Thank you for all the amazing comments and all the great feedback. And for your patience. I am excited to get back into this story. This chapter is all about Sam and his feelings for Andy. But I promise, I will dig further into the mystery in the next chapter.

Please send me your thoughts and comments. And of course, I don't own or have any association with Rookie Blue.

CHAPTER 4

The plan was set. Everyone had their assignments. The first order of business was to find Brennan's hide out. They had to run down his financials, track down his known associates, search his business and uncover his path. But much to Sam's disappointment, Boyd was still in charge. What did he expect? For Best to give him the keys to the kingdom? Especially after what he'd done. What he and McNally had done. He was lucky that Frank was letting participate at all.

Best knew that there would be no stopping Sam and at least, at this point, he was an asset. He knew Brennan better than anyone on the force, including Boyd. He knew his hot buttons and motivations. But Sam was still steamed.

Brimming with anger, he slammed his way into the locker room looking for something to punch or kick – whatever it took to get his aggression out. He'd kept his cool in the parade room, but Boyd had pushed all the right buttons and he knew it.

Even as he walked the team through his plan, he could see Boyd's cynical eyes watching him. Boyd could care less about the human capital, whether it was Brennan and his family or one of this fellow officers. It all about fast tracking his career and he was willing to do whatever it took to bring Brennan down. There was no way in hell McNally was going to get in his way.

While Sam's inner self was immune to self control in that moment, he showed tremendous constraint. He wanted to flatten Boyd when he made the comment about Andy. Just punch him then and there.

Shaw pushed the door open and started to walk in. "Hey, Sammy, you in here?" Hearing the distinct sound of anger clanging, he knew had found Sam. He knew this was killing him. The emotionally challenged Sam and Andy had been dancing around their interest in each other for months, and Ollie had had a ring side seat along with everyone. "We're going to find her Sammy. I promise you," Oliver said calmly, letting the door slide out of his hand and walking over to Sam.

Sam was pacing, looking for something more to attack. "You've seen the pictures, haven't you?" Stopping momentarily, Sam locked eyes with Shaw. "You know what he's capable of …'' Sam said intently, resuming his relentless movement around the room.

Oliver knew Sam was right. There was no denying Brennan had an evil side, but rehashing each of Brennan's suspected homicides wasn't going to calm Sam down or protect Andy. So he said the only thing that really mattered, the truth.

"She's smart Sam. You and I both know she's got a good head on her shoulders." Sam stopped knowing Shaw was right. She was a good copper with smart instincts. And he'd trained her well. "She one of our best," he continued "and I am not just saying that because we're buddies. She's one of the good ones." He paused, "She's a keeper, Sammy."

"Yes, yes she is …" Sam muttered under his breath.

Oliver sat down on the bench in front of the lockers, and just waited for Sam's next move. The pacing had temporarily stopped, but he knew his friend was lost in his thoughts.

They could hear the buzz of the squad room outside, but neither spoke for several minutes. "Sam …" Oliver's cautious tone eventually breaking the silence.

Clearly uncomfortable in his own skin, Sam locked his fingers behind his neck and looked up at his friend intuitively knowing the question Shaw was going to ask next. "Don't say it … please Oliver, don't …" he begged reading his friend's face.

The two had been friends for a long time, so Oliver couldn't help but respect his friend's wishes, knowing it was only a matter of time until he was ready to talk. This thing with Andy had been a long time coming. Everyone in the squad knew it. Oliver watched the signs for months. And then, everyone suspicions were confirmed during retraining, the way Sam went after Luke. In some ways, he was happy for Sam. He needed someone to trust and finally sat down across from his Oliver.

Shaw couldn't help himself. He had to ask. "Listen, brother, I know you've probably already gotten an earful, but this is you and me. What the hell happened out there?"

Sam sat in silence. His elbows on his knees, his hands holding his pounding head.

"I screwed up, is that what you want to hear?" Sam shouted with frustration.

"Sam, buddy, this is me you're talking to."

"I screwed up, brother." Sam replied calmly. There was a remote stillness in the air as Sam paused to swift through his thoughts. "One moment I was undercover, working Brennan and then the next thing I knew … there she was." Sam half chuckled to himself, running his hands briskly through his hair, the stress inside clearly rebuilding. "I was at this dive bar and I turned around and there was McNally and Nash."

"They just randomly showed up?"

Sam waited a moment before he responded. "I must have mentioned the bar once to Andy in passing … and she took a gamble." Oliver could see that Sam was reliving the moment in his mind.

"And Sammy …" Ollie started, realizing that Sam wasn't fully there, his head still buried in his hands. "And Sam, what … you decided to choose that moment to declare your intentions?" Sam's head suddenly popped up, his eyes meeting Ollie's squarely. There was a momentary standoff between the two friends, when Ollie decided this was the moment to be frank with Sam.

Zoe had been on his case for months to say something. They wanted nothing more than to see Sam happy. And Ollie had tried, like the day at the launder mat, but he just wasn't good at least types of things. It had taken him months to ask his own wife out and he was still always asking others for advice how to talk to Zoe. But it was now or never … "I mean, we all knew you guys would hook up eventually, I mean it's clear as day that you … well, you know, but I've got to tell you Sammy, you're timing is pretty rotten."

"Give me a little credit will you. It's not like I'm a horny teenager." Sam snapped back throwing his hands in the air and standing up, continuing to pace the room.

Shaw didn't respond, knowing that Sam would continue.

"It all just happened." Sam started. "At first, I kept it under control. Kept my game face on through the whole night. The job came first. And I thought it was all good when she and Nash took off. But then Andy, McNally … she came back to the bar a few hours later. I actually told her to leave but ironically Brennan encouraged me to go after her. 'A woman like that only comes around once in a lifetime,' he said. My plan was to put her in a cab and send her back to the station." Lifting his head to

"And?"

"And … McNally had other plans … and I … well, you know …" he trailed off.

"Say no more, brother. Women can make our brains go numb just by saying hello. Really, they can make us do the unthinkable. The stories Zoe and I have … well that's for another time … although, I gotta hand it to you Sammy, you're either blindly in love or just really stupid. People will be talking about this one for years to come. "

Sam was at a lost. He knew he had feelings for Andy, but was it really … no it couldn't be.

"You've known for a while?" Sam asked hesitantly. He knew he'd been pretty transparent to himself about feelings for Andy in the weeks leading up to the undercover op, but had hoped no one else had caught on.

"It's been hard to miss Sammy. You light up when Andy's in the room … and frankly, you're a bit over protective Sam. I tried to help you out that day at the launder mat, you know, encourage you to say something to her."

"She was still with Callahan then." Sam responded, lifting his head looking directly into his friends eyes.

"Right." Ollie paused shaking his head. "If you're anything brother, you're honorable."

Sam laughed softly to himself. Ollie was right, he thought. Sam was a rule breaker on the streets, but when it came to those he cared about he always did what was right. He'd kept his distance when Andy was dating Luke. He'd even lied to Luke about the night of the blackout because it helped Andy. And when things finally did end with Luke, he never once said "I told you so" to his partner. He just listened and tried to be the best friend he could. All true. So, how did he end up here?

"Sammy, where'd you go man?" Ollie could see that Sam had drifted off. He was glad to see that his friend was calming down, but now he was too quiet and eyes were distant and gray. "Sam?"

"We have to find her Ollie. I have to tell her … tell her that I love her."