A/N: Thanks for all the reviews all, I appreciate them! Woo saw the episode tonight and it was great, especially the sparring session, can't wait to see more Sandy McSwarek but until then…

Dis: Don't own Rookie Blue!

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Andy managed to make it to Traci's house as soon as Traci was on her way out the door. Traci was on the phone, frantically talking to someone on the other end. When seeing her, Traci snapped her phone shut and jogged to Andy as she got out of the truck.

"What the hell, Andy? I've been worried sick!"

Andy winced as a wave of guilt hit her. She hadn't thought to call Traci the other night OR this morning. She'd been so wound up on her own problems that all thoughts of others had flown out the window.

"I'm sorry," said Andy. "I…" She didn't want to worry Tracy about her nightmare. "I couldn't sleep so I went for a run. I forgot my phone and ended up running into Noelle and Dov last night."

Traci ended up in hysterics when Andy told her the story of getting the cops called on her, Dov getting the backseat after dealing with the woman and her dog, and finally waking up Sam. Traci's humor turned into amusement as Andy tried to answer why it was Sam she went to and why it was she wore his sweatshirt.

"Did you sleep with him?" asked Traci.

"What? No! I mean yes, but NOT in the way you are thinking!"

"Huh?" asked Traci, confused.

"We just…laid there. Nothing was expected, he didn't even try to kiss me. He just held me and it was… nice."

"Only nice?" asked Traci with a raised brow, smirk on her lips.

"Ok it was great, but I'm not reading much into this. I mean I just broke up with Luke and he's just being a good friend. Right?"

"Right," said Traci, not really meaning it, using all of her will to not roll her eyes.

"Right." Andy smiled. "I might have an apartment today. Sam made some calls, I'm going to shower, find my own clothes, then go check it out."

"Sam made some calls, huh?" asked Traci. "You go to his house, sleep with him in his bed, put on his clothes, drive his truck, AND he makes some calls for you? Interesting."

Andy frowned at her friend, not happy that she was poking fun at her.

"I better go before I'm late. Have fun today! Call me if you end up liking the place!"

Andy rushed into the house, ruffled Leo's hair as he ate cereal at the table with his grandmother, then found some clothes and headed into the bathroom. Stripping, she stepped into the shower and let the hot water ease the aches of her body. While shampooing she thought of the conversation she had with Noelle, about Sam hurting since the engagement. Andy had known, after the black out, that on some level he still wanted her. At first she just thought it was jealousy, like he hadn't been able to handle her choosing someone else and his ego had been bruised. Then she thought of the day she got shot, the look on his face when he's taken her aside. She was certain if she hadn't seen that kid with the gun that he would have kissed her. Then after her announcement of her engagement, she'd been his partner less and less, but she partially blamed that on wanting to work with Luke more as well, but even on days she worked streets she'd hardly been paired with Sam. As if he'd been avoiding her, perhaps he had been.

Shaking her head she closed off all thoughts of Sam's feelings towards her, and hers towards him, and finished her shower. She put on fresh panties, jeans, bra, and a grey tank top. She brushed her teeth, dried her hair, and applied light make-up. She tossed her towel in the hamper and went back to her bag to put on socks. It'd been chilly out so she didn't think twice about putting Sam's sweatshirt back on. She inhaled the scent of the fabric deeply and smiled-then frowned and pulled the sweatshirt down, looking around to make sure no one had caught her.

What was wrong with her? Some people say some things and suddenly she's a schoolgirl with a crush all over again? Then again, perhaps she'd always had a crush on Sam. Even after calling it off she couldn't stop herself from being jealous the night he left with Gail, or even more jealous when meeting Monica.

"What are you up to today, Andy?" asked Traci's mom, Adele.

"Checking out some apartments," said Andy, finding a to-go mug and filling it up with some coffee and milk. "I feel like I've been in the way here."

"Nonsense," said Adele, taking Leo's bowl off the table as he hurried to get dressed for school. "We all love you."

