A/N: Sorry this is later than sooner. I am so stressed because of school and all that it's hard to find inspiration to write. Let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

Chapter 6: Day 17

Sam glanced at his phone for the seventh time in the past three minutes.

Still nothing.

Oliver had promised to text him when Andy had gotten her next package. It was supposed to happen at 11. It was 11:09. Where was he?

"Uncle Sammy!" a little voice shouted from across the room, and he turned to see Alice standing in the doorway, hands planted on her hips, an exasperated scowl covering her face. "You promised to play horsey with me an' Livy!" She marched across the room and grabbed his arm insistently. "Come on! It's my birthday, 'member?"

Sam chuckled as he tossed Alice high in the air, eliciting a high-pitched squeal and peals of laughter from the little girl. He settled his niece on his hip as they went in search of Olivia. "I remember, I remember!" he growled playfully, tickling her sides mercilessly.

"Uncle Sammy! Uncle Sammy! St-stop!" she pled, gasping for breaths between her laughter.

Sam snorted but stopped, content to hug her tighter. He loved the way it felt to hold such a perfect, happy, squealing, wiggling little soul. If he was honest with himself, he wanted a miniature Alice of his own one day. Between visits to Sarah and her girls, he forgot how much he truly loved this. "You're the one who asked for it," he teased.

She humphed at him, crossed her little arms over her chest, and scowled at him. "I did not!"

Sam smirked to himself. Okay, so he definitely wanted a miniature Alice of his own.

"Unc' Sammy!" Liv cried from her seat in the playroom, stretching her arms out to him, and Sam grinned.

If he was going to have to wait a while for Oliver's text, at least he had two really good distractions.

"I know, Trace! I'm headed out the door right now. I'll be there in a few minutes!"

Andy jogged down the front steps to her house, shrugging into her coat and digging in her pocket for the keys to her dad's car. Traci had called in a panic at midnight the night before. Apparently Jerry had come home late after working a case and sprung his two-year anniversary surprise on Traci. He had reservations at the most exclusive, romantic Italian restaurant in town, and Traci had nothing to wear. She was freaking out.

Andy rolled her eyes when Traci complained that they were running out of time. "Relax, Trace! The reservation's for eight o'clock, and it's only 11 now! I'm on my w—" She groaned as she ran straight into the man who was walking up her sidewalk. She looked up, prepared to apologize, when she realized who it was. "Oliver!" she said. "Trace, I'll be right there. I have to take care of something real fast. I'll see you in a few minutes." She closed her phone and looked back up at Oliver. "What are you doing here?"

His eyes twinkled as he held out an envelope to her. "From Sam."

She grinned as she accepted the letter from him. A letter from Sam made her whole day better.

Oliver smirked at her lovesick smile. "Sam wanted you to have something while he was at Sarah's," he said, figuring she would appreciate the explanation.

"He's still there?" she asked, tucking the letter into her coat pocket.

"Yeah. Until Friday sometime. Sarah convinced him to stay so they could celebrate his birthday, too." He frowned as she hid the letter from view. "Aren't you going to read his letter?"

"Later," she said, and Oliver smirked at the way she pouted a little at the idea. "Traci's having a meltdown. I don't think she'd last if I stopped to read the letter."

"Aw, come on," he cajoled, flashing his best charmer grin. "What if there's something urgent in there? You're still not allowed to contact Sam. But I could do it for you…"

So Oliver's grin was nowhere near as convincing as Sam's dimples… but apparently, it still had power over her. Besides, she loved that Oliver was willing to send a message to Sam for her.

She sighed and pulled the letter back out of her pocket, sinking down onto one of the front porch steps.

Hey, baby.

