The Real Deal

"No heroics," she promised, moving so she straddled him and leaning in for another kiss.

Sam pulled her closer with one hand on the back of her neck. He slid his fingers up over her scalp, letting her long hair tangle around his fingers. It was as soft as he remembered. It fell around their faces like a curtain, smothering him in the scent of her shampoo.

He breathed deeply through his nose, savouring the scent. Two months was too long.

Undercover operations couldn't be rushed. He knew that. But he was hoping fervently that this one was almost over. He'd been drawn to Andy since day one, but it had taken almost two years before he'd managed to do anything about it. At first he'd held back because she was with Luke, and then he'd kept his distance because they were partners and that was better than nothing. That had lasted for nine months.

He didn't think he would ever forget the day they finally got together. More like fell together.

"Attention all units, shots fired at 6 Ashby Place off King Street East. All available units please respond."

Sam picked up the radio, "Mark 1509 responding. We're three minutes out."He flicked on the lights and siren as Andy turned the cruiser around and sped towards the address.

They pulled onto the street, siren blaring and lights flashing away, alerting everyone for blocks that the police were on the scene. There was a man standing in the middle of the road, just in front of what Sam guessed was number 6. Andy brought the car to a halt a few meters away.

The man turned to face them and then without warning, lifted the gun he held in his left hand and fired three rounds in quick succession at the car. The first two shots pinged off the grill, but the third hit the window, embedding in the windshield, a spider web of cracks spreading from it. The glass held, but Sam knew another direct shot and it might not.

Acting purely on instinct he threw open the door and slid out of the car, careful to keep his head low. Across from him he knew Andy was mirroring his movements. His heart thudded loudly in his chest as he brought his gun up. "Drop your weapon." He shouted at the man still standing in the middle of the road, gun in hand.

There was an ear splitting scream from one of the houses on the street. The man half turned towards the noise, but not before firing off another round at the cop car. Sam heard the shot his metal and out of the corner of his eye saw Andy stagger back as the door shielding her from the shooter absorbed the shot.

"Drop the weapon and put your hands in the air or we will shoot." Sam yelled, lining up the shot as he spoke.

Instead of dropping the gun, the man fired a fifth shot at the car. It struck the driver's side window, shattering it into a million shards.

Sam pulled the trigger.

The shot was perfect, and the man crumpled to the ground.

Sam was on his feet and running around to the other side of the car before the body had even hit the pavement. "Andy?" There was blood on the side of her neck and face and trickling down one arm. He dropped to the ground beside her.

"I'm fine. It was just the glass." She said, swiping at the blood on her neck so he could see the shallow cut caused by a piece of glass from the window.

He cupped her face between his hands, reassuring himself that she was there, and she was fine. Barely cognizant of what he was doing he lowered his head, touching his lips to hers. It was a brief kiss, he pulled away almost before she had a chance to respond. But it was what he'd needed. Slowly he could feel his heart rate returning to a more normal rhythm.

"Sam-" Andy looked at him with dark eyes filled with questions.

He caressed her cheek softly, and then pulled back so he could radio for a coroner for the shooter and an ambulance for Andy.

After that the day passed in something of a blur. Shaw and Epstein arrived just minutes after the shoot out and worked with Sam to take statements. Neighbours had called 911 when they heard a shot fired next door. When they broke open the door to the townhouse they found a woman on the kitchen floor, shot through the forehead. An ambulance arrived and took Andy to the hospital to stitch up the worst of her cuts. Sam wanted to go with her, but he'd shot and killed an armed man which meant he had hours of telling and retelling and pointless paperwork to fill out before he was allowed to go anywhere. When they finally released him for the day, he found Andy waiting in the locker room, cleaned up and apart from a few bandages on her arm and three stitches on her neck she looked as good as new.

"What was that?" She asked as soon as the door closed behind him.

"The Ds figure he was probably high, the house looked like it had been ransacked.."

"I know, Dov told me." She interrupted. "I'm talking about the kiss, Sam."

"I-" He grasped for an explanation, any explanation apart from the truth. The truth that he'd been so relieved she was alright that he'd forgotten for a split second that she was his partner and nothing more. The truth that he was pretty certain he'd been in love with her for two years, but never had the guts to say it to her face. Anything but the truth. "I'm sorry." He said at last, turning to his locker so he wouldn't have to look at her.

"I'm not." Andy placed one hand on his locker, stopping him from opening it.

He turned to face her again. "You're not?" He asked, feeling stupid even as he spoke the question.

Her eyes were warm and there was an almost smile on her face. She raised one hand to his face, caressing his cheek with her finger tips. "No," She said, leaning towards him, "Not sorry at all."

Their lips met. Sam slid both arms around her waist and pulled her close.

They had ended that night in his bed and soon developed a pattern of ending their long, stressful days together. Not always with sex, but always together. They'd never defined it. They didn't need to. They were partners. Anything more than that would mean opening up wounds from the past that neither of them wanted to touch. Leaving things undefined was safer.

Except that when Andy had been offered an undercover operation with the drug squad, she'd disappeared. She'd told him she was thinking of it the night before she accepted. He'd told her to be safe. The next day when she'd accepted, he'd volunteered to be her handler. They'd been partners for three years, if anyone was going to be able to keep her safe it was him. But it hadn't lasted.

The failed undercover operation where Sam had first seen Andy was back to bite him again. Three years was a long time, but Sam hadn't been some random cop on the street, he'd immersed himself in Anton's world and made his life difficult for a day. Sam wasn't someone Anton Hill was likely to forget quickly. So he'd been sidelined and for two months he'd been forced to make do with third hand updates on Andy.

