Okay, first, to the couple of guest reviewers who enjoy bashing Andy. STOP. Just stop. I won't tolerate bashing of Andy or Sam in my reviews.
To everyone else, thank again for reading and favoriting and following and reviewing! Every time I get a review in my inbox, it's like unwrapping a Christmas gift. :) So, please, continue letting me know what you think.
Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.
Chapter 3
It was nearly two weeks, and three dates, later when Andy and Sam spent the night together for the first time since they'd gotten back together. Images of making love for hours danced through Andy's conscious as she slowly woke up the next morning. How they'd started making out on the couch, ignoring the movie they rented. How Sam had so gently carried her to the bedroom. How tender and loving he'd been. How they'd spent all night adoring each and every inch of each other's bodies. How their bodies moved in sync with one another, like two pieces of a puzzle. Andy couldn't help the smile forming on her face as she woke up to those memories.
Eyes still closed, she rolled over, expecting Sam to stop her movement as she collided with his body, but instead she got an empty bed. The sheets were still warm, so she knew he hadn't been gone long. She rolled onto her back and opened her eyes, seeing Sam immediately as he stood at the foot of the bed pulling his shirt from the night before over his head. The smile fell from her face and she sighed, thinking nothing had changed.
"You're leaving?" she asked. The sound of her voice startled him since he thought she was still asleep.
He turned around, shaking his head. "Just grabbing my bag from the truck so I can change before we head into work."
A small smile returned to her face and she felt embarrassed she'd thought the worst. "Okay."
He sat on the edge of the bed next to her and took her hand in his. "Hey, what's wrong?" He'd seen a look he couldn't quite place come over her face.
"It's nothing," she replied, trying to force a bigger smile.
With the smile not reaching her eyes, he knew she wasn't telling him the truth. "Andy, I can see it on your face. Something's wrong. Tell me. Don't shut me out."
"You...You always used to leave in the morning. I thought, well, I thought maybe nothing had changed," she admitted as she cast her eyes down toward their links hands.
His free hand rubbed across his face as he thought back to the nights he'd slept over before. It was true, most mornings he was rushing out. Some days he really did have an excuse - plans with Jerry or Oliver - but there were times he just got scared. Scared that lazy mornings and showering at her place would spark talks of moving in. Scared of the commitment that came along with all the feelings he had. Scared that he'd find a way to screw their relationship up. He didn't realize how much it had hurt her to run out so quickly and so often.
"I'm not leaving. And if I ever have to, I'll let you know the night before. I won't...Things have changed. I won't run out," he said.
Her body relaxed, relief surging through her, and an idea popped into her head. "Maybe...Maybe you could, uh, leave a shirt or two here, just in case. Like, if you didn't have your bag, it would make it easier for you. If you want," she said, sheepishly.
Sam felt like the space around his heart was constricting and he was finding it hard to breath. He took a couple slow breaths, not wanting his anxiety to get the best of him. She was taking a small step forward and he was trying to convince himself there was no reason to freak out. "I..." His throat suddenly felt completely dry.
"Or not...I mean, it's fine. Just a thought."
"No. I mean, yes." He pushed out a breath. "That...I think that's a great idea."
The megawatt smile that graced her face had Sam forgetting about why he'd almost let his anxiety win over. He leaned down to cover her mouth with his own, breathing her in as he kissed her. When he sat back up, his heart felt like it was returning to normal, that it wasn't being squeezed by a vise anymore. "I'll be right back."
While Sam went to grab his bag, Andy got out of bed and threw on a shirt, one of his that she'd never given back after the breakup. She padded out to the kitchen and started on breakfast, pulling eggs and bacon out of the fridge after starting the coffee.
After locking up his truck, Sam turned around and smiled at what he saw. He walked over to the sidewalk, digging several quarters out of his pocket to stick in the machine before he pulled out today's newspaper.
