Welcome back! As always, thanks for your reviews/follows/favourites – I appreciate all of the feedback and hope you'll continue to let me know what you think!

Just so nobody is confused when starting this chapter, a large portion of the beginning is Sam being slammed with memories (in a dream). It's obvious when he wakes up, so that shouldn't be an issue, but I just thought it might help to know that the entire beginning section is basically a collection of memories (parts of scenes from the show).

Recap: After losing 4+ years of his memory, Sam struggles to figure out what Andy really is to him. He senses Andy is more than just his former rookie, yet despite little things starting to add up, he still can't quite come to terms with what it all means. After seeing Sam and Andy staring at each other at The Penny, Nick realizes that Andy isn't as over Sam as she thinks/says she is... Andy meets Sarah, who gives her a lot to think about… Sam and Andy end up spending time together at a co-worker's party when they discover their friends bailed on them (in a plot to set them up). The night ends with Nick getting upset and Andy breaking up with him.

Sam was furious to say the least, but at this point he wasn't even sure whether he was angrier with one of his best friends for actually busting his cover, or with the rookie that cuffed him. All he really knew was that right now he wanted nothing to do with either one of them. He was done listening to excuses. "Eight months," he said angrily. "Eight months undercover, living in a hole, cultivating informants—"

"Okay, well I'm sorry for being new, okay—" the rookie said.

"Finally… finally getting people to talk to me," he interrupted, his eyes flicking from the staff sergeant to the rookie. There was no point even looking at Jerry – the guy knew well enough to keep his head down. He glared at the rookie. "And some bambi comes along, first day, and arrests a cop from her own division, trying to be a hero." With a final look at the staff sergeant, Sam stormed out of the office, but not without making one final jab at her. "Thanks pal, friends forever," he said, raising his hand, thankful that she was at least ashamed enough to not look at him anymore. The door slammed shut behind him.

Sam looked over his shoulder, frowning. Instead of the staff's sergeant office, he was now in the changeroom, but the anger was still just as strong as it had been seconds before. He was propelled forward, his leg rising as he slammed it into the locker door again and again.

"Is that working for you, huh?"

He moved to kick the locker door again. She couldn't be serious. Was she insane? Following him in here after he chewed her out in Boyko's office for the last twenty minutes.

"All the slamming and banging? I mean I get your point."

Man did she have attitude. He finally stopped, resting his left palm up against the locker door. This woman must have a death wish. Nothing else would have brought her in there, made her lean up against the wall as if she wasn't even fazed by him. "What are you doing here?" he asked, his eyes on the ground, hoping she'd have the sense to just turn around and go.

"I'm being persistent," she said, pausing as she pushed herself off the wall and dared to walk further into the changeroom, throwing her hands up in the air. "You know, I have nothing else going for me today, so you know, when in doubt—"

"I don't like girl guides," he said, flicking the dial on his lock. It was clear she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, so he might as well carry on with his business. Maybe she'd get the point.

"I don't like being raked over coals for not knowing the secret handshake," she spat out. There was a small pause. "You know, console yourself, I'll probably be fired."

He remained silent, thinking she'd finally gotten the point, but he was wrong again.

"You know what? There's still a dead guy lying in that house. Oh, and there's another guy running free and clear with a gun. So whenever you feel like this is out of your system, maybe you'd care to act like a cop for five minutes."

He laughed in disbelief and yanked his locker door open. This rookie was definitely crazy. "You've only been a cop for five minutes," he said, finally looking at her, noting the way she stood there, arms crossed in defiance.

Everything seemed to go blurry for a moment before he was able to focus back on her face. "What about the kid in the orange t-shirt?" he asked as he freed his belt from his pants and tossed it in his locker.

"I don't know whom you're talking about," she replied.

"Heard the shots, looked out the window, saw a couple of kids taking off down the fire escape. One of them ran into an empty building. It's a good place to hide a gun."

"Okay, which empty building?" she asked.

