Wow, as always thanks for the amazing response!

Chapter 7- Dead Wrong.

Sam barely heard the sound of squealing tires followed by more gunshots and heavy footsteps over the drone of his thundering heartbeat as it ravaged his eardrums.

He was vaguely aware that there were slamming doors and revving engines, followed by sirens and voices.

Plenty of voices, but their words were unclear. Inaudible above the sound of panic as it cursed through him.

Sam had hit the ground sometime too, when he would never know, he just knew that he went down- well backwards and then down. The feel of the rough concrete under his hands was cold and wet as he tried to find his footing.

Andy wasn't far from him, three, maybe four feet away- but hearing her gasping for air was a sound that would haunt Sam for as long as he lived.

Within seconds he was next to her, his hands tearing at the zipper of her jacket as he tried to free her of the hindering material, but he was battling because his hands were shaking too much. He was desperate to see what was going on under the blinding item, but then of course when in a hurry: the zipper would get stuck.

Andy tried to sit up- her breath still coming out in strangled pants- and then gave up and tried to roll over, but Sam kept a hand on her shoulder telling her to stay down, while the other battled to get the zipper to budge.

Andy's eyes were wet, and Sam knew that it was from unshed tears from the pain that she was feeling and not from the rain that blanketed them in soft splatters.

"Stay down". Sam said again as he lifted her jacket flaps away to find her vest staring back at him when he finally got the zipper unzipped.

In one split second he was more relieved than he had ever been.

She took the bullets to her vest, all four of them glittering as lightning sparked up the grey sky.

He was vaguely aware of grabbing on to her hand and telling her to slow her breathing down, and to take shallow breaths. His other hand was wiping raindrops mingled with tears from her face as she scrunched her eyes closed in a futile attempt to block out the immense pain she was feeling.

Oliver's voice suddenly filled his ear, so did a screaming Nash's.

The new shift had just started arriving, and the shift going off had started leaving, so they were suddenly surrounded by waves of blue, and a sea of concerned faces.

It wasn't long before the medics arrived and loaded Andy into the back of an ambulance with Nash. They drove away with Sam watching the street long after they had disappeared from sight.

Oliver called him inside to tell him that whoever shot at them got away, Sam's mood sinking into a darker hole than it had been in when he watched Andy get shot.

Frank sent him home, and told him to get some rest so he left the barn and headed straight for the nearest hospital.

He found Nash in the waiting room looking calmer than he had anticipated finding her.

She even managed to smile when she saw him come through the doors. Like she was glad he was here? That wasn't even making sense to him right now.

"She's okay". She managed to say when he was close enough, her voice still shaky as she thought of saying words that would be far from the ones she just uttered.

"Wher... Where is she?". Sam's voice was not in the same condition as her's was, in fact it was failing miserably to even sound remotely like him. It started cracking before snapping on the first word.

"ER. She's got three cracked ribs, so they're gonna strap... Sam!".

He was moving before Nash finished her sentence.

He walked into the ER, his eyes peeking in behind closed curtains as his hand parted the material; until he found her sitting up on the bed in her pants and sports bra while a nurse hovered beside her.

The fact that she was clad only in a sports bra didn't unnerve him in any way; the three large blue and purple marks that covered most of her front did.

Sam yanked the curtain open, and stepped inside before doing the same to close it, proud of himself that right now- he hadn't ripped them clean off the railings.

He let his eyes roam over Andy before he let his hand pinch the bridge of his nose, his breath billowing out loudly as he tried to rein in his rage.

"Are you kidding me? Have you completely lost you mind, or is it just second nature to do something so stupid?".

Andy's eyes widened, as did the nurses when he was just suddenly there and yelling.

"You could have been killed Andy. Bullets kill people, but no- you just step right up and take four to the vest without even thinking!".

Andy had never seen him so mad. He wasn't mad, or angry, he was enraged. He looked agitated and the waves of frustration rolling off of him were like no other that she had ever seen. And he had never really yelled at her like that- or anyone else: ever.

His hand was rubbing over his face and through his hair like he was ready to pull it out.

"Sam..."

"Not one Andy, four. Like it wouldn't matter if one of them missed and hit you between the eyes when you stepped between me and that gun".