"I love you guys too," said Andy with a bright smile, making sure to grab her purse, phone, and Sam's keys to his truck before heading to the door. "I've got to run!"

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It didn't take her long to find the apartment complex Sam told her about and she parked in the guest parking area. It was a light blue, the railings on the balconies were painted white, and the roof was grey. Trees and flowerbeds decorated the outside and the neighborhood wasn't too loud. She could hear the traffic of the busier road a couple blocks down, and some of the neighborhood kids were talking loudly while waiting for the bus.

She walked up the sidewalk to the secured door, and looked at the occupants names at the building. There was one person with the name Bert on the list and Andy hoped that they were it. She hit the button that would buzz their apartment and waited.

"Yeah?"

"Uh, hi. I'm Andy. Sam said he called you?"

"Ah, yeah, Andy McNally." The door buzzed. "I'll meet you in front of 202!"

Andy went in and headed up the stairs. She only waited for about five minutes before an older man of about sixty came up to her. He was wearing grey sweats, tan moccasins, and a Minnesota Viking's jersey. He had a thick mustache as well as thick lensed glasses.

"Hello," he said, outstretching his hand and she took his offer of a handshake. "I'm Bert."

"Andy."

"Sam said you were looking to move in right away?"

"Uh, yeah," said Andy as he opened the door.

"Have a look around," he said, letting her go in first. "All wood flooring, one bedroom and one bath. View is nice; balcony is large enough to have a grill or a couple chairs out there. Carpet is new, put in a new dishwasher as well. All extras are paid and included in the rent. I'd normally ask for about six hundred but since I like Sam so much, I'll drop it down to four-fifty."

"Really?" asked Andy. She already loved the place. The walls were painted white and so most of her stuff would match since her old place had white walls. The wood floors were beautiful and the kitchen was large enough to cook a meal. The appliances and cupboards were white, but the countertops were black as was the light fixture above a gorgeous black cherry dining set.

"Old owners didn't want the set anymore," said Bert. "Said that the new tenants could have it."

"I like it."

Andy went and continued to look around. The bedroom had the same white walls with a large walk-in closet that could hold her wardrobe and perhaps someone else's. The bathroom was the only room in the whole apartment that had tile instead of the wooden floors. The tile was a tan, marble pattern and the bathtub was a bright white and had glass sliding doors. The sink was one of those bowl sinks and Andy wasn't a fan because there wasn't much room to put other things other than soap on the surface around the sink, but above it was a large medicine cabinet.

"So?" asked Bert. "You like it?"

Andy could tell he was hoping she didn't like it because he would more than likely not be making much money off of her. But she liked the apartment. It was close to work, within her price range, and close to Sam.

"Yeah." Disappointment flashed in Bert's eyes. "I do."

"Just… let me get the paperwork then," he said, forcing a smile, and she gave him a genuine one back.

Alone, she walked to the sliding glass doors and opened them up and went out on the balcony. She breathed in deep, closed her eyes, and enjoyed the feel of the sun on her skin. This was going to be a new chapter in her life. Things were going to be different now, and she was looking forward to bettering herself as a person.

"Miss McNally?" called Bert.

"Coming!"

Twisting around she went back inside, signed the papers, wrote a check for the first month's and last month's rent that was supposed to be money for her wedding dress, and was handed the keys to her new place.

"To new beginnings," she murmured.

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Andy walked out of the complex with a smile on her face. After telling her a few of the rules, like no pets and that trash was on Tuesdays, she'd been told where her designated parking spot was and sent on her way to get her stuff.

Her smile faltered slightly when realizing she had no one to help her get her things. Sam and Traci were working and in all honesty she didn't want to deal with her dad. Biting her bottom lip she took out her phone and dialed Chris's number and after three rings it wasn't Chris that answered.

"Hello?"

"Gail!" Crap. "Is Chris around?"

"He's sleeping," said Gail, sounding bored. "He worked late last night."

