Disclaimer: The Sentinel and its characters are the property of Pet Fly Productions.

Spoiler: More misunderstandings. Romance and drama. Sequel to The Journey Begins.

Rating/Warning: R for romance.

Dedication: To my sister, Julie, whose encouragement helped more than she'll ever know. Love you, always. To my best friend Denise, whose encouragement made these stories possible. A special thank you goes to Diane, without her beta skills this story would be painful to read. All remaining mistakes are mine, sometimes I don't listen, even if it's for my own good. And last but not least to Fess, without her e-mail this would never have been written.

Strength to Continue
by Robin from Florida

Blair entered the bullpen looking miserable. He crossed the office to Jim's desk. On it were two small gifts wrapped in masculine type wrapping paper. Checking the tags, he found one with his name and the other had Jim's name on it, both written in a very feminine style.

Just as he lowered himself to Jim's chair, the detective entered the bullpen from the elevator.

"Hey, Chief," he greeted his partner. Seeing the pain filled eyes of his friend he asked. "What's wrong?"

"Andy did leave word where she was going. She slipped a note under the door. I thought it fell out of my backpack and just stuffed it back in. When I got to the university this morning I found the letter and read it." He handed the crumpled note to his partner.

"Jensen's Trailer Park. Could she have picked a worse one?" The sentinel questioned no one.

"Jim, it's the closest to the loft. She probably didn't want to go too far in case she got lost."

"Where's Simon?"

"Don't know. I just got here. Do you know who these came from?" Sandburg questioned, handing Jim his gift.

"Don't worry, they're not bombs," Megan smiled, as she walked up to the desk. "At least I don't think so." She smiled again. "If they are, Captain Banks has one too." Her smile suddenly faded. "A woman dropped them off. I think her name was Ann... Andy?"

"What happened?" the sentinel asked, noticing the change in her demeanor.

"We were a little hard on her," Rafe explained, coming to Megan's rescue. "We didn't realize she was truly frightened to enter the bullpen to drop off the gifts." Looking down at his hands he continued, "Not until Joel told us about the last time she was here."

"If you see her, tell her we're sorry. Okay, Jim?" Megan pleaded.

Their only responses, from the partners, were glaring stares. They quickly scattered not wanting to experience Jim's legendary wrath.

"Jim, we have to go talk to her," Blair suggested, reaching for his backpack and his gift still on the desk.

It had been a long day, full of learning her way around a new city. Finding the locations of the buildings that she would have interviews at on Monday morning. Then looking for an apartment and shopping for presents. Finding just the right thing to say thanks to and I'm sorry for friends that she owed a lot to. Finding the police station that she swore she would never return to. But she was home now; at least the temporary home she had found, which was not located in the best part of Cascade.

Andy had the whole day to think about her new life. She decided she would go see Simon to try to work things out. She wasn't really mad at him. It was more disappointment that her first meeting with his son had gone so terribly bad. She hoped that Simon had been right about his son. And that Darryl would, at the very least, like her... a little. But that could never be now. She knew Darryl was only protecting his father, while trying not to look scared in the face of a strange woman, but his words hurt just the same.

Andy gathered her remaining strength and got out of the jeep. When she came around the front of Bessie, her RV, she was surprised to find Simon waiting for her. Her bright smile soon faded in the face of his anger.

"Simon?" She questioned, not understanding where his anger was coming from or why it was aimed at her.

"Why'd you run away again?" he accused.

She saw a glimpse of what she thought was fear. Then his rage was back and barely held in check.

"Didn't you know I would track you down?"

"I didn't run away," she calmly denied. At least, she thought she sounded calm.

"You didn't? Then why didn't you call me and tell me where you went?" the captain continued his interrogation.

She realized that his anger was from his fear that she would leave him again. It made her heart ache to know that she had hurt him again. Trying not to let the hurt show in her voice, she responded to his question. "Your cell phone number is still on the pad of paper, beside the phone, at your house. Your home phone number isn't listed. I looked."

"Why did you leave Jim's place in the first place?" his voice, softening only a little.

She wasn't sure if he would believe her when she explained. He was a police officer; he would need evidence. "I got a parking ticket. The officer said he would be back in an hour to have Bessie towed, if I was still there when he got back." She retrieved the paid ticket from her handbag, then handed it to the captain. "I didn't want to make a scene because it might get back to you. I didn't want to cause you any more problems." She knew she had caused problems in his personal life and was trying not to cause another in his professional life. She could no longer hold back the tears, knowing that she had hurt her lover while trying to do the right thing. She turned away from him, and busied herself with unlocking Bessie's side door.

Losing his anger in the face of the truth and the hurt in her voice, he asked one more question, fearful of the answer. "Why didn't you tell Jim or Blair?"

