A/N: Alright guys, here's the second and final part to this story. This is a total fluff piece full of flirtation and hot McSwarek lovin'! I really hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.
"Alright. What do you think?" Sam asked as he hammered the final nail into the wall and hung the last of her pictures.
Andy squinted as the last picture was nailed in place. She looked around her living room and let out a sigh of satisfaction. "It's perfect," she answered with a beaming grin.
"Of course it is," Sam agreed with a wink in her direction.
"Thanks for doing this, Sam," she said as she handed him a water. "You're much better at hanging pictures than I am," she laughed as she remembered the last time she tried to hang artwork. Traci had finally been the one to tell her it wasn't her strong suit.
"It's all in the wrist, McNally," he joked as he laid his hammer down on the coffee table. "So is it finally done?" he asked looking around her new apartment.
"Yeah," she nodded as she took in the scene surrounding her. "It's finally done. It's beginning to feel like home," she added.
It had been four months since she had moved out of the house she shared with Luke, her ex fiancé. It wasn't as easy as she thought it would be to find an apartment which resulted in her staying with her father much longer than she originally thought she would. But in time she found the perfect little third floor walkup in the heart of the city. Also, it was walking distance from the 15 which only solidified her decision.
Initially things were tough after her breakup. Working with an ex is never an easy feat and as much as they tried to avoid each other at the precinct, they did have to work together on some things. Without ever verbally addressing it, they fell into an easy and professional working relationship.
Shortly after Luke was released from the hospital with a clean bill of health he returned to work. He and Jo laid low for a while, but eventually they got tired of hiding their relationship. They were happy and everyone could see it. The cops at the 15 were standoffish at first, but as soon as they saw Andy was okay with the new relationship, the judgment stopped and things returned to normal.
House hunting while working sixty hour weeks was virtually impossible. However, Andy managed to find time on the weekends to look for a new place. Traci came over every Saturday morning and circled ads in the paper with her over coffee and donuts. It took a couple months, but eventually they found the perfect place. Sam, Dov and Chris all helped her move in, which only took one afternoon. Between the manpower and lack of stuff they actually had to move, it was easy.
So for the last four months things cruised along nicely. Work was steady, with no abundance of life or death situations.
Sam had turned down the offer to rejoin the Guns 'n Gangs squad. And surprisingly it wasn't all that hard of a decision. Special assignments and UC ops used to be his niche, but things change. His priorities had changed dramatically in the last year and he came to terms with the fact that Guns 'n Gangs wasn't for him anymore. Other things were more important now. Other people were more important to him now.
"You know," he began as he took one final look around her living room before fixing his eyes on her. "This place looks really great. It's very you, McNally," he finished. He was proud of her. So proud of her for realizing she could stand on her own two feet. She had found an apartment that suited her perfectly. She was happy, which made him happy.
"I couldn't have done it without you, Sam," she returned keeping her eyes locked with his. She meant it. She knew he would disagree, but she really couldn't have gotten through the last four months without him. He was her rock, both on the job and off. His constant support was incredibly encouraging and she repeatedly drew strength from it.
"Yeah you could have, but I'm glad I was there to help," he said as his dimples made themselves known. Sometimes it seemed the entire world closed in around the two of them when they were alone. Like nothing else mattered. This was one of those moments. A moment when his breath catches, butterflies dance in his stomach and his eyes always seem to drift away from her eyes and towards her lips. He gets hot. His palms begin to sweat. Time seems to slow. All he can see is her-
"So I guess I owe you one," she interrupted his train of thought. In moments like these, she found it best to change the subject. Maybe not best, but definitely familiar. They could fill a book with things they didn't talk about. They read each other well. And because of it, both knew when things approached dangerous waters it was easiest to just take a step back.
He swallowed hard. Pushed the feelings back down to where he kept them day in and day out. "Yeah, I guess you do. Any thing in mind?" he asked shifting to a more comfortable position on her couch.
"Well as a housewarming gift my dad got me this cook book and for the last couple nights I've been looking through it finding recipes I'd like to try. Wanna be my guinea pig tonight?" she asked playfully hoping he would say yes. It was just dinner. Between friends. Why not?
"Sure," he nodded. "What time should I be back over?" He couldn't help but think if he couldn't be anything else why not settle for guinea pig.
"How 'bout seven?" she asked glancing towards the clock that hung above her fireplace. That gave her three hours to prepare.
"Sounds good," he answered as he stood up from the couch. He collected his hammer and box of nails and headed towards the door. "See you later," he said as he turned the nob and glanced back at her. She was smiling. Man, that smile did wicked things to him.
