A/N: Oh, my God. First of all, I really can't explain how sorry I am for taking this long to update. All I can really say is that college sucks. And college as a nursing major sucks even more. So I apologize profusely for this extremely late update. I know some of you have been curious about whether I was planning on continuing this. But here it is. Also, a HUGE thank you to my friend Edward for allowing me to bounce creative ideas off of him. I couldn't have finished this final chapter without him. And also, to "Back to December" by Taylor Swift. I was listening to that song on repeat while I wote the last of this chapter. XD Anyways, here's the last chapter. Enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: I most certainly don't own Rookie Blue.

"What?" he snarls, raising his forearm to lean against the doorjamb. The alcohol swimming through his veins clouds his vision so he's left staring at the blurry silhouette of his visitor.

She recovers from the suddenness of the door opening but when she lays eyes on the man behind it, she's thrown into a whole new level of shock. The man standing in front of her was not the Sam she knew all those years ago, nor was he the Sam she last saw just 24 hours ago. Gone are the warm, dark eyes, dimpled grin, and proud, straight back that belonged to the man she came to know and love. Instead, this man stares back at her with pained, bloodshot eyes, his mouth drawn into a taut line. He leans heavily on the doorframe, the effort to keep himself upright clearly taking every ounce of his energy, as his shoulders seem to sag with the weight of his troubles. But what strikes her the most is the overwhelming smell of alcohol that hits her when the door swings open. She glances at the empty bottle clutched tightly in his hand of what she could only imagine had once been filled with whatever it was he had consumed and knows from her experience dealing with her father's past incidents that that was not all he had had today.

She takes all this in and as she does, a small part of her heart crumples. This is what everyone had not wanted her to see and now she understands why. It was for Sam's sake as much as it was for hers. She wants to reach out to him, hold him until the hurt is gone but she knows she has to tread carefully.

"Sam." She doesn't realize she's said his name until he jerks at the sound of her soft voice.

He squints at the person standing before him. He knows that voice. Sure enough, when his alcohol-induced haze partially lifts, he finds himself staring at the last person he wants standing at his door today. "The hell are you doin' here?" he asks, his voice rough from lack of use.

There's a moment's hesitation before she responds, duly noting the slur blurring his words together. "I need to talk to you."

He snorts. "Callaghan know you're here?"

For some reason, she hesitates. This isn't exactly how she planned on telling him. "We got divorced."

He lets out a soft chuckle and smiles humorlessly. "And I'm his replacement?" To be honest, their spilt comes as a surprise to him.

"You know it's not like that." Despite her efforts, her voice betrays her flash of anger.

"I don't know anything." he shoots back.

She flinches slightly at the double meaning of his statement but gets herself back under control and continues in a much softer tone, "Can you please just let me in?"

Mustering up what little strength he has, he fights through the alcohol dragging him down and stands stubbornly in the doorway. "Whatever you wanna say, you can say it right here."

"I want to do this right, Sam." she says softly. "Please."

He briefly entertains the idea of shutting the door in her face but knowing that she would probably just continue on with her pounding, he decides against it. He was in no mood to have his already splitting headache exacerbated. Grudgingly, he turns his back, leaving the door open, a sign for her to follow.

She enters wearily, as if waiting for him to change his mind and point her out the door. Again, a wave of déjà vu comes over her as she steps through the threshold and closes the door behind her, remembering the last time she had been in his darkened house. But things were different then and the strain of a five years absence now hangs heavily in the air. She follows him into the living room where he stops abruptly and spins around to face her.

"Well," he says, leaning his hip against the couch to keep himself upright as he drops the empty tequila bottle on the cushions. "Let's hear it."

She takes in the hard set lines of his face and once again fights the urge to reach out and touch him. "You weren't at the station today." she says instead.

"And you were?" he deflects.

"I was looking for you."

A tense silence falls between them.

She shuffles her feet nervously. "You never call in sick."

"Why the hell do you care?"

"I'm just trying to understand."

"There's nothing to understand." he replies tersely, crossing his arms over his chest.

Impatience flashes briefly in her eyes but she fights to keep her calm, knowing that getting worked up wouldn't do either of them any good. "Sam, I think we owe it to ourselves to try to be honest."

An uncharacteristic sneer pulls at his lips. "You're one to talk about honesty."

She hesitates. "I didn't lie to you."

"You're right." he shoots back, the sarcasm and contempt dripping from his voice. "You didn't say anything."

They stare at each other, the tension in the air palpable.

"We're done." he says at a length when the silence becomes unbearable. "Get out."

There's a beat. "No." The firmness of her voice startles both of them. "I waited five years to say this. I'm not waiting anymore."

"Well, then I hope you don't mind talking to yourself." he replies, turning away with every intention of shutting himself in his room until she decided to leave.

"I'm sorry." she says suddenly to his back causing him to stop mid-step. "I screwed up. I get that and I'm sorry. I know that doesn't even begin to cover everything that's happened but I have to start somewhere." She pauses, her voice softening slightly. "It's killed me as much as it's killed you so don't think you were the only one who spent the last five years wondering."

At this, his anger, fueled by the copious amounts of tequila pumping through his veins, flares up and he spins back around to face her. "Yeah? 'Cause it certainly felt like I was."

She flinches at his sudden outburst but stands her ground.

"I spent two days telling myself that you were just avoiding me. That you called in sick because you were over thinking what I said like how you always do." he continues in a dangerously quiet tone. "So imagine my surprise when Nash tells me you've transferred."

"I know I should've told you—"

"We were goddamn partners!" he yells, taking a step forward. "Of course you should've told me! We should've had a conversation like decent human beings!"

