Ugh, it's been a long time since I've uploaded. I know, I'm sorry, please don't hate me.
I had a busy last two weeks at work, then I went out of state to visit family I haven't seen in (at least) 5 years and I've spent the past three days moving into my apartment.
School's starting again VERY soon, sooner than I'd like, like tomorrow, and I can't promise I'll be able to update as often as I'd like, but I WILL NOT abandon this story and I WILL update whenever I can. Pinky promise!
That being said, please enjoy!
Chapter Six: Maddie Meets Team One
The room was silent; everyone sat still, shocked, and tried to wrap their minds around what they were seeing.
Finally, Wordy stood up. "Spike, what's going on? Who is that?"
Spike took a deep breath. I hope you'll understand, Sam. "Guys, this is Maddie, Sam's daughter."
Everyone's mouths dropped and, if the situation at hand was not so serious, Spike would've laughed at his team's cartoon-like reaction.
...
Thirty minutes earlier
It was dark by the time Spike pulled into the parking lot and put the car into park. He had questioned this decision ever since he arrived back at the SRU from the hospital and caught sight of Sam's locker as he was changing.
Touching the locker handle, and finding it unlocked, Spike opened the door. Seeing countless pictures of Maddie posted all over the locker door, Spike knew what he had to do.
Grabbing Sam's keys off the shelf, Spike closed Sam's locker and returned to his own and getting changed.
Spike climbed out of the car and walked through the doors of the day care. Walking up to the counter, Spike pulled out his ID and SRU credentials. "Hi. I'm Constable Michelangelo Scarlatti, but you can call me Spike. I work with the SRU."
The woman behind the counter, Sarah as her nametag read, looked at Spike curiously. "SRU? Do you work with Sam Braddock?"
"Yes ma'am; he's my teammate...and a good friend. He's actually the reason I'm here."
"Really?" Sarah asked, confused. Then, the sad realization hit her. "Oh god, was he the SRU officer injured today?! It's been all over the news!"
Spike gave her a sad nod. "I'm afraid so. I'm here, hoping I can pick up Maddie and take her to the hospital to see her dad. Her aunt and grandparents are currently out of the country, so I'll be staying with her at Sam's place until Sam's able to take care of her or until someone in her family can get here."
Sarah nodded, following Spike's plan for Maddie, until something he said earlier finally clicked. "Wait, you said to call you 'Spike' right?" At Spike's nod, Sarah continued. "Am I right to assume that you're the 'Unca Spike' Maddie's been talking about almost non-stop recently?"
Spike chuckled and smiled; man he loved that kid. "Yeah, that's me."
Sarah smiled a small smile. "Well, it's nice to finally put a face to the name although I do wish it was on better terms. Let me take you to Maddie."
Sarah got out from behind the counter and led the way down the hall to the room Maddie was in.
When the door opened, and Maddie saw who was waiting there with Ms. Sarah, the excitement on her face was unmistakable. "Unca Spike!"
Maddie got up from the carpet and ran as fast as her little two-year-old legs could carry her to Spike.
Spike bent down and caught her with open, waiting arms, pulling her into a big hug.
When Maddie pulled away, she looked up at Spike with an innocent curiosity only a child could possess. "Where's daddy?"
Spike sighed and shared a quick glance with both Sarah and Jenna (who had come over to see who the man was that was picking Maddie up) before looking at Maddie again.
"Maddie, do you know what your daddy does for a job?"
Maddie nodded enthusiastically and obviously proud. "Daddy a powees officer. He works wiff da SRU."
Spike smiled, it was hard not too when Maddie adorably mispronounced words. "That's right, your daddy works with the SRU. Do you know what police officers and the members of the SRU do?"
"Pwotect da city."
"Right, we protect the city. Unfortunately, it's a dangerous job and sometimes police and SRU officers get hurt trying to protect the city and the people in it. That's what happened to your dad." Spike said, trying to break the news gently and in a way that the little girl in front of him would understand.
"Daddy hurt?" Maddie asked and Spike hated the sadness he heard in her voice.
Spike stood up from his crouched position and immediately picked Maddie up and held her close in his arms. "Yeah munchkin, your daddy's hurt but don't worry. Your daddy's one of the strongest men I know and he loves you so, SO much; there's no way he's going to leave you. OK?"
Maddie nodded against Spike's shoulder, tears still welling up in her eyes. Spike rubbed her back. "What do you say we get out of here and go to the hospital to wait for news on your daddy, huh?"
Maddie nodded again. Jenna handed Spike Maddie's backpack. Spike thanked her and Sarah both for their help.
"Please let us know how Sam is." Jenna requested.
"Absolutely."
Spike said goodbye to Sarah and Jenna and carried Maddie out to the car. He strapped her into her car seat, climbed in himself and headed towards the hospital.
