A/N: Here we go! Thank so much for all of your reviews. Back when Andy went to see Luke, she did end things with him, in a way, but that will be covered more in these next couple chapters.
She sighed, making no move to let him in, "How did you get up here?"
He just smirked, "Well hi to you too, McNally," he replied, barely taking a breath before plowing on to the next question, "Can I come in? Thanks."
Without waiting for a reply, Sam pushed past her and in to her apartment; she barely registered the movement before she was left standing and gaping at the empty hallway. Belatedly, she closed the door and spun to face him, trying to keep her frustration at bay.
His eyes ran the length of her body. "Nice PJs," he commented lightly, turning to survey the rest of the apartment. Andy felt a slight flush spreading across her cheeks despite herself as she glanced down and remembered she was decked out in Goofy pyjama pants and a tank top, her quilt still wrapped around her; she tugged it tighter.
"You didn't answer my question. How'd you get in here?"
"Oh, that. Some woman named Gina let me in. Nice lady, blond, big chest. Seemed kind of put out when I told her I was coming to surprise you. Gullible thing, really," he answered, lifting a hand to touch a photograph of her and her father hanging on her wall, his tone still light and conversational as he moved around the room, touching pretty much everything.
She sighed again in frustration. Of course Gina would let him in. She was a sucker for anything male that was remotely attractive, and Sam was more than remotely attractive. In the jeans he was wearing now and that tight, but not too tight, black t-shirt, yeah, she would say he was downright hot. Did you really just think that? The tiny voice reprimanded. It was probably just the lack of sleep.
"Can you not- Can you not touch everything?" She finally asked, frustrated to no end. God, he was like a little kid sometimes.
He pulled his hand back from the lamp shade he was currently running his finger over and turned back to look at her. "You look like shit."
"Gee, thanks," Andy snapped sarcastically.
Sam only shrugged, "I'd guess you were awake all night, right? Every time you closed your eyes, you had nightmares, and so you stayed out here watching stupid infomercials and horrible tele-priests for hours on end, while trying to figure out what you could have done differently, despite the fact that you couldn't have done anything differently. Am I right?"
Andy avoided his eyes, knowing that one look at her face would give him the answer he already knew. Her silence, however, was as effective as anything, and Sam nodded.
"I'd also guess that you haven't eaten yet today, right?"
"No, I ate. I had lunch with my father," She lied, praying that this one time, she would be able to lie.
Sam's lips twitched slightly, "You're a terrible liar, McNally."
"I'm not lying."
"Sure. Well in any case, I brought some food. Eat up," He chirped, holding up a takeout bag. When she made no move to take it from him, he proceeded into the kitchen and started unloading it onto her table; He was acting like he lived here, not her, although she guessed she was being less than hospitable, and her brain wasn't exactly keeping up with everything that was happening. She watched wordlessly as he pulled out her favourite burger, complete with curly fries –which she preferred to regular fries, something Luke hadn't bothered to find out about her- and a strawberry milkshake she hadn't noticed he was carrying. It shocked her that he remembered.
The day was slow, and both Sam and Andy were bored. Sam turned aimlessly down streets, having run out of things to do. He'd already turned the sirens on while a little old lady was in front of the patrol car, -which could have resulted in the poor thing keeling over right there on the street-, while a biker was pedalling beside them –causing him to fall- and behind a student driver, giving the poor girl a heart attack and almost causing her to rear end a parked car. She'd probably quit driving now, all because Sam was like a little kid when he was bored.
Turning the wheel again, they found themselves on a street that looked as though it had seen better days. After a moment, Andy realized that she knew the street rather well; she and her parents used to come here all the time when she was little. Their trips had trickled to a stop after her mother left, and Andy hadn't seen the place since. It was home to Andre's Burger House, a place that only the local neighbourhood residents really knew about. Her father had been raised in this neighbourhood, and that was the only reason she heard of it.
"Wow, looks like that place has seen better days," Sam commented, indicating the now worn down brick building. It used to be brightly painted and booming with business. Now, Andre's Burger House was in desperate need of a paint job, and its bricks in desperate need of repair. However, it seemed to be doing alright; it was still attracting the residents.
"Yeah," she nodded, memories flooding back to her suddenly, "It has."
Sam glanced at her, surprised, "You've been here before?"
"My parents and I used to come here all the time," She explained, looking away from him and out the window, studying the scenery as they drove, "Before she left. Best burger around."
