Thank you to everyone reading this story! I think this chapter will make everyone very happy, with something you all have been waiting for. ;) And, reviews really make me smile, so leave one if you get a chance. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue.

Chapter 3

Sam walked out of the locker room on his first day back. In a way it felt like he never left, but he had to admit, putting a uniform on again felt a bit odd. He walked into the parade room and leaned against a table at the back, taking in the new faces that joined 15 Division since he left. His eyes slowly drifted over to Andy, watching her braid bounce up and down as she enthusiastically laughed at something Traci said. He missed her laugh, her smile. Hated that she may have laughed less, smiled less because of him leaving.

Frank called the room to order and began with a few reminders mostly directed at the rookies. Sam was happy to hear he was partnered with Oliver for the day. Apparently, Frank was feeling generous, saving them both from having to deal with any of the rookies. Andy threw a quick glance back at Sam before walking out of the room to join Chris, who she was partnered with.

The day started out fairly quiet, but just after lunch Andy and Chris were called to a disturbance. When they arrived on scene they quickly discovered the disturbance was actually a small house fire. Andy called for backup and the fire department, while Chris pushed nosy onlookers across the street. The fire department arrived within minutes and Andy and Chris began interviewing the people gathered around the scene.

Sam and Oliver arrived soon after the fire department and Chris quickly filled them in on the situation. "We saw fire in the front room of the house and it started growing, traveling onto the porch before the fire department arrived. We've started interviewing the onlookers, but no solid leads yet," he said.

"Do we know why this was called in as a disturbance and not a fire?" Sam asked.

"Not yet," Chris replied.

Andy finished interviewing the elderly next door neighbor who called in the disturbance and tapped her notepad with her pen as she walked over to Chris, Sam and Oliver. "I've got something," she said when she joined the group.

"The neighbor over there saw the two occupants of the house fighting. From her vantage point, she didn't see the fire and couldn't hear the conversation, but she saw the man run into that empty building," she said, pointing to an old run down farmhouse about 50 yards behind the home they stood in front of. "I thought I'd go check it out."

"You can't go alone McNally," Oliver said.

"I'll go with her," Sam offered, not realizing how eager he sounded until Oliver shot him a look.

Andy pocketed her notebook as she turned and started walking toward the farmhouse with Sam at her heels.

"Do we have a description of the guy we're looking for?" Sam asked as they neared the building.

"Tall, maybe 6-feet, brown hair, skinny, about 30 years old," she replied. "Neighbor thinks he was wearing a blue or grey button down shirt and jeans. She thinks his name is Freddy."

Sam fought the urge to be a training officer. It was a long time since he had been that person for Andy, and they were pretty much on equal footing now. This was her lead, so he let her take charge.

They searched the first floor without having to say a word. After all this time they still knew each other's moves and could read each other's thoughts. Two years apart couldn't erase that. The crumbling farmhouse was void of any furniture, except for a broken chair in the corner of what was once a living room, and a few old rusted pots in the kitchen. They found an empty bathroom before walking through the dining room, and slowly approached the stairs after clearing the first floor. Andy looked up the stairs and back at Sam, silently asking if he was ready to search the second floor. He followed her gaze, glancing back at her before nodding. The only sounds were the creaking of the floorboards as their feet traveled the wooden stairs.

Just as they headed down the upstairs hallway, they heard a noise at the other end of the hall. When they got to where they thought the sound was coming from, they paused. They didn't know if the man had a weapon and figured surprise was their best option. Andy pointed at the door and Sam easily kicked it opened. Startled, Freddy turned around with his arms flying up above his head. "Freeze!" Andy and Sam yelled in unison as they entered the room.

"I didn't do anything. Don't shoot. I didn't do anything," Freddy blurted out.

"Then why are you hiding in an abandoned old house?" Andy asked, gun drawn.

"I, uh, I come here to think. Yeah, I like it here," he replied.

Sam rolled his eyes. "And I like doing paperwork," he quipped.

Andy snorted, but moved toward Freddy, grabbing his wrists and handcuffing him. Patting him down, she found a lighter and a wallet, which she handed over to Sam.

"Fredrick Martinez," Sam said, reading the man's driver's license. "You are under arrest for fleeing the scene of a crime."

Andy grabbed Freddy's arm and started walking out of the room.

"C'mon, let's get him back to the station and see why he wanted to burn his house down," Sam said.

Andy smiled at Sam as she walked by him. They made a good team and she was reminded how much she missed being his partner.

They walked back to where the cruisers were parked and Andy placed the suspect in her cruiser. She shut the door and turned around, finding Sam standing right in front of her. "Me and you. It's fun working with you again, McNally," Sam said, flashing his dimples.