Of course he had picked up on her stepping slightly sideways and in front of him while she pushed him away, he obviously didn't see who was shooting at them, or rather her- so he thought it was meant for him.

"That kind of stupidity costs lives Andy, and when it's done- you can't fix it, or take it back".

Sam saw Andy cringe with every syllable he said, she was actually shrinking away like it would stop the onslaught of harsh words. But he needed to get them out, needed her to understand.

Andy grabbed her shirt off the bed next to her, and tried not to wince as the pain shot through her. Sam watched as she tried to tug it over her head before giving up and standing up with it still clutched in her hand. He noticed her knuckles turn white over the black material as she did her damnedest too stand up straight and hide the pain that was ripping through her.

She was too proud to show that she was hurt, or too let the cracks display themselves.

Andy picked her jacket up and pulled it on although it had four new air holes in it; before finally walking up to Sam and stopping.

She lifted her head to look him in the eye, hers filled with glistening tears.

"Jake Glass". She hissed under her breath between clenched teeth before stepping around him, pulling the curtain open and walking through the slit between the two pieces of fabric that did nothing to keep his burning tone quiet.

Sam exhaled a deep breath, he had it wrong.

The shots were meant for her, and she didn't want one to hit him- so she stepped in front of him and took all four.

But it was still a stupid move, and having to watch her get shot a second time without knowing if she had her vest on or not had nearly killed him.

"That was harsh brother". Oliver said as Sam slipped out from behind the curtain.

Of course he would be here too check on Andy, and Sam too; considering that he was wiser than he looked, and knew more than he let on.

"You didn't need to yell at her, I think she knows what could have happened".

Oliver had a point, but right now Sam didn't care.

Sam looked up to find Marlo standing in the doorway with her arm's crossed over her chest, an unhappy look on her face. She had probably heard every single word he had just thrown at Andy too, the whole ER had; and probably this entire section of the hospital.

Oliver shrugged and walked away- it wasn't his fight.

"You're here". Marlo said coldly when Sam reached her.

"She got shot Marlo".

"Yeah Sam to the vest, but you're still here".

"She's my partner, where else would I be?".

Marlo let out a dry laugh as she looked down the hallway.

"Last time I checked, that was over, 'in the past' according to you. She hasn't been your partner for nearly a year Sam".

Okay, so Marlo had a point, but he still- even now- thought of Andy as his partner.

"Just... Admit it Sam. That was never over, it was taking time out". Marlo sneered at him before turning on her heel and walking away.

Sam left the hospital and went home. He tried to sleep after pulling an all nighter at twenty-seven, but he couldn't shut off.

His mind wouldn't let go of the images burned into it.

He called Sarah and watched sports highlights until he couldn't anymore. The day had drifted away, the rain never fully leaving the city.

He woke up in the early hours of Monday morning drenched in a cold sweat after envisioning Andy not wearing a vest when Glass shot her.

He slid out of bed and went for a run, the rain from Sunday now nothing more than a distant memory.

As his feet pounded pavements, he thought over every single emotion he felt. He tore them apart and dissected them trying to figure out what he was supposed to feel.

Since Andy had come back he'd been second guessing his idea of moving on with Marlo.

He had compared holding Andy's hand to holding Marlo's.

He had compared Andy's smile to how Marlo's made him feel when she smiled his way.

Everything about them had been compared at some point or other.

But when it came to how he felt about them... That was worlds apart.

By the time he reached the park he had reached one conclusion. One that had been there all along.

He was still in love with Andy, and faking it with Marlo.

He had his reasons for leaving Andy with a broken heart, and losing Jerry and seeing Nash go through something so painful had been the push he needed to let her go. Let her have the life she deserved.

The family she deserved.

Even though she would never know the real reason- he still felt like he had made the right decision.

When Sam got home, he had missed calls from Frank asking him to come in and give a statement because he had been remanded to a few days off.

He had coffee and a shower before heading over, Nash giving him the most heated stare he had ever seen as he passed their office.

But it didn't matter- as long as Andy was okay, she had a chance at a real happy ending.

***Thanks for reading!

Seems like Sam's hiding something, anyone wanna guess what?

Have an awesome day!

Jelly Bean Jenna©