A/N: Things are going to be wrapping up, only one more chapter after this one. Thanks to all that have been reviewing and reading! I'm working on a new Rookie Blue fic as well so keep an eye out for that! :)

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"After this one you wanna go grab a hotdog or something?" asked Sam, turning off the car and unbuckling his seatbelt.

"Yeah," said Andy, undoing her seat belt as well before opening her door. "I could go for a hotdog."

"Great cause I'm starving."

Sam and Andy exited the cruiser and slammed their car doors shut at the same time. Sam adjusted his belt while Andy adjusted her gun holster on the way up the sidewalk that had large cracks with weeds growing out of them. The gate used to be painted white and was now more of a gray and operating with one hinge.

"Classy place," said Sam, making a fist with his leather clad hand before knocking on the door. A dog barked on the inside and a woman's voice hushed it before opening the door. She was older, around her late fifties, with her gray streaked brunette hair in curlers. A smoke dangled from her lips and she took it out of her mouth when seeing two police officers at her door.

"Katherine Reynolds?"

"Yes?"

"Sorry to bother you, Ma'am, we just need a moment of your time," said Sam.

"Ok. Can I ask what this is about?"

"We were wondering if you still owned a late modeled Chevy van. Blue?" asked Sam, thinking this house was going to be a waste of their time.

"Yes. I do."

"Mind if we take a look?" asked Sam, flashing his dimpled smile. The woman smiled back, hand going up to smooth out the hair in her curlers then down to straighten out the long t-shirt she wore. "Please?"

"Oh I would, except it isn't here."

Sam's eyes narrowed slightly. "Oh?"

"I let Ronnie borrow it a couple days ago," she said, waving her hand in the air, the lit smoke leaving a trail in the air. The dog in the house barked again and she whipped her head around. "Chaunce! Hush!"

Sam and Andy shared a look before Andy took out her notepad and pen.

"What is Ronnie's last name?" asked Sam.

"Hart," said the woman distractedly before turning back to the officers. "What's going on? What's this about?"

"We just need to ask Ronnie a few questions," assured Sam. "No big deal."

"This about his moving here from the states again? I told him to get things organized. That boy was always such a procrastinator."

"Yeah," said Sam, following the woman's lead and going along with her lie. "Some things just didn't add up with the paperwork and we just had to clarify. When did you see him last?"

"Monday. He came back from Memphis, Tennessee a week back. Had big plans, moving to the states, but their economy is shit and so he decided to come back to Toronto. Gone ten years, not a word, then poof, he's suddenly calling me begging me to come and get him."

"It would really, really help me out, if you could tell me where to find him," said Sam, putting the charm on so thick Andy had to look away so that the woman didn't see her smile. "Oh, and do you happen to have a photo?"

"Don't know where he was staying. Said he was going to just borrow the van for a couple days. He doesn't have a number yet. At least that of I know. Updated photo? No. I think he has that head book thing."

"Facebook?" inquired Andy.

"Yeah. That."

"And how do you know Ronnie?" asked Andy.

"I fostered him for five years," said Katherine, taking a long drag of her smoke. "He's the reason for my gray hair."

"Problem child?" asked Sam, adding sympathy to his voice.

"Always in trouble. Had the cops on my doorstep before because of him. Fighting, dealing, hell, he even assaulted his teacher and got suspended his senior year. Never did finish."

"Must've been hard," said Sam, hand settling on the woman's shoulder, and Andy had to bite her lips together so that she didn't say 'smooth' out loud.

"Considering what he grew up to. His father was a deadbeat drunk and his mother beat the shit out of him if he didn't jump as high as she wanted. Always was very upset if I was ever disappointed in him, nearly had a panic attack the last time he had to tell me he was in trouble."

"Well," said Sam. "If he comes around, call us right away, so that we can get things settled."

"No problem," said the woman with a bright smile before closing the door.

"Okay," said Sam, rubbing the back of his neck as he and Andy went back to their car. "We need a UC unit on this house ASAP."

"Gut telling you this is our guy?" asked Andy.

