Andy McNally ignored the pain in her legs, her heart pounded to keep up with her but she just kept running. The music in her ears was loud, fast and helped her keep time and the she got a little gush of pride when she passed out other runners on the track. She checked her watch and saw she had 40 minutes till the start of her shift so she changed direction and started to run towards 15 division.

Traffic was light and she found herself making the 12 block journey in no time. But as she slowed down to a walk in the car park she felt her knees buckle and were about ready to give way. She braced her hands flat on the wall by the back door and stretched her muscles. First one leg, then the other then turned and pressed her back to the wall and bent down to touch her toes. She let her body hang like that for a moment then slowly straightened up, in time to see Sam climb out of his truck.

He walked around to the driver's side and leaned in the window. The sun was glinting on the windshield so Andy couldn't make out who was sitting in the driver's seat, but when she saw Sam lean in further, clearly for a kiss, she had an idea who it might be. He stepped back as his truck pulled out then slung his bag over his shoulder and slowly sauntered over towards the door. Andy stood away from the wall and brushed her unruly hair out of her face as he approached.

"Morning McNally," he said as he scanned his badge on the panel to unlock the door. He held it open and gestured for her to enter first.

"Morning."

"Good run?"

"Yeah." She rubbed her forehead with her forearm. "Nothing like starting the day with a burst of exercise."

"Yep, couldn't agree with you more." Sam ignored her look and walked passed her into the men's changing room leaving her alone in the corridor, just looking after him.

By the time parade started she had showered and changed and managed to grab a cup of coffee from the canteen before grabbing a seat. Traci hurried in after her and took the seat next to her then nudged her and smiled.

"We've been assigned together," she said and she pointed at the roster.

"Oh cool!" Andy smiled. "It's been a while since we rolled together."

Oliver came into the room with a clipboard in hand and stood at the podium. Everyone cheered and whistled at the sight of his impeccable uniform and he let them for a few moments then waved for them to be quiet.

"Best is off until next week so I'm stepping up. For today we have 2 BOLO reports out on warrants, take note of the license plates of both of these vans." He handed some sheets out to the front row and they were slowly passed around until everyone had one. "Night shift reported 6 B&Es with only 3 DUIs. Day after tomorrow we have an audit so can you all please finish outstanding paperwork but the end of your shift tomorrow. Assignments are on the board so get out there and stay safe."

The room cleared out slowly as everyone found their assignment and collected their radios. Traci went to sort out the car as Andy went to the weapons depository to requisition more ammo. She was slipping the extra clips into her belt as she walked out the door and bumped head first into Sam's chest.

"Oh, sorry!" She looked up to see Sam smiling down at her.

"Watch where you're going McNally." He stepped left as she stepped right. He moved right as she moved left and they both stopped and he smiled. He reached up and took her shoulders then moved her aside and got past her. He smiled over his shoulder as he walked up to the counter and she concentrated on fixing her belt again and hurried out to the car park where Traci was waiting.

"What took you so long?"

"Nothing, lets ride."

He pulled the curtains plunging the room into pitch darkness. Without moving he reached behind him to the light switch and flicked it on, bathing the room in a soft red light. He had poured the solution of development fluid into three shallow tubs and was ever so carefully submerging the photos into each in turn. Across the room at shoulder height he had strung a length of twine and used plastic pegs to fix each photo up to dry.

He arranged the photos in order, making a macabre movie across his wall then stepped back to admire his handiwork. In the first photos she was fully clothed. But as the photos progressed she was wearing less and less clothing until finally, his favourite. She was wearing only a bra and panties, with his knife a blur of motion across her throat.

He turned off the light and stepped out of the small room then locked the room behind him. The house was quiet so he took his time walking upstairs into the master bedroom. He closed the door softly but it was no use. She heard him.

"You're back…" She rolled over and pulled the duvet back to make room for him. He toed off his sneakers and dropped his jeans and sweater into a puddle by his feet then crawled into the cool sheets and pulled her close for a hug. "Did you get the shots you needed?"

"Yeah." He kissed the top of her head. "I got some fantastic ones."

"Great, so it wasn't all a waste."

"Ah it's never a waste, no matter if I get the shot, it's never a waste."