I miss you. Still. I wish you were here. I've only been here a day, but I already miss you like crazy. At least when I was in Toronto I felt like you were near, like I could drive by your house and know that you were in there, and that some day soon, we'd be together again. All day I keep thinking that I can't wait until I get home near the end of the week, because then I would be all the closer to being able to be with you again. Sarah roped me into staying at least until Friday night. She insists that I have to spend my birthday with somebody. That means it'll be only eight more days until I can see you when I get home! Eight days. I can't believe it. I wish I could have spent the time with you instead of all by myself.

At least Alice and Liv are a welcome distraction. You should see them, Andy… you'd fall head-over-heels in love with them. They're so silly and beautiful and happy… I think I spent four hours playing hide-and-seek with them this afternoon. They always hide in the same places and think they're so clever when I find them… after looking every place that they're not.

Babe, you should have seen your face on Sunday when you tried to drop off that package. It was priceless. I don't think I've ever seen you so mortified in my whole life! I was in the kitchen, so I heard when you put the letter through the mail slot in my door. I couldn't believe you would actually drop off the package when I was clearly home, but all I could think of was seeing you again. I thought I'd wave at you through the window, or just watch you as you dropped the package off. I hadn't seen you in forever, and just seeing you took my breath away. But then I was opening the door and I don't know where that harebrained idea came from. All I wanted to do was pull you inside and never let you go. It didn't even feel real. But then you threw that box at me and you were gone, and I was alone again. I have never felt so alone in my life. I didn't even get to say hi. After all these long, boring, lonely days, I get to see you and I can't even say hi.

Will you go to dinner with me? The night our suspensions are over? I already have a plan. You'll like it. But it's a surprise. I know how much you just love those. :)

I would write more—there's so much I want to tell you!—but Sarah already suspects something, and if I fuel her whole romantics-take-on-the-world mentality, she'll probably tie Best up with heart ribbons and drag me all the way to see you. Much as I would love that, baby, I just can't take this from you. I know how much you love being a copper. You should hear the crap she comes up with, though. I'm pretty sure you'd be laughing harder than I am! This morning she suggested we go have a picnic on your front porch, so when you come out to get your mail or run errands or whatever, you'll see me and will have no choice but to have your way with me. haha. Maybe I should let her sink her romance into Best. If she spouts heart-shaped rainbows and happily-ever-after and just enough chick flicks then maybe she'd get him to end our suspensions. :)

I'll be home sometime Friday night, baby. Probably really late. I don't know why it would matter, since we're not allowed to see each other, anyway, but I figure you won't stop worrying until I get home, so that's the plan.

Love,

Sam

P. S. Be nice to Ollie. I'm pretty sure he considers it torture that he has to bring you the letter, anyway. :)

P. P. S. Thirteen days!

Andy was just finishing reading the letter and starting to fold it back up so she could go meet Traci. Usually his letters made her feel happier, like he was actually there with her, that she could make it through to the end of the month. Now, she just felt lonely. She missed Sam—a lot—and she didn't want Oliver to be around when she started crying.

And she was pretty sure she was going to.

She was starting to push herself to her feet so she could go meet Traci when she felt Oliver nudge her arm and tug her back down next to him. "Hey, McNally, check it out!" he said, motioning toward the sky.

She frowned at Oliver, but followed his finger up into the sky. There was an airplane, flying in precarious directions, and then she noticed it was writing something in the bright blue winter sky.

It took a little while, but when the airplane finished and flew off into the horizon, the sky was branded with five words that took her breath away.

Baby, you are my world.

And then she really did cry. Big crocodile tears filled her eyes, and her sobs shook her frame. She covered her face in shame. Oliver had always been nice to her (well, except for her first day as a rookie), but she didn't want him to see her like this. She wanted Sam. She wanted to hide in his arms, and she never wanted to leave him, ever again.

She felt Oliver's hands on her forearms, gently pulling her hands from in front of her face. "Hey, Andy… c'mon. It's only thirteen days still. Not even two weeks." He pulled her into an awkward hug, and she clung to him and buried her face in the rough material of his jacket.

He reached up to rub her back, not feeling very comfortable with the situation, but he figured Sam would kill him if he left Andy like this.

