I would like to thank dcj, No., Jimi18, sloancharity, Kal22056, SMchick, Tanyaleefr, FlashpointAddict, Chocolate2010, Mamaverd, Stewart14 and deathwinged for their reviews. Thanks for the support! :) Hope you enjoy the next chapter, Sairs
Andy led Sam down the Main Street, pointing out the sights, she felt relaxed, bouncing and sharing memories of good times spent with her Aunt.
Sam watched her, her eyes sparkled and she was enthusiastic about sharing her happy memories of Stouffville. He wished this was the Andy he could see all of the time, she was unguarded, happy and being honest, it was another facet to her that enthralled him.
They bought ice-creams from a vendor on the edge of the park and sat on a park bench eating them in comfortable silence.
He noticed Andy was watching the children playing on the jungle gym in the park, as he watched her he remembered the afternoon of their final patrol before she left. "Andy?"
She glanced away from the children and looked at him, "What?"
"The afternoon before you went on vacation, what upset you so much?"
She thought back to that afternoon, the image of the child and her mother coming into her mind. She didn't want to tell him, but then she thought about what she had promised. She took a deep breath before she began, "She reminded me of my Mom; before she left she blamed me for everything that was going wrong. If I finished the last of the milk on my cereal before school or if I was two minutes late in from school I was in trouble. Even the things out of my control were my fault according to her. The kitchen tap sprung a leak and I happened to be in the house with her at the time, so I got the blame. It wasn't a happy time. She was having trouble with her relationship with Dad and he wasn't there for her to take it out on him, so she took it out on me."
He slid his arm around her shoulders and gently pulled her into his side, "I'm sorry."
"What for?" she asked gently resting her head on his shoulder.
"That no one realised what was going on and that there was no one there for you."
"It was a long time ago. Looking back I can understand why she took it out on me, I was the easy target. Dad was drunk. But seeing that mother brought it all back, I wanted to do something for that child, it wasn't her fault she got lost; it was her Mom's for not keeping an eye on her."
"But we couldn't."
"And I was cross that you spelt it out to me. So unfortunately you were in the firing line for the rest of the afternoon and I stewed about it."
"Why did you ask for a vacation?"
"Because after I broke up with Luke we spent more time together and I realised that what you thought of me mattered so much more than it did when you were my T.O. When you were my T.O. I was so worried about being a good cop that I didn't worry about your opinion on other stuff too much. After I graduated though, I realised that your opinion about everything mattered so much more and that scared me. If I disappointed you I felt awful, if I made you angry about something I felt worse. Somehow you mattered more to me than anyone else I knew and that terrified me. I was scared that if I showed you I wanted more than friendship and I screwed it up you would leave me. The last people I loved like that were my parents and look what they did to me? So I tried to push you away by not giving our friendship a chance. Because if we only had a working relationship I was hoping that my feelings for you would diminish and I wouldn't be scared anymore."
"Oh, Andy," he whispered into her hair. "And for the last few months I've not been the easiest person to work with, because I've let my emotions get tangled up in our working partnership. I've already admitted how jealous I was when you were with Luke, but after you broke it off, I didn't want to rush you into anything. I thought you would let me know when you were ready, if you wanted to pursue something out of work. I definitely was more tetchy with you than I needed to be, but I was frustrated too, 'cause I let you get too close and that scared me."
She pulled her head from his shoulder and turned it so that she could see his face, "You're scared?"
He smiled and met her gaze, "Andy you don't know how scared I've been."
"Why?"
"Do you realise you attract danger like a magnet?" He smiled as he heard her chuckle, "I'm surprised I don't have more grey hairs, because you manage to get yourself into no end of situations that most cops try their best to avoid. When I'm not with you on patrol and you're partnered with someone else, I spend my time worrying that you're going to get yourself into something and I'm not going to be there to watch your back. I knew it was more than a T.O or partner should feel and that scared me, because you and your beautiful hard head and emotional insecurities crept into here." He pointed to his heart, "And I didn't know what to do, because if you pushed me away then I was done too."
"We're both as bad as each other," she said returning her head to his shoulder.
"But we're going to work this out, right?"
She nodded, "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For chasing me."
"Good job I've got a good pair of running shoes."
She giggled, "But are they as good as mine?"
"I hope so, because I have every intention of catching you and never letting you go."
Andy and Sam entered Emily's house and were met with a delicious aroma, "Sam, Andy? Is that you?" Emily called from the kitchen.
"Yes, Aunt Em it's us and something smells delicious," Andy called back as she closed the door behind her.
