Surprise Encounter Part Two

Disclaimer: Don't own Rookie Blue

A.N. Evidently my muse had a mind of its own because this was not what I planned (but hey, that's what happens when you're writing during class).

A.N.2 - sorry for not responding to reviews, I'm getting to them, I promise!

Enjoy!

It was only after her husband went upstairs to tuck the kids in that Sarah was able to finally talk to her brother. "Well?" she said.

"Well what?" he teased, playing dumb even though he knew she saw right through it.

"How is she?" Sarah looked at the stairs, to make sure they didn't have any eavesdroppers.

Sam got the hint not to mention her name. "She's going to be fine. The suspension in hard for her but her dad is doing a great job."

"I don't get it. I mean, suspensions happen. It gives you a chance to reflect. Why would it be so hard?"

"An-" he stopped himself. "She doesn't do time or space, and now she's drowning in both. I told you what happened while I was undercover. You heard her today. Her confidence was kinda shot when she found out her fiancé cheated on her so she's afraid I won't want her when the suspension is over."

"Oh Sam." Sarah's heart went out to her brother. For the first time in a long time, he seemed genuinely happy.

"It's okay. I cleared it up today. We'll both be fine and she can't wait to meet you."

Sarah's phone buzzed. She stepped into the kitchen to answer it.

Sam headed to "his" bedroom. He had a load of laundry that needed to be washed.

When he returned to the living room, Sarah was not there so he went into the kitchen. She was sitting by the table, absently playing with a bottle of beer. "That was Tommy" she said quietly.

Sam froze. "Is everything okay?"

"She's asleep and he wants to talk to you."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Sam, you need to. He hasn't told her yet but his sister in Appleton, Wisconsin is sick. He's leaving for Wisconsin to help out the day after they get back to Toronto. He wants to talk to you about Andy. Probably wants to make sure you're really invested and don't break her heart." She wanted him to go so badly that she didn't even notice that she slipped and said Andy's name.

Sam sighed. "You're not going to give up, are you?" Without waiting for her answer, he grabbed his keys.

As he headed out to his truck, his brother-in-law came down the stairs. The door swung shut so Sam didn't hear the question of "where's he off to?" or Sarah's response of "I'll tell you later, but before I forget, if he doesn't come home tonight, make the bed look slept in so the kids don't ask questions."

Sam looked at the directions Sarah wrote for him as he started the truck. It was simple and with the light traffic, he made it to the hotel in six minutes.

At the main desk, he told them he was going to visit Tommy McNally. He gave them the room number and they called up. Tommy told her to send Sam up.

As soon as Sam reached the room, he noticed that it was a corner room. He knocked on the door, trying to figure out why Tommy would want a corner room.

Tommy opened the door. "Swarek, come in."

As soon as Sam entered, he noticed the door connecting the other corner room was ajar. "I can't be here."

Tommy saw where he was looking. "She's asleep and I want to talk to you. It's the only opportunity I have."

Sam sighed. He owed it to Tommy. After all, as the superior officer, he should have stopped Andy the first time and he should not have called her to come back.

Tommy motioned for Sam to sit and waited for him to sit before speaking. "I'm going to be frank Sam. What are your intentions with Andy after the suspension?"

Sam's jaw dropped. Whatever he was expecting, it wasn't that question.

Tommy's eyes grew hard. "If you plan to toy with her heart and then discard her, I'm not going to let it happen."

"Excuse me?" Sam managed to say.

"My sister in Appleton, Wisconsin is sick and needs help. Although I was forced to retire, I still have connections and can get her into the force in Appleton. I won't leave her alone to nurse a broken heart."

Sam finally found his voice "I don't plan to break her heart. I've had feelings for her since the day she busted me. I want to care for her; I want her to let me in so I can take care of her."

Tommy nodded. "I just needed to make sure she is in good hands when I'm not around. She's a McNally; we tend to try to hide our secrets."

Sam nodded but before he could respond, he heard a low moan from the other room.

Tommy held up a hand as Sam started to rise, the need to be there for Andy evident in his eyes. "She's okay" Tommy said after a moment.

Sam noticed the wait time. "What's going on? Why do you have connecting rooms?"

Tommy sighed. "We've been traveling around Canada since she told me about the suspension. On our third day, there was a conference so the only rooms available were two bedrooms. I noticed that she was having nightmares so I insisted from then on that we either get a double room or connecting rooms."

"How do you know she's okay?"

"You know how they say a mother learns to read her baby's cry? Father's can to, most just don't try hard enough. I know my daughter."

"And when she's not okay?"

Tommy sighed. "It's scary" he admitted. "She doesn't remember half the time in the morning and she's been sleepwalking."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Really?" This was bad, and it was information he needed to know, especially if Tommy was not around.

