I can't believe this is the 25th chapter! I feel like the time has kind of flew by, but it also sort of feels like it's been forever... weird...

PS- I'm pretty sure I got some of the "how am I gonna make it work with you" dialogue from somewhere, but I have no idea where.

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"You really think it's over between them?" Andy wonders as she and Sam are snuggled on the couch together after shift, neither of them paying any attention to the hockey game on in the background.

"I don't know… I think it might be," Sam replies as he pulls her a little bit closer into his side.

"Poor Oliver," Andy remarks. "Have you talked to him? How's he doing?" She asks.

"Not great… I told him he could stay here tonight, but he said he wanted to be alone… I think he's staying in a motel," Sam conveys.

"Well, just make sure he doesn't have too much alone time… that never works," she comments.

"Yeah, I know… I'm just worried about him," Sam remarks. "Now, he's only going to get to see his kids half the time and… and I mean, Zoe… they've been together for almost twenty years… she's the love of his life and now… now, it's just over between them? How is he supposed to get over that?" He wonders.

"I don't know," Andy replies with a shake of her head and sadness in her eyes. "It's obviously going to take time," she adds.

"Yeah," Sam nods his head before he's suddenly lost in his thoughts.

And it definitely doesn't escape Andy's notice, either. She can instantly tell that he's thinking hard about something with the way his eyes are just staring off into space and his forehead is a little bit wrinkled and he keeps clenching his jaw. She knows that there's something he's not saying and she's not sure why.

"Something else on your mind?" She inquires, cautiously.

"What?" He asks as he snaps back to reality. "Oh… no, that's it," he assures her. But yeah, she's just not buying it.

"Yeah? You sure?" She questions. "It seemed like you were thinking about something," she adds.

"It's nothing," he dismisses.

"Really?" She asks, skeptically.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he tells her, but again, she doesn't believe it for a second.

"Sam, c'mon… just talk to me," she requests.

"Andy, really, it's nothing," he says again.

Andy blows out a breath in an effort to control her frustration. She hates when he bottles things up like this and refuses to let her in. "Sam, you're always there for me when I need to talk and I… I just wish you would let me be there for you… something is obviously bothering you… just talk to me… please?" she implores.

He sits there for a moment, just searching her eyes and apparently debating whether he should tell her or not. Eventually, he takes a deep breath and starts to gently stroke her back. "It's just… Oliver is a good husband, good father… he grew up with a normal family, a normal life… if he can't make it work with the love of his life then… I don't know… I guess I'm just wondering how I'll ever make it work with you," he confesses.

And yeah, that definitely throws her for a loop. Is she reading too much into it or did he sort of imply that she's the love of his life?

But as she locks eyes on his searching gaze, she decides that she'll have to overanalyze that little gem later. "Look Sam, I don't know what's going to happen for us, but just because Oliver and Zoe are having problems… it doesn't mean that we will… or that if we do, we won't be able to work through them," she assures him. "And look, neither one of us had the white picket fence childhood… it doesn't mean we can't be happy together. We just have to keep figuring all of this out together, you know? We have to promise not to give up on each other… to keep trying," she tells him.

He subtly nods his head at her words while his fingers continue to explore her back. "Yeah, it's just that… this job isn't exactly conducive to long lasting relationships," he reminds her. "And I… I really want this to work," he adds.

"So let's make sure it works," she says with a smile.

"That simple?" He asks, skeptically.

"No," she says with a shake of her head. "But if we both want it bad enough, we should be able to figure it out, don't you think?" she replies.

"Yeah," he agrees, although he doesn't sound too confident.

"And I know that I really want it," she tells him with a reassuring smile.

As a smile finally appears on his lips, he gently squeezes her hip and pulls her closer. "Me too," he replies before placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Good… so, we'll figure it all out together, okay?" She tells him.

"Yeah… okay," he nods, as he tries to will himself to believe it.

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As the two of them lie in Sam's bed together a few days later, they are both completely lost in their own thoughts. Today was a rough day, to say the least.

Late last night, Gail was kidnapped from Andy's apartment and Andy ended up caught in the scuffle. Luckily, it all turned out okay and they were able to find Gail, but it definitely spooked them both.

