The latter half of 2012 sure decided it wanted to kick my butt, just like the tail end of the last few years has. Here's to 2013 looking better, post medical scares, rescheduled/cancelled wedding and trying to figure ourselves out. :) Thank you for sticking with me and this story, you guys are amazing, even after all my time away.

This chapter is for Princespain and Svugirl25 who have been ever so gently prodding my back to writing so I could continue. I hope you enjoy it!

Nikka

PS I'm pretty sure this is the longest chapter of this story yet, so I hope the first offering of Part II helps redeem the story and me a bit!

OoOoOoOoO

Andy fidgeted at her desk. Boyd had pulled Sam under nearly two months after she had returned and that no he'd been gone nearly a month and half month already. Her time with the Brennan's felt like a lifetime ago, and since her return, her friends had been her support while other coppers seems to respect her just a bit more, no longer treating her so much like a rookie. She and Sam had had a few awkward moments that she could have sworn were going to to turn out to be more, but they just hadn't materialized.

Thinking back to the night that he had left, Andy couldn't help but feel devastated for the fact that she had realized two late that the good candy conversation had a completely different meaning and that she was ready. But, after two hours spent huddled on Sam's front steps, Andy had started to think that she and Sam would just never be able to get their timing in sync and want the same things at the same time. The thought was devastating to her.

Chris had taken notice of her moods in the months since she'd returned. At first, things with Sam had been tense as Chris rushed into the station and scooped her up in a bear hug asking her if she was sure that she was okay.

Boyd had been practically radiating nervousness which was new emotion for Andy to witness from him on the drive back to 15 Division. The car ride had been tense filled mostly with Boyd's chatter about what to expect, and how they would keep up appearances in Wisconsin just in case Brennan had someone checking in on her. He also filled them in on how he would try to keep up appearances on his part in case Brennan decided to warn him away from Candace.

"Stranger things have happened," Boyd muttered looking in the rear view mirror at Andy.

She and Sam had remained relatively silent throughout the ride crushed in the middle seat of the van that was transporting the GnG group back to 15 Division. Sam leaned heavily against the door, but despite seeming to need space, he kept her pressed against him as closely as possibly from shoulder, to hip, to knee. Their hands remained interlocked as they rested on Sam's knee throughout the drive. Andy should have been embarrassed, but she needed Sam's strength as the adrenaline begin to wear off and the fear of seeing her friends for the first time in months set it.

Andy tried to absorb some of Sam's quiet strength on the ride, but when the van door opened, panic begin to set in as she lost contact with his hand. Sam slid his door open and then reached back to help her out of the van. Andy lagged behind the others towards the employee entrance to 15 Division.

"You alright McNally," Sam's calm voice penetrated her thoughts as he watched her carefully. Sam hadn't been oblivious to the way that she clung to him or how withdrawn she had become on the ride back to the precinct. He could literally feel her closing herself off the closer they got to home territory. That should have worried him, but instead in made him angry that she felt that insecure of what the reactions of her friends and peers. Didn't this crazy woman know how much everyone missed and needed her? Didn't she know that the entire division was holding its collective breath for her to return and bring with it all the optimism and faith in humanity that she forced everyone around her to love?

"I need a minute Sam." Her voice was no more than a whisper and she looked anywhere but directly at him. Boyd and the rest of the team disappeared into the building while Sam simply remained staring at her in the parking lot of 15 Division with his hands jammed into his pockets.

"We've got time McNally," Sam replied. A smirk lingered at his lips and he continued, "Besides, its been a little quiet around here, you know, no overeager rookie with an allergy to silence and a constant ability to barrel headfirst into trouble." He motioned towards the doors behind him, "I'm not sure the place is quite ready to be put on high alert yet."

Andy's head had snapped up at his words and sometime around the phrase "allergy to silence," she felt her jaw go slack leaving her mouth hung open in what had to be the most unattractive look of disbelief she could muster. When she processed the fact that Sam was teasing her, Andy narrowed her eyes at him and snorted.

"You missed me and you know it."

Sam's smirk fell off his face and a serious look replaced it. Andy immediately wanted to make a joke out of her comment, erase the awkwardness that had taken over, but Sam apparently had other ideas.

