The guys of the SRU Team 1 were in the locker room, changing and getting ready to go home after a long and successful day. It was only about six, but the boss was letting them off early.
Team 1 had managed to rescue a trapped mom and her little boy. Sam had been able to take down the crazy ex-boyfriend without shooting him as Greg talked him down.
As the boss so often said, no one needed to die today.
After they had debriefed, Spike had asked Sam to come for drinks, as he always did. And as always, Sam declined.
"C'mon Sammy boy," Spike prodded. "You never drink anymore."
This however, was untrue. Sam did drink, but he did it in his own apartment, where he could mope around and drown his own sorrows.
He missed Jules, plain and simple. He missed seeing her at work every day, doing what she did best. Apparently, some other division thought it would be necessary to have Jules on their team and she had jumped at the offer yet no one knew why. The transfer had taken her far away from Team 1.
He also recalled the few times he had convinced her to come to his apartment…
He shook his head, refocusing. He flashed Spike a toothy grin. "Next time, I promise."
He slammed his locker shut, shifting the weight of his bag on his shoulder. "See you later, buddy," he said, clapping Spike's shoulder as he walked by.
Sam paused for a minute outside the men's locker room, looking at the red sign that had once held Jules' name.
But that was eight years ago, he told himself as he continued to walk on.
Back to the loneliness of his apartment.
He went to his fridge and pulled out a beer, popping the cap.
He went back in the living room and relaxed into his favorite chair. He took a sip, reveling in the liquid that slid down his throat.
Sam thought about his conversation with Spike and his thoughts instantly switched to Jules.
He sighed. Eight years had gone by and he still wasn't over her, not that he would ever admit it.
He remembered that day like it was yesterday…
Sam knocked on Jules' locker room door.
"Decent!" came her reply, faint behind the door.
He shoved the door open and sat down on the bench while she checked her reflection in the mirror.
"You look beautiful, as always," Sam offered.
Jules looked at him and scoffed. She turned back to her locker, her back facing him and began rummaging around.
Sam came up behind her, placing his hands on her hips and kissed the side of her neck.
"Sam, stop," she said, pushing him away; the exact opposite of what she wanted to do. "You know we're over."
"But why? We're perfect for each other," he persisted. He knew how he felt, why did she have to be so difficult?
She remained quiet, all the thoughts in her head making it spin.
He stepped back, examining her closely, making her squirm.
"Are you okay? You seem off today," he asked her.
She should have known that he would pick up on that; he always knew her better than she seemingly knew herself.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said.
Sam waited for her to continue, but when she said nothing else he gave up.
He picked up her bag and handed it to her, and they made their way towards the briefing room.
Everyone else was sitting already, Greg at the head of the table per usual. He gave Sam a look when they came in together, but Sam pretended not to notice as he and Jules took their seats.
Greg cleared his throat and began talking, but he seemed off as well. Sam wondered what the hell was going on.
"So far there have been no calls-,"
"Thanks for jinxing us, Boss," Ed teased, but Greg didn't laugh.
"And I figured now would be as good a time as any to make a little announcement."
-Announcement? they all wondered. –What could this be about?
"It was brought to my attention yesterday that one of the members of this team was offered another job, working with another division. They have accepted the job and today is their last day here with us. I'd like to congratulate Jules on her new position."
The room was silent with disbelief.
Sam turned to Jules who was looking like she was trying hard not to cry.
"Jules…you're leaving Team 1?" Spike asked, breaching the silence that no one else could seem to do.
Jules opened her mouth to say something, to defend herself perhaps, but they would never know because the sound of the alarm requesting their assistance sounded and they were on the move.
"Let's give Jules a great last day," were Greg's parting words.
After the shift, he had looked for her. He had expected her to be in the locker room and he pushed in, this time without knocking.
He was met with an empty locker room and complete silence...her locker was already cleaned out, any trace of her gone. She was already gone.
He sat down on the bench, burying his face in his hands.
He didn't even look up when the locker room door creeped open. The next thing he knew, Greg was sitting with him, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
Greg had lost the woman who had been like a daughter to him and Sam…
Sam had lost the love of his life.
He jumped at the sound of a knock at his door, ripping him out of his reverie.
He put the beer he had only taken a sip of on the small table in front of him and made his way to the door.
Sam had no clue who could be at his door; no one usually visited him here and he liked it that way.
He twisted the door knob and yanked the door open to reveal a heavier set woman with hair that was twisted into a sleek bun. She looked around his age if not a little older.
Sam raised his eyebrows in question, not recognizing the woman and that's when he noticed the kid that was hanging warily behind her.
Sam looked in shock from the child to the woman.
She gave him a sympathetic glance. "Sam Braddock? We need to talk."