FF_992224_797370182 6/1/2014
A/N: This series started as a thought: "What would happen if Sam Braddock happened to be in a gas station when it was being robbed?" And so, "The Station" was born. That led to "The Reunion", and finally to this story: "The End". This story will tie up all the loose ends of the previous two (at least attempt - please let me know if I leave something hanging). So my attempt at a one- to two-shot about a gas station robbery ends up being three stories with multiple chapters (this one is at least 32,700 words long at this point and not quite finished). I guess I just can't write anything too small.
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you recognize. Flashpoint and its characters belongs to its creator and producers.
Disclaimer 2: This is not a crossover. Any character names you recognize from any other TV series are just an attempt to honor those characters and not reproduce them.
Sam Braddock, Toronto Police Strategic Response Unit Sniper, smiled as he and his fiancée and teammate Jules Callaghan got ready to head out to their former teammate's house. The Wordsworths were having a barbeque, and Sam was looking forward to relaxing and forgetting about his problems for just a little while. He was also looking forward to seeing his SRU teammates interact with several of his JTF2 buddies outside of 'work'. Bryan Jamison, his wife Trish, Pete Mills, Justin Carlson and his family, Sean Morrissey, and Frank Mueller had all been invited to the get-together when Wordy found out they were helping the SRU protect Sam. Bryan opened the door for the SRU couple, since he and Justin were taking their turn watching over Sam at the moment. Trish Jamison, along with Sarah Carlson and the Carlson kids, was going to meet them at the Wordsworths'.
Sarah Carlson was a little nervous as she approached the Wordsworths' home. It was her first time meeting Sam's friends officially, and she wasn't sure how the kids would react. Also, Justin's military friends were the only people she really knew who would be there, besides Sam, and none of them were with her. She was a little unsure that she was even in the right place. Then she saw Sam's friend; she thought Sam had called him Spike.
Michelangelo "Spike" Scarlatti, SRU Tech Expert, paused on his way into the Wordsworths' back yard as he saw the woman approaching with three kids. "You're Sarah, right?" he beamed. "And these are the munchkins that Sam has fascinated?"
"Right, and right," Sarah replied with a relieved smile. She was in the right place after all.
"Come with me," Spike gestured towards the back of the house. "Everyone's out back." He smiled again. "I'm Spike, by the way."
"Thanks," Sarah responded. She gently ushered the three children in front of her as they made their way into the back yard. She was quickly welcomed by both Sophie Lane and Shelley Wordsworth. Sophie was holding her and Ed's young daughter Izzy, and the three women were soon involved in a conversation about the care of young girls. Shelley was dispensing advice to both of the others when they were interrupted by Sarah's kids.
"Mommy, when is Uncle Sammy going to get here?" Matt asked, whining a little.
Sarah rolled her eyes, "when he gets here, Matt." She looked around the back yard which was filled with things young children would enjoy. "Why don't you go play on the swings while you wait?"
"But, he is ok, right?" Madison asked, softly.
"Maddie, you saw Uncle Sam at the hospital," Sarah reminded the young girl. "He's going to be just fine."
"But what if he tooked a turn for the worst?" Matt wanted to know.
"Matt, your father is with him," Sarah reassured the ten year old. "If something had happened, I'm sure your dad or Lieutenant Jamison would have let us know." She looked sternly at the children. "Now, go play."
The two older children reluctantly headed towards the swings, but Adele simply crawled into her mother's lap and curled up. Sarah rolled her eyes again, grimacing towards the other women who were silently laughing.
"I swear, sometimes Uncle Sammy is more trouble than he's worth," Sarah muttered under her breath.
That caused both Sophie and Shelley to laugh out loud. "I think Jules would agree with that sentiment at times," Sophie smiled when she could speak around her laughter. Sarah laughed along with the others.
It was ten minutes later that Sam, Jules, Bryan and Justin arrived. Since Matt and Madison were watching like hawks, they immediately saw him, dropped what they were doing and started shouting, "Uncle Sammy," while running headlong towards the SRU sniper.
