The moon was already high in the sky when Sam finally made it home. "Andy?" he called, stepping into the house and closing the door behind him. The first floor was dark and silent and each step Sam took echoed through the rooms. He made it to the staircase and bounded up them, two at a time. "Sweetie?"

"I'm in here," he heard her call from the direction of their bedroom.

Sam smiled as he pushed open the door, expecting to see his wife perched on the bed. He was surprised to find the room empty but the light coming from beneath the door to the bathroom gave away her location.

He crossed the floor and gently pushed the door open. The room was lit with candles, their flickering light reflected in the mirror. She was in there, lounging in the claw foot tub he had installed just for her. Her hair was piled on top of her head which was resting on the back of the tub, cushioned by a towel, and the layer of bubbles that floated on top of the water covered the rest of her body.

Make that, they covered most of her body. Her round belly protruded from the bubbles. Sam grinned to himself when he thought that it looked like one of those pictures where the top of the mountain rose above the fluffy white clouds.

He followed the line of her body until he saw the smooth skin of her legs again, her feet braced against the other end of the tub. Before Andy had gotten pregnant he'd never understood when he heard people say that pregnancy was beautiful. Pregnant women were just that, pregnant. There was nothing particularly special about them. If he was completely honest, the whole thing freaked him out a little.

But now that it was his wife that was pregnant… he got it.

Andy was beautiful. She glowed, even more than normal. Her curves, which had always taken his breath away, had become fuller and her body had a softness about it that it hadn't had before. There was something incredibly sexy about the fact that she was carrying his child.

His quiet perusal of her body was interrupted when she spoke. "Are you going to just stand there staring at me?" She asked, not bothering to open her eyes.

Sam chuckled. "I was just admiring the view."

"It's kind of like SeaWorld, huh?" she said, running her hands over her stomach. "I feel like Shamu."

He crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned against the doorframe. "Well you look beautiful."

Andy finally opened her eyes and looked over to him, smiling. "Compliments will get you everywhere."

"That's what I was counting on," he replied, winking at her.

She laughed softly, shaking her head. "You can come in, you know."

"Yeah?" He asked, pushing away from the door. "Can I join you in there?"

Andy eyed him skeptically. "Did you shower at the station?"

"Why does that matter?"

"I don't want you to get my bath water dirty."

Sam smiled. "Of course I did."

"Do you think we'll fit?"

"Are you calling me fat?" Sam asked, reaching around to his back to grasp the material of his shirt, pulling it over his head.

She laughed and made a point of running her eyes over her husband's still well defined abdomen. "Yeah, you're the one that looks like you're trying to smuggle a bowling ball under your shirt wherever you go."

Sam grinned and patted his stomach, "It's called sympathy weight McNally, it's a real thing."

Andy rolled her eyes at the ridiculous assertion. "Would you shut up and get in here with me?"

"So bossy," Sam chided, pulling his belt free from his jeans. He winked at her as he unzipped his jeans and pushed them and his boxers to the floor. Andy let out a low whistle of appreciation as he kicked the garments off.

Sam just grinned and motioned for her to scoot forward. She did as he asked and he stepped into the tub, inhaling sharply. "How long have you been in here?" He asked, sliding in behind her. "The water is freezing."

"It's not freezing, it's just not hot. I'm not allowed to take hot baths anymore," Andy told him, leaning back against his chest once he got situated. "If you were as swollen as I am this would feel like heaven."

"I can guarantee you that swelling isn't my problem right now," Sam told her, pulling his knees up on either side of her body. He ran his hands over her shoulders and down her arms, settling them over her stomach. "Hey," he whispered, kissing the crook of her neck.

She turned her head to the side to face him. "Hey yourself," she whispered back, pressing her lips against his. "How was your day?"

He shrugged. "It was fine."

"Sam," Andy said, trailing her fingers over his knees, "That wasn't a 'please lie to me so I won't be so miserable on desk duty' request. It was a 'please tell me the truth so I can live vicariously through you' request."

