Hello, everyone! I'm back! Yay!

Okay, this story takes place after 'The Lie', but it's not actually a sequel to it. It is a stand alone. I hope you all enjoy it. Have fun reading!

SUMMARY : Sam is bored out of his mind. For excitement, he takes a bullet meant for his father.

Ed Lane was driving down Dundas Street when Sam who sat next to him suddenly let out a huge sigh. The team leader sent the younger man an inquisitive glance. "Something's bothering you, Samo?"

Sam made a face, emitting yet another sigh. "I'm bored out of my freaking mind."

That caused Ed to grin. "Yeah, tell me about it."

"It has been three days, Ed."

"I know."

"No warrant calls, no hot calls. Not even a lukewarm call. This sucks."

"I hear you, buddy."

"What, is every dumb-ass in town starts to behave now? Swearing off guns or something?"

Ed shrugged. "Probably."

"Don't get me wrong. I'm real glad that nothing bad is happening and no one's in danger but…seriously? This is too…too…" Sam threw up his hands, "blah!"

"Blah?" Ed burst out laughing. "Come on, Sam. It's not that bad."

"Easy for you to say. At least you get to drive," Sam pointed out, almost sulkily. "If I were patrolling with Jules, I would be the one sitting behind the wheel."

"Don't count on it, Braddock!" Jules' voice erupted in their headsets, causing Ed to laugh harder. Jules was patrolling ten blocks over with Parker, yet she sounded so close that Sam had to resist the urge to look over his shoulder at the backseat.

"Hey, Sam?" another voice joined the radio conversation.

Sam groaned, knowing he was about to get ribbed. "Yeah, Spike?"

"How about you come home with me after shift? I'll let you play Grand Theft Auto on my precious PS3. You can drive anything you want then."

"Aw, Spike. That's so sweetof you," said Sam with a roll of his eyes.

"Anything for you, Samtastic."

"Or you can play Angry Bird on my iphone," Raf also teased, right before they all heard the sound of slapping high-fives. The entire team was obviously enjoying this, much to Sam's chagrin.

"Don't fret, Sam," Sergeant Parker was saying, "If you're bored now, I knew a cure that can make you feel better."

"And what would that be, Boss?" He was almost afraid to know the answer.

"Paperwork, Sam. Paperwork. When we get back to the Barn, I'm putting you in charge of compiling the reports for today's patrol. I'm sure you're gonna find it real exciting!"

Amidst his teammates' laughter, Sam turned to the side and repeatedly bopped his forehead against the window, muttering, "I. Should. Have kept. My mouth. Shut."

His phone suddenly chose that moment to buzz. Fishing it out, he was surprised to notice that the incoming call was from his mother. "Hey, Mom. How are you?"

Sam's smile abruptly fell flat when he heard her frantic voice. "Whoa, Mom. Slow down, will you? I didn't catch that. Start at the beginning."

Ed frowned to see Sam's face grew more serious as he listened attentively to what his mother was saying. "Are you sure? When was this? No, he hasn't called me. Where is he now?"

Seconds later, Sam exploded, "WHAT? Sorry, Mom. I wasn't yelling at you. But this is insane. He is insane."

Shaking his head, Sam glanced helplessly at Ed. "Look, don't worry, Mom. I'll talk to him. You just stay put, okay? Don't leave the house. That goes for Nat too. Make sure to alert the sentry if there's anything else fishy going around."

After Sam rang off, he laid his head back and briefly closed his eyes, muttering under his breath.

"Troubles, Sam?" asked Ed, concerned.

"Yeah. You can say that," Sam morosely replied. "It's my Dad."

"What's wrong with him? Is he okay?"

"I hope so. My Mom just told me the General has been receiving death threats since over a week ago."

"And you had no idea?"

"None at all. He deliberately keeps it from me." Disturbed, Sam pursed his lips. "Another anonymous phone call just reached the house. My Mom answered it and now she's freaking out."

"Where's your father, Sam?" Sergeant Parker then asked.

"He's here in town, can you believe it? Even with a bunch of death threats over his head, he decides to attend a military seminar in York Hotel, right as we speak."

"But wouldn't the General have an entourage of security covering his back wherever he goes?"

