Next chapter. Rated T

I do not own Rookie Blue, but if I did…

Two weeks later, Sam walked off the elevator onto the third floor of the hospital. He had gotten a call from Traci with good news that Andy was awake and he couldn't wait to see her. There were many times he stopped by to check on her over the last two weeks. He never stayed long and he felt guilty when he left but his head need some clearing before he continued. It was at Nick's funeral the previous day that he decided he would get his shit together and help out. Oliver was right; Andy was going to need her friends now more than ever.

He smiled at the nurses as he walked by their station; He was just turning down the hallway to Andy's room, when he noticed Chris, Dov and Gail standing there. As he walked up, "Hey, everything ok in there?" Sam noticed Gail was crying into Chris's shoulder while Dov was rubbing her back.

Chris turned to look at him, "Andy doesn't remember the shooting. She asked for Nick and Traci is breaking it to her."

Sam's face fell. He knew Andy had only been awake for a few hours, but everyone knew that eventually she would ask for Nick. Dragging up that day was hard on everyone, but watching her experience again was just as bad.

Sam gave a tight smile, "I am going to go in and see if I can help."

He walked into the room and found Traci laying in the bed next to Andy, holding her. Traci put her finger to her lips and whispered, "They gave her a sedative to calm her down and she just passed out."

Shrugging his coat off, he walked over to the chair near the bed. "I take it she now knows?"

"Yeah."

"How's the baby doing?"

"Doctor came by this morning to check, it's progressing along as expected. They did an ultrasound and everything so far seems."

"That is good."

They sat quietly for hours while Andy slept. After a while Traci couldn't stand it anymore, she needed to use the bathroom. Just as she was getting out of the bed, Andy woke up.

Andy blinked her eyes a couple of times and looked around the room disorientated. Sam stood up and leaned over, "Hey, how are you feeling?"

She looked up at him, willing her eyes to focus on his face and asked weakly, "What time is it?"

Sam looked at his watch, "Its almost five, Traci just went to the bathroom, she said she would be right back."

Andy nodded and shifted to get into a more comfortable position.

"Do you need anything?"

"I think I just want to sleep some more."

Sam nodded in understanding, with a soft look on his face he reassured her, "Ok, I am right here if you need anything."

When Sam left a few hours later, he had made arrangements with the rest of the rookies to help get Andy's condo ready for when she was released in a few days. Noelle, Oliver and Chris had cleaned out Nick's apartment and put most of it in her storage unit in the basement of her building, However certain items they thought Andy might want to have right away, they carried up the stairs and put them in her living. The rookies wanted to make sure she came home to a clean, well-stocked setup place and he said he would help out.

Sam found himself standing outside Andy's condo door ready to help. He heard music and talking when he knocked on the door. When the door opened, Noelle greeted him and leaned in to give him a big hug, "Hey Sam, glad you could make it."

"I am too." The manhunt for the shooter had taken weeks. Even though a pedestrian had tackled him; he had still managed to get away. They had finally tracked him down to a cabin not to far from the city. They had lost six more officers because of the shooter and his rampage through the city but in the end, the guy didn't make it out of the cabin alive. When the tactical team stormed the cabin, he was already dead from a gunshot wound to the head. Everyone was relieved that it was all over before Andy was released from the hospital but still sad they had lost six more of their own. Sam was just glad it was all over and he could help out where he could at Andy's condo.

Sam walked into the condo to see all the rookies and his friends milling around the kitchen. "We are just starting to prep meals to put into her freezer and make easy snacks for her in the fridge. I think the guys are putting away clothes and cleaning out her second bedroom for her."

"She never unpacked that room did she?" He tried hard to keep his face neutral as he asked.

Noelle chuckled, "Nope, but if you want to help them, that would be great. Traci said, Andy wanted it to be the baby's room eventually. Right now we are trying to do everything Nick would have done, so she doesn't have to worry about it

Sam smiled and headed towards the second bedroom.

A few hours later their work was done. Everyone was packing up and heading out the door when Traci pulled her partner to the side. "You know, she is coming tomorrow, right?"

Shaking his head with acknowledgement, "Yes, I remember. She is going to be ok, we will all be there for her."

Traci smiled, "I am going to hold you to that."

