A/N: Thank you for everybody that read, reviewed, liked or favored this story. Your support really kept me motivated throughout this. This is the end of this story.. I hope you like it.
XX
Within a few weeks Sam and Andy were moving into their new home. Everybody was helping them move their stuff from one place to the other. Andy got all her old furniture out of storage and together with Sam she selected a few things that needed to go.
They also bought a few things together. New curtains, a new couch and a new bed. It really was a new beginning for both of them.
Chris was back from Timmins for a few days and also joined everybody to help with the big move. Together they had it done within the day. Sam ordered pizza for everybody as a thank you for their help.
''Sam Swarek living together with a woman,'' Oliver said as he shook his head. ''If anybody would have told me this five years ago I wouldn't have believed them.''
Sam looked at his friend and raised an eyebrow. ''What?'' he asked. ''I'm so horrible to live with? That's why you were crashing on my couch every time your wife kicked you out?''
''Ex wife,'' Oliver corrected. ''And no, you're not that bad. But admit it.. You saw yourself here five years ago?''
After taking a deep breath Sam looked back and saw Andy sitting on the couch, smiling with her friends. ''Not really, no,'' he admitted. ''Change or die, right?''
''Not unless it's the right change,'' Oliver corrected. ''You tried to change into something else for a while. You saw the light again though.''
''Took us a while,'' Sam softly said. ''But it's in the past now. We can't run anymore.''
''Will be a lot harder now that you're living under the same roof,'' Oliver agreed. ''This looks good on you. Domestic life. Before you know it you'll be picking up the kids from school.''
Sam almost choked on his beer as he shook his head. ''One step at the time, okay?''
Oliver laughed and clapped his friend on the back. ''You'll get there brother, you'll get there.''
A few hours later all of their friends were slowly leaving the house. All the furniture was in place and the walls had a new layer of paint on them. Sam had already painted the bedroom a few days before, so they didn't have to worry about any fumes.
''Happy?'' Sam asked as he joined Andy in the kitchen. She was loading in the dishwasher and looked back at him with a big smile on her face.
''Happy,'' she agreed. ''You?''
''It's not that bad so far,'' Sam teased. ''I mean, you're already doing the chores around here. You don't hear me complaining.''
''Oh just wait,'' Andy shot back. ''You'll be the one doing all the work around the house in no time. I'm going to make you mow the lawn, vacuuming, laundry. And I'll just sit around and get pampered all day long.''
Both of them knew they were kidding. They had already been living together for a few months after all. And of course there had been bickering about what a mess the other made, but those little fights never lasted more than an hour.
They basically had a pretty effective and fair system that worked for them. There were no schedules or actual rules, both just did the things that needed to be done whenever they had time.
''Leave it for now,'' Sam said when Andy grabbed another few plates to put in the dishwasher. ''We've had a long day. We should turn in.''
''You're tired?'' Andy asked. ''So we'll just go right to sleep?'' She continued with a grin on her face.
Sam saw the shimmer in her eyes and grinned. ''Well, we're not totally done with work yet,'' he said. ''I do believe we have a bedroom that has to be christened.''
Andy sighed dramatically and put away the towel that was on her shoulder. ''That is a pretty hard job,'' she said. ''We better get right to it, don't you think?''
''Oh, I totally agree,'' Sam said as he took a step forward and bended his knees a little. He grabbed Andy around the waist and easily lifted her from the ground over his shoulder.
''Not a bad view,'' Andy smiled when she was hanging upside down with her face directed towards Sam's ass. ''I think I'm going to like it here.''
''You better,'' Sam said as he gently lowered her onto the bed. ''I'm not done with you just yet.''
XX
The next morning the alarm clock went off early. Andy groaned and turned over to her stomach. She hid her face in her pillow and slapped Sam's chest once. ''Turn it off,'' she said. ''It's way too early.''
With a yawn Sam pushed on the snooze button. He rolled to his side and pressed a kiss to Andy's temple. ''Stay in bed,'' he said. ''I'll go and pick Sarah up by myself.''
''No,'' Andy protested. ''It's such a long drive and you'll get bored. I'll come with you.''
''It's no big deal,'' Sam argued. ''Around this time I'll be there within an hour and then I'll have Sarah to keep me company. You just stay in bed a little while longer.''
