A/N: Thank you for your kindness regarding my chapter. Not to mention the thoughtfulness regarding my son.
Chapter 5- Nothing's Better than Cookie Pajamas
Andy woke up Friday morning with the biggest of smiles on her face. Nine more days till she could see Sam, till she could see that smile, hear that voice….. kiss those lips. She couldn't believe how thoughtful he had been. This was certainly a side she rarely saw. She must have looked through her gift basket a dozen times. She also couldn't believe that it didn't register that it was Sarah who delivered it until she had driven down the street. Of course she had looked familiar! The dark hair, the dimples and that Swarek smirk. One day, when she really got to meet her she would interrogate her about everything Sam. She had known him for two years now and he was hardly an open book but each little piece she learned about him, each little window he opened for her made her love him even more. Love? Love was a scary word for someone like Andy. She loved her mom and she left her without warning. She loved her dad but he chose alcohol over her one too many times. She loved Luke and he betrayed her in the worst possible way. Was she ever really in love with Luke? That was a real conundrum. She didn't feel half of what she feels for Sam and they aren't even together. Are they? I mean obviously not physically but they have probably been together longer than before they actually got together. Overthinking again Andy, Sam would be calling you out on it right now.
Andy sat up on her bed and looked around at the sea of boxes in her room. While the task seemed daunting, she didn't care. This place was hers to do what she wanted with. She was going to take her time and make it perfect. Okay, well maybe not take her time but at least she had nine days. Once she could get back to work and was able to be with Sam again she knew that her condo would take a backseat. In any event, this was the first step in getting her life back to normal. As she unpacked a wardrobe of clothing into her closet her phone started to ring.
"Hello."
"Hey, it's me. How's the unpacking going?" greeted Traci.
"Slowly but surely. Are you still coming over tonight?"
"Yep but Leo will be with me, if that's okay. Jerry's going out of town today to testify in court. They extradited Dalton Watts down to Hamilton and Jerry was the arresting officer. He will be home late tonight."
"Sounds good to me. Tell Leo will set up the tent for a campout."
"I am not sleeping in that tent; my back was killing me for two days after that." Traci laughed "I need a bed."
"Speaking of bed's how is the cohabitation going? Is Jerry's place coming along?"
Traci smiled into the phone, knowing full well that Andy didn't care about the carpentry that was going on at Jerry's as much as the carpenter who was doing the work. "Sam is good."
"What?... I didn't even…..whatever." she exhaled a breath….. "I really miss him Trace. I can't stop thinking about him, what the hell is wrong with me?"
"Andy, you are my best friend but you have been avoiding your Swarekness for way too long."
"My Swarekness? What the heck is that?"
"Your feelings for Sam. They have been there for a long time and you kept putting them aside. I kind of blame myself for the whole Luke thing."
"What? How could you blame yourself?"
"Not the cheating part, the part of you even being with him. I wanted to protect you; I was so sick of you being disappointed with the mysterious sexy guy who was unreliable and who would hurt you. Luke seemed nice enough and I really thought he would be good to you. I should have kept my big mouth shut. More importantly, I should have never told you to put Swarek on ice, nothing was gonna put out that fire. I should have realized that night that you seemed more excited talking about what almost happened with Sam than I had ever heard you talk about Luke."
"Traci, only I am responsible for the stupid crap I do. Besides, I think I'm better off this way. Sam and I really got to be friends along the way. I get the feeling that we're both kind of vested in this now and while I wish we had gotten together under normal circumstances, I'm still glad I went back to the Alpine Inn that night. Does that make any sense?"
"Funny you should say that, he commented something quite similar to me yesterday."
"Really?" her voice sounded so hopeful.
"Really. I told him you missed him but you were doing okay. By the way, he is counting down the days as well."
"Oh my God Traci, you have to see what I got yesterday!" her voice raising a full octave as she completely changed topics.
"Can't wait. Listen, I've gotta get Leo to school. We'll be over after shift. I'm bringing dinner."
"Thanks Trace, see you later."
Andy hung up the phone and said out loud with a grin, "He totally misses me." With that she went back to her boxes.
