Author's Note: Wow, you guys sure know how to make a girl feel special! The response to the last chapter was just incredible and really overwhelming. Thank you so, so much. I hope that you all will continue to read the story and enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Rookie Blue.

"Sam," Andy called, rapping on his bedroom door. "Can I come in?"

It was early in the morning the next day and they were both getting ready to go into work. Andy stood with a coffee mug in one hand, waiting for him to answer.

She heard a vague noise that sounded like an affirmative response, so she pushed the door open and walked in.

Sam was standing in the small bathroom attached to his room, brushing his teeth. His hair was still wet and he was clad in only a towel, which was wrapped loosely around his waist.

Andy was not expecting that particular state of undress. She stopped abruptly, her coffee almost spilling over the side of the mug, her eyes widening in surprise.

Momentarily transfixed, she watched as a single water droplet fell from his hair and trailed a winding path over his shoulders and down his back. The droplet's journey ended where the towel began, the white terry cloth clinging to his firm, round…

"You need something or are you just going to stand there and stare?" Sam asked, spitting out toothpaste into the sink.

Andy shook her head slightly, realizing with a start that she had been ogling him. Well, Andy rationalized without remorse, she was a woman and he was one very handsome, almost-naked man. Nothing wrong with noticing and appreciating what was right in front of you.

"McNally," Sam called again, breaking her out of her daze.

"Oh, yeah," she stuttered, moving further into the room. "I need your opinion."

"Bagels," Sam answered, rinsing off his toothbrush before replacing it in the medicine cabinet.

"What?"

"I want bagels for breakfast. There's a place we can stop on the way to work." He glanced over at her for the first time since she had entered the room and then looked confused. "What are you wearing?"

"Okay, well," Andy stammered, "That's actually what I wanted your opinion about, not breakfast food." She opened her arms wide, letting him look her up and down. "Is this too sexy?"

She stood before him in a simple brown wrap dress that she had hastily pulled on over her pajamas.

"No, I think the flannel pajama pants take the sexy right out of it," Sam deadpanned, turning away from her. He pulled his shaving cream and razor out of the cabinet.

"Obviously I won't be wearing the pajama pants, Sam. I just meant," she gestured to her cleavage area, "Is it too low cut?"

"He's seen you naked McNally," Sam said, slathering on the shaving cream, "I guarantee you he remembers what they look like."

"I know," Andy said, tugging at the neckline of her dress. "I just don't want to remind him."

"Then wear a turtleneck," Sam advised, leaning closer to the mirror as he started to shave.

"Can you be serious, please?" Andy asked, getting frustrated.

Sam sighed and turned to face her. He studied the dress for a moment and then, prompted by Andy's annoyed eyebrow raise, answered, "No, it's not too sexy." He paused and then added, "You look nice."

"Well thank you," Andy said, curtseying slightly. "Was that so hard?"

Sam just rolled his eyes in response and returned to shaving.

Andy sat on the end of Sam's bed and took a sip of coffee. "I don't know why I agreed to this," she said, watching as Sam got ready.

They had spent the day before around the house, doing laundry and just generally being lazy. When Andy had first suggested a game of poker Sam had smirked and declined.

"I understand," Andy had challenged him. "I wouldn't want to lose to me either."

She was baiting him, and he knew it, but after considering his other options of sitting on the sofa or doing another load of laundry, he'd unenthusiastically agreed.

Andy clapped her hands with excitement as he pulled out the cards and poker chips. She grabbed two beers from the refrigerator and then joined him at the kitchen table.

"Five-card draw?" Sam asked, shuffling the cards.

"Please," Andy smirked indignantly, "that's for amateurs. Texas hold 'em."

"There's only two of us," Sam reminded her.

"So we'll switch off being dealer," Andy suggested. "Unless, of course, you're scared."

"Big talk," Sam said, setting down a stack of chips in front of her. "You wanna put some money where that mouth is?"

Andy just grinned, picking up the chips and letting them slowly fall back into a stack on the table.

They had played a few hands when Sam noticed that Andy's phone kept vibrating and she kept silencing it, not answering whoever kept calling.

He studied her for a long moment before offering, "Let's spice things up a little bit. Sweeten the pot."

"I'm not taking my clothes off," Andy informed him.

"Uh, as much as I would enjoy that," Sam admitted, "It's not what I had in mind."

Andy raised an eyebrow, encouraging him to continue.

"I win and you answer your phone," Sam said. "You win, you don't have to answer."

"I don't want to talk to him," Andy stated simply, gathering the cards from the table.