"Of course I did McNally," he said gruffly. "Love working with you. Couldn't imagine my life without you." He saw the smirk tug at her lips as she remembered his words from the day she was shot at Super Nova. Just as she was about to make what he was sure was going to be a smart ass remark, he cut her off. "Everyone missed you McNally you scared the hell out of everyone when you just disappeared. You underestimate how much everyone cares here."

Andy nodded at his words, and worked to swallow thickly as she looked down on the ground suddenly finding the pavement extremely fascinating. The silence seemed to be laced with a heaviness that was threatening and scary when Sam felt the need to step towards her and place his hand on her back propelling her towards the door to the sally port.

"C'mon McNally," his gravelly voice lulled her into a false sense of momentary comfort. "Time to face the firing squad and hysterics."

When her feet halted their forward progress and she left out a scoff at his words, Sam leaned into her to whisper in her while reaching to open the door. "Don't worry, I've got your back McNally."

Stunned at his close proximity and his promise to be there with her, Andy failed to notice that he had successfully maneuvered them into the station and in a few short strides, gotten them into the bullpen where the sudden silence engulfed the room as 15 Division laid eyes on its missing rookie for the first time in months.

Mercifully, applause and couple yelps broke the silence causing Andy to blush and shrink back. Her first thought was to bolt, but Sam's firm hand on her back and presence at her side prevented her from going anywhere but towards Best's office where Sam was herding her.

Boyd and Best kept McNally locked in the Sergeant's office for two hours while they went over her final debrief before sending her on her way. As Sam closed the office door behind her, both were grateful that for the most part, everyone seemed to still be on shift and the bullpen was slightly quieter than when they had arrived.

With a quick exit and maybe some food if he could force her to agree in mind, Sam turned to Andy with a question. "Need a ride McNally or maybe something to eat?"

Before Andy could respond, someone yelling her name through the bullpen effectively broke the moment between the two partners. Andy jumped a bit started by the volume of the person shouting her name through the workplace. Spinning around on the bottom step, Andy saw Chris jogging towards her.

"Andy," Chris shouted again finally reaching her and scooping her into a hug as he lifted her off the ground in a tight embrace. "God I've missed you! What were you thinking leaving without a word to any of us? Traci was going insane, Dov was pouting, and Gail got even well Gail because she missed you."

Sam watched as Chris scooped her up and then began his barrage of questions and slight guilt tripping. He wanted to step in tell Chris to lay off her for a bit, but the younger officer's babbling was excited and he clearly missed Andy while he was gone. The situation was proving a bit awkward because Sam wasn't really sure what the nature of the relationship was, he only knew that Chris had Andy in his personal space with his hands on her and Andy didn't seem to mind overly much as she stood too close to the younger man and looked up at him with a slight smile on her face.

"Chris," Andy tried to interrupt his mini-lecture, but the man kept on rolling.

"The apartment has been so quiet without you and dirty. Dov's a slob. God Andy! I'm so freakin' glad your back! Are you hungry? Of course you're hungry, let's go I'll even cook your favorite tonight."

Sam watched as Andy was pulled along behind an extremely excited Chris Diaz as he hauled her towards the exit. A sinking feeling hit the pit of his stomach as the realization that he just might have lost her again started hammering away at his head again.

"Three weeks, a month tops Sammy," Boyd said from behind him slapping Sam on the back.

"Huh?" Sam was truly bewildered at Boyd's statement and turned to look at the Detective behind him.

"After today, I don't think it will be more than a month before Brennan retaliates against his former employers. I'll be ready to have you in position before the month is up. Your girl laid the ground work and Brennan isn't going to take her abrupt departure or the threats against her well."

Both Sam and Boyd looked over to Chris leading Andy towards the Division doors. The younger officer stopped to look at her momentarily and then he poked her in the side causing her to laugh at his antics before he tucked her into his side and they disappeared through the doors into the sally port.

Sam reached to scratch the back of his neck and looked over to Boyd. "Yeah, I'm in."

Andy tried to remember how many conversations she and Sam had had since her return, but they in fact had proved limited. She was forced to take a mandated week off from work during which they only exchanged a few texts and Chris hovered over her not letting her do anything for herself including looking at apartments despite the fact that Traci has shown she wouldn't leave her alone during the viewings.