While Sam would have loved to have seen the look on Andy's face, he was happy enough to hear the story from Sarah. After the third recap, Sarah put her hand up to stop his questions, kissed her brother's cheek and made her way to go home.
He was dying to see her but nine more days and this mess would be over and they could begin their "normal" lives. He had no idea how they were gonna pull it off since nothing about them had ever been normal. From their first meeting to their unorthodox hook up, nothing about their friendship or relationship had been normal BUT, if that's what she wants then he would try his darnedest to give it to her, starting with a date. A real date. Thanks to Sarah's idea he was already planning their first night together, their first real try at normal. He couldn't wait to spring that on her.
A random thought suddenly popped into his head. I am NEVER going undercover again. He had gone under for months at a time. It had been difficult to leave Sarah and his friends behind but he never had that special person that he had to leave. Here he was 12 days into his 3 week sentence and he felt lost without her. When did she become the most significant person in my life?
Jerry had told Sam that he would be out of town for the day. Something about testifying at a trial. He let Sam know that the tile that Traci had picked out for the redo of the master bath was ready at the store. Sam said he would swing by and pick it up on his way to Jerry's. Today, he planned to rip out the old tile and then he would start with the new stuff and see how far he got.
He got to the Tile's 'R Us Warehouse as it opened at 9. He picked up the tile, the grout and whatever else he needed and loaded up the back of his pickup. He headed directly toward Jerry's house. Ok maybe not directly. He quite possibly had the urge to drive by the old toilet factory grounds. No Andy. He drove on to Jerry's. Sigh.
He let himself into the quiet house and headed for the master bedroom. Sam removed everything off the counter tops in the bathroom and placed them in the drawers or in the bedroom. He ran and got a garbage can and lined it with a contractor bag. Sam lined the tub and the counter top with old blankets, threw on safety goggles and started banging away. A few hours later not an inch of tile was left on the walls. Unfortunately not an inch of the bathroom was without dust and debris. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, a layer of dust covering him from head to toe. He started to clean up the tile mess filing the can only till he couldn't carry it. After three trips to the curb, the tile was all out. He dusted himself off, then grabbed the shop vac and vacuumed up all the dust and small remaining pieces. Once everything was cleaned up to his satisfaction he made his way to the kitchen to find some lunch. After a sandwich and an iced tea he went to return the sandwich fixings to the fridge. That's when he saw it. The picture.
Flashback
A group of them had been at the Penny one night. It was the week of equine training. Traci had shown up at the final competition against Division 27, playing around with her new camera that Jerry had gotten her for her birthday. Sam remembered him and Jerry looking through the slideshow of pictures on the camera. Most were of Andy and Chris in their equestrian gear. Andy looked adorable. He chuckled at her and she looked over his shoulder to see what was so funny. He could remember the smell of her hair and how warm his body felt wherever she was leaned up against him. He almost asked her out that night but then heard her talking about being a lone wolf and figured that was a sign that she was just not ready. Chris had taken the picture of the four of them. Jerry and Sam sitting there with Traci and Andy behind them smiling over the guy's shoulders. Sam grabbed the picture off the fridge, hesitated for a second before slipping it into his back pocket. Nah, they won't miss it.
Sam went back upstairs and mixed the thin set mortar for the tile. He started from the bottom and worked his way up since he would have to cut those pieces with the wet saw. Hours later he had about half the shower area done. He had only cursed a few times during the process. His pissy mood changed considerably once he heard his name being called from the hallway.
"In here Leo."
Leo walked cautiously into the bathroom and found Sam standing on a step stool in the shower adjusting tiles.
"Wow Sam, you know how to do everything?"
Sam smiled, "My dad was really handy and I watched him as I grew up. I learned a lot from him. Before I was in the police academy, I worked as a carpenter's apprentice…..like a helper."
"I could be your prentice." Said Leo, Sam couldn't help but smile.
"Oh sure. But right now I know you are really busy with school. How was your day today?"
