A/N: Sorry for my absence. Working all summer, hard to catch a break. But now school's back and so are my procrastination habits. Lucky you.

"You haven't given me a real job." Andy noted, several days later while she and Sam were taking a snack break.

They were sitting with their legs dangling under the porch, arms hanging over the middle bar of the railing.

"That's because you're my assistant."

"What, like a magician? Puh-lease." She took another bite from her apple and continued swinging her legs. "I promise I won't come after you with power tools. I'm just sick of holding the hammer while you do the real work."

Sam laughed and turned his head to look at her, still chewing his own apple. "That right? Promise?"

"Cross my heart." She smiled in return, liking the light in Sam's eyes and the smile he tried to hide by running his tongue over his teeth.

"I'll think about it McNally. I'm not the type to hand out promotions."

"Oh. Promotions. You wound me. I thought this was more of a partnership type deal."

Sam side eyed her for a brief moment, amusement still lighting his big eyes, and she held his gaze evenly till he shook his head, dropping the act.

"We'll talk about when the trial period is over." He joked, throwing the apple core into the bushes, and reaching for the second half of his sandwich.

It had been a good morning so far. Now that he'd tapped into Andy a little more, gotten her guard down a little, actually participated in the conversations she was constantly starting and finishing on her own, things were easier. She was easy to talk to, and when they got onto the right subject, he found himself sharing thoughts he hadn't before. She had this way of asking just the right questions, stepping around all the right borders to get just what she had wanted to hear. He wasn't sure whether it was her gift, or his curse, but he didn't mind that she figured him out a little more day by day.

"Do you do a lot of work on your own house? In the city, I mean."

Sam nodded thoughtfully, taking a bite from the sandwich she'd made him.

"Doesn't need much. Don't have a big backyard or anything."

"Yeah, I guess you don't seem like the type to make up projects."

"What do you mean?"

Andy dropped her head, scolding herself for putting her foot in her mouth again.

"I - It just seems like these jobs Ruth has you doing... they don't all need doing." Andy didn't really think it was fair for her to jump in and say it, but she stuck her neck out half way, too late to pull back. "I mean, don't get me wrong, yard work and upkeep, yeah. But... I mean, regrouting the tile?"

Sam chuckled, wondering when Andy would catch on to the silliness of Ruth's lists. He knew Andy was watching him, confused while he laughed, but he also thought she'd learned a little more about her grandma in the week she'd been there.

"I don't know what to tell you McNally. Me and Ruth we have an - an understanding." He tried to get her to see without saying the words, but she wasn't picking it up so he shook his head, effectively ending that portion of the conversation. "Doesn't matter. I've got to run into town. Wanna come?"

"What're we getting?"

"Food, for tonight."

Sunday already, Andy had almost forgotten.

"Right, cause the kitchen isn't already overflowing."

It was no exaggeration, Ruth had the pantry and fridge absolutely stuffed. With two extra mouths around, both doing manual labour, she wasn't going to let anyone go hungry.

"I know a guy who can get me great steaks for a great price, c'mon. It's a paid break."

"I'm not getting paid at all." She smirked.

"Exactly, so let's go."

"So you like classic rock?" Andy asked, ten minutes and three station changes later. She'd tried to put on a top forty station, and he immediately tensed up, trying not to make a face. He failed. Andy took one other guess before landing on a rock station.

Boo sat between them in the front of the truck and laid his head down on Andy's lap. She stroked his head while he grumbled happily, lucky to be taken along in the first place.

"Is Boo coming too?"

Sam looked back over his shoulder as she stood on the porch, watching Boo sleep on the grass.

"Naw, he can stay here with Ruth."

"Oh come on, he'd love going for a car ride."

As soon as the words left her mouth Boo was up and wagging his tail already running to the truck. Sam gave her a stare and Boo jumped in the driver door that he'd been holding open.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm a big Rush fan." He said passively, eyes gazing at the pavement as he drove down the road.

"Who?"

"Yeah I like the Who. The Eagles, Kiss, Def Leppard-"

Andy snorted, cutting him off as he looked at her with his eyes squinting in confusion, eyebrows down.

"What?"

"Figures you wouldn't mind a little 'Pour Some Sugar on Me'. Classic stripper song. Ever date one?"

"What? No! Andy..." He didn't know quite how to deal with that question. Had he ever dated a stripper? Why would she possibly want to know that.

She eased off after that while they rolled down the open road. Sam appreciated the break while he tried to figure what any of that even meant.

Andy kept a satisfied smile on her lips, thinking of how she'd been able to knock him off his game there for a moment.

She watched out the window as they kept driving through a thick wood, keeping an open eye out for wildlife while she continued to pet and subdue Boo. But she tired of it after not too long.