Somehow, since the day of the kidnapping, car fire, and Leslie's death, Andy had moved herself into the new condo and actually unpacked and hung pictures on the walls. Chris was there daily and Traci and Leo were by as much as possible or at least until Jerry ushered them home. Despite the contact revolving door of friends and their attempt to keep her busy, the fact that she missed Sam weighed heavily on her.

Somehow between her Chris catching a case with the do-gooder priest and Donovan Boyd strutting through the doors of 15 Division, Andy McNally found herself hauled in Best's office to find a smirking Boyd as the words "scavenger hunt" were uttered to her despair and Boyd's ever increasing amusement.

When she left the office to change into her street clothes, Boyd followed her. Looping an arm over her shoulder and pulling her towards him, Boyd's cocky attitude was in overdrive.

"Just like old times McNally," Boyd teased her grinning like a moron.

She scoffed and pushed him away. "I think I like it better when you hated me Boyd."

His only response was throwing his head back in a throaty laugh that only served to bring a scowl on her face.

Three hours later, Traci and Andy made there way through the door of the Alpine Inn just as it was getting dark. Traci's eyes wandered over the room quickly assessing the crowded bar and being full of the unsavory types. Andy responded to her questioning look with a shrug as she steeled her features to seem relatively unaffected. If Sam knew that Andy walked into this bar after a couple mentions of how bad of a place it could be and the type of clientele it attracted from his UC experience, he would probably throttle her.

A sudden wave of anxiety gripped her, until she realized she was feeling like a teenage about to get caught doing something wrong by her parents. Completely ridiculous! Besides, Andy shook her head to clear the unpleasant thoughts from her head, what Sam didn't know, couldn't hurt her. Right?

Eventually, Andy and Traci had worked there way towards the pool tables and realized pretty quickly that the could both score some cash and get some information about some more illicit activities by playing along and listening to the guys around them talk. Andy knowing that she was pathetic at pool huffed but stayed by the wall at the edge of pool table to watch Traci play against a moron who kept staring at her ass like she was an easy mark.

When Jamie Brennan came out of the crowd to approach Traci for a game, Andy's heart started to race. She hadn't seen the man in months and she was supposed to be in Michigan trying to rebuild her relationship with her dad. She tried to make her way towards the bar under the guise of needing a new drink when she heard Traci mention her friend to Brennan.

"Well why don't you introduce me to your friend," Brennan's smooth voice sounded calm and collected against the din of the bar.

"Sure, one second," Traci responded. Andy pretended not to hear her footsteps as she walked towards the bar. Feeling Traci's hand on her arm she turned with a smile.

"Traci," Andy said through her forced smile. "Whatever is about to happen, you roll with it. My name is Candace and you go with it and let me handle this."

She felt Traci's grip tense as she met Andy's eyes. Neither girl moved until Traci nodded. When a couple of burly guys moved, Andy had a clear line of sight on Jamie Brennan who was turned away from them taking a sip on his drink. Andy drew in a deep breathe as they approached.

Hearing the click of heels, Jamie Brennan turned towards the woman he had approached at the pool table and nearly started. His eyes went wide and his face clearly conveyed shock with a touch of confusion. Then almost as instantaneously, and in a way that had her comparing him to Sam again, Jamie's face hardened with a bit of anger and concern.

"Candace?"

"Mr. Brennan," Andy exclaimed stepping forward away from Traci. "I totally didn't expect to see you here."

Brennan stepped forward to hug her before pulling back and looking her over. Andy knew that he wasn't leering at her, but checking her over to make sure she wasn't any worse for the wear. "What are you doing in Toronto Candace? It's not safe for you."

Andy felt herself shrug and looked back over at Traci who was doing an outstanding job of keeping the surprise on her face to a minimum as she watched her friend and Brennan.

"Things didn't go so great with my dad," Andy said turning back towards Brennan. "We tried, we just love each other better with some distance. I came back to visit my friend Doreen here and figure some stuff out."

"Where have you been staying," Brennan asked her with clear concern.

"With Doreen. I'm okay, I promise," Andy smiled up at him. "Haven't reconnected with anyone else in Toronto just yet. I've only been here a few days."

"There any reason for that the of connection," Brennan questioned as he took a sip from his beer bottle.

Andy smiled a bit and shrugged. "Nope," she responded adding an extra pop on the "p."

After a few more minutes of conversation, Jamie challenged "Doreen" to a game of pool while reminding Candace from the few times they had played at the house that she was terrible.