"It was great. This big bully, Denny Cutillo, got in a whole lot of trouble. He was teasing this group of girls, as usual. They told the principal, Mrs. Gallagher. Her face got very reddish. Then she told him that he had gotten on her last nerve and he said he didn't remember getting on her first nerve. She was not very happy with him. Now, he has to eat his lunch in her office every day for the next week, so the rest of us kids were pretty glad about that."
"I bet." Said Sam
Leo picked up one of the tiles and looked over at Sam, "Can I help you until we have to go to Aunt Andy's?"
"Oh sure…. Why are you going there?"
"She just moved into her new house and Mommy and I are go help her unpack and do stuff AND she is setting up the tent for me and her so we can have a sleepover!" Sam never wanted to go camping more than at that moment.
"That sounds nice. Tell her congratulations and I hope she invites me over one day."
"I think she will but she already told me that she can't wait for her partner to come over. I heard her say to mom that she needs him to help her test the bed. I'm not really sure what's wrong with it but I told her that I would test it when I come over since I am such a good jumper." It was all Sam could do not to laugh out loud.
Sam asked Leo to hand over the tiles piece by piece as he needed them. Leo's eyes lit up as he remembered another story.
"Hey Sam, I have another story for you….One day when Aunt Andy was chasing after this bad guy she tripped and fell to the ground. The guy picked up some kind of shovel thing and was gonna hit her with it when all of a sudden he dropped to the ground. Aunt Andy said that her partner had zapped him. I'm pretty sure he used a lightning bolt, you know, like Thor!"
Sam thought back to that crazy summer day. The heat was really starting to get to people. All the nut cases were out. He and Andy had been riding together. She jumped out to chase a drunken disorderly man down an alley. Sam tried to cut him off. He got there just as the perp raised a fireplace shovel over his head to strike Andy. Sam had his Taser out in a flash and leveled the guy to the ground.
Sam had felt something for Andy long before that day but the thought of her in danger made him sick to his stomach. Later that same day they had found a 13 year old girl behind the wheel of a runaway ice cream truck. They brought her to the station and interviewed the girl, Dara, and her father. Andy really seemed to connect to the pair as she had a similar relationship with her own father. For the first time that he could remember since they met, she shared a little about her personal life and then who do they run into, Monica. He remembered how flustered he had gotten. Not because of his on/off nurse friend but because Andy was there. He got a vibe off of Andy, he wasn't sure what it was, he almost thought jealousy….for about a second. Monica made a big deal over the cut in his hand and Andy left to go back to the park with Oliver. He tried to play it cool as Monica stitched up his wound but she saw through him like a sheet of glass. She gave him an out and he took it. Didn't matter anyway. What could come of their relationship? That's what he thought anyway until a knock at his door came late that night. There Andy stood breathing heavily and just so…sad. When he asked her if she wanted to talk he meant it. The look in her eyes told him immediately that conversation was not what she was looking for. In a split second she was coming toward him, her hands on his stomach and she leaned up and kissed him. Then those hands slid up his chest and around his neck as they both deepened the kiss. Next thing he knew, he was guiding her into his house with one hand and locking the front door with the other. Now it was him who was breathing heavy. He couldn't get enough of her; he could have stayed like that all night. Then the lights came on.
"Sam, hellllloooooo, those two tiles you just did are really crooked."
Sam looked over to the spot he just finished and for sure, they were crooked. He grumbled and fixed the two tiles so they were in line with the others.
"Thanks bud, what would I do without you?"
At that moment they heard Traci yell up to Leo that they were leaving in 15 minutes. Sam hadn't realized that it was almost 5:00. He started to pack up for the day. Leo carefully stacked the extra grids of tiles in the corner.
"Hey Sam how about another story about your partner? You only told me about the day you met her."
Leo's story still fresh in his mind Sam told him about the day of the power outage.
"Ok…There was this one crazy day. It was very hot outside and then the power went out. No power meant no air conditioning, no traffic lights and a whole lot of angry people. My partner and I had stumbled upon a crazy case where a young girl had taken a truck and crashed it at Garrison Park. We couldn't figure out why. My partner went with Mr. Shaw to check around by the park and they got a call about a missing girl. My partner had a feeling that the two stories were related. I didn't really see it. They went to check things out near the rec center. Mr. Shaw got …..hurt and the bad guy took his gun. My partner got help for him, found the missing girl, got the bad guy and Mr. Shaw's gun back. She is…. smart and she was so brave that day. It's like her gut told her that there was something more to the case when no one else believed it."
