She finally got the chance to sneak away. Cautiously entering her change room she looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was following her.
Safe!
She thought as she quietly closed the door. Sitting down on the floor and leaning against the locker she thought to herself
I need to get that fixed, if I have to spend another night like that I am going to shrivel up and die.
Closing her eyes she felt her self melt in to unconsciousness.
Sam had no idea where Jules was. He first thought she was at the range, no luck. He decided to check her locker room; he knew she was having a hard day, but he had no idea why.
He walked into the room to see Jules on the floor. Her arms were under her head, the once perfect ponytail was now chaos, and there was the slow, constant expansion and contraction of her rib cage. He sat down in front of her and blew in her ear.
'Humph'
Was the only response.
'Jules, why are you sleeping on the floor?'
He said, lying down next to her, his face mere inches from hers.
'Sam, I am so tired. The house was so cold last night and I can't get the heat fixed, and I'm tired. That is why'
She said without opening her eyes.
'You know, I have a very un-occupied couch. Or we could fix the furnace? I know my way around a screwdriver'
She smiled, and for the first time opened her eyes to see the fantastic blue of his eyes that always caught her gaze. He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and her response was
'Sam, can I sleep first. Our shift isn't over yet and if I go out there I will have to do something. I am not objecting to popping off some rounds, but I might be cornered and guilt tricked into paperwork'
He smiled and they closed their eyes at the same time.
Greg had not seen Sam of Jules the entire afternoon. It was good that the world decided to get along today because he wasn't even sure if they were still in the station. Checking the guy's room, no such luck. Slowly opening the door to Jules' room he stuck his head in, and saw them. They were both on the floor, and Sam had his jacket under his head as a pillow and Jules; head was on his chest. They were both fast asleep. Taking out his phone he clicked a picture and left.
'Sam? What time is it?'
She said sitting up stiff and sore. The crack under the door looked dark, but she had no idea what time it was. Sam groggily looked at his watch and said
'Umm, 2:30'
He sat up and placed a hand on the small of her back and whispered in her ear
'Sleep well?'
She turned to him, lips almost touching, but she held back
'Yes thank you'
He went to lean in, but she jumped up and giggled
'Hey, no fair!'
Standing up she went to leave, but he took her hips and pulled her closer to him. She blushed and said
'Sam, if someone walks in we are dead, like shoot before we know it dead'
He brushed his lips across her neck and she shivered
'Fine, I will wait, but in till then…'
She wiggled out of his grasp and dashed out of the locker room, Sam on her tail. In the hall she rounded the corner and crashed right into Ed, who had a smile on his face
'Ed! Sorry'
She quickly apologized and dodged Sam's arm.
'Whoa, guys what's going on?'
And they both started talking at the same time.
Am I a dad or a team leader?
'One at a time!'
They both stopped and looked down, and then Sam said
'Sorry Ed, we should go'
He took Jules' arm and dragged her away. Shaking his head he called after them
'Be nice!'
'Sam! What the hell was that! He could have caught us!'
She straddled the bench and Sam took a sip of his water bottle. Coming up behind her he placed his hands on either side of her ribs, threatening to tickle her. She took a quick breath in and tried to move, but his fingers moved and she was done. It was a mess of laughing, occasional girly screeched from Jules and trying to push him off of her.
'Sam! No get off of me!'
She giggled, trying to pry his arms off of her and slid off the bench. He was now on top of her, hands moving stealthily on either side of her.
Greg was in his office when he heard it. It was first a screech, then laughing. He had no idea what was going on, but he decided it was best to investigate. Standing up he walked to the training room and saw Sam on Jules, tickling her. She was smiling, and laughing so hard it made her to weak to push him off. He walked over and said to Ed, who was also watching
'Ed, what is this?'
He smiled and responded
'Well, I don't really know. They came out of the change room and Jules looked mad as him, then I heard her scream and here they are'
He motioned to the two officers on the floor.
'Sam! Get off!'
She finally managed to push him off and stand up. Her hair was all over and her face was flushed. Taking deep breaths she glared down at Sam, then finally said
'That was NOT cool!'
But the second he looked at her she smiled and started laughing. Sitting down on the bench she looked up at Ed and Greg, who were obviously there to yell at them.
'Sorry?'
She said, still smiling.
'No you're not'
He sat down next to her and said to Sam
'Can I have a sec with our giggly little sniper?'
Sam smiled and left without a word.
'And now I'm going to get it'
She sighed and turned to the Sarge, but to her surprise he was smiling. She gave him a questioning look and he said
'No I am not mad; I just wanted to make sure you were ok'
She had no idea what he was talking about.
'What? Ya, I'm fine, why?'
'Well, you just have not been 100% lately, and I just wanted to know firstly, why you and Sam were sleeping in the change room, and secondly, why it came down to him practically pinning you to the floor to make you smile. Jules you are the life line here, when you are gone, it feels like a big cloud has made its way over the station, and lately it seems to be cloudy out, if we are sticking with the metaphor'
She could feel the blush creep into her cheeks, he knew about the little nap she had.
'Sarge, the reason I haven't been 100% is my heat broke and I slept in the bathtub last night because it was the warmest room in the house, and, well I guess I did need to just let go and laugh'
He smiled and the atmosphere seemed to return to normal.
'That's good, how are your sides holding up?'
She laughed again
'Ya, I think I will live, but can I have permission to get back at him?'
'Only if it is not illegal and will do no harm to anyone else'
She nodded and started scheming.