A/N: Again, if you're gonna leave a negative comment about Marlo/Nick, don't, I'm not interested in bein' somebody's bitching outlet.

Halfway down the Q.E.W., Sam sensed a change in the woman next to him. He smiled. "You ok?"

Andy took a deep breath. "Am I allowed to flip out yet?"

Sam laughed and reached for her hand. "Still wanna flip out?"

Andy laughed softly. "No."

Sam flashed his dimples. He held her hand the rest of the drive. When he pulled into a driveway the hand in his tightened its grip. They got out of the truck and Andy took a couple of steps toward the front steps before Sam grabbed her around the waist pulling her back to him. Andy wrapped both arms around his waist. Wrapping his arms around her, Sam kissed her temple and whispered, "I love you."

Andy smiled. "How'd you know I needed to hear that?"

Sam smiled. "Because I probably don't tell you as often as I should."

Andy leaned up and kissed him. "Promise you'll still feel that way if she hates me?"

Sam laughed as he kissed her before spinning her around. His hands on her hips they walked to the house.

The door opened just as they cleared the last porch step. Sam laughed at the small head that peaked around the door.

"Who're you?!"

"Callie Marie!" a woman's voice came from inside.

Sam laughed as he knelt down beside Andy. "C'mere brat."

The little girl opened the door fully and raced into Sam's open arms. "Uncle Sammy!"

Sam stood up with the little girl in his arms. "Is that how you meet someone, young lady?"

"No."

"If you'd said yes, Mommy and I woulda had a talk. Callie, I'd like you to meet Andy. Andy, this little brat is my niece, Callie."

Andy smiled at the little girl. "It's nice to meet you, Callie."

The little girl looked at her uncle. "Who she?"

Sam just shook his head and said, "Your mom and I are definitely talking about your manners, young lady."

"No need, little brother, I heard, I'm not impressed. You know better than that, young lady." She nodded toward the door, Callie shook her head and hugged Sam tighter.

Sam hugged her back and whispered, "Be in, in a minute, ok?"

Callie hugged him again before letting Sam put her down. She stayed next to him until her mother pointed at the door. With an exaggerated sigh she went inside.

Sam shook his head and laughed as he enveloped his sister in a hug. "Hey sis."

Sarah returned the hug. "Hey yourself. Was beginnin' to think you forgot where we lived, little brother."

Sam smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

"I'll forgive you if you remember your manners and introduce this pretty gal you brought home."

Sam let go of his sister and smiled as he wrapped an arm around Andy. "Gladly. Sis, I'd like you to meet Andy McNally. McNally, my sister, Sarah Swarek."

Sarah smiled. "So this is the rookie that laid you on your ass?"

Andy blushed and buried her face in Sam's shoulder. Sarah laughed.

"This was my rookie, she is my partner."

"On duty or off, Sammy?"

Sam flashed his dimples. "Both."

Sarah flashed her own. "C'mon in you two."

Sam collapsed in a nearby chair, pulling Andy into his lap. "Gimme a few minutes?"

Sarah laughed. "Beer?"

"Thanks."

"Andy?"

"Thank you."

Sarah went inside to get their beers.

Sam kissed the side of her neck. "Wasn't so bad, was it?"

Andy wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Which one? Because I'm pretty sure the little one ..."

"Has never so much as seen me with a woman that wasn't her mom, never mind been introduced to a girlfriend."

Andy laid her head against his shoulder. "What about Marlo?"

"Nope. Sarah knew I was dating somebody but I never brought her home to meet my family, she never spoke to Sarah ... or Callie. I told ya, I don't remember the last girl I brought home."

"I do," Sarah said from the door. "Some clingy, ditzy chick you had no business bringin' home."

Andy couldn't help but laugh.

"He dated a nurse for awhile ... what was her name?"

Sam sighed. "Monica."

"Hey, you never brought her home, I think I talked to her ... once? So how am I supposed to remember?"

Sam rolled his eyes. "That's the point, you're not."

"Oh! Sorry!"

Sam laughed. "No, you're not."

Sarah flashed her dimples in a grin. "You're right, I'm not."