"I've heard about that, feeling your guts. Aunt Andy told me about that. her partner taught her that. I think it's a little bit gross, don't you?"
"When you put it that way buddy, it kind of is." Sam laughed.
Just then Traci poked her head in the door. "Hey guys….Wow, Sam…it looks fantastic, I'm so excited."
Leo ran to get his sleeping bag and stuff from his bedroom.
"Good. I'm glad. I think this is the last big project Jerry had for me. I should be able to finish up tomorrow. If you think of anything else Nash, just let me know. It's not like I have any other plans."
"I know you're probably going stir crazy. Andy is too. We're actually sleeping over there tonight. I'm gonna help her unpack, hang pictures. I told her there's no hurry but she acts like there's a deadline. You know, like one day it will have to just be done because there will be somewhere else she wants to be."
Sam grinned, "Nine days Nash, tell her that's all she's getting."
"Yes sir. Will advise." She said as Leo ran back in the room.
"See you tomorrow. Hey Leo, have fun with Mom and Aunt Andy."
"I will. See you tomorrow Sam."
Sam's Friday Night
Sam had promised Zoe the week before that he would take the girls out for a night so Oliver could take her out on a date night. They were going to dinner and then to a show at the local theatre. Sam loved the Shaw girls and was looking forward to being the cool uncle for the night. He drove home, quickly showered and then headed for the Shaw's. When he pulled up in the driveway three sets of blue eyes were staring at him from the bay window. He beeped the horn and watched them run to the front door.
He had barely gotten in the front door when three sets of arms were wrapped around him. Always a boost to his ego. Zoe approached him immediately.
"Girls. Girls. Give Uncle Sam a second to get in the door." Said Zoe.
"Hey brother. Thanks for taking the girls tonight." Oliver patted Sam on the shoulder. "They have chosen Chuck E. Cheese for your dining pleasure this evening."
"The girls squealed with delight." Sam shot Oliver a look that said you definitely owe me.
After transferring car seats to the backseat of Sam's truck, Zoe and Oliver left for their 6:30 reservation. Sam got the girls situated and headed for the kid's theme restaurant. Izzie, all of 9, was the mother hen and boss not only to her sisters but to her uncle as well. Telling him how to go, where to park and reminding him to hold her little sister's hand. Kelsie, 7 was known as the spy. She could get any information out of anyone, charming them the whole time. She and Leo would make quite the duo, Sam thought to himself. Then there was little 5 year old Maddie. One bat of those eyelashes and Sam was putty in her hands. Actually, they all seemed to have that effect on him which brought him to his current predicament. Chuck E. Cheese pizzeria was one of those all-inclusive jungle gym, arcade, and bad food restaurants. Sam had been there once before. One night Zoe had a meeting at the school and Oliver had recruited Sam to come with him as back up. He wasn't sure if he was gonna be able to do this himself. Each girl got stamped with a number that would match the number on his hand. The idea was that kids could run around and play and parents didn't have to worry about their kid being taken by a stranger. Sam and Andy had been dispatched to one of these places not that long ago. A guy dressed in a chicken suit had been shot in the beak. Yeah, he knew how crazy these places could get. The girls weren't going to be out of his sight. No chance.
They decided that they would eat first and then go play. After consuming an entire pizza and no caffeinated beverages, as per Izzie's instructions, they headed for the game room. Sam put money in the changer, cashed out what appeared to be about a thousand tokens and gave each girl a handful. He kept them in the same area then they would move as a group. An hour later they were begging to go in this climbing jungle gym tunnel thing. Sam said yes and told Izzie to keep an eye on the girls. He was watching from outside the structure of tunnels which looped around the entire room. Each time they would come down a slide they would scream for him. It was getting close to 8:15 and his patience with the other kids and some of their parents was wearing thin. He saw the three of them come down another slide and told them that it was time to leave. He put the sneakers that he had been juggling for the past half hour on the ground. He kneeled in front of Maddie who put her feet up on his thighs so he could tie her shoes. She looked up at him with those piercing blue eyes, through those long lashes and he knew whatever she asked him next the answer from him would definitely have to be yes.