"It's not fair," she finally cried, her voice muffled by his jacket. "All I want is to be with Sam, but I can't be. I never would have done anything that dumb if Boyd hadn't taken Sam away in the first place…"

"I know, I know," he said, and she couldn't help but notice how good he was at comforting people. No wonder he was such a good husband and dad.

"I miss him," she sobbed again, and Oliver held her a little tighter. What had Sam put in that letter?

Sam was taking turns spinning Alice and Liv around in circles in their playroom when his cell phone vibrated on the floor. His heart jolted in his throat, and he lowered Alice to the ground gently.

"Aw, Uncle Sam!" she complained, and he reached out and kissed her forehead.

"Sorry, baby," he said with an apologetic smile. "I'm expecting a really important message."

"Really important?" she asked, studying him seriously, and she squatted down next to him, watching as he opened the new text message. "Who's it from?"

He smirked at her as he saw there, only a few inches from him, resting on her haunches, her arms resting on her knees, as she studied him innocently. He ruffled her hair playfully. "Just a friend, baby."

She scrunched her nose up at him. "Uncle Sam, why do you call me that?"

"What, baby?"

She nodded. "Yeah, that."

He smirked again. "Because when a guy really cares about a girl, he calls her that, like you and me."

"Like Mommy and Daddy, too?"

"Yep. Just like that."

"Well… Daddy doesn't call Mommy that," Alice said, frowning at him pointedly.

"Well, he calls her something else," he said, trying not to sigh. He loved Alice, really, but he wanted to know how Andy had reacted to her surprise. "Why don't you go ask your mommy what your daddy calls her?"

She grinned at him and scampered off, yelling, "Mommy! Mommy!" down the hall. Sam smirked and returned to his text message.

Brother, WHAT did you put in that letter? Andy's bawling her eyes out!

Sam blanched. Andy was crying? Why was she crying? Sitting in the middle of the girls' playroom, he cursed his stupid suspension under his breath. His first instinct was to storm all the way up to Andy's house, but he knew it would do no good. Oliver wouldn't let him see her, not while they were both supposed to be as far away from each other as possible.

Nothing! he texted back quickly, his frustration mounting. Just that I missed her, and stuff about Sarah. That's it!

A few seconds later, a reply came. Well, she's freaking out. She just keeps saying over and over, "I miss him, I miss him…" Brother, I don't know what to do here…

Sam closed his eyes for a moment against the pain. He hated feeling so helpless, and all he wanted to do was to take away her pain. If he could just be there, with her, they wouldn't have this problem.

Tell her I'm miserable without her, too. That I'd hold her if I could. That all I want is to take away all her pain. Give her a kiss for me.

Okay, so he wasn't sure what prompted him to say all that to Oliver—there was no way he would ever live any of this down—but the thought of not being able to do anything for Andy was killing him.

When Oliver received the next text message, he slowly pulled away from Andy, holding her at arm's length. He watched as she dried her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket and he handed her his phone, saying gently, "Here. I think you should read this."

She took it from him and sniffed quietly, trying to focus on the words. "What is it?"

He nudged her shoulder with his own. "It's a text from Sam. Just read it."

Tell her I'm miserable without her, too. That I'd hold her if I could. That all I want is to take away all her pain. Give her a kiss for me.

Fresh tears filled her eyes. That was the Sam she loved.

She glanced up at Oliver, smiling a little shyly. "Can you… can you tell him I'm going to be okay? I just… miss him a lot, and it's been hard lately, but I'll be okay. … Tell him to save his kisses until he can give them in person," she said, blushing.

Oliver smirked as he began typing into his phone. Yeah, he thought. Because that wouldn't drive Sam crazy at all.

A/N: I love Oliver, lol, and I wanted to get him into this story somehow. Let me know what you think! I have another big project due in about a week, so there probably won't be an update until at least around Thanksgiving. I'll try and update before, but I can't make any promises. :*(