"Can I trust you not to run my girlfriend off if I go find your brat?"

"My brat?! You're the one she has wrapped around her finger!"

Sam kissed Andy's cheek before she got off his lap. He looked at his sister. "Be nice."

Sarah scoffed. "Like you, little brother, I'm always nice!"

Sam opened the screen door as he looked back. "Sarah ..."

Sarah smiled.

Sam found Callie sittin' at the table coloring.

Sam ruffled her hair, "Hey brat," before kneeling next to her chair.

Callie giggled. "Hi Uncle Sammy," she turned to her uncle. Sam stood up and picked her up. "You 'n me need to talk, young lady," Sam said as he carried her to her room, sitting on her bed with her in his lap.

Callie looked at her uncle. "Uncle Sammy, who she?"

"That's what we need to talk about, brat. You know what Uncle Sammy does, right?"

Callie nodded.

"Well, t'do Uncle Sammy's job I need a partner, that's how Andy and I met, she needed someone to teach her how t'do what we do."

"She your par'ner?"

Sam smiled. "She is. But that's not all she is."

The little girl scowled in confusion making Sam laugh. He kissed the top of her head. "Y'know how you have aunts from your other family..."

"An'y gonna be my aunt?"

Sam laughed. "Yeah, she is. You think you can be nice to her?"

"She nice?"

"Ya think I'd introduce you to her if she wasn't?"

Callie giggled. "K."

Sam smiled as he stood up. "C'mon, let's go make sure Mommy's not tellin' Andy stories about Uncle Sammy."

Callie giggled.

Sam smiled when he heard Andy laugh as he stepped onto the porch.

"Well at least you're still here," he said as he sat next to her, Callie in his lap.

Sarah laughed as she hit him. "Just for that ... "

"What? You're gonna cook? McNally, let's go. We'll eat in town."

Andy laughed as Sarah gave her brother a dirty look.

"Don't listen to him, Andy, I can cook ..."

"Just not very well."

"Sammy!"

Sam laughed. "Ok, ok, I'm kidding ... kinda." He winked at Callie making her giggle and Andy smile.

"Just for that, smart guy, you can buy the pizza."

"Gladly."

Sarah looked at her daughter. "You gonna help Mommy order the pizza? We'll get extra anchovies on Uncle Sammy's half."

Sam looked at his niece and shook his head.

Sam and Andy were alone on the porch when the delivery guy showed up.

Andy was leaning against Sam, her head on his shoulder when Sarah and Callie joined them.

Sarah held her breath wondering how Callie would react to seeing Sam with his arms around Andy. To her surprise, her daughter never said a word, just crawled into her uncle's lap and put her head on Andy's shoulder.

"Sammy, where's your phone?"

None of the three made to move as Sam fished it out of his pocket and handed it to her. Sarah took his phone and snapped a picture. They seemed content to sit there so she went inside and grabbed her camera. She took a few shots before they even bothered to look.

"What are you doin', sis?"

Sarah just nodded at the little girl in his lap and he understood. He smiled and whispered something to Andy that made her smile and look at Sarah. She took a few more pictures before setting the camera down.

"Alright young lady, you can cuddle more with Uncle Sammy and Andy after you eat."

Callie looked up at her uncle. Sam nodded. "We're not goin' anywhere."

Callie got down and sat in the chair Sarah put at the table for her. Sarah laughed when Sam eyed the pizza box cautiously. "Serves you right, little brother. But since the rest of us are eatin' it too, there's no anchovies."

"Thank God," Sam mumbled as Andy reached into the box for a slice.

Sarah watched as they shared the pizza. She couldn't remember her brother ever doing that with anyone else.

After they finished eating Callie looked at them. Sam laughed and said, "Not a chance kid, you're wearin' more pizza than you ate!"

Andy sat up and held out her hand. "C'mon, we'll go wash up then you can sit with Uncle Sammy."

"K."

As soon as Andy and Callie were in the house, Sarah turned to Sam. "Ok little brother, what did you say? How did you explain Andy?"

"I told her the truth ... "

"And that is?"