Sam kissed her cheek quickly, "You'd think I could tell the difference by now."

"You would think," she mused. "So how was it, really?"

"It was good. Epstein and I are working with Boyd on that high school drug ring op. We did some surveillance work today."

"Oh yeah," Andy said, leaning her head back against Sam's shoulder, "Dov mentioned something about that. Is he getting to be the buyer?"

Sam nodded, "Yep. It works out well that he looks like a twelve year old. We were just ironing out some of the details tonight. That's why I was late."

"I figured." Andy shrugged, unconcerned, "Traci gave me a ride home."

"I got your message," he said. "You can take the truck next time if you want. I can always get Shaw to give me a ride."

"I thought I was banned from driving the truck?" Andy said cautiously. She had accidently backed the truck into their garbage can the last time she had driven it. There were no scratches or dents, but he hadn't been happy about it.

Sam coughed and cleared his throat, "I may have overreacted slightly." Andy just "hmmed" as he placed small kisses along her collarbone, "Forgive me?" he whispered.

"Maybe," she purred, tilting her head to one side to give him better access to her neck. "Only if you'll rub my feet later."

"I can probably do that," he assured.

Andy relaxed against Sam, enjoying the feel of his hands trailing over her body. "Your son has been very active today," she told him.

"Oh yeah?" Sam asked, grinning.

"Yeah, he really likes using my kidney as a football," she said as she pulled his hand up and placed it over the right side of her stomach. "Here, you'll be able to feel him kick in just a second."

She was right. After a moment, Sam felt a tiny push against his hand. "Hey buddy," he said, pushing back on her stomach, earning another swift kick. Andy inhaled sharply. "Does that hurt?" Sam asked.

"It's not that it hurts," she said, shaking her head, "It's just a lot of pressure."

Sam laughed when he saw a small part of her stomach poke up. "What's he doing?"

"I think he's stretching," Andy said, pushing gently against the protrusion. "Sometimes he pushes right into my ribs."

Sam smiled, covering her hand with his own. "Are we ever going to decide on a name?"

"I've already told you what I want," she said resolutely.

"No," Sam told her, shaking his head.

"Why not?" Andy challenged.

"I hated my name growing up," Sam told her, "I don't want to burden my kid with the same one."

Andy sighed. "I like your name."

"We'll think of something better," Sam assured her, "We've still got time."

"Not that much," Andy reminded him, "I'm thirty six weeks today."

"I know," Sam said.

The couple relaxed, sometimes talking and sometimes just enjoying the quiet and being together. Sam noticed that Andy's head began to loll against his shoulder, and every once and awhile she would jerk awake again. He wrapped his arms around her and allowed her to doze off until the coolness of the water became too much for him and he shivered. Shaking Andy gently he asked, "Can we get out of here?"

"Yeah," Andy said sleepily, "You're going to have to help me out though, I don't think I can move."

Sam smiled and kissed her shoulder. "Wait here," he said, pushing himself up and out of the tub. He grabbed two towels from the linen closet and hurriedly dried himself off with one before wrapping it tightly around his waist.

He came back to Andy, bending over to hold her securely beneath the arms and help her out of the tub. She stepped out onto the bathmat faltered slightly, off balanced, before steadying herself with one hand against the wall.

Sam grabbed the towel he had gotten for her and began to run it over her arms. "I can dry myself off," she said.

"I know," he nodded, smiling. "But I want to."

She returned his smile as he dried off her other arm and began moving down her body. He dried her back with long, even strokes before moving around to her front and spending more time than necessary patting the soft material against her breasts.

Andy rolled her eyes and indulged him for a moment before giggling and pushing his hands away. "Sam, I think they're dry."