So she turned to look instead at Sam. She did that a lot, the last few days. Hell, she'd only been there a week, and she'd be doing it whenever he was at the house. His uniform of jeans and a t-shirt didn't vary or waver. It had been a steady mix of black, white and red shirts, no v-necks. She hates to side with the older ladies, but she had been guilty of checking the weekly weather forecast, hoping for a little more heat.

But he was more than eye candy. He proved that every day. Ever since that one bad day, she's been a little better at getting pieces of him. As small as learning how he takes his coffee so she can have it waiting when he gets there, to hearing about his friends at work.

She liked the way he seemed to relax when he talked about things he liked. His job, his friends, Boo, his sister, even Ruth. He was different, lighter. But sometimes she'd go a hair too far, and the blank face would come back.

So she decided that she would at least lay down the basics this week. Get out of him what you'd find out about an actor in a cosmo article. His favourite things, likes and dislikes.

It wasn't till they got closer to town that she started back up again.

"Hmm. What kind of movies do you like?" She then asked, trying to peg down which of their tastes might overlap.

She appreciated classic rock. She understood the importance of a good steel guitar, but other than that she was a sucker for a good hook in a pop song. Songs that infected you and got stuck in your head, that was her taste.

"I'm not picky."

"But you don't like rom-coms?"

"On principle? No. No, there aren't many romantic comedies I'd watch if not forced." He chuckled, breaking his stare from the road to raise his eyebrows at her. "Are we speed dating right now?"

"No, I just... Sometimes I think you're a hard read, but sometimes you're predictable."

"Is that bad?"

"I dunno. A cop who likes handy work and classic rock, who's probably into action movies and history films... it's not exactly original." She laughed.

Sam stuck his tongue in his cheek, hoping she'll continue, give him some ammo to use in return.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I mean, that's my dad too. Cop cliche." She nodded giving him a smile.

"Well I'll tell you what McNally." He began to say as he turned on his turn signal and the truck slowed as they turned into the parking lot of a supermarket. "I even like donuts and coffee too."

When she threw her head back against the rest and laughed , a real big, genuine laugh... he knew he was in trouble.

"So how about steak, potatoes, peas and a salad?" He asked, as they walked the aisle of the grocery store, just fifteen minutes after they'd met Sam's butcher.

She nodded vacantly, scanning the ice cream selection, before his words sunk in, and she whipped around.

"Peas and salad?" She scrunched up her nose as Sam nodded, reaching for the bag of frozen peas.

"C'mon, vegetables won't kill you."

"Peas might."

He chuckled and reached past her to the opposite door and grabbed two cartons of ice cream.

"And pistachio ice cream? Are you kidding?"

"That's for me. The chocolate is for you and Ruth. And some frozen peas in the house wouldn't hurt. Since I've got you bruising yourself every other minute of the day."

She wanted to protest but she had banged her hip into the side of the truck a couple times. And dropped a can of paint on her toes.

"Well pistachio is disgusting."

They left the aisle quickly, Andy rubbing her hands up and down her arms quickly, trying to warm herself back up.

"I bet you've never even tried it."

She didn't respond, she simply marched ahead to retrieve a loaf of French bread from the bakery. Sam leaned his forearms against the cart handle and watched her for a moment. Today she opted for a pair a of cut offs and a slightly over sized shirt from a charity run. The kind of thing that she typically for working with him. But those shorts were new. She'd been wearing her running shorts, which had more length to them...

Not that he minded the view.

In recent days he'd become pretty wrapped up in certain parts of her. Her legs had him from day one, or two, or something. But the other day when they were sitting on the porch, she took a long drink of water and he studied her neck. Juggler exposed to him, the sharp line of her jaw, soft skin... he had an overwhelming urge to suck those spots till they were well marked. It was one of the most vivid images he's had since noticing his attraction, and he had to go around the house for a minute to recover. He couldn't be spending all day with her thinking about doing that.

And while he was able to put it out of his mind if he tried, absentminded thoughts teased him. Like now, watching her legs as she moved through the displays of sweets and breads.

He was able to refocus his gaze when she turned back to face him, approaching with a sleeved loaf in one hand, and a box of apple turnovers in the other.

"C'mon. I know we parked in the shade but we don't want Boo to get too hot." She said, dropping them in the cart and marching right past him.

They had been on the road not fifteen minutes when they heard the pop. The pop that was unmistakeable, and had Sam letting out a string of curses as he pulled over on the shoulder quickly.

"Jesus Christ." He spat, leaning all the way out his window to look at the rear left tire. "Shit."

Andy stayed quiet as he got out of the truck and went around the side to take a look at it. She watched in his side mirror as he scrubbed a hand over his mouth while he was crouched down next to the tire.

"Do you have a spare?" She finally called out, breaking the tense silence.