Andy rolled back to her side so she was facing Sam. ''You sure?'' she asked. ''It's totally no problem, I can come with you.''
Sam quickly pressed a kiss to her lips and rolled out of bed. ''Positive,'' he said. ''You know, we should probably spend some time apart every now and then. I'll get bored of you if we won't.''
''Hey,'' Andy said. ''Watch it mister, or you'll be sleeping on that new couch a lot sooner than we would've thought.''
''And then who will warm up your feet?'' Sam laughed. ''But seriously. Just stay in bed for a little while longer. Make sure you have the coffee ready when we come back.''
''You think she's going to be okay?'' Andy wondered.
''She's going to be fine.''
Sam wasn't too sure of that actually, but he needed to believe that Sarah's first visit to Toronto in years would go okay. She hadn't responded that great the last few times that he brought her. The people and noises were just too much for her. At that time she had been at the lowest point of her life though. She really was doing a lot better nowadays.
When Sam and Andy had told her that they were buying a house together, Sarah insisted that she had to do something for her brother and his girlfriend. She and Andy really got along and had actually become friends over the year.
Helping them move was too much to ask. Especially considering the fact that all of their friends were going to be there. Sarah didn't handle groups too well, especially not if she didn't know any of the people there. So she suggested that she'd come up to the city the next day. She wouldn't be able to help them move, but she could help with the decorations.
Sarah had a great eye for detail, so Andy was more than happy to let her help.
Coming to the city by herself wasn't something she was able to do though, so Sam agreed to pick her up. If all went well she would even try to spend the night at their new place.
Sam reached Sarah's house pretty quickly, just as he suspected. He was early enough to beat traffic and knew on what points he could speed a little.
Sarah was already waiting for him, so as soon as she saw his truck she stepped out of her house and locked it securely.
''Hey,'' she said when she reached her big brother. She greeted him with a small hug and a small smile. It was a smile though and Sam was happy about that.
''Hey Sarah,'' Sam responded. ''You got everything you need?''
Sarah lifted her suitcase and handed it to Sam. ''Whatever I forgot I can probably borrow from Andy, right?''
''Of course,'' Sam said. He threw her suitcase in the back of his truck and hopped in the driver's seat. ''We already did a lot of work yesterday. All we need to do now is just decoration, so that's probably something you and Andy should be doing.
''Sure,'' Sarah said. ''You bought any new stuff?''
''Not for decoration,'' Sam answered. ''But Andy has a lot of pictures that she wants to hang up and I think some ugly painting that she thinks is the best thing that ever happened to art.''
''Can't be worse than the thing you bought me once.''
Sam was very surprised by Sarah's comment. Normally she wouldn't be one for teasing or bantering, but it was a good sign. He had had very little faith that she would actually be doing good for longer periods of time, but since she got out of the program she was really doing better.
''That woman at the story told me that it was a classic piece and that it would look good in every home,'' Sam defended his choice in art. ''Besides, it was colorful.''
''It looked like it was made by a first grader,'' Sarah smiled. ''And the woman in the store was supposed to tell you that it's the best painting there is. It would be kind of hard to sell without that.''
''You still have it,'' Sam argued. ''Can't be that bad if it's still hanging in your guest room.''
''It's the meaning that counts,'' Sarah settled for. ''And you did buy it with your first honest made salary.''
Sam smiled when he remembered that day. It was the first time that he got paid for something he actually worked for. When he got the cash he decided that he wanted to buy Sarah something. She had been in a bad place and he wanted to cheer her up.
She loved art, so he went to a store where they sold paintings. Of course he picked out the one that she absolutely hated. She didn't tell him that though, he found out years later that she secretly hated the thing.
Silence filled the truck as Sam drove back to the city. He knew that a lot of people thought that he was crazy, always going back and forward from Toronto to St. Catharine's. He didn't mind though. He loved to drive, it gave him time to clear his mind.
A few moments later he heard Sarah mumble something, but he couldn't make out what she was saying. ''What?'' he asked.
Sarah took a deep breath and looked at Sam. ''I'm sort of seeing someone,'' she said.
''What?'' Sam asked. Sarah never admitted to seeing anyone. Of course Sam knew that she probably had had a few dates over the years. She was almost forty years old and of course she had a life. With Sarah's past and depressions a guy had to be pretty special to hold onto her though. So she had never been in a serious relationship and Sam had always suspected that it would stay that way.