"They can only do so much, and you don't know my Dad. That man thinks he's invincible. It won't be the first time he dispose of his security details so that he can do as he please." Letting out a sigh, Sam asked, "Hey, Boss, is it okay if I swing by the hotel for a bit? I'd better talk to the General, give him a piece of my mind, whatever. Maybe I can make him see reason, get him to stay low."

"Go ahead, Sam," the Sergeant gave his consent. "We're not doing anything much now anyway."

"Thanks, Sarge." Turning to Ed, Sam said, "Do you mind dropping me off there?"

"No problem. In fact, I can't wait to meet your Dad again."

Sam scoffed. "Be careful what you wish for. They don't call him General Badass for nothing."

Ed just laughed. "And here I thought you're bored out of your mind, Samo. Looks like you just got the excitement you needed."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Maybe I should've have been careful with what I wished for."

Minutes later, Ed eased the SUV to the curb almost a block from the entrance to the hotel. Several other vehicles were already lining up at the front, waiting for the assigned passengers.

From the look of things, the seminar had just recently ended. Groups of military personnel were mingling about in the hotel foyer when the two SRU officers walked in. Sam quickly scanned the crowd, looking for a tall distinguished man with thick dark blonde hair. He easily found him within five seconds. Ed hanged back and watched as his teammate strode towards the General with an indomitable look on his handsome features. Slightly amused, Ed expected to see some fireworks. He wasn't disappointed.

General Braddock had just emerged from the hotel's grand banquet hall. Deeply immersed in conversation with his fellow military officers, he was not aware of Sam's approach until his son came to plant himself right in his path.

"Sam!" he exclaimed in surprise. "Why are you here?"

"This is my A.O, you knew that," Sam retorted. "Sir, we need to talk."

"Look, I'm busy."

"Unacceptable. Come with me please."

Without waiting for his father's response, Sam walked off to a distant corner where a Steinway grand piano stood alone. It was less crowded there, out of other people's hearing.

"Sorry, fellas. Family calls. Need to find out what my offspring wants now," the General told his counterparts with a laugh before he went to join his son at the piano. "Sammy, I really don't appreciate you giving me orders—"

"What are you doing?" The younger Braddock instantly rounded on the elder, looking real livid. "You have a death wish or something?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about."

"Ah." The General nodded in understanding. "Your Mom told you."

"You were supposed to tell me," Sam fumed. "So why didn't you?"

"It's none of your business, Sammy. Besides, I can take care of myself."

"It is my business, sir. I'm your son. Whether you can take care of yourself or not, I deserve to be told."

"And why is that, pray tell?" The hard-headed General smirked back, almost mockingly.

"So I can start picking the flower arrangements for your funeral!" Sam snapped back, exasperated by his father's indolent attitude. "Why else do you think? Someone is threatening to kill you and yet you place yourself right in the open. Are you out of your damned mind?"

"I don't like your tone, Sam," said the elder Braddock, starting to grow angry himself. "I'm your father and your former C.O. Have some respect."

Sam took deep a breath in an effort to calm down. When he spoke next, he sounded penitent yet firm. "My apologies, Sir. I was way out of line."

"Apology accepted."

"These threats you've been receiving, you should take them seriously.'

"I am taking them seriously. That's why my team is deeply looking into it."

"Who is threatening you exactly?"

"We don't know, not yet. Like I said, my team is still investigating."

"Any idea why you're being threatened?"

"There could be thousands of reasons. I'm a military General. I made lots of enemies."

Frowning, Sam looked closely at his father. "There's something you aren't telling me."

"Need-to-know basis, son." The General shrugged. "There's always something I'm not telling you."

"Don't give me that. Come on, don't leave me in the dark here. This is your life we're talking about."

"Exactly. It's my life. So butt out, son. I know how to handle this."

Shaking his head, the younger man refused to give up. "Look, Dad, I suggest you lay low for a while until we catch the people threatening you. We can even provide you a safe house—"

"We have our own safe house, but thank you for the offer," said the elder Braddock, straightening his already immaculate dress uniform. A sure sign that he was ending the conversation. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to head back to base. My ride is waiting."

"Dad…"

"Enough, Sammy. Stay out of this."

