AN: New answers! Thank you so much for following this story- Read and review!
They got a call to a bank robbery hostage situation. Not surprisingly, Sarge assigned Jules to truck duty.
"Sarge, I'm good," She protested.
"You need to rest," Ed shut her down.
"I'm cleared," Jules said, frustrated.
"You just got back," Sam added, "Don't over do it."
Now Sam had taken their side. Great.
"Fine," she replied bitterly. She turned around and quickly headed back to the truck.
The boys looked at each other, surprised. Jules had never been rude to them before.
"Okay," Ed spoke, trying to regroup them, "We have a job to do here. Let's go keep the peace."
The call ended with two criminals arrested and all hostages safe and sound. It was the ideal outcome, and they returned to the barn satisfied.
After the team had hit their respective locker rooms, they headed home. Sarge caught Jules on the way out and walked with her to her car.
"Jules," Sarge said sincerely, "Get some sleep tonight,"
Jules was clearly a bit antsy, which concerned Greg. She didn't say anything, but nodded in reply, forcing half a smile. She quickly climbed into her car and drove away. She attempted to suppress the memories rising to the surface, trying not to think about what happened the last time she was escorted to her car.
Tears welled in her eyes and she constantly had to blink to clear her vision well enough to drive. Once she arrived at home, she just about sprinted to the door and made her way into her apartment as quickly as possible. She bolted the door and curled up on the couch, finally alone enough to sob. She checked her phone.
She had a text from Sam:
Are you okay? Do you want me to come over?
Figures, he already knew that she would need him tonight. He always read her perfectly. He could effortlessly tell when she wanted space and when she needed comfort.
She replied:
Please come.
Only seconds later she received another text.
I'm on my way.
Ten minutes later, Sam appeared at her door. He knocked and Jules looked through the peephole.
"It's me, Jules," He called through door, knowing she was hesitant.
She opened the door and they walked to her bedroom, beginning the bedtime routine they had perfected over the past month.
Jules got into bed and Sam sat in the recliner next to her. He held her hand until she fell asleep. Most of the time he would fall asleep as well, but sometimes he would just watch over her, unable to sleep. Tonight was one of those watchful nights.
She slept soundly for the rest of the night with Sam by her side.
In the morning, they made breakfast and enjoyed their day off. Jules was grateful that he stayed over. She really needed to get some decent sleep. Now she was well rested and prepared to work the next day. Since Jules was doing well, Sam left in the afternoon to check on his sister, making sure she wasn't destroying his apartment in his absence.
-Flashpoint- Flashpoint- Flashpoint- Flashpoint—Flashpoint
The next day, they started with their morning workout. Jules was doing physical therapy exercises to strengthen her wrist, but in true Jules fashion, she did it while running on the treadmill.
"Do you ever rest?" Spike asked humorously, impressed by her multitasking. Sam glanced over at her.
"Get bored," she responded with a shrug and a smile. Act normal, Jules, she thought to herself, they don't suspect anything.
"Jules, you need to take it easy," Sarge stated sincerely, reiterating Spike's notion in a serious tone.
"Yeah, you should be taking it slow," Ed chimed in.
Sam watched, knowing that Jules was about to get upset. And he was right.
"What? Do you guys think I'm fragile or something?" She snapped, "I can take care of myself." She left in a huff and went to the locker room.
"Wow," Wordy said, "I've never seen Jules act like that before."
"She seems so… frustrated," Spike thought aloud. "I guess she was so bored when she took time off that just wants to get back in the game," He said with a shrug, offering up a possible explanation.
"She is usually more patient," Ed noted, "and less anxious."
"Yeah," Wordy agreed, "She's kind of skittish. Maybe she is just nervous about coming back to work."
Sam hadn't said anything. Sarge noticed.
"Have you seen any differences lately, Sam?" Sarge asked.
"Not really," He replied, fairly convincingly. Greg continued to look at him for a couple of seconds, trying to decide if he should trust him or not.
"Well, I'll talk with her, see if we do anything to help her transition," Sarge concluded.
The boys went to the locker room. Sarge waited in the conference room, hoping that Jules would be out soon.
