AN: Here's the next chapter. Hope you like it! I have a feeling you might. And, I am really sad to say this, but I have to. I can't update as frequently as I'd like and I hate having to make you guys wait. Therefore, I'm going to start winding this story down. I hope you don't hate me. I hope you keep reading and reviewing. I hope you enjoy what I have coming and what I've already published. Thank you so much for reading and for the amazing feedback!
It was well after two in the morning when Andy got home. She'd heard from both Luke and Oliver since getting in the car with Nick, and Cal was not going easily. She was just happy her part of that particular case was finished. She was nearly a pawn in Luke's game and that was fine by her. It wasn't her case and she wanted her day off the next day.
She sat on the arm of her couch and pulled off her tall boots, letting out a relieved sigh. Her feet were on fire. She couldn't make it the extra seven steps to her bedroom door to take them off. She held them in her hand and tip toed toward her room, trying her hardest not to wake Sam.
She was surprised to find him awake when she got into their room. He was just lying on his back, staring out the window on his side of the room. He turned to look at her when she dropped her boots on the floor.
"What are you doing up?" She asked as she started getting undressed.
He propped himself on his elbows and shrugged. "Couldn't sleep," he answered and she smiled sadly at him. She could see the exhaustion in his eyes.
She tossed her dirty clothes in the hamper and pulled an oversized t-shirt over her head. She climbed onto the bed, straddling Sam, and leaned down to kiss him. He sat up, wrapping his arms tightly around her, and she moaned against his lips. Before she had time to react, he flipped them over and rested on top of her.
"Now you're never going to get to sleep," Andy laughed as Sam pulled her shirt off.
"I'm okay with it," he smiled, leaning in to kiss her again as he tossed the shirt off to the side.
"Sam, I'm going to kill you," Andy said through gritted teeth as she turned away from him. She pulled the covers over her head, but he sat down next to her anyway. "As much as I love you, you're dead to me if you don't walk away right now."
"McNally," he laughed. She pulled the covers down and gave him a hard look, stopping him mid-chuckle. "Sorry. But, let's go."
"Sam," she whined, turning toward him and sitting up. "It's early. We were up late last night. We were up late having a lotof fun. Hold onto that feeling while I kill you."
"You're so dramatic," he said, rolling his eyes. "We said the next day we had off together that we'd go and look at dogs."
"I know," she told him, holding onto his face for emphasis. "But the day is young. The dogs will be there in a couple of hours."
He surprised her by kissing her and she smiled when he pulled back. "We're not getting one today anyway. You know that, Sam, so why do we have to go torture ourselves by looking?" She asked him and he rested his forehead against hers.
"Why is that again?" He asked and she melted against him. He looked so defeated.
"Because we're not ready," she said. "We don't have any place to put the poor thing. I don't want to bring an innocent animal in here until we've carved out enough room for its things."
"When can we do that?" He asked, his eyes lighting again. Andy kissed him hard, she couldn't help it. She hadn't seen him so excited since he mentioned the dog in the first place over a year ago.
"How about we do thattoday?" She suggested and his face fell again. "We both have all of next weekend off. We have plans with your sister on Saturday, so we can go and pick out a dog on Sunday."
"Okay," he shrugged and she kissed him again.
"Come back to bed," she said and he shook his head. "Please? You know how much I like having you there when I sleep."
He gently pushed her to lie back one the bed and kissed her. He rolled over her and got under the covers on his side of the bed. "How can I say no to you, McNally?"
"I don't know," she laughed, snuggling into his chest. "But I think it's time you start before I get too spoiled."
"I think we've passed that point," he said and she playfully slapped him on the chest. He laughed and then kissed her lightly on her forehead. "I guess I could use another hour of sleep."
"I know you can," she laughed and they let out simultaneous sighs.
Sam fell onto the couch, resting his head on Andy's lap. She smiled and ran her hand across his forehead. "Some day off, huh?" She asked and he laughed dryly. "But the place is clean and we can finally move forward and get a dog."
His eyes were closed, but he smiled. Andy put her finger on one of his dimples and leaned down to kiss his forehead. "I'm so excited," he told her and she smiled against his skin.
"I can tell," she said and he smiled again. "Thanks for taking out all the trash."
"Thanks for getting rid of it all," he said, sitting up. "If I didn't know any better, McNally, I'd swear you were a hoarder."
"I am not!"
"Not anymore," he laughed and she kicked him lightly in the ankle causing him to laugh again. "I've got to take a shower."
"You're all sweaty," she agreed and he narrowed his eyes at her. "What?"
"You too," he said, rubbing his finger across her forehead, right at her hairline.
"Okay," she laughed. "So, take a shower. I'll hop in after and then we can grab dinner or something."
