Author's Note:

Thanks again to all who review. I think this is going to be the end, unless some unexpected brainstorm hits. Enjoy!

Chapter 5: The Gossip Mill Fallout

Andy had just changed into one of Sam's T-shirts and snuggled into one of the guest beds when her iPhone rang.

Her puzzled frown turned into a chuckle when she saw Sam's name on the screen.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Do you miss me yet?" he asked.

"Yes. Have you changed you mind or something?" she asked with a smile.

"No, I just wanted to hear your voice one more time," he replied.

Andy chuckled, "Are you sure this isn't a booty call?" she teased.

"I'm not drunk enough for that, and you can't break me that easily, McNally," he teased back. "What you're doing up there?" Sam asked.

"I just crawled into your nice, comfy guest bed. What do you think I'm doing?" she rolled her eyes.

"Can I make another sushi joke yet?" he asked.

Andy choked out a scandalized laugh, "Did you just ask me if I'm masturbating? What happened to that romantic guy I just spent the evening with? I guess I gave you too much credit when I said I wasn't sure it would last a week," she joked.

"Having a romantic side doesn't mean turning into a choir boy, McNally. Anyway, you're the one who said that's what my dreams revolve around. You can't blame a guy for trying to summon a little inspiration to kick off a good night's sleep," he countered.

She chuckled, "I think you're on your own there."

Sam gave an exaggerated sigh, "Ah well. Fortunately, I have a vivid imagination when it comes to you. Sleep well, gorgeous," he said softly.

"Sleep well, handsome," she murmured with a smile. "Thank you for tonight," she added.

~~~~~~0~~~~~~

Sam woke the next morning to the smell of coffee and bacon. He threw on a pair of sweatpants and wandered sleepily toward the kitchen. He leaned on the entrance and watched her humming happily to herself as she puttered around in his t-shirt trying to find everything she needed. He could definitely get used to waking up to this.

She sensed his presence, and looked over with a dazzling smile.

"You're up early," Sam said returning the smile. "You didn't have trouble sleeping, did you? Was the bed OK?" he added, the smile wavering momentarily.

"Everything was perfect, Sam. I was just happy and eager to get up. I wanted to do something nice for you this morning. That's all. Does a garden omelet sound good? I'm not great at fixing the fried ones," she said crinkling her nose.

"I love omelets, and I'll file a mental note that you're not fond of fried eggs," he smiled. "You didn't have to do this, you know. Given the way you usually come scrambling into Parade at the last minute, I know you're not usually such a morning person."

She shrugged, "Waking up here could change that. I feel like I'm at a Bed and Breakfast, or something," she said giddily.

"A Bed and Breakfast with a chef that looks like you do right now would make a fortune. I'd quit the force and play innkeeper with you right now if earning an income didn't require having pesky guests around," he chuckled along with her.

"If you're this perky after a sleepover, I can't wait to see what a night of proper lovemaking does for you," he added, relishing his ability to make her blush.

The knife she was using dropped from her nerveless fingers with a loud clatter.

Sam laughed, "I don't think we'd pass a health inspection if you nearly chop off a finger every time I make a comment about how sexy you are. Because it's a thought that crosses my mind pretty much every time I look at you."

"OK, now you might have to finish off this chopping while I watch the bacon. I'm definitely too flustered to continue," she shook her head at how easily he made her go all quivery inside.

"You got it," he agreed, pulling her in for a quick kiss first.

Andy held onto his arm as he pulled back and was about to scoot her away from the cutting board, "I don't know why you waited for me. I don't deserve you," she said huskily.

"Hey, don't ever say that again," he said adamantly. "This is exactly the kind of second guessing I was talking about. It's why I want to take things slowly at first," he added, pulling her back in for a long bear hug. "You should know by now that I never do anything I don't want to do. Trust me, you deserve to be loved more than anyone I know. Just like there's no one I'd rather have watching my back on the job, there's no one else I want by my side for everything else. You're it for me, OK?"

~~~~~0~~~~~

"We have some time before we need to get ready to leave for work. Should we check twitter to see what the fallout was after we ducked out of the Penny last night?" Sam asked after they finished breakfast.

Andy looked at him in surprise, "You really want to check the twitter gossip mill?"

Sam shrugged, "Better to have a heads up. Come snuggle up on my lap in my comfy leather recliner to make it a little less painful for me," he suggested.

Andy giggled, "You really know how to work it, don't you? As if I don't know you're just as interested in the gossip as anyone," she smirked, making an utterly unconvincing attempt not to show how much the thought of snuggling for a while with Sam made her lose interest in what anyone else was saying about them.

"I'm working it, McNally, but my interest in gossip isn't the thing I'm trying to downplay. I think you have the pretext reversed," he grinned.

She blushed again, but settled happily into the chair with him, loving the luxury of having his arms around her for a little fun time before having to face the day.

"So, do you really want to check this or what?" Andy asked.

"Mmm Hmm," he murmured, inhaling the scent of her sleep-tousled hair, as he absently stroked his hand along one of her bare inner thighs. "Don't' let me disturb you."

