CHAPTER 12

Heeeey… Here I am trying to make up for lost time. Hope you enjoy.

Andy held her head between her hands. She couldn't get those images off her mind. Sam was locked up in his office talking to Frank. There was no way they'd get a good night of sleep until this was sorted.

Walking into the hall of their apartment she saw the place where they had sex this afternoon. What if whoever did this had gotten photos of that too? There was no way all those photos and angles were taken from the window, but the thought of cameras in their place or even a person being in the apartment was enough to make her feel sick to her stomach.

In her room some of the pictures were still spread across their bed. So many photos, so many different times. Just looking at those pictures made her want to scream, to punch something. The frustration that was consuming her now made it almost impossible to stay rational. She wanted to burn them, rip them apart and wake up the next day believing it had all been a horrible dream. To believe that their perfect Christmas hadn't been tainted by this.

She couldn't have that so she sat on the floor, because there was a feeling inside of her that made her want to run. All she wanted was to burn this place down right now. A home was where you felt safe, but she didn't feel safe anymore, she felt violated and exposed. Too many feelings were bubbling inside of her and she didn't know how to get rid of it.

"Why can't we have a break?" she asked out loud. Not knowing who she was directing the question to. God, the universe, fate… Anyone would do right now. Andy had dreamed of peace with Sam, but it all felt so far away.

The tears came and she couldn't hold on any longer. She cried loud, almost letting out the scream she was keeping inside. Her sobs kept getting loud she didn't even notice when Sam walked in the room and took her in his arms. He held onto to her and tightened his hold when her hands wrapped around his neck.

"We're gonna be okay, sweetheart." He whispered and that just made Andy's cry get even louder. She never felt so raw to emotion like she did now and it was like all her feelings were open. There was no way to actually explain this to anyone.

After a while her sobs went quiet and she just sat on Sam's lap, her hand on his hair playing with it like a comforting distraction. Sam had one hand on her thigh and the other on her back.

"What do we do now?" Andy's voice came out a low raspy whisper.

"I'll start an investigation. We'll look for another place. I don't think we can stay here, so I'll sell it and get another one as soon as possible. In the mean time we can stay with Oliver." He said seeing if maybe she'd start crying again.

"You told him."

"He knows we can't stay, but I didn't tell him everything. I need to know if you'll be okay there."

Andy wiped her face and stared into Sam's eyes. They were sad, tired, desparete, stressed. She wanted him to have a break. He deserved to have time to breath and be happy.

"I'll be fine anywhere but here."

"We'll find some place for us. Somewhere we can call home." He said wiping her still wet cheeks.

"We'll get through this, right?" she asked.

"We can get through anything, McNally." He answered serious. Their foreheads touching and he laid a kiss. It was soft and short, but it was reassuring her that they would be okay in the end of it all.

Getting their things for the night Sam drove them to Oliver's house where they were greeted by Celery on the front porch. Oliver came just as their headlight had come into view.

"Get inside. Oliver will get your things." Celery said wrapping her arms around Sam in a quick hug and then wrapping them around Andy's shoulder leading them inside.

Celery was a plant and animal person, so their two dogs Star and Sunny came rushing to Andy's and Sam's feet. That was the first thing that had gotten a small smile to their faces that night. The playful dogs were happy with the visit so they didn't leave their sides. Maybe they felt that both of them needed cheering up.

"Brother, you guys need anything?" Oliver asked.

"No. We're fine. Thank you for having us." Sam said still kneeling down on the floor with Star by his feet.

"I'll get your things on your room." Celery said giving them privacy.

When she was out of ear shot Oliver turned to his friends and sat down on the sofa next to them.

"You guys want to tell me what's going on? I imagines that once in a while I'd have to shelter this guys, but both of you?" he looked concerned.

Sam looked at Andy and she bit her lip looking down. She had given Sam permission to tell the story. He was their friend and only wanted to help. Oliver didn't need to see the photos, so she didn't see any problem. Even though all she wanted was to bury this story and not let anyone know of them.

Sam began speaking about how Andy came to find the present and went on to his part when he received it and opened to find the surprise of almost twenty pictures of them having sex. Different times.

Oliver looked over at Andy by the end of the story. Sam looked like a wreck, but he was keeping it together like he always did, but McNally was another thing. She looked like she hadn't slept for weeks, even though she'd only found out about this a few hours ago. Oliver stood from where he was and sat by her side giving her a hug.

It seemed like everyone was hugging her and as much as she enjoyed a good support it was feeling like too much. It was a nice gesture that Andy responded to, but as soon as this was over she felt like she couldn't stand contact for a while. Like her quota would have ended.

"If you need anything just shout." Oliver said standing up and taking them to their room.

Celery was just closing the door to their room when they appeared.

"I put two towels on the bathroom and new sheets." She said. Even though Celery felt a little out of place, she knew something was going down that these people needed support and all the help they could get. There was no way to explain, but she knew they were heading towards troublesome times.

"Does anyone need sleeping pills? Celery has these organic ones that work like a charm." Oliver said with a small smile.

"I'll take one, if that's okay." Andy said.

"Me too." Sam said looking down at Andy. He needed to sleep if he was going on a man hunt for whoever did this.

Oliver and Celery left to get their friends the things they needed while they were settling into their new room. A place everyone knew was going to be their temporary home for a while.