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Chapter 18- Going Somewhere.

It took a while, but eventually Sam found Andy's room.

He ran into Peck in the ER when he stopped by there first, and she confirmed that both her and Sophie were okay and that Sophie would be taken into protective custody until Nico was found.

He was still running around, but three of Vega's guys had been picked up close to Sam's mothers house.

Peck directed him to the doctor that had seen Andy too before she left him and guided Sophie out the door when she stated that Callaghan was waiting outside.

Sam went over Andy's condition with the doctor, a huge weight lifted off his shoulders when he heard that she was only being kept overnight for observation. She was okay, and was merely suffering from a great amount of stress. Her body had gone into shock, and she was suffering from extreme fatigue, but sleep and a weeks worth of healthy food and she'd be rearing to go.

The doctor had checked her ribs, wrist and cheek bones and he was pretty happy with their progress in healing, Sam relieved that she had suffered no more damage to any of her already painful injuries.

The doctor gave Sam Andy's room number so soon he was making his way upstairs.

Surprisingly, no-one else was here visiting her but in a sense he was secretly hoping that they could get a few minutes alone.

Finding her door, Sam pushed it open and wasn't surprised to find her fast asleep as her steady breathing filled the room.

Sam closed the door behind himself and quietly walked over to the chair left in the corner next to her bedside.

Sitting down he allowed the day to catch up with him as he took the peaceful expression on her face in.

...

"Ssshhhh". Was followed by a giggle.

"But Mom...".

"Leo" Nash hissed under her breath.

Another round of giggles followed, Sam keeping his eyes closed and pretending to still be asleep.

"He looks so tired" Andy whispered.

"That, was probably you" Nash replied. Sam could hear the smile in her words as she teased Andy.

"Was not. How was I supposed to know that any of this would happen?". Andy said in self-defense.

"But you're still happy he's alive right?" Nash asked turning the conversation serious. Sam could only guess that Andy's expression gave her away. She probably still looked conflicted, like she had since he pulled her out of the warehouse.

"Yeah, but it just doesn't feel...right? Okay, like that so didn't sound stupid" Andy said before sighing.

"Andy, I know it's a big adjustment, and a big shock, but seriously how can you not be over the moon that he's here?".

"I am Trace, on the inside. But how am I supposed to forget how it felt to have everything I've ever wanted taken away?".

"Simple Andy, you don't. You go get it back".

Nash and her son didn't stay long after that. She told Andy she'd be back later and left Leo's phone in case she needed anything.

Sam thought of the calls he'd have to make soon, the one to Sarah and his mother. Then there was the problem of telling the realtor and his lawyer that he was still alive.

Sam must have let out a sigh because when he sneaked a peek in Andy's direction she was staring at him wide-eyed again.

"Hi" Sam said relieved at seeing her look much better than she had earlier.

"Hi". It lacked a smile and sounded politely forced, but it was still there.

"Feeling better?" Sam asked as he sat up straight.

"Yeah, thanks". Andy said before slipping down and getting comfy.

"Can I ask you something?" Sam questioned, his heart rate picking up a fraction.

Andy nodded, her eyes still gazing at him from on her pillow.

"Can we talk later?". There he'd asked it. No fuss.

"Sam,"

"Just give me a couple days Andy. I need to call Sarah and sort my house out. You need to rest anyway...".

Andy's face clouded over in contemplation as she overthought her answer.

Sam didn't wait for it, he'd be coming to find her wherever she was once he sorted everything out. He needed to follow a few ideas on Nico too before he knew he'd be sleeping peacefully if Andy wasn't right under his nose.

Sam took a small step towards the end of her bed before stopping himself and finding irony in his thoughts.

In the beginning, he'd waited and then she came to him when he was working Brennan. After things spiraled out of control and he made a stupid error in judgment and let her go, she tried again to reach out to him, but he wouldn't listen. Now he was asking for the same chance that he didn't take, only thing was he was going to make her listen even if she didn't want to.

Andy smiled shyly for some odd reason, like she saw his trail of thought.

"Call me if you need anything?".

Andy shook her head before the motion stopped. "Will you go see my dad? About the list?".

"Yup" Sam smiled and nodded before he left her to rest. He was set at peace when he found Collins posted outside her door in civilian clothes.

Guard duty had probably been tossed in the air and her partner would obviously grab it. At least Sam knew that he would have her back.

...

Over the next three days Sam got most of his life back.

His house had not been sold, the realtor claiming that the fact that someone kept stealing the for sale sign pegged into the front lawn as the reason.

Sam had called the realtor from the barn and looked Peck's way who held her hands up in innocence when he repeated 'someone stole the for sale sign?' And she heard him.

He spent hours with Callaghan in debriefing, and looking for Nico, between making calls to the electric and gas companies to have his utilities turned back on. When it was all over with and he was free to leave, Sam headed home with the intention of calling Sarah. It had totally taken those three days to work up the courage to call her.

Callaghan had called her and told her that their mothers house had burned down but Sam asked him to be quiet about him being alive. He wanted to tell her that himself.

On the way home, Sam took a detour passed Tommy McNally's house and approached him about the list. Callaghan had also been really skeptical that its existence was anything more than the worst thoughts that they could imagine.

