I'm going to preface this story by saying I wrote a similar story during S3, but it was before we saw episode 3x09, so my take on what happened then was much different than what actually did happen. So, while the themes of the stories are similar, they're also very different – if that makes sense. :) Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing – I truly love hearing what everyone thinks about these stories!

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

Almost Gone

Prompt: What happened/what was Sam's reaction in 3x09 after Andy told him Gail was missing when he called to see where she was? (Basically, what happened between that phone call and when we saw the scene start with Sam already at Andy's condo?)

Featuring: Sam and Andy

Sam dialed Andy's home phone number, as he had already tried her cell phone earlier and it had gone straight to voicemail.

"Hello," she answered after several rings, sounding to Sam like she was still half asleep.

"Good morning," he said cheerfully. "Uh, I'm sure you and Peck were staying up late last night painting each other's toenails, but you're supposed to be at work."

Andy looked to the spot on the floor where she last remembered seeing Gail before she blacked out. "Sam…Sam. It's Gail. She's gone."

"What happened?" he asked, worry creeping through his voice as he realized she hadn't simply overslept.

"I…last night, uh, this morning…you dropped me off…"

He could tell she was struggling to remember, so he interrupted her. "Look, I'll be right there. Don't do anything. Stay right there, okay?"

"Yeah. Sam, we have to find Gail."

"We will. Just sit tight, okay. I'll be there soon." Sam hung up and walked back into parade only long enough to grab Oliver. On the way to his cruiser, Sam relayed Andy's conversation to Oliver, knowing he'd get everyone else over to her condo. As for Sam, he wasn't waiting a second longer to get there. He hit the lights and siren, getting to Andy's in record time.

He knocked on her door as he opened it, and found her sitting on the edge of the couch. "Andy." He walked over to her, not taking his eyes off of her.

"Sam." His name came out as a sigh as she stood up. "I don't know...I came home and..."

"Hey, hey, it's okay," he said, framing her face with his hands as his eyes searched her body for any signs of injury. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine." Sam raised his eyebrows at her answer and displayed his typical 'you're not fine' stare. She rolled her eyes, but relented. "Everything's a bit foggy and I have a headache."

He placed a gentle kiss on her lips and felt somewhat guilty that he was so thankful Gail was the one abducted and not Andy. When he pulled back, they simply stared at each other for a few moments. It was only when his hand ran down her neck and moved the hair off her shoulder that he saw the mark. "What's this?" he asked, tilting her head so he could get a better look.

Andy's fingers found his, trying to figure out what he was looking at as his fingers gently rubbed over her skin. "What..."

"Looks like a needle prick. Probably why you're so groggy," he said. "You sure you're not hurt anywhere else?"

Andy took a mental inventory of her body and, with the exception of being sore from lying on the hard floor all night, nothing hurt. "Yeah, yeah." She shook her head trying to remember the night more clearly. "What about Gail? Where's Gail?"

He guided her back to the couch and forced her to sit, joining her when she finally did. "Oliver's getting everyone over here. We'll find her. We'll figure out what happened." He should be probably be checking out her condo, trying to piece together what happened, but Sam realized he wasn't a cop at this moment; he was a boyfriend and he didn't care about anything but Andy right now.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders when she shivered. "I'm sorry I wasn't here with you." He was cursing himself for not walking her to her door last night.

"Sam, I told you to go home, that I was fine walking up here alone. We couldn't've known," she said.

"I should've...especially given everything, I should've made sure you were safe," he said, shaking his head at how his stupidity could have led to Andy being even more seriously hurt.

"Don't. He broke into my condo. I didn't see him hiding in the kitchen. I should've fought harder. Gail's missing from my condo." Everything started coming back to Andy and she was feeling like all of this was her fault. She kept thinking about what she could've done to prevent Gail from being abducted.

Sam didn't have time to protest before Oliver stormed in with several other cops in tow. "The forensics team's here to go over everything. Jerry and Nash are on their way to take McNally's statement," he said as he walked over to Sam and Andy. He looked directly at Andy. "You okay, McNally?"

"Yup, fine."

Oliver raised his eyebrows and looked at Sam. "We need the medics to check her out," Sam said.

"Already on their way, brother."

Andy opened her mouth to protest, but sighed when she saw the glares Sam and Oliver were giving her. "Fine."

"Okay, I'm gonna get out of their way," he said, glancing over at the forensics team. "Let me know if you need anything."

Sam nodded and put a reassuring hand on Andy's knee, his thumb rubbing against the bare skin above her boot. He wasn't sure if he was trying to comfort Andy or himself.

When the paramedics came through the door, Sam stood up to give them room to examine Andy. He walked around the couch, finally taking in the scene in her condo. Andy and Gail had definitely put up a fight against their attacker. Sam took a deep breath thinking again how lucky he was not to be organizing a search party for Andy right now.

"He must've stuck her with something. She's got a needle mark on her neck," he told the paramedics before sitting down in a chair that he pulled up next to the couch. He trailed his fingers lightly up and down Andy's back and told himself he wasn't letting her out of his sight today.