A/N: Oh my gosh, I am blown away by the alerts and favorites. Thank you so much. It certainly was motivational; don't think I have ever posted chapters so close together. LOL There are so many little parts that I want to include, my original one shot may go to 4 or 5 chapters. Cracking myself up as I write, that's a good thing right?

They grow up so fast

Chapter 2

Andy woke up at 6:30am. As she stretched her legs she realized she had fallen asleep on the couch, Luke's couch, again. She hadn't slept in their bed since the shooting and after seeing him and Jo the other night, never would she be there again. She had spoken to her old landlord, Mr. Jeffrey, and her apartment was still available. She just had to figure out how to get her stuff over there and quick. She certainly didn't want to be here when Luke and the "Detective Whisperer" came back to the house. Maybe she could ask Sam for his truck. Oh, he will be thrilled to do that again. Poor Sam had definitely had the short end of the straw in this friendship. My friend Sam. She didn't even like the sound of that. God knows they were so much more than that to each other. Okay, maybe it had taken her an eternity to figure it out, but she did, finally. That had to count for something. She was a little anxious for his reaction to her disengagement. Things had been so crazy, she hadn't talked to him since that night in the locker room. How strange things had been between them. The day she was shot, he had taken her behind the communications truck. He looked so worried, but there was something else in his eyes. She could have sworn that he was going to kiss her, and God knows she would have let him. Just the thought of kissing him stirred up feelings inside of her that she should not have been feeling. Then during the UC op, Sam said they made a good team, what the hell did that mean? He never elaborated. And then the other day, at the Laundromat, it didn't matter that Luke was in the hospital, there was only one person that she needed to be on the other side of that barricade when the fire department finally cut through, and he was. She almost thought he was going to say something to her that night. He listened to her ranting and raving and as usual was able to make sense of everything. He had commented at one point, "I'm there when it matters." No truer statement had ever been uttered. That really was the turning point. Luke and Jo at the hospital was just the last straw. She remembered Sam pausing ever so briefly next to her before he headed out, only to keep walking. Those two seconds he hesitated were all it took for her body to flush from head to toe. And then nothing, he must have chickened out. Hah, look who's talking. If he was a chicken, she was the head of the coop. "No Sam, I won't take a ride from you, that would be too scary. You see, when I'm near you, most of the time I just want you to kiss me, the remainder of the time I want to kiss you and we wouldn't want that to happen. I mean, I've kept myself from being blissfully happy this long, why stop now?" Andy laughed as she realized that she had been talking to herself quite a bit lately. She shook her head and looked in the mirror. It was time for a change. As a kid the one good piece of advice her dad had given her is that if you want something bad enough, you have to go for it with everything you've got. For the most part, she had done that throughout her life. When it came to sports, school, the police academy, work, she had always followed that line of thinking, but with matters of the heart, not really. Then again, no one had really mattered to her heart like this before.

Andy showered, threw on a tank top, her favorite jean shorts and sneakers. A little make up and her hair in a ponytail completed her work attire. She grabbed extra clothes, a towel and her new red bikini and threw them in her backpack. The Shaws lived about 25 minutes away. She decided to take the bus to the closest stop and then walk. As the bus rode through the city, a mix of emotions filled her brain. She was excited and a little bit nervous about spending the day with Oliver's family and friends and very likely, Sam. The two men were great friends, they did plenty of stuff together outside of work and Sam talked about the Shaw girls like the proud uncle that he was, so it really wasn't a stretch to think that he would be attending the party. That thought alone put a little spring in her step as she exited the bus and walked the remainder of the way to Oliver's house.


Oliver was outside when she got there at 7:55. " Morning McNally"

"Hey Oliver. I see you cut the grass, you obviously got an early start."

"Actually, I did it last night when I got home. It was almost dark when I finished and I think I managed to mow down some of Zoe's geraniums." He smiled

Andy tried to hide her smirk. "So where do you want me to start?"

"Why don't we bring your bag inside and you can meet Zoe and the girls."