"See you later," she returned as he closed the door. Oh my God.
It was a quarter to seven and Andy began to second guess her decision to have Sam over for dinner. Not because the food wasn't ready. It was. But because she wasn't sure if she was ready.
After he left, she took out the cookbook her dad got her. It was Rachel Ray's newest cookbook. That much she knew. At that moment she was happy she decided to leave that detail unsaid during her conversation with Sam earlier. She started browsing through recipes. She was between pasta, steak, pizza…she had no idea what to make. Then she saw one that caught her eye. "You Won't be Single for Long" vodka cream pasta. She debated for only a moment on whether or not she should tempt fate and then decided why the hell not. Pasta it is.
She made her list, went to the store, put everything away and hopped in the shower. More to calm her nerves than anything else. Once she got out and ready she headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
As she was placing the pasta in the oven to keep it warm there was a light knock on her door. She glanced down at her watch. It read 6:55. He was early.
She took a deep breath, smoothed out her dress and headed for the door. She opened it. He stood there, holding a bottle of wine. She couldn't help but notice he looked a little nervous. She thanked him for the wine and invited him in.
After opening the wine and bringing the food to the table they both sat down. Sam served Andy first and then himself. "So, how was the rest of your afternoon?" he asked as he finished placing some salad on his plate.
"It was nice. Just cleaned up a little around here and went to the store. Nothing too exciting," she answered as she took a sip of her wine. "What about you? What'd you do after you left?"
"Not much, just watched some TV," he answered nonchalantly. Truth was, it was the longest three hours of his life. He hadn't been able to relax since he left her apartment earlier in the afternoon. His nerves were a wreck. He didn't even know why he was so nervous. It was just dinner. They'd done it plenty of times before. But something was different this time. Something had been different for a while now. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he liked it.
Conversation flowed easily throughout dinner. They never struggled for things to talk about and there were never any awkward silences. After they finished eating Sam poured two more glasses of wine and they headed into her living room.
"Thanks for dinner, McNally. It was actually really good," he said with a teasing smile.
"Hey," she protested as she punched him in the arm. "Don't sound so surprised," she finished shaking her head and mocking a frown.
"Oh you know I'm just teasing. It was good, really. I didn't expect anything less," he added.
"You know I slaved over that for hours, right?"
"Uh-huh, sure you did."
She laughed into her glass and took a sip of wine. It felt good, sitting there with Sam. She couldn't remember the last time she had dressed up and made a nice dinner. It was a welcome change from the Styrofoam temple that sat in her fridge.
"You know I was thinking," she began as she shifted on the couch so she was directly facing him. "We should do this more often." She wasn't really sure where she was going with that statement, but maybe it was time to stop beating around the bush. She was single. He was single. They were adults, friends even.
"McNally," he said making sure he had her complete attention. God she's beautiful. "All you have to do is ask, you know?"
"Yeah, well it goes both ways, Swarek. You obviously think you're a better cook than me so why don't you prove it some time," she challenged playfully. Where'd that come from?
"Okay," he laughed. "You're on. Next time we'll do this at my place." Next time? Were they already talking about next time? He couldn't help but think that maybe, finally after all this time they were beginning to get on the same page.
"Deal," she answered. "You ready for dessert?"
"Absolutely. What're we having?"
"Ice scream," she answered with a wicked smile. "I didn't know what you liked so I figured I couldn't go wrong with ice cream."
"You definitely can't go wrong with ice cream, McNally."
Andy got up, served two bowls and came back to where Sam was sitting. "Here you go," she said as she handed him a bowl.
She sat down and they ate their ice cream in silence. Both inadvertently sneaking glances at the other.
She looked up and noticed Sam was staring at her. She furrowed her eyebrows silently asking him what he was thinking. When he didn't answer she asked out loud.
He smiled and shook his head. "It's just…you have some ice cream on your…" he didn't finish. Instead he scooted closer and slowly raised his thumb to her lip. She subconsciously leaned forward and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. He noticed her breath catch as he placed his thumb above her lip to wipe the tiniest bit of ice cream off her face. Never once, during the exchange, did their eye contact falter.
She swallowed hard and took in a deep breath. "Thanks," she said barely above a whisper. Her eyes were still locked with his.
"No problem," he returned. He shifted his weight so he was even closer to her than he was before. It's like he was being drawn to her. His eyes shifted between her eyes and her lips. Everything about her was pulling him in. He felt his own breathing speed up. Those little butterflies once again formed in his stomach.
