Welcome back! First of all, thank you guys so much for your feedback and follows. As a new fanfic writer and someone who doesn't really share her work, I was completely blown away by your kind words and support, so thank you so much. As with the last chapter, I hope you guys will let me know what you think about it, and what your predictions are, etc. As for the guest requesting longer chapters, this one is twice as long, so enjoy! Thanks for reading!

"How much do you remember before that day?"

She stiffened at his question. "Nothing," she breathed.

This time when her heart rate skyrocketed, nothing he or anyone else said or did could calm her down, so the nurse was forced to give her an anesthetic to knock her out.

Sam sunk down in the chair beside her bed again, rubbing his face as he groaned. What the hell was he supposed to do? There had been no traces of blame in her eyes when she'd looked up at him, but he was still mad at himself for what happened. His mind shot back to the night before. It was so dark and by the time they saw the guy, Andy was already dropping. He'd had a split second as her body fell to swing his gun around and shoot, but it was a second too late to spare Andy the agony and confusion she was now in. He blamed himself for her pain. A curse escaped him.

"It's not your fault."

He jumped a little, pulling his head out of his hands as he looked up at Tommy, surprised to find that both the doctor and nurse had already left. Sam shook his head. "Your daughter is here because I couldn't protect her." He could feel the anger boiling in the pit of his stomach. It was his fault.

Tommy pulled the other chair up, turning it to face Sam before sitting down. "I saw your statement, and I'm pretty sure if she remembers everything from that night like she said she does, then her full version of events will be a lot different from yours."

All he could do was shake his head again.

"Swarek, listen to me. You're a good cop. I've seen what you can do, and as nervous as I was to see my little girl join the force, I could tell by the way she talked about you and the job that she trusted you…"

Sam clenched his teeth. He didn't want Tommy's pity. He didn't want to know how much Andy had trusted him – he knew his rookie had trusted him with her life, and in the end, she almost lost hers. The thought made him feel sick to his stomach.

Tommy snapped his fingers, pulling Sam out of his thoughts.

"What?" Sam said gruffly.

Tommy sighed. "Is that why you're here? Because you feel guilty?"

"No," Sam replied, the word etched with defeat.

A smile formed on Tommy's face, a knowing look in his eyes. "Good. Then whatever this is," he said, gesturing in Sam's general direction, "It's gotta stop because when she wakes up, she's going to need your full attention. She's going to need your help to get back on her feet."

Sam laughed dryly, lowering his eyes as he said, "Yeah, well, she'll have Callaghan for that."

"The fiancé she doesn't even remember?" Tommy said.

Sam's gaze snapped up to Tommy's face. He hadn't seen the detective in years – since before Tommy was kicked off the force – but he knew that tone. "You don't like him?" It was blunt and to the point, but he wanted answers.

Tommy glanced towards the door, then back at Sam. "He's a solid detective from what I've heard."

"Yup," Sam reluctantly agreed. Was that really all the man was going to divulge?

As Tommy stood, he looked over at his daughter. "You know, he didn't even ask me for permission before proposing to her…"

Sam merely nodded, wondering if Tommy knew that the proposal wasn't planned, that Andy had found the ring. It sounded like she'd kept that little piece of information from her dad. He wondered why.

Sighing, Tommy continued, "Since she doesn't remember me, I'm counting on you to make sure she's okay."

"Yeah, well, the second Callaghan gets his head out of his as—"

"He'll kick you out?" Tommy interrupted.

Sam nodded. "No doubt he doesn't even know I'm here. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure he would have done something about it by now."

"So you're here until he kicks you out?"

Again, Sam nodded. "After that, until she gets back to work, I don't think there's really anything I can do."

Tommy kissed his daughter's forehead and sighed. Only time would tell. "Keep me posted, will you?" he asked as he walked towards the door.

"Will do," Sam replied, his gaze shifting back to Andy.

Sam looked up as Andy opened her eyes, watching for a moment as she started fidgeting with the blankets. Slowly rising so he wouldn't startle her, he reached out and gently tugged on them until her hands released the material and she settled back against the pillows. When he was sure he'd smoothed the blankets and sheets out enough, he turned his gaze to her, forcing a small smile as he read the silent question in her eyes. "It wasn't a dream." He paused, his own fingers now fiddling with the corner of the sheet. "But umm, you're going to be okay. You know that, right?"

She stared at him in silence, her eyes taking in each involuntary twitch in his neck, and the obvious restlessness in his fingers and eyes. He looked exhausted, but more than that, he looked nervous and maybe even a little scared, two things she'd never really associated with him. Biting her lower lip, she nodded slightly.

"Good," Sam said, letting out a breath. He hesitated. He really didn't want to upset her, but he had to know. "Do you remember anyone else?"

Andy bit down on lower lip a little harder. "We umm, we went for lunch with Oliver…" She paused. "And I missed parade because I was talking to Traci in the changeroom."