"That she's my partner."

"She's more than just your partner, Sammy."

"I know. So does she."

Sarah raised her eyebrows. "This oughtta be good. What'd ya say?"

"Andy's just like her aunts on her dad's side."

Sarah's mouth dropped. Sam smirked at the shocked look on his sister's face. "When you called and said you got serious with somebody you weren't kidding."

"Nope."

"Just how serious is serious with this girl, Sammy?"

"Serious enough for Oliver to tease us about kids."

If Sarah thought she couldn't be MORE shocked she was wrong. "How long have you been together?"

Sam smiled. "She was cut loose 2 months ago."

"Wow! Your rookie did a number on you if you're talkin' kids after only bein' together a couple of months. How does she feel about you goin' back under?"

"We are not talkin' kids yet and who said I was goin' back under?"

"Sammy, you always go under."

"Not anymore."

"Don't make that girl a promise you can't keep, little brother. One day she'll call your house and you'll be gone ..."

"My house? Uh, sis, it's her house too."

"You live together?"

Sam laughed. "She moved in 6 weeks ago."

"I repeat, wow! I'm happy for you, little brother ... you deserve to be happy and it's obvious she makes you happy."

Sam smiled. "Yeah, she does."

"Can I ask you somethin'?"

"Since when d'ya ask?"

Sarah gave him a sad smile. "Does she know?"

"Know what?"

Sam smiled and held out his hand in invitation. Callie crawled into his lap as Andy sat next to him.

Sam kissed her temple. "About the way we grew up."

Andy looked at Sarah. "Mine wasn't exactly sunshine and rainbows, so I get if it's not easy to talk about ... I'm ok with whatever he wants to tell me whenever he wants to tell me ..."

Sarah smiled. "Little brother, you finally found one worth keepin'!"

Sam laughed as he wrapped his arms around Andy. Kissing her temple he looked at his sister. "Trust me, I know ... and I intend to!"

Andy blushed and buried her face in his shoulder. Sam couldn't help it, her blushes brought out his dimples. Seeing the way her brother reacted brought Sarah's out as she laughed. "You two are just too cute." She looked at her daughter. "C'mon young lady, let's get you bathed."

Callie burrowed into Sam and Andy. "No."

Sam sighed. "What d'ya say, McNally? You wanna get some practice?"

Andy rolled her eyes as she got up. Kneeling in front of Sam she looked at the little girl. "How 'bout this: You get your bath and then come sit with me and Uncle Sammy til bedtime?"

She turned and looked at her uncle. "Uncle Sammy, play?"

"I don't think so, brat."

"Pleeease?"

Sam laughed and shook his head. "Fine. But I haven't played in a really long time ..."

"That's 'k," she said flashing her dimples.

"You still got one here?"

Sarah smiled. "For this very reason."

Sam shook his head. "Go get your bath, brat."

After Sarah and Callie went inside Sam pulled Andy into his lap. With her head on his chest she asked. "What was that about?"

"There's a country song, it sounds like a nursery rhyme, Sarah found it when Callie was a baby. I usually sing it to her before I go under."

Andy looked at him.

"I can play the guitar, singing, well, as you've seen, for her, I do anything."

Andy smiled.

15 minutes later a fresh from the bath Callie was curled up in Andy's lap getting her hair brushed as Sam sang:

"Kindergarten, five years old
You and me and mother goose
Learning lines to nursery rhymes
That's when I fell in love with you

Back when it was
One, two, buckle my shoe
Three, four, shut the door
Five, six, pick up sticks
Even then my heart was yours

One, two, I miss you
Three, four, I walk the floor
Five, six, come back quick
I don't want to miss you no more."

Callie clapped as Sam set the guitar aside before launching herself into his arms and hugging him.

Sam laughed and kissed the top of her head.

When Callie fell asleep in Andy's lap Sam laughed as he picked her up and carried her inside.

Andy was alone on the porch steps in the dark when Sam came back out. He sat next to her without a word. "You ok?"

"Yeah." Sam knew from her voice she wasn't.

