Do you think it's possible for a story to procrastinate itself? First it seems to take forever to be ready to write, and then when I finally do, it just keeps going and going and I feel like I'm getting nowhere. Sorry, we're not quite at the bust yet, but I really wanted to get you an update.

Andy recovered quickly and pasted on what she hoped was a convincing smile. "Hi…um…"

"Ray." He reminded her.

"Right, Ray." She nodded before moving to dismiss him. "I'm just meeting a friend for an early supper so…"

She tried to move past him, but he took hold of her arm and pulled her further into the diner. "Well I was just on my way to meet Sammy when I saw you come in here. I thought you might want to go with me."

"Sorry…can't. I promised my brother and I'm meeting that friend so..."

Ray wasn't usually above making a scene, but trouble was the last thing he needed so he continued to try and get her to come willingly. "I think Sammy would be very happy to see you."

Andy just about laughed; she knew Sam would be far from happy to see her at least not under these circumstances.

"Are you sure?" Andy replied trying to be coy while buying herself some time.

Ray started to smile; he almost had her. "Of course. And even if he's not, I sure am." He meant because it would be getting him in good with the boss, but Andy saw her chance and took it…the wrong way.

"You better not lay a finger on me." She growled trying to pull her arm away from him. "Sammy will kick your ass if you so much as look at me the wrong way."

Oh-oh. He had inadvertently riled her up and what he thought was going to be easy had been made a lot more difficult by his big mouth. Sammy was right; she was feisty.

"You know what; I think I'll just wait for him to call me." Andy decided again trying to move away from Ray and back towards the door.

"You'll be waiting a long time honey; this might be your only chance."

Andy scoffed at that. "Why the hell would I want a guy who won't call me back then?"

She had him there and she knew it. She had to keep her smile in check as she watched his mind race trying to think of a good enough reason for her. When he still had nothing after a few seconds, she huffed. "Know what; I'll pass."

He lowered his voice and pasted on a fake smile as his brain finally kicked in. "For a while…I just meant he's going to be busy for a while so he might not have time after today. He's free right now though so why not just surprise him. If he's busy or not happy, I'll just bring you right back here."

They both knew it was an empty promise, and they also both knew that he wasn't taking no for an answer so she was back to buying time. "Okay, okay…Can we at least grab something to go? I haven't eaten all day."

Since he'd rather she go willingly, Ray conceded; he still had a little time before the meet. "Fine…order. But I ain't buyin'."

"Such a gentleman." She muttered under her breath before motioning him to the nearest empty table, which thankfully was just inside the door. "Sit down so I can check out the menu."

Andy slid into the booth so she was facing the entrance and could alert Traci who she was sure would be there soon. She fully expected Ray to slide in opposite her; making her getaway a little easier. Unfortunately, he chose this one time to employ his brain and he slid into the booth beside her, effectively trapping her in.

Andy was pretending to look over the menu when the bell above the door rang. She looked up to see Traci frantically scanning the place; it was obvious that she was in a panic when Andy wasn't out front where she said she would be.

Andy met her eyes from over the menu until Traci shifted her gaze to the man sitting beside her friend. She looked back at Andy and furrowed her brow slightly; she recognized the man but she wasn't exactly sure from where.

Andy watched as she searched her memory to figure out where she knew him from; she could tell the second it became clear as Traci's eyebrows shot up to the top of her head. He had been arrested earlier in the week; he was part of Sam's gang and Andy had asked her to let them know when he was released. She had also heard about the trouble Andy and Gail had getting out of the club on Friday. Now she knew why Sam told Boyd to have her pick Andy up; too bad he didn't think to tell her she might need to bring backup. Time to play it cool.

"Hey, girl." Traci said upon approach. "I didn't know you were bringing a friend."

Traci resisted a shudder as Ray's eyes traveled appreciatively up and down her body.

"Yeah, sorry Trace. Remember that guy I told you about…"

"Is this him?" Traci asked playing along.

Andy laughed loudly but cut it off quickly when Ray shot her a look that showed her he was clearly offended. "No, this is a buddy of his that I just ran into; he told me he would take me to Sammy though."

The inherent truth of that statement was not lost on Traci. She was going to have to use some fancy footwork to get her friend out of there. Now she just had to figure out how.

"I don't know. Your brother's going to be pretty pissed if you take off again. Maybe I should call him." She was hoping her threat would be enough to get this guy to back off.

"No need for that, sweetheart." Ray assured her, trying to remain cool. "I think your friend here is old enough to make up her own mind. So we're just going to get her food and be on our way."

Traci looked at Andy. "You ordered yet?"

"Not yet."