"Oh."

A pause.

"Is there something you need?" asked Gail impatiently.

"I got a new place and needed some helping hands. I wanted to get some of my stuff moved in and not sure I could get it all done by myself. I mean, I was hoping he could help me with the big stuff and, well, uh…so what are you doing today?"

Andy hadn't meant to ask her that. They could barely stand each other and they'd just had a fight. She'd been stuck in the corner, and more or less HAD to ask since she was on the other side of the line. She needed the help, and if she didn't ask, she worried that things with Gail would just get worse and they would eventually end up having to work together again.

"Me?" asked Gail, as surprised as Andy that she'd ask. "Uh. Nothing. Actually I'm really bored right now. Dov and Chris are sleeping and I almost started cleaning of all things."

"I mean I know its short notice and you don't have to if you don't want to, it's just-"

"Quit your rambling, I'll help you," said Gail. "So long as you buy me dinner later."

"Oh. Um. Would pizza and beer be all right?"

"Deal. I'll be ready in twenty."

Hanging up, Andy was wondering what it was she'd just gotten herself into.

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After sending Sam and Traci both a quick text that she'd gotten the apartment, she headed over to Chris and Dov's place where Gail was staying. Pulling up, Andy saw Gail leaning against the hood of Chris's car wearing jean shorts, a white t-shirt with a Blue Jay's jersey over it, and white canvas shoes. She lifted a curious eyebrow when seeing Andy in Sam's truck, and quickly climbed in when Andy stopped.

"Hey."

"Hey," answered Andy.

"So… Dov wasn't lying when he said he dropped you off at Sam's last night after you almost got arrested."

"He told you?" groaned Andy.

"Yeah."

"Did he also tell you about being booted to the backseat?"

"No," said Gail, eyes twinkling in the way they always did when getting leverage on Dov. "Do tell."

Gail burst into laughing and Andy soon followed when Andy retold the story from last night. Tears emerged from Gail's eyes, slightly smearing her make-up as she held her stomach.

"…and to top it off, Noelle kept him there after she dropped me off!"

"Oh… Oh I wish I could've been there!" breathed Gail.

"It was great," sighed Andy as she pulled in front of the building her stuff was stored it. It wasn't until she went inside of the storage building that she felt a small wave of panic and stood still with wide eyes while looking down the long aisle. The doors to each unit were blue, and the florescent lights shined brightly, and she had to put her hand on the wall to steady herself.

"Are you ok?" asked Gail. Her eyes widened as she took in Andy's state and it clicked in her head. "Hey… Uh, should we leave?"

"No. I just need a sec…"

Gail stood and watched her fellow sister try and catch her bearings. She was pale, and clinging to the wall like it was a lifeline. Her breathing slowed and after a moment she reopened her eyes.

"I'm ok."

"You sure? We could come back later. Better yet, wake up Dov and Chris and have them help?"

"No. I need to face this. I need to do this. I'm fine."

Andy took one step, then two, then three, and finally she was walking with a purpose to her locker. She opened the lock with her key and winced as she rolled up the door. A sick feeling spread in her stomach and flashes came to her of being helpless not too long ago in a place like this.

"Let's get this over with." She swallowed as she grabbed the first box. "Everything but the dining set. I don't need that right now and can have someone else pick it up for me later.

Gail nodded and started grabbing boxes labeled 'kitchen', 'bedroom', and 'living room'. They piled the boxes next to the truck, happy that there were security cameras so if someone got brave and decided to steal it, they would be caught on camera. In the back of the storage locker was Andy's sofa and bed, the last pieces, and the two girls picked them up one at a time and carried them out. Andy was more than happy to close the locker and get the hell out of there. She was barely hanging in there. She thought that each time she entered the building the feeling would ease, but it only got worse. She was close to a panic attack and booked it out at a backwards jog with the sofa, Gail jogging after her, to the door. When they had everything packed in the truck, some of it in the cab with Andy and Gail, Andy sped out of the parking lot with a squeal of tires.

