A/N: Thank you once again to all who have favorited, followed, and reviewed this story. In honor of Noah's birthday tomorrow - an early update with a little McG love!

Chapter 9:

Andy and Adrian went at it until she finally insisted that he go to bed. She was going to go for a swim to clear her head. The pool was heated and felt glorious as she swam lazily back and forth. He had been high, and she'd only seen him coming down from a high. He had taken something just before dinner was the only thing she could think of to explain the usually charming man she knew changing into a possessive womanizer.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw him standing at the edge of the pool with a towel. It was the second time that she had been too wrapped up in her own head to hear his approach. This was getting out of hand, but part of it was her own fault. She had allowed this to get bigger than she could handle before calling her brother.

"Are you still mad at me?" he questioned as she pulled herself out of the pool. He was giving her the puppy dog eyes as he handed her the towel. She glanced at him and wanted to say no, but she didn't have it in her. So, she remained silent as she toweled dry and walked past him into the kitchen. She should have known better.

Amir watched in horror as she was shoved from behind by Adrian and he sent her sprawling across the tiled floor. Andy rolled to her side and glared up at the man. She pushed herself up and Amir could only see her face as she got to her feet. Adrian grabbed her by the arms and shoved her against the wall. Andy's head bounced off the wall with an audible whack.

"What, what is it?" Top questioned seeing the horrified look on Amir's face as he came back from taking a quick shower. Then he heard the harsh whispering. Top rounded the table and watched as Adrian leaned in close to Andy face, a hand around her throat. Finally, Adrian released her. Leaving her against the wall coughing. He watched as she moved to the sink to get a glass of water and leaned over it trying to catch her breath. "Wake McG, we are going to get her," Top insisted his gut turning sour.

"Top, we can't, it will blow her cover," Amir replied standing up to face his CO. Top was vibrating with anger staring at that screen. He wanted to spring into action, but he knew that Amir was right. He had to let this play out. Andy left the kitchen and they could only guess she took the back staircase to go upstairs.

Andy was shaking with anger because she should never have let her guard down knowing how angry he had been earlier in the evening. She couldn't fight back because it would have given her away, so now she had a bruised knee and bruises on her arms. She was sure if she looked at the mirror in the hall, so would have seen red marks on her throat as well.

When she entered the bedroom, she found Adrian passed out on the bed snoring loudly. She rolled her eyes, briefly contemplated getting her gun, and went to take a shower. She gathered her clothes and locked herself in the bathroom to survey the damage. As suspected, bruises were already forming in the shape of his hands on her upper arms, her throat was ringed as well, but her knee was most concerning at this point, it was swelling, and she was concerned that he may have done some real damage. Sighing, she knew she was going to have to have it looked at by someone. She removed her swimsuit and moved to stand under the spray of the shower. She slid to the floor of the shower and rested her head against the cold tile. She was failing her mission at this point and she had dragged her brother into it.

Pushing her hair from her face and taking a deep breath, she stood and washed away the anger and the frustration. She scrubbed her hair and when she finally felt like her skin was clean, she turned off the water. She dried herself quickly and dressed in the black leggings, black tank top, and black hoodie. She exited the bathroom only when she was certain that Adrian was still passed out. Stopping in her closet, she grabbed her gun, the earwig and the button cam and left the house.

Twenty minutes later, she stood outside the safe house and knew that Adam was up. She'd hoped he would be asleep but knew that luck was not on her side. She reached up to knock, but Amir opened the door ready to leave. He nearly collided with her before stepping back.

"What are you doing here?" Amir demanded staring at her. She could see Adam over his shoulder pulling on his jacket. He looked up at Amir's question and immediately started towards the door.

"I need McG to look at my knee," she answered stuffing her hands into her pockets. They both frowned at her and moved to let her in the house. McG was coming down the stairs as she limped into the living area to prop up her knee.

McG looked to Top and Amir with questioning eyes. He had just woken up to Top telling him to get dressed and grab his med bag. Now he knew why. "What the hell happen?" he asked her as he moved to sit on the coffee table across from her. She gave him a look that showed she really didn't want to talk about it.

"Adrian happened," Amir answered crossing his arms while he stood across from her.

"How did…?" she questioned looking up at Adam.

"We put cameras in the house," he answered shoving his hands in his pockets. While McG rolled up the pant leg of her leggings.

Andy winced as he reached the rapidly swelling knee cap and he started probing it with skilled and gentle fingers. "My feet were wet on the tiles when he shoved me, and I couldn't catch myself, landed on the knee and heard a pop. It started to swell pretty quick," she explained looking only at McG. McG was focused on her knee and shot her an encouraging smile.

"Look at her throat and arms when you're done," Amir added quietly. Andy glared over at him as McG shot her a look.

"Amir, go get me a bag of ice," McG ordered, "Top, can you get a glass of water, so she can take a pain reliever?"

"Thanks," she whispered knowing he had set them to tasks to get them to leave the room.

"This isn't the first time, is it?" he asked softly as he wrapped her knee in an ace bandage. She looked him in the eye and gave a brief shake of her head. "Anything else you want to tell me?"

"No, this is the worst it's been," she answered softly. "A bruised arm here or there, but this is the first time he's actually pushed me. We have to end this Saturday. He's escalating, and I will fight back if he does this again even if it blows my cover," she added as Adam re-entered the room with Amir.

"Let me take a look at the rest," McG ordered, and she unzipped the hoodie. McG helped her get her arms out and hissed out a breath when he saw the livid bruises against her skin. "How old are these?" he questioned looking over the fading bruises to make sure there was nothing that needed attention. She shook her head. When he was done with each arm, he tilted her chin up so he could look at her neck. The finger marks were defined, and he pulled out a flashlight to check for damaged internally.