"Okay, good, that's a start," Sam replied, giving her another small smile. Knowing that she at least remembered a couple of other people made him feel a bit better, especially since he was sure that his time with her was rapidly coming to an end, at least for a few weeks or so. Seeing her face scrunch up a little, he quirked an eyebrow. "Spit it out McNally."

Andy took a deep breath. "It's just… I remember what was said and what I thought and felt… so I remember what happened and everything that day, but I…" She let out a frustrated noise. "Okay, umm, well like with Oliver… I know he doesn't like pickles on his sandwiches, and he's really nice. And uh, he was riding alone that day… But that's all I really know, and with Traci, umm, it's the same kind of thing, but I feel like maybe I should know her well, yet all I really know is what I talked to her about in the changeroom, and how she takes her coffee." Andy paused. "And with you… I… it's… well… uh…"

Sam nodded, doing his best to adopt a neutral expression. He wanted to press for details, but didn't want to push her too hard, and it was clear she was getting flustered. "It's okay," he said, squeezing her hand gently. "You don't need to remember everything right now. The important thing is that you're here." He paused, struggling to school his features as he continued, "And it doesn't matter how much you do and don't know now or down the road. It's going to take time, but we'll figure it out. You'll re-learn, make new memories. It won't be easy, but you'll be okay."

Andy opened her mouth intent on asking him something that had been on her mind since she'd first woken in the hospital. As she studied him now though, she thought better of it and snapped her mouth shut again, holding back a sigh. She needed to know the basics first before she could ask anything else. It was the only way she could maybe start to understand things. Resisting temptation, she asked, "So, how long have we been partners?"

"Since you started, two years ago," Sam replied, returning to his chair.

She tilted her head slightly, thinking. "So you were my training officer too?"

Sam nodded. A smile slowly spread across his face as he thought about how that came to be, and when he saw her quirk an eyebrow, he couldn't help but tell her. "I was undercover on your first day… well, for part of it. You and Oliver responded to a call in the building I was in, and he left you and another rookie to clear the place on your own. I ran, but I guess I matched the suspect description because you chased me down an alley, tackled me, and… cuffed me." He paused, biting back a smirk as he held back the usual and tried to kiss me that he always threw in. "Blew my cover that day."

She looked horrified. "Sorry," she said, colour creeping into her cheeks.

Sam chuckled, shaking his head. "I was mad, but it really wasn't your fault. You were following protocol, and for a rookie, without knowing what was going on, it was pretty impressive." He smiled at her. "It was actually one of my buddies who blew my cover when you and Oliver brought me back to the station."

A frown slowly formed on her face. "If I broke your cover, then why were you my training officer?"

"Apparently the staff sergeant at the time had a wry sense of humour. Thought it would be a good idea for me to be your training officer. I thought he was crazy, and you were pretty horrified when it was announced, but you proved yourself in your second shift… Proved me wrong."

She smiled slightly. After a moment's hesitation, she asked, "So we're partners?"

Sam studied her face. There was something in her expression that suggested there was more to her question than she was letting on. He thought back to the way she'd looked at their hands earlier. Could she still sense their chemistry? Or was he reading into her question more than was intended simply because he wanted it to mean more. "Yes," he said, deciding to keep his answer just as simple. Seeing the way her eyes searched him, he questioned whether he should have said more. Nevertheless, he kept his mouth shut.

"Okay," she said, frowning. Not feeling brave enough to continue on that course, she changed the topic. "And Traci and I are close?"

"Best friends," Sam replied. "I think you met her at the academy."

"So I'd talk to her about pretty much everything?" she asked slowly, biting her lower lip as she thought about the conversation in the changeroom.

"Yup," Sam replied, not sure where this was going.

"Do you think she'd come here?"

Sam smiled. "She's been waiting to visit you." He pulled out his phone and fired off a quick text.

"Is my dad okay?" she asked slowly, changing the topic again.

Sam nodded. "He'll be okay."

The frown still hadn't left her face, yet she remained quiet until Traci arrived fifteen minutes later.

"Hey sweetie," Traci said, smiling big.

Andy gave a small smile. "Hey Traci."

Sam got up to leave, but Andy reached out and grabbed his hand. He turned to look at her wide-eyed.

"Stay," she said, a slight blush creeping into her cheeks. "Please."

Receiving a nod from Traci, Sam turned back to Andy. With his hand still in hers, he shuffled towards the bed slightly instead of returning to the chair.

"I brought something that might help," Traci said, her eyes flicking from Sam and Andy's hands to Andy's face as she handed over a large photo album.

Andy took it and with a deep breath, opened the book. Traci sat on the edge of the bed and started describing what was happening in each picture and who each person was.

About ten pages in, Andy started feeling overwhelmed – her heart rate increased. Sam unconsciously rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand in a soothing manner. She felt herself start to relax a little to the comforting motion, waiting a few moments before risking a glance up at him. Even without remembering much about him, it was obvious he had no idea what he was doing, yet it seemed so natural. Realizing Traci had fallen silent, she looked over at her friend to find her smiling. Seconds later, Sam pulled his hand away and took a small step back, shoving his hands in his pockets. Torn between smiling and frowning, Andy looked from Traci to Sam and back again.