Her Aunt walked out of the kitchen and picked up her jacket from the coat hook.
"Are you going somewhere, Aunt Em?" Andy asked.
Emily smiled, "My friend Anna fell over today and hurt her leg, I'm going to make her some dinner and keep her company this evening. I'll be back later. I've made roast chicken with all the trimmings and there's trifle in the fridge." She paused and nodded towards the dining room, "Why don't you eat in there tonight?" As she got to Andy she kissed her on the cheek, "Have a lovely evening both of you." She winked at Sam as she passed him.
Sam returned Emily's smile, he wasn't sure if she had orchestrated a dinner for two for him and Andy, but he certainly wasn't going to turn down what smelt like a delicious dinner and good company, "I hope you're friend's feeling better soon, if there's anything I can do, let me know."
"See, Andy, he keeps proving that he's a good man. If there's anything you can do I'll let you know. But for now you can enjoy dinner and have a lovely evening that will make this old lady happy."
Andy shook her head and smiled at her Aunt, "Thanks for dinner, Aunt Em. See you later."
Emily waved over her shoulder before closing the door.
Sam chuckled, "I think you're Aunt's been planning this all afternoon."
Andy rolled her eyes, "I can't wait to see what she's done in the dining room."
"Well there's only one way to find out."
"Guess you're right," Andy replied opening the dining room doors, "Oh!" Andy exclaimed as she took in the dining room table, her Aunt's best candelabras adorning the middle of the table, the main lights switched off so that the room was illuminated by the six tall candles, their lights causing shadows to flicker gently over the walls. She could feel Sam standing behind her, "She's gone to a lot of trouble."
Sam leant forward and quietly spoke into her ear, "It just shows how much she loves you, Andy. She wants you to be happy."
Andy couldn't help the tear that escaped from her eye and rolled down her cheek, "I know and this once I might forgive her meddling." Before she could wipe away the errant tear, Sam's fingers gently brushed it from her cheek.
"No more crying, Andy. Your Aunt wants you to be happy. I want you to be happy. I'm pretty sure you want to be happy," he paused, gently placing a hand on her shoulder, "Now how about we go and serve dinner so we can enjoy your Aunt's hard work?"
She nodded, allowing him to steer her to the kitchen.
Andy couldn't believe that she was sitting opposite Sam in her Aunt's dining room bathed in candlelight. She couldn't help but watch him; in her wildest dreams she had never thought that she would be lucky enough to have a romantic dinner with Sam. Yes they'd eaten hundreds of times together on patrol, but they had always been in uniform and it had always been casual. This was like a date, a real date. His voice broke her out of her thoughts.
"Andy, Emily would be devastated if all you do with her fabulous roast is push it round the plate. Stop thinking and start eating."
She met his gaze, "Sorry, just didn't think I'd ever be sharing a candlelight dinner with you."
He smiled, "I didn't think I stood much chance either. But other than the fact that you look petrified, I was enjoying it."
She bowed her head sheepishly, "It's not that I'm not enjoying spending time with you like this, I've never ever shared a dinner like this with anyone."
"Me neither, I've been to restaurants on dates, but I've never been in a serious relationship where I've gotten to the point of a romantic candlelight dinner for two," he reached forward and gently placed his hand over Andy's, "But it is something I could get used to."
His hand over hers sent a warm tingly sensation through her hand and up her arm, "I could too. But I have to warn you my cooking is not like Aunt Em's."
He chuckled, "Neither's mine, but I'm sure we could come up with something?"
"Are you inviting me to a candle light dinner when we get home?" she asked quietly.
"Hopefully more than one, Andy," he studied her face, relieved when a huge smile broke out across her lips and her eyes sparkled in the candlelight.
"I'm sure that can be arranged," she missed the warmth of his hand as he removed it to carry on eating his dinner. She took his advice and began to eat her food, finally relaxing in his company.
The dishes were washed and Andy was placing the last of the leftovers in the fridge, when she felt Sam enter the room. It was something that had surprised her when she first noticed it. It had developed at work when she had been Sam's rookie, after a while she noticed that she could almost sense his arrival, or when he was looking at her. At first she had put it down to a very good working relationship, but as time passed she realised it meant more than that. She turned from the fridge and smiled before walking over to him and grasping his hand, gently pulling him out of the kitchen. When they entered the hallway she let go of his hand; picking up their coats, handing Sam his.
"Where are we going?" he asked as he followed her lead and popped on his coat.
"Somewhere I used to spend time when I came to stay with Emily," she replied as she went out into the night.