"Yeah." Sam took out his phone and dialed the precinct and immediately got through to Luke. He relayed the information and Luke agreed that they should have someone on the house, but that Sam and Andy should still check out the other places. "Will do. Oh, Miss Hart said he came back from Memphis. Maybe our friends in the States can give us some info on our guy."

Sam snapped his phone closed when Luke said he'd look into it. After tucking his phone back into his vest he started his squad car and did a U-turn to head back toward the busier part of Toronto. Turning onto a busy one-way, he kept his eyes peeled for a hotdog vendor.

"So, Ronnie has an abusive and violent past, goes into foster, but can't shake the influence of his mother and father," said Andy. "Tries to escape it all going to the States and I'd bet money on him having a record there somewhere. Comes back to maybe run from the cops there, and things go downhill?"

"I wouldn't doubt him starting this little game in the States," said Sam, pulling over to the right. "Ketchup, mustard, and easy on the relish."

Andy muttered under his breath before getting out of the car and Sam smirked as she stomped over to the vendor to get their meal. Her eyes met his through the windshield and she rolled hers, making him laugh. She turned away so she could pay and he was left watching her. He wasn't sure if he was in love with her, or still falling in love with her. There was definitely some love of some kind inside him for his former Rookie and it was driving him insane. He wanted her, on many levels, but he kept missing his chance. First with letting Callaghan take the reins right out of his hands, which had been a mistake, and he'd regretted it ever since. Now? He was letting her get over it. Giving her time and space even though space was the last thing he wanted between the two of them. He should've just grabbed her and kissed her that first night in the parking lot.

Rubbing a frustrated hand over his face he let out a long groan of frustration. The cherry on the fucking top of the sundae of his crappy life was that Boyd wanted him back in UC as soon as possible. Sam was indeed hesitating, because of her, but if he had to sit in this damn squad car next to the woman he would probably never be able to have…

Sam jumped as the door opened and Andy sunk into her seat, handing a hotdog over to him. He took it with muttered thanks before taking a large bite, chewing vigorously, as if it'd help relieve some of the frustration in his system.

"What's with you?" asked Andy, pulling a bottle of water from her jacket and handing it to him as well.

"Nothing," he said around his hotdog before swallowing. "Just want to get this guy, that's all."

"Me too," said Andy softly, making Sam look at her. It killed him to see the deep sadness in her eyes. "I let him get away."

"Bullshit. You did your job right. Stop second guessing yourself. Don't beat yourself up over this either. What's done is done and now we've got a potential lead that will-"

Sam's phone went off and he quickly answered it. "Yeah? Really?" He bit the inside of his cheek, listening to whoever was on the other end of that line. "Yeah I got it. Undercover tailing him? We're on our way."

Sam hung up the phone, put the car in gear, and squealed out onto the street. Andy looked at him questionably.

"We're in luck today, McNally. He was just at the house. Was in there five minutes and went back out. Williams and Peck are keeping a tail on him until he arrives at his destination. Radio silence on this whole matter incase he's got a scanner of some sort. Epstein and Diaz had been parked in front of the house and are also on the tail. We're going to linger behind until we get a pinpointed location."

Andy nodded and so they rode in silence, anticipation building. She wrung her hands and her right knee bounced as she looked at the civilians they passed. After ten minutes, Sam's phone rang again, and Andy jumped.

"Yeah, we're on our way." He started to speed up and spared a glance at Andy. "Light 'em up."

It took them seven minutes to get there and by that time the two undercover cars were parked and empty. Both Sam and Andy jumped when shots were fired and drew their guns.

"This is 15-19," said Sam into his radio. "Shots fired at Poison and Cherry. We're going in!" He looked at Andy. "Ready?"

Andy nodded and together they went to a large building that'd seen better days, an old warehouse that had probably been a plant, and her suspicions were confirmed when she saw a tuna brand logo stamped on a sign. She kept her ears peeled but all she could hear was the water behind them as well as a horn from a boat going through the channel. They came upon the building, glass crunching under their shoes before entering the darkness. Andy blinked away the green spots, eyes adjusting to the darkness. Sam was slightly ahead of her, just to her right. He nodded to the right and she covered him as he checked what used to be an office.

"This is Officer Epstein," came Dov's voice over the com. "We got him. Requesting EMS, we have two teenagers that are in need of care."

