Title: Haven
Character: Sam
Word count: 400
Rated: G
Prompt: 6- Shelter
Timeline: Before Aisle13. If you paid attention, you would see that I'd never put Sam and Jules in romantic set-up after the break-up. I stick with canon.
Summary: Sam is relieving the memory of his military days. Left, but never forgotten.
Disclaimer: Not mine, will never be mine. Next!
The lights were out in Kandahar
Sam had known from day one that being a soldier wouldn't get him a five-star hotel treatment. Camping outside on the ground had become a daily routine and there were times when digging a 'foxhole' were as natural as could be. He would lay there five feet under and try to sleep, breathing in sandy Afghanistan atmosphere while praying to see another sunrise.
He'd never got the chance to 'visit' Camp Gecko, but had stayed for a short period of time in Kandahar Airfield. The traffic was bad and the air condition was terribly scorching. Still, at least Timmy's and Subway were right across the street. No fries to go with his burger sometimes, but the weather was too hot for him to care. Last time he heard, the government would close some of the outlets. They might have stated that it's a battlefield instead of an amusement park out there, but those food parlors injected a tiny bit of sense of familiarity. That, and who could resist the temptation of having a delighted bite of some turkey breast in the middle of desertish nowhere?
Rare occasions when he slept under any roof, the mattress was hard and thick. Even when he was staying at one of the CHUs, completed with snail like internet connection and small television set. Living in an aluminum box certainly offered no luxury, but he shared his trailer with Matt, so that's good. Matt with his old jokes. Matt with a picture of his latest lady friend under his pillow; an endearing yet inevitably tease-worthy gesture.
The only picture Sam carried with him was an old photograph of his sister, all dressed in her best-est Sunday dress. All it took was a glimpse at her toothy smile and he would remember the very reason why he had to go out there, save lives and be alive.
His eyes closed at the bittersweet memories and when he opened them once more, the stars had dissolved into the white painted ceiling. There were no razor-sharp rocks poking at his back and rough soil underneath him. The phantom burning odor was overlaid by the scent of light feminine perfume.
That was no longer his life; he had moved passed that. Left, but never forgotten.
Curled beside Jules in the soft, spacious bed, Sam Braddock smiled.
This was his safest place.
His home.