The Penny was more raucous than usual when Sam pushed the heavy door open and scanned the room for Oliver. On the stage a small band was playing music and most of 15 division seemed to be in front of it dancing and singing along. The bar was easily 2 people deep and every table seemed to be taken. He circled the room, slipped between bodies and strained to find his friend but by the time he made it back to the door, he still hadn't found him.

Just as he reached for the door again to leave he heard someone call his name. He turned around, and scanned the room but still couldn't see him. Then he heard his name being called and this time, at least as he was facing the right way he spotted him.

Oliver stood behind the bar, he had a white dishtowel slung over his shoulder and his sleeves were rolled up past his elbows. He was pouring pints and mixing drinks. Sam muscled his way through the crowd again and found a small gap at the bar to slide in.

"What are you doing?"

"Helping out. What can I get you?" He polished a glass with the towel then put it away and slung to over his shoulder again.

"Pint of larger and a glass of house red."

"Mixing the grape and the grain?"

"No, Emma is on her way in."

"Getting pretty serious with you two huh," Oliver said with a smile as he angled the pint glass beneath the tap.

"It is what it is."

"And what is it?"

"Fun."

"Just?"

Sam shrugged and Oliver smiled again then placed the drink in front of him. He reached up for a wine glass then took the house red off the shelf and poured out a generous glass

"What's going on in here tonight?"

"Birthday party."

Sam took both drinks and left a hefty tip then walked to the back of the room and found a sheltered corner to stand in. He pulled out his phone to text Emma and let her know where he would be then sipped his drink and surveyed the crowd around him.

Andy danced with Chris at the front of the bar. Their messy waltz wasn't in time with the music but they looked like they were having fun. Dov spoke with a girl Sam didn't recognise but he seemed to be successful in his efforts as he watched him lead her onto the dance floor.

Gail who was watching them with disdain, caught Sam's eye and she lifted her glass in cheers then downed her drink and left.

When the door opened Sam strained to see and delighted in the sight of Emma stepping through it. She stood on tip toes to see if she could find him and he waved to get her attention. Emma smiled as she crossed the room and stepped into his arms for a kiss.

"Hey," he muttered against her lips.

"Hey."

"Your drink."

He passed her the glass then sat back onto the high stool behind him and pulled her closer so she was standing between his legs. She circled her arms around his neck and smiled crookedly.

"How was your day?"

"We had a four alarm fire out in North York. It took three engines to extinguish it."

"Anyone hurt?"

"No, luckily it was an abandoned house." She sipped her drink again and closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. "Investigations will be kicking off tomorrow. What I wouldn't do to be on that team."

"You're exam is coming up, you'll be on that team in no time."

"Yeah, one more week." She looked around the room and seemed only then to notice it was more mental in here than usual. "Is that Oliver behind the bar?"

"Yeah." Sam chuckled. "Some birthday party I think."

"Do you wanna get out of here?" She leaned in and kissed his neck. "We could go back to mine…"

"Let's get out of here."

Andy hugged Chris after their dance and they both went back to the table that had their drinks. They were joined by Dov and the lady he had been dancing with.

"And this is…Casey!" he said with only a slight hesitation on her name. "She works in that new sandwich shop on Bloor st."

"Oh I love that place!" Chris exclaimed as he turned to face Casey and started to ask her about the bread recipes available in the shop.

Traci chose that moment to push her way through the crowd and joined them at the table. She took a swig of Andy's drink then draped her arm around her friends shoulder.

"How are you holding up?" she stage whispered into Andy's ear.

"Huh?" It was becoming clear that this was not Traci's first drink of the night.

"I just ran into Sam and Emma in the car park."

"Oh? Were they here? I hadn't noticed." She lied.

"They just left. And you don't fool me Andy McNally."

"Drop it Traci. I don't care. Sam and I are just friends."

"Yeah I know, and it's too tragic for Shakespeare!" Andy smiled and took her friends arm to take her to the bar and get a fresh drink.

One drink turned into two, which quickly escalated into three and four and soon they were doing shots on the bar without their hands. Andy barely remembered getting home but she woke up on the couch, half dressed with a half-eaten pizza on the table in front of her. Sun streamed in through the wide east facing windows making the pain in her head intensify. She managed to sit up and immediately regretted it.