That was when Sam noticed the lone red dot suddenly appearing on his father's left chest. There was no time for warning. In a quick lightning move, Sam leaped and tackled the General. At the same instance, he felt a massive blow hitting him in the back. The Braddocks dropped to the floor right behind the grand piano in a tangle of arms and legs.

At first, no one seemed to realize what was happening. And then a couple more shots were fired, hitting the wall right above the Braddocks' heads. Familiar with the deadly sound of a suppressed rifle, the military crowd in the foyer instantly reacted. They all took cover with cries of alarm, some instinctively reaching for their own weapons.

Ed witnessed everything from across the room in great disbelief. He had stood watching as the two Braddocks talked, or rather argued, with each other. When Sam plowed into the General, Ed thought his teammate had gone berserk and started to get physical with his own father. Then he heard the eerie sound of the muffled shots, saw the chips of plasters flying out the wall. Like the rest of the crowd around him, Ed quickly got down.

"Sam! Sam, you copy?" Ed shouted, though he knew his teammate had turned off his radio when he went to confront the General.

"Ed, what the hell's going on?" Parker's voice suddenly burst in Ed's ear. Excluding Sam, the entire Team One was still connected to one another.

"Shots fired inside the foyer of York Hotel," Ed announced as he cautiously made his way among the crouching crowd towards the Braddocks. "Sam and his Dad are down. I repeat, I saw them both go down."

He heard Jules' sharp intake of breath, followed by Spike's shock reaction, "My god…"

"How are they, are they okay? Are they hurt?"

"Hang on, Boss. I'm going to find out."

"Go carefully, Eddie."

Ed's main priority was to get to his fallen teammate. As he moved, he looked wearily at the frantic crowd around him. A few groups of military guys had already rushed off in search of the unknown enemy, doing what they knew best. Some of those who remained behind had their guns out, aiming to shoot at any sign of the hidden gunman. So far, no more shots were fired. With quite a number of armed people in the foyer, Ed just hoped that they would not start shooting blindly at each other. That could be catastrophic.

When he finally reached the Braddocks, a group of soldiers had already beaten him to it. They tightly gathered around the father and son like a shield. Two of them spoke urgently to the General in hushed voices, but Braddock senior ignored them. He was cradling Sam in one arm, the other hand pressed hard against the younger man's back.

"General." Ed nodded at the elder Braddock, who acknowledged with a grim nod of his own. Looking down at Sam, Ed said, "Hey, buddy. Glad to see you're still breathing. Now tell me, how bad is it?"

"It's okay…it's in the vest," Sam managed to reply through gritted teeth, grimacing against the pain.

"Sammy, you're bleeding like a stuck pig," Braddock senior seriously pointed out. He showed Ed the copious amount of blood soaking his fingers. "It's an armor piercing round. Most possibly M2. It went right through his vest and into his back. I found no exit wound."

"Dad, I'm fine."

"Hush, Sammy. Be quiet."

Ed made a swift scrutiny of his teammate's injury and agreed with the General's assessment. Sam still had the bullet inside him.

"Boss?"

"I'm here, Eddie. How're you guys doing down there?"

Quickly, Ed briefed the Sergeant and Team One of the situation. "Sam is the only wounded. Get the EMS here ASAP but do not let them come in yet. The gunman is still at large. Tell them to be on standby."

"Copy that, Ed. We're just two blocks away."

"Copy."

Ed turned when Braddock senior said to him, "My men are locking down the building. No one can go out or come in until they find the shooter."

"Understood. I'll let my team know."

The two soldiers were still trying to get the General's attention. "Sir, we need to get you somewhere safe immediately."

"I'm not leaving my son!" he snapped back, his blue eyes burning with fire. "Keep your focus on flushing out the shooter. It's time for Plan B. Now move it!"

The men didn't look happy, but orders were orders. Though reluctant, they hastily left. One of them spoke with great urgency into the mic strapped to his wrist.

"P…plan B?" Sam asked, staring quizzically up at his father.

Braddock senior looked slightly guilty. "Yeah. Plan B."

"What's Plan A then?" Ed was curious to know. He made use of the small medical kit he kept inside the front pocket of his body armor to tend to Sam's wound.

The General hesitated, and so the son responded in his behalf, his voice growing weaker, "Don't bother, Ed. He won't answer. Need-to-know basis. Right, Dad?"

His father scowled. "I told you to be quiet, Sammy."

