I don't own Flashpoint. Duh!

This is my first attempt in this fandom. How'd I do? Anybody out of character?

I'm watching a young man cry, watching him sob and cling to the woman we just rescued. It's not his mother, but she has been there for him when he had nobody; and I can understand that. After all, I still see Lesley every week.

But anyway, that's not the point. The point is that all of us are standing here, watching their tearful reunion. And it's nothing new - I've seen emotion like this played out in front of me a hundred times - but today, this time, I wonder why we watch.

Wouldn't normal people turn their head, allow some privacy? Wouldn't they walk away, their job done? Why do we stay standing here, just watching them fall apart in each others' arms? What sort of people are we, that not a one of us is tearing up at the sight?

I look around at the others, to try and answer my questions. Boss is watching them with as much pride in his eyes as he has when he talks about Dean. I know why he's watching - this is what keeps him going on the hard days. These moments are what he lives for, and he's proud of what he helped make happen.

Leah's not watching them at all - she's watching us. Waiting to go. Her eyes meet mine, and she nods to say "good job." I respond with a nod back. We did good today.

Jules and Sam are standing close together, and Jules is watching Sam, looking at his eyes. I look too, and I see longing. It's a wistful longing, and it doesn't take a detective to guess what he's thinking about. I imagine he and Jules will be talking about it later today.

Ed is unreadable. He's watching, but I see no emotion in his eyes, no pride or sadness or empathy or anything. It makes me sad for him. He's trying to hide it, but all of us know that May is still hitting him hard. And none of us blame him for it, not one bit; but he doesn't help me understand why we watch, or what it is we are waiting to see.

Maybe we just need to know that it was worth it, that putting our lives and hearts on the line was worth it to somebody, at least. Maybe we're looking for validation, for somebody else to remind us that it is right. What we do is right. Cause everybody has days when we forget how to tell the difference between right and wrong; and it's because of days like that, that we're down a man.

We're turning away now, getting in our cars and leaving this case and these people behind. All of us have been taught how to move past individual cases and keep our minds on the big picture. Really, I think that's why we watch. All excuses aside, we need to know that some small stories end happily, even if the big picture we're working for never does.

Watching them? That's how we fill up our hope.