"Andy, how long has this been going on?" Top questioned standing behind McG. She looked up at him and over to Amir searching for an answer.

"Since he proposed. I think he has commitment issues that he is over compensating for by taking opioids or something. I noticed it three weeks ago and a couple days later is the first time the jealous rage presented itself. My handler was killed the following week and I wondered if he had ordered the hit thinking we were having an affair. I confirmed it was him and I called you the next day," she answered as McG placed the ice on her knee. He handed her the meds and glass of water. She took each without comment.

"Where does he think you are now?" Adam questioned as he watched her slip her hoodie back on.

"I left him a note that I went back to my place," she answered pulling her hair free from her shirt. Adam nodded and went back to pacing.

"What if he comes looking for her?" Amir questions as McG packs up his med kit.

"I'm going over there shortly, I just wanted to make sure I didn't damage my knee too bad," Andy replied looking to McG for confirmation.

"Bruised it really good, but no permanent damage. But Andy, you need to be careful," McG answered with a warning.

"I do this for a living remember? So, do you," she countered biting back in frustration. She wasn't a teenager that needed protecting, she wasn't a helpless woman either. With Jaz, they didn't pull this crap, she was sure of it. "I need to get moving. I don't want him finding me here." She moved to stand and winced before steadying herself.

"Andy, no, you are in no condition to be by yourself," Amir stated sounding frustrated. Adam looked to Amir and so did McG. Andy glared at him.

"I've been doing just fine on my own for the last four years. I'll be fine," she bit out before pulling her keys from her pocket. She squared her shoulders and moved to walk past them. She cursed the slight limp, but she couldn't help it because her knee would not bend.

Adam watched his sister limp across the room. His sister's stubborn streak was alive and well and it was the only reason he was letting her walk out of that room. He was not letting her walk out alone though. "Andy wait," he ordered and watched her stop. She turned awkwardly to look at him.

"What?"

"You are in no condition to be alone when you have a team to help you. Accept the help. Amir and McG will go with you tonight. What if the Russians find out you're injured? Do you think they will show restraint?" Adam questioned trying to get her to see reason. "You are still my sister and I told you that you are not alone," he added and watched her bite her lip.

"Damn it you fight dirty," she whispered looking down at her shoes. She looked up at him with resignation. "Fine, let's go," she stated motioning towards the door. She stood waiting as they grabbed their gear, staring at her brother.

"I fight for the people I care about," he stated walking up to her. "For family, I fight dirty every time. You know that."

Andy looked up at her brother and thought of the few conversations they had had since Jaz was taken and Preach was hurt. The man before her was rebuilding himself like he had been all those years ago when she had shown up on his front porch. He was stronger because he had a team that he cared about and cared about him in return. He looked lighter even with all that the past year had done to break him down.

"Thank you big brother," she whispered before reaching up to hug him. He hugged her gently in return. He released her when Amir and McG made it back down the stairs with their gear.

"You two take care of her," Adam ordered looking in particular at Amir. Amir and McG nodded and escorted her out the door.

Jaz came from around the corner and stood behind Top. "What happen?" she asked and watched him jump.

Top turned around and looked at Jaz. Jaz nearly took a step back seeing the raw emotion on his face. She couldn't pinpoint the exact emotions because just as quickly as she saw them, they were gone. She watched as his face returned to a mask and she knew he had compartmentalized those feelings so that he could get the job done.

"Adrian is not only a criminal that kidnaps underage girls, he is on his way to becoming a wife beater," Top ground out stalking back to the kitchen. His face was a mask, but clearly, he was still reigning in those emotions.

Jaz followed and watched him pour himself another cup of coffee. She also watched as he poured her one. She smirked and moved to stand beside him at the counter. He glanced over at her as she picked up her mug and turned to lean against the counter. "She'll fight back when she gets the opportunity. She is your sister after all," Jaz assured him.

He smirked at her. He appreciated that she was trying to reassure him, even though logically he knew that his sister could handle herself. Top looked at the woman next to him as she sipped her coffee and he was reminded of the morning at the cabin. "What about you? How's the foot doing?" He questioned as he moved to sit at the table. She looked over at him.

"Fine, already feels normal." She sat on the chair across from him and he looked her over.

"Want to tell me what spooked you?" She looked up at that and knew that she was going to have to give him something. She had known him long enough to know when he was not going to let something go.

Taking a deep breath, she drew her knee up to her chest to rest her coffee mug on. "The snow." He raised an eyebrow in question. "The snow and the quiet, it just reminded me of the room for a minute." They both thought of the white room she had been held in while captured in Tehran.

"Are you still having nightmares?" he asked softly. He searched her face for the answer and knew that enough time had passed she would probably give him an honest answer.

"Only when I was on leave. They were bad being around my family, so I left. I spent our entire leave trying to stay ahead of them," she confessed looking at her coffee mug. After a moment she looked up to see Top nod in understanding.

"Take it from me, running doesn't work. Talking does help," he answered as he offered her a chance to talk. "I'm here if you want to talk."

She nodded, and they lapsed into a comfortable silence. Top was watching the cameras they had placed, and she could tell he was still wound up, but tired. "Top, hit the hay. I got this," she offered when he had yawned for the fourth time in twenty minutes. "Andy's safe and we need to be sharp," she added when he looked ready to argue.

Sighing, he nodded and vacated the seat in front of the laptop. "Good night," he stated before climbing the stairs to catch some sleep.