Welcome back, sorry for the delay in posting but I guess you all know that I dislocated my shoulder so was out of action.

Thanks for the well wishes & here's more so hope you enjoy!

Chapter 11- When the Grey Fades.

The day passed with minimal hindrance, Sam glancing up occasionally to see Andy staring off into space.

She would have this look on her face like she was contemplating deep thoughts that weighed heavily on her mind. He could tell by the slight furrow that he brow took and the blank expression that made her lips curve downwards. Even from his desk, he could see the bright fire in her eyes diminish slightly.

He sent Nathan an email asking him to look into the Epstein items in his possession as well as Epstein himself and any relationship that may have been linked to Andy.

Andy,

The name somehow suited her even though it could be considered masculine. Andy, the abbreviated version of Andrew.

Sam watched her work with flawless effort, her diligence on display as she answered calls and typed whatever she was typing.

At lunch time Andy had knocked on his door to ask him if he wanted her to bring him something back from the coffee shop down the street because she was going out for lunch.

Sam had replied a subtle no thanks, and within a second Andy had taken her purse and left.

He sent a text to Nick asking him to let him know exactly which coffee shop she went to before he waited patiently for a response.

...

"Hi," Andy said as she sat down.

She had agreed to meet up with Traci for lunch after receiving a text mid-morning asking if she would be free.

She jumped at the chance to spend some quality time with Traci- something they hadn't done a whole lot since she'd been back.

"And that?" Traci asked looking her square in the face as soon as she sat down.

"What? It's a four block walk in heels." Andy answered knowing that her face was flushed.

"Okay." Traci replied with a smile.

Lunch moved past quickly, time flying as the friends drifted over topics and took bites of their food.

Andy would occasionally find Traci watching her with a smug look on her face, but whatever she was thinking never passed her lips.

Until she asked for the bill.

"What?" Andy asked as she saw Traci's mood slip from carefree splendor to complete unease.

"I'm so sorry, this wasn't my idea." Traci started and looked really apologetic.

"Um, okay..." Andy said bating Traci to finish what she had started.

"Will you consider gathering intel?" Traci winced as she spoke and Andy knew that it had taken allot of courage for her to voice that question.

"What?" Andy screeched before dropping her voice an octave "On what?"

"It's more like a who."

"Oh no. No way. Trace, he's my boss." Andy didn't take long to get the whole picture, and it really wasn't a pretty one.

"It's no snooping, or scratching. Not even any digging. We just want some info."

Andy shook her head and stood up in a haste. Besides the fact that she was running late back to the office from lunch, she couldn't believe that she had actually been asked to trade her boss in for whatever it was that whoever it was that wanted to nail him was having trouble in finding out.

"Andy," Traci called out over the din of diners but by then Andy was already close enough to the door to reach out and touch it. Warm air circulated her as soon as she made it out into the sunshine, a moment of weakness allowing her to bask in the sun as her feet carried her back to the office.

Nick's phone buzzed in his pocket, it's slight vibration rubbing the inside of his pocket as he avoided crashing into a woman walking in the opposite direction.

He kept his head low and his cap tilted down so that his face would be cast in a shadow as Miss McNally's eyes were lit up by the sunlight.

He followed her once she passed him and reached for his phone as he stepped off the pavement.

Just as he palmed the device, the reflection of a glistening sunbeam sparked his interest and his face turned towards it's source.

Miss McNally was a few feet ahead of him, her attention focused in the opposite direction as she looked at an old lady walking her dog. The old lady wasn't the one that stood out, her dog was as ugly as sin and it alone caught the attention of bypasses in both directions.

Nick's phone continued to buzz in his hand but he ignored it and instead took two giant leaps closer to Miss McNally before his hand found her shoulder and he pushed her forwards as hard as he could.

Closing his eyes as she tumbled out of reach, Nick said a silent prayer before the impact of the car with it's driver slumped over the steering wheel met him and darkness evolved to everything.

Andy felt the hand shove her, her heels becoming unstable as she wobbled forwards in a bid to keep her balance but failed and instead found her hands and knees meeting the tarmac simultaneously.

A few shrieks cut through the air along with a loud thump and then another hand reached out to yank her back up onto her own feet as a strangers voice repeated "Are you okay?"

