Welcome back! First off, thanks for reading, and for the reviews, follows, and favourites.

…My apologies for the short chapter. This one wasn't planned, but sort of just evolved from me making Andy's accident more serious. The next one will be longer.

And my apologies for any mistakes as well. I feel like I'm running on fumes right now, so hopefully this chapter makes sense...

Recap: Andy is partway through giving her statement when she learns Sam is awake. In a bid to protect him, Andy incriminates herself, leaving Sam struggling to clear her name. Despite being forbidden from seeing each other, Andy sneaks back into the hospital to see him, but every time they try to have a serious conversation, someone (the nurse or Sarah) unknowingly interrupts them. Marlo ends up taking the fall for the Ford fiasco. Sam and Andy have another chat, in which Sam reveals quite a bit, but once again, Sarah interrupts. This time, Sarah invites Andy for coffee where she then provides some insight into Sam's childhood and how it has affected him. When Andy returns to the hospital, she tells Sam she loves him again, but that she needs time to figure things out… After meeting with Frank, Andy talks to the therapist in an attempt to get cleared for working on the streets, but she's told she needs to clear her head a little more first. This leads to Nick and Andy's chat, which ends with their breakup. Andy talks to the therapist, and is cleared to return to work. After about five days pass in which Andy doesn't show up at the hospital, Sam starts to think that she chose Nick... While responding to a call, Andy gets in a car accident. Chris and Dov manage to get an unconscious Andy out of her squad car before it goes up in flames... Chris goes with her in the ambulance. Meanwhile, Frank picks up Oliver and they head to the hospital to tell Sam about Andy's accident. Desperate to see if Andy's okay, Sam starts down the hall, checking every room for signs of her. The doctor then tells them Andy has a Traumatic Brain Injury... When Sam finally sees Andy lying in the hospital bed, he breaks down.


Andy's eyes slowly opened before she squeezed them shut again, the light causing a searing pain in her head. As if the pain wasn't excruciating enough already. Her hands flew up to her ears in an attempt to drown out the high-pitched noise, the overbearing screech that had her wincing and sucking in a sharp breath as tears streamed down her face. It felt like her head was going to explode… or implode. She wasn't sure which.

A whimper escaped her. Where am I? What happened? Her mind was racing, but she couldn't focus on any single thought. Everything was a blur. Her lips parted slightly in an attempt to speak, to find out if anyone was there, but her mouth was dry and she couldn't seem to find her voice. Water. She needed water.

Her head snapped to the right, causing a wave of nausea to crash over her. What was that? Who's there? Heart racing, she strained to hear, but the ringing in her ears made it nearly impossible. Still, she could make out faint voices, muffled, maybe male? What are they saying?

Contact. Something touched her left arm. A hand? She flinched, jerking away without removing her hands from her ears. It felt cold. Unfamiliar. She struggled to open her eyes again, but the pain was too intense. The light was too bright, blinding. Squeezing them shut once more, she forced her hands away from her ears, struggling to push the cold hand away, but it kept coming back. "No," she croaked out, her heart rate skyrocketing. With some effort, she was able to push herself into a sitting position, one arm swinging in an attempt to push the person away.

That's when she felt it. From her right side. It was a gentle touch and warm, unlike the hand that was still trying to grab her left arm. And in the fraction of a second that it took Andy to feel it and hesitate, she was swept up into a set of arms. That's when the fear kicked in again. The fear of the unknown. She squirmed, crying out in pain at the sudden movement, but stilled almost instantly again as the arms drew her closer. Her right cheek was now pressed up against fabric and, beneath it, something hard. Someone's chest? As she turned her head, she felt something cover her left ear, lessening the ringing. Then the arms were moving her again, gently angling her head until her other ear was pressed up against the fabric, the quick beating of a heart cutting through the high-pitched noise until all she could hear and all she could think about was each beat. The rhythm. Boom. Boom. Boom. She could feel it. Not just because her ear was against it. Each thump seemed to send vibrations through her body until her own heart slowed just a little to match its tune.

