Hi everyone! This is an episode tag I've wanted to write for a while, but never had any idea what I wanted to do with it. That moment where they asked where Sam was and it was Jules that answered always called to me and now I have this! Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Flashpoint.
Even from early on, the bond that was forming between them was obvious. Even before they knew it was happening the team knew. So when Sam froze only moments after bragging, when he set the newspaper down and nearly ran from the room, the team waited for Jules to move to the paper. They already knew she would be the one to go.
She picked up the paper, with Ed right behind her, as team leader his concern for Sam was second only to Jules. They glanced at the paper and then at each other. Fallen soldiers.
Sam thought only of reaching out to someone who knew, of reaching out to a brother in arms from that time; someone who could truly understand. He barely made it to the hallway before the phone was to his ear.
He wasn't in the field. He wasn't in camp.
They hit the camp!?
Come on man, are you going to make me say it?
The pain in his heart doubled, indecision warred. This was his brother, but he had betrayed them all. He took his frustration out on the bag, comforted by the sight of Jules as she walked toward him, even as it intensified the pain.
The team had known. Had known that if anyone could reach him, Jules could. Knew to let her go to him. No one else had even considered going before her. Knew that only she could reach him on the level that he needed right now.
It wasn't so much at her words, but the sound of her voice that had him flicking his eyes to her. The voice of this woman that didn't need to truly understand because she understood him.
I'm just trying to help.
Her words echoed in his mind and he swung at the bag again. She didn't pity him. Didn't coddle him. She simply wanted to be there for him, and it was the knowledge of that bond that had him confiding in her, at least until the siren announced the hot call.
Brothers. This call was about brothers the bond between brothers and the things you did for them, and the bad places they could find themselves in. Their pact, the pact Sam had made with his brother in arms, it was strong, but it was missing a level, it was missing love. It was missing understanding between brothers. Understanding for the man, understanding for the individual.
Greg's quiet words to him, the quick acknowledgement was all he needed from the man. It didn't even bother him that Jules had told. They were a team, and the team had to know how he was, and he knew that Jules was concerned for him. But when the call was over, when he had finally gotten through to the brother, had finally gotten through to himself, Sam found Jules. She was the only person it occurred to him to seek out. Not Greg, not Ed, but Jules.
She was standing by her truck, repacking equipment. "Jules."
She looked up at him, a brief smile on her face, until she saw his face. "What's up, Sam?"
"I've got to go to the bridge. I've got to be there."
She just looked into his eyes for a moment, as he gave her that unwavering stare he used when he spoke to people. That unwavering stare that hit her deep every time. She looked into those beautiful blue eyes and debated asking if he wanted her to go with him. Finally she nodded. "Go."
He nodded back, lightly squeezed her arm, and then turned away.
"Sam," Jules called out.
He turned to look at her, and she tossed him the keys. "You'll need these."
The smile he gave her was worth every brush off he had given her that day. "Thanks, Jules"
She knew it was for more than just the keys. She just nodded and he jumped into the truck.
The team had always known. Had known before them, and no one questioned that it was Jules that said Sam had someplace to be and not Ed, because the bond between the two was strong.
And while Sam stood on that bridge, just barely making it in time, he didn't think of Jules, just thought of his fallen friend, because he had his bond with Jules to hold him strong.
The knock was quiet, but Jules heard it over the music she had playing. When she answered the door she was wearing shorts and a tank top her hair in a messy ponytail and Sam thought she was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. She grinned when she saw him, but noticed the fatigue around his eyes as he leaned against her doorframe. He nodded toward the paintbrush in her hand and said, "Tell me you have a second one of those and a wall that needs painting."
She opened the door wide. "Right this way."
He stepped through the doorway and followed her to the living room wall she was painting. For a moment he just stared at the can of paint and then he looked up at her with tears in his eyes.
She dropped the brush and closed the distance between them. Standing on her tippy toes she wrapped her arms tight around his neck, and he buried his face in her neck and cried, drawing strength from their bond, knowing that to her his tears would never be weakness.
Thank you everyone for reading! Hope you enjoyed!