Boo raised his head finally when he noticed his owners absence and began whining.

"Nope." He yelled back, forehead now resting in his hand. "Can you call Ruth for me? We're going to need her to come get us. I'll call a tow."

And he did. They got Boo out of the truck along with all of the things he'd need in the next couple of days and waited, Andy unsure of what to say. She really wanted to ask why he didn't have one on him, but refrained. Briefly.

"Why don't you have a spare?"

"It's in Toronto. I brought a lot of new furniture for Sarah. She has an antiqueing problem. Leaves them in storage till I come up. The truck was riding low, I had to take it off."

Andy nodded, taking in yet another piece of him and his life.

"So does Sarah come to Toronto a lot?"

"If you don't mind, McNally, I'd rather not talk right now."

She nodded, and shifted her weight a little uncomfortably, gripping Boo's leash tightly.

After about a minute of silence, she began to feel uncomfortable. Felt the need to say something to make Sam less agitated.

"We could play 20 questions..." She suggested weakly, stealing a glance at him.

He exhaled loudly, eyes closed, head tilted back, and then flashes her a sarcastic smile.

"Isn't that what we were doing on our way here?"

"I was just asking a few questions, geez."

"Yeah, because it's pertinent that you know if I ever dated a stripper, right?"

"That one just kinda slipped out."

"Why do I get the feeling that happens a lot with you?"

Andy shrugged her shoulders and looked back to the ground, thinking it can only be another ten minutes till Ruth arrives.

"I have a bit of an allergy, to silence. I've been told."

While traffic rushes by them on the road, Sam took a moment to breathe and calm his frustration. Andy tagging along had been the best part of his day. He liked not driving alone for once, she was much better than the silence that usually left him with nothing but his own thoughts. She was bright, and smart, and witty, and she kept him on his toes.

"That's not necessarily a bad thing." He said, quieter now.

She raised her head to stare at him while he looked at her, eyes apologetic, and face soft.

"No?"

"No. My whole life people have been asking me why I'm so serious. Why I'm quiet and keep to myself. Being an extrovert... it's definitely not bad, Andy."

She smiled at him, but made no further comments of her own. And he had given her a small smile back, but, it wasn't his usual one sided, dimpled, smile.

"So you've always been like this?"

"Yeah, pretty much." He admitted, without any additional commentary for her.

"Can't be good in relationships."

"Okay, Dr. Phil, enough about me. I think I'd rather play twenty questions."

Once Ruth and the tow truck reached them and they got everything squared away, Ruth took them home, an oddly quiet ride back to the house, twenty questions long forgotten.

Andy left them right as the dropped the grocery bags on the counter and disappeared into the bathroom to have a shower, leaving Sam and Ruth alone to get dinner started. Though he couldn't be absolutely sure, he felt like Ruth was looking at him differently. Sizing him up somehow and he didn't know what to make of it or if he should say something.

"So you two have a good day?" She asked as she began marinating the steaks, Sam at the cutting board, chopping vegetables for the salad.

"Yeah, you know, the usual."

"How was your trip to the store?"

"Uneventful."

"You two seem to be getting friendlier."

Sam laughed, straight out, now that he knew what her look had been about. He turned around and leaned back against the counter, trying to get Ruth to do the same so they could have a proper conversation.

"Ruth-"

"I'm just saying, you're getting along well."

"Ruth." He tried again.

She turned around, using a piece of paper towel to wipe the meat residue from her hands.

There was a look on her face he'd never seen before. It was pleading, as though he'd asked her to tell him which of her children she loved more. And it wiped the smile off of his face in record time.

"I don't know if you realize Sam, but you two spending so much time together... something's going to happen."

"Ruth, she's practically a kid, I'm not going to-"

"She isn't, Sam. She's a young woman. She's smart and beautiful and I know you see that."

He hung his head, wishing she wasn't as good at reading him as she was.

"Andy has been through some things, and her father and I agreed some time away was exactly what she needed. And I agree that helping you will also be good for her."

Ruth's face had changed since their conversation began. While he tensed, she relaxed, not having wanted to be giving this speech, not wanting to treat Sam like a kid. She didn't want to be speaking to him as though she had any control in his life when they both knew she wouldn't.

"As far as I'm concerned, anything happening between you two, could be good."

He was not prepared for that. His eyes popped open and his jaw dropped a little, announcing his surprise.

"But, I'm still her grandmother, Sam. I don't want her falling too hard too fast and sending her back to her father worse off. Not that I think you would be careless. Just... maybe slow things down. Get to know one another, truly. That's all I ask."

Sam nodded solemnly and Ruth offered a smile.

And as they went back to their individual tasks, the weight on Ruth's shoulders lifted, while a new one settled on Sam's.