Andy smiled back, a big toothy grin. "Driving fast, chasing bad guys, we're good at it…together," she said, before walking off to let Chris know she was headed back to the station with a suspect.

When Andy returned, Sam was leaning against the driver's side of the cruiser. She thought for a moment before pulling the keys out of her pocket and tossing them toward Sam. "You can drive," she said.

He caught the keys in mid-air. "You sure? If I remember correctly, you always begged to drive."

"Been a while since you've been in the driver's seat. Figure you need the practice," she smirked, before sliding into the passenger seat. Sam shook head and thought about how much he had missed this.

When they got back to the station, they booked Freddy and brought him to an interrogation room. It took a while, but eventually he broke. He and his girlfriend were in serious debt and he set fire to the house in hopes of getting the insurance money. When his girlfriend found out what he was doing, they got into an argument before he ran off. When Jerry joined in on the interrogation to get Freddy's official statement, Sam and Andy walked out of the room and paused outside the door.

"You were good in there," Sam praised.

"Thanks," Andy replied sheepishly. "You too."

"We make a good team."

"Two years, three months, 10 days." Andy's eyes flew wide open. She couldn't believe those words escaped her mouth.

"Huh?" Sam asked, perplexed.

"Nothing, never mind, nothing," Andy mumbled as a blush crept over her cheeks.

"McNally."

Andy closed her eyes, wishing she could rewind the last minute and keep her mouth shut. "Two years, three months, 10 days," she repeated quietly.

"And that means…"Sam prodded, having a good idea what she was talking about, but wanting her to say it.

"How long it had been since we worked together," she responded softly.

"Andy."

"Sam, don't. I shouldn't have said anything. It just – I just. I – forget it."

"Stop," he said, grabbing her arm so she couldn't run. "Don't brush it off. Talk to me."

"It just came out. I didn't mean to say anything. This," she said, waving back to the interrogation room, "reminded me how much I missed working with you." Andy pulled out of Sam's grasp and walked off in the direction of the locker room. Sam followed her and leaned against the locker next to hers as she took her vest off.

"Andy, we can't keep going in circles," Sam said, clearly frustrated.

"I don't know what you want from me. I want to be okay with things, but you were gone. For two years," Andy replied as she threw her vest in the locker. "I told you once that time and space don't work for me."

"So, be pissed at me. Yell at me. Get it out of your system." Sam knew him leaving and coming back had been hard on her, and it put this wedge between them. He wanted her to yell and scream if she needed to. He wanted her to get it out, so they could move forward.

"I don't want to yell at you, Sam. I just, I don't know what to do." Andy began to unbutton her uniform shirt, wanting nothing more than to just go home and hide.

Sam's lips curved into a smile as he thought back to a time when they'd been in a similar situation where Andy was stewing over anger and frustration. "I know what will help."

Andy narrowed her eyes, wondering what Sam had up his sleeve. "And what would that be?" she asked skeptically.

He closed her locker and took her hand in his. "Come with me."

Trusting him like she always did, she didn't question following him out of the locker room and through the station until they reached the training room. She suddenly knew what he wanted to do. "No, I'm not doing that," she said as Sam took off his uniform shirt and placed it on a chair.

He tossed her a pair of boxing gloves, which Andy easily caught. "Yes you are," he said. He kept his eyes on hers as he put a pair of gloves on. "Afraid you've lost your skill after a couple years?" he challenged.

Andy huffed out a breath before tossing her uniform shirt on the chair with Sam's and putting the gloves on. "I'm even better than I was back then," she boasted.

"Let me see what you've got," he provoked as he nudged her shoulder.

That comment resulted in a swift punch to his gut, leaving Sam out of breath for a moment. "You sure you want to do this?" Andy asked.

"Yup," he responded, as he caught his breath. "Gotta work that anger out of your system."

Her punches were harder, rougher than the last time they did this. But this is what he wanted, for her to release this anger. Because he knew they couldn't move forward until she did. And he wanted to move forward, to make up for lost time. Still, it saddened him to know the anger in her eyes was directed at him, was because of him. Last time, he'd been on the sidelines as her frustration grew from someone else. It was different knowing he was the cause. He wanted to hurt, to feel her punches, to wake up with bruises the next day. He wanted to physically feel the pain she felt inside, to transfer it from her to him.

They sparred for nearly 30 minutes, both working up a sweat and panting. Suddenly, mid punch, Andy tripped on the edge of the mat and tried to steady herself by grabbing Sam. Her gloves prevented that and instead she brought him down with her. He caught himself on his forearm so he didn't crush Andy as they went down. He remained still, hovering over her as they both lie on the mat breathing heavily. "Trying to tackle me again McNally?" he smirked.

"Um, the last time I looked, you're the one on top of me," she smirked back. Andy closed her eyes and let her head fall back on the mat.

"We okay?" he asked, lowering his face closer to hers.