"You know, the one right where near you tackled me, tried to kiss me," Sam said.

He blinked and suddenly he was sitting in the driver's seat of a squad car. "It's only a problem because I was burned," he said.

"You mean because I burned you?" Andy replied, looking down.

"Okay, get out of the car. You've got a bunch of paperwork to file, so get in there and start filing it."

"Will you at least tell me where you're going?"

"I'm going to find Emily, okay? What else am I going to do? I haven't got any better ideas, and I'm going to be colouring way outside the lines here McNally and I don't get the feeling you're that kind of girl." He watched as she got out of the car, clearly unimpressed. The second the door slammed shut he pulled away from the curb.

Everything went blurry again. When he could finally focus he found himself standing beside a bar, his entire body tense as he faced Anton Hill. He'd dreamt of taking Hill down for over eight months now, yet here he stood at the mercy of the man. He was stuck: weaponless, without backup, and unsure of how to get out of this mess alive. His heart pounded heavily in his chest. "Just give her back to me Anton," he said, leaning up against the bar as he tried to fake confidence he really wasn't feeling. "Come on, I've got an entire task force dedicated to taking you down. I can have a hundred cops here in a minute."

"I really doubt that," Anton replied, meeting Sam's gaze with an even stare of his own.

"Try me," Sam said.

"Nah, you've got no task force," Anton said, studying him closely. "You screwed up. Now you're on your own."

Sam forced a smile.

"And you're still trying to be the hero."

"It's Emily or I take you in," Sam said.

"Take me in?" Anton replied. "For what? You've got nothing."

"If you hurt her," Sam said, crossing his arms. "So help me."

"People get hurt," Anton said. "It happens. But not usually cops. So, now maybe you should just uh, walk away."

"The perimetre is secure, sir."

Sam looked up to see Andy coming down the back stairs, her weapon drawn. "Officer McNally," he said, trying desperately to keep the shock off his face. What the hell was she doing here? He'd told her to stay at the station. Relief and confusion flooded him. He'd been wrong about her.

"I brought the files," she said, meeting his eyes before throwing the USB to him.

He caught it, then looked back up at her. Was she serious? His eyes flicked to the USB before going back up to her. Were these the files? She seemed too innocent to be able to lie, yet she'd clearly disobeyed his orders, so at this point he was putting a whole lot of trust in her. His eyes lingered on her a moment longer, but she wasn't giving anything away, so he turned back to Hill, USB raised in his right hand. "You're accounting files," Sam said, a smile on his face. "Emily made a copy. Proves you were laundering money. At least we can get you for something."

"Let's see," Anton said, reaching for the USB.

"Emily first… Or I turn this in and you can go to prison," Sam said. "Which, believe me, would make me a happy, happy man."

He blinked again and found himself in an apartment standing beside Andy as she reached to pick up a large suitcase.

"I can take it," she said.

"I know, but I've got it," Sam replied, reaching for the other handle. For the first time, he really seemed to look at her and see her as more than just a doe-eyed rookie.

"Okay," she said, a smile forming on her face as she looked up at him.

He couldn't help but smile back as he took Emily's suitcase from her, which only seemed to make her smile bigger.

Sam frowned. He was outside, but it was nighttime and Andy was standing in front of him.

"Were you scared in there?" she asked.

He hesitated, his tongue going to the inside of his cheek as he looked at her. As a small smile formed on his face, he said, "Yeah… You?"

"No," she said quietly, shaking her head. "I mean, you were there."

He raised his eyebrows, surprised by the amount of trust she already seemed to have in him. Before he knew it, she was holding out her hand to him. He moved his car keys from his right hand to his left, then took her hand in his and shook it. "Let me take you home," he said, his eyes on hers the entire time, their hands still joined.

She laughed, stepping a little closer, a smile on her face as she looked up at him.

His gaze shifted from her lips to her eyes. "McNally," he breathed, a smile flickering on his face. He gently tugged her a little closer, watching as her eyes slid down to his lips, which were now only inches away from hers. But before they could close the gap, she closed her eyes and turned her head away.