"Maybe we should continue another time?" Traci said.

"No, I need to know," Andy blurted out. She wanted to know everything, and if that wasn't possible, she'd settle for knowing about the most important aspects of her life as long as it included understanding why Sam was suddenly looking incredibly uncomfortable and why her own fiancé hadn't yet come to see her.

Traci nodded hesitantly.

Andy flipped the page, her eyes falling on a picture of her and Sam. As she stared at it, she stopped paying attention to Traci's explanation. The way Sam was looking at her in the picture and the look in his eyes told her that her partner wasn't just a partner to her. At least that was how she interpreted it. But what was he? She looked up at him, meeting his gaze and holding it for a moment before she turned back to the book, still no closer to knowing the truth than she was before. Traci, who had long-since realized that Andy had stopped listening, fell silent and looked from Sam to Andy.

"So is the guy I'm… engaged to somewhere in here?" Andy asked slowly.

Traci flipped through the book, stopping on a page partway through, and pointed to a picture in the bottom right corner.

Andy stared at the picture for a moment, taking in his blond hair and blue eyes. He was tall and definitely attractive, but something seemed to be missing from the picture. They were looking at each other, but it lacked intensity. She shook the thought away. She wouldn't be engaged to a guy if they didn't have a really strong connection. She was just being stupid; once Luke showed up, everything would be okay. Her eyes lingered on the picture a moment longer, her hand unconsciously rising to bite a fingernail. She looked happy in the picture and so did Luke – that wasn't the problem though. Andy shook that thought aside too. There wasn't a problem. Why would there be? It's just… It just seemed so ordinary.

"You okay sweetie?" Traci asked, seeing her friend's expression shift.

"Why hasn't he come?"

Traci looked over at Sam, but he merely shrugged, so Traci turned back to Andy. "Luke's working on a really big case. He's been really busy and there were some problems reaching him."

"Oh," Andy replied. There was a long stretch of silence before she said, "Well, umm, what is he like?"

Again, Traci and Sam exchanged looks. Neither one of them liked the guy and neither one of them thought Andy should marry him. "I'm sure he'll come soon," Sam said, doing his best to sound reassuring. "And when he does, you can see what he's like for yourself."

Traci pretended to be particularly interested in a loose thread at the bottom of her shirt.

Andy frowned as she looked between the two. "Neither of you like him, do you?"

Their eyes widened at that. Had they been that obvious? "You know what, there's this really good picture of—" Traci began, flipping through the book as she attempted to distract Andy.

"Why?" Andy interrupted.

Sam and Traci stared at one another, each willing the other to say something. "Yeah, uh, Swarek's got this one," Traci blurted out before Sam could do the same.

His mouth fell open, but he quickly recovered, glaring at his co-worker before adopting a softer expression as he turned to Andy. "Actually, I think since Traci's a woman, she might be able to explain what you may have seen in Callaghan better than I could... You know, answer your first question a lot better."

"No, no, no, no, no," Traci said, shaking her head. "Nope, not happening."

"Wait, so did I know you guys didn't like him before… everything?"

"Yes," Sam said.

"No," Traci said at the same time.

Andy turned to Traci, crossing her arms. "We're talking later." She then turned to Sam, "You're up."

"What?" Sam said, eyes wide.

"Well, you obviously told me once before, so you can tell me again now," Andy said, giving him a pointed look.

Traci smirked at Sam, who glared back at her.

"So?" Andy said.

"Uh," Sam began, scratching the back of his head. What he really wanted to do was escape, avoiding having to look her in the eye as he told her what he really thought of her fiancé. As he looked down at her though, he knew he couldn't exactly be completely honest with her, so he avoided the real question. "Look McNally, I don't know what it was, but you saw something in him, enough to want to marry him, so regardless of what we may or may not think, it's up to you to start forming your own opinion and conclusion on things."

Traci was shaking her head at him, disappointment on her face.

"Fine." Andy snapped the photo album shut and tossed it on the table beside the bed. "I'm kind of tired, so do you both mind… leaving?"

Traci looked back at Sam and made a wild hand gesture in an attempt to get him to say something.

Sam looked from Traci to Andy, opening his mouth. All he needed to do was say something, be honest, but the words caught in his throat. Snapping it shut again, he grabbed his jacket and phone off the chair and left without a word.

Thanks again for reading! I hope you didn't find this chapter too dry – I know it covers a lot, but I thought it was necessary to really establish some of the relationships that are crucial for subsequent chapters, and to really start to show where Sam's head is at and how Andy is feeling. In the next chapter, "The Plan", Luke finally makes an appearance, and Traci has some rather revealing conversations with Andy, and Sam, which ultimately leads to "the plan."