Stay

Zebraboymom

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me. I think I need to see a counselor to help me accept that fact.

Author Notes: I just keep hearing those whispered words in the previews. Ask me to stay. Stay. Unfortunately it sounds like Luke's voice answering her, but a girl can dream.

Sam waited patiently for Andy to meet up with him in the gym. He was supposed to help her with her boxing since she had some trouble taking down a fairly large shoplifter two days earlier. She had tried to punch the guy and came up with rock hard abs that caused her to cut her hand with her new engagement ring. Sam had tenderly given the cut first aid, but then teased her about it mercilessly. It was getting harder and harder to stand by and watch the wedding plans progress. He was seriously considering guns and gangs. There would be no way he would be able to watch her walk down the aisle. It would kill him. He couldn't be there when she married Luke. He just could not stand by and play the "friend" while she said I do and walked out of his life forever. He looked at his watch. Andy could be late from time to time, but twenty minutes? He started to pull off his gloves when the door swung open hard and hit the wall.

He could tell she was in a bad mood when she came in the room. This wasn't good. He had intended to tell her he was going to take the spot on guns and gangs. She kept her head down as she put on her gloves and he could tell she was trying to hide her face. Why?

"What's going on McNally?"

"Let's go. Get your hands up Swarek."

"Andy?"

Andy swung with all her might and delivered several quick punches to Sam. He caught the last two with his gloves.

"Whoa Ho! McNally, what's going on? Why so hostile?"

She didn't answer him. Instead, she came at him again and again delivering blow after blow to his body and his gloves.

"McNally, that's enough. Andy, stop!"

He ripped off his gloves and captured hers. He held her tightly and undid the Velcro, gently removing them as she danced from foot to foot with some sort of pent up energy.

It was scaring him now. He reached for her neck and pulled her towards him.

"Andy what is it? What's wrong?"

She lifted her tear-streaked face to meet his. Her voice was choked with emotion.

"Please…"

"I'm right here Andy. Talk to me."

She reached up and wrapped her hand around his forearm where he held her.

"Stay…I…need…you…please…Sam…"

Her eyes dropped and she continued to cry and now tremble. Sam drew her to his chest and wrapped loving arms around her, holding her tight. She knew. Somebody must have told her he talked to Best. Why did it matter to her so much? He didn't care at this point. He loved her. If she needed him, there was no way he would leave her.

"It's okay Andy. I'm here. I'm here. I won't leave you…not ever. Did something happen between you and Luke?"

"He slept with her. Rosati. Jo. He's still in love with her. I was such an idiot. You tried to warn me, but no. Then you were so supportive of the relationship. I thought you had just been talking because you were jealous or something. I feel so stupid, so…"

Sam was getting angrier by the minute and Andy realized she needed to call him down. He was heading out of the room in the direction of Luke's office. Andy grabbed his arm and tried to slow him down.

"Sam, don't. He isn't worth it."

Sam stopped and put his hands on both of her cheeks. He looked deeply into her eyes.

"No, but you are."

Andy stood and watched in shock as Sam reached the office Luke shared with Jo.

He walked up to Luke and laid him out with one punch. He dropped down on him and continued to pound his face with blow after blow. His hands were bloody as was Luke's face. Jo started screaming for him to stop and Best rushed in. He was on Sam, immediately pulling him off of Luke or Sam would have beaten him to a pulp. He had never seen Sam so angry and he had known him for eight years.

"Stand down Officer Swarek. Stand down!"

Luke lay on the floor trying to shield his face from further blows.

"You sorry piece of crap! I told Andy you were a good guy. I didn't stand in the way. I just wanted her to be happy and you cheated on her? You are scum. Do you hear me? Scum!"

Best had to bodily drag Sam into his office and slam the door. Luke lay on the floor as the crowd dispersed. No one offered a hand up from the floor. They all loved Andy and couldn't believe what he'd done. Jo dropped down beside him crying.

Best pushed Sam down in a chair and folded his arms across his chest.

"Are you looking to get suspended Swarek? Sam! Settle down!"

Sam squirmed in his seat. He wanted another go at Callaghan.

"Sam I get it. I'd want to do the same thing, but you have to get control. You defended her honor. Now save your career."

"Yes, sir."

"Can I trust you to let this lie now? Work with me Sam. I want to let you go and make it look like I majorly reprimanded you. Truth is, I wish I could have done it myself. McNally deserves better."