She stopped and turned towards the captain, leaving her keys dangling from the lock in the door. "I did. I didn't have a key to the loft so I left a note under Jim's door." Tears were sliding down her face, as she continued to explain. "I didn't run away, Simon. Not after..." She couldn't finish the thought of how she felt after spending the night, with the large man standing in front of her.

Her comments were interrupted by a blue pickup truck pulling up to them. As the two men exited the truck, Andy turned and entered Bessie. She couldn't face any more anger. Tired and afraid, she just couldn't do it.

"Dee, wait!" Simon shouted, as the door closed in his face. Hearing the lock slide into place, he knocked on the door. "Andy, I'm sorry. Andy. Open up, please?"

The only response he got was a muffled, "Go away."

"Do you think Simon will be okay?" Blair questioned, hanging his coat on the hook near the door. His mind's eye flashed to the captain's face as he read the letter Andy had slipped under the loft's door. Simon just seemed to close in on himself then.

"Yeah, he'll be fine. I'm worried about Andy. She's all alone in a strange city." Jim headed to the refrigerator. "Do you want a beer?"

"Thanks." Accepting the beer and sitting down at the kitchen table with the small gift from Andy. "She's strong, she'll be fine. Besides, she's not alone. She has us."

"Us? I don't think she's too happy with us right now." Following his partner's lead, he retrieved his gift from his coat pocket and sat across from Sandburg.

The young man was ripping into the package like a kid at Christmas, "I'm surprised you waited this long," he smiled at Blair.

"What can I say, man? I love presents." Looking up with a big grin on his face, "Especially gifts from women."

Shaking his head and giving a small chuckle he looked on, as his young friend opened the small box.

Inside was a folded piece of paper. Blair carefully lifted it out to find a matching leather and beaded bracelet and hair tie. As his hand fingered the smooth leather, he read the enclosed note.

It had been a frustrating day. Full of dead-ends and false leads. They were no closer to finding Johnny Williams.

Simon placed the Chinese take out next to the dozen roses on the front seat, hoping that this small peace offering would start the healing process between him and Andy. It had to. It just had to. He would do anything he had to do to make it up to her for the way he'd treated her. Anything.

Even if she didn't want to see him, he wanted to make sure she was safe, to be near her. He pulled up to the slot that Bessie had been in yesterday and found it empty. Resting his head against the steering wheel, he tried to force down the fear that only yesterday resulted in their first fight. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an older woman hurrying towards his car. She tapped on the window and he rolled it down.

"Are you Simon Banks?" the lady asked in a thick accent.

"Yes."

"Then this is for you." She smiled a toothless smile as she handed him a small envelope. "She made me promise to give this to you or the other men listed on the envelope. She tried to give me money to do her the favor. But I wouldn't take it." She stated proudly, remembering the way her former resident described the man in front of her. "She loves you very much."

"Thank you," was all he could say.

"Your very welcome. Don't let her get away, Mr. Banks." She waved, and left.

Seeing Jim and Blair's names on the envelope, he carefully opened it and read the note inside.

A large box with legs was coming up the back stairs while Simon was waiting for an answer to the doorbell. "Andy?"

"Simon?" came the box's reply.

"Yes, Simon! What the hell are you doing carting heavy boxes around?" he demanded. Dropping the take out and flowers, he reached out and took the box from the small woman.

"Moving in?" She moved around the big captain and the box he was carrying, opened the front door, letting him pass through first. She picked up the food and flowers and carefully closed the door behind them.

After setting the box down, Simon looked around the apartment. He was amazed to see how closely it resembled Jim's loft. The balcony and living room, with a nicer fireplace, were on the left. The dinning room and kitchen were on the right. But where the steps to the loft and Blair's room would be was just a solid wall. The ceiling was normal for an apartment. The bedrooms and bathroom were probably down the hallway off the kitchen. The place was empty, except for a loveseat and a box from Bessie. The loveseat was positioned so people sitting on it could watch the fire in the fireplace or look out the balcony windows.

His sight was drawn to Andy, standing next to the door, holding the roses to her face, eyes closed and nose buried in them. When she opened her eyes, they were bright with unshed tears.

"I should be giving you flowers." She looked at the man she loved. "I'm sorry, Simon. I never would have let you believe I had left you. Honestly." She stood there not knowing what to do next.

Simon knew exactly what to do. He walked towards her and engulfed her in the biggest hug he could without physically hurting her.

"I'm so sorry, Simon," came a muffled sob while the two held on to each other.

He pulled away slightly to look into her shining eyes. "It was just a misunderstanding. That's all. Just a misunderstanding." He brushed the tears from her face with his large hands. "Shhh," he smoothed as he bent down and kissed her gently.

A soft, mewling sound quickly replaced the sobs coming from the young woman. The kiss was broken when Simon bent slightly to lift her gently into his arms.

"Simon, I can walk," she laughed, suddenly finding herself cradled in his strong arms.

"Yes, but then I couldn't do this," his lips attached themselves to the sweet spot where her neck meets her shoulder.

