Sorry for the long delay, but I'm really hoping to get back to posting a little more regularly. I have some new ideas for stories but promised myself I would also work on finishing up my last two. I really hope you can remember the story.

This was meant to be the final chapter but it started getting too long and these were supposed to be short quick chapters. Yeah...not so much this time. Also, I didn't want to end on a serious note as the story was meant to be light and fun as well. So I'm thinking I may do one more after this one. Hope you like it.

As always, thanks to SairsJ for giving this the once over.

Breaking Don

Chris grabbed the papers, took the guy from the cell and slipped out past Sam who was holding open the door. He looked back at Andy and smirked, tilting his head subtly towards Sam. "Good luck with that."

Chris chuckled to himself. "With what?" he had heard Sam say before the door closed completely.

"Good luck with what?" Sam repeated even more curious when the blush started to darken Andy's cheeks.

"Keeping it out of the station," she mumbled self-consciously.

He furrowed his brow. "It?" He put two and two together pretty fast though and started to nod. "Ah...so I guess this little visit of mine is throwing a wrench into your plans. What's the matter McNally," he started as he walked, well stalked, towards her.

The blush in her cheeks deepened as she tried to hold back the grin. She knew that look and she began wheeling her chair backwards. "Sam."

"You worried you can't keep your hands to yourself?" he challenged as he continued to close the gap between them.

She shook her head, more in an attempt to discourage his actions than to answer his question. "You can't..."

He flopped down into the seat beside her. "Can't what? Can't come to see whether or not we're going to the Penny after work?"

Her mouth dropped open in surprise.

"Why? What did you think I came to do?"

A nervous laugh escaped her lips. She knew they couldn't, shouldn't, but that didn't stop her from wanting to maybe...

Sam was barely able to hold back the smirk. "You're looking a little torn there McNally. Were you really worried about pushing our luck or just hoping to get lucky?"

Andy was shaking her head again; her face was completely red but she couldn't keep the smile off her face. "You are not helping."

Sam's full smile finally broke free, dimples let loose in celebration. Andy turned her head and looked away not wanting him to see the effect they had on her. But the flush of red on the back of her neck told him that he was doing exactly what he wanted to do. And if he played his cards right, they would not be going anywhere near the Penny tonight.

Dov and Jerry jerked away from their files when they heard Frank's phone hitting the console. Their eyes widened when he looked directly into the D's office, his narrowed when he didn't see the third body.

They knew they were in trouble when he got up and made a move straight for them. He didn't even get fully into the room before the words were on his lips, "Where's Swarek?"

Dov and Jerry exchanged a look, each hoping the other had a plan. "Um...he's uh..."

Best looked quickly between the two of them. "Booking?"

They both nodded in resignation as he turned on his heel. He didn't even register their argument as he left. "You couldn't think of anything?" "I didn't hear you jumping in either."

Frank's mood was already darkened by the phone call and he was in no mood for a rehash of the conduct unbecoming seminar; he couldn't believe they hadn't learned their lesson. Sam was his friend but he was really putting him in a tough place.

He flipped open the door quickly expecting the two to jump apart but he was pleasantly surprised to see they were simply talking.

They both looked up at the movement, eyes widening when they realized it wasn't Oliver or Chris.

Frank wasn't going to let Sam off the hook though. "Imagine my surprise when I look for you in the D's office and you're nowhere to be found. What are you doing here Sam?"

Sam furrowed his brow; he knew he probably shouldn't have been there but they weren't doing anything wrong. "Diaz had to take someone to holding so I was just..."

"I thought I paired her with Oliver," he challenged.

"Oliver's uh..."

Did they really think he wouldn't know? If he could tell where Swarek was, it certainly didn't take a rocket scientist to know where Shaw would be. "When he's done with his sandwich or whatever he went to get, I'd like to see you two before you leave."

"Oo-kay," Sam answered tentatively, exchanging a look of concern with Andy.

Frank had just reached for the door when Oliver strode in. He took in the look on Frank's face before shifting his gaze to witness a silent conversation going on between Sam and Andy. This couldn't be good.