Jules was feeling bad about being so disrespectful to the team. She hoped that they didn't take it personally, and that they wouldn't think there were any underlying problems. As she left her locker room, Sarge was waiting in the conference and he called her in. Dammit.
"Please sit," He said to her politely. She took a seat.
"Jules, I'm noticing that your very reactive, very on edge," Sarge said, "The team and I are concerned about your readiness to return to work, but more importantly, we're worried about you."
"I am so sorry," She responded sincerely, "I really didn't mean to be disrespectful. I've just been away for so long, I'm ready to get back to work." She was being as honest as possible. It was kind of a lie by omission, but that was as much as she was willing to give.
"Okay," He said, thinking carefully, "Is there anything else you want to talk about, Jules? Just between you and me?" He tilted his head with a kind and inquisitive look in his eyes.
Jules wanted to take time to think about the question, but she didn't want to pause too long before answering. It would be suspicious.
"No," she replied pretending to ponder his question, "Just want to back to being team one."
Sarge smiled softly, satisfied with her answer.
"Tell you what—if we get a call, we'll start you on sierra two," Sarge proposed, "Any problems though, you're back in the truck."
Jules nodded dutifully, grateful for the opportunity. This was just what she needed.
The boys were exiting the locker room as Sarge and Jules came out of the conference room. The alarm went off before they could greet each other.
"Alright, let's roll!" Ed announced.
Sarge and Ed rode together. Ed motioned to Greg to turn off his earpiece as he turned off his own.
"How did your talk with Jules go?" Ed asked.
"Okay. She says it's stress but I'm not quite sure. I think she's good for sierra two though."
Ed nodded in agreement.
-Flashpoint- Flashpoint- Flashpoint- Flashpoint—Flashpoint
The call was high stakes. The perpetrator was laid off from his factory job, replaced by more efficient robotics. It left him unable to pay for his wife's cancer treatment and she died shortly after. He had nothing left to lose—the most dangerous type of subject. He was on a quest to take out the CEO.
Jules had set up sierra shot in another branch of the building. Suddenly the man disappeared out of view.
"I lost the shot," Sam said urgently, "Does anybody have eyes on?!"
"Jules?" Sarge asked.
"No joy," She reported.
"Let's go!" Ed said to Wordy and Spike, "We gotta find this guy."
Sarge remained in the truck, puzzled by how the man escaped into the building. He tried to predict where he was going, but there were too many paths.
Ed, Wordy, and Spike were running through hallways, clearing floors, while Sam and Jules did the same from their positions. Eventually there was only area he could be left in.
The boys were racing to the next stairwell to search the remaining floor. The man was on the stairs, making his way up to the 4th floor. Jules was on the 4th floor, about to enter the stairwell to meet the rest of the team on the 3rd floor. The boys entered the stairwell just as they spotted the subject reaching the top step to the 4th step.
At the same time, Jules was reaching for the door of the stairwell. The boys hadn't even had half a second to try to radio in that they had found him and the subject burst through the door. He found himself face to face with Jules and without thought, he shoved her into the wall where she fell to the ground. The subject continued running down the hallway.
The boys were only steps behind and Ed and Wordy quickly unarmed the subject, tackling him to the ground. Jules sat, stunned, not having moved from the wall. Wordy handed off the subject to another officer. Spike turned back and saw Jules on the ground.
"Jules?" he asked urgently. Jules let out what sounded like a cry of pain. "Call EMS, Jules is down!" Spike asserted as he quickly jogged the few steps back to her.
Jules was staring at the floor, watching a scene unfold in her head.
He crashed his lips onto hers, slamming her hard into the wall, pinning her arms again.
"Jules, status," Sarge ordered. She did not reply. Sam was sprinting up the stairs, knowing exactly what was happening. Jules was trying to scramble to her feet.
"Hey, stay down Jules," Spike said quickly, "Where are you hurt?" Spike said, kneeling down and reaching out to touch her shoulder.
Jules screamed and jumped away, backing up. Sarge abandoned his post and started to run upstairs to them.
He began to rip her dress off, a seam splitting right down the middle.
Spike was shocked by her reaction and the entire team was now beyond worried and confused.
"Jules," Sarge spoke slowly and calmly over the radio as he climbed the stairs, "Can you tell me what's wrong?"
Jules heard nothing except a voice in her head.