Andy opened her eyes so she could look directly at Sam. "Yeah. I don't want to waste anymore time," she responded. She lifted her face slowly so her lips could meet Sam's. The kiss was gentle and soft, and warmth traveled through Andy's body from her lips to her toes. They parted only when the need for air became too strong.

"Have dinner with me tonight," Sam said, flashing his dimples. "My sister sent me home with her famous lasagna."

"How can I pass up homemade lasagna?" she said, smiling.

"I knew the way to your heart was food," he teased, earning him a smack on his arm with her gloved hand.

Sam laughed as they both got up and removed their gloves. "Give me time to take a quick shower, okay?" she asked.

"I'll meet you at my truck when you're ready," he replied, as they walked back to the locker rooms.

Andy leaned back against the kitchen counter as Sam placed his sister's lasagna in the oven. "Do you want something to drink? Soda, beer, wine?" he asked.

"Wouldn't have pegged you for a wine guy," Andy said.

"I keep some around for special occasions," Sam replied, as he grabbed some plates and silverware.

"And this is a special occasion?"

"You agreed to have dinner with me when we weren't on patrol," he stated, as if it was the most obvious thing that this dinner was special. "Can you put these on the table?" Andy hadn't recovered from his previous statement, but took the dishes from him and set the table. He soon followed with the wine and two glasses. After pouring the wine, he handed a glass to Andy.

"Thanks."

"The lasagna should be ready soon," he said.

"Does Sarah send you home with food every time you see her?" Andy asked, sipping her wine.

"Usually she sends me home with leftovers, but when I return from deep cover she claims I've lost weight and complains I'm not eating healthy enough. So, she sends me home with huge dishes of food," he explained.

Andy smiled. "What a good sister."

"She has her moments," Sam said, smiling.

"So, with Boyd gone, Guns and Gangs must be dying to bring you over full-time," Andy said, a question implied somewhere in her statement.

"They've approached me. Coming off of two years living someone else's life, I'm not too eager to jump right back into another deep cover assignment," Sam responded. "And there might be more reasons for me to stick around now."

Andy smiled. She would never hold Sam back from something he loved, but she was happy he was thinking about not jumping right into another assignment that would take him away from her.

"I should check on dinner," Sam said and walked back to the kitchen. He returned with a steaming dish of lasagna and carefully cut pieces for Andy and him. They chatted as they ate, catching up and telling funny stories about themselves and friends. Andy felt relaxed and at home with Sam. The uneasiness of the first few days after his return forgotten, at least for the night.

"This was delicious. You have to thank Sarah for me. And, um, thank you for inviting me over," Andy said, blushing as she realized this – whatever this evening was – was better than most of her recent dates.

Sam smiled and began clearing the table. Andy insisted on helping, drying the dishes that Sam washed and putting them away in his neatly organized cupboards. Sam nudged Andy's hip with his as she was drying the last of the utensils. "What?" she asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"I'm glad you came over," he said. Andy bit her bottom lip and a shyness crept over her.

They walked into the living room and Sam headed to the couch, stopping when he realized Andy wasn't following him. He turned around and saw her fidgeting nervously with her hands.

Andy glanced at her watch. "I should go home."

Sam stepped forward so they were only inches apart. "I'll drive you," he offered, but neither of them made any attempt to move. He didn't want her to leave, but he also didn't want to push her into doing something she wasn't ready for.

Andy looked into his eyes and saw what he really wanted, the same thing she did. "Or, you could, um, ask me to say."

Sam stepped even closer, so they were chest to chest, hip to hip, toe to toe. "Stay."

"Okay."

Sam leaned down, bringing his lips to hers. Andy placed her palm on Sam's chest and slid it slowly up to cup the back of his neck. Sam's hands found their way to Andy's waist, his fingers brushing against the bare skin revealed when her shirt rose up. As the kiss deepened, Sam backed Andy up against the wall. He murmured "sorry" when her back hit the wall with a light thud, but felt her smile against his lips.

When Andy tugged at his shirt, he helped her pull it over his head and tossed it on the floor. He quickly grabbed the hem of her shirt, pulling it over her head and letting it fall to the floor next to his. When Sam's lips found their way back to Andy, they met her lips only briefly before he placed kisses along her jaw and neck. Andy pressed her palms against the muscles in Sam's back, pulling him impossibly closer to her. As her nails lightly scratched along his shoulder blades, Sam's eyes shot open with a realization. He didn't want their first time to be right here on the floor of his living room, so he wrapped his arms around Andy and nuzzled his nose with hers as he pulled her away from the wall and walked backwards, leading her toward his bedroom.

Andy couldn't wipe the smile off her face if she tried – not that she even wanted to try. She was curled up against Sam, his arm holding her tight against him as they lay in bed.