"I should probably check," he murmured. Andy's giggles turned to soft moans as he dipped his head down and pressed his lips against the supple skin. Her breath became shallow and jagged as he explored the area, swirling his tongue in tiny circles over her sensitive skin before skimming soft kisses across the pebbled flesh. She tangled her free hand through the soft strands of his hair and closed her eyes as he bit down gently, eliciting a whimper from her lips.

Abruptly he stopped and pulled back to wink at her, "Yep, they're dry."

She narrowed her eyes at him and fought the urge to slap him upside the head. "That was mean," she told him, dropping her hand back down to her side.

"No it wasn't," he laughed, running the towel over her belly. He knelt down to dry off her legs and she held on to his shoulder, steadying herself as he trailed his lips after the towel. He gently lifted each delicate foot into his hand as he dried them off. When he was satisfied that he was done he stood back up and wrapped the towel around her torso, securing it between her breasts.

Sam stepped as close to her as he could get, grinning as he bumped into her swollen belly. He bent over it and pressed a kiss against her lips before asking, "Ready for that foot rub?"

The next day Sam and Dov were riding together along their normal route, on a break from the surveillance work they had been doing for most of the week. "Sir?" Dov asked, getting Sam's attention.

"You don't have to call me sir," Sam told him, bored. "I've told you this."

"I know," Dov said. "It's just a habit."

Sam shrugged, "What do you want?"

"Well, I was just wondering, since we've been doing this operation with Boyd, and it's a pretty big deal and I'd like to think I've done a pretty good job so far…"

"Spit it out Epstein."

Dov sat up straight in his seat, hesitating slightly before asking, "Do you think I could handle undercover work? Like, long term?"

To his credit, Sam didn't laugh or even crack a smile at the thought. "Why are you asking me?"

"Well," Dov said, "You were undercover for eight months, you know what it takes."

Sam thought for a moment, nodding slightly as he considered the question. "Well," he said, "You've done a good job so far, but we haven't run the actual op yet. I'd wait until you see how you do to think about it long term."

"Yeah." He paused for a moment, "What's it like?"

"Being undercover?" Dov nodded. Sam sighed, "It sucks most of the time, long periods of boredom punctuated by a few moments of excitement and sheer terror."

"That sounds awesome," Dov said, completely serious.

Sam chuckled, "It is awesome, for a little while. You got a girlfriend?"

"I had one," Dov told him, "but not anymore."

"If you're interested in UC, that's probably good," Sam said, looking in the rearview mirror before changing lanes. "Relationships have a way of making things messy."

Dov snorted. "Just imagine what a baby's going to do to things." His eyes widened when he realized he had said that out loud. "I mean, I'm sure you and Andy are going to be able to handle it just fine, you're both mature, and stable, and, and… married, and it's going to be great…" Dov rambled on, concerned about what the superior officer was going to say about the slip.

Sam just raised an eyebrow. "You done?"

Dov nodded swallowed hard. "Yes sir."

"I'm not working UC anymore, so I think we're going to be fine."

"I totally agree, Sir, you're going to be better than fine."

"And, for what its worth Epstein, I wouldn't suggest running out an impregnating a girl right now," Sam told him, eyes focused on the road ahead, "But when the time does come and you're with the right person, it'll be the best thing you've ever done."

"That's…" Dov trailed off, shaking his head slightly.

"What?"

"I just never pictured you of all people saying that," Dov said, "Sir."

Sam grunted, "Don't tell anyone."

"I won't." Dov promised. "So you think I could handle it? Undercover, I mean. Not a baby."

"Like you said, you've done a good job…" Sam's answer was cut off when Dov's phone rang.

"This is Epstein," Dov answered.

"Dov?" It was Traci and Dov could immediately sense the urgency in her voice.

"Yeah?"

"Are you with Sam?"

Dov's eyes cut over to his partner, "Yes."

"Okay," Traci sighed, "Keep your reaction to what I'm about to tell you neutral, okay?"

"Okay," Dov said evenly, "What's up?"

"You've got to get Sam to Memorial, now." Traci told him, "Andy's water broke. She's going into labor."