"Look, Andy, you're going to have to at some point," Sam told her. "You might as well get it over with."

Andy sighed and then whined, "But I don't want to."

Sam grinned and took the cards from her. "Then you'd better win."

She'd lost and, staying true to her word, answered the phone the next time Luke called. It had been an awkward, stilted conversation and when Luke had asked her to go to dinner with him the next night she'd agreed just to get off the phone.

The next morning she was regretting that decision.

Sam rinsed his razor before lifting it back up to his face. "Because," he recited automatically, "the sooner you get it over with the better."

"I know," Andy sighed. She bit her lip and then said, "I kind of have a favor to ask of you."

"I'm not surprised."

"You can say no if you want," she assured him.

"What is it Andy?" He asked, patting his freshly shaven face with a clean hand towel.

She looked up at him with pleading eyes, "Can I take your truck tonight?"

Sam groaned and tossed the hand towel on the counter.

"Please," Andy begged, standing up. "I don't want to have to ride in the same car as him and I want to be able to escape if need be." She walked over to him until she stood about half a step away. Feeling a surge of confidence she reached out with one hand and touched his chest, trailing her finger through the fine hairs down to his navel.

Sam stood perfectly still while her hand wandered down his chest. When she stopped and her eyes drifted up to meet his he grinned down at her, "By all means, keep going."

He'd called her bluff and she pulled her hand away, but stayed where she was. "Please," she asked again, her voice hopeful.

"Fine," Sam agreed, exhaling heavily. "Of course you can. Now," he settled his hand on the knot of his towel, "I need to get dressed so unless you… "

Andy interrupted him. "Thank you," she said, grinning as she spun out of the bathroom. "I'll buy the bagels."

Sam just chuckled. He loosened his towel and, in one fluid motion, flicked his wrist, snapping it towards Andy. It landed perfectly, popping her right on the behind.

"Ow!" She cried out, more out of surprise than pain. The dress she wore, not to mention the flannel pajama pants, dulled the sting. Andy refused to turn around, knowing what she would find if she did. Rubbing her backside, she laughed and whimpered her way out of his room.

As Andy had suspected, the dinner was uncomfortable.

Luke was already at the Italian restaurant by the time she was able to clean up after her shift and drive over. He stood when she got to the table and moved to pull her seat out for her, but she sat down before he had a chance.

Swallowing hard, he sat back down and began looking over the menu.

They were silent as they decided what to eat. It was a tense silence, both waiting anxiously for the other to say something. Andy was content to let Luke speak first since he was the one that kept telling her they needed to talk.

The waiter came and took their orders. After handing over his menu, Luke smiled at her. "Do you remember this place?"

Andy glanced around. "Our first date," she said emotionlessly.

"Yep," Luke confirmed, pleased that she had remembered. "Good memories." Andy shot him a look of incredulity and his smile faded.

They made small talk until the food arrived. Luke asked how her day had been and she offered a few details to keep the conversation going. He didn't ask about anything personal, wisely avoiding the topic of where she was staying or, more importantly, whom she was staying with.

Their food arrived and conversation ceased while they ate. Even though her dinner looked and smelled delicious, Andy couldn't bring herself to do more than pick at it.

Luke noticed her apparent lack of appetite. "Isn't that your favorite?" He asked, pointing his fork at her lasagna.

"Yeah, it is," Andy half-heartedly admitted.

"Is something wrong with it?" Luke persisted. "Is it cold?"

"No, it's great. I'm just not very hungry is all," Andy said. She took a small bite to appease him.

Luke accepted her answer with a nod. "So," he asked hesitantly, "How are you doing?"

Andy felt her muscles stiffen, but she forced herself to relax. "I'm fine."

"I mean, how are you really doing," Luke paused and waved his hand around, "With everything?"

"With everything… what?" Andy asked, her forehead wrinkling.

Luke cleared his throat. She wasn't going to make this easy on him. He clarified, "I mean, how are you doing with everything that happened?"

Andy put her fork down and then clasped her hands in front of her, setting them on the table. "You mean, how am I doing since you slept with another woman while we were engaged?"

Luke felt his face flush with heat, but answered calmly, "Yes."

"Ah." Andy shrugged and then repeated her words from earlier, "I'm fine."

"You're… fine." Luke stammered in disbelief.

Andy nodded. "Yep."

Luke cleared his throat and looked down at the table. Andy noticed that his fists were clenched with frustration. "That's just great Andy."

"What would you like for me to say, Luke?" she asked, getting annoyed.

"I just want you to be honest with me," he responded. "I think we can at least give each other that."

