Come on, I'll drive you, and when you're ready to come back just call me, okay?"

Andy hesitated, then nodded reluctantly. Since she'd refused to leave the hospital, Traci had been bringing her a change of clothes each day. She tried to remember the number of hours or even days that she'd been waiting, but time seemed irrelevant. If she had to guess, she'd say maybe three or four days, but really, the only thing that mattered to her at the moment was if Sam would wake up. Everything had become a blur: the faces coming and going, the small talk, the constant rapid beating of her heart every time something was said over the P.A system or a doctor entered the room. It was emotionally draining, and it was beginning to take a toll on her physically as well.

"He'll be okay," said Traci reassuringly.

Andy simply nodded, trying to muster a small smile.

The entire way back to the apartment, Traci tried to make small talk, but Andy's mind was preoccupied. Luke's calls and texts were becoming more frequent. She knew she should pick up, but she also knew what he was after, and she just wasn't ready to have that conversation yet. To be honest, she was actually surprised Luke hadn't shown up at the hospital to talk to her, while also silently being thankful that he'd kept his distance, regardless of the reason.

"Luke again?" Traci asked as Andy's phone went off for the second time during the car ride.

She nodded.

"Andy, you need to talk to him."

"I know," Andy said quietly. "I'm not ready yet though."

"Sweetie, I know reliving it is going to be hard, but he needs to get your statement," Traci said, reaching out to grab Andy's hand.

Again, Andy simply nodded. More than anything she wanted to talk to someone about what was going on and what to do, but there were more people involved in this mess than she cared to admit, and adding more people to the mix just wasn't an option.

"Do you want me to come in with you?" Traci asked when they pulled up to Andy's apartment.

"Nope," said Andy. "I'll be okay."

She wasted no time in getting out of the car, waving quickly to Traci before stepping into her apartment. A wave of emptiness crashed over her almost immediately. Nick was on shift, and Sam was in the hospital. She was on her own.

She dropped her things on the floor, then went to turn on the shower, letting a small sigh escape her as the hot water ran down her skin.

The faint buzzing of her phone could just barely be heard over the running water, but it was enough to set her off. "Will you just give up?" Andy screamed, smashing her hand against the shower wall. She laughed dryly. "What am I supposed to tell you?" she cried to her empty apartment. "That Marlo is bi-polar? That I watched her obsess over Kevin Ford and that even when I suspected he was after 15, I still didn't say anything? That it's my fault Oliver was kidnapped, and it's my fault Sam… Sam was shot… and that Chloe… that she paid for my mistakes too? Is that what you want to hear Luke?" She slammed her fist against the tile wall again, tears splashing down her face as a sob wracked through her body. "What am I supposed to do?" she breathed. "Someone just tell me what to do… please."

The constant stream of water washed away her tears, the warmth temporarily providing the only source of calm, but even that quickly turned cold and she forced herself to shut it off in search of clothes and food. She made quick work of both, and was reaching out to grab her wallet and phone when she heard knocking on the door.

Opening the door a crack, she barely managed to withhold a groan. "Luke?"

"I've been calling and texting you for the last few days," he said angrily.

"I know, umm, about that, I'm sorry… I… I just…" she began.

"Andy, it's not just about your statement," he said, pushing his way into her apartment. His eyes flicked around the place before settling back on her.

She frowned. "Then what…?"

Luke sighed. "I had to let Marlo go. There's no way we could have kept her, not with everything that happened, but now that she's gone, people are starting to ask questions and once they start figuring things out, it's going to lead back to your role too."

"What—"

Luke was hardly paying attention to her anymore. He was furious. "Andy, you signed the book, remember? You signed the book saying that Marlo was at Ford's house."

Andy froze. Uh oh.

"How could you have been so stupid? Did you really think nobody would notice? You're lucky Frank didn't in the first place."

"I—"

"I asked Frank for a copy of the report and I recognized your writing right away. It won't be long before someone else recognizes it too, and once they do, they're going to be coming at you hard."

"But—"

"Andy, I need to know what happened," Luke said, crossing his arms.

She waited a moment to make sure he was done. The glare she was now getting confirmed that a response was required this time. "Okay… okay," said Andy, "Just take me back to the hospital and I'll tell you there."

Luke shook his head. "I think it would be better if we did it here or at the station."