Dov could tell by her tone that it wasn't a good thing his friend had gone into labor so early. He could feel his pulse begin to race and he fought to keep his voice steady, "What happened?"

"I wasn't in there so I don't know exactly what happened, but Andy was in booking when Noelle brought some guy in that was tripping on crystal meth. Apparently he saw Andy and yelled something about his pregnant wife before he…" Traci took a deep breath, "before he went after her. She tried to get out of the way and Chris was able to get a hold of the guy, but I guess she got shoved against the counter which caused her water to break."

"Okay," Dov said slowly, processing what she was telling him. There were so many questions that he wanted to ask, but he didn't think he could without raising suspicion from Sam.

"I'm following the ambulance now and we're almost at the hospital. Andy's doing okay. She told me to call Sam but I thought it'd be better if someone told him in person," Traci said, "And kept him calm."

Dov looked over at Sam who was eyeing him warily, obviously wondering who he was talking to. "I can do that."

"Just get him here as soon as you can," Traci said before hanging up.

"Bye," Dov said as the line went dead.

"What was that?" Sam asked, his normally bored tone tweaked with curiosity.

Dov took a deep breath and flipped his phone closed. "Sir, I need you to pull over."

Sam raised an eyebrow at him. "Excuse me?"

"I need you to pull over," Dov repeated, "And let me drive."

"Is something wrong?" Sam asked, a quiet panic entering his voice. "Is something wrong with Andy?"

Dov's determination faltered slightly but he caught himself and stayed resolute. "I will tell you what's going on but right now you have to trust me and pull over. I'm not going to tell you while you are driving."

Dov saw the way that Sam's jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed slightly. Thankfully, he pulled to the side of the road without another argument. "What's going on?" He asked.

"Okay," Dov said, "I need you to stay calm."

"Epstein you better tell me what the hell is going on right now," Sam practically seethed.

"Give me the keys," Dov told him, holding his hand out.

Sam turned the ignition off and handed the keys to Dov, clearly on the verge of flipping out.

"Okay," Dov said, unbuckling his seatbelt. "Andy's on her way to the hospital. Her water broke."

Sam shook his head. "No, its too early, she's only thirty six weeks."

Dov nodded, "I know that Sir. But she got shoved into a counter…"

"What?" Sam asked, his eyes flashing with anger. "How did that happen?"

"I'll explain everything," Dov said, pushing his door open, "But we really need to get to the hospital."

Sam was out of his seat and around the car in record time. "Tell me what happened," he demanded, pulling the seatbelt across his body.

Dov started the car and pulled out onto the street, flipping the siren and lights on in the process. "Traci said that Noelle brought a guy in that was tripping on meth. He saw Andy in booking and started yelling something and went after her. Chris got a hold of him but in the process Andy was shoved into the desk."

"Why was she in booking?" Sam asked.

"I don't know," Dov said, "But she's in an ambulance on the way to Memorial right now. We're close, we may even beat them there."

"Is Andy okay?" Sam asked, his voice softening at his wife's name.

"Traci said she was doing fine," Dov assured him.

Sam just nodded slightly and then settled back into his seat. "Its too early," he repeated. He knew the risks of having a preterm baby, he had read all about them. .

"Sam," Dov said cautiously, unused to using the other man's first name, "It's going to be okay. We're almost there."

They made the rest of the trip in anxious silence. Dov turned into the parking lot of the emergency department and they both saw an ambulance pulling up to the entrance, followed by a squad car. "That's Traci," Dov told Sam, "So Andy must be in the ambulance."

Dov pulled in behind Traci's car and Sam jumped out, running over to where they were unloading Andy.

"Andy!" He yelled, his stomach dropping at the site of his wife on the gurney, pale and scared.

Andy's head snapped up when she heard his voice. "Sam," she cried, "I'm so sorry, I tried to get out of the way…"

"Oh sweetie," he said, pressing a kiss against her forehead and taking hold of her hand, "I know, it's okay, it's not your fault."