"Uncle Sam?" Here it comes.
"Yes Maddie?"
"When we get home can we watch a princess movie?"
He looked up at her two sisters who were now giggling at Sam's expression.
"Uh…sure honey."
By the time they got back to the house, Maddie was half asleep, until Sam carried her inside. As soon as they got inside her room her bright eyes opened and she ran for the DVD collection. Izzie ordered her sisters to brush their teeth and then they got into pajamas.
Within 5 minutes they were cuddled up on the sofa with pillows and blankets watching Tangled. Fifteen minutes in and the girls were asleep. So was Sam. It was actually the camera click from Zoe's iPhone that woke him. Fortunately, he was used to Oliver's antics so he didn't jump which was good since Maddie was snuggled up on his chest.
"How was your night?" Sam asked Zoe as she gently lifted Maddie off of Sam.
"Great, thank you so much Sam." She whispered.
Oliver woke up Izzie and carried Kelsie to her room. When he came back in the room Sam was shrugging on his jacket. "Why don't you just crash here for the night?" asked Oliver.
"Thanks but I'm gonna head home. Gotta finish up at Jerry's tomorrow."
"Thanks a lot Sam, for tonight. I hope one day that we'll be able to return the favor for you…..and Andy." He said with a grin.
Sam rolled his eyes at his friend and then smiled, "You couldn't just leave it at thanks right?"
"Night brother."
"Night you guys."
The Shaw's watched the lights of Sam's truck flash against the house as he pulled out of the driveway. Oliver pulled Zoe's phone out of his pocket. "Zoe, show me again how to send a photo?"
Andy's Friday Night
Traci and Leo picked up take out Chinese food and were at Andy's a little before six. Leo checked out every inch of the place before settling in front of the TV with a bowl of sesame chicken. Traci and Andy sat at the kitchen counter catching up on the latest gossip and goings on at the division. Traci noticed the basket sitting on the kitchen counter and gave Andy a nod.
"Is that what you wanted to show me?"
"Yep." Replied Andy with a mouthful of chicken.
"Who's it from?"
When Andy didn't say anything and just grinned. Traci asked, "Swarek?"
"Shhsh Trace." Nodding in Leo's direction.
"Do you think Leo is gonna report you guys to Frank?" she laughed.
"Just don't want Leo to say something in front of Jerry and then he tells Oliver and …..you know."
"Mums the word." Said Traci as she pretended to zip her lips.
"So I get the Champagne and your favorite treats. What's the deal with the Good Candy jar? Pistachios and Grapefruit?"
Andy explained the significance of each item in the basket and then read the DVD message. Traci was quite surprised.
"Wow, who'd of thought that Swarek was such a romantic?"
"I know!"
"By the way, he says you have nine days."
"Nine days for what?"
"I'm guessing nine days to set up this place….., then it's gonna be lots of good candy." She smirked.
Andy couldn't help but smile.
They unpacked the rest of the boxes and even hung a few pictures. It was starting to look more like home and that alone for Andy was a great relief. Andy changed into flannel pajama pants and Sam's t-shirt and as promised set up the tent in the middle of the living room. Also as promised, Traci refused to sleep in the tent. She opted for the sofa instead. They watched a movie for a while and Andy was surprised when it was Traci who was asleep first. Leo and Andy finished the movie and snuggled into their sleeping bags. Andy asked him about school and his friends. He animatedly told her about the bully who now had detention for the week. Suddenly he had an odd look on his face.
"What's up buddy, something wrong?" Andy asked concerned.
"Aunt Andy, I think you might get mad at me."
"Mad at you? I could never get mad at you. What's up?"
He hesitated before speaking softly, "You know all of those stories that you have been telling me about your superhero?"