Voices again. Andy tried to move, but the arms holding her were strong. And yet, they were trembling just a little. It was barely noticeable to the touch; probably invisible to the eye. But it was there. When she attempted to shift again, one of the arms shifted and a hand started to move up and down her back in a soothing manner. And with that, the tension gradually fell from her body until she was pulled back under.


"Miss McNally?"

The voice was faint; the words were difficult to decipher. She slowly moved her head left to right, but everything was dark. Reaching upward, her hands settled on her cheeks before shifting up to her eyes. Cloth bandages or a blindfold? Her fingers trailed along the material, following it all the way behind her head. She sucked in a large breath. Bandages... Am I blind?

"Miss McNally, can you hear me?"

She frantically tried to pull the bandages away, desperate to see something. Anything.

"Stop."

Andy fingers finally landed on an edge, but cold hands settled on hers and stopped her.

"If you can hear me, I want you to squeeze my hand."

She froze, her breathing heavy. She'd heard something.

"Miss McNally? Squeeze my hand if you hear me."

A man. Her mind was racing. Where am I?

"Miss—?"

Too loud, she thought. Each word sliced through her as the ringing slowly faded. Just do it. Squeeze the hand. Shut him up. So she did. Her fingers curled around the cold hand and squeezed before releasing and breaking all contact.

"Good. Now I want you to lean back again—"

Again? When did I sit up? Wait, why was I lying down? Where the hell am I? Who is he? Her heart was pounding heavily in her chest.

"—I'm going to give you something for the pain. It'll make you sleepy, so don't resist it."

Wait, what? What are you giving me? She felt the hand on her arm again. No, don't give me anything. I don't want it. No, stop. Her mouth opened, but once again she found herself unable to say the words. Movement to the side. No, no, no, no, no. Please, no.

Shuffling. She strained to hear. Two people?

"She's responding."

She? Who are you talking to?

"She'll be out for a few hours though."

Did I miss something? Andy struggled to think back. She'd missed part of the conversation, but not once had she heard the other person speak. Her limbs were getting heavy, her brain foggy. And her heart rate slowed, despite the fear that coursed through her. Fight it, Andy, she scolded herself. Fight. But she couldn't. She was exhausted and in pain, and whatever the guy had given her was working its way through her body too quickly. It was strong, way too strong. In the few seconds before she was pulled under, a familiar scent reached her nose.


Sam froze in the doorway, a bag containing his things nearly falling from his hands when he saw her moving. Even with part of her face covered by bandages, he could still tell she was terrified.

"She's responding," the doctor said to him.

He shot the man a look as he stepped further into the room.

"She'll be out for a few hours though."

His eyes flicked back to Andy, watching as she fell back against the pillows. After setting his bag down, he quickly moved to her side, opening his mouth to speak, but blanking. He wanted to tell her that he was here for her, but the thought that maybe she didn't want him to be still lingered in the back of his head. Shaking the thought aside, he hesitantly reached out and took her hand in his, but she was already unconscious. "What does this mean?"

The doctor hesitated. "Sensitivity to light and issues with hearing isn't uncommon for brain injuries, especially this early on." The man paused. "Since her hearing seems to be coming back, that's a good sign. But, we'll need to run some more tests when she wakes up... Test her vision, see if there's any improvement. Check for swelling. But, regaining consciousness makes me optimistic."

Sam nodded.

"We'll continue to monitor things, and with some luck, her current symptoms will eventually go away."

Again, Sam nodded, but this time he eased himself down into one of the chairs by her bed. Her hearing was coming back. The thought almost made him smile, but what if she never regained her vision? What if she couldn't be a cop anymore? Couldn't… He forced the thoughts away. She'd be fine. And if she wasn't, she'd figure it out. They'd figure it out, if she let them.

"You should really go back to your room and rest," the doctor said, snapping Sam out of his thoughts.

He shook his head. "I'm not leaving her."

"It's only supposed to be short visits," the doctor reminded him.

"Are you going to kick me out?" Sam challenged, his eyes narrowing.

The doctor held up his hands in defeat. "Maybe some quiet company wouldn't be such a bad thing," the man said slowly, awkwardly. "Besides, I'd rather not have my staff chasing after you 24/7, so I'll request that they move you up here. Make you more comfortable."

Sam nodded, but said nothing. At least the man wasn't an idiot.