"Then I really think we should go; I don't want him mad at me and if he finds out I knew about this and let you go." Traci's voice was rising in volume and both women knew she wasn't talking about Andy's 'brother' anymore.

Ray decided he needed to calm things down again till he could convince them both that it was okay for Andy to come with him. The last thing he needed was a scene and they already seemed to be drawing more attention from the nearby tables. "Why don't you sit down and join us?" He offered sweetly. "Let me buy you some supper."

Andy dropped her chin and shot him an incredulous look; he hadn't offered to buy her meal in fact he had outright refused to. But the last thing she wanted was to get Traci mixed up in this mess and it wasn't likely that he would be letting Andy go and the two girls didn't have guns or backup.

"You don't have to stay." Andy assured her. "I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself."

Traci wasn't falling for it; she had her friend's back. "Don't be silly. Who am I to turn down a free meal? Just let me hit the bathroom first." She explained before giving Andy a meaningful look, "then I'll be able to sit down and relax."

"Sounds good." Andy responded with a sigh of relief knowing backup would be on its way soon.

Andy picked up the menu again as Traci moved to the back of the diner. Ray immediately started in on her trying to convince her that she shouldn't let people tell her what to do.

Meanwhile, Traci jumped into the first stall she came to and quickly dialed Jerry's number; she thought about calling dispatch but this called for discretion. She needed someone who knew Andy and who knew the situation.

"Jerry here."

"I need help."

"What's wrong? Is Leo okay?" Traci grinned; she loved him for that.

"It's fine, well not exactly fine. Are you at the station?"

"Yeah, I'm not leaving till Sammy's home."

"Anyone else there?"

"What do you mean?"

"Oliver?"

"Yeah, he just got here. Why?"

"Is he in his uniform yet?"

"We're in the locker room. He just got it on…what's going on Traci."

"One of Swarek's guys, the one that was arrested the other day, he's with Andy at the diner by Sam's house. You know the one?"

"Yeah, yeah…Sammy drags us there all the time."

"He's hell bent on taking Andy to see Sam, but Boyd told me to pick her up because Swarek was worried about her being alone. I don't have anything…."

"No, no…sit tight…we're on our way."

Traci waited a few more minutes in the washroom before returning to the table. She picked up her menu and again asked. "Have you ordered yet?"

"Not yet." Andy informed her.

The girls made polite small talk for a few minutes before the waitress walked up with her notepad effectively garnering their full attention. "What can I get you officer?"

All three eyes at the table snapped up at once. Andy and Traci were looking at each other trying to contain their panic. They should have known they'd be recognized; Andy at least was in here all the time. Ray was looking directly at the waitress to see who she was addressing, but luckily for Andy and Traci she was still looking at her notepad and giving nothing away.

As always, Oliver's timing was impeccable; he had just entered into the diner as the waitress posed her question. "How about a coffee and Danish to go; I'll just wait right…" He pretended to just notice Andy and Traci. "Right over here." He finished as he dropped down into the seat next to Traci. "Well, well…what do we have here?"

If possible, Ray's eyes got even wider. Why the hell was this cop sitting down with them?

"I should have known when we got the call about a possible disturbance that you'd be involved."

Ray was at a loss; sure he was known by the cops but he'd only been taken in once in this part of the city. Still this cop did look a little familiar, but how would he know Ray's reputation.

Ray's confusion turned to surprise when Oliver looked directly at Andy. "So what's the excuse this time Sweetheart? Your new little boy toy won't spring for dessert?"

Ray started to smirk, but it was wiped quickly off his face with Andy's retort. "Trust you to be thinking about little boys and their…toys."

As Oliver's and Traci's jaws dropped simultaneously, a choked off cough could be heard from Jerry, who had followed Oliver in and settled inconspicuously at a nearby table. Andy tried not to spare him a glance as she continued with fake concern. "I'm sorry, was that a secret?"

Oliver recovered quickly from his shock to join Andy in her game, both realizing that this was going to go much quicker with the gloves off. "Does your friend here know just how many boy toys you pick up in a night? Oh wait…my mistake…they pick you up...from the street corner isn't it. How is that little rash of yours? Oh, I'm sorry...was that a secret?"

"You don't have to be an ass."

"Watch your mouth honey! I'm well aware of the conditions of your probation and you've already been walking a fine line."

"Well maybe if you'd stop harassing me and looking for excuses to bring me in. Does that little wife of yours know how much time you spend tailing my ass? I bet she wouldn't appreciate hearing about all the little 'pat downs' I've received huh?" Andy hoped Oliver would forgive her for that one; she hated bringing Zoe into it but she needed to provoke him enough to get him to take her in.