He ran alongside of the gurney as they moved Andy inside. They were immediately sent to labor and delivery where they were met by a nurse and ushered into a room. "Hi Andy. My name is Rebecca and I'll be one of your nurses today. We're just going to do a quick assessment," the nurse told them as Andy was transferred to the bed, "Before the doctor comes in and checks you out, okay?"

Andy just nodded, overwhelmed by how quickly everything was progressing. The room was abuzz with activity, with nurses scurrying around, helping Andy into her hospital gown and hooking her up to the fetal heart rate monitors. "I can't be going into labor, its too early," she told Sam, still gripping his hand.

"Do you know if you're having a girl or a boy?" Rebecca asked in a calming voice.

"A boy," Andy replied.

"And how far along are you?"

Sam answered for Andy, "Thirty-six weeks. Is the baby going to be okay?"

"There are some risks for a preterm baby," Rebecca told them honestly, "But we're going to take good care of him. Let's just worry about getting him out safely now, okay?" Andy nodded. "Did your contractions start right away?"

Andy shook her head, "They didn't start until I was in the ambulance."

"And how far apart are they?"

"About five minutes, I guess," Andy said. "I… I'm not sure."

"Its okay," Rebecca assured, "The doctor will probably order a medication called Pitocin, which will help things progress right along. Since your water already broke we're going to try to get him out as soon as we can."

"Okay."

"I'm just going to go call your doctor now. Here's your call light," Rebecca said, handing it to her, "I'll only be gone a couple of minutes but call me if you need anything."

Andy nodded, and Rebecca left them alone in the room. "Where are Dov and Traci?" Andy asked, getting comfortable in the bed.

"I'm sure they're in the waiting room," Sam told her, holding her arm to support her. "I'll go find them in a little while."

Andy sucked in a sharp breath and squeezed her eyes closed, "Is it a contraction?" Sam asked, running his hand over her back. She nodded, unable to speak until it passed. Sam felt helpless watching her in obvious pain, but there was nothing he could do.

She exhaled deeply before turning to Sam. "Sam," she said, panicking, "We don't have anything ready for the baby… we don't have his nursery ready, we don't even have a name picked out!"

"It's going to be okay," Sam told her reassuringly, "We'll worry about all of that later."

It wasn't long before Andy's doctor came in and, just as Rebecca had predicted, started her on Pitocin. "The baby is in a good position for delivery," he told them after examining her, "but he's stressed and his heart rate is a little higher than we'd like, so we need to get him out soon or we're going to have to do a c-section."

"Is she going to be able to have an epidural?" Sam asked, looking between Andy and the doctor.

"Unfortunately, no," the doctor said, shaking his head, "The good news is that Andy has dilated rapidly, but the bad news is that there's not enough time for the drug to take effect and then wear off enough for her to push when the time comes."

Andy's eyes widened. "I have to do this naturally?"

As the doctor nodded she shifted her gaze over to Sam and he could sense her fear. "You can do it Andy," he told her, calmly. "I know you can do it."

She shook her head, starting to freak out a little, "I can't do it, Sam," she said. "It's too much, I can't do it."

Sam knelt down so he was eye level with his wife. "I know you can Andy," Sam said, "You are so strong and I know you can do this."

Her eyes were still wide, but Andy nodded her head. "I can," she said, and then again with slightly more confidence, "I can do this."

"You're going to have our baby today," Sam told her, pushing her hair off her forehead.

Just as the doctor had wanted, the labor progressed rapidly and in just a couple of hours Andy was ready to deliver. Sometime during that short period Sam had gone out to the waiting room to tell Dov and Traci what was going on. Jerry was out there with them and had brought some clothes for Sam to change into.

"Thanks man," Sam said, taking the clothes from Jerry.