When Andy wasn't in parade this morning, Sam assumed that she and Gail had just stayed up late and overslept, but as soon as he heard the panic in her voice, his stomach dropped. Moments later, he bolted out of parade and rushed to her apartment, violating several speeding laws in the process.

When he finally got to her and saw that she was okay, he couldn't help but think how close he had come to losing her. And as she was answering all of Jerry's questions, he was in a complete daze, unable to think of anything else.

After that, he basically refused to let her out of his sight for the rest of the day. In fact, he's not sure how he'll ever be able let her out of his sight again. It's just… if something ever happened to her… he can't even imagine how he'd survive it.

And as the thought crosses his mind again, he tightens his grip on her and kisses the top of her head. She tilts her chin up to look up into his eyes and snuggles impossibly close to him. It's as if neither one of them can handle even a centimeter of space between them right now.

"How's your head?" He asks eventually as he runs his fingers through her hair.

"Okay," she shrugs. "My headache is mostly gone," she adds.

He nods and allows his fingers to slide down her shoulder.

"Do you think Gail will be okay?" She wonders a few seconds later.

"Yeah, she'll be okay," he confirms with a nod. "It will probably take some time though… she's been through something pretty traumatic," he adds.

"I know," Andy nods. "I mean, I didn't even get kidnapped and I don't think I can handle being alone at my apartment ever again," she declares. "I don't know what I'm gonna do when you're working the night shift and I'm off… I'll have to crash at Traci's… or maybe my Dad's… And of course, I just renewed my lease a few months ago," she groans.

"Andy, you know you can just stay here," he tells her.

She tilts her head back up to look at him with a questioning gaze. "Really? You don't mind?" She asks.

"Of course I don't mind … I like it when you stay here," he replies, surprised that she would have any doubt.

"But… even when you're not here?" She clarifies.

"Of course," he repeats. "Actually… hold on," he says as he moves to sit up and reluctantly pry himself out of her grasp.

"What are you doing?" She wonders as she sits up and watches him walk to the other side of the room where his duffle bag is resting on a chair. He quickly starts digging through it before he pulls something out and wraps his fingers around it. They lock eyes as he comes back towards the bed and when he sits down beside her, he opens his hand to show her what's inside.

"Been meaning to give this to you," he explains as he displays the key he's holding.

"A key?" She asks, dumb-founded. "Really?"

"Yeah," he nods with a smile. "I want you to have this," he explains. "And I want you to use it," he adds. "I mean it, you're always welcome, okay? Always. Even when I'm not home," he assures her.

"Okay…" she replies as she takes the key from him and studies it in her hand for a moment. "Thanks," she offers as she meets his eyes.

"You're welcome," he says with a bit of a teasing smile.

She chuckles and leans in for a quick kiss before she goes to put the key on the nightstand. When she turns back towards him, he takes her in his arms and pulls her close before planting a kiss on her forehead.

"I'm really glad you're okay," he murmurs, trying his best not to think about how today could've turned out so much differently.

"Me too," she whispers as she snuggles into his chest.

"I love you," he tells her as he runs his fingers through her hair.

"Mm… love you, too," she says, before drifting off to sleep.

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It's a few days later when Sam is getting off shift and on his way home. It's almost eleven o'clock and he's beyond exhausted. The calls were never-ending today and all he wants to do is crawl into bed with Andy and go to sleep.

She had the day off, so he hasn't talked to her since the quick call they shared during his lunch break, but he's hoping that she's at his place waiting for him. This is the first opportunity they've had for her to actually be at his house when he's not there, so he's not completely sure whether she'll do it or not. He's pretty much decided that if she isn't at his place, he'll just get right back in the truck and drive to her apartment. Even though he's absurdly tired, he just hates spending the night without her. It's probably crazy, but he feels like he never sleeps as well when she isn't wrapped up in his arms at night. Plus, he's had a rough day and she always makes it better.

Five minutes later, he's walking through his front door and when he sees her discarded shoes in the foyer, he can't help but smile at the thought that she used his key and hung out here today.