Sam frowned. They were going to get hurt if they didn't slow down. He quickly clapped loudly twice and held his closed fist up in the military signal to stop. The adults in the back yard were shocked when the two children froze. The frown still on his face, Sam moved swiftly to where the children stood frozen, apprehension on their faces. Sam spoke quietly enough that no one heard exactly what he was saying.
But everyone heard the chorus of "Sorry, Uncle Sammy," from the two kids. Sam spoke again and the kids nodded before turning around and walking back to where they'd started. They stopped and politely said, "Sorry Mrs. Wordsworth," and "Sorry, Mr. Wordsworth," as they reached Shelly and Wordy respectively. They continued back to where they'd been playing with the Wordsworth girls and quickly apologized to them as well, picking up everything they'd knocked over in their mad dash towards Sam.
Greg Parker, the SRU Team One Sergeant, came up and clapped Sam on the shoulder. "Do you think you could find some time for Dean and Clark?" he asked, with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
Eighteen year-old Dean Parker rolled his eyes where he was talking with the same aged Clark Lane and groaned, "Da-ad!"
Sam laughed. "Nope," he admitted, grinning, "I think it's way too late for them." He looked down at the tug on his pants leg.
"Hi, Uncle Sammy," Adele smiled.
"Hi, Sweetie," Sam smiled back.
"Up?" she asked, hopefully.
"No," it was Justin who answered her. "Uncle Sammy's still got a bad shoulder, Adele. He doesn't need to be carrying you around with his only good arm."
Adele's smile dimmed, but she said quietly, "Oh tay." She looked back up at Sam. "Pway now?"
"Later," Sam promised. "Why don't you go help your brother and sister build a castle in the sandbox?"
Adele cocked her head, considering. "Oh tay," she replied. "But pway later, right?"
"Right," Sam agreed. He watched as Adele skipped away, joining her brother and sister with the Wordsworth girls.
He crossed the back yard with Justin and Bryan, heading towards where Ed Lane, SRU Team One Team Leader / Sniper, and Raf Rousseau, SRU Team One, were discussing their favorite topics – guns and music. Spike and Winnie Camden, SRU Dispatcher, were near Wordy at the barbeque, 'discussing' how to best cook the burgers. Jules peeled away from the group, heading towards the three women clustered around the picnic tables near the back door.
It wasn't more than ten minutes later, when Trish Jamison arrived with Pete Mills, Sean Morrissey, and Frank Mueller. Sam smiled brightly at her as she moved across the yard to get a quick hug and kiss from her husband.
She returned Sam's smile and said, "Sam, it's good to see you again. We missed you."
Sam's smile dimmed a little, but he replied, honestly, "I missed you, too."
"Hey, guys," she said, raising her voice before the other military men could move away, "We've kind of got an announcement." She blushed a little when everyone in the back yard looked at her. Still a smile bloomed on her face as she admitted, "We're going to have a baby!"
No one was looking at Sam as he lost his smile for a moment, a pang hitting him as he pictured Matt's reaction to becoming an uncle. But he pushed that image away and was smiling again before anyone noticed. He quickly offered Trish a one-armed hug and a heartfelt "Congratulations," when it was his turn.
"So, are you up for some more babysitting?" Trish asked teasingly, a grin breaking out on her face.
Sam winced, and put a mock-forced smile on his face. "Yeah, sure," he said, unconvincingly. "No problem." Everyone around him laughed.
After another kiss from her husband, Trish headed over to the knot of women waiting to congratulate her as well. The other women gathered around, passing out hugs and congratulations. Their conversation drifted to all the many details of pregnancy and babies.
The men also split up. Frank headed towards Spike, his tech counterpart. They'd been working together for the past week, although they hadn't found any new information. They quickly started discussing computers and tech developments, leaving the cooking to Wordy, Greg, and Winnie.