Andy had been home for four weeks when she returned to work. Sam watched her from his desk as she made her way into the bullpen. He saw everyone greet her. To him she seemed so frail but he knew she was trying to be strong and putting on a brave face. Sam could tell, that a lot of their colleagues didn't know how to handle her pregnancy. A few congratulated her, others made sure to avoid the topic. If you didn't know it, you could barely tell that Andy was 16 weeks pregnant. As everyone left her to go change, Traci walked into the office. "We are all taking turns brining her lunch for the next couple of weeks. What day do you want?"

Raising an eyebrow at her, Sam gave her a funny look. "Traci, are you sure it's a good idea for me to be part of that? I don't want to make her uncomfortable or stress her out."

"You are just helping a friend Sam, we are not expecting anything more."

"That is not what I mean, Traci."

"Just pick a day."

He huffed at her, "Fine, then mark me down for Thursdays please."

"Thank you."

Sam decided he would take Andy to the sandwich shop around the corner on Thursday. He was pretty sure she could use a break from the office and get outside. So when lunchtime came, he locked his computer and headed down the stairs towards the front desk. Ever since she had returned she had been assigned to desk duty and Sam knew, that Frank intended to keep her inside the barn until after the baby was born.

As Sam approached her, Jenkins was just sitting down to relieve Andy. "You ready to go to lunch?"

"Yes, thank you."

"I thought we would get you out of here for a little while."

"Oh, that sounds great." Andy smiled with the thought of getting out of the station for a bit.

Once at the sandwich shop Andy went straight for the outside tables while Sam went in and ordered their food. When he came back out with drinks, Andy had her head tilted back and her eyes closed

"Enjoying the sunshine?" Sam sat a strawberry lemonade in from of her. "This should hit the spot for you too."

Andy opened her eyes and watched him sit down across from her. "Thanks Sam, for everything. I am not sure I would be able to do this very well by myself."

Sam reached across the table and patted her hand, "I am sure you would have figured out anyway but I am glad I could help. How are you doing at night?"

He watched her eyes glaze over and she took a deep breath, "It depends. Sometimes it is really hard. When I am by myself, I start to think. What I could have done differently? Why me? Why him?"

He felt a pang in his stomach. "I can't tell you that it will get any easier. But you will learn to live with it. Some days are going to be tougher than other. And you will never really get over it. You just move on with that hole in your life. But if you want to honor him, fill it up with sweet memories."

She ran her fingers under her eyes, wiping away the tears. "Thanks."

He smiled at her as the waitress came with their food. Sam wanted to tell her he would be there for her. To tell her he would help with anything she needed. He would love her and take care of her, but he knew it was to soon to even think about these things. He chastised himself for thinking he could just step in and be in her life like he wanted to. She was grieving and pregnant. She needed a friend right now and he needed to just be that friend.

When they finished eating, Andy sat back and basked in the sunshine. "I forgot how good it feels to feel the sunshine on my face."

"When it gets warmer, maybe we should go to the beach and catch some rays. It will do you and me some good. You, getting the sunshine you crave and for me to get away from work."

She chuckled as they both stood up to leave, "I like that idea."

Andy was eight months pregnant when Traci started planning the baby shower. It had been decided months earlier that Gail and Traci would be her birth coaches. Just in case one of them could not be there, the other was the backup. On the day of their shower for her, Traci enlisted Sam's help. They agreed he would take Andy to the beach so she could have a relaxing day and be well rested for the baby shower in the evening.

When Sam arrived at Andy's place with a freshly cleaned and detailed truck, Traci met him at the door. "She is almost ready."

"Thanks," he said as he stepped into the condo. "How she doing?"

"Had a crying spell this morning but she seems to be in better spirits after that."

"What time do you want me to have her back?"

""Threeish please."

"You got it. That gives us about five hours of beach time. A little bit of sun, some comfort food and things will be ok."

Both of them heard Andy huff as she entered the room, "I think we are just going to need a crane to get me out of this place."

They both smiled as they watched her waddle over to the foyer bench to put on her shoes. She was wearing a loose top with shorts and looked like all the weight was in front of her. Sam always laughed when she said she was as big as a house. All he could think was Andy was all baby. He had taken her to one of her appointments not to long ago while everyone else was working a big case. When the doctor had said she had now gained fifteen pounds, Andy burst into tears. He had tried to reassure her, that everything would be alright. That it was normal for pregnant women to gain weight, but that just made her cry more. He ended up taking her to the smoothie place and getting her the one she always got to get the smile back on her face.