She was happy Gail didn't ask any questions, or asked if she wanted to talk, because Andy was certain she'd of snapped. There were still a couple of boxes in that locker, but she'd get them another day, or pay someone to do it for her. For now, she would use the drive to calm her frazzled nerves.

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"Nice place," said Gail as she took in the complex.

"I thought so," said Andy with a smile as she killed the engine and got out. After unlocking and propping open the front door of the apartment, the girls made work moving the boxes up and down the stairs to Andy's apartment. Gail commented on the wood flooring and great view and they were getting along great.

Until it got time to bring the sofa into the apartment.

"Turn it LEFT, Andy, LEFT!"

"I am! You need to lift your side higher!"

"I CAN'T go any higher!" argued Gail as they tried to get the sofa into the doorway of Andy's apartment.

"Just push!"

"I… AM!" Gail heaved Andy almost lost her footing as the sofa came at her. Grunting, the semi-sweaty females finally made it inside. "Where do you want it?"

"Here." Both girls let the sofa drop with a sigh. "Thank god my bed is in pieces. Save for the mattress."

"Ugh. Break first!"

One of the boxes had Andy's glasses in it. She'd been embarrassed to bring them to Luke's because she'd had them since she was a kid. They had various images from Garfield to the Smurfs, and one even had Leonardo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Grabbing Leonardo and Odie she let the water run on the tap for a while before filling the glasses. Gail smirked at Odie before taking a long drink. After their short rest they were back at it and managed to get the bed up with less effort it took to get the sofa.

"Thanks for doing this," said Andy as they sat on the light tan sofa. Andy was debating on getting a cover for it. "I really appreciate it."

"Yeah, well, I figured I owed you with the digs I dished out the other day," said Gail with a smirk. "I had a rough night; you were there, hence the digging."

"I did my own digging," admitted Andy.

"At least we know we can spend a whole day together, willingly, and not kill each other."

Andy smiled at this and then sighed, "I'm really not looking forward to going to Luke and I's old house to get the rest of my stuff."

"He working today?"

"Yeah." Andy looked at her watch. "Would you mind if I stopped there before we grabbed that pizza? Just… most of my clothes are there and-"

"Don't worry about it," said Gail. "Let's go now, before we decide this couch is too comfortable to leave."

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The drive to the old house had been long, with traffic finally out, and when Andy pulled up to the outside of the house she had to fight down the anger as well as disappointment. Anger at herself, Jo, Luke, and the disappointment she had in herself for not noticing it sooner. She still had her key, but after today, she'd leave it on the counter.

While Gail munched on an apple, Andy packed up the rest of her clothes in a suitcase and a couple large tubs. Everything she used to move herself in was what she was using to move herself out. More large, plastic containers were filled with jewelry, make-up, shoes, and cardboard boxes held her towels, knick-knacks, and whatever she could find that was hers. The only two large pieces was her coffee table and comfortable chair that matched her sofa. Finally, with one last sweep of the place, she knew she had everything. Problem was: she knew it would take two trips. As if he knew they would be in a dilemma, Chris chose that moment to call Gail to see where she was at and Gail managed to talk him into bringing his car over.

"Hey Andy," he said with a soft smile when she met him outside twenty minutes later.

"Hey."

"What do you want me to take?" he asked cautiously, worried that if he said something wrong he might break her.

"Whatever is packed by the door, which is mostly boxes now. Gail and I already took care of the heavy lifting," she teased.

Chris nodded and together the three of them easily loaded up the cars. Andy heard bits and pieces of Chris and Gail's conversation and smiled when Chris looked like a fish out of water when Gail admitted she'd been having a good time with Andy. The both of them followed her to her place and within an hour, all the boxes were in there.

"Let's all ride together to get the pizza," suggested Chris.

