Hey! Sorry this took a while to get posted, I had a major block on Chapter 4, and didn't want to post this until I'd worked through that, which I'm still doing, but hopefully it will be done soon.

Hope you enjoy this chapter, and please review, it makes me happy :) Thanks, x


Chapter 2

Sam and Andy were cruising around the streets in companionable silence, waiting for a call to come in. Sam was sat, slumped in the passenger seat, staring out the window, deep in thought. Andy kept stealing glances at him, becoming increasingly worried. Something's really bothering him. I need to find out what it is, if only to ensure he can focus on the work when a call comes in.

"Sam," Andy called, but he did not respond. She tried a few more times, finally resorting to swatting his arm. He spun round to look at her, and after seeing her smile, grabbed his arm in feigned hurt.

"Ouch, McNally, what was that for?" She could the slight smirk on his lips, and knew he wasn't really hurt.

"I was trying to get your attention," she replied jokily, before turning serious. "What's eating you, Sam; you're a million miles away." Sam's heart skipped a beat when he saw the concern in her eyes. Get a grip, man.

"I'm fine," he lied, turning to stare out the window again. Just drop it, Andy. I don't wanna have this conversation yet.

"Come on, Sam. I've been riding with you for six months, I know you better than that. What's going on?" Sam shrugged; trying to act like everything was fine.

"Does it have something to do with why Best called you into his office after parade?" She saw a flash of panic in his eyes, as he tried to slump further down in his seat. "What did he want?" Andy could see Sam debating on how to answer.

"He was just congratulating me again for my work on the Bergen case, that's all." Sam hoped she would leave it at that, but he knew Andy wasn't going to let this go; it's not in her nature.
"Oh. Is he giving you an award of some kind? You know, for bringing down Bergen, he was one of the most wanted guys in Toronto."

"No, he's not... and even if he was, I wouldn't accept it, I'm no hero. Besides, it wasn't just me; I couldn't have done it without you..." Andy looked at him, surprise in her eyes. "and the rest of the team, of course." He ducked his head to avoid her gaze, a flush rising to his cheeks. Andy could see Sam was just digging himself deeper. He was clearly uncomfortable talking about this, so she decided to let the issue go, for now. They fell back into a comfortable silence as they continued to roam the streets. A few minutes later, the radio crackled into life.

"Stand by for the hotshot. We have a domestic disturbance in progress at 156 Kingston Apartment 3A."

"Light it up," Sam said, as he responded to dispatch, "15-05, responding, we're 10 minutes out." Andy flipped the siren on and sped off towards Downtown.

They arrived at the apartment block and pulled up outside. They saw that they needed to be buzzed in to gain entry, so they hit the button for 3A. Nobody answered over the intercom, but they could hear screaming. They tried the neighbor's apartment, who buzzed them in once they identified themselves as police. They took the stairs two at a time until they reached the 3rd floor. Sam knocked on the door loudly, and announced, "Police! Open up!" They could hear yelling coming from inside, and the sound of breaking furniture. "Stand back," Sam said to Andy, as he un-holstered his gun. He gave the door a swift kick and they entered, guns drawn. They saw a well-muscled man, over six feet tall standing over a smaller woman with a broken chair leg in his hand.

"Police, drop the weapon!" Sam shouted to the man. He turned to face them, with wide eyes. Andy could see the guy was coked out of his mind. The man started to advance towards them, the broken chair leg raised high in the air.

"Stop or I'll shoot!" Andy said, as Sam slowly made his way around the man to check on the woman, who was still lying on the floor. The man ignored Andy's demands and continued towards her. Sam could see Andy was in trouble, so after helping the woman off the floor, he tackled the man from behind. He went down, his weapon clattering across the floor. Sam struggled with the man, having to use force to restrain him.

"Call for back-up," he called to Andy as he cuffed the assailant. Andy did as requested, and then went over to the woman who was sitting on the couch. She tried to get the, obviously frightened, woman to tell her what happened, but she was too shaken up. The man, on the other hand, could not stop talking and throwing profanities towards the woman, Sam and Andy.

"You have the right to remain silent," Sam said as he pulled the man off the floor and threw him roughly against the wall. "I suggest you use it."