Andy laughed, "Too late for that. Behave yourself, Sam, or I'm not going to let you out of the house. Then we'll really have a gossip buzz saw to deal with," she warned.

Sam didn't withdraw his hand from her leg, but he did still its motion and settle it lower near her knee.

"Go ahead. I promise I'll be good," Sam said, placing his chin on her shoulder and trying to focus on the screen of her phone.

Andy shot him a skeptical look out of the corner of her eye, before trying to focus on it herself.

Sure enough, while most of the chatter must have taken place face to face at the Penny, there were a few tweets about them.

Dov: So what are we thinking for Parade, dark circles or big smiles? Both?

Traci: Dov, I told you last night that you're always jumping the gun because of your own horniness

Dov: And I told YOU, they're definitely knocking boots after that kiss.

Dov: McNally's knees literally buckled. No way does any guy not seal the deal after getting a reaction like that!

Chris: Dov, what do you know about making a girl's knees buckle? You shouldn't talk about Andy that way.

Dov: What? It's not an insult. Everybody thinks Swarek is a cool guy. If I was a chick, I'd do him

Gail: Eww, Dov! We all know you have a little man-crush on Swarek, but TMI !

"What?" Sam looked up from nibbling at her shoulder. "You made those last two up," he accused.

"See for yourself," Andy handed him the phone. She was laughing too hard to hold it still anyway.

"Huh, The kid really did say that," Sam grumbled, as he held the phone so she could follow along as he verified the last two and continued reading.

Traci: Yeah, man-boy. You need to get a better filter on your tweeting

Shaw: You should listen to Nash, knucklehead. You think Sammy won't have Andy check this today?

Dov: But, Sir. How can he get mad when he started it with the prank and the kiss?

Andy broke off to jab Sam's shoulder, "Yeah, this is all your fault. So you can't blame Dov for his man-crush. How could someone like Dov not want to grow up to be like you," she teased.

"Well, I do have an unbelievably hot new girlfriend. So, I suppose I can give him a pass," Sam said.

"Although, now that I think of it, I'm kind of ticked about yesterday myself. All of my friends thought I was either too naïve to know the double meaning of 'sushi' or enough of a slut to brag about letting you go down on me during shift! What's up with that anyway? Noelle of all people was the only one to give me enough credit to know that had to be a prank tweet from you," Andy said with annoyance. "I'm going to have to give them a piece of my mind about that."

"Want to send a tweet now to get back at them?" Sam asked.

"Like what?" Andy asked.

"Well, since debate seems to be raging about whether we did the deed or not, it depends on whether you want to yank their chain again and set off another round of speculation, or have me threaten them to shut them up," Sam said.

"How could we yank their chains?"

"I don't know. You could Tweet something like 'OK, inquiring minds. I had a nice time. Sam made my toes curl' That would probably send them into another tizzy of wondering if you know what that sounds like, and what you really mean by it."

Andy laughed, "That's not bad. You're a little too good at coming up with these. Hmm. Much as I'm tempted, I think I'd rather cut this off and sick my big, scary new boyfriend on them so we can be left in peace."

"OK. Here, you type this in for me," Sam handed the phone back to her.

Andy: Just so we're clear, the next few tweets are from Swarek

Andy: I have no interest in "sealing the deal" prematurely

Andy: As far as I'm concerned, whatever happens is going to be serious, not a fling

Andy: The fingers of the next person who tweets anything about us will have an unpleasant encounter with my vice grips

"Sam!" Andy objected. "I can't send that last one. Tweets hang around cyberspace forever. Some shark lawyer will dig it up some day and use it against you in court," She laughed.

"OK, strike the last one and go with this," he suggested.

Andy: Fun and games are over. The next person who tweets anything about us will answer to me.

"Better," Andy said. "Done. That should take care of things."

Sam started nuzzling her neck and resumed stroking her leg, "Now that we're done with the idiot brigade, can we spend a few minutes on something more fun before we have to go shower and swing by your house?"

"With pleasure," she agreed. After a few very enjoyable moments, she decide she better lighten things up, so she added, "Just don't get too carried away here, or you may be suffering from another thing I don't need look up in urban dictionary," she teased.

"Hmm, what's that?" Sam asked idly.

"Blue balls," she said deadpan.

That elicited a surprised belly laugh from Sam, "Well, I guess no one should be taking you for any kind of naïve young thing after all. I hate to break it to you, McNally, but I've already experienced that condition a few times since you tackled me in that filthy alley. I don't' suppose a few more days will kill me."

"Just how many days did you have in mind before your extended slow-down-the-train seduction has played out?" she asked with a pout.

"We've got four more days until we have a three-day stretch off. You think you can hold up that long?" he winked.

"If that's what my man wants, it sounds like a good plan to me," she smiled.

"It's nice to hear you say that openly without needing the Edie cover to hide behind," Sam gave her hair a quick affectionate tug and kissed her quickly. "We better go," he added before standing and setting her on her feet.