Closing the door to Andy's condo, he tossed his bag on the floor before heading into the kitchen, dropping the newspaper on the kitchen island next to where she'd put down a couple plates. She turned her head to face him and smiled. "Should be just another few minutes," she said.
Sam nodded toward the newspaper. "Thought we could look through the paper while we had a relaxing breakfast," he told her.
He was pretty sure her grin couldn't get any wider at his suggestion. She turned back to the eggs she was cooking, but then quickly looked at him again. The look in his eyes told her he remembered when she'd had a similar suggestion that he'd turned down to run off and do whatever he did in the mornings. As she finished cooking the eggs, her cheeks started to hurt from smiling. She really couldn't be happier this morning.
"Don't steal the comics on me," she quipped as he started sifting through the paper. Knowing what she'd go for first, he'd already had his hand on that section and pulled it out, placing it next to her plate.
Several weeks later, Sam was rushing out of Andy's unexpectedly, but she understood this time around. They'd been woken up by a call from Frank with an urgent request - or demand - from their superiors. Apparently, the wife of a white shirt had been robbed at an ATM the night before and they wanted the guy caught. The fact this particular incident matched a series of recent ATM hold-ups only added fuel to the fire.
By the time Andy got to the station, Sam and Traci had been fully briefed and were ready to lead Parade. Andy sat with the rest of her friends and listened intently as Sam described the hold-ups, the profile of the robber, showed surveillance video, and passed around a drawing of a tattoo one of the victims claimed the robber had on his forearm.
"Given the profile and location of the hold-ups, a list - a long list - of suspects has been generated. With not much else to go on, we've decided to assign each pair of partners about a dozen names," Sam explained. "Talk to each of these men, check their alibi, if they have one. Eliminate as many as we can. Anyone that seems suspicious should be brought in for questioning."
Traci handed out the lists of names as Sam continued. "Now, we have a lot of people to work through, so don't go off on your own investigating anyone else. Stick to the people on your list only."
Andy reviewed the list she and Chris were given as Parade came to an end. It was a good list of suspects, but her gut was telling her someone else fit the profile. She and Oliver had been paired a week earlier and stopped a guy for speeding. Something about him that day had felt off, but with no reason to suspect anything, they'd issued the guy a ticket and let him go.
However, as she looked at the grainy image of the surveillance video, something in her gut said their speeder was this robber. It wasn't much to go on though, her gut and a vague resemblance. But she couldn't ignore the feeling she had.
She stood up and walked over to Sam, who was collecting some papers off the table. "McNally," he said, seeing her out of the corner of his eye.
"Sam…" She was hesitant, not sure how to ask for permission to do exactly what he instructed everyone not to do. He quirked his eyebrows, waiting for her to speak. "There was this guy - "
He let out a sigh. "I just told everyone to stick to the lists. Let's get through these dozens of people before we start expanding it, okay?"
"Just listen, okay? Before you shoot it down." When he finally nodded, she continued. "Oliver and I stopped a guy for speeding last week a block from where one of the hold-ups took place. He matches the description and I got this weird vibe off of him, like he was hiding something from us," she explained.
"You really think it might be him?" he asked and quickly got a nod of her head in response.
"Look, let me check out this one guy. You don't even have to pull anyone else from working the lists; I'll do it alone. If he comes up clean, no questions, I'll finish out the list you gave us. I'll work double the amount to make up for it if you want. I just...there's something about the ATM robber and this guy," she said, pleading her case.
Sam pinched the bridge of his nose as he thought about her reasoning. She'd met this guy in person versus the lists he developed based on a profile search on the computer. "Okay, but you're not going alone. You and Diaz will work him just like anyone else on your list."
Andy grinned at him. "Thank you."
"Keep me updated," he told her as she walked away. He'd taught her to trust her gut, which meant sometimes he was going to have to trust it as well.