She checked the time and realised she had another three hours to go before her shift started. She thought of going for a run but the very thought of it pushed a ball of nausea up from the pit of her stomach. She showered to wash the grime and stress out of her system and fell back into bed, careful to set the alarm to wake her up in time for work.

It seems like she only put her head on the pillow when the alarm buzzed to wake her up. She sat up and felt marginally better but was still sluggish as she moved around the flat to get dressed and gather her things for work. She made her way to the division and hoped silently for a quiet day, maybe manning the desk or working booking… anything but working the streets.

But as she opened the back door and walked through to the bullpen she realised she was about to experience anything but a quiet day. Immediately her senses were tingling. There was a hive of activity around the bullpen, she saw Chris and Dov sticking notes to a large bulletin board in the parade room. Traci sat with Gerry by his desk, both of them examining CCTV footage on his PC. Gail sat at her own desk with a stack of files beside her and she was quickly reading through them as if searching for something in particular.

Sam was in the middle of it all with Oliver by his side. They passed photos back and forth and examined each one for only seconds before placing them upside down on the table in front of them. Andy changed quickly and hurried back to the parade room in time for the meeting to start. She squeezed in through the throng and leaned against the back wall.

Oliver and Sam stood at the front of the room and Oliver took the podium. He lifted his hands for quiet and it was a stark contrast to the mood of the room yesterday when he stood in the same place.

"The body was found by a realtor this morning at 7am." He nodded at Sam who turned and stuck a photo onto the whiteboard behind him. "She has been identified as Jessica Harper. Student doctor in Toronto West Hospital. She was drugged and posed before being murdered. Ligature marks on her wrists and ankles show she was tied up for quite some time. Cause of death was a laceration across her neck."

Sam stepped up with his report and Oliver stepped aside. The volume in the room was deathly silent.

"There are no signs of forced entry. The doors and windows were locked. Realtor was at the property the day before at 3pm and everything was fine. Upon returning at 7am this morning she discovered the body. That leaves a sixteen hour window in which this took place."

Gerry walked in from the back of the room. "I have forensics sweeping the house for any and all trace evidence. What I need from you is canvassing. Peckstien you stay here and process the hotline. Everyone else, I posted pairs on the assignments board and here are the areas you need to cover. Get out there, get me some info, so we can get this guy!" He passed out info packs to everyone and Andy took one to see it was an area for her to cover with whomever she was assigned with. The room had all but cleared. Oliver, Gerry and Sam spoke quietly up at the podium. Traci and Chris were at the assignments board and Chris took a radio before they walked out together.

Andy went over to check the board but before she could find her name, Sam called out to her. She turned in time to see a bunch of keys flying towards her face. She snatched them out of the air and glared back at him. "Get the car sorted, I'll be out in a minute."

With a sinking heart, Andy turned to scan the assignments board and saw her name printed neatly beside his. Without turning back to look at him she went out to the car and put her bag into the boot. She double checked the contents then slipped into the driver's seat and settled in. She rolled down the window all the way then reversed the car out of its space and killed the engine to wait for him.

Within moments he had joined her and was in the passenger seat flipping through notes as he pulled on his seatbelt and she pulled out into the street. She knew the district they were supposed to be covering so she aimed for that area without needed a specific address. When she got closer he called out a specific street and then guided her to a parking spot by the curb.

"Okay, we're looking for witnesses. Anyone who might have seen them together." Sam passed her an info pack which included a bunch of photos of the victim to pass out to potential witnesses. They walked up to the first door and he knocked. "Ready?"

Andy nodded. Of all the days to be in work with a killer hangover, this was not that day. She wanted to focus on the task at hand but her head was pounding almost beyond the point of manageable levels.

The door opened to a young man wearing a pair of shorts and no top. His hair was long enough to reach past his shoulders, his eyes were bloodshot and barely open. "Good morning sir," Sam said with a smile. "Were you home yesterday after 3pm?"

"Huh? Yeah, yeah I was."

"Did you see this woman?"

Andy handed him a photo. He took it and stared at it for a long time then handed it back and shook his head.

"Thank you sir. If you do recall anything, please call us immediately."

Sam gave him a card with Division 15 contact details on it then walked away with Andy.

"That's it? Don't you want to question him further?"

"No. He didn't see anything. He hasn't seen anything for about 3 days I'd say but the look of his eyes and the smell of 420 coming out of his house."

"Really?" Andy looked back as if it would help her smell it.