"No," she said firmly, "If you want my statement, then we're going to the hospital."

He stared at her for a few seconds before nodding reluctantly.

"Hey pal," Oliver said cautiously, watching as his friend's eyes finally opened.

Sam grunted, reaching for his side. It hurt like hell. He turned his eyes away from Oliver, who was sitting in the chair beside his bed. "What the…?" he began, confusion evident on his face as he looked around the room. "I'm in the hospital?"

"Yeah brother, don't you remember what happened?" Oliver asked, the smile fading from his face.

Sam closed his eyes. He could see Ford for a brief moment before he was on the ground staring up at McNally. He flinched, opening his eyes. "Yeah. Yeah, I was shot," began Sam, wincing as he tried to get more comfortable. "McNally… where's McNally?"

"Traci took her home. She's been here since you were admitted, hasn't left the entire time, until about an hour ago."

Sam frowned. "She was there… McNally was there."

"Yeah Sam," said Oliver. "From what I've heard you took a bullet for Nick and saved them both."

"But she was there," said Sam with a little more force. He could tell Oliver was confused, but his own thoughts were so muddled at the moment because of all of the medication that he couldn't quite piece everything together. He could remember her kneeling over him, and for some reason he thought that he needed to get up, but she held him down. The next thing he knew, they were moving and she was sitting beside him, talking to him, telling him a story of some kind.

Oliver remained silent.

"She's okay?" Sam asked, rubbing his face.

Oliver hesitated.

"Ollie, is McNally okay?" Sam asked. Even with the medication he could tell Oliver was hiding something.

"She's fine Sam. She isn't hurt, but she isn't doing so well either. She hasn't slept or eaten properly in days." Oliver paused. "And Callaghan has been after her for a statement, but with you and Chloe in the hospital, it's been really rough for her."

"I need to see her," said Sam, trying to sit up. He bit back a cry as the pain shot through his side.

"No," said Oliver, holding Sam's shoulders. "I'll call her, okay? I'll go let the doctor know you're awake and I'll call her, but you've gotta stay here buddy. We almost lost you."

Sam hesitated, then lay back, already feeling exhausted. He nodded.

Oliver waited a moment before leaving the room. After informing the doctor that Sam was awake, he pulled out his phone, hesitating. Andy needed sleep. If he called her now she'd come back to the hospital, but if he didn't call her, then he'd have both Sam and Andy mad at him and injury or not, he wasn't sure how long he could keep Sam away. He hit dial, but as he did so, he saw her out of the corner of his eye.

"McNally!" he yelled down the hall. At first he mistook the fear on her face, thinking she thought something was wrong with Sam, but as the hallway cleared, he saw Callaghan beside her. Andy met his eyes for a moment, before they turned down another hallway and were out of sight. He returned to Sam's room as the doctor was finishing up.

"McNally?"

"She's here," said Oliver, noticing that his friend was starting to look more alert.

"But?"

"Callaghan has been calling her all week trying to get her statement. It looks like he finally found her."

"Ollie," said Sam, a trace of panic in his voice, "You need to get her away from him."

"Sam, McNally isn't interested in Callaghan anymore," said Oliver chuckling, thinking it was Sam's meds that were talking. "That ship has sailed buddy."

"No," Sam replied, shaking his head. "That's not what I meant. You need to stop her from giving her statement."

Oliver's eyes narrowed. "What's going on Sammy? What do you know? It's obvious she's been avoiding Callaghan for a reason, but she won't talk, so why don't you want her near him?"

"Ollie, you have to trust me," said Sam. "I… I can't… By the time I…" he said, struggling to string his thoughts together and form the words. "Just get her out of there." The last words came out angry.

"Sammy, I trust you, I do, but—"

"Then call her, find her… just don't let her talk to him."

"Okay, okay. Just relax buddy," said Oliver watching as the machine showed Sam's heart rate pick up. "I'll call McNally. I'll call her right now."

"Well?" Sam pressed when Oliver still hadn't said anything into the phone.

"No answer, but, I'll try again."

The longer they went without reaching her, the more anxious Sam became – Oliver stared at his friend as he hit redial for a third time, a bad feeling forming in the pit of his stomach with each unanswered ring.

Thanks again for reading! Hopefully you'll join me for the next chapter where things really start to get complicated for both Sam and Andy.