This is a three-parter that I actually wrote during the holiday season (probably apparent from the holiday storylines) but never found time to post. These Chapters are actually three standalone post-finale updates with flashbacks imbedded in to each one. Flashbacks are in italics.

"McNally, we've walked the entire tree lot twice," Sam grumbled as he trailed along behind Andy.

"Well, we haven't found it yet," she reminded him, stopping to survey one particular tree before dismissing it and moving on. Sam barely acknowledged the stop. The first few times she'd done that he perked up, thinking they might actually be on their way home with a tree soon. But after no fewer than ten such stops and starts, he realized it would be a while before he'd be enjoying the warmth of his truck again.

"What was wrong with that one?" he pressed her, pointed back at the last tree they'd passed.

"Nothing," she informed him with a shrug. "It just wasn't the tree."

"Why don't you tell me what the tree looks like then in case I happen to see it first."

Andy rolled her eyes at him. "We'll know it when we see it, Sam. Besides, what's the rush? You got somewhere else to be?"

"Yes," he spoke up immediately, causing her to turn and look at him. "On the couch in a warm house admiring a newly-decorated Christmas tree."

"You're lucky I didn't drag you to a tree farm to cut down a tree, City Boy," she teased him, throwing a smile back over her shoulder. "I took it easy on you, so you should be thanking me."

"I think I like the 'thanking' part, at least. That sounds like something I could get on board with, McNally. When does that start?"

Andy looked back at him again and raised an eyebrow suggestively. Since they'd gotten back together, Sam had very little self-restraint when it came to Andy. After being deprived of her for so long, he couldn't get enough. Even after ten months of being back together, any mild flirtation on her part had the potential to send him right over the edge, and it usually did. Today was no exception. Sam grabbed her from behind, wrapping his arms around her waist and turning her around to face him. He quickly covered her surprised expression with a playful kiss. Andy smiled, giggling contentedly against his lips.

"Okay, so we're just one holiday cliché away from being featured on a greeting card commercial," Andy noted, sliding her arms around his neck as she grinned at him.

Sam shook his head and chuckled, acknowledging the truth of the statement as well as the realization that he couldn't bring himself to care. They were Sam and Andy again, and that thought made him feel happy and fulfilled in a way he hadn't just a year before. Wanting to get her home as soon as possible, he stepped back and surveyed the trees immediately surrounding them, hoping one would step forward and magically declare itself to be the tree.

"Where did that come from anyway?" Andy asked as she started walking down the row of trees again. "One minute you're grumbling and the next minute you're planting a big sloppy one on me in the middle of the lot."

"Really, McNally? Sloppy? I don't think so." He raised a disbelieving eyebrow at her.

"Hmmm. I guess I could have been mistaken." She pretended to reconsider, tapping her index finger on her chin. "I think I may need a few more examples to properly judge."

"Then let's slap a tree in the back of the truck and get going." As Andy started combing through the trees again, he added, "And just because I'm grumbling doesn't mean I'm not happy to be here with you. I grumble about a lot of things. It's part of my charm."

"That's true. You are pretty charming."

As she continued to inspect every tree they passed and he pretended to be annoyed, Sam thought about how far they'd come since making the decision to try again ten months before. He remembered how nervous he'd been when he approached her about giving them another try and how the payoff had been worth every bit of anxiety he experienced leading up to it.

After being discharged from the hospital, Oliver dropped off Sam at home. Because he hadn't been cleared to drive yet, Sam promptly called a cab and went straight to Andy's place. He'd seen her a few times at the hospital, but her visits always seemed to coincide with someone else's, giving them no chance to talk. The most awkward visit occurred when she crossed paths with his sister. Andy had been visibly uncomfortable, staying only a few minutes before excusing herself. Sam blamed himself for that. He'd set up so many boundaries when they were together that she didn't feel comfortable crossing them now that he wanted her to know him better.

By the time he was released, Sam was definitely feeling the pull to see and talk to her. He stood in front of Andy's building for several minutes, steeling himself for one of a few possibilities. First, and obviously a worst case scenario, Collins could be in there with her. Sam could hardly consider that possibility, though, without feeling compelled to do a full 180 and call the cab to come back and get him. Second, she could be alone but unreceptive to his presence at her house and in her life. True, she'd said some amazing things to him in the ambulance, but she was also afraid he might die at the time. People did and said things they didn't always mean in life-or-death situations. The third and best case scenario was that she'd actually be happy to see him and things would progress from there.

When he finally reached her doorstep, Sam raised his hand to knock no fewer than three times, each time lowering it unsuccessfully back to his side. Finally, he told himself to "man up" and knocked on her door, fighting the instinct to flee the building before she opened it.

A few seconds of silence passed before he heard the sound of socked feet padding toward the door. As the footsteps got closer, Sam's heart rate accelerated.

Suddenly, the door swung open and there she was, looking as unsure as he felt. Without a word, she stepped back to let him in and closed the door behind him. As she turned to face him Sam jammed his hands in his pockets to keep them from betraying him by fidgeting around nervously.

"Oliver said you were being discharged today," Andy offered hesitantly. "How are you feeling?"

Emotionally, he was a bit of a wreck, but assuming she was inquiring after his physical well being, he quietly answered, "Not too bad, all things considered." After that, he didn't know where or how to begin. She was searching his eyes, undoubtedly looking for cues from him. During the past year they'd both gotten used to a certain emotional distance when in each other's presence. Now, the rules had changed because of the things they said to each other before and after the shooting. Neither of them seemed to know how to handle their new status, whatever that was.

