A/N: Thank you SYuuri for the prompt idea! Hope you like it! ;)
"I'm telling you, man- they're going all the way this year!"
"I think you wore your hat a little too tight today there, Sarge."
"Just look at the statistics! History shows that they always come back in the second half of the season, all the way to a conference final. You wait and see."
"You wanna put money on that?"
"Didn't know you were a betting man, Greg," Ed piped up, bringing a grin to his colleague's face. After a close call earlier that day, the team had all agreed to go to the Goose to unwind. It was Ed's first day back on the job, so naturally that meant he was buying. Now the group sat around their normal round table, listening to Greg and Sam go back and forth on the chances the Canucks had this season. The whole thing was nice, normal. There had been a lot of dangerous assignments in the past few years, so to actually have a moment to breathe without some horrible ordeal hanging over their head was refreshing.
"I only bet when I know I can win," Greg retorted back, to which Sam scoffed and shook his head, mumbling something under his breath.
"What was that?" Wordy teased the blonde. With everything that had happened with Toth, he was worried about his future on the team. Wordy truly believed that this job, with the SRU, was the only thing he could do. It was a bleak outlook, especially with such an uncertain future, but tonight wasn't about that. Tonight was about forgetting the bad stuff and enjoying being with his team- and he would do just that.
Sam shot Wordy a look, then shrugged a bit smug. "I just said that the Boss is probably going to take that money to pay off the refs." Both Spike and Wordy laughed at that, and Ed grinned in approval.
"Hey, I would not!" Greg exclaimed, erupting conversation between the five men at the table. Only Jules stayed relatively quiet. Hockey wasn't exactly her thing. She wasn't going to pretend she knew the first thing about it. In actuality, she did. Sam had taught her a lot during the late nights when he won control of the remote. How could she show off her knowledge without giving them away?
"Or maybe you're just saying that cause you hate to lose," she tossed at Sam with a judgmental, yet playful, look. Now that statement gained several "Oh!" from her fellow teammates and a high five from Ed to Jules. Sam's face flushed, knowing that she was at least half right.
"I am not a sore loser!" he insisted.
"Oh please!"
"Gimme a break!"
"You're a terrible liar there, Sam."
"Ha!"
Just like that, the whole table ganged up on him, and there was nothing Sam could do but lean back in his seat and drink his beer. He wasn't going to win this one, and he knew it. Leave it to Jules to turn the tables like that without even a blink of her eye. Sam enjoyed that about her, though; it was what made her a great cop, a great negotiator.
As the group continued to heckle him, tossing around words like 'coffee shop' and 'great swimmer,' a waitress came over to the table. She leaned over Sam's shoulder and set a fresh beer in front of him.
"Compliments of the lovely ladies over there," she explained and pointed in the direction of a tall blonde and a stunning red head sitting only a few tables away. The women wiggled their fingers in a wave in his direction, and Sam's lips curled in a grin. He gave a slight wave back, and the waitress winked at him before walking back towards the bar. The moment hadn't gone unnoticed by his friends, and soon, all attention was back on Sam; instead of mocking him, they were praising him.
"Samtastic!" Spike exclaimed and slapped Sam on the back. "How does he do it?!"
"Those are some pretty looking gals there, Sam. You gonna get a number or two tonight?" Ed nudged his younger team member. If there was anyone who was going to urge Sam in the direction of a woman without SRU listed as her current occupation, it was Ed. The team almost fell apart because of the previous relationship between Jules and Sam- and the Sarge keeping it a secret. He knew they were professionals, but it didn't hurt to have an outside distraction.
"Eh, I don't know..." Sam started to say, but Wordy interrupted him.
"If you don't do it, Spike is going to," he grinned, and Sam looked over to the man sitting next to him. It was always comical to see Spike like this. 'Nerd with combat skills,' only got Michelangelo Scarlatti so far when he still lived with parents. There was no place to take back girls, and that was a frustrating thing, but it wouldn't stop him from trying! "Come on, Sam- I'll be your wingman! Or you can be mine!" he winked and Sam chuckled softly.
Only two seats away, Jules Callaghan was furious. Well, no, she wasn't. No way would she admit to it. You couldn't get her to admit it! Only recently, she had rekindled the relationship with Sam, after realizing that the feelings hadn't gone away- and probably wouldn't. It was supposed to be a secret from the team, though, so they obviously couldn't act like a couple. That meant she couldn't be jealous.
But she was. Seeing the guys act like guys and egg her boyfriend to go hit on some hussies (who did not seem to know what a bra was) was not easy for her. This was what she signed up for when she agreed to get back together. Jules had to keep reminding herself of that. They were professionals, and more than that, she trusted Sam with her heart. That didn't stop her from envisioning herself grabbing him by the arm and dragging him out of the Goose that very second. Still, she didn't move. Jules just sat there, downed her drink quickly, and then waved to the bartender for another one.
