Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter posted. The season finale made my muse angry but once I got over the fact that season finale felt so out of place with the rest of the season, I was able to write again. So...yay! I'm on vacation all this week so my hope is that while I'm soaking up the sun, I'll be able to write the next chapter. Hopefully I'll come back to lots of feedback from you guys! I hope you enjoy the chapter!


Andy awoke to the sound of running water coming from her bathroom. Her eyes still closed, she reached over to the other side of the bed and rested her hand in Nick's vacated side of the bed for a moment as a small smile graced her lips. As she stretched lazily, she allowed herself to picture Nick standing under the spray of hot water in her shower, the water streaming over his toned muscles as it ran down his body. Her eyes shot open as she wondered why in the hell she was still lying in bed. Sitting up, she slung her legs over the side of the bed and just as her feet hit the floor she heard the water shut off.

Maybe she could entice him to take another shower. She made her way over to the bathroom and twisted the knob, opening the door slowly. He looked even better than he had in her fantasy moments ago, with a towel slung low on his hips and droplets of water still glistening on his toned torso. Leaning on the door frame, she just stood there for a moment, content to watch him in silence.

"Morning," Nick greeted, noticing her and smiling at her in the mirror. "Did I wake you?"

Andy shook her head with an appreciative smile as she looked him up and down once more. He turned to face her as she made her way over to where he was standing. "Hi," she finally said before leaning up and giving him a quick peck. Nick grinned as she started to pull away, capturing her lips with his own and pressing her between his still damp body and the hard edge of the countertop as he kissed her deeply.

Somewhere in the corner of Andy's mind, she knew that the short amount of time that they had been together should mean that this shouldn't feel so easy and natural, but it did. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he was her best friend before they crossed the friendship line a few weeks ago. Maybe it was because they had pretended to be a couple and lived together for nearly six months. Or maybe it was simply because it was her and Nick. Her and Nick. Maybe when it was right, this was how it was supposed to feel.

When her and Nick had first gotten together, Andy had been hesitant to define it. She had worried that Sam had left her too broken and damaged for her to ever be willing to be completely open with her heart. That is until that fateful day a week ago. In her mind, that was the day that everything had changed. For the first time in nearly a year, she wanted to let someone in, all the way in. And she wanted that person to be Nick.

The smile on his face as he pulled back mirrored the way that she was feeling. She was happy. Hopping up on the counter, she watched as he reached for the can of shaving cream next to the sink and squirted some in his hand. "Are you just gonna watch me shave?" Nick asked with a slight chuckle as he slathered the shaving cream on his face.

"Maybe," she grinned, the corners of her eyes crinkling a tiny bit.

As he picked up his razor, he remembered the conversation that he and Chloe had had when they were on the sting. After everything that had happened that day it had completely slipped his mind until now. "So Chloe thinks we're together," he told her off-handedly.

"What?" Andy asked, caught off guard by his statement.

He glanced over at her with a smile as he turned his head slightly to the right to start shaving his left cheek. "Yeah, we were just sitting in the car on the op and she pointed out that I shaved."

Resting her hands on either side of her on the edge of the counter, Andy hunched over a bit. "So?"

"That's what I said," Nick told her with a smile. "She told me that only guys in new relationships would shave on a sting."

"Relationship, huh?" Andy teased with a raise of her eyebrows.

"Of course I denied it," he smirked, his eyes darting over to her. "I don't think she believed me though."

"Why's that?"

He dropped his hand to rinse his razor in the faucet and turned to look at her fully. "She thinks I have a good poker face."

"Yeah, well, she's obviously never played poker with you," Andy scoffed, her tone playful.

"Beat you every time, haven't I?" he countered, good-naturedly as he turned his head away from her and began to shave his right cheek.

"It was three times!" she exclaimed, eyes shining in amusement as she held up three fingers.

Nick glanced over before running the razor smoothly down his cheek again. "You need to add a couple of fingers," he told her. He did his best not to laugh as she lowered her ring and pointer fingers, leaving only her middle finger extended towards him. "I said add, not subtract," he deadpanned.

She made a face at him before asking, "What else did she say?"

"Just that she's always liked the idea of you and me," he responded with a casual shrug before he rinsed the razor off once again.

Andy's brow furrowed at his statement, wondering if Chloe had seen them together somehow. The only time that they had openly kissed at 15 was the night that Andy had told Gail about her and Nick. Other than that, Andy had done her best to keep her personal life, well, personal.

