Disclaimer: Not mine, as always. I wish I could pretend I had something to do with this show, but unfortunately not.

A/N: Set after Slow Burn.

It wasn't exactly an unfamiliar day: long shift, tough call, good ending, followed by some team bonding and unwinding at the Goose. It was, however, the first time they were going out after he and Jules had gotten the okay to be together while remaining on the same team.

And before, in situations at the Goose like this particular one, he had just sat back and let Jules take care of herself. It wasn't as if she couldn't and she would rather handle things like that on her own. As she'd often argued, just because she was a woman didn't mean she needed her colleagues to help turn away the constant stream of guys hitting on her when she left them to get a drink (although she said there were only ever a few, it felt like a constant line-up to approach her from his perspective). Besides, she reminded them repeatedly, she had grown up with brothers; she could definitely hold her own.

Usually, she could. He'd seen her tactics. On the guys who seemed genuine, she'd flash them an apologetic smile, tell them she wasn't interesting. They'd smile, sometimes buy her a drink anyways, then be on their way. No harm, no foul. The guys who were a little more persistent than that got her patented, "I'm a sniper," response and hardened officer look. She had tried the latter one already on the guy beside her now, as she turned away from him.

Either way, he had previously left her to her own resources, allowing himself to be pushed to the sideline, watching his girlfriend be hit on. All that because in the eyes of those they were with, they weren't anything more than friends. It would have looked out of place to interrupt on her behalf, as the other guys had learned to let her deal with it in her own way.

But now everyone knew and the curious eyes were darting between Jules at the bar and him in his seat, arm casually stretched on the back of the chair she'd been occupying before heading off to get a drink. And he was trying awfully hard to play it cool but his teammates were definitely not making it easy for him, smirking slightly.

Granted, the ever-persistent guy at the bar didn't appear to be understanding Jules' brush off very well. Maybe the sniper thing was as much a turn-on for the stranger as it was for him, as he still hung around beside her, apparently still talking to her despite the fact her entire body was turned away from him. She didn't have her drink yet, so walking away wasn't much of an option. Instead, she stood there tensely, ignoring the man as far as they could all tell, since she hadn't said anything back. He couldn't fault the guy for trying, much like he couldn't blame any of the others who approached her. It was Jules. Even after a long day at work, she looked great. Jeans and shirt hugging her curves, hair slightly curled; just enough to remind her co-workers that she was different from them. At work, she could keep up with the big boys: run, shoot, rappel with the best of them. But when she was off-duty, she wasn't Jules Callaghan, hardened SRU officer; she was just a woman. Not that he needed the reminder, although his eyes still wandered appreciatively up and down her figure.

So he let Jules handle the man, as he always did, casting cursory glances in their direction. But when the guy's hand somehow made its way to rest dangerously low on her back, Sam's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. The stranger had both his, and the team's, full attention now.

It wasn't just theirs either. Jules had changed from her body entirely turned away from his to facing him head on. And if her face was any indication, she was less than impressed by what was happening.

Spike knew it too. "Oh, that guy is a dead man," he said aloud, shaking his head.

Pausing for only half a second, Sam smoothly got out of his seat and headed towards his irate girlfriend, who was glaring at the man. Interestingly enough, the man looked relatively sober and was still leering at her as he spoke, despite her narrowed eyes. When Sam got close enough, he had just missed the end of the man's spiel, but judging from Jules' expression, he had arrived just in time.

Sliding his arm around her waist and pulling her close, he briefly ignored other man. "Sorry, was just talking to the guys about doing some shooting practice tomorrow," he asked Jules, who had relaxed a bit at his touch, which he took to be a good sign. At least she wouldn't be kicking his ass just yet. He signalled to the bartender for a beer, just out of force of habit.

"Oh really?" she questioned, with an arch of her brow. They both knew he was lying, but if a speedy once-over told him anything, the other man would be quicker to leave them if some sort of intimidation played a factor.

Instead of answering, he glanced at the man. "Hey, I'm Constable Sam Braddock." Not generally how he introduced himself, but hey, whatever worked.

"You're a cop?"

"Yeah, used to be in the army, stationed in Afghanistan before coming back here. And you are?" He might have been laying it on a little thick, as Jules hid her smirk behind her finally-arrived drink, but he figured this would be the one time Jules let him pull the 'over-protective boyfriend' mode out. He might as well have a little bit of fun with it.

His fun was already over though, as the man mumbled, "Just grabbing a drink," before walking away in defeat, shoulders slouched in the tell-tale manner that every man rejected had.

Sam couldn't help the grin on his face as he grabbed his beer and headed back to their group, arm still loosely wrapped around her. He snuck a quick look at his girlfriend. There was still a small smile on her face. So far, so good. She didn't seem as pissed off as she did the one time he had made the mistake of intercepting on her behalf, but then again, that had been long before they had had anything between them. He had definitely thought twice after that incident.

"You know, I could have handled that on my own," she began, although it sounded more like a habit than an actual scolding.

"Yeah, I know, but I figured we could go less lethal this time," he replied easily with a wink, receiving a nudge in his ribs for both his words and, out of habit, his actions.

She rolled her eyes but smiled. "Only this one time. Do it again and beware of the consequences." The pair sat down with their team, all of them eyeing one another to see who would comment first.

Spike was the first to break the silence, shaking his head. "Samtastic, you disappoint me. I was expecting a real show, maybe a punch, or at least some sort of in-his-face action." At the look of disbelief from the others, the Italian faltered. "Okay, maybe not but come on, that would have been interesting to see!"

Sam just watched with a broad grin, as the conversation rose again. Debates on what it would take for Sam to punch out another guy, with Jules' interjections about how Sam didn't need to do anything nor did she want him to, began. He commented occasionally but for the most part, he just sat back and relaxed, the hand draped on the back of Jules' chair toying mindlessly with the ends of her hair, making her look back and smile at him before returning to the discussion at hand. It was nice, both being able to come to Jules' rescue (even if it was unwanted) and having the team joke about it. With the acknowledgement of what he and Jules had from those closest to them came a sense of reality. And it only served to solidify their relationship.

A/N: Just a random thought that I kept having. Quickly written and short. Sorry for both those things =P If there are any mistakes, I also apologize for that, I just wanted to post it :) Enjoy! As always, reviews are love & encouragement. - Kimmy