Andy and Sam rushed through the building and stopped when they came upon the scene before them. Ronnie Hart lay in a puddle of his own blood, eyes empty and obviously dead. Noelle was consoling a young female wrapped in a quilt and Gail was questioning a young male. Both the teenagers matched the description of the missing teens. Standing over the body, was Chris Diaz, gun still in his hand. Andy went to him, leaving Chris and Sam to speak.

"What the hell happened?" asked Sam.

"We came in behind him," said Dov. "Waited till he got inside before we followed." Dov's eyes went over the bed and camera on the other side of the large room. "He must've heard us coming because when we came in he had a gun to the girl's head. Officer Diaz managed to stay hidden and circled around while Officer Williams and Peck distracted him. When Hart made a move to shoot the girl, Diaz took action."

"From what I see…" Sam watched as Andy gently took Chris's gun from his hands, then steered him away from the body. If anyone was to talk to him, it'd be her. She was the only other Rookie to take a life. "Bastard got what he deserved."

"I concur," said Dov just as EMS came barreling into the room, Luke right behind them.

"What the hell happened?" he asked, accusatory blue eyes falling on Sam, as if it was his fault his murder suspect was dead. "Swarek?"

"Epstein, Williams, Peck, and Diaz were the ones on scene. McNally and I just got here when the shots were fired." Sam nodded to Chris. "Diaz made the takedown."

Luke nodded, rubbing his temples before making the call for his people to get on scene to gather evidence. Sam looked for his partner and saw that she was making her way to him, Gail having taken her place to console him.

"He's shaken up, but ok, I think," said Andy. "For now."

"He did his job."

"Yeah." Andy's eyes made contact with his. "Doesn't mean we don't feel awful for taking a life."

"Yeah. I know." Sam sighed. "Let's go make ourselves useful, huh?"

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Andy sighed, rubbing the back of her neck as she closed her locker. She was tired. So tired. She just wanted to go home, take a hot shower, and sleep for three days. She had to be back here for the nightshift tomorrow and knew that if she didn't want to screw herself in her sleeping cycle, she needed to stay awake. She'd been invited to the Penny, but she wasn't sure she wanted to go.

Movement to her left made her look and she saw Sam sneaking into the locker room. She smiled, leaning her back against the lockers as he leaned against another, his shoulder resting against the cool metal. He was dressed in jeans and a tight black t-shirt. He looked as tired as she was.

"Ronnie Hart had warrants out for his arrest in Tennessee and Colorado for assault charges against two young teens. California? He was a suspect for a murder of a seventeen year old boy. He came back here after running from there. He'd been spooked and came home to whom he considered his mother."

Sam grimaced as he adjusted his position to mirror Andy's. Back against the locker, arms crossed over his chest, head slightly turned to the right so he could look at her.

"Not going to get into the gory details but it's definitely a good thing we finally got this creep off the streets."

"Best say anything about Chris?" asked Andy, looking down at her feet.

"No. He'll be suspended pending an investigation but it was all by the book. He'll be fine."

Andy nodded, still looking down at her bare feet that had yet to make it in her shoes that lay on top of her bag with her jacket. After admiring her plum colored pedicure for a minute she looked up and started when seeing that Sam had shifted closer. A slight blush formed on her cheeks when she saw how close we was, so close she could see the gold flecks of color in his eyes.

"Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"You going to take that UC job?" she asked softly.

"I…" He closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Probably."

"Oh."

"Boyd says it'll really help my career. Plus it's a case I'm familiar with."

"How long?" asked Andy and Sam shrugged.

"Three weeks? Three months? That all depends. I mean it isn't like I've got anything or anyone to leave behind, I'm perfect for the job."

Andy bit her bottom lip and again looked away.

"McNally?" A grunt of surprise hit him as she launched herself at him, arms wrapping around his body and cheek pressing into his chest. His arms came up immediately so that he was holding her against him. He felt her tremble and he took a chance by resting his chin atop her head. "I'll be fine."

"Sam… when do you go?" she asked.

"Three weeks."