Andy surveyed the scene behind her, chaos reining supreme as people milled around a car that had come to a halt up the embankment of the sidewalk across from her.

A few curious looks were passed her way, mutters filling the air as murmurs were uttered.

Someone made a comment that snapped Andy's attention to the people milling around the stalled car, a careless "He pushed her out the way." Making no sense to her whatsoever.

Pushing through the crowd even though a few people tried to stop her, Andy made her way to the curb to find a familiar face facing the sky with it's eyes open and unfocused.

A scream tore from her throat before she could help herself, familiarity gracing her lips as she called Nick's name one, and a second time before her knees gave a wobble and a hand reached out to steady her a sirens blared in the distance.

Her name from a soothing voice brought her attention back to the present and Andy found herself looking at Traci who was suddenly there.

"What happened?" Traci asked.

Andy felt a splash of wetness dribble onto her cheek as a tear escaped and she found the strength to mumble "He pushed me," before shaking her head and walking away from seeing something that would haunt her for the rest of her life.

...

The house was quaint, really suburban and nothing of the un-ordinary as Sam knocked on the door.

He had tried calling Nick a few times only to have his phone ring through to voicemail. Just as he gave up on reaching Nick he in turn had a call from a police officer telling him that Nick had been fatally wounded when the driver of a car had a heart attack and ran over him.

Witnesses said that Nick had pushed a woman out of the direct line of the rolling car and had then been killed when the car mowed him down and dragged him into the pavement breaking his neck.

Andy had yet to return from lunch so Sam made the assumption that she had been the woman that Nick pushed out of the way seeing as that he was her security detail so to speak.

A dismayed older man opened the door, his face falling at the sight of Sam standing on the doorstep when recognition made it's presence know in the mans eyes.

"Mr Swarek."

Ah, his unruly side still proceeded his actual, physical presence.

Even if the man didn't seem at all impressed with Sam showing up, he still stepped aside and let him in.

"Is she...?" Sam asked after nodding a silent thank you once the man had closed the door.

"She's shaken up."

The reply was dry, and almost accusing.

"Mr Swarek." Andy's voice caused both men to turn and face her, a wilted sight greeting Sam.

"You okay?" He asked before he could help himself.

She looked frail, and exhausted, the days events having drained her rosy cheeks to white as she nodded with less than half the enthusiasm people had when going to the dry cleaners.

Silence filled the room along with strings of tension as Sam watched Andy search for something to say but not finding anything.

"I'll get coffee." Her Dad stated before leaving the room and giving them some privacy.

"Why was he still following me?" Andy asked as soon as her Dad was out of earshot.

Sam's gaze dropped to the floor, he was guilty on that account and there was no point in denying it.

"It's not what you think." Was his dry reply when he finally looked back up at her and found a sad stare in her eyes.

"Really? Well try me." She mumbled as she crossed her arms and let her sad stare change into an angry glare.

"There was a threat and he wasn't wrong Andy." Sam tried to reason with her, but she shut him down and shook her head.

"Don't okay, I watched him die and if he hadn't been there he'd still be alive Mr Swarek." Her tone was cold, her eyes dark as she spoke.

"I.." Sam started and ended when Mr McNally came into the lounge carrying a tray.

"Thank you Dad, but Mr Swarek was just leaving." Andy said coldly.

She nodded towards the door letting Sam know that he'd overstayed his welcome and was intruding in her private life.

Sam took the hint and bid Mr McNally farewell before striding over to the door where Andy eyed him strangely. "Secrets don't come out neat and tidy Mr Swarek." She suddenly said.

It was strange how fitting her words were- they suited the moment and his history, him.

Perfectly.

Sam nodded to her sentence, vaguely because he really didn't have an answer for her.

"Take a few days..." He mumbled as his feet carried him away.

"And, I really am sorry." He stopped and spoke before continuing to walk away, wondering if she'd ever come back to the office.

...

In her dreams Andy saw the accident over and over again.

She saw the grey hue behind him as she had seen it behind Beverly and even in her sleep it chilled her to the bone.

But something was different...

Something had changed.

Something was coming- and it scared her even in sleep...

****Thanks for reading!

See you all soon

Have an awesome day!

Jbj.