Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

Author's Note: Hey guys, thanks for all the new reviews and the positive feedback, I'm very glad some of you are still enjoying the story. There was a question which I'd quickly like to address: You asked why Sam didn't take Damien's vest (yes, spelled with a v, I got it now). I agree that it would have been a smart move, but I think Sam just wouldn't have had the time. After all, there are some pretty dangerous people with Andy, they already shot a cop, everyone's panicking and more people are in danger of getting hurt. To me it just seemed like Sam wouldn't have wasted valuable time undressing Damien und putting on his vest, even if it would have meant being better protected himself.

Also, I'd like to apologize for driving some of you (quote:) "nuts" with my terrible spelling mistakes. My native language is German and I learned English while waiting tables in an Irish pub in my home town – I guess it shows sometimes. I will look for a beta reader to avoid this problem in the future, but for now, I hope you'll bear with me anyway …

His uninjured arm around Andy's neck, Benny watched as the people previously seated in the waiting area ran past him. Panic had ensued the moment Alan had pulled the trigger of his gun. "What now?" Benny asked.

"Shut up, I need to think," Alan said. They were facing away from the stairs to avoid getting hit in the back by some patient trying to be a hero. Alan looked around the room, irritated. They really didn't need this kind of crap. Not now that they were so close to finishing their task. He looked down the hallway in front of him. It ended in a T, another hallway running right across it. He had no idea where that hall lead or whether there was another escape route, but he knew going down the main stairs wouldn't be a smart move. The cops were most likely to take the most direct route up once they arrived at the scene. On the wall behind the seating area where Andy had found him just moments before, Alan saw a fire extinguisher and next to it a map. "Give me the girl," he said to Benny and grabbed Andy by the shoulder. "You go get the cop's radio so we know what the rest of them are up to. I'll go look for another way out of here."

Benny let go of Andy and turned around to do what Alan had told him to. The last few people were just making their way towards the stairs. Benny watched them for a moment, then he noticed the empty spot on the floor where the cop had gone down. "He's gone," Benny said.

Alan, already a few steps away, turned around. "He can't be far," he said. "Hurry up before he makes it down the stairs."

Sam silently closed the door to the X-ray room behind him. He couldn't see Andy from where he was standing, a big wooden cabinet blocking his view. He didn't mind, since that also meant that he couldn't be seen by anyone standing in the waiting area. He moved closer to it as a few patients ran past him and down the stairs. As soon as they were out of sight, the entire floor became quiet. Sam guessed by now everyone had either fled or barricaded themselves in a room, leaving him, Andy and the two armed men out in the open.

"He's gone," he heard a man's voice say. Shortly after, a second voice, telling the first to hurry up. He heard footsteps coming towards him. He was pretty sure they were talking about Damien and probably wanted to get to his gun or radio. He held his breath and waited until the steps had reached him. His gun raised, he stepped out from behind his cover just as the man passed him. He lifted his gun, took another step towards the man, then brought his weapon down hard on the back of his head. The man went down without making a sound.

Sam looked left to make sure nobody had seen him, but found the entrance to the waiting area empty. He put the gun in the back of his pants and quickly searched the unconscious man for weapons. When he came up empty, he grabbed him by the hands and pulled him towards the X-ray room.

Both Damien and the male nurse jumped a little when Sam opened the door again to drag the man inside.

"Jesus, you scared the crap out of us," the male nurse said.

"This is one of them," Damien said once he had gotten a look at the man's face. By now he was sitting upright on the X-ray table, his vest open.

"Yes," Sam confirmed. "Can you take care of him for me?"

Damien nodded. "No problem." He reached for the handcuffs, stored in a little black pocket on the right side of his belt.

"Thanks," Sam said and got up to leave. "You might want to lock the door behind me," he offered, but didn't wait for a response before he left.

The hallway was quiet, but in the far distance Sam thought he could hear sirens. Backup had arrived, but that didn't mean that Andy was safe yet. He threw a quick glance down the stairs, then made his way down the hallway toward the waiting area.

Andy could barely breathe. Alan's left arm was around her neck, holding her in a headlock that allowed no movement. Alan was looking at the map, trying to figure out their next move. The gun in his right hand pointed at Andy's head at all times.

Andy's mind was racing. Her eyes went left and right, looking for something – anything she could use to get out of this situation. She saw the fire extinguisher only two feet away but had no way of reaching it. All she wanted was to get away from this guy that had already proved he had no scruple and would probably kill her for real this time as soon as he didn't need her anymore.

Andy had been scared before, but now that Alan had her in this headlock, she really started to panic. She struggled against Alan's grip, trying to at least create some room for her neck, but the more she tried the tighter it got. By now, she was desperate for air. All logical thought was wiped from her mind, leaving only her survival instincts, which told her to struggle even more in an attempt to get away. But it was no use. Andy got physically weaker when she realized that she didn't stand a chance against Alan. She was ready to give up and let matters run their course, when she heard Sam's voice behind her.

"Police," Sam said. He had entered the waiting area without anybody noticing. Now he was standing about twenty feet behind Alan and Andy. "Drop your weapon!"

Andy could feel Alan hesitate for a moment before he turned around, forcing her to make the move with him. He had been holding her on his left side, but now he pushed her in front of him, using her body as a shield. She felt the cold muzzle of his pistol pressed hard against her temple. Her hands clung to Alan's arm, still trying to loosen his grip. Her face was flushed, her legs unsteady.

