A/N: Thank you once again for the wonderful feedback! It is much appreciated!
Chapter 10:
Amir scanned the apartment before they allowed Andy to enter. There were no bugs and no cameras. Andy let out a sigh of relief as she kicked off her sneakers. McG had stayed at her elbow climbing up the stairs, but the climb had exhausted her. Amir had watched the two of them and was surprised at how comfortable Andy was with McG.
"Thank you for the escort. I'm going to go grab some blankets for you guys and a couple pillows," she offered heading into her bedroom. She emerged moments later with pillows and blankets and plopped them on the edge of the sofa. "I have to still teach in the morning, so I'm going to hit the sack. If you need anything, let me know."
"Do you have ice for your knee?" McG questioned knowing she would probably forget if he didn't remind her.
She rolled her eyes as she turned to the kitchen and emerged moments later with three bottles of water and a bag of ice. McG took two of the bottles and offered one to Amir. Amir took one as they both watched Andy disappear into her bedroom and shut the door. McG looked over to Amir and saw a look he wasn't familiar with on the other man's face.
"Shit, you didn't," McG whispered looking at Amir.
"Didn't what?" Amir demanded also in a whisper, but he knew. He knew that McG had guessed one of the secrets that he and Andy were keeping.
"You fell in love with your partner, didn't you?" McG accused him.
"That is none of your business," Amir retorted. He collapsed on the couch with a sigh and unlaced his shoes. McG had already volunteered first watch and Amir would sleep in the meantime.
"Are you still in love with her?" The curiosity was eating at him to get the details. The fact that Amir had shot her four years ago and he had been the one to find her bleeding out in a field was bugging him and he wanted to know more.
Amir remained silent for a time. He was rolling around the answer in his head. "I hadn't seen her since the day I shot her until yesterday. I'm surprised she didn't try to kill me," Amir replied without answering the question.
"You know you totally just avoided answering that question, right?" McG stated calling him out on the avoidance.
"Only because I don't know the answer." Amir felt like no time had passed the moment he had seen her in that classroom, but then when she had shown up at the safe house later that day, he felt the chasm of the last four years. He honestly didn't know how he felt about Andy.
Amir glanced at the man that had become his friend over the last year and smiled as McG accepted the truth from him. He nodded before stretching out on the couch, closed his eyes, and allowed his mind to empty for the night. Having Andy safely away from Adrian and under their protection, he felt himself drift to sleep easier than he had in a long time.
Around four a.m. Amir woke up to take his turn and allow McG to take at least a nap before they moved to over watch on the school. McG had just settled and fallen asleep when Amir heard something in the bedroom. Amir moved soundlessly to the door. He heard Andy inside and it sounded like she was having a nightmare. As silently as possible, Amir opened the bedroom door and looked inside to see Andy tossing and turning. He slipped inside the room and made his way to Andy's bedside.
Andy knew she was dreaming, she was actively trying to pull herself out, but the painkillers she had taken were keeping her under. Then she felt the bed dip and hands were gripping her and she finally broke free, her hand automatically reaching under her pillow for her gun.
Amir had woken her out of a nightmare before and reached for her gun hand as he realized she was coming out of it. "Andy, it's me," he whispered as she swung up to a seating position. She looked at him with wild eyes and spotted him.
"Where am I?" she questioned looking at him in confusion. He watched the realization dawn on her. "Sorry, I haven't had a nightmare in a while," she whispered pushing the heavy fall of her hair away from her face.
She looked up at him with blue eyes that had haunted his dreams for years. He never thought he would see them again. Four years had done little to change her appearance, the wrinkles around her eyes were faint, but showed she laughed. She had a new scar above her right eyes in the shape of a crescent moon. Before he realized what he was doing, he reached out a hand to touch the scar.
"Paris," she whispered an answer to the unasked question. "I was stopping a bomb maker for a terrorist cell trying to bomb a conference two years ago."
Then he noticed the faint scar on her lip that he did recognize from when she had been eight years old and gotten into a fist fight with a girl at school because she had something cruel about her mother. He remembered thinking it was endearing the first time he noticed it.