He's basically itching to see her so he quickly locks up the house and makes his way towards the bedroom, where she's already tucked into bed waiting for him.

"Hey," she greets him as he walks through the door.

He gives her a big smile and climbs onto the bed to kiss her and get his arms around her. "I really like coming home to you in my bed," he tells her as he hovers over her lips.

She grins and presses her lips to his. "How was your day?" She asks as she pulls away.

"Shitty," he replies. "But it's much better now," he adds before he lies back against the pillow and closes his eyes, already moments away from falling asleep.

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"Sam, you need to get out of here," Andy implores.

"No," he argues as he remains standing right in front of her.

"Sam, please," she begs.

"Andy, stop. I'm not leaving," he maintains.

"What if it goes off?" She questions as she glances down at the grenade in her hands.

"It's not going to go off," he assures her.

"It could," she argues.

"If it does… then I need to be right here with you," he tells her.

"You're being an idiot," she responds.

"Maybe," he shrugs. "But I'm not leaving."

She's about to open her mouth to continue arguing about this when the bomb tech walks in and everything she was about to say is suddenly forgotten. After a minute or two, the grenade is disabled but Andy is still tightly gripping it, terrified of letting it go.

"Sam, please… just in case… please just go outside," she begs him.

He puts a gentle hand on her shoulder and squeezes it. "Just let go," he tells her.

"Sam," she pleads as his fingers travel down her arms and land on her hands.

"It's okay… just let go," he encourages her.

She shuts her eyes and bites down on her bottom lip before she eventually frees the grenade's trigger and when it doesn't go off, she's finally able to release the breath she's been holding. As soon as the bomb tech takes the grenade from her, she falls into Sam's arms, which he quickly wraps around her. Neither one of them are sure how long they stand there holding each other, but at some point, she pulls away slightly and looks up at him. She just can't believe him sometimes.

"That was really stupid!" She exclaims as she lightly slaps his chest.

"C'mon, you knew all along that I wasn't going to leave you," he suggests as he grabs her hand.

And yeah, it's true. She would have been surprised if he actually had listened to her and went outside, but it doesn't mean that she wants him to put himself in danger like that.

"Sam, there was no reason for you to stay… there wasn't anything you could do if it had gone off," she reminds him.

"Andy, you're not going to win this argument," he says, giving her this look that she couldn't even begin to explain.

She rolls her eyes at him, but ends up pulling him into another hug. To be honest, she has no idea how she ever would've had the courage to let go of that grenade if he wasn't standing right beside her, telling her it'd be okay.

"I love you," he whispers in his ear.

"Love you, too," she mumbles into his chest.

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"Sometimes I just really hate that you're a cop," he declares, out of the blue, as they lie in bed that night.

"What?" She asks, a bit taken back and obviously not thrilled with his words.

"I mean, most of the time I love it, but when days like today happen, I just… I worry about you, you know? When you were holding that grenade… God, if something ever happened to you… I don't know what I'd do," he explains.

She gives him a small smile and leans in for a peck on the lips. "I know how you feel," she replies.

"I just can't imagine you not being in my life," he adds as he runs his fingers through her hair. "I can barely remember a time when you weren't in my bed at night… when you weren't riding shotgun in my truck… when you weren't lying on the couch with me after shift… when we weren't patrolling the streets together… I have no idea what I was doing back then," he remarks.

"Me either," she quips with a playful smile.

"I'm serious… I don't know what I would ever do without you," he tells her. And it's true. He gets a pit in his stomach just thinking about it.

"Sam… I feel the same way," she assures him as her smile widens.

"I love you so much," he replies as he strokes her cheek.

"Me too," she agrees with a nod. "So much," she whispers right before she plants a few more kisses on his lips.

==============REWRITTEN=============

So… when I was writing this many months ago, I debated whether I should kill Jerry off, just like the show. Ultimately, I decided against it because I had a few ideas that I wanted to use and Jerry needed to be alive for them to pan out. Although, I think it would have been nice to see Sam and Andy go through all of that together, the grieving process would've negatively impacted a lot of my other storylines and would have consumed the next several chapters. So yeah, in the end, I decided to keep him around

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