A/N: I am on a roll.
Maggie is one or two months old in this fic.
Disclaimer: I do not own Flashpoint or any of its characters.
Terror
By The Sneezing Panda
A frightened cry broke the deafening silence Jules Braddock had become accustomed to.
It was a faint cry, but a high-pitched cry; a shriek, if you will. Most of all, it was familiar, and that was the part that scared Jules. She turned around to find an, indeed, familiar infant, her face red and her eyes teary. Jules thought they were alone.
There was a click—a gun being cocked. It was so loud, Jules thought it was pointed directly behind her, but after a glance, she realized it wasn't. She could see a man with a gun, and it was in pointed front of her, behind the girl-behind her daughter. It was pointed at her Maggie.
Maggie Braddock screamed out for her mother; Jules willed her knees to bend and her legs to move, but it was as if she was paralyzed. No, she was paralyzed, and all she could do was stand and watched as the man with no face pulled the trigger; she couldn't even sob out when she heard the bang—
Jules awoke with a quiet gasp. She could barely breathe; she was terrified. The only things she was aware of were the tears streaming down her cheeks and the sweaty pajamas clinging to her body. Jules flung the covers away from her and spared a glance at her husband, Sam, who was still sleeping, undisturbed and peaceful.
She was on her feet quickly, charging down the hall on her toes. It wasn't a long trip; Maggie's nursery was nearby.
Part of her knew this was silly. Deep down, she knew her daughter was safe and sound, as asleep as her father, and content to some extent. It was like every other night, but there was still that nagging suspicion that a man without a face—perhaps an errant subject she had been pursuing during her hectic job—was trying to harm her baby.
Jules tiptoed into Maggie's room and found the lamp, providing a dim light. Then, she made her way to the crib and peeked in anxiously, sighing with relief when she was met with the sight of her daughter in a deep slumber. Maggie was on her back, her arms outstretched, with her growing hair splayed across the mattress; her chest rose up and down slowly, indicating her shallow breaths. Jules felt tears sting her eyes again, but this time, they were tears of joy.
Her lips trembled and she sniffled, bringing her hand up to her mouth in order to stop herself from letting out a scream of happiness and awakening the baby.
Still, Jules needed to hold her in her arms, to place her lips on her forehead, and to be reassured that Maggie was alright, to be assured that this wasn't another dream. She reached out and gently ran her thumb along one of Maggie's arms. Maggie stirred and blearily opened her eyes, blinking up at Jules. Jules smiled and, sighing, she carefully picked Maggie up and cradled her.
Maggie let out a whimper and looked like she wasn't sure if she should start crying or go back to sleep.
"Shh," Jules soothed, swaying slightly. She leaned her head forward to place a tender kiss on Maggie's head. She let her lips linger a bit and her brown hair fell past her shoulders, tickling the baby's face. Maggie's nose twitched in response and Jules drew her head back, rocking Maggie in her arms.
"Mama's here," Jules affirmed, more to herself than to Maggie. Maggie studied her with a rather serious expression on her face, her eyelids droopy.
"I won't let anything happen to you," Jules promised, biting her lip, "Okay, hon'? I promise."
"Jules?" came a low voice from the doorway. Jules' head immediately turned to face the source of the noise, slightly startled. Sam looked at her with sleepy eyes and slowly walked forward, running a hand over his face. Once he was closer, he got a better look at his wife's face: red, a little puffy, and obviously distressed.
"What's wrong?" Sam asked, concerned. His brows furrowed and he woke up a little, placing a hand on Jules' shoulder and glancing between her and Maggie.
Jules opened her mouth to speak, but found she didn't know what to say. She looked down to Maggie, who was gazing at Sam with interest. The girl stretched her arm towards him, and Sam smiled softly, letting her take his finger. Sam turned his head to face Jules and planted a kiss on her temple.
Sam took his hand off of her shoulder and used it to push her loose hair behind her ear. "What happened?" he asked again.
Jules sighed and brought Maggie up for another kiss before returning her to her crib. Maggie blinked slowly and yawned, smacking her lips. Jules turned to Sam, who was standing closely behind her. Without warning, Jules flung her arms around his shoulders and buried her face in his chest. Surprised and a little confused, Sam wrapped his arms around her waist tightly.
Jules loosened her grip and back away slightly, looking up at Sam. She squeezed his biceps and whispered, "Let's go."
He followed her into their bedroom, turning the light off on their way out.
She climbed up onto the bed and sat with her back against the headboard, waiting for Sam to join her. She pulled the covers over her leg. They sat, shoulder-to-shoulder, until Jules finally spoke up.
"I had a bad dream," she explained shortly, quietly. Sam peered at her curiously, but she kept her gaze locked on the wall in front of them.
"It was Maggie. Maggie was shot, I think," Jules clarified, her voice catching at the end. Sam frowned, but remained silent, waiting for her to go on.
"It's hard to remember. All I know is one second, she was in trouble and I couldn't help her; the next second, she was gone and I was awake," Jules drew her knees up to her chest and placed a hand against her forehead. She couldn't think about the nightmare without getting a sick feeling in her stomach. "She was crying and I couldn't help her."
Sam draped an arm around her shoulders and leaned his forehead against her temple, closing his eyes.
"She's okay," Sam stated. Jules looked at him for the first time since they had entered the room, and when he felt the weight of her gaze, he firmly added, "She's fine."
Jules nodded slowly and rested her head in the crook of his neck, raising a hand to bunch up in his shirt. After a moment, she leaned forward, looking as if she was about to bolt.
"I'm going to check on her again," she announced, a little panicky. She was about to stand up when Sam placed a hand on her forearm. Jules turned to him and regarded him with a slightly desperate expression on her face. Sam shook his head slowly.
"Jules, you need to understand she's fine. She's asleep; nothing's hurting her," he declared tiredly, "You can't keep running to her."
Jules looked at him with a pleading gaze, then glanced at the hand on her arm and frowned. Finally, she sighed, and settled back into the bed.
"You're right," she agreed. Sam smiled a little and kissed her nose lightly; Jules crinkled her nose and leaned back, watching him lay down on the bed. She lay down beside him and threw a glance at the door, mentally debating whether or not to get up.
Sam lazily draped his arm around her waist and closed his eyes.
Jules, who had been on her twenty-first reason why she should check on Maggie, had sleepily shut her eyes without even realizing it.
And that's when Maggie, with her impeccable timing, began to cry.