Jerry just nodded at his friend before pulling him into a hug. "You're going to be a dad today," Jerry said, slapping him on the back.

Sam chuckled and pulled away, "Who would have thought? I'm just…" he motioned back to the doors he had come through.

"Yeah, yeah," Jerry said, releasing his friend. "We'll be here."

"Tell Andy we love her!" Traci called after him.

It wasn't long after Sam returned to the room that Rebecca reported gleefully, "I can see the head! We're almost there, just a couple more good pushes!"

"You're doing so great Andy," Sam told her as Rebecca counted for each push, wiping her forehead. "Almost done."

"Alright Andy," Rebecca yelled, "One more!"

Andy tucked her chin down to her chest and pushed hard until she heard the doctor announce that the baby was out and then she collapsed back onto the pillows, physically and emotionally exhausted, "Is he okay?" She asked, "Why isn't he crying?" Almost as soon as she asked the question she heard the baby start to wail and almost cried in relief.

"You did so good sweetie," Sam said, beaming up at her, "He's so beautiful."

"Here you go Dad," Rebecca said, handing Sam a pair of scissors to cut the umbilical cord, "Just cut right between the two plastic clips."

Sam did as he was told and then Rebecca wrapped the baby in a blanket and placed him on Andy's chest. Andy couldn't stop the tears the flowed as she held her son for the first time. "He's so tiny," she said, marveling at his little fingers and toes.

"He's perfect," Sam said, kissing Andy's forehead before turning his attention to his son. "Hey little guy," he soothed, "Welcome to the world."

Rebecca and a couple of the other nurses fussed over the baby as Andy held him, cleaning him off and assessing for how alert he was. "We'll take him to get really cleaned off in just a minute," she told them.

Andy nodded, unable to take her eyes off of the still screaming tiny baby. "He's got quite the set of lungs on him."

"He must get that from you," Sam said, grinning at her.

"Look at those eyebrows," Andy teased, "Those are definitely from you."

"We're going to take him now, but we'll bring him back," Rebecca promised. She nodded her head over to a couple of nurses that just walked into the room. "In the meantime they're going to get you cleaned up and settled into your new room."

"Okay," Andy said, reluctantly handing the baby over to Rebecca.

Sam stayed with Andy and held her hand while the nurses took care of her. He leaned in close and grinned down at his exhausted wife. "We have a little boy."

She nodded, tearing up again, "We do. And he's okay."

"I'm so proud of you sweetie," Sam said. "You're so beautiful."

Andy let out a choked sob and reached up to thread her fingers through his hair. "I love you," she told him, weakly pulling him closer to her.

He complied and bent his head down so he could press a kiss against her lips. "I love you, too."

A couple hours later Andy was settled in her room, anxious to see her son again. The nurses brought the baby back to them and reported that aside from being a little on the small side at just under six pounds, Owen Samuel Swarek was a perfectly healthy baby boy.

"Of course he is," Sam replied, cradling Owen in his arms, "He's my son."

"There's a whole group of police officers out in the waiting room," one of the nurses said. "I assume they're here to see you."

"Can they come back here?" Andy asked, pushing herself up in the bed.

"We don't usually let that many visitors into the rooms," the nurse told them, "But we can probably make an exception. I'll go tell them."

"Do you want to hold him?" Sam asked, swaying back and forth slightly, not taking his eyes off of Owen.

Andy smiled watching the two of them together. "That's okay," she said, leaning back against the many pillows she had propped behind her. "I know as soon as Traci gets in here she'll want to hold him."

They heard their friends making their way down hallway and in a couple of moments it seemed like the entire Fifteenth division poured into Andy's room.

Just as Andy said she would, Traci held her arms out for the baby as soon as she entered the room. "Let me see him," she said as Sam gingerly handed him over. "Aww… He's so precious."

The rookies gathered around Traci, cooing and making faces at the tiny baby. Noelle was next in line to hold him, followed by, of all people, Oliver Shaw.

