Author's Note: According to the interview between Greg and Dr. Toth in "Fault Lines," only two weeks elapsed between the knifing in "Backwards Day" and Jules getting shot in "Between Heartbeats." For the purposes of this story, I'm going to stretch out the time between "Eagle Two" and "Backwards Day." You readers aren't opposed to more JAM time, are you? I really don't like to think about them only having three weeks together the first time around. Remember, reviews are eye candy to authors, so please review.
Disclaimer: FYI, I write for my pleasure and I hope your enjoyment. The characters are not mine; they were created by the producers of Flashpoint and apparently a half dozen other entities affiliated with the production of the TV series. They belong to those people. I just take them out and play with them occasionally. Or is it let them play with each other?
Sam delayed his exit from the locker room as long he could. He was in no hurry to face Jules' ire. He'd seen the fireworks shooting from her eyes as the Team exited the ball field earlier. It didn't take a crystal ball to know that he was in for some serious words from Jules.
To his surprise, she wasn't there waiting for him in the hall. Since the conversation they were about to have should not be witnessed by any teammates, he quietly left the SRU building and headed home. He didn't need to change, but he did need to regroup. He'd go over to Jules' house later.
Jules quickly rushed through her changing routine and headed home. What she had to say to Sam could not be said at the Barn where there might be witnesses. She'd give him some time to show up at her house. If he didn't, she'd head over to his apartment.
On her drive home, she thought about their relationship so far. Yes, the cocky blond sniper had intrigued her from the first moment he tried to pick her up at a scene. The guys had her back when he reached into his pocket while talking about his gun. It took the Commander's order to stand down to make her put her gun away even after the other guys had holstered theirs. She'd enjoyed throwing the targets in the shoot house on his first day of skills assessments. She'd particularly enjoyed it when Ed had given Sam the bogus coffee assignment on his first hot call. He'd made the typical rookie mistake of wanting to rush in too quickly. SRU didn't do fast, not when they needed to make time for negotiations first. Still, she had to admit -reluctantly- that Sam was quickly becoming a good addition to the Team.
She really had tried to deflect his attentions the day he'd asked her out for a burrito after work. Being the only female in SRU had its perks as well as its disadvantages. One of the latter being always under a microscope when it came to her behavior and following the rules. She had never been a follow the rules type of girl, certainly not when she was a teen-ager and suffering the loss of her mother. There wasn't a rule she hadn't tried to break then. She usually succeeded at whatever she attempted, so there were a lot of broken rules in her past. Fraternizing with a coworker was not one she really wanted to break right now. She'd been trying so hard to keep her distance, but Sam had a way of worming himself into her thoughts and life. She spent way too many of her off hours thinking about the man. Even the reno work on her house couldn't prevent the thoughts from intruding. Actually mindless painting and drywall patching just gave her more time to think. There was just something about his clear blue eyes, the way they studied her and seemed to twinkle whenever he glanced at her. She hoped she was the only person on the Team who noticed that!
Then those kisses! After the first one in front of the Royal York Hotel, Sam had sought her out after work nearly every shift with some excuse or another. They'd grab burgers or burritos or breakfast and talk about the incident of the day. She had to admit that their post-shift gabfests were great at debriefing from the day. She'd come to appreciate them, but it was getting harder and harder to avoid moving forward in the relationship. Sam was certainly determined to reach the next level. Could she accept that? How could she not?
The evenings the team had gone to the Goose for an after work drink were some of the most difficult. Sam would either sit next to her and touch her underneath the table or he would sit across from her and play games with his eyes. Both situations kept her from following the conversations around the table with the Team. She'd ended up saying "huh?" way too much. They knew her. They'd begin to wonder. And that worried her.
She'd known she was in big trouble today when her heart stumbled as the bullet hit the ground near Sam's feet. When a kid was waving a gun around, no one was safe. Sam was fortunate the bullet hadn't been aimed at him. The gun had gone off accidentally and missed everyone. But Jules was honest with herself, seeing Sam nearly get shot had done something to her. She could no longer pretend to be disinterested, not when her heart and mind had other ideas. So she was heading home to wait for Sam's arrival and the inevitable confrontation with him. She wouldn't even speculate about how that could end. Or maybe she just wanted to postpone thinking about the inevitable. She usually didn't avoid difficult topics, but this particular one was not the norm.
With some trepidation, Sam knocked on Jules' door. While eager to see her again, he was not eager to listen to her light into him for the risks he had taken today. Their job was nothing but risks, and today had not really been all that dangerous. He had faced off with an emotional kid bent on self-destruction, not one determined to harm others. He was just glad he'd been able to get through to the kid.
Deciding that being the attacker rather than the attackee might work to his advantage, Sam advanced on Jules as soon as she opened her door to him. He wrapped her in his arms and placed warm moist lips on hers and proceeded to practically scramble her brains.
"I'm sorry you got worried today," he apologized huskily and wondered why he thought this had been a good idea. Now he couldn't think. But he was still clear headed enough to shut the door behind him. No sense in the neighbors seeing everything.
"I know. It's the job. I get that," she agreed. "It still doesn't make it easier when someone is shooting a gun without aiming. Bullets don't care who they hit. You still got too close to an agitated teen with a gun!" She slapped at his shoulder as she spoke. "Why do you think it's protocol for us to move the civilians out of the area?"
"But no one got hurt. The kid is going to get the help he needs. We kept the peace today."
"Yeah, yeah, but I still worry," she reluctantly agreed.
"So do I! It's not easy for me either when I see you in danger or get hurt," Sam nearly exploded. "I never told you exactly how bad your back was after that fall from the media tower. It made me hurt just to look at it. You kept saying you were okay, but I could see for myself that you weren't."
"I was okay," Jules reiterated. "I just couldn't do chin ups for a few days! I still think you were too reckless today."
"I get that. Not gonna stop doing my job just 'cause you think I'm getting too close to a subject." Sam was beginning to get angry. He did get that Jules had been worried. He'd worried about her doing the job since the day he met her. He always kept an extra eye on her when on scene. Now she was worried about him. Oh. Maybe that's a good thing.
Before he had time to speculate on that intriguing topic, she changed the subject.
"I was just getting a sandwich for myself. Do you want one?" she asked.
Okay, this Jules was beginning to confuse Sam. She was acting totally out of character. Where was the tongue lashing he was expecting? So far it hadn't been too bad. She really did know how to keep him off balance. He was hungry, so why not eat with her? It had been a long day. Any day with a confrontation with a subject was a long day even when the incident lasted a short time, such as today. They'd spent maybe an hour talking the kid into relinquishing his gun. Debrief hadn't taken long since no controversies had arisen over the handling of the crisis.
Jules led the way to her kitchen which opened onto the living area. Separating the kitchen from the dining area was a bar for seating and food preparation. The sandwich fixings were already laid out on the bar. She really had been fixing supper. Sam began preparing a sandwich for himself. They ate quietly and hungrily. Sam began to worry again because a Jules without words was not usually one he wanted to tangle with. She almost always had something to say. He was sure she was holding back.