"Oh come on, Jules. Let's just have some fun!"
"Just let it happen Jules, you know you want it."
Jules spoke, but not in response to what anyone had said.
"Stop," She whispered. "Please, stop," her voice rising.
"Stop what?" Ed asked, "You have to let us know what's wrong, Jules. Just talk to us."
Jules did not acknowledge him at all, and the boys exchanged looks of concern. She finally made it to her feet. Sarge quietly entered the hallway, having used a different set of stairs, not wanting to startle her.
"Ed," Sarge approached, whispering, "What's going on?"
"I don't know," He responded quietly, "She looks disoriented."
"Did she hit her head?" Sarge asked.
"I don't know," He responded.
Sam arrived in the doorway.
"Wait," Sam interjected. The team looked at him. "Give her space," he added, motioning for them to step away. The entire team wondered why Sam seemed so confident about the situation.
"Sam, what's going on?" Ed asked slowly, losing his patience.
Before Sam could answer, Jules knees weakened and she started to fall to her knees. Sam immediately closed the distance between them and grabbed her forearms.
"Winnie, where are the medics," Ed called, frustration rising as his fear grew.
"Two minutes out," Winnie responded.
Jules' weight pulled Sam down so he began to sit her onto the ground. The team quickly approached to assist, but Sam stopped them.
"Don't," He said quickly. They looked at him like they were crazy. "Trust me, just back up," He responded to their remaining uncertainty.
Still completely confused, the team reluctantly obeyed.
To make it easier to lower her, he tried to adjust his hand to under her knee. He brushed her thigh by accident.
She immediately screamed and shoved him away. He had to let go of her, but luckily she wasn't too far off the floor so she landed safely on her butt. He backed away and gave her plenty of room. She withdrew tightly into herself, backed into a corner with her eyes shut. She was crying out to no one in particular.
"Stop. Please. You're hurting me," she sobbed.
Suddenly, the pieces started to come together for the team. They realized she was having a dissociative episode right in front of them. The injuries, anxiety, agitation… Jules didn't fall down the stairs—she was attacked.
Sam sat down on the floor in front of her, about 10 yards away.
The team observed that Sam obviously knew what was happening and that he clearly had dealt with this before. Still completely in her own world she continued to cry, speaking into empty space.
"No. Stop touching me. Please stop touching me. STOP."
The boys listened to the words she was saying in disbelief as everything became clear-that she had been sexually assaulted. They all shifted, horrified by the trauma Jules had experienced. For an entire month, they had failed to see how much pain she was in. Guilt and heartbreak filled them. Greg put his hands on his head, Ed dragged his hand down his cheeks, Wordy glanced away, and tears built in Spike's eyes.
Sam started to deescalate Jules, putting his hands up. As her volume decreased, he began calling to her sweetly.
"Jules, it's okay."
She didn't respond but he softly kept trying, hoping that she would come around soon.
"You're safe Jules. No one is touching you. You're okay."
Her eyes were opened now and her body became less tense. Sam continued soothingly.
"It's just me, Jules. It's Sam."
She perked up at his name and looked directly at the man in front of her who had his hands raised and head slightly tilted. Yes, it was Sam. She reoriented herself. There was no one near her, just Sam a few feet away. She remembered that they were on a call and that she was in the hallway of a building. Her stomach then sank, remembering the team was there. She saw them standing farther down the hallway with fear in their eyes, and realized they had seen her breakdown.
She looked away, humiliated and disheartened.
"Dammit," she said, covering her eyes. "God, no," She sighed, upset with herself.
She began to cry again but this time softly, in pain, not panic. Sam stood just enough to be able to walk to her, and he arrived close to her side.
"Jules," he whispered, "It's going to be okay."
She looked at him. He extended his hand, letting her decided whether or not she wanted to take it.
"It's okay," he repeated.
Jules grabbed his hand and she collapsed into his arms, tears streaming down her face.
"I'm sorry," she choked, "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, Jules," he reassured her. Sam looked up and made eye contact with the team. They looked completely heartbroken. He looked back down to Jules.
"You're okay."
AN: How will the team handle this news? Will they treat her differently? Will they be mad at Sam for not saying anything? Will Chris find out that all of team one knows what he did?