Faster. They should be moving faster.

Andy couldn't breathe. Her chest was painfully tight and her brain was stuck in a short circuit of panic.

All she could think about was the fact that Sam was walking into a death trap and it was all her fault. They could have let the deal go. Walked out with two million of the dealer's money, but she hadn't let that happen. Idiot. She'd been too busy worrying that they would let this case slip through their fingers, ruin the second UC op in six months.

She shouldn't have let him leave with Angel. Somehow she should have maneuvered the situation so she was the one headed into a building filled with felons who would shoot her in a heartbeat if they knew she was a cop.

Williams yelled something into her radio, but Andy couldn't make it out through the ringing in her ears.

A few seconds or an eternity later the SUV slammed to a stop, joining a half dozen or more others before a large dilapidated warehouse. "Dispatch I have one victim, dead on scene, shot in the chest, have responding units seal the building"

Bile rose in Andy's throat. Sam. Please God don't let it be Sam. She climbed out of the SUV on shaking legs. She scanned the area until her eye caught the sheet covered body. She felt dizzy as Boyd pulled it back.

It wasn't Sam.

"McNally!"

She whirled around at the familiar voice.

Sam leaned against a car, smile on his face. "You're ok," She came to a stop a couple feet away, her heart still pounding in her chest.

"Yeah, thanks to you. You were great in there."

"Thanks."

"See? You don't have to fake it anymore."

She returned his smile. Their eyes locked. His eyes were warm and she shifted her weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other. She wanted to touch him, assure herself he was really there. But she wasn't his girlfriend and non-girlfriends didn't throw themselves at their male friends. So she shifted her weight and forced her eyes away.

"Well," Sam broke the silence, "I should uh... get in there and give a statement."

Andy nodded, "Alright." She wanted to say something more. I'm glad you didn't die. I could kill you for scaring me like that. Are you sure you're ok? But the words wouldn't come.

"See you tomorrow, Copper?"

"See you tomorrow."

Andy fell into bed a little before dawn. She'd spent hours at the scene and then back at the station, giving a statement and then filling out paperwork. She hadn't seen Luke or Sam since leaving the scene, she assumed they would both stay to work until Staff Sergeant Best forced them out.

Luke had a key, but she didn't expect to see him until the next day. They would be living together soon enough. Fake it till you make it. It's what she'd told Traci all those weeks ago, what she'd been doing since she left the academy, and it had maybe saved Sam's life tonight so there was no point in abandoning it now. Luke was a great guy. Kind, handsome, and supportive. He'd had her back tonight.

Of course, Sam had her back too. But she told herself it was different. Sam was her partner. It was his job to keep her safe. Luke had volunteered for lookout duty in order to keep her safe. Because Luke didn't think you could do it a traitorous voice whispered in her head. Too exhausted to hash it out in her head, Andy pulled a pillow over her face to block out the early morning light and fell into a fitful sleep.

Faster. She needed to move faster, but no matter how fast she ran the SUV didn't seem to get any closer. She tried to scream, tried to yell out that they needed to move, get in the SUV, get to the warehouse, get to Sam.

Suddenly she was in the SUV and they were pulling up to the warehouse along with a half dozen others. The radio crackled. "Dispatch I have one victim, dead on scene, shot in the chest, have responding units seal the building"

Andy couldn't breathe. Her chest was painfully tight. She climbed out of the SUV and scanned the parking lot frantically. He wasn't there.

Her eyes landed on the body, covered by a yellow plastic sheet. Her heart thudded painfully in her chest as she walked slowly towards it. With a trembling hand she pulled the plastic back exposing a familiar face frozen in death.

"Sam!" the name tore itself from her throat, one part scream one part sob.

Andy woke alone in her apartment, sweating, her throat raw from screaming. It took several minutes before reality overrode the terror of her dream. She was home and safe, Sam was safe. Her heart rate slowed to normal and she reached for her cel phone.

The clock on the display said eight-fifteen. She'd been asleep less than three hours, but she knew she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. Not with the amount of adrenalin pumping through her veins. She flipped open the phone and dialed Luke's cel.

It rang five times before clicking over to voicemail. Andy closed the phone without leaving a message. She knew Luke well enough to know he would find her when he finally surfaced. Until then it was pointless to try and get him to talk about anything but the case he was consumed with. In a way his single minded focus was what had attracted her in the first place, but on a morning like today, when she was jittery with left over adrenalin, she wished he wouldn't disappear so completely into his work.

She threw aside the blankets and climbed out of bed. She started a pot of coffee brewing before climbing in the shower. The rhythmic pounding of hot water against her bare skin helped to ease the tension in her muscles and by the time she was dressed in jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt she felt like herself again.

She poured coffee and a generous amount of milk into a travel mug and grabbed her jacket. If she wasn't going to get sleep she might as well be at the precinct.

A/N: I know it's been forever, thanks everyone for your patience :) Season premiere is coming up in a few short weeks, (cannot wait!) I am intending to carry on this series through Season 2 so expect more regular updates soon.

Please review!