"No," he said, standing up.
"What do you mean? No?" She asked, looking up at him as he smiled. Her eyes widened as he scooped her up and tossed her over his shoulder. "Sam!"
"No need to waste the water, Andy," he laughed and she stopped resisting in his arms. He carried her to the bathroom and she tapped him lightly on the butt, laughing.
He set her down- very slowly- to stand in front of him. She ran her hands down his chest as he did so until they reached the hem of his shirt and she pulled it off.
He cupped her face as soon as he was freed from his shirt and kissed her hard. He used his free hand to pull her in closer by her waist and she wrapped her arms around his torso. "I like it when you wear sweatpants," Sam whispered into her hair as he untied the drawstring at the front.
"Why?" She laughed against his shoulder. "They're the least sexy clothing item ever."
"But they come off so easily," he said, pulling ever so slightly as they slid down her legs and she laughed again.
Andy was walking around her room in her bra and underwear, searching for something to wear. Sam had already changed into a pair of jeans and a long-sleeve t-shirt and was sitting on the bed with his arms crossed behind his head, watching her.
"Would you stop gawking, please?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips and he simply shook his head until her lips curved into a smile. She just shook her head and moved toward her dresser. She looked over her shoulder at Sam, who was still watching her, and decided to pull out a green sweater and a pair of jeans.
She got changed quickly, pulled on a pair of boots and moved to the other side of the room to stand in front of him. She held her hands out and he took them, but instead of letting her pull him up, he pulled her toward the bed. She was resting across his lap and he leaned over and kissed her, balling his hand in her hair. She knew she should protest- they were going to dinner together before meeting their friends at the Penny- but she just didn't have it in her. She loved their days off together, as rare as they were. But they always ended up the same way; playful and light and a good portion of their day was spent in bed.
"We should go," he said, surprising her. He was almost never the one to stop a kiss leading somewhere. He laughed when he noticed the look of longing on Andy's face, but pulled her to him again and kissed her slowly as his hand ran down the side of her body and back up to cradle her face. "We should go," he said again and she nodded, moving to get off of him.
She grabbed his hand and pulled him with her and dragged him out of their room into the living room. Their coats were resting on the kitchen island where they put them after they went grocery shopping earlier in the day. She handed him his and pulled hers on. As they walked to Sam's truck, Andy held onto his upper arm while she told him about the case the night before.
"You guys were really lucky," Sam laughed as they got in.
"I know we were," she agreed quickly. He drove away and held onto her hand. "I want to work with you again," she said and he looked at her with his eyebrows raised.
"I don't know, Andy," he said truthfully and she nodded solemnly. "If I could guarantee that it goes as smoothly as your case with Callaghan, I wouldn't worry. But you and I both know that it's not going to happen like that. I can't risk anything happening to you while under my direction."
"I know," she told him, squeezing his hand. "I just- I don't know. I know we work well together. But you're right. I know you're right."
"I'd rather work a case without and come home to you than work a case with you and go home to an empty house."
"I know," she said again. She leaned over quickly and kissed his cheek. "Something could happen to one of us without the other one around, though. We're cops; we have a dangerous job."
"McNally," he laughed. "I know that. Believe me. But I don't want to be responsible for anything that happens to you. I don't want you to be responsible for anything that happens to me. That would be an extra weight on either of us if something terrible did happen."
"Yeah. You're right."
"Thank you," he said, lifting her hand to his mouth and kissing it while he drove on.
When they got to the restaurant, they were lucky enough to get a table right away. They sat down and ordered their drinks and as soon as their waitress was gone, Andy leaned closer and launched into a conversation about a recent basketball game she and Chris played. He and Denise were doing a lot better; he realized after his night on their couch that he didn't want to be with anyone else. He's always kind of suspected that he'd end up with her or at least with someone like her. And now that they had been separated for two year and back together for a year, it was nice to know that he had finally settled down.
Sam told her about a conversation he had had with Sarah earlier in the week. She was coming to the city with Jake and they had the whole day planned. Sarah had called to make sure they were still on and to tell Sam that they wanted to spend some time at the beach before it got even colder. They were going to lunch at a restaurant right on the water and then heading back to Andy and Sam's to see the place. Sarah wanted to go to the Penny with them to catch up with Oliver and meet whoever else was around. Sam didn't seem to care much either way, but Andy was really excited about getting to spend some more time with his sister. It was important to her and, deep down, she knew it was important to him.
After their dinner was finished, Andy threw down her credit card before Sam had a chance to grab his wallet. He tried to fight her on it, but she shook her head and told the waitress she was all set.
"Happy birthday," Andy told him and his face fell.
"How did you know?" He asked, sitting back in his seat and she leaned toward him.