Sam took a quick glance around her condo and quickly ruled out his first and worst case scenario. Unless he was hiding in the bedroom, Collins did not appear to be there. He could tell Andy was definitely alone. So that was a relief, as was the fact that she hadn't immediately sent him packing.

Finally, Andy asked if he wanted to sit and motioned to the couch. He sat on one end and she sat near the other end, turning to face him with her arm resting on the back of the couch and one leg tucked underneath her.

"We need to talk," he forced out, turning his head to look at her with his hands planted stiffly on his thighs.

"Yeah, we do" she agreed, locking eyes with him.

As nervous as Sam was, he refused to force her to carry the conversation. If he'd learned anything during the past year—and he'd learned a lot, actually—it was that he needed to force himself to be more open with the people he cared about. She was the person he cared most about and he wanted her to see that if they were to try again, things would be different.

"Did you mean what you said in the ambulance?" Sam blurted out, wishing he sounded more eloquent and less desperate but knowing it wasn't in his power to do so. Everything hinged on her answer, and it was impossible for him to be composed while asking such a weighted question.

She held his gaze as she responded, "Yes, I did."

He actually released an audible sigh and a small smile erupted on his face. Something he thought he could never reclaim was now suddenly a possibility again and this realization had his mind and heart on overdrive. "After all this time, you still feel that way?" he questioned, not entirely believing the truth of what she'd said. "How is that possible after everything that's happened?"

Andy matched his smile with a tentative one of her own. He could tell she was as nervous as he was. She looked down at the couch, collecting her thoughts before meeting his eyes again. "We've caused each other a lot of pain, and I really did try to move on. I wanted to be happy again. Without you, though, it just seems like I'm going through the motions. I can be happy with a lot of people, but I'm happiest when I'm with you, Sam. I feel the most fulfilled when I'm with you." Then, turning the tables on him, she asked, "What about you? How do you feel?"

His hands pressed down heavily on his thighs. He knew he had to lay it out there if he hoped to get her back, so he quickly forged ahead. "I love you, Andy. I never stopped, and I'm sorry for leaving you in that parking lot and for all the bad decisions I've made since then."

At first, her expression was unreadable but then her smile began to grow almost imperceptibly as she slowly scooted toward him on the couch. She reached down and took his closest hand in both of hers, looking down at it and fumbling around with their linked fingers.

"Andy," he began, willing her to look at him. When she raised her eyes to his, he continued with, "I don't have any expectations. I screwed up and although I don't deserve a chance to fix things with us, I'd like to try if that's what you want."

Her answer was a smile that actually reached her eyes. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been responsible for putting a smile like that on her face. He felt elated, but nothing could equal the overwhelming sense of relief that overtook him when she said, "I told Nick I needed a break. Probably a permanent one. I can't be with him when my heart is still with you."

"Good," he breathed, smiling at her and turning his body so that they were facing each other. Not able to resist, he ran his fingers down the length of a strand of her hair and then began playing with the ends. "As you've probably guessed, Marlo and I are done."

"Yeah, you probably should have led with that," she informed him with a wry smile, "but I guess I assumed it based on the substance of the conversation."

"Andy, I shouldn't have been with her. It wasn't fair to you or me and certainly not to her. I thought I wanted to move on and that being with someone else was the way to do that. And then when I realized it wasn't going to work, I was too stubborn to admit it to myself—and to you."

"I blame myself, too," Andy spoke up, wanting to take some of the burden off of him. "Don't get me wrong. You definitely did your fair share of the dirty work. I just—I shouldn't have left for the UC op with things the way they were between us. At the time, I wasn't thinking clearly, though. I was hurt, and I needed time to regroup. And I know I left with you thinking I no longer felt the same way about you. It was some really bad decision-making on my part. I should have talked to you about my decision to go before I left. At the time, Luke told me I didn't have time for goodbyes, but if I'd wanted to make it happen I could have. I wish I had made it happen," she admitted.

When he continued to play with her hair, Andy laughed. "Okay, that's really distracting."

"Do you want me to stop?" Sam asked in a teasing tone that let her know he had no intention of doing so.

"I wouldn't dream of it." She smirked at him. "You probably wouldn't listen to me anyway. You can be rather stubborn. Your words. Not mine."

Sam smiled at her as a sense of calmness overtook him. "So . . . are we going to be okay?" he clarified, drawing out the question as he asked it.

"I'm game if you are," she told him, issuing a mock challenge.

"Oh, I'm definitely game, McNally."

"I think this is the one. What do you think?" Andy broke in to his thoughts with the announcement that she had, at long last, found their tree.

"I think I liked this one thirty minutes ago when we passed it the first time, but if it means there's a real possibility that we could be cozied up on the couch celebrating in the not-too-distant future, I have to admit that it's the most perfect tree I've ever seen. In fact, I might go so far as to call it an evergreen miracle."

"Okay, then let's get it," she announced with excitement. Andy bounced lightly on the balls of her feet and then closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around his neck again. "Thank you for being so patient. I know I'm kind of a pain about this."

"Maybe just a little bit," he admitted, narrowing his eyes at her and giving her a quick kiss on the lips. "Now go get the guy and tell him the good news so we can be on our merry way."