Chapter 3

"Hey," Nick said walking up to where Sam was pacing outside of Andy's room, "Is she OK?"

Sam nodded, "She's fine, hasn't woken up yet but the nurse said it should be any minute now."

"Ok, so what are you doing out here?" Nick asked

"I just needed a minute." Sam stopped pacing and leaned back against the wall across from her door. "You can go in and see her if you want."

Nick nodded his thanks, "Here." He handed him a duffel bag and his keys, "Oliver grabbed your street clothes out of your locker."

"Thanks." Sam took the bag and walked down the hall to change.

Nick closed the door quietly behind him when he entered Andy's room; he was surprised to find her eyes open and looking at him, "Hey! Sam said you were still sedated."

"I know. I've been awake for a while, I just wasn't ready to let him see that." Andy said with a sad smile.

He moved to take the seat Sam had vacated next to Andy's bed, "Why's that?"

"He started talking to me, even though he thought I was asleep still and the things he said to me and the baby were just so amazing and I don't think I could handle it if he just said that because he thought I couldn't hear." Andy explained.

"I think that even though he thought you couldn't hear him, he meant every word. Oliver told me that he's been wanting to talk to you for a while, but he just didn't know what to say or how to say it."

"Well he sure picked a hell of a time to man up." Andy gave Nick a small smile. "I don't doubt that he means what he said and that it isn't just about the baby."

"So what's the problem?" Nick asked

"He always means what he says. When he told me that I wouldn't get rid of him without a fight, he really did mean it but that didn't stop him from breaking my heart." Andy shrugged, "I know its not the same thing and that he really is trying to fix things but it doesn't stop me from worrying."

Nick and Andy looked up quickly when the door opened and Sam walked back in, "Your awake!" He tried to smile at her but found he was nervous all of a sudden.

"I better get going." Nick said awkwardly, "Call me if you need anything." He gave Andy a quick hug and nodded to Sam as he walked out of the room.

"Sam."

"Andy." Sam said at the same time.

He moved to sit down next to her once more and gestured for her to go ahead. She cleared her throat and couldn't think of how best to begin. "I'm sorry you had to find out about the baby like this." She blurted out finally.

"It was definitely a shock." Sam agreed, "But I'm not upset about it. I'm just glad you're both ok."

"Yeah." Andy looked down at her hands, "I was awake earlier. I heard what you said."

Sam was surprised; he used to be able to tell when she wasn't really sleeping. "I meant all of it."

Andy smiled sadly, "I know you did." She wiped a tear away that had started to fall, " You don't say anything you don't mean. But that didn't stop you from walking away from our relationship with out a second thought."

"I'm sorry." Sam said again, "I was in such a bad place and I really thought that I was doing the right thing by walking away."

"I don't understand how you could think it was the right thing to do." Andy said somewhat annoyed, "How is leaving me standing in the rain right?"

Sam stood up, "I don't know how to explain it because it doesn't make any sense and I know that."

"Try."

"You said you loved me." Sam started

"I told you that you didn't have to say it back." Andy accused.

"Are you going to keep interrupting?" Sam grinned at her to break the tension and knowing her interruptions were involuntary most of the time.

She smiled sheepishly, "Sorry."

He nodded, "I wanted to say it back, but I can admit now that I was still angry at you for leaving during our suspension and that made it hard for me to fully trust you. I was struggling to also find a balance for us at work; my need to protect you was getting in the way of my own instincts." He held up a hand when he saw her open her mouth to speak, "I'm not saying that anything that you did something to make me feel that way or that it was your fault, but I was still the senior officer and despite your stubborn streak I should have listened to my gut more than yours and did what I thought was right and insisted we do things my way."

Sam was on a roll now, "You run head first in to situations without thinking them all the way through and sometimes you're right, but I wish you would just stop and breathe and think about what you're doing because one day it might be Traci or Oliver telling me that your dead."

He was breathing heavily as he paced and Andy was startled to find his eyes looking oddly bright. "Sam."

"Did it ever occur to you that I might not be able to survive burying you too?" He asked her angrily.

"Sam." She reached out a hand for him and he reluctantly came back to her bedside. "I am truly sorry for making you feel like you couldn't trust yourself and for making you worry that something might happen to me. I know that I can be difficult and unrelenting when I have my mind set on something, but I could never forgive myself if I had this gut feeling and because I didn't act right away someone got hurt."

They sat looking at each other for a long moment, neither entirely sure what to say next. Andy finally broke the silence, "Maybe this is something we'll have to struggle through together and eventually we'll balance each other out." She took his hand in hers as the pieces of the puzzle about his behavior were falling in to place, "I still think that leaving during our suspension was the right thing to do, but I'm sorry it made you feel like you couldn't trust me."

He gripped her hand tightly, almost afraid to hope of where this conversation was going, "I'm sorry I broke my promise and walked away without a fight."

"So where do we go from here?" Andy asked.

"Do you still love me?" Sam asked her not breaking eye contact.

Andy didn't hesitate, "Of course."

He let out a breath and nodded, "Then I think we should try and take things slow for a little bit and ease our way back to normal; or as normal as things get for us."

"Agreed."

"And then, I would really love for us to find a nice house together with a yard for Boo Radley to play in with Junior when he or she is a little bigger." Sam flashed her his dimples.

Andy pulled him in close for a kiss, "That sounds perfect."