"Sir?" Ed was still determined to find out. "What have you been planning? You mean, you expected this would happen?"

Sighing, General Braddock then explained, "We couldn't confirm on how long they would continue to send me death threats before they actually kill me. We don't know who or when or how. We then decided to flush them out into the open and put an abrupt stop to it."

"So you made yourself as decoy?" Ed was understandably shocked.

"Plan A." The General shrugged. "I had a bulletproof vest under my shirt, just in case."

"But it's an armor piercing round. If not for Sam, the bullet would still get you square in the heart. You could be dead!"

"Guess I underestimated their tenacity. Hence, Plan B. Which I really can't tell you until it is fully executed."

"Fair enough." Ed finished tying a bandage over Sam's bullet wound. Blood still seeped through, but it would have to do for now until the real medical help arrived for him.

Looking down at his son, Braddock senior shook his head. "I didn't expect Sam to get into the equation. It really threw me off. Sammy, I told you to be quiet but not this quiet. How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been shot." Sam wearily chuckled and grunted with agony, his face turning paler and paler by the minute.

"Never thought anyone would take a bullet for me, not even my own son." Realizing the graveness of Sam's injury, the General swallowed hard as he was suddenly overcome with emotion. "God, Sammy. You shouldn't have done that."

"I had to. I really…really don't want to choose…flowers for your funeral," Sam joked.

"I don't want to choose for yours either. So don't you dare die on us, you hear? Or your Mom would kill me!"

Grinning, Sam softly replied, "Scared of her, aren't you?"

"We're all scared of our women," the General retorted. "I know you're scared of your sexy sniper chick."

"My wife makes me quake in my boots too," Ed said, joining the banter. It helped damper the grave mood somewhat. Sam needed the distraction, it kept him in high spirits.

Soon afterwards, Sergeant Parker announced that Team One was right outside within the hotel compound. They were coordinating with the General's men to swipe the building during its lockdown. Ed chose to stay with the Braddocks, in case there were more attempts on their life. That way he could also monitor Sam's slowly deteriorating condition.

Fifteen minutes later, which felt more like long tensed hours, they announced the all clear. The paramedics were escorted in, heading directly towards where the only wounded was lying. Sam was half-conscious by then, his eyes at quarter mast. His breathing was labored, his face grey. An amount of blood had oozed out of his body to soak into his father's otherwise immaculate dress uniform.

When Sam was being loaded on to the stretcher, the two soldiers were back to coaxing the General, "Sir, we really need to get moving right now."

"The shooter, what's the status?"

"Bravo Unit has apprehended him, alive. We're ready for the next stage."

At this, the elder Braddock turned to Sam in indecision. He clearly didn't want to leave his injured son, but at the same time he had a duty to carry out.

Sam noticed his father's dilemma. Managing a smile, he feebly told him, "It is fine, Dad. Go."

"Sammy…"

"Better let your boys get back to their job, sir. And trust the medics to do theirs. I'll be okay."

"I know." The General nodded back. He stroked his son's head, his rough hand gently running through the younger man's hair. "Stay alive, Sammy. Or I'll come find you and drag your sorry ass back."

Sam was still smiling as he closed his eyes and surrendered himself to oblivion.

The surgeons at St. Simon Hospital took about an hour to remove the bullet from Sam's upper right back. The young SRU officer was lucky that no internal organs were damaged. With the trajectory subdued by the body armor, the bullet had hit mostly muscle and sinew. He had lost quite a lot of blood, though. They had to place him in the ICU for twelve hours to convalesce soon after the surgery.

Sam's teammates stood vigil overnight outside his room. His mother and sister also came to visit from Ottawa. When the doctors declared that he was out of the woods, his family and friends hugged each other and started to breathe easier.

Of General Braddock, though, there was no sign of him.

The next day, when all his visitors were long gone, Sam sat alone in his bed. He felt too sore to go back to sleep, and was still too weak to be up and about. The utter boredom was so great he was slowly losing his mind. Luckily, Jules had brought over his cell phone. He grabbed the thing from the nightstand and spent the next hour fiddling with it, until someone stepped into the room.

"Hey, son. How're you doing?"

Sam's face brightened to see his father. "I'm good, sir. Thanks for coming. Oh, Mom and Nat were here earlier."