A grin slipped onto Sam's face and he nodded, keeping his head bowed in shame. The entire precinct was watching the show. Best continued to talk to Sam in a loud and angry voice for several minutes and then lowered his voice to congratulate him one more time. Sam stood and shook hands with his Captain and left his office.

Sam looked up to see Andy sitting on the bench outside. As he walked out the door she jumped to his defense.

"This is my responsibility Sir. He would never have gone after Luke if I hadn't been so upset. I'm sorry."

"Just take care of his hands, will you? I don't think Detective Callaghan will lodge any complaints. Personally, I think he got off easy."

Sam winked at her as he walked to meet her. She reached for his wrist and pulled him downstairs into the first aid room, pushing him down on the exam table. Reaching to open up the cabinet, she got out some cream and gauze. She came to stand between his legs and reached gently down to lift his hands up and examine them. The knuckles on both were busted open. She looked into his eyes and gave him a soft smile before bending down and kissing each knuckle gently. She pressed her forehead to his.

"Thank you. You are an amazing friend. Sam…I don't know what to say. I…"

Before she could say anything else, his lips had captured hers in a slow sweet kiss filled with promise. Andy sighed involuntarily and leaned into him briefly. When he released her, she found that she was trembling a little. The passion in that simple kiss shook her to the core.

"Let's… uh…take care of these first."

She took one of his hands in hers and cleaned it up. Next she rubbed antibiotic cream gently over the knuckles and then wrapped his hand. The process was repeated with the other hand. All the time Sam was watching her affectionately. When she was done, she held both of his hands to her cheek and stood looking at him. That one look had his heart beating so fast he thought it would burst out of his chest. Her first name escaped his lips.

"Andy…"

Behind them Oliver cleared his throat. They jumped apart.

"Uh, you two planning on going on patrol any time soon?"

"On our way Ollie."

Sam hopped down and threw him a full on dimpled smile. He reached for Andy's hand and pulled her with him out of the room.

"Let's go catch some bad guys McNally. I'm feeling lucky today."

Ollie watched as Sam placed his hand at McNally's back and walked her out of the precinct. He hoped for once Sam would get a break. The guy deserved to be happy. It was hard not to smirk as he walked past Callaghan's office. Way to go Sammy boy. Way to go!

It was a regular day for the partners and they had more fun than they had ever had together on patrol. At lunch, Andy asked for a favor.

"Do you think you could take me over to Luke's to get some of my stuff after shift? I know he works later tonight, that is if he can work after what you did to him."

They exchanged a knowing grin.

I'd rather get my stuff when he isn't there."

"Sure. We can load up my truck and if you want, you can store it in my garage until you find a place. I don't imagine your dad has much room in that tiny apartment of his."

"You'd do that?"

"Sure I would. No sense in you paying for a storage unit. Andy, in case you haven't figured it out by now, I would do anything short of murder for you and in the case of Callaghan I might even break that rule."

Andy laughed and shot him a dazzling smile.

"You're a good guy Sam. I'm sorry I didn't see that sooner."

"Forget it McNally. I'm just glad you found out about Luke before it was too late."

"Why'd you try so hard to sell him to me when you obviously didn't like him?"

"You liked him and I wanted you to be happy. I just never thought he'd be stupid enough to blow his chance with you. He's an idiot. Any guy would be lucky to have you in his life. Callaghan's a fool."

"Thanks Sam. That means a lot."

The rest of the day ran smoothly. They only had to make one arrest. As soon as Andy changed she met Sam waiting for her outside the women's locker room. He looked so good in a tight black t-shirt and jeans. He was leaning back against the wall with his go bag in his hand looking up at the ceiling. When she came out, he lowered his eyes to drink her in and he gave a low appreciative whistle.

"McNally, you look hot."

Andy blushed. She had on a halter-top and tight fitting jeans. The way Sam looked at her made her feel weak in the knees. Luke had never looked at her like that. Oh, boy. She was in trouble. He wasn't her TO anymore and she wasn't engaged to Luke anymore. There was nothing to keep them apart now.

When they got to Sam's truck, he took her bag and held the door for her to get in. He stood for a minute looking at her before he shut the door and threw her bag in the back. As he slid into the driver's seat Andy reached out and brushed her hand down his arm smiling at him. He couldn't remember being this happy in a long time.

Andy breathed a sigh of relief when they got to Luke's and his car wasn't there.

It was hard for Sam to walk into the home she and Luke had shared, however brief it had been. He stood awkwardly just inside the door.