Andy closed her eyes, so many doubts going through her head as well as reasons why she shouldn't do what she wanted to do. Her head was screaming at her to run, get away before he left on his assignment and forgot about her, but her heart and gut were waging war. Her heart was telling her to stay, and her gut was telling her that trusting her heart would be the best option.

Slowly, she lifted her head up, her nose brushing against the bottom of his chin. Her eyes met his again as one single tear escaped her right eye.

"McNally…" Sam cupped her face, thumb catching her tear. "What's this about?"

"Sam…"

Andy was done talking. Much like the night of the blackout, she was the first to make a move. She pressed her lips to his in a desperate kiss that conveyed all of the pent up emotion she's had underneath the surface since the night of the blackout. A startled gasp escaped her lips as he twisted them around so that her back was against the lockers and her front pressed intimately against him. His hands were in her hair as his mouth slanted over hers. Her tongue darted out and caressed against his, earning a moan that reverberated deep in his chest. Air soon became an issue and Sam pulled his mouth away, trying to regain his breath. Andy, during the kiss, had closed her eyes and now she opened them to see that his eyes had darkened to the color of dark chocolate. Slowly, his hands lowered from her scalp down her neck and back, to stop at her hips.

"Andy…" He bent again, giving her amble time to pull away, before his lips moved to brush against hers again. So soft and gentle, so unlike Sam, but she smiled as his nose brushed against her own, remembering the caress from both the black out as well as the undercover mission when they had to be a hot and heavy couple.

"I'm tired of running," she whispered. "I'm tired of making plans and having them backfire. I'm ready to, I don't know, do what feels right in my gut. Sam… I've been so stupid. I've been blind this whole time."

"Are you confessing your undying love for me?" asked Sam, smirking.

"Oh. Yes," said Andy sarcastically. "I'm so madly in love with you, Swarek. I don't know what I'd do without you." She frowned, trying to gather her thoughts. "I have feelings for you. I want… I need to see where this goes. If…" She bit her bottom lip, her doe eyes meeting his. "If you still want me, that is."

Sam groaned, pressing his forehead against hers.

"Your timing sucks," he accused, thumbs brushing against the skin between the bottom of her shirt and the waistband of her jeans, making her toes curl against the cold floor. "Three weeks with you isn't enough time before I go under."

"You know me," whispered Andy against his lips. "Always mucking things up for you."

"McNally…Andy…" He groaned as her devilish hands ran over his ass. "Yer killin' me here." He pressed his lips to hers before pulling away, fully aware of where they were at. "Can I take you home?"

"Yes," she whispered, and a pang of lust hit Sam below the belt when seeing her eyes flash with arousal.

"I'll, uh…" He backed away as a female officer that worked night-shift came in, sending him a glare while waiting for him to leave before changing. "Be in my truck."

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Andy checked her appearance one last time before rushing out of the locker room. She'd put on a fresh layer of make-up, kept her hair down, and chomped down on a breath mint before exiting. Walking with a purpose she sped past the others and was ready to sprint to Sam's truck when seeing it pulled up to the door. She quickly got in and barely had time to close the door before he sped off. The drive to her place was made in silence, anticipation making them both antsy. As soon as the engine was cut Andy was out of her seat belt and over on his side in a flash.

Sam moaned as she straddled his lap, not believing that this was finally happening. His hands snaked under her light jacket and shirt to find smooth skin and he fought for control as she rubbed against his crotch.

"Fuck, Andy," he groaned before kissing her, hands now sliding over her thighs as she rubbed against him, her own hands in his hair as well.

"Come inside," she whispered.

"Oh, I plan on it," he murmured, making her shiver deliciously against him.

"Sam…" She hurriedly climbed off of him and he instantly missed her. "Think you can handle me?"

"Oh, I'm more than certain I can," he said as she opened her door and closed it. He followed her inside the complex. The entire way to the door he'd been unable to keep his hands to himself and he knew he was getting to her when seeing her shaking hands try to unlock the door. When she finally got it open he stopped himself before entering.

"You sure? This is it, Andy. If I take one step inside your place." His eyes locked onto hers. "I'm not stopping."

"I don't want you to stop," she whispered, gripping him by the shirt, pulling him inside, and shutting the door behind them.

TBC…

Reviews are appreciated!