''I'm seeing someone,'' Sarah admitted. ''It's kind of new, but I think this might be going somewhere and I wanted you to know. And I don't want you to go all crazy on him, he's a nice guy and I can take care of myself.''
Sam gripped the steering wheel a little tighter and sat up a little straighter. ''Where did you meet?'' he asked calmly.
Sarah rolled her eyes and looked out of the window. ''I met him at the program,'' she admitted. ''His sister was in my group. We only saw each other once. I saw him again two months ago when we had this sort of reunion thing.''
All Sam could think about was all the ways this could hurt Sarah. All his protective instincts got kicked into overdrive. ''So you're dating him?'' Sam asked.
''We went for coffee a few times,'' Sarah answered. ''And we went out for dinner. It's really not that serious yet, but I think that maybe I could want it to be.''
''What's his name?''
Sarah sighed and leaned back in her seat. ''Sam, you're not going to do a background check on him.''
''What's the harm?'' Sam asked. ''If he's clean, then there's no problem.''
''And what if he's not?'' Sarah wondered. ''It's my life Sam. You have to let me live it.''
''I'm just keeping an eye out for you,'' Sam defended his actions. ''I don't want you to get hurt anymore.''
Sarah closed her eyes and shook her head. ''I know, okay?'' she said. ''I know that my issues have affected your life as well. I know that you've spend more time than you should worrying about me. I know that I'm responsible for the fact that you never let anybody in..''
''Sarah,'' Sam warned.
''I want this to be different,'' Sarah continued with tears in her eyes. ''I see how you are with Andy and I want to at least try to maybe have a glimpse of that happiness. I have to take a shot with him.''
Sarah paused for a moment to take a deep breath. ''I know I can get hurt,'' she continued. ''I know that this can potentially break me, but I kind of feel like this is my only chance of ever getting what you have.''
Sam closed his eyes for a second and then focused on the road again. He didn't say anything for a while, but just looked ahead of him.
A million thoughts ran through his head. If this guy was playing Sarah than he knew that it would break her. It would destroy his sister and it would wreck the little faith she had left in the world.
She deserved to be happy though. And she was right. He had always kept people out of his personal life. He never let anybody know what truly went on inside his head. With Andy he tried though and it had changed him for the better.
''What's he like?'' Sam asked after a while.
Sarah smiled faintly and shrugged. ''He's forty-two. His wife past away six years ago. He has an eight year old daughter. He works at a bank and he's just trying to get on with his life after everything that has happened to him.'''
Sam nodded. ''Did you meet his daughter?''
''No,'' Sarah answered. ''I've seen pictures, but we agreed that it's best not to bring her into this until we're sure that it's serious.''
''And you want it to be?''
''I've been doing so much better Sam,'' Sarah promised. ''This is my chance to actually be happy for once. He makes me feel like I'm worthy of that.''
''You are,'' Sam said after another minute. ''I just want to look out for you, okay?''
''I know,'' Sarah responded. ''That's what you've been doing all your life.'' She waited for a few moments and then sighed. ''His name is Jonathan Spar. You can run him through the system if that will make you feel any better.''
XX
Sarah and Andy spend the day going through the house decorating. They went through every room and after Sarah's comments they even moved a few things because it looked better.
When everything was in place Sarah looked at her brother and his girlfriend and smiled. ''I have something for the finishing touch,'' she told them. ''Stay here.''
She disappeared upstairs and came back a second later with two wrapped items in her hand. She handed one to Sam and one to Andy. ''It's not much, but I liked them.''
''You didn't have to get us anything,'' Andy said. ''I'm already so glad you came down here to help us with this.''
''It's really not much,'' Sarah repeated.
Carefully Andy and Sam unwrapped the two gifts. Andy's gift was a large photo frame with a black and white picture in it. The picture was one that Sarah made herself. It were Sam and Andy's hands tangled together. ''Wow, I love it,'' Andy said. ''Really beautiful.''
Sam's gift was a similar frame, also with a black and white picture in it. In the picture Sam was grinning at Andy while she was laughing into the camera. They both looked completely relaxed and happy in that picture.
''It's great Sarah,'' Sam said. ''I didn't even know you had these.''
''I took them the last time you were at my place,'' she admitted. ''When I saw them I knew that I wanted to give them to you as a gift.''
