Chapter 3: A Place to Rest My Head

Sam opened the door without bothering to look through the peep hole. Gail had made a habit of stopping by at random over the last few months. She usually brought a case of beer and would happily camp out on his couch and watch whatever was on the TV, she said even Hockey Night in Canada was a nice break from the insanity that was her apartment, though that didn't stop her from loudly insulting every one of Don Cherry's suits. Sam suspected she was just missing Nick and avoiding Chris, but he didn't really mind. His own life had been feeling increasingly empty as the months without Andy ticked by. At least Gail's sarcastic commentary kept the regrets at bay.

It was not Gail on his porch, however. It was Jo Rosati and a pair of uniformed officers Sam didn't recognize.

"Can I help you?" Sam asked, a sinking feeling in his gut.

"Is McNally here?" Jo asked, her businesslike tone reminding Sam why he'd never really warmed to her.

He nodded. "Yeah. What's going on?"

"There was a fire at her building today. I need to bring her in for questioning."

Sam could feel his eyebrows creeping up towards his hairline. "Why?" He knew his tone was hostile, but he couldn't help it. Andy had been through more than enough today, he wasn't about to let Jo Rosati throw her in the back of a squad car without an explanation first.

Jo gave him an appraising look and then turned to one of the officers, "Can you give us a minute?"

The guy, tall and blonde with a luxurious mustache that would have made even Tom Selleck jealous nodded, and gestured for his partner to follow him. When they were several meters away, Jo began to speak.

"Fire Marshall ruled the fire suspicious. It will take a day or two for them to finish their investigation, but Frank wanted us to get on this before they do."

Sam crossed his arms over his chest, unimpressed. "That doesn't explain why you need to take her in."

"Look Swarek, I know she's the wind beneath your wings, but to the rest of the world she's a cop who just worked on the biggest bust of the year - a bust the white shirts are hoping to cash in for some decent publicity for once. If the press gets wind of the fact that one of our cops set fire to her own apartment building and we just let her walk around free because we didn't want to hurt her feelings, how much good press do you think that will generate?"

Sam clenched his teeth. "Andy didn't start that fire."

"Did she tell you that?" Jo asked.

"She doesn't have to." Sam had never hit a woman. He'd never even wanted to, not after what had happened to Sarah when they were kids. But today, Jo's confident smirk as she told him Andy was going to be dragged through the hell of an official interview on the day her apartment burned down just because she happened to live near the point of ignition made him understand the urge. Hadn't Andy been through enough? He thought of her, sitting at his kitchen table, telling him she missed him. Her eyes had been full of the most delicate thing in the world: hope. He'd wanted to tell her right then and there that he still loved her, but instead he'd echoed her words.

Sam had never thought of himself as a coward, but when it came to telling that intelligent, intoxicating, infuriating woman how he felt, he somehow ended up tongue-tied every time. He had never been in love. Sure, as a teen he'd mistaken lust for love more than once, but he knew now that lust was all those feelings had been. They were nothing to the absolute torture of loving Andy. It was torture. Exquisite torture. But torture all the same. When he thought she was in danger he couldn't think. When she wanted to do something he couldn't help but follow blindly behind her. He knew he had wounded her when he told her he didn't think he could be a cop and be with her. He'd been an idiot to think he could be a better cop without her. Sure, he'd been a more rational cop before he'd known Andy McNally existed, but now that he'd had her, he could no more live his life without her in it than he could walk without his legs, or fly without the help of an airplane. She was in his very soul. And even when her presence was more like shrapnel than a soothing balm, she was a part of him and he would never let her get away again.

Jo looked at him strangely. "Riiight. Well, I still need to bring her in. And if you don't let me, I will have those gentlemen arrest you for obstruction. Which will go on the books. I'd rather avoid that, wouldn't you?"

"None of this goes on the books." Sam said, giving her a hard look. Andy's career meant everything to her. He, more than anyone, knew that. She had chosen her career over him twice in the last eighteen months. The realization twisted a knife in his gut; He may love Andy McNally, but that didn't mean she loved him back. No matter what she said out loud. He supposed that was the price he paid for falling for a woman almost ten years his junior. While Sam was almost ready to admit he wanted to settle down, build a life, even if the idea scared him to no end, Andy was in the stage of life where six months was forever, and marriage was that thing in the future that would tie her down. He remembered being in his mid-twenties. It had been all sex and booze and using the badge for all its advantages. If someone had told his twenty-six year old self that he would be contemplating marriage in ten years' time, he would have told the bartender to cut them off.

Jo shrugged. "Fine by me. We'll enter her in as a witness.. for now."