Ray knew he'd better intervene soon or she was going to get herself into trouble. Now that he had her; he didn't want to blow it. He tugged on Andy's arm to get her to look at him and begged her with his eyes to just shut up.

"Sorry Officer. It was my fault; I was upset but I didn't mean to disturb anyone." Ray apologized. "Everything's fine now though; we're just going to get our order and head out. Not even planning to stay. You won't hear another peep from us. You know what; I think maybe we'll just hit a drive through instead."

"Yes, Officer, I'm sure you're quite familiar with the drive through." Andy said eying up his stomach. She was going to pay for that one later.

As the waitress brought over Oliver's coffee and Danish, Andy's eyebrow lifted and her head tilted as if in confirmation.

"What are you doing?" Ray muttered under his breath. "Could you just shut up for one second?"

Andy turned on him then. "You have no idea how much shit I have to put up with from this…"

"Choose your next words carefully." Oliver warned, egging Andy on hoping to provoke her to push it just far enough that he would have cause.

Traci sat and watched the entire exchange, impressed how both Oliver and Andy were playing off each other. She would have liked to have been more help, but she knew Andy had to be the one to get into trouble. When she noticed that the waitress had yet to leave, and looked like she was about to question what was going on, Traci realized her part in this – damage control. "Excuse me, officer." Traci said sweetly.

Oliver turned his gaze to her and then followed her eye line to the waitress. "Of course," he conceded.

He watched as she expertly turned the waitress away and tried to explain the oddities that were playing out in front of her.

Jerry smiled to himself as he too watched Traci masterfully handle the situation. That's my girl.

Ray stood up then and pulled Andy from the booth. She tried to stand her ground but he was having no part of it. "Now." He growled through his teeth.

Andy saw her opening and though she was sorry she had to do it; it was her only chance. She pulled her arm out of his grip with so much force; her hand went straight into Oliver's face with a loud smack.

"That's it." He yelled out. "I'm taking you in!"

"What the hell for?"

"Assaulting an officer." He answered smugly.

"Are you kidding me? It was clearly an accident. I have witnesses." She turned to look at a stunned Ray. "Ray…you saw what happened."

Ray started to back her up when he received a menacing look from Oliver. He had a feeling that one more word and he was on his way to an adjoining cell. And this girl was so not worth getting arrested especially right before a buy; Sammy definitely had his hands full with this one.

"You know what; I just remembered I have somewhere I have to be." Ray amended, turning towards the exit.

"Smart man." Oliver praised.

"What do you mean?" Andy complained. "I thought you were taking me to Sammy."

"I think I'll let Sammy take care of himself."

He won't have to. Sam's friends thought at the same time.

As Oliver cuffed Andy, as gently as he could, she called out to Traci, not wanting to leave her behind just in case. "Trace, can you follow us. Maybe call my brother."

"Absolutely." Traci agreed, having already steered the waitress back behind the counter.

"Show's over." Jerry announced as he followed the trio out.

Ray had left the diner and was already halfway down the street at almost a dead run, turning back only to get a quick glimpse of Andy being guided into the back of the cruiser. That was too close for comfort and he was getting the hell out of there.

Oliver chuckled as he watched Ray race down the road. "Nicely played, McNally."

"Yeah, you might actually be able to give it away on the next John Sweep." Jerry taunted as Oliver released her from the cuffs.

Andy rolled her eyes and ignored Jerry who was settling into the passenger seat of the cruiser. "You too, Oliver. Sorry about the…"

"Don't mention it. But just so you know; you owe me lunch for that crack about the drive through."

"That's the one that bothered you; I felt bad for dragging Zoe into it."

"All part of the charade McNally."

"Then why do I have to buy you lunch?"

"Because I'm sensitive about my weight."

He held up his hand when she started to respond, and simply closed the door on her.

Andy was beginning to worry that she might have actually offended him when he opened the driver's door and slid in behind the wheel. He met her eyes in the mirror. "And don't give me any of that bull shit about it being what's inside that counts. That's still feeble, McNally."

With a wink, he turned his attention ahead and started the ignition. Andy just chuckled and settled comfortably in the back seat, thankful that she had again been able to avoid a possible catastrophe. Thank God Traci had called her to go for supper.

They got back to the station with just enough time to head to the briefing room to go over the plans for the bust that was taking place that night.

Once everyone was gathered, Boyd went through all of the details outlining the buy, where Sam would be and his plan for staying out of harm's way. They would be taking out the outside surveillance first and working their way in close. As soon as they saw the product and the money exchanged hands, they would move in.

Boyd was then down to assigning everyone to teams. "Who wants to join McNally in the can?"

