Falling in love can be an amazing, life-affirming experience…or it can hurt like hell. Add in a fair amount of "Deception" and you can count on the latter.

In my interview with Racheal Ancheril earlier this week, she spoke about Sam and Marlo being put to the test. She wasn't kidding.

Marlo has been juggling too many secrets. It was only a matter of time before they all came spilling out.: Her bipolar disorder, her off the books investigation of a possible pedophile and the fact that she's fallen in love with Sam Swarek. 

On the up side, Marlo was right. Kevin Ford was a pedophile and her after-hours investigation may have stopped him from doing harm to another child. But as the case appeared to push Marlo into a manic episode, Andy was forced to let Sam in on her secret. 

Sam immediately went into rescue mode because that's what Sam does. He protects the people he cares about even if it means bending the rules. Even if it means breaking them.

Unfortunately, this time he couldn't do it alone. He needed Andy's help and when she balked about forging an entry in Marlo's notebook, he leveraged their feelings for one another to change her mind. It wasn't fair on his part but it was necessary to save Marlo's career. 

In the end, Andy told him that she didn't do it for him. She did it for Marlo - and I believed her. 

That brings us to Marlo's third secret. She's fallen in love with Sam Swarek.

I don't think she expected that to happen. She once said that she and Sam worked because they were able to keep a certain amount of emotional distance. Was closing that distance part of Marlo's downfall? Did the strength of her feelings for Sam coupled with the intensity of the Kevin Ford case trigger her manic episode? 

All I know for certain is that when Marlo shared her feelings with Andy in this Rookie Blue quote, she looked so devastated that I wanted to cry for her.

I fell in love. I just want to feel it, McNally like everyone else gets to. Instead of fearing it, tamping it down, driving it away. | permalink

I don't know what happens next for Marlo but much like Andy, I've grown to care about her and I hope she sticks around. 

Keeping Marlo's secrets lead to several other deceptions. Andy had to lie to Oliver, who wasn't thrilled about being ditched. In the end he simply kept doing his job and solved the case.  More importantly, Andy lied to Nick and he knew it. 

In the scene where Andy wakes Nick, you could see how in love he is with her. It was written all over his face. It couldn't have been easy hearing Traci say that Sam took off to deal with the "latest McNally crisis." Ouch!  Even worse was having his new girlfriend lie to his face about it. 

But Andy came back and opened up to Nick. She's tired of the secrets and lies. She's tired of playing by Sam Swarek's rules. I think if Sam wants her back, he's going to have to start playing by hers. 

Traci was a powerhouse this week as Sam ditched her to help Marlo. Her drug sweep turned deadly when a rival gang decided to take out the competition on her watch. 

i couldn't believe that Sam wouldn't pick up the phone when she called him, but Traci's proving to be quick on her feet. She knew she needed backup and she called Steve. 

Every week I find myself rooting for these two a little more. I loved the two of them in the elevator. If that had been Sam Swarek with Traci, it would have been all about confidence and bravado. Instead we had a nervous Traci calling out an equally nervous Steve.

You better watch it Nash. You keep calling me on my crap I'm going to fall for you even harder than I already am. | permalink

The look the two shared when the takedown of the two gunmen went off without a hitch was filled with equal parts elation and disbelief. 

After turning him down for weeks, Steve finally made a lasting impression. Traci took a huge step and asked him if he wanted to go out and celebrate. 

Steve: Say I wanted to get to first base. Are we going to have to take down a whole crime family or something? | permalink

He's going to be one of those guys you don't know whether you want to kiss him or hit him and I couldn't be happier. Traci deserves to have some fun. 

Finally, we get to Chris. Poor Chris. It was hard to tell if he was deceiving himself or just desperately trying to hold it all together. It's probably a little bit of both. 

He loves Christian like he's his son... only he isn't. But since Chris is the only father Christian has ever known I really hope he doesn't walk out on the boys life all together. 

And despite borderline exhaustion and having to endure meat cocktails (meat cocktails?!?) Dov and Gail proved to be good sports as they slapped smiles on their faces in order to be help Chris.

So do you think Marlo's in the clear? Will she and Sam stay together or will this secret and his lingering feelings for Andy tear them apart? With two episodes left in Rookie Blue season 4, is there any future for McSwarek? 

C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.