Oliver was no dummy, after shift the previous night he had made the necessary stop to the florist on his way home. Zoe wasn't really mad. She just got frustrated with him at times. She loved the flowers and then when he shared that Andy would be there to help, she softened. Even further, his matchmaking scheme went over huge with his hopeless romantic of a wife. She couldn't wait for the party.

Andy had followed him into the beautifully kept house. Each room was warm and inviting, much like the smile that Zoe flashed her when she walked in the kitchen.

"Hi Andy, so nice to meet you." She embraced Andy in a hug. "Oliver and Sam have talked so much about you."

"I'm sure they have." Andy bit her bottom lip, she could only imagine the stories that she would have heard.

"Sam wasn't exaggerating when he said you were beautiful." Just then three young sandy haired girls came running in the room. Andy's last thought before one was clinging to her leg…Sam said I was beautiful?

"Girls, best behavior please. This is Andy, she works with Daddy." Said Zoe

"Hi Andy." They said in unison.

Oliver made the introductions, "This is Izzie, she's 9, Kelsie here is 7 and this little munchkin here is Maddie. Oliver lifted Maddie in the air. Each of the girls was a replica of their mother except they all had Oliver's expressive eyes.

"So nice to meet you girls. I've heard a lot about you from your Daddy and your Uncle Sam."

"You know Uncle Sammy too?" said Maddie wide eyed

"Yes, I do. "

"Oh, I member your name." said Kelsie quietly,"Daddy told Uncle Sammy that he had to talk to you before it was too late."

"Too late for what honey?"

"Too late to love you if he waits until you are carried." Oliver choked out a cough.

"Kelsie Lynn, you should not be listening to grown up conversations. Run along to your room and get changed right now."

"Hey, Andy do you want to play on the swings with us?" asked Izzie

"Oh sure, whatever your mom and dad want me to do, I'm here to help." She looked over to Oliver, her eyebrow raised.

"Sure Andy that would be great. Izzie you get Maddie changed and then Andy will play with you guys outside." Oliver effectively avoided the Sam conversation.

"Andy, the catering people will be coming here in a little bit to set up the grills and their equipment. I will show you where I want everything to go. Around ten, the tent people will come with the rest of the tables and chairs, then we can decorate. In the meantime if you could keep an eye on the girls for me so I can grab a quick shower and Oliver can fix my flowerbeds, that would be wonderful." She smiled at Andy and gave Oliver an all knowing glance.

"Sounds good to me. I will wait outside in the yard."

Andy could have waited right there in the kitchen but she needed a minute to recap the past few minutes. Sam called me beautiful, he should talk to me? Until I'm carried?….oh right, married. Gotta love Kelsie the spy.

The girls came running out to the playground area. Andy was lazily rocking back and forth on a swing. "Push me, Andy, push me." Said the two younger girls.

"Hey Andy, want to see me do a cartwheel?"Izzie asked as Andy pushed her younger sisters.

"Sure Izzie, let's see." She performed an almost perfect cartwheel.

Andy had always been an athlete and gymnastics was always one of her favorites. She did a cartwheel herself and showed Izzie how to land her legs correctly. Izzie tried again and after just a few tries nailed it.

"Andy, can you do any other tricks?"

"Well, I haven't in a while but I can do a couple of cool things." She ran a few feet and did a cartwheel and then went right into a backflip.

The girls were in awe. You would have thought Selena Gomez was in front of them. She worked with the three girls trying to show them how to do the simpler moves. Oliver came in the yard,

"Hey girls, you having a good time?"

"Daddy, daddy, you have to see Andy's tricks, she is amazing."

"Alright McNally, whatcha got?"

Andy repeated her cartwheel/backflip.

"Wow, McNally, impressive."

"Told you I had skills." She smiled.

All of a sudden a familiar voice sounded through the yard, "Hey Shaw, you have acrobats, a big tent coming, did you go with a circus theme this year?"

"Uncle Sammy!" the three girls ran to hug him. To her knowledge Sam didn't realize it was her yet as he crossed the yard. Oh yeah, there it was, recognition.

"Andy, hey, hi…. What are you doing here?" she walked up and kissed him on the cheek.

Oliver corralled the girls for a minute to give Sam and Andy a second to say hello.