"Uh… I can't, I can't… I can't do this, I'm sorry. It's just, this is my first week at work," Andy said, raising her hand to his chest to keep him from coming closer.

He immediately slammed up his walls again. "Yeah, well, like I said, you're not my type."

She gave him an odd look, and it was clear she didn't believe him. "Disregard?" she said.

He moved his hands together in a sweeping motion and stepped backwards. "Disregard," he said, smiling.

Sam blinked again and he found himself in a forest. It was Fall. Leaves littered the ground, causing loud crunching with every step he took. Hearing rustling up ahead, he cautiously approached, until he saw the perp on top of Andy. He rushed forward, his heart pounding heavily in his chest and a blinding fury filling him. He could hear Andy's whimper as the guy pressed his hand against her mouth. The second he was close enough, he threw his body at the perp, tackling him hard and immediately pinning him to the ground as Andy lay gasping for air.

"Ah, ah man," the perp cried out. "Okay, okay, ah my shoulder."

"You okay?" Andy asked a little breathlessly.

Sam turned to find her standing up, gun clutched in one hand as the other attempted to pull her uniform away from her neck in a bid to allow more air into her lungs.

"Right as rain," Sam replied. "How are you doing?"

"You're breaking my shoulder," the perp whined.

"And you're breaking my heart buddy," Sam replied, tightening the cuffs another notch.

"I want a lawyer," the perp said.

"Yeah, we'll get right on that," Andy replied, still panting.

He looked up at her, scanning her for injuries.

Sam blinked again and found himself in a house, kneeling beside Jerry, a pool of blood already seeping out around him. "I've got an officer down, I need medics right away please," he said into his radio.

"1519, units are being sent to your location," dispatch said.

"Jerry," Sam called, panic surging through him. "Jerry… Jerry!" He shrugged his jacket off and grabbed his friend's head, holding it firmly between his hands until Jerry opened his eyes.

"How are you doing Sam?"

"It's okay, we're here buddy, alright?" Sam said, checking Jerry's injury.

"Sam… Sammy, he has her." Jerry said. "He left, he left… my phone is in his pocket."

"His what?"

"My phone is in his pocket," Jerry said.

You put your phone in his pocket?" Sam asked.

Jerry nodded. "Just follow the phone and you'll find him… My phone."

Seconds later Sam was cracking a joke in an attempt to distract his friend from the severity of the injury. "Finally found a use for that cell phone, huh?"

Jerry's breathing became more ragged.

"Jerry, Jerry, stay with me," Sam said. "Jerry? Jerry?" Sam checked his friend's eyes. "That's it, look at me." He continued to speak to the detective until the paramedics pulled him away, blood covering his hands.

Everything changed again. They were in a warehouse. "The drug squad has turned this place upside down, okay?" Sam said angrily. "He's not here. He never was... I suggest you go question your guy Dale again, see where else his Snuffleupagus brother might be, okay?"

"What is your problem?" Andy said. "Look, if he's out there, we need to go find him."

Sam turned back to Andy. "We are not one person, okay? I am tired of following around the voice inside your head… I should have listened to Jerry the other night, instead I listened to you."

"Are you blaming me for Jerry?"

"I blame myself, okay? Because I'm stupid enough to get in the habit of listening to a rookie's instincts instead of my own." He paused and tried to reign in his anger. "I… I really just needed to stay away from you a little, okay? But you had to suck me into your day... I can't do it anymore." He walked away without another word.

He was back outside The Penny. She was standing across from him, crying. "Then leave," she said, lowering her eyes to the wet pavement. "Okay, just get in your truck and go," Andy said.

Sam stood there a moment longer, staring at nothing in particular as the emptiness inside him grew, overtaking the whirlwind of emotions that had been passing through him just moments before. Then, he forced his feet to carry him away, struggling to ignore the sound of her crying, all the while hating himself for leaving her standing there in the rain.