"Sounds like a plan," said Andy, grabbing her purse and her keys. Her phone beeped as she rushed down the stairs and she smiled when she saw she got a text from Sam.

Glad u got the place.

She responded: wow you can text! You never cease to amaze me.

He replied: Haha. I can use a phone McNally. Even ones with cameras.

Andy laughed out loud on that one and ignoring Chris and Gail's curious glances as she got into the backseat of Chris's car. She continued to text Sam. He got done with his shift in two hours, more than enough time to get a pizza and pick him up. The pizza place was only ten minutes from there, the Spicy Pie. It was the best pizza Andy has ever had in her life and she was drooling just thinking about it.

Exiting the car, the trio ordered their food.

"There's a small store across the street. I'm going to grab a few things if you don't mind waiting?"

"Sure," replied Chris, who was holding Gail's hand. "Go ahead Andy."

Andy exited the pizza place and jogged across the street to the store where she got paper plates, napkins, toilet paper, beer, milk, bread, and peanut butter. She had essentials for dinner tonight and breakfast in the morning, and would shop for more things later on. Carrying her bags she was ready to cross the street when something caught her attention.

It'd been a squeak, just a small squeak, and that she'd have been able to ignore. It was the shuffling of feet and the large bang that had her twisting around and slowly walking to the mouth of the alley between the grocery store and a boutique. There, she saw a man struggling with a teenage girl, who was doing her best to kick and punch the guy holding her.

"STOP! POLICE!" yelled Andy and the man looked up, tossed the girl down, and then bolted. Andy sprinted after him, wishing she didn't have to leave the girl behind, and as she exited the other side of the alley, a squealing of tires caught her attention: it was a blue, late model van with no windows and some rust, and muddied up license plates.

Turning around she found the teenager still on the ground, bawling her eyes out, and Andy knelt beside her. The teenage girl gave a startled shout and Andy raised her hands up.

"It's ok. I'm a police officer. You're safe."

"H-he wanted to take me! He said the other girl wasn't good enough and… oh GOD I think I'm going to be sick!"

Andy rubbed the girls back while reaching into her purse. First she called Gail and Chris and both of them came running into the alley, Chris holding the pizza and Gail her bags. Andy wasted no time calling her Division. She got Traci at the desk and explained to her everything that happened, giving a description of the van and the direction it'd been heading.

"Andy? We got an anonymous tip earlier today about a body being found. They said it looked like a young girl. Sam and Oliver are on scene now."

"This isn't good, Trace. The girl here said that the guy that wanted to grab her needed her as a replacement."

"Aw hell."

Her thoughts exactly.

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EMS had arrived on the scene first and immediately took the girl, Gretchen Stone, into their capable hands until someone from 15 arrived. It was Jane Riggs and her partner for the day. Andy was certain his name was Andrew. Drew for short. Andy told Jane everything she could from the approximate height as well as build of the guy, what he'd been wearing, and the make of the van. Andy hadn't seen a face, but he'd been wearing a bomber jacket, jeans, and work boots. She hoped Gretchen could get better details.

"What a day," groaned Gail as the ambulance pulled away.

"Yeah. Even on our day off we're working. I blame Andy," kidded Chris.

"Thanks a lot," said Andy, rolling her eyes. "Guys, Traci said a body of a young girl was found today. I'm thinking it's that missing teen, Gail. We might have a possible serial rapist in Toronto that goes after teens."

"That's sick," said Chris, making a face.

"Totally," said Gail.

"I really don't want to go to work tomorrow," sighed Chris as they walked to his car. The last patrolman left five minutes ago and there was no point in lingering on the scene. They drove back to Andy's, each putting in what they thought on this possible case, and each having the gut instinct that the body as well as the failed attempt at a kidnapping, was related.

"Crap!" said Andy, looking at her watch. "I gotta go pick up Sam. If you guys want, you can head up, and I'll be back!"

"Is Officer Intimidator going to be joining us?" asked Gail. Chris was nervously shifting from foot to foot.