Tommy nodded. There was silence for a second and then they heard a different, higher pitched cry. Tommy cursed.

Sam jumped to his feet and started towards her, thinking screw the rules, she needs me. Even without Tommy's cursing, he had recognized the pain in her cry.

"Sammy" Sam turned "let her finish first before you wake her up."

Sam nodded, having no idea what Tommy was talking about.

The bathroom light was on and then he heard it. The sound of her being sick. The pieces fell into place. She was sleepwalking to the bathroom because her nightmares were causing her to be ill. He had noticed that she lost a lot of weight since the last time he had seen her, now it made sense.

Sam filled a cup with water as he watched her. It killed him that he couldn't take her into his arms and hold her while she puked but Tommy was right, he needed to wait until she finished.

She stood and flushed the toilet. As she turned away from the toilet, Sam lifted her and set her gently next to the sink. Her eyes flew open. "Sam?" she whispered, confused.

He handed her the cup. "Swish and spit" he ordered.

"What? !"

"Do you trust me?"

She nodded. "With my life." She took the cup and did as he ordered. When she had done it twice, she looked at him. "I had another nightmare, didn't I?"

He nodded and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Wanna talk about it?"

She sighed. "Not in here."

Sam helped her down and let her lead him back to the bed. She curled up on the bed as he watched her. It was only when she patted the spot next to her that he spoke. "Andy…"

"Please" she whispered.

Sam sat down and pulled her close. He felt her trembling and couldn't help himself. He pulled her even closer and rested her head against his chest. "Sh, Andy, it's okay. You're okay" he whispered.

Listening to his heart beat while his hand laid tangled in her hair helped her calm down.

After a few minutes, Sam spoke. "Andy" he said softly "talk to me."

"I wasn't riding with Oliver so he didn't have a chance to tell me to stay back. I went in with Traci and Noelle through the back while Oliver took Dov, Chris, and the new guy through the front.

"Traci and I met up with Oliver as we descended to the basement. You were on the floor, Brennan was, oh, he, he was choking you." She took a deep breath and Sam felt her tears but he knew better than to interrupt. "Oliver yelled at him to get off of you and Brennan let go of you and rolled off, but your pulse was so weak."

She paused again, gathering her thoughts. Sam just stroked her hair gently.

"I begged you to stay with me." Her voice cracked and broke, sobs tearing from deep within her.

Sam wrapped both of his arms around her, hugging her tightly. He kissed her forehead and then moved his lips to her ear. "Sh, Andy, it's okay. You found me in time. It's because of you that I'm alive. I'm here. I'm right here with you and I'm not going anywhere. I'm safe, you're safe" he soothed.

Andy started to calm down as he spoke. At his last line, she hiccupped and whispered "until the next time."

Sam pushed her away so he could look her in the eye. "There won't be a next time."

"Sam" she whispered.

"No. Sarah freaked out, her kids were nervous around me the first day and I have something that I don't want to be without."

"But you love undercover."

"I'm done. I told Peck I'd do short stints like your waitress undercover but I can't do deep undercovers anymore. Too many criminals in Toronto know me."

"Sam, I don't want to hold you back."

"You're not." He pulled her closer. "Relax. Go back to sleep."

She pulled away from him. He saw the glint in her eyes. "Stay" she whispered.

"Okay" he kissed her and then pulled her close. She settled her head against his chest, right over his heart and was soon lulled to sleep.
Sam waited a few minutes to make sure she was asleep before slipping out of the room.

Tommy was waiting for him. "She tell you what the nightmares were about?"

Sam grimaced. "Yeah. I figured it out but she confirmed it."

Tommy studied him closely. "Stay tonight."

Sam started to protest.

Tommy held up his hand. "She hasn't had a decent night's sleep probably since the last night you two spent together. We're leaving St. Catharines in the morning and then you won't see her for the rest of the suspension."

Sam sighed. Sarah had probably assumed he would spend the night, Andy had asked him, and now Tommy was asking. He nodded slowly and watched as a smile spread over his future father-in-law's face.

Tommy pushed himself up. "I'll see you in the morning."

Sam nodded and headed back to Andy. He closed the door before kicking off his shoes. He slipped out of his jeans and padded to the bed. As he slipped beneath the blankets, Andy's eyes flew open. "Sh, go back to sleep Andy."

She sat up and crawled over him to his other side. "I'm not sleeping against your injured hand."

Sam rolled his eyes and kissed her. "Go to sleep."

She settled against his chest once again and his arm curled around her, pulling her close.

They both drifted off, each getting the best night sleep they had gotten since the suspension had started, and the best sleep they would be getting until the suspension ended.

A.N. Reviews make my day so let me know what you think.