"Oh," Andy said, her eyebrows flying up, "You mean like you were honest with me about whether or not you still had feelings for Jo? Is that the kind of honesty you're looking for?"

"I do not have feelings for Jo," Luke told her, his words clipped. "I don't care about Jo, I care about you."

"Well that just makes it so much better!" Andy exclaimed sarcastically. "You threw away our relationship, our engagement, for someone you don't even care about!"

"No, that's not… " Luke paused, searching for the right words. "I'm sorry, that's not what I meant."

"What did you mean?" She challenged.

Luke took a deep breath. "I love you, Andy." She fought to keep from rolling her eyes. "I do, I love you. And I am so, so sorry."

"I know you're sorry," Andy conceded, her voice softer, "But that doesn't change what you did."

"I know it doesn't. I just hoped that since you've had a chance to cool off…"

"Cool off?" Andy interrupted. She could feel her anger rising again. "You think I just needed time to cool off? That I'd shoot a few hoops and I'd be fine?"

"You know what I mean."

"No," she retorted, "I don't think I do. Did you think I was just going to get over it and that everything would be okay?"

"I was hoping," Luke replied, his voice rising to match hers, "That you would be able to forgive me." He paused for half a beat and then, "Just like I forgave you."

Andy's eyes narrowed. "How dare you."

"You weren't exactly perfect either Andy," Luke accused.

"I never slept with anyone when I was with you."

"No," Luke allowed. "But you almost did, didn't you?"

Andy was about to respond when the waiter approached their table. "How are we doing, folks?" He asked pleasantly, a sharp contrast to the atmosphere created by the two sitting at the table.

Andy smiled politely. "Can I get this to go, please?" She asked calmly, pointing at her food.

"Of course," he said, taking the half eaten lasagna from her. "Anything else?"

"No," Luke replied sharply, "We're fine."

"Okay." The waiter looked back at Andy. "I'll be right back ma'am."

"Thank you," Andy said quietly. She looked back at Luke. "I made a mistake," she admitted, "And you're right, you did forgive me. But that doesn't give you a free pass to cheat on me."

"I just thought that you would be a little more understanding, that's all," Luke said.

"Well, I'm sorry," Andy apologized insincerely, "I don't understand. And you know what? I don't want to understand."

"You can't tell me that you just want to give up on everything we had," Luke pleaded, "You can't tell me that you don't have feelings for me anymore."

Andy was quiet for a moment, carefully considering her words. "Of course I still have feelings for you Luke. I loved you."

"Then why can't we work this out?" Luke questioned.

"You missed what I said, "Andy said, shaking her head, "I loved you. I don't still love you."

About that time the waiter came back to their table and handed Andy her to-go box. She thanked him and then lifted her eyes to meet Luke's. "You hurt me, Luke," she told him honestly. "I trusted you not to, and you hurt me more than I've ever been hurt before."

"I know," Luke said, "And I will spend the rest of my life making up for that."

Andy shook her head sadly. "Don't you get it?" She asked. "That's not what I want. I want you to just… just let me go. Let me move on."

"I can't do that Andy," Luke said adamantly. "I can't move on. I miss you."

"It's not really your choice," She told him. She picked up the to-go box from the table. "I should probably head home."

"Head to Swarek's home, don't you mean?" Luke knew that he shouldn't have gone there, but he couldn't stop the words from flying out of his mouth.

Andy pursed her lips and decided to be straightforward. "He's letting me stay with him until my apartment is ready."

"That's awfully convenient."

"Just stop," Andy said, exasperated. "He's being a good friend. There's nothing going on."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"I don't really care what you believe," Andy said, pulling her purse out from under her chair.

"Andy," Luke said as she stood up. "Just one more question."

She glared at him as she slipped on her coat.

He grinned menacingly. "How is he in the sack? Is it everything you hoped it would be?"

Andy visibly recoiled at his words. Reigning in her anger, knowing that any reaction would just make things worse, she forced a tight smile. "Thank you for dinner. Do not call me ever again."

Her jaw clenched, she turned on her heel and marched out of the restaurant.

Sam saw the lights from the truck bounce against the walls of the alley when Andy pulled up. A few minutes later he heard the front door open and the click of Andy's heels on the wooden floor.

"Hey," he called out to her from his spot on the couch. "How'd it go?"

Andy dropped her purse and to-go box off in the kitchen and then joined him in the living room. He could tell just from her expression that things had not gone well. "Uh oh," he guessed. "Not good?"

Andy let out a short, sad laugh as she collapsed beside him. When she turned to face him he could see that her eyes were red-rimmed, like she had been crying. He had the sudden and very intense desire to punch Luke out.

