A/N: Firstly sorry about the delayed update... I got distracted, but you guys get a longer chapter to reward your patience and awesome reviewing!

~ I tried not to make Fiona Reed horrible but I don't think I succeeded. I kinda hate her.

~ Excuse the typos... its 1.30am and I'm wrecked!

Sam pushed the heel of his hands into his eyes to block out all the light. White spots appeared before him as he dropped his hands and let his head roll back over his shoulders with a moan. For three weeks he hadn't seen the outside of this room. For three weeks he had been sifting through database searches, listening to recorded phone calls and ticking all the boxes for this investigation. And for what? He thought and he lifted his head back up and looked at the computer screen again.

"Nothing." He said aloud.

"Talking to yourself Swarek?"

Sam didn't need to turn round to know it was Fiona standing at the door, or that she had a coffee for him in her hand. It has become a routine of theirs. He would arrive into work first and go straight to his office, she would arrive shortly afterwards and bring him a coffee.

It has started on his first day and she had taken control from then. And he let her. It was nice not to have to think about anything. No one asking him what he was thinking about, what he was planning to do with his life, or looking for reasons for what he was doing now. It was soothing, he told himself. Soothing.

She walked across the room and placed a hand on his shoulder. As she leaned forward to put his coffee on the table, she let her hand run down and over his chest, pressed her breasts into the back of his neck and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Morning."

"Already saw you this morning." He leaned forward to pick up his coffee, deliberately staying sat forward and out of her reach.

"Yeah you did and it was a hell of a wake up if I do say so myself." She came round and sat on her hands, on the edge of his desk, letting her legs swing beneath it, and purposely bushed them off his legs. "So are you going to join us at MacTurkles tonight?"

"I dunno Fi, I'm pretty wrecked."

"Awwww Sammy!" She pouted her lips, locked her arms and squeezed her breasts together.

Sam looked up and couldn't help but smile. She was shameless, a welcome reprieve from the usual people he dated.

"Well I'll see."

"You should come. Reynolds has been slagging off your pool playing skills."

"I've never lost to him."

"That's not what he is saying." Sam smiled, sipped his coffee then sat back into his chair with a sigh. "So you'll come?"

"I'll see how today goes. I have a lot to get through."

"I dunno how you do this, day in day out." She looked at the data on his screen with distaste.

"Are you on the front desk again?"

"No I'm on patrol today with Mark."

"Okay, well be careful out there."

"Alright I get it. I know a brush off when I hear one." She jumped off the desk but before she left she leaned down to press a kiss to his lips. "I'll see you later. Don't work too hard."

She sashayed out of the room, adding that extra swagger to her hips, but Sam wasn't watching. He was sitting back in his chair, his hands covering his face.

Andy sat back in her couch and stretched her legs out in front of her. She was dressed in check PJ bottoms and a blue tank top. She had a glass of wine in one hand and the TV remote in the other. She flicked continuously through the channels, settling on nothing her focus not even on the screen.

After being at the precinct that morning to give her statement Andy felt so small walking back out. People came up and offered her support, she took it with a smile, accepted the hands that were held out to her to shake and managed to get out of there without swiping her arms across every desk she walked by, clearing it in her wake. Barely.

She had spent the rest of the afternoon working out her frustrations. She jogged over to the gym, punched the bag for a few hours then practically sprinted back. Frank had called to say that it her statement went down well, it matched up with what Oliver had to say and the medical reports that were provided. But the investigation had to go through the motions. And as comforting as this was, she couldn't relax until she was back in uniform. So she found herself moping in front of the TV. Nothing held her attention.

Then there was a knock on her door. Andy let her eyes travel to the door but didn't call out. The knock was repeated.

"Ugh…" Andy pushed herself up, and walked over to the door. She peeked through the spy hole but it was covered. "Who is it?"

"Andy it's me, Traci."

Andy frowned, pulled the door open and understood only then why her friend covered the peep hole. Traci was standing in the hallway wearing a slinky black and silver dress. She was made up to the nines and was carrying a bottle of wine.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to drag you out of those PJs and get you out!"

"Oh Traci…not tonight!" Andy closed the door and dragged herself back to the couch to resume the position she was in before. "I'm not in the mood!"

"You're not in the mood because you won't let yourself be, c'mon!" she took Andy's hand and pulled her off the couch with a grunt. She led her into the bed room then pushed her onto the bed. Traci passed her the bottle of wine and told Andy to open it while she rummaged in her closet. "Now, I was talking to Gail an she got us tickets into the opening of a new club on Queen st."