''I love them,'' Andy said again. She stood up and carefully hugged Sarah. ''Thank you.''
Sam also thanked Sarah and then Andy took both of the pictures in her hand. ''Where should we put them?'' she asked.
''I was thinking that this one goes nicely in the bedroom,'' Sarah answered as she took the picture that Sam had gotten. ''We all know that Sam hates it when there are pictures of him in the living room.'' Sarah smiled at her brother and took the next picture. ''And this could go above the dinner table? I think the frame goes nicely with the lamp that stands there.''
''Sounds great,'' Andy said. She looked at Sam and gave him a small nod. ''That's a nice job for you tomorrow.''
''You see how she treats me?'' Sam complained. ''One day in this house and she's already ordering me around.''
''Shut up,'' Andy said. ''You love me.''
XX
Later that night Sam and Andy were lying in bed. Sarah was in the guestroom. She enjoyed her stay and decided that she could handle one night in the city. It had gotten quite late, so Sam was happy that he didn't have to drive back to St. Catherine's.
''I need to go by the station tomorrow,'' Sam said while he readjusted his pillow.
''Why?'' Andy wondered.
''Just have something I need to check out.''
''Oh no,'' Andy protested. ''You are not going to do a background check on that guy and ruin Sarah's happiness over him. She's really excited about this.''
''She told you?'' Sam asked. He and Sarah didn't talk about the subject after they had gotten to Toronto. Somehow he was surprised that she told Andy, but then it hit him how close the two of them had gotten.
''She did and she's really trying so hard to not be scared about this Sam. She's terrified, but she wants this so much. Can't you just try to be happy for her?''
''I am,'' Sam argued. ''I'd just be a lot happier if I know that he isn't some creep after her money or whatever.''
''What money?'' Andy asked. ''She's an artist, she doesn't make very much Sam. Why is it so hard for you to believe that someone is actually interested in her? Not everybody is out to hurt her. She's a good person, she's funny when she lets her guard down and she's pretty.''
''She has a lot of baggage,'' Sam said. ''People can easily take advantage of that.''
''He's a widower. He probably has a lot of baggage too. And he has an eight year old child to look after. That isn't exactly a piece of cake either. Maybe they're both just lucky to have each other.''
Sam sighed and closed his eyes. ''She already told me that I could do a little background check. If there's nothing incriminating, then great.''
''Sam,'' Andy warned one more time. ''Please just don't ruin this for her, okay? She deserves this so much. And I know that I don't know how bad things have been for her in the past, but maybe I don't need to ever find out. Maybe this really is a new start for her.''
''Why now?'' Sam wondered. ''After all these years, why would she stay stable now?''
''Why wouldn't she?'' Andy shot back. ''She had never been in a program, maybe that gave her the final push to actually being better. Maybe that was just the thing she needed.''
''Maybe,'' Sam agreed. ''I'll just check if he's clean, okay?''
Andy hesitated for a moment but then nodded. ''Okay. As long as Sarah knows what you're doing.''
The next day Andy made breakfast for everybody. After breakfast Sam left towards the station. He didn't tell Sarah what he was going to do, but he didn't have to. She knew it.
''He's just looking out for me, I know that,'' Sarah told Andy after he left. ''Sometimes I feel like I'm being treated as a five year old, but I guess that I gave him enough reason to do so.''
''You're a grown up,'' Andy argued. ''You have the right to make your own decisions.''
''I didn't make the best decisions in the past,'' Sarah mused. ''Wouldn't be here if there weren't some people that looked after me.''
''Thankfully there were,'' Andy said with a sad smile. ''And whenever things get rough, please just remember that there are people that love you.''
''It's hard to remember that when you're in that state of mind,'' Sarah answered. ''All I could feel was that I was a burden. Nothing made sense. Everything hurt. At a time like that you just think that the world is a better place without you in it.''
''It's not,'' Andy told her. ''The world needs people like you too. And I know that I didn't know you back then, but I know you now and I'm really glad that I do.''
''Thank you Andy. I'm glad Sam found you.'' Sarah looked at the ground and then looked at Andy again. ''I know that I've cost him a lot of pain.''
''You didn't do it on purpose,'' Andy defended Sarah. ''Besides, it's kind of who Sam is. He always blames himself for the things he has no control over.''
''He's a good guy,'' Sarah stated.
''He is.''