"On a scale of one to ten," Andy said, "With one being great and ten being worse than having my fingernails ripped out one by one?"

"Okay…" Sam said, alarmed at the imagery.

Andy sighed. "I'd say about a seven."

"I'm sorry," Sam told her honestly.

"It's okay," Andy said. "You were right, I needed to just get it over with. I don't think we solved anything but…" she paused and shook her head, "I don't know. I hope we can both just move on now."

"I know I'm probably going to regret asking this," Sam prefaced, "But do you want to talk about it?"

Andy laughed and pulled off her jacket. "Not really. You should feel special though, he did bring you up several times."

"Why?" Sam asked, genuinely confused.

"Well," Andy said, kicking her shoes off, "First he told me that I should be more forgiving because he forgave me for almost sleeping with you."

"We didn't sleep together though," Sam protested, "And you weren't engaged at the time."

Andy held up her hand, stopping him. "I know," she commiserated. "Trust me, I know." She turned so her back was against the arm of the sofa and her head rested against the back. She curled her feet up beneath her and faced Sam.

"What else did he say?" Sam asked.

"He not so subtly implied that he knew I was staying with you, which I confirmed," she recounted for him. "And then…" she hesitated.

"Then what?"

Andy decided to just tell him. "Then he asked how you were in bed."

"Oh," Sam said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah."

"What'd you say?" Sam asked, one side of his mouth tugging upwards into a cocky grin.

"Well obviously I said that you were the best I've ever had and that every time was just mind-blowingly awesome," Andy lied.

The grin spread fully across his face. "Really?"

"No!" Andy said, slapping his arm.

"Oh." The grin fell. "What did you say?"

"I just," Andy trailed off, shaking her head. "I just told him thanks for dinner and never to call me again."

Sam didn't know what to say, he wasn't exactly experienced in the relationship advice department, so he settled for reaching across the sofa and resting his hand on Andy's knee. "I'm really am sorry," he said.

"Thank you," she responded sincerely. She took a minute to look around the room, organizing her thoughts. "I thought I was safe with Luke, you know?" Sam nodded. "I never even considered that he would cheat on me, that he would hurt me like that."

"Neither did I," Sam told her.

Andy was quiet for a moment and then asked in a thin voice, "Is that why you kept pushing me to him? Because you didn't think he would hurt me?"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked innocently.

Andy fixed him with a look. "You know what I mean. At first you tried to warn me away from him but then it seemed like every time something happened or there was even just the slightest hint of trouble, you would tell me to give him a break, or tell me how great he was. That he was solid and dependable."

Sam sighed. "I thought he was. I thought he would make you happy," he admitted. His voiced caught in his throat as he added, "I just want you to be happy."

Andy nodded, feeling warm tears sting her eyes. "I know," she whispered, her voice shaky.

"Hey now," Sam said, instinctively grabbing Andy by the elbow and pulling her towards him. "Don't do that," he pleaded, cradling her against his chest. "Don't cry."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, brushing her fingers across her cheeks. "I'm just tired and it was a long day and Luke just really…"

"It's okay," he interrupted her quietly, smoothing her hair down and kissing the top of her head.

He held her for a while longer, alternating between letting her cry and trying to make her laugh.

"Next time someone asks how I am in bed, Luke or anyone, just tell them that I'm awesome," Sam advised her smugly. Andy had laughed but he chided her gently, "Don't laugh, it's the truth."

"Thank you, Sam" Andy said, pushing away from him. With her hands still on his chest she added, "Who would have thought a year ago that you would be the most stable man in my life right now?"

"I guess you never can tell," Sam said, shrugging.

Andy smiled at him and then moved to stand up. "I'm just going to go change," she told him. "I'll be back in a minute."

"Okay," Sam said, releasing her. He nonchalantly added, "Oh, hey, check in the freezer on your way back."

Andy eyed him suspiciously, "What's in the freezer?"

"Well," Sam explained, rolling his eyes. "When you look in the freezer, you'll find out."

"It's not anything weird is it?"

"No, it's not anything weird," he assured her.

She thought for a moment. "Did you buy more ice cream?"

Sam tried to hide a smile. "Maybe."

"Just for me?"

"No," he told her, "You have to share."

Andy couldn't contain her smile. "Sam Swarek, you are actually very sweet," she declared before hurrying towards the staircase so she could get changed.

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered under his breath. Louder, he called after her, "Hey, let's not spread this around! Especially to Oliver. Do not tell Oliver!"