"That's a good reason," she breathed, letting her head drop back exposing more flesh.

The hallway led to the spare bedroom, with most of the boxes from Bessie, on the left. The bathroom was on the right, with the master bedroom at the end of the hall. He carefully carried his love to the only furniture in the room, a huge king-size bed with a soft, forest green comforter spread on top. He gently lowered her to the bed. Pausing only a moment to slip out of his coat and jacket, he then moved onto the bed next to her, slowly pulling her into his arms. "I'm sorry, Dee. I should have let you explain. It will never happen again, I swear."

Looking into the sorrowful eyes of the man she loved, she forgave him. She would forgive him anything. Smiling, she cupped his face and drew it towards her. She laid the lightest of kisses on his nose, and then his lips and whispered. "It had better not. I love you, Simon Banks. Please remember that, always."

"I'll remember," he promised, as their lips met for a kiss that forgave all.

Simon had a goofy grin on his face as he compared "first time sex" with "make up sex" and "shower sex", finding them all to be fantastic. Although, he had to admit, that any sex with Andy was going to be fantastic. A timer announcing that the Chinese food was hot again interrupted his daydreaming. Just as he was going to call Andy for dinner, his cell phone started to ring.

"Simon?" Andy called from the bedroom.

"I'm coming."

When he got to the bedroom, he found Andy on the floor, lighting one of a couple dozen candles of every shape and size that had been placed all over the floor. He smiled at her as he reached over to his coat, draped over a box near the door.

"Banks." He listened to the person on the other end. "Damn, all right I'll be there in a couple of minutes." When he looked up, he found her snuffing out the candles she had just lit. "I'm sorry." He was so disappointed he could barely look at her.

She smiled her understanding. "It's all right, Simon. Honestly. We've made up and we're fine. That's all that matters." She gave her man a big hug, trying to reassure her lover that she understood. "Come on, let's find you something to take with you to eat. Damn, I wish I'd had time to shop. I don't have anything to make a sandwich with."

"That's okay. I probably won't have an appetite later anyway."

Suddenly, realizing what her lover must be on his way to, she looked almost strickened.

Seeing the fear in her eyes, he quickly pulled her into an embrace. "Shh, it's okay. I'm sorry I didn't mean to frighten you."

"It's okay. I just forgot about the unpleasant things you must have to deal with," came a muffled reply from the area of his chest.

"I'm still sorry."

"It's okay, Simon. I love you." She reached up and gave him a kiss.

He reluctantly pulled away to put his jacket on, then his coat. "Hey, I forgot to ask. How did the interviews go?"

"Fine, I guess." She slipped out of the room and down the hall.

"What happened?" he questioned, following her.

"Nothing." She wouldn't meet his eyes.

Putting one hand on her shoulder, the other tilted her head up. "What happened?" he asked again.

Looking into his determined eyes, she found she couldn't lie. "They were terrible I couldn't concentrate."

"You were upset about us. Weren't you."

All she could do was nod.

"Oh baby, I'm sorry. What a screw up," he sighed. He wrapped his arms around her and held on.

"It's okay, Simon. We're okay. That's all that matters. There are other jobs out there. I'll find one. Don't worry."

"I worry. It's in my job description. Comes right before making love to you every chance I get."

"Can we go straight to the making love part and skip the rest?" She smiled up at her handsome lover.

"I wish." He stole kiss, then headed for the door.

"Oh wait, Simon." She went to the counter where her handbag was and started digging through it. "Here," she said, finally producing a single key from the depths of her handbag, "It goes with the key ring."

He smiled, remembering the Celtic knot key ring he found in the package on his desk. "I meant to ask you what it stands for," he said, retrieving his keys with the new key ring attached.

"It means strength."

"Strength?" he questioned, taking the key from her and threading it onto the ring.

"It's silly, forget it. It means you're very strong," she said too quickly.

"I know I'm strong, but what does it mean to you?" he questioned, catching her arm as she tried to walk past him to the front door.

"It's my strength," she mumbled, not looking back at him.

"What?" He turned her to stand in front of him, gently rubbing her shoulders.

"It's my strength. Simon." She looked up, hoping he wouldn't laugh at her foolishness. "For when you need a little extra. To get through a tough case, you just have to reach into your pocket and I'll be there for you." She looked away, afraid to see him laugh at her. Her head was lifted to find only love in his eyes.

"Thank you. I love you." He kissed her gently. After long moments, he growled and pulled away. "I gotta go."

The crime scene was awful. Johnny Williams lying in a dumpster in a deserted alley.

They had received an anonymous phone call giving the location of the missing child.

The captain was thankful that Taggert wasn't there, knowing that the gentle man would have a hard time with the discovery of the second victim.

Simon kept his hands in his pockets. Not because he was afraid of contaminating the crime scene, he was rubbing the Celtic knot in his pocket, remembering his lover's words. Knowing that he would need all her strength before this case was closed.

The End