After he had passed Owen along to Jerry, Oliver kissed Andy on the cheek and clapped Sam on the shoulder. "Congratulations guys," he told them, "He's a cute little kid." He winked at Andy, "Obviously he takes after his mother."

Andy laughed, "Thanks Oliver."

"Just keep him away from my girls," Oliver warned with a grin, "I don't want him working those infamous Swarek dimples on them."

"Give him a couple years," Sam said, laughing, "I'm sure he'll be charming the ladies in no time."

The officers stayed for a little while, admiring Owen and chatting with Sam and Andy, until Traci began herding them all out of the room. "It's been a long day," she said when they grumbled at her, "They need their rest."

When they were left alone with Owen, Andy decided to try and feed him again. The first time things hadn't gone so well, which had frustrated Andy to the point of tears, but Owen got the hang of it the second time around.

"Look at him go," Sam said, sliding onto the bed next to Andy. "He's like a little nursing champ."

Andy just laughed weakly, leaning against Sam as he wrapped his arm around her. "Thank god," She said, "I don't think I could have handled one more thing going wrong today."

"I think things turned out pretty well," Sam said, tracing his finger over Owen's tiny hand. "We're so lucky he's okay." He paused for a moment and pressed a kiss against top of her head, "That you're okay."

Andy nodded, yawning. They sat in silence, both mesmerized by their son and thankful that he was healthy despite the events leading up to his birth.

Andy and Owen ended up staying in the hospital for two days before they were released to go home. Owen was slightly jaundiced, which they expected due to him being a premmie, but they were able to get it taken care of easily. Sam stayed with them the entire time, setting up a cot in the corner of Andy's room for the rare moments they were able to get some sleep.

When they got home Andy was surprised and thrilled to see that Owen's nursery had somehow been finished. "How did you…" she asked, confused, stepping into the room, "When?"

"I didn't do it," Sam said, shrugging. "Nash got the keys from me and she, Diaz, Peck and Epstein finished it. I just told them what to do and gave 'em my credit card." Andy cried for what seemed like the tenth time in the past forty-eight hours and Sam just grinned and wrapped his arm around his wife. "See Andy, I told you everything was going to be okay."

Sam stayed home with Andy and Owen for two weeks before returning to work. It took a while to get into a routine to meet the many demands of their tiniest family member but Sam and Andy could not have been happier to make the adjustments. Middle of the night feedings, burping, crying, diaper changes… they handled it all together.

Andy took as much maternity time as she could, but it soon came time for her to return to work. They had meticulously researched daycares in the area to find one for Owen and settled on one that was near the station.

The first day they had to leave him had been extremely difficult for both of them and Sam ended up having to pull a tearful Andy away. "He's going to be fine sweetie," Sam told her with more confidence than he felt, "And he's five minutes away if anything happens."

The officers welcomed Andy back to work during parade and she found herself settling in as they received their orders. Sam winked at her when Best assigned them to ride together again.

"Isn't Dov going to be upset he's not your partner anymore?" Andy asked as they walked out to the familiar car.

Sam shook his head. "He and Diaz are getting to ride together now," he told her. "I think they've already come up with their superhero partner names. I'm sure he'll be fine."

They reached the car and Sam held Andy's door open for her as he had done so many times before. "Thank you," she said, sliding into the passenger's seat.

"You're welcome." Sam shut the door and rounded the car, climbing in on the driver's side. He pulled his seatbelt across his body before turning the car on and looking over at her. "You ready to go?"

She nodded and buckled her own seatbelt. "I'm ready."

Sam grinned and reached for her hand. "It's good to have you back, McNally. It hasn't been the same without you."

(Really this time)… The End!

Thanks for reading all of that. The epilogue ended up being much longer than I anticipated, but I hope you enjoyed it!

Again, thank you all so much for your support as this story has come together. It has been so much fun to write and all of your encouragement only enriched the process. Thank you, thank you, thank you!