The sound of sirens indicated that back-up had arrived. Sure enough, Officers Shaw and Epstein made their way up to the apartment a few minutes later. Sam handed the man off to Shaw who took him down to the squad car. Andy was about to follow suit with the woman when she heard a faint cry coming from the other side of the apartment. She quickly handed to the woman to a bewildered looking Epstein before going in search of the source of the mystery noise. As she got closer, she identified the sound as a baby crying. Sure enough, when she entered a small room at the back of the apartment, she saw a toddler, no more than two years old, standing up in a battered, old crib, screaming for his mommy. Andy went over to the child and picked him up, holding him close to her chest, and whispering soothing words to try to calm him. However, the kid would not stop screaming, and just kept pointing towards the ground. Andy looked down and saw a pacifier lying a few feet away from the crib. She bent down to pick it up, and after brushing the dirt off it, gave it to the screaming child. He put it in his mouth, and the crying immediately stopped. The child snuggled into Andy's chest, tired from all the exertion. Andy carried the boy back into the living room, where Sam was giving Shaw his statement.

"Hey Sam, look who I found." Sam turned to see Andy heading towards him, a red-faced, blue-eyed baby in her arms.

"Oh, that's Michael," Oliver said. "The lady said she had a son. We're gonna have to call Child Protective Services to take him until we can get this whole mess straightened out." Oliver gestured to Sam, who was just staring obliviously at Andy interacting with Michael. Shaw just shook his head and went downstairs to tell the parents they had Michael, and to call Child Services.

Andy moved over to the couch, with Michael still in her arms, to wait for the social worker to show up. Sam came over and sat next to her.

"Hello Michael," he said, reaching out to the little boy, who just shrank further into Andy's embrace. "Oh, maybe he doesn't like me." Sam joked, though he was a little hurt. I'm usually great with kids; I must be losing my touch.

"I'm sure it's not that, Sam. He's probably just traumatized from seeing his dad almost kill his mom," Andy said, with venom in her voice. Domestic violence cases always got under her skin, she wasn't sure why.

"Well, he seems quite taken with you. You're really good with him," Sam said as he saw Andy rubbing soothing circles on Michael's back. She wiped the tears from his eyes, and held him tighter to her chest, as if to protect him from the violence that had just occurred feet away from where they were sitting.

"Dad was never big on pocket money, all the money he had he spent on booze. So, I used to babysit neighbors' kids to earn extra cash in high school." They sat in silence whilst they wait for Child Services. Sam heard Andy softly singing to Michael to send him off to sleep. Sam leant back against the couch, and closed his eyes, as fantasies filled his head.

Sam pulled his large truck into the driveway of his suburban home, perfectly American down the cliché white picket fence. He saw the door open and a little brown-haired boy came flying out towards him screaming, "Daddy!" Sam had just enough time to bend onto his knees before the boy flew into his arms. He picked him up and swung him around, a joyful grin plastered on both their faces, complete with dimples. He placed the boy back onto the ground, and looked into his twinkling, blue eyes.

"How's my little man? Have you been good for mummy?" The child nodded enthusiastically, with a cheeky grin. Sam looked up to see Andy walking towards him, a squirming toddler in her arms. Once they got to him, the little girl reached her arms out to Sam, who scooped her up in a tight hug.
"And how's my little angel?" He stroked the little girl's hair as she sank deeper into his embrace.

"I missed you Daddy!" She said her voice distorted by the thumb stuck in her mouth. The little boy reciprocated, and Sam held him tight against him

. "I missed you guys too. Why don't you go inside and wash up for dinner, ok?" He put the little girl down, and she held her brother's hand as they walked back to the house.

"So, where's my hug?" Andy asked Sam jokily. He opened his arms and she walked into his embrace. He held her tight to his chest, breathing in the scent of her lavender shampoo, so thankful to be home. He kissed the top of her head, before releasing her. He put his arm around her waist and held her close as they walked to the house.

"How was your day, honey, did the kids behave themselves?" They entered the house, and Andy headed to the kitchen to finish preparing the family meal, whilst Sam planted himself on a stool at the breakfast bar, content to watch his wife work

"Joey scored his first ever goal at his soccer match this afternoon," Andy said as she stirred the pasta.

"That's my boy," Sam said proudly, watching his kids playing in the living room.

"Yeah, except it was in the other team's net," Andy said with a chuckle. "He was upset when his team lost, thinking it was his fault. After two minutes of trying to convince him otherwise, I got him an ice-cream, and he cheered up straight away." Andy laughed.

"Yep, he's definitely a Swarek," Sam said smugly. Andy turned the hob off, and strained the pasta before tossing the salad. Sam looked over to his children, just in time to see Joey push his sister, Megan, down, causing her to burst out crying. "Joseph Thomas Swarek!" He scolded. "Pick your sister up and apologize now." Joey stood sulkily and pulled his sister to her feet.