"A club? No Trace please!"

"But at this club there is a bit of a dress code…so this…" Traci turned and waved at what Andy was wearing. "This won't do." She concentrated on Andy's closet and pulled a short baby blue tight dress out and held it up. "But this… this is perfect! Put it on!" Traci swiped the bottle of wine out of Andy's hand and dropped the dress into her lap.

"Trace-"

Traci held up a hand and ignored her plea as she opened the screw lid off the bottle and pour a healthy portion into the glass Andy was holding. Andy knew a losing battle when she was fighting one so she acquiesced to Traci's wishes. She went into the bathroom and stripped down, pulled on the dress then went back to Traci to get zipped up. It was a snug fit, clung to her curves, had pinafore style straps, a low cut back and came down to just above her knees.

"Lovely! Now shoes!" Traci handed Andy the glass of wine before she dove into the cupboard to pick out her shoes. "Heels…strappy heels, it has to be with that dress!" she called out over her shoulder then exclaimed as she found what she was looking for. She came back to Andy and dropped the shoes at her feet and took the glass back off her to top it up and take a drink. Andy put the shoes on then Traci pushed her towards the bathroom. "Make up."

Before long they had finished the wine, Andy had finished her make-up and they were out on the street hailing a cab. Traci pulled out her phone that was ringing and answered it as a cab pulled up.

"Hey Gail!...yeah we just got in a cab…Queen street and George," she said to the cabbie, then turned her attention back to the phone call. "We should be there in about ten or fifteen minutes…what?" Traci looked shocked, Andy turned to look at her but Traci started smiling and then laughing. "Really? You have to be kidding me?...ok, ok I'll do it. Yeah see you in there!"

"What?"

"Gail got the tickets but we have to use different names to use them."

"What names?"

"Vanessa Redgrave and Maria Hopkins."

"Wait…I know those names."

"They are journalists for "The Scene" magazine."

"Trace! No one is going to believe we are journalists!"

"Oh Andy lighten up! They don't care, they just want hot women in their club, and we certainly fit that description!"

They both laughed and Andy tried to settle back into the cab ride, and not crave her couch too much,

Sam lined up his shot. There were three striped balls scattered on the table, two of them covering pockets, the other in the centre. The black ball was near one of the covered pockets but Sam lined it up in an effort to pot it. The black ball bounced lightly off the cushion, moved the striped ball then slotted neatly into the hole. Sam stood up straight and accepted the jumping hug form Fiona with a smile.

"Well played." Reynolds came around the table and shook his hand then handed him a couple of notes. "God dammit I thought I had you in that last one."

"Wanna try again? Double or nothing?" Sam asked as he slipped the money into his pocket.

"You know if I keep doubling up I'll end up signing my house over to you."

"Nice place?"

"Lovely…but the bank owns most of it!" He patted Sam on the shoulder and finished the dregs of his pint. "Right, let's get out of here."

Sam turned to see Fiona holding out his coat. She finished her own cocktail and reached for his glass of whiskey.

"C'mon Sam, drink up," she said as she passed him his drink.

"What? Where is everyone going?"

He hadn't planned on coming to MacTurkles but was persuaded when Fiona said it was Reynolds birthday and they were celebrating. One drink turned into two, then three and four. And now the forth was being forced down his throat as he was pushed out the door. They had walked to the bar from the division and now he watched Reynolds and three others get into a cab as Fiona hailed another one for the rest of them.

"We're going to a club."

"Whoa!" Sam backed away, and started to put his coat on. "I'm not going to a club! Are you serious?"

A cab stopped and Fiona pulled the door open. The two other officers with them jumped in and Fiona held her hand out for Sam to join.

"Sam! C'mon!"

"Fiona I'm not going to a club! I don't go to clubs!"

"Sam don't be ridiculous, Its Kevin's birthday, you have to come!"

"No I don't!" His laughter was without mirth as he buttoned up his coat and continued to walk back away. Fiona leaned into the cab and asked for them to wait and she hurried up to him.

"Sam, it's not a real club," she grabbed the lapels of his coat and reached up on tip toes to kiss him. "It's more like a late bar, we just need to go for one…" she let her tongue appear and licked his lips, pushed it past them and caressed the inside of his mouth. "Then we can go back to my place…and I'll show you my gratitude!" She pressed her body against his then slowly lowered it, letting her breasts drag over his chest.