Nick could see the wheels turning in Andy's head, trying to figure out if perhaps they hadn't been as discreet as they had thought. "I told her about our time undercover when she and I were partnered up awhile back. You know, us dubbing old French movies," he explained first before he slid the razor over his skin again. Andy waited patiently for him to finish shaving his chin and continue. "I remember she gave me this funny look like she knew my secret."

She already knew the answer but had to ask anyway. "And what secret was that?"

Not answering her right away, he shaved his upper lip and the smile that she couldn't see on his lips that were pursed together, reached his eyes as he glanced at her in the mirror. "That I had feelings for you," he finally answered once he was done, stepping closer to her.

"You missed some," she told him, pointing at his neck. Without moving from where he was standing, he washed the shaving cream off the razor once again before turning the water off and holding the razor out to Andy. "Do you trust me?" she asked, taking it from him with a flirtatious smile as she opened her legs so he could stand in between them and sat up more fully to get closer to him.

"You know I do." Keeping his eyes locked on hers, he lifted his chin so that she could shave his neck and under his chin. He rested his hands on her bare thighs as she made the first clean swipe, and Andy did her best to ignore the wonderful tingling sensation that his touch caused.

She carefully shaved his skin, moving steadily from one side of his neck to the other and enjoyed the feeling of his fingers lightly kneading the muscles of the tops of her thighs as she did so. Andy felt like she was practically panting as she finished, dropping the razor into the sink. Grabbing the hand towel out of the ring on the other side of her, she turned on the faucet and soaked the towel in the cool water.

As she began to wipe the remnants of the shaving cream off of his face, Nick's hands moved to her lower back and he pulled her to him. A lustful look filled Andy's eyes as she felt just how much he had enjoyed their little game of trust.

He cupped her face in his hands, and Andy saw the lust in his eyes which mirrored her own but there was something else too. For a moment, she wondered if he was going to tell her that he loved her but instead he leaned down and slid his lips along hers. Wrapping one arm around his neck, Andy held him more firmly against her as she parted her lips and enjoyed the wonderfully familiar feeling of his tongue playfully teasing her own.

Andy smiled against his lips as she pulled ever-so-slightly on the towel he was wearing and heard it drop to the floor.


Nick and Andy lay on the couch, snuggled under the blanket as the ending credits of A Christmas Story began to scroll up the TV screen. They had gone out for breakfast earlier and Andy wasn't sure if it was the Christmas decorations that had adorned the diner or the Christmas music that had played lightly in the background but they had decided that they wanted to spend their day off holed up in Andy's apartment watching their favorite Christmas movies.

They had just finished their second movie and based on Andy's steady breathing, he was wondering if they would make it through a third. "You still awake?" Nick asked in a soft voice.

Andy nodded. "Mm hmm." She gazed at her coffee table that was littered with the junk food that they had bought at the store earlier. "I'm gonna have to run 10k in the morning," Andy remarked. She was pretty sure that she might have a junk food hangover later.

Nick's fingers lightly brushed absently against her hip as a sly smile graced his lips. "I know something that's better than running."

Based on the way his hand was lightly caressing her hip, she knew exactly what he was referring to and it was not riding a bike or swimming. She shifted on the couch so that she was facing him, shaking her head as her mouth quirked up. "Oh really?"

"It's a proven fact that sex burns more calories than running," he told her, full-on grinning.

A challenging expression crossed Andy's features, one of her eyebrows arching upwards. "And where'd you learn that?"

"One of your magazines," he responded without missing a beat. He leaned on his elbow and braced his other hand on the other side of her on the couch as he hovered above her slightly.

"Ah, so that's where my latest issue of Cosmo went," she teased, smiling up at him.

He rolled his eyes at her teasing. "Funny."

Andy shrugged her shoulders as she ran her hands over the defined muscles in his arms. "You're the one who's stealing my magazines," she quipped, her eyes dancing playfully.

Ignoring her comment, he lowered his head and ran his lips along the column of her throat, hoping to distract her. He darted his tongue out before he teasingly nipped at the sensitive skin. As he sat back up again he had a slight smirk on his face. "It's also a proven fact that sex is more fun than running a 5k every morning." He dipped his head as though her were going to kiss her but stopped short before speaking again, still smirking. "Oh, and that whole karma sutra section in your magazine…Talk about burning calories…" Any response that Andy might have had to Nick's comment died instantly as his mouth descended on hers.