Andy tried to tamp down her grin as she and Chris brought Nicky Radar into booking. Sam was standing there waiting, arms crossed and leaning against the door frame. She'd called him as soon as they were on the way back to the station to let him know they'd made an arrest.
Chris started on the paperwork as Andy glanced over at Sam as she began emptying the guy's pockets. He couldn't help the proud look displayed in his eyes.
"Officer McNally, it looks like you've caught us our ATM bandit," he said, amusement in his voice. "When you're done here, put him in Interrogation One and come find me."
"Sure thing, detective," she replied, smiling at him before he walked out of the booking area.
"I'm innocent, I'm telling you," Nicky protested.
Andy grabbed his arm as he started shifting around. "You have no alibi, you have hundreds of dollars of cash on you that you can't explain, and this tattoo on your arm matches exactly what we're looking for. So, shut up and start thinking about the confession you're going to give Detective Swarek."
She shared a look with Chris as Nicky continued mumbling under his breath.
"Alright, Andy, we're all set. You want to take him back?" Chris asked a few minutes later.
She nodded. "Yeah, and I'll let the detectives know he's ready for them." She brought Nicky down the hall, sitting him down in a chair in an interrogation room so she could get Sam.
She closed the door to the room and headed to the detective's office. "Hey, Sam," she said, waiting until he looked up from the file he was reading to continue. "Nicky Radar's in Interrogation One."
"Thanks," he said, standing up. "McNally...good work today. Your instinct was right."
They walked together down the hall to the room that held their suspect. "Well, I was taught by the best." She bumped her hip against his as she smiled over at him.
"Can't argue with that," he replied, smirking back at her as he rested a hand on the handle of the door to the interrogation room.
Andy rolled her eyes thinking he'd never have an ego problem. "Thank you for trusting me to check out a lead that wasn't on the list," she said, turning serious. "I hope you know I wasn't trying to take advantage of what we…uh, of us. I just had a really strong feeling about this guy."
"I know. Andy...this is all a learning curve for us, figuring this all out," he said. "I'm glad you came to me. We might still be chasing our tails on the dozens of suspects that were on the list, if it weren't for you."
She smiled as she watched him walk into the interrogation room, and then quickly entered the observation room. She watched Sam question the guy for ten minutes before Chris joined her. "He giving Swarek anything?" he asked as he looked through window.
"Sam's starting to break him now," she replied.
As if on cue, the suspect spilled a full confession moments later. Andy watched the whole thing with a small smile on her face. She'd trusted her gut, and maybe more importantly, Sam trusted her gut again. It felt good. Not only were they working their issues out, but they were finding a balance between their personal and professional relationships that worked for them.
A couple weeks later, Sam and Andy both groaned when the alarm went off waking them up. The chill in the air had goosebumps spreading over Andy's bare shoulders and she snuggled closer to Sam's warm body. "It's too early," she mumbled into his chest.
"You wanted to make sure we got to work on time," he replied.
"That's cause we've been late almost every day this week."
"That's because you keep us up so late," he teased.
She raised her head, quirking her eyebrows. "Pretty sure we share that blame. And you didn't seem to mind last night," she smirked.
He rolled them over so he was pinning her to the mattress. "Didn't say I did." He leaned down to press his lips to hers. "In fact, I think…" He nipped along her jaw. "...we need to reenact it."
Warmth seared through Andy and she framed his face so she could bring his mouth back to hers. They quickly realized waking up early and getting out of bed early weren't nearly the same thing.
Hours later, the wheels of Sam's truck had barely come to a stop when Andy was flying out the door. "I'll see you in Parade," she said frantically as she climbed out of the truck. Sam only chuckled as the door closed and she went running toward the station.
Not needing to change like Andy, Sam was able to take his time dropping stuff off at his locker, before grabbing his gun and badge - and two coffees - and heading into Parade. Andy slid in just as Frank began speaking and plopped herself on the table next to where Sam was perched. He handed over the second coffee he held and she smiled warmly at him.