Within the hour, the staff had brought another bed into Andy's private room. The space itself wasn't big, but two beds fit in well enough, which meant Sam could now lie comfortably and watch her. And he did… for hours. Aside from when he drifted off to sleep, he found his eyes glued to her, searching for additional signs that she was going to be okay. But, she didn't budge, not until the next morning.


Andy groaned as the fog lifted and the pain crept back in. Again, she reached upward and felt cloth bandages wrapped around her head and eyes. She must have hit her head. It would account for the splitting headache she still had. The soft sound of footsteps got her attention. Her head snapped to the right. Silence. Both hands slid outward, touching the rails on the top part of the bed and moving across the sheets. They felt stiff. She sniffed and immediately regretted it. It was a hospital. Had to be. She'd been in them enough to recognize that smell, and she absolutely hated it. But, there was something else too. Something more familiar. Her hands shifted again, moving out a little further until her right hand bumped into something solid. Warm. Human. Andy immediately pulled back, simultaneously taking in a sharp breath.

Silence. Sam considered saying something, but his gut told him to wait.

After a hesitant moment, her hand ventured out again, her fingers grazing the hand. Heat was radiating from it... It was comforting. Biting down on her lower lip, she gently pulled the hand a little closer. The owner obeyed. Her heart raced. With a deep breath, she let her fingers travel over the back of the hand. She brushed over the tips of the fingers and nails, then traced the knuckles. Definitely a man. But, still no response from him. Swallowing hard, she flipped the hand over so that the palm faced up.

He held his breath. Despite not knowing what she was doing or thinking, he didn't want to interrupt.

The tips of her fingers roamed again, trailing over the lines on the hand, noting every callus, indent, and curve in his palm. A small adjustment had her fingers sliding between his and curling around the back.

Sam stared down at their linked hands, then looked back up to her face. She was still biting her lip, and looked more than a little uncertain.

She took in a shaky breath as everything came back to her... Her car had been hit. She'd smashed her head off the window. Flipped. Feeling the man gently squeeze her hand, she turned her thoughts back to him. "Sam?"

It came out sounding like a croak, but it was like music to his ears. She knew. His lips twitched upward.

Andy wet her lips. "You were here before." There was a brief spell of silence in which she started to second-guess herself, but she forced herself to continue. "I… I could smell you."

He frowned, his eyes darting down to his clothes. Did he smell bad? Sure, he was in a hospital, but he was starting to get better, which meant he was taking better care of himself. Plus, nobody had told him he smelled. Surely Oliver would have said something if it was true, right? Knowing she couldn't see, he tried to sniff himself.

"You don't smell bad." Her voice was hoarse.

His eyes shot upward and his lips twitched again. Instead of answering though, he reached for the water with his free hand and let the straw brush up against her lips.

Andy hesitated, then reached up and took a few sips before leaning back against the pillows, her hand still holding his. "I'm…" She paused as she struggled to find the words. "I'm sorry I didn't come."

"Me too," Sam said quietly.

What does that mean? Did Marlo finally show up? Did he change his mind? Her hand immediately started to pull back, her heart plummeting. She was an idiot. She screwed up.

Sam tightened his grip on her hand. "I'm not letting you go."

Her heart did a little flip, but her mind still raced. Letting my hand go, or me? With a deep breath she dared to ask, "Promise?" As she did so, Andy reached upward to remove the bandages from around her eyes, determined to actually remove them this time. She needed to at least try to see his face, to see his reaction. Know what he was thinking. But he gently took her wrapped up hand and pulled it back down.

"Leave it on until the doctor comes."

He didn't promise. He ignored her question. Intentionally. To keep her lip from quivering, she bit down on it again, struggling to hold back the tears. He'd been talking about not letting go of her hand, but even then, he probably only meant in this moment. Eventually, he'd let it go because his comment was never about not letting go of her or about keeping her. Him being here, it was temporary. Which could only mean two things... Either Marlo was back or she, Andy, had screwed up so badly that everything Sam had said from his own hospital room just a week ago had become irrelevant. Forgotten. A thing of the past. But which one was it?

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think?

(Side-note: Due to some confusion, the last paragraph has been updated for clarification...)

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