Braddock senior winced. "I know. I'm staying clear off their path. Your Mom's in particular. That woman is still terribly pissed at me."

"Yeah, I hear you," Sam agreed. "She's quite pissed at me too. If I hadn't known any better, I think she prefers that I let the bullet hit you instead."

"What can I say? We've been married for over thirty five years. Maybe she has grown tired of this old man," the General said with a roll of his eyes as he sat in the chair next to the bed.

"You've caught the perpetrator?"

"Yep. The matter is being efficiently deal with by my team. It's all over."

"Good for you, sir. I'm glad to hear that."

The elder man noticed Sam's swift-moving fingertips on the cellphone, accompanied by the sound of cheery music and whooping hoots and strange squawks. "What the heck are you doing?"

Sam grinned sheepishly. "I'm playing Angry Bird. It's a good interactive game. You should try it, sir. It's great to release some stress."

Braddock senior stared in disbelief. "What are you, eight?"

"I'm bored, okay? What else can I do here? And there's nothing good on TV."

His father poked at the stuffed toy sitting next to the pillow. "What's with the Pink Ranger?"

"It's my team's idea of a joke. Long story."

"Then I don't wanna know," said the General with a raise of his hands. He then saw the latest issue of Hello magazine lying on the nightstand. He held it aloft with raised eyebrows. "You read this stuff?"

Sam turned red. "Um…it's something Jules brought for me. Go to page twenty four."

"Why?"

"You'll see."

Frowning, Braddock senior quickly rifled through the magazine until he found the said page. His eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. "You are one of the nation's 50 Most Beautiful People? You?" *

Sam had to laugh at his father's incredulous reaction. "That's what it says."

"How in the world…"

"Don't ask me. I don't even know how my name got there. Could be the result from the SRU's public awareness events I volunteered last year."

"Unbelievable."

"I know. Accept it, Dad. Your son is famous."

"I raised you to be a soldier, not a celebrity. Damn," the General said, still stunned. He then spent some intense moment gazing at his son. "Listen, Sammy. I owe you."

Sam shook his head. "You don't owe me anything, sir."

"Yes, I do. You took a bullet meant for me. Now I want you to promise me not to repeat that. Be it a bullet or a knife or whatever. Don't you ever endanger your life for me again. No more."

"I can't promise you that."

"Sammy…"

"Dad, I was born and bred for this. I'm here to protect the helpless—"

The General looked insulted. "I'm not helpless."

"I also protect my loved ones. You know I love you, right? Even though you can be such a mean bastard sometimes. I would do anything for you. I would die for you. You should realize that by now."

His father reached over and squeezed his hand. "Son, I protect my loved ones too. I'm always ready to give up my life for yours. And you should realize that by now."

"I know that. Don't worry, Sir. You'll get your turn soon."

With a soft laugh, the General gathered his son into his arms. "I'm so proud of you, Sammy. You're my firstborn, you spruce up my life. You are my life."

Sam was struck speechless to hear his father's rare earnest words. He was so badly choked up he could hardly reply. He leaned into the General's embrace and was thankful that he still had his old man around.

"Right back at you, Dad."

Outside the room, Officer Ed Lane stood listening near the opened door. He had arrived several minutes earlier, and had caught every word that the Braddocks had spoken. He was deeply touched, and had decided not to intrude on the father-son scene.

Quietly, he turned on his heels and headed back towards the exit. He thought it was a grand idea to have a nice chat with his own son, Clark. He could tell the boy about the remarkable relationship between a stubborn SRU officer and his equally headstrong military General father. And he would also tell him how different and yet how similar these men were, these two hardened warriors.

Yeah, it would be great to have a father-son moment in the Lane's household too.

THE END

* A tribute to David Paetkau being named as one of HELLO Canada's 50 Most Beautiful People (2012). ;)

There. Finished. Need more Sam whumps? Coming right at you within two weeks!

P/s : This is outside of the topics - Have you all seen the released image of Thranduil for the movie 'The Hobbit : Unexpected Journey'? Phwoar! It's awesome, dude! My plot bunnies for LOTR fanfics are literally jumping up and down with barely contained exciement. So guess what? I'll be back to writing fics about Leggie and his Daddy again!

Adromir has left the building! ^_^