Sam scoffed, "I doubt that. Little place like that? No way."
Andy smirked now, her mind taken off thoughts of days that were long past. Maybe not happier, but certainly days in which she enjoyed the comforts of a closer family. "Wanna bet?"
How he managed to remember something as insignificant as that after a month had passed was beyond her, but as he indicated for her to sit down, she discovered that she was hungrier than she'd thought. She unwrapped the burger and started to eat, not caring if she looked piggish. Anyone who had seen Sam Swarek eat couldn't be self-conscious about their own habits. Sam looked at her with an I-told-you-so expression before unwrapping the burger he'd brought for himself. Andy rolled her eyes, but was too distracted by the food to comment. After she finished her burger, she was about to speak when Sam put his hand back inside the bag, brandishing a second one and setting it in front of her.
"You honestly expect me to believe you're full?" He asked when she started to protest. She didn't see the point in arguing, and ate the second one as he watched, amused.
She finished the food and sat back, "You done shoving food at me?"
"For now."
"Great. Want to tell me why you're here, then?" She crossed her arms. She'd had to pull herself together rather quickly when he showed up at her door, and she had a feeling that the cracks were beginning to show through. She was putting on an air of being fine with everything that had transpired but, then again, so was he. He prided himself on being a fabulous liar, but she could see right through the front he was putting up right now. She could tell Shaw's death had affected him more than he'd care to admit.
"I came to make sure you didn't wither away," He replied, rising and beginning to clear off the table.
"I can do that," She interrupted, standing as well and reaching for the wrapper of his burger as he did. She ignored the spark that shot through her hand as their skin connected, feeling guilty that she should feel anything at all. What was wrong with her?
"How about I clean up while you go get ready?" He suggested.
"Get ready?"
"Yeah, go get dressed. There's something I want to show you."
"And if I don't want to?"
"Too bad, McNally. Go change or whatever it is women do when getting ready, and don't take too long."
Andy rolled her eyes, groaning in frustration but heading to her bedroom at the look on his face.
Twenty minutes later, Andy had pulled on her favourite jeans and a loose gray t-shirt. She took one look at herself with her swollen, tired eyes, and pulled her hair out of the ponytail in an attempt to hide her face.
"Okay, I'm ready. Let's get this over with."
"Don't be so enthusiastic."
"No danger of that."
"Before we go… Do you always keep an unopened bottle of whisky on your coffee table?"
Andy had forgotten that she left the bottle there, and knew what it must look like.
"It's not mine. I took it. From my dad."
"Doesn' t matter where you got it, McNally. I'd guess that you've spent the entire afternoon staring at it, trying to decide whether or not to drink it."
She wished he'd stop with his damn guessing; it was getting on her nerves, especially since he had been right each time.
She shrugged noncommittally.
"Alcohol isn't the answer here," He told her warily. He knew he was treading on thin ice.
"Yeah, I know that, ok? I'm not my god damn father," She snapped, immediately regretting her tone when he was only trying to help, "Sorry. Are we going to go or what?"
Sam frowned, but nodded nonetheless. He headed for the door, and she followed, grabbing her purse on her way by the table beside the door, pausing to lock the apartment on the way out.
Sam led her down the stairs and out of the building, passing Gina in the parking lot. She smiled at Sam, exclaiming, "Great! I see you got in ok!"
He blew past her with a cursory nod and Andy would have laughed at the look on her face, had she been in the mood to feel anything but this crushing weight. It was then that Andy realized the weight wasn't as crushing as it had been this morning. She felt slightly panicked and largely guilty about that. Her partner had died and she was over it in a day?
No, she knew she was nowhere near being over it, but she was starting to realize that having company definitely made her feel less desolate. It gave her less time to think about everything she'd done wrong and what she should have done to prevent Shaw from…
Her thoughts abruptly cut off as they reached their destination: The Black Penny.
Andy frowned, "This is it?"
"What were you expecting, Disneyland?" Sam muttered as he opened his door.
She didn't dignify that with a response as she followed him into the bar, wondering why in the world he wanted to take her to the bar she was in pretty much every night after work. What was so special about it now?
A/N: So I'm going to end it there. And add in yet another chapter to the grand plan, because I wanted to get farther than this. I always seem to get side-tracked. I'm still unsure of Sam. I struggle writing the males. I don't know why, but I can never get them right. They're always too girly… haha. Let me know what you think!