Andy seemed to sense that his mind was wandering. She sucked his lower lip into her mouth, biting it gently with her teeth.

He growled and in a single motion flipped her over so he was on top. He held his weight off her with one elbow on the bed, his other hand sliding down to cup her ass.

She slid both hands into his hair, kissing him deeply. She brought her knees up around his hips, open and waiting.

Their eyes locked as he slid slowly into her. She was so beautiful, spread beneath him, her long tussled hair spread out across the bed, her pupils dilated so there was only the thinnest ring of golden brown around the black center.

Sam moved slowly at first. She was tight and wet and it felt amazing. But his control did not hold long. It had been two months, and Andy made the most delicious whimpering noises. Soon he was thrusting into her hard and fast.

She raked his back with her fingernails, thrusting up to meet him. Her inner walls tightened around him and her eyes fell closed as she gave into the orgasm.

His own finish came right on top of hers.

Afterwards he pulled her against his chest and for several minutes they lay in silence. Too soon it was time for him to leave.

Reluctantly he released his hold on her and sat up. His jeans and underwear were in a pile by the wall and he pulled them on in quick succession.

Andy Sat up and began to remove his t-shirt, but he stilled her with his hand. "Keep it, it looks better on you," he said, dropping a kiss on her forehead.

He picked up the jacket and shoes he'd discarded as soon as he'd entered the apartment hours earlier. When he was fully dressed he pulled her into his arms. "No heroics." He said into her hair before letting her go.

She smiled, "I promise."

"Good."

For a long moment he stared at her, and then he turned and walked out of her apartment, shutting the door behind him.

He scanned the hall, it was empty and he breathed a sigh of relief as he made his way to the stairwell. He'd had to see her, but he knew full well there would be hell to pay if he were caught compromising one of Boyd's operations.

o o o

"Remember, we need proof of him actually engaging in a criminal activity."

"I know," Andy resisted the urge to roll her eyes. This was not her first UC job. It wasn't even her first UC job for Boyd. And yet the detective had insisted on meeting her before dawn to go over the details they'd covered at least eighteen times in the last two months.

"We can't wire you, it's too risky, but we'll have cover teams here and here," he indicated two spots on the map he'd spread before them. "If you get into trouble, you know the signal."

Andy couldn't stop a smile at that. The signal had been Sam's idea. It wasn't subtle, but it would work in a pinch and there was no chance in hell that the cover team would miss it. Still, she hoped she wouldn't ever have to use it. She wasn't entirely sure she was strong enough to throw a chair through a plate glass window.

Boyd rolled up the map and shoved it in his bag. "Get pictures if you can, but don't break your cover."

"Anything else?"

"Just one more thing," He dropped the bag on the table and gave her a hard look, "Next time Swarek decides to pay you a midnight visit, tell him to use the fire escape."

Andy could feel the blush creeping up her cheeks. Her brain grasped for an explanation that wouldn't get both her and Sam fired but came up empty. "Did you tell Best?"

Boyd shook his head. "Not this time, but if it happens again..." he let the implications linger.

"We're both fired." Andy guessed.

He shook his head, "Not fired. Definitely reassigned, maybe transferred to another Division."

Transferred. In many ways that was worse than fired. Another division would mean never seeing each other at work, and little chance of matching schedules. The idea of working the streets long term with anyone but Sam was not worth thinking about. "It won't happen again."

"Good." Boyd patted her on the shoulder, "we're in the home stretch. A couple more weeks and you and Swarek can do whatever you like."

Andy's face flushed again. So much for keeping their.. Whatever they were.. A secret. She wondered if Boyd had given Sam a similar shakedown.

Somehow she doubted it. Boyd may be Sam's superior in rank, but when it came down to it, She'd never seen Sam cowed by the detective. Usually when Boyd and Sam butted heads it ended with Sam doing things his way while an exasperated Boyd stood in the corner gnawing at his knuckles until everything turned out fine. Of the two of them, Sam had the better instincts. At least as far as Andy was concerned.

Andy has wondered more than once why Sam had turned down the spot in guns and gangs two years earlier. Guns and gangs was really where he belonged. It was where his strengths lay and she often felt like he was wasted on the streets. An inner voice that sounded a lot like Traci told her it was because he hadn't wanted to leave her. But even after everything they'd been though, she had a hard time understanding how he could give up something that important just for her. No matter how romantic or appealing the idea might be.

She nodded along, not really listening, as Boyd reiterated the plan for the third time that morning. She had work to do, a lot of work, before meeting Anton Hill that night. For one thing, she needed something to wear. If Anton liked his girl's sexy, she would be the sexiest woman in the room. Or at least, the sexiest version of herself that could be had for the fifty dollars she had in her bank account. The quicker she could get close to Anton Hill, the sooner she could find enough evidence for an arrest and get back to her life. Overnight speed had become paramount. She wanted her life back.

"Got it?" Boyd came to the end of his speech.

"Yeah, I've got it." She nodded obediently as she pushed back her chair.

"McNally," he said as she reached for the door.

"What?" She knew she sounded pissed, but she was running on about three hours of sleep and she really wasn't in the mood for Boyd today.

"You're doing good. Just need to hang in there a couple weeks and we'll get the son of a bitch and you and Swarek can do whatever you like."

"Thanks." She said, feeling awkward. It was the first time he'd ever complimented her on anything. Even on previous jobs she'd done where they'd successfully made the bust he'd never once told her she'd done her job right. She wondered just how badly she and Sam could have screwed everything up last night. She figured it had to be serious if Boyd was trying out a pep-talk.