The action wasn't lost on Sam, but there wasn't much he could do. If he turned it down, his team would suspect something was up. If he went over and talk to the women who were still staring at him, it would hurt Jules. It was like being stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"Follow me," he found himself saying to Spike as he rose up from the table. Spike leapt up, and Wordy offered some words of advice with a teasing grin; again, Sam didn't really hear it. The wrinkles of annoyance were clear on Jules' face, but he had to pretend not to notice.
"Play nice, Sammo. Leave at least one for our Mr. Scarlatti here," Ed joked.
"Hey, no! You do your thing, Sam, and I'll do mine! Don't need any help- what are you doing?" Spike rambled off with a scowl to his team leader.
"Have fun guys, but remember- early morning tomorrow!" Greg reminded as the pair started to walk away. One last voice stopped them, though.
"Yeah, don't wear yourself out."
Jules. Her expression was unreadable now, but she played it off as baiting him like the rest of the team had done.
"Don't worry- I've got stamina for the both of us," Sam shot back, meriting an elbow from Spike. He pulled his eyes from his secret girlfriend, and as the Italian went on about how he didn't need anyone's help to score a date, both he and Spike headed towards the table.
The remaining pieces of Team One- Ed, Wordy, Greg, and Jules- rose up from the table as well. Ed reached into his wallet and tossed a couple bills onto the table. "Twenty bucks says they have no chance."
"Fifty. And not Sam, just Spike," Wordy countered with a grin.
"I'll go in on that," Greg added.
"Jules?" The team leader looked to the solitary female of the unit. She just shrugged and offered a smile
"I had too many tonight, I think; don't bet without a clear mind."
"Yeah, a few too many and you leave me with the bill and no way of earning my money back!" Ed winked, and she smiled again, albeit uneasily.
"Next time," she offered, which got three "Yeah." "Sure." and "Absolutely!" There would be more times when Spike would try and fail to pick up a girl, but tonight was just one of those nights when she couldn't seem to enjoy it.
After a few hugs and goodbyes, the four headed out the door of the Goose to the street outside. Jules hung back a moment, looking into the window to see Sam and Spike still with the girls. They were laughing and having a gay old time, and she felt her heart sink. With a frown only for herself, Jules stuffed her hands in her pocket and headed home.
XXXXX
About a half hour later, Jules was curled up on her couch, remote in hand. With every click, she skipped through the channels, looking for something to watch. A sports channel was replaying the hockey game from that afternoon, but just the mention of hockey made her think of the conversation at the Goose earlier and Sam flirting with those bimbos. The idea made her sick to her stomach. She gave up on finding something to watch and turned off the television set before tossing the remote against the wall. Julianna Callaghan didn't get jealous! "Damn you, Sam," she glared as she watched the impacted, then jumped in her seat when a voice answered her.
"Am I really damned?" Her eyes flickered up to see the sight of Sam leaning in her doorway with that stupid puppy dog look. He smiled down at her and she rolled her eyes before getting up and fetching the remote, intent on putting it away.
When she drew near, his hand caught her arm gently. "Hey…" He stopped her, and Jules looked from his hand on her arm up to his face.
"I'm fine. Did you have a good time?" she asked, tight-lipped. It was obvious to both of them that there was much more she really wanted to say, but in true fashion, she was going to hold off until the worst possible time. Sam knew he had to diffuse now.
"No," he answered simply before scooping her up into his arms and moving back to the couch. Sam sat down and pulled her petite frame against his chest, on his lap. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, but Jules still scowled.
"That's not what it looked like," she countered, eliciting a groan from Sam. He hadn't expected her to stay behind and watch, though he probably should have.
"Jules, come on…" he began to protest, but she waved him off.
"No, Sam, I completely understand. When we agreed we'd do this, we agreed to keep this a secret from the team. If that includes you making out with random bar trash, then f-"
"Hey!" Sam cut her off. "I didn't go off and make out with any 'bar trash!'"
"Blonde or redhead?"
"What?"
"Blonde or redhead," she repeated her question, giving him a look.
Understanding dawning, Sam grinned. "Neither," he whispered as he leaned down and kissed her slowly. The lines on her face soften. "Brunette."
"You're an ass."
"I know," he chuckled under his breath and kissed her again. This time, Jules moved a hand to his face. Sam felt her kiss him back and he grinned. "Forgive me?" he murmured against her lips.
"We'll see," she mumbled, then shut up any further response by pressing her lips harder against his.