Andy was studying Amir as he looked over her face like he had been blind and could now see for the first time. The wonder and hint of sadness tugged at her. "I've missed you," she confessed looking him in the eye.
His deep brown eyes met hers steadily. "I've missed you," he replied before leaning in and capturing her lips. His hand reached up to thread his fingers through the dark fall of hair that he had spent hours running his fingers through a lifetime before. She kissed him back and he felt her reach up and take ahold of his shirt. She pulled him closer and his fingers dug against her scalped until she hissed pulling back. "What?" he demanded immediately releasing his grip on her.
"When Adrian slammed me against the wall, I banged my head. It's just a little tender," she admitted releasing his shirt as well. The spell of time and memories broken by the reality of the mission. She scooted back against the headboard and studied the man that she had spent years with learning his every look, every move and every twitch. The man before her was a stranger and it broke her heart a little.
"What?" he asked feeling self-conscious as she eyed him.
"Four years has changed you," she stated quietly. She crossed her arms and studied him more. "You seem… lighter somehow. Happier even," she explained before she reached up and brushed her fingers through his hair. She didn't say that he also looked less haunted, less guarded.
"You don't seem happy," he replied without taking his eyes off her and also avoiding the observation. He watched her eyes shutter and she shut down. This was new to him. She had been an open canvas when he knew her. She shared everything with him and he never questioned whether she was giving him everything. The only time she hid who she was when it was a stranger and she was undercover.
"Being an operative doesn't afford me that luxury," she whispered, she hated that he could see she was unhappy. "I'm going to try and fall back asleep, I have to teach in the morning," she added scooting back down the bed and rolling over before she yelped and grabbed her knee. Sighing in frustration, she rolled back over and propped her bad knee up on the pillow at the end of the bed staring up at the ceiling, so Amir couldn't read any more than he had already.
"I'll get you some more ice," Amir offered before leaving the room. At the door, he turned to look back at the only woman he had ever loved, except she wasn't the same person. Neither was he, but he had an answer to his question.
A couple hours later, Andy emerged from the bedroom, dressed for the day, long sleeves, long pants, a scarf around her neck, and a determined look on her face. McG noticed that she clearly hadn't slept much, and Amir looked at her like she was a stranger and that concerned him. Andy walked with only a hint of a limp, as she headed to the kitchen and the fresh pot of coffee that Amir had made when he heard her get up.
She moved about the kitchen and pulled a travel mug from the cupboard to pour a cup. "Thank you for making coffee," she whispered taking her first sip as she walked back into the living room.
"I remembered you didn't function too well without at least that first cup," Amir answered softly. She chuckled at that and nodded.
"I believe you used the phrase 'grunting zombie' at some point," she replied with a smile. It didn't reach her eyes and Amir wondered if he was responsible for the change.
"What time do you need to leave for school?" McG questioned as he packed up the gear they had brought over.
"Adam and Jaz are on their way to pick me up," she answered calmly. "You two can't be seen, in case my tail has found out I came home last night. Which, he probably has by now. Amir needs to stay away until Saturday night and you need to stay out of site until we figure out your cover. I will go and hope that the munchkins don't decide to tackle me today," she ordered as she picked up her school bag and purse.
Amir and McG nodded. "Try to keep the knee elevated and don't stand too much," McG ordered as she walked out. She waved at them and hobbled down the stairs.
Amir moved to the window that was covered and peaked out towards the street. Her tail was closer than normal as Andy climbed into the car with Top and Jaz. He watched the tail climb into a waiting grey sedan and take off after the trio. He radioed Top to let him know and received the acknowledgement.
Jaz looked over Andy and was impressed by her quiet strength to work through the pain. Jaz was silent as Andy climbed into the car. Andy thanked them for the pick up and reported the quiet evening. Jaz noticed she was considerably less bubbly than normal. She had dark circles under her eyes and the scarf she wore barely hid the bruises she had received the night before.
"Your tail picked us up already," Top informed them as he pulled into traffic and set off towards the school.
