Chapter Two: The Braddock Family
As Sam left the locker room and made his way out to his car, he waved goodbye to Winnie and the members of Team Four, who had just started their pre-shift workout.
In the time he'd been with the SRU, Sam had gotten close to Team Four; they were usually coming on shift when Team One was finishing theirs and they often ran into each other in the locker room. In fact, Sam had gotten close with all the SRU teams, except for Team One. His own team hated him.
I must be cursed, Sam thought to himself as he exited the Barn and arrived at his car. It seemed, to him, that every team he had ever been placed on hated his guts. Sure, his JTF2 team only hated him for a few days, but they could always put their feeling aside and focus on the task at hand, something his teammates on Team One have yet to do, and he wasn't with the 51st division long enough for anyone to hate him.
As Sam climbed inside his car and started the engine the radio kicked on. The song that was playing instantly calmed Sam and brought a smile to his face; it was the same song he and his wife danced to at their wedding almost one year ago. Leaving the SRU parking lot and heading home, Sam thought back to that night.
The dance floor had been cleared and their friends and family members crowded along the edges, all wanting to get a good view at the happy couple. Sam, smiling brightly, led his new wife onto the dance floor and held her close as the DJ started playing 'I Get to Love You' through the speakers.
Despite the blinding lights from camera flashes, Sam and his bride were in their own little world, swaying to the music in the middle of the dance floor.
Sam placed a kiss on her forehead. "I love you, Mrs. Braddock."
"Well I guess it's a good thing I love you too, Mr. Braddock." She said teasingly, eyes twinkling.
Sam laughed and pulled her close again, relishing their last few moments together before the guests descended back onto the floor to continue the reception festivities.
Despite the song on the radio having changed at least twice, Sam kept his thoughts on that wonderful day. It was, hands down, one of the best days of his life.
There were times, especially after hard days at the SRU, when Sam questioned whether moving to Toronto was the best idea. Leaving the military—something he's known since birth—and their families behind, especially since they were now starting one of their own, was a difficult decision. At the time, Toronto seemed like the new beginning they needed but now, with the way the relationship between Sam and Team One was going, Sam wasn't too sure.
However, as Sam pulled into the parking spot next to his wife's car, his thoughts drifted back to her and how happy she was here. She made everything worthwhile and as long as she was happy, Sam would put up with anything.
Turning off the car, Sam grabbed his bag and headed inside—leaving his bad day behind him. He had far more important and happier things to focus on and think about.
...
Entering the apartment, Sam locked the door behind him and threw his keys on the table next to the door. He slipped his shoes off and dropped his bag next to them, making a mental note to repack it before he went to bed. "Linds? I'm home!"
"In the kitchen!" She called out.
Sam smiled and walked over to the kitchen, coming to a stop in the doorway. He just watched for a moment as his wife stirred the cooking pot of pasta on the stove before he walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her.
She startled slightly at the feeling of her husband's arms around her, still not use to his ability to move so quietly. Setting her spoon down, she turned around in his arms and wrapped her own arms around him.
"Hi," she said, reaching up to give him a quick kiss on the lips. "Welcome home."
"Hello to you too," Sam said with a smile after kissing her back.
"How was work?" When the smile on Sam's face shrunk ever so slightly—something that would've gone unnoticed by anyone else—she frowned. "That bad huh?"
Sam sighed. His wife knew him too well.
Lindsay Braddock was the perfect match for Sam. While Sam could be stubborn and hot-headed, Lindsay was calm, cool and collected. She was confident, intelligent, beautiful and understanding, especially when it came to military (and ex-military) life. She and Sam first met when they were young kids; their fathers were both stationed Germany for a few years. After several station changes for both families, the two reunited the summer after high school. Lindsay was getting ready to start at the University of Ottawa and Sam was preparing to head off to basic training. Their relationship this time was more than just friendly hair pulling and chasing each other around the playground on base; there was a romance that neither had planned for but was not against. Their fathers, both Generals at this point, surprisingly gave their blessings.
Despite the stress (and lack of free time) basic training and enlisted military life created, Sam and Lindsay's relationship continued to thrive and flourish. Not even Sam's first (and longest) deployment seemed to affect their love. Within his first week back home, Sam proposed, and Lindsay said yes before Sam could even finish asking the question.
Then his second deployment came, and Matt died, and their relationship was really put to the test. Through sadness, loss and unimaginable and overwhelming guilt, their relationship managed to persevere. They married six months after Sam returned home.
Over the next eight months, Lindsay graduated with her Masters, Sam got his official discharge and was finally finished with the army, Sam graduated from the police academy and joined the 51st division, they found out they were pregnant and moved their entire life to Toronto for Sam to join the SRU.
Through all the change and turmoil that plagued their relationship the past few years, Lindsay was the constant in Sam's life and the one thing that kept him going. She was the best pick me up he needed, but ever since he joined the SRU, she seemed to be working overtime in that department.
"Same old, same old." Sam said with a slight shoulder shrug. "I don't want to talk about that. How was your day?"
Lindsay just stared at him for a moment before answering. "It was good. The kids were great, as usual. You can still help chaperone the field trip on Friday, right?"
"Yeah, after tomorrow's shift I have the next three days off."
"Wow. I get you for a whole weekend and as a chaperone for my field trip? How did I ever get so lucky?" She asked teasingly.
Sam laughed and moved his hands to rest against his wife's noticeable baby bump. "And how's the little one doing?"
Lindsay smiled and rested her hand on top of his. "Active as usual."
"That's my boy!" Sam cheered.
He removed his hands and worked to get the table set and ready for dinner.
Lindsay shook her head but smiled as she finished preparing dinner. "You know it could be a girl…"
"For the sake of my sanity during the teenage years, I hope not."
Lindsay snorted as she walked over to the table, garlic bread and pasta in hand. "Please! I knew you growing up, remember? You think either one of us would keep our sanity with a little Braddock boy running around?"
"Hey!" Sam said as he brought their drinks to the table. He pulled Lindsay's chair out before seating himself. "I was not that bad."
"You pulled my pigtails every day!"
"Only because I thought you were cute!"
Lindsay rolled her eyes and they both started laughing before digging into their dinner.
...
A few hours later, as Sam readied himself for bed, he once again found himself thinking about their life in Toronto. While the SRU wasn't what he thought it'd be, he knew his wife was more than happy teaching first grade and he knew their child would grow up loving Toronto as well.
Placing a kiss on his already sleeping wife's head, Sam settled in next to her. At the end of the day, he would tough it out at the SRU and he would make the best out of their new home in Toronto because there wasn't ANYTHING Sam wouldn't do for his family.
I'm not 100% set on the title, so if y'all have any suggestions let me know!