"Yes. My partner?"
"Well,… I've been telling some of the stories to Sam…..Please don't be mad. He has all of these cool tools and I really wanted to help him and I figured he wouldn't want some little kid around but I slipped about the superhero and then he wanted me to tell him some stories. Of course he did. That was Andy's only thought as Leo finished his rant.
Andy smiled. She hadn't really considered about Leo telling Sam the stories but now she was kind of glad that he did. Besides, it was obvious that Sam wasn't giving up that he was the partner, so she figured no harm done.
"Leo, its fine. I'm not mad. You can tell Sam the stories. He is a great guy and a very close friend of mine. He won't tell anyone."
"I made him promise not to. But guess what?"
"What?"
"He thinks that his partner has super powers too!"
Yeah sure. Like being a magnet to danger and destroying any UC op within a 5 mile radius?
"Really?" She asked.
"Yep. He says she's so smart and really brave. She feels her guts and even solved a whole crime on her first day of work! Can you believe it?"
"No. I can't .So Leo, tell me a story."
Leo started to tell her what he had learned that afternoon but got sleepy and mid story was snoring soundly. Andy was having a hard time getting Sam out of her head to get any sleep of her own. Suddenly she heard her cell phone chime with a new text message. She grabbed it off the coffee table and saw that it was a picture message and from a number she didn't recognize. She opened the picture and there was Sam with a little blonde girl snuggled on his chest, 2 others lying on the sectional sofa near him. The message read, "Hey McNally, C what U have 2 look forward to? Hang in there kiddo. Oliver."
Andy grinned at the image. For some reason it was all she needed to finally fall asleep.
Sam woke up early Saturday morning. As he stretched his legs and made his way to the kitchen, he couldn't help but grin at the Shaw girls. He had really enjoyed himself with them. Not that he would tell that to Oliver. In the past he never really could picture himself with kids. Not so much being a father as much as sharing that experience with anyone he had ever dated. He didn't want to get ahead of himself but the truth was that he could totally see himself having children with Andy. How he could even come to that realization after such a short time together was even scarier. But his mother had been right all those years ago when she told him "when you know, you'll just know."
He showered quickly and threw on a black t-shirt and jeans. He stopped to get doughnuts and was on his way to Jerry's. Jerry had coffee waiting when he got there. They sat and ate while Jerry recapped his previous day in court. Jerry filled Sam in on the goings on at 15 Division and they planned a poker game for during the week. Twenty minutes later Sam was propped on the step stool in Jerry's shower. Sam showed Jerry how to spread the mortar and place the tiles. When Sam felt he was confident to leave him for a few minutes, he grabbed the tiles he has marked for cutting and headed to the yard to set up his wet saw. Around 11:00, Traci pulled into the driveway. Sam was back in the bathroom straightening the tiles that Jerry had put up. Jerry went downstairs to say hi to Traci and Leo. Just as well, since Sam couldn't bear to hear about how much fun they had with Andy. A brief time later, Leo bounded up the stairs and into the master bath.
"Hey Sam. I'm home to help you."
"Hey buddy. How was your night?"
"Great. Aunt Andy's new house is really nice and the tent fit perfectly in her new living room. …..I told her that I told you about some of the superhero stuff and she wasn't even mad!"
Uh oh. "Oh, what did she say?"
"She told me that you were a great guy and you are her close friend and it was ok."
Sam ignored the "friend" part.
"I told her that you have an amazing partner too. She got all smiley about that."
Leo who had been talking like he was hopped up on caffeine suddenly got quiet. Sam looked down to him and he was staring at Sam's chest.
"What's up bud?" Sam queried.
"Can I smell your shirt?" Leo asked timidly.
"What? Why?" Sam was baffled.
"Does your shirt smell like cookies?"
"Uh….no. Why would you think that?"
"It's just Aunt Andy had that EXACT shirt on last night. She kept sniffing it the whole night. I just figured it must smell like something really good and what's better than cookies?"
Sam grinned at Leo, thrilled to hear who now held ownership of his shirt.
"Nothing Leo. Nothing's better than cookies."