Sam watched her try to put on her shoes and noticed she was having trouble tying them.

"Here let me," as he bent down to tie them for her.

"Ugh, I just want to see my feet again." Andy huffed, "Oh!"

Traci rushed over to her as Sam looked up worried and said, "You ok?"

She grabbed both their hands and placed them on her belly, "The soccer player is kicking up a storm."

Both of them held still feeling the baby moving around. Sam thought it was amazing as Traci smiled and said, "I guess Auntie will be getting him his first soccer ball for his first birthday."

Sam looked confused, "You know it's a boy?"

Andy shook her head, "Finally found out last appointment. After all these ultrasounds they have subjected me to, he finally decided to show us his bits and pieces."

They all chuckled and he helped her up from the bench.

Traci handed Andy her purse, "Now you two go and have fun. I will see you back her this evening. Try to relax and enjoy the sunshine."

Andy waddled out of the condo calling over her shoulder, "Thanks Traci."

Once they arrived at the beach, Sam insisted, that Andy stay in the truck while he carried the beach chairs, their umbrella and cooler down to the lakeshore. It didn't matter that she kept telling him that she would be fine walking down there by herself. Sam's look said it all. So she sat back and waited for him to get her.

When he finally returned to help her out of the truck, she was impatient.

"You know I am not going to break. I can walk down there without help."

And just as she finished her sentence she started to fall forward.

Sam was by her side in an instant and helped steady her. He couldn't help but chuckle. "Less talking, more paying attention to where you are going. I don't want to call Traci from an emergency room. She will kick my butt."

When they reached the chairs and got her situated he sat down and offered her a water bottle.

Andy laid her head back and closed her eyes, basking in the sunshine. "This feels so good."

"Sunshine seems to be your thing lately. Always puts a smile on your face."

Andy looked at him and then leaned back and closed her eyes; "It reminds me I am alive when I feel the sun on my face. It's something that seems to make me feel better after everything that happened."

Sam felt a lump in his throat, "I am glad you found something that helps."

Andy put her head back up, "Me too."

He was desperate to change the topic. He didn't want to dwell on the thoughts any longer than he had to. "So, your eight months now. You know it's a boy, have you thought about names?"

She shook her head, "I am having a tough time picking a name. Traci keeps saying it will come to me, but so far nothing. I keep going through names… But you know… It's just plain hard."

He knew it had to be hard for her that Nick was not here to help with something so important. He knew it made Andy sad that the baby would only get to know his father through the stories everyone would tell him and a couple of pictures here and there. And then he watched her face carefully as he took a giant leap, "Would you like me to help you with names? We can run through them and hear how they sound, flow together."

She smiled a small smile, "That would be appreciated."

"Ok, so, is the baby going to have your last names together or just one of them?"

"I think I'll just stick with Collins."

"Ok, let's start going through names you like or do you want to have Nick's name in there."

"I don't know. I am not sure I can get up everyday saying Nick, when Nick is not even there."

Sam patted her hand as he pulled out his phone, "Let me Google boy names and what they mean."

Hours later, they were both laughing so hard; tears were running down their face. Sam had run through a bunch of names, some funny, some serious, giving meanings as Andy and him compared the names to people they knew.

"Well, you could always name him a direction or a fruit." Sam stood up to help her out of the chair.

"I think I am not famous enough to do that," She laughed.

Sam beheld her face for a long moment before he cleared his throat and looked down at his watch. "I think it is time for us to head home. Let me get you to the truck."

It took Sam some time, but finally he had lugged all their stuff up the beach and loaded everything into the truck. However he hadn't been the only one at work. By the time he climbed into the driver's seat Andy had picked a name. Once he had started the engine and pulled out onto the road Andy murmured quietly. "I decided on a name."

Sam glanced over at her and then looked back at the road, "Oh, yeah?"

"Grayson Nicholas Collins."

"That is a good strong name. I really think Nick would approve."

"You think he would?" Even though he had just glanced at her briefly, Sam could tell that her eyes were wet. She was on the verge of tears.

"Yes, I think he would."

"Thank you Sam. You don't know how much this means to me."

Sam turned onto the next highway as he reached over and patted her hand. "It was my pleasure."