"He isn't THAT bad," said Andy.

"Sometimes, he IS that bad," said Chris uncomfortably, making Andy sigh.

"Rain check on pizza night?" she asked.

"Rain check on pizza night," agreed Gail and Chris at the same time.

Andy ran up to her apartment to put the two large pizzas in the fridge as well as her milk, butter, and beer, then ran back down to the truck. By the time she pulled into the parking lot, Sam and Oliver were chatting animatedly about something. Oliver said something that had Sam throwing his head back and laughing. While Sam laughed, Oliver glowered, gave him the finger then went to his own car. Still chuckling, Sam came to his truck, opened the passenger side, and entered.

"Hey."

"How was your day?" asked Andy.

"Ah…" Sam rubbed the back of his neck. "You know that girl you were looking for?"

Andy nodded, and had to accept that she had failed that mother when it came to finding her daughter. Damn it! She looked away from Sam and out the window, pressing her lips together.

"Yeah." Sam figured she could tell from his face that the girl was gone. "With the kidnapping you stopped today, I'm sure this guy is out there now looking for someone else."

"I'm not sure I can take the uniform off on this one," whispered Andy.

"Yeah. Me neither." Sam cleared his throat. "You good to drive?"

"Yeah."

"You didn't put any new dents in her did you? Perhaps decorate her with some bullet holes?"

Andy rolled her eyes. "No! Gail managed to put a scratch in it though."

"What?"

Andy laughed and Sam glared.

"That isn't funny, McNally!"

"Oh, yeah, it totally was."

"Anyway… got things settled at your new place?"

"Yeah." Andy skipped the part about her freaking out at the storage units and instead focused on the funny stories like her and Gail trying to get the couch inside.

"I could've helped ya," said Sam.

"I know. I just wanted to get it done as fast as possible, you know?"

"Yeah… I guess," said Sam as Andy pulled into her parking spot. "So… Did ya know Noelle and Oliver had a bet going on against us?"

"What?"

"Apparently, it was on when we made it to the bedroom."

"O-oh?" asked Andy, a blush forming on her cheeks as well as the tips of her ears as she turned off the truck.

"Noelle won, due to the fact that they didn't stipulate on whether going to the bedroom meant having sex. Oliver had debated but since all the bet was on was us making it to the bedroom, well…"

"Sam Swarek you are supposed to, I don't know, not kiss and tell!"

"But we didn't kiss," he said innocently.

"Ugh!" He grinned. "This isn't funny!"

"You gotta admit, it kinda is."

Andy huffed, and then smirked before leaning over and resting her hand on his leg. She heard his sharp intake of breath, but kept her resolve as she dropped her voice down an octave and licked her lips before looking up at him through her lashes.

"Do you want to come in?"

"I, uh, what?" He was fidgeting, it was almost adorable. Then his eyes narrowed as he saw hers start to sparkle with humor. "Oh ha ha. Next time you do something like that I might just play along."

"Seriously though, you want to? I got pizza and beer," she said, keeping the atmosphere light and friendly and as far as from romantic as possible. She wasn't nearly ready for that yet.

Then she thought of the other night, and this morning… was she ready already? She was so confused! Sam always managed to confuse her no matter what the situation.

"Why not?" asked Sam.

They exited the truck, headed into the building, and made it into her apartment. After doing his own evaluation of the place, he was satisfied with her living conditions, and enjoyed a slice of warmed up pepperoni pizza and a somewhat cold beer that hadn't quite been in the fridge long enough.

"To new beginnings," said Sam, holding up his bottle in a toast.

Andy met his gaze as he spoke the same words she said hours ago. She could get lost in those eyes, and that was totally dangerous right now. Could she honestly trust herself to keep her hands off of him? She would do her best, because the last thing she needed, was to screw up her friendship with him. AGAIN.

"New beginnings," she murmured, clinking her bottle against his.

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TBC…

As always, reviews are appreciated! :)