"Figures, I didn't think they would notice my absence until this morning. He was closer than normal though." Top met her eyes in the review mirror and saw the concern.
"You can always call in to work," he offered as he pulled up to the school.
"No, I don't want to draw the attention to the injury and I don't want to make the kids a target," she answered as he pulled up to the curb. "I'll see you later," she stated climbing from the car. She managed to mask the limp as she walked into school.
Adam watched his sister disappear into the school before moving out into the street again. They would swing back to pick up Amir and McG as well as Preach before splitting up between the mansion and the school.
Andy walked into her classroom and sat heavily on her desk chair. She opened the bottom desk drawer and propped her foot up to elevate the knee as McG had commanded and shook her head in amusement. It was weird working with a team that cared and acted as if she were part of the family. She thought back on the conversations she had had with Adam and his stories about the team, and she realized years earlier that he had made his own family. When they had shown up with Adam to get her out of Germany, it was the first time she had felt jealous of the team. She had written it off to the grief of losing her own partner. Now, seeing them together in their element, without the haze of the gunshot wound, she realized she wanted a family again.
She pulled out her phone and thumbed through to the picture of her with her students at the ruins the previous week. There were parents there too, helping with the chaperoning of the class. Kids with their parents smiling and having a good time had made her heart ache for her mother, but now she ached for another reason. Sighing in frustration, she turned off the screen and forced herself to get moving.
Preach had been watching the monitors in the van as Andy had thumbed through her phone and now as she moved around the classroom. She was a natural with kids and he thought about the conversations he had had with her over the years.
Preach walked in the front door and smiled seeing his youngest clinging to Andy's back as she raced around the backyard, both laughing. They were chasing his oldest with a squirt gun while she tried to fire back over her shoulder. Grace slid from Andy's back and followed after her sister and Andy stepped away. He watched as she sat at the outdoor dining table and took pictures with her phone. Meredith walked up behind him and slid her arms around his waist.
"Welcome home," she whispered. He turned to smile down at her and knew that he would do anything for the woman in his arms.
"I love you," he stated and leaned down to brush a kiss on her lips. He heard the screen door slide open and the sound of his children entering the room.
"Ewwww!" he heard them all say together. He pulled away and laughed before turning to scoop Chelsea up into his arms.
Andy laughed seeing Preach with his family. Meredith had invited her over to dinner as she was between semesters and her husband was supposed to be gone most of the night. They had planned to watch movies with the girls until bedtime and then she would head back to her place. Now she felt like she was intruding on the precious time he had with his girls.
"I thought you were going to be at the base all night," Andy commented as she moved to the kitchen to pick up the stack of plates for dinner. She handed Grace a stack of napkins and Vanessa, his middle daughter, a stack of silverware. The routine was nothing new and they all moved to set the table. Chelsea moved to get the cups from the cupboard
"They finished with us earlier than planned," Preach answered also moving to put hot pads on the table while Meredith grabbed the casserole dish.
Andy nodded and they all sat together at the table and discussed their days as much as they could given that Andy and Preach weren't able to discuss what they did or who they worked with outside of the office. The girls regaled them with stories of school and all the latest second and fifth grade gossip. Preach listened intently, offering sage advise that had his daughters rolling their eyes at their father.
An hour later, the girls were again running around the backyard while Meredith, Preach and Andy sat watching and laughing. "Andy, have you ever thought about having a family?" Preach questioned thinking about the fact that in the couple years that he had known her, she had never brought someone around.
Andy laughed a little and glanced over at him. "A couple times but haven't met anyone that has come close enough to even try. Maybe one day," she answered with a shrug of her shoulders. She didn't sound entirely convinced that it would happen for her and Preach raised an eyebrow at his wife.
"There is nothing more satisfying than coming home and watching your family laugh," he stated looking at her pointedly.
"Hopefully one day," Andy answered with just enough wistfulness that Preach knew she meant it.
Preach studied Andy now and knew that the focused young woman he had met all those years ago itched for more than what she had now. She just had to believe she could have it. Maybe she could convince her brother he could have more too.