"1519! Officer down!" Andy's voice came over Chris and Nick's squad car radio. "Officer down!" Nick felt his heart seize at the panic in her voice. Since Andy was the one radioing in, he logically knew that she was fine. For the time being. He looked at the radio on the dashboard willing dispatch to let them know Andy and Chloe's position.

"All available units, we have an officer down at Wenton Park." The response from dispatch crackled over the radio. "All available units to Wenton Park. I repeat, officer down."

Nick did his best to keep his cool as Chris flipped on the lights and siren, hating the fact that he wasn't the one driving. He told himself that this was part of the job. Every day that they went out there, they knew that something like this could happen. Dispatch once again came over the radio. "1519. What's your exact position in the park?"

"Um, we're pinned behind some sort of monument at the east end of the park," Andy yelled, her voice slightly breathless. "We're being shot at right now. Chloe's been shot. We need medics. I repeat, Price has been shot. We need medics now!"

This time it was Oliver's voice that Nick heard on the radio. "Hold on, McNally. We'll be right there."

"10-33. Officer down. Active shooter. Officers under fire," the female dispatcher's voice calmly stated.

Chris glanced over to the other side of the squad car as Nick keyed the microphone to respond. "1527. We're on our way," he responded, his own voice sounding strangely calm to his own ears despite the panic and desperation that he was feeling knowing that the woman he loved was in danger at that very moment. "Approaching King and Duncan." All he wanted to do was get to Andy and Chloe.

"We got McNally and Price. Diaz, Collins, you find that shooter," Oliver ordered.

A part of him wanted to argue, but being the cop that he was, he replied, "Copy. We're three minutes out." Chris looked at him expectantly before Nick keyed his radio again. "Andy, you got eyes on the shooter?"

The next few seconds felt like an eternity while he waited for Andy to respond as they sped down a side street, closing in on Andy and Chloe's position. "Condos at the east end. You guys, he's still shooting at us. I think he's from the roof."

Nick hated the feeling of helplessness that nearly overwhelmed him. Chris stomped on the gas after they passed through an intersection a couple of blocks away from Wenton Park and Nick glanced over at him gratefully. He hoped that Oliver and Gail were as close as he and Diaz. Chris whipped the car around a corner and Nick could see the condo building at the east end of the park like Andy had described. The car came to a screeching halt in the roundabout in front of the building and both Nick and Chris jumped out of the car, drawing their guns as they approached the glass front doors.

"Stairs! Where're the stairs?!" Nick yelled at the security guard whose eyes were wide as the two officers ran towards the desk that he was sitting behind.

The older man pointed towards a door on the opposite end from the elevator bank. "Over there! They'll take you to the roof!" the man yelled after them as both Nick and Chris took off towards the door. They both stopped as Nick reached for the door knob and Chris gave a silent nod before Nick threw the door open. Seeing that it was clear, Nick led the way up the stairs, quickly and methodically making sure the way up was clear at each landing.

"1519. ETF and medics are en route." Nick heard the female dispatcher's voice telling Andy as he rounded the next-to-last landing.

Nick and Chris climbed the last set of stairs as they heard Andy over the radio. "Guys? Where are you? We've gotta get her outta here."

"We're inside. Heading to the roof," Chris responded as Nick stopped next to roof access door.

Turning his head, Nick grabbed the door knob like he had done downstairs and looked to Chris to make sure he was ready. He flung the door open and Chris made his way out onto the roof the moment they both realized it was clear. Nick twisted around as he followed Chris out onto the roof, searching for any sign of the shooter. "I can't stop the bleeding. Please." He heard Andy's voice catch and her desperation only made him want to catch the bastard even more. "Where are the medics?!"

They made their way across the roof, not seeing anyone. Nick looked at Chris as they came to the side of the building where the elevator banks were, he pointed in one direction and Chris nodded as he went in the opposite direction in an effort to possibly flank the shooter if they were still on the rooftop. "Andy, Andy, it's Oliver. Listen to me. We're seconds away. We're gonna get her away. Stay here. Stay on your radio. Okay?"

"Okay," Andy replied.