"Good!" At Frank's voice, Oliver's gaze shot back to his boss. "You need someone, you pull in Epstein. Let's go you two."

Sam and Andy stood up and he motioned for her to lead the way.

Oliver stood rooted to the spot as first Frank and then Andy moved out into the hall. Before Sam could exit the room though, Shaw grabbed his arm and hissed out under his breath, "He didn't catch you guys in flagrante or anything?"

Sam grimaced at his friend. "What? No! Give us a little credit."

Oliver looked just as stunned. "What? It has been three weeks."

Sam tilted his head in disbelief. "Seriously? You do remember I went eight months undercover..."

"And you never..."

Sam's face was still contorted in confusion, anger, shock. "With who?"

He pulled his arm from Oliver's grasp and exited the room shaking his head before quickening his steps to try and catch up to Andy and Frank.

He hadn't quite reached the duo when he saw Chris barrel around the corner grabbing Andy by the arm. "He didn't catch you...you know?" He whispered anxiously.

"Ew."

She looked up to see that Sam had just joined them. "Not you. I mean that's not ew. I mean, I like it when..."

Sam's dimples dug into his cheeks as he fought to keep the laugh at bay. Andy slapped Chris on the arm as the blush heated up her face. "Thanks a lot. It was booking Chris. Give us a little credit."

Chris didn't get a chance to respond before Frank ran out of patience. "Diaz don't you have work to do?"

"Yes Sir," Chris agreed before rushing off to find Traci.

"Have a seat," Frank instructed, ushering Sam and Andy into his office and shutting the door quickly behind them.

"Frank," Sam started but stopped when he was met with his boss' hand.

Frank walked over and closed the blinds. The number of eyes that dropped to their desks as soon as he looked out did not go unnoticed; the blinds were definitely the right idea.

He sat down behind his desk and blew out a long breath.

"Is something wrong Boss?"

Frank looked torn; it wasn't the worst news but he just hoped that Sam and Andy saw it that way as well. "I'm not sure if you know this, but Detective Boyd had also been suspended for the last three weeks..."

"Three weeks!" Sam interrupted. "Are you kidding me? That's bulls..."

Frank held up his hand again. "Let me finish."

Sam nodded curtly before allowing him to continue. "He was suspended for the three weeks while an investigation took place. He met with the tribunal this morning and he was informed that he would not be reinstated." He met Sam's eye. "He was told he wouldn't be getting his badge back."

Sam and Andy exchanged a look of satisfaction but it was short lived.

"He's fighting it."

Sam and Andy walked out of Frank's office a few minutes later still a little shell shocked. "What do you think?"

Sam pursed his lips and shook his head slowly. "I don't think he has a leg to stand on."

Andy chuckled humorlessly. "I doubt that's ever stopped him before."

"Probably not. But, whatever, that's his problem."

"You don't think he's going to drag you back into this do you?"

Sam shrugged, "Not if he knows what's good for him."

"I just don't want..."

"Andy, I'm not going to let him get to me okay. I'm done with him. Come on. We're back and that's all that matters; let's not let Boyd ruin it. Now what do you say?" He gave a quick tilt of his head and lowered his voice. "Let me take you home?"

Andy couldn't help the grin. She felt like she couldn't say yes the last time he made that specific offer but right now she wanted nothing more. It didn't matter what everyone would think; in fact, it didn't even cross her mind. She started to close the distance between them before she clued in to where she was. She pulled back. "Meet you at the truck in ten?"

"I can be there in five," he countered with a waggle of his eyebrows.

He was still smiling as he heard her laughter echo into the locker room. And the smile only faded because he was almost run over by Chris and Dov. "It's up to you!" They yelled back.

"Were they talking to me?" Sam queried when he came face to face with Oliver.

"Uh..."

Chris and Dov barreled out into the hallway with a "Go, go!"

Traci ducked in behind Andy with Gail trailing behind. Andy was already half dressed with a huge smile on her face. "You weren't going to leave without us were you?"