He began to raise his hand again. The same one that only moments before removed the ice cream from her face. His fingertips made contact with her cheek and he pushed a stray strand of hair back behind her ear. He let his hand linger there, between her ear and her neck, for a minute before he fully wrapped it behind her neck. He felt her breathing hitch as he slowly guided her forward.
He searched her eyes as she came to him. When he saw no resistance he leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips. They were sticky. He could taste the vanilla ice cream on them. He let his tongue slip out of his mouth and he ran it along her lower lip.
She kissed him back. His lips were cold to the touch. She could taste the sweetness the ice cream left. She felt his tongue sweep across her lower lip. She accepted and parted her mouth to allow him access. She was on the verge of losing the last bit of control she had left in her.
She pulled away slightly. "Sam-" He kissed her again. "Sam, I don't know-"
"It's okay, don't overthink it," he reassured her only centimeters from her lips. He decided now was a good time to get rid of the bowls they both held in their laps. Without ever tearing his lips away from hers, he placed both bowls on the coffee table.
As soon as his hands were free, he wrapped his arms around her and drew her closer. She welcomed him and followed suit and wrapping her arms around his neck. The kisses deepened and quickened as their hold on each other tightened.
"I've wanted this for so long," she let out between heavy breaths.
"I know. Me too." He couldn't believe this was happening. Obviously the idea had crossed his mind that something like this might happen, but he never actually imagined it would. He couldn't believe he had her in his arms again. It felt so…right. Like she was exactly where she was supposed to be.
However, his body was adjusting much quicker than his mind was. He could feel himself growing harder with each kiss he shared with her. One good thing about helping her move in, he knew exactly where her bedroom was.
As he stood up he brought her with him. He welcomed the change of position as he now had much better access to her. He couldn't stop touching her. He pulled her as close as he could get her.
She could feel his erection pressed against her middle. She didn't even know it was possible to want something this bad. She had no idea she wanted him this bad until tonight. She slowly began to push him backwards towards her bedroom.
When he decided that walking backwards was too complicated at the moment he picked her up, turned around and carried her to her room. As he stepped over the threshold he set her down. He was overcome with desire. He couldn't stop kissing her. But he needed to know if she was sure.
"Andy," he breathed out.
She wasn't having it. "Mhmm," she protested. "No talking, Sam. Just kiss me," she pleaded as she dove in for another kiss. She had never been so turned on by simply kissing anyone in her entire life. Although, there was nothing simple about these kisses. These kisses said everything that had been left unsaid for the past year. They said everything.
"Andy," he tried again this time being able to force some distance between them. "You need to tell me if this isn't what you want. If we keep at this I'm not going to be able to stop," he said breathlessly. As he finished he let his nose brush against her cheek. He really was being drawn to her. God help him if she said she wanted him to stop.
She opened her eyes and placed both her hands on his cheeks. "I want this, Sam. God, I've never wanted anything so badly in my life," she said as she placed a hot open mouthed kiss on his lips. "Don't stop," she whispered. She couldn't ask him to stop even if she wanted to. Her body simply wouldn't allow it. Her reaction to him was overwhelming. She needed every inch of her body to be touching his. She was wet with pleasure and wanted nothing more than to share this night with him. There was no turning back. She knew that just as much as he did.
She woke up in the middle of the night to a heavy form breathing deeply on her chest. As soon as her eyes adjusted and she took in the sleeping body, she smiled. Sam was asleep, head on her chest, arm draped over her stomach.
She had never been more comfortable in her life. I guess the pasta worked, she thought to herself as she remembered the name of the dish she chose to make earlier. She laughed it off, leaned down and placed a soft kiss in his hair. He stirred and for a moment she thought she woke him, but he only let out a light breath and nuzzled closer to her.
At that moment there was nowhere else she wanted to be. She was home. In her own apartment with a man she knew she would soon call hers. She had no doubt in her mind that this was exactly where she was supposed to be. This was her life. And she was completely content to live it exactly how she was at that very moment.
Okay guys, that's it for this one. Thanks for reading! What'd ya think? It's been a long time since I've attempted to write romance between these two so I really hope it turned out alright. Or better than just alright. Let me know!
I'm slowly starting to get my muse back for McSwarek fiction. It definitely helps that the show is back and most of the material is just begging to be written about. So far I've written this story and one other one titled Stay for season 2. If you haven't read that one yet I would totally love it if you checked it out. It's based on one of the promos where (I think) Andy asks Sam to tell her to stay and he does. I wrote it before the show even came back so some of you may have missed it. Visit my profile to find it!