The entire ride to the hospital was spent in silence and Spike hated that he had to be the one to tell Maddie about Sam being hurt. In the end, he knew it had to be done, but there was no way he EVER wanted to have that conversation with her (or anyone else) again.
Arriving at the hospital, Spike unbuckled Maddie from her car seat, grabbed her backpack and carried her inside to the private waiting room where the other members of Team One were waiting for news on Sam. Stopping outside the door, Spike questioned what he was about to do but knew there was no other way. He just hoped Sam would forgive him.
...
"Sam's…. Sam's daughter?" Ed asked, extremely skeptically. "Sam Braddock?"
Spike rolled his eyes and walked over to one of the empty chairs. Sitting Maddie in it, Spike pulled out his tablet and opened up a website that had lots of games for kids Maddie's age to play.
After making sure Maddie was situated, Spike walked over to the team and brought them into the far corner of the private waiting room. The confusion on their faces couldn't be missed and Spike prepared himself for the onslaught of questions he was sure he was about to receive.
"What the hell is going on?!" Ed asked in a hushed whisper. For that Spike was thankful; Maddie had been through enough tonight without having to hear all of this. "Since when does Sam have a kid?"
"Well, Maddie's two so I'm going to say at least two years." Spike said with a little snark. He wasn't quite ready to let his team off scotch-free from their behavior towards Sam.
"No, really?" Jules asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm sure what Ed meant was why didn't Sam tell us he had a daughter?"
"Seriously? You guys couldn't even be bothered enough to find out Sam's birthday, or any other personal facts about him, yet you expect him to just up and tell you that he has a daughter? Really?" Spike asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"Look, Spike," Wordy began, his hands up in a placating gesture. "I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we have been unfair to Sam, really unfair, since he joined the team; we realize that now. Our behavior hasn't warranted him trusting us, understandably, but this," Wordy said, nodding his head towards Maddie, "is something he should have mentioned."
"I agree with Wordy," Greg said. "This is something Sam should have told us."
"Like you told us about your son?" Spike asked with a straight face and raised eyebrows.
Before anything else could be said, the group was interrupted by Maddie walking over and tugging on Spike's pant leg. When Spike looked down at her, Maddie held up a small bag of Goldfish she got from her backpack. "Open pwease."
Spike smiled at her. He grabbed the Goldfish, opened the baggie and handed it back to her.
Maddie gave him a small smile and a "tank you" before returning to her seat.
Everyone smiled at her cuteness and surprisingly good manners for a two year old.
"Sam's doing a really good job with her." Ed said truthfully.
"Yeah, he is." Spike couldn't help but agree.
"Is there anyone helping him?" Wordy asked. "Anyone else in the picture we should know about?"
Spike shook his head. "Sam said Maddie's mom left right after he got back from Kandahar...its just been him and Maddie ever since."
If the other members of Team One were feeling bad about misjudging Sam before, this new information only made them feel worse. Sam always put on a cocky, unbothered front and they let that get the best of them; they took Sam at face value and never bothered to learn more about the man beneath the hard, ex-Special Forces mask and the struggles and challenges he had encountered in his life.
"How do you know so much about Sam and Maddie?" Lou asked curiously.
"I saw them in the park a few weekends ago when I stopped by my nephew's birthday party." Spike said, glancing at Maddie and then back to his teammates. "He didn't tell me everything, but he did tell me a good amount. I don't know why Sam decided to tell me all of this, but I'm glad he did; Sam needs someone on his side in this world."
"Well you won't be the only one on Sam's side from now on," Ed vowed. "We were wrong about Sam, and we never gave him the opportunity to prove us wrong. We realize that now, and as much as it sucks that it took Sam being shot to make us realize all of this, we're more than ready to make it right."
"Good," Spike said with a hint of finality. "Because Sam deserves at least that much."
With that, Spike left his teammates and walked over to Maddie, taking a seat beside her and watching her play on his tablet over her shoulder.
The rest of Team One followed suit and sat back down in their chairs, settling in to continue waiting for news on Sam.
...
The wait wasn't long. Thirty minutes after they all sat back down, the door to their private waiting room opened and a tired looking surgeon walked in.
Everyone anxiously stood up, hoping that whatever news the surgeon had was good news. Spike held Maddie, who had just fallen asleep in his lap, in his arms as the change in position slowly woke her up. Please be OK Sam. Maddie already lost her mom...she can't lose her dad too.
"Family of Sam Braddock?"
I hope y'all enjoyed!
Stay tuned for the next chapter!
P.S. As far as SAMTASTIC is concerned, it's still an active story, it's just become a dumping ground of sorts; a place where I upload one-shots when inspiration for this story is non-existent OR when my muse gets the best of me. This story is where all of my attention is at this point, well this and school. Hope y'all understand! (: