A/N: Just a quick note to say thanks for the follows and the review! Happy Reading.

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CHAPTER 2 - Testing The Water

He was in the men's locker room adjusting his vest to its proper position when he heard footsteps behind him, footsteps with a meaning and accompanied from some hushed words, words which he couldn't make out though from the voices he was sure that the two men were up to no good. Turning around as he was fastening the final parts of his vest his eyes fell on Oliver first and then Jerry, both men had coffee's in their hands and one of the two even had one for him. "Okay, who died?" He asked suspiciously but taking the coffee from Jerry. The moment the smiles appeared on their faces though he knew he shouldn't have asked.

"From what I hear, your credit card." Jerry said earning a classic Oliver laugh and an eye roll from Sam who was now comfortably ready to head to parade, well uniform wise at least.

"Can't keep anything to yourself." He said in Oliver's direction feigning irritation as he sipped the much welcomed liquid. "Its been a couple of weeks, what's the matter Detective you're getting slow." But the comment didn't seem to register, or if it did Jerry didn't let it show, he was having fun. Sam figured there must have been a break in a case.

"You know my lawn needs mowing and my car needs washing if you're strapped for cash..." Jerry continued milking it for whatever he could, he didn't get to pick on Swarek that often when things concerned any sort of wager. "I'm sure Oliver and Zoe could use a babysitter too..." He kept it going knowing his friend hadn't actually reached his tolerance level, not yet at least. That didn't stop him from pushing past his two friends out of the locker room.

"So I lost a bet, you're just jealous cause I keep taking your money every poker night" He said dropping a hand on his friends shoulder before turning it on to Oliver, a grin on his lips, "And you, don't forget all the things that I could tell Zoe the next time she pity's me and invites me over for a home cook meal." And with that Sam slipped into the Parade room, Oliver on his heels and Jerry heading towards his office, the two officers wouldn't have much contact with the Detective unless a case formed over the next twelve hours.

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"Breakfast Sammy?" Oliver called from his locker, when their shifts changed and they started in the evening ending their shifts in the morning he usually visited the diner around the corner with the group but this morning he had one of those scheduled trainings with Spike, basically another 10K run but a few added obstacles that helped to keep his friend in tip top shape for SRU. Sam liked it because it was more challenging than the stuff he was required to do so he remained in shape for his uniform.

"No can do." Sam said pulling his shirt on over his head, "Gotta pick up Spike for a run and this time next Friday we'll be across town drowning our sorrows on someone else's dime." He came around the corner, bag in hand to see the look his friend was wearing. "What's that look for?"

"Picking him up?" Oliver questioned, still wearing an expression that told him Oliver knew something that Sam at the moment wasn't currently aware of and it made him shift his weight slightly. "Sure that's not an excuse to get another look at the new recruit?" and there it was, in his friend's teasing tone, one that earned him his second, or maybe third, eye roll of the day.

"You've been married too long." Sam said simply, only slightly deflecting. While it wasn't the true nature behind why he'd be picking up his friend he had to admit, to himself, that that wouldn't be such a bad thing.

"I have to live vicariously through someone, Jerry's married, Noelle's a woman, and Frank is Frank. C'mon Sammy..." He egged his friend on and Sam allowed him to stew a little bit while they headed out of the locker room.

"Alright. You want something... I walked her home from the Penny a few weeks ago." Sam relented and before Oliver could let any sort of expression appear on his face Sam put a stop to it, "That was it, now go home and have breakfast with your girls, I'm sure they'd be surprised to see you." Sam urged heading for his truck when they existed the station.

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The SRU building was a lot different than the station down at 15 and it wasn't hard to tell that the people who worked here were intense and all about the safety of others. Despite being a member of the police force himself and having been in the building multiple times he was still subjected to a quick search and quick standard questioning but he understood it more than the average civilian would. It didn't take him long to get to the floor he was looking for, though he still ended up waiting which again wasn't the first time so instead of becoming impatient he simply started some small talk with Winnie while he waited.

The conversation was mundane as you could expect from almost any kind of small talk but it was better than lurking and silence that could become awkward, plus he was friendly with Winnie, they'd both attended functions held by members of the team over the last couple of years. He was just finishing up spinning the sad story of how he got stuck with the bill, not that she was buying it, when he heard his name from behind, and almost as if it was some kind of cue Winnie went back to doing whatever kind of paper work she'd been doing before Sam showed up.

"Sam, what are you doing here?" The question was casual, no suspicion or anything along those lines seeped into her tone but a smile greeted him.

"Learning your schedule, gathering little tidbits, you know doing all the things any good stalker would do." Sam grinned, the dimples becoming a bit more visible as he joked. "How is it the only girl on the team is already finished getting ready for home and all the men are still in the locker room?"

Jules nodded, "You may want to work on your subtlety." She pointed out at his stalker comment. "Because they all gossip worse than a bunch of old women." She answered his question, an answer much to his satisfaction and one that had him chuckling.

"They stay in there any longer and I'm going to have to get breakfast before the run." Sam said, he hadn't felt his stomach growling yet, but if he didn't get something in it soon he was sure the entire floor would be able to hear it. That was the downside to not having Oliver as a partner during a shift, you didn't stop for snacks every now and again.

"Pity you have to run, I've never been a fan of eating alone." Jules offered up as she walked buy him just as the boys were all piling out of their locker room, still absently chatting over something they'd been discussing while they were getting changed. Half of him wanted to tell Spike he forfeited and follow Jules out to some diner, but he couldn't take another hit like that, at least not for another couple of months, and not willingly. He definitely had more motivation to win this time around.

"I half expected you all to be wearing dresses." Sam said dryly as he joined them on the walk out, all of them biding farewell to Winnie as they exited the floor and made their way to the exit. Spike threw his bag on the back of the truck and climbed in with Sam, the two of them headed off towards their usual running spot.

xxxxxx

The run between the two friends was mostly quiet, and it usually was right up until the last 1.5km, which was when they started taunting one another to get the edge that would allow them to win. Running was good for a cops mind, and even if Spike wasn't as closed off as Sam was from stating what was on his mind, cops were not a fan of talking about anything that could cause them to be overly psychoanalyzed by anyone. Instincts were instincts and you relied on them to keep you from getting shot or doing something stupid and getting yourself or an innocent killed. Sam could count on one hand the amount of times he's actually said something useful to a shrink the department has made him see for one reason or another.

Runs after a long night always took a bit longer to complete, the muscles and the minds of both men were becoming over tired and over worked but neither one was a quitter and didn't like the idea of actually forfeiting to the other knowing what their standing bet entailed.

After a more leisurely run than usually they finally turned the final corner of their run and their legs started to speed up and an idea popped into Sam's head, "So is Jules seeing anyone?" Sam questioned out of the blue and just like he'd hoped it caught his friend a little off guard. He knew that the people on Team One were like family so six months would have given her plenty of time to feel the other's acceptance, and he assumed a brotherly complex towards her. It appeared he was right.

"What?" Spike questioned but he didn't get an answer, Sam had taken advantage of the minor lapse in Spike's concentration and was heading for the finish line, this time unlike the last one a few weeks ago Spike knew he wouldn't be able to catch up to his friend but that didn't mean he didn't put in a solid effort.

When Spike made it to the finish point Sam was just getting into his post run stance, bent slightly and leaning forward, hands on his bent knees pulling in the air his body needed and Spike wasn't too long joining him. "Did you just seriously ask about my colleague to win this?" He asked through a bit of laboured breathing.

Sam laughed a little, "Yes and no. I knew it'd give me an edge, that's what happens when you've got one girl on the team." Sam started before Spike cut him off.

"What if I'd have used Noelle's name in that way?" He inquired as a joke.

"She can easily take you, I've seen her showcase her skills in retraining, believe me." Sam offered before finishing his previous thoughts, "I was mostly serious though, she seeing anyone?" He was going off the hints she'd dropped the last couple of times they'd crossed paths, plus the ones he'd laid at her feet. Spike could clear the air a lot easier.

"No she's single. Just remember how much bigger her gun is than yours." Spike joked clasping his friend on the back and he stood to stretch things out.

Deciding to change the subject from his personal life a bit, he decided to put his friend in the hotspot, "So how's the whole Winnie situation going?" He teased, though he'd been teasing his friend about that since the guy had made SRU and maybe one of these times he'd get it right.

Spike just rolled his eyes and he headed for the truck, "Are we getting food or not, I'm starving." Spike said pulling himself up into the truck awaiting Sam. Sam took that as a cue that things were in the same place they'd been when he'd last asked the question.

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