"Okay…for one. But I'm not paying into this place…they charge enough for drinks as it is…" he mumbled as she dragged him into the cab and pushed him in.

The music was incredibly loud and Andy was delighted she didn't have to talk. Traci was at the bar buying drinks, Gail was on the dance floor destroying the ego of any man who dared dance with her and Andy was leaning on the balcony trying to blend in. But she wasn't feeling it. When Traci appeared with their drinks Andy tried to smile but Traci saw right through it.

"Nope…not tonight McNally!" She draped he hand over her friends shoulder and hugged her close. "Tonight is about letting go, having fun and forgetting our worries!"

"Trace-"

"No…you heard me, drink up!" Traci forced her to drink up then waved her hand at the waiter for another round. "Now I spoke to Jerry, and I know Frank called you. The investigation is all but over you know you will be back at the division in no time."

"I just can't relax…not till I get back in uniform, get back to work."

"I know it's tough Andy but you should just try." Their drinks arrived and Traci paid then handed one to her. "Hey… hey…" she took her friends arm and squeezed it. "C'mon, forget all that, just try to have some fun with us!"

Andy sipped her drink and tried to smile.

"C'mon Andy, you can do better than that!" Traci nudged her friend. "Hell, look at Gail down there!" They both turned to see Gail dancing with two men. "You wanna dance?"

"No, I just want…" Andy struggled to finish her sentence.

"Swarek!" Traci exclaimed.

"What? No, I just want to go home, lie on the couch…"

"No! Any look! It's Sam!"

Sam let Fiona lead him into the bar and all his worst fears were confirmed. The music was loud, the air was dry and there was dry ice fog on the dance floor. Hell, there was a dance floor. Already Sam was craving his own couch. But they moved deeper into the club to a small cordoned off section where Reynolds was already sitting with drinks and more people than he had left the previous bar with.

Andy and Traci watched as Sam took off his coat and draped it across the back of the lounge chair. He seemed to talk with the group of people then looked around the room for the bar. Andy felt herself melt into the pillar she was standing next to, and willed herself to turn invisible. His eyes scanned the room but didn't seem to notice them. He spotted a small bar, at the other end of the room, and started to walk towards it but before he could disengage from the group a small red-headed woman grabbed his arm and tugged him back.

Traci took Andy's arm and tried to pull her away but Andy was stuck. Nothing would move her from where her feet were planted.

"Andy…"

They watched as the woman tugged Sam down to her height. She said something that made him smile, then she kissed him. One of his hands curled around her back to pull her closer and deepen the kiss then he let her go and went to the bar.

"Oh Andy, I'm so sorry."

"What? No, that's nothing…to do with me…" She turned away and took a long drink of the cocktail she had forgotten was in her hand.

"Do you want to go?" Andy didn't have the words so she just nodded her head. "Let me just go get Gail."

Sam stood at the bar awaiting his turn to be served and glanced around the room. The dance floor was sunken about three steps lower than the rest of the room, he guessed it was so people could look all the way across it some anywhere in the room. There were several bars scattered around the room, each of them well staffed so no one was waiting too long. Mirrors on the walls added depth to the room, making it feel bigger than it actually was but the loud music and dry ice seemed to have the opposite effect. At least for Sam. No one else seemed to mind, he thought as he ordered some drinks from the bartender.

When they were put in front of him he grabbed them in both hands and turned to walk back. The bar was crowded and he moved through it slowly as to not spill his drinks. But before he got to his table he noticed a scuffle across the room. Immediately he was on edge. It was what made him such a good cop. Instincts honed and trusted through years of use on the streets.

He looked over and saw two men cornering a woman by the end of a bar just out of sight of the bouncers. One of them had his hand flat against the wall, the other was leaning on it with his shoulder, effectively caging her in. It was dark and the flashing lights were in his eyes but Sam hurried to his own table, put down the drinks and pointed it out to Fiona.

"What's going on over there?"

Fiona looked over and shrugged.

"Looks like she is getting hit on."

Sam squinted, as if it would help him get a better look and saw the woman try to move away from the wall, only to get pushed back against it.

"No…no that's not being hit on…that's being harassed… I'll be right back."

