A/N: Ok, so people started following this story which put pressure on me to keep it going because otherwise you're really just following nothing (don't ever offer me drugs as I clearly have zero resistance). So picking up where we left off. Sam and Andy, like most people in life, have these big revelations in their heads and then when faced with reality seem to kind of taper off these grand schemes. Nevertheless, eventually Niagara will happen.

PS- Yes the format of this story has changed a bit. I kind of like the present tense for small one-shots but since we're expanding a bit here I'm switching over to past tense.

There were certain things in life Sam Swarek never really liked to dwell on. As a cop, it was an excellent skill honed over the years that became a necessity.

(If he was being honest that skill developed long before he stepped foot in the academy. But hey, Sam Swarek didn't dwell on the past)

Of course, Andy would have to ask him to dissect the best night of his life like it was nothing more than asking him to describe an article in today's paper. In a way, he knew what she was asking. He also knew that the days of Andy McNally accepting his sarcastic, non-committal responses were long gone. It was a sixth sense that had developed since his release from the hospital. Their relationship stood on a dangerous precipice and Sam knew if he screwed up again there would be no salvation. In some ways, he missed the days of her easy compliance with his lack of sharing. She had always been careful to step around the subjects he clearly didn't like, wary of his reaction if she pushed too far.

But Andy had grown a lot since he'd left her in that parking lot in tears. His days of keeping a safe distance were long over and he was finding it wasn't something that he hated. A terrifying part of him craved the connection they had once lacked. He wanted her to know him the way she had always let him know her. And didn't that just suck?

It's better than spending the rest of your life without her.

"Detective unless I'm mistaken my job title does not include bringing your paperwork to you whenever you're too lazy to come get it yourself." Traci's affectionate voice carried over to him. She knew damn well laziness wasn't why he was glued to his chair, but she couldn't resist the banter. It was a strange bond she and Sam had developed over the past year or so. Odd that while Jerry had been alive and Sam had been with Andy they had barely interacted outside of the basic exchanges.

"Detective, you have my deepest apologies. Our fearless leader seemed to think I should use this time to be more productive."

The "detective" address to one another had jokingly started not long after Sam had been promoted. Neither would've imagined that this was how they would end up professionally, sitting across from each other in the D's office, just the two of them in their relatively new positions with no Jerry or Andy around.

"I take it she's still in there?"

"Yeah Oliver just called her in about five minutes ago. They're probably going to be awhile." He replied, looking at his partner ruefully.

"Is it bad I kind of want to bust this guy's teeth in with my boot heel?" Nash said, having taken up residence in the seat beside Sam, chin in her hand. Sam looked over from the file in his hand and smirked.

"I think that might make his claims against the department a little worse. However, I happen to still have a few contacts on the street that may be willing to pay him a visit."

Traci laughed and looked at the ground for a minute, fiddling with her necklace. Sam could tell something was on her mind, so he went ahead and asked.

"I'm worried. Duncan's stepfather has major pull and the things he's accusing Andy of…This could get bad, Sam. Not just 'conduct unbecoming' bad." Sam narrowed his eyes on Traci as she continued to fiddle with her necklace.

"And?" he prompted.

"I'm thinking of asking Steve to get involved." She paused and took a deep breath in. "It's not a line I was ever really hoping to cross with him but best case scenario, Andy has a black mark on her record the rest of her career and she's off duty for weeks while under investigation. Worse case, they take her badge and Andy will not survive losing her badge."

Sam had personally experienced Nash's willingness to look out for people she cared about. He wished, like with Charlie, that she didn't have to be involved but he also knew she was right: Andy was up shit creek for no reason and Steve Peck was the best chance they had. Before he could respond the door to the office swung open and Andy walked out, her back ramrod stiff. When Sam found her eyes he could tell she was fighting back tears. He hated that she was going through this. An old feeling of helplessness claimed him and made his stomach clench. In five years he had felt it many times watching Andy go through the growing pains of being an officer but this was far worse than anything that had come before.

Andy continued down the hallway, Sam following behind her into the locker room. He gave her enough space for her to take a minute to herself. She slammed her locker door open and took a deep breath in. Turning her head, she took in the sight of Sam's muscled body leaning against the far wall. He looked so perfect, like everything she had ever needed in this world wrapped in fitted jeans, a burnout t-shirt and black leather jacket. Frustrated, she abandoned the locker and walked over to him. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she pushed him up against the wall and ran her hands down his chest. For someone in the kind of trouble she was in, feeling up a detective in the women's locker room probably wasn't the smartest idea but hey, she had never claimed to be smart when it came to Sam Swarek.

Sam felt the familiar shock go up his spine that never stopped happening when Andy McNally touched her lips to his (or her lips to anywhere on him if he's being honest). All concern of where they were or what they were in the middle of seemed to fly out the window.

(So maybe it's a good thing he hadn't kissed her that first day back as they took cover behind the squad car while Mcrae hailed bullets at them. He had wanted to. Shut her smart mouth up and make sure she knew she belonged to him as much as he always belonged to her. But it was maybe good he hadn't because getting fired for having sex on a bridge in uniform during a shootout was considered a no-no.)

He returned the fervor of her kiss and began pushing her back, snaking his tongue into her mouth so it could stroke hers in a way he planned to stroke other parts of her later. She pulled his jacket down over his shoulders and slid her hands up under his shirt. Sam meanwhile wrapped his right hand at the base of her neck and put enough pressure to keep her fused to him while his left travelled downward to pull her uniform shirt out of her pants. He took the offensive of their little parry and moved them until her back hit the lockers and he could press himself into her more fully. He'd been patient since his Lazarus routine and they agreed to be friends but the second she kissed him all restraint went out the window.

"McNally you in- Seriously are you both gunning for termination at this point?!" Traci's voice threw the proverbial cold water on the two and they separated, reality crashing down roughly.