Sam stayed with Ed, Bryan and Sean for a time, discussing sniping and sniper rifles. You couldn't tell it by looking at the slightly hyper-active red-head, but he was an excellent sniper, who could hold his position unmoving for as long as necessary. He was only hyper when he wasn't on the job. Bryan added the perspective of a sniper's spotter to the conversation. He'd even performed that duty for Sam several times in Afghanistan.
After about ten minutes, Sam moved on to the group that included Raf, Justin and Pete. They were discussing hockey, and Sam willingly joined in. Still he was restless. He only stayed another ten minutes before wandering away again. He felt that tug of sadness that he just couldn't shake. He moodily wondered how different the party would have been if Matt had been there as well. He totally ignored the fact that even he probably wouldn't be there if Matt was still alive.
He wandered near where the women were still discussing babies, pausing just long enough to smirk at Jules. She glared at him before he meandered on again. He finally settled onto the ground next to the sandbox, smiling at the castle the kids were building. He sat there for fifteen minutes, giving pointers, and helping put the finishing touches on their masterpiece.
The adults oohed and aahed over the castle. Jules' sharp eyes caught the hint of pain and exhaustion on Sam's face. Both she and the Carlsons were prepared to discourage the little girl as Adele approached Sam. They were surprised to hear her ask him to tell her a story instead of anything more rigorous. Sam quietly agreed, sweeping up the Wordsworth girls, as well as Adele's brother and sister on their way into the house.
It was only fifteen minutes later that the two older Carlsons and all three Wordsworth children came quietly back into the back yard. Jules was not the only one watching for them, because Justin moved closer to the women and asked, "Matt, where's Uncle Sam and Adele?"
Matt turned towards his father. "They'se inside resting," he said. "Uncle Sammy was tired and sad, so 'Dele asked him to rest with her and he said ok."
"What do you mean, Matt, when you say that Uncle Sammy was tired and sad?" Sarah asked, frowning.
"Uncle Sammy was missing Uncle Matt," it was Madison who explained.
The sudden hush drew the attention of the other adults scattered around the back yard. "Uncle Matt, who?" Jules asked, her face reflecting the seriousness she felt.
"Uncle Matt who was Uncle Sammy's bestest friend," Matt stated. "He was a hero! He saved Uncle Sammy lots of times! But Uncle Sammy tolded us he died in the war. So he gets real sad sometimes."
Jules felt like her heart was splintering as she heard Matt's innocent words. Seeing the sadness and pain on Jules' face, Madison spoke up again. "Don't worry Auntie Jules. 'Dele can get Uncle Sammy to smile anytime! When he gets really sad, 'Dele asks him for stories about Uncle Matt. Uncle Sammy usually tells us funny ones, sos we all end up laughing."
Bryan had come up when he heard what they were discussing. His arms went around Trish's waist, pulling her in front of him and holding her close. He fought to hide his emotions as the two innocent children explained how affected Sam still was by Matt's death and how they were able to comfort him.
"Yeah," Matt added. "Ands today Uncle Sammy was tired, probly cause his shoulder was still hurting. So, 'Dele asked him to rest with her, cause she knew then he'd feel better." Matt smiled brightly at the adults, proud of his little sister who could comfort their honorary uncle.
It was a couple of minutes later that Wordy unobtrusively shot a look at Shelley. She nodded in return and excused herself to go check on something in the kitchen. Peeking around the edge of the doorway, she smiled as she saw Sam and Adele lying together on the sofa in the family room. The young girl was obviously asleep, snuggled up to her honorary uncle. Shelley must have made some kind of noise, though, because Sam cracked his eyes open and sent her a quick wink. Shelley smiled in response and retreated back to the kitchen, quickly checking on the baked beans in the oven before returning to the back yard. She smiled reassuringly at Jules, rejoining the conversation as if she hadn't left.
A/N 2: I am not the kind of person to withhold portions of the story hostage for any number of reviews. I do, however, appreciate any and all critical feedback, as well as some indication of whether you're enjoying this or not. Thanks in advance if you choose to review.