The station materialized in front of his eyes. He was in the kitchen. There was a woman talking to him, and then seconds later her lips were on his. But something didn't feel right. Next thing he knew, he'd turned to find Andy leaning against the doorway, staring at him in disbelief as the woman he'd been kissing walked away.

The kitchen became the hallway, but it looked different – it was packed with officers, most of their movements hurried. He stepped out of a room, his eyes widening as they landed on a man further down the hall. "Ford!" he yelled.

The man turned to face him and pulled the trigger. Sam's feet left the floor as an excruciating pain jolted through his abdomen.

Sam opened his eyes, jerking up in his bed, breathing heavily as his hands flew down to his abdomen. A loud curse escaped him. What the hell was all of that? He rubbed his eyes before looking at the clock. It was five in the morning. Groaning, he fell back against the pillows, lying there for several minutes until his heart rate had slowed. Then, throwing his legs over the side of the bed, he headed for the bathroom and splashed some water on his face. It did very little to help though. His entire body was covered in sweat.

Knowing he wouldn't be able to fall asleep again after that, he jumped in the shower, letting the cold-water wash over him. His mind was still reeling from what he'd seen, not even really knowing if any of it had been true. It seemed so real though, and the wound in his dream was where he'd actually been shot. Yet, some of the things he'd seen and felt didn't make sense. Andy didn't make sense. He was either very confused or she was an anomaly. Everything seemed to point back to her though, whether it was something Oliver or Traci had said, or something from his dream. No matter what, she always seemed to be there. More confusing still, was the way she seemed to affect him in his dream – it didn't seem to matter that very little, or perhaps nothing at all, had been good. He'd found himself feeling a lot of things at a higher level than he'd ever experienced, and he really wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

When he pulled into the station parking lot half an hour later, he couldn't help but laugh as a thought struck him. What if he'd had a crush on Andy? He shook his head, still laughing. Sam Swarek having a crush? Now wouldn't that be the day. That would go against everything he'd lived by up until this point. It just wouldn't be simple, and with him, it had always been simple. Nothing too serious, just plain, simple, no strings attached. But nothing he felt and observed in his dream was simple, and as time went on, it was becoming increasingly difficult to deny that maybe he did have some sort of crush on Andy McNally. If that was the case though, how had he hurt her, and why did everything seem so tense between them? He ran a hand through his hair. Maybe Andy had been right, maybe not remembering was easier because the more he found out, the more questions he had and the less sense everything seemed to make.

"You're here early."

Sam looked up from his desk to find Traci entering the office. "Couldn't sleep," he said, rubbing his face.

Traci frowned. Something was off with her partner. "Everything okay?"

"Ford. Does the name ring a bell?" Sam asked slowly, carefully studying her face.

Her eyes widened. "By name I'm assuming you're not talking about cars?"

Sam shook his head. "No, I mean the guy that shot me."

Traci let out a whistle. "Where did you get that idea from?"

"Does it matter?" Sam asked. He wasn't sure if he wanted to admit that he might actually believe something he'd dreamt about, and yet the name clearly meant something, so maybe his dream did too.

"Did Andy tell you? Or Oliver?"

"No," Sam said, frowning. He hesitated, then finally gave in. "Actually, I had a really messed up dream, but I don't really know if it was just a dream or if maybe I'm remembering something."

Traci sighed. "Kevin Ford."

"So he did shoot me?"

"Yeah," Traci replied.

Sam nodded. That was one aspect of his dream confirmed. "Okay and what about a woman… she had dark hair, small…" He paused. "And I may have kissed her in the kitchen here." The last part came out rushed.

Traci stared at him. "Keep that to yourself." If Andy found out that Sam remembered Marlo before he really remembered her, she'd be devastated.

"Who was she?"

"You were seeing her for awhile," Traci said.

Sam frowned. Andy had accidentally let slip that he'd been seeing a bipolar woman at some point – maybe that was the woman from his dreams. "And?"