When Parade was over, Andy rested her hand on Sam's arm. "Thanks for the coffee."
"Knew you wouldn't have time to grab any," he said as they stood up.
"And whose fault is that?" she teased.
His hand at the small of her back, he leaned down so his mouth was against her ear as they walked out of the room. "Who begged me to do that thing just one more time?"
She turned three shades of red as she shoved at his shoulder. "Sam!"
"Be safe out there," he said, dimples smiling back at her as he backed away toward the detectives' office.
She turned around and walked right into her partner for the day, Chloe. "Everything okay?" the rookie asked.
"Yup, sure, yeah, everything's good. Yup. Let's get out there, Price."
Chloe wasn't sure what had her partner so flustered, but followed her out to their cruiser without another word.
It was hours later when Dov and Chris called Andy and Chloe, asking them to question an art gallery owner. A seemingly simple request, they'd quickly arrested a guy who had fallen asleep weighing drugs and were about to leave the gallery to continue the investigation when Frank ordered them to stay put.
"The drugs are laced with anthrax. Hazmat will arrive shortly," he instructed them over the radio.
"So, what do we do now?" Chloe asked.
Andy shrugged. "We wait here until we're told what to do." She sat down on the floor, crossing her ankles as she leaned back against a wall.
"This ever happen to you before?" the rookie asked.
Andy was about to say no, but remembered the quarantine a year before. "Not like this, but the station was quarantined when a guy that was arrested showed symptoms of a deadly disease. We were all fine though." A smile crept over her face as she recalled her and Sam working a case despite the lockdown. And then how he'd lifted her spirits later with their sparring match; it had been exactly what she needed.
The moment Frank told Sam that Andy and Chloe had gotten hit with the anthrax-laced heroin, he had to hear her voice. Frank had already warned him not to go down to the gallery, so he picked up his phone and hit speed dial 3.
"Hey, Sam," Andy answered, seeing his name pop up.
"Hey, McNally, you doing okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, you know..."
"Just another day at the office," he joked.
He always knew how to make her smile, and was successful in his efforts. "You know me, always looking for some excitement." He could picture the smile on her face even without seeing her.
"Experts are on their way. Think I can distract you with some police work while you wait?" he asked.
"Yeah, please, what do you need us to do?"
"We gotta track this thing up the supply line. So, anything you can tell me about the drug might be helpful," he said.
Andy and Chloe told him what they could, which wasn't much since there wasn't a lot for them to look at.
Sam wanted to sweep in and rescue Andy, but he knew there was nothing he could do there. So, until he could get to her, he'd figure out who was responsible. He worked every connection he had to get more information on tracking down the source. Because it was either do that or go crazy with worry.
An hour after Andy talked with Sam, the hazmat team was ready to start the decontamination process. They were instructed to remove all of their clothing and put on a hospital gown-like garment.
"So, you and Dov, huh?" Andy asked, trying to make conversation as she began to unbutton her shirt.
"I don't know. One day he's hot, the next cold. I never know what Dov I'm going to get," Chloe replied.
"Give him a chance. He had a rough year. I can tell he likes you though," Andy said.
"You can?" the rookie asked, surprise evident in her voice.
Andy chuckled as she wrapped the thin cloth gown around her. "The way he gets all nervous around you. The way he looks at you. It's clear to me." Both women sat down on the benches facing each other now that they were changed. "Just take it easy on him, okay?"
"I think he thinks we're too different," Chloe admitted sadly. "Sometimes I do too." She was bewildered when Andy smiled at her.
"Sam and I are different. But that's what makes us good together. We bring out the best in each other," she said.
"You guys are great together," Chloe told her.
"We've been through a lot to get where we are now. It's not always easy, but if you care about Dov, I say go for it. Make it work," Andy suggested.
Chloe gave her a small smile as they heard the door open and a guy from the hazmat team appeared before them, ready to give them more instructions.