When Sam showed Tommy the list, the man had chuckled and patted him on the shoulder before confirming Andy's story. It was a list of cops that Tommy kept track of over the years, even though he was off the force. They were all good cops just like Andy had said they were. Anything bad that had happened to anyone on that list was purely coincidence.

Tommy excused himself politely, claiming that he had to go see Andy before asking Sam if she was okay.

Sam felt a surge of unexpected emotions run through him as he said "She will be".

That line could so easily have turned into a death notification.

When leaving Tommy's Sam sent Callaghan a quick text telling him that it wasn't a hit list, his reply a dry and sarcastic 'I know that'. The moron was doubtful, but he knew that key piece of information already, and just forgot to share it.

When he got home, Sam grabbed a shower and a cup of coffee before he picked up the cordless house phone and sat down in the lounge with it.

He called Sarah's cell, so the number would show.

She connected the call and didn't say a word, but Sam could hear her breathing on the other side.

After a few seconds ticked by, Sam said her name "Sarah".

He heard her utter a soft sob, before the phone crashed to the floor and the call disconnected.

Great, now he'd scared his sister half way to the other side.

...

Constant knocking on the door made Sam rouse as he stirred and finally found himself wide awake.

He too was exhausted and he hadn't meant to fall asleep.

After the failed call to Sarah he must have dozed off and now was being woken up by someone's need to gain access to his house.

Sam gruffed out a sigh and stood up. When he opened the door, Sarah's shocked face stared at him in disbelief.

"Hi" Sam flared the dimples and waited for her to respond but she just stood there unable to comprehend what she was seeing.

Sam took a small step forward and wrapped his arms around her before he heard a string of sobs leave her until it became fully fledged crying.

Thirty minutes later they sat in the lounge drinking coffee, Sarah still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that Sam was still alive and okay.

"So, you did all that because of a list, that wasn't really a hit list? And you openly screwed the Mexican drug cartel over because you got the chance to?" Sarah summed it up pretty well.

"Yup". When stating it like she had, it was pretty straight forward.

"That's crazy Sam, it's like you had a death wish!" Sarah added a second after he said yup.

"I did".

Oops.

Sarah slamming her coffee cup down on the table at her feet made him wince. He was about to see the wrath of Sarah unleashed, and that was never a pretty sight.

"Sam, do you even know what that sounds like you're saying?". She managed to retain a tiny amount of restraint.

"I didn't mean it the way it sounded Sar".

"And what did you mean then? You can't say things like that Sam!".

"I just meant that I was willing to go that far to do this". Sam ran a hand over his face. Besides Jerry, Oliver and Andy, nobody knew him like Sarah did.

"Was this about Cassie? Is that why you took the opportunity to cut the head off the snake by running with the cartel?".

"Nope".

"You're lying Sam". She dared him to keep following the road he chose to take.

"Okay, yes. It was part of the reason".

"And your rookie and Jerry the other two-thirds? Sam you need your head read okay, she was my sister too and you know what? I feel responsible, like I could have done something that would have changed it. But I can't, and neither can you. Jerry's gone Sam, but he would never blame you for what happened. As for your rookie, she's... Really pretty". Sarah must have seen his thoughts cross his mind and she decided to tread carefully when mentioning Andy.

"Sam, all I'm saying is, you can't sacrifice yourself to save the world because you're doomed to fail. It'll never happen, so take a step back, get your head out your ass, and do something with your life".

Great, now Sarah was pulling a Doctor Phil on him.

...

The constant chatter was driving her insane. She loved Dov, but really, she wanted the solitude of a little bit of silence.

Since she went to the hospital, she had been under constant guard by someone. If it wasn't Nick then it was Dov or Oliver and for four days it had been driving her insane.

Like now, Dov was rambling on about some stupid moron that Andy didn't even know.

She'd constantly zone out on his chattering when her mind zoomed over to Sam.

She had accepted the fact that he was alive, but still the knowledge didn't cause those happy feelings she knew she should have.

She'd decided that it was probably due to one thought that just didn't stop circulating her brain; her and Sam were still over and he chose his job over waiting for her.

Well, that was in her own opinion anyway, although it was unfair to hold it against Sam. He was a cop when they met, and he was still a cop when they broke up. It was what he wanted to do more than anything else and no matter what she couldn't expect him to chose her over his badge.

She never wanted him to make that choice.

But she felt like she was.

She hadn't seen him since he left her after falling asleep next to her hospital bed, and she had pushed the urge to call him out of her mind on numerous occasions.

He asked for time, so she decided to let him have it. He deserved at least that much.

She'd spent hours thinking over how things got where they were and all those feeling from when she was told that Sam died came flooding back to the surface.

The anger had subsided, and the hole in her heart was starting to patch itself up.

She was staring at the TV watching whatever Dov had on without paying it any real attention when one stray thought plummeted to mind.

She was happy that he was alive and back. She was more than happy about it.

What hurt was the fact that despite that, he was still way beyond her reach.

He wasn't hers, and even though he'd come for her at the warehouse it didn't mean that he wanted to go beyond where they were now. Him asking to talk didn't mean anything more than the fact that he wanted to clear his conscience.

"Can we go somewhere?" Andy asked Dov.

He looked panicked because they weren't supposed to leave her condo.

"I need to go see Sam" she added and Dov nodded.

Andy would be safe there too.

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Jelly Bean Jenna©