"And her name was Marlo. She was a cop here, but after the whole Ford thing she was let go."

"So…" Sam began, but he fell silent, frowning. "Wait, one cop was fired and one was suspended. Andy was suspended, and this Marlo woman was fired? And it had to do with Kevin Ford?"

"I can't answer that Sam," Traci said. She wasn't sure if she'd already said too much.

"Okay, well, if I was seeing this woman when I was shot, why haven't I see her since then? It's been months."

"Things were complicated. Your relationship with Marlo was… it was easy, but only because you guys had an emotional distance… Things just got really messed up towards the end and you were taking some space. Then the whole thing with Kevin Ford happened and when she was let go, she just took off." She paused and seeing Sam's confusion, added, "Look, I'm sorry Sam, but she had her reasons."

"And what about McNally?" said Sam slowly.

Traci shrugged. "What about her?" Had he remembered something about Andy after all?

"This doesn't go any further, got it?" Sam asked, and when Traci nodded, he said, "Did I have some kind of…"

"Some kind of what?" she pressed.

"Some kind of crush on her?" Sam said, the words sounding odd to his own ears.

Traci broke out into a smile.

"What?" Sam asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Sorry," Traci said, trying to suppress a laugh.

Sam's eyes narrowed. "So?"

Traci hesitated. "Well, it was umm, a kind of crush."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sam asked. "I either did, or I didn't."

She pressed her lips together and refused to look at him, afraid she'd blurt out everything.

He tapped his pen against his desk a few times, then tried another approach. "I did something to hurt her though, didn't I?"

Traci's face became serious. "You both had your share," she said quietly.

Sam frowned. "So whatever it was, it wasn't one-sided?"

"Look, that's all I'm going to say for now," said Traci. "I'm glad you're remembering, but I've already said too much and Frank's going to kill me if he finds out."

Sam nodded, reluctantly admitting that he wasn't going to get anything else out of her at the moment. "Thanks," he said. "I'm going to grab some coffee, you want some?"

Traci shook her head.

"Hey," said Andy, walking up to the coffee counter in the kitchen where Sam stood.

"Hey," Sam replied, turning to face her. He gave her a small smile, but did his best to hide whatever thoughts and feelings were running through him.

Despite attempting to stifle it, she yawned. "Ugh," Andy groaned, rubbing her face.

"Rough night?"

"Something like that," she said. She grabbed a cup and put it under the machine before looking up at him and noticing that he looked pretty tired too. "You?"

"Yeah." He stared at her, momentarily forgetting that the whole reason he was in the kitchen was to get coffee.

Andy hit the button to start the coffee machine, then turned back to look at him, a faint blush creeping into her cheeks when she realized he was still looking at her. "Everything okay?" she asked a little hesitantly, debating bringing up the night before.

"Just a bad sleep," he replied after a long moment, his eyes still fixed on her face.

"Oh, uh…" Andy began, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. Something in the way he was looking at her made her wonder if he'd remembered something. She waged a war inside her head, her curiosity finally winning out. "Sam, did you—" she began as she reached for her cup of coffee.

A noise behind them interrupted Andy's question. She turned in time to see Nick enter the kitchen, spot them, then immediately turn around and leave again. She unconsciously sighed, her grip tightening on her cup.

Noticing her reaction to Nick's presence, he said, "Did I do something wrong last night… or before?"

"No," Andy replied.

"So that had nothing to do with last night… or with me?" he asked, referring to Nick's behaviour and her own.

Andy hesitated. Technically it had everything to do with Sam, but it wasn't his fault. "You didn't do anything."

He studied her. She was definitely hiding something. "So that's a no?"

She stiffened.

"Why are you with him?"

Andy's eyes widened as she looked up at him. Had he really just asked her that? "I uh… he's umm…" Why couldn't she just say it? "He's a good guy," she blurted out, quickly averting her eyes.

He raised an eyebrow. Maybe Collins was, maybe he wasn't, but the way she'd said it and the way she was getting flustered made him curious. "So he makes you happy?"