That was the image that presented itself to Sam. He swallowed hard at the sight but otherwise did a good job of hiding his emotions. Anyone who didn't know him very well would have thought him completely calm, professional, focused. But Andy did know him, better than most people and better than he would have cared to admit. When their eyes met, Andy could see right past his calm exterior. She could see the storm of emotions playing behind his eyes, see his mind rattling away, trying to figure a way out of the situation, trying to get a step ahead of Alan, trying to get them both out of there alive.

What was he even doing at the hospital, she wondered. Had the police already arrived and had he come with them? She doubted they could have been that quick. Plus, he wasn't wearing his uniform. Then she remembered that it was his day off today. He was always off Thursdays so he could sleep in after their weekly poker nights, which usually took place on Wednesdays.

"You again," she heard Alan say.

"Drop your weapon," Sam repeated. "Let her go and get on the ground!" He inched a little closer.

"That's far enough, pal," Alan said, tightening his grip around Andy's neck, which made her wince involuntarily.

Andy watched Sam's knuckles turn white. Then she realized, there was only one explanation for why he was here. He was here for her. The thought echoed in her head. He was here for her. Like he always was, wasn't he? Suddenly, all the things she had felt in that school basement came back to her. She remembered how incredibly safe she had felt in his arms, remembered how hard he had fought to save her, how desperate he had been when he had failed. And she remembered thinking that she wanted a second chance. A second chance with Sam. She had made it out of that basement alive, had gotten that second chance, and what had she done with it? Nothing. Even worse, she had pushed Sam away, had pushed everyone away and just curled up in her bed and shut the world out.

"Look man, you're not getting out of here, you gotta know that," Sam tried again. "Even if you make it past me, there's no way you're getting out alive. By now they have the building surrounded and an emergency response team is on its way. If you let her go, I can at least make sure the snipers don't blow your head off."

Alan didn't say anything, instead stretched his neck a little, trying to see past Sam.

"If you're looking for your buddy, he's not coming back," Sam said, guessing Alan's thought. "You're on your own."

Andy watched Sam wait expectantly. Of course she couldn't know it for sure, but something told her that Alan wouldn't just put down his weapon and let himself get arrested. If she didn't want to be a victim again, she had to do something. She looked into Sam's eyes, hoping to find something there that would tell her what to do, but Sam's eyes were focused on Alan.

Then, the fire alarm went off. The noise was deafening and caught everyone off guard. Everyone except for Andy, whose cop instincts finally kicked in again. She used the moment of confusion and with her entire weight pushed herself back against Alan, using her right hand to push the gun away from her temple at the same time.

A shot rang out and went straight into the ceiling. Alan fell backwards against the wall behind him, his headlock on Andy loosening just a little. Andy knew it wasn't over yet. She used all the energy she could muster and rammed her elbow into Alan's solar plexus. Alan dropped the gun and finally let go of Andy's neck. Andy spun around and brought her right knee up, sending Alan against the wall once more. Unable to control his fall, Alan's head banged against the side of the fire extinguisher, causing a metallic thunk before he slipped to the ground, unconscious.

Andy didn't stop to take a breath, but bent down to pick up Alan's .22. She ignored the pain in her right side when she got back up, took a step back and pointed the gun at Alan's head.

Sam was by her side before she had fully realized what just happened. His own gun still in hand and pointed at Alan, he carefully approached her from the side.

"Andy," he said, his voice strained.

Andy didn't look up. She was still trying to catch her breath.

"Andy," Sam repeated. He reached out to touch her arm. "It's ok," he said. "It's ok. It's over. You can put the gun down now."

Andy heard his voice, understood the words, but couldn't comply with them. She stared at the motionless man on the floor in front of her, unable to form a coherent thought. The fire alarm sounded in regular intervals, filling the air with a noise so loud it made it hard to think at all. She felt Sam come closer, his hand sliding down her arm towards the gun she was holding. Her own knuckles had turned white by now. Sam covered her hands with his own.

Finally, Andy started to let go. Sam carefully took the gun off her, put it on the ground and gave it a slight push so it drifted a few feet away. His eyes never left Andy's face. He put his hand on her shoulder. "It's ok," he said again. "It's over."

Andy felt completely drained, like she hadn't slept in weeks. Her knees were trembling, her hands shaking. She felt tears forming in her eyes and fought hard to keep them from spilling over, but she didn't have the energy to hold it together anymore. It was as if someone had opened a gate inside her and now all the emotions she hadn't allowed herself to feel these past few weeks were just flowing out, taking hold of her entire body. She hated being vulnerable, hated being weak in front of other people. She didn't want to be so weak in front of Sam either, but something in his touch, in his voice and the way he looked at her told her that he wouldn't mind. She turned towards him and allowed him to take her into his arms.

Sam held Andy while she finally let everything out. Her pain was hard for him to bear, but somehow he knew that this was the only way she would get better. He allowed himself a relieved sigh, then placed a long kiss on Andy's hair. "It's alright," he said. "It's gonna be alright."

He kept an eye on the still unconscious man on the floor while Andy slowly cried her pain away. They stood in a tight embrace until the men from the emergency response unit finally arrived at the scene.

Author's Note #2: So, that's it, folks, the end of the main story. I hope you're not disappointed. I know how I would want the story to go on, but I'm not sure whether I should really keep going. I'm thinking I could either just stop right here, write a nice long epilogue or basically start a "new chapter" in this story, which focuses on Sam and Andy finally getting together. It's up to you guys. Let me know what you think and that's what I'll do.