He started to cross the room but the DJ changed the song and there was a sudden insurgence from the crowd to get to the dance floor. Sam waded through them, crossed the room and pulled on one of the guys shoulders.

"Hey…" the guy said, his fist was already clenched and he swung his arm in a wide arch towards Sam's face.

"Leave her alone…" Sam ducked under the swinging arm and landed a punch in the guy's ribs. He doubled over but tried to punch Sam while he was down. "Stop," Sam urged as he blocked the punch and grabbed the guys arm. He twisted his hand back in a thumb lock and forced the guy onto his knees, only then did he look up to see her.

Andy was pressed to the wall, a look of shock and terror on her face as she watched it all transpire before her in slow motion. When the guys first approached her at the pillar she has walked away. They managed to herd her into the corner and all of a sudden she was stuck. Her instinct to fight out of her corner was dampened down by the investigation she was facing at work. She didn't want to add weight to the accused by getting into a bar fight.

Sam's shock crossed his face almost visibly and the other guy took his chance and swung a punch. The punch landed on Sam's jaw and knocked him back enough that he release the other assailant. But he came back swinging. At this point Andy had regained control and was fighting alongside him.

It was only then that the bouncers noticed the scuffle, and hurried over. They pulled them all apart and dragged the four of them outside. Once on the pavement the two guys brushed off and walked away, leaving Andy and Sam standing in the street, out of breath from the fight and shock combined.

"What are you doing here?" he asked eventually as he dabbed at the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and looked down to see blood stained there.

"Me? What are you doing here?" she bit back.

"I…I don't know…" he admitted with a smirk.

They were silent for a minute each of them staring at each other. Neither of them able to move or talk. She wanted to scream at him, shout, tell him everything that's been going on with her, ask about everything that's been going on with him then the image of him kissing that red head came crashing to the forefront of her mind.

Sam watched the chaos crinkle the features on her face and it was all he could do not to reach out and smooth it away.

"Are you okay?" he asked finally. "Did they hurt you?" he added then hoping she would understand what he meant.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I could have handled those jerks without your help."

Sam laughed humourlessly and it stung her ears. "I'm sure you could have Andy." He brushed off the front of his top, another long sleeved top she noticed, and wiped the corner of his mouth with his thumb to get rid of the blood. "See you around." He started to walk past her to try to get back into the bar. She touched his arm and he stopped, but didn't turn to face her.

"Sam…are you…" Her voice faltered, but her fingers dug into his arm tighter. "How are you?"

For a minute he didn't move or respond and she thought he was going to walk on. Then slowly he turned to face her and she looked up to meet his eyes but saw nothing there but anger.

"I'm fine." He spoke coldly and she let her hand drop off his arm and to her side.

"Okay Sam, I get it." She took a step back.

"You get it?" Again that laugh. "What is it you get Andy? tell me, I'd love to know." He was standing closer to her now, his voice was dripping with something she had never heard from him before.

"I get it, you're mad, you don't want anything to do with me, I'm sorry Sam, I'm sorry it ended like this."

"God Andy! You're so…" he had his hands out in front of him and slowly clenched them into fists. "Infuriating! You drive me mad!"

"Is that why you kissed her?" She couldn't believe the words passed her lips.

"I kissed her because you didn't want me to kiss you." He was standing in front of her, bent down enough to be face to face with her.

"I didn't want you to use me, doesn't mean I didn't want you at all."

A weighted silence fell between them, heavy with what they had just said, but heavier with what they had left unsaid. They stood stock still their breaths mingling his warm on her face, hers warm on his. Neither of them seemed to notice the audience they had.

"Sam?" Fiona stepped out of the club and hurried over towards him but stopped at the bottom of the stairs when she saw what was before her.

She was followed by Gail and Traci who hurried to join her. Traci had no problem interrupting the scene and rushed over to Andy's side

"Andy!" She said finally knocking them both out of their reverie. "Are you ok? The bouncer said you were in a fight?"

"I'm fine." She kept her eye on Sam as he stood up straight and took a step back.

He was the first to look away, braking contact and Andy could swear she heard something snap when he turned his back to her. Fiona closed the short distance between them and hugged him. He took the hug but kept walking, eager to put as much distance between him and Andy as he could.

"What happened in there?" Traci asked again but Andy didn't have the words.

"Sam Swarek is what happened in there," Gail said. She was still watching Sam walk away with the petite redhead tucked under his arm until Traci hailed a cab and they all jumped in to go home.