Andy looked a little sheepish. "I, uh... first day back you know, guess I'm just a little tired."

"You're moving pretty fast for someone who claims she's tired," Gail noted dryly.

"Just want to get home..."

"And get to bed, yeah, we get it," Traci teased.

Andy hid her face behind her locker door, trying to conceal the deep red hue that had taken it over.

"Did you know that your neck turns red when you blush?" Gail wondered aloud.

Andy closed her locker with a little more force than was necessary, unable to hide her frustration. "As much as I'd love to continue this conversation, I have..."

"Plans, yep we get it. Better get a move on then," Traci rushed practically pushing her out the door.

Andy furrowed her brow in confusion but allowed her friend to lead her out. They were quickly joined by Chris and Dov and Andy found herself engulfed in the middle of the group. She continued to alternate her gaze amongst all her friends as they exited the building. It wasn't until she realized that they were leading her in the opposite direction of Sam's truck that she started to worry.

She reached out her arm to point in the other direction. "Guys, I'm supposed to..."

"Celebrate," Traci agreed, adding "with us... at the Penny."

"No, I..."

"You what? Don't want to celebrate with your friends?" Traci taunted.

Andy let out a long resigned breath. "Can I at least go let him know that I'm being taken against my will?"

"No way!" Traci refuted. "Send him a text. Better yet, I will."

Sam was still grumbling when he made his way out of his truck in the Penny parking lot. Oliver had abandoned him the second the text came through.

Sam was so lost in his thoughts of where he should have been that he didn't notice the figure until it pushed off the side of the fence.

"How's the straightjacket Sammy?"

Sam didn't even look over; he just kept walking towards the entrance. "Pretty sure I'm not the one that's in a bind here."

"Come on Sammy," he challenged. "Hear me out. You owe me at least that."

That definitely stopped Sam in his tracks as he spun on his heel to level the full force of his glare at the man who had almost cost him his life. "I owe you?" Sam yelled. "You just about got me killed."

Boyd stepped around to face Sam. "Come on buddy, you know that was just a misunderstanding; I never meant for that to happen," he pleaded. "What about all the other times I had your back? And who was the one that called you for all those UC jobs? You were my go to guy... still could be."

Sam huffed out a single chuckle. "You expect me to believe that was for my benefit? You only did that because I made you look good. I'm the best you got."

"Were, Sammy," Boyd disputed. "You were the best, but you let that rookie mess with your head. After your screw up..." he smirked back at Sam, "literally... no one's going to want to put you under."

Sam just stared through him.

It didn't take long for the silence to get to Boyd. "But you know if I was still..."

Sam's chin dropped as his eyebrows shot up in surprise. "That's how you're going to play this?"

Well, that was how he was going to play it but clearly it wasn't going to work. "Why so grumpy, Sammy? Honeymoon over already?"

"What are you talking about?"

"McNally. She blew your second undercover... and who knows what else," he sneered under his breath. "Then what? Missed the excitement of sneaking around and kicked you to the curb? I already saw her run in there laughing with her friends. She tired of you already?"

Sam's jaw clenched along with his hands, both trying to hold back what they wanted to level at Boyd. The man was playing with fire.

"You can admit it you know," he pressed. "You must have doubts. How do you know it was the boat and not her? How do you know he didn't make McNally first and the boat was just..."

Sam opened his mouth to respond but didn't get the chance. "He didn't make me," she asserted.

Boyd turned around to see the door of the Penny close behind Andy. He tilted his head in doubt. "And what makes you so sure?"

Andy shrugged her shoulders. "I'm here."

"What the f..."

"She's..." Sam started to agree with Andy but she didn't give him a chance to finish.

"I'm an easier mark than Sam; if he made me, he could have easily taken me and just dumped me as soon as he picked me up outside JD's apartment."

Both Andy and Boyd missed the pained look that crossed Sam's face; he had spent three weeks trying to forget about all the different scenarios where either he or Andy could have become another fatal statistic on Brennan's rap sheet. That one had played prominently in his mind when he found out about it on the truck ride home the night he was rescued.