Sam nodded. He still wasn't happy, but he knew that trying to stop Jo from taking Andy would only make everything worse, so he stepped back and let Jo follow him into the house. He paused in the kitchen doorway. Andy was staring vacantly into space, her fingers picking away at the label on the bottle in her hand. She looked so young and vulnerable and lost. All he wanted to do was take her in his arms and tell her he never wanted her to leave. But instead he cleared his throat and called her name in a strangled voice he didn't recognize, "Andy?"

She looked up with a smile, which died the moment her eyes found Jo.

What the fuck is she doing here? Andy's brain couldn't seem to move past that question as she stared blankly at the blonde woman in the doorway. "Detective," she said in a strange, stilted voice. One she had only ever used with ex-boyfriends and her mother.

"I'm sorry about this," Jo said, glancing at Sam's tense form before returning her gaze to Andy, "but I need you to come in and answer some questions about the fire this afternoon."

Andy felt like she'd been kicked in the gut by a donkey on uppers. "You... what? Why?" She realized she sounded defensive, but she couldn't help it. Hadn't she been through enough today?

Jo's polite smile disappeared into a thin red line. When she spoke again the veneer of politeness was gone and she was back to the cold, calculating woman who had accused Andy of holding Luke in a death grip just weeks before she fucked him in a cheap hotel room. This was the Jo Andy had learned to loathe. "Your apartment was set on fire today, deliberately. You can come in willingly as a witness, or I will arrest you as a suspect." the and you can kiss your career goodbye on the end of the sentence dangled in the air between them.

Andy set the beer bottle down on the table with a little too much force and rose to her feet. "I'll come in, but Sam is driving me." She may not have control over much today, but she sure as hell wasn't getting in a car with the woman who had broken up her engagement. Even if she admitted to herself now that she'd never really loved Luke. Sure, she'd loved the idea of Luke, of her and Luke, of getting married to a Detective and settling down with the white picket fence and 2.5 kids. And it had hurt like hell when he'd cheated on her. Mostly because it gave her pride whiplash. But pain was pain, and she wasn't above blaming that pain entirely on the conniving bitch standing in front of her, threatening to take her to jail and destroy her career. But she hadn't loved him. Not like she loved Sam. Sam was her soul mate. She just wished he realized it.

Jo looked for a moment like she was going to argue, but a quick glance at Sam, who had crossed his arms over his chest and was giving her a look that told her he was losing patience, changed her mind. "Fine." she snapped. "If you're more than twenty minutes behind us I'm getting an arrest warrant."

"We'll be right behind you." Sam said, his eyes narrowed.

"Good." Jo flashed them both a perfunctory smile and then turned and disappeared down the hall.

Before the front door slammed shut behind her, Sam was at Andy's side. "Are you okay?" He asked, his voice warm.

Andy sighed. "Fine. Let's just get this over with."

Sam brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "That's my girl." He said softly, like a caress.

Andy leaned into his touch for a moment, she could feel his breath on her forehead and knew if she flicked her eyes up she would drown in his gaze. She wished for nothing more than to be able to finish their talk so they could get on to other things. But the talk would have to wait. "Can I borrow a coat?" She asked, breaking the intimate moment.

Sam stepped back, dropping his hand. "Yeah. Of course."

He disappeared for a moment and Andy took the time to gather her wits. This was going to be an incredibly awkward conversation, she needed her full mental faculties. By the time Sam returned with a spare jacket that would drown her slender frame, but also keep out the evening chill, Andy was ready to face the music.

This was not how Andy had imagined her return to fifteen division. Sam led the way to the interrogation room, keeping an eye out lest anyone notice Andy trailing in his wake and decide to get curious. The last thing she needed was the whole division knowing she was being questioned about an arson case the day she returned from the task force.

Andy took deep breaths, taking in Sam's familiar scent from the borrowed jacket. It grounded her and helped to still the nervous flutter in her stomach. She hadn't done anything wrong, but somehow she was afraid that wouldn't matter if Jo was on the case. She'd never seen Jo ignore the evidence to prosecute a grudge, but there was a first time for everything and if Jo hated anyone enough to do it, it was probably Andy.

Sam stopped her just before she entered the interrogation room. "I'll be right on the other side of the glass." He said softly, twining his fingers with hers and squeezing her hand supportively. "You didn't do anything wrong. So, just answer her questions and then we can go home."

Andy held his gaze for an endless moment, wondering if he would close the distance between them and kiss her. She half-dreaded he would, the last thing she needed was someone seeing them kissing at the station. a clear breach of protocol even if they were both off duty, but she wanted him to so badly that protocol could go fuck itself. He didn't kiss her, instead he squeezed her hand a final time and let go.

Andy turned and opened the door to Interview One and stepped inside.

AN: Thanks for trusting me enough to keep reading, I know the last cliffie was super evil