"Your sister called me too," she said. "I had to pretend I knew it was your birthday. That's typically a detail one's girlfriend knows without family intervention."
"I don't want it to be a big deal, Andy," he sighed and she nodded.
"That's why it's not," she told him, holding onto his hand. "I told your sister that we didn't want to celebrate- that we would today. I didn't want to lie. So, happy birthday. I bought you dinner."
"Thank you," he smiled, leaning closer to her. "Before my dad went to prison, my mom made birthdays a huge deal. When he was gone, it was too much for her to handle alone, so we cut down to just dinner and cake. After she died, I don't feel right celebrating."
"Okay," she nodded, rubbing his palm with her thumb. "I just want you to know that I love you more than anything and I want you to have the happiest of birthdays."
"I spent it with you," he shrugged. "That's good enough for me."
Andy smiled and leaned over the table to kiss him. As soon as she pulled back, the waitress returned with her card and wished them a good night.
"Let's go to the Penny," Sam said and Andy nodded, still smiling.
As they walked into the Penny, holding hands, they were met by Oliver and Dov just coming off their shifts. "Brother, you missed a hell of a day," Oliver said, slapping Sam lightly on the back. "I'm jealous you had it off."
"Seriously, I shouldn't have taken the extra shift this week," Dov said, opening the door for the rest of them.
Dov and Oliver walked ahead of Sam and Andy, heading straight for the bar. Sam held her back and pulled her toward the wall at the back of the room. He held onto her face and kissed her slowly. "What was that for?" she asked breathlessly and he shrugged.
"I love you," he said simply and she pushed him against the wall and kissed him hard and quick. He smiled at her and she nodded toward Oliver before he walked around her and sat down.
Andy sat down at a table with Dov where Chris and Traci had already been sitting. "How was work today?" Traci asked Dov who just rolled his eyes. "Okay, never mind," she laughed, looking toward Andy.
"Sam and I are going to look at dogs next weekend," she announced and Chris's face lit up.
"Our dogs are going to be best friends," he decided and Dov scoffed. "What are you getting?"
"We haven't decided," Andy shrugged, pouring a glass of beer from the pitcher in the center of the table. "We're going to the shelter to pick one out."
"That's so exciting," Traci told her and Andy nodded in agreement. "Leo has been asking for a dog. I don't think Dex and I can handle that right now, though. I told him we could get a cat."
"They're less work," Chris said and Traci nodded. "I'm lucky Denise stays home with Christian and the dog. Otherwise, I'd be screwed."
The conversation continued between Traci and Chris. Being the only one in their group with kids, they typically ended up having their own side conversations. A lot of the time, it was Chris asking for advice or just wanting to hear her stories of Leo at Christian's age. Dov was texting Cassidy and Andy was sitting back in her seat watching Sam, Oliver, and Luke talking at the bar. She heard the door to the bar opened and saw Luke's fiancee walk in and sit down with them. Andy wondered where Gail and Nick were. She hadn't seen them out in a while- only at work.
"What are Gail and Nick up to tonight?" She asked aloud.
"I don't know," Traci shrugged. "I invited her, but she said they couldn't tonight. Maybe they're fighting."
"I wouldn't be surprised," Dov said, putting his phone into his pocket. "But they seemed fine yesterday at work."
"Yeah," Chris agreed. "Collins and I rode together. They're not fighting."
"Maybe they're preoccupied with something else," Traci suggested, wiggling her eyebrows causing her friends to laugh.
Sam walked up to Andy's table, standing behind her and putting his arm around her chest. "Oh, hi," she smiled back at him and he friends turned quickly away from the sudden public display.
"Hey," he said, leaning closer to her ear. "Do you want to get out of here?"
"Yeah," she said without second thought. He backed away from her and she stood, causing her friends to look back at her. "I'll see you tomorrow, guys."
"Have a good night," Traci said, wiggling her eyebrows yet again. Andy looked down, shaking her head and reached for Sam's hand.
She led him out the backdoor toward his truck and he took his hand from hers and pulled her close from around her waist. "What's gotten into you, Sam?" She asked with a laugh.
He nuzzled her neck and squeezed her for a second. "You."
"How much did you have to drink?" She asked when they stopped outside of his truck.
"Two beers, McNally," he told her. "I'm fine."
She looked him up and down and shrugged. "If you promise."
"I promise," Sam said, pulling her into his body by her hands. She smiled slyly and kissed him as his arms encircled her. She slid her arms around her neck and pulled herself so close that she was on her tip toes, kissing him with all her might. He walked them back just far enough for her to be resting against the truck and she laughed into the kiss. He pulled back enough to rest his forehead against hers. "We should get home," he said, his voice hoarse and she nodded.