"I'm sorry, Megs," he said and pulled her into a hug. She sniffled against his shirt, her words muffled.

"That's ok, JoJo." He smiled at his sister's special nickname for him. At only two years old, she couldn't say Joey properly yet. He released her, and they continued playing, everything back to normal.

"Joey, Megan, dinner's ready!" Andy called and the kids came running into the kitchen, sitting at their usual places at the dinner table. Their parents joined them, and they exchanged light-hearted conversation throughout the meal.

Later on that night, Andy and Sam stood in the children's' bedroom watching over them as they slept soundly. Andy looked over at Sam who was staring out into space, a thoughtful look on his face. "What are you thinking about, honey?"Andy asked him, nudging him to get his attention.

"Just how the hell I got to be so lucky? Eight years ago, I was undercover trying to bust Anton Hill, living in a crappy apartment, putting myself in danger every day, for what? And then you entered my life, like a giant wrecking ball." He smirked, remembering how they first met. "If someone had told me then that, eight years later, I'd be married to that same woman, the love of my life, with two beautiful miracles; I'd have punched them out. I have everything I ever wanted, right here." He reached down and stroked Megan's hair before planting a lingering kiss on her forehead. "I love you, Andy."

"I love you too," Andy replied before pulling Sam to her for a long, passionate kiss. When the need for air became too much, they pulled away, resting their foreheads together.

"Let's get outta here before we wake them up," Sam said, taking his wife's hand and leading her to their bedroom...

"Sam, Sam, wake up!" Andy said, giving him a swift nudge in the ribs. He awoke with a start, rubbing his chest where she had elbowed him. Damn, I'd just got to the good part.

"Ouch, you really like hurting me, don't you, McNally!" She just smirked as she adjusted a still sleeping Michael in her arms. "And for your information, I wasn't sleeping. I was just resting my eyes." Andy rolled her eyes.

"Sure you were, Swarek," she muttered. "Shaw just called me. Child Services are waiting for us downstairs." She stood up off the couch and carried Michael down the stairs, with Sam mindlessly following, still in a daze from his vivid daydream. When they got back outside the apartment building, they saw Shaw and Epstein leaning against their cruiser talking with a young, red-headed woman in a crisp business suit. She looked more like a lawyer, than a social worker. She turned around as Andy and Sam approached.

"Hi I'm Mallory Stone from CPS. You must be Officers Swarek and McNally." Sam shook hands with Mallory.

"It's nice to meet you Miss Stone. You call me Sam, and this is my partner Andy." Mallory gave Andy a small smile.

"So, this must be Michael." She held out her hands, and Andy tried to hand Michael over to her without waking him. Unfortunately, as soon as she moved, Michael woke up and started to cry.

"Hey, it's ok, Michael, this nice lady is gonna look after you until your parents get back, ok?" Andy calmed the little boy enough that he allowed her to hand him over to Mallory. "What's going to happen to him?"

"We'll place him with an emergency foster care family for now. If his father is charged with assault, social services will conduct an investigation to see whether the mother is fit raise the child alone. If not, we will find a more permanent foster family for him. Don't worry; I'll make sure he's well cared for." Andy thanked Mallory, who then left with Michael. Andy waved goodbye to them until the car turned the corner out of sight. Sam turned to Andy and saw the tears glistening in her eyes. The urge to reach out and hug her was almost unbearable, but he resisted, knowing she wasn't his to hold.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked. Andy furiously wiped the moisture from her eyes, ashamed at herself for falling apart in front of Sam.

"I'm fine. Come on, we've got work to do." They walked over to where Oliver and Shaw were questioning the man and the woman.

"Hey," Oliver said as he saw them approach. "Looks like we're gonna have to take them both in, get this straightened out at the precinct. CSU's still processing the apartment, so we won't know what really happened until their report comes in. You wanna take Derrick and we'll take Jade?"
"Hey, how come you get the easy ride? This guy wouldn't stop flapping his trap and cussing at us in the apartment."
"Fine, we'll flip for it, and no cheating." Oliver pulled a quarter out of his pocket and flipped it. Sam called heads whilst the coin was in midair. The coin landed with a slap in Shaw's hand, tails up.
"Ha-ha, you lose, Sammy boy." Oliver said, happily as he handed Derrick over. "He's all yours. Have fun!" Oliver laughed as he put Jade in his cruiser. He called Epstein over, who was flirting with one of the neighbors. They both got into their car and sped off towards the precinct. Sam threw Derrick into the squad car and climbed in the driver's seat. Andy quickly got into the car as Sam sped off following Shaw.