She bit her lip. She wasn't ready for Sam to know they'd just broken up. "Yeah, he's umm… ugh. He's… aren't you going to make your coffee?"

It took a lot of effort not to smile. He turned back towards the counter and reached for his coffee, dumping some sugar in.

"Why are you even asking?" Andy said, turning back to look at him, arms crossed. Although he'd asked her a lot of questions since he'd returned to work, he'd never really been this direct when it came to a personal question about her.

Sam shrugged. "Just trying to get to know you McNally," he said, biting back a smirk.

"By asking me why I'm…" she trailed off. She wasn't even with Nick.

"Why you're with Nick? Yes," Sam said.

"It's complicated," Andy said, rubbing her face again.

"Being with him?"

"What? No. That was easy. Sort of," she said, then groaned. "Look, you want to know me? This is me… I overthink everything. I make things more complicated than they need to be, and even when I try to take the least complicated route or pick the easy way, I just end up being wrong anyway."

Sam frowned. He had no idea what she was talking about. "Did you listen to your gut?"

Andy hesitated. "My gut? Umm, no, not really." She hadn't listened to her gut or her heart. She'd listened to her head, and her head had told her that Nick was the safe choice, the easy choice.

"Then next time listen to it," Sam said, picking up his coffee. His eyes flicked to the clock. "Parade starts in one minute."

She cursed, grabbing her coffee, and flying through the door and down the hallway to parade. He followed a little ways behind, smirking. She was definitely a little peculiar, but not in a bad way.

He took a place at the back of the room, his eyes flicking to where Nick sat and then to where Andy now stood. Even though there were chairs up by Nick, she was standing along the sidewall. His eyes slid back to Nick – the guy looked tired and a little upset. Sam frowned, then focused back on Andy. She was definitely tired – she'd even admitted that much – but instead of looking upset, she looked a little uncomfortable. Clearly, whatever had happened the night before hadn't fully blown over yet.

2 weeks later…

"I haven't seen Collins around lately," said Sam, stepping up beside her. "Did he take time off?"

Andy looked over at Sam, still shocked by his recent interest in Nick. Even after a couple of weeks, she still had no idea what had caused it. Likewise, in those two weeks, she kept noticing that Sam seemed to linger. He'd sought her out on a regular basis to ask her questions before, but this was different. Now he seemed to be around more often, somehow always turning up whenever she needed a ride to The Penny... Not that she minded, she just wasn't sure what had caused the sudden change. "Umm, yeah, something like that," she said, before adding, "He went undercover."

"How long?"

"I don't know."

"You don't seem upset," Sam commented.

Andy shrugged. "It will be good for him... It's a good opportunity."

"You don't miss him?" Sam pressed.

Her movements faltered. "Of course I do, but he needs this. And so do I."

"Because you broke up?"

Andy turned to look at Sam, eyes wide. "What?"

"You're not together anymore, right?" Sam asked slowly.

"Uh, no." She continued walking, keeping her eyes focused straight ahead.

He took the opportunity to study her.

"What?" she asked, confused when he continued to stare at her in silence.

"Nothing."

She paused in front of the changerooms. "Okay, well, umm, I should go," she said, gesturing to her uniform.

He reached out and gently grabbed her arm, causing her to turn back to him. "You're okay?"

Andy searched his face for a long moment before nodding.

"Good," he said, still holding her arm. "You going to The Penny?"

"Not sure yet," she replied.

He hadn't seen her there in awhile, but with Nick and Andy's apparent break-up, her disappearance suddenly made sense. He'd seen Nick at The Penny, with the exception of the last few days when the guy had vanished, and each time Nick was pretty drunk. He couldn't blame Andy for wanting to stay away from that.

"You should get out more," he said.

Andy laughed. "Says the man who lives by bouncing from here to The Penny and home."

"I do other things," Sam argued, although he really had no idea what else he'd been up to in the last four years.

