Thank you for all the nice comments about the last chapter, especially since I was so nervous about posting it. :) This latest story is fairly short, but I've been spending most of my time working on another new story (separate from these missing moments) that I hope to have out soon. As always, please review and let me know what you think. :) Thank you for reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

Hiding the Pain

Prompt: Sam gets hurt while undercover and Andy worries about him.

Featuring: Sam and Andy

Sam stumbled into the cover apartment, shutting the door with more force than necessary, which had Andy nearly running out of the bedroom. "Sam!" What she saw before her stopped her dead in her tracks. "What happened?"

He walked toward her, throwing his keys and cell phone on the kitchen counter on his way. "It's nothing."

"Sam this is not nothing." She looked at the bruises on his face, the blood stains on his shirt and the way his arm was laying protectively over his abdomen. It was a far cry from what he looked like when he left hours ago for the surprise meeting their new boss had called.

"Billy was testing me. If I really fought back, we'd both be dead right now," he said, walking past her toward the bedroom. Andy followed until she was standing in front of him as he sat on the bed. He looked up at her and was thankful she wasn't the one that felt like a punching bag right now. If Billy had thought about testing her instead of him, he didn't think he'd be able to restrain himself. And thinking about that made him realize how she was probably feeling right now.

"C'mere," he whispered, reaching his hand out until hers found his and she walked closer. "We haven't been made. I'll tell you everything and we'll call it in, but right now...just help me take this shirt off."

She nodded and slowly tugged his shirt over his head, not oblivious to the pain he was in when she saw him wince as he lifted his arms over his head. "Gonna get the first aid kit," she said, before going to the bathroom to retrieve it.

When she got back, Sam was lying on the bed, one arm over his closed eyes as he tried to ignore the pain. He was really hurting, but didn't want Andy worrying so he tried to hide it. He'd been punched and kicked in the stomach numerous times. He'd taken several blows to the face and could still taste the blood in his mouth from his cut lip. He'd thrown a few punches himself, but the other guy was definitely in better shape.

Andy took a cold pack out of the first aid kit, cracking it so it would get cold before handing it over to him. "Put this on your cheek," she instructed, noticing the purple bruising below his left eye. Her eyes scanned the bruises on his abdomen and as she pressed her fingers lightly above his stomach, he hissed out a breath. "You might have a broken rib."

"No, it's fine, just bruised," he said. She quirked an eyebrow, giving him a disbelieving look, before rummaging through the first aid kit for the pain reliever ointment. She rubbed it on as gently as she could.

When she was done, she scooted further up the bed so she could reach his face, and removed the ice pack. She worked painstakingly slow so as not to cause him any pain. She cleaned the cuts under his eye, along his jaw and on his bottom lip. She grazed his lips with hers briefly before closing her eyes and sighing.

Sam's hand came up to rest against her cheek and she leaned into the touch. "Hey, I'm okay. The bumps and bruises will go away."

Her fingers gently touched the cut under his eye before putting a small butterfly bandage over it. When she saw him wince again as he moved his right arm, she was worried. He was definitely in more pain than he was letting on. "We should take you to the hospital," she said.

"No, too much risk of blowing our cover. I'm fine." He reached his hand up to the back of her head, letting his fingers get lost in her hair as he pulled her closer. "And this way, you get to be my sexy nurse."

She rolled her eyes at him, wondering how he could be thinking about that at a time like this. She replaced the ice pack under his eye and grabbed another to put on his stomach. "Keep these there. It'll keep the swelling down." She disappeared into the bathroom for a moment, returning with a glass of water and some pain meds. "Take this," she said, handing the items over to him.

"And just...don't tell me you're fine," she said, sitting down on the bed. He started to protest, but she stopped him. "You were beaten up, so you're not fine. We only have each other here; you can't hide things from me. Okay?"

He always tried to protect her, to shield her, to ease her worry, but she was right. They were in this together and hiding something, anything, could put one or both of them at risk at any moment. "Okay," he said, nodding his head in agreement. "It hurts like hell."

Andy gave him a small smile. "Alright, we're gonna call this in and then you're getting some rest."

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed the number of their handler.