"Hey Sam." Then in almost a whisper, "Didn't you hear? I'm the fortune teller, want to know if you're gonna get lucky?" Sam swallowed hard, yes he did. First he wanted someone to tell him where Andy McFlirty came from?


Sam and Andy kept the girls busy until finally the catering company came. They hadn't exchanged another word but the glances they were giving each other could surely give off enough heat to power those grills. Sam helped the guys unload the truck. They set up the barbeque area, prep area and the banquet tables that all of the food would be set up on. Before they knew it, the rental company was there setting up a massive tent. It didn't take long between the two delivery guys, Oliver and Sam to complete the task. Next were the tables and finally carts of chairs. The girls had gone in to straighten their rooms upon their mother's request. Andy and Sam started setting up the chairs around the tables. At some point, she wasn't sure when, Sam removed his t-shirt. The harder Andy tried not to look at him, the more she glanced in his direction. Geez, the sun wasn't even out yet and it seemed to be getting warmer. How was that possible? Shirtless Sam, definitely adding that to my list of favorite things. Shortly afterward, Oliver also removed his shirt. Ok, gotta take the good with the bad, still a win for me. She smiled to herself.

Zoe came out with red and white checkered cloths and she and Andy spread them out. Andy grabbed the girls and they decorated the tables and underneath the tent. The place looked really awesome when they were done. Unfortunately Andy did not. She felt hot and sticky and her hair was coming out of her ponytail. Sam thought she looked stunning.

"Hey McNally, thanks for the help. If you want to jump, in the pool or take a shower, help yourself." said Oliver

Sam tried not to think of her in any bodies of water.

"You know what, I think I will take you up on the shower."

"Sam, can we use that monster truck to go pick up the beer and stuff?"

"No problem Shaw, I'll pick the stuff up. Just tell me where."

Andy heard the men talking as she went to follow Zoe in the house. "Sam, wait for me and I'll take a ride with you."

Sam waited until Andy was back in the house, "Great just what I need to be trapped in my truck with gorgeous, engaged McNally."

"Sam….." Oliver was going to spill the good news but felt that Andy should really be the one to tell him. "Talk to her man, whatever happens, she needs to know how you feel about her. "

"Shaw, it's a moot point. She's engaged, she's happy, she's gonna marry that stiff and nothing I say is gonna change that. Why do you keep pressing me to talk to her."

"Sam, you are one of my best friends but sometimes you really need to grow up." Sam rolled his eyes, the cat calling the kettle black.

"Really? I need to grow up?" he smirked

"I'm just saying,…. you put your life on the line, taking risks every day for perfect strangers. It's about time you put yourself out there for you. You never told her how you felt, you just took yourself out of the equation. "

"Sam." Zoe had come back out and put her arm around his waist, "He's right. He's not usually but about this he is."

"Fine, fine." He pouted. "I'll go make an ass out of myself."


Sam quickly cleaned up and put his t-shirt back on. He grabbed a bottle of water and waited for Andy to emerge from the bathroom. Only a few minutes had passed when she came out. Dressed in a short black tank dress covering up her bathing suit and sandals, Andy strolled into the kitchen where Sam seemed lost in thought. He caught her scent before actually seeing that she was there. "Ready to go?" she asked him.

"Yeah, sure ready." he mumbled once he got a glimpse of her. He was always amazed at the effect she had on him. He was an intelligent well spoken guy, but one look from her and he turned to mush.

They headed out to his truck, Sam opening her door for her as he gave her a hand getting in. Don't look at her legs, don't look. Crap I looked.

Sam attempted to steady his heart beat as he walked around to the driver side.

They made small conversation and before they knew it they were at the store. As Sam helped her down from the truck he just had to say it "Andy, you look beautiful by the way."

"Thanks Sam." she glanced over to him giving him that megawatt smile

"They made small conversation and before they knew it they were at the store. As Sam helped her down from the truck he just had to say it "Andy, you better be careful, Oliver's got some single friends, they will be all over you." he half smiled

"There is only one man I care to have all over me. Thank you." her eyes darkening as she stared at him

Sam looked away and tried not to roll his eyes, "Yeah, by the way how is Luke?

"Who's talking about Luke?" she said coyly