Sacrificial
Prompt - #033 - Sacrifice. This comes to you courtesy of flashpoint_sru over on livejournal.
*Spoilers: Emph, vague (VAGUE) ones for Clean Hands. Oh, and this is slightly, slightly AU.
Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Flashpoint.
...
In their line of work, they had to expect the unexpected. The sudden appearance of a gun, the oh-so-secret back door, the ambush in an alley. Every single one of those options could, would and had happened. They lived and breathed the knowledge any situation could turn on a dime.
But nothing could prepare them for the reactions of others on their team. Despite working, training, fighting together for years, no member would ever fully understand the minds of those around them. To bolster their confidence, they would pretend they knew if Alpha team would hold position for that one precarious second, that whoever was in the truck would tell them want was needed when it was needed. However, doubts existed in the very private parts of their conscious. No one could help it; it was a hazard of the job, this distrust, but it still , when a small object comes hurtling around a corner, only a few feet from Ed and Spike, Jules, Raf and Sam to the other side, with Sarg speaking softly in their ears, they are trained to assess and bolt.
Not sacrifice themselves.
The problem with that was that, over time, they had forgotten one of their own had come from the sands, where men and women would do literally anything to protect their squad. They forgot that amongst them was a man who had seen countless horrors, knew exactly when their was no other option. They forgot that their soldier's duty to himself was to never let them die when he could have prevented it.
And they never knew that a mere four years earlier, he had watched one of his closest friends take the brunt of a blast in order to save the rest.
So, when that three inch ball skidded into view, the movement towards it was unfounded.
Muttering one simple word, Sam dropped his weapon and leapt forward.
"Shit." The one syllable conveyed resignation, apology and a tinge of sadness.
As he tumbled onto the objects, denials rose in Team One's collective throats even as their instincts had them surge away from their soldier.
The blast shattered their voices.
Smoke whirled down the corridor, its harsh licks burning their throats like a second vice and flames sputtered to life in a corner. Having been thrown several feet by the force of the explosion, it took a moment for Team One to regain its balance, for each member to make it to their feet.
Only for the sight of their fallen soldier to fill their gaze.
In that instant, bonds solidified and others crumbled.
A low keen filled the air as acute pain raced from Jules' throat.
They never could have imagined their soldier would sacrifice himself. But they should have expected it.
Because, through and through, he was a soldier, just as his father had wanted, and they were his family and he would have done anything to keep them safe.