Sam stood outside the yellow decontamination tent, looking down at his watch every two minutes. After figuring out where the tainted heroin originated, he left Traci to document the suspect's confession and finally convinced Frank he was calm enough to go pick up Andy and Chloe. So, now, instead of pacing inside the station, he shifted from foot to foot anxiously as two men in hazmat suits looked on curiously. "You know, we can get them back to the station, detective. You don't need to be here," one of them finally said.
He snapped his head in their direction, glaring at the men. "I'm waiting."
Finally, the edge of the plastic tent was pulled back and relief washed over him at finally seeing her with his own two eyes. Wearing mismatched sweatpants and a t-shirt, both two sizes too big, and her hair, still slightly damp, cascading messily over her shoulders, she was still beautiful. His feet started moving before she even lifted her head and saw him. He wrapped his arms around her, as hers found their way around his body.
"Hey," he said, his voice muffled in her hair.
"You didn't need to come all the way here," she said, while Sam still hugged her tightly.
"McNally...Couldn't trust you to get back to the station alone without getting into more trouble," he teased, pulling back and loosening the grip his arms had on her.
She pressed her lips together, giving him a lopsided grin and trying to suppress the emotions of the day. "I'm okay, Sam. I'm okay," she said.
He kissed her forehead before they each took a small step away from each other. She immediately missed the warmth of his body. "You cold?" he asked, taking in how thin the t-shirt was she'd been given. Before she could respond, Sam had already taken off his leather jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
She slid her arms through and smiled. "Thanks."
Chloe had been hovering a few feet back from the couple, smiling at how adorable they were. When it seemed appropriate, she finally took a step closer. "Sir," she said, nodding her head in greeting.
"Price. Let's get you two back to the barn," he said. Turning toward the car, Sam slid his hand down Andy's arm until he could lace their fingers together, gripping her hand hard as he reminded himself she was okay.
As he opened the passenger door for her, she gave his hand a squeeze and looked deep into his brown eyes. "Thank you for being here for me," she said.
"Always."
Chloe slid into the backseat smiling as she watched the couple. Things between her and Dov were so complicated right now, but she hoped someday they could be just like Sam and Andy. The love in their eyes was something she'd never seen before.
When they got back to the station, Andy and Chloe hurried to fill out some paperwork about their day while Sam tracked down Traci to see how the confession went.
Once Andy was finished with her paperwork and changed into her own jeans and sweater, she went to find Sam. Not in his office, she plopped herself down in his chair and waited. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes.
Sam smiled when he walked up to his desk and found Andy. He quietly placed the file he was carrying on his desk before leaning down and letting his lips touch hers lightly. Her eyes flew open as she mumbled a "hi" against his lips.
"Ready to go home?" he asked, straightening up.
She nodded, taking the hand he offered to help pull her up. "All I did was sit around waiting for half the day, but I'm exhausted."
With a hand on the small of her back, he led her out of the office. "You went through a lot today, Andy. And I'm sure the meds they shot you up with are a shock to your body."
"Yeah. That reminds me, I need to stop by the pharmacy on the way home to pick up the meds I'm supposed to take over the next couple weeks," she said. Her face was stoic as she said the words, but Sam had heard the anxiousness in her voice.
With his arm wrapped around her waist as they reached his truck, he tugged her against him. He pressed his lips to her temple. "You're gonna be okay, you know that right?"
She sighed. She'd read the pamphlet the hazmat guy had given her and she understood that the shots and medicine she was getting would prevent her from becoming sick, but it still freaked her out that she had anthrax all over her. "I know. Logically, I know that. But…"
"But, you're still freaked out," he finished for her.
"Yeah."
"Okay, well, we're gonna stop at the pharmacy, then that Chinese take-out place you love, and then we're going back to my place and you can freak out all you want," he told her with a smile.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her smiling lips to his. "As long as you're there with me."
Always, he thought. Always.