As Nick cleared the corner of the small building, he saw that there was no one of the roof and noticed the shell casings lying on the ground near a short concrete pillar. "Roof's clear," he radioed, looking down at the park below. "Shooter's gone." He watched as Oliver and Gail's squad car pulled into the park, and Oliver hopped out. Nick wanted nothing more than to be down in that park, checking to make sure that Andy was alright but he knew it would have to wait because he had a job to do. They all did.


Andy stared at the pool of blood where she and Chloe had taken shelter as she gave her statement to Officer Lynch. No matter how hard she tried to focus on the details that she needed to give the officer, her thoughts were preoccupied by the moments before the shooting. The way Chloe had excitedly inquired about the status of Nick and Andy's relationship in the squad car. Chloe's happy tone at the thought that Nick and Andy were actually a couple, almost like she had been rooting for them. How she had asked Andy if they could all go on a double date. Andy thought about how she wanted nothing more in that moment than to tell Chloe that she and Nick would go on that double date with her and Dov and that Chloe could even plan it just as long as she was okay. She had to be okay.


Gazing inside his locker, Nick noticed the silver Sharpie on the top shelf. He had nearly forgotten about the ritual that his army buddies had adopted over the years and he remembered seeing one of the guys in his platoon writing inside the vest the first time. Rollins had looked up at Nick and seen the curiosity on his face and had explained to him that he was writing a message to his wife, just in case he didn't come back from the mission. Nick recalled how the man had offered the Sharpie to him and told him that he could use it if he wanted to, but Nick had politely shaken his head and declined the offer.

He hadn't been the superstitious type. Besides, there hadn't really been anyone that he had wanted to leave a message for.

Staring at the Sharpie, Nick thought about all those times where it was almost a guarantee that he wouldn't make it back from the mission alive and not once had he ever thought of writing a message or a prayer on his vest. When he had seen the bullet hole in Andy's jacket, all Nick had been able to think about was what if it had been Andy that had been shot in the neck. What if something had happened to her and she didn't know that he was in love with her? He had bit back the words then because despite her scaring the hell out of him, she had been fine and he hadn't wanted the first time he said those words to her to be marred by chaos and uncertainty. When he said those words to her, he wanted that moment to be just about them.

Nick grabbed the permanent marker off the shelf and undid his vest as he sat down on the bench, pulling it all the way off and resting it on his knee. Sitting there for a moment, he contemplated what he wanted to say to Andy, the things he wanted her to know if he wasn't able to say them to her himself. Just in case…

Andy,

Every choice that I have made, good or bad, has led me here, to you and I want you to know that I wouldn't change a thing. There's so much I want to tell you but in the end, all that matters is this: I love you, Andy McNally.

His hand hovered over the vest as he thought about what else he might want to say when Chris's voice broke into his thoughts. "Alright, they're bringing in more squad's from the garage. They're splittin' us up. You've got 1527," Chris told him before tossing Nick the keys.

Nick caught them easily with one hand. "Cool. Thanks," he replied, before looking back down at the note he had written to Andy.

"What's this?" Chris asked, noticing that Nick was writing on the inside of his vest.

Lifting his head, he looked at Chris as he answered him. "Ah, some of the guys in my platoon used to write stuff inside their vests before heading out. Prayers…" he paused as he glanced down at what he had written, his thumb absently brushing over her name. "Messages to loved ones, just in case."

I will always love you. He quickly wrote the last part of his note to her.

"Yeah, well, no one else is getting hurt today," Chris stated, not sounding quite as confident as he had intended.

Nick wanted to believe that. He really did, but someone was out there targeting the officers of 15 Division and until they had some solid clues anyone of them could end up just like Chloe, or worse. "Let's hope."


Andy watched as Nick walked away from her and out of the station. She hated the fact that he was going out there without her to watch his back. It made her feel helpless and useless knowing that he could potentially be in harm's way and she would be powerless to stop it all because one bullet that grazed her jacket was forcing her to ride the desk.

The feeling of their kiss still lingered on her lips. It had felt like someone had a vice grip on her heart as she had thought about the possibility of losing him so she had done the only thing she could think of, short of telling him that she was falling in love with him, and kissed him in the middle of 15 Division. She hadn't cared who might see them because all that had mattered in that moment was that Nick at least knew how deep her feelings for him were. He had let her know from day one that he was all in, and while it might have taken her a little longer than him to realize it, she was all in too.