XX
That night Sam came back from St. Catherine's after dropping Sarah off. Andy had already put dinner in the oven and was vacuuming when he walked inside.
''Hey,'' he said as he leaned in for a kiss. ''What smells so good?''
''A recipe that Sarah gave me,'' Andy answered. ''She told me that you liked it so I decided to try it out. Not sure that it's exactly what she told me, but we'll give it a try.''
''Smells delicious,'' Sam said. He sat down on the couch and yawned. ''Looks like we're really settled, huh?''
''Looks like it,'' Andy agreed. ''We have to do a few little things, but everything has a place and I think it's really us. We do really have to do something with the garden though.''
''We should probably wait with that until spring,'' Sam reasoned. ''It will be too cold to spend any time there anyway. For now everything is fine.''
''It is,'' Andy agreed. ''It's really great. Sarah got home okay?''
''She did,'' Sam answered. ''Told me she had a good time and she's willing to come to Toronto more often.''
''You see,'' Andy said with a smile. ''Everything is working out. Sarah is doing good, Oliver is moving on, Traci is happy again, Chloe and Dov are kind of in a weird place, but I guess that's to be expected with the two of them.. And we're doing better than ever too. Everybody's happy.''
''Seems like it,'' Sam agreed.
Andy smiled at Sam and took his hand in hers. ''You didn't find out anything bad about that guy Sarah is seeing, right?''
''Speeding ticket from five years ago, parking ticket from last year and one bar fight when he was nineteen,'' Sam answered.
Andy shook her head and let out a chuckle. ''Well, you're definitely thorough. Eased your mind a little bit?''
''I'm probably still going to worry about her,'' Sam answered. ''But I don't have any reason to assume that he has a hidden agenda.''
''There's a good chance that he's just trying to find happiness too.''
Sam sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. ''I know. I know that, but you have to admit that it's strange to ask someone out that you met at a program.''
''Why is it weird?'' Andy wondered. ''We all have issues. I have issues, you have issues too. It doesn't make me love you any less. You just try to deal with things together and try to make things work every single day. Some days are harder than others, but at the end of the day you have to believe that you're doing the right thing.''
A small smile formed on Sam's lips as he listened to Andy's speech. ''When did you become so smart?'' he asked.
''I was trained by the best,'' Andy answered. She wrapped her arms around Sam's neck and kissed him gently. ''Who would've thought that we would be here two years ago? Probably nobody, right? But we found our way back to each other and now we proved everybody wrong. Sarah can do the same. Try to have some faith in that.''
With a sigh Sam nodded. ''I'll try,'' he promised.
''I get that you worry,'' Andy continued. ''There's no harm in worrying. Just as long as she knows that you have faith in her.''
''I do,'' Sam said. ''It will be alright.''
''Exactly.'' Andy kissed Sam's cheek and let go of him. ''Wanna eat on the couch?''
''Sure,'' Sam said. He helped Andy get the food out of the oven and placed it on two plates. They walked back into the living room and dropped down on the couch. They ate their dinner while making small talk.
After dinner Andy did the dishes and Sam watched the news. When Andy was done she laid down on the couch with her head in Sam's lap. Sam tangled his hands in her hair and gently massaged her scalp.
''I like it when you do that,'' Andy told him after a few moments. ''You're good at that.''
Sam hummed and continued to work his way over her scalp.
''I could stay like this forever,'' Andy said. ''Our own place, just the two of us.''
''It's nice,'' Sam agreed. He let out a yawn and put his hand on Andy's stomach. ''Want to turn in?'' he asked.
Andy stretched out and nodded. ''Yeah. Why don't you go upstairs while I lock up?''
Ten minutes later they were snuggled against each other in bed. ''This bed was the best decision ever,'' Andy commented when she was comfortable. ''I've never slept in a better bed.''
''It's pretty comfy,'' Sam agreed. He kissed the top of Andy's head and looked at her while her eyes slowly closed. Soon her breathing evened out.
A smile overtook his face as he watched her drift off into a peaceful sleep.
This was his life and he couldn't wish for anything better.
XX
A/N: The ending might be a little abrupt, but I had a lot of trouble finding a good place to stop.
Thanks again for reading this! I'll finish 'Miracle' and after that I don't know what I'll come up with. I'm kind of out of ideas for multi chapters, so it might take a while..
Please review.