Boyd wasn't convinced. "Maybe he didn't want to hurt a woman; plus he knew he could get to Swarek. Probably thought he knew more anyway."

Andy was shaking her head doubtfully. Trust Boyd to think that a woman would be of less use than a man. "If he made me, wouldn't he worry that I would call and warn Sam?"

Sam opened his mouth to agree but she was on a roll. "And you know he's not that moral. He killed that security guard, single mother, two kids; that ring any bells? Pretty sure he wouldn't have had any trouble leaving me at Cherry Beach."

"You're just trying to ease your guilty conscience."

Andy laughed though there was little humor in the sound. "My guilty conscience? Give me a break, Boyd. It was that crappy cover story of yours and you know it."

She took a step forward into Boyd's personal space but it was the look in her eyes that had him taking a step back. "Tell me, were you hoping to get Sam made? Did you think it would force Brennan to get back to his old ways?"

Sam was shocked; that hadn't even occurred to him.

Boyd looked away from her to gauge Sam's reaction, noting first the surprise and then the suspicion. "Come on Sammy, you know I would never..." he stuttered.

Sam just shook his head. "I don't know anything about you anymore."

Boyd was quick to defend himself. "Hey, I'm not the only one that works on these things you know. I have people who build the covers."

"So, what?" Andy queried. "You don't double check them?"

"Well, usually..."

She didn't let him finish. "I know; you have people who do that for you."

Boyd opened his mouth before Andy shut him down again. "But I don't care if that's not your job." She pressed her finger into his chest. "You damn well need to make sure it happens."

Boyd was stammering trying to regain the upper hand. "The op got bumped up; you know that." He looked over at Sam for backup but he realized quickly that it wouldn't be coming. "I was supposed to have three weeks..."

Andy threw her hands in the air. "You know what, whatever... I will never forgive you for what you put Sam through, but I'm not the one you need to worry about. You covered up a murder. They charge you yet?"

"Deals are made all the time, sweetheart."

Andy cringed at the derisive endearment. "Wasn't your call to make," she disputed.

Sam was busy watching the back and forth and his pride in Andy was written all over his face. Pride wasn't the only thing he was feeling though and not for the first time that night, he was thinking about getting her home as soon as possible.

Boyd glanced over at the look of contentment on Sam's face; he seemed more than happy to let Andy fight his battle. "I guess we know who wears the pants in this relationship," he sneered.

Andy couldn't believe his nerve and was already lifting her chin in defiance. "We're a team, Boyd; not that you'd know anything about that. Sometimes I wear the pants, sometimes he does, sometimes it's neither of us but it..."

Sam's jaw dropped open and a choked off breath of surprise escaped effectively ending Andy's tirade and causing her to quickly replay the words back to herself. Her chin dropped to her chest.

It was the kind of classic McNally that had Sam's dimples fighting a losing battle... until Sam's gaze drifted over to Boyd. And the dimples were gone... clearly Sam wasn't the only one with a good imagination.

"If the next word out of your mouth is not goodbye, you'll probably want to reconsider."

Boyd had seen that look before; Sam usually reserved it for those clinging to the lowest rung of the dirt bag food chain and Boyd knew that now was not the time. "This isn't over," he promised.

"It is for me," Sam vowed before placing his hand on the small of Andy's back. "Let's go McNally."

"I mean it Swarek."

Sam didn't even bother to look back. "Yeah, yeah, see you in court."

As soon as Boyd walked away, Andy blew out a long breath, her face finally returning to its normal color. "Thanks."

"Hey, I should be thanking you."

"Sa-am."

"Have I ever told you how sexy you are when you're defending my honor?"

Andy was shaking her head and trying to hold back the grin, when Sam leaned in even closer and lowered his voice. "Could this be one of those times when neither of us..."

Andy's laugh was cut short when the door to the Penny swung open and startled her. Oliver looked just as surprised to see them before a smile broke out on his face and he leaned back into the bar yelling, "yeah, yeah, keep your pants on; they're right here."