Her finger circled a round scar on Sam's bicep. "What's this from?" she asked.

"Gunshot. Took one in the arm when I responded to a grocery store robbery," he replied.

She moved her hand to Sam's face, her fingers lingering over a small scar near the corner of his right eye. "And this?"

"Barbie."

Andy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Sarah and I got in a fight as kids and she threw her Barbie at me. That damn doll had some sharp plastic fingers," he explained and earned a laugh from Andy. Sam captured her hand in his and brought it to his lips. "These fingers, much softer."

His thumb brushed over a scar on the side of her index finger. "How'd you get this?" he asked.

"Broken glass when I was a kid. My dad was washing a glass pitcher and it slipped out of his hands, shattering," she replied.

"What about the scar on your knee?" Sam asked, surprising Andy that he noticed.

"Old basketball injury," she said. The back of her thumb brushed along a spot just below Sam's chest. "What's this one from?"

"Stabbed during an undercover opp," he replied.

"Were you made?"

"No. It was a drug deal gone bad. I got caught in the middle. I still took down the target though," he said, a proud smile forming on his face.

Andy began drawing shapes on Sam's chest with her fingers, but he could tell she was restless and maybe a little uneasy. He knew she had problems sleeping in other people's beds, having complained about it on more than one occasion. He didn't want her to leave, but didn't want to pressure her, give her a reason to run away from what they were becoming. "Just give me a little bit and I can take you home if you want," he said.

"Yeah, okay, thanks," Andy replied. She hated that she had trouble sleeping anywhere but her own bed. Honestly, she didn't want to leave Sam's arms. Deciding to relish in the moment before she ruined it by leaving, Andy snuggled closer to Sam, her head lying in the crook of his neck, her palm resting on his chest, her legs tangled with his. Sam could feel Andy smile and pulled his arm tighter around her, while his free hand brushed the hair off her neck and stroked the softness of it down her back.

Sun bursting through the curtains jolted Andy out of sleep. Disoriented, she blinked several times before realizing she was still at Sam's. She had fallen asleep in Sam's arms and slept through the night. Her lips curved into a smile as she turned her face to look at a still sleeping Sam next to her. They had shifted sometime during the night. Andy was now lying on her back with Sam curled up next to her, his arm draped protectively over her abdomen. She shifted onto her side so she could look at him and was caught by surprise when his hand pressed firmly on her back bringing her flush up against him.

"The gears in that head of yours are loud," he said, smirking as his eyes remained closed.

A blush crept on Andy's cheeks. "How long have you been awake?"

"Not long, a minute maybe," he said. "I take it you like my bed." It was his unspoken way of bringing up the fact she slept through the night in his bed. He tried not to be smug, but he was pretty damn happy about that.

"I think it might have been the company," she replied, her fingers dancing up and down his arm that was circled around her.

Finally opening his eyes, he looked deep into hers. "Good to know." He closed the distance between them, nuzzling her nose with his before kissing her.

Two days later, Andy walked out of the locker room early, like ridiculously early for her. Her friends had yet to arrive yet, so she made her way over to the coffee station and then decided to see if Sam was around. She walked into the parade room, finding Sam among only a handful of officers already there. She looked at today's assignments and a grin broke out across her face when she saw her name next to Sam's. She turned around and saw him smiling at her from the back of the room. Walking over, she sat next to him on the table. "Hey partner," she said, nudging his shoulder with hers.

"Morning. Hungry?" he asked, pointing his breakfast burrito in her direction.

"No, I'm good." Andy shook her head, but kept eyeing his breakfast. The toast she stuffed in her mouth on the way out the door hadn't really been filling.

Sam gave her a disbelieving look and picked up the other half of his burrito and handed it over. Andy hesitated, but took it as she smiled at him. They ate in silence for a few minutes, watching a couple more people filter into the room.

"Have any plans tomorrow night?" Sam asked as he crumpled the wrapper of his burrito and tossed it in a nearby trash can.

Andy thought for a moment. It was a night before two days off and she should have plans, but Traci was having date night with Jerry, and Chris and Dov were going to some concert they bought tickets for months earlier. "Not really," she replied, pulling off a bite of burrito and popping it into her mouth.

"Do you want to go out to dinner, maybe see a movie?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'd like that," she said. "Sam?" When she looked over at him, he could read her thoughts through her eyes. He knew she was worried they were doing things backwards, not following a plan. He wanted to ease her mind, take her mind off of plans and things happening a certain way.

"Wanna try being normal together?" he asked, flashing his dimples.

Andy looked at him like he had three heads. "We aren't normal."

Sam snorted. Not the response he expected. "Okay then, so let's just be us together. Don't worry about other stuff."

Andy grinned. He always knew what she was feeling and what she needed to hear. "I like the sound of that."