"What, you think I wanted this?" she fires back, unable to keep her voice from rising. "You think I wanted to leave?"

He clenches his jaw and lets out a strangled sigh and when he answers, he can hear a tinge of resignation creep into his voice. "I don't know what to think anymore."

They stand there for a moment, the defeated silence that falls between them nearly shattering her heart. She makes up her mind then that she's put it off long enough. There would be no going back after this. "I was scared, Sam." she whispers at a length. "It was always different with you. I felt different with you. And that scared me because…" Closing her eyes, she allows a soft sigh escape her lips. "Because that meant that you mattered more to me than anyone ever had before. And I didn't trust myself with that." She pauses long enough to take a steadying breath. "Luke was safe, simple. I didn't have to figure him out. Or get hurt trying. Somehow I convinced myself that I could be happy with him, that I didn't need you to make me feel like I was the only one that mattered."

He shifts his gaze to look at the floor, not wanting her to see the hurt in his eyes at her statement.

"Then you went and turned everything upside down." she continues, the ghost of a fond smile playing at her lips. "We weren't playing a game anymore. It was real and that terrified me. So, I did the one thing I knew how to do. I ran. I thought that maybe if I ran far enough, I'd be able to forget you." She chuckles quietly at her naiveté. "I know it was stupid because in the end the only person I actually managed to fool was Luke and I couldn't live with that anymore. So, yeah, I should've told you. I should've told you everything because then maybe we wouldn't be in this mess. But I didn't and I'm sorry. You probably hate me and I honestly wouldn't blame you but I'm sorry."

"Andy—"

"No." she interrupts, holding up a hand to cut him off. "I need to say this now before I can't get it out anymore. I know I made a mistake. I know I hurt you. And I'm not expecting anything. I just want you to know something that I should've said five years ago." She doesn't know where her sudden resolve is coming from but she takes the opportunity to step forward, bringing her closer to him. A lump has formed in her throat but she swallows it down and in a whisper so soft she strains to hear her own voice, she says the words that have been haunting her for the past five years.

"I love you. And I'm sorry it's taken me this long to say it but I'm saying it. I love you, Sam. Nothing can ever change that. I know that doesn't undo everything that's happened but I wanted you to know."

Nothing changes in his expression as she says this, his eyes still glued to a spot on the floor.

"I never meant do to this to you." she sighs. "Please understand that."

"Doesn't matter what you meant. You did it anyway." he replies, unable to keep the bitterness from his voice.

"I'm so sorry." Stepping forward, she gently raises a hand to his face.

He flinches and shies away.

What little hope she was holding on to immediately fades at his reaction. Quickly dropping her hand to her side, she looks at him for a moment longer. "I'll show myself out then." she says quietly. Careful to keep her eyes downcast, she turns away and heads for the door.

"Wait."

She stops, turning hesitantly to look at him and finds his piercing, dark eyes on hers.

Several moments pass before he opens his mouth to address her. "You were wrong." he says in a voice she's never heard before. "I wanted to hate you. I wanted to so bad it hurt. There were times when I almost had myself convinced that I did."

"And now?"

He doesn't respond to this but the intensity and longing of his gaze is the only answer she needs.

"So where does that leave us?" she asks, taking a small step back towards him.

He sighs wearily. "I don't know. You disappeared for five years, Andy. Things change."

"I know they do. But I haven't." she replies softly. Slowly, her hope begins to grow again and she finds herself stepping closer to him. "I want to fix this, Sam. I want what we were both too stubborn to admit five years ago. But you have to let me in." She's standing in front of him now, the heat from his bare chest radiating from him. Looking up, she gazes directly into his tired, brown eyes and sees something change almost imperceptibly in them as he grants her his silent permission. Slowly, she raises her hand to his face again like how she did just several moments before.

He tenses slightly but doesn't move back. It had been a long while since someone had touched him like that, the sensation of her warm hand on his skin bringing him back to better days between the two of them. But slowly, he begins to relax, allowing himself to sink into her touch. Closing his eyes, he tilts his head forward until his forehead rests against hers.

"I missed you." he murmurs.

She brings her other hand to lay lightly on his chest, feeling the warmth of his skin and rhythmic beat of his heart. "I know. I'm sorry."

They remain in that position for a moment, neither daring to move, until she finds herself inching closer. Gently, as if ready for him to pull away, she brings her lips upon his. But he doesn't shy away, instead wrapping his arms around her waist to bring her flush against him. The kiss is slow, unhurried, each of them pouring everything they had been keeping bottled up for the past five years into that one moment. The taste of tequila, sharp and strong, hits her mouth and a pang of guilt shoots through her.

All too soon, the moment passes and they pull back, slightly out of breath. In a gesture that causes butterflies to erupt in her stomach, he brushes his nose softly against hers. She smiles, remembering the last time he had done that. She then becomes aware of how tightly he's holding her to him, his strong arms keeping her close.

Cradling his face in her hands, she places another kiss on his lips. "I'm not going anywhere." she whispers as his warm breath tickles her cheek. She then pushes herself up on her toes and wraps her arms around his neck. "I promise."

With a relieved sigh, he relaxes his grip, his breath slowing as he released the tension in his body. She was here. She was here and in his arms and he loved her. There would be no mistaking that now. Not after all this time.

And then Sam Swarek closed his eyes and smiled his first genuine smile in five years.

She was here. And she was his.

A/N: And so it ends. This last chapter was incredibly difficult to write but as a whole, I loved writing this story. If you're reading this, thank you so much for sticking with this fic. It really means a lot to me. Anyways, please take the time to tell me what you think. Until next time! Cheers! And Happy Thanksgiving! :)