"Yeah, undercover operations and that's about it," said Andy, shaking her head. "But you don't even do those anymore."

Sam shrugged. "Must have had a good reason." He paused. "So are you coming?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess so."

He smiled. "Then you should probably go change."

"Are you going to let me?" Andy asked, her eyes flicking down to his hand.

Sam released her and smirked, watching as she retreated into the changeroom.

They were almost at The Penny, when he finally decided to bring up his dream. With a hesitant glance in her direction, he said, "So uh, when you busted my undercover operation and tackled me in the alley, did you try to kiss me?"

Andy burst out laughing. "What the hell, no," she said. "You matched the suspect description and you ran, so I chased you and tackled you. I thought you'd just killed a guy." Andy paused, and turned to look at him, frowning. "Wait, where did that come from? Oliver said that, didn't he?"

"No," said Sam slowly as he pulled into a parking spot outside of The Penny. "Actually, I think I said it to you."

Andy stared at him, stunned.

"So I did say it?" asked Sam when Andy didn't say anything.

She hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah, but I didn't try to kiss you."

"Until Emily." He knew he might be pushing it, but he had to know. "After, at The Penny, you almost did, didn't you?"

Andy had long since looked away, her hand gripping the door handle.

"McNally?"

She took a deep breath. "It was a bit of a crazy day, I'd had a couple of drinks, and… nothing happened."

He continued to study her face.

"Was there anything else?" she asked. He could hear her hesitation when she asked that.

"If nothing happened, what did I do to make you cry? Why did I leave you standing out in the rain?"

"Uh," she began, though it was another moment before she found a way to avoid the real reason. She knew exactly what he'd remembered, but there was no way she was going to say he'd just broken up with her. Instead she said, "You blamed me for Jerry's death."

He hadn't been expecting that, and while he could tell she wasn't telling him everything, what she had told him made his chest hurt a little. "Why would I do that?"

"Because we were trying to find leads and Jerry wanted us to talk to one guy, but I wanted to follow up on something else, so Jerry went to talk to the guy instead of us, and…" she fell silent. She couldn't say it. "He shouldn't have been there. If I'd listened we would have been there instead."

"But I told you I didn't blame you. I told you I blamed myself," Sam said. None of this made sense.

"Yeah, I know," Andy said quietly. "But if you didn't blame me, then you wouldn't have broken…" Her brain caught up to her mouth and she pressed her lips together to prevent herself from saying more.

"Broken what?" Sam pressed.

"Uh, broken Oliver's favourite mug," Andy said, trying her best to sound convincing. She silently cursed herself. Breaking Oliver's mug? Really?

He laughed. "You're telling me, I broke Oliver's favourite mug and that means I blame you for Jerry? That's the story you're trying to sell?"

"Yeah," Andy said, cursing herself again when it came out sounding like a question.

"Alright," Sam said, smirking. "Must have been a pretty important mug." He watched as she struggled to school her features. She was such a liar.

Andy shrugged.

"Well, for what it's worth, I'm sorry."

She remained silent. She couldn't respond without giving more away.

"What aren't you telling me?" Sam said.

"Can we just go inside?"

He nodded and followed her into The Penny. Despite him sitting in his usual place by Oliver and Andy sitting with the other rookies, they both seemed to meet eyes several times throughout the night.

"What's on your mind buddy?" Oliver asked when Sam didn't even crack a smile at his joke.

"A very important mug," Sam replied, his eyes never leaving Andy.

Thanks again for reading! I hope you'll let me know what you think.

FYI, this could change, but at this point, I'm going to say this is probably about the halfway mark for this particular story. Some of my other stories might be twice as long though.

Up next (unless I add in a new chapter), we're in for a small time jump. Andy's back at work, gets injured on the job, and finds herself with a late night visitor. But who is it? (Again, unless I change it up, in which case this one might become ch.12 instead of 11) The next chapter is called "Late Night Check-Up". Let your imaginations run wild!