Andy picked up on his discomfort and made her way quickly into the bedroom to pack. She cleaned all her cosmetics and toiletries out of the bathroom and took enough clothes for a couple of weeks just in case. She would talk to Luke about coming over on her day off when he was working and emptying everything else out. She knew her friends would help her and maybe Sam wouldn't have to come again.

There were several boxes of her stuff that hadn't been unpacked yet in the living room. Sam spotted her name on them and quickly carried all of them out to his truck. He was glad to get out of there anyway. The place made him sick inside. It would always represent the possibility of him losing Andy and that was unbearable to think about. Andy dragged her three bags out onto the porch. Sam bound up the steps and grabbed two of them as she looked in the bed of his truck.

"Wow! You work fast. That only leaves about seven more boxes and everything I have will be out of there."

Andy slammed the door shut and locked it. The two drove to Sam's house in silence. Sam backed up to his garage and they quickly emptied her boxes into it. Sam left her bags in the back even though he wanted to bring them in the house. In fact, he wanted the boxes to stay right there in his garage until she brought them into his house and made it her home too. He knew these kinds of thoughts were dangerous, but he couldn't help how he felt. As he closed the garage door they both suddenly felt awkward. Sam couldn't stand the idea of driving her to her dad's right now. There were things that needed to be said. He felt like this was one of those times when he needed her to know how he felt about her, before time and space put them back to square one…pals… just friends. He had to think fast.

"You want a beer before I take you to your dad's?"

"Sure."

As Andy followed him into the house, she knew she was playing with fire, but she wanted Sam. She knew she did. She had tried so hard to avoid her feelings for him and focus on Luke. That had been a huge mistake. This man cared for her deeply and she knew she had hurt him in the past. She would never do that again. She watched him bend down to get the beers out of the fridge and she checked out his very nice butt. He stood up quickly and turned to catch just where Andy's eyes had been.

"See something you like there McNally?"

"Maybe."

Sam almost swallowed his tongue as he moved to open the two bottles. He handed her one and they leaned on either side of his kitchen island drinking, as the temperature in the room got hotter.

Andy played with the label on her bottle and looked up at him nervously, but she fought the urge to talk. She always over thought stuff and this time she wasn't going to do that. As she downed the last of hers, Sam did the same to his. Her eyes watched his Adam's apple bob as he downed the cold liquid. He was so masculine in that moment; she felt a shiver and the hairs on the back of her neck went up. When he was done, she held out her empty bottle, wishing she had gone slower. She wanted to stay longer, but there was really no other excuse to keep her there unless Sam wanted her.

Sam reached for the bottle she was holding out and held onto her hand briefly as he did. He set the bottles on the counter and stepped closer to her. She decided to stop thinking for once in her life and just feel. She whispered the simple words she knew she wanted to say.

"Ask me to stay."

Sam reached for her.

"Stay."

"If I do, I don't plan on leaving."

"You better not. I can't stand the thought of a repeat of the night the power went out. Now how did that go?"

He swung Andy up in his arms and carried her down the hall to his bedroom. She put her arms around his neck and leaned her head on his shoulder. The memory of that night came crashing back in on her. Sam set her gently down at the end of his bed and wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her close. He nuzzled her with his nose and kissed her deeply. As Andy pulled back from the kiss she had to ask.

"Why'd you want me to be happy?"

Sam looked her straight in the eye and said what he had longed to say for over a year.

"Because I'm in love with you and your happiness comes first."

Andy blinked twice and tried to speak, but couldn't.

"What's the matter McNally? Cat got your tongue?"

"You're in love with me?"

"I know. I had a hard time getting used to the idea myself, but there it is. I am in love with you Andy. Head over heels in love and I don't know what to do about that."

Andy smiled as she searched his face.

"I think I do."

She slipped her hands down to the hem of his t-shirt and lifted it up and over his head.

"Make love to me Sam."

Sam untied her top at the neck and it slipped to the ground. Andy stepped out of it and pressed her bare chest to his. Sam's lips were back on hers placing warm open-mouthed kisses everywhere he could find skin. He lifted her in his arms as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He laid her down on the bed and covered her with his body. As his passion took over his whispers became deep and emotional.

"Stay. Stay. Stay."

He repeated the word over and over as they made love in a way Andy never had with any other man, including Luke. She knew she had found the man she truly wanted and needed all along. She found her own words filled with emotion as well.

"I will. I will. I promise. I love you too."

A/N: All I have to say is if they don't hurry and get them together, I'm going to have a meltdown. Last week's episode had nothing between them. I can't wait for this week. Seven days is way too long between episodes. I say Rookie Blue every night. Who's with me?