She put her head on his shoulder. "You're good with her," Andy said softly.

"Thanks."

"Do I wanna know what you said to her?"

Sam smiled. "Told her you were just the same as her aunts on the other side of the family."

Andy caught the change in his tone and raised her head.

Sam took a deep breath and leaned against the porch rail, pulling Andy with him.

"Remember I told ya Sarah was attacked?"

Andy didn't say anything, just nodded.

"After that, trusting guys wasn't somethin' Sarah did easily ... then she met Kevin. He said all the right things and after a while she let him in. They were together for 5 years when she got pregnant. The day Callie was born was the day the son of a bitch decided he didn't want kids.

The stress of their fight sent Sarah into labor. I was on shift when the hospital called, I radio'd in that there was a family emergency and Frank had me flown down using the TPS helicopter."

Andy gasped in shock.

"I was the one that was with her when Callie was born. She considered giving her up ... then they put Callie in her arms. Sarah took one look at her and said she had the only thing she wanted or needed from him in her arms.

Callie knows her grandparents and Kevin's brothers play the parts of adoring uncles but she has no idea who Kevin is. He came around once after she was born, told him if I ever saw him near my sister or my niece again, I'd have him arrested."

Andy wasn't sure what to say.

"I was around a lot her first year ... to the point when she started talkin' she tried to call me 'Daddy'. I considered transferring down here to be with Sarah, but she wouldn't let me, said she needed to do it on her own."

"No wonder she has you wrapped around her finger."

Sam laughed softly. "Yeah, she does. Always thought she was the closest I'd ever get to being a dad ..."

"Why?"

"Because until a doe-eyed rookie knocked me off my feet, I never had a woman in my life I wanted kids with."

Even in the dark, Andy blushed.

"For the first time in my life, I fell in love. For the first time in my life there was someone I didn't just wanna share my present with, but my future ... and my past. I know that Marlo, and probably a few others, would say it's because of your past, but Baby, you coulda had a storybook childhood and I'd still wanna share mine with you."

Listening to Sam talk so honestly brought tears to Andy's eyes.

"I woke up one morning and she was gone," Andy said softly.

Sam kissed her temple, knowing this wasn't going to be easy for her.

"That was when he started swimmin' his way to the bottom of a bottle. I always wondered if I coulda done somethin' to make her stay."

"It had nothin' t'do with you," Sam whispered.

Andy smiled. "I didn't know that then. I just knew she left me to pick up the pieces ... and to grow up wondering if any guy would love me if my own mother couldn't."

Sam kissed her temple. "I know I don't say it as often as I should, but I do."

"I know. You told me once you're always there when it matters ... and no matter what else has happened over the last 8 months, my one constant has been you ... Well, you and Oliver."

"There somethin' goin' on between you and Shaw I need to be worried about?" he teased.

"Actually yeah, there is. I didn't wanna tell you like this, but ..."

Sam looked at her, eyebrows raised, a smirk on his face, he knew she was teasing him.

They sat in the silence for a few minutes before Sam said softly, "I almost wish the old man had left."

Andy knew by his voice, these weren't happy childhood memories.

"First time he locked me in the tool shed, I was 6."

"He locked you in a tool shed?!"

"Yeah. He locked me in there overnight 'cause I broke his hockey stick."

"Sam ..." Andy's voice broke.

Sam hugged her tighter and kissed her temple.

"Spent a week in it when I was 10 because I forgot to mow the lawn. By 16, I was screwin' up just so I wasn't under the same roof as that guy."

Andy was in tears listening to Sam talk about how he grew up.

"First time I met Charlie was after Sarah was attacked."

"Charlie?"

"Charlie Fitzgerald. He was in charge of her case. He was the one that showed me a man could be kind, fair ... good.

Charlie was everything our old man wasn't. He taught me to be everything our old man wasn't. He was the one that told me I wasn't my father's son, I could walk a different path."

Andy smiled thinking about the man Sam modeled himself after.

"After I got outta the academy, Charlie was my T.O."

"Was he as much of a hard ass?" Andy teased.

"Excuse me? When was I ever a hard ass?"