"You didn't get that?" Sam turned to face her and for the first time that day he actually looked at her. "Wow you must have been really wasted last night."

His jibe brought her focus back to him and she rolled her eyes at him. "Not too bad."

"You lie." He smiled at her and she looked away. "Whose birthday was it?" They walked up the garden entrance to the next house.

"Birthday?"

"In the penny last night."

Andy laughed. "I have no idea. We just went in for one after work."

"Just one." He lifted his hand and knocked on the next door.

"Yeah. Just one."

This time the door was opened by an elderly woman who kept the latch on and spoke to them sternly through the small gap. She wouldn't take the photo but did take Sam's contact details then closed the door without answering any more questions.

Their day passed slower than she thought time could ever move. By the time they were back at the division with all their witness reports Andy was fit to collapse. Usually when they were on patrol together they were able to chat with great banter but today she wasn't able to muster up the energy or brain power. Instead she focused on interviewing potential witnesses. She was sure he noticed but he didn't say anything and instead let her stew in silence when they weren't knocking on doors.

Sam noticed how weary she was when she locked the car and tossed him the keys. She lugged her bag out of the boot and took small slow steps into the bullpen behind him. Sam dropped their notes onto his desk and went over to Oliver to get a progress report. Andy sat at his desk and flipped the notebook open then turned to his PC and started their paperwork. While speaking with Oliver, Sam kept one eye on her and took the notes Oliver passed him. No viable witnesses reported from a whole day's worth of canvasing. No CCTV footage available in the residential area and the worst piece of news, no fingerprints or DNA evidence of any kind. No hairs, skin, body fluids, nothing.

Sam rubbed his face with his hand then patted his friend on the shoulder. He turned back to Andy and sat on the corner of his desk, one leg dangling over the edge next to her.

"Hey, leave it."

"What?"

"The notes, the paperwork…leave it." He put his hands over hers on the keyboard to stop her from typing. "I'll do it. Go home, get some rest. You look like you need it."

"Gee thanks!"

"No Andy," he smiled. "That's not what I meant." His hand squeezed over hers and she could tell he was being earnest.

"Its fine Sam, I can do it."

"Seriously Andy, go." He looked at his watch. "I have to stay here for another hour or so anyway, then I'm going to pick up Emma."

Andy froze and tried not to show any reaction. She slid her hands out from under his. "Okay, if you insist." She flipped through the first few notes and put them into a separate pile. "I've already done these ones, so you just need to do the rest."

"Okay, I'll get them done. Go, get some rest."

"Yeah, because I look like shit." Andy rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Yeah, real hard work on the eyes today toots."

Before she could blush, Andy turned away and hurried to the changing rooms. She got out of her uniform and forwent the shower, choosing instead to go home for a bath. Run home, she would run home for a bath she decided, hoping it would help her clear her mind.

Sam was sitting at his desk and watched the changing room door for her exit. He wondered if she was showering or if she was going to go home to bathe. He knew she preferred to shower because it was quicker but on the very rare occasions when she needed the world to stay at the door, he knew she preferred to take baths. Long hot luxurious baths. With bubbles and a glass of wine. He imagined she would forgo the wine this time though with the hangover she was nursing so valiantly today.

When the door opened and she came out in her shorts and a tee with her hair tied back in a ponytail, he was surprised to see her check her watch, slip in her earphones in and realised she was going to run home.

"Can you see everything from there brother or should I call maintenance to come by and swing your desk 6 feet to the left?" Sam Looked up to see Oliver standing behind him and hurriedly busied himself with the files on his desk.

"What?"

"Want me to go over and get Andy?" She was standing in the hallway, talking to Dov at the door to the changing room. "She's right there…want me to call her over here?"

"Leave it out."

"You sure? It's no trouble! And you seem to be quite fixated on her. Let me get her!"

Oliver went to go collect Andy but Sam grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "Forget it Oliver, leave it."

After a pause Oliver smiled. His mission was accomplished here so he patted his friend on the back and walked away with a smile. Sam tried to focus back on his files but all the while kept one eye on Andy and was almost relieved when she finished talking with Dov and went home.

A/N: Sorry guys, I know you don't like Andy and Sam with anyone but Andy and Sam but needs must when you are torturing your characters! Stay with me... all will be revealed!