"Why don't you sit this game out Candace," Brennan teased her while pushing her towards a table. "Tell you what, my buddy JD here will keep you company while Doreen and I play." Andy felt nervous as Brennan turned from her to call out to his friend. "Hey JD, why don't you keep my girl here company while I challenge her friend to a game of pool."

Andy felt the blush creep up over her cheeks as she looked towards the man Brennan was speaking to. Her heart stopped as Sam turned towards her with his bottle pressed to his lips. She watched in shock at his eyes looked to Brennan first then saw her standing there with Brennan's arm wrapped around her.

A string of explicative laced through Sam's mind as he saw Andy being guided towards him by Brennan. What the hell was she doing here of all places? When he got out of this op, he and his rookie, nay, partner were going to have a very long, very painful conversation about the places she chose to frequent.

"Boss," he responded with a question in his voice.

"JD, this is Candace," Brennan introduced the pair and seemed satisfied when they shook hands politely. "She was my daughter's nanny and close friend. Maybe you can sit with her and keep some of the less desirable patrons of this place away from her while I play a game of pool?"

As Andy went to protest, Brennan pushed her towards the bar stool and leaned towards her. In a fatherly tone he warned her, "We'll talk about your choice of bars later Candace."

Sam watched amused as Andy blushed at Brennan's words. Despite the danger of turning up here, Sam kind of liked that the scolding of Andy McNally fell to someone else right now. God, he had missed her, but this wasn't a safe situation and his body was screaming at him to get her and Nash who he could see over Brennan's should out of here.

"JD, a word," Brennan said firmly nodding for the other man to follow him towards the pool table. "Watch out for her, she shouldn't be here."

"Sure boss, I got it."

"JD," the firmness in Brennan's voice caused Sam to turn back towards his mark. "Don't mess with her either. She's family."

Thoroughly warned and slightly grateful that Andy had an ability to worm her way into anyone's heart, Sam towards back towards her and got about the business of finding out just what the hell she was doing at the Alpine Inn and looking like she did to boot.

Two hours later, Traci was hailing a cab for her and Andy while Sam slipped a wad of cash and couple plastic bags into Andy's coat pocket. When she looked at him, he winked at her and motioned for her to lead the way outside.

As the cab pulled up, Brennan insisted that he see both girls into the cab and instill a bit of fear into the cabbie about making sure they got home safe. Once he had secured a promise from Candace to call him tomorrow for lunch, Brennan turned to go back into the bar.

Sam's mind was wandering all over the place, but the relief of seeing Jamie Brennan come back into the bar alone was nearly overwhelming. Sam had been able to get out of Andy that she had been on one of Boyd's scavenger hunts and that he had personally dropped them off ten blocks away from here. He made a mental note to himself about a very unpleasant conversation he would have about Boyd in the very near future about picking McNally of all people to drop so close to his op. With her luck it was no wonder she would blindly fall over Sam.

When he heard her voice behind him again, Sam watched to simultaneously shake and kiss her. Luckily for him, his sense and need to protect her won out. He responded to her simply with a dumbfounded phrase, "I'm with my boss."

He watched the hurt register in his eyes and felt immediately sorry for how he said it. Sam had to get her out of there, Brennan was already talking about her. He wished more than anything that he could take the hurt he saw in her face away.

"Okay then," she swallowed. "I'm gone."

Watching her turn and leave was like a punch in the gut. Every fiber of Sam's being was screaming at him to go after her. He couldn't help but feeling that there was so much more meaning behind her words as she fled the bar.

"JD," Brennan slapped her shoulders causing him to turn towards his boss. "A woman like that doesn't come along everyday."

Sam looked at the other man in disbelief. Was he giving him permission to go after her? Brennan took a swig of beer before looking over to him and continued.

"That being said, you hurt her. I hurt you. She's got a heart of gold that one and she's been hurt enough."

Sam like he was having an out of body experience as he nodded at Brennan and slid off the bar stool. "Thanks boss. I, uh," Sam struggled to find the right words. "I understand."

Sam didn't need any more prompting to go away Andy. His impatience to get outside before she could get away made him anxious. Pushing the door open, the shock of the cold air barely registered as he saw her back facing him. The only thought coming into his mind when he reached out to her was getting her out of the cold.