All of the uniformed officers looked around with wide eyes thinking the same thing; you generally volunteered for surveillance in the can. They all knew how much Andy cared for Sam and they hunched their shoulders in anticipation of the inevitable backlash.

No one was more surprised than Boyd though when she didn't protest; not even a peep. Boyd didn't know what Sam had said to her, but he had to give him credit; he would have never guessed that she would go along willingly. He wondered if Swarek would be willing to share his secret; so did the other TO's.

Once the teams were all finalized, Boyd started talking about the timing. "So the whole thing is supposed to go down at three a.m. so…"

"Two or three?" Andy interrupted.

"Pay attention, McNally; I said three." Boyd snapped, obviously frustrated by her lack of focus.

It wasn't that she wasn't listening though. "No…In the bathroom…Sam and I…while we were…"

"Spit it out McNally." Boyd ordered.

"When you talked to Sam on the phone, while I was in the bathroom at the club with him," Andy started, a slight blush coloring her cheeks at the memory.

Oliver and Jerry exchanged a look; they were going to have to ask Sammy exactly what went on in that bathroom.

"He called you from my phone and said he thought it was going down at two."

Boyd was about to argue with her, when one of his guys spoke up. "She's right; it's in your notes right here that he said two in the morning."

"Yeah, well, last I talked to him, he confirmed three. We should still be ready in plenty of time if it's two, but just in case we'll add an extra half hour leeway unless we hear otherwise. Now head out and do your thing. We all meet back here at eleven thirty; the cover shift will be in eleven."

Best, who had been standing off to the side wanting to keep apprised, added. "Serve, protect and let's get Sammy back here."

After a few shouts of agreement, the room cleared out for a couple of hours of regular shift.

As one room was clearing, another began to fill.

Sammy's gang was just gathering at the warehouse though they wouldn't be heading to the dock for a few hours. They just needed to make sure everyone was ready and up to speed.

As the room started to buzz with activity, Sammy looked around and was painfully aware that one person was noticeably absent…Ray. He asked around and everyone said the same thing; he'd been out all day yesterday and today doing a favor for the boss. Unfortunately no one knew what that favor was.

Since they still had a couple hours before the boss showed up, they decided they could afford a little time to wait. They would give him one hour; if he didn't show, they would go through the plans without him. Vic and Sammy stood off to the side debating how to rearrange duties if for some reason he didn't show.

When Ray still hadn't appeared after an hour, Vic grabbed everyone's attention and he and Sammy reviewed the plans one last time including contingencies for Ray's absence.

The boss and his two henchmen entered the warehouse just as the crew finished with the final details. Confident that they were ready, Vic turned to the boss to see if he was ready for them to go through it all again with him.

Before he had a chance to speak, the door was thrown open and slammed against the wall. Everyone who had a gun reached for theirs simultaneously.

Unarmed and out in the open, Sammy responded first. "What the hell?"

When they realized it was Ray, there were a few choice words thrown his way before the boss intervened. "Can it! Where the hell have you been?"

Ray looked back at him confused. "I was…" He glanced over at Sammy wondering if he was supposed to say anything or not. "Looking for uh…you know…"

If he was trying to be subtle, he was failing miserably. Sammy knew immediately who he had been sent out to look for; his only consolation was that Ray appeared to be alone.

"Where is she?" The boss knew Sammy wasn't an idiot and since Ray clearly was, there was no point in keeping up the charade. "Did you find her?"

Ray paused just a little too long for Sammy's liking. "Nope…she, uh, never showed."

"Are you sure?" The boss wondered; he too had noticed Ray's hesitation.

"Okay, fine. I saw her, but…"

Ray could see the boss was ready to explode so he continued quickly in an attempt to cover his ass. "The cops showed all right."

Sammy did his best to hold onto his poker face; it didn't look like her cover was blown or Ray would have lead with that. He waited for him to continue.

"They arrested her before I could get her out of there." He admitted sheepishly.

The boss looked doubtful. Couldn't the man do anything right?

Ray saw the uncertainty and felt the need to justify his actions. "Seriously…I had to get out of there or we were going to be sharing a cell. You need me for tonight. I figured you'd rather have me here than her."

Sammy knew for a fact that he would, but by the look on the boss' face, it was a tough call for him.

Ray turned to Sammy. "You definitely got your hands full with that one Sammy; she's…"

Before Ray could continue, the boss instructed everyone to gather round so they could go through everything one last time including how they would get there, who would be riding with whom, every little detail.

Sammy leaned